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w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER W e dn es da y, Se pt em be r 8 , 2 01 0 6 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends The Oakville Beaver Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. OPINION & LETTERS 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@oakville- beaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Theyre back! As tens of thousands of Halton students get used to the idea of returning to school this week cant you hear the collective sighs? there will be a period of adjustment for motorists too. After nine weeks without flashing school bus lights, stop sign-wielding crossing guards or the traffic congestion caused by morning dropoffs and afternoon pickups in front of schools, most Halton drivers will need to re-familiarize themselves with important road rules that protect school- children and motorists from harm. A two-month reprieve from being extra-vigilant when approaching school community safety zones, neighbour- hood crosswalks used primarily by children on their way to school, or when following behind or approaching from the opposite direction a school bus that has just stopped to pick up its precious cargo, can lull even the most responsible driver into a state of inattentiveness. To help motorists shake off the intellectual cobwebs of not having been exposed to school-year road safety for so long, Halton police will be out this month paying particu- larly close attention to the five Ss speeding, seatbelts, stop signs, school zones and school buses. In Oakville, the police services Project Safe Start includes an appearance by Halton Deputy Chief Andrew Fletcher and other law enforcement personnel conduct- ing a safety blitz outside Our Lady of Peace School and Forest Trail Public School today (Wednesday). Meanwhile, Halton Transportation Services which serves Haltons public, Catholic and two French-language school boards will take to roads and streets throughout the region, transporting some 28,000 students on more than 425 buses, mini buses, vans and wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Worthy of note is the fact that the illegal passing of a stopped school bus can result in a fine between $400- $2,000 and six demerit points for a first offence, and a fine between $1,000-$4,000, six demerit points and possible jail time for each subsequent offence. All traffic-related fines such as speeding and failing to yield for a pedestrian at a marked crossing are automatical- ly doubled when the traffic offence occurs in a posted com- munity safety zone, which are usually located around school neighbourhoods. The message Halton police are sending motorists is a simple one. With school back in session there will be far more vehicles and pedestrians joining the traffic grid. Be careful out there, or be prepared to face the conse- quences. NEIL OLIVER Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional 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 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 editorWatch out for students Re: Trail bikers pose danger to pedestrians, Oakville Beaver, Sept. 1. Yes, I agree that walkers, joggers and bicyclists need to use the trails with respect for one another. As a music teacher, who works evenings, I either walk or bike the trails in Oakville every day for exercise. Many days I see no one on the trails. I cant believe that last weeks writer is constantly driven off the trails by anyone. What presents a real potential haz- ard these days is so many walkers have an iPod or full head set on listening to music while they walk. With some walkers, Ive had to raise my voice and, in one case, had to get off my bike and tap them on the shoulder to let them know I would like to get by. As for other leash-free zones in Oakville, there are plenty others. Here is a list of leash-free areas in Oakville including: Glenashton Park (Glenashton Drive), Kingsford Gardens (Sherwood Heights Drive), Palermo Park (North of Highway 5, East of Regional Road 25), Post Park (MacDonald Street and Chartwell Road) and Shell Park (Lakeshore Road West), not to mention the one you refer to at Bronte Provincial Park. BERNARD GERMAN, OAKVILLE THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: ATHENAAward THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIALMEDIASPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Canadian CirculationAudit Board Member Canadian CommunityNewspapers AssociationOntario CommunityNewspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Neil MacNaughton's letter (Become part of the solution turn your home into a power plant, Oakville Beaver, Sept. 2 ) correctly states that solar installations reduce the power sup- plied by other generators. However, if coal burning plants are to be shut down, green energy from solar and wind powered installations will not reduce the need for new gas-fired generating plants. The reason is simple, it is improbable that generation of green power will coincide with the peak demand. Solar power obviously varies during the day and shuts down at dusk. Ontario has about 1085 MW of wind power capability. Data for the past year has shown there have been hours in every month where the total electricity delivered from those instal- lations has been less than 5 MW. Neither wind nor sun are constant. That sit- uation will exist until systems are included to store the energy when available, and release it as needed. Pump storage is the only technology currently practical. Water is pumped from a source to a reservoir when there is excess power and dropped down, generating power when needed. Whether financially practical or environ- mentally acceptable in Ontario are great ques- tions. J. T. Reid Oakville Solar power not constant power source As the Market Manager for the Kerr Village Farmers Market it was wonderful to be able to extend a hand to one of our local merchants. Kerr Village has a sense of community that visitors enjoy and come back each week to experience. Our market visitors not only have bought Bruce Ferriers books, they encouraged their friends to come out and do the same. We will be featuring books from Treasure Island at the market each week. The Kerr Village Farmers Market is not just about fresh Ontario grown products, its about promoting and supporting our local businesses as well. STEVE MONTAGUE, OAKVILLE Pay attention on nature trails Treasure Island bookstore will be missed The Oakville Beaver is a division of We would just like to thank the per- son that returned the $200 from the Hopedale Mall CIBC bank machine on Friday night. My husband left $200 in the bank machine as he hurried off to get home to meet friends at the Burlington Ribfest. This person found the money and returned it to the bank, which in turn deposited it back into his account. We just moved to Oakville and it is sure nice to know there are such hon- est people living here. Thank you again you made our weekend. TINA PADDA, OAKVILLE Thank you