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6 ·The IFP· Halton Hills ·Tuesday, July 24, 2012 OPINION Share a pint "The need for blood doesn't take a summer vacation." Canadian Blood Services Community Development Co-ordinator Josie DeLeon couldn't have said it any better when discussing the importance of giving blood at this time of year. Donations tend to decline when people are on summer holidays, but the need keeps coming. In fact, approximately every minute of every day someone in the country requires blood, according to Canadian Blood Services, a national, not-for-profit charitable organization that manages the supply of blood and blood products in all provinces and territories except Quebec. Accidents, health problems and, sadly, shootings like the ones that have plagued Toronto, require that blood donations be made on a regular basis. A person who has been involved in a serious car crash may require 50 units or 50 donations of blood, while a leukemia patient may need eight units a week. The recently-launched Sirens for Life, a blood donor campaign that sees police, fire and paramedic services personnel, including those in Halton, take each other on to determine who can donate the most blood, should serve as an inspiration to others to roll up their sleeves and give the gift of life. Our first responders are on the front line every day and know lives can change in an instant. They're happy to give, but they can't meet the need alone. The Canadian Blood Services website states 4,300 donors are required this summer. To donate, one must be at least 17 years of age but not over 71 (maximum age 61 if a firsttime donor). Donors must also be in general good health and feeling well on the day of the donation. Call 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6238) or go online to book an appointment at www. blood.ca. or find the next available local clinic. 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 Postal code drives movement of mail Dear editor, As a person who was involved with high volume mail users for 20 years maybe I can shed some light on Tony Taylor's, of Glen Williams, concerns (Glen issue still needs `addressing' July 19 letter). Canada Post requires all high volume mailers to run address correction software and they must meet 95 per cent correct levels in order to gain the cheapest postal rates. The FSA (forward sortation area, first three characters of postal code) of Glen Williams is L7G, same as Georgetown. The software will correct (?) the address city field to Georgetown and therefore Glen Williams will get over-written. If the mailer does not accept the corrected version of the address it will add to the incorrect total of the mailing and push towards a higher postage rate for the whole mailing. It is the same reason that people in Port Credit, Lorne Park, Cooksville, Steetsville, etc. all now have mysteriously moved to Mississauga. Acton is still Acton as it has L7J as the FSA. Canada Post does not "read" addresses until they get into the carrier's hand, the postal code drives the movement of mail. Ron Quinn, Georget.. Halton Hi.. from around here contributed to the terrific news and editorial coverage that followed the event. GHF could not have afforded to buy such significant media. So we also owe heartfelt gratitude to all of the many advertisers who helped offset the cost of the special insert through their advertising-- we couldn't have done it without you! We still have a long road ahead of us to bring our hospital expansion and CT scanner dream to life, but it's just terrific to have the community pulling together with us and showing such enthusiasm and generous support. K.C. Carruthers, executive director, The Georgetown Hospital Foundation Paper's support was appreciated Dear editor, I am writing to thank The Independent & Free Press (IFP) for helping promote the launch of Investing in Care - Close to Home, the Campaign for Georgetown Hospital. The special 16-page insert that appeared in the IFP on May 24 at no cost to Georgetown Hospital Foundation (GHF) was an invaluable tool for us to recognize our supporters, explain our hospital expansion project and invite people to our groundbreaking and campaign launch event. On behalf of everyone in Halton Hills who will benefit from better healthcare at Georgetown Hospital, I wish to thank Steve Foreman, John McGhie, Ted Brown, Lisa Tallyn and everyone else at IFP who helped put together the special insert and who WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Town staff have raised concerns about the Town exceeding its debt guidelines if it goes ahead with plans for new seniors' centres. How do you feel about this? · Build them. They are needed. Hang the debt. (54%) · Don't build them. We can't afford them. (46%) Dog days on Harrop Dear editor, I wrote in January about a thoughtless dog walker scooping poop and leaving it under the mailbox on Harrop Avenue. The attached photos of notes attached to the mailbox now show this anti-social dog walker has found a new twist-- just mail it! Who could dream up such a stupid idea? J. M. Graham-Smith, Georgetown 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.