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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday September 26, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor 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 ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager We want an explanation Accountability. It's a word that means taking ownership of one's actions. This week's theft of an unmarked Halton police vehicle might have been just another news item had it not been for the contents of the stolen car. In addition to the grey 2004 Buick Century, the thief (or thieves) got away with five black T-shirts emblazoned with Halton Police markings, a set of Smith and Wesson handcuffs and a police radio. It gets worse. The culprits also acquired a bullet proof vest and three police-issue weapons -- a canister of pepper spray, an expandable baton and a 40-calibre Beretta pistol with ammunition. In the hands of criminals, these items could be used for anything from impersonating a police officer to cold-blooded murder. The car has since been found, but the so-called "use of force equipment" has not. So, who's accountable? We can understand an undercover police officer leaving the pepperspray or baton behind in a vehicle overnight -- but a pistol with ammunition? Leaving a gun inside a police-issued car for 12 hours in any neighbourhood other than maybe the police service's motor pool is not exactly a moment worthy of Mensa membership. While the Beaver is normally 100 per cent supportive of the men and women who patrol our community's streets to combat crime, when public safety is jeopardized in such a careless fashion, we feel obliged to speak out. This is definitely one of those times. On its news releases, the Halton Regional Police Service lists accountability among five words it chooses to describe itself. The others include: integrity, excellence, teamwork and justice. These are five strong words purposely selected to instill confidence in a public that relies on the police to make it feel safe and secure at home, at work and everywhere else in the community. The Halton Regional Police Service needs to be accountable for this officer's actions and it needs to explain what immediate steps it is taking to ensure no more police weapons fall into the hands of the bad guys. 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. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Religious education should be private I cannot understand how Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal Government can say "One Public School" for all children when we have the Catholic School Board which is government funded. He says faith-based schools would separate the children. I remember when the Catholic School Board was called the Separate School Board, we separate our children by having "separate" schools for Catholics. Imagine how much better we could do for all our children if there were only one Public School Board, imagine how much more we could offer our children if we were only funding one administration. All religious education should be private. I went to supplemental school for my religious education as did my children, paid for privately. We need to give our children the best education possible. Religion is a private and personal matter and so the religious education we give our children should be private and personal as well. MARSHA DAVIES Fan of Pud strip I am a big fan of Steve Nease's weekly cartoons found in the Oakville Beaver -- but they seem even more relevant this year since our oldest child has just left for university. I have been cutting out most of the university-related ones and have been sending them to my daughter who is studying in Montreal -- she likes it because it's like getting a little piece of home and she gets a good laugh out of them. Thank you again for making us smile every week. Lyne Desforges Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com New use for UW bathtubs Re: Show spirit - join the parade, Oakville Beaver, Sept. 21. Perhaps the unused bathtubs can be redecorated as sleighs (students dressed as reindeer, elves and a Santa) and included in the Santa Claus Parade. Elves can collect donations for the United Way and a prize could be awarded for the "best dressed" tub. MATT RYAN 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.