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BRAND NEW LOOK SAME GREAT SERVICE as always… DO NOT PAY for 6 months! Reader s' Choic e winner 14 consec utive ye ars!! 333 Guelph St., Georgetown 905-873-8007as always… DO NO *See store for details Price Match Promi$e 100%MARCH 1997 AND NEWS COVERAGE OF GEORGETOWN AT ITS BEST 'The simple objective is to produce a viable, effective community newspaper for Georgetown and district whether you continue to think of that area as George- town or Halton Hills.' --An excerpt from the first editorial in the Georgetown Independent Oct. 17, 1973 When those words were penned 40 years ago you could buy a four-bed- room home bungalow in Georgetown for $34,000, a men's acrylic cardigan would set you back $4.98 and a new washing machine could be purchased for $280. Farmers' fields dominated Georgetown South, Dominion Gardens Seed House was the dominant business on Guelph Street and there was no indoor mall. As times have changed, this newspaper, like any business, has altered with the times. For example, a photo caption from 1973 referred to two female Georgetown District High School students as "cuties". Try getting away with that today! Newsgathering, once a laborious process that including processing film and time-consuming work printing pictures in a darkroom, can now be done with a couple clicks on a cell phone. Throughout the years we've changed the size of our paper, publication dates and design. We've also launched doz- ens of special sections, print products and magazines and added an elec- tronic version of the newspaper (www. theifp.ca)-- something that undoubt- edly would have been considered so much science fiction in the pre-home computer days of 1973. We've moved from the cramped confines of Mill Street to Main Street to a roomy Armstrong Avenue location. In 2000 we made the Georgetown Mar- ket Place our home and two months ago relocated to another spot in the Market Place-- five moves in 40 years. Some of our carriers in 1973 are now grandparents. But throughout the past five de- cades, our goal has always been the same-- to provide you, our readers, with the best local news, information and advertising. We have literally won dozens of pro- vincial, national and North American industry awards over the years, but our true satisfaction comes from provid- ing residents a news and information source they can trust and offers a voice for this community. That objective in 1973 to provide Georgetown with a "viable effective community newspaper" has remained a constant through the years-- even if the world around us has vastly changed. Editor's note: We recently asked readers to submit their favourite memory involving The Independent with the best judged submission winning a $200 gift certificate from the George- town Market Place. Below is the winning submission from Liz Holmes of Acton. I have read The Independent for over 17 years. I have enjoyed numerous articles and pictures of my three boys as a re- sult of their involvement with The Ac- ton Tanners and The Halton Hills Bull- dogs-- OMHA Champions in 2012 and Ontario Field Lacrosse Champions as well as participating in and winning various lacrosse tournaments. My favourite edition is Wednesday May 19, 2004. My family, including my two very young sons, was shopping at Canadi- an Tire where Sparky the Fire Dog was promoting fire safety. My eldest son, Michael who was three at the time, wanted to say hi to Sparky. A photog- rapher took a picture of Michael and Sparky. The following week, the front cover was the colour picture of Mi- chael and Sparky! I use this picture every fall in my classroom when I discuss fire safety with my young students. It is hanging on my blackboard right now. Happy 40th anniversary. It's a fact now! The Independent has been born. A husky infant, it arrived in today's pre-dawn hours, indelibly stamped GEORGETOWN. The production team collapsed wearily to quickly regain the strength for future issues and a new community newspaper was released. All of us who have been involved from the original concept to the final production hope that as you look over The Indepen- dent you'll share our enthusiasm for this vi- able community and a newspaper we hope will serve it effectively. In a democracy the free press provides safeguards as does freedom of speech. The editors, publishers and reporters must be accurate and responsible if they are to be effective in that stewardship. We'll be trying all the way. There are no magic vitamins we can feed our infant to force it to maturity overnight. The greatest gain we can hope for is your readership, your criticism