The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

OPINION Every day and a half in Canada, someone on a wait list for an organ or tissue donation dies needlessly. A simple signed card or an online registra- tion to be tissue or organ donor can literally mean life or death for someone. The week of April 18-24 is National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week (NOT- DAW) in Canada, and all Canadians are urged to consider being a donor and then act on their decision. By signing a card or registering your wish as required and discussing your wishes with family and loved ones you can be a life-sav- er. Today in Canada, there are more than 4,400 people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and 2,000 waiting for a cornea. On a national basis, organ donor rates have fl at-lined for the last 10 years. And among in- dustrialized nations, Canada is in the bottom half of the pack in terms of organ donation. As a nation, we can, and should do better. If you are 16 years or older, and have a photo I.D. health card or red and white health card, you can register your consent online in two minutes at BeADonor.ca, or by visiting your local ServiceOntario centre. If you have previously registered a decision of "Yes" to donate organs and tissue with On- tario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), you do not need to re-register. It is critical to share your decision with your family so they can understand, support and respect your decision in the future. For more information visit www.giftofl ife. on.ca/ The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Edi- torial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press Be a life-saver Steve Nease Letters to the editor Dear editor, This letter is being written to a young lady who might know who I'm speaking to. April 2 around 1:20 p.m. I was driving east along 10 Sideroad. While waiting for the light at Tra- falgar Rd. to turn green, I noticed you behind me doing the "text head bob". You may have noticed, or not, that once we had gone though the green light I pulled over to let you go ahead of me. I'd rather you text in front of me than behind me; I feel safer. I tried to memorize your licence number, but couldn't. We both turned north onto Mountainview Rd.-- you staying in the left lane, me moving to the right so there was no one in front of you. As we headed into town, with a lot of cars and a transport truck behind us, we came to the fi rst red light together. I noticed you still texting and then you put the phone on your instrument panel-- the better to read it I guess? Then we came to the next red light and you started texting again. When the light turned green you didn't notice we all drove away. Then we all arrived at the lights at Campbell Gate which were solid red and you drove right through it as the rest of us watched. I don't know if you read the pa- per, but I hope those who think you can multi-task-- i.e. text and drive at the same time-- understand you can't. I am just glad that no one, in- cluding you, were hurt. Debra Hayes, Georgetown Letters policy 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins 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) Classifi eds Kristie Pells (classifi ed@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) Heritage Halton Hills wants to designate the Exchange Hotel to save it from demolition. Should it be saved? • No (50%) • Yes. The Town should spend money to save the pre-Confederation building (28%) • Yes, but only if the Town does not spend money (22%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Texting driver a danger to all Save the salamander 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 Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. •T he I FP • H al to n H ill s •T ue sd ay , A p ril 2 3, 2 01 3 6 Dear editor, There was a lot of excitement in the area recently as the en- dangered giant pandas arrived in Toronto. These beautiful creatures are a symbol for the need to conserve wildlife, worldwide. In our community we have our own endangered species, the Jef- ferson salamander. This harmless creature lives only on lands surrounding the Niagara Escarpment and is a sign of a healthy environment. The current Acton Quarry has already destroyed salamander habitat. Now that parts of the ex- pansion area have been deemed to be Jefferson salamander habitat, Dufferin Aggregates has applied to remove even more of this endan- gered creature's home. Tell your government represen- tatives to say "No" to this plan. We need to put an end to this folly and stop quarrying on our Niagara Escarpment, recognized world-wide as a signifi cant global biosphere. C.Rumley, Halton Hills