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6 The IFP · Halton Hills, Thursday, April 12, 2012 OPINION Burstin' with pride Sometimes we can't help but be amazed and impressed by the actions of Halton Hills citizens-- both corporate and private. We have often mentioned in this space the kindness and selflessness often exhibited by local groups and the volunteers who make those organizations tick. Just scanning the pages of this newspaper's two editions this week makes us burst with pride. In Tuesday's edition we highlighted the fact the Georgetown Lions Club will host a breakfast at the Lions Hall (42 Mill St.) April 14-15 from 7 a.m.-noon both days. The cost? A food donation to the Georgetown Bread Basket. Also on Saturday, scouts, guides and cadets will be out and about in Acton collecting food donations left on doorsteps for the Acton Foodshare food bank. Donations should be left by your front door by 8:30 a.m. These events come on the heels of Tim Hortons donating $2,000 and 50 cases of juice to the Georgetown Bread Basket after reading of the food bank's donation shortage the previous week. Jason Toone and Crystal Rosa are a pair of Georgetown residents who work with the Starkey Hearing Foundation in Mississauga-- a foundation whose goal is to give the gift of hearing, through donations of hearing aids, to underprivileged people around the world. In May Toone and Rosa will travel to China to help distribute 6,000 hearing aids. In today's paper there's a story on Christ the King student Kaitlyn Wosik who started an online clothing company last summer with proceeds going to helping youths with various forms of mental illness. Also featured is 2012 Acton Citizen of the Year Julie Conroy, literally a "girl on the go" who can't stop helping her community through volunteerism. Young, older, individual or group-- goodness comes in various forms. It makes us proud. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@theifp.ca) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Letters policy Letters must include an address and daytime phone 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. Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca Steve Nease Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters to the editor Tories' water bill hurts Canada (This letter was sent to Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong. A copy was made available for publication.) Mr. Chong, I wish to express my deep shock and extreme concern over the elimination of Bill C-267 in favour of the considerably toothless Bill C-383 which will only protect 10 per cent of our fresh water reesources. Mr. Harper, in 2008, promised to, and I quote, "ensure protection of our vital resources, our government will ban all bulk water transports or exports from Canadian fresh water basins". The killing of Bill C-267 by your government is putting all Canadians in jeopardy with regards to water resources, and hardly constitutes his quoted, "ban" on bulk water transports or exports! We possess nine per cent of the world's fresh water resources and, as such, we have a responsibility to be exemplary `caretakers' of this resource and govern ourselves accordingly. Bill C-383 will not favour this position. Every day your government commits another assault on, or sellout of, Canadian resources to `special interests'. Is it your government's intent to diminish our resources to the point of exhaustion with nothing left over for today's population, and the generations to come, in the name of `trade' and the `bottom line'? This latest move on the part of your government is a step backwards and I see nothing `progressive' about its proposal or implementation! I will be watching and scrutinizing this water bill as it unfolds for the sake of my children and grandchldren who will have to live (survive) in this brave new Canada your party is committed to creating, seemingly at any cost! M. Kathleen Richards, Georgetown one trip. On my way back to the store with the remaining boxes, a customer leaving the store overheard me saying that it would be about an hour before I would return to pick up the rest of the items as we live 20 minutes away. This lady took the time to stop and ask where I lived and I said, "Georgetown". She smiled and said her husband and her were going that way too. "Let me just talk to him and I'll be back." Within minutes she returned to say,"As long as it fits, we're happy to follow you back to your house." She added, "I went through a similar experience last year when we bought our patio set so I know how much of a pain it is." I was, and still am, just wowed! This experience has given me a great taste of what a wonderful community we are living in and people actually care about one another. So to Crystal and Robb: again we can't thank you enough and can't wait to pay it forward! Susan Howlett & Matt Dukowski, Georgetown WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Who do you blame the most for soaring gas prices? · Oil companies (53%) · Federal/provincial governments (38%) · Consumers (6%) · Mid-East oil producing nations (3%) Strangers' kindness `wows' residents Dear editor, Recently we purchased an outdoor patio set for our backyard and, lo and behold, it was too big/ too much for our SUV to take in 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.