6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday May 16, 2008 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: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager E.R.A.S.E. these drivers It's the Friday before the Victoria Day long weekend. It may not yet be summer, but nothing spells the end of a long winter like May 24. For thousands of Ontario residents it is also the chance to load up the car and head north to cottage country. It's a party weekend for family and friends -- a time to enjoy the great outdoors. However, traffic accidents where lives are lost thanks to, among other things, excessive speed and impaired or careless driving usually mars this particular weekend. How much more can our police service do to reverse this deadly trend? Officers already stage seatbelt blitzes, haul unsafe vehicles off the road and even confiscate cars when motorists drive at high rates of speed. Despite these measures, people will die on the roads this weekend. Earlier this week in Markham, Halton Regional Police joined York Regional Police, other police organizations, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Transportation to kick off the 2008 Project Eliminate Racing Activities on Streets Everywhere (E.R.A.S.E.). Project E.R.A.S.E. was developed in response to fatal and serious personalinjury collisions caused by drivers racing or driving aggressively with absolutely no regard for public safety or traffic laws. Instead of just providing the media with a long list of sobering statistics, the police arranged to have members of victims' families share their loss. Debbie Virgoe, widow of Innisfil truck driver David Virgoe, bravely spoke at the launch of E.R.A.S.E. Virgoe, 48, was driving a transport truck on Hwy. 400, near Hwy. 89, June 18, 2007, when three vehicles began weaving in and out of traffic. Virgoe swerved to avoid them and was killed when his truck rolled into a ditch. "Speed, accompanied by careless and reckless actions, kill far too many innocent people on our highways," his widow said, adding those two factors killed her husband and best friend and changed not only her life, but the lives of her children and grandchildren forever. "I no longer have the love and support of my best friend," the widow said. "Never in my worst nightmare did I ever see my life like this... all of this could have been so easily prevented." We hope Debbie Virgoe's sad words get through to those street racers who believe they are invincible -- somehow we doubt it. 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 On behalf of the Board of Directors of United Way of Oakville (UWO) I would like to add some perspective to concerns expressed in your paper about recent funding decisions. I would also like to clarify the role of United Way in our community and its relationship with the various stakeholders. Our donors expect their contributions to be used effectively to meet the social needs of our community. To do United Way responds to criticism over funding cutbacks this we must: · Operate efficiently, · Identify the key needs in our community where we can make a difference, · Work with efficient and effective agencies, · Adjust our funding to meet the changing needs in Oakville, · Measure the effectiveness of agency programs. Over the past few years we have taken action to address these issues. The Board sees our organizational efficiency improving year upon year. About four years ago we undertook a major study of the needs in Oakville and out of this have identified four priority areas for funding: strengthening families, supporting independence and well-being in seniors, supporting those in crisis, and promoting self-sufficiency in individuals. All agencies were informed well in advance of the current funding cycle that their programs needed to support these priorities to ensure ongoing funding. To make certain dollars spent are having a real impact, some form of outcome measurement is essential. For four years UWO has provided training and consultation to agencies on Outcome Measurement using thirdparty consultants and inhouse staff. We believe that this area is a critical factor in providing assurance to our donors and to the community at large that money is being well spent. This year we have held agencies accountable for providing this information and those who are falling short, based on third-party assessment, have felt some financial impact. Our funded agencies also have expectations from us: · To be treated in an unbiased way, · To be supported, · To have some confidence in future funding. We use trained teams of volunteers to make recommendations to the Board on funding. The process includes a rigorous scoring system that helps ensure there is a level playing field. Throughout the year we support agencies with training opportunities. A major concern for Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com See Change page 7 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.