www.insidehalton.com |OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, July 21, 2017 |6 E d it o r ia l Bew are ticks, b ut g et outdoors With summer in full swing, people may wonder how best to protect themselves from the growing threat of Lyme disease as they spend time outdoors. Since 2009, Ontario has seen the tick population continue to grow, leading to more and more conhrmed cases of Lyme disease. In 2009, there were 144 cases, compared to 2016 when 987 cases of Lyme disease were conhrmed. According to the Government of Ontario website, infected ticks are commonly found at a number of sites in southern Ontario, including Long Point and Turkey Point provincial parks, Point Pelee National Park, The Pinery Provincial Park on Lake Huron and at locations in the Niagara Peninsula and near the shores of Lake Ontario. Halton Region notes the most common type of tick found in the area is the American Dog Tick, which cannot transmit Lyme disease. Still, they will sit on tall grass and bushes waiting to attach themselves to a per son or animal. But this doesn' t mean residents have to put up with a spoil to their summer plans for hiking and getting outside. You just have to take precautions. Here are some tips to keep in mind: · Wear light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants to spot ticks more easily. · Tuck your shirt into your pants, and pull your socks over your pant legs. · Use bug spray containing DEET or Icaridin on your skin and clothing. · Shower or bathe within two hours of being out doors to facilitate a prompt tick check and to remove ticks that have not attached yet. · Do a daily full-body check for ticks on yourself and your children, especially in the hair, under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, and around the waist. · If you find an attached tick, remove it with twee zers immediately: Removing it within 24-36 hours can help prevent infection. · Do a tick check on your outdoor gear and your pets as they could carry ticks inside your home. · If you live or work in a woodland area, keep your grass mowed short, trim bushes and tree branches to let in sunlight, create a gravel or woodchip border around your yard, remove leaf litter, brush and weeds at the end of the lawn and move children' s play equip ment and sandboxes away from wooded area. If you hnd a tick on your skin or clothing, remove it carefully and report it to your local health unit for testing. For more information, visit www.canada.ca/LymeDisease. 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. "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: (9 0 5 ) 8 4 5 -3 8 2 4 Classified Advertising: (9 0 5 ) 6 3 2 -4 4 4 0 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (9 0 5 ) 6 3 1 -6 0 9 5 Volume 55 | Number 56 The Oakville Beaver is a division of · *metrolandmedia * C o n n e c t e d t o y o u r c o m m u n ity ® Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice -P resident and Group Publisher o f M etroland West NEIL OLIVER KELLY MONTAGUE Regional General Manager DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN M anaging Editor RIZIERO VERTOLLI M yView Photography Director LORI ANN GZOVDANOVIC B usiness Manager Committed to supporting youths summer job is an important way for young people to learn new skills and get valuable work experience for their resumes. Each year, the federal government invests more than $330 million in its Youth Employment Strat egy, representing the government' s commitment to help youths make a successful transition to the workplace. The Canada Summer Jobs program, one of many programs and initiatives under the Youth Employment Strategy, helps employers cre ate summer job opportunities for students in their communities. Once again, the federal government' s funding of the Canada Summer Jobs program in 2017 is at a much higher level than was provided by the pre vious government. As a result, the program now funds almost double the number of jobs created in 2015. In 2017, over 65,000 job opportunities are ex pected to be created under the Canada Summer Jobs program. This is a tremendous opportunity for our young people to get paid work experience MARK DILLS Director o f Production A MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director o f Distribution KIM MOSSMAN Circulation M anager that helps them realize their potential and pay for their education. Locally Oakville has received over a million dollars from the Canada Summer Jobs program this year to fund more than 500 student job op portunities. This is great news for our students and for our local employers, many of which are small businesses and not-for-proht organizations. Currently, well over 100 Oakville employers are approved for funding, including the Burloak Ca noe Club, Golf Canada, Home Suite Hope, Kerr Street Mission, the Oakville and Milton Humane 0£i Proud Official M edia Sponsor For: #C C A B Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association A c c r e d it e d FDSA* Media.n o ta tio n A c c r e d it ! } see More on p.13 Proud Official M edia Sponsor For: Pud by Steve Nease Y T p r 1 O ntario Press Council V x JL V > l Defending principles to inspire public trust 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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