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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, October 14, 2011 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 --Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends 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: C Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member A THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association S Suburban Newspapers of America o Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief 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 Seatbelts save lives Maybe it was the stunning weather. Perhaps it was the thought of enjoying a turkey dinner with all the trimmings surrounded by family. It could have even been the chance to enjoy one final day at the beach or cottage. Or maybe -- more likely -- it was that many Ontario motorists left their common sense at home this past weekend. How else can one explain that, province-wide, the Ontario Provincial Police laid a total of 10,531 charges over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend? Any way you look at it, that is both an astounding, and disturbing, number of charges. Among those 10,000-plus charges were: · 6,065 charges for speeding · 124 charges for drinking and driving offences · 87 charges for street racing · 1,013 people were charged for not wearing seat belts · 306 were charged with distracted driving And these were the drivers OPP officers caught breaking the law. How about the ones who managed to escape the long arm of the law? Clearly, there are far too many drivers on the road who either shouldn't be or who are in serious need of retraining. Ontario's seatbelt law has been in effect for more than 35 years, yet over the weekend officers were able to nab more than 1,000 people for not wearing their seatbelts. How can it be that, for many drivers, the message has not sunk in that seatbelts save lives? You don't see people smoking in public facilities anymore, yet anti-smoking laws have only been on the books for a fraction of the time the seatbelt law has. Why the public adherence to one law yet not to another? Maybe it's time to beef up public awareness campaigns -- the signs, the ads and all the other means by which government communicates to residents, be it on issues of healthy eating, obesity, the dangers of f smoking, adhering to new cell phone laws or Drive Clean tests, etc. -- on the now, age-old practice of f wearing seatbelts and how doing so saves lives ... primarily your own. Obviously, turkeys weren't only on dinner tables this past Thanksgiving Day weekend -- they were on our roadways as well -- and it's much safer if they don't remain there. 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. Letter to the editor To TOWARF TOWARF (Town of Oakville Water and Air Rescue Force) invited me to drop by for a visit and go out on the water for a demonstration of what they do. As a new councillor, I wanted to see first hand exactly what the organization founded by the late Fred Oliver was all about. In mid-September, I got a personal tour of the TOWARF building, met with Commander Mark Dowinton and the rest of the crew (Nigel, Craig, Heather & Robert) and got a short lesson in what their day involves. We then headed out for what was supposed to be a simple demonstration of a sector search, and the opportunity for me to take a test drive of the TOWARF rescue boat. Oakville is blessed to be located in such close proximity to Lake Ontario. As we headed out on the lake, we were surrounded by sailboats and boaters enjoying the sun and splendour of the water. Shortly after the demonstration (which is much more complicated than I would have imagined) began, we got a rescue call. A boat had run out of gas west of Bronte Harbour. Immediately, TOWARF responded, I tried to stay out of their way ... and the adventure began. We arrived to find four people in a boat who were ecstatic to see TOWARF come to the rescue. The rescue operation involved securing the boat, towing it to Bronte Harbour, and ensuring that all were safe. Not two minutes after starting to tow the boat towards Bronte Harbour, the radio again started beeping -- but with a true sense of urgency. This time it was a mayday, and it turned out a kayaker had capsized and a passerby had called for assistance. Quite honestly, my immediate response was one of disbelief, but it was very real. It was so windy this day, we were not able to leave the disabled boat we were towing. See What page 22 Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver r 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 r reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Time to get rid of fluoridation It's time to end the fluoridation of Halton's water supply. Joining with Great Lakes United, The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and thousands of toxicologists, doctors and other medical professionals, Oakvillegreen, BulingtonGreen, Miltongreen and Protect Our Water and Environmental Resources in Halton Hills all came together last year to call for an end to the practice. All anyone has to see to demonstrate that fluoride is harmful are the warnings on your toothpaste box. They say "do not swallow". Further, they warn not to use fluoride toothpastes on young children. Some state they should only be used on children older than 12. The potential for harm to human health, especially to children, by adding this toxic substance to our drinking water, is great. The See It's page 22 Pud BY STEVE NEASE neasecartoons@gmail.com