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OPINION To promote environmental awareness and celebrate Earth Day, the Town of Halton Hills is hosting 'Earth Week' which includes numerous activities. This year marks the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day, which began when Gaylord Nel- son, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, witnessed the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California and soon after started a national day of environmental awareness. In 1990 Earth Day went global in- volving 200 million people in 141 countries. As a community, Halton Hills residents have heartily embraced Earth Day/Week events in the past several years and the Town has expanded its list of events that not only adopt the spirit of Earth Day, but also make a visible difference. This year's events include: April 20-- A Community-wide Clean-up Day in which neighbours and community groups scour the parks, ravines and road- sides of Halton Hills to pick up litter. April 22-- 22-Minute Makeover: Students and business colleagues are encouraged to take 22 minutes to spruce up the community in another beautifi cation effort. April 27-- Tree Sale: At the Robert C. Aus- tin Operations Centre, 11620 Trafalgar Rd. in Georgetown residents can purchase trees for $5 and collect free mulch and wood chips. April 27-- Earth Day and Sustainability Fair: From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the George- town Market Place featuring live animals, interactive children's activities and environ- mental groups. Several 'Green Leadership Tours' of 'green' buildings are also available. More details on Earth Week events are available at: www.haltonhills.ca/earthday or check out today's special Earth Week section inside today's newspaper. The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Edi- torial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press Save the earth Steve Nease Letters to the editor Dear editor, My son was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy when he was one-- he's now three-- and we carry epi-pens to counter any al- lergic reaction. Recently, he broke out in a rash at home and we rushed him to emergency at Georgetown Hos- pital. It was a very busy evening, but they accommodated us and we were able to speak to the tri- age nurse within a few minutes of arriving. After speaking to them about his condition, they put him in a room and administered a shot of adrenaline and steroids to calm the reaction down. Not only was the staff profes- sional-- both the nurses and doc- tors-- but they were courteous and extremely personable. Knowing the stress my wife and I were under, they kept us calm with their kind demeanor, sense of humour and attention to deal. Knowing there is so much negative press about the state of our health care, I wanted to give a shout-out to the staff who were working that evening. Thank you from our family for making an unpleasant experience bear- able. Thank you for taking such great care of our son, who quickly recovered-- as most young kids do-- from this. Thank you for pay- ing attention to my eight-year-old daughter who was scared for her brother. It makes me feel proud to live in such a great community where people still care about the individ- ual. I hope we never lose this as it's something for all of us to be very proud of. Andrew Murison, Georgetown Letters policy 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins 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) Classifi eds Kristie Pells (classifi ed@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) The Halton Poverty Roundtable is trying to raise public awareness of the issue of poverty. Do you believe poverty is a problem here? • Yes (67%) • No (33%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Residents can be proud of hospital Fundraiser a hit A fun night for all 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 Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Dear editor, Knox Presbyterian Church, Georgetown wish to thank the community for supporting their St. Patrick's Day fundraiser for CAShh. Special thanks to B.F.O.C. School of Irish Daancing and to our own Knox Highland Dancers. It was a complete success and most appre- ciated by CAShh with a generous contribution. Knox Congregational Committee Dear editor, On March 22, George Kennedy Public School enjoyed a "Kid's Choice" movie night voting from a selection of four movies. Wreck It Ralph was the clear win- ner and was enjoyed by nearly 250 students and their families. The night was a great success largely due to the wonderful support of both the parent council and parent volunteers. Special thanks to Toppers and to both our principal Erin Bedard and vice-principal Colleen Golightly. Shannon Annett, volunteer co-ordinator George Kennedy School Council •T he IF P • H al to n H ill s •T hu rs d ay , A p ril 1 8, 2 01 3 6