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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, November 17, 2011 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 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. Letter to the Editor NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief 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 SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of Transit fare going up? On Nov. 15, the Town of Oakville's budget committee voted to increase transit cash fares to $3.25 effective Jan. 1, 2012. Did you know about it? The information was contained in a public document, published on the Town's website, but unless a resident specifically went looking for this piece of information, it is unlikely they would have seen it. The Town's 2012 budget will not be presented until the new year, but it is necessary for council to approve fees that will be charged as of Jan. 1, 2012. Almost all of the fees contained in the document brought to Budget Committee on Nov. 15 had been subject to public consultation (user fees for our sports fields and recreation facilities and harbour fees are two examples). Town staff indicated that the building industry had been consulted through the Building Liaison Committee with regard to the proposed Building Services Fees, and had been invited to the Budget Committee Meeting. Oakville Transit seems to be the lone fare increase that has lacked any public consultation. The proposal will see fares rise eight per cent to $3.25 on Jan. 1, 2012. Approximately 600,000 transit rides are taken each year with cash fare. Since the Transit Advisory Committee was disbanded there is no public vetting of fare increases. To be very clear, my issue is not with the transit fare increase itself. It may or may not be necessary, and I think it is something we need to consider. However, I do have an issue with the process and the fact this was voted on without any opportunity for individuals to provide their input. There is minimal impact of waiting until the full budget is passed in February 2012. An April 1, 2012 implementation of the fare increase would result in a loss of $43,500 in new revenue, or less than 0.2 per cent of the annual transit budget. My preference would be that this increase be reviewed as part of the entire 2012 budget, where members of the public have full opportunity to present their views. While my motion was defeated at Budget Committee, this issue will be coming before full council on Monday, Nov. 21. I invite members of the public to express their opinion to members of Town council via e-mail (membersofcouncil@oakville.ca) or in person. To speak at the council meeting on Nov. 21, residents must register with the Clerk's Department by noon the day of the council meeting at 905-815-6015 or by e-mail at townclerk@oakville.ca. Pam Damoff, Town Councillor Ward 2, 2012 Budget Committee Member Editor's Note: Please see today's front page story. Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER WEEKEND WORK: Arman Ghaloosian, front, and his E. J. James Public School Grade 8 friends, from left, Sean Balfour, Samuel Thoumieux, Allie Davies, Monica Anand-Knowlton, Sonia Anand-Knowlton, Ella Griffin and Chloe Macgregor, raised funds for the Canadian Cancer Society, Halton Unit. They called themselves FFTC (Fighting For The Cure) and surpassed their $500 goal by raising $877.16. When life conspires against you and oatmeal is the answer W hen I was younger I shared the notion advanced by The Counting Crows in the song Long December r, that life is oftentimes "a lot of oysters and no pearls." However, of late, in my dotage, I've come to realize that life is a lot of oatmeal and no bacon. You see, kids, as you age, life conspires against you. Slowly, one by one, everything you enjoy in this world is determined to be bad for you. And slowly, one by one, you're advised to eliminate those things from your existence -- unless you want to wake up dead. It's sad, but true. Even things you thought were ridiculously good for you turn out to be wickedly bad, and are thusly taken away. One day you're a runner, jogging for pleasure, stress-relief and fitness, and the next you're sitting in an examination room across from an orthopedic surgeon who's staring at your MRI, shaking his head, and telling you that your running days are done -- unless you want your old achy knees to be replaced by artificial joints long before their time. Personally, in the past few years alone, I've been told to lay off assorted sports (again, those creaky knees), salt (unless I want my blood pressure to go through the roof), numerous foods (after all these years on this planet, medical moguls are just coming around to the realization that my body may well be intolerant of lactose), and various guilty pleasures: alcohol, coffee and soft drinks are out, junk food is a dietary sin, and snacking at all after eight p.m. is strictly verboten -- not even a delicious and altogether satisfying celery stick. Andy Juniper And so I have been reduced to a fairly monastic existence, eating all wildly healthy and treating myself every once in a while to a decadent half-slice of unbuttered bread and a nice tall glass of water (served at room temperature, of course -- you know what cold drinks do to both sensitive teeth and tummy!). And just when I didn't think life could get any duller, I got a call from my doctor's office, informing me that Dr. Feelgood wanted to see me in regard to the blood work I'd recently had done. Well, I thought: this can't be good. Apparently my cholesterol levels are up. Crazy up. Dr. Feelgood said he would give me a few months to work, via diet, to lasso those levels and bring them down. And if that fails, he'll have to put me on medication. Remember that bland diet I was complaining about a few paragraphs ago? Well, that was palate paradise compared to the Conquer Cholesterol Diet. So long saturated fats. Ta-ta trans fats. And a big fat hello to the likes of Omega 3 fatty acids (fatty fish, etc.), beans and lentils, nuts and more nuts, whole grains, fruits and veggies, and oats -- oats until they're coming out my ears. Now, I'm not saying that a big old bowl of oatmeal doesn't hold a culinary candle to what I used to jokingly refer to as my favourite heart-attack on a plate: bacon and eggs and home fries. But, ah, it doesn't. Still, we're human beings. We adapt. So, every morning now I get up and make myself a bowl of oatmeal swimming in soy milk. I'd tell you that I'm actually starting to get used to it -- dare I say, like it? -- but, then, you'd probably just come up with some newfound medical reason why I should no longer be eating it. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook http://www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter.com/thesportjesters.