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Beaver THE OAKVILLE Voted Ontario's Top Newspaper Four Years in a Row - 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Lain happy to be back in Blades lineup Sports 44 Pages $1.00 (plus GST) A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 53 No. 2 "USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES" WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010 Polar Bear Dip raises $230,000 By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF In marking its 25th anniversary, the Oakville-based Courage Brothers Polar Bear Dip on Jan. 1 received a tidal wave of support. It raised nearly $10,000 for every year it has existed --totaling more than $230,000. While Oakville residents Todd and Trent Courage hoped to raise $60,000 with this year's event, by Christmas Eve they knew this year's dip was going to bring in more money, so they tripled the target to $180,000. As of press deadlines, this year's edition of the Jan. 1 plunge into the icy waters of Lake Ontario off Coronation Park had brought in more than $230,000. "I'm speechless," said Todd Courage. "Reaching $120,000, which is enough to complete one World Vision water project would have been amazing, but raising over $230,000 is beyond amazing -- I can't thank our sponsors, dippers, online givers and the media enough for helping us." "I'm so happy, I could almost cry right now," said his brother Trent. What it means is that not only have the Courages raised the out Police bust crack ring By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF See Dip page 3 RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR: About 600 Polar Bear Dippers at Coronation Park ushered in the New Year by raising more than $230,000 for World Vision water projects in Africa. Halton police believe they have smashed one of the largest crack cocaine distribution networks in the region with the arrest of three men on Sunday. The arrests were made following police raids on four Mississauga residences on Sunday. At a press conference at the Halton Regional Police Headquarters on Monday, Detective Inspector Al Albano said police first became aware of the network in August of 2004, but had difficulty making any headway against it due to the ring leader's disturbing ability to spot undercover officers. "Past investigations that were done on him by other services may have made him more wise to our techniques. He was very careful," said Albano. "He'd become suspicious. Sometimes he refused to make phone calls back to us, wouldn't talk to us. We tried a couple of times to make (drug) buys from him." See Three page 7 No Pay for 6 months and Huge Rebates PLUS ­ We guarantee your valuable Manufacturer and Government Rebates and take care of the Paperwork for you. For Deadlines and Complete Details call 905-844-2949 Ask about our excellent Financing and Great Terms. · Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed · Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service SHUTTERS CALIFORNIA & PLANTATION · Wood & Vinyl Shutters, Supplied & Installed · High Quality at Affordable Prices SHUTTERS ETC. 905.691.4455 www.shuttersetc.ca Authorized Eclipse Shutters Dealer Shop at Home Service FREE