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6 Independent & Free Press, Thurssday,July 28, 2011 OPINION Be water wise As we head into another long weekend-- sadly the second-to-last of the summer-- we're hoping residents have taken note of the recent tragedies that have occurred on the water in Ontario. · A 64-year-old woman drowned in Georgian Bay July 24 after refusing a life jacket. · Two teenage girls drowned at Musselman Lake near Stouffville July 19 when they went under the water while floating on a dingy. There were no lifejackets in the boat. · A 13-year-old girl drowned after jumping off a dock into Lake Ontario in Hamilton July 20. · A 55-year-old woman drowned at a Georgina beach July 18. · A 48-year-old Scarborough man drowned July 17 at a beach south of Consecon after ignoring red flags indicating a strong undertow · On the same day, a 29-year-old Toronto man died from injuries suffered on a personal watercraft off Wasaga Beach. · On July 18 search and rescue teams recovered the body of a male Toronto boater who had fallen overboard the day before. He wasn't wearing a lifejacket. More than 40 people have drowned so far this summer in Ontario-- with half those deaths related to boats, kayaks or canoes. It is little wonder a recent report released by the Ontario coroner's office recommends making wearing life jackets mandatory, and asks Transport Canada to amend the Small Vessel Regulations in the Canada Shipping Act. The law currently requires that one fitted life jacket per person be kept within reach in boats under six metres, both powered and unpowered. It is a sound recommendation that should be adopted, but when it comes to water safety it is imperative that everyone use something that can't be regulated. Common sense. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@theifp.ca) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Letters policy Letters must include an address and daytime phone 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 Anonymous letters will not be published.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. Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca Steve Nease Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters to the editor Youth encouraged to join highway fight Dear editor, When is the sleeping giant going to awaken? They know who they are-- the youth of Halton Hills-- the youth who must join the monumental political fight ahead of us to stop the fearsome super-highway Alternative 4-3. There are plenty of recent examples, namely the revolutions and protests in the Middle East, where those countries' young, intellectually savvy and Twitter-armed youth become the voice of the good fight, the voice of local democracy and fighting for a common sense plan for their future. Our teens and 20-somethings should take a lesson from this-- the peaceful voice of protest works. The Ministry of Transportation's plan to pave over thousands of acres of prime agricultural land deserves the message `thanks but no thanks'. Make this your turn to make a "once in a generation" stand the same way your great grandparents, the greatest generation of all, fought the good fights of their day, globally and locally. Come out from behind your shadow and demand to be heard. Send your message of protest to Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne (kwynne.mpp.co@liberal. ola.org) that you wish to protect the rural and cultural fabric of our town by stopping Alternative 4-3. If you underestimate the importance of your protest voice now, the future voice for self-determination will be in vain. If you succeed, the greatest generation of all in our town may yet end up being our sleeping giant. Paul Durante, Georgetown A sincere thanks to everyone who searched, called, kept looking and prayed for Wish's return. To Nikki, Gary and Heather, I'm not sure if we would have Wish back if it wasn't for your help. You are amazing people. Wish's return is an incredible story of perseverance and prayer. If you would like to hear more about it, email us at jeff.gac@ gmail.com The Dykxhoorn family, Acton Going the extra mile Dear editor, We would like to thank Adam Gerlach of Small Engine Repair in Georgetown for coming to our rescue recently. We were up north (near North Bay) when our boat would not operate at full speed. We went to a boat and motor repair shop and were told they could not look at the motor for three weeks. We called Adam, who dropped everything, drove up north and fixed the boat in one hour. Our holidays for the next five days were great. Wayne Sheppard, Georgetown WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.independentfreepress.com) If you had to choose between two extremes would you prefer to deal with the current heat wave or put up with bitterly cold temperatures? · I like it hot, hot, hot (65%) · Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow (35%) Wish is granted Dear editor, We have our little Sheltie "Wish" back after she had been missing for over three weeks. Many of you have called after seeing her "missing" posters and reading our letter about her in the paper last week. We are happy to report that she was found hiding out in a ravine area near College and John Streets. Wish is injury-free and received a clean bill of health from our friends at Black Creek Animal Hospital. 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. 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