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6 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, June 3, 2010 OPINION Street safety If your child was approached by a complete stranger in a car trying to entice them into the vehicle, do you know how they would react? Have you ever discussed with your child the possibility of such a scenario happening to them and what they should do if it does? If not, what are you waiting for? Last week, Halton Regional Police issued separate parental warnings in Halton Hills and Burlington in connection with young people being approached by strangers with what can only be described as bad intentions. In Acton, three incidents of an older white man, driving a silver four-door car trying to entice youngsters into the vehicle were reported over a five-day period at the end of April and start of May. Police determined that a fourth, more recent complaint by an Acton youth, was unfounded. Meanwhile, in Burlington last week, two teenage girls were approached by a male stranger in separate incidents occurring less than 40 hours apart. Halton Police urge parents to remind their children not to approach anyone who is not known to them and to always walk with a friend or a known adult. If approached by an unknown person, young people should be instructed to call 911 immediately from a safe place. For younger children police offer the following advice: · Play safe and play together. Do not play in remote areas of parks or take shortcuts through wooded areas. · Do not loiter on the way to or from school. · Do not go anywhere with a stranger and do not accept rides for any reason. Do not be afraid to say "No" to any request, and run away quickly. · Advise an adult of any suspicious strangers right away. · Do not accept treats, (such as candies, toys or money) from a stranger for any reason. · Always notify your parents where you are and where you're going. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@independentfreepress.com) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@independentfreepress.com) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@independentfreepress.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@independentfreepress.com) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@independentfreepress.com) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@independentfreepress.com) WEB POLL RESULTS With security costs for the G20 and G8 summits likely to hit nearly $1 billion, do you support Canada hosting these summits? · Yes (16%) · No (84%) Steve Nease Go to www.independentfreepress.com Letters to the editor Was Albert trip necessary now? Dear editor, Reading about the recent trip to Alberta by six people representing Halton Hills I was left wondering how the trip was paid for. Did the company after the business pay for it, or is it up to the local taxpayers to pay for six airfares, six hotel rooms, and six people eating while out there? I wonder why a trip was required when it would've been easy to either pick up the phone or just e-mail people who have used this company in the past to see if this rink is worth considering or not. I can understand (somewhat) a trip once presentations are made, costs presented, and our local politicians need to confirm that the promises made can be fulfilled, but until we are at the decision stage I don't see why their time was spent on this trip. As to who went, I see that two politicians, two employees of the Town, and two hockey representatives went but no one from the local figure skating community. This seems a bit odd as the needs for hockey should be able to be assessed by one person, while the needs for figure skating (which can be different from hockey) were not assessed directly. Also, did we really need to send two politicians? If we are assessing how useful the rink is I would think a single, trained representative should be able to do the job or, if it is felt it is required, adding in one from each of the primary community groups likely to use the facility. I am glad to see the Town looking at alternatives (are they considering private rinks?) and I just hope they are watching the (potential) thousands of dollars being spent on the research phase. John Northey, Georgetown land and environment; they also mean more vehicular traffic and the inevitable addition of unwanted pollutants to the air, vegetation and rivers of our region. Each time I drive along Guelph Street through Georgetown I am appalled at the amount of land which is covered in asphalt. Never mind the road itself; both sides of Guelph Street are already an almost continuous parking lot serving one huge, virtual strip mall. Anyone with ecological savvy knows what this means in terms of our water table, and in terms of polluted water going through our drains and sewers to who knows where. It also means atmospheric pollution, as families necessarily trek from plaza to plaza. As a driver, I look forward to new roads which improve ease of access and travel in the region; but as an environmentally concerned citizen, I'd rather leave my car at home. When will we (Region and Province) put the needed resources into an integrated and comprehensive transit system? We need to bite the bullet-- sooner rather than later--and put in place a strategy which will start to reduce cars by proactively building an adequate and ecological transit system. John D Wilson, Acton Letters to the editor policy Letters must include an address and daytime telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. E-mail: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Dear editor, The plan for the Norval bypass, a new freeway and other roads brings mixed feelings. On the one hand, as a driver, I gave an anticipatory sigh of relief; but on the other hand, I grieve for the environment. Is there no alternate to such a scheme, which would meet our need for cleaner air and preserve our natural environment, while catering for our transportation needs? Not only do new roads on this scale inevitably mean direct impact on the Better way needed