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OPINION Ontarians have endured a nasty winter and not-so-nice spring to date. With a nice weekend forecast in the off- ing and a long Victoria Day weekend loom- ing, it's likely the province's roadways and waterways will be jammed with people looking to celebrate the unofficial start of summer. However, this coming weekend has, in the past, often proved to be one of the dead- liest. That's why the OPP reminds residents this week also marks Canada Road Safety Week (May 13-20). Throughout the campaign, police ser- vices across the country come together to ramp up enforcement and raise awareness surrounding the "Big Four" major causes of death and injuries on roadways: impaired driving, aggressive driving, distracted driv- ing and failure to wear or improper use of seat belts. Quick facts: • Impaired driving remains the number one criminal cause of death in Canada. • Motorists are 23 times more likely to be- come involved in a collision while texting. • Aggressive driving behaviour is present in 27 per cent of fatal collisions in Canada. • Proper seatbelt usage is the most sig- nificant factor in preventing injuries and deaths in a collision. However, along with roadway users, boaters and those who use off-road vehicles should remember to think safety first when getting out and enjoying themselves. It takes very little effort to ensure that this weekend is not one to remember for all the wrong reasons. The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Edi- torial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press Put safety first Steve Nease Letters to the editor Dear editor, As a proud Canadian and a citizen of Georgetown, I am concerned that our complacency and expectation that politicians know best, often lead to events taking place that we do not like. Politicians are human and therefore can and do make mistakes. If we are missing the old cinema and complain how our youth have to be driven to other towns for entertain- ment, we have no one to blame but ourselves. If we know that Memorial Arena is not just a place where we skated, our children played hockey, etc. and is a historic building that could be put to other uses (such as a community hall, a mini St. Lawrence market, winter market) but is going to be demolished in order that condos, apartments and townhouses can be built, why are we complaining? If we know that the Exchange Hotel is directly related to the advent of railway travel and there- fore the development of what is today Georgetown, and is another piece of our history that stands a good chance of being obliterated, why are we com- plaining? If we do not care for our his- tory, our roots, our heritage, the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors and would rather live like nomads, why are we complaining? Politicians are not to blame. They react to our wants and needs and do their level best to provide...so why are we complaining? Roscoe Petkovic, 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 Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier 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) Should the NDP support the Liberals' recent 2013 budget and thus avoid causing a provincial election? • No (60%) • Yes (40%) WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) Blame lies with us for loss of heritage Beavers a problem Health Fair a hit 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 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Dear editor, Beavers are cute and cuddly, but when it's our scarce taxpayer money going down the drain... While jogging recently on the Hun- gry Hollow trail, I came across an extensive area of tree damage caused by beavers. Many of these trees were planted by volunteers over the years. These will be costly and take several years to recover the newly-barren area again. I noticed well over 30 trees/sap- lings have been cut by beavers. The cuts are very fresh. A couple trees were not yet completely cut through. I notified the Town Parks and Rec- reation Department. Rob Traill, Georgetown •T h e IF P • H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, M ay 1 6, 2 01 3 6 Dear editor, As the hosts of the Acton Spring Health Fair 2013, we would like to thank everyone who came out on Sunday, April 7. Special thanks to all of the vendors, friends and family who supported us. The admission to the fair was either a $5 donation to the Links2- care or a non-perishable food item for Acton FoodShare food bank. With the generous support of the community we raised $300 for the Links2Care and 50 lbs. of food. A good time was had by all. Thanks again. Holly Allen and Debbie Pereira, Acton