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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, November 27, 2013 | 6 Decisions earn passing grades Halton's school boards had to make tough decisions recently regarding health issues concerning their students and both boards earned passing grades for the actions they took. First, the Halton Catholic District School Board wisely opted to reverse a ve-year-old ban on allowing public health nurses in local schools to administer the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to Grade 8 female students. HPV is a common virus with many strains and is spread through sexual activity. It's the primary cause of cervical cancer and can also cause other cancers in both men and women. The vaccine has long been available through family doctors and clinics. The Halton board was the only one of 29 Catholic boards in the province that didn't allow on-site HPV vaccinations. What did the local board know that others didn't? The decision to lift the ban, doesn't mean the Halton board is encouraging sexual activity among its students. Nor does it mean it is promoting an unsafe vaccine. The majority of medical opinions indicate the vaccine is safe and the decision to vaccinate or not is still in the hands of parents -- so it boils down to a matter of choice. Maintaining the ban wasn't the proper course. Mark Loeb, division director of infectious disease in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University, delegated at the board and noted cervical cancer kills 420 Canadian women annually. Meanwhile, Halton District School Board trustees voted to continue to allow Wi-Fi in all schools, but will monitor the health risks as new information is revealed by world and Canadian health experts. Most trustees believe there aren't any risks associated with the electromagnetic effects of wireless use in schools. Some studies have suggested a possible link between Wi-Fi use and a variety of symptoms, such as dermatological redness, tingling and burning sensation, as well as fatigue, tiredness, dif culty concentrating, nausea, heart palpitations and digestive problems. Yet, there may be harm if the plug were to be pulled. "I'm more concerned about the harm that turning off Wi-Fi will do to our children than turning it on," said Oakville trustee Don Vrooman. "How much harm will we do by failing to prepare our students to be leaders in the world where these are the very tools they will need?" he asked. Maintaining the status quo, but being vigilant is a prudent approach. We don't blame some parents for being extra cautious when it comes to their children's health, but there comes a point when caution morphs into over-protectiveness. Editorial B C C R A S C O R E "Connected to your Community" S 447 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 141 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice ­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS The Bronte Creek Community Residents Association's (BCCRA) rst annual Golf Tournament at Deer eld Golf Course raised $5,200 for the Oakville Hospital Foundation and the Navigator Campaign for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. With matching contributions from the Mental Wellness Network and Amarna Foundation, the total was more than $18,200. From left, Marla Bloom eld, OTMH community fundraising coordinator with BCCRA Committee members Matt Chopiany, Catherine Parsons-Dhamija, Ray Kulchysky, Elaine Moores, Maurice Lovelock, Angie Pettyjohn and Rohit Dhamija. | photo by Riziero Vertolli ­ Oakville Beaver Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production Talking face-to-face is so old school Increasingly, people are relying on their electronic devices and social media sites for a variety of reasons, and this is making people anti-social. Children are growing up with cellphones and social media sites, while I got my cell phone at 18 and didn't have Facebook until well into high school. Being 20 years old, my relationship with technology developed unusually late for my generation, and now even 10 year olds have all this technology and more, which affects the way they socialize now and how they will, as adults. Walking around a public place is like travelling through a sea of cellphones and iPods. People travel with phone in hand and earbuds in. No one seems to have their hands free anymore; they are constantly busy with something. Letter to the Editor SANDY PARE MARK DILLS I have to admit, I am guilty of this myself. When I am by myself in a public place, I feel obligated to pull out my cellphone and look like I am doing something. If you really think about it, I am trying to look social, while in reality being anti-social. While devices and social media websites supposedly allow easy communication with anyone from anywhere, what they actually do is make us anti-social. Rather than speaking to each other, younger generations, as well as current generations, are typing, emailing, texting, BBMing, iMessaging, Snapchatting, Tweeting, Facebooking, and Skyping each other. Talking face-to-face? That's ancient history. Gabrielle Forget, Oakville MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Thanks for the great support of JDRF gala I am writing to thank the residents and businesses of Oakville for their generosity, including the Oakville Beaver. It is this generosity that makes Oakville such a wonderful community to live and work in. The second annual Starlight Soirée was held Nov. 7 at Appleby College. This event supports the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). It was an amazing evening sponsored by extremely generous restaurants and businesses. Our guests opened their hearts and wallets while fully embracing our Great Gatsby theme. Our committee is truly thankful for each and every person who supported our evening and JDRF in its mission to improve the lives of those affected by and nd a cure for Type one diabetes. Please visit www.starlightsoiree. com and support the local businesses that support our fantastic community. Christina Marineau, volunteer committee member, JDRF 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.