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6 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, September 29, 2011 OPINION A tough choice This is a critical time in Ontario's history-- and for the Town of Halton Hills. A push by the Province for this town to accept growth in the coming years makes it imperative that Halton Hills voters ensure they have a good representative working for them at Queen's Park. While party policies must be part of any endorsement, we find little to pick from between the Liberals and Tories as both offer mild optimism but also cause for concern-- specifically, how they realistically expect to pay for the promises they are making. Both parties also have plenty of baggage. But this is about the four Wellington-Halton Hills candidates-- incumbent Progressive Conservative Ted Arnott, Liberal Moya Johnson, the NDP's Dale Hamilton and Raymond Dartsch of the Green Party. In our view, this is a two-horse race between Arnott and Johnson. As Eden Mills residents, we have doubts Hamilton and Dartsch (who has been invisible for much of the campaign) are immersed enough in the issues that face Halton Hills residents. That leaves us a choice between Arnott, who has represented this riding for the past four years, and Johnson, a Town councillor, who was re-elected last November for the sixth time. Arnott has worked diligently in the past four years to get a grasp on local issues. He is a politician's politician and having been an MPP since 1990, would undoubtedly land a cabinet post in a Tory government. As an Opposition member, he has shown determination in fighting for funding for Georgetown hospital, argued against the Highway option 4-3 and fought against `Buy American' policies on behalf of local firms. Despite being a Fergus resident, he has been very visible in Halton Hills by attending hundreds of local events and hosting meet and greets in order to get the views of local residents. He knows Halton Hills. Johnson is the first serious challenger to the Tory hold on this riding in years. She has been a solid councillor and certainly knows the issues facing Halton Hills. The longtime nurse has run a savvy campaign for a rookie in provincial politics and undoubtedly would be a strong voice and advocate for local residents. She, too, has lobbied for hospital funding, fought the highway proposal and represented her constituents well. She would fare well at Queen's Park. But, for us, it boils down to this: Has the incumbent (Arnott) done anything to deserve losing his job? Our answer, clearly, is no. Voters have a tough choice. We urge everyone to make their own decision Oct. 6. 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 Mom grateful for care and concern Dear editor, I am writing to give my sincere thanks to all the people who came to my aid after my son was hit by a car while crossing the road at Huffmann Drive and Argyll Road September 16. To Martha, who helped in too many ways to say, you are our hero. To those who called 911 and let me use their cell phones, thank you. To the Brampton firefighter who heard the call and came to the scene. You went above and beyond and we are so grateful for all you do every day. To the police officers who were on scene, your assurance and assistance were amazing. A huge thank you to Officer Scerri, who brought my son a stuffed animal at the hospital, just minutes after he was asking for his stuffed cat. He has not let go of that bear since. Thank you to the wonderful paramedics. Your calm, caring and excellent rapport with my son helped put him at ease, as well as myself. To Dr. Matt and all the staff at Georgetown Hospital, thank you for taking such excellent care of my son. Thank you for being so thorough, caring and comforting. It made a horrible situation more bearable. I would also like to thank all the friends, neighbours, strangers, and Silver Creek Public School staff who called, stopped by, or emailed to make sure we were okay. We were very lucky that everything turned out the way that it did. Please let this be a reminder to those of us who are driving in school zones, to slow down and be extra cautious. Jennifer Dunn, Georgetown and Blue Box pickup service and 37% `strongly disagree'. If these were election results, the majority would win, which in this case is waste collection. Why did the Region waste their time, effort and money if they are not going ahead with what the majority of respondents (voters) want? How can Councillor Bryan Lewis recommend that a two-thirds majority should be required before any future decision on the service is considered? I'm sure Mr. Lewis wouldn't be happy if he was informed that he needed a two-thirds majority before being elected. If the Region decides not to recommend a `yes' to waste collection in rural areas then maybe they need to look at conducting smaller surveys, by smaller grids/zones or by neighbourhoods or streets. Another idea could be a user fee and/or a charge per bag service. Rural trash pick up would reduce illegal dumping and keep our rural areas clean. I hope the Region rethinks their recommendation as I would hate to wait another five years to be asked to complete this survey and to be ignored once again. DJ Nascimento, Acton Trash survey a waste Dear editor, I'm responding to an article by Cynthia Gamble titled `Council to recommend no rural trash pickup to Region following survey results'. (Sept. 1). Based on the article's facts, this recommendation makes no sense at all. From the 1,118 surveys completed (41% response, more than most elections), 38.1% would `strongly agree' to include waste collection to the current Green cart WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.independentfreepress.com) Given a choice, which would you rather watch on TV on provincial election night Oct. 6? · Toronto-Montreal NHL game (40%) · Election coverage (31%) · Neither (29%) 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.