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OPINION If there was any doubt about Wellington- Halton Hills being a Conservative stronghold those doubts were dispelled last Tuesday. Incumbent Tory MP Michael Chong was elected for a third straight time and his plurality has only strengthened since first being elected in 2004. After defeating Bruce Hood by 2,000 votes in 2004, Chong steamrolled Rod Finnie by rough- ly 11,000 votes in 2006. Tuesday he had nearly three times the votes Liberal rookie candidate Bruce Bowser mustered in coasting to a win by nearly 18,000 votes. Clearly, the local electorate likes the job Chong has done. We hope Conservative leader Stephen Harper has taken note of how well his former Minister of Sport and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs has performed and restores the 36-year- old to cabinet. True, the pair crossed swords over the Quebec as a nation issue two years ago which led to Chongs resignation from cabinet. Harper, who has been pegged as being intransigent and even mean-spirited, can prove otherwise by welcoming Chong back to the cabinet. Chong is well-liked, even by his rivals, and has a solid grasp on issues such as health care urban growth and agriculture. He lives in a rural riding and has come to understand the issues primarily growth-related that face Halton Hills. Strengthening his voice on Parliament Hill could only be good for our municipality. He is a bright, young-thinking MP who has shown he will act on behalf of his constituents and not abandon his principles for mere politi- cal gain. Harper would be wise to restore Chong to cabinet. He has, after all, earned a promotion. How about it, Stephen? Steve Nease LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear editor, Re: The recent photo in the news- paper about a car accident on Arbor Glen Drive where a vehicle crashed into a parked vehicle. My concern is not about the young man who caused the crash and I hope that he is okay but with the residents who constantly use our streets as a parking lot. Anytime day or night cars, vans and even trucks are parked on our streets sometimes parking on both sides reducing the streets to one lane. This makes is very unsafe for cars and school buses, as they have to constantly maneuver around parked vehicles through our neighbourhood. Be a courteous car owner follow the bylaws: No overnight parking on streets, a maximum of three hours parking during the day and dont park over the sidewalk. Take pride in our neighbourhood and make it safe for everyone use your garages and driveways. L. Wragg, Georgetown Residential streets arent parking lots 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 General manager Steve Foreman (sforeman@independentfreepress.com) Retail advertising manager Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@independentfreepress.com) Managing editor John McGhie (jmcghie@independentfreepress.com) Distribution manager Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@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 Do you feel your investments are safe in this economic climate? Yes (31%) No (69%) 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, On behalf of the 4th Georgetown Scouting Group, I would like to thank all those who participated in a very wet Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup on Saturday, September 27. These include all groups and all ages from Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Venturers, Leaders and parents. This was our fourth year, and we had more than 80 participants. We collected 695 kg. of garbage, and even one car chassis. Special thanks go out to TD Bank Georgetown Guelph Street and Boston Pizza. We had an excellent time, and I hope to see even more people out next year. I also wish to thank The Independent & Free Press for their coverage of this annual event. Im sure all those who use Silver Creek are grateful too! Kevin OBrien, Venturer Advisor, 4th Georgetown Group Scouts say thanks for Cleanup support Dear editor, Last week, in Quebec City, Henry Morgentaler received the prestigious Order of Canada, normally bestowed on those who have made a significant contribution to the well-being of Canadians. How does being personally responsible for the killing of more than 100,000 unborn children and indirectly responsible for the deaths of thousands more, contribute to the well-being of our country? At a time when the Canadian birth rate is already below replacement value, and over 3 1/2 million unborn Canadians have been killed by abor- tion since 1969, how could Canadas leading abortionist possibly be hon- oured for contributing to the better- ment of our society? Rather, Morgentalers legacy lies in the promotion of a Canadian cul- ture that reveres convenience, com- fort and personal autonomy over rev- erence for the dignity of all human beings from conception to natural death. The result being broken hearts, broken lives and broken families. This, indeed, is a dark day in Canadas history. Joanne Matters Executive Director Halton Pro-Life Dear editor, The Georgetown Farmers Market has once again come to a close, on probably the best weather on a Saturday during the entire summer. With that, I would like to thank Kim Falls for her enthusiasm, com- mitment and endless effort through- out the season. I am certain that I am only one of many vendors who say, Thanks for all you do, Kim. We appreciate it. Enjoy your months off before the next market day starts in 2009. Sandy Henderson, Discovery Toys Consultant Georgetown Morgentaler not worthy of Order of Canada Vendor thanks Falls 6 Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, October 22, 2008