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6 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, April 8, 2010 OPINION Right and wrong There are times a decision is made for sound reasons and the rationale behind the decision can also not be faulted. However, that doesn't necessarily mean the decision made makes sense. Case in point is the move by the Halton District School Board to reduce the number of Halton Hills trustees by half come the fall municipal election. That means there will only be one person responsible for handling the complaints, concerns etc. of parents of students enrolled in the public school system in our town. The Province has mandated that boards cannot increase the number of trustees for the next election (a decision we can't argue with). However, to ensure proper representation and accommodate population shifts within the region, both school boards have options-- including reducing the number of trustees by one, re-distributing the trustees from one community to another or creating new geographic boundaries. In the Halton District School Board's case they opted to give Milton the trustee position lost in Halton Hills. Again, with the massive growth Milton has experienced it's hard to argue that town doesn't need two trustees. The number of trustees each municipality was entitled to depended on the number of the electoral population in that community that support the public school board. Halton Hills was entitled to 1.34 which was rounded to one. Whoever, wins the position in the fall election in Halton Hills will be responsible for 7,129 students-- or 2.4 times more students than the smallest Oakville ward. As current Wards 3&4 Trustee Gillian Tuck Kutarna points out, one Halton Hills trustee has to cover an area nearly 18 times larger than the smallest Oakville ward. "The workload has been very unevenly distributed," says Tuck Kutarna. As we said, sometimes the right decision is hard to justify. In this case, while the numbers may justify the cut, the logistics do not. But better the change is made now so any candidate vying for the position goes into the race with eyes wide open. 905-873-0301 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) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier 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) WEB POLL RESULTS Should Canada withdraw its military forces from Afghanistan in 2011, as scheduled, or should it maintain a military presence past 2011? · Withdraw troops in 2011 (79%) · Keep troops there beyond 2011 (21%) Steve Nease Go to www.independentfreepress.com Letters to the editor Doctor defends hospital, town Dear editor, I would like to respond to the April 1 letter entitled "Smaller Hospitals should be closed". As a physician who has worked this 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. shift numerous times during my 15-year career I know by experience that there is very little down time. Even if the waiting area is empty there is usually something occurring behind the scenes. In general, however, a four-hour visit for abdominal pain is appropriate and would have saved this patient the typical eight-hour wait seen in our neighbouring large hospitals. Of course, I do not know the particulars of Mr. Vitorino's visit and would be happy to review his care through our ombudsperson. The other concern raised by Ms. Vitorino is that she has not yet seen any benefit to living in a small town. Being the beneficiary of a huge outpouring of community support as me and my family fight ALS, I find this comment very insulting to our community. Personally I have found that the best way to feel part of a community is to contribute to that community. Once this is done, the benefits will come flooding in! Dr. Jeff Sutherland, Associate Chief of Staff, Georgetown Hospital And to all of the residents who, like me, get very upset with roadside trash, take note of the offenders, and report them to the following website: www.haltonhills.ca/ townhall/litter-reporting.php. Together, we can help protect our beautiful community. Richard Chadwick, Halton Hills Litterer nabbed Dear editor, On my frequent walks to Scotsdale Farm there is nothing more disappointing than to see garbage along the road, thrown out by thoughtless pigs, too lazy to properly dispose of their piggy mess. Well, on a recent Saturday someone had dumped 5-6 garbage bags of trash on their drive through the very beautiful, and pristine Scotsdale Farm. After a little digging by yours truly, I found a magazine, with address label. Thank-you for disposing of your trash in such an ugly way. Even if you will probably tell the bylaw control officer you didn't do it, (someone else did) that really doesn't matter...it is your garbage, and that's that. In future, please show respect for your fellow Halton Hills residents. Or, if you wish to live like that, please move to a dump! Ladies say thanks Dear editor, Re: Ladies Auxiliary Branch 120 St. Patrick's Dinner & Dance fundraiser. I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the following who contributed to our very successful evening that was enjoyed by all: Linda Armstrong, Marion McGugan, Tony Sheppard for printing of our tickets, C&S Printing for the balloon display, Elizabeth's Fashions, Butler Fearon O'Connor School of Irish Dance, Tim Hortons Georgetown South general managers Julie & Nicole, Steve Solski, manager of Rose Theatre Brampton, Christi Spriggs, assistant general manager of Bayview Wildwood Resort and Tony Hulme, world's greatest deejay. The world is a brighter place with people like you in it. Janet Malloy, Co-Committee Chair St. Patrick's Dinner & Dance Letters to the editor policy Letters must include an address and daytime telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 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. The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday 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.