www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, January 5, 2012 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 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. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Guest Column NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West 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 RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of Facing the challenges By Clayton Ward-Theriault, Sheridan College journalism student M Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award GRAHAM PAINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER THANKS A MILLION: The local Million Dollar Roundtable (MDRT) donated $2,500 to the Lighthouse Program for Grieving Children. Making the presentation from MDRT were, Joanne Taylor, left, and Sam Midha to Lighthouse Executive Director Britta Martini-Miles, in front of the Oakville centre's memory wall. MDRT is an international association of financial professionals p from more than 430 companies p in 78 countries. y name is Clayton Theriault and I am confined to a wheelchair with Muscular Dystrophy (MD). I am currently studying print journalism at Sheridan College. My first semester has come to an end and boy do I have a story to tell. On my very first day of college, Sept. 6, 2011, I had the worst day I could have imagined. I had gotten in my wheelchair and grabbed my stuff to leave residence and get to class. I left myself about 45 minutes to make it on time. I got to the elevator and it wasn't working... great! About half an hour later, my friend Spencer Lewis, another first-year student, helped me down to the main lobby. I then started my journey to class and I got lost. At this point it was 11 a.m. I went to the program co-ordinator, Nathan Mallet, and he escorted me to class. As he was leaving, I turned around and my left leg got caught on a cement pillar and pushed it the other way. I knew I had just broken my leg. I thought to myself, "Big deal, you're on wheels anyway... Suck it up and finish your day and then you can go to the hospital." Sure enough, I found out I had a spiral fracture of my left tibia. Apart from my first day, college has been an amazing and eye-opening experience. I live on my own during the school week and I am totally responsible for my meals, getting to class and taking care of myself. Caregivers come in three times a day to assist me and my roommate in the morning to get us out of bed, again at 5 p.m. to prepare dinner, and at 9 p.m. to assist us into bed. I recommend living in residence when going to post-secondary education. The experience of living on my own with a roommate is second to none. I always knew I was going to go in to journalism. During my high school years at Blakelock, I had seven articles published in The Oakville Beaver, mostly about hockey and issues affecting the disabled. I have always enjoyed being with people. Socializing and writing are among my top passions, therefore linking them together with journalism is exactly what I needed. So far in my early career, I have interviewed Ontario's Lt.-Gov. David Onley, and Oakville Mayor Rob Burton. Both of them studied journalism in university. I never knew I could learn so much in 14 weeks. The courses in the print journalism program are very informative and the teachers are very knowledgeable. I haven't heard a bad thing about Sheridan and so far I haven't found anything wrong with the school. The faculty is very polite and accommodating. I recommend Sheridan College to anyone and everyone. I guarantee there is a course to fit everyone's interests. Editor's Note: Clayton Ward-Theriault is a T.A. Blakelock graduate who often wrote columns for The Oakville Beaver's Kids Speak Out column. Oakville rider takes issue with Town muffling motorcycles Editor's Note: The following letter to Oakville Town Council was copied to The Oakville Beaver r. I recently read The Oakville Beaver r article on motorcycle noise (Monday, Dec. 26, 2011) and I must say this bylaw is very unsettling. It is an absolutely preposterous idea to suggest that this makes any sense. We who ride motorcycles, for recreation or as an alternate means of transportation, are at great risk from all drivers. We have only our wits, skill, and the volume of our cycles to keep us safe on the roads. Ask any rider, "What saves lives?" The answer will be, "Loud pipes." Singling out motorcycle enthusiasts for sound or volume of their pipes is not only hypocritical, it is a slap in the face. If we are to be fined for excessive noise, so too should a whole host of other people and/or events: trucks, busses, dogs, schoolyards, cars, events like Canada Day fireworks, any concert at the Coronation Park bandshell, Art in the Park, to name a few. Participants in organized sports activities should also be fined. Go to any soccer or baseball game and listen. These events quite often don't finish until after 9:30 p.m. and then there is the parade of cars leaving. Schools should not be permitted to host events in their gymnasiums during evening hours because of the noise. I live adjacent to a school and hear the sounds that come from the gym until after 10 p.m. The doors are opened to allow some air flow and the noise is audible from inside my house. Quite often, there is a marching band that practices in the parking lot of the school and I defy anybody to suggest that a motorcycle is louder than that. The organizers of parades should also be fined due to the noise that occurs. The annual Santa Claus Parade is a very noisy event. All of the floats are pulled by transport trucks or tractors. The Shriners have their go-karts and mini-bikes. We can't forget about young drivers. How many times have we all heard them racing along the streets with the stereo turned up so loud that the windows rattle as they pass by. We can't forget about the little Hondas, Toyotas, Acuras, Nissans, and Hyundais that have had extensive exhaust work done on them. All construction should stop immediately, because it makes noise. The Oakville Beaver article mentions that motorcycles emit so much noise that they are akin to jackhammers. What about the noise that comes from the jackhammers? Speaking of diesel engines, what about trains? Fine the snow plows, graders, and salt trucks. This point will be, and should be, hotly contested and debated for a very long time to come. It has been in the past. Riders only have their wits, skill, and volume of their motorcycles to keep them safe on the road. There are too many people behind the wheel not paying attention. We see them putting on makeup, eating a bowl of cereal, talking on cellphones, reading a magazine -- and driving. The fine for distracted driving is only about $160 and not well enforced. I am not anti-sports, parades, concerts, construction, fireworks, children's activities or any other activity I have mentioned. I am not anti-rules and regulations or anti-government. I am anti-unfair though. I urge the Town of Oakville to throw this bylaw in the trash where it belongs. It suggests there is only one source of noise and that is not fair. The Town must create a level playing field. There cannot be a set of rules and fines for one group of people and another set of rules for everyone else. Come on Town of Oakville. Treat everybody the same or not at all. Fine everybody the same or not at all. And remember, loud pipes save lives. Don Weatherson, rider, Oakville