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06_V1_OAK_SEPT22_black.qxd www.oakvillebeaver.com6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday September 22, 2006 Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Keeping playgrounds safe 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, Caledon Enterprise, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian The Oakville Beaver NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Manager TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. OPINION & LETTERS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published allletters 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. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: When will politicians take up the cause against pesticides? So, the verdict is in: Halton region could implement a pesticide bylaw, if the regional councillors wanted to ( Halton Region could create pesticide bylaw, Oakville Beaver, Wednesday, Sept. 13). Recently, myself and several other citizens made depu- tations to the region's Health and Social Services Committee requesting that, in light of many studies link- ing pesticides to detrimental health effects, a region-wide bylaw be put into place in Halton region. Many municipalities across Canada already have bylaws, and the numbers continue to grow. No motion to create a Halton bylaw restricting cosmet- ic pesticide use was put forward at the committee meeting. Subsequently, we presented the same request to full regional council. I was struck by the wording of the prayer that all of the councillors recited at the start of the meeting: "Help us govern with the wider community in mind and so create in us a desire for progress and responsible action". This begs the question: why are our regional represen- 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. A Canadian Medical Association report released this week paints a disturbingly unsafe picture of Canada's public playgrounds. It concludes play areas pose a much greater risk to children than many parents likely realize. While youngsters' active imaginations are capable of transforming playground appara- tus into castles where brave knights beat back fire-breathing dragons, or pirate ships aboard which high-seas battles are waged, the CMA warns parks are also dangerous places where thousands of unnecessary, preventable childhood injuries occur each year. How many? Safe Kids Canada, a project of Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, estimates play- ground injuries result in about 20,000-30,000 emergency room visits each year. More than a third of all treated injuries to children take place in public parks; while 67 per cent of injuries to children are caused by falls. While some playground accidents are the result of poorly-designed equipment and others are blamed on daredevil behaviour, the CMA main- tains most playground accidents are avoidable. Dr. Lynne Warda, a Winnipeg paediatrician and chair of the Canadian Paediatric Society's Injury Prevention Committee, recommends play equipment be surrounded by ground cover -- such as wood chips, sand or pea gravel -- that gives and softens the impact of a fall. Another important safety measure is to direct children to age-appropriate equipment since larger equipment may pose too difficult a challenge for unsteady toddlers. Prominent wording indicating for which age group play equipment is appropriate is becoming a common feature of newer playground designs. Still, parents need to stay close to small children -- play along with them -- and encourage older children to use equip- ment as it's intended. The Canadian Standards Association has voluntary standards for playgrounds and research shows they work when followed. In one Toronto study safe equipment was installed in 89 school playgrounds; while 229 schools kept older equipment. The schools with safer playgrounds reduced injuries by 49 per cent. Warda strongly encourages parents who find safety hazards at their local playground to contact their municipality or school board to complain. tatives not willing to take action on this issue? Poll after poll across the country shows that the majority of Canadians want protection from cosmetic pesticides. Who are our councillors representing? Not me and my family, it seems. With this being an election year, who is ready to step up to the leadership role and put "responsible action" into practice by restricting cosmetic pesticide use with a region-wide bylaw? Our health, particularly our children's health, must come before pesticide industry profit and cos- metic appearances. This is a public health issue; public health is a regional responsibility and councillors should act accordingly. ERIKA RISTOK, N.D. More letters can be found at oakvillebeaver.com