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OPINION Top-notch kids What do Laura Crawford, Heather MacKinnon and Noah MacDonald have in common? They are all outstanding, community-minded citizens who were recently nominated for 2006 Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards. Residents can be proud of these three youngsters for achieving a level of community activism far beyond that of most citizens of this great community. Their efforts greatly exceed the basic expectation we have for our young people-- ranging from fundraising for different cancer and muscular dystrophy charities to being recognized as leaders by their families and peers. Based on the qualities all three possess as youths they appear destined to become our community's future leaders. For their outstanding efforts, the three nominees were recognized by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA)-- a recognition proudly supported by this newspaper. Each year OCNA asks its member papers-- including The Independent & Free Press-- to put the call out to readers for information about community-minded young people. Up to 12 individual award winners and one group from across Ontario are selected to be part of the OCNA Junior Citizen calendar. While the local nominees were not selected for that honour this year, these junior citizens stand as examples for future generations of young people to follow. Each of Halton Hills' three nominees have already won. By dedicating themselves to making their community better, they provide living proof that individual efforts can have a ripple effect by enriching many lives here at home and abroad. The Independent & Free Press salutes the unselfish efforts of these young people. They exemplify all the positive traits any parent would hope their own children would possess. In addition to providing role models for other young people, these exceptional junior citizens act as a reminder to adults of how powerful an impact giving back to the community can have. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Too many drivers ignoring warning signs Dear editor, I drive a school bus in the Acton and Georgetown area and am very concerned about the safety of our children. Too many drivers of all ages are ignoring the BRIGHT RED FLASHING LIGHTS and STOP signs on the school buses. They drive right on by oblivious to putting our children at risk as they are entering or exiting the bus. Drivers following or approaching stopped school buses with flashing red lights and stop sign out must stop. This includes four-lane streets like Argyll Road in Georgetown as well as all two lane streets and highways. This issue came up in one of our safety meetings today and all drivers agreed that this is a frequent problem for them as well. We are watching out for our children's safety and can't always catch the licence number of the offending drivers. Please help all school bus drivers to keep our children safe by properly obeying the traffic laws. Barry Hamilton, Acton Government's actions leave reader disgusted Dear editor, Mohammad Mahjoub has been detained in Canada for seven years on a Security Certificate. He is scheduled to be released next week after the Crown could not create a case against him. I'm thoroughly disgusted by the actions of our government and embarrassed to be a Canadian today. According to our Constitution, Canada was founded "upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law". When we throw away the rule of law, what's next? This man deserves to have his case heard in the Supreme Court. This is a disgusting example of the loss or freedoms in the post 9-11 culture of fear. There is no excuse for denying a man a constitutionallyprotected right. Whether or not he is a Canadian citizen he is protected by (and subject to) Canadian law. According to Section 11 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms "Any person charged with an offence has the right to be informed without unreasonable delay of the specific offence; to be tried within a reasonable time; not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause". This man has had his rights stripped away, and because of that he's lost seven years of his life only to be told the case has been dropped. Hopefully cases like this will inspire more Canadians to become politically active. Pat Kitchen, Georgetown Note to dad: `Urine' a public facility! Dear editor, Recently on a Saturday afternoon I was at family swim at the Gellert Community Centre when a man arrived with his young son (age 3-4). I saw the man enter the kiddie pool and his son was standing behind, wiggling and "holding himself". The boy said to his dad "I have to go pee". The father then took the boy by the hand and walked him INTO the pool. I saw the look on the boy's face, as he looked for confirmation. Then off the two of them went to play. I couldn't believe my eyes. We all know that children pee in public pools but for a parent to give permission is unbelievable. Obviously a parent who ALLOWS their child to pee in a public pool doesn't have much of a conscience, I just hope that daddy didn't teach this by demonstration! Sue Carney, Limehouse