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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 9, 2008 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice President and Group Publisher The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER President Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager Be cool with your pets It shouldn't come as news to anyone anymore that it can take only a few minutes for an animal to suffocate in a car on a hot summer day. With that in mind, it was quite disturbing to hear a police report last week that two dogs had been left to roast in a vehicle parked on a Milton street on Canada Day. Thankfully, the dogs were taken to the Oakville and District Humane Society for proper care. We can only hope this isn't the start of a summer trend, although history provides little faith for an optimistic outlook. Even with the windows rolled down, any vehicle can become a virtual oven for a dog locked inside. And the all-too-familiar, "Oh, I was just running in for a few minutes" defence just isn't acceptable. We all know those 'quick trips' often drag out longer than expected - dangerously so if the poor little pet is left waiting. Would you want to sit inside a stuffy car on a hot summer day. Well, neither does your pet. Do yourself and your pet a favour and leave them at home. And leaving a dog outside in the summer can be just as dangerous. Dogs left outdoors for any length of time must have lots of shade and plenty of fresh water. On really hot days, they should be kept inside - period. Pets offer us so much, and only ask for a little love and consideration in return. That shouldn't be too much to ask. 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 de·moc·ra·cy ­ noun ­ government by the people; especially: rule of the majority; as defined in the Merrium-Webster dictionary. Very sadly, democracy died in Oakville last Wednesday night. On July 2 the trustees of the Halton District School Board decided to overlook this simple principle. They forgot that they were elected by the people. They forgot that they work for us; the mothers, fathers, grandparents, and yes children, of Oakville and Halton. We are their bosses. They are not ours. School board vote undemocratic Board rejected status quo They chose to ignore the rule of the majority. They shunned the 10 months of public input and research of the PARC process. They shunned each of us by voting for a school structure that nearly 70 per cent of affected residents oppose. And ironically, all this happened the day after Canada day. So heads up residents of Oakville and Halton. There is a new political game in town and it is not called democracy! ROBERT W. CRUICKSHANK For over a year as a PARC 14 commitee member, I scheduled my life around almost weekly meetings with other parents, teachers, principals and school council chairs. Most nights after those meetings I came home and banged my head against the wall. We were clearly getting nowhere. I respectfully disagree with The Oakville Beaver's take on what transpired between southeast Oakville and the Halton District School Board, and I cannot blame the school board for the method they used to come to its decision to close four schools and open one in Clearview. The HDSB was open with PARC members and the community from the very beginning. We were informed that there is declining enrollment, aging and small properties in the area, and schools that were dangerously under capacity. We were also told that when it comes to education in Ontario, the Ministry of Education's funding formula must be taken into See PARC page 9 Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com This week's poll The Oakville Beaver has added a new polling feature on its website oakvillebeaver.com. A new poll will be posted every Wednesday with the results of the poll published in the following Wednesday edition of The Oakville Beaver. The first poll question is: Did the Halton District School Board make the right choice in deciding to build a new school in the Clearview community and close four schools in southeast Oakville? · Yes · No To vote visit oakvillebeaver.com 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.