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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 14, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager A little goes a long way The daily frustrations facing most Oakville residents -- an unplowed street after a big snowstorm, or a traffic jam -- pale in comparison to the pangs of hunger felt by residents who must rely on food banks for their very survival. Despite Oakville's reputation as a well-off community, each month about 1,000 people living in this city need help meeting their minimum nutritional needs. Among these lessfortunate families are hundreds of vulnerable children who represent almost half of all local food bank clients. Not only do these young victims need food to fuel their physical growth, but also for their intellectual development. As we prepare for Easter weekend -- a time of religious observance, family gatherings, holiday meals and gleeful children hunting for candy treats -- we must not forget those in need. If not for the Fareshare Foodbanks's two major food drives each year, many of Oakville's hungry probably wouldn't survive. The thought of people starving in a nation known for its high standard of living and reputation as a defender of humanitarian causes seems unfathomable. And yet it remains a constant social problem. Helping Oakville's hungry is as simple as gathering a grocery bag full of non-perishable food items. Food donations can be dropped off at the food bank located at 1240 Speers Rd., Unit 6, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday to Saturday, all Oakville fire stations and in all Oakville supermarkets where collection bins have been provided by Fareshare. Volunteers are also needed by Fareshare to hand out food drive paper bags at the Real Canadian Superstore. Students can use the hours for their required community service hours. Those interested can call 905-8458014. By helping out a little, we can ensure that all Oakville residents have a truly happy Easter. 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 editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Replace prayer with moment of silence Re: Prayer in council meetings. I would like to express my full support for the efforts underway to establish a more inclusive atmosphere in Oakville Town Council meetings by substituting the reading of an opening prayer with a moment of silence. This would provide an opportunity for councillors to prepare themselves for the meeting in the quiet of their own minds in the way that they deem appropriate according to their own beliefs. For a society that is more and more diverse in its cultural and religious makeup, it is incumbent on the majority to accommodate the needs of significant minorities within its midst. We are reminded every day, as we watch what is happening in other parts of the world, just how critical it is that we maintain our tradition of tolerance of other people's cultural and religious preferences. This change does not infringe on anyone's basic rights, but what it does do is end the risk of imposing one person's belief system on someone else. I cannot imagine that anyone who loves liberty and respects other people's rights would ever want to do that! Dave McCamus Secretary-Treasurer Halton-Peel Humanist Community BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Tax and spend won't solve problems Re: Carr threatens to put brakes on North Oakville Development, Oakville Beaver, March 7 Good old Gary Carr (Halton Regional Chair) is putting on his recently-acquired Liberal mantle of tax and spend governance. I presume he got that from his stint in Ottawa. If he and his short-sighted regional and local councillors continue to apply exorbitant property taxes and development charges to employers, especially industrial ones, the residential taxpayer is going to be absolutely bombarded with property tax increases that will make the current ones look petty. Industries do vote but with their feet. Instead of running hat in hand to his pals at Queen's Park, maybe he and his cronies, both local and regional, should embark upon a comprehensive economic development program which encourages new investment and creates new jobs. Discouraging investment is not the answer. RONALD REA 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. Pud