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•Th e IF P• H al to n H ill s • Th ur sd ay , N ov em b er 1 3, 2 01 4 6 OPINION We, as the local community voice, are encouraging residents who are spending money this Christmas to make sure their dol- lars stay close to home. Now more than ever, local retailers, car dealers, specialty shops, services and restau- rants, to name but a few, need consumers to open their wallets here in Halton Hills. Our local economy is no longer as robust as it once was and local retailers are placing their hopes on a good holiday season. We can't let them down during the upcom- ing Christmas season. While shopping, you can pause awhile at a café or restaurant. You can take in old-fashioned Christmas displays and appreciate store owners who are proud of the goods they sell and who spend the necessary time intelligently answer- ing customers' questions. By spending your hard-earned dollars here you are helping to keep the town running smoothly. The spin-off effects are tremendous. There are so many unique gift ideas hid- den in the stores and galleries of Halton Hills. According to The New Economics Foundation, an independent economic group based in London, when you shop local twice the cash stays in the community. After you are done your shopping, don't forget to put a local restaurant on your shop- ping list. And before we forget, when you are out shopping, don't forget the local charities that need assistance. Set aside some extra dollars -- or spend less -- and give generously to all the groups and organizations that work so hard to ensure everyone has a happy Christmas. 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 Shop local Letters to the editor What do you do to honour Remembrance Day? • All of the above (49%) • Wear a poppy (18%) • Spend a minute in silence on Nov. 11 at 11 am (16%) • Nothing-- it's not that important (13%) • Attend a Remembrance service (4%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) 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. Georgetown residents should be proud of our community's response to a need. Our church men's ministry be- came aware of someone we wanted to help. Long story shortened -- a local middle-aged women had need of regular transport to her job in Georgetown South and her problem hips prevented her from biking. Our group, Anvil Ministry for Men, decided to help her by way of raising some cash through a ga- rage sale in our church parking lot (Georgetown Christian Fellowship). An email to The Independent & Free Press which described our proj- ect was published and brought in a flood of calls from the community who seemed happy to help. Because people were generous in their donating, we exceeded our sale goals. Some highlights include a busi- ness owner who upped our project goal from a gas-motored bike assist to a more 'proper' scooter by prom- ising some financial assistance. Someone from the Norval United Church gave us a very generous do- nation from their church Outreach Committee. Some of the donors turned out to be garage sale buyers as well, who further helped our cause. We were able to see first-hand our community coming together for a good cause. We want to thank all of you for your support. Mark Howson, ANVIL resource co-ordinator Our residents are the best MaRS project: A different perspective Letters must include the author's name, address and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for con- tent and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. Email: cvernon@metroland.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters policy Re: MaRS more Liberal red ink With only four months since On- tarians gave our Liberal government a four-year mandate, Mr. (Ted) Ar- nott (MPP Wellington-Halton Hills) is ambitious in trying to convince us that we made the wrong choice. His account of the MaRS project starkly contrasts the recent third- party report (Ernst&Young) stating that the "fair market value of the MaRS Phase 2 Project is at mini- mum equal to, and could exceed, the total amount invested to date by the Government". In his role as Critic, Mr. Arnott has a choice between offering de- structive criticism or constructive criticism. I suspect that the chances of seeing him or his party ever offer constructive criticism are about the same as our chances of finding life on that red planet. Dan Zister