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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday August 3, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Keeping young kids safe If you open doors or windows to circulate air during this weekend's predicted heat wave, please keep a watchful eye out for any younger children in the home. An average of two children under the age of six die each year in Ontario after falling out a window or off a balcony. Nationally, more than 200 children aged one to nine are hospitalized annually as a result of falls from buildings and other structures. Immediately following two such incidents in Toronto last month -- one in which a two-year-old toddler plunged 11 storeys to his death and another that saw an 18-month-old boy seriously injured after falling from a third-floor balcony -- the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies (OACAS) issued a reminder to parents and caregivers to use extreme care in safeguarding children from falls. "Children need to be kept safe, especially at home," said OACAS Executive Director Jeanette Lewis. "There are many hidden dangers at home and we want parents and caregivers to be aware of the risks so children are safe and tragedies avoided." Placing or storing items toddlers may climb on too close to windows or on balconies creates a safety risk to which most youngsters are oblivious. According to Ontario's Deputy Chief Coroner Dr. Jim Cairns, seven Ontario children under age six died between 2000 and 2004 from falls out of windows or balconies. "The deaths we see are associated with items that are placed within reach of children. If not carefully supervised, children are able to climb up over these items and go over balconies or out windows," he said. Parents and caregivers are advised to follow simple safety precautions during the summer months to prevent accidental falls from windows or balconies: · Keep windows closed or open only 310 centimetres; · Install window guards or window stops in every window to prevent children from opening windows; · Move cribs, beds, other furniture, bikes or other objects children can climb on and over away from windows and balcony railings; · Keep doors to balconies locked; · Always keep an eye on young children in the home. OACAS also asks parents and caregivers to remember, window screens are intended to keep bugs out. They are not enough to keep a child safe. 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, 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. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dreamacres destruction story didn't capture everyone's opinion Ed. Note: The Oakville Beaver stands by its story filed by reporter David Lea who interviewed Friends of Dreamacres spokesperson Karen Brailsford and Wayne Joudrie, director of the Halton District School Board. Although I was sent reeling after reading reporter David Lea's one-sided, mostly inaccurate and scantilyresearched article on the impending arrival of portables at Sunningdale Public School, it was Jane Brooks' letter, (Destruction of school's naturalization project dashes dream; July 27) desperate interpretation of Sunningdale's Dreamacres project relative to the portable placement that showcased (what I believe) an ignorance of what really transpired at our school last spring. Had Ms. Brooks even a modicum of the complexities of what occurred on a community-wide basis and the difficult, but correct decision reached by the school board in and around Sunningdale back in March and April she would have known that: · The Halton District School Board is one of the few boards in Ontario in a growth position with French Immersion overtaking, dramatically, even board projections. · Sunningdale's enrolment numbers have exploded by a staggering 100-plus students to more than 700 pupils for September, in a building that was already full to capacity at the end of the 2007 school year. · Sunningdale has the specialized resources and staff to deliver a high-quality French Immersion experience and is a primary draw for parents wishing to introduce their children to an Immersion-based program. · Schools such as Munn's are currently unequipped to handle a French Immersion program, effectively disqualifying her solution. Perhaps Ms. Brooks could visit the board's website and acquaint herself with the ongoing PARC study that is attempting to address the very issues she tried to put a Band-Aid on. · Nobody at Sunningdale wanted portables. · Using the not always "green" benchmark of student safety, the school board revealed two potential locations for the portables, one of which was aggressively promoted by Dreamacres as being the community's "overwhelming first and only choice." · A memo was sent home in April from Sunningdale's principal to all parents clearly identifying the two site choices asking (also unprecedented) for parent feedback regarding their placement preference and Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com See Decision page 11 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.