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6 Acton/Georgetown, Friday, April 27, 2007 OPINION Celebrating student excellence Despite recent stories detailing a bitter dispute brewing between elected school trustees at the Halton Catholic District School Board, there has been much to celebrate in Halton's publicly-funded education systems this month. On Monday (April 23) the region's Catholic school board celebrated its 19th annual Sharing The Spirit Awards of Excellence, recognizing one exemplary student from each of the school board's elementary and secondary schools in Halton Hills and the three other Halton municipalities. The nearly four dozen young people honoured this week were selected for having "demonstrated outstanding qualities in the following areas: Catholic leadership, family commitment, involvement in school affairs, involvement in community activities and dedication to a difficult situation or task." "We are proud to launch the celebration of Catholic Education Week 2007 (April 29-May 4) by recognizing the achievements and efforts of these students, who are role models for their peers of the quality Catholic education that we provide in Halton," noted board chair Al Bailey. Those who missed attending Monday's ceremony in Georgetown can view a repeat airing of the ceremony on TVCogeco on Tuesday, May 1 at 9:30 p.m., Monday, May 7 at 7 p.m. or Wednesday, May 16 at 9 p.m. Next Thursday (May 3), the Halton District School Board will honour 93 exceptional students during its 23rd annual Celebration of Student Excellence evening, to be held at Acton District High School. Those being recognized have demonstrated at least two of the following areas: academic, vocational and athletic fields, self-improvement, community work, citizenship and student leadership, or specific criteria that reflects the school's unique priorities. These recent honours reveal more about Halton's education systems than a standardized test ever could. They teach us that our schools are generating some outstanding students-- and future leaders-- who provide exceptional examples for classmates to emulate. www.independentfreepress.com Phone: 905-873-0301 Fax: 905-873-0398 Steve Nease STAFF DIRECTORY Publisher Ken Nugent Advertising director Steve Foreman (sforeman@independentfreepress.com) Retail advertising manager Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@independentfreepress.com) Managing editor John McGhie (jmcghie@independentfreepress.com) Distribution manager Nancy Geissler (distribution@independentfreepress.com) ADVERTISING Advertising co-ordinator Jennifer Christie (jchristie@independentfreepress.com) Retail Sales: Jennifer Spencer (jspencer@independentfreepress.com) Adam Spinney (aspinney@independentfreepress.com) Andrew Key (akey@independentfreepress.com) Amy Sykes (asykes@independentfreepress.com) Real estate: Sue Spizziri (realestate@independentfreepress.com) Classifieds: Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) ACCOUNTING Rose Marie Gauthier, Michelle Wimmer EDITORIAL Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@independentfreepress.com) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@independentfreepress.com) PRODUCTION: Mary Lou Foreman, Kevin Powell, Shelli Harrison, Dolores Black, Debbie MacDougall LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Downtown construction a `moving ballet' Dear editor, As frequent customers of many of the downtown businesses, we have been watching the progress of this project with interest. We have found workers to be polite and helpful and merchants have praised the crews, saying that they sometimes accompany pedestrians across the area. The construction site is kept well organized and clean, with workers sweeping up at the end of the day. Sidewalk areas are always safe and uncluttered and crossing zones easily identified. In our experience, parking during the week has not been a problem, providing that one does not require a parking space within a hundred or so feet of their destination. However, it is necessary to add a few extra minutes to accommodate adjustment to the continually changing traffic patterns. The greatest challenge is always, "Where did I park my car today?" Having owned our own business, and being aware of many of the safety regulations and challenges in coordinating a large project such as this, we have watched the moving "ballet" of men and huge machinery with fascination. Many of the downtown businesses, especially those which rely on walk-in trade are really hurting. However, we appreciate that they remain open for our business. As residents of Ward 4, we choose to spread our business based on the merit of each establishment. After living in Georgetown for some 40 years, we wish to express our appreciation to all parties and agencies for their part in this project. Jim and Marilyn Bray, Georgetown Something bugging you? Send us a letter! Letters to the editor must include an address and daytime telephone number. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 200 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1 E-mail: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Local theatre group deserves support Dear editor, Once again Globe has astounded everyone in amateur theatre circles, with a Best Musical win for Urinetown at the ACTCO Awards. In fact, they have won Best Musical for five of the past seven years! This is community theatre's version of the Oscars and it covers productions from Burlington, Milton, Toronto, Oshawa, Barrie and everything in between. That's TORONTO, folks, and we blow them out of the water! I'm not sure if the public knows the excellence that awaits them each and every time they go to a Globe show (Oliver! is next, and it plays this coming May). It also distresses me that this group struggles financially. Musicals are expensive to mount, mostly because of royalties, and the cost of supplying an orchestra and costumes for a large cast. Wake up Georgetown! Those of us with financial resources to help out should do so. The return on our investment is smiling faces of performers and audiences alike and a prestigious reputation for our town. Congrats to all at Globe for another win! P.S. For the Price Waterhouse types reading this, the winners were: West Side Story (2000), Crazy for You (2001), Evita (2002), City of Angels (2003), and Urinetown (2006). Lois Fraser, Georgetown Church appreciates newspaper coverage Dear editor, Thank you for your recent coverage of The Gospel According to Saint Mark event at Ballinafad United Church. We appreciate your paper's advertising the event for us and for your special write up as well as content in your community calendar. The event was a big success despite the snow squalls. It was wonderful to see so many faces from many different congregations within the Halton/Erin area. It was a wonderful start to our Easter celebrations. The support of your newspaper is greatly appreciated by our country church. Janet Beare, Ballinafad United Church THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS The Independent & Free Press is published every Wednesday and Friday at 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown Ont., L7G 4B1. 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