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Don't hang up on them A week ago, I had a chat with a bunch of Georgetown District High School Grade 11 students. It started with a press release addressed to me sent by Meghan de Chastelain, one of the students in the class. The press release was sent on behalf of all the students in the International Baccalaureat program, which is taught by GDHS teacher Randall Keast. The students wanted a small story in the newspaper telling how they are working on a project to create a memorial at the school in honour of the 21 students and one teacher who died in the two world wars, and Korea. (That story appears today on Page 9.) Being someone who is adamant that we keep Remembrance Day alive, I was quite impressed to hear these kids were working on this project. I emailed Randall to let him know I'd swing by for a photo. Having researched many veterans myself over the years, he asked if I could talk to the students about the project. Randall knows I can't resist talking to a classroom full of students who are eager to learn about Remembrance. Bright and early last Thursday morning I met met with about 30 students. Researching the 22 veterans had been assigned to both teams or individuals. Some were veterans of the Great War (First World War) while others were more recent, from the Second World War or the Korean conflict. The students told me of their efforts to track down info, biographies, photos and anything else they might be able to find to create a proper memorial to convert those names into actual people- and to properly honour their sacrifice. They'd gone through countless websites, databases, and back issues of the local newspapers, to glean what info they could. I was both impressed and annoyed-- impressed by their efforts, but annoyed by the stumbling blocks they'd encountered. You see, some of these kids had gone to great lengths to track down a family member, sometimes calling dozens of names in the phone book, only to have the person-- who admitted to being a family member of the deceased-- hang up on them. 7 Special group departures including on board amenities, Past Cruiser* and 55+ value pricing* Independent & Free Press, Thursday, October 6, 2011 SAVINGS WITH AVALON Ted Brown Hello people! These kids are doing your relative a big favour! I recall those same honour roll plaques at GDHS when I was a student there in the 1960's. They were NOT in a prominent location-- in fact, most of the time you couldn't even read them. And now we have a group of students who are willing to take on a mammoth task, to track down as much info as they can on each name-- and some family member hangs up on them? I spoke to the kids about some of the hurdles I've had to put up with over the years, when I did Remembrance Day stories. I told them about establishing trust when dealing with complete strangers. I spoke of working with them to demonstrate that there is no hidden agenda. It's natural that people are afraid of being misrepresented and are suspicious of an ulterior motive when a caller suggests they are doing a story about a long lost loved one. But hear them out-- these kids are on the level. They are trying to gather a memory of one of the 22 who left, never to return. Their teacher is proud as a new poppa with these kids. They are exploring every avenue they can find to gather the info. Not only that, they are excited about it-- over the moon-- the moment they unearth yet another scrap of info. I'm proud of them, too. So, if a kid from GDHS calls up to ask about a long lost great uncle, or some other family member whose name appears on either of those GDHS plaques-- at least hear them out. They're working on something very special. And they're helping us all to remember. 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Sout th Georgeto g ow wn n 905-877-32 3201 01 www.feetinmo moti tion ti on.c .ca a Police launch Operation Impact During Thanksgiving weekend Halton Regional Police will be taking part in Operation Impact-- a national campaign to make Canada's roads the safest in the world. The focus of the road safety partnership, which will run from Friday through Monday, is to remind drivers that an essential part of traffic education and enforcement is to save lives and reduce injuries on the roads. Officers assigned to Operation Impact will focus on behaviour that puts drivers, passengers and other road users at risk such as impaired driving, seat belt use and all aspects related to aggressive/distracted driving. "Operation Impact forms a part of our overall traffic strategy," said Deputy Chief Bob Percy. "This year, in addition to our regular commitment, we will be taking extra measures that focus on safe cycling. Through our Share the Road safe cycling partnership, representatives from the police and cycling community will be present in various venues to emphasize the need for mutual respect among all road users to ensure that safety remains at the forefront." To date this year there have been 10 fatal collisions investigated by Halton Police. Each of the deaths represents the tragic loss of a loved one - a senseless death that in most cases could have been prevented. Operation Impact is sponsored by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) and Transport Canada. All enforcement agencies across Canada have been invited to participate.