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6 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,November 2, 2010 OPINION Lend a hand There are 170 families in Georgetown-- which includes 200 children-- who regularly use the Georgetown Bread Basket food bank. That's a frightenly high number. When one thinks of impoverished families and food banks, Georgetown doesn't leap to mind. Statistics show this is an affluent community within an affluent region; poverty is something that happens elsewhere. While we don't see panhandlers and bag ladies on our street corners the stark reality is there are dozens of people who, through no fault of their own, have fallen on hard times. Be it through a loss of job, or a compromised health situation, there are folks in our town who find themselves relying on the Bread Basket. Unfortunately, the need for food never seems to diminish, only grow. To meet that demand the Bread Basket holds one major food drive each year--the Scout/Guide food drive which is set for this Saturday (Nov. 6). Inside today's Independent & Free Press we are distributing roughly 12,000 (home delivery) bags to be used in which to place nonperishable food items (check the expiry dates please). Fill up a bag and leave it on your doorstep by 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Local scouts and guides will collect the bags. Volunteers are still needed to drive the youths on some collection routes and more helping hands are always needed for sorting at the Georgetown Alliance Church. Volunteers are asked to show up at the church, 290 Main St., S., as of 10 a.m. Volunteers will be needed later in the day at the food bank, 55 Sinclair Ave., to help with the unloading of heavy boxes (up to 50 lbs.). Tip: volunteering is a great opportunity for high school students to earn some community service hours. So lend a hand to help a neighbour less fortunate. For more information call the food bank at 905-873-3368. 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 A Toronto Chinatown grocer was found not guilty of assault and forcible confinement after chasing down a shoplifter and locking him in his van last year. Do you think that was... 1) a good decision ... business people should be able to protect their businesses at all costs (90%) 2) a bad decision... it opens the door to vigilantes (10%) Steve Nease Go to www.independentfreepress.com Letters to the editor Weak mandate for town council Dear editor, Halton Hills recorded a 25.62% voter turnout in the 2010 municipal elections (Oct. 26 lead article). In other words, three of every four eligible voters chose not to exercise their right and responsibility to make their wishes known and elect a Town council which, on our behalf, holds to account the nonelected officials and administration of our town. What might this imply? Perhaps the majority of the electorate believes Town council to be ineffective. If so, why spend taxpayers' money on electing and supporting councillors? Or, the electorate deems all councillors, and those seeking a seat on council, so alike as not to make much difference who gets elected. If so, why not simply draw names out of a hat? Or, the electorate is disinterested in our community's future. If so, councillors and the residents of Halton Hills must find more meaningful ways of engaging for the benefit of all. In any event, our councillors should be concerned that the majority (75%) of the electorate did not vote for them and, at best, delivered a weak mandate. Kazi Borkowski, Acton clear indication of some interest in change on council. Many thanks to those voters who considered me a "credible candidate" and came out on election day to say so. Bridget Rosser, Georgetown Some appetite Gracious in defeat editor, for change shown Dear Due to a malfunctioning cell Dear editor, I am disappointed in the quality of the editorial coverage around the municipal election. In July we were encouraged to honour the democratic process and consider running as candidates in order to actually have an election on October 25. Some of us rose to the challenge. It was very disappointing then to read on October 19, Decision 2010, an editorial towing the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" line and on October 28, Silent Majority, a reference to "the shortage of `quality' candidates". I subscribe to the "just because it ain't broke doesn't mean we can't do it better" premise, a positive attitude which helped me garner more than 18 per cent of the votes cast in my ward. I consider this a phone I was not able to be reached for comment election (Monday) night. I enjoyed the experience of running for the first time and would like to thank those that helped me. The Town staff and election workers should be commended for a job well done. Congratulations to Jane Fogal and all members of council that were re-elected. Congratulations to new councillor Ann Lawlor All candidates should be commended for stepping forward and participating in the democratic process. Hopefully in four years we will see a much better voter turnout in Halton Hills. Thank you. Harvey E Anstey, Georgetown 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. Publication is not guaranteed. 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.