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w w w .i n si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B EA V ER Th ur sd ay , S ep te m be r 29 , 2 01 1 6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver 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. United Way of Oakville Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief 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 PHOTO BY NICOLE DEMPSEY SUBMITTED PHOTO STREETWISE: Nicole Dempsey spotted this little squirrel in downtown Oakville recently. Dempsey was very impressed by the animal's street smarts as he tried to catch every drop of water coming out of the tap. THANKS: A group of special education students from St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School learned some fire safety tips at a recent visit to Station Number 6 of the Oakville Fire Department. Letter to the Editor I just wanted to take the time to express my sincere thanks to the Oakville Fire Department Station Number 6 on Postmaster Drive. I am a special education resource teacher at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School in Oakville. I took a group of students to fire Station Number 6 to discuss fire safety recently. A number of students in my class are terrified of fire drills and I was hoping that by seeing behind the scenes, some of their fears would be relieved. We were warmly welcomed by a group of firefighters who were courteous and compassion- ate to the unique needs of my students. Each one of the firefighters at the station took an interest in the students and made sure that the day was one that the students will never forget. It was truly amazing to see the students in my class interact with the firefighters and remark afterwards that fire drills aren't as scary as they thought. Thank you Oakville Fire Department (in particular Station Number 6) for being such an important member of our community. You truly made the day of a group of special children. Amanda Morrow, Life Skills SERT St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School yThank ou Station No. 6 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Weve had houseguests off and on for a considerable peri-od. Theyve been at times demanding, discourteous, immature, insatiable, insufferable, and (some days, I swear) insane. Oh, and well miss them like crazy when they leave. As for how we came to find ourselves with such guests visi- tors with the ability to evoke such antithetical emotions well, heres the short version: Our eldest son and his girlfriend are the proud parents to two dogs, Chuck and Ellie. Back in mid-summer, an emergency arose and our son asked if we could take care of the young rapscallions for a few days. Of course, I said, no way. And, of course, I thusly found myself looking after two Boxers (on top of Zoey, our hound). Days, as they tend to do, turned into weeks. Okay, full disclosure (all grumpy old man-ness aside): were dog people. Secondly, we have the perfect property for hounds: 23 acres of roaming and romping room. Finally, we already had an incred- ible attachment to Ellie, the eldest. You see, our son was still living with us when he brought her home. Since I work from home, I looked after her most days and, suffice to say, she hooked my heart. When our son and his better half bought a house, Ellie naturally left us to go live in their new home. Soon after moving out, they bought Ellie a companion, the aforementioned Chuck. Chuck is perpetually puppyish and, as such, is full energy. Seriously, he rarely sits down. As I write, hes bounding around the family room trying to catch a fly that he will never catch. Although, to his credit, he will never give up. Just like hes never quit trying to dig himself to China. Assorted flowerbeds around our property look like minefields where hes dug (and dug and dug) Just like he never stops licking people as they walk by (I think he wants to know precisely how everyone tastes) Just like he never stops taking baths in our waterfall/pond plunging in and plunking himself down whenever hes overheated from running around doubtlessly scaring the daylights out of the poor fish. Kids: Why does it stink like pond in here? Now, I dont want to sound like an ungracious host, but there have been times when Ive nearly lost it with these hounds. My theory is that Chuck, in his infinite battiness, starts doing puppy- ish things and then this wackadoodle behaviour becomes canine- contagious. Next thing you know, all three of them are acting nuts. Running circles around the besieged mail lady, for instance, even- tually pinning her to her car. Or playing chicken with the horses. That is, when theyre not out in the paddocks (gross-out alert) eat- ing manure. Kids: Why does it stink like manure in here? Still, all told, they are adorable dogs with expressive, endearing personalities. To boot, theyre faithful companions (something someone might occasionally need living up here in the middle of nowhere). Take Chuck: he likes to help me cut grass. The other day he spent three straight hours jogging beside me as I went up and down the property on our riding mower. When I finished, he took up after my wife, who was riding her horse. Soon Chuck and Ellie will be returning home. I tell you, it was chaos when they arrived at our house. And, my guess is that it will be (too) quiet when they leave. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook http://www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twit- ter.com/thesportjesters. House guests who dig up gardens and swim in your pond