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Editorial Fight for GDHS Residents who attended last week's Halton District School Board capital plan at Georgetown District High School were given a simple message: If you want a new public high school and/or renovations to the existing one let your voice be heard. Gerry Cullen, superintendent of facilities services with the HDSB, outlined the board's five-year capital plan­ a plan than has been severely hampered by the provincial government's feetdragging when it comes to announcing how much funding will be available to Ontario school boards. The McGuinty government's ambiguity about funding has left boards trying to plan for growth without knowing where the money, if any, will come from, and when. Those in attendance last week heard about the deteriorating conditions at GDHS and the board's plan to build an addition onto the school next year in order to accommodate the approximately 150 additional students expected to enrol. Plans for a new school in Georgetown South in 2016 have been cancelled as projected enrolment numbers won't warrant the new structure. However, that still leaves the future of GDHS in limbo. The century-old school clearly needs a major overhaul but unless local residents voice their concerns to board officials, it's possible the school could find itself on the short end of the funding stick-- again. Now is the time for those concerned to let board officials know of your concerns. Comments should be e-mailed to westerhofe@hdsb.ca or call the board's planning office at 905-842-3014 before March 9. Comments will be analyzed and presented to the public in April. The next meeting planned for Halton Hills is April 20, 7-9 p.m. at GDHS. Letters to the editor.... New resident charmed by generosity of community Dear editor, Six months ago my family and I moved to Georgetown. While we looked forward to getting to know our new home, we were unsure what to expect from our new community. Fast forward to last Saturday's (Jan. 28) scrapbooking fund-raiser for Zach Pearson and his family. The event included an all-day scrapbooking session at George Kennedy Public School, alongside a public silent auction and raffle. Funds raised would all go to the Pearsons whose son Zach has been battling leukemia for the past five months. As one of the committee members for the event, I was amazed at the generosity we were met with in Georgetown. From the large retailers to the smaller downtown merchants, from the food retailers to individuals working from home... we told them the Pearsons' story and they asked us how they could help. George Kennedy's staff helped us publicize the event and The Independent & Free Press ran articles. The day itself only continued the overwhelming flow of generosity. While our enthusiastic "croppers" worked on one side of the gym, the silent auction and raffle on the other side were visited by a steady stream of kids, parents and more ... all intent on spending their money to help another family in need. Some people ignored the auction and raffle and simply made a donation. Rick Bonnette, Mayor of Halton Hills, showed up with his wife, and about 20 youngsters from George Kennedy led some fitness routines to help the croppers loosen up after seven hours of cropping! We even had neighbors and several Venturer lads help to set up and take down tables. Later in the day Zach and his family showed up for a short visit which made us all smile. Zach came in, turned to one of our committee members and said, "Hi, I'm Zach. This is for me." And he was so right. From start to finish the entire event and the hundreds who did their part to make it a success, did it solely to help Zach and his family know that they care. Georgetown is clearly a community of people who look after their own. And that is a community of which we can all be proud to be a part. To all of you who helped us to help the Pearsons, thank you. With your help we raised more than $7,000. And to Zach and his family. Your friends in Georgetown are rooting for you, and wow, do you guys ever have a lot of friends! Anne Davidson, Georgetown One letter prompts different viewpoints Dear editor, Re: Feb. 3 letter, Former seed house property is a disgrace. My reply is: poor old chap! Chris Walker, Georgetown *** Dear editor, Kudos to John Tatham (Letters to the Editor... February 3)! My sentiments exactly. Here was a golden opportunity to set Georgetown apart from other towns. We had a chance to have our very own "Central Park" green space right in the middle of town! We could even have managed to blend in the housing and the school. But no, more hodge-podge development with likely another half dozen traffic lights needed to handle it. And we all know how well traffic lights work together. So much for helping the Kyoto Accord and preserving green space. Of course, we could have objected at the public hearing (if there really was one), but we would likely have been labeled "tree huggers" or worse. Still, think of all that additional tax revenue and how it will help with our property taxes. Well it's done now. Nigel Cocks, Terra Cotta