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•Th e IF P• H al to n H ill s • Th ur sd ay , D ec em be r 5 , 2 01 3 6 OPINION During this holiday season many families will decorate the Christmas tree together, open pres- ents, visit friends and talk of plans for the new year. However, there will be some families who will plan a funeral, hold a sombre visitation service and try to pick up the pieces of their lives after losing a loved one(s) to a senseless traffic colli- sion caused by an impaired driver. The annual Festive RIDE program is now under way in Halton and other regions with the intention of lessening the chance an impaired driver destroys a life or devastates a family. Despite the ongoing RIDE campaigns, and the endless public awareness programs, there are people out there who choose to throw com- mon sense aside, if only for a moment, or bla- tantly disregard the law, and drive after drinking. On the first day of this year's month-long campaign, Halton Police made two arrests for impaired driving and issued numerous suspen- sions on drivers who indicated a "warn" reading on roadside alcohol screening devices. On the first day! If you have been drinking make sure you have a designated driver or call a cab. If you see a suspected drunk driver call 911. If you are the owner of a licensed establish- ment make sure your staff know their responsi- bilities when it comes to serving alcohol. Do everything in your power to prevent some- one you know who has consumed alcohol from getting behind the wheel. The message couldn't be simpler: if you drink, don't drive. 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 RIDE safely Letters to the editor Dear editor, Distracted driving police 'propa- ganda' (Nov. 21 letter). The letter written regarding Sgt. Davies's report on distracted driving is upsetting. To criticize an organiza- tion that deals directly with these issues, such as the police, is in itself, ignorant. To conclude that a law created with the public's safety in mind is "self-serving, revenue generating and political point-scoring" is nothing more than failure to see the big pic- ture and purely opinion-generated, if not entirely self-centered. The use of a hand-held device at an intersection prevents one from seeing traffic in their rear-view mir- ror and leaves them susceptible to a collision. That ticket or fine is there to protect the person using the cell phone as much as it is for the people around them. Just because you've never been in a collision while dis- tracted, doesn't mean it won't happen or that you are immune to accidents. There is after all, a reason it's called an "accident". Also, claiming that the statistics behind distracted driving is "junk science" is ridicu- lous. Whether these occurences are increasing or decreasing, one acci- dent from distracted driving is one too many--plain and simple. Jake Merchant, 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) Cell towers have become a hotly contested issue in parts of Halton Hills. Which of the below choices best matches your view? • They're a necessary evil if we want wireless service (54%) • I have no problems with cell towers (22%) • I'm most concerned about potential health risks (18%) • They lower nearby property values (5%) • I think they're unsightly (1%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Reader missed the big picture Hospital says thanks for Bears That Care the hospital and as a friend to take home. Recently, a little girl came to Emergency with quite severe burns. As the nurses were dress- ing her burns, I walked into the room with a bear for her. She saw me coming and ex- claimed "a stuffy" which she quickly accepted and hugged tightly. This was the best part of her treatment! Thanks so much to the local businesses for this generous gift to the children of our community. Shirley Andrechek, Patient Care Manager, Emergency Department & Supportive Housing Program Georgetown Hospital 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, On behalf of the Georgetown Hospital Emergency Department, we convey our thanks to The Independent & Free Press for the adorable teddy bears. I understand they were donated as part of the Bears That Care program that is sponsored by lo- cal businesses. A basket full of bears is waiting in the Emergency Department, each to go home with a child. Nurses give the bears to sick or injured children for comfort in 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