The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

•T he I FP • H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, A ug us t 2 2, 2 01 3 6 OPINION There is little doubt that illegal drug use is a scourge on any community. Criminal drug activity is often the vortex of which many other crimes spin off-- such as theft, robbery and assault. Therefore it makes sense for police services to direct added attention towards combating illegal drug use. According to Halton Police Chief Stephen Tanner, the local police service has increased resources directed at drug enforcement which may be helping to drive down other crimes. Tanner made the observation in the wake of the release of Statistics Canada's 2012 Crime Severity Index which indicated that Halton Region is the safest of 49 Canadian communities surveyed with populations of more than 100,000. The survey indicated Halton had: • The lowest overall Crime Severity Index (28.59 in 2012, down from 33.6 in 2011 and 37.0 in 2010) • The lowest Violent Crime Severity Index (23.59 in 2012, compared to 28.2 in 2011 and 28.0 in 2010) • The lowest Non-Violent Crime Sever- ity Index (30.36 in 2012, down from 35.7 in 2011 and 40 in 2010) Canada, as a whole, has seen a decrease in its score from 77.6 in 2011 to 75 in 2012. Tanner indicated other factors may be at play in Halton such as an aging popula- tion and more visible police presence but we agree with police board member Rob Bur- ton that increased drug enforcement is pay- ing off in a "better community". Stats Canada's numbers seem to back up that claim. The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of sev- eral Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copy- right. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press Safe at home Steve Nease Letters to the editor Dear editor, I think the new emissions testing is a complete joke. First of all, if it is an emissions test, shouldn't someone be testing what pollutants are actually com- ing out of the vehicle and not a computer? Isn't the point of a test wheth- er you pass or fail? We had our vehicle tested to be told that it did not fail. However, we needed to bring it back (and be charged more money) to be re-tested because not all the indicators came up as ready. Each time we had to bring it back we would be charged another $30.This truly is a good money-making scheme. If the government is going to have emissions testing, it should be testing vehicles, not a com- puter. If we, as Canadians, don't let them know this is a ridiculous system they will continue to take our money for nothing. Teena Romat, Georgetown Letters policy 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins 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/Real Estate Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca or realestate@theifp.ca) Accounting 1-866-773-6575 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) Do you think traffic congestion will be an ongoing problem at the Toronto Premium Outlets? • Yes. There isn't enough parking (69%) • No. Parking won't be an issue once the novelty has worn off (31%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Emissions testing is 'ridiculous' Beware of coyotes Fluids can be fatal 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 Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Dear editor, I'd like to remind dog lovers, who continue to let their dogs off the leash in the Hungry Hollow ravine trails, that they are not only breaking a Town bylaw but also putting their dogs in danger, especially small dogs and pup- pies. My house backs onto the trail and recently, in broad daylight, a large coy- ote came right up to our house. This is not the first time I've seen coyotes in my garden and hearing them howl at night, I'd say there is quite a large pack. The numerous cats that have been visiting my garden in the last while have dwindled to one-- another reason why residents with cats living close to the ravine area should consider their cats' safety and keep them indoors. J. Blunt, Georgetown Dear editor, Recently I had to put our cat down because he had been poisoned by engine coolant. We would just like to make resi- dents aware that someone has either been putting this out intentionally or maybe has a radiator leak. Approxi- mately three years ago we had three of our cats suffer the same fate and because we didn't know what was hap- pening to them it was too late by the time we took them to the vet and had to have them euthanized. I know some people may get upset because we do let them outside but they are all fixed and have their shots. We have adopted/rescued many of our cats and the thought that someone may be intentionally doing this sickens me. Make sure to keep any poisonous substances out of reach of any humans or animals and to check your vehicles for any leaking fluids that are not only hazardous to pets/wildlife but our environment as well. Hope van Ravens, Georgetown