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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday April 18, 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 What went wrong? Imagine yourself being at the wrong end of a police raid -- having armed police officers in full riot gear storming into the privacy of your home and being herded into custody at gunpoint in front of family, friends and neighbours. Now imagine that you are innocent and the police invasion is totally unwarranted. Brock Morris, of Royal Windsor Drive, doesn't need to imagine that scenario. It happened to him on April 11 when the Halton Regional Police, acting upon a tip and carrying a legal search warrant, raided his home looking for a marijuana grow operation. The incident left Morris, a professional landscaper, wondering why police singled him out. So far, he has not received a formal apology from the police or an adequate explanation as to what happened. We think he deserves both. The best we've heard to date is an admission from Halton Regional Police public affairs officer Sgt. Brian Carr that "Something's gone wrong in this instance." It would appear that the police received a faulty tip about Morris and their follow-up investigation was incomplete. We don't fault the police for the manner in which they conducted the raid. A police raid is a tense situation. The police must be alert at all times and ready to protect themselves from harm. When we place those charged with enforcing our laws in harm's way, we must allow them to defend themselves. However, the police must also do everything possible not to place innocent members of the public in harm's way. That's why it's important for the police to get their information right in the first place. Fortunately, this instance ended without anyone being physically injured. Morris and his family were shaken, but not harmed. However, one misstep by Morris or a member of his family and the outcome might have been ended tragically. Both Morris and the public deserve an explanation as to what went wrong, and what steps are being taken to make sure the same mistake isn't repeated on another innocent family. 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 United Way responds: CDH did not meet funding priorities United Way of Oakville (UWO) has a responsibility to its stakeholders, supporters and to the Oakville community to manage and allocate donor gifts in the most efficient and impactful way. UWO must periodically review its investment strategy and assign funding priorities to ensure that community agencies and programs that do receive funding are those that meet emerging needs in the community with a focus on both prevention and intervention. In 2007, the UWO board of directors, through community consultations and research, developed and established funding priorities to guide its investment strategy. These priorities are: to strengthen families, support independence and well-being in seniors, support those in crisis and to promote self-sufficiency in individuals. Three of the agencies that had been funded in the past do not currently meet the new funding priorities and, as a result, may not receive funding after this year. Community Development Halton (CDH) is one of these agencies. To ease the transition, UWO implemented a phasing out of these agencies by only reducing funding 30 per cent for 2008 and allowing a year to secure other funding or resources as needed. I trust that this information will allow your readers, our donors, to understand that there is need in Oakville. More than 30,000 residents rely on UWO-funded agencies and programs each year. Unfortunately, there is just not enough money to go around. For its part, UWO takes very seriously its responsibility to allocate the funds that are available in the most efficient and impactful way. BARBARA BURTON CEO UNITED WAY OF OAKVILLE Funding cut regrettable I am very saddened to read about funding cuts made by the United Way of Oakville to Community Development Halton and numerous other community agencies. I have worked with women, particularly women victims of violence, and know from experience it takes a variety of supports from our social agencies to create a system that will help women to recover and be strong and engaged in society again. Over the years the information and research from Community Development Halton has provided an invaluable profile and assessment of the needs of our community. Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com See Long-term page 8 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.