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•T he IF P• H al to n Hi lls • Th ur sd ay , N ov em be r 1 4, 2 01 3 6 OPINION Halton's two school boards had to make tough decisions recently regarding health issues concern- ing its students and both boards earned passing grades for the actions they took. First, the Halton Catholic District School Board wisely opted to reverse a five-year-old ban on allow- ing public health nurses in local schools to admin- ister the HPV vaccine to Grade 8 female students. HPV is a common virus, with many strains that is spread through sexual activity. It is the primary cause of cervical cancer and can also cause other cancers in both men and women. The Halton board was the only one of 29 Catho- lic boards in the province that didn't allow onsite HPV vaccinations. What did the local board know that others didn't? The decision to lift the ban, does not mean the Halton board is encouraging sexual activity among its students nor does it mean it is promoting an un- safe vaccine. The majority of medical opinions indicate the vaccine is safe and the decision to vaccinate or not is still in the hands of parents-- so it boils down to a matter of choice. Maintaining the ban was not the proper course. Meanwhile, Halton District School Board trust- ees wisely voted to continue to allow Wi-Fi in all schools but will monitor the health risks as new information is revealed by world and Canadian health experts. Most trustees believe there aren't any risks associated with electromagnetic effects of wireless use in schools. Maintaining the status quo but being vigilant is a prudent approach. We don't blame some parents for being extra cautious when it comes to their kids' health, but there comes a point when caution morphs into over-protectiveness. 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 is a member of the Ontario Press Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ ontpress.com or call 416- 340-1981. The Independent & Free Press Wise choices Letters to the editor Dear editor, For the past eight years I, along with great help from Don Fendley and Al Darby, have been building a pictorial website of Georgetown. It started out as a scan of one of my sister's yearbooks from GDHS and has turned into more than 15,000 items, including all of the yearbooks from GDHS up to 2006. With much of our history now being torn down my aim is to preserve our memories by pictures. My plea to the community is this: please have a look and see if you have anything to share. Class photos and or yearbooks from any of the schools. Currently I only have two from the middle schools. Team pictures-- hockey, baseball, soccer... etc. The bantam hockey tournament is one event that is in big demand. Our newest gallery is "In loving memory" which includes family and friends who have passed away. So before you throw away those old photos see if there's anything in there that you could share with us and preserve for future generations. The website is www.thegeorge- townvault.com and you can reach me via email at courchesne14@ hotmail.com or on Facebook. Bonnie (Hayes) Courchesne, 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 Acton and Georgetown Santa Claus Parades will be held Saturday, Nov. 16. Do you attend the parades? • Yes. Georgetown only (48%) • No. I never/rarely attend (33%) • Yes. Acton only (15%) • Yes. I go to both (4%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Old photos sought to preserve past Not enough shops honour veterans Cab rider grateful Day doesn't (for stores). Do these businesses not care about the message they are send- ing to our veterans? I know there are veterans here because there is a Canadian Legion. It was the veterans who bought us our ability to cel- ebrate Christmas. J. Sullivan, 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, Georgetown is a nice, small bus- tling community. However, during the past several weeks I have noticed something that concerns me. Canada has just finished hon- ouring our veterans. In downtown Georgetown I observed that only one business went to the extent of put- ting up a Remembrance Day display. One other did so on Guelph Street. If I happened to miss one or two oth- ers, please accept my apology. At the same time there were a number of Christmas displays up in various stores. I realize Christmas makes money and Remembrance 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 Dear editor, I would like to thank the Town of Halton Hills for providing half- price taxi tickets for seniors. Also, thank you to McKab Taxi and its wonderful drivers who are always courteous and friendly and on time. Merle Carr, Georgetown