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

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, September 11, 2013 | 6 Editorial Answering the call for help It is one of the biggest removals of animals in the long history of the Oakville & Milton Humane Society (OMHS) -- and the charitable organization needs our help. Just as the OMHS recovered from a ringworm outbreak that shut its doors for months in 2011 and 2012 -- it now faces a monumental challenge. More than 100 cats were removed from a single-family dwelling in north Halton late last week. The home is within the society's catchment area. As the humane society held its annual Mutt Strutt fundraiser in Oakville over the weekend, its animal control of cers continued -- and still do, as of yesterday morning -- nding timid cats in the Steeles Avenue premises. There's no word yet on the legal rami cations of the removal, but that is being addressed by the OMHS. There is word, however, that with 290 cats already at the Cornwall Road shelter waiting for their forever home, the addition of more than 100 others, who can't be adopted until they are given a clean bill of health, is stretching our hard-working humane society to the rafters. Trailers have been brought in to help house the felines, but the OMHS is putting out a call to the community for help. Anyone wishing to adopt a cat that was already on site is asked to call Heather White, OMHS manager of community outreach and education, via email at heatherw@ omhs.ca. "The intake of so many cats has strained all of our resources to the max," admitted Brenda Dushko, OMHS spokesperson. People who would like to make a donation to help care for the cats may indicate `cat rescue' in the note line of their cheque, or in the notes section of the OMHS online donation page at www.omhs.ca. All of your donations will be used to help the rescued cats. The OMHS has posted a special wish list on its website and across its social media channels for items needed to help these cats. Here's the list: · small cardboard box bottoms (the ones you see on cases of canned pet food work well) to be used as disposable litter pans · recycled paper-based cat litter, examples would be Yesterday's News, Daily Scoop or MewsPrint -- works best in a shelter environment · canned cat food · small size disposable cups -- used for fecal tests for parasites · Popsicle sticks -- also used in testing · newspaper · ping pong balls -- they make excellent, washable cat toys Towels and blankets are not needed. Enough are onhand. A fundraising evening is already taking place on Sept. 19 -- set up by residents (see p.8 for details). Come on Oakville, go through the cupboards and let's help the animals that can't speak for themselves and one of the town's most respected charitable organizations. "Connected to your Community" 0 t h 467 Speers Road, Oakville ON, L6K 3S4 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 51 | Number 108 H A P P Y 1 0 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice ­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN | photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production Longtime Oakville resident Muriel Ramsdale celebrated her 100th birthday Sunday at a party attended by family and friends at Burlington's Village of Tansley Woods, where Ramsdale now lives. Here, she poses with her ve great-grandchildren, from left, Aidan Crowe, Eric Speda, Madison Crowe, Tyler Speda, and Avery Crowe. SANDY PARE MARK DILLS Marking International Day of Democracy Sunday, Sept. 15 is designated by the United Nations as the International Day of Democracy. It is often said the health of any nation's democracy depends on the engagement of its citizens. Democracy is value-based on the freely-expressed will of the people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems, as well as their full participation in all aspects of life. Democracy requires the vigilance of citizens to ensure it is protected. Examples of things that can compromise democracy in practice are: · Unequal participation of men and women. The dominance of men only in public life undermines the democratic principle of equality · Corruption among of ce holders, who abuse their public of ce for private gain · Tyranny of the majority. When a majority infringes upon the basic democratic rights of unpopular persons or groups -- or when an ethnic, linguistic or religious minority is permanently excluded -- power and decision-making is not shared · Executive control of government, which does not allow elected members to carry out their oversight function effectively. This also reduces public accountability of the government · Lack of diversity in media through government control of public media, or undue ownership concentration of private media · Public apathy when people lose con dence in government and faith in the democratic process. This is symptomatic of something seriously wrong with governmental processes. The public feels powerless to effect changes As Canadians, we compare our country to others and re ect on how fortunate we are to live in a beautiful democratic country with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms to guide us. Many proudly say Canada is the best place in the world to live. I wholeheartedly agree. However, today, many Canadians believe our democracy is being undermined through actions such as those noted above. Democracy Day should be cause for us to re ect on the true health of democracy in Canada. If you are concerned and feel we need to take action to protect our democracy, I urge you to get involved. Reclaim our Democratic Canada (RODC) is a national grassroots movement aiming to safe guard democracy in Canada. Bev LeFrancois, Oakville, on behalf of Reclaim our Democratic Canada (RODC) Letters to the Editor MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Proud Official Media Sponsor For: 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; ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. 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.