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OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, May 1, 2009 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571Classified 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 No reason to panic We sincerely hope, in the wake of the worldwide swine flu outbreak, that local residents do not mistake the word pandemic for panic. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) six-stage alert system, "a pandemic is an unexpected outbreak of disease that spreads from person to person across borders. Pandemics occur when a new influenza A-type virus, to which, almost no one has natural immunity, emerges and spreads internationally." And while the fact that Ontario now has eight confirmed cases of swine flu brings the issue a little closer to home, local residents should be aware that WHO Assistant Director General Dr. Keiji Fukado has stated "we are not there yet (a pandemic)." Residents should also keep in mind that Halton Region has had in place, for a number of years, a response plan for any potential flu pandemic. According to Halton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Bob Nosal, the Region's Health Department has been diligently monitoring area hospitals and requesting daily information on patients with severe respiratory illnesses. The health department has also established a webpage for information on the new virus at http://www.halton.ca/health/services/c ommunicable_disease/swine-flu.htm. Despite the name, swine flu is spread through human contact, not eating pork products, and Nosal recommends typical measures to avoid spreading the flu -- frequent hand washing, coughing into a sleeve, and sneezing into a tissue and disposing of the tissue immediately. To date, our local health department and both provincial and federal governments have been pro-active in dealing with this matter. We trust they will continue to be until this latest outbreak has been controlled. 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 Record number of volunteers joined Earth Week Clean Up The incredibly warm weather last weekend led to a record attendance at our 18th annual Earth Week Clean Up. We estimate that more than 1,500 volunteers participated in cleaning up 34 nature sites with huge turnouts at Lakeshore Woods, Clearview Park and Riverbank Way. The amount of garbage removed was phenomenal; a total of 7,070 kilograms was trucked away by Halton Region Waste Management that afternoon; this was a big increase over last year's 5,000 kilograms picked up. There were 50 event co-ordinators who performed a fantastic service for Oakville's green spaces. Community groups co-ordinated 10 of the 34 clean up locations including four residents' associations (Clearview, Lakeside, West Kerr Village, West River), two faith groups (St. Simon's Anglican, Trafalgar Presbyterian), and four environmental organizations (South Peel Naturalists Club, Friends of Bronte Creek Park, Oakvillegreen, student eco club at Holy Trinity secondary school). Eleven schools sponsored the Earth Week Clean Up and more than 3,500 students participated at Chisholm, Munn's, Pinegrove, Post's Corners, River Oaks, Holy Trinity, Our Lady of Peace, Loyola, St. Joseph, Dearcroft/Westwind and Trafalgar Ridge Montessori schools during the week of April 20- 24. The event was sponsored by a total of 91 local organizations who donated more than $5,000 towards the success of the clean up. The Town of Oakville donated bags and gloves while Pitch-In Canada also donated bags. Earth Day Canada, of which we have been the local sponsor since 1996, provided posters and other resource materials for our Clean Up. To all of the clean up coordinators and volunteers, eco-teachers and students, we say "thank you" for taking the time to clean up of some of Oakville's most beautiful green spaces, which can now be enjoyed garbage-free this spring and summer and "thank you" for helping us to realize our goals of promoting awareness and respect for local nature, protecting wildlife, and encouraging environmental activism. STEPHEN DANKOWICH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OAKVILLE COMMUNITY CENTRE FOR PEACE, ECOLOGY AND HUMAN RIGHTS (OCCPEHR) Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com This week's poll Editor's note: Our online poll is up and running again. We are repeating the question which originally ran April 22. Do you agree with the Ontario government's ban on the cosmetic use of pesticides? · 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.