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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, May 27, 2016 | 6 It's not just new Oakville mom Audessa Yelovich (our front-page story today) thanking paramedics this week -- we all are. May 22-28 is Paramedic Services Week -- an opportunity to say thanks and take a moment to think about the truly life-saving and often heartbreaking job done by the brave men and women, who serve Ontario as primary, advanced, and critical-care paramedics. These heroes are often rst to provide emergency care to those in need and, just as often, put their lives on the line in service to their community. They never know what they'll walk into each day -- as was the case in the early morning call to Yelovich's home May 18. But this call ended well. "You see so many other things that are not good. This was really a breath of fresh air. It's good to have every once in a while. It kind of gives you a reboot," said Halton EMS Advanced Care Paramedic Kevin Hutchinson of Yelovich's son Micah's birth. Just recently, Ontario's First Responders Act was passed, allowing rst responders rapid access to WSIB bene ts and resources -- people who can easily be affected by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), now recognized as an occupational disease. As Ontario politicians saluted paramedics this week, so, too, did union Unifor salute "the exceptional courage and compassion of all paramedics," noting emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, bring tremendous courage and dedication, skill, commitment, care and compassion to their jobs as rst responders. Paramedics are the highest medical authority on all pre-hospital medical emergencies and are frequently called upon to perform lifesaving skills from the point of patient contact until the transfer of care at a receiving medical facility. We all rely on paramedics at times of great tragedy -- just as in the recent wild res in Fort McMurray, Alta. These people often place themselves in considerable danger and witness traumatic situations in their roles. Besides a list of calls the general public never hears anything about -- heart attacks, medical crisis, mental health calls and more -- paramedics are also at the scene of accidents, often tragic, sometimes helpless to do what they do -- save lives. We turn to these people when we are in crisis, ourselves often helpless and panicked in the face of situations beyond our abilities, trusting them blindly, having faith they'll know what to do. At other times, we ourselves are in a crisis or the victim of circumstances and perhaps not even aware, as Yelovich dubbed them, these `angels' are with us, helping us, doing what they do best, saving our life. It was great this week to see, and to be able to report on, an EMS call in which the person in need, Yelovich, was awake and aware of both her need for paramedics and their answer to her call for help. And that the outcome was a beautiful baby, Micah, -- a "reboot" for the paramedics. It was also great to see the Oakville resident do what we all should do, particularly symbolic this week, step up to search out the paramedics to thank them. Thank you, paramedics, for being there when we need you. Thank you, paramedics Editorial G O O D D E E D S "Connected to your Community" 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 54 | Number 43 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 Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER KELLY MONTAGUE DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN The 1st Trafalgar Scouts recently held an e-drive community collection in the parking lot of Film.Ca Cinemas on Speers Road. Pictured, in back from left, are: Kyle Schultz; Chen Qing; Colin McCrimmon; Owen Schultz; Elias Kneizeh; Matthew Campbell; Iain McCrimmon; and, Anton Kneizeh. Sitting are Bruce Powell, left, and Peter Puusa. For more information, visit www.1sttrafalgar.ca. | photo by Riziero Vertolli ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager LORI ANN GZOVDANOVIC Director of Production MARK DILLS MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution O My View Celebrate National Health & Fitness Day outdoors CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager n June 4, Canadians will celebrate National Health & Fitness Day. The goal of the initiative is to make Canada the ttest nation on earth. What better way to celebrate it than by walking or cycling the many beautiful trails in our community or enjoying an outdoor activity with family, friends and neighbours? I invite you to join me June 4 at 10:45 a.m. for a trail bike ride from Berton Park to Roly Bird Park in Burlington and at 3 p.m. for a free yoga class at River Oaks Community Centre in Oakville. We will meet in the lobby and depending on the weather, our class will be either in Community Room A or outside in the park. Class space is limited, so please RSVP by email pam.damoff@ parl.gc.ca or phone at 905-847-4043. Oakville is fortunate to have 1,420 hectares of parkland, more than 300 kilometres of recreational trails, more than 185 km of on- and off-road cycling path and more than 200 parks, garden plots, playgrounds and sports elds to enjoy. I am thrilled Oakville's Crosstown Heritage Trail will receive a signi cant upgrade in the coming year thanks to funding from the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program. This important federal investment in our local trail will include widening sections of the trail and replacing gravel with asphalt to provide ease of access for cyclists and persons with disabilities. Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Pam Damoff Oakville North-Burlington MP Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Other improvements include placing benches in rest areas; installing trail counting data recorders; upgrading trail signage and pedestrian crossings; and, improving landscaping and drainage. Improving our trails and green spaces means we all have a healthier environment to live in. Investing in our trails and local infrastructure is vital to building a strong, healthy community. I have often said strong infrastructure and healthy living go hand-in-hand. I encourage everyone to get out and enjoy the beautiful parks, trails and green spaces our community offers and help make Canada the ttest nation on Earth. -- Pam Damoff is the Member of Parliament for Oakville North-Burlington. Visit 2525 Old Bronte Rd., Ste. 590, Oakville; call 905-847-4043; visit MPDamoff.ca or email pam.damoff@parl.gc.ca. 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, 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 or via email 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. 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