The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

6 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,May 3, 2011 OPINION Belt it! There are still some people on the roads who aren't buckling up according to the results of the Halton Regional Police Spring Seatbelt campaign. During the campaign that ran from April 13-23 police handed out 430 tickets to people for not wearing their seatbelts. The bulk of those tickets-- 307-- were issued in Milton, Georgetown and Acton (north Halton). There were 66 handed out in Burlington and 57 in Oakville. Across the region police also issued 112 seatbelt warnings. Halton residents generally have a high seatbelt compliance rate, however, there are still those who opt to risk their safety and their lives by not wearing one. "It is clear that seatbelts save lives and our efforts are geared towards enhancing public safety while reducing fatal motor vehicle collisions," said Deputy Chief Bob Percy. "Although seatbelt use is highlighted during the annual campaign, our officers are committed to community safety and ensuring seatbelt compliance on a yearround basis." Throughout the campaign there were also 10 tickets handed out for child seats-- nine of those were in north Halton and one was in Burlington. In total there were 44 warnings for child seat usage. Also in north Halton there were 75 warnings for seatbelts, and 39 for child seats. In Oakville there were 18 seatbelt warnings and four child seat warnings. In Burlington there were 19 seatbelt warnings and one child seat warning issued. For drivers, wearing seatbelts has been the law in Ontario for 35 years as of this year-- that's an entire generation of drivers that has grown up knowing seatbelt use is mandatory. There simply is no excuse not to wear a seatbelt today. As they say, if you aren't using a seatbelt, what's holding you back? 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 Rural residents in Halton will be sent surveys the first week of May on whether or not they want waste pickup. Do you think Halton Region provides good waste collection service? · Yes (73%) · No (27%) Steve Nease Go to www.independentfreepress.com Letters to the editor School support staff recognized Dear editor, In today's world we only have to pay attention to daily news headlines to remember the wise saying that it takes a village to raise a child. What we forget is that it also takes a team to educate a student. Ensuring our children have all of the skills, resources and supports they need to build a successful future, requires a team effort in our publicly-funded schools. On May 4, Support Staff Appreciation Day, we need to give special thanks to all of the thousands of educational support staff working throughout our publicly-funded school system. We need to express our gratitude to the child and youth counsellors, psychoeducational consultants, speech-language pathologists, social workers and all the other team members for the contributions they make to our students' success at the Halton District School Board. Taking time to thank those who make a difference to our students only takes a moment but can make the day special for someone whose makes a world of difference to your child. Celebrate Support Staff Appreciation Day and celebrate the excellence in our publicly-funded education system. Tom Golightly, president Professional Student Services Personnel, District 20-Halton OSSTF Lion's demise is sad Dear editor, It was with great sadness that I learned that the Freckled Lion book store closed its doors after so many years. I always enjoyed spending time talking to Kate and her staff, who always treated me like a valued customer. Yes, I have a Kobo (eReader) for use when traveling and do use our library, but nothing beats buying your own copy of a book to keep and read. I will greatly miss the personal service that Kate and the staff at The Freckled Lion offered, along with the great window displays they created. The windows will definitely be missed as they were always a treat to look at. So, to Kate Murray and her great staff, please accept my sincere best wishes for your future endeavors and thank you for your years of great customer service. You will all be greatly missed and the downtown will not be the same without our bright yellow Freckled Lion on the corner. Debra Hayes, Georgetown Printers save the day Dear editor, Supporting local business is not only good for them, but also good for you. On a recent Friday at 6 p.m. disaster struck when we learned that our trade show booth display was not going to arrive from British Columbia in time for our show on Sunday. We called John, of Georgetown Printing, who tracked down Jay, of Sign Central. Jay was playing golf, but said he would come in that night and make all of our signs. He worked until 11 p.m. Friday, and recreated our booth. John, and especially Jay, saved the show for us. I can't imagine getting this service from any big box company. Scott Langstaff, Markland Specialty Engineering Ltd. 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.