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6 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, October 20, 2011 OPINION Easy call Brampton Brick has indicated a desire to develop a quarry on the edge of the village of Norval. Monday night area residents were given a chance to voice their concerns at a City of Brampton-hosted public meeting. At that meeting Brampton Brick agent Bob Long of Long Environmental attempted to downplay any impact the quarry would have on the area or its residents. Saying half the property would be protected as "open space and buffer" and the planned extraction of shale from the 34.9 hectare site would see extraction techniques similar to those used to build a subdivision, Long tried to ease residents' concerns. He failed and with good reason. Residents rightly have reason to be concerned about their well water when Brampton Brick intends to dig 30 metres down to extract shale. As one resident asked, "Where does the water go from here?" Long said 30 truck loads a day (three an hour) would move the shale north on Winston Churchill Blvd to Mayfield Road. Once hilly and winding Winston Churchill Blvd. was reconstructed, of course. And this won't impact local residents? Long said the company has had discussions with residents about a piped water system and a property value protection plan yet, according to Brampton Councillor Paul Palleschi, residents he's talked to haven't had "any contact" with the firm. Peer reviews done on Brampton Brick's submission found details lacking in many areas including noise control, air quality, hydrogeological and visual impact. Brampton City Council is awaiting a final staff report on whether to okay Brampton Brick's rezoning request, which is already in the hands of the Ontario Municipal Board. We'd say council's decision should be easy. No. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@theifp.ca) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Letters policy Letters must include an address and daytime phone 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 Anonymous letters will not be published.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. Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca Steve Nease Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters to the editor Reader laments loss of Zellers Dear editor, In response to your September 27 article, stating Walmart purchases Zellers lease-- Shake up in the works for Market Place. As you say, "a shake-up is in the works for Market Place", but in your article you failed to mention that all employees at Zellers Georgetown are losing their jobs as of June 2012. There we go again, more people out of work scrambling to find another job which for many is going back to minimum wage. As I am a former employee of Zellers and know so many employees there, my heart goes out to them. It is sad that big corporations can come into Canada and take over because of their wealth. As they say "money talks" and no one seems to care for the poor or middle class in our country. Also, what will happen to our grocery stores because Walmart is also adding a grocery store to its new complex. As for me, I will not buy my groceries at Walmart. I so enjoy shopping at our existing grocery stores. Footnote from all Zellers employees per request: "We will continue to provide our customers with cheerful help and support and thank all the wonderful people for supporting us through the years." Patricia Kocks, Georgetown I know it is part of their contract to remove these animals, and at any given time between Georgetown and Acton you will find animals on the highway. I pay taxes to the Town of Halton Hills so why don't they have the firm do what they are paid to do. Robert Service, Georgetown Resident fed up Firm does it right Dear editor, with road kill We had two significant projects Dear editor, Once again I recently faced the job of removing a dead animal from the front of my house on Highway 7, in the center lane. I was told by Halton Hills Town staff this is not their area. This is the third animal I have had to remove this year. I have tried calling the firm responsible but they never show. I am sure if this was in front of the mayor's home you would not see the mayor out there with a shovel and pail. Last year we had a large skunk on the center lane for two days, workers stopped, looked at it and left. The next night I removed it because they never came back. completed at our residence this summer. The owner of Essential Home Care, Kevin Stewart, is a local (Georgetown, Acton) businessman who designs, installs and repairs fences/decks. One project included a complete fence overhaul, construction of a replacement fence and cleanup, leaving nothing to be attended to! The second project was a custom deck configuration. Essentials' attention to detail and professionalism was impeccable from the outset. It was evident from the outset that Essentials' commitment was to getting it done right. Tony Hayward, Georgetown WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.independentfreepress.com) In order to accommodate future growth in Georgetown do you think lake-based water (i.e. The Big Pipe) will be needed? · Yes. There is not enough groundwater available (71%) · No. There will be enough groundwater if people use water more efficiently (29%) 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.