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OPINION A bleak picture when it comes to the mental state of Haltons youth was presented to Halton Regions Health and Social Services committee last week. Its bad enough that one in five Ontario children strug- gles with an emotional, mental or behavioural disorder, but if you add to that this regions atrocious wait times for services you have a recipe for disaster. The dire predicament of childrens mental health ser- vices (or lack thereof) was presented to the Region by Ron Rodgers, executive director of the Reach Out Centre for Kids known as ROCK. The need for child psychiatry in Halton outweighs the capacity to meet it, Rodgers said in his presentation. He also noted that fewer than 25 per cent of kids with mental health issues are treated. Fewer than 25 per cent? Thats not acceptable. Wait times range any where from three months for ROCKs community out-reach program to a year for its psychology services, occupational therapy and behaviour management program. A years wait? Thats not acceptable. ROCK receives funding from the Province, Region and United Way. It says it needs at least $1 million more to upgrade salaries and annualized cost of living. You have got to believe that with this regions unprece- dented growth the demand for such services will also increase at an alarming rate. This is the second time in as many weeks that we have received a frightening snapshot of the Regions lack or strained resources that deal with societys more vulnerable members. The health and social services committee was told earlier this month that one in 10 children arrive at school without any food. Thats not acceptable. The Halton Food for Thoughts student nutrition pro- gram is also buckling under the increase in demand said the regional manager of the program, Lena Bassford. We have to place a moratorium on any new pro- grams, Bassford told committee members, adding, This is devastating because for many children, the food they receive from Food for Thought is the only food (theyll get) the entire day. Is this acceptable? We dont think so. Halton is a pros- perous municipality. We can, and must, do better. The private corporate sector, as well as all levels of govern- ment, must team together to ensure our youth receive the care they deserve. Now that would be acceptable. Recipe for disaster Steve Nease LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (This letter was originally sent to Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott. A copy was made available for publication). Dear Mr. Arnott, Im writing to voice my disap- pointment in the Ontario govern- ments failure to support efforts to keep the canning industry viable in Ontario. It seems ironic to me that the fed- eral government has recently revised consumer labeling, now making it possible to distinguish which food products in the marketplace are truly Canadian, and at the same time provincially we are reducing the availability of those same products. I do not want canned peaches grown in China, even if they are less expen- sive. Furthermore, how does shipping food halfway around the world fit with reducing our impact on the environment? Now that we can be sure that Product of Canada means what it says, I would expect that more consumers will be checking for this on the label and yet sadly such product will become increasingly harder to find. Very strange. Liz Thurston, Georgetown Province should support canning industry 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. E-mail: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1 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) Brendan Louth (blouth@independentfreepress.com) Amy Sykes (features@independentfreepress.com) Andrea Lefebvre (alefebvre@independentfreepress.com) Brendon Stevenson (bstevenson@independentfreepress.com) Real estate: Sue Spizziri (realestate@independentfreepress.com) Classifieds: Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) ACCOUNTING Rose Marie Gauthier, Michelle McEachern 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 STAFF DIRECTORY Send us a letter! Phone: 905-873-0301 Fax: 905-873-0398www.independentfreepress.com Something bugging you? What do you think? Below are the results of our most recent online poll. For the current poll go to www.independentfreepress.com Which party would you vote for if a federal election were underway today? Progressive Conservatives (50%) Liberals (10%) NDP (10%) Green Party (30%) No party (0%) The Independent & Free Press is published Wednesday and Friday 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 6 Acton/Georgetown, Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Dear editor, I would like to take this opportu- nity to thank all the employers in and around the Georgetown area for working with the Georgetown District High School Co-operative Education students. With the increasing demand for workers with previous experience and students wishing to test drive a possible career choice, more stu- dents are realizing the importance of co-operative education. Increased demand for our program has result- ed in a shortage of placements for our students, particularly in trade areas, interior design, marketing and retailing. If there are employers in the area who wish to participate in our pro- gram, please contact the undersigned at wiesew@hdsb.ca or call the school 905-877-6966 ext. 235. W. Wiese, Co-op teacher/monitor Georgetown District High School Co-op program faces placement shortage Dear editor, On June 20 the STEP and TEAM programs at Gary Allan High School, Halton Hills celebrated our fifth gradu- ation and awards ceremony, at which we celebrated 22 graduates. Once again, many of the local ser- vice clubs and businesses generously supported our programs throughout the year and enabled us to provide awards and post-secondary scholar- ships for many of our graduates and award winners. We would like to take this opportu- nity to thank our donors and sponsors for their generous and kind support: A&P, A&W, Benix & Company, Coles, Curves for Women, The Freckled Lion, Georgetown Lionness Club, Georgetown Lions Club, Halton District School Board, Kiwanis Club of Georgetown, McDonalds Restaurants, Optimist Club of Georgetown, Pizza Hut, and Rotary Club of Georgetown. The STEP/TEAM staff of Gary Allan High School, Georgetown Campus Dear editor, In the past year we have received at least two or three phone books and all have small print that most seniors cannot read, so they go right into the recycling bin. Lets hope we can get one we can use and save a tree. Shell Lawr, Georgetown Phone books not usable STEP/TEAM staff grateful for program support Dear editor, The Georgetown Rotary Club would like to thank everyone who patronized our food tent at this years Glen Williams Canada Day event. All proceeds will be donated to the Georgetown Bread Basket. Our club would like to congratulate the Glen organizing committee for a successful Canada Day celebration. It was enjoyed by all! Thank you to our local A&Ps and Tim Hortons for their generous dona- tion. Hope to see everyone next year. The Rotary Club of Georgetown Rotary Club says, thanks