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33 Mountainview Road North, Georgetown I 866-239-1480 I Shop with us 24/7 at: www.georgetownchev.com M OUNTAINVIEW RD NGUELPH ST TO DD RD AR MS TRO NG AVE Dedicated to Quality...Built on Service! hairlounge.com EFFIE DIMOU Sales Representative www.georgetownrealty.ca edimou@georgetownrealty.ca Thinking of buying or selling? Call Effie Dimou for all your real estate needs. 905-873-6111 Dir: 416-991-4247 Thursday, January 7, 2016 Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper serving Acton & Georgetown 56 Pages 50 Cents (+HST) Meet the new HRPS canine recruits. Pg. 19 Visit us at www.theifp.ca facebook.com/Independent&FreePress Twitter: @IFP_11 Mobile: m.theifp.ca A LONG JOURNEY HOME Some paintings from Norval na- tive J.W.L. Forster have returned. Pg. 24 Meet the CrossFit competitor with some interesting methods of keeping fit. Pg. 38 HE SHOOTS: Former Toronto Maple Leaf and 50-goal scorer Rick Vaive eluded the checks of de- fenders Robert Padt and Ritchie DeLeon to deposit a goal behind goalie Sean McClements during the annual benefit game between the Pro Hockey Heroes and the Halton Hills Fire Department at the Alcott Arena Sunday afternoon. The annual event was sold out again and raised about $10,000 for Cancer Assistance Services Halton Hills. Photo by Jon Borgstrom Since December 2015, the Halton Dis- trict School Board has welcomed 12 Syrian students in Milton, Oakville and Burlington. The Board has been advised an additional 13 students are expected to arrive in the coming weeks. While Halton Region is not among the seven communities designated to receive federally-sponsored Syrian refugees, the Board anticipates more refugees will be arriving in the coming months as Halton is a location of choice for many privately sponsored refugees. Halton, and Ontario, are home to one of the most diverse populations in the world, where generations have come to build new lives. The Halton District School Board is committed to working with all levels of government to assist in the coordination and prep- aration for the arrival and settlement of Syrian refugees. According to the Halton Multicultural Council (HMC Connections), approximately 100 refu- gees are welcomed to Halton on an an- nual basis. The current commitment to resettle Syrian refugees will increase the number of those settling in Halton in 2016. To date, the Halton District School Board has supported the settlement and inclusion of refugees into our el- ementary and secondary schools and communities through our Welcome Centre, located inside Gary Allan High School in Milton (the former E.C. Drury High School) at 215 Ontario St. South. "We are pleased that in our own small way, we are contributing to the much needed aid of those who have lived through and continue to face great challenges in their homeland, says Stuart Miller, Director of Educa- tion for the Halton District School Board. HDSB classrooms welcome Syrian students Continued on page 9 AN HRPS RIDE ALONG See what un- folded after an Acton man got pulled over in Milton. Pg. 17