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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, February 14, 2013 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 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. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Guest Column 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 905-631-6095 Neil Oliver Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West David harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief, Halton Region Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Website www.oakvillebeaver.com The OakvilleBeaver is a division of Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award Nottinghill Gate school today (Thursday), starting at 6 p.m. Here, (in back, from left, Jordanne Mulvale, Sylvia Wyzga, Courtney Brunet and Clover Akuoko-Dabankah. In front, from left, Luzmilla Yousif, Marcia Lopes, Maddi Nixon and Linda Fang sit in front of some the pieces on display. The art show includes work by students in Grades 9 to 12. AN ARTFUL DISPLAY: St. Ignatius of Loyola secondary students are holding an art show at the 1550 SUBMITTED PHOTO t the recent annual general meeting (AGM) of the Friends of the Oakville Public Library, a fundraising group that supports the Oakville Public Library, the audience was enthralled to hear from Oakville residents Julia and Emma Mogus. These are two teenagers with a dream and with little fear of public speaking. The 1,000 books they have collected to date for Books With No Bounds, which ships books to isolated northern Ontario communities, is a marvellous achievement for girls whose original goal had been a total of 500 books. We at Friends of the Library feel we contributed in a small way as we donated books to their cause from our book sale in November 2012. At that time, we did not know much about them or Books With No Bounds, but we had a real eye-opener at the AGM. Their presentation was something special. At the AGM, a new board was voted in. After six years as chair, I am now past-chair and followed by several new appointments. First, a very active and IT-savvy Carolyne Darimont will serve as chair for two years. Lin MacKrael is vice chair and will take over as chair in two years. Then, we have Moira Fogarty who takes over (from Carolyne) in media and communications. As recording secretary we have Des Armstrong, who is an immigrant from the south of England and has only been in the country for three months however, he seems to be very knowledgeable and keen to get to work. Carolyne's husband, Albert Darimont, is in charge of our well-known Friends of the Library book sales -- his very first one was in November 2012 and it was well-managed. Then we have our stalwarts: · Stephen Firth will continue as treasurer · Debbie Mackenzie will still be in charge of Friendly Finds · Bill McLaney and Peter Broadhurst will continue as members at large These appointments represent a real change, and we have high hopes that this new board will achieve good things. We hope that we will continue to serve both the Oakville Public Library and the local community well. -- Submitted by Maureen Rudzik, past-chair, Friends of the Oakville Public Library A Changes are happening in Friends of the Library Boarding a flight (of fantasy) right on out of February E very year around this time, in the marathon that is a Canadian winter, I hit the wall. In case you're unfamiliar with the term, hitting the wall is when a marathoner (typically around the 20-mile mark of the epic race) runs out of essentials, such as energy, and as pain debilitates and a psychological darkness descends, the will to take another step. American distance runner Dick Beardsley once described the experience in these terms: "It felt like an elephant had jumped out of a tree and onto my shoulders." Yeah, that's pretty much me in February. Elephant on my shoulders, struggling to make it to the finish line of my least-favourite season. In retrospect, I think it's a minor miracle I made it this far into February before hitting the wall. I'm not made for marathons. And I'm really not built for winter. I loathe the short days, darkness, penetrating cold. And I really don't like when my outdoor life -- lazy rounds of golf, long circuits of cycling, even gardening or sitting high up on The Hog and mowing down the acreage -- are buried under snow and ice. I survived November, and its ubiquitous gloom, by con- tinuing to cycle until temperatures became inhospitable and roads hazardous. I got through December easily enough, what with the Christmas holidays lying in wait at month's end. Then in January, I just coasted. Alas, apparently you can only coast for so long. Andy Juniper I don't know if it's the weather (last week's storm was a big, white reminder that we're not out of the winter woods just yet), or maybe it's when the same insidious illness (cold, flu, whatever) makes its third run through the family -- regardless, come February, something deep in my soul snaps. Keep busy, well-meaning friends advise. Get outdoors. I faithfully walk the hound. I strap on cross-country skies. I cradle my camera and venture out to capture the season's splendour -- if winter has a saving grace, it's the beauty of a day when the sun beats down upon freshly fallen snow. Still, these activities are like pills not powerful enough to offset the effects of the crash into the wall. Since I can't afford a flight out of this winter, I take cheaper, less-time-consuming flights of fantasy. Plotting summer getaways. Baseball's spring training has not yet even officially opened, and I've already got a four-city, fivegame road trip booked. And, of course, I daydream. I practise my golf swing in front of full-length mirrors (perfecting my imperfections, as it were). I repeatedly remind myself that last year we were golfing, in short-sleeves, during March Break. And when my mind tells me, that was one big ole anomaly, I tell my mind to hush -- seriously, no one likes to get mugged by their own mind. It's February. I've hit the wall. I've got an idiotic elephant on my shoulders. And despite what Willie predicted on Groundhog Day, there ain't no spring in the forecast. It would all be too much for one guy to take, except this one guy is currently lost in a reverie, sitting in the bleachers at Wrigley Field in Chicago, soaking up warm summer sun. Ah, now that's the ticket.... Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook www.facebook.com, or followed at www. twitter.com/thesportjesters.