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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, June 2, 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: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award 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 Ounce of prevention If your child was approached by a complete stranger in a car trying to entice them into the vehicle, do you know how they would react? Have you ever discussed with your child the possibility of such a scenario happening to them and what they should do if it does? If not, what are you waiting for? Last week, Halton Regional Police issued separate parental warnings in Burlington and Halton Hills in connection with young people being approached by strangers with what can only be described as bad intentions. In Acton, three incidents of an older white man, driving a silver four-door car trying to entice youngsters into the vehicle were reported over a five-day period at the end of April and start of May. In Burlington last week, two teenage girls were approached by a male stranger in separate incidents occurring less than 40 hours apart. In the first case, a 16-year-old was approached as she walked her dog around 5 p.m. last Tuesday. A man described as black, with very short hair or bald, 35-40 years old and earing a dark shirt struck up a conversation with the teen and attempted to entice her into his black, older model pickup truck. When she refused he continued driving westbound, toward Brant Street. Last Thursday at around 7:40 a.m., a 15year-old female was approached by an unknown man described as black, in his late 20s or early 30s and driving an older blue pickup truck. He, too, tried to entice the girl to get inside his vehicle. When she refused, he briefly followed her to a parking lot before he fled the scene in an unknown direction. Halton police urge parents to remind their children not to approach anyone that is not known to them and to always walk with a friend or a known adult. If approached by an unknown person, young people should be instructed to call 911 immediately from a safe place. 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 416-3401981. 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 Citizen asks for help and offers reward for lost camera card Having read all the positive happenings and citizen assistance in the Oakville Beaver all these years, I find myself in a position to reach out to my fellow Oakvillians. To say I'm distraught right now would be an understatement. On Saturday, May 29 I set out to take an XD camera card for picture development. For the first time, I decided to remove it from the camera and put in my pocket, and you've probably figured out the rest. I had to make one stop at the Upper Oakville Shopping Mall, (Eighth Line and Upper Middle Road), prior to proceeding to Walmart for photography service. The stop I made was in the vicinity of the mall's TD/Canada Trust bank and Shoppers Drug Mart. By the time I arrived at Walmart, I reached into my pocket to retrieve the camera card, and it wasn't there. Normally I would say, `tough luck, gotta get new shots' and carry on, but not this time. You see this card contains pictures from my high school reunion (Class of '75) and cannot be replaced. I am offering a substantial reward for the return of the camera card. So I ask that if anyone finds the XD camera card, please contact me at 905-617-2091. Thanking you in advance for your assistance. GORD VAN GEMERT, OAKVILLE 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. Park visit was ruined by trash Have you ever been so excited to go somewhere, but when you got there it was ruined? Well, it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon to go to the park. We were going to the park I love to go to very much. I was so excited because I'd waited to go for so long, but when I got there it was ruined. There were beer bottles and gum stuck to railings. There was graffiti, including swear words and inappropriate pictures. There was also mold and dirt growing off of slides and swings, as well as the empty cases of fireworks and even a stolen or lost scooter. I was so disgusted, sad and angry that I wanted to cry. I wanted to clean it up, but I didn't have the tools. After a minute of looking around at stuff, we left the park. My Sunday was ruined. LILY THIESSEN, 9, OAKVILLE Town only asking half the question Re: Town wants to hear where residents want a power plant, Oakville Beaver May 7, 2010 The Town of Oakville is only asking half the question. The other half, of equal importance, is where do residents want transmission towers and power lines located? No doubt, in most cases, the answer will once again be NIMBY -- not in my back yard. BILL SHARP, OAKVILLE