www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, April 6, 2012 · 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 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 News of a local five-year-old boy and his unyielding efforts to fundraise to help sick children in the Greater Toronto Area have been nothing short of inspiring. Koen McLeod, a senior kindergartner at Oakville's Brookdale Public School, decided earlier in February to take part in a pledge drive that helps raise awareness and funds to support hydrocephalus clinical research at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. Hydrocephalus is a life-threatening and debilitating condition that creates a buildup of fluid inside the skull, leading to brain swelling. The fundraising initiative is run by MX for Children, a charity that connects motocross enthusiasts with children's hospitals across North America. Taking after his dad, Koen is an avid lover of dirt bikes and has been riding one since he was two and a half years old -- his first came with training wheels and he has since graduated to a standard two-wheeler. When Koen and his parents came across the charity pledge drive, the youngster immediately said he wanted to take part and help out other children, telling the Beaver, he "wanted to help the kids so they get to go home to their moms too." Although participants needed to raise $500 for the cause in order to be eligible to attend a Supercross event in Toronto and meet their favourite dirt bike stars, Koen set his sights a little higher by setting a personal goal of raising $3,000 in two weeks; he ended up surpassing his goal and raised $3,300. The five-year-old would go out every day during the week (for two weeks) with his parents and even go out on weekends collecting funds. Koen has been continuing to raise money for the cause and plans to do so until the deadline of the second phase of the pledge drive on April 12 at 5 p.m. He is close to raising $4,000 and has set a new goal to raise a total of $6,000 by the deadline, according to his proud mother, Dawn, who told the Beaver she is amazed at the level of responsibility her son has taken on a such a young age. And we share her sentiments. To be so aware of the community and have such a strong desire to help change the lives of practically strangers is not something you see everyday in your average five year old. To that end, we hope Koen's efforts inspires our town -- as much as he has us -- to continue to help out those less fortunate in our community and beyond. Donations to the cause can be made online by visiting www.sickkidsfoundation.com/page/koenmcleod. 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. Inspiring 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. Google studies on your cell phone I am surprised a recent reader was shocked about the real reason for the clocktower at the Upper Oakville Shopping Centre. I wonder about the cell repeater towers that are disguised as conifer trees in the beautiful Muskokas? (and palm trees in California....) Certainly, one might wonder why they are still a perfect green in the middle of the winter while every other tree is a brownish grey colour in winter hibernation? It could have something to do with the radio frequency waves, which make the tree look great all year round. I wonder if anyone asked themselves what exactly it was they were building on Summerhill Crescent near Grand and Upper Middle? It looked like some sort of white cell tower, which happened to disappear one day during March Break. Cellular towers are popping up all over the country and if you think Health Canada or Industry Canada have your best interest at heart, think again. Both organizations will claim there are no adverse health effects, but we all know that government opinion is the status quo. There are several studies that show exposure to cellular phone frequency and radiation are harmful to your health, just Google them on your phone. Mark Leinweber, Oakville By Steve Nease neasecartoons@gmail.com Pud For Judaism and Christianity, our most important religious holy festivals are around the corner. Passover, the Jewish celebration of our redemption from slavery, lasts for eight days, leading off with one of the most celebrated home rituals in the Jewish world -- the Passover seder. Seder in Hebrew means order, as this meal Rabbi Stephen has a specific set Wise of rituals and blessings that are followed in a prescribed order of 14 steps in our Passover hagaddah (book). It includes drinking four cups of wine, songs of praise to God and a retelling of the Passover story. This is introduced by the four questions. The first question is simple, but requires a long answer -- Why is this night different from all other nights? To begin, we consider we were once slaves but were freed, so we should be aware of how we treat others. We remember how God saved us as the angel of death passed over Jewish homes. In the same way we Jews had to have complete faith, so too Christians believe Jesus had complete faith to die on the cross and submit himself to death to his heavenly father, leading to Easter. As Passover and Easter often fall close together on the calendar, dialogue is so crucial to our two sister faiths. Our common human experience of fear and faith can and must be explored. The Easter vigil has similar themes to Passover. Through dialogue and sharing our stories, rituals and traditions, we together can move towards acceptance and true friendship, and affirm our common experience under God. Rabbi Stephen Wise Shaarei-Beth El Congregation, Halton Finding faith in others Guest Column