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•Th e IF P• H al to n H ill s • Th ur sd ay , M ar ch 6 , 2 01 4 6 OPINION He is forward thinking, a visionary if you will, and he knows precisely when to act for our own good. He is vocal in his beliefs and innovative in his approach. He is political when needed and com- munity-minded always. While he may not be a household name to all Halton residents, Dr. Bob Nosal -- Halton Region's Commissioner and Med- ical Officer of Health -- has served all of us well as the region's leader in health care. But the good doctor has decided the time is right to retire. We will sorely miss him for so many reasons. He placed West Nile virus on the me- dia's radar long before anyone else. He made us roll up our sleeves for flu shots, especially during the H1N1 crisis in 2009. (He must have been proud seeing those long lineups at the region's vaccina- tion clinics.) He was the calm in the storm of the SARS outbreak, he challenged us to think about air and water quality, mental health and substance abuse issues, underage smoking, and just about any other health- related problem that emerged during his 25 years of service to Halton residents. So, on behalf of the residents of Hal- ton, thank you Dr. Bob for your commit- ment, dedication, passion and a desire to get the job done, and done well. Enjoy your retirement. The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of sev- eral Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copy- right. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the Ontario Press Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ ontpress.com or call 416- 340-1981. The Independent & Free Press Goodbye Dr. Bob Letters to the editor Dear editor, In regards to the sighting by lo- cal photographer Greg Coman of the American Bald Eagle, it could be perhaps that it has flown the coop, so to speak. I feel it has defected the U.S. after being ashamed of the country's Olympic hockey performance. I expect we will see more coming our way. Wayne Best, Georgetown Dear editor, On Feb. 21 Community Living North Halton (CLNH) hosted its fifth anni- versary bonspiel at the Milton Curling Club. The event was very successful raising more than $15,000. The money raised will directly bene- fit individuals who have developmental disabilities by supporting their recre- ation and leisure programs at CLNH. We wish to express our heartfelt thanks to all the people responsible for making this fundraiser so successful. They are: Milton Oldstars Hockey Club, Kinsmen of Milton, Powell Insur- ance Brokers, Esaote, Hutchinson, Thompson, Henderson and Mott, KCK Teamwear and Key Centre, Rivenco Industries Ltd., Gallinger Ford Lin- coln, KKP, Tim Hortons, The Flower Mill, and La Rose Italian Bakery and Delicatessen. A special thank you to Sobey's and Fresh Start Foods for their very gener- ous donation of food products. To all our donors and friends who donated items to our silent auction or made monetary contributions, your generosity was very much appreciated. Lastly, a heartfelt thanks to our curl- ers, your personal commitment is very much appreciated and directly benefits the people we support. We look forward to another success- ful bonspiel next year. Len Lee, Community Living North Halton Bonspiel Committee HDSB is considering adding extreme cold temps to its inclement weather policy. Do you support that move? Yes (70%) No (30%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Wayward bird a U.S. defector Bonspiel a great success Letters must include the author's name, address and daytime phone number. Anony- mous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publica- tion is not guaranteed. Email: cgamble@theifp.ca Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. 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: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca or realestate@theifp.ca) Classified Call Centre 1-855-415-8237 haltonhillsclassads@metroland.com Accounting 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox by signing up for our twice weekly electronic newsletter. Go to www.theifp.ca and click on 'Newsletter sign-up' at the bottom of the homepage. Kettle campaign thanks Dear editor, The Salvation Army Georgetown Community Church would like to thank the people of Georgetown. With your help and support, we not only met, but surpassed our Kettle fund raising goal. We were also over- whelmed with the generous donations of new toys that were received. Your generosity not only went a long way in brightening the lives of many local families, but will continue to help throughout the year. We also want to say a big thank you to all the indi- viduals, organizations, churches and businesses who supported us over the Christmas season and throughout the year. Once again, we say thank you and God bless. Major Darrell Jackson