6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 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 Action needed on cyberbullying It's a no-brainer -- cyberbullying should be a criminal offence. We are 100 per cent behind the Canadian Teachers' Federation in its decision to call on the federal government to take a tough stand on cyberbullying. One hundred delegates endorsed the motion at the powerful group's annual general meeting held in New Brunswick on Saturday. The president of the federation, Emily Noble, said her group is going to be lobbying MPs for their support in addressing weaknesses in the Criminal Code, especially in the area of harassment and bullying that's carried out in cyberspace. Thanks to instant messaging, posts on blogs and, of course, the ever-growing popularity of social networking sites, cyberbullying is a very real issue that needs addressing sooner rather than later. One can't imagine the sheer torment some young people and educators feel when targeted by a faceless criminal. The federation says cyberbullying is a growing problem that affects both students and teachers. We would like to take that statement further and suggest that it can potentially affect anyone, at any age, in any profession, at any time. But like anything else, you can't legislate common sense and our communities would be much safer and kinder if parents paid closer attention to what their child or teen is posting on the Web. While students might not want their mom or dad reading their e-mails or their postings on Facebook, that is what is needed if a parent suspects either their child is being bullied or is the perpetrator. Hateful, threatening words can be frightening. Unflattering or harmful photographs widely distributed are not funny. These are not pranks; it is online harassment. We hope that the teachers' federation continues to push this important issue and that it does not become `lost' once the school bell rings in September. Editor's note: Has your child been subjected to online bullying? If so, please let us know at editor@oakvillebeaver.com. 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 Community needs River Oaks Neighbourhood Hub I've attended two integration meetings that are formed by a committee of parents, teachers, and administrators, from the public schools Munn's, Lorne Skuce, Montclair and Sunningdale. As a result of PARC PE 16B the public schools in Ward 5 are undergoing major changes for the upcoming school year 2008/09. The purpose of this meeting was to ensure that our children, next year, will have a smooth and positive transition into their new school environments. Unfortunately, in many instances, this forum was used as a venue to raise nonrelated issues, one issue in particular that impacts the entire community. As of the fall of 2006 Munn's Public School became home to the Our Kids Network's River Oaks Neighbourhood Hub. The Our Kids Network manages this initiative and it is supported by the public and Catholic school boards, Halton Region and other community services. It currently occupies a classroom at Munn's and has its own separate entrance through the parking lot. The River Oaks Neighbourhood Hub is a community service that is available to everyone no matter what socio-economic background, race, or religion one is. It is a service that is open to all and its focus is to help children and families in Halton. I was therefore very disappointed by unwarranted concerns expressed about this invaluable program and wishes it to be relocated to a different school. I was even more disappointed to hear the superintendent of education state that the hub could possibly be relocated in September 2009. The Hub is a successful Our Kids Network's initiative that helps people. It is See Hub page 12 Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com This week's poll The Oakville Beaver has added a new polling feature on its website oakvillebeaver.com. A new poll will be posted every Wednesday with the results of the poll published in the following Wednesday edition of The Oakville Beaver. This week's poll question is: Is the Town of Oakville fulfilling its vision statement of being the most livable town in Canada? · Yes · No To vote visit oakvillebeaver.com. 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. 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