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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, May 18, 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 Pay attention We do it every day. We climb into our vehicles and head out to work, the grocery store, to visit family or head off on a vacation. We don't give much thought to the potential dangers that may await us whenever we get behind the wheel. Driving is an exercise that is potentially dangerous. A motorist has to take into account both their own action as well as those of motorists around them. Increasingly, the risk is distractions to the driver. The upcoming months of June, July and August historically have the highest fatality and injury rates each year. Monday marked the beginning of National Road Safety Week and, whether you operate a car, motorcycle, scooter, bicycle, or a pair of sneakers, it is of vital importance that your focus is always on the road. Increased vigilance and concentration could save lives. The Halton Regional Police Service support this yearly initiative and will be on the lookout for aggressive driving, impaired driving, distracted driving, and seatbelt non-compliance -- behaviours that have led to a deterioration in road safety. Distracted driving has become the latest problem on the roadways with drivers continuing to use their hand-held devices to make phone calls and send text messages, despite the fact they are breaking the law. These actions make a driver 23 times more likely to get into a collision than a non-distracted driver. Last week, we wrote in this space about Halton's undercover `hobocops' who were kept busy at Guelph Line and Fairview Street in Burlington, ticketing drivers who were doing everything but paying attention to the road. While some residents thought Project Disconnect was underhanded, we think it was an innovative way to get drivers to hold the wheel instead of their cellphone. Road safety should be top of mind year-round, no matter what type of vehicle you are operating. Driving is a right and each person behind the wheel owes it to others on the road (and themselves) to be aware of their surroundings at all times and to limit distractions. When performing other potentially dangerous tasks that require concentration, we limit distractions. We should do the same whenever we get behind the wheel of a vehicle. 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. 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 CGC speaks on drilling incident here 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. Driving dangerous in Oakville Have you observed the drivers of Oakville lately? Almost on a daily basis, I am honked and given the finger when I attempt to turn into my driveway. I have seen a car try to pass my neighbour on the inside while he was attempting to turn right into his driveway. There is a four-way stop at the Community Centre on Glenashton Drive. You can stand there any day and watch multiple drivers roll right through the stop sign and speed down the street. (It's a 40-kilometre school zone.) Travelling south on Eighth Line, I have been passed numerous times by a car in the rightturn lane at Upper Middle Road. When the light goes green, the car peels ahead from the right turn lane and cuts me off. When driving north on Eighth Line there are designated parking and bike lanes. Again, regularly, motorists who want to go See Remember page 7 Pud By Steve Nease neasecartoons@gmail.com Re: Don't dig deep for geothermal heat, officials are warning, Friday, May 11, 2012, The Oakville Beaver Recently the Canadian GeoExchange Coalition (CGC) was informed of an incident involving a licensed water-well drill team in Oakville, Ontario, which hit a pocket of gas while drilling a vertical borehole for a geothermal heat pump system. It is clear to us that this is not a geothermal-specific incident, but could have happened with any drilling technology. In many areas in North America, it is not unusual to find small pockets of previously unidentified and unreported gases at various depths while drilling. These types of encounters are found in all types of drilling including geotechnical, piling and soiltesting drilling. In some parts of Canada, undefined gases have been released naturally since time immemorial; when found on a job site, the Canadian drilling industry generally should evaluate and monitor these types of occurrences closely. CGC's understanding at this point is that the event raises question around good general drilling practice in southern Ontario, and that the incident is not related directly to drilling for geothermal systems. To our understanding, the incident was well-handled by the professionals on site. Monitoring under the supervision of a petroleum engineer, while ongoing, has apparently shown steady decreases of gases, to a safe and negligible level today. According to experts we've interviewed, hitting gas is a serious issue, and this CGC-Qualified Company and the CGC Accredited professionals involved have delivered a safe outcome. The Town of Oakville Council's stated concern relates to an alleged lack of regulation. We're sorry that Oakville has reacted in this manner to See CGC page 7