and your encouragement. The Independent is without historic tradition. It's a tabloid for easy handling, written for easy reading, but retaining sound journalism traditions of responsibil- ity and accuracy. The Independent is a team effort and we're hoping as a reader you'll get on the team, too. Professional reporters and pho- tographers who staff other Dills publica- tions in Acton and Milton, will be contrib- uting to The Independent on news events of interest to Georgetown readers. They'll be at the Boards of Education, County Assembly, Regional Council, the Legislative Assembly or anywhere else that news is breaking which will affect Georgetown. Lo- cally experienced staffers will be interested in the present and future municipal activi- ties as well as the county programs, social clubs and sports events. But most of all we hope as a reader you'll find our pages interesting, and a fo- rum in which you can express your views. Because newspapers also survive on their effectiveness as an advertising medi- um we hope advertisers will use our pages and readers will consider their messages as invitations to action. The Independent has its home at 19 Mill St. in central Georgetown. Its telephone number, unfortunately still unlisted, is 877- 5266. We're approachable, we're friendly, but unfortunately we can't promise to be perfect. We can promise, though, that The Independent is a soundly planned commu- nity newspaper with no pre-conceived axes to grind. The simple objective is to produce a viable, effective community newspaper for Georgetown and district whether you continue to think of that area as George- town or Halton Hills. The Independent has been born. We hope we may invite your interest, co-op- erations and encouragement whether as a reader or an advertiser. --Reprinted from The Georgetown Independent, Oct. 17 1973 Our view.... 2013 Our view.... 1973 Front page photo of reader's son has become a teaching tool Michael Holmes, 3, with Sparky the fire dog in 2004 905877-6944 33 Mountainview Rd. North, Georgetown FIRST PAYMENT,IT'S ON US † $0 DOWN PAYMENT SECURITYDEPOSIT DUE ATDELIVERY $0 $0 $0 REFINANCING? PURCHASING? BOBWOODS, Broker (905) 877-1490 360 Guelph St., Georgetown on 5 Year Fixed 3.59% Thursday, October 10, 2013 Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper serving Acton & Georgetown 56 Pages 50 Cents (+HST) Visit us at www.theifp.ca INSIDE What's Cookin': turkey stuffing Pg. 18 Donor wall unveiled Pg. 3 Wheels.ca 8-page section Making greatSTRIDE(s) Online atwww.theifp.ca Racers launch themselves down the Credit River in their homemade boats as part of the 100th anniversary celebration of Up- per Canada College's Norval Outdoor School Sunday. The celebration included a tree planting, camping, games, dem- onstrations and more. (Below) Robin and Cameron Richardson, 3, of Toronto show off their handiwork. Photos by Andrea Lefebvre Soggy celebration Council okays concepts for Town's surplus lands If the Town's surplus lands were built on today, as envisioned, there would be a five- storey L-shaped apartment on the Memorial Arena lands, and a mix of bungalow town- houses and a mid-rise apartment on the Civic Centre lands.Halton Hills council approved in principle development concepts for the surplus lands at Monday's meeting. The concepts were ones favoured most by the public and developers in a series of public consultation sessions. For the Memorial Arena site, Concept 3 was selected as the preferred option: a L- shaped building with 118 units. Storeys will range from 2, 4 and 5 to provide transition for the surrounding neighbourhood. The ground floor would have a mix of commercial and community uses. Behind the building would be a park open to the neighbourhood with possibly a playground, soccer pitch and out- door amphitheatre. Town staff will begin making the site devel- opment ready by preparing amendments to the Georgetown GO Station Secondary Plan and the Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw. Councillor Moya Johnson wanted assur- ance that the transitional storeys would re- main once the land is sold to a developer. Director of Planning John Linhardt said that would be part of the Secondary Plan amendments and zoning bylaw changes, as well, the Town could add that to the condi- tion of sale. Councillor Jane Fogal worried about the loss of parkland. But Recreation and Parks By CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer Memorial Arena Concept 3 plan See TOWNHOUSES, pg. 3 Our 40th anniversary contest winner Thursday, October 17, 2013 A special commemorative section 48 Pages Covering the Years of 1993 to 2013