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w w w .in si de H A LT O N .c om O A K V IL LE B EA V ER T hu rs da y, A ug us t 1 8, 2 01 1 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 advertising 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 PHOTO BY GRAHAM WOOD WHO ARE YOU?: The Wood family, whose property backs onto the Iroquois Shoreline Woods Park, recently had a tiny visitor one evening who stayed and observed the family from a chair on the back deck for several hours. No one has spotted a nest that might belong to the inquisitive visitor. A family of three owls had taken up residence on the family's backyard fence a few years ago, but none have been spotted since then, until now. Letters to the Editor This past Tuesday, The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 486 in Bronte placed yellow ribbons at our two cenotaphs, Veterans Memorial Garden on Bronte Road, at the Bronte Legion itself and other various locations in Bronte. This is very symbolic to show our support to all of our troops that have just returned home from Afghanistan and to honour the 156 Canadian soldiers who died while on this mission. We shall remember them. We, as members of our community and Legions, need to take time now to show our gratitude to the serving men and women and their families for their dedication during the Afghanistan combat mission as it transitions to its next phase. Branch 486 would also like to thank members of our community for the many, many telephone calls to the Legion asking how best to show their support. We would ask Oakville businesses and residents to tie a yellow ribbon on their property for this Sunday. There is no better way than to show our soldiers our obvious support, by tying yel- low ribbons and that they have made us proud to be Canadian. While we are remembering the returning Afghanistan soldiers, let us not forget all Canadian veterans who fought before them to ensure that all Canadians may enjoy their freedom. Ron Landers, president R.C.L. Branch 486 Re: CIDA intern home from adventure in Ecuador, Aug. 4, 2011, Oakville Beaver The Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar is grateful to The Oakville Beaver for news coverage of events that help us build community here and worldwide. The members of the Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar read with pleasure the article about Catrina Ziesmans seven-month CIDA program in Ecuador. Her energy and compassion is an inspiration to us all. It was an honour for our club to have a lead hand in creating a financial partnership with a Rotary club in Ecuador that made her stay possible. In the large package of projects undertaken by Rotary world-wide, not many are more important than programs designed to help young people to make a difference in their lives and in the world by providing scholarships and bursaries; running leadership camps; sending out and hosting exchange stu- dents; providing yearlong ambassadorial scholarships to foreign universities, peace scholarships and CIDA partnerships like the one that supported Catrina. These programs create a better understanding and appreciation of other cultures while promoting peace and goodwill. Brian Simpson, president Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar Tie a yellow ribbon on Sunday CIDA intern is an inspiration The Oakville Beaver is a division of We rose early to beat the rush to the border at Niagara Falls on the Saturday of a holiday weekend. We hit the open road by 6:45 a.m. miraculously early as anyone who knows us, or who has ever packed-up car and clan, would attest. But, alas, the open road was closed. Seriously. Closed. Utilizing my innate sense of direction we detoured around the closure and, I must say, North Bay is beautiful at this time of year. By the time we eventually reached the border, it was backed up forever. So, for the next 96 minutes and 37 sec- onds we waited in line, repeatedly voicing the unproductive opin- ion that, at this rate, wed never make it to The Big Apple. Yes, we were heading to New York. And Boston. An eight-day road trip to see the sights, soak in the atmosphere and, Visa cards at the ready, relieve our American neighbours of a little of that massive debt theyve been shouldering. Three hours and 40 min- utes after leaving home, we finally made it into the United States. Going into the trip we were aflutter in anticipation, with one notable note of apprehension: we had reservations for a hotel located smack-dab in the centre of Times Square and we had res- ervations regarding driving into the heart of Manhattan. In a stroke of genius, my wife arranged for us to park in Purchase, N.Y., a verdant hamlet outside the city, and have a car service drive us to our lodgings. Not only did this eliminate our anxiety, it also connected us with Darren, our driver, who was the perfect tour guide, colourfully introducing us to the city as he drove us down along the Hudson River. With a metro population of 18.9-mil- lion people, most of whom at any given time are either jaywalking, operating jackhammers, or honking car horns, New York is at once awe-in- spiring and intimidating, if not overwhelming. Upon entering the city, its best to shift into auto-Zen mode: just go with the frenetic flow and simply soak up everything the city has to offer. The good, the bad, the ugly. We had perfect weather in New York. Sunny and hot. Apparently not quite as hot as the heat wave that preceded our arrival, but steamy enough to have a vendor at Yankee Stadium quip, as he gasped for air after climbing a section of stairs: Just follow me around. Im going to pass out soon. Then everything will be free. While we enjoyed taking in some of the citys typical touristy stops like Yankee Stadium, Central Park, Fifth Avenue, the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, and a few museums (MoMa and The Met), the highlight of New York for us was a morning stroll through Greenwich Village: aesthetic, historic, quaint and ador- able. Well, that and the citys food. Excellent restaurants, every- where you turn. After four days in New York, we drove up the Massachusetts Turnpike to Boston. Talk about a beautiful city. And, for rustic rubes like us, the perfect antidote for New York (that is, a little welcome calm after the clamour). Boston is the yin to New Yorks raucous yang. From our home base on the citys wharf, we toured Beantown, from Harvard to Boston Common to Beacon Hill to venerable Fenway Park, taking in a BoSox game. All in all it was a great, eight-day getaway, a rewarding respite from the rigours of reality. Now, sadly, its back to reality a real- ity were currently, well, eight days behind. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook http://www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters. New York, Boston road trip put him eight days behind reality Andy Juniper