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•T h e IF P • H alto n H ills, Thursday, January 16, 2014 7 • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 We handle all insurance work. GEORGETOWN'S Best Kept Secret! 46 Armstrong Ave www.MiskasWoodProducts.com Casings Baseboards Crown Mouldings 416 - 220 - 2741 • your window & door professionals • 341 Guelph St., Unit 3 Georgetown 905.873.0236 www.buy-wise.ca info@buy-wise.ca • awarded readers choice 20 times • Visit our showroom COMMENT Time to review emergency preparedness Christmas 2013 is one that most of us will never forget. The ice storm and the resulting hydro blackout meant frigid hard- ship for many of our residents, but in some ways it also brought out the very best of our communities. All across the Province, neighbour helped neighbour, with whatever they needed. Families spent time to- gether, without the background noise of modern electronics. And, most im- portantly, we showed our caring for one another. Our local municipal councillors and staff in some cases postponed or interrupted their own Christmas celebra- tions to provide the needed leadership. Hydro One and local utility staff, like the staff of Halton Hills Hydro, worked 24/7 in the cold temperatures to restore power to their affected customers. They were all magnificent, and deserve our sincere thanks for a job very well done. And again, we thank everyone who was without power for their pa- tience, perseverance and resource- fulness. Now that the immediate crisis seems to be over, I believe we need to undertake a review of all that hap- pened: what went right, as well as looking at the things that need to be done differently next time. Accordingly, our caucus has called upon the government to appoint a select committee of the Ontario Legislature to review the Province's emergency preparedness protocols, to seek better communication and quicker responses in the future. A select committee of the Legis- lature would include MPPs from all parties. The committee would hold public hearings, invite expert testi- mony, and report back its findings and recommendations. ****** The Independent and Free Press reports local news and events with dedicated integrity, challenging us to stay engaged, connected and in- volved in Halton Hills. I have always believed that strong communities cannot exist in the ab- sence of strong community newspa- pers. This explains the importance of the work done by the staff at our lo- cal papers. Two of the pillars of the Independent and Free Press are departing. Managing Editor John McGhie and Colum- nist/Photographer Ted Brown have both given years of community ser- vice, and have done their jobs very well. As one of the paper's political columnists, it has been a pleasure to work with them as colleagues. I want to publicly acknowledge their outstanding work, and wish them well in their future endeavours. ****** Again this year, my wife Lisa and I are hosting two free "Family Skates" in Halton Hills. On Sunday, Jan. 19, we will be at the Acton Arena and Commu- nity Centre, 415 Queen Street from 2-3:30 pm. On Sunday, Jan. 26, we will be at the Mold-Masters Sportsplex, 221 Guelph Street in Georgetown, Ice Pad B, from 2:15-3:45 pm. Everyone is welcome. We look for- ward to seeing you. ****** Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott welcomes your comments. He can be reached at 1-800-265- 2366. His website address is www. tedarnottmpp.com. TED ARNOTT Our Readers Write... 'I am very excited to be part of The Independent & Free Press' Chris Vernon... see story pg. 3 'Quote unquote' Dear editor, Re: Local centre testing for concussions, Jan. 2. Kudos to the Independent for raising concussion awareness. Some corrections to the article's content include: these services are available at several local clinics and have been for some time and excellent baseline testing systems are offered at no charge. In addition, this field of healthcare has many "guru's" such as the group that developed the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT). It is in these circumstances that we advise the consumer to do some of their own re- search, then choose a provider who is always looking at all of the options and can make the right match and create the right program for their specific needs. Yours in Sport Gerry Ross, Reg PT President Ross Physio- therapy Solutions Kristy Millard, Reg PT Vice President Ross Physiotherapy Solutions Consumer should research concussion care options Acton families thank the community Dear editor, The Boisvenue and Dunn families would like to extend our thanks to all who partici- pated in the fundraiser held at Branch 197, Acton on November 30, 2013 for our wife, mother, daughter and sister Bev Boisvenue. It was truly an amazing experience to see a community come together as they did in the aid of our family. Special thanks to branch 197 and their fundraising committee Chair: Sharon Gra- ham, Peg Graham, Mike Hedley, Wes Kutas- ienski, Bev Mattocks and Cathy Munday for organizing the event; the Ladies Auxiliary of Branch 197 for contributing the food and for their special donation as well as the dona- tions of other Ladies' Auxiliaries in the zone; to all of the businesses in town who donated items for the auction and raffle and to all the individuals who gave cash donations. We also would like to thank Steve Dunn and his band for the donation of their time and talents. They did a great job. Everyone's ef- forts were appreciated by our families. Bev, Andre, Alyssa, Ryan and Austin Boisvenue, Marg and John Dunn and family Mayor replies to concerns says reader Dear editor, Re: Mayor, Hydro come under fire, Jan. 2 I would like to make a comment on a let- ter to the editor by Jim Faye of Georgetown. What would ever give Mr. Faye the idea that Mayor Rick Bonnette would have his power turned on more expeditiously than any other taxpayer in Halton Hills? I don't think Rick Bonnette has ever given any of us any reason to doubt his integrity. Mr. Faye, if you had e-mailed Mayor Bonnette and voiced your concerns to him, he would have responded to your query quickly with an explanation I'm sure you could have understood. I'm not sure why you chose to stay home from your family get together on Christmas Eve but perhaps if you could have seen past the inconvenience of living without power and thought about all the things you were thankful for, you could have been happy enough to have been warm with your family in another municipality. Kelly Warnock Georgetown Dear editor, We just wanted to send a huge thank you out to Sarah Brophy for stopping to help change our tire just before Christmas. We were loaded up heading out to get our Christmas tree when fate had other plans! Down a country road, with the wind howl- ing and the snow swirling, we blew a tire! Sarah came along and stayed until the tire was changed ! Sarah went above and be- yond to help us out! Thank you Sarah. The Gallants Georgetown Family thankful for passerby's help