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

OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, June 11, 2009 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 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. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Letters to the Editor NEIL OLIVER Vice-president and Group Publisher, Metroland West 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 SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com In search of flagpole On the night of Monday, June 8, we had our brand new 22-ft., telescopic flag pole, topped by a golden-coloured eagle and new 54-inch by 27-inch Ontario flag stolen from our backyard at 1010 McCraney St. E. -- two houses down the street from White Oaks High School. If this was a youth prank, we would ask the culprits to please return the items to their rightful place, no questions asked. It has to be in this vicinity, as it had to have been carried away. BILL LITTLE RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville Treasure versus trash When I moved to Oakville four years ago, I was impressed by the recycling of household items on "Big Garbage" days. Re-usable cast-offs were put at curbside, and those who could make use of them picked them up, saving them from land-fill. This happened infrequently, and I believe many people looked forward to these events. Surely, it was good for the environment. Now (to make pick-up easier for garbage removers, I assume), large items are picked up on a regular basis, and very few people seem to be retrieving them and sparing them from landfill. Today, as I walked my granddaughter to school, I couldn't help but notice the furniture and toys in re-usable condition had been placed by the curb for this morning's pickup. Garbage trucks could be heard approaching. I would be very much interested in seeing statistics on how much more (or less) is actually being hauled off to landfill since this change was implemented. I suspect that it is considerably more. What a shame. SUE LISSAMAN TV AUCTION No need to wear a disguise RON BERNARDO / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER IN HONOUR: Commander (Ret) Mike Vencel marches with members of Bronte Legion Branch 486 to lead the parade from the Legion on Jones Street to Bronte Cenotaph to offer a wreath to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives for D-Day. Our society is told to respect the police and trust in them. The police in return pride themselves on honour, respect and integrity. Disguising an unmarked police cruiser as a taxi cab is deceitful and brings into question the decision making process that would have approved of such an action. What's next...a disguise as the Weed Man to check to see if you're using banned pesticides? Or how about disguised as a garbage truck to make sure you're not putting recycling in regular trash? Come on...do your job and don't hide behind deceitful disguises. KEVIN MORAN The currency of human contact and the new hip huggy culture I t started a few years ago. And I have to admit that although it was completely foreign to me, I thought it was kind of cute. Every time my daughter (then 11) was greeting or saying goodbye to her friends, they'd hug. Huge hugs: young girls basically hurling themselves into each other's arms, like they were never going to see each other again. Forget that they were probably getting back together in an hour. It got so huggy amongst my daughter and her friends, it started to look and feel like an episode of The Sopranos, or one of those Leo Buscaglia love-ins that PBS would run ad infinitum back in the day around their membership drives. For those unfamiliar with Buscaglia, the late, lovable Leo was an author, motivational speaker, self-described cheerleader of life, guru and professor of a non-credit course at the University of Southern California called Love 1A. And Leo passionately believed in the currency of human contact, particularly the humble hug. Inherently speaking, when it comes to that humble hug, I confess to being more Jerry Seinfeld than Leo Buscaglia. Jerry, in a memorable episode of Seinfeld, revealed an innate aversion to hugging. Alas, I grew up in a household where hugs were reserved for only the most emotional of occasions (births, deaths, the announcement that weird uncle Basil's goiter had been successfully treated, that sort of thing). Further, I grew up in a generation where male hugging -- or male contact of pretty much an description -- was frowned upon, unless in the context of a wrestling or boxing match, or an attempt to administer wedgies, noogies, or such. Andy Juniper Well, times have changed. I've changed. And over the past few years I have witnessed the pervasive hug culture amongst my daughter's peers expanding to include boys. Boys hugging girls, boys hugging boys, and everybody hugging at the drop of a hat. Hugging upon arrival at school. Hugging between classes. Hugging between hugs. Suddenly, hugging has become hip. Ah, the hip hug culture. And while many view this as a positive thing -- kind of a modern uptake and manifestation of the hippy-era mantra of peace and love -- to some people this epidemic of affection is presenting problems. In recent media reports, it has been noted that many schools are actually prohibiting hugs. Some are simply banning "extreme hugging" (hugs that last a lifetime) while others have taken the further step of banning all other PDAs (Public Displays of Affection), including holding hands and high fives. Whoa. Now I understand the problems these schools are facing. Hugs are being blamed for everything from clogging hallways to making students late for classes, but as long as group hugs aren't turning into grope hugs, I say let the kids be. Seriously, we live in a crude and violent culture where positivity, politeness, kindness and caring seem to be going by the wayside. If kids want to counter this culture with hugs, then good for them. Hugs are harmless. Hugs are the new hello (and the new goodbye). If kids are clogging the halls or arriving late for class, have hall monitors move 'em on. But, honestly, don't outlaw affection. Wow. Look at me. Taking up where Leo left off. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com.