www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, December 28, 2011 · 6 Opinion & Letters 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 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 If 2011 was anything, it was LOUD. `The Arab spring'-- Middle East protests in Libya, Egypt, Iran, Bahrain, Yemen and Algeria that brought, or threatened to bring, governmental change -- kickstarted a year in which loud, angry voices stole the spotlight. Morphing out of the scene in the Middle East, came the Occupy protests -- a series of worldwide, city sit-ins (including Toronto) in which the protesters' message seemed as muddied as the ruined park grounds they left behind. Of course, with not one, but two elections to concern Ontario voters this year, there was plenty of name-calling, shouting and finger-pointing to be done from the various political parties. Federally, Stephen Harper secured his much soughtafter majority government for his Conservative playmates as the Liberals, under Michael Ignatieff, imploded spectacularly. The NDP, in stunning fashion, grabbed the role of the Official Opposition, by garnering dozens of seats in Québec even though some of their candidates appeared, on paper, to not have the credentials to run a lemonade stand, let alone run for Parliament. Of course, their strong showing was largely based on the charisma of leader Jack Layton who, sadly, was unable to enjoy his victory as he succumbed to cancer weeks later, bringing a brief moment of silence to the year. With the stock markets on a wild roller-coaster ride for much of the year, the howls from investors and traders alike were deafening. While we will be spared an election this year (2012), our southern neighbours will head to the polls in November so lots of noise -- and hot air -- has been filling the airwaves. Locally, residents raised their voices in opposition to shark finning and won, as the Town of Oakville Council banned the sale and distribution of shark fin products in Oakville. There is much noise afoot as construction really begins on the new Oakville hospital and there's sure to be a continuing cry to fund the billion-dollar project despite a wish for a quieter new year. Things again got loud with a police pursuit that ended in a shooting last fall in Oakville. Even as we usher in 2012, Town Council is looking to quiet down the excess noise motorcycles make, so perhaps it will be a more subdued year ahead. We can only hope 2012 will be a little quieter -- at home and farther afield. 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. Quiet, please! 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 More on fluoridation Re: Letter to the editor, Monday, Dec. 26, 2010 UTM weighs in on debate on fluoride. Dr. Sigal, I, too, reside in Halton, and I agree with you that the fluoridation debate is all about the health of the future children of Halton and its communities. Fluoride has the capacity to injure children, in ways immediate, and in subtle ways that can damage the body over decades. As you indicate, the public should be able to place its trust in the academic community. You imply, however, that the whole of the academic community is supportive of fluoridation. That is not the case. There are many skillful academics who have conducted, and continue to conduct, studies examining the effects of fluoride exposure, and those academics loudly warn of the hazards of fluoridation. A recognizable body of these other academics would be the 12 selected scientists who were assembled by the National Academy of Sciences to review all of the existing literature on fluoride safety. After more than three years of painstaking analysis, they produced the 2006 NAS report, Toxicological Risk of Fluoride in Drinking Water. Their report was very skeptical of the claims that fluoridation is both `safe and effective'. Those academics warned of serious issues with fluoride safety, citing concerns about fluoride's links to bone and soft tissue cancers, hypothyroidism, Alzheimer-like symptoms, and IQ deficits just to mention the short list. Their report urged that more research get underway quickly to closely explore all of those apparent risks. You wrote of "... experts in the field strongly in support of water fluoridation ...." Let's examine who qualifies as an See Rebutting page 8 Letter to the editor 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. Christmas lights are `cheesy' I was quite disappointed at the obvious display of ostentation, arrogance, garishness and poor taste displayed by the Christmas lights on a number of Lakeshore Road homes in Burlington and Oakville. It seems to be very obvious on the newly-built, ego-driven monstrosities, all of which look like mini Versailles Palaces in the very tired stucco thing, that there must have been a competition of who had the most white lights (how boring) on every conceivable surface of house, tree, and bush. Conversely, a number of charming older homes put up tasteful and understated displays that show warmth and creativity. These nouveau rich may want to reconsider their values and put up some simple stuff and donate the money they spend on those cheesy Chevy Chase Christmas displays to a food bank or the homeless, but I suspect their egos won't allow that. Money can buy stuff, but it can't buy class. Steve Wilson, Oakville Remembering those who helped I want to thank firefighters, ambulance and police departments as well as a retired police officer and two witnesses to an incident. All of this happened in early June. I want to wish every one of those who assisted me a happy holiday and all the best in 2012. Mary Ann Bailey, Oakville