www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, April 30, 2014 | 6 They are heroes, and our lifesavers For most of us, when it's tender loving care we seek, we turn to our mom, but when it's illness ravaging our strength, it's doctors from whom we seek a cure. Sometimes the medicine seems worse than the disease, but they, like mothers, are lifesavers in our midst and we will say a heartfelt thank-you to both of these heroes this month. While Mother's Day is quickly approaching (Sunday, May 11), Physician Appreciation Week is this week (April 28-May 2). Every year, Halton Region and the local hospitals celebrate the efforts of Halton's physicians and recognize their contributions to our community with Physician Appreciation Week. Tomorrow (May 1) is also the third Doctors' Day in Ontario. The date was chosen to commemorate the birthday of Dr. Emily Stowe, the rst female physician in Canada. "Halton's physicians work tirelessly year round, making a difference in every life they touch," said Regional Chair Gary Carr. "Having access to a family doctor helps ensure effective health care and contributes to the high quality of life our residents enjoy." Now in its 11th year, Physician Appreciation Week in Halton was originally established in 2003 by the Halton Physician Recruitment program. Today, that program, aimed at attracting new physicians to establish medical practices in Halton, continues as a regional priority in Halton. Visit www.halton. ca/newphysicians for more. And at this time, we would be remiss not to congratulate Oakville resident, and world-renowned, Dr. Ronald Worton, who was recognized last week as a Canadian medical hero -- see p.1 and 4 of today's Oakville Beaver for story. Dr. Worton discovered the gene for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). He was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and honoured at a gathering of more than 500 Canadian health-care and business leaders in Kingston, Ont. last week. Every year, the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame selects the country's "most brilliant health-care professionals to laureate status... those who have pushed the boundaries of discovery and innovation beyond the realm of possibility to make the world a better place," stated an announcement from the hall of fame. Dr. Worton was one of six inductees who joined the ranks of 101 laureates in receiving the prestigious national honour. He was selected by a panel made up of national health leaders. Described as a "role model of one who has achieved success without either aggression or self-promotion" and "who brings to every interaction kindness, sel essness, consideration and empathy," Dr. Worton and his medical team identi ed the dystrophin gene, which is mutated in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). This gave the global medical community a target for future research and it improved diagnostic abilities for DMD. To Dr. Worton, many others just like him, and to our own family physicians, thank you. Editorial A P R I L I N "Connected to your Community" R I S 447 Speers Road, Oakville ON, L6K 3S4 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 52 | Number 51 P A The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production Seniors Life Enhancement Centres celebrated a new Bristol Circle location with an open house, which included guided tours of the new facility. From left, clients Maria Braga, 72, and Lucia Ugarte, 89, assisted by activity coordinator Jackie Silva, work on a cherry blossom tree for an April in Paris-themed event in the craft room. | photo by Graham Paine Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) SANDY PARE MARK DILLS MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution Letter to the Editor CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager No fan of black-and-white police cars Re: Black-and-white police cruisers coming to Halton, Oakville Beaver, Thursday, March 27, 2014 As a former Halton Regional Police of cer and having looked into the police colour design from a traf c standpoint, I wonder why this change, which does have a negative impact on visibility in different traf c conditions. Black, or black-and-white, despite the uorescent logo markings and two-tone black and white do diminish the silhouette of police vehicles. Why, when the U.K. has a national uniform standard for emergency vehicles, we can't get the message that each emergency response vehicle variation has a negative impact on so many aspects of rst responder work, is beyond me. It might be nice and nostalgic, as was the case for the OPP going back to black and white, but it is not the safest for police members, who drive such vehicles. We have an aging population with increas- ing vision challenges. We can't get our act together on national, let alone provincial, safety standards -- hats, equipment or vehicles, Canada is a long way off the mark as is the case here in Halton Region with this change. Look at the U.K. model for police vehicles throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: it works. Even the most elementary research work can highlight this problem. For safety- rst organizations, I wonder why it isn't safety rst for employees? Take a lesson from a national standard in the U.K. and admit that we could do better than making police of cers feel good about the colour of their police cars. James (Jim) Drennan, PhD Dean, School of Justice and Business Studies, Fleming College, Peterborough Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Proud Official Media Sponsor For: 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, 5040 Mainway, Burlington ON L7L 7G5 or via e-mail to; ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. 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