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6 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,October 25, 2011 OPINION HLF milestone It is one of those charitable organizations that works quietly in the background assisting our most precious, yet vulnerable, members of society-- Halton's young people. This group works to ensure that all students and schools within the Halton District School Board get the assistance they need for a healthy and happy education experience. The Halton Learning Foundation will celebrate a milestone tomorrow (Thursday) at its annual celebration dinner held in Oakville. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the foundation announced it has handed out $2 million in grant money. The foundation, an independent charity that operates collaboratively with the Halton school board, is quick to thank its sponsors. Fundraising is tough enough, but even harder when there is a perceived wealth for all who reside in Halton. The grants recognize the economic disparity among schools and attempts to even the playing field for both students and educators. The donations also assist students in crisis-- sometimes beyond education funding. These are the students who come from socio-economic backgrounds where there simply is not enough money to buy that warm winter coat or boots. Often, the students are among the region's hidden poor. We are fortunate to live in a wealthy municipality but we often forget about families struggling to get by each day. When you consider that the Halton District School Board has more than 50,000 students and 95 schools, we know the need is great. "Whether it is by providing emergency help for students in need, funding new resources and projects that enrich the learning environment, or by recognizing student achievement with scholarships, the foundation's ultimate purpose is to support students and strengthen schools," says the foundation in a news release. If you have some extra cash to spare, you may want to consider assisting the Halton Learning Foundation. This charity is the foundation upon which we are building our future. 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 Roadwork decisions puzzling-- resident Dear editor, First, let's do the positive and say thank you to the Town planners for finally fixing the older streets in town like Rosefield, Greystone, Baylor, etc. This is much appreciated as our roads were getting in pretty bad shape. But, please explain to me why, (after spending I'm sure a lot of tax money, redoing and repaving and adding those wonderful bike lanes all along Delrex Blvd. from Guelph St. to Maple Ave.) you decided to do the sides streets after the fact and make a mess of Delrex Blvd.? Many of the side streets being redone have resulted in the tearing up of intersections, for example Greystone/Delrex and Weber/Delrex and other side streets, making all that wonderful work on Delrex being for naught. Now, to top it off, you are redoing the intersection of Mountainview Rd. and Delrex (not that the turn lane is not a great idea and will help) but why on earth did you not also do that before redoing and repaving all the length of Delrex to begin with? Did no one think of planning ahead? Is there like not a Town planning committee? Could this not have been co-ordinated a little better? Why didn't you redo the corner of Mountainview and Delrex and do the side streets, then repave Delrex after doing the secondary streets? This just seems like so much wasted money and now Delrex will be back to being lumpy and bumpy because once it is "cut" and "patched" it will never be the same again. Now there will be gaps that will allow water to get in and freeze and crack and make new pot holes in our (formerly) beautiful Delrex. So, if anyone can explain why this seems to have been done backwards I would like to hear it. Maybe as a layperson I just don't understand how these things work but it does seem a tad odd. Debra Hayes, Georgetown a success and we hope to make it bigger and better for next year. L'il Bautista was our parade marshal and he was a big hit on stage and at the BIA booth signing autographs. I would like to thank the committee who worked diligently throughout the year, Terry Foster, Nicholl Spence, and Councillor Jon Hurst. The Acton BIA could not have done this without you. The Committee would like to thank all the volunteers who helped during the day. Special thanks to the Town of Halton Hills Public Works staff who worked so hard to help make our festival a success. Thank you to all of our sponsors who make it possible to hire quality entertainment for your enjoyment. We trust everyone who attended had a great time and we estimate there were approximately 6,000 people in attendance. Next year is the Acton BIA's 35th anniversary and we are hoping to do something special for the Leathertown Festival. Plans are already underway to make this a spectacular event. If you are interested in being on the committee or have some ideas give us a call at 519853-9555. Josey Bonnette, Acton BIA manager WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.independentfreepress.com) What is your view of graffiti found on local buildings, fences, mailboxes etc.? · It's vandalism (89%) · It's an artistic expression (11%) Festival a success Dear editor, Well, another Leathertown Festival has come and gone and from all reports it was a huge success. The Calithumpian Parade was 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.