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Letters to the editor School council chairs support campus (This letter was sent to the Halton Catholic District School Board via chair Al Bailey and a copy was made available for publication.) Dear Mr. Bailey, Re: Halton Region Campus Because "parents want to have a voice that they can be assured will be taken into account at the school, board, and provincial levels", it is vitally important that the Board of Trustees seek and use input from parents in the Halton Catholic District School Board. At our Council of Chairs meetings, we receive updates on what is going on at our Board, and then take that information to the parents at our schools during regular school council meetings. We presented the Halton Region Campus to our school communities and we'd like to take this opportunity to provide feedback to you, hopefully helping you make your decision based on what a large majority of the stakeholders of Catholic education in Halton want. We, the undersigned Catholic School Council Chairs, believe that the Halton region will be well-served by the Halton Regional Campus proposal because of cost savings and accessibility to services and because "these four Halton organizations have a long history of innovative, successful partnerships" it makes sense to share a campus to build on that successful partnership, while ensuring and enhancing each organization's respective identity, culture and autonomy. When it comes to the future of Catholic Education in Halton, our Board must participate in a project that acknowledges our school board on a level playing field with our counterparts. We do not want to be referred to as the "separate" board. We are the Catholic board-- and we belong in the Halton Regional Campus. We agree this is the trustees' opportunity to allow our Catholic board to be "recognized as one of the four distinct partners in Halton Region" and in order for our board to be a valued, vital, and important component of the Halton community in general, we should be at the center and not in some stand-alone obscure location. After following the story in the media, reading comments attributed to various trustees and reading the minutes from Board meetings, we learned that a number of trustees had concerns, amongst others, about losing our autonomy and identity if we participate in this project. We agree that, "It is the manner in which the Board's operations are carried out on a daily basis rather than the physical space, that conveys Catholicity". We are confident that the trustees and staff will ensure that the Memorandum of Understanding will be very clear about recognizing the autonomy and identity of the respective partners including "their beliefs, culture, icons, imagery, uniqueness and values", which means all participants would have to be tolerant/respectful of each other's beliefs. The Halton Regional Campus is good for Halton, especially the Halton Catholic District School Board. Submitted by (School Council Chairs and Co-chairs from 34 schools) Gesture appreciated Dear editor, This morning (June 13) I was at the Petro Canada drive thru Tim Hortons and I allowed a gentleman in line to go ahead of me. To my huge surprise, when I got up to pay he had already bought me my coffee. It was a wonderful gesture and due to traffic I never got to thank him. He made me realize why I continue to do nice things for people because he made my day! Fatima Das Neves, Georgetown Annual Plant Sale a success thanks to community's support Dear editor, On behalf of the Georgetown Horticultural Society, I would like to pass on my thanks to all the people who helped make our recent Plant Sale an outstanding success. As well as the many volunteers who contributed untold hours, the members of our community came out and helped us reach our goal. In addition, the local business community provided outstanding support in the form of donations. Of special note, both Sheridan Nurseries (Georgetown) and Putzer Nurseries (Milton) were most generous in their donations of trees and shrubs. Society members dug in their gardens also to provide a wide variety of healthy, diverse plants. The Plant Sale and Silent Auction is the major fundraiser for the Society and it enables us to continue our efforts to promote the beautification of Georgetown through its many programs. With the continued support of the many donors we will be able to carry on as a vital and vibrant gardening voice in Georgetown and area. New members are always welcome and our meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month from September to June inclusive at St. George's Anglican Church and we always have an interesting program. Once again, thank you to all the donors, volunteers, and the local community who provided such wonderful support. Lillian Taggart, Plant Sale Chair, 2006