The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Pa ge 6 T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 1 2, 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a Remember the sacrifice Letters to the editor 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca, 905-234-1011) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca, 905-234-1012) Managing editor: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com, 905-234-1020) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca, 905-234-1019) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (realestate@theifp.ca, 905-234-1016) Advertising Sales Jenny Hawkins (jhawkins@theifp.ca, 905-234-1014) Jennifer Spencer (jspencer@theifp.ca, 905-234-1013) Rachael Scutt (rscutt@theifp.ca, 905-234-1015) Kelli Kosonic (kkosonic@theifp.ca, 905-234-1018) Classified Call Centre 1-800-263-6480, Fax 1-866-299-1499 classifieds@metroland.com Accounting: 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca, 905-234-1021) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/photographer (emaher@theifp.ca, 905-234-1023) Kathryn Boyle: Staff writer/photographer (kboyle@theifp.ca, 905-234 -1022) Composing Shelli Harrison (sharrison@theifp.ca 905-234-1017) 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. It is doubtful anyone needs to be reminded of the debt we owe our war veterans. The men and women who served or who continue to serve in our military deserve our gratitude each and every day, not just on Remembrance Day. Not only is wearing a poppy a way to show thanks to those who have served our country but the money raised goes to provide immediate assistance to ex-ser- vicemen and women in need. When it comes to Remembrance Day observance, there has been a noticeable shift in recent years. And it's an inevitable one. Fewer and fewer veterans from earlier conflicts such as the Second World War and the Korean War are with us. Given the passage of time, there is always a risk of the importance of such observances being diluted for the next generation. This can't happen. Too much has been sacrificed. But with Afghanistan, in which Canadians played a significant role, we have fresh, contemporary examples of the struggles our veterans endure -- both during and after they serve. There is greater public awareness of post-battlefield conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that our veterans must cope with. Canadians, and the new Liberal government, have an obligation to ensure modern veterans find mean- ingful employment after they've finished their service. All veterans, whenever and wherever they served, should be honoured on Remembrance Day. Getting our voices heard to enable meaningful change for our modern veterans is the next step. Reach out to your local MP to make it known how you feel. While always remembering the sacrifices of the past, we must also ensure ongoing, stable support for our modern veterans. We will remember them. ••• • First World War Close to 61,000 Canadians were killed during the war, and another 172,000 were wounded. • Second World War 43,600 killed (including accidents). Another 54,000 Canadians were wounded. • Korea 516 Canadians died in the conflict. • Afghanistan 159 killed and more than 2,000 wounded. OPINION I'm guessing the headline in the paper after the Santa Claus parade will not say, "Santa Claus has arrived in Georgetown". Instead it's going to say "Santa Claus arrived in Georgetown a week ago and took time off from the mall to come to our parade". Who's brilliant idea was this? Correct me please if I'm wrong, but doesn't our parade mark the arrival of Santa to our town? Now this year some of our young chil- dren will have seen Santa in the mall for a whole week and then see him arriving in the parade. This is not right and it's not our tradi- tion. Again correct me if I'm wrong. Can we please postpone the arrival of Santa to the mall until the day after the parade? If not, then singing the song Santa Claus is Coming to Town between Nov. 15-21 will be wrong. Santa is overbooked this year Santa Claus parade is in jeopardy I hope we don't have any floats in the parade playing that song either because it will just be silly. I suggest you find a song to play about Santa being in town for a week already. Louise Neely, Georgetown The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the Ontario Press Coun- cil, 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 For more than 70 years the Georgetown Lions Club has organized and staged the annual Santa Claus Parade in George- town. For the last few years the parade has been an evening event with literally thou- sands of spectators enjoying the parade. Hundreds of volunteer hours are required to run the event. Many residents believe that the Town of Halton Hills runs the event; while they do provide assistance, the Lions Club pro- vides most of the volunteers and the fund- ing comes from our corporate and private sponsors. Each year we need to raise over $10,000 to produce the parade and our costs continue to rise and we endeavour each year to produce a great parade but it is becoming more and more challenging. This year our costs for police services will increase 25 per cent and these costs continue to increase. We have been advised that we can con- trol these costs if we are able to have adult volunteers at each traffic barricade on the parade route. While we have many students assisting us in this task, it can be overwhelming for young people. We are looking for 30 volunteers to help on parade day to keep both our spectators and parade participants safe. The amount of time required is about three hours and there is a great benefit, you will have the best view of the parade. Please contact me at 905-877-8111 ext. 100 or by email to louie@powerquestelec- tric.ca or to Kevin Robinson at kevinrobin- son38@sympatico.ca "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" Nov. 21. Your help will ensure he arrives this year and for many years to come. Louie Violo Chair, 2015 Santa Claus Parade