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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 Th ur sd ay , D ec em be r 2 3, 2 01 0 6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver 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.Editorial and adv rtising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. United Way of Oakville Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, 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 WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com KAREN NEWMAN / OAKVILLE BEAVER UNDER THE B FOR BIG-HEARTED: Delta Mayfair Bingo Hall on Speers Road donated toys and 16 bikes to the Oakville Fire Department Toy Drive. Pictured here are (back row, l-r) firefighters Andrew Stephenson, Jon Russell, Grant Lawson, Jon O'Neil, Gary Laframboise, Glenn Barwell, Jason Black, Ryan Jepson, Dennis Jacobs and Mike Boyle; and (front row, l-r) Delta Hall manager Amanda Gullett, Shirley Stacey, treasurer of Oakville Mayfair Delta Association, and Delta employee Ron Agley. ATHENAAward Guest Columnist As editor in chief for this newspaper, I do not sit ata computer and send off letters to the editor.Usually, I am the one reading them and, perhaps, vetting a few of the letters that are not appropriate for community papers. However, there has been nothing usual about 2010 as I have spent more than half of it staring down breast cancer. So far, I have the upper hand and I intend to keep it that way. Christmas has always been one of my favourite times of the year. It gives me the chance to spend more precious time with loved ones. This holiday, though, has been made even more special thanks to all the wonderful people family, friends, colleagues and even strangers who have ensured that I have never felt alone during my fight. I know I would not have been able to have handled surgery and chemotherapy without the kind- ness and support from so many individuals. Two of those individuals are Dr. Tom and Lyn Estall. Believe it or not, the night before each of my chemotherapy sessions, Dr. Tom and Lyn invited me to their home for a fabulous chef-inspired dinner, as well as upbeat conversa- tion that helped to keep my nerves in check. Like my parents, I was Dr. Toms patient for more than 22 years before he retired last year. However my diagnosis has kept him busy in his retirement. He told me he has never lost a breast cancer patient and he wasnt about to start with me. Not only were my husband and I treated to outstanding dinners, Dr. Tom also made house calls making sure my pulse wasnt racing as much as I thought and that my blood pressure was where it should be. One very distressing morning, I briefly lost my vision. While most people would have called 911, my husband knew to place a call to the reassuring Dr. Tom, who was by my side within 15 minutes. How lucky am I? Another well-known Oakville resident, Julia Hanna, can best be described as one of my guardian angels. Just a handful of days after my mastectomy, she was bustling around in my kitchen cooking chicken noodle soup for me and pizza for my husband. This went along with all the other outstanding meals and jars of tomato sauce she has delivered to our house. Her regular phone calls keep my spirits lifted. Thanks, Julia, for being a such cherished friend. I cant begin to tell you how many people in our fabulous community have sent cards, flowers or phoned to see how I was doing. Thank you so very much. My thoughts now turn to people who make up Metroland Media Group, a company for whom I have worked for close to 25 years. Company President Ian Oliver, who has thousands of employees, sends me Jill Davis, Halton Editor-in-Chief Jill Davis T ank you The Oakville Beaver is a division of Idont want to go all seasonally sappy, all magical and mysti-cal on you, but let me say this: it was a week beforeChristmas and I was in the mood for a miracle. Fittingly, for someone seeking a Christmas Miracle, we were traveling to the far east (Toronto) and we had one Wiseman (our son Scotts friend, Mike Wiseman) with us in our car. Now, I dont know about you, but if Im traveling east that close to Christmas, with an authentic Wiseman in tow, I just naturally assume good things are going to happen. Once we dropped off my son and his buddy at Union Station they were subwaying to a seasonal soiree in The Big Smoke we ventured a little further into the city to the Hilton where we were booked for the night. It was, you see, the evening of my wifes office Christmas party. First off, let me say that the stereotype of a spouse not enjoy- ing his or her partners Christmas party, does not apply to us. My wife co-owns a public relations company and she and her partner have taken great care to piece together a staff that rocks. Put us all in a room and you have recipe for a late night, a little lunacy and a lot of laughs. But as we took the scenic elevator up the side of the hotel witnessing daylight setting on the Toronto skyline my wife and I talked about how tired we were. Sadly, the Christmas season tends to do this to people. Overloaded to begin with, the added obligations and pressures and the drain on already limited time, take their toll, giving each day the feel of a marathon. Once in our room, we joked about blowing off the party in favor of crawling into that beckoning king-size bed and stealing 12 hours of heavenly sleep; not lacking at all in enthusiasm, just energy. Over the years weve experimented with different formats for the office celebration everything from a house party to dressed-to-the-nines fine-dining. This year was something else altogether. This year we got schooled. Schooled at the Calphalon Culinary Center where we paired up and created our own meals from risotto Milanese to pan-seared filet of beef to tiramisu for dessert with plenty of practical and creative guid- ance from the Centers chefs. Between courses even during courses we socialized, got caught up with people we see only once or twice a year and had lots of laughs. And a lot of wine. And more laughs. We fol- lowed up the whole culinary experience with nightcaps at a nearby pub and ended up back at our hotel at about two in the morning. Considering checkout was at 11, our shot at 12 hours of heavenly sleep was gone, but wed had so much fun, we did- nt care. I woke crazy early the next morning 6 a.m. to be exact. I took the newspaper I discovered on my doorstep and went down to the lobby in search of coffee. I mugged a large cup and sat and read the paper, cover to cover, a luxury in which Id had no time to indulge in ages. Despite my lack of sleep, I felt rested, refreshed, oddly energized and ready to dive back into life after a one-night respite from the seasonal storm. On a small scale, dear readers, it was a Christmas Miracle: the return of life to the lifeless. The rebirth of the seasons spirit to a scribe threatening to go all Scrooge. Happy Holidays, everyone! Andy Juniper can be visited at www.strangledeggs.com, contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, or followed at www.twit- ter.com/thesportjesters. About culinary creativity, a wise man and a Christmas Miracle Andy Juniper See Merry page 7