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w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER W e dn es da y, O ct ob er 2 7, 2 01 0 6 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends The Oakville Beaver Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. OPINION & LETTERS 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 e-mail to editor@oakville- beaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. With the municipal election over, all that remains now is picking up the election signs from the Oakville landscape and it looks like most, if not all, have been removed. Congratulations to Mayor Rob Burton and the 10 other incumbent councillors on their re-election. While the winds of change swept through Toronto, Burlington and Hamilton, Oakville residents showed their contentment by voting for the status quo Monday night. Only one incumbent lost Ward 3 local councillor Mary Chapin, who was defeated by newcomer David Gittings. The other new face on council is Pam Damoff who won the Ward 2 local council race. She replaces Cathy Duddeck, who moves on to Regional Council after win- ning that Ward 2 race. Mayor Burton should have no problem steering his council over the next four years as many like-minded councillors were returned to office. The next four years will be challenging as Council must guide Oakville through development north of Dundas Street, prepares for the opening of the new hos- pital and the Towns $130-million committed share towards it, all the while keeping a lid on property tax increases. In the immediate future, Council also faces a lengthy Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) challenge to its develop- ment charge bylaw next month. Looming on the horizon, are a number of OMB chal- lenges filed against the Towns new Official Plan Livable Oakville. We must also extend congratulations to all the candi- dates who ran and lost in this municipal election. Our democratic system would not be possible without their participation. We reserve a special thanks for Ann Mulvale, who ran against Burton for the third time and lost for the second. Her presence on the ballot generated interest in the municipal election and helped boost the voter turnout to 40 per cent this year up five per cent from four years ago. We wish her good luck. We hope that she will con- tinue as a valuable volunteer in the community and as a goodwill ambassador for Oakville, both at home and abroad. Lets just hope the optimism expressed by the return- ing councillors after election night continues for the next four years. NEIL OLIVER Vice President and Group Publisher of Metroland West 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 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 typo- graphical 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 Four more years THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: ATHENAAward THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIALMEDIASPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Canadian CirculationAudit Board Member Canadian CommunityNewspapers AssociationOntario CommunityNewspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America What C4CA should tackle next air traffic pollution? The Oakville Beaver is a division of In a recent article regarding the success- ful work of the C4CA in stopping the Oakville power plant, an interesting point was raised, that being: What next? Indeed, what next for such a powerful lobby group? I'd like to propose that it immediately set its sights on a growing problem that pollutes both our air and the serenity of our community in so far as noise: air traffic. Has anyone else not noticed that air traffic from Pearson has increased dra- matically over the last five years? The communities of Falgarwood, Joshuas Creek and other north Oakville areas have been subjected to this increase with little fanfare, save the relentless whine of jets as they turn slowly back towards Toronto. It's constant, sometimes you can literal- ly see them lined up across the horizon coming in across the 403. They creep fur- ther and further towards Trafalgar but mainly their circle happens about Upper Middle Road and back up over the fields just north of Dundas. They've also been flying substantially lower, and if there is any cause to doubt that statement, take a look up: they've got their landing gear out, lights on and detailed markings can be seen with the naked eye. We don't live in Brampton or anywhere near Pearson, so why are we being subjected to this now? Well, two reasons. Firstly, no one is complaining. We are going to have to be vigilant if we want to curtail this, because they can routinely fly these patterns by simply stopping for a day and then returning. It's a little game, it seems. Secondly, and more importantly, Oakville has no representation on the GTAA (Greater Toronto Air Authority) Community Environment & Noise Advisory Committee. That committee is comprised of elected rep- resentatives from Brampton, Mississauga, and Toronto. So, while, for instance, the Rockwood Homeowners Association gets to provide input about the jets flying over their homes, do we honestly think anyone from that committee is going to care or even protest an increase in flight re-routing over Oakville? And it's not limited to Oakville, south Georgetown is very noisy now, thanks to the jets coming further west to turn around. Here's what it boils down to: Halton, in particular northeast Oakville and southeast Georgetown, are fast becoming dumping grounds for the GTA's air traffic. This is unacceptable, none of us were warned about this coming when we bought homes here and we have no representation on the GTAA. Unless we are going to be granted access and input to this committee, they can keep their air traffic, thank you very much. I pro- pose that this issue become one of the new focal points for the C4CA. GABRIEL PATE Through the leadership of the Halton Police Services, Halton has been recognized as one of the safest regional municipalities in Canada and the safest place to live in the GTA for the third year in a row. I applaud both the police services and the people of Halton for their dedication to improving public safe- ty, as collaborative efforts are neces- sary to ensure our community has some of the lowest crime rates in our country. There are many reasons I chose to raise my two sons in Halton, but like any parent, a safe community was a particular consideration in my familys decision-making process. As both a mother and the Member of Parliament for Halton, I am proud to live in a community that leads Canadas safety record. I congratulate all individuals who have helped Halton hold this title for three years in a row. LISA RAITT, HALTON MP Hats off to police service