The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

OPINION The fact that one-in-three Ontario Grades 3 and 6 students are not achieving the provincial standard in reading, writing and math seems like something more parents and educators should be concerned about. More disturbing is that nearly 66 per cent of Ontario Grade 9 students tested for Applied Mathematics did not achieve the provincial standard. Halton Catholic students fared only slightly better with 59 per cent of those tested last May failing to attain or surpass the provincial standard. Each time the provincial Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) releases results for the provinces publicly-funded school boards the emphasis seems to be on whats right with our education system rather than whats not. The EQAOs own website www.eqao.com offers the bold statement that 40 per cent of students who did not meet the (provincial) reading standard when in Grade 3 did in Grade 6. However, that means that 60 per cent of those same underachieving students continued to score lower than the standard for reading. A news release issued this week by Haltons public board emphasizes how the boards results continue to exceed the provincial average. What isnt given much attention is the significant percentage of Halton stu- dents tested last spring, who did not achieve the provincial standard. While we certainly understand why there might be a tendency by school boards and the province to accen- tuate the positive results of these tests, we wonder what is to become of the students who seem to be struggling to make the grade? While its true that the Halton District School Board results exceeded the provincial average for all three grades, between 18-59 per cent of Halton public school students tested are not achieving the provincial standard, which is equivalent to a B grade. The latest EQAO results leave us arriving at one of two conclusions either the provincial standard has been set unreasonably high, or an alarmingly high number of Ontario students are not learning what they should be. No reason to boast Steve Nease LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear editor, I would just like to respond to Rob Allisons August 27 letter regarding cutting the truck traffic on Maple Avenue in Georgetown, now that it has been resurfaced. Rob, where do you think all the truck traffic has been going prior to and since they have started resurfac- ing? It has been on Princess Anne Drive. The amount of large trucks, including a large volume of Halton Region trucks, I see going down Princess Anne Drive is completely unacceptable. Princess Anne Drive, unlike Maple Avenue is a largely residential street, including the site of a seniors resi- dence, the hospital and the future site of a seniors community. During the winter, especially following any of the major winter storms we had this last winter, there was a constant flow of Halton Region dump trucks filled with snow going down Princess Anne Drive. There are a lot of small children on this street that are more prone to having an accident with any of these trucks bar- reling down the road at any given hour of the day. Sure there has been a lot of money put into the repairing of Maple Avenue, but there is a higher risk of human casualty with the high truck traffic on Princess Anne Drive than on Maple Avenue. If it were not for the hospital, I would go as far as suggest- ing making Princess Anne Drive a traf- fic calming zone, as there is also a high frequency of people not following the posted 50 km/h speed limit. What is more important here, the money put into the repairing of a road or the loss of life due to high speed and high truck traffic? Jeremy Malanchuk, Georgetown. Traffic on Princess Anne Dr. unacceptable 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 General manager 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 The Town is considering a budget hike of 7.5 per cent which would mean, on average, an $81 increase on next year's tax bill for local homeown- ers. Is this increase.... Too high (57%) About right (29%) Too low (14%) 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 6 Acton/Georgetown, Friday, September 19, 2008 Dear editor, Debbie McClure (August 22 letter Future of dairy farmers a cause for concern) makes valuable points. However as a townie who does not carry milk prices at the farm gate in my back pocket, but has put time into the Georgetown Fall Fair, and whose daughter happily farms 24/365 I offer the following: 1. The Halton Dairy Farmers have always had a wonderful display at The Georgetown Fall Fair, there have been milking demonstrations and butter making and the public inter- est and appreciation has been unquestionable. 2. At an economic development convention during Mr. Harriss gov- ernment the then Minister of Agriculture declared, The best crop any farmer can grow is houses. 3. Ontario dairy farming is bol- stered and protected by a quota sys- tem (which our U.S. cousins and other at the World Trade Organization would love to elimi- nate) and is saleable for thousands of dollars ($13,000/ Kg.) 4. There are many jobs that are not work but vocations. If that is Debbies lot in life then enjoy and be happy. 5. Personally I am more disturbed by the closing of our only canning factory, of the glass producers and of many small local slaughterhouses. 6. The farming community has allowed itself to become too frag- mented and needs to get its act together should we really have to import automated milking machines from Holland? There is the talent and experience within the indus- try so look internationally and use it. There is more sheep milk pro- duced, worldwide, than cattle milk and the value added is greater. 7. Anytime Debbie wants to fit in some time with the Georgetown Agricultural Society for the Georgetown Fall Fair, Im certain she will be warmly welcomed. John Owen, Georgetown Dear editor, God blessed us with an abun- dance this year. I would like to thank all the people who stopped on Tenth Line and were able to share my pears. A special thank you to those who left a donation for Cancer Assistance Services-Halton Hills. Your dona- tions will be forwarded this week. Thank you again. Jennifer Barnett, Georgetown Thanks for sharing pears More letters page 7 Farming community has become too fragmented