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6 Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, June 13, 2007 OPINION Heart of community beats strong During the past couple weeks we have published a number of stories that illustrate the uniqueness of Halton Hills and its residents. While if comes as no surprise to most people who live in either Georgetown or Acton or any of the surrounding rural villages and hamlets, it is worth recognizing the efforts-- no matter how large or small-- of some people who call Halton Hills home. For example, there have been a number of fundraising ventures lately, from the Mito March: Kure for Kirkland to the Wheels in Motion walk/roll to the annual Risk Watch Summer Safety Blitz. None of these events, or the dozens others held throughout the year, happen without hard work and hours of dedication from volunteers. The same can be said for the Georgetown Highland Games, Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life, the local church barbecues, charity bingos and fundraisiing garage sales. All of these events, big or small, make this community stronger and better. Local residents have also proven their passion for keeping Halton Hills "small-town". That was illustrated recently when a group of citizens in Glen Williams banded together to voice their displeasure over a new housing development in the village adopting the name "The Glen" for the development. The residents, with the help of Town council members, managed to get the developer-- Intracorp-- to rethink its marketing strategy and change the name of the development to "The Meadows in the Glen". While some may argue, "What's in a name?", to many residents of Glen Williams, this was an affront to the history of The Glen. They simply fought for an ideal they believed in. In the end, Intracorp, in its desire to be a good neighbour, rethought its position and proved to be a "class act" as one councillor said. Perhaps it's only in a small town like ours where a business operator-- in this case a tree-cutting service-- would dispatch a worker to help rescue a cat stuck in a tree as we documented in Friday's edition. While none of these above events are of the earthshaking variety, they do show that what beats within this community is a good heart. 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 (features@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 work a world of wonder to some Dear editor, Being born and raised in Georgetown, and living and watching all the many changes that have made our town what it is today, I would like to share some thoughts with you. I was taught very early in life to look for the "positive" in any situation, and the reconstruction of our Main Street has brought forth many positive aspects for myself and my three-year-old grandson over the last few months. Not only will the small inconvenience of the mess provide us with an absolutely beautiful downtown for years to come, but the entertainment that the "Mighty Machines" and their operators have provided is something that our grandson talks about daily. Let me share a little bit of our "Monday excursions" with you. Every Monday is Nana and Caden day and for the last several weeks we make a point of going downtown to see the "wonders" of the workmen and their great machines. We park our vehicle and slowly make our way down one side of the street and back up the other so that we don't miss a single thing. Of course, we take a drink and snack to have along the way. Thank you to the friendly machine and truck operators for the countless smiles and giggles that you have provided each time that you waved back to an awestruck little boy. Special thanks to the dump truck drivers who would respond to Caden's arm motion with a blast of the mighty horn and a friendly wave. One very special moment was the day that one of the workmen walked over to take Caden's outstretched arm for a handshake. I am sure that these men had no idea of the joy that they have provided to this little boy. All of the shop owners have remained extremely pleasant in spite of the inconvenience and to me this portrays great faith and pride in our wonderful town. I believe they too can see the "positive" side of the situation. Thankyou to all. Caden and I look forward to our Mondays and can hardly wait to see you all again. Andrea Van De Valk, 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 Big pick up a big pain Dear editor, I wanted to add something to Lynn Haines' letter from the May 16 paper about the big pick up. There is a website called actonfreecycle.com or georgetownfreecycle.com. This is a free site where people post ads stating things that have that they want to get rid of. People browse the ads and pick up what they want. A lot of regions are stopping the big pick up so people will recycle more. When we had the last one someone dumped paint cans by my property. Kids got a hold of them and splashed paint all over the place. Paint cans and anything metal DO NOT belong in the big pick up. I wish people would realize this and stop putting those things out. Jennifer Gerrard, Acton THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS The Independent & Free Press is published every Wednesday and Friday at 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown Ont., L7G 4B1. It is one of several newspapers published by Metroland Media Group Ltd. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for signature will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the acceptable rate. In the event of typographical error advertising goods or services at wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell which may be withdrawn at any time. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Price: Store copies 50¢ each; Subscriptions $26 per year by carrier; $92.50 per year by mail in Canada; $130 per year in all other countries. Plus G.S.T. Second Class Mail Registration Number 6869. The Independent & Free Press is a member of The Canadian Community Newspaper Association and The Ontario Community Newspaper Association. GDHS bands should toot their own horn Dear editor, To the students from two of the Georgetown District High School Bands who recently returned from Vancouver after competing in National MusicFest (having already competed in the Provincials in Collingwood earlier in the year). At the Nationals-- the Junior Concert Band were adjudicated at the Silver Level, whilst the Senior Jazz Band were awarded Gold. We seldom see any mention of the achievements of these young people (and their teachers-- Mr. Morrison, Ms. Wallace and Ms. Crawford), who spend many hours a week practising, and perform at school concerts throughout the year (well worth attending). I think they have done themselves, their school and their community proud, as well as being great ambassadors for the wonderful Halton Region Music Program, and deserve our congratulations and support. Margaret Buck, Georgetown