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w w w .insideH A LT O N .com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, M ay 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 | 6 E d ito r ia l Be prepared If Mother Nature has taught us anything, it' s the impor tance of being prepared. That' s the message emergency services personnel, Town and Conservation Halton officials are looking to drive home this week. May 7-13 marks National Emergency Preparedness Week. It has also been raining, for what seems like forever. As Mother Nature dumped her fair share of rain on pic turesque Oakville, the potential for localized flooding was real, prompting agencies, including Environment Canada, to issue alerts and warnings. The Town closed parks, piers and playing fields. Heavy rainfall resulted in the Town of Oakville Water Air Rescue Force (TOWARF) and the Town working to clear trees that slipped into Sixteen Mile Creek May 7. Now, with more rain forecast for this Mother' s Day weekend, the Town is again urging people to exercise cau tion around Oakville and Bronte harbours and lakefront. "It' s extremely important for residents to be very careful if they are near the lake when the levels are so high," said Andy Glynn, Oakville Deputy Fire Chief (see p. 7 story). In some areas, the elevated water levels, combined with waves and powerboat wakes, is eroding the shoreline and creating slippery and dangerous conditions, said Glynn. Town staff are inspecting the harbours, lakefront parks and trails daily and some areas remain cordoned off due to safety concerns. Don't disregard the warnings, please. Large areas at both harbours have been sandbagged due to water over-topping seawalls and Town staff is ensuring piers are closed when wind and waves make them unsafe. If water threatens to flood structures or roadways, con tact ServiceOakville at 905-845-6601 or ServiceOakville@ oakville.ca. An emergency can strike any time. We're grateful our officials are being vigilant and communicating potential hazards. Remember the ice storm of 2013? Oakville residents, along with others across Ontario, didn't expect the freez ing rain to wreak such havoc just before Christmas. Clean up of trees took well into spring, even summer, to manage. So how do you prepare for the unexpected? In addition to creating a plan and practising its execu tion, build an emergency preparedness kit. This kit-- your lifeline in an emergency-- should con tain supplies that would allow you and your loved ones to cope on your own for the first 72 hours of an emer gency. It should contain: food (non-perishable and easyto-prepare items) and a manual can opener; bottled water (at least four litres per person per day); a flashlight and radio (crank or battery-run); extra batteries; a first-aid kit; candles and matches or a lighter; hand sanitizer or moist towelettes; important documents, including identification, contact lists, copies of prescriptions; extra car keys and cash; and a whistle (to attract attention, if needed). Your kit should also include items for babies (diapers, formula) and pet food and supplies. While it' s our hope Oakvillians never have to use their emergency kit, remember what Mom' s advice would be: It' s best to be prepared. 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 ablackbum@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. "C o n n e c t e d t o y o u r C o m m u n i t y " 5046 Mainway Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Classified Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 55 | Number 37 The Oakville Beaver is a division of ·* m e tro la n d m e d ia · * Connected to your community® Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. NEIL OLIVER Vice -P re sid e n t and Group Publisher o f M etroland W est Regional General M anager KELLY MONTAGUE DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN M a na g ing E ditor RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director B usiness M anager LORI ANN GZOVDANOVIC D irector o f Production MARK DILLS MANUEL GARCIA Production M anager CHARLENE HALL Lettertothe Editor Bussing needed for Holy Family students I, along with a group of parents, are in the midst of trying to secure bussing for stu dents affected by the Halton District Catholic School Board boundary change, specific to students of, and who live near, Holy Family Elementary School in Falgarwood. Current Falgarwood Grade 10 and 11 students at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School (STA) have been grandfathered for bussing until June 2 0 1 7 per the review. They are, however, allowed to remain at STA, but with no bussing, until they graduate. The boundary change was effective Sep tember 2016. There was a similar boundary review in Burlington and the grades affected were given bussing until their graduation. One of our Oakville trustees, Paul Murai, has just recently put through a motion to be heard at the May 16 board meeting for bus sing to continue until the 2 0 1 8 -1 9 school year and we need to get the support of Falgarwood residents to contact all the trustees of the Halton District Catholic School Board to vote in favour of this motion. Please come and show your support at the Halton District Catholic School Board meet ing on May 16 where the motion will be heard and voted. There have been several boundary reviews within the last decade for our small comm u nity school and now it has been slotted to close. It certainly feels like our community has received the short end of the stick over the years. The Halton District Catholic School Board needs to do the right thing and support these students and their families the way we have supported them. Thank you, D irector o f Distribution KIM MOSSMAN C irculation M anager Tte! Beaver. Proud Official Media Sponsor For: #CCAB Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member Recognized fo r Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association A c c r e d ite d a L < M edia Proud Official Media Sponsor For: O n ta rio Press C o u n c il JL Defending principles to inspire public trust Susy Lis, Oakville The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 2 06 , Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 4 16-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the eironeous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertise ment will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. 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