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OPINION Ever-changing Corridor "One of the things that we very, very, very much need is to make sure the 401 Corridor goes ahead. It will be successful. I can almost guarantee that." --Former Town of Halton Hills Economic Development Officer Al O'Neill, Jan. 18, 2002 Nearly four years after O'Neill uttered those words, the 401 Corridor (officially called the 401-407 Gateway Business Park) remains as crucial to the future of Halton Hills as it did when the idea was first hatched in the early '80s. To be sure, the Corridor project has seen as many twists and dips as a roller coaster at Disneyworld. The latest announcement to affect the Corridor came from the Ontario Power Authority last week in which it was revealed TransCanada Energy will build a 683megawatt gas-fired power plant on an 80-acre parcel of land at Sixth Line S. and Steeles Ave. to provide muchneeded power generation in the Greater Toronto Area. It could be argued-- as Ward 2 Councillor Bryan Lewis has-- that this plant hardly qualifies as "prestige development", which is what taxpayers of Halton Hills were told the Corridor would accommodate. Images of tidy head office buildings with landscaped grounds is what many expected to see dominate the Corridor. That said, there is little opposition to the plant from either nearby residents or environmentalists as the plant is looked on as being the "lesser of two evils." At one time a truck distribution centre was considered. On the plus side, when in operation in 2010, annual assessment from the power plant for the Town of Halton Hills will be between $1-1.3 million, TransCanada has assumed the Town's $1.5 million loan to Halton Region and the company will provide a $250,000 investment in future community projects. By all appearances TransCanada intends on being a "good corporate citizen". However, with Mold-Masters putting off its decision to relocate to the Corridor earlier this year, plans for a "boutique college" in limbo, land prices in the area skyrocketing from $150,000 an acre three years ago to $350,000 an acre today and now the introduction of a power plant, residents are right to wonder if the Corridor will ever be what it was intended to be. O'Neill's "guarantee" of success, which may yet come to fruition, is certainly less of a sure thing four years hence. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Meeting organizers weren't fair to trustee Dear editor, Re: All-candidates' meeting ends as incumbent fails to show (Nov. 10 Independent & Free Press). I was upset to read the article regarding the above "was cancelled before it began because one of the candidates didn't show". Although life always brings unforeseen circumstances and I sympathize with Irene McCauley's family crisis, that did not enable her to show up, where was the fairness to Rosanna Palmieri? We had heard Irene McCauley's views and expectations, we had seen them for quite a few years and although she did a good job, how was Halton Hills being fair to newcomer Rosanna Palmieri when no one was able to hear her speak or answer questions the community might have had for her. If we are going to be fair and give an equal opportunity to all those who ran I disagree with Christ the King School Council spokesperson Anne Zebarth's statement that organizers decided to cancel the event "in the spirit of being neutral" and that they wanted to be "equally fair to both candidates". No one gave any consideration to Rosanna Palmieri or to the residents who wanted to hear her speak. Let's face it, fair is fair and we weren't. Ted Bosma, Georgetown Candidates failed to visit Norval voters Dear editor, Re: Nov. 15 election comments from Mayor Rick Bonnette. I laughed to myself when I read the mayor's comment in the paper saying, "We ran a campaign, we put up signs, we door-knocked, we advertised, we did everything you're supposed to do in a campaign to get our message out." We live in Norval, east of Winston Churchill Blvd. and we did not see any signs, or have any information from Mr. Bonnette or any other candidate who was running in this past election. I am sure that no one knows that Halton Hills goes beyond Winston Churchill Blvd. on the east side. It would be nice to be included in everything that goes on in Halton Hills, but it seems only the bills seem to find us. Maybe someone should inform the mayor and elected officials that we are part of Halton Hills. Phyllis Moffatt, Norval Reader rebuts anti-right to life letter Dear editor, Re: Resident appalled by right to life protest (letter to the editor, Nov. 18). In her letter to the editor, S. Harris implies the majority of unwanted pregnancies are the result of rape, and that the majority of abuse happens in adoptive homes. Our child was conceived in love, in a stable relationship shared by two consenting adults who were totally ill-prepared to parent. They chose us. Because they didn't choose to abort their unplanned pregnancy, we are blessed to be a family. Through the gift of open adoption, our son's birth parents witness how happy, well-loved, and cared for he is. Our birth father ended a recent email to us with these words: "Thank you for being such wonderful parents to him. It puts tears in my eyes because I am so happy that you are making his life so much better. You are both great parents. Keep up the good work and I wish you many years of happiness. Tell him I love him and I hope to see you all soon." Think about this the next time you see a pro-life life line. (Editor's Note: The letter writer's name was withheld to protect the privacy of the son and his birth family.)