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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, February 12, 2010 · 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: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY Regional 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 SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Go Canada It has taken years of planning, millions, if not billions of dollars, countless hours of both paid and volunteer work and a burning desire by many to put Vancouver on the world's stage. Beginning tomorrow the spotlight falls on Canada, and specifically British Columbia, as the world gathers for the Winter Olympic Games. While many may question the desire to host an Olympic Games (admittedly we are among them), considering the cost to taxpayers, security concerns and expenses, and the largely unproven benefit to the host community post-Games, the fact is the Games are here now, so we might as well enjoy them. To their credit, Vancouver Games organizers have had many obstacles to overcome, ranging from trying to revamp a city in the middle of world-wide recession to trying to keep snow on a mountain during a record warm spell. In such a massive undertaking there will understandably be problems, but by all accounts Vancouver appears ready and willing to welcome the world-- and several Oakville residents are ready to pitch in. Oakville residents Carleen Carroll and Carole Bertuzzi Luciani are both volunteering at the Olympics and you can read about their experiences on their online blogs at www.insidehalton.com/listing/blog. As well, two long-time Oakville McDonald's employees, Patti Quigley and Teresa Desjardins, are enjoying themselves by working at the McDonald's restaurants set up to serve athletes and media attending the games. Constables Trent Chalecky and Andy Olesen, of the Halton Regional Police Service Explosive Disposal Unit (EDU), are helping provide security at the Games. Last, but not least, we can cheer on our local Olympians, snowboarder Jeff Batchelor and Paralympian Greg Westlake of the Canadian sledgehockey team. There will be plenty of time after the games wind up Feb. 28 for navel-gazing, games' post-mortems and Monday morning quarterbacking. In the meantime, let's all sit back as a nation and take pride in what has been accomplished by organizers and cheer on our hard-working athletes. Go Canada! 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 Kudos warranted I live in Oakville and have been a long time GO Transit/subway commuter, but recently my work took me out to a new office location near the Islington Subway Station. I wanted to continue to use public transit to get to my new work location so I needed to do some extensive research to find the best way to get there in a timely manner. To my pleasant surprise, a new (October 2009) bus service, operated by the Mississauga Transit system, runs a 101 bus from the Oakville Uptown Core (near Wal-Mart) directly to the Islington Subway Station during rush hours. Basically it runs "express" along Dundas with a key stop at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) campus. What is remarkable to me about this "local" service is that the bus starts in Oakville, runs through Mississauga and ends in Toronto (Islington). A need was recognized (links to UTM and the TTC subway) and cooperation was achieved between the three cities and their transit systems. This type of initiative and service deserves to be recognized and used to its fullest. Kudos to everyone involved in making this happen. STEVE BYSOUTH, OAKVILLE Letters to the editor 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. Byelection might kill power plant I read with interest that Oakville Liberal MPP Kevin Flynn is submitting a private members bill to oppose his own government's decision to construct a 900megawatt power plant at the ridiculous location 400 metres from homes and schools. If Flynn truly served his constituents, then he would resign his seat and force Premier Dalton McGuinty to hold a byelection in the riding. Given the premier's largess in doling out the goodies in recent byelections, I am confident the power plant will be shuttered. Mr. Flynn, your constituents are waiting to see if you truly are a public servant serving the needs of the riding. TIM MCCURRY, OAKVILLE Nothing learned RE: Wake up call, Oakville Beaver, Feb. 10 It should also be noted that nothing seems to have been learned from the Sunrise Propane explosion in 2008, nor the Mississauga derailment of 1978 which applies to the Oakville site adjacent to the busiest rail corridor in the country. The risk list can go on. Thanks for your wake up call. Hopefully, it won't fall on those deaf ears you mentioned. It's time the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) came out from the shadows and faced the music. Leaving TransCanada to twist in the winds isn't justified now. OPA selected its bid knowing full well the site location and proximity to residents and critical infrastructure. The final irony would be if the plant blows up and puts Ford themselves out of business on the very land they are leasing to TransCanada. RON TINGLE, OAKVILLE More letters to the editor can be found at oakvillebeaver.com Pud BY STEVE NEASE neasecartoons@gmail.com