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OPINION Kermit the frog once sang that its not easy being green but thats not quite the case today. Everyone, it seems, is talking green. While concern for the environment, global warming, the ozone layer, climate change, etc. was often reserved to a fringe group others deri- sively referred to a tree-huggers or activists, thinking green has now become part of todays lexicon and more and more individuals and groups are looking at ways to help the environ- ment. The Town of Halton Hills is intending to jump on the green bandwagon this year with its Green Plan, which recently received approval from council. The interest has started at the grassroots level, said Wards 3&4 Regional Councillor Jane Fogal. Its really the community that has been pushing this agenda. People understand that we have very serious issues... and are frustrated that the upper levels of government are not reacting nearly quickly enough. To that end the Towns plan has 58 recommen- dations based on the PAREE approach Practical, Affordable, Realistic, Enforceable and Educational. While some of the ideas in the plan will likely prove unworkable, others could leave us wonder- ing why no one thought of the idea before. For example, one of the recommendation calls for establishing local depots for hazardous waste or gardening materials. Such a depot would not only be more convenient for Halton Hills resi- dents it would save local homeowners from dri- ving all the way to the Hwy. 25 landfill site in Milton. Imagine the gas savings and the reduction of carbon monoxide alone. As well, a convenient local depot might spur more recycling of haz- ardous material. Perhaps this Halton Hills initiative will make other municipalities green with envy. Gotta go green The Independent & Free Press is published every Wednesday and Friday at 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown Ont., L7G 4B1. 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The Independent & Free Press is a member of The Canadian Community Newspaper Association and The Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Steve Nease THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear editor, Thank you for your very enlight- ening editorial Jan. 11. We need more like it. What really stood out for me was the list of past tax hikes. Over the last 10 years, including the estimated hike for this year, the average increase is 5.37 per cent. Now, as a retired federal civil servant, my umbrella organization, the Federal Superannuates National Association, in one of their newsletters, pegged our cost of living increases to our pension over the past 10 years, as 23 per cent. That is 2.3 per cent per year. This increase is calculated on the official Government of Canada Consumer Price Index (CPI). Hello... my property tax increases are running at way more than double the CPI! Assuming that an honest calculation by Halton Hills pegs their cost increases at 5.37 per cent, then there is something wrong with the CPI. I wonder if anyone else noticed this dichotomy? Is someone not telling the truth or am I missing something here? I am assuming that Halton Hills taxes reflect the increases in the cost of wages, electricity, fuel, etc., etc. I am curious, since I am sure there are lots of pensioners out there whose pensions do not reflect the official CPI increases. How about a follow up on this story: does your pension cover CPI increases, are the increases really going to reflect the real cost of liv- ing to pensioners? Lets look at hydro increases, water increases, fuel (auto, natural gas and heating), increases, food increases, rent increases etc. John OReilly, Georgetown Town tax hikes running double that of CPI Letters to the editor must include an address and daytime telephone number. Unsigned letters will not be published. 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Phone: 905-873-0301 Fax: 905-873-0398www.independentfreepress.com 6 Acton/Georgetown, Friday, January 25, 2008 Dear editor, Kudos to Jeremy Malanchuk for opening the discussion related to winter sidewalk safety. As a nurse with an interest in fall prevention for seniors, and a fellow dog walker, I can further attest to the poor conditions of the sidewalks in my community this past December. I was particularly disappointed to see that residents and schools were able to clear their driveways of snow and ice but left the sidewalk completely unsafe for pedestrians. I do not necessarily believe that the Town should shoulder full responsibility for snow removal on Town sidewalks, but as members of the community and responsible homeowners/businesses we all need to participate to ensure sidewalk safety. Falls are a leading cause of hospi- talization and functional decline leading to admission to nursing homes in our seniors. Come on citi- zens of Halton Hills, step up and support a safe environment. Catherine Harrison, Georgetown. Dear editor, For a town that consistently dis- plays plenty of community pride, Georgetowns main intersection is looking pretty rough. Anyone stopping for the traffic lights at Mountainview Road and Guelph Street must look around and wonder what happened to this nor- mally well-kept area. The car dealership on the north- east corner seems to have halted ren- ovations and the unoccupied pool hall on the opposite corner will soon be overgrown once again by weeds and unlicensed vendors peddling their wares from the back seat of a car. While legitimate reasons may exist for these admittedly minor Georgetown property standards situ- ations, it must be awkward for neigh- bouring business owners who clearly take pride in landscaping, mainte- nance and overall curb appeal. There are designated zoned areas for industrial-looking facades, street vendors and derelict buildings. Mountainview and Guelph should not fall into this category. R. Paterson,Georgetown Residents should clear the sidewalks Intersection a mess More letters page 11