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6 ·The IFP· Halton Hills ·Thursday, September 6, 2012 OPINION Tanner's time Halton officially welcomed the arrival of new police chief Stephen Tanner Tuesday, at a swearing-in ceremony conducted at the Burlington Convention Centre. Most recently having served as chief of Kingston's police force (since 2008), Tanner brings with him three decades of policing experience, having previously taken on the role of Belleville's police chief at the age of 41-- making him one of the youngest police chiefs in Canada at the time. Before that, he served as Deputy Chief of Operations with the Guelph Police Service and also chaired the Halton Regional Police Association. Not only are Tanner's roots in Halton-- he was born in Oakville-- he also began his career in law enforcement in Halton back in 1982. Serving in this region until 1998, Tanner worked as a uniformed patrol officer and also in criminal investigations, tactical and rescue, training, intelligence and major crime (homicide and forensic polygraph examination). Certainly much has changed in Halton in the 30 years since Tanner first patrolled the region. What hasn't changed is the expectation of Halton residents that the region in which they have chosen to reside and raise their families remains safe from crime. While a Statistics Canada 2011 Crime Severity Index-- the results of which were released this summer-- rated Halton as the safest regional municipality in Canada with a population of more than 100,000, actingHalton Police Chief Andrew Fletcher noted back in July there is still room for improvement where traffic safety, the victimization of seniors, youth crime, consumer fraud and domestic violence are concerned. We welcome the arrival of our new police chief and look forward to a continuation of Halton's many proactive, community-based policing initiatives. 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 Delay to fix lights simply disgraceful Dear editor, As Mr. Nicholson mentioned in your paper August 30, it is simply ridiculous that the stop lights at the corner of Ninth Line and Five Sideroad have yet to be fixed. It has now been two weeks since this incident took place. I went by this intersection yesterday (Wednesday) at 12.30 p.m. and guess what? There was a two-vehicle collision, one of which blocked the right-hand lane going south. The front end of that vehicle was in such bad shape it could not go on its own as it was all bashed in. I didn't see the other vehicle, but it must have sustained as much damage. I have no idea if anyone was injured or not. Two police cars were there to direct traffic. I'm sure their time could be better used elsewhere. The stop signs that are there are very low, on a wooden sticks with only two sandbags holding them in place. Any high wind could move them easily, in which case it would become a real hazard. What is Halton Region waiting for? Someone to get killed or badly injured, especially now that school buses are using both these roads? This is simply disgraceful as they are playing with peoples' lives here. This is a black mark and pure negligence on the part of the Region. Bob Desjardins, Georgetown I had the misfortune of walking to my truck recently at 5 a.m. only to discover that someone had broken into my truck through the night and removed the contents of my wallet. I do remember leaving my wallet in the centre console the night before as I did not want it to get wet while refereeing a soccer game in the pouring rain. I also remember forgetting to remove it when I got home. As small town residents, I'm sure we all want to believe that these low-lifes do not exist in our community, however it appears that there is no shortage of people willing to help themselves to money or property that doesn't belong to them. To anyone reading-- please be aware that these people are searching for the easiest way to get ahead in life and have no interest in working hard to make a living as so many of us do. To the person who decided to steal from me and my three small children, please take that cash, find the closest church you can, donate the money and find forgiveness... I have already forgiven you. Cristian Grove,Acton Resident discovers low-lifes are here Dear editor, Three years ago my wife and I decided to move ourselves and young son from Guelph to Acton in search of a great place to raise children and not have to worry about the crime or violence that exists everyday within such close proximity to us. We have since added two more boys to our family and could not be happier with the overall small town feel that Acton has to offer. I enjoy reading The Independent & Free Press twice a week and routinely shake my head when I peruse the police blotter at the people who leave laptops, wallets, GPS devices and other valuables in their unlocked cars and have them stolen through the night. WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Who do you side with in the dispute between the teachers' unions and the provincial government? · The teachers (55%) · The Liberal government (26%) · Neither (19%) 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.