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

6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 9, 2008 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 DAVID HARVEY General Manager 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 ANCHOR Circ. Manager Healthy start for the new year Most of us -- at some point in our lifetime -- have made New Year's resolutions. And most of us have failed to keep them. Usually these resolutions involve health -- a promise to lose weight, quit smoking and exercise more often (or in some cases start exercising). Invariably, by the time the end of January rolls around, the resolutions have been broken. It would be great if 2008 proved to be the year that we actually paid attention to the health care experts. We know health and school officials would like us to pay attention to our lifestyles and those of our offspring. Ontario's Healthy Food for Healthy Schools Act calls for a ban on trans fats in many foods in all school cafeterias and an outright ban on trans fats in all school vending machine products. The move is intended to build on earlier action by the government to ban junk food in elementary schools and a call for 20 minutes of daily exercise for pupils. That is a good start, except if junior comes home and eats potato chips before chowing down on a fast-food dinner. If the schools are acting responsibly with our children's diets, then we should be paying closer attention to what they are eating at home or on their way home from school. A variety of community projects in Halton, designed to promote healthy lifestyles, will receive funding this year from the Ministry of Health Promotion's Ontario Heart Health Program (OHHP). In Halton, the funds are channelled through Choices 4 Health -- a partnership of community groups and agencies involved in heart health and chronic disease prevention. Funding will go toward supporting four related networks and funding 10 projects. Some projects will take place in elementary and secondary schools including: Active and Safe Routes to School, a Farm to School project, Healthy School Nutrition Environment Project and Families are Munching. In addition, Choices 4 Health will also work within the community through projects such as walkON, Active Minds Active Bodies, Healthy Concession Stand Pilot Project and the Tobacco-free Sport and Outdoor Recreational Facilities project. Let's make 2008 the year more of us get moving and make a conscious effort to eat foods that are good for the mind, body and soul. 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 Doctor delivers story was nonsense according to reader Re: The doctor delivers -- pizzas, The Oakville Beaver, Jan. 5 The article was "Nonsense on Stilts" (Thanks to Bertrand Russell, an appropriate description comes easily to mind). The shame of such flapdoodle must be shared by the editor and "the doctor," and also with the Women's Centre at Hopedale Mall. First, what research did you conduct? What proof did you ask for Salik to provide to authenticate his background? There was no mention of the university and training hospital that he attended in Pakistan. Was he, in fact, a doctor, qualified to practise medicine? Why does Salik have no time to study, when (to the best of my knowledge) pizzas are delivered mainly in the evening ­ and perhaps at lunch? Did you ask him what he does with all his free time? What interviews did you conduct with the Medical Council of Canada? Did you find out the procedures, in setting standards, followed by its committee? What were the responses? Second, I find it outrageous that a "doctor" would lower himself to beg for charity. What about students who are in the same financial crisis? Would it be apposite for them to go begging via the local rag? And his debt. How did he get into such "greater debt"? (The only mitigating circumstances to the story are that he doesn't have a credit card. But, that is probably not his fault). Salik's kids are fine. He has traveled a lot. And Canada is a very comfortable country. All of that sounds like a "comfortable" life. Third, why is the Women's Centre at Hopedale Mall accepting donations for Salik? How did it authenticate Salik's tale of woe? Is it a registered charitable institution? Will it monitor how Salik spends the funds? My conclusion is that you have transgressed the norm in responsible reporting. Why did you think that our milieu is unable to assess standards of reasonableness? Shame on you. CHARLES DU TOIT Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Congratulations for doctor story Re: The doctor delivers -- pizzas, The Oakville Beaver, Jan. 5 I just read Andrew Salik's plight in becoming a doctor here in Canada. It's disheartening to hear about the wall of red tape and bureaucracy he and his family has encountered, especially when the health care system is screaming for doctors. Bravo for The Oakville Beaver in bringing this to light! DOUG MORRIS 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.