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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, February 1, 2012 · 6 Opinion & Letters 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 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Oakville Beaver THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award Neil Oliver Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The OakvilleBeaver is a division of David Harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor 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 We're all for progress and public involvement in local government. That said, we revisit an editorial by this paper nearly a year ago (March 2, 2011) that expressed surprise at the Town of Oakville budget committee's decision to cancel/eliminate eight Town advisory committees. That decision -- said to save $50,000 a year -- eliminated the Environmental Strategic Plan Committee, Oakville Harbours Committee, Parks and Recreation Committee, Traffic Committee, Transit Committee, Seniors' Committee, Oakville Youth Committee and Cultural Committee. Two others, heritage and accessibility, remain in place because they are mandated by law. This year, as the Town's budget committee considers a 6.7 per cent hike in the base budget and last week passed a policy to guide public consultation to replace the function of those committees, we wonder about the results. (See story, page 11). It doesn't appear the savings were so great to make a huge impact on the Town's budget. While the new policy outlines many ways for the public to be involved in Town affairs, it leaves it to the staff to decide at what level. Why not, in the name of progress, keep $50,000 in the budget after all, given public consultation is so important, and keep the committees as well as expand input routes to e-mail, surveys, hotlines and information kiosks? We heard, last week, the Town could achieve savings by cancelling some 28 crossing guards it knows it doesn't need or by rejigging a couple of underused bus routes the town's transit director says would actually make service more efficient. Oakville residents have a long history of wanting to be -- and being -- involved in the public process. Most years they accept a tax hike. It's great to try new ways of engaging the public, and high time to do so, but progress doesn't necessarily mean abandoning history. 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. Two-way street Good intentions backfiring 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. Students' take on coyotes We, Mrs. Gautby's Grade 2 class at École Palermo Public School, have come up with the solution to the coyote problem in our town. Why can't wildlife officials capture and relocate the coyotes? They could safely lure the animals into cages with scrap meat. Once inside the cage, the door would close and they would be trapped. The coyotes could then be transported to forests that would be more like what Oakville was like before our homes were built. We want to protect our pets from the coyotes, but also believe the coyotes deserve a safe home. Don't you? Teacher's Note: This is a summarized transcript of a discussion in my class. As part of our Persuasive Writing unit we came up with a class Letter to the Editor. We have been discussing the coyote issue regularly in our class and I thought the students could share their ideas with the public. Jessica Gauby, Grade 2 teacher, École Palermo Public School, Oakville Congratulations to the United Way of Oakville (UWO) for reaching its campaign goal of $4 million. Our sincere Thank you from BBBS of Halton appreciation is extended to our community for supporting the United Way. Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Halton is proud to be associated with United Way and is grateful for all the work it does on our See Caring page 7 After reading the numerous Letters to the Editor over the past weeks, here are some observations on the coyote issue, which appears to be polarizing the Oakville community. Somewhere between the anthropomorphists who have humanized coyotes and the neanderthals who would round them up and unceremoniously shoot them, there must be a solution. If coyotes are potentially dangerous animals, why are we not taking action to protect our community accordingly? It seems counterintuitive that we have leash/muzzle laws to protect us against unwanted contact with a neighbour's domestic dog yet there are no effective contingencies for dealing with the growing population of wild dogs roaming our area other than lip service from officials on How to Live with Coyotes. Unfortunately, chance encounters are becoming more commonplace and well-intentioned instructional seminars and reassurances on how to deal with coyotes are little comfort to the frightening experiences of some Oakville residents. My own personal encounter with a coyote was very unnerving and left me wondering what would have happened if I was with a pet or a child. For whatever reason, the Oakville scenario has degenerated to a level where the combination of human behaviour and coyote instincts has created an unsafe co-existence. The Town of Oakville's laudable plan to harmonize bricks and mortar with parks and woodland has been compromised by this opportunistic houseguest. A close encounter with deer, hawks, rabbits, etc., always evokes a sense of wonderment, but now enter the wild dog and we have become prisoners in See Officials page 7