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OPINION The dog days of summer usually mark an increase in all kinds of activity: more cyclists are on the roads, joggers hit the pavement in larger numbers and sadly, thieves become more active. Particularly when it comes to thefts from vehicles. The Halton Regional Police Service reports all areas of the Region have been experiencing a significant number of incidents where culprits are gaining access to parked vehicles in order to steal property. In most cases the vehicles were unlocked, but in some cases windows were smashed to gain access, when the culprits could see that there was some valu- able property inside. Most of the crimes have occurred during the overnight and early morning hours on resi- dential streets. In other cases the culprits are entering cars during the daylight hours in public areas, such as parks, once the vehicle owner has walked out of sight from the car. In addition, many vehicles have been targeted by thieves in the parking lots of movie theatres, restau- rants and hotels, when the culprits know the vehicles will be unattended for a significant period of time. Cell phones, GPS devices, laptops, compact discs and of course, cash, have proven to be among the favourite items for thieves to grab. While a locked vehicle is no guarantee against theft, an unlocked car only provides culprits with an easier target. It takes less time for you to lock your vehicle than it does for a thief to swipe your valuables. Police offer the following to help prevent this type of crime: Always lock your car when you leave it unattend- ed. Never leave valuables in plain view within your car interior. If you must leave property in your car, lock it in the trunk. Report any suspicious activity immediately to Halton Regional Police, and if you feel a crime is in progress call 9-1-1. The message is simple enough: Lock it or lose it. Lock it or lose it Steve Nease LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear editor, On July 1 at approximately 2:30 a.m. we were awakened by someone ringing our doorbell. There was a fire in our parking lot. Someone had deliberately set all five of our very full recycling bins on fire. By the time my husband got out- side they were fully engulfed. The flames were at least 10 feet high and the trees beside the bins began burn- ing. If not for my husband the fire would have spread to the neighbour- ing houses. He tried to contain it until the fire department came and put out the fire quickly. The police came as well and took a report. It was arson. Whoever set this fire caused a lot of damage and could have killed peo- ple. I am writing this letter in the hope someone may feel remorse about what they did and turn them- selves in. This happened at 53 Cook Street in Acton. The fire was so intense that it destroyed the pave- ment underneath the bins. If it had spread it would have gone to the houses behind or beside us. We were very lucky this time. I hope everyone understands that people who set fires are arsonists and they need help. Thank you to the Halton Hills Fire Department and the Halton Hills Regional Police for their quick response. I hope you find the people who did this. Jennifer Gerrard, Acton Torching bins could have led to tragedy 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 A prominent U.S. doctor has suggested cell phone use can lead to adverse health effects, including cancer. Is this report likely to make you use your cell phone less? No (60%) Yes (40%) 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, Re: Catholic board reverses deci- sion on HPV vaccine (June 11). This decision is flawed in its ratio- nale. Burlington Trustee Joanne Matters correctly states that the Catholic Church teaches that sexual intercourse outside of marriage is wrong. However, at that point the logic of her position becomes con- fused. She sees to equate sexual activity with sexual intercourse. A girl who is a virgin can get HPV. Any sexual activity below the belt can transmit the virus. The Catholic Churchs social teachings calls on its followers to respect human dignity, work for the common good and seek jus- tice. In not taking the steps to co- operate with the public health department , the girls in the separate board are not being protected against a cancer-causing virus that can lay dormant for decades. This cancer can be prevented; this is not about having sexual inter- course outside of marriage. However, inactivity that allows girls to be exposed to a virus that has serious health consequences is irre- sponsible. The trustees were right in their decision the first time. If they better understood church teachings they would not so easily flip-flop on their decisions. Brian A. Casey, Religion teacher, Georgetown Trustees decision on vaccine was flawed Dear editor, The Glen Williams Minor Baseball Association would like to thank everyone who came out to its Canada Day Pancake Breakfast. More than 400 breakfasts were served. All proceeds from this event are used by the Association to aid in the purchase of equipment. A special thank you is extended to the follow- ing companies for their support: Dover Flour Mill (Halton Flour Division), Mountainview Residence, Starbucks (Winston Churchill Blvd./Argentia), Petes Meats, Glen Williams Town Hall, Neilsons Dairy, A&P (Guelph Street, George- town Superstore, CPI, Food Basics and Bill Van Ryn (Weed & Pest Control). A very special thank you is extended to the many volunteers for helping with this event. Debbie Best, Dan Hall, Angie West The Glen Williams Minor Baseball Association Baseball group thanks breakfast supporters More letters page 7 6 Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, July 30, 2008