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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday June 6, 2007 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 JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager On the road to victory The Oakville Relay For Life just keeps getting bigger and better each year. The Oakville Relay For Life could top the $500,000 mark this year. On Friday, the event had raised $485,000 and money is still coming in from donors. In fact, pledges can be made until the end of this month. In the past five years, the event has helped the Oakville Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society raise more than $2.3 million for cancer research. This year's relay saw 168, 10-member teams participate. They were joined at various times by a host of well-wishers and spectators at Appleby College. Sadly, there is a heart-wrenching story behind each team -- a loved one, a friend, or a co-worker who has inspired others to fight this insidious disease. In the past few weeks, and in this issue, we have tried to share a few of these stories with our readers, but there is no way we can cover them all. "Who doesn't know someone...?" asks Phyllis Greer, of The Colborne Relay Team. Yet, while the annual Relay For Life sheds its share of tears each year, it remains an amazing upbeat celebration of life dedicated to turning anger and sorrow into positive action. The relay begins with a Survivors' Victory Lap to give us hope, courage and inspiration that cancer can be beaten. Organizing such an event is an exhaustive, year-long challenge and we thank the many dedicated volunteers who make the relay a major fundraising and inspirational success. We also thank the hundreds of team members who took a night from their busy spring schedules to work towards the common goal of beating cancer. Someday, we hope all your efforts will be rewarded with an end to this disease, but until then we are glad to have you on our team. 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 Many people behind success of Ward 2's 150th anniversary celebration The rain held off and what a celebration was held in Ward 2 for Oakville's 150th Anniversary. The event was organized by the Kerr Village BIA and local volunteers, but it would not have been possible without support of many local businesses, service organizations and individuals. Many of the Kerr Village BIA Board of Directors were there, making sure that everyone had everything they needed, and to them we owe a huge amount of gratitude. The Lorne Scot Cadets deserve special mention for their tireless assistance from set up to take down. These young people are a tribute to their organization with the work ethic they brought to whatever task they performed. Local celebrities and politicians came out to support the celebrity "Acorn on a Spoon Race", which was one of the highlights of the afternoon as the sun came out for the race. Thanks to our celebrities who trained and practiced to make the race a success, and to Kathryn Kates and Aine Woodrow, for organizing such a fun 150th Anniversary event. Volunteers from West River Residents' Association were invaluable in assisting with everything from making signs to running a tattoo booth to selling 150th Anniversary bags for the day. Local service organizations like the Halton Regional Police Services and its Auxiliary Officers, Oakville Literacy Council, Lions Foundation of Oakville Dog Guides and the Oakville Historical Society provided information and activities throughout the afternoon. Area high school students brought their enthusiasm to the day's events ­ we are assured that the future of BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Oakville looks bright with young people like these to carry us into the town's next big anniversary! The stage was busy all day and John Marlatt from the Moonshine Café deserves special thanks for arranging such high caliber entertainment and working through any technical glitches that occurred. The equipment was kept dry by the generous donation of the Hustler Skateboard tent. Many thanks also go to Albert's Carpet One, for the use of its van for all of the supplies needed during the day. Actually, to be fair, all of the businesses of Kerr Street deserve special thanks for their support and assistance to ensure a great event. St. Aidan's Church did a fabulous job of organizing children's activities, with help from Kindermusik with Bea Sharp Music and Hopedale Nursery. The children had a great time and had lots to do to keep themselves entertained. The YMCA of Oakville Pud See Thanks page 9 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.