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•T h e IF P • H alto n H ills, Thursday, January 23, 2014 7 HEATING COOLING BOILERS RADIANT HEAT GAS LINES WATER HEATERS WWW.BROOKS HEATING AND AIR.CA • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 We handle all insurance work. COMMENT Town will analyze response to ice storm The ice storm of 2013 cer- tainly walloped Halton Hills. It couldn't have come at a worse time, as families were making last minute Christmas plans. At one point, everyone in Town was without power. Rural roads that I travelled looked like a war zone. In Town, it was horrible to see so many trees on boulevards, in parks and on private property slumped over, badly damaged. Staff from both Halton Hills Hydro and the Town worked long and tirelessly throughout the storm. This was a storm which many of us will be speaking of for years to come. This affected all of us and I'm very pleased at the way our community ral- lied together. Throughout all of the devastation, we saw many count- less acts of kindness. Late Christmas Eve, I visited the Gellert Community Centre which was designat- ed as an evacuation centre. Volunteer- ing organizations such as the Salvation Army and the Red Cross were helping residents at this time of need. The Acton Fire Station served as a warming centre. Our firefighters were great hosts as well as other Town staff. I heard many stories of people taking their neighbours into their own homes to help make them com- fortable. Many people prepared and served hot meals to those in need; in addition to hydro crews working in difficult and frigid weather. Your town councillors were also very involved through- out the storm. The many acts of kindness was yet another great example of small town living at its best. We will all learn from this expe- rience. We will analyze how we responded and make necessary adjustments. I believe we are a stronger community as a result of this storm. Now more than ever is a good time to support our lo- cal businesses that were without power. **** I invite everyone to come out to the Acton Winter Carnival on Jan- uary 25 and 26 at Prospect Park in Acton. Lots of outdoor activities are being planned. This will be a lot of fun for the whole family, and it's free! **** I would like to thank John McGhie and Ted Brown who have been a pleasure to work with over the years at The Independent & Free Press. I wish you both the best of luck in your future endeavours. **** Congratulations to: One Life Family Chiropractic on their recent opening in Georgetown. **** Keeping it real! I can be reached by telephone at 905- 873-2601, ext. 2342 or by email at mayor@haltonhills.ca or read my blog at www.rickbonnette. blogspot.com. You can also fol- low me on twitter at: @RickBon- nette1 MAYOR RICK BONNETTE Our Readers Write 'She's a 400-pound suck that just wants to be loved' See story pg. 14 'Quote unquote' Dear editor, I was very upset to see an article in the Dec. 19th edition of the newspaper, entitled "Teachers don't have to show up for PD day". As a retired teacher and an occasional supply teacher, I am not aware of the Professional Development or Professional Activity Days. However, when I first heard about this Professional Development Day on the last day before the Christmas break, I was surprised. It just didn't make sense. The public wouldn't see it as a day to better the education of their students, just as another easy day. Put it together with the opinion of many that teachers are underworked, overpaid and have the summer and three other weeks of holiday, it would just add to the justification of that opinion. However, when I was in one of the secondary schools a couple of weeks ago, I asked about it and was told that it was a day without pay. Ok, I got it. Then you printed this article, which indeed did explain what the day really was . What I want to understand is why was the title used-- to drum up interest? Some of your readers would just see the header and would jump to the conclusion it was suggesting and not even read the article. Not very responsible of your newspaper, in my opinion, and I am sure, to some of your readers who are also teachers. Jodi Kimm, Halton Hills Story headline upsets reader Canada Post wastefulness could lead to a new business Dear editor, With the news that communal mail boxes will soon replace door to door delivery, I'm contem- plating going into business, locally. The product? Selling second hand Canada Post elastic bands used by carriers to bundle mail before sorting. The great thing is that there's no cost for the product-- they magically appear almost daily on the ground surrounding our own communal mailbox; three or four a day on some deliveries. Easily six hundred in a single year. I've been collecting them for a decade. Sensing I was onto an habitual behaviour, I once visited six other communal mailboxes in a 5 km radius. Four of them miraculously provided the same result. The opportunities to now expand, with Canada Post's recent announcement, are endless! Feeling guilty and duty-bound, I returned a pailfull of them to the local supervisor at Canada Post many years ago. Since then, his office doesn't return my calls so we can have a little chat (and, of course, replenish their stock). Maybe they have enough elastic bands, don't need retreads, and re- sponding to customers really isn't their thing! I guess one has to be thankful that neighbours tirelessly pick up the discarded bands. Mind you, I don't much like the competition as I set about my new venture. To those letter carriers at Canada Post who are diligent, caring and responsible and who wouldn't dream of littering our town, I am begrudgingly grateful. But you're really not helping my entrepre- neurial cause. Graham Willsher, Georgetown Is MP's bill a new beginning? Dear editor, Kudos to our federal MP Michael Chong for tak- ing on the PMO whose ceaseless efforts to appro- priate political power and concentrate it amongst a handful of appointees surrounding the Prime Minister of Canada. I don't normally agree with Mr. Chong's politics but on this issue, I support him. What will be interesting to watch is Stephen Harper's reaction to this challenge by the "Committee 2012"-- a handful of MPs who are tired of being told what to think and when to say it. They are stand- ing up to a system that successive PMOs have put in place to whip votes and push bills through Parlia- ment with little or no chance of debate from its MPs effectively muzzling its members. Stephen Harper and his PMO have taken the practice to new heights. I am becoming more and more drawn to the idea that Parliament should be composed of non partisan representatives (independents) in this first- past-the-post electoral system. A few good men or women to represent us, unencumbered by a system that has reduced politics to a blood sport. We need a level playing field and Michael Chong's proposals take us one step closer to that goal. We could be witnessing the beginning of something truly interesting in Canadian politics if Mr. Chong can convince enough of his colleagues to vote for the bill with support from the opposition. We have not witnessed this independence from our MPs in a very long time. Robert Sevigny, President, Wellington Halton Hills NDP • 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