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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 Fr id ay , D ec em be r 1 7, 2 01 0 6 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 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. While Christmas and the new year provide a source of joy for many who are fortunate enough to share the holidays with family and friends in a warm home and with plenty of food to eat, it can also be a time of momentary distractions that can lead to a fire tragedy. Unattended stoves, misuse of candles, natural Christmas trees located too close to heat sources and without enough water, worn out electri- cal cords used for festive decora- tions, and care- less disposal of smoking materials at holiday parties have the potential to send holiday celebrations up in smoke. Over the last decade in Oakville multiple fami- lies have had all of their belongings, including Christmas presents destroyed by fire in December. The cause of these blazes ranged from electrical shorts and careless smoking to unattended candles and a wood stove. Most of us probably never imagine being forced from our homes, especially not at this time of the year, however, victims of major holiday fires are often misplaced for months assuming they escape the fire. The office of the Ontario Fire Marshal reminds residents to be extra vigilant during the holidays where fire safety is concerned. According to Acting Fire Marshal of Ontario Doug Crawford, Unattended cooking is the No. 1 cause of home fires, particularly around the holi- days when people are easily distracted. It is impor- tant that everyone stay in the kitchen and pay attention when cooking. Preparing and practicing an escape plan in the event of a fire could save your life, as could a prop- erly working smoke alarm on every level of your home which, by the way, is the law in Ontario. The Oakville Beaver is a division of 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 accept- ed 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 signa- ture, 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 Tis the season for fire safety 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 Pud BY STEVE NEASE neasecartoons@gmail.com Mulvale responds Editors note: The following is a letter submitted by Ann Mulvale in response to a letter circulated by Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn in response to inquiries to his office about Oakville Hydros $17,500 dona- tion to the Ontario Liberal Party in 2008 and 2009. Since writing my letter in late October relating to the Oakville Hydro donations of over $17,000 to the Provincial Liberals, I learned from following up on the letter below from MPP Kevin Flynn that a single dona- tion of $235 was made by Oakville Hydro in 2001 during my 18-year tenure on that commission/board. Constituents who received this let- ter were kind enough to seek my clar- ification. It is unlikely that this amount would have come to the board, if it did clearly I had no recol- lection of the donation. I am encouraged to read in Kevin's letter that he in no way supports donations to political parties by any publicly-funded body including ener- gy utilities. I wait to see what actions he is tak- ing to ensure that such donations are banned by his party, indeed all parties and how quickly, now that he is aware of this outrageous action, he can get the entire amount refunded to the people of Oakville via their publicly- funded energy utility. Such action would be appropriate and a positive move, one that might begin to restore public confidence in elected bodies. ANN MULVALE Editors note: Below is Oakville MPP Kevin Flynns letter. Thank you for taking time to write to me with regard to the issue of Oakville Hydros political donations. First and foremost, let me be clear that I in no way support donations to political parties by any publicly-fund- ed body, including energy utilities. Since this issue arose, my staff and Thanks for the community support The board and families at Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre would like to say a big thank you to the many people (Christmas Angels) who have called in the last few weeks to help some of the families in need that we serve. We are thankful for an amazing group of anonymous volunteers who provided wooden toys and knit toys, scarves, sweaters and hats and more; the local home churches that have pitched in to help (Sanctuary, Meeting House, Forestview) our amazing volunteers who run our food bank, visit families, purchase food, and pick up food, the TD bank, which has sup- ported us for several years at Christmas time, Oakville Hydro and Union Gas which helped some families in need and Payless Shoes, which provided childrens shoes for many of our families. Thanks for caring and heres to a great New Year. MICHELLE KNOLL, OAK PARK NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE See Hydro page 12 Unattended cooking is the No. 1 cause of home fires, particularly around the holidays when people are easily distracted. Doug Crawford, Acting Fire marshal of Ontario