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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, March 16, 2012 · 6 Opinion & Letters 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 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 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 OakvilleBeaver is a division of 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 MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution Sarah McSweeney Circ. Manager Celebrating responsibly With St. Patrick's Day around the corner, many may be starting their celebrations early. With that in mind, we join Halton police in reminding everyone to please drink responsibly. Events and times of celebration like this one remind us of the consequences of doing otherwise -- specifically the evening of April 3, 2010, where six lives were forever altered in a matter of seconds in Acton. That night, 23-year-old Todd McGowan of Mississauga chose to climb behind the wheel of a Hyundai Sonata with five young friends after having too much to drink. Around 2:50 a.m. (well past party time for most adults), McGowan lost control of his vehicle on Queen Street in Acton and it slammed into a tree. Jeff Sandles, 23, of Campbellville was a passenger in the front seat. He died at the scene. An 18-year-old Erin woman was airlifted to a Torontoarea hospital in critical condition and two 20-year-old Georgetown women and a 20-year-old Mississauga man suffered non-life threatening injuries, although all, undoubtedly, will forever be scarred by the event. Sgt. Paul Davies of the Halton Regional Police Reconstruction Unit said some of the injured passengers will never fully recover. Bad decisions by all involved led to lives forever changed. That's the reality of impaired driving. McGowan, who has been in custody since the incident, was handed a seven-year prison sentence (he has five years left to serve) and received a 10-year driving ban. Many will argue it is hardly enough. We can only hope, yet again, that this incident is a stark reminder to those who drink and drive, that they are playing a dangerous game. With St. Patrick's Day, the advent of spring and summer and graduation parties soon to come, more tragic stories will, in all likelihood, unfold across this province and nation -- although we hope those who decide to drink won't drive but rather use a designated driver, take public transportation home or stay over at a friend's place. Maybe then, people will finally be convinced of how quickly their lives and the lives of others can forever be changed in an instant -- and how easily accidents and tragic events can be prevented. 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. KSM walk event raises more than $30,000 I would like to say a sincere thank you to everyone involved in Kerr Street Ministries first Coldest Night of the Year walk. Thank you to the volunteers and sponsors, and especially to all the walkers who braved one of the few chilly nights we've actually had this winter. Mayor Rob Burton led the charge with his team, followed by over 100 walkers who trekked through Kerr Village and downtown Oakville. St. John's United Church and Chartwell Baptist Church opened their doors as rest stations and offered a brief refuge from the cold, while community sponsors COB's Bread Lakeshore and Tim Horton's nourished our walkers during and after their efforts. A special thanks to `chef' Joanne Dhingra and her crew who worked tirelessly to serve and cook chili made with ingredients generously donated by FreshCo. The goal was to raise more than $25,000 to support the programs that Kerr Street Ministries offers to the hungry, homeless and hurting in Oakville. Thanks to the walkers and their donors, more than $30,000 has been raised so far. As a volunteer co-ordinating this event, the interest, support and generosity from the citizens of the Town of Oakville make me proud to live here and to be a part of Kerr Street Ministries. Dave O'Halloran, Coldest Night of the Year Walk Coordinator Letter to the editor Traffic light causes gridlock I write to bring attention to the traffic light at 1150, 1160 and 1180 Dorval Dr. Unlike other traffic lights from secondary roads and residential complexes onto the busier Dorval Drive, this light does not appear to be driven by a motion sensor. As such it will change to red, even when no vehicles are looking to enter Dorval from the residences. This causes unnecessary gridlock on Dorval particularly during rush hour. This was not always the case. I noticed work being done at the traffic light a few months ago and ever since then, this problem has arisen. I hope this will cause the powers that be to assess the situation and remedy this problem as soon as possible. Jomo Russell, Oakville By Steve Nease neasecartoons@gmail.com 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. Pud