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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, May 4, 2012 · 6 Opinion & Letters 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 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 OakvilleBeaver is a division of David Harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor 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 Be prepared Like the Scouts say, Be Prepared. Lillian Mathieson was home alone in Goderich when fierce winds suddenly blew outside. Scared, she tried to close her back door, but the force of the wind made it impossible. After some of the longest minutes of her life, everything became silent once again. Lillian went outside to figure out what had happened, only to discover her neighbours' homes damaged and debris scattered everywhere. The power was out. She was not sure if her loved ones were safe and well. This is what Lillian experienced when a F3 tornado tore through her town of Goderich last August. The challenges are coming from all sectors -- for people to be ready for when disaster strikes -- and the person to whom that should be most important is you. We never know when disaster -- such as the recent VIA train derailment in Burlington -- can strike... ourselves, our family members, our homes, our community. We never know when our health will break, perhaps unexpectedly, leaving us vulnerable and unable to meet the simple challenges of our own lives. May 6-12 is Emergency Preparedness Week. The Canadian Red Cross is encouraging Canadians, with the story about Lillian, to be prepared for potential emergencies where they live by creating a plan and building an emergency preparedness kit. "When an emergency happens, responders might not be able to get to you and your family right away," said Andrew Little, disaster management instructor, Canadian Red Cross. "Because of this, we recommend that families have enough supplies on-hand to be self-sufficient for 72-hours." The Canadian Red Cross, a leading disaster response organization in Canada, offers information, tips and how-to checklists to help at www.redcross.ca. This May, Halton Region is challenging residents to get prepared by assembling or purchasing an emergency preparedness kit. Halton's Emergency Preparedness Challenge will run from May 1-31. "The recent train derailment in Burlington reminds us that we all need to be prepared, because emergencies can happen any time and any place," said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. "Whether it is a derailment or chemical spill, power outage or a natural disaster, such as a tornado, being prepared is your best defence." Here in Oakville, Emergency Preparedness displays can be found at Hopedale Mall (1515 Rebecca St.), Oakville Place Mall (240 Leighland Ave.) and Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (327 Reynolds St.). For information, visit www.halton.ca. Information is available, expertise is accessible. No one wants to think about it, but one day you may be glad you did. 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 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@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Cleaning up in River Oaks My children and I walk our dog regularly on the trails near our house (near the River Oaks Recreational Centre -- behind the baseball diamonds). We are always appalled at the amount of garbage we see in the bushes and along the trail -- presumably a hangout for teenagers from the local area. Today, my children decided it was time to clean up their neighbourhood and the environment. Emily Skanes, 9, and Edward Skanes, 7, got to work to do just that, cleaning up their neighbourhood. Emily and Edward also deliver The Oakville Beaver --- Route HH318. Tracey Skanes, Oakville By Steve Nease neasecartoons@gmail.com Pud Re: Calling residents to take action, Feb. 29, 2012 and Councillor puts forth challenge, March 14, 2102, Oakville Beaver I wanted to let the readers of The Oakville Beaver know that I have spoken with Town Councillor Pam Damoff, who took the lead on my challenge to have all members of Town Council sign their organ donor cards; I am grateful for Pam's hard work to make my vision a reality. Unfortunately, she was not entirely successful in her efforts. While she had strong support from the councillors for organ donation, there were some who felt that they did not want their organ donor status publicly known. I have to respect their decision not to make the decision public but it highlights one of the problems with expanding the donor base, an unwillingness or a discomfort with discussing the issue of organ donation. In my opinion, we should all be discussing it. The more people who come out and say that they are an organ donor the more their friends and family members will be willing to do the same. As long as we stay silent, it breeds trepidation and fear in people and leads to lower donor rates. So, for Organ Donor Awareness Week, I ask the people of Oakville who have registered as organ donors to talk, talk to your friends, your family, your co-workers, tell them your decision; tell them why you are proud to be an organ donor; tell them you are excited about the opportunity to save up to eight lives. Your individual conversations will have an effect, we can change things one conversation at a time. Thanks for your support. Jennifer Malabar, Oakville Starting the organ donor conversation