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w w w .i n si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B EA V ER Th ur sd ay , S ep te m be r 15 , 2 01 1 6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver 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. United Way of Oakville Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America NEIL OLIVER Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY Regional 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 WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com CLAUDIO CUGLIARI / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER HOME-GROWN PIZZA: Recently, Touch de l'Afrique donated 30 per cent of sales during an evening to the Darling Home for Kids, which provides hospice/respite care for children. Here, shop owner Petrus Engelbrecht (centre) kickstarts the donations, along with, from left, Kristin Horrell, executive director of the Darling Home, Karen Chow, vice chair of its board of directors, and David Bowker, board chair. For more, visit www.darlinghomeforkids.ca. Guest Column I'm calling in my markers today. After more than 20years of helping people promote their fundraisingefforts through the Oakville Beaver, I am now asking for your help. This Sunday, I will be one of the participants in the Hope and High Heels fundraising event at Boston Pizza on Dorval Drive for the Halton Women's Place event in support of ending violence against women. I did ask for a pair of leopard skin size 10 high heels, but apparently they only provide pink for this event. Fortunately, they promise me I have less than a kilometre to walk. Unfortunately, I'll have to return the heels. Joking aside, I am happy to make a fool of myself by walking in high heels for this worthy cause. Over the years, we have run several stories about the work of Halton Women's Place shelter and crisis services for physically, emotionally, financially and sexually abused women and their dependent children. It provides an invaluable service to our community. This is the second year the organization has held the Hope and High Heels fundraiser. This year, the event has expanded from its Burlington site, Emma's Back Porch on Saturday, to a second location in Oakville at Boston Pizza, Dorval Drive at 10 a.m. Celebrity walkers from last years event included former Toronto Argonaut Michael Pinball Clemons, and Halton Police Chief Gary Crowell. Fred Haladay, senior vice president and chief commercial officer at Atlas Canada will be walking in the Oakville walk on Sunday and has already raised close to $2,000 in pledges. I am not looking to challenge Fred's amazing total, but I would like to approach my goal of $500. At last look, I'm quite shy of the total. So like I said. I'm calling in my markers for what will be my last official duty as managing editor of the Oakville Beaver. Many of you may have already read or heard that I will be leaving the Beaver to become the group managing editor for Hamilton Community News a division of Metroland Media, parent company of the Oakville Beaver. So if the Beaver ever helped you reach your fundraising total in the past, I am asking for your help now. I would like to make my last event as the Beaver manag- ing editor a success. After more than 20 years of being behind the helm of the Oakville Beaver and helping individuals and groups raise funds for their worthy causes, I need your help this time. So, if you always fancied me in high heels, please donate at http://bit.ly/pTiK- wS. If you would like to join me Sunday for a stroll in high heels then register by visiting www.haltonwomensplace.com or call Carm Bozzo at 905-332-1200, ext. 222. Managing editor calls in markers The Oakville Beaver is a division of Now heres a scientific study over which I may well lose some sleep: according to researchers from several top American universities, workers with insomnia are cost- ing the United States $63-billion in lost productivity each year. Thats a lot of money, a lot of lost productivity, and a lot of people apparently unable to snag a decent nights sleep more than 23 per cent of all surveyed suffer from insomnia. I have to think that insomnias impact on Canadian productivity is like- wise considerable given that my interminable whining over a recent bout of sleeplessness was greeted with weary empathy, barely stifled yawns, and a refrain of: Yeah, join the club. Theres a club for insomnia? Who knew? I joined the club one night recently when I went off to social- ize with the sandman at around 11 p.m. and proceeded to count sheep until midnight. I tossed and turned until 1 a.m. Contemplated just how tired I was going to be if I couldnt sleep until two. And, finally, at about 3 a.m., I just gave in and got up. I brewed a pot of coffee, tiptoed into the home office, and began the workday. My mother was always exhorting me to wake up and smell the coffee. Well, on that morning I smelled the coffee without ever having woken up, or gone to sleep. By the time the family started to rise, Id completed three solid hours of work, imbibed three jumbo cups of strong cof- fee, and was completely jittery, jumpy, wired. But nonetheless super-productive. That is, until midday when I fell asleep. Sitting up at my computer. Which is precisely what researchers found. Contrary to what youd think, insomnia sufferers were not absent from work more often than non-sufferers, they were just less produc- tive. They admitted to making mistakes and causing accidents on the job. They fell asleep at their computers, heads down on the keyboard. Zzzzz. According to the study, an insomniac costs employers between $2,280 and $3,274 per year. And while the fiscal costs are huge, other associated costs can be even greater. Insomnia has been linked as both a symptom and as a root cause to assorted illnesses and ailments, mental, emotional and physical. While my insomnia thankfully tends to be fleeting, rarely last- ing for more than a few nights, I know many people for whom a single, solitary good nights sleep is but a dream. One friend, whose insomnia is chronic, says she routinely goes to bed by around midnight, and regularly falls asleep around three, just in time to catch three or four inadequate hours of shuteye before her alarm sounds. Like most chronic insomniacs, shes desperate and has thusly tried every remedy, from the sensible to the unrealistic, from natural to artificial (pills, pills, pills). When you suffer from insomnia you quickly realize just how many people out there are trying to make a buck off your problem. Theres a hotel in London, England, currently offering an insomniac package that includes a session with a deep-sleep coach, a briefing on brainwaves, a hot-stone massage, a chemical aid (if need be), and a $1,600 a night price tag. Crazy thing is, on one of those nights when sleep is elusive and frustrations are high, most of us would gladly mortgage the house and pay the price. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook http://www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twit- ter.com/thesportjesters. p gThe erils of bein unable to socialize with the sandman Rod Jerred, Oakville Beaver managing editor Rod Jerred