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OPINION There are turning points in the life of every munici- pality and its fair to say that decisions made this month will go a long way towards shaping the future of Halton Hills. To that end, residents are encouraged to share their views on Sustainable Haltons five growth concept plans that were released in June. The publics first opportunity to comment on the proposals comes Monday when the Town hosts a public information centre from 5:30-6:30 p.m., followed by a facilitated workshop from 6:30-9 p.m., at the Gellert Community Centre. While workshop participants were required to regis- ter before today, other opportunites are still available for you to have your say on the growth options which will bring approximately 120,000 new residents to Halton Hills (Georgetown only) and Milton between 2021 and 2031. Halton Region will host an information centre Sept. 16 from 6-9 p.m. in the cafeteria at Georgetown District High School and is also accepting public feed- back (contact Mary Lou Tanner, Haltons Director of Planning and Transportation Services) anytime before Sept. 30. Town council will also hold a special meeting Sept. 24 where councillors will vote on a Town position regarding the options. To learn more about the Sustainable Halton concept plans go to Halton Regions website, www.halton.ca or contact Town of Halton Hills planners John Linhardt, manager of Planning Policy, 905-873-2601, ext. 2294, johnl@haltonhills.ca or Steve Burke, senior planner- policy, 905-873-2601, ext. 2254 or stevebu@halton- hills.ca Copies of the discussion papers are available from the planning department, on the website, www.halton- hills.ca or at both branches of the Halton Hills Library. New neighbourhoods and industrial areas are not built overnight they take years of planning. NOW is the time for you to have your say in how Georgetown will look in two decades time. Raising concerns two years, 10 years or 20 years from now will be too late. Towns turning point Steve Nease LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear editor, I am writing in regards to the walk on Saturday, September 13 in aid of people who have developed Parkinsons. I would like to thank The Independent & Free Press for its previ- ous support for this cause. Parkinsons is a disease that attacks the nervous system of people of many ages. It develops at different rates for each individual. At the moment there is no cure, but over the past few years, drugs have been found to slow the symptoms. I have become very familiar with this disease because two people close to me have developed it. It is hard to watch normally healthy and strong individuals fight the vari- ous symptoms of this affliction. It is difficult for we, who are healthy, to imagine what it is like to slowly lose the use of muscles and joints, while the power to think and plan remains strong. It is hard for people who have loved to work, to play, to hold their children or their grandchildren to have to slowly curtail these activities. Their minds continue to function well and all individuals try to be contribut- ing members to society as long as is physically possible. Others who are affected by this disease are the caregivers. They must always be there to aid sufferers of Parkinsons. They must help feed, support, hold up, and guide their loved ones. Help is constantly required to walk, to get dressed, use walkers or wheelchairs, and the hard- est of all, to watch as skills and abili- ties decline. We are holding a Parkinsons Superwalk at the Gellert Centre on Main St. N. in Georgetown Sept. 13. Registration is at 9 a.m. The 5km Run starts at 9:50 a.m. followed by the 2km Family Friendly Walk at 10 a.m. Many Parkinsons sufferers are able to join in the latter. There are lots of draw prizes to reward participation and funds raised. All donations go to the Parkinson Society to help in the fight against this disabilitating disease. For more infor- mation, to join in the walk, or to make a financial contribution go to www.superwalk.com. The telephone contact is Diane at 289-891-9097. I hope to see you Sept. 13. David MacFarlane, Georgetown Parkinsons fundraising walk set for Sept. 13 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 The Town is seeking residents' views on the five Sustainable Halton growth options. Are you likely to voice your opinion before the Sept. 30 deadline? Yes (33%) No (67%) 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 Dear editor, Am I the only resident of 500 homes in the Dominion Gardens complex that has an issue with the construction, or lack of it, for the park and splash pad? The Town should be ashamed that they have had the park and grounds under such disruption to the resi- dents. The ragweed is now a wall running the length of the park and, at seven feet high, is good to keep you from seeing the lack of progress, but when this goes to seed and spreads into all of the residents yards, I guess I wont be the only one complaining then. I would encourage all of the resi- dents of this beautiful complex to take a walk, and see if the sights dont warrant your call to either Kevin Okimi or Warren Harris of the Town at 905-873-2601. Please do your part and put some pressure on our town to fix this mess. M. Paisley, Georgetown Town should be ashamed of Dominion Gardens work Dear editor, Regarding Debbie McClures letter (August 22) about the plight of local dairy farmers, I wonder if she would consider some means of being able to supply milk locally. If I could buy fresh milk locally at the farm gate, I would happily pay more than the supermarket rate, and I would pay it directly to the farmer herself. Supermarket milk rarely tastes fresh these days, and it would be nice to have this alternative. Related initiatives like the Whole Circle Farm CSA in Acton suggest that this can work that some peo- ple are willing to pay more for local food from a known, trusted source whose quality they can consistently rely on. Matthew Buckley-Golder, Georgetown Perhaps dairy farmer could supply milk to local consumers 6 Acton/Georgetown, Friday, September 5, 2008