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OPINION Were sure youve heard this before: Nothing goes on in Halton Hills. Theres nothing to do. Its the kind of comment sometimes heard while walking through the mall or sipping a cof- fee in your favourite coffee shop. Its also a load of bunk....especially this month. While Halton Hills may not boast the entertain- ment choices of say, Toronto, to say nothing happens here cant be further from the truth. Its simply a matter of what you choose to take part in. Take a look at this month for instance. There have been numerous fundraising events (two Relays for Life, golf tournaments, ball hock- ey tournaments, book sales, Lobsterfest, etc.) The sports fields have been busy with softball and fastball tournaments, a martial arts event took over Christ the King this past Saturday, the Halton Hills Sports Museum/Hall of Fame inducted its newest members last week and local soccer pitch- es and diamonds are busy most days of the week. Thousands this weekend turned out for the annual Georgetown Highland Games, the Classics Against Cancer car show and the Taste of Acton celebration. This weekend Georgetown District High School has a reunion for the class of 1973, downtown Georgetown will be abuzz with the Festival on Main and Norvals love affair with Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery continues with a celebration of what would have been the authors 100th birthday. Oh, and dont forget were less than two weeks away from celebrating Canadas birthday with the annual Canada Day celebrations in Glen Williams and Acton. Nothing happens here? We dont think so. Whats on? Plenty Steve Nease LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear editor, Councillors of Halton Hills and Halton Region should not have permit- ted the situation to arise that the tax- payers now face in respect to the Keswick Sutherland School applica- tion. Both Town and Region planning staff reports are positively in favour of the application, concluding that the school has merit and represents good planning. Nevertheless, all the Towns councillors and a majority of regional councillors appear to have been undu- ly swayed by emotional objections of those opposed to the application, who have provided council with not a sin- gle coherent, logical, professional plan- ning opinion to substantiate their objections. Had councillors adopted their plan- ning staffs recommendations, then the objectors, at their own expense, could have appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), incurring minimal additional expense for Halton taxpayers. Instead, councillors, by apparently not keeping themselves informed dur- ing the lengthy planning review process and resolving differences with planners before publication of the planning staff recommendation reports, and then rejecting those rec- ommendations based on questionable excuses, have precipitated the costly OMB appeal process. This will be par- ticularly expensive for the Town and Region, thus all Halton taxpayers, because the Region will have to hire independent planners, experts and lawyers to attempt to discredit Town and Region planning staff recommen- dations. Regional council should have deferred consideration of the matter until the impasse between opinions of some councillors and planning staffs has been resolved objectively, rather than emotionally. Ironically, councillors have taken a decision that wastes taxpayers funds at a time when they also seek top-up funding and thereby surely provide the provincial government cause to resist such a request. Michael Pearson, Georgetown Town, Region decisions will cost taxpayers Letters to the editor must include an address and daytime telephone number. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 200 words and may be edited for content and/or length. E-mail: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1 Publisher Ken Nugent Advertising director Steve Foreman (sforeman@independentfreepress.com) Retail advertising manager Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@independentfreepress.com) Managing editor John McGhie (jmcghie@independentfreepress.com) Distribution manager Nancy Geissler (distribution@independentfreepress.com) ADVERTISING Advertising co-ordinator Jennifer Christie (jchristie@independentfreepress.com) Retail Sales: Jennifer Spencer (jspencer@independentfreepress.com) Brendan Louth (blouth@independentfreepress.com) Amy Sykes (features@independentfreepress.com) Andrea Lefebvre (alefebvre@independentfreepress.com) Brendon Stevenson (bstevenson@independentfreepress.com) Real estate: Sue Spizziri (realestate@independentfreepress.com) Classifieds: Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) ACCOUNTING Rose Marie Gauthier, Michelle McEachern EDITORIAL Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@independentfreepress.com) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@independentfreepress.com) PRODUCTION: Mary Lou Foreman, Kevin Powell, Shelli Harrison, Dolores Black, Debbie MacDougall STAFF DIRECTORY Send us a letter! Phone: 905-873-0301 Fax: 905-873-0398www.independentfreepress.com Something bugging you? What do you think? Below are the results of our most recent online poll. For the current poll go to www.independentfreepress.com Which of the following statements concerning the crime rate in Halton Hills do you most agree with? Regardless of the population increase, the crime rate is much higher than in recent years (49%) The crime rate hasn't really changed much in recent years (38%) The crime rate has dropped in recent years (13%) The Independent & Free Press is published Wednesday and Friday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS Dear editor, Every year as the weather warms up the Credit River becomes a magnet for fishermen and canoeists. If one were to notice at Norval, the property along the river is fenced and signed. There is no portage allowed at the dam and for fishermen there is a sanctuary between the dam and the bridge on Winston Churchill Blvd. Boaters of any kind will be subject to the Trespass Act and it will be enforced to discourage people from subjecting themselves to grave danger. There have not only been drownings on the river which runs through our property, but boating accidents as well, often based on impaired judgment. We want everyone to have a safe summer and to avoid the tragedies of the past. With this letter, the police have been given authority to enter our property whenever they deem it nec- essary. Julian Reed, Norval Trespassers forewarned about entering Norval property Dear editor, Georgetown is about to lose a pair of community leaders who have done a great deal to support families and pro- mote friendships. Carolyn and Michael Simpson will be leaving their posts as Captains of the Salvation Army and moving to another opportunity. Many of us have benefited from their programs and deeply appreciate their dedication to the welfare of families in Georgetown. Carolyn and Michael have been very responsive to the needs of families with young children. Baby Song and Cabin Fever Busters created a space for friendships between moms and kids alike to flourish in a relaxed atmos- phere. I credit Carolyn and Michael for bringing people in the community together in the spirit of inclusiveness. They opened their arms to families of all religious backgrounds and expressed their deep faith in humanity through service to the community. They are true examples of practising what you preach. We wish you all the best in your new appointment. Surya Naidu, Georgetown Couple will be missed 6 Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, June 18, 2008