6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday December 13, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 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: NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS A DIVISION OF METROLAND MEDIA GROUP WEST GROUP PUBLISHER IAN OLIVER Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, Caledon Enterprise, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Don`t become a statistic With the fast-paced lifestyle many of us lead, forgetfulness and fatigue can be a deadly combination that can turn special times into tragedies. This is especially true during the holiday season, when many people find themselves burning the proverbial candle at both ends in preparation for sharing some quality time with family and friends. Ontario's Fire Marshal Patrick Burke is asking residents to be extra diligent over the holidays to avoid becoming the victim of a momentary distraction or memory lapse. Between Nov. 1, 2005 and Jan. 31, 2006, 24 Ontarians lost their lives in preventable house fires. Burke emphasized how misused and forgotten candles are one of the most common causes of house fires at this time of the year. Other contributors to holiday celebrations going up in smoke include improperly used space heaters, pots left unattended and careless smoking. "People need to pay attention to potential fire hazards in their homes," Burke said. Simple tips that could save your home -- and your life -- include: · never leaving pots unattended while cooking; · smothering pot fires with lids and turning off stove burners rather than attempting to remove an ignited pot from a stove; · never removing batteries from smoke alarms that have activated while you're cooking; instead relocate the smoke alarm or purchase an alarm with a `hush' feature; · always placing lit candles in sturdy candleholders with glass shades and displaying them away from children, pets and any combustible items; · keep matches and lighters out of children's reach; · drink responsibly and keep a close watch of others who do not, since alcohol consumption is a contributing factor in many residential fires. The fire marshal reminds us that more than 90 per cent of residential fires are preventable. By paying more attention to how we celebrate the season, we can all avoid becoming the next holiday fire statistic. 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. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Oak tree funds could be used to buy trees Congratulations to the group raising funds to divert the Bronte Road expansion around the 250-year-old oak tree. I wonder, though, if the money or effort could be applied differently. I read in the Hamilton daily last month that oak trees represent a small and dwindling portion of the tree population in Oakville. Here are my suggestions. Harvest as many acorns as possible from the grand old tree and share the acorns among the schools in town to promote environmental awareness and the need to re-establish the oak tree population. Lobby the Town to replace the existing tree with dozens of young oak trees. (Certainly the newly-elected representatives will want to establish a "caring" reputation early in their four year terms!) Use the funds raised to purchase 276 young oak trees to plant in key public areas around Oakville (Bronte Road corridor, Dorval corridor, Lakeshore corridor, Upper Middle corridor, Dundas corridor, downtown, parks). Again, I commend the fundraising efforts, but I think the funds could be better used to promote the health of the entire tree (or people) population in town. PAUL LAVERGNE BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Volunteers responded to call for more Cancer Society drivers On behalf of the Oakville Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society's Transportation committee volunteers, staff and drivers and for all our cancer patients, who we drive, I want to express our sincere appreciation to The Oakville Beaver's Oakville Living editor Angela Blackburn for her article concerning our need for additional drivers. The need was urgent! Our transportation pool of drivers had depleted so low that we were in dire need of several additional drivers to take our patients to their cancer clinics for treatment. The power of The Oakville Beaver was proven again! Oakville citizens responded to our plea for help. To date 36 new drivers have signed up to help us with this essential service. A "welcome" to all our new drivers who responded quickly to the article, you are all special volunteers who will make a difference by giving our current drivers some well deserved time off as we proceed into the New Year. JOAN GIBB, PRESIDENT, CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY, OAKVILLE UNIT 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. Pud