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OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, June 24, 2009 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 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: NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. 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 SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Don't get bit by West Nile virus It's that time of year again when people plan to spend far more time outside and should start thinking about West Nile virus (WNv). WNv is a potentially serious illness that's transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. Symptoms may range from headache and high fever to neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation and paralysis. The Halton Region Health Department monitors WNv activity and has developed a comprehensive program that includes using adult and larval mosquito surveillance to determine the health risk of WNv to residents and visitors to the region. There are also steps residents can take to greatly minimize the chance of contracting the illness. For one, people should generally avoid areas with large numbers of mosquitoes. When outdoors, especially at dusk and at dawn, residents should wear light-coloured clothing, long sleeves, long pants, socks and a hat. People should also use insect repellents. Keeping certain items around the property in order, like removing all discarded tires, can also be beneficial at reducing mosquito breeding grounds since the insects lay their eggs in standing water. Turning over wading pools and changing water in bird baths on a weekly basis can help reduce the number of mosquitoes around the home. Other methods include keeping eavestrough and downspouts clear of leaves and twigs and ensuring you have an undamaged fine mesh screen over any rain barrel on your property. A major change to West Nile virus monitoring this year is the discontinuation of dead bird surveillance. Due to changes in funding from the provincial government, the Halton Region Health Department's West Nile virus dead bird surveillance program no longer exists. While dead crows and blue jays have helped to identify areas where WNv activity is occurring, the health department believes mosquito surveillance provides better information. That's why it is continuing a comprehensive program, which includes using adult and larval mosquito surveillance to determine the health risk of WNv for residents and visitors to Halton Region. To report standing water close to where you live in Halton, call 905-825-6000 or e-mail wnv@halton.ca. Additional information about West Nile virus is available at www.halton.ca/health/. 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. Say no to power plant The Ontario Liberal government has destroyed public assets (Lakeview and Nanticoke generating stations) and is giving private entities carte blanche to mint money by allowing them to become suppliers of electricity. By announcing the sites and insisting on selection at such short notice during the summer months, the government is railroading its citizens -- people are away on holiday and most are not aware of the situation. This is being done under the pretense of the greening of Ontario. True, gas-fired, electrical generating stations are much cleaner than those driven by coal or oil, but the proposed 900 MW stations would spew out 88 kg of carbon dioxide per second and 36 kg of water vapour per second, both of which are greenhouse gases. Locating the plants in denselypopulated Mississauga and Oakville, as proposed, is highly undesirable from aesthetic and environmental points of view; the plants would also be noisy, in an environment that is already noisy. The Clarkson Air-Shed Study identifies the area in question as already being overly polluted; adding fossil-generating plants in this area will simply worsen the situation. The infrastructure for electricity generation already exists at the Lakeview and Nanticoke sites. Why does the Ontario Power Authority not consider locating the new stations there? Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn refuses to represent his constituents on the grounds that the integrity commissioner has forbidden him to speak on the subject. Surely it's a matter of integrity that he support his constituents or clearly explain why the community should accept such a project. D. BURJORJEE Letters to the editor 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. Chisholm parent laments loss of school My kids have had the fortunate pleasure of attending Chisholm Public School for the past few years. We walk to and from school and stay to play in the playground after school on nice days. I live east of Ford, so now my kids will be bussed to Maple Grove. Now that they are older, we will be able to ride bikes on nice days to Maple Grove. Walking in winter will be out of the question. What saddens me most is that all the preschoolers and babies currently in my area will not be able to walk and enjoy the same experience my kids had at an excellent community school. There's nothing like the feeling of walking your child to a small community school where everyone knows everyone. The principal knows every student by name. There are no bullying issues. The culture is secure and inclusive. This is all in addition to having a topnotch literacy program, high EQAO scores, 100 per cent teacher satisfaction, and parent involvement that is second to none, all in the newest facility in the ward (tell me again, why are we closing?). Families with young kids that bought a house here expecting to have a walk-to school will never get to enjoy one. Funny, because this is the most affordable area of the lower ward in which to buy a family home (you can still buy a house here for under $500K). Perhaps this is why it is so densely populated. Why are we focusing all the educational efforts in the centre of the ward, when that is the area that is least densely populated? Why can we not spread out the educational offering in the ward so everyone has a chance at a walk-to school at one point in their school career? Why was the east forgotten here? A.CUTHBERT