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www.independentfreepress.com Editorial..................... 6 Sports ........... 27, 28 Calendar ...29, 30, 35 Directory ............... 31 Classifieds .....32-34 50 Cents (+ GST) Circulation: 22,800 FAMILY DAY FUN Looking for something to do on Family Day? PAGE 16 FUTURE OLYMPIAN? Corey Gillies is hoping to represent Canada one day PAGE 27 56 Pages Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS THURSDAY, February 17, 2011 New Holy Cross opens its doors By LISA TALLYN Staff Writer Saying goodbye to the old Holy Cross Catholic Church that opened its doors on Maple Ave. back in 1965 was an emotional moment for many parishioners, but their new place of worship was warmly received on Sunday. More than 1,500 people came out to the 30,000 sq. ft. church located at the intersection of Argyll Rd. and Mountainview Rd. for the first Mass, and dedication and blessing ceremony by Bishop Douglas Crosby, OMI. "Today is a day of great rejoicing, certainly for the parishioners of Holy Cross Parish here in Georgetown, but also throughout the Diocese of Hamilton," said Bishop Crosby during the dedication. "It was a beautiful crowd, high energy," said Father David Wynen. He said the church's new home got the stamp of approval from those who attended. They were "all very pleased," he said. See NEW, pg. 9 Father David Wynen poses in the new Holy Cross Church on Argyll Road. The new 30,000 sq. ft. church held its first mass Sunday and more than 1,500 people attended the ceremony. The church was formerly located on Maple Avenue and will now serve as a temporary library while the downtown branch is renovated. Photo by Ted Brown Board's equity policy change criticized by gay trustee By TIM WHITNELL Metroland Media Group Halton Catholic District School Board's first effort at rewriting its equity and inclusivity policy has earned a failing grade from Oakville Trustee Paul Marai. Marai, who is gay, joined two other trustees in voting against the new policy. The revised policy was passed in a 6-3 vote and will now be circulated among parish priests, parents, school administrators, church councils and students for comment before returning to the board for final approval in March. Halton Hills Trustee John Mark Rowe voted in favour of the policy. Marai, a first-term trustee says the new version avoids the use of "gay" or "lesbian" and will still not permit the formation of separate gay-straight alliance groups (GSA). The board has been operating under an interim equity policy after rescinding its previous one that was passed just last November. In January, the new slate of trustees decided the new policy was too restrictive and narrow in focus and rescinded the policy, which included a ban on GSAs. A revised version of the current interim policy -- the Ontario Education Services Corporation's (OESC) Catholic template policy -- is what trustees voted on Tuesday. See ROWE, pg. 4 REFINANCING? PURCHASING? Now Available at VARIABLE RATE. CALL FOR DETAILS. 2.2% BOB WOODS, Broker PA I N T · WA L L PA P E R · L I G H T I N G · H O M E D E C O R GEORGETOWN MARKETPLACE MALL Like u s o n FSCO #10259 Division of 1490845 Ont. Ltd. 905-877-4193 (905) 877-1490 360 Guelph St., Georgetown