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www.independentfreepress.com Georgetown High students to aid Habitat in Costa Rica 50 cents (+GST) Vol. 130 No. 10 ACTON FREE PRESS M&M stores help in Crohn's & Colitis fight Page 9 Page 12 Wednesday, May 23, 2007 40 Pages Circulation 21,220 Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper INSIDE Sinking his teeth into Bang-O-Rama Shamus McGuire of Acton digs into a plate of ribs from Jack the Ribber during the Ribfest competition held as part of the Optimist Club of Georgetown's annual Bang-O-Rama event Sunday. The three-day event, which featured a midway, dog agility shows, clowns, petting zoo and a motorcycle show, attracted good crowds to Georgetown Fairgrounds. For more photos see page 7. Politicians, others get McHappy Page 16 Bulldogs earn split in Jr. B play Page 20 Editorial 6 Rick Bonnette 12 Sports 20, 21 Classifieds 24-27 Calendar 27 Photo by Yves Desjardins Five try life in a wheelchair for a day TED BROWN Staff Writer There's an old saying: "To fully understand another person's predicament, you first must walk a mile in their shoes." Recently, I did travel a mile in someone else's shoes-- only I did it in a wheelchair. I was one of five individuals who took part in "Wheels for a Day," an awareness program to have ordinary people try to do their jobs for a day, while confined to a wheelchair. Organized by Bill Leslie, Maria Smorong and Garry Gore of Halton Hills Accessibility Advisory Committee, the purpose of the exercise was to have able-bodied people cope with the restrictions of a wheelchair, and in doing so, build awareness of some of the challenges that we tend to take for granted. Also taking part were Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette, Georgetown Scotiabank branch manager Sandra Schulthies and Georgetown District High School students Joanna Meltzer and Brett Reynolds. We were required to not only do our jobs, but also incorporate a few other activities, like go for lunch, make purchases, and perhaps book a ride to an appointment on the Activan. The Wheels for a Day event was designed to help bring awareness to the upcoming Rick Hansen Wheels in Motion event, planned for June 10 at the Gellert Centre in Georgetown South. Sponsored by Scotiabank, the event will feature a pledged wheel and walk event to raise funds for spinal cord injury research and help those living with spinal cord injuries have a better lifestyle. There are also team wheelchair relays, for teams to enter by checking out the info online at www.rickhansen.com or simply pledge a participant who is going out to take part. Registration at the Georgetown event opens at 9 a.m., and the events follow. There are rewards for fundraisers reaching specific levels, and top team and individual fundraisers will win grand prizes. For more info, check out www.rickhansen.com, e-mail wheels@rickhansen,com, or call 1-866-609-4335. Registration forms are also available at The Independent & Free Press office or at any Scotiabank branch. See page 3 for each participant's observations. FRIDAY... The message of suicide prevention in Halton has moved to a new medium with the creation of the Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition's new website. See details Friday. For breaking news go to: www.independentfreepress.com Independent & Free Press staffer Ted Brown does some banking while confined to a wheelchair for day. Photo by Lisa Tallyn REFINANCING? PURCHASING? GEORGETOWN VOTED #1 FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE 2007 CHEVROLET AVEO SEDAN 2007 KIA SPECTRA CALL THE GEORGETOWN 1-866-364-0697 or HEADQUARTERS 905-877-7818 0 % FINANCE 1.6 Litre DOHC, 5 Speed Transmission, AM/FM/CD/MPS, P185 14", Front & Rear Floor Mats. Stk #065260 *Frt., admin., taxes & license fee extra ** Lease based upon 48 mo., 80,000 free km, frt., 1st, admin., taxes, lic. fee due on signing $ 12995* yes $19700** yes 46 MPG excludes frt per month No Money Down per gallon 0.9% Variable BOB WOODS Mortgage Specialist *Rate subject to change GEORGETOWN CHEVROLET 33 MOUNTAINVIEW, GEORGETOWN (JUST NORTH OF HWY. #7 ON MOUNTAINVIEW) 905-877-6944 (905) 360 Guelph St., Georgetown 877-1490