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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday September 8, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 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. Commentary Guest Columnist NEIL OLIVER Publisher 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 Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Participating in Road Watch Gary Carr Gary Carr, Halton Regional Chair As the Chair of Halton Region, I have the pleasure to sit on the Board of the Halton Region Police Service (HRPS). As a member of the police service board, I have the opportunity to hear about the community programs HRPS is involved in with the community, as well as their ideas for new projects that would benefit our community. One very exciting project currently being run in Halton Region is the Community Road Watch program. This is a community-operated program that gives residents the opportunity to report aggressive and unsafe drivers through a Citizen Report Form to police. Here's how the citizen report is processed: · The first time a citizen report is received, an information letter is sent by the police to the registered owner of the vehicle explaining that their vehicle was observed being operated in an unsafe manner at a specific time and location, and asks them to remember to drive safely on Halton roadways. If the vehicle owner was not driving their vehicle, it is their responsibility to speak with the person who was. · The second time a citizen report is received on the same registered owner, a repeat letter is sent from the police with the potential for personal contact from a police officer to address the problem. · A third report against an owner will result in a third letter and a personal visit from a police officer. If you observe a dangerous act of aggressive driving on the roads in Halton Region, please consider taking the time to submit a Citizen Report Form. You can fill out the form online, or place a completed form in one of the secure drop boxes that are located throughout the community at participating police stations, businesses and libraries. Copies of the form can be faxed to the Halton Region Police Service at 905-845-0381. The information you provide in the reports is held in strict confidence by Halton Regional Police and you will remain unidentified. Please fill out the forms as completely as possible to provide the police with the most information possible. All completed forms are picked up on a regular basis and verified by the police for accuracy. I encourage you to participate in this program and help to keep Halton streets safe from dangerous and aggressive driving. To fill out a Citizen Report Form, or for more information about the Community Road Watch program, please contact the Halton Regional Police Service at 905-825-4777 -- South Halton; 905-878-5511 ­ North Halton, or visit the website at www.hrps.on.ca. Media Group Ltd. Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION As election nears politicians come out in favour of families ith the provincial general election now less than five weeks away ­ that's less than 35 sleeps for the political junkies in the audience ­ the campaigning and politicking are revving into high gear. Wild promises are suddenly flying about like the famous high-wire Wallendas and electioneering can be seen swiftly sailing over the acceptable edge. Just this week Premier Dalton McGuinty publicly hatched a Liberal plan for Family Day, a new paid holiday that would serve to not only offset the dark days of February, but would also "recognize the importance of Ontario families by giving hard-working Ontarians more time to spend with the people they love." Imagine, a politician coming out in favour of families at election time. Now that takes backbone! Granted, a paid holiday in February is not exactly a new idea. Alberta has been celebrating Family Day for 15 years and just this year Saskatchewan got on board with the winter respite, with Manitoba rumoured to follow. Certainly it's not a bad idea: who couldn't use a mental health day to help get them through the winter blahs, or at least to get over the nightmare that is Valentine's Day? Alas, opposition leaders in Ontario have not been viewing the W whole Family Day announcement with much magnanimity. No, when Mr. McGuinty spoke they saw skullduggery and they smelled a rat: according to my morning newspaper, they went so far as to suggest that the announcement represented nothing more than "a desperate, last-minute vote grab" by the Liberals. For his part, Ontario Progressive Andy Juniper Conservative Leader John Tory acknowledged that he is all for "families having a day together and so on," but he questioned why Mr. McGuinty waited until now to make his announcement ­ now, coincidentally, being the very day Tory was slated to officially launch his own campaign! ­ rather than, say, any other day over the past four years. Despite what they saw and smelled in the announcement, all opposing parties were quick to indulge in a little upstaging, a little one-upmanship, quick to offer up their own promises. Yes indeed. Once the Conservatives got over grousing about the timing of the announcement, they rebounded by proclaiming that if the Liberals could give honest Ontarians one day off in February, then, by crackers, the PC Party would give 'em a week. That's right, a full week off each February for hard-working Ontarians. Not surprisingly, when the New Democratic Party got wind of the PC plan, they devised a scheme of their own: in their vision of Ontario, everyone would have February off. In its entirety. With pay. Well, things got crazy then, what with some of the fringe parties announcing that, if elected, all Ontarians would not only get a month paid vacation, but they'd give them some spending money, too. Which got the Conservatives talking about giving away trips to exotic locales, which got the NDP talking about giving away free trips and luggage, which brought Mr. McGuinty back into the fray with Liberal promises of two months paid vacation each winter and ­ are you ready for this? ­ free cricket lessons for each and every Ontarian! Okay, okay, maybe everything contained in the last couple of paragraphs never happened. But, then, there hasn't been a whole lot of engaging debate on anything resembling issues, either. Oh, well, less than five weeks to go. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.