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

OPINION The benefits of living in Halton Hills are many, but if this community is especially rich in any one area it is the arts. Be it award-winning community theatre, interna- tionally recognized artists and artisans, brilliant musi- cial talent you name it and this town has it. Therefore it isnt surprising that a group of artists, performers, heritage advocates and others have formed an advocacy group asking the Town to formulate a Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for the arts, culture and heritage. The group evolved from recent public consultation over the Towns SAP for recreation, which was recently approved by council. That report suggested that, while cultural activities may be mostly recreational, they should be addressed in a separate plan. Group spokesperson Laurent Thibeault admits that while the term culture may be amorphous it is also very, very critical. According to Thibeault, there are likely more than 250 groups in Halton Hills involved in cultural activi- ties and those groups stage hundreds of events each year in this community. Put simply, they are a vital part of Halton Hills every bit as vital as the sports organizations and therefore deserve the same consideration. Among the recommendations the group has made: targeting a percentage within the budget for cul- tural matters integrating arts and heritage dimension into the thinking of all Town departments and recognition of the arts as a valuable economic sector along with the more traditional industries. developing a strategy to avoid being swallowed by the GTA. Perhaps creating a brand to make Halton Hills distinct. and the formulation of an official Town cultural advisory committee and a designated Town staff liai- son. Council has agreed to send the groups request for a Arts, Culture and Heritage Action Plan to staff for future review. Culture is a vital part of this community and it is only fitting the Town acknowledges that fact. Growing culture 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 sig- nature 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 ser- vices 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. Steve Nease THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear editor, I have two bichons and I recently saw an ad in The Independent & Free Press in which the Upper Credit Humane Society was holding a rabies and micro-chipping clinic in Ospringe at the John Deere dealer- ship. I had both dogs done Oct 13. I received a letter from the Town prior to that regarding one of my dogs rabies shots and licensing. On Oct. 15 I went to the Town offices with all the papers in hand to show them my dogs had the rabies shots as well as micro-chipping. I was told that dogs that had been microchipped before January 2007 did not require a licence. Why is the older micro-chipping as of January 2007 better than the one I just got? Both do the same thing as a licence it identifies our dogs with contact information in case they are lost or stolen. As a dog owner, I want to know why I had to purchase two dog licences for $50 when the number on the micro-chipping can identify who this dog is as well as who the owner is and the number to call if the dog is lost of stolen? It is ridiculous that we have to have both a licence and a microchip. It is unfair that I have to have the same thing as my fellow dog owners but I must pay for a licence because my dog was purchased after January 2007. To me this is a cash cow for the Town. I think they need to look at this bylaw again. So let us have our pets to enjoy instead of costing us an arm and a leg... like everything else in this world. Rosemary Wysocki, Georgetown Dog licence bylaw a cash cow for Town 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 Something bugging you? 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) Andrew Key (akey@independentfreepress.com) Brendan Louth (blouth@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 STAFF DIRECTORY Send us a letter! Phone: 905-873-0301 Fax: 905-873-0398www.independentfreepress.com Dear editor, There seems to be a current unof- ficial drive on to get Halton Hills res- idents to shop locally and support local retailers. This should also extend to the Halton Hills entertainment sector. With our own John Elliott Theatre bringing such first rate entertain- ment as the Second City Comedy Tour, Pavlo and Valdy to our town in the near future, as well as numer- ous other live performances and plays, and with the long-established Georgetown Cinemas now under new management and offering cur- rent films at reasonable rates, there is really no reason for local families and individuals to travel farther afield to spend their entertainment dollar. Its time to support all the venues in Halton Hills that make the effort to provide quality entertainment for everyones enjoyment. Its time to get out there and Shop locally.....be entertained local- ly. Ken Baker, Halton Hills We should all support local entertainment Dear editor, I would like to thank the people of Georgetown for their generous support during the 676 Lorne Scots Army Cadets tagging days. From Sept. 27-30 anyone out and about would have seen our fine cadets dressed in green around area businesses. The money we raised during our fall tagging days is used to support our programs, developing leadership and new skills in young people between 12 and 18 years of age. It supports camping trips, physi- cal training and other events that can be offered at no cost to all members of the cadet corps. Thank you again to all those who took the time and made the effort to donate to the 676 Lorne Scots Army cadets. Capt. Scott Teeter, Commanding officer 676 Lorne Scots RC (Army) CC Georgetown Lorne Scots thank community 6 Acton/Georgetown, Friday, November 23, 2007