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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, May 25, 2012 · 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 ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Making the call It's bright. It's garish. It screams for attention. It's downright ugly. And, like the budding flowers, it rears its head every spring. Throughout town, any surface seems to be fair game to vandals wielding whatever colour of spray paint they can get their hands on. Roadside abutments, buildings, telephone and cable boxes and benches are all targets. Let's be clear. This isn't an art form, nor is it a harmless means of f self-expression. Graffiti is a crime that comes with consequences and costs -- not just to the culprits, but to the entire community. When graffiti is left unchecked in an area, it leads to the deterioration of the neighbourhood. This means the feeling of safety and quality of life deteriorate, as well. That's why, when it comes to combatting graffiti, public apathy isn't an option. In the past, the Town of Oakville has cleaned up graffiti. It has even become involved in programs to get youths involved with painting, yes, graffiti, on local areas that could benefit from it and giving those who consider graffiti a form of self-expression and art an outlet for it. But sometimes graffiti, no matter how irksome, is not simple graffiti. Sometimes, it's called tagging and is the means gangs have of marking what they consider to be their territory. Leaving the telltale sign on display has a direct impact on how a neighbourhood is viewed. By being persistent in cleaning it up and getting the incidents on record, the culprits will get the message that they're not welcome, and police can monitor and track problem areas. Penalties for graffiti vandalism include Criminal Code charges; in the case of underage offenders, parents will be notified and they may have a court appearance. In addition, restitution for the damage may be collected. According to Halton police, if witnessing graffiti crime report it immediately by calling Halton police at (905) 825-4777 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIPS (8477). Provide police with descriptions of the suspects and/or suspect vehicle, including the make, model, colour and/or licence plate. Don't remove the graffiti until the police are notified.The first step is making the call. Luckily, it's something we can all do -- and the payoff will make it worth our while. 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 Sighting of f baby coyote a reminder not to feed the wildlife I'm writing you in order to use this important media to report on the sight of a baby coyote last Friday (May 19). While I was sitting with a friend by the front door, at about 9 p.m., there was still daylight, and suddenly a baby coyote popped up out of nowhere in the front yard. It slowly walked by the pots at the front door. By the way it passed by, it appeared as though it was familiar with the area because it did not look scared or anything like that. Everything happened so fast, we did not have a phone or a camera to shoot a photograph of the animal. As mother of two young children, I'm very concerned about its appearance in our neighborhood, not only for my children, but for any young child that could easily be confused and mistake it for a puppy, not knowing it's actually a coyote and thereby potentially putting themselves as easy prey for this animal. I understand that since animal control won't do anything in this regard, it is important that everyone in the community should be informed about these sightings and know that the only way to keep them at distance is to avoid -- at all costs -- feeding the coyotes and other wildlife and refraining from leaving food available within easy reach... especially now that the barbecue season is underway. Thanks in advance for your attention to this regard. Monica Daza, Oakville 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. Rogue bear likely not the last I'm in awe of the amount of whining about shooting a bear. In my opinion, the police made the right call. We are talking about a 300-lb. (150 kg) animal here, not a duckling, goose, bunny or squirrel. The bear made a run deemed to be a hazard to the population and was dealt with swiftly. Kudos to Halton police. If you want to get mad at someone, call the MNR and get it to re-instate the spring bear hunt. This will not be the last bear incident, it will happen again. I can tell you this from wrestling with my 200-lb. mastiff that was a pet, you would not want to be jumped by a large wild bear. If someone had been attacked and they had the bear cornered you would've be screaming for it to be shot. I would. I am a hunter and have a deep respect for wildlife, but I am also human and I will not let an incident that could have gone very wrong sway any logical thought that it's my fault it's there because we displaced it and I should wait for someone to show up and dart at it... really! Peter David Fairweather, Oakville Pud BY STEVE NEASE neasecartoons@gmail.com