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Eddie and Jodi Davids of Georgetown are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Angie to Tim, son of Barend and Hennie Bonvanie of Woodstock. Wedding to take place in August 2008. Craig & Chris Fleming and Michele Everett are pleased to announce the engagement of their children Kerri Fleming & Dan Everett. The wedding will take place in 2009. Suffering from Depression, Grief, Anxiety? Georgetown family counsellor wants to help. 3 weeks to a more joyous you - or dont pay! HOPE CONNECTION COUNSELLING SERVICES Stress & Burnout a Specialty 416-577-HOPE (4673) hopeconnection@gmail.com Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, January 23, 2008 3 The total estimated cost to mit- igate the impact to private wells, including installing and maintain- ing temporary water supply sys- tems and providing trucked water, is $725,000. In the staff report, Peter Crockett, Commissioner of Planning and Public Works said 40 of the 56 wells have now shown sufficient recovery so they can be reconnected. However, many Hornby residents are still experiencing problems with their water. The feedback Im getting is generally, yes, the water table is recovering. Its now becoming more of an issue of the quality, said Ken Lawday of the Halton Association of Rate Payers (HARP). A lot of people are still getting a lot of silt through their wells. He stressed the situation is still nowhere settled. Steeles Ave. resident Kuldeep Bharj is one resident still experi- encing problems with his well. He said the Region reconnected his well a few weeks ago but did so without a proper health report. When a report was later deliv- ered to him in the mail he was shocked with the findings. It said it wasnt safe to take a shower in, let alone drink, said Bharj. He immediately contacted the Region and their water system was reconnected again to the tempo- rary tank. He said he recently received a call from Region staff saying the water is now fine. But he refuses to be reconnect- ed to the well until an indepen- dent analysis of the water is done. Sixth Line resident Erik Kowal also remains connected to a tem- porary water supply. He said in the past there was 18 feet of good quality water in his well, but today there is only four feet. How long are we going to wait? asked Kowal. He said one of his neighbours was considering selling his home but cant because he is also still on a temporary water supply. At least 15 Hornby area resi- dents are still using temporary water tanks, Kowal estimated 10 alone on the Sixth Line. In his report, Crockett said when the report was written, it is anticipat- ed that 10 of the properties pro- vided with temporary supplies will have to remain on the temporary system through all or part of the winter. Ann Sharpe is one resident on the Sixth Line who would be happy to have a temporary tank. Sharpe lives north of Steeles Ave., about 200 ft. from a resident who does have a temporary tank on their property provided by the Region. Sharpe said she ran out of water last September, but when she complained to the Region she said she was told, they didnt think it was their problem, and blamed it on the drought. Weve been here 50 years and weve never had a (water) prob- lem, said Sharpe. We always had a fair amount in the well, and we had good recovery. She had, however, the Region has been delivering water to her well twice a week, but it flows out rapidly. Thats why she believes it would be more cost-effective for the Region to provide them with a temporary tank. Im frustrated, but Im grateful for the water, she said. In his report Crockett said it is expected that groundwater levels in all wells impacted by the dewa- tering will recover and that the pumping station will be finished this March, on time. Crockett also said Region staff was going to retain a third party consulting engineer to determine if any errors, omissions or negli- gence on the part of the Regions contractors or consultants caused the failure of the borehole plug. If thats the case, any potential for compensation would be deter- mined, he said. Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette said he was, and wasnt, surprised by the cost to rectify the problem, because it was such a big project. Its a hell of a cost to say the least, he said. He said the cost would not be passed down to the taxpayer, as it will instead be absorbed by devel- opment charges, but he stressed, those dollars could have been used for something else. I am very surprised (with the additional cost), said Halton Hills Ward 2 Councillor Bryan Lewis. Did they not do their homework well enough in advance to know they would have an impact? Lewis added the Regions process of dealing with the affect- ed residents was disappointing. Hornby well woes far from settled, say residents Hornby homeowner Erik Kowal inspects the level of the water in the tank, set up by Halton Region, outside his Sixth Line home. The 1,200 gallon tank has been in place since his well failed in June after a borehole plug failed during excavation work done by the Region on a new pumping station. Photo by Ted Brown Continued from pg. 1 In less than 15 years 2021 and con- tinuing to 2031, Halton Hills will see more people, more homes, and more buildings built around Georgetown and Councillor Jane Fogal says now is the time people should be talking about how they want that to occur. The Wards 3&4 Regional Councillor is urging residents to attend tomorrow (Thursday) nights Sustainable Halton infor- mation centre at Mold-Masters SportsPlex. We (council members) get a lot of peo- ple asking us Why is the growth going on so fast in Georgetown South and why are you not doing anything about it?, said Fogal. I think all the councillors try to explain that the decisions were made about the urban boundaries 20 years ago. Thats what were doing now. If you wanted to com- ment (about Georgetown South), you needed to be here 20 years ago. Now heres the chance when were going to do urban boundaries again (change the line which demar- cates between urban and rural zones)... I hope people are get- ting that this is the time (to comment) when were decid- ing how were going to expand our boundaries. The Sustainable Halton ses- sion focuses on Evaluation Framework the guide which will be used to rank the dozen or so growth options that will be released on March 19. The workshop starts at 6 p.m. with a Regional staff pre- sentation at 7 p.m. Participants will each receive a workbook containing the framework and break-out sessions will gather input on it. Two key questions will be asked: Do you agree/disagree with the goals and objectives (within the Frame-work)? Do you see whats important to you reflect- ed in the Framework? Please tell us what you would like changed and what you would like us to focus on and how we can all work together on this project, said Halton Regions Director of Planning and Transportation Mary Lou Tanner, noting that the two sessions in Oakville and Burlington were well attended. Sessions for Milton and another at the Halton Region office will be held Jan. 30 and Jan. 31 respectively. Haltons current population sits at 440,000, and under the Provinces Places to Grow mandate, the Region must plan for another 340,000 people to move here. Starting in 2015, the existing urban areas of Halton will be expected to take 40 per cent of growth through intensification (translation: more apartments). That leaves 60 per cent of the growth to be accommo- dated, after 2021, through boundary expan- sion, primarily in Milton and Georgetown a total 3010 hectares (about 7,500 acres) of land that will become homes, businesses and community infrastructure. The Niagara Escarpment and Greenbelt sur- rounds Acton so growth will be limited there. Our view... page 6. Sustainable Halton information night set for tomorrow Residents urged to share views on growth plan CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer Beginning 2021 app- roximately 7,500 acres of land in Georgetown and Milton will be used for new homes and infrastructure.