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•T he I FP • H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 1 7, 2 01 3 6 OPINION October is Child Abuse Prevention Month and the Halton Children's Aid Society wants to use the attention to remind residents their assistance is needed to ensure children in the region remain safe. While CAS staff work with schools, service agencies, police stations and other regional lo- cations, contacts from the general public play a vital role in helping the agency protect children from abuse or neglect. Last year, the Halton CAS was contacted on 4,434 occasions about concerns for child safety. More than half of those contacts (2,310) re- sulted in CAS investigations. According to Executive Director Nancy McGillivray, "It takes a community to keep chil- dren and youth safe from fear, harm and vio- lence. We need people to speak up for people who don't feel they have a voice that can be heard." Specifically, Halton residents are asked to watch out for some of the signs of neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, which can include frequent absences from school, list- lessness, poor hygiene, injuries such as bruis- ing, cuts and welts that are inconsistent with the explanation for them, extreme aggression or withdrawal, age-inappropriate sexual knowl- edge, seductive behaviour, severe depression and frequent psychosomatic complaints such as headaches and nausea. While the ultimate goal of the CAS is to keep families together -- 95 per cent of all cases han- dled by the agency result in children remaining at home -- when the need arises children are brought into CAS care. If you suspect a child may be the victim of some form of abuse or neglect, call the Halton Children's Aid Society at 905-333-4441. Your call could make a real difference in a child's life. 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 Make a difference Letters to the editor Dear editor, I commute daily into Toronto and to avoid traffic, travel along Highway 7 at 5:30 a.m. My issue is with the stretch of High- way 7 between Trafalgar Road and Moore Park. The speed limit decreases from 80 km/h to 60 to 50. The speeds are clearly posted in addition to the speed monitoring sign. Without fail, there is a driver who isn't interested in heeding the 50 km/h limit and follows so close you can't see the licence plate. They intimidate and push, trying to either move you out of the way or get you to increase your speed. I refuse to be bullied and maintain the speed limit with cruise control. More often than not, the vehicle either passes where it is not permitted or continues to tailgate until the second lane appears--then accelerates at a speed far exceeding the limit. Dealing with impatient drivers and dangerous conditions should not be what anyone has to face every day. I suggest our local constabulary in- crease their visibility on a regular basis in this area and perhaps their pres- ence would be enough of a deterrent to some of these drivers and allow the rest of us to have a safer and unboth- ered drive. Sandy Collins, 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) Would you support amalgamating the Georgetown and Milton police offices in Milton? • No. We need a local Georgetown office (84%) • Yes. If it saves taxpayers' money (8%) • It would make no difference to me (8%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Law-abiding driver won't be 'bullied' System 'idiotic' Cash for kids, not HQ Dear editor, In the Sept. 26 Independent I gleaned this irony from stories I read. A new police headquarters to be built needs almost $70 million to be paid for by Halton taxpayers. Youth centres are at risk of closing as they can't pay $150,000 to run the centres which provide counselling and referrals. Two youth staff workers give daily counselling to youth with drug and alcohol abuse problems, bullying issues, pregnancy and homelessness. I think we could save a bundle by helping our youth. Can my taxes please be used for the youth centres instead of the fortress, I mean, police headquar- ters? Jane Wilson, Glen Williams 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, A number of cars on our street were recently ticketed for parking violations. Although not posted anywhere there is a five-hour maximum for street parking but it's only enforced if there is a complaint. What I find completely unfair is the enforcement by complaint which is idiotic. Should you happen to street park where no one complains you are okay; otherwise parkers beware. I think violators should revolt and not pay and send a message that being targeted by complaint is brutally unfair. Local enforcement should either ticket all violators or none at all, fair is fair. Ray Eckert, 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