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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, March 19, 2014 | 6 They work tirelessly for free and their efforts are so valuable, they are priceless. They are volunteers. They are our friends, neighbours and family members, who never seem to be short on time, energy or goodwill to go the extra mile for someone else. And they deserve our thanks. While National Volunteer Week will arrive next month, now is the time to begin thinking about how to say thank you. In today's Oakville Beaver (p.9), you'll see the Town of Oakville is encouraging residents to nominate a community champion they admire and appreciate for the 13th annual Community Spirit Awards. "We want to honour the great people who are making a difference in our community," said Mayor Rob Burton, challenging residents to share the stories, and celebrate the achievements of those who are dedicated to making life better for others in Oakville. Eight Community Spirit awards are up for grabs, including those recognizing achievements when it comes to access, arts, environment, individual and group efforts, heritage and history, seniors and youths. The deadline for nominations is April 14 at 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.oakville.ca/residents/ community-spirit-awards.html. Awards will be presented at the annual Community Spirit Awards presentation on June 11 at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre (QEPCCC), 2302 Bridge Rd. Before then, however, as National Volunteer Week (April 6-12) arrives, a plethora of local groups will recognize many others for their similarly sel ess efforts. Oakville is one of the best communities in which to live -- as recorded last week in MoneySense magazine's annual Best Places to Live in Canada ranking -- and it would be much less so, if it were not for our dedicated volunteers. What would sports groups do without coaches, schools without parent volunteers, service clubs without members or the Canadian Cancer Society without volunteer drivers? Where would our hospital be without its loyal auxiliary? Or how lonely some of our seniors would feel without friendly visitors? Would the popular local family activities, such as the annual Canada Day festivities, Oakville Family Ribfest or Santa Claus Parade, be as successful if there were no volunteers to support them? What about those folks at the Distress Centre of Oakville who eld calls from desperate or sad people? Could the Oakville Community Foundation, United Way of Oakville, Salvation Army of Oakville or local food banks assist the less fortunate if volunteers were not ready to lend a hand? Even abandoned animals receive kindness from strangers who freely give of their time or make donations to the Oakville & Milton Humane Society. The Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights (OCCPEHR) engages volunteers of all kinds for its annual -- and upcoming on Saturday, April 26 -- spring cleanup, which beauti es our town. There are so many people who help, it's impossible to name them all in this space. While there are formal awards that attempt to highlight the work of volunteers, we could all take the cue and simply thank someone we know who willingly gives their time for the betterment of others. Hats off to helpers Editorial S P E C I A L I N V E S T M "Connected to your Community" E N T 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 33 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 NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS From left, Oakville Mayor and Halton Regional Police Service Board Chair Rob Burton and Halton Police Chief Stephen Tanner present Lynn Miller and Pratima Bhatt of Special Olympics Ontario and Special Olympian James Montague, 22, with a cheque for $10,500. The funds were raised for Special Olympics Ontario during the Halton Police 2013 Law Enforcement Torch Run Campaign. | photo by David Lea ­ Oakville Beaver Advertising Director DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production Halton Region weighs in on waste collection Re: Farm out garbage collection in Oakville, Oakville Beaver, March 12, 2014 Thank you Doug Mosdell for your suggestions regarding waste collection in your letter to the editor. Halton Region is committed to making scally-responsible decisions that ensure we provide high-quality services while providing value to our taxpayers. Last December, Regional council approved a tax budget increase of zero per cent for 2014, continuing our history of either freezing or reducing taxes over the last eight years (one of the best records in all of Canada). In regards to waste collection, Halton's services are contracted externally to private companies based on a formal bidding process. We work with our current waste collection company, Miller Waste Systems, on a regular basis to review all waste collection programs. The Region also has a contract agreement with Emterra Environmental to process and market Blue Box material. Emterra, a private company that owns and operates a MRF (Material Recovery Facility) in the City of Burlington, separates and sells the sorted Blue Box materials for recycling. Plastic bags used to hold recycling material at the curb are not accepted in Halton Region because they can contaminate the Blue Box materials which can downgrade the value of the items. Based on our research, MRF operators that use enhanced equipment to accommodate plastic bags can still be challenged with contamination and often have issues with plastic bags getting caught in the equipment, slowing down the sorting process. We understand your concerns with respect to litter on windy days. To address this, the Region switched to a taller Blue Box in 2013 and distributed more than 75,000 of them at a variety of events last year. Halton asks all residents to do their part to help minimize litter by not over lling the Blue Box, placing your Blue Box curbside the morning of collection instead of the evening before, and by placing bundled and tied newspapers or heavier materials on top to prevent lighter items from blowing away. If you have any additional questions about Halton's waste collection programs and services, please visit our website at www. halton.ca/waste or dial 311. David Miles, manager of waste planning and collection, Halton Region Letter to the Editor SANDY PARE MARK DILLS 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.