The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, September 14, 2012 · 6 Opinion & Letters 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 905-631-6095 -- 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington 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 KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager The London 2012 Summer Games may be now but a memory and a notation in the record books, but what does, and will, carry on is the Olympic spirit. As people fall back into their autumn routines, that spirit, demonstrated by the athletes through their training, challenges, wins and losses, now lives on, refreshed, in the hearts of many. It does so because of the inspiration and example set by the Olympic athletes. Many people will reflect on that example as they now carry on meeting their own challenges, journeys, obstacles and triumphs in their daily lives. Young people will set goals, aspire to dreams and live by what they saw and heard as the Olympic games unfolded in August. The Olympic spirit was aptly demonstrated by all those who competed and none more so than by Oakville's own representatives on the world stage. Half a dozen young people who've worked hard, trained harder and lived much, found themselves in the spotlight and we, as Oakville residents, were proud when we searched for our hometown heroes in that spotlight in Britain and found them. The Olympics are about sport, competition, team work, hard work, dedication and much more. Yet, it's spirit and dreams that are really fundamental to the Olympics. And the Olympics is a demonstration of how that spirit and those dreams can strengthen and unite people across the globe. Thank you, Oakville Olympians, for representing us so well. Congratulations for going to the Games, never mind those of you who brought home medals. Thank you most for setting such a good example and not just on the world stage in August, but here at home every day of the year. Oakville, get out and cheer, thank and let our local athletes know how proud we were of them just a short month ago -- and today. The town will celebrate all its Olympians tomorrow (Saturday) with a recognition event at Centennial Square. The event kicks off at 2 p.m. with a parade along Lakeshore Road starting at Reynolds Street and ending with a reception and autograph session at Centennial Square (Lakeshore Road and Navy Street). We echo Mayor Rob Burton's words, "This is a big thank you to our athletes who showed a tremendous competitive spirit and were a true inspiration in every way at the London Games." 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. Time to cheer 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. Bingo hall owner not a bully Re: Bingo to fold with no e-Bingo deal in the cards, Friday, Sept. 7, 2012, The Oakville Beaver As owner of Delta Bingo, I would like to respond to Councillor Jeff Knoll's quote, "We can't be bullied into making public policy based on the licensee trying to force our hand, which he has been trying to do since day one by making these suggestions." I want to clarify that I am not making threats. This issue has been before the Town of Oakville for 18 months and I have been up front and honest from the beginning, that without the modernization of Delta Bingo, I would have no choice but to close. Town council heard from not only me, but the local charities, about the need to modernize our industry and they were initially supportive of the program, subject to reaching an agreement with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). Each time the issue comes to council, there are new questions and new roadblocks put up to stop the process of modernization. Councillor Knoll continues to quote a 15-year-old referendum that has nothing to do with our request. The OLG and I have been abundantly clear that we are not bringing slots to Oakville. I want to modernize our bingo hall by bringing in e-bingo, which will raise more money for local charities. Even at the most recent council meeting, councillors discussed the fact that my business had declined substantially with the controversy created by council, and they asked Town staff to work with me to educate the public that I was still open for business. To date, I have not had any contact from staff. Again, I am not making threats, I am just closing our hall -- to the detriment of our 40 staff, 34 local charities and the thousands of customers who call our hall home. When Oakville residents find out that one of their local charities has closed its doors, they can ask Town council how it allowed this to happen. I ask you, who is the bully? Cam Johnstone, Delta Bingo Halls Re: Senior loses emergency cash, Friday, Sept. 7, 2012, The Oakville Beaver Oakville is a wonderful town in which to live. The community is honest and caring. This was put to the test last Thursday and I was greatly disappointed. I am the senior citizen who lost over $1,300, which I had withdrawn from the bank for a family emergency and had no further resources on which to draw. The Oakville Beaver took my hysterical phone call, printed my story and asked for the community's help in finding/turning in this money, to no avail. No one had contacted the police either. Admittedly, I lost faith in the honesty of people since someone obviously had found the money and spent it. I was resigned to this fact. Today, the sun is shining again and my belief in goodness and humanity has been restored. All is well. I recently received a phone call from Case Feenstra and Nancy Festarini, local Realtors from Royal LePage. They had read about my plight and offered to replace the lost funds. They reiterated that Oakville is a good and caring community and, in doing so, as wonderful Good Samaritans, replaced the money I had lost. Thank you so very, very much, Case and Nancy, for your kindness and generosity. Words cannot describe how grateful my family and I are. Shirley Angulo, Oakville Thank you to a pair of Good Samaritans Letter to the editor