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

EatRight Ontario Paid for by the Government of Ontarioontario.ca/eatright Call 1-877-510-510-2 and talk to a Registered Dietitian for free. Acton/Georgetown, Friday, April 4, 2008 11 A provincial grant has come through for the Town of Halton Hills that will cover half the cost of reconstructing the Maple Ave. fire station. The Town was notified last Friday that it had been awarded a one-time $1.9 million grant from the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Initiative (MIII) Program for the $3.8 million reconstruction of the sta- tion and made the announcement official Tuesday. Tenders for the project were recently received by the Town and council will deal with awarding the contracts Monday. Construction on the Maple Ave. station to the highest LEED environmental standards and a new $3.9 million station in Georgetown South that will be fire head- quarters is expected to begin this spring. Halton Hills firefighters have waited a long time to see the day the Maple Ave. fire station was replaced, said Fire Chief Brent Marshall. The additional funding this provincial grant provides closes a 17-year chapter to replace this building. Firefighters are extremely pleased with the support received from council and the Province to advance this project. I would also like to thank the mayor for his efforts in obtaining the grant, said Marshall. The MIII grant program was announced early this year as a $300 million one-time grant funding that was to support invest- ments in local infrastructure priorities. The objective of the program is direct new infrastructure funding to support the con- struction or renewal of municipally-owned infrastructure. Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette is excited about the provincial funding. Halton Hills appreciates the funding from (Public Infrastructure Renewal) Minister (David) Caplan. Funding like this is showing the government is very interest- ed in assisting municipalities like ours, said Bonnette. The MIII represents an excellent part- nership program between the Town and the Province of Ontario that will benefit the community, environment and the econo- my. I look forward to moving to the ground-breaking ceremonies, said Councillor Moya Johnson, Chair of the Fire Services and Emergency Planning Committee. The current Maple Ave. station was built in 1967 as a public works garage and was converted to a fire station in the late 1970s. The station isnt big enough to serve the departments current needs and is in a state of disrepair. Were building stations that will match our future needs, said Marshall. The 12,033 sq. ft. Maple Ave. station will be a joint facility with Halton Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and will provide coverage for the Georgetown area. It will have six vehicle bays, a meeting space, male and female staff facilities and an area for equipment storage. The station will also include geothermal heating and cooling, and an area that can be turned into a dormitory if the department becomes a 24/7 operation, The station will also have improved access to Maple Ave. and access onto Arm- strong Ave., which will improve response time to Norval and east Georgetown. The current Maple Ave. station will remain fully functional while the new sta- tion is being built, and be demolished after the move. The new 13,555 sq. ft. south George- town station (Eighth Line and 10 Sideroad) will be the new fire headquarters. Provincial cash to pay for half of Maple Ave. fire station LISA TALLYN Staff Writer