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www.independentfreepress.com Editorial..................... 6 Sports .................... 24 Calendar .......26, 35 Directory ...... 30, 31 Classifieds .....32-33 50 Cents (+ GST) Circulation: 22,800 LEGO LEARNING Local Christian school incorporates LEGO into curriculum PAGE 7 SPRING INTO ART Williams Mill artists host their annual spring show PAGE 23 56 Pages Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS By TED BROWN Staff Writer As former National Hockey League Director of Officiating, Bryan Lewis is no stranger to spending hours on an aircraft, flying all over the country. But earlier this month, as the Halton Hills Ward 2 Councillor took part in a fiveday trip to Afghanistan with a number of NHL alumni, sports celebrities, and various entertainers, he experienced a first-- his plane landed in total darkness. "It was for security," said Lewis. "All aircraft land at Kandahar Airfield under the cover of darkness. Even the cabin lights are off, so it's totally dark in the plane." And Lewis had another first-- the aircraft was a Canadian military aircraft, the one the prime minister uses to fly around the globe. "It was really neat, and I got to sit in the same seat that (Stephen) Harper rides in when he travels." The landing was the beginning of a fiveday experience that Lewis says has changed Halton Hills Ward 2 Councillor Bryan Lewis, the NHL's former director of officiating, recently visited Afghanistan as part of a five-day trip with a number of NHL alumni, entertainers and sports celebrities. Lewis's prized possession from the trip was a T-shirt he bought and had signed by as many soldiers as he could round up. Photo by Ted Brown THURSDAY, March 31, 2011 Ex-NHL referee Lewis part of celebrity visit First-hand look at troops in Afghanistan `awesome' him. And he has the greatest respect for our troops in Afghanistan. "The group of 68 was called Team Canada to identify us, and we held a number of ball hockey games at Kandahar," said Lewis. "There were a bunch of NHL alumni, the Carpet Frogs rock band, Montreal Alouettes' cheerleaders, a group called Mixed Martial Arts, and a former Team Canada female hockey coach." Secretly in the planning stage for 18 months, Lewis first got involved by contacting Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong, who steered him to the contact person in the Canadian Armed Forces who is in charge of organizing groups to fly to Afghanistan to entertain the troops. "We flew out of Ottawa March 5, and had a stopover in Frankfurt (Germany) then to Kandahar," said Lewis. "Once on the ground in Kandahar, we were escorted into a room that was the last place the Taliban had occupied. It's now a welcoming area, and there were bullet holes all over the walls, reminding us of what had been there before." The group was welcomed by Brigadier General Dean Milner, commander of Kandahar, to explain various procedures and how the base was run. "They all made us feel so welcome," said Lewis, "and we stayed in military housing. I shared my quarters with former Montreal Canadiens' player Pierre Turgeon." See TRIP, pg. 10 REFINANCING? PURCHASING? In Home Decorating/Design Service Colour consultations, lighting, Window treatments, shutters, PA I N T · WA L L PA P E R · L I G H T I N G · H O M E D E C O R GEORGETOWN MARKETPLACE MALL 905-877-4193 3 YR. VARIABLE. CALL FOR DETAILS. 2.15% FSCO #10259 Division of 1490845 Ont. Ltd. BOB WOODS, Broker Staging, space planning BOOK YOUR CONSULTATION WITH JENNY TODAY. (905) 877-1490 360 Guelph St., Georgetown