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OPINION Its been said that beauty is in the eye of the behold- er, but there is nothing beautiful about the graffiti that has yet again popped up around Halton Hills. Over the past several years were reported numerous times about incidents of graffiti which seem to crop up like a pesky weed for which there is not pesticide. Town officials not to mention the private home- owners, business operators and general public have been fed up for years in trying to control this problem which, quite frankly, is more than just a nuisance. While the graffiti artists who like to ply their craft on the property of others may consider their efforts aesthetically pleasing, we prefer to call it what it is vandalism. Unfortunately, it is a crime that is easy to get away with, but to that end the Town has given its approval to an Acton man who has developed a graffiti eradica- tion program through his company, CAMA International. Michael Jander, who has 17 years experience in the law enforcement business, refers to the recent outbreak of graffiti as gang activity and tagging property is showing a turf war. However, he admits, there is no proof of gang activi- ty in Halton Hills and the graffiti could be the work of local kids a sentiment echoed by Halton Police. But, Jander is right in saying that it is important to remove the graffiti quickly (within 72 hours) to dis- courage the perpetrators. Jander will spend $24,000 towards organizing and establishing the program in the first three months, fol- lowed by $3,000 a month for ongoing maintenance. He plans to enlist the services of high school students who need to complete their 40 hours of community service to help paint over the graffiti. Janders team of volunteers will be responsible for taking care of property owned by private firms and individuals; the Town will continue to be responsible to remove graffiti from Town facilities. However, unless the $51,000 one-year cost is covered by corporate donations the program cant go forward. We hope Halton Hills business community consid- ers this a worthy investment in fighting a problem which eventually affects us all. Nip it in the bud The Independent & Free Press is published every Wednesday and Friday at 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown Ont., L7G 4B1. It is one of several newspapers published by Metroland Media Group Ltd. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for sig- nature will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the acceptable rate. In the event of typographical error advertising goods or services at wrong price, goods or ser- vices may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell which may be withdrawn at any time. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Price: Store copies 50 each; Subscriptions $26 per year by carrier; $92.50 per year by mail in Canada; $130 per year in all other countries. Plus G.S.T. Second Class Mail Registration Number 6869. 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, RE: Article Panel member not surprised at MMPs failure, Oct. 12. I am writing in response to Mr. John Daleys opinion that lack of information led to the general pub- lic through Elections Ontario defeat- ed the MMP proposal. First, thank you Mr. Daley for your unselfish act of volunteering to be a part of trying to improve our electoral process. I sincerely believe the Citizens Coalition had noble intent. However, I respectfully sug- gest that MMP is not the right solu- tion, nor is your rationale for why MMP did not receive higher favour with Ontario voters correct. Although lack of information may be true for some Ontario resi- dents, my belief that, for the 50ish percent that exercised our right to vote (a whole other issue), a majority of us knew what was being proposed. It was not a lack of information that defeated the proposal. Ontario resi- dents rejected the idea simply because we dont need more politi- cians (let alone unelected ones). At $110,000 each I can think of a few better places to spend my tax dollars. I believe most of the voting public agreed and showed it. Chris Hamilton, Georgetown MMP voting system deserved to fail 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. 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Phone: 905-873-0301 Fax: 905-873-0398www.independentfreepress.com 6 Acton/Georgetown, Friday, October 26, 2007 Dear editor, A valuable part of our heritage is being stifled and ignored by the non- interest of the Town to provide care, recognition and accessibility to the Norval Pioneer Cemetery on Pinecrest Road in the village of Norval. Two years ago a plea was made to council to have this site restored and recognized as a valuable part of our history. Much was promised, noth- ing has been done. The citizens right to access the site has been compromised by the towns inaction to reclaim, mark and certify the 12 ft. public right of way into this important part of our her- itage. As a result, few are aware of its existence, and the pathway is over- grown and partially blocked. This site bears the remains of the first settlers in Norval and deserves as much care and respect as the other cemeteries in our community. Headstones need to be restored and a simple fence to enclose the area along with a sign out at the roadway designating it as a heritage site. This site is as important to us as the kilns in Limehouse or the Remembrance Park in Georgetown. Acton seems to be flourishing while Norval has become a shell of its former beauty that Lucy Maud Montgomery once wrote about. Weeds line the sidewalks where flowers once grew and traffic, noise and congestion have since made a mockery of our peaceful heritage. Surely we can reestablish a tiny corner of peace and tranquillity that reminds us of a time worth remem- bering, where citizens can visit and reflect. Wm. Pomeroy, Norval Norval cemetery requires Town care Dear editor,The staff at Halton Hills Public Library would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who helped make our sum- mer reading programs such a huge success. With the enthusiastic assistance of our summer students and volun- teers we kept almost 1,000 children reading over the summer in our Lost Worlds Summer Reading Club. We would like to acknowledge those parents who encouraged their children to participate, thereby fos- tering a love of literacy. We are grateful for the efforts of our community newspapers for pro- moting our programs. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the generosity of the branch managers at TD Canada Trust in both Georgetown and Acton for providing prizes. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Halton Hills Public Library Childrens and Youth Services Staff Summer Reading Club support appreciated