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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 22 ,2 01 8 | 46 NOMINATIONS WANTEDNNNNOOOOMOMOMMMIIIINNNNANANAAATATATTTIIIIOOOONNNNSSSS WWWWAWAWAAANANANNNTTTTEEEEDDDD Frank Hong, 16North York, ON2017 Ontario Junior Citizen Nomination forms are available from this newspaper, and at www.ocna.org. Or call 416-923-7724 ext. 4432 D!DDD!!!!ANTEAAAANANANNNTTTTEEEEDDDDD!DDDD!!!! It's about trust. Our rela-It's about trust. Our rela-I tionship with our readers is built on transparency, hon- esty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we do what we do. This article is part of that project. Ever read the news and think, "they don't know the half of it?" You're sure- ly not alone - but have you ever taken the time to let us know what we're miss- ing? If you have, thank you! If not, give it some thought next time, would you? It's obviously not our readers' job to report the news, but no one - not even the wisest old editor - is an expert in your life story. If you've seen something, done something, or know something that could bene- fit your community, we canfit your community, we canf be your best friend. We're good at helping verify in- formation you've heard butformation you've heard butf aren't sure about, we can collect reactions from oth- er people affected by the is- sue, and of course, we can help get the word out. Of- ten, though, it takes a news tip from a concerned indi- vidual to let us know where to start looking. In other instances, we've heard about some- thing but need help to con- firm it, or to fill in thefirm it, or to fill in thef blanks. That becomes more challenging when people refuse to comment to the media - something that happens for many dif- ferent reasons.ferent reasons.f Grieving families some- times decline - understand- ably - because they are fo- cused on the loss of their loved one. Companies de- cline because they're wor- ried about saying the wrong thing and damaging their brands (once, a busi- ness owner refused to tell me why she chose her store's name, saying it was "personal"). Politicians de- cline, or simply don't re- spond, all the time as well - for reasons I may never un-for reasons I may never un-f derstand, considering they are meant to be our links to the government. But sometimes, people decline simply because they don't want to put themselves out there. It can be easier to stay quiet than to have your name or photo in the paper. The in- troverts among us would rather put an unpleasant incident behind them than rehash it in front of every- one. I'm human. I get that. But in more than a decade doing this work, I have seen how silence breeds corruption and inaction, while speaking out gets re- sults. For this reason, I sucked up my very human pride and spoke to the Hamilton Spectator earlier this month, after I slipped and fell on a street hazard. Af-fell on a street hazard. Af-f ter going down hard on the sidewalk, spilling my be- longings, I learned that many others had fallen in the same spot over several years, and that the city was aware of the issue. Speaking out about an embarrassing incident wasn't fun, but I was - and continue to be - hopeful that it could convince the city to fix the issue and pre- vent others from getting hurt. Next time you have that opportunity, consider giving us a ring. Saira Peesker is a report- er for the Burlington Post, Georgetown Independent and Free Press, Milton Canadian Champion and Oakville Beaver. We wel- come your questions and value your comments. Email our trust committee at trust@metroland.com. SEE A PROBLEM IN YOUR COMMUNITY? TRY GIVING US A CALL OPINION TALKING TO THE MEDIA CAN HELP MAKE CHANGE - EVEN IF IT IS SOMETIMES A BIT AWKWARD, WRITES SAIRA PEESKER SAIRA PEESKER Column It's about trust. Our re- lationship with our readers is built on transparency, honesty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we do what we do. This article is part of that pro- ject. I've been a journalist for 29 years, coincidentally starting my career as a sports and community re- porter at the hometown newspaper I used to search every Wednesday for famil- iar names and faces - The Grimsby Independent. At the time, it was an in- dependent, owned by Beamsville's Bill Rannie, a gem of a gentleman and a lifelong journalist himself. A naïve 20-year-old, lit- tle did I know that I'd end up writing stories that changed people's lives, and had long-lasting impacts on communities. In various roles through the years, I was newspaper editor of the West Lincoln News (Smithville), Lincoln Post Express, the Grimsby Independent, the Ancaster News, The Hamilton Moun- tain News, and then report- er at the Mississauga News and later the Milton Cana- dian Champion. Today, I write for all the Halton papers - Oakville, Burlington and Milton. There are stories every- where and people I've met and crossed paths with that make me smile. From helping to prevent the demise of local festivals, to fundraising for any num- ber of causes, community newspapers truly embrace the role of being a champi- on. When I worked at the Hamilton (Mountain - then) News, we rallied success- fully to keep the then-Hen- derson Hospital open when it was listed on the chop- ping blocks by the provin- cial government of the day. A similar scenario played out with Auchmar Man- sion. With the newspaper supporting community groups, pressure was placed on governments to preserve this historic gem. In Mississauga, I worked on a number of stories to help preserve lands that were once home to a much- loved and revered bird sanctuary run by world-re- nowned ornithologist Roy Ivor. In Halton, newspapers have helped to bring to light countless issues that would otherwise remain un- known to the community. We keep politicians ac- countable to taxpayers. We make change happen. Per- sonally, my career has been life-changing and a contin- uous journey of education. I look back at old news- paper clippings covering my youth: Baseball at bats, graduations, even the fluo- ride rinse program at schools! And it's those moments that people still long to see in their newspaper. I under- stand that, and I'm so hap- py to have been able to be a part of that for all these years. Julie Slack is a re- porter for the Burlington Post, Milton Canadian Champion and Oakville Beaver. We welcome your questions and value your comments. Email our trust committee at trust@metroland.com. EFFECTING CHANGE, FIGHTING FOR THE SMALL GUYS, CAPTURING LIFE'S MOMENTS NEWSPAPERS WILL FOREVER HAVE A PLACE, WRITES JULIE SLACK JULIE SLACK Column