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w w w .i n si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B EA V ER W ed ne sd ay , S ep te m be r 28 , 2 01 1 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 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 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 editor 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. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: ATHENA Award THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member Canadian Community Newspapers Association Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America On the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 21, I set out for a run with a heavy heart. My 40-year-old sister was just diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs Disease/ALS and my thoughts were with her (I am training for a half marathon in November to raise ffunds for the ALS Society o Canada). About 30 minutes into my run on Pilgrims Way, I noticed a small, brown dog (20-30lbs) off leash, run- ning on the sidewalk going in the same direction as me. There was no owner is sight. She was lost, scared, and running quickly. Immediately, a number of kind, conscientious Oakville citizens stopped what they were doing to do their part to bring her to safety it took quite a while before this happened. Different community members at different times were able to lend a hand and most of these people had to go on their way before knowing that the dog had made it home safely. I wanted to thank all those involved, you are good people. There were the young women and men at Abbey Park High School who, with cell phones in hand, tried to stop the runaway dog. VA women in a burgundy SU generously provided dog treats to help coax the dog to safety, although that proved more difficult than we thought. A serviceman wearing green and driving a white truck kept up the pursuit and was particularly helpful when she crossed Upper Middle Rod multiple times. Our mandate was to keep her in sight and out of harms way. When she ran into the trail sys- tem behind West Oak Trails Boulevard, I was relieved that cars were no longer a factor, but con- cerned because the serviceman did not see where I went and I was alone, with no more treats, and no l lRe: System eaves peop e out in the cold, Letter to the Editor, Oakville Beaver, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011 I am writing in response to a letter to the editor about the SPLIT pass pilot project, which was published on Sept. 21. The SPLIT pass project has been designed as a 12- month pilot project to determine if it can be viable as a longer term partner- ship program with Haltons local transit services. As a pilot, it has limited funding and offers a limited number of passes. SPLIT passes are being issued on a first-come, first-served basis. We do recognize that because of limitations, it cannot, at this time, meet all needs within Halton Region. In 12 months we will evaluate the pilot and report back to regional council about the project and whether or not it is feasible to continue or expand the project in the future. There are many low-in- come individuals and fami- lies in Halton who do not qualify for assistance under programs such as Ontario Works. The pilot project for the SPLIT pass has been designed to help low-in- come families that other- wise would not qualify for support from Halton Region. Assistance with monthly transit will hopefully pro- vide these individuals and families with the support they need to remain inde- pendent and free from the social assistance system. In terms of clients of the SPLIT pass project a 12-month pilot A happy ending in lost dog tale A recently held roundtable discussion was a stark reminder that for all its wealth, Halton still has a serious poverty problem. The regions hidden shame according to three women who addressed the Sept. 15 gather- ing is that people forced into applying for social assistance get trapped in a downward spiral of not being able to sustain even the most rudimentary quality of life. The women spoke of embarrassment at not being able to provide for themselves sometimes their children and a system that makes the downtrodden feel like they are taking advantage. You have to bare your soul to people and youre ashamed youre there in the first place, said one woman, who required the Ontario Disability Service Program after suffering a heart attack and losing her mother to a stroke. No one likes to ask for help. I was a business person prior to all of this. I lost my confidence. I lost my self. I lost my voice. I would still advocate for my daughter . . . but for myself, I could not do that. I feel obligated to try to do something about it, whether its effective or not, another woman told the group hosting the roundtable, which included the Interfaith Council of Halton, Voices for Change Halton and the Halton Poverty Roundtable. I want to be able to do something that I can be proud of. Im definitely proud to be up here speak- ing today. Thats a good start, she added. With the provincial election eight days away, round table organizers hope Halton residents will challenge candidates to explain how they would address creating a poverty-free Ontario. These decisions can be changed and poverty can be eliminated through the exercise of our col- lective values expressed through the political pro- cess, said Oakville Pastor Daniel Phannenhour. It would be nice if the leaders of the front-run- ning political parties could spare a moment from their campaign attack ads and daily accusations aimed at their political foes to let voters know how fthey would address Haltons cycle of poverty, i elected on Oct. 6. Waiting on answers See Helping page7See Pilot page 7