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

For rampage that began in Brampton Kitchener man facing several charges A Kitchener man is facing several charges in connection with a rampage Saturday, August 5 that began in Brampton and ended a short time later in Halton Hills with a police officer being struck with a golf club. The rampage began on Queen St. E. in Brampton when a man attempted to steal a bicycle from a cyclist. He was unsuccessful in getting the bike, but did manage to steal a Mazda, which he drove erratically along 5 Sideroad before colliding with a Honda at the Eighth Line intersection. The Honda then struck a van. The driver of the Mazda left the scene and was picked up by a witness to the accident. The witness, driving a pickup truck, attempted to convince the man to return to the accident scene but the man tried to flee by grabbing the truck's steering wheel and stomping on the gas pedal. The witness pulled the keys out of the truck and the man got out and walked to a nearby residence where he attempted to steal a car in the driveway. He then entered the home, and after being ordered out by the homeowner, took a golf club, swinging it at a hydro meter and mailbox. While being arrested the man swung the club at a police officer, breaking the club in half on the officer's arm. Since the incident, police held the accused in Oakville Hospital under the Mental Health Act. On Wednesday police charged, Brian MacMullin, 38, of Kitchener, with two counts of attempted robbery, robbery, dangerous driving, fail to stop at the scene of an accident, attempted theft over $5,000, break and enter, mischief under $5,000, uttering threats and assaulting a police officer with a weapon. He was held for a bail hearing Thursday. Homeowners can expect tax hike Continued from pg. 1 $792,200), 10 per cent increase in the cost of asphalt, 8 per cent increase in the cost of fuel, significant increases for utilities (hydro 13%), natural gas (9%) and water (6.5%). DeSousa said there was a 1 per cent budget increase resulting just from increases in utilities. The base budget increase of 3.1 per cent represents no new staffing, equipment or expansion of programs. Staff will also prepare recommendations for committee consideration for a base budget increase and decrease of 1 per cent. "This report outlines the various pressures and what we have to do to improve the town," said Mayor Rick Bonnette, singling out the hiring of the firefighters as a result of town growth. "We have to give to fire protection to our citizens. ...A 1.3 per cent of an increase is not a waste of money, it's something we have to do to protect our community and I hope the new council (elected in November) will follow through on this." The first budget meeting, open to the public, will be held on January 9, followed by scheduled meetings, January 15, 16, 29, 30, with final budget approval set for the February 5 council meeting. (Cynthia Gamble can be reached at cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Late-night games a problem Ward 4 councillor Bob Inglis says he's been getting plenty of calls this summer from constituents complaining about nighttime noise emanating from school playgrounds. "It appears from the calls I get, kids are playing on the basketball courts," he said. "Obviously we support all the physical activity here, but not at 11 p.m., 12 a.m. or 2 a.m. There are concerns from residents who back on to these properties." In the past, Inglis referred his constituents to the police to enforce the noise bylaw, but now he wonders if the Town could do something more. "It seems to be getting worse, rather than better," said Inglis, noting that the Town sends out parking control officers at night to enforce the wintertime parking bans and wondered something similar could be done in the summer. Town Clerk Karen Landry said she would look into the matter, and "see if we can try and work out something jointly with the police and the school boards."