The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 19, 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 of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of 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 SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Have a safe holiday Celebrating at this time of the year can quickly turn into tragedy -- right in your own home. Sadly, the number of residential fires increases during the holiday season, destroying homes, memories and lives. The good news is that most of these tragedies are preventable. Fire Prevention Canada, the national voice of fire safety and education, reminds residents to be mindful of things as simple as turning off holiday lights before going to bed. "Never leave lit candles near ornaments and never overload extension cords," advises Fire Prevention Canada president David Hodgins. "Have your chimney cleaned and inspected regularly." The holiday season can be a very hectic time and it's during moments of forgetfulness, inattention or hurry that fire hazards can turn into destructive fires, Hodgins said. "This should be the time of year for celebration, so let us be as vigilant about being fire safe as we are about not drinking and driving." Other prevention measures to save lives and property include: · Keep candles in a sturdy holder away from children, pets and combustible materials. Blow them out before leaving the room or going to sleep. Fire officials in Halton rarely get through the winter holiday season without at least one candle-related fire call. Most often, the culprit for these types of fires is a candle left unattended. · Stay in the kitchen when cooking. Unattended ovens and stoves are the leading cause of kitchen fires. · Alcohol and fire are a dangerous mix. Keep a close eye on anyone cooking or smoking while under the influence of alcohol. · Space heaters need room -- ensure at least one metre of clearance on all sides. · Make sure you have working smoke alarms on all levels of your home. It's the law. · Keep your natural Christmas tree well watered to prevent it from drying out and becoming a fire hazard. Find more fire prevention tips in the fact sheet section of Fire Prevention Canada's website at www.fiprecan.ca. From everyone at The Oakville Beaver, have a safe and happy holiday season. 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 Letter was offensive As the proud mother of a dedicated, well-trained police officer, I took offence at the lack of respect in the letter Police overreacted, Oakville Beaver, Dec. 17. The Dec. 10 call was for a suspect in an "armed" assault that resulted in injuries to a 17-year-old youth. When police respond to a call, they do not know what they may be facing -- guns, knives, a mentally unstable person or someone impaired by drugs or alcohol. They are professionally trained to handle each of these scenarios in a specific way. They are there to protect the public and they strive to bring things to a peaceful end. They also want to arrive home safely to their families at the end of a shift. As an Oakville citizen, I would want the same professional response if such a problem occurred in my neighbourhood. P. NELSON Letter writer should attend Police Academy Re: Police overreacted. Letters to the Editor, Oakville Beaver Wednesday, Dec. 17. I find Wolfgang Zenker's comment about the cowering tactical team as very insulting and completely unwarranted. Halton's police officers receive extensive training, which allows for effective responses to situations. Each situation is considered a `risk' to the officer and the citizen until it has been properly assessed. Until then, they proceed with caution and awareness. The letter writer would benefit from participating in the Citizen Police Academy, which is a free program provided by the Halton Regional Police Services Board. I am a recent graduate of this 11-week program -- three hours every Tuesday night. The demonstrations, training scenarios, displays and speakers augment my knowledge and appreciation for Halton's police force. They are competent, trusting, and safe leaders in our community, and deserve every penny they get. SHARON CLARK Property tax increase too much My family currently pays property taxes of $17,091.49, and the Town of Oakville now wants to increase this 3.85 per cent next year. Where do they think people get this extra money from? Every single time I pay more for the same and I am sick of it. When we retire, we will have to sell our beloved home and move out of Oakville because we will not be able to afford the property taxes. I pray for the day when the Town of oakville is run by fiscally responsible people, who understand you just cannot keep taking more and more money from the residents. Someone run for mayor and councillor next time on a `No increase in property taxes platform', please. JAMES FORTE Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.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.