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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday June 18, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS 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 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: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher DAVID HARVEY General Manager 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 MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager Every breath counts Breathing is something most of us take for granted. For some with chronic cardiac or respiratory conditions, being outside and active during the worst smog days of summer can be a life-or-death proposition. Seniors and children can also be susceptible to air pollution. With each passing year, the number of premature deaths linked to exposure to our polluted air grows more staggering. According to an Ontario Medical Association (OMA) report this month, smog contributes to the premature deaths of 9,500 residents in the province each year. More than 1,000 of these Ontario deaths occur during or immediately after periods of increased pollution. Last year, Halton's regional health department estimated about 190 residents die prematurely each year because of polluted air. This year, the OMA has set Halton's figure at 336. "The numbers reinforce the fact that the problem of smog is not confined to cities and industrial centres," said Dr. Ken Arnold, president of the OMA. "A staggering number of premature deaths attributed to pollution were found across Ontario." Primary sources of the man-made chemicals that create smog include motorized vehicle emissions, coal-burning power plants and heavy industries. Last year, Ontario recorded 59 poor air quality days, when people most sensitive to air pollution are encouraged to remain indoors and be less active. OMA doctors want patients to be prepared this summer. On days when air pollution is high, it is recommended to: · reduce strenuous outdoor activities, or change the time you are active outdoors to early morning or evening · drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated · stay in a cool, clean, air-conditioned environment if you are vulnerable · speak to your physician about how best to manage your condition if you suffer from respiratory or cardiac illness. · know your limits and pay attention to how you are feeling. To help track smog levels federal (www.airhealth.ca) and provincial (www.airqualityontario.com) government websites provide pollution monitoring programs that offer current and predicted pollution counts for geographic regions. The federal program, which recently added monitoring stations in Oakville and Burlington, also provides advice. The Oakville Beaver 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 reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Southeast schools will close regardless of Clearview I have only been a resident of Clearview for about a year, but due to my wife being a teacher I have taken great interest in the issue of a new school being built in Clearview. I have gone to some meetings, discussed the issue with my wife and her teacher friends and we feel, as most in our area do, that the children north of Cornwall or the "ghetto of Oakville" (as some have called it) deserve a school here. Along with many others I have heard opinions from both sides at the meetings, watched the expose on CBC News and read the articles in The Oakville Beaver. One thing though that always seems to be missing is that regardless of whether a school is built in Clearview or not, there will be schools south of Cornwall closed. What we always hear, see and read is that old schools will close if a new, socalled "Big Box School" is built -- the fact is that is not true. Whether the new school is built or not, one or more of the old schools south of Cornwall will close and those students will be redirected to other schools. I think if people in this area, and anywhere this issue may come up, want to make an informed decision, they should look at the facts and what is best for the students as whole not just what is best for the parents or individual students. Another point to consider is that many residents from areas south of Cornwall have expressed concern that if their individual schools close, their students will be bused, and their neighbourhoods will lose their "walk-to" status. The children of Clearview have been bused for 20 years -- we have always been a bused community. Why is it ok for us, but not for another area? JESSE AND AMBER CHRUSZ Taxes up too much I am surprised The Beaver has not challenged the Oakville mayor and council on it outrageous local tax increase of 9.9 per cent, four times the current rate of inflation. The mayor has cleverly hidden this huge increase behind a very low Regional increase and no education increase claiming that overall taxes are only up 3.79 per cent, but the local Oakville rate is up 9.9 per cent. The Beaver should be making citizens aware of this so it doesn't become an annual event. Politicians need to continually be reminded there is only one tax payer to satisfy several layers of government and 9.9 per cent at any level is unacceptable. JIM WILKINSON Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com 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.