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6 ·The IFP· Halton Hills ·Tuesday, January 10, 2012 OPINION Word games The language police at Lake Superior University have offered up their yearly checklist of senseless words for 37 years now. The following is the new list of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness. · Amazing · Baby Bump · Shared Sacrifice · Occupy · Blowback · Man Cave · The New Normal · Pet Parent · Win The Future · Trickeration · Ginormous · Thank You In Advance For those of you who are unsure, trickeration is commonly used by football announcers but what they really mean to say is trickery. Baby bump is used by celebrities who don't want to say they are pregnant. And if someone thanks you in advance it means you can't wiggle out of their request. We have our own treasure trove of words that we would love NOT to hear in 2012. · Excellence in government · Functionality · Moving forward · Strategic vision · Social media channels · Carbon footprint · Sustainability · Deficit spending Of course, now that we have shared our list, sharp-eyed readers will be quick to let us know when we slip and use these words. What is your least-favourite buzzword or catch phrase? Tired of your teenager thinking everything is "sketchy"? Do they still use "sweet"? Send us your thoughts at jmcghie@theifp.ca. 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 Anonymous letters will not be published.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 Seniors' centres are `support structures' Dear editor, Re: New seniors centres required. We are experiencing a massive increase in the number of seniors in Canada and in Halton Hills. In 2006, there were 11,210 older adults in Halton Hills and this is forecasted to increase by 50% by 2016. In fact, 35% of the population will be classified as "seniors". Current seniors' facilities are well used and supported within Halton Hills. In 2010, more than 32,000 hours of centre activity, programs and special events took place at both locations. A core team of 260 volunteers gave more than 23,000 volunteer hours to provide the services needed for older adults to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The two centres in Halton Hills are extremely limited in space and unable to meet the needs of existing members; let alone the future needs of our community. As the growing number of older adults experience major life changes such as retirement, loss of loved ones, downsizing and income changes the senior centres provide a major support structure. The perception of seniors needs to change. Our growing demographic is full of life, full of energy, full of fun and full of knowledge. We are by definition seniors, however we may feel 45, 40, 30-- some of us, hey, not a day past 18. How we act is another question! What is certain is that we must keep this large segment of our population healthy, active and a positive influence on our local economy. To do this we need new seniors' centres in Acton and Georgetown. Thank you to Mayor Rick Bonnette and the councillors for supporting the resolution to examine potential ways to fund the senior centres required to serve Halton Hills. We look forward to an announcement from council that the new senior centres are funded and will be built in the near future. Rick Chambers, President GDSC Bev Jones, President ASRC installing the lights to helping park the cars on Ignition Night. Under the direction of Gerry Kentner this dedicated group of volunteers, which includes my family, has gone from a few lights to the displays you see today. It was decided that lights would be added to other communities in Halton Hills as funds and willing volunteers allowed. Two years ago a second Tree of Hope was installed in Acton due to the generosity of Al and Lois Fraser and, in the future, further trees will be added to various villages and hamlets. The cost to have a professional company install the 2,000 lights on this tree, remove and store them, is more than $2,000 which is provided by volunteer donations and sponsorships. In Acton there is a small group of volunteers who have organized the night and are trying to encourage more people to help and donate. The light show can only expand if local residents step forward to help and provide financial support-- now is the time for DJ Nascimento to step up for 2012. While the Town is a sponsor, the results you see are provided by hardworking, dedicated volunteers whose only reward for countless hours of work is perhaps a compliment or two and the smiles of delight from children. The Penrice family, Light Up The Hills volunteers WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.independentfreepress.com) Note: The web poll is experiencing technical difficulties and therefore results were unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience. A federal Liberal policy resolution has called for severing formal ties with the British monarchy. Do you think Canada should sever royal links? ·Yes · No Feel free to pitch in Dear editor, Re: Dec. 22 letter, Acton light show is disappointing. As a volunteer, it is nice to be commended but it is distressing to be criticized. The recent letter from DJ Nascimento was in the latter category. Light Up The Hills is a total volunteer effort from raising the money, 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.