The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

A6 - The Canadian Champion, Friday, June 29, 2007 Being pro-active benefits us ail Haltoný health deparûment committed to tckling issues, keeping us informed Halton residenîs are fortunate ta live in a community with such a pro-active health department. Regional health officiais routinely tackle issues that impact both the quality and quantity of life we enjoy They educate us, infar-m us and frequently sbock us with siatisties related ta social, environmental and global risks ta, our well being. Teen suicide, West Nule virus, air quality, mould in school portables, doctor shariages, abesity, smok- ing bans, pandemic planning, SARS and teen drug use have ail beesi toopics Halions healih department bas broughr ta aur attention in the lasi five years. Since 1990, the point man on ail issues rclated to public health in Halton bas been Dr. Bob Nosal. While bc is quick ta deflect credît l'oi Halions successes - preferning înstead ta, applaud bis departments staff and invaluable alliances thai have been larged between the health departîment, hospitals. local municipalities. school boards and countless regianal social service agencies - Nasal bas been the drîving farce toward improving and protcctîng the health of Haltans cîtîzens. More than a dozen years befare the Ontario gavertiment banned smoking in ail public indoor spaces and warkplaces, Nasal was speaking out againsi secandhand smokes castly impact ta individuals and aur health-care system. His rclentlcss anti-smoking message convsnced counicils in Milton, Burlington. Oakville and Halton HuIs ta enact smoking bylaws several years before the Province finally toak action. The health dcpartmnent bas alsa played a significant raie in makîng us aware of new thrcats that have emergcd. Thanks ta mare than six years ai public education efforts, fialton residents prabably knaw as mach taday about pro- tccting thcmsclvcs against West Nule virus as they do about pratccting against the harmlul effects of unprotected expia- sure tai the suni. Haltons hcalth department bas a simple mandate - ta protect and promote health and prevent disease. lnstcad of sitting idly by for direction fram a higher level of gavernment, Nasal and bis staff prefer ta be an the lcad- ing cdge of health promotion. It is largely because of their efforts that we cnjay such a higli quality of life. Rmeaders Write E-mail your letters ta miltonel@haltonsearch.om Composting dolesn'it take much space DEAR EDITOR: It was disappointing to read mn the june 19 Champion the spokesperson for Protect Our Water and Environmcntal Resources (PO.WER.) promoting the nonsense idea that lots of room is need- ed to do hackyard, home-composting through her letter entitled 'GrectsCart plan great for Halton'. In actual fact, effective composters are avadlahie from the Region - ai a very reasonable price - which are ahout 32 inches high and less than 30 inches in diameter. Most hamlet and urban backyards 1 have seen could cas- ily accommodate such a composter. Peaple do not need to live in rural Milton, or rural Halton for that matter, to be able to effectively and efficiently home-compost. Our family has heen home-com- posting for over 17 years now. We do flot need noxious, fume-belching esee CONTRARY on page A7 Theviewfrmherew Ward 2 byelecti'on not exactly democracy'sfinest hour As 1 was writivsg a story this week about new Ward 2 Councillor Greg Nelson's fmrt officiai, couancil meeting, i got thînking about the numnber of votes it took tai get bsm into office - 543. When you cotisider that the ward actual- ly bas 7,515 registered voters, the number doesn't sound very big. First off, i should aay that l'm flot trying to marginalize Nelsons win at ail. I think any- body who takes the chance and runs for office should be commended. My point is more about the extremely law number of voters who exercised their demno- cratic right to, vote in the june 14 byelection. By thc end of the niglit, ohly 1,W6 resi- dents - or 20.86 per cent - had cast bal- lots. This means one out of every five voters hit the polling stations. Considering that in the November munie- ipal election almovt 40 per cent of Ward 2 they're thc ones who give the go-ahead to residenis got out to vote, 1 was very surprised new developmnents. by the low turnout this trne Witb that vaid, 1 think iCs around. pretty obvious that picking the Maybe there's less interest in riglit candidate to have in your byelections. Maybe peopleas atten- corner on counicil iv crucial. tion lias already turned ta summer a-This leaves me ail the more puz- vacations. Maybe tbey don't think zled that most people don't their vote will make a difference. seem to care wbo's making Regardless of the reason, its important chaices for themn. obvious something needs toi be But local residents will soion donc to get people mart interest- ihave a chance ta, redeem them- ed and involved in the political n- --selves with the upcoming process. provincial election and a proha- how their local councd's decisions hugely impact their day-to-day lives. They're the ones who decide which roads get paved and when. They're the ones who approve your local property tax rates and increases. And As someone who covers politica at ail 1ev- els, I can't empliasize enougli the importance of taking the time to vote. It only takes a minute to, cast a ballot, but it makes a difference for years toi came. izbet Qanablan cljampion Milton s Con n ry Nevvspaper Since 1860 555 Industnial Dr., Milton, Ont. L9T 5E1 905-878-2341 Editorial Fax: 905-878-4943 Advertiaîng Fax: 905-876-2364 Classified:905-875-3300 Circulation: 905-878-5947 www.nmiltoncanadiancharnpion.com Publisher Neil Oliver Advertising Director Wendy McNab Managing Editor Kareri Mncell Production Manager Trm Coles Circulation Manager Charlene Hall Office Manager Teri Casas The Canadian Champion, published every Tuesday and Friday, is a division of Metrolnd Media Group Ltd. - Group Publisher lan Oliver. Advertisnq is accepted on the condition tho, in the event of a ypoqnaphinal enoc tchat portoothe O advennotîg space ocopved by the ernos item, togethe with a reasoable allovance for sina tore ln i tbehned foi but the balanceof teadeniseent wtlll be pn.d for t the appli(able rat The pubihho rewenethe right n nntegorize adoetiseent or deolîte CCAB Audited Reognizetfi ex ellen.e Ny ~P fa ontnnocommnooOy Neonîpapessoia ltion CCACatoadian Coonmnty uC(NA Neonspapees Association Soborban Newspapero 5 MN of Amenca The o.ý(bu Chrinon on n ridne id 'Ano fr Halton HaltLTON UNITEDOWAY T UTO 0F MILTON i uto SANTA CLAUS PARADE VYMÇA Shawcase.Milh n -id-ls AnIONdE