Ask us about 40 Years of Helping Kids Sat. April 21 10am-2pm www.chisholmcentre.com OPEN HOUSE bleaching for new patients FREE 905-842-6030 90 dentistoakville.com den www.carstaroakville.com 905-8457579 547 Trafalgar Rd. SNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010 ONTARIO'S TOP NEWSPAPER - 2005-2008 Beaver Trails 905-847 -2595 2212 Wyecroft Rd. A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 50 No. 41 "USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES" THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2012 32 Pages $1.00 (plus tax) Lights, camera... Crime down, traffic chaos on the rise By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF As crime plummets to a record low in Halton, police continue to struggle with safety on area roads following 8,386 motor vehicle accidents in Halton in 2011. Despite a 19 per cent increase in traffic enforcement activities by Halton police last year, traffic collisions still rose by 10.1 per cent. Police said this included 3,138 collisions in Oakville, 2,967 collisions in Burlington, 1,434 collisions in Milton and 847 collisions in Halton Hills. Nearly 6,000 of these accidents resulted in property damage while 1,174 resulted in injuries, and 15 Deputy Chief Bob Percy resulted in death. "It's a little disturbing because most of these collisions are preventable," said Halton Deputy Police Chief Bob Percy. "It's distracted driving, it's people being impatient, it's people running late who see everyone else on the road as nothing but an inconvenience to them. We've seen this increase and there's no one causal factor." Impaired driving is also an issue in Halton with impaired driving arrests during the first three months of 2012 already surpassing those made during the same period last year. Percy said these statistics are encouraging in some ways because, he said, they show officers are succeeding in getting more impaired drivers off the road. On the other hand, he said, it shows people are still drivSee The page 8 ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog ACTION: Rob Stewart, world-renowned filmmaker and activist, visited Pine Grove School to speak to Grade 2 and 3 students about Pine Grove Shark Angels on film By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF When Grade 2 student Luke Hoorntje helped convince Toronto city council to put a ban on shark fin products, it impressed even world-renowned, awardwinning filmmaker Rob Stewart. The Sharkwater director was so impressed with the efforts of the youngster that he came to Hoorntje's school to speak to him and his fellow schoolmates at Pine Grove Public School. Stewart told the students they all must do something because even one person can make a difference as their sharks and how they can help save them. Stewart filmed a critically acclaimed documentary on shark finning titled Sharkwater. Here, Grade 2 student Luke Hoorntje, who has become a child representative for Shark Angels, is interviewed for Stewart's new documentary. classmate has done, collecting 1,200 signatures from people wanting to ban shark-fin products in Toronto and by making a public presentation to council. It is what Stewart aimed to do with his multi award-winning documentary film. "When I found out sharks were being See Filmmaker page 5 Huge Rebates! Carrier $1400 & OPA $650 905-844-2949 A/C CHECK, CLEAN & SAFETY SPECIAL $ 99