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OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, July 29, 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 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 Safe and sound You might not know it from two recent Burlington incidents involving a fatal stabbing of an Oakville teen and an unrelated drive-by shooting, but Halton residents should feel good about their choice of places to live. Statistics Canada's recent release of 2008 crime statistics rates the region among the safest communities in the country. Based on a new Crime Severity Index (CSI) and Violent Crime Severity Index (VCSI), Halton rated ahead of such GTA and Golden Horseshoe communities as Hamilton, Toronto, Niagara, Waterloo, Durham, Peel and York. "Crime rates can be influenced by a number of factors outside police control, but this is still a strong testament to the outstanding calibre of work being done by our officers, civilian employees and volunteers in close co-operation with our many community partners," said an understandably proud Halton Police Chief Gary Crowell. "Halton residents take a keen interest in policing and public safety issues and we could not do our jobs effectively without their active participation and support," said Crowell. Statistics Canada believes its new system of measuring crime data giving more weight to serious crimes that garner loftier court sentences is a more accurate measure of community safety than an earlier system that simply counted the number of all crimes committed in a single year. The report also confirms what Maclean's magazine reported earlier this year when, for the second year in a row, it named Halton Region the Safest Place to Live in the Greater Toronto Area and the Safest Regional Municipality in Canada. "As a member of the (Halton) Police Service Board, I am proud of the hard work and dedication of our police chief, deputy chiefs, officers, civilians, volunteers, elected officials and community partners alike who have all contributed to a safe Halton," said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. "I know that this ranking is the result of our residents, business owners and municipalities, working hand in hand with the Halton Regional Police Service to ensure we have a safe place to live, work, raise a family and retire," said Carr. "I want to thank everyone who has done their part to prevent crime in our region because it is only by working together that we can continue to build a better, safer community." We should all consider ourselves fortunate to be able to call Halton home. 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 Unruly behaviour distressing I work in a store in downtown Oakville and have worked many shifts during the Midnight Madness event. I recognize the hard work and planning that goes into an event like this. I commend all people involved. However, I have noticed over the past few years some change in atmosphere. This year, I noticed more groups of young people walking the sidewalks and not moving over for other pedestrians. The language and behaviour of some of these groups are/were inappropriate. I witnessed one group of young boys walk along the Lakeshore sidewalk and knock into a senior who appeared to be in her late 70s or early 80s. One member lunged forward towards this senior, threw his hands in the air, swore at her and then yelled at her for not getting out of his way. The senior appeared confused and frightened. After my shift, I was going to go take a look at the happenings on the lakeshore during Midnight Madness, however after witnessing this type of behaviour I decided to go home. ALEXANDRA THOMPSON 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. Thanks to mayor and council's business-like pace For nearly three years I have served as board chair for CommUnity Artspace. I have turned this position over to Bill Smith, who has also chaired the Oakville Waterfront Festival Committee as I will not be in town. Before I go, I would like personally, and on behalf of CUAS, to thank Mayor Rob Burton and Oakville council for their support for this tremendous project, and Town staff for their hard work in assisting council in its decision process and preparing for the implementation. Council's decision to invest in the conversion of 54,000 square feet of space in the former Queen Elizabeth Secondary School to a purpose-built shared arts facility was a momentous one for the future of Oakville, and the arts in Oakville. It has become accepted wisdom that communities in which creativity is encouraged and facilitated in all forms become more prosperous. They attract interested, energetic people of positive outlook and with them, innovative businesses and organizations. The facility will house performance and rehearsal facilities as well as arts studios. It will become a crossroads for those with a variety of artistic and creative interests. Musicians, sculptors, woodcarvers, painters, photographers, weavers and many other talented and creative people will share this space, meet each other and the sum will be greater than the parts. Just as the friendships made on the touch line of the soccer pitch or in the stands at the rink build connections, which strengthen our community, so will these interactions. Everyone will benefit from this farsighted decision. It is a confirmation of the quality and character of our community and a commitment to strengthening that character. In reaching this point, the support of Mayor Burton was of great assistance. His unwavering commitment to resolving the immediate crying need for arts space and giving form to the CUAS vision for a place for the arts to congregate and to visible evidence of Oakville's commitment to the amateur cultural sector has borne fruit. An idle Town building will be repurposed and Bronte will have an attractive asset. Internal demolition has begun, and the end is in sight. If the original timeline the Town proposed had held, the groups would have had to solve their space problems separately, and this opportunity would have been lost. Thanks to the business-like pace with which the mayor and council took on this project, Oakville takes a leadership position among GTA communities in the area of the arts, as it already does in so many other areas. CHRIS STOATE, OUTGOING CHAIR COMMUNITY ARTSPACE