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OPINION Kids' future at stake When Halton Hills residents head to the polls next month for the 2006 municipal election, we hope they have the future of their children-- or grandchildren -- in mind. While electing town and regional councils sometimes steals the spotlight of the campaign trail, voters must be cognizant of the equally important role played by elected school trustees at Halton's public and Catholic school boards. School trustees are the men and women responsible for deciding how local tax dollars allocated to education are utilized inside and outside the classroom. Combined, Halton's two school boards manage operating budgets of more than $600 million and are responsible for the education of nearly 80,000 students. School trustees are elected to represent the interests of students, parents and taxpayers. Trustees are the residents parents should be able to count on to represent their interests at school board meetings, or simply listen to concerns about the quality-- or lack thereof-- of education in their neighbourhood. Trustees are also responsible for explaining to residents, who feel overburdened by their local tax bill, how the education portion of local taxes are being spent-- or misspent. From a purely quality control standpoint the education buck is supposed to stop at the local school trustee, elected by the people to serve the needs of local school communities. Unfortunately, as with any elected office, not every candidate for Halton's school boards is devoted solely to the interest of the neighbourhoods they represent. In recent years, some trusteees in Halton have focused their energies on personal agendas, devoting their time to a special interest issue, while forgetting the bigger picture. If you worry about the quality of education in Halton, or feel the education portion of your property tax dollars are being wasted, consider spending a few hours between now and Nov. 13 finding out about your local school trustee candidates. By doing so, voters will be able to make more educated decisions about who would best represent their interests for the next four years. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Community needs more volunteers like Ben Dear editor, We in Canada often take the importance of volunteering for granted. But, since I'm from Germany where volunteer work is not as common, I find it very impressive how effective and important it is in our communities. I'm a volunteer with Cancer Assistance Services of Halton Hills in Georgetown, and since we are always looking for new volunteers, (as there are many cancer patients and their families who need our help) my friend Dorothea Mokthar offered her son Ben's services to make an appleshaped donation box for our organization. Ben is 15 years-old and is very creative, smart and artistic. Ben and his family had so much fun making our "apple of hope"- the logo for Cancer Assistance Services of Halton Hills. The most important aspect of this project for me was that Ben gave a little speech to all the board members about how he crafted this donation box. The effort and enthusiasm that he put into this project was remarkable and he was quite pleased with his "apple-product" and proudly put the first donation of $2 in his box. Ben's project is not only helping us and our cause...it is also helping Ben grow into a responsible and aware individual who can feel good about doing something worthwhile for his community. The bottom line is that...we need more Bens! Thank you very much Ben and family for helping our cause and giving back to our community. Petra Keck, Acton Ben Mokthar designed and created this donation box for Cancer Assistance Services of Halton Hills. Reader's views prove Diversity March is needed here Dear editor, Re: Diversity March was irrelevant (Oct. 4 letter to the editor). I would like to thank Matt Penney for proving exactly why Georgetown needs a diversity march. Thank you Matt for being brave enough to say outright that people move to Georgetown to get away from people of other ethnicities, religions and sexualities. I told the students in a tutorial I was leading on local government issues at Ryerson University this week about our town's `Diversity March' and the negative response in the letters to the editor column. They knew I was talking about Georgetown before I mentioned our town by name because Georgetown does have a reputation for intolerance. I've heard this from students at Ryerson, as well as during my undergrad at Carleton in Ottawa. And I tell others that Georgetown is intolerant because that's been my experience. Growing up hearing racial slurs towards South Asians and East Asians on the school bus or in the break room isn't normal. "Paying a premium for your property" to segregate yourself is racist, is homophobic and is ignorant. Saying you're alright with someone's lifestyle as long as you don't have to see it is racist, is homophobic and is ignorant. Alison Hawes, Georgetown