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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, January 22, 2014 | 6 Loss is never easy... especially of a loved one. When someone we care about is gone from our lives, a piece of us goes with them. Time, it has been said, is a healer. So, as time passes, we adjust to loss, however, the emptiness created by it is never gone -- it is just tucked safely away somewhere. We don't wear it on our sleeve in the same fashion we did when the loss was fresh. Last week, educator Jeffrey Boucher, 53, went jogging in Whitby. He did not return. His family expressed wide ranging emotions, from shock to grief to loss to hope. A week has slipped by and police remain confounded. Neighbours, friends, family, and strangers have all helped search for the family man, but to no avail. Records, bank cards, credit cards, vehicle checks... they have all been done. Still nothing. Now, the search is being scaled back. The investigation will continue. However, there are no clues and no leads. It appears all information to act on has been exhausted. His family is now left to wonder what happened. Did Boucher meet with foul play, fall and injure himself or did he choose to leave? They may believe he left of his own volition while keeping other negative thoughts at the back of their minds. Not knowing keeps hope alive. We sincerely hope this police le will not grow cold and the Boucher family will get the answers they so desperately seek. Such is the hope of a mother -- Barbara Tucker -- 30 years after her daughter Darlene went missing in Oakville. It is our hope that today's front-page story will help Barbara nd out what happened to her daughter. Darlene was just 16, pregnant and at odds with her mom and friends when she disappeared. Both Darlene and her friend, Jan Stonehouse, also of Oakville, also 16 and pregnant, went missing within six months of one another in 1983. There have been conrmed sightings of both, once together, leading authorities and, perhaps, Barbara to believe Darlene chose to leave and is living out her life her way. The circumstances, thoughts and events that would precipitate such a choice may have been valid at the time, however, time does effect its own change on such circumstances. Major issues one day are not the next, never mind 30 years after the fact. As we grow older, this becomes clear. If only that type of clarity could be discovered sometimes when we're young and struggling to cope with life. Perhaps, as Christy Dzikowicz of MissingKids.ca says, "It's time for a mother to have answers." Barbara is 67. Darlene would be closing in on 50. If she is no longer alive, her mom may have carried the burden of hope or the sting of regret for a relationship gone wrong for all these years. After all this time, Barbara is, like all of us, still holding out hope. She has asked that everyone, just as in the recent case in Whitby, look around one more time, search their memories for a new piece of information and see if a lost person can be found. Through the success of programs such as Crime Stoppers, the media can be of great assistance in getting the word out. We hope our story may be the catalyst for some good, or at the very least closure. Still hoping to find the missing Editorial S A N T A ' S D O W N T I "Connected to your Community" M E 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 52 | Number 9 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 Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor Feeling down and a stressed out after the holiday's? Imagine how tired Santa must be. Here, an in atable lawn Santa takes a post-holiday nap on a lawn off Bronte Road south of the QEW. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production Letter to the Editor SANDY PARE MARK DILLS Courages thank residents for their courage On New Year's Day, more than 700 people ran into Lake Ontario as part of the 29th annual Courage Polar Bear Dip, and thousands more stood and cheered these brave souls. Not even the coldest New Year's Day in recent memory could keep the crowds away. Our dippers had a lot of fun doing something a little bit crazy, and they helped us surpass our fundraising goal. At latest count, the 2014 Dip has raised more than $140,000 to support World Vision Canada's Rwanda: Right to Clean Water project in Gashora and Rugarama. Because of the generosity of so many, more than 7,000 lives will be forever changed and some lives will even be saved because access to clean drinking water will now be available to them -- something we take for granted here in Canada. The Courage Polar Bear Dip could not take place without the support and generosity of so many. A huge thank you is extended to: · Our proud polar bear dippers -- in spite of the extremely cold weather, you did it. You braved the elements and jumped in the lake on Jan. 1; · Everyone who came out to watch the Dip -- not even the frigid weather could keep you from cheering and smiling at the festivities; · Our mother, Gaye, for inspiring the whole thing and who continues to support us each step of the way, along with our families for their tireless unsel sh help and support year after year; · The members of the organizing committee, including Russ Anderson, Brian Betsworth, Dave Butt, Pam Damoff, Ed Howell and, in particular, Cheryl Singleton, who works so hard to ensure the Dip's success; · The volunteers -- More than 50 of you, and we think you are the best. Many started early on a chilly morning setting up for the event, many more helped during the event, and, of course, continued in the cold to clean up afterwards. A very special thank-you to the volunteers, who came out before the event to clear the ice from the beach with pick axes and shovels. While other similar events in the area were forced to cancel because of the conditions, our volunteers ensured we could proceed; · World Vision Canada, your staff and volunteers. You have been tremendous partners with the Courage Polar Bear Dip, and see Dip on p.9 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 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, 5040 Mainway, Burlington ON L7L 7G5 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.