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6 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,December 6, 2011 OPINION Mirror, mirror Poet Robert Frost once wrote that "good fences make good neighbours" but he never mentioned anything about roadside mirrors. Last Thursday's Independent & Free Press story about the installation of a roadside traffic mirror being installed on Main Street in Glen Williams was a classic case of a mountain being made out of a molehhill. To summarize, Glen resident Wayne Gould was upset the Town of Halton Hills installed the mirror on the Town allowance in front of his property without notification and in the process trimmed several branches and limbs from trees and shrubs in front of his house. The mirror was installed, chiefly for the benefit of his neighbour-- Councillor Joan Robson, who says pulling her car out of her driveway is dangerous because of the nearby sharp curve. The mirror allows her to see if there is oncoming traffic. Robson contends she never asked for the mirror and that it was a result of the Glen Williams Traffic Study. Cynics, will of course, be quick to exclaim "bunk", point to the fact she is a councillor and cry "favouritism". Frankly it doesn't matter a whit if she did ask for the mirror-- the point is it makes the roadway safer, for her and for everyone who drives along Main Street. Perhaps Robson, being a councillor, could have discussed the need for a mirror with her constituent (Gould) beforehand simply as a neighbourly gesture. However, Town staff should have notified Gould of their plans beforehand and perhaps discussed with him what limbs would be removed and how the mirror's installation would least affect him. Courtesy and communication would have gone a long way in this instance. 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 Anonymous letters will not be published.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 Why build arenas if ice time available? Dear editor, I recently noticed an advertisement from the Town of Halton Hills in this paper for rental ice time at the local Georgetown rinks. And it was not just any old time, it was for evening weekend slots. Surely this is not possible. Town council nine months ago voted nearly unanimously to build more arenas simply because there was such a desperate need for both new and more ice surfaces. Mayor Rick Bonnette, Councillor Bryan Lewis, please explain to the doubters of arena development why a 7:45 p.m. Friday time slot at the Mold-Masters SportsPlex was still available at the end of October? The mayor frets publicly about who should be the Town's partner at Queen's Park, expresses disappointment that the Target Corporation would rather do business in Milton than here, and has this quaint idea that three more ice surfaces are needed in this town. Perhaps the mayor would worry less about Queen's Park or the Target Corporation if he had fewer big civic builds happening. Ian McKay, Georgetown Christmas challenge Dear editor, It's been a long tradition on Sherman Court to consider ourselves the unofficial Christmas street of Georgetown. We have four families putting on a great show of Christmas cheer, each year better than the last. This year we offer a challenge to the other streets in town. Perhaps our esteemed elders, while on their Seniors Light Tour, judge each street, with the winners crowned best traditional light show in Georgetown. I'm sure Mayor Rick Bonnette and his merry band of elves could find a special street sign to award the winners and grace the entrance for a years' worth of bragging rights. The idea here is for the town to have its sign shop create a green and red Christmassy street sign, "Official Christmas Street --2011" that could be bolted on the post below the conventional street sign. Maybe even do a proclamation at Town council. Each year would see a new winner, voted on by the seniors of our community, and a new sign. Whether they vote at their seniors' residences or at a box near Santa in the mall-- I leave it up to others to work out the details. Shawn Taylor, Georgetown CFUW show a success Dear editor, Recently the Georgetown chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women hosted its first annual Fashion Show for Scholarships. Thanks to the generous donations of gift cards and raffle prizes from our membership, guests and many small local businesses, we were able to raise more than $3,000, every cent of which will go to provide scholarships for deserving university and adult students in Halton Hills. We know the merchants of Georgetown are constantly being asked to support many worthy local charities and junior sports organizations. We appreciate their opening their pockets and their hearts to us again and again. Please, residents of Georgetown, reward their generosity by patronizing your local businesses. Lisette Logan & Frances Walker, CFUW Georgetown Fashion for Scholarships Committee WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.independentfreepress.com) The Canadian Medical Association Journal recently recommended hospitals abolish parking fees. Do you agree? · Yes. Charging patients and their families is nothing more than a user fee. (83%) · No. Hospitals need this money to make up for the funding they don't receive from the government. (17%) 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.