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6 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, July 15, 2010 OPINION Get a life-- jacket The long-range forecast for the rest of the summer is a continuation of what we've seen so far-- warm days and loads of sunshine. That's good. However, the great, if perhaps a bit sticky for some, weather means more time around the pool, boating on the lake and hitting any of the beaches in Ontario. That's both good...and bad. Any body of water poses inherent risks and so far this summer we have seen far too many examples of the dangers water poses. Last weekend alone in Ontario there were three separate drownings involving victims from ages 31-84 as well as a near drowning of a toddler. Prior to that three youngsters drowned in the space of a week. Undoubtedly, there will be more sad tales this summer. In most cases drowning is preventable, especially when it is a result of a boating accident or involves a youngster. Personal flotation devices-- life-jackets-- are recommended to be used anytime you climb aboard a boat and especially if you or your child is an inexperienced swimmer. The seconds it takes to put one on or the minor inconvenience it causes could mean the difference between living and dying. It's that clear-cut. The week of July 19-25 is National Drowning Prevention Week and the Lifesaving Society (www.lifesavingsociety.com) offers a plethora of programs and tips for residents on how to avoid a tragedy. Locally, the Town of Halton Hills, in partnership with the Lifesaving Society and Georgetown Canadian Tire, will be hosting a Lifejacket Clinic, Monday, 2:30-5 p.m. at the grand opening of the Acton Splash Pad in Prospect Park. It will be held again July 20, 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Gellert Community Centre. This clinic is designed to educate citizens of Halton Hills all about the use of life-jackets. For anyone who loves the water, this clinic could one day save your life. 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 Blistering hot weather is expected to dominate this summer in Ontario. How do you keep cool? 1. Head to the beach (16%) 2. Hibernate in air-conditioned buildings (56%) 3. Keep your fridge stocked with ice cream and popsicles (13%) 4. Check out the flights to Antarctica (15%) Go to www.independentfreepress.com Steve Nease Letters to the editor Big Daddy thanks volunteers, paper Dear editor, I read with great interest your cover story and editorial in the Tuesday, June 22 edition of The Independent & Free Press. I believe you have given an accurate and balanced assessment of the inaugural Big Daddy Festival. It was indeed a balance of highly rewarding achievements, lesson learned, and beaming dads-- it is certainly a great base upon which to grow next year. I take this opportunity to thank the incredible number of volunteers, community groups and sponsors who enthusiastically put in a huge amount of effort to launch this exciting inaugural event. We all worked hard, but had a lot of fun. It was particularly rewarding to see how everyone recognized this concept as a potentially terrific way to attract visitors and showcase the treasures of Halton Hills to a broader audience. I also want to thank your newspaper for your very generous contribution to publicizing the event. With your support, you clearly demonstrated that The Independent & Free Press is committed to the community. We certainly felt that you are indeed `our' newspaper. Laurent Thibault, Chair, Halton Hills Cultural Roundtable in order before one tells someone to do more "research before blowing one's own horn." O. Micheals, Ballinafad Close coal plants Dear editor, I just learned that, despite the coal plants now losing money and no longer being necessary due to the amount of energy being generated by other sources, that they have been given permission to increase their output 17% per year from now until 2014 (via the OPG website). This clearly is not in the best interests of Ontarians as it harms both our physical and financial health. Given the promise to have these coal plants close by 2014 they should be reducing output each year with a goal of them being either closed or available only for emergency power rather than ramping up the amount of power they are generating. To Mr. McGuinty, please pull back on this and live up to your promise to remove dirty coal power as soon as possible. To Mr. Arnott, as my local MPP I ask you to please fight to close these dirty, expensive power plants as soon as possible. John Northey, Georgetown, President, Wellington-Halton Hills Green Party Reflection needed Dear editor, I was absolutely floored when I read the remarks from Al Fraser to Mr. Davidson (July 6 letter, Blow horn elsewhere). I recall not long ago, two young entrepreneurs (Keswick Sutherland School) fighting to establish themselves in Town, being "stonewalled by onerous and unreasonable regulations and demands"-- NOT by the Town, but rather, from opposing residents like Mr. Fraser. Oddly enough, he suggests that Mr. Davidson "climb down from his ivory tower." After encouraging the Town to spend millions of dollars at a wasteful and unnecessary Ontario Municipal Board, is it any wonder why the fees and charges Mr. Fraser alludes to are so high? The Town needs to recoup the funds from these frivolous challenges, so why be surprised when the cost trickles down? Perhaps a bit more reflection is 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. 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