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6 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, August 12, 2010 OPINION No excuse Meet Moriah Kolenda, a 16-year-old Georgetown resident who has lost a leg to cancer and has undergone life-saving chemotherapy treatments over the past few months. While the teen, who was diagnosed last year with osteosarcoma, admits she has her low moments; she talks herself out of them and moves on. "I think I'm very determined," said Moriah. "But without my faith and having that thing to hold onto, and that hope, I wouldn't be this far. I don't want to sit around being depressed, I want to go back to what I was doing before." *** Meet David Smyth. He is a gravely ill Oakville resident who needs a bone marrow transplant. Smyth, who has lived with the condition Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS) for most of his life, now has leukemia as a result of the disease. Despite the life and death situation David faces, he is more concerned about his schoolwork and falling behind. *** Now meet Burlington's Ashley Kirilow who admits she faked cancer and no longer has the thousands of dollars fundraised for alleged research. "All I can say is I'm sorry," the 23-year- woman said Friday. Police have charged her with three counts of fraud under $5,000. She didn't say why she allegedly conned people into giving her money by pretending to have cancer since the beginning of 2009 -- going as far as to shave her head, wax her eyebrows, pluck out her eyelashes and starve herself. These three stories appeared this past week on our paper's website (InsideHalton.com). We can't imagine the anger all Halton residents must feel towards a woman who allegedly used a devastating disease for personal gain. Kirilow blames a dysfunctional family life for her alleged slip in moral and rational behaviour. We hope the courts think the same way as we do and that there is no excuse for using cancer or any other disease for that matter as a money grab. Perhaps Kirilow needs to spend some time in a real oncology department with real patients with real needs. 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 Do you agree with the Harper government's move to replace the mandatory long form census with a voluntary version? · Yes (25%) · No (56%) · Census? Who cares either way? (20% Steve Nease Go to www.independentfreepress.com Letters to the editor MPP responds to letter writer Dear editor, I want to reply to the letter from Annette Graydon of Terra Cotta, which was printed in the July 13 issue of The Independent & Free Press. Ms. Graydon has, no doubt, a sincere interest in alleviating poverty. She raised an important issue: the McGuinty government's decision to cut the special diet allowance for people who are receiving benefits through the Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Programs. At the best of times, governments face tough decisions. In challenging economic times, the decisions become even harder. This is not to excuse the government's cuts to the special diet allowance, just fairly place it in context. I voted against the 2010-11 provincial budget, which included this provision, and I oppose the McGuinty Liberals' overall budgetary policy. As we have said many times through the years, the best social program of all is a job. It is only through a strong and growing economy that significant job growth will take place. Then we can ensure more opportunities for everyone, including disabled Ontarians. That, and a chance at a better future, and the pride that comes with economic self-sufficiency. Government policy should focus not on declaring people unemployable, but instead on giving them the tools to become employable. I would encourage anyone who is concerned about this matter to write the Minister of Community and Social Services, the Hon. Madeleine Meilleur, at Hepburn Block, 6th Floor, 80 Grosvenor, Toronto, M7A 1E9, and send me a copy of your letter at Room 420, Legislative Building, Queen's Park, Toronto, M7A 1A8, so I can follow-up. Ted Arnott, MPP Wellington-Halton Hills Five Sideroad. This will demolish or decimate the community. I have lived for the past 41 years on Tenth Line. Under option 4-2 my 55 neighbours and I are faced with either expropriation or a forced sale of our homes or a roaring multi-lane highway in the backyards of those of us who survive expropriation. Under option 4-2 the southeast corner of Halton Hills will be effectively isolated from the rest of the town. The resulting municipal isolation and the taking of the lands for the road will affect at least 110 homes located on the west side of Winston Churchill Blvd., Steeles Ave., Five Sideroad and Tenth Line. Neither option 4-2 or 4-3 is beneficial to Halton Hills. Option 4-2 is devastating to the Tenth Line community and the southeast corner of Halton Hills. The planning process for the GTA transportation corridor and the parallel study for the HaltonPeel Boundary roads has already put many of the residents under stress. Many of the residents of this corner of Halton Hills feel they are not be able to share the "community vision" of the council. The thought of the loss of one's home or a home with a backyard freeway is a nightmare and not a vision. Andrew Stabins, Norval 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. Publication is not guaranteed. E-mail: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Vision a `nightmare' Dear editor, Mayor Rick Bonnette said (The Independent July 29) that the choice of the 4-2 option for the new GTA transportation corridor through Halton Hills is a ``no-brainer``. The council agrees. The 4-2 option is a plan to cut a highway corridor through some 56 homes of the Tenth Line community located between Steeles Avenue and The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday 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.