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905.691.4455 www.shuttersetc.ca SHUTTERS ETC. Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service Wood & Vinyl Shutters, Supplied & Installed High Quality at Affordable Prices CALIFORNIA & PLANTATION SHUTTERS Authorized Eclipse Shutters Dealer FREE Shop at Home Service FURNACE TUNE UP SPECIAL! Get your furnace tuned up today And we will warranty it for the season 905-844-2949MaintenanceSpecials on NOW! 905-337-0051 LONDON GOLD Upper Oakville Shopping Centre CA$H FOR GOLD & JEWELLERY www.oakvilleshops.com 1011 Upper Middle Road E. 905-849-4722 68 Pages $1.00 (plus tax)A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 48 No. 139 USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2010 SNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010 Head of the class Page 19ONTARIOS TOP NEWSPAPER - 2005-2008 See Motorists page 4 Tis the season to think twice about drinking and driving. Halton police are reminding res- idents that with the arrival of the holiday season so, too, comes the annual RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) campaign, which will see increased spot checks as police step up their ongoing search for those driving under the influence. The penalties for being caught driving after having a few drinks are also stiffer this year thanks to Bill 126, which comes into effect today (Wednesday, Dec. 1). Under Bill 126, police may impound a vehicle for seven days if: A driver is caught with a blood alcohol concentration of more than 0.08 or refuses to comply with a demand to provide a breath sample made by a police officer under the Criminal Code of Canada. A driver who is required to have a vehicle ignition interlock device is caught driving without one. A driver is caught driving while their licence is suspended for things like careless driving, failing to pay family support, demerit point accu- mulations or blowing between 0.05 and 0.08 on a Breathalyzer test. Halton police point out these seven-day vehicle impoundments apply regardless of whether the vehi- cle is borrowed from a friend or fam- Drink and drive walk for a week See Impoundment page 5 GRAHAM PAINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER PET PICS WITH SANTA: Harley, a 12-week-old Airedale puppy, was just one of many pets to visit Santa Claus dur- ing the Pet Pictures with Santa fundraiser at Rens Pet Depot on the weekend.The two-day event raised $700 for the Oakville and Milton Humane Society. Over the course of the two days, dogs, cats, guinea pigs and even a pot-bellied pig got to whis- per in Santas ear and smile for the camera.Another Pet Pics with Santa fundraiser is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 12, 1-3 p.m. at Dealing with Dogs, 1380 Speers Rd. For more information, visit www.oakvillemiltonhumane.ca. Santas little helper By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakvilles new HOV (high occu- pancy vehicle) lanes opened for busi- ness Monday, but only to vehicles with two or more people in them, certain green technology vehicles, buses and emergency vehicles. The east and westbound HOV lanes are now in service on a 16.3 kilometre portion of the QEW, which stretches from Guelph Line in Burlington to just beyond Trafalgar Road in Oakville. The $380 million project of widening this section of the QEW from six lanes to eight lanes began in 2007 in an effort to ease conges- tion, reduce commute times, pro- mote public transit and get more people into fewer cars. Its a good day for people who commute, transit users, carpoolers, truckers, everyone who travels the QEW in a world thats pressed for time, said Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn, during a special presentation marking the opening of the lanes. These HOV lanes will ease con- gestion on a stretch of highway that you will know sees about 175,000 vehicles a day. HOV lanes open on QEW