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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, January 15, 2010 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 --Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY Regional 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 Let the battle begin Do you know a young, talented, hard-working rock band from Oakville? Perhaps you're the proud parent, teacher, friend or schoolmate of one of its members and can't wait to see the group get its big break. If so, The Oakville Beaver wants to help one outstanding group take the next step toward being discovered, while introducing our readers to the wealth of musical talent that exists in this town. That's why we recently launched Metroland's Best of the West Battle of the Bands competition, a chance for area acts to strut their stuff online, be featured in their local newspaper and possibly appear on stage at this year's Burlington Sound of Music Festival (June 17-20). Joining the Beaver in promoting this contest are sister newspapers in the neighbouring communities of Burlington, Milton and Flamborough. Oakville's Alright Alright won the first Best of the West Battle of the Bands competition last year. If you, or a local resident you know, are between the ages of 15-25, are part of a local band and would like an opportunity to showcase your unique sound, this is your chance. To join our contest all you have to do is post your best one to three-minute video performance to the popular video-sharing website YouTube. Videos must be short, in good taste -- it's a family paper after all -- and totally original. Entrants must also provide the name of the band, a list of band member names, song name, some additional contact information and a brief band bio. Oakville bands that are ready to enter should visit oakvillebeaver.com and click on the link found beneath the heading Metroland's Best of the West, which is under the Features section of our homepage. This link will take you to an online entry form, which must be completely filled out and submitted to us no later than Monday, Feb. 1. That's right, you've only got two more weeks to enter. In February, each of the four participating newspapers will host online showdowns featuring bands from their communities, with the winner from each being featured in its hometown paper and advancing to a final showdown to crown a champion. The grand prize winner of our contest will be invited to perform on one of the stages of Burlington's Sound of Music Festival in June. After that, who knows? Don't forget, you only have two more weeks to prove to Oakville residents that your band is truly the Best of the West. Keep watching your community newspaper for more details. 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. Letter to the editor Thank you Oakville Dippers What a great way to kick off 2010! As we all jumped into the icy waters at this year's Courage Brothers' Polar Bear Dip for World Vision, I was reminded of how committed residents in our Oakville community are when it comes to helping others. I was fortunate enough to be able to join Todd and Trent Courage in Rwanda this year, as they visited the water project that their Polar Bear Dip has helped to build. We saw firsthand the joy of villagers as they pumped clean water for the very first time. There was singing, dancing, and much celebration. We were all incredibly moved by what we saw. I want to thank each person who took part in the 25th annual Courage Brothers' Polar Bear Dip this New Year's Day. And I want you to know what an amazing difference your shivering has made, and is going to make, in the lives of thousands of African children and their families. Thank you to Todd and Trent Courage for your extraordinary commitment to making this change happen, and for being such an inspiring example to our community of Oakville. You set an ambitious goal and more than tripled it, raising a grand total of $230,000. That one freezing cold New Year's Day dip in Lake Ontario will mean so many more children will live longer and healthier lives. From all of those families a world away in Rwanda and Tanzania, and from World Vision Canada: Thank you Oakville! MICHAEL MESSENGER VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLIC AFFAIRS WORLD VISION CANADA Letters to the editor 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 email to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Starbucks coffee bound for Afghanistan Recently my husband reconnected with his old reservist buddies and learned that one of them had remained in the forces and is now a captain in the Air Force and was being shipped to Afghanistan. So, this Christmas our family started a new tradition, we made a care package for our friend. When asked what he wanted, he surprised us by saying he wanted Starbucks VIA -- their new instant coffee and a few other things that one does not get in Afghanistan. I bought two 12 packs from our store in north Oakville. I also approached both Linda and John, the managers of the two closest stores to us to see if they would match my purchase. Both Starbucks managers agreed to match my purchase without batting an eyelid -- such generosity. I was really touched by their act and so decided to share with our community how Starbucks has expanded and now serves those extraordinary men and women of the community while they serve their duty to Canada in dangerous Afghanistan. FIONA SCHEMBRI Pud BY STEVE NEASE neasecartoons@gmail.com