The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday September 19, 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 SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Bathtub race should be saved News that the United Way of Oakville's annual campaign kick off bathtub race has been cancelled due to liability reasons has hit the community hard. The bathtub race -- a 43-year tradition in town -- saw Oakville high schools decorate, then race, their school tubs along Lakeshore Road in downtown Oakville. It may be that the local United Way didn't realize what it had in the bathtub race. Perhaps it underestimated the race's value to the community. It may be that some other local charity could adopt the race and find itself with a ready-made fundraiser, a long-standing tradition in town with a following that is hard to match. Since running a story on the bathtub race's cancellation, The Oakville Beaver has received a number of letters from concerned citizens. They were representative of disappointed students who won't get a chance to race, parents who participated themselves as students and now either watch their children participate or just attend, and more. Not too many events have the drawing power that the bathtub race presented when it saw downtown Oakville lined with onlookers. This community is all about heritage and tradition. Its members often go the extra mile to save heritage houses, heritage trees and to give local heritage the respect it is due. Liability may indeed be a very real issue. Injuries, too, are not to be taken lightly. However no one has pointed out any severe injuries that did occur over the 43 years of the race. Many, many charities host events involving cycling, walking, running, inline skating, sports activities and more. The Town of Oakville itself offers the public a skateboard park. Surely the proper precautions and equipment could be required at the event. The annual bathtub race, after 43 years, has become an enduring event in town. It is not simply a fundraising kick off, but a tradition. It signalled the start of a new school year. It had become a focal point of community spirit. The annual bathtub race and its many supporters deserved more than a quiet cancellation. The annual bathtub race is an Oakville tradition that deserves to be preserved. 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 Breastfeeding isn't always an option for infants Re: Reader objects to picture of formula bottles for triplets, Oakville Beaver, Sept. 14. Obviously the letter writer, Nancy Schottle, is a strong advocate for breastfeeding, and I respect that. The lovely cover story of the family with triplets though had nothing to do with the fact that the parents were bottle-feeding their triplets. The story was simply about the community of Oakville welcoming the triplets into our town. For advocates of breastfeeding, please note that sometimes you don't know the whole story. Sometimes you don't know why a mother has chosen not to breastfeed. Maybe she is not able to. After finally conceiving my son after six years of infertility treatments, I was adamant that I would breastfeed him. I went to the breastfeeding clinic at the Oakville hospital every single morning and afternoon for three weeks. My son's weight never increased. The staff there had me pumping with an electric pump to help bring the milk in, taking natural supplements, and taking prescribed medicine to assist with milk production. I literally never slept for 21 days. If I wasn't trying to breastfeed I was trying to pump. My son never stopped crying as he was starving. I never produced more than half an ounce of milk at a time. Not once did anyone at the clinic recommend that I use formula. They continually told me to keep trying. Finally, after lining up 10 different pills a day for various things, I said enough was enough. I "gave in", allowed my son formula, and the little darling slept for five full hours. He smiled at three weeks -- because he was finally full. My job was to feed him, and I did it. So for those of you who breastfeed, that is absolutely wonderful. But please, do not think less of those who do not. KAREN DUGGAN Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com More letters can be found at 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. 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.