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6 Acton/Georgetown, Friday, September 26, 2008 OPINION Anyone who thinks that councils decision on future growth in Halton Hills made at the special council meeting Wednesday is the solution or even the end of the discussion, is sadly misinformed. As one councillor put it, the debate on the Sustainable Halton growth plan is only at the mid- point. The Town council decision is only one view- point, although representative of many in the com- munity, that will be sent on to Halton Region plan- ners, the ones responsible for Sustainable Haltons final conclusion. The Town took a middle-of-the- road approach some growth but not a lot of it. Oakville, Burlington and Milton council also sent similar reports, representing the views of their constituents. Milton, predictably, told Halton Region that it wants all of the growth between 2021 and 2031 and they wont pay for any servic- ing for Halton Hills growth needs. And that is the crux of the matter who is going to pay to bring water and wastewater servic- ing to Halton Hills to accommodate the additional growth lands. Is it us the existing taxpayers? Developers? The whole of Halton Region? The Province? A combination of the above? The Town still doesnt have the answer and has asked the Region (and the Province) to consider the financial implications of any decision as well as the possibility of a cheaper option connection to Peels water supply. Halton Region is taking all these suggestions and will whittle them down into two to three concepts to be released in October, which will then be debated again until the final option is chosen sometime in early 2009. Residents still have time until Sept. 30 to make their views known by sending comments to the Sustainable Halton planners on a dedicated phone line: 1-866-442-5866, ext. 7455 or e-mail Sustainable@Halton.ca. And then later this year, it starts all over again. At the midpoint Steve Nease LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear editor, Many people wonder why they need to vaccinate their pets for rabies. They say But he never leaves the yard or Shes an indoor cat . But staying in the yard or even in the house is no protection. The rabies virus is found in many mammals in Southern Ontario, includ- ing foxes, skunks, and bats. These ani- mals are quite capable of entering yards, and in the case of bats, even fly- ing into a home! I recall a case of a 17- year-old cat that caught and killed a bat in the living room of a fifth floor apartment. The bat tested positive for rabies and the cat, who hadnt had a vaccination in years, had to be quaran- tined for weeks. You may remember the incident last winter involving a puppy sold at a flea market that became ill and was diag- nosed with rabies. A number of people were exposed and needed to be vaccinat- ed. The rabies vaccine used in North America is for cats and dogs four months and older. The so-called prepatent period or the time between exposure and onset of symptoms varies, but is generally considered to be about two weeks. People who are exposed to rabies can get post exposure vaccine after they are bitten but before they get sick. The disease is still prevalent and vaccination is the only way to prevent it. The Ministry of Natural Resources has an excellent discussion of rabies in wild and domestic animals in Ontario on its website. Go to www.mnr.gov.on.ca and click on Public Safety and then Rabies in Ontario for a more details. The upcoming Rabies Clinic spon- sored by the Upper Credit Humane Society on Saturday, September 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Elmira Farm Equipment store in Ospringe (cor- ner of Hwy. 25 and Hwy 124) is an excellent opportunity for you to get your pet vaccinated against this fatal disease. Dr. Frances Walker, DVM Georgetown Innoculate indoor pets with rabies vaccine 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 (ngeissler@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 Both the Acton Salvation Army and Georgetown Bread Basket have put out the call for more dona- tions to their respective food banks. Do you con- tribute to the local food banks? 1. Weekly 13 % 2. Monthly 13 % 3. Only at Thanksgiving 13 % 4. Never 63% 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, At 4 p.m. Monday, Sept 15, my 95- year-old mother tripped on a curb, falling face first onto a concrete slab in front of the Sinclair Medical Arts building (breaking her nose and most of her front teeth). It was a most horrific sight, as she was initially bleeding quite profusely; yet in spite of that, so many busy peo- ple stopped their lives to dive in and assist in whatever way they could. A young mother, with a number of children, immediately took out her phone and dialed 911, staying until the ambulance arrived. A 30-something man knelt at my mothers side; calmly speaking with her, ensuring she remained alert and letting her know he was ready to assist when and if she felt able to move. Another man gathered her scattered belongings, someone went into the Pharmacy and brought out the phar- macist and Susan who then dropped everything to ensure we had the ice packs and the copious amounts of wet and dry towels it took to stem the bleeding (and ease the swelling) and yet another stranger ran up to Dr. Phipps office to inform his nurse, Christine, who immediately ran down to join in. How comforting it is to know that in this town, along with Susan, the phar- macist and Christine, total strangers ordinary folk with busy lives would take the time not only to rush to a strangers aid but to remain by our side. Such an act of selflessness deserves to be recognized and commended; and so we thank you all, though your kind- ness means more than these mere words express. Beverley and Violet Roberts Georgetown Good samaritans aid fallen senior Dear editor, Re: Use cash for transit, Sept. 12. Thank you Sheila Ward! I too, am aware of these monies. May I add one thing: While check- ing in mid August, I found out it is $31 one way to Brampton Hospital and $52 one way to Oakville Hospital. If the government is going to contin- ue amalgamating hospitals in this province, should it not be their respon- sibility to see if this is, at least feasible for the senior population? This problem exists from here to Barrie to Tobermory. Judi Wroblewski Georgetown Seniors burdened by transportation costs