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OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, July 31, 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 Lend an arm The police know how important it is. So do firefighters, paramedics and other emergency service personnel. Unfortunately, the rest of us often need sharp reminders about the importance of donating blood. Let's face it, the front-line workers are the ones busy caring for accident victims who may wind up needing at least one blood transfusion. They know how vital blood products are to saving lives. That's probably one of the reasons why Canadian Blood Services is pinning its hopes on the annual Sirens for Life campaign. Police, fire and paramedic services are once again waging a friendly competition to see which group can donate the most units of the gift of life. The goal of Sirens for Life participants is 1,000 units of blood and 100 new registrants to the One Match Stem Cell and Marrow Network. Canadian Blood Services says it needs 226,000 units of whole blood, including 25,000 units of O negative blood type, just to meet national demand during the peak summer months. Thanks to long holiday weekends that drive up the number of traffic accidents, the strain on the country's blood supply can be overwhelming. An increase in hospital demand last summer forced Canadian Blood Services to send out a nationwide plea to blood donors, as the national blood inventory was depleted by 40 per cent. With the Civic Holiday weekend upon us, you can bet Halton's emergency personnel will be handling numerous accidents and the region's hospitals will be using all kinds of blood products. So instead of relying on our emergency workers to roll up their collective sleeves, let's lend them a hand -- or arm -- for a change. To make an appointment to give blood, to learn more about eligibility requirements or to join the Sirens for Life challenge, call 1-888-2DONATE (1-888-236-6283). Visit blood.ca to find clinic locations near you. 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 Lifestyle demands reliable energy The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) says even with aggressive conservation measures, new electricity is needed to ensure adequate and dependable electricity supply to the Southwest Greater Toronto Area. If approved, the Oakville Generating Station (OGS) would be a clean, highlyefficient, natural gas-fuelled power plant. There have been questions raised about the need for a plant in our current economic environment. We need to plan now for future growth and recovery. The OPA has stated by 2015, electricity demand in the southwest GTA is expected to surpass available capacity currently supplied via transmission. The proposed OGS plant would be available by the end of 2013. In terms of the environment, natural gas is an excellent energy choice. Using natural gas can provide support for renewable sources of energy as Ontario takes measures to replace coalfired plants. Natural gas provides reliable power when renewable sources such as wind and solar aren't available. If OGS is approved, TransCanada would pay municipal taxes annually and contribute to community programs. Approximately 600 construction jobs would be created during a period of about 28 months, and 25 permanent jobs would be created. TransCanada has been operating a natural gas pipeline through your community since 1958. We have been a proud member of communities in Ontario for more than 50 years and are committed to being a good neighbour. We appreciate the opportunity to answer questions from neighbours regarding our plans. TransCanada values public input, and I would like to encourage the public to visit www.transcanada.com/oakville or contact 1-866-317-9887 or oakville@transcanada.com. JOHN MIKKELSEN OAKVILLE GENERATING STATION, TRANSCANADA 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 an honest person On Saturday, June 27 while enjoying the Oakville Waterfront Festival, my friend who was here from St. Catharines had the misfortune of losing his wallet. Some kind person found it at the site of the festival and turned it into the staff at Coronation Park where the festival was held. The wallet was turned in with all of its contents still in it. We would like to send our gratitude to the honest person along with our sincerest heartfelt thanks. LYNNE CHOQUETTE Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com