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•Th e IF P• H al to n H ill s • Th ur sd ay , F eb ru ar y 6, 2 01 4 6 OPINION Police officers know that deal-ing with dangerous people often comes with the job. But recently, the good men and women who make up the Ontario Provincial Police force have become targets for a new wave of lawbreaker -- the 8.5 million people who drive vehicles in this province. During the last week, 11 OPP cruisers have been hit by passing motorists on pro- vincial highways. Three officers have been hurt, including one who required hospital treatment for her injuries. OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis is understandably bewildered and enraged and he's vowing that his officers will crack down on careless drivers who put the lives of others at risk. "I want to make it very clear -- severe weather and poor driving conditions are not the main cause in the overwhelming number of collisions we've seen these past several weeks," said Lewis. "It is the way people are driving in these conditions that jeopardizes the safety of the motoring public and our officers. This irresponsible driving behaviour must stop." The OPP is urging motorists to slow down in treacherous conditions and to heed Ontario's "Move Over" law. The provincial Highway Traffic Act requires motorists approaching a police cruiser that's stopped with its red lights flashing to slow down and move over into another lane, if it can be done safely. Failure to do so can earn the driver a fine of $400-$2,000 plus three demerit points. The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of sev- eral Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copy- right. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the Ontario Press Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ ontpress.com or call 416- 340-1981. The Independent & Free Press Be road sensible Letters to the editor Dear editor, I have been frequently walking my three dogs in the Georgetown Fairgrounds and along the trails in behind. May I say that I am absolutely ap- palled at the number of lazy people that do not pick up dog poop after their dogs. It's disgusting. People that write to your news- paper complaining about this issue are so justified in doing so. I even offered a poop bag to a man walking a Labrador and he just ignored me, saying it will rot by spring. No folks, dog poop does not rot. Why should the town workers who flood the ice rink or cut down trees from the ice storm, or the small innocent children who cut through the fairgrounds on their way home from school, step in that smelly sticky stuff. You lazy good-for-nothing mo- rons know who you are. So either learn to poop-and-scoop or get rid of the dog. You are giving us responsible dog owners a bad reputation and ruin something positive for all. Also maybe the town bylaw of- ficer should worry less about what the breed is or hounding people for dogs being off-leash while playing fetch in a park, and concentrate on these other idiots for not pooping- and-scooping with a fine. It is also a bylaw. G. Rumney Georgetown Feb 4 is the one year anniversary of the phasing out of the Canadian penny. Do you miss it? No (80%) Yes (20%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Please, pick up your dog's poop Residents deserve a branch break Letters must include the author's name, address and daytime phone number. Anony- mous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publica- tion is not guaranteed. Email: cgamble@theifp.ca Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. 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: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca or realestate@theifp.ca) Classified Call Centre 1-855-415-8237 haltonhillsclassads@metroland.com Accounting 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox by signing up for our twice weekly electronic newsletter. Go to www.theifp.ca and click on 'Newsletter sign-up' at the bottom of the homepage. Dear editor, I must say that I am very disap- pointed with the new stand the Town of Halton Hills has taken to download on the citizens of this town -- the task of picking up and disposing of trees and branches on private properties fol- lowing the disastrous ice storm. Being legally disabled, and my in- come being less than the minimum wage, there is no way I can hire some- one to do that for me as they suggested. Besides, it's a little late as most people have already put their own branches on the city side of the road. Are they simply going to ignore them? Then there are the people on Sar- gent Road that put their broken branches in the median centre which is city property. How long will it take for the other people on that street to do the same? Then you have the people whose hous- es back onto the ravines. If the town doesn't pick up their branches, where do you think they will end up? I would really like to see this is- sue discussed openly and televised in council. This would really help me in deciding who to vote for. I would really like to know why Mayor Bonnette said this is not an emergency situation. That's easy for him to say since he resides in Acton and they got their power back in one day. Bob Desjardins Georgetown