www.metaboliccareclinics.com WEIGHT LOSS? 905-825-3800 2501 Third Line CA$H FOR GOLD & JEWELLERY 905-337-0051 LONDON GOLD Upper Oakville Shopping Centre SNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010 ontario's top newspaper - 2005-2008 Art show at TAB Artscene A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 50 No. 10 "Using Communication To Build Better Communities" WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2012 56 pages $1.00 (plus tax) Winter fun New hospital campaign is halfway there By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Thanks to the people closest to Oakville's hospital -- its staff and volunteers -- the fundraising campaign to equip the Town's new hospital is more than halfway complete. The Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) staff and volunteers are contributing $18.5 million towards the Oakville Hospital Foundation's $60-million fundraising goal to equip the new hospital set to open in 2015. This funding brings the total fundraised to $36 million. "We're incredibly proud. It's our honour to John Oliver celebrate the `family' today," said Tina Triano, hospital foundation CEO at a celebration event last Thursday (Jan. 19). The OTMH `family' includes everyone who makes the hospital run, such as volunteers including the more than 700-volunteer frontline force, the board and the staff, including physicians and support staff. "In addition to the work they do on our behalf, they're also giving personally," Triano said. Their $18.5-million commitment is the result of a three-year effort, said Triano. "I was impressed, but I wouldn't say surprised," Triano said of the contribution, "because everything that I see when I'm dealing with volunteers, whether at board level or frontline volunteers or whether I'm dealing with physicians See Tough page 3 MICHAEL IVANIN / oakville beaver when you can get it: Despite the sporadic nature of winter this year, James Cardella and his son Jake took advantage of last week's snowfall to get in some time on the slopes. Cardella gives Jake some leverage as they toboggan Saturday afternoon in Waterworks Park. Coyote did not have rabies: ministry By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A coyote, shot and killed by police in the Canonridge Circle area moments after an eight-year-old girl was bitten on the leg Thursday, has tested negative for rabies. Representatives from the Oakville & Milton Humane Society made the announcement Tuesday morning, after receiving the results of testing, conducted by Halton District Public Health. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is continuing to analyze the body of the coyote to determine if there might be another physiological cause for the strange behaviour exhibited during the Thursday attack. Jenny Couto, mother of the Julia Couto (the girl who was bitten) said the coyote approached from a wooded area and jumped over a chain-link fence to confront Julia and her friend Sydney, 7, who were playing in Sydney's backyard. Jenny said the coyote bit Julia on the leg See Humane page 10 For a related story see page 5