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

Backyard Touch Open 7 days a week 318 Guelph Street Georgetown 905.873.8835 Receive up to $1249 worth of upgrades for FREE* *See store for details. Offer ends April 28/08 Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, April 16, 2008 3 Bill Cooley has licked his last stamp. For the past 40 years the local man has served as Hornbys postmaster, running a small post office out of the Hornby General Store on Steeles Avenue. But the 69-year-old has decided its time to retire, bringing about the end of an era for rural citizens whove become accustomed to seeing Cooleys smiling face when they drop in to pick up their mail and chat a spell. Canada Post closed up the small-town mainstay last weekend and replaced the face- to-face service with a community mailbox located outside the general store. Now, Hornby residents have to use a key to access their mail. Friday proved to be a bittersweet day for both Cooley and all of his regular customers who filtered in throughout the day to wish him an emotional farewell. I think Ill miss the people the most, he said. You really get to know everyone. And after four decades, this sentiment cer- tainly rings true. Cooley has been seeing some of the same families for decades. His eyes light up as he recalls watching his customers children grow from babies to teens to adults. When they first come in theyre really young and before you know it theyre in their 40s, he said with a smile. While everyone may be getting older, he said things havent really changed that much in Hornby or the postal business at least, until now. We always liked to run it (the post office) the old-fashioned way, he said. The bigger post offices cant run it like the little ones can the people at the front desk there dont know the customers personally. But its not like that here. We know everyone who picks up their mail. They dont have to bring their ID. The post office, and the Hornby General Store, also maintain the look and feel of days gone by. Walking into the building which Cooley took over from his father-in-law four decades ago is like taking a step back in time, from the old wooden shelf behind the counter with hand-written labels identifying everyones mail slot to the clock radio playing a classic Elvis tune in the background. Its here that Cooley and his daughter, Sandi, have spent most of their time over the past several decades. Sandi recalls helping her father out with the post office and the store when she was a little girl something she continues to do today. It was nice to grow up here, she said. Sometimes you want to go where everyone knows your name. This is it. Cooley has now put the property up for sale. So while the post office is closed, the Hornby General Store will continue to operate until the land sells. For local residents, its not so much the post office that will be missed its the post- master. Bill has been the best postal person Ive ever met, said Heather Senechal of Bahr Saddlery, a business located nearby on Steeles Avenue. Hes always provided great service and had a smile on his face. Hornby resident Donna Coulter shared similar sentiments. We couldnt have had a better guy, she said. We could drop our Hornby mail in the slot and the next day someone would say to me, Thanks for the birthday card. Were defi- nitely going to miss him. While Cooleys looking forward to retire- ment now, hes got no regrets when he looks back over the years spent as Hornbys post- master and sums up his experience in a few simple words: Every day here was just great. End of an era at the Hornby Post Office Postmaster retires after 40 years Bill Cooley has retired as Hornbys postmas- ter after 40 years on the job. Photo by Graham Paine MELANIE HENNESSEY Special to The IFP School break-in Police are investigating a break-in at Holy Cross School last Sunday (April 6) that occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Several computers were taken, but at press time it was unknown how many. Several books in the library had also been pushed off shelves. Street fight charges Halton Police were called to Lindsay Court shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday for a fight in the street involving several people, some with knives. A vehicle and mailbox were damaged in the incident. Charged with two counts of mischief to property under $5,000 and possession of weapon dangerous to public peace is a 15-year-old male. Police report there were some injuries in the incident, but had no specific details. Laptop stolen A $600 IBM Think pad laptop was stolen from a vehicle parked at Gary Allen High School some- time Wednesday. Police blotter Local United Way bests 2007 campaign target The United Way of Halton Hills has surpassed its campaign goal. The organization had set a goal of $275,000 for its 2007 campaign and has beat that by more than $6,000. Our final numbers are in, and I am thrilled to announce that our 2007 campaign came in at over $281,000, said Janet Foster, United Way executive director. She said compared to recent years the amount raised in the campaign was record-breaking. We are very appreciative of the support from our community and pleased to report that 14 local agencies will receive funding from the United Way of Halton Hills in 2008/2009. Twenty-one programs/services, delivered by these agencies will receive financial support this year. These programs will reach people of all ages in our community. Foster said the success of the campaign was achieved through direct mail brochure donations from residents, local businesses donating through employee pledges or one-time donations and local fundraising. Agencies receiving funding from the United Way of Halton Hills in 2008/2009 are Acclaim Health, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Community Living North Halton, Distress Centre North Halton, Girls Inc., Halton Child & Youth Services, Halton Family Services, Halton Trauma Centre, Links2Care, Literacy North Halton, Multiple Sclerosis Society, STRIDE, Support and Housing Halton, Transitions for Youth. At the Silver Creek Public School Stars-a-thon activities, Grade 1 buddies Connor Chandler (right) and Callum Gardiner, took part in the obstacle course, as they piloted their skateboards through a slalom course. Photo by Ted Brown Wheeling pals