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OPINION Funding is a team game Halton Hills residents are not shy when it comes to offering their opinions about what this town needs. Readers regularly share their views with us, but often ignore how "the Town" will pay for the item on their wish list. This week's announcement by the Georgetown Slopitch League (GSL) that it was donating $100,000 to the Town for construction of a new ball diamond at the Trafalgar Sports Park provides a perfect example of how things "get done". The GSL has been in dire need of new diamonds for its 1,000-plus member group for years. The Trafalgar Sports Park, launched in 1999, was to have alleviated some of that demand (with four lit diamonds) but the Town so far has funded only $800,000 of the $10-million, 10-phase project and no diamonds have been built-- only four unlit soccer fields. The Town, rightly or wrongly, has deemed other projects more important. Phase 3B of the park was included in the 2007 capital budget with the proviso that a $100,000 contribution was needed from either the Georgetown Soccer Club or the slopitch league. The soccer club, however, last year opted to invest in the new Acton Agricultural Society's multi-purpose building which will house an indoor soccer field. The GSL, however, stepped up to the plate with its donation, which came from the league slapping a $100 surcharge on each of its 70-odd teams each year for the past seven years. That, folks, is how things "get done"-- with long-term planning and commitment. "Baseball diamonds are expensive," said GSL president Tim Abbott, "and that's without lights and irrigation." With those "extras", Abbott estimates it would cost about $500,000 for one diamond. This is a lesson for those who believe the Town should accommodate every wish: ball diamonds don't magically appear and the same goes for new roads, trails, parks and arenas. Everything has a cost and the days of the Town paying the freight for all capital projects (with taxpayers' money, of course) are gone. Ironically, the GSL will rarely use this new ball diamond as its teams mostly play night games and require fields with lights. However, they should be commended for showing good community spirit with their donation and setting an example for other groups. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Fans lament loss of line dancing at bar Dear editor, I would like to say some positive words about the country nightclub Nashville North. Over the years some patrons have attracted unfavourable attention to Nashville North. However, Nashville North is the best country line dancing nightclub in this part of Ontario. I am 54 years old. My wife and I have been line dancing at Nashville North for 13 years. We have been there 300 times on Wednesday and Saturday nights combined. Nashville North has a fabulous, friendly and safe environment for dancers and spectators. This is a place where all age groups dance together in harmony. Any night on the dance floor you could find 150 people from ages 19 to 80. The young dancers learn from the older dancers and the older dancers acquire some of the enthusiasm of the younger dancers. A night on the dance floor is a wonderful experience. I have brought my adult children to Nashville North. Most nights you could find two generations of the same family on the dance floor. What other nightclub can make this claim these days? Sadly, for hundreds of loyal, responsible patrons the nightclub has had to close the line dancing after losing its liquor licence. The original building of the Riviera Club, built in the 1960s, and Nashville North will be lost to present patrons and future ones. To date 500 patrons have signed petition letters addressed to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission for Ontario requesting that the AGCO reconsider their decision. Dan and Debra Middleton, Brampton Choral Society appreciated concert support Dear editor, On behalf of the executive of the Georgetown Choral Society (GCS), I want to thank everyone who was involved in the choir's Christmas Pops Concerts in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the founding of the choir. It was a special occasion since the concerts were performed in the Georgetown District High School cafeteria, the same place that the very first concert was held back in 1971. As with that first concert, the choir was again accompanied by the high school jazz and the pops band, and the young musicians taught by Eleanor Wallace again demonstrated the terrific musical talent that has been cultivated for so many years. We are very grateful to all the local schools who created the wonderful art that converted the cafeteria into a bright, cheerful venue, and also to the Children's Chorus for joining with the GCS for the performance. With such a talented group of young people learning to love choral music under the baton of artistic director Dale Wood, the future of the senior choir is bright indeed. And of course, the keyboard magic of accompanist and local resident Chris Dawes added immeasurably to the success of the concerts, Our warmest thanks also to all the choir members and many other volunteers who worked hard to rehearse for over three months, arrange all the seating, decorate the hall, prepare and serve all the food and drinks, and coordinate more than 200 singers and musicians. Their efforts were rewarded by appreciative sold-out audiences on both nights, and the GCS looks forward to continuing the tradition of excellence in choral music in the years ahead. Laurent Thibault president, Georgetown Choral Society Sargent Road median is an `unsightly mess' Dear editor, To our town fathers: I travel Sargent Road to Mountainview Road every week to the seniors' centre and church and I am disgusted by the unsightly gravel mess which has been on the median for the past year and a half. Is it a tribute to something, a statue or is there an elephant buried there and the ground hasn't settled yet? Surely the people living on Sargent Road deserve something better when they look out their windows. Ethel McEachern, Georgetown