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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday December 17, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager Tis the season to stay healthy Tis the season for giving, but there are some things we'd rather not see people share during the holiday season. Things like the common cold and influenza. According to the Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness and Promotion, every year in Canada, seasonal influenza and its complications lead to an average of 4,000 deaths and 20,000 hospitalizations. On top of that, there are thousands of hours spent in hospital Emergency rooms and walk-in clinics, not to mention countless hours lost at workplaces. It is never too late to get immunized (a flu shot) -- simply ask your doctor, nurse, pharmacist or local public health office about immunization. Local pharmacies and the Halton Region Health Department hold clinics throughout the winter months. Other effective means to reduce the spread of the influenza virus include: · Washing hands frequently · Sneezing or coughing into your sleeve or a disposable tissue · Keeping shared surfaces clean, i.e. doorknobs, light switches, keyboards, telephones · Staying home if you get sick Be aware that the very young and the very old are especially vulnerable to this highly contagious respiratory disease and it could prove fatal to people with lung, heart or kidney disease and those with other underlying conditions such as diabetes. If you feel a cold or the flu coming on, consider taking a natural supplement to boost your immune system and don't forget to get plenty of rest, take vitamins and eat a balanced diet. The holidays are hectic enough without having to face them while you suffer with the flu or a cold. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Bus fare increases appalling Police overreacted I am appalled by the fare increases that will go into effect Jan. 1. If there is any political will to get people out of cars and onto public transit, this fare increase is certainly counter-productive. There was a hefty increase only six months ago. With this fare increase, Oakville Transit will be higher priced than the GTA average in all categories, except the student pass. In fact, only York charges $3 for a single cash fare and I would submit that its transit travels a much more extensive area than ours does in fairly compact Oakville. Is this fare increase necessitated by such luxuries as the half hourly bus (Monday through Sunday) going to the RioCan Centre on Wyecroft? If the merchants need such service to get their workers and customers into the centre, they should subsidize the service, not the transit-using population of Oakville, that, in many cases, has no other option, but to use the bus. Why is a fare increase necessary when the price of oil has gone down by more than 50 per cent since last summer? As a longtime user of Oakville Transit, I do not feel that the service has improved to such an extent as to justify an 11 per cent increase. In fact, the #14 and #16 buses that I regularly take are usually filthy, inside and out, and lately some of them have been old, super-annuated vehicles that must have been pressed back into service. A return to car commuting is beginning to look mighty attractive. I hope that the mayor and Town council will act to roll back this illconceived increase. It will primarily hurt those on low income, seniors and students who do not have the pass. A Merry Christmas from the transit Grinch, indeed! Johanna Boffa Re: Front page picture and story Suspect surrenders to tactical team, Oakville Beaver, Friday Dec. 12. The picture and caption say it all. I have never seen such a typical keystone cops type of scenario. We have seven grown, heavily-armed men cowering behind an armoured vehicle so as to not be overwhelmed by a 17-year-old unarmed youth, who is 15 feet away and facing the other direction. Give it a break. Maybe a less confrontational approach would have produced better results? In the same edition, (Halton taxes going up) we see that we are paying $111 million on police services. I have lived in Oakville since 1950 and have seen it change. There has been nothing in the ensuing years that would justify this level of policing, keeping these types of individuals employed in the region or maintaining this type of excess. I think that the budget allocation needs to be chopped; there is obviously plenty of fat here. These are tough times for everyone and all savings would flow directly to the bottom line in reducing our tax burden. WOLFGANG ZENKER Grinches deserve a lump of coal I just wanted to comment about the vandalism that occurred in my neighbourhood on Dec. 14. A number of homes, including mine in the Forest Hill area of Oakville (Trafalgar and Lynnwood crossing), had Christmas decorations stolen and vandalized by unknown perpetrators. This was a sad and appalling feeling in the morning when I woke up and my front lawn was destroyed. Two of my neighbours also had this misfortune. Hopefully some awareness of this awful and saddening event will deter these idiots from doing it again. I also called the police and hopefully they can assist. I never thought this could happen in a nice place like Oakville. MICHAEL BOISVERT This week's poll This week's question is: Should the federal and provincial governments provide financial support for the Big Three automakers? · Yes · No To vote, visit oakvillebeaver.com Last week's poll: Can Michael Ignatieff salvage the Liberal Party? · Yes 21.67% · No 78.33% Total votes: 60 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council.The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206,Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.