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the HERALD- Editorial Wednesday February Home Newspaper of Halton Hills Established A Division of Thomson Newspapers Company Limited 45 Street Georgetown Ontario 3Z6 K ROBERT Publisher and General Manager 8772201 COLIN GIBSON Managing Editor i proud of Cm J Jim Common i J and Iht on ill newt treated iti published In newtpiptr Queen Toronto a MO Quebec The thai Iht pubhther thill be In out ol error in btjond the pud tpice occupied thil portion of he in the error occurred whether error due In the negliienct its or and I here thill be no In bill I lor nan drt libe ra I the pud lor such School system on the spot In his most recent column Georgetown District High School Principal defends his school and the Board of Education in light of recent criticism about the provinces education system He correctly points out dropout rate is ap proximately five per cent while the provincial average is approximately 30 per cent To explain the boards success Mr writes I believe the overwhelming reason for our success is the careful planning and hard work of our staff The board has been proactive in systematically pursuing a Retention Strategy first of all we want to congratulate the board on the work it is doing to keep young people in school However we question why the board gets so defensive when Ontarios school system comes under scrutiny Instead of considering the criticism as an attack we think the board should look upon it as as a challenge The challenge being to push itself that much harder to im prove schooling throughout the region By focusing on how much better the board is in comparison to other boards the regions educators and citizens may be lulled into a false sense of security The point is no matter how good education system is it can always be improved As well the boards me attitude works against the bet terment of the entire school system Instead of telling others how good its system is the board should be sharing its knowledge with less successful boar ds That way students across the province benefit Community Forum Is our school system doing its job KELLY GEORGETOWN No the system is too lax Staff are too worried about pumping kids through and they lower standards so students wont fail I think they should have standards for every grade level and every grade level should have a prerequisite standard for students to meet before they get to enter that level LISA SCOTT GEORGETOWN Its good but it could be a lot bet ter Its good that teachers are using new philosophies in teaching methods and are taking the time to accommodate all children But schools are overcrowded and theres not enoughone-on- one teaching BLAKE HARRISON GEORGETOWN grew up in Georgetown and went to school here and I think our standards of education are high There are high standards to get into institutes of higher learning The only downfall is that classes have too many students GEORGETOWN Well Im a teacher and from working in the system I see a lot of teachers that work hard to provide the best education within the guidelines presented to them There are gaps and room for improvement but overall I think we provide a well- rounded education Peoples Forum Landfill proposal ludicrous Dear Editor I would like to submit this letter for possible publication in your letters to the editor page of your paper In recently visiting the POWER group from Hills I was amazed that after four years the Minister of the En vironment has not already put a stop to this ludicrous idea of Turner replies Dear Editor Suicide was a tempting option after reading Melvin McCallums letter in the Herald last week Mr forecasts a dismal for the economy and keeps talking about this recession really being a Depression Well I dont agree With low inflation low interest rates low commodi ty prices a social safety net strong banks and positive economic growth however modest it will be in the first quarter of the year the main fac tor we are missing for recovery is consumer confidence I have some trouble understan ding why people want to torpedo that further Surely telling our friends and neighbors that The End is Nigh hardly inspires them to go and buy a new car or a home In fact doesnt it just make things worse Finally Mr is perfectly free to lay the blame for every single problem we have at the feet of the prime minister The PM is a big boy and he can defend himself He can also point out if he chooses what has hap pened to the Ontano economy since September of 1990 when the provincial government changed By the way Mr says things are bad because one only has to look at the railways that once united this great country 1 hope he noticed that last year VIA Rails business took off All it needed it seems was to be booted out Of the public trough and into the real world Yeah its cold and scary out there but we dont get to the future by going backwards Sincerely Garth Turner MP disposing of solid waste in the Ac ton Quarry The quarry is above the main drinking water aquifer in an area that is part of the protected Niagara Escarp ment Why would any government agency want to put a leaking landfill in a protected area over peoples drinking water supply There is no question of whether the landfill will leak only how long it will take to pollute Has the Canadian government like the US chosen to ignore the warnings of Love Canal and so many other sites that have created massive evacuations public health damages and unbelievable amounts of money to rectify In the states we have had three community evacuations due to folks living near a perfectly safe garbage dump We have had homes and a government building blow up due to leaking gases and we have an untold amount of health related pro blems in our families Is this what the Ministry of Environ ment is consciously choosing for her people cannot claim that they had no knowledge of problems related to a solid waste dump Nor as far as can tell have the best scientists been able to build a landfll that wont create these problems To add insult to injury this pro posal is located in an area where the local folks are putting in time and money to recycle reduce and reuse their solid wastes The local Waste Wise Recycling Center is a growing effort in the Hills area The message that the Ministry of the Environ ment is sending is one of discouragement by not stopping this proposal now Ruth Grier should applaud the Halton Hill folks not dump on them She should also take the protection of the Niagara Escarpment serious ly Once its destroyed it can never be reclaimed People across Canada should speak out and let Ruth Grier know that you will not allow your natural resources and fellow citizens to be sacrificed for profit or governments neglect As a vic tim of Love Canal in Niagara Falls NY I can tell you its easier to act now than trying to undo the damage later Respectfully submitted Lois Marie Clear your sidewalks Dear Neighbours After our recent burst of winter on January I have not been able to walk to work due to the snow covered sidewalks If had to option of driving I would fortunately my blindness prevents me The route I walk takes my guide dog from the train station along the East side of Queen St to St East Great idea Dear Editor When I looked at your article in the newspaper I thought Whats this Red noses What a great idea We all need something to brighten up our day We need a break from our problems taxes etc I support your idea Wear your red nose Lighten up Canada Yours truly Doreen Gates Adult English Learner Program on St past Durham to the intersection of and Maple I then cross the intersec tion and resume walking along the South side of St heading East to my office near the Dairy Queen Some of neighbours on Queen St diligeito ly clear their sidewalks while other make walking almost im possible My guide dog has to travel on the road in oncoming traffic risking both our lives to get around the snow banks As a disabled person living in a rural community travelling is limited at the best of times If I were a sighted person I might be able to pick a path around these obstacles but I am not The guide dog tries his best but if there is no path to follow he can become confused To my Georgetown neighbours I would really appreciate having the sidewalks shovelled when you clear your driveways Your neighbour Donald