The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, October 18, 2013 | 6 Editorial Our children are the future October is Child Abuse Prevention Month and the Halton Children's Aid Society (CAS) is reminding people their assistance is needed to ensure children in the region remain safe. While CAS staff work with schools, service agencies, police stations and other regional locations, contacts from the general public play a vital role in helping the agency protect children from abuse or neglect. Last year, the Halton CAS was contacted on 4,434 occasions about concerns for child safety. More than half of those contacts (2,310) resulted in CAS investigations. According to Halton CAS Executive Director Nancy McGillivray, it takes a community to keep children and youths safe from fear, harm and violence. "We need people to speak up for people who don't feel they have a voice that can be heard," said McGillivray. Speci cally, Halton residents are asked to watch out for some of the signs of neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Those signs can include frequent absences from school, listlessness, poor hygiene, injuries such as bruising, cuts and welts that are inconsistent with the explanation for them, extreme aggression or withdrawal, age-inappropriate sexual knowledge, seductive behaviour, severe depression and frequent psychosomatic complaints such as headaches and nausea. While the ultimate goal of the CAS is to keep families together -- 95 per cent of all cases handled by the agency result in children remaining at home -- when the need arises, children are brought into CAS care. Throughout the year, CAS workers regularly spread its message, through 60-70 presentations, to those who work with children including teachers, daycare workers, camp counsellors and police of cers. While 90 per cent of CAS staff work in schools, services agencies, police stations and elsewhere, the agency needs all the assistance it can get, noted McGillivray. And it is only becoming more imperative as Halton continues to be one of the fastest growing regions in Ontario. There was a 12 per cent increase in Halton's child population -- from 89,975 in 2006 to 100,762 in 2011 -- so more and more, residents will be expected to help shoulder the responsibility to report genuine causes of concern. If you suspect a child may be the victim of some form of abuse or neglect, call the Halton Children's Aid Society at 905-333-4441. Your call could make a real difference in a child's life. And we all have a responsibility to protect the youngest members of society -- our future. "Connected to your Community" And the winner is ...from Oakville Oakville's St. James-Kush family was listed among the winners of the Fresh Air Fund's 2013 Photo Contest Wednesday. The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-pro t agency has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. All photo contest winners were selected from hundreds of pictures sent in by volunteer host families in Canada and across the U.S. re ecting the memorable experiences they shared with New York City visitors this past summer. The St. James-Kush photo was determined the winner in the Summer Brothers category, and features Fresh Air visitor, nine-year-old Antoine Hopkins (right) experiencing the simple summertime joys in Ontario with host sibling, Oscar St. James-Kush. "Our family is better for having Antoine stay with us," said Mary St. James. For more information on hosting a Fresh Air child next summer, contact Jeanette Murphy at 905-563-9993 or visit the Fresh Air Fund online at www.freshair.org. 467 Speers Road, Oakville ON, L6K 3S4 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 51 | Number 125 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production SANDY PARE MARK DILLS MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager | photo by Mary St. James Ambulance station site questioned Re: Halton's EMS plan is forward-thinking, Oakville Beaver, Sept. 27, 2013 Halton's planned ambulance station on Rebecca Street has raised issues related to safety and response time. What's not received much attention is the true effectiveness of building an ambulance station at this location. This neighbourhood is surrounded by four schools, a day-care centre, a public library, an arena and a seniors' residence. During school arrival and dismissal, more than 3,100 school children arrive and leave this area, with 47 school buses and hundreds of cars navigating morning and afternoon traf c along Rebecca each day. Public documents show peak ambulance dispatch time occurs between 8 a.m. and noon. Even with sirens on, EMS drivers will have to navigate around school buses, traf c barriers, stop lights and pedestrians (including school children and seniors). If safety and response time is the key concern, then building an ambulance station at this location seems questionable. Halton of cials publicly noted on Sept. 18, they have not conducted traf c or feasibility assessments for this location, and this property was the best available option they could nd. Better sites are available (along Speers Road, Third Line or Wyecroft Road), with faster ambulance access to main arteries and the new hospital. We've had one EMS vehicle servicing this area for years, which leaves us asking the question: Why not conduct traf c studies rst and consider alternate sites that would still service the community -- and even add more ambulances? Rob Maccarrone and Ella Kokotsisn, Oakville Letters to the Editor Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Proud Official Media Sponsor For: 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; ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. 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.