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OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, July 24, 2009 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 www.oakvillebeaver.com 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 SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Canadian Open boon for Oakville Michael Jordan finally made the big time when he appeared on the front page of the Oakville Beaver, Wednesday, July 22 edition. All kidding aside, a front-page picture of the basketball icon in the Oakville Beaver is a prime example of the many benefits the town reaps from the RBC Canadian Open at the Glen Abbey Golf Club this week. But if Jordan's picture in the Beaver isn't convincing enough, listen to John Sawyer, president of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce. According to Sawyer, last year's Canadian Open injected between $15 to $18 million into the town and surrounding area, with spinoffs in many different industries. Spokespeople for both the Downtown Oakville and Kerr Village Business Improvement Areas reported increased business this week, thanks to the Open. Recognizing the benefits of the Open to the town, the Oakville Chamber of Commerce teamed up with the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) to cross promote the event with other Ontario chambers. The result was about $20,000 worth of tickets. Recognizing the value of the Open, the Town of Oakville's hospitality tent -- provided by the RCGA at no charge, excluding food and beverages -- is being used as a tool to promote Oakville. And last, but not least, there's the buzz of excitement created by an internationally-acclaimed sporting event being held in town. Plus, there's always a chance of spotting one of the golfers, or this year, thanks to the Mike Weir Charity Classic, a movie star or pro athlete on the course or in town. Sadly for Oakville, the Canadian Open is not the permanent fixture it once was at Glen Abbey. The tournament will be held elsewhere for the next few years and it is not known when the Open will return. So don't miss this chance to get out to Glen Abbey and enjoy the fun. Now if Mother Nature would only co-operate. 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. Letter to the editor Update from Afghanistan C Squadron has finally past the half-way mark of our tour and now find ourselves in the middle of the hottest weather Afghanistan has to offer. Trooper Carson Along with McAuley the heat, has come the fighting season here in the Panjwai district. C Squadron's role in the mission has proven to be a busy task as we face nearly daily Quick Reaction Force (QRF) calls and find that the tanks are always in high demand. The QRF deals with a variety of challenges on nearly a daily basis. They are called out anytime an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) is found, whether it is to attempt to exploit and remove the danger or to provide security to the area and to help anyone who may have been injured due to the Taliban's cowardly attacks. Due to the destructive nature of the Taliban's tactics, we find ourselves spending a large amount of our time helping to rebuild local infrastructure in an attempt to help keep the local population in our favour. We also need to overcome the sometimes damaging results that can occur through the use of our military vehicles. The new Leopard tanks that are now in use here weigh in at upwards of 70 tons. The local highways and bridges were not designed for heavy use by large vehicles as many were designed for nothing more than a small car or a home-made cart being pulled by a donkey. Bridges are constantly needed to be repaired and can become lengthy tasking for all involved. Although we have become increasingly busy over the past months everyone has remained positive and in good Letters to the editor 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. Design raccoon-proof green bin I read Mary Gago's letter (Green bins no match for raccoons Oakville Beaver, July 17), and I agree that the designer and/or manufacturer should have had the foresight to provide us with green bins that would prevent raccoons from opening them and spreading our waste in the street. I live in a ravine area and although I do use my green bin, less than half of the 60 homes on my street have continued to use theirs. The reason is that most weeks our food waste from the green bins end up strewn on the sidewalk and street. I feel compelled to respond to Amber Gauder's tip (Bi-weekly garbage pick-up; works fine, Oakville Beaver, July 22) that we put out our bins in the morning. That may work for her, but on our street the green bin waste and recycle containers are emptied shortly after 7 a.m. and I don't particularly like having to rush out at that hour with my green bin. This shouldn't be that hard -- design a green bin that the raccoons can't open (or modify the ones we have been given). V. SIMPSON BY STEVE NEASE neasecartoons@gmail.com Pud See Those page 7