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www.carstaroakville.com dentistoakville.com den 547 Tr T afalgar Rd. 905-8457579 2212 Wyecroft Rd. 905-842-6030 90 AVA I L A B L E Real Estate Broker 905-847 -2595 HALTON JOHN VAIL TRANS NSMISSION Business JohnVail.com V BROKERAGE SNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010 ONTARIO'S TOP NEWSPAPER - 2005-2008 Across Africa Page 19 905.842.8690 (9 905) 559 SPEERS R ROAD, UNIT #3 842-0 0725 5 A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 49 No. 146 "USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES" THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2011 32 Pages $1.00 (plus tax) Residents Santa Shuffle rejecting fluoride in our water By Nathan Howes OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Get the fluoride out of our water, said a panel of area residents advocating for the end of water fluoridation in Halton Tuesday. The meeting at Oakville Town Hall was organized by Oakvillegreen as a means to give concerned townspeople an opportunity to become informed through questions and discussions with the guest speakers. Fluoridating tap water was first seen as a way to prevent cavities in the 1940s, It was later confirmed through medical research that fluoride works best when applied topically to teeth with fluoride toothpaste. The panel argued that drinking it could expose the body to the toxin without providing beneficial effects. Sheldon Thomas, who was on the panel, is a retired manager of Hamilton's water distribution. Thomas spent more than 25 years operating and managing Hamilton's water infrastructure. "I'm not new to water. I'm not new to distribution and I'm reasonably intelligent. I started asking questions about who is going to come around and actually study my son's body because he doesn't need anymore (toxins) in his water." Thomas now operates a training and See There page 5 Police seek $5.8 million budget hike By Christina Commisso METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP Halton Regional Police are looking for a $5.8-million budget increase in 2012. Police Chief Gary Crowell said as the region grows so does the demand for policing. "We're expected to do more for more people," he said during Thursday's administration and finance budget meeting. The 2012 funding request shows a $122.2 million budget. Last year, after regional council approved a 6.9-per cent police budget hike, the Chief was asked to keep future budget increases around the rate of inflation. Coming in with a 3.2-per cent increase for 2012 -- and $1.2 million lower than Gary Crowell what was forecasted in 2011 -- did just that. The budget was approved by the committee and will be forwarded to the budget review committee before going to regional council for final approval Dec. 14. Compensation is the priciest line item on the budget, making up about 85 per cent of expenses at $109.6 million -- a $6.6-million increase from 2011. Of the increase, $2.3 million is related to contract settlements. The agreement runs until December 31 and awarded wage increases of 9.2 per cent over three years. About $1.5 million is allotted for new hires including 14 uniform officers, one civilian position See Average page 7 MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER FOR THE SALVATION ARMY: The Salvation Army Oakville raised $4,200 through last weekend's Santa Shuffle 5km Fun Run and 1km Elf Walk held in downtown Oakville. Both the amount raised, and the number of participants this year, was well above that of last year. Here, Santa greets Kaitlin Hoogland, #944 and Meagan Bennink. Lewis Kent won the 5km Fun Run title.