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•T he IF P• H al to n H ill s •T hu rs d ay , S ep te m b er 2 5, 2 01 4 6 •T he IF P• H al to n H ill s •T hu rs d ay , S ep te m b er 1 8, 2 01 4 66 OPINION As fall arrives, it serves as a reminder that as temperatures drop and furnaces kick on, carbon monoxide (CO) is a silent killer that we must take seriously. Having a CO detector in your home is the law. Politicians at Queen's Park passed the bill unanimously in 2013. The law was driven by the deaths of a Woodstock couple, former OPP officer Laurie Hawkins, her husband Richard and their two children, 14-year-old daughter Cassandra and 12-year-old son Jordan. CO is toxic and is colourless, odourless, tasteless, and at first, non-irritating. Symptoms of poisoning include light-head- edness, confusion, headaches, vertigo and flu- like effects. Prolonged exposures can lead to death. How can I prevent CO poisoning? • Have your heating system, water heater and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appli- ances serviced by a certified technician every year. • Do not use portable chemical heaters (catalytic) indoors. Although these heaters don't have a flame, they burn gas and can cause CO to build up inside your residence. • Install a battery-operated or battery back- up CO detector in your home and check or replace the battery when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall. Equally important are smoke detectors. By law, one must be installed on every floor. If your CO detector alarm goes off, leave the house immediately and call 911. Batteries and both CO detectors and smoke alarms should be checked and changed regularly to ensure they are working. Detectors and smoke alarms cost between $40 and $60 -- a small price to pay for your life. 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 Protect yourself Letters to the editor Halton Hills homes were targeted for break- ins recently? Does this prompt you to increase the security of your home? • Yes (52%) • No (48%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) 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. I was particularly perturbed by J. Ferguson's recent letter to the edi- tor and the perspective that Halton Hills police officers would be able to solve more crime, and gain the trust of the community by seeming more friendly, being more approachable and smiling more often. My experience with local police officers has been quite positive. When I have had one-on-one con- versations with them in my neigh- bourhood I have found them to be approachable, not rushed, articu- late and good ambassadors for the service. The reality is that if we are not helping our local police in reporting activity that requires their involve- ment, we are only hurting our com- munity. Looking at them from an adversarial perspective rather than as a community partner is polariz- ing and not helpful. Lastly, my perspective is that smiling is an activity that we can all do more often and that can have a positive impact on those around us, whether it is people we know or people we don't know. The easiest way to get somebody else to smile who isn't, is to share yours. Smiling and being kind isn't limited to those in public service. Kudos to the Halton Regional Police Service for the work they do each and every day. G. Tainta I just read the article detailing the vandalism to parts of Dominion Gar- den. This both saddens and angers me. The article refers to this as a "recent spate of vandalism." Well, I need to bring to your attention that this is not recent at all. I've been dealing with vandalism in and around my neighbourhood (Prince Charles Drive/Delrex/Guelph Street/Mountainview for over two years. It has been brought to the may- or's attention numerous times and not once have I seen any evidence of a con- crete, proactive plan to deal with this. I complain, it gets painted over, a week later it's back. Currently it is all over sidewalks, mail boxes, telephone and cable boxes, hydro terminals and the back walls of commercial build- ings. The tags are mostly the same so it's a very small group of individuals doing this. A warning to those of you running for re-election. I'm going to make this an issue and you're going to have to answer to the people of this town for your inaction. Ian MacLea Kudos to the police service Vandalism is nothing new Letters must include the author's name, address and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for con- tent and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. Email: cvernon@metroland.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters policy