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•T he IF P• H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, A ug us t 2 9, 2 01 3 6 OPINION Children return to school next Tuesday and it's important that everyone is aware of the rules, how to behave and the consequences for acting improperly. We're not referring to the kids. We're referring to drivers when it comes to sharing the road with school buses. The Canada Safety Council reminds drivers to be vigilant and patient when encountering school buses. The Highway Traffic Act states that every driv- er, approaching from both directions toward a school bus with overhead red signal lights flash- ing, must stop and shall not proceed until the bus moves or the overhead red signal lights have stopped flashing (except on highways separated by a median strip, whereby oncoming traffic is not required to stop). Also, school buses are re- quired by law to stop at all railway crossings; mo- torists should likewise be prepared to stop behind school buses. Breaking the law is costly- fines are as high as $2,000 and motorists can expect up to nine de- merit points for the first offence. Some simple tips for drivers to follow include respecting crossing guards, slowing down in school zones, being extra cautious during periods of the day when kids are traveling to and from school and watching for children at crosswalks. Halton Police will also be operating Project Safe Start Sept. 2-13 for the eighth year. The campaign focuses on education, awareness and high-visibility enforcement of traffic laws in and around school zones. As well, with kids heading back to school next week, distracted driving is of particular concern to the OPP as distraction-related collision fa- talities in OPP jurisdictions continue to surpass impaired driving-related deaths this year. Students are not the only ones who need a lesson at this time of year. Drive safely. 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 A Safe Start Letters to the editor Dear editor, Recently while shopping at our lo- cal Canadian Tire I noticed a mother telling her daughter to sit on the patio swing while she picked up a few things. This beautiful little blond girl was probably five or six years old. I noticed the mother leave and go down a few aisles to pick up prod- ucts and also noted that the child left the swing to walk down some aisles (presumably looking for her mother) but then return to the swing. I wanted to tell that parent her precious daughter was situated very close to an exit door, but I was afraid to tell her how to parent. I should have said something and not wor- ried about a possible backlash. I just waited for her to return to pick up her daughter. I hope this lady reads this letter or perhaps maybe others parents will discuss this. Ask each other, would you ever feel comfortable doing this? Sorry for my ranting. I just had images of a mother returning to see a patio swing moving back and forth without her daughter on it. H. Salt, Georgetown 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) The Canadian Association of Police Chiefs has proposed that officers be allowed to issue tickets for simple marijuana possession. Is this a good idea? • Yes. The current penalties for possession are too harsh (65%) • No. Relaxing the law will lead to other problems (35%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Unattended child a disturbing sight Historic déja vu An honest mistake? Dear editor, To the women in the beige car, who took my furniture from the Duncan Drive lawn on August 25-- that wasn't FREE! I can only hope you are innocent enough to come back and admit you didn't see the signs posted. If you had the audacity to take it while looking at the signs, shame on you! I have one word for you: karma! And a warning to others trying to sell their gently used furniture: Kijiji is safer than a clear posting on your lawn. Laura Myers, Georgetown Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox by signing up for our twice weekly electronic newsletter. Go to www.theifp.ca and click on 'Newsletter sign-up' at the bottom of the homepage. Dear editor, Re: Historic Railway Exchange Hotel really starting to show its age (Aug. 22). Here we go again! An abandoned building in town is collapsing and something must be done. The owners want it torn down, the historical groups want it preserved and Town council dithers, trying to please everyone. Here's an idea! Let's identify it as a critical historical property, put ugly supports up to try to keep it together, surround it with a four-metere chain link fence and then the GO train us- ers and the neighbours can enjoy the view while it slowly falls apart as the owners, developers, historical groups, council, and a bunch of other govern- ment departments and agencies argue over it. Remind you of the Barber Mill situation? Surely this one couldn't take longer to resolve could it? Patrick Mannell, Georgetown Letters must include the author's name, address and daytime phone number. Anony- mous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publica- tion is not guaranteed. Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 77, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters policy