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50 cents (+GST) Vol. 131 No. 2 Wednesday, March 26, 2008 44 Pages Circulation 21,220 www.independentfreepress.com 121-year-old high school to get $13M upgrade Page 3 Earth Hour special section 8-Pages Greenwell posts first U.S. college win Page 16 PhotoArt winners announced Page 12 INSIDE Halton Region Chair Gary Carr (right) was joined by Halton HIlls Mayor Rick Bonnette as they delivered the first GreenCart to the Upton family in Georgetown Monday. Family members (from left) Christine, Katherne, 8, Andrew, 10, and Mark, are avid recyclers and welcome the new container which will be used to send their kitchen waste to the Region to be processed into compost. Photo by Ted Brown Editorial 6 Rick Bonnette 8 Entertainment 13 Calendar 14, 15 Sports 16, 17 Classifieds 20-22 The honourees for the second annual Halton Hills Sports Museum induction cere- mony have been deter- mined. See details Friday. FRIDAY... REFINANCING? PURCHASING? BOB WOODS Mortgage Specialist (905) 877-1490 *Rate subject to change 360 Guelph St., Georgetown 5.35% 5YR FIXED RATE GEORGETOWN VOTED #1 FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE 2008 KIA SEDONA FINANCE0% CALL THE GEORGETOWN HEADQUARTERS 1-866-364-0697 or 905-877-7818 Up to 60 mos 33 MOUNTAINVIEW RD. N., GEORGETOWN 905-877-6944GEORGETOWN CHEVROLET 2.2L 140 hp Ecotec, Auto, Air, Power Windows, Locks, Mirrors, Keyless Entry, Cruise. 60 month lease, 0% security deposit 2008 COBALT LT NEW 2008 MALIBU NEW 2008 SILVERADO LT NEW Take advantage of our award-winning lineup, we offer very competitive lease and finance rates here at Georgetown Chevrolet. For further information contact our Sales Representatives ~ Norman John Jeff Rick $199 $0 0.9% DOWN FINANCING 2.4L VTT Ecotec, 4 Cyl., 169 hp, 4-Wheel Disc Brakes w/ABS and Full Traction Control, Airbags, On-Star One Year Plan Vortec 4.8L V8, 295 hp, Auto with Overdrive, Locking Differential, 4 Wheel ABS, Cruise, Special Equipment Pkg. $3000 down, , 0% security deposit, 0% financing 72 months $3995 down, 0% security, 7% financing 27 months $289 2.75% $289 $22,995 ORPURCHASE PRICE $33,998 PURCHASE PRICEOR SMART LEASE $1,000 IN ACCESSORIES ON US! LEASE For breaking news go to: www.independentfreepress.com Halton Hills award-winning newspaper The GreenCarts are coming! Halton Region began distributing its GreenCarts to residents this week. From now until April 5, trucks will be delivering the GreenCarts and a Kitchen Catcher (a small bin to collect organic waste in the kitchen), an information package and sample certified compostable bags, to all residents in Halton Region who currently receive curbside waste collection. The GreenCart will collect kitchen food waste (fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, bones, pasta, fats and oils) and compostable paper (coffee filters, flour bags, paper coffee cups) creating valuable compost material that can be used in landscaping, agriculture and restoration projects. See GREENCART, pg. 3 A Halton Region proposal to hike development charges (DCs) in some cases by more than double the current rate will be a big turn-off to businesses looking to locate in Halton say members of the north Halton development community. The Regions administration and finance committee, which held a pul- bic meeting last week, heard from a variety of local developers and cham- bers of commerce during the lengthy session. DCs are levied by municipalities to recover growth-related costs associat- ed with things like roads needed to service new development. And with a whopping $2.5 billion needed to pay for growth-related infra- structure between now and 2021, the Region is proposing to raise its DCs by thousands of dollars and phase out discounts currently given for industri- al development. Local developer Isaac Meisels of the Lawrence Avenue Group Ltd., which owns property on Steeles Avenue in Halton Hills, said he had a couple of parties interested in building on the land, but now theyre backing out because of the proposed high charges. Its hurting me very much finan- cially, he said. Carol McDonald of the Milton Chamber of Commerce said the DCs must remain competitive in order to attract development. Region DC plan will scare off business, say critics See REGION, pg. 9 MELANIE HENNESSEY Special to The IFP