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6 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,April 13, 2010 OPINION Hooligans Running a youth sports organization is a daunting task at the best of times-- especially one as large as the Georgetown Soccer Club which boasts an enrolment of a couple thousand kids. Scheduling games can be as difficult as solving a Rubik's Cube-- while blindfolded. That's why the recent damage to the soccer pitches at Gellert Community Centre-- committed by vandals in a pickup truck-- was especially disheartening. The volunteers who put their blood, sweat and tears into providing youngsters months of summer fun have enough obstacles to overcome (i.e. bad weather) that they don't need yahoo(s) joyriding over their soccer fields, causing extensive damage. The cost (to every taxpayer in town) to repair the damage done is bad enough, but the joyriding idiots responsible for this have caused a scheduling nightmare for the Club. "To take these three fields out of commission-- we don't have another place to put them," said GSC president Alice Strachan. We hope Halton Police arrest those responsible for this senseless act and we suggest the judge, who ultimately passes sentence, includes a community service penalty. Perhaps 2,000 hours volunteering with the GSC would be a start. 905-873-0301 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) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier 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) WEB POLL RESULTS Earth Day/Week is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. Do you believe the various efforts to `go green' over the past two decades have made a profound difference to our planet's health? · Yes (21%) · No (69%) · Not sure (10%) Steve Nease Go to www.independentfreepress.com Letters to the editor Mayor rebuts hospital letter Dear editor, I read the April 2 letter to the editor suggesting that the Georgetown Hospital be closed. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, however, I have to say that I disagree with this reader's opinion. We don't know what was going on behind the scenes in the emergency room the night she took her husband in. I would hazard to guess that if they had gone to a larger hospital such as Mississauga as she suggested, there would be three or four times as many people waiting in the emergency room. We are very lucky in Halton Hills to have our own hospital in our community. It wasn't that long ago that the obstetrics and pediatrics units were going to shut down; our community rallied together from all over Halton Hills to "save our hospital". I am very proud of our hospital. It is made up of dedicated doctors and nurses, many of whom live in town. It is also supported by many volunteers who serve on the Foundation, raising funds to continually improve it. Many volunteers go to the hospital daily to make patients comfortable and help family members feel welcomed. If Georgetown Hospital were to close it would be a travesty. As far as not experiencing the benefits of a small town, again, that is your opinion. I can tell you as mayor of this community, the recent crime rates prove that we have one of the safest communities in Canada. We also boast one of the highest percentages of volunteers per capita in Canada. There have been occasions where children in our community have been stricken with diseases and their families have been faced with financial hardships. During these difficult times our community has rallied together to support those in need. When there is a fundraising cause our citizens always rise to the challenge and give generously and we usually exceed our goals. Our stores and merchants have friendly service and offer many of the same products and services as those in our larger neighbouring communities. Here are just a few of the many examples of why our small community is a great place to live and I'm very proud to say I live in Halton Hills. Mayor Rick Bonnette Gotcha! To paraphrase a Rod Stewart song, we were only joking. The April 1 page 7 story (note the date), Homeowners to be responsible for maintenance of streetlights was an April Fool's spoof. Stories on subway lines and double-decker buses have fooled some readers in previous years but it seems this year's joke story caught quite a few residents who have expressed concern to both us and Town officials about having to bear the cost of replacing streetlight bulbs. Readers can relax: The next April Fool's that falls on a publication day doesn't occur until 2014. Support CAShh Dear editor, Re: Give generously when CAShh calls (March 30 letter). I recently lost my mom to a long and courageous battle with cancer. Through the emotions and chaotic schedule of appointments, treatments and therapies, one thing that really shone through was the extraordinary assistance from Cancer Assistance Services Halton Hills. It's sad, but true, that in this day and age you, too, will likely know someone affected by cancer. They may very well require the services of CAShh. When a representative of CAShh knocks on your door during their April Residential Campaign, be generous. You will be donating to a truly invaluable service of Halton Hills. It wouldn't be right of me to submit this letter without expressing a sincere thank you to two other local service groups. All the compassionate people from Red Cross of Ontario and Acclaim Health Services provided equally outstanding assistance for my mother and are equally worthy of monetary consideration. Craig Wigley, Georgetown Letters to the editor policy Letters must include an address and daytime telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 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. The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. 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