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Acton Press Wednesday Oct 1379 Don McDonald Publisher Founded in d Wednesday by thing Co Straer Acton In Telephone copies 20 aaeh a ui wUa n all coon Canada The Ac on m oh Co LmMlod group of nw- which include Tho A Whitby Picturing Advertbor Brampton Guardian The Burling on Pot E Gaietts Econonutt and Sun The Mil on Canadian Champion The MEaaaaauga Newt Aurora E a Boaver Thu Weekend burnt EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Edker Cofctt HWn AtfrtrtUng accepted on tho condition thai avam of afror that a- w4y fttt try wlili In of a typography advert good Advancing it man an and may withdrawn at any Second dot Raglttration Number ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT ChJlal Marvhn McArthur BUSINESSACCOUNTING OFFICE Manager Fran RhonaThornhBl Carolyn CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT r Marykn 8S3 2010 and Office Newspaper Week Newspaper Week is from Oct A recent Gallup poll showed that 51 per cent of the people in the United States have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in newspapers Six years ago the poll t so complimentary Then news papers and television were about equal at 38 per cent and 37 per cent confidence respect Not only did newspapers surge way ahead of TV but the large per cent improvement was twice as large as the great est improvement in confidence in other institutions We would presume the in Canada would be similar In that spirit we would add getting out tins newspaper is no picnic If we print jokes or cartoons people will say we are silly If we don t they say we are too serious If we clip things from other papers we are just too lazy to write something ourselves If we don t we are egocharmed by our own staff If we stick close to the desk we ought to be out hunting up news If we do get out we ought to be back at the desk at work If we don t print some contri buttons we don appreciate good writing If we do welcome a variety of contributions the paper if full of junk If we change a fellow s write- up we are too critical If we don we don t have any stand ards Now someone is likely to say we swiped this from some other newspaper We did Uniform rates at last After four hours of debate and acrimonious opposition by representatives of two affluent municipalities in the region regional council has ap proved equalized water and sewer billing to begin January 1 1980 The moved will benefit Halton Hills specifically Acton and Georgetown by 179 and 394 respectively Oakville would also stand to gain 105 while the City of Burlington would lose in 1980 and the Town of Milton would also be 799 poorer as a result of the equal Consequently Halton Hills and Oakville councils voted for the uniform rates Burlington and Milton representatives voted against them except for Milton councillor Bill Johnson who declared it was the best interests of the region for the one charge rates to be approved He is in the mayor of Milton s dog house as a consequence But it isnt just a straight dollars and cents matter The Province has been urging Halton to adopt the one charge system and used a million dollar grant carrot as bait to cushion the financial losses over the change There have been problems with the current chargeback system which sees water rates among the different municipalities vary Under the new uniform rates all consumers would pay the same Councillors who voted for the new system also felt it would encourage consumers to save money and practice conservation by using less water and the principle of user pay could be applied in a way which would be more equitable to a greater number of people than under the old chargeback system Under the plan presented by regional treasurer Don Farmer the cost of water and sewer will million provincial grant designed to phase in equal water and sewer rates for all ratepayers in the region However critics of the uniform rates say it not do much to stive off a 1982 increase of 25 per cent for water and per cent for sewers In theory the charge to each ratepayer should be just about equal to the region s cost to treat water and dump it again Probably the best argument for the system is that it will benefit the greatest number of people re cognizing at the time that people in urban Burlington and Milton will pay more for water and sewers a sacrifice their repres are not prepared to make But if regional govern ment is ever going to work as it was conceived then regional councillors from all four panties have got to push what is best for the entire region Uniform water and sewer rates are a step in that direction Poor water quality Residents of Acton who com plained about the quality of water they receive from the municipal water system will be interested in a court decision handed down in Elliott Lake recently There a disgruntled water user refused to pay his water bill because town water stained his laundry and left unpleasant marks on anything it touched It also disintegrated water pipes The town sued the resident for the water bill but the judge ruled he did not have to pay for an infer product The case is a precedent Municipal councils with unsatis factory water systems should be uneasy because consumers who have taken poor water and paid their bills faithfully now have a weapon to fight back with Municipal officials apparently did all in their power to improve the water quality but the judge was not impressed He ruled a resident did not have to pay for a product which was unacceptable It Is a landmark decision which could have far reaching effects for the better on the quality of municipal water in Ontario Salute to firefighters October is Fire Prevention Month across Canada so now is the time to salute our local fire fighters For many people firefighters are men who come out of the woodwork when the siren wails But they are more than that They care It is because they care that the men are constantly taking courses to keep them abreast of the latest in fire fighting techniques and equipment So the next tune the siren wakes you up in the middle of the night don think of how you are going to get back to sleep Think about the highly trained volunteer who can go back to sleep toBD See where Sotmy and Grace Townsley celebrated their anniversary with a gala celebration at Acton Legion hall Saturday The couple is well known In Acton and district since they moved here from Newmarket in 1941 and were corned especially In sports circles where Sonny had a reputation as a dandy hockey player This scribbler like most other boys of my age was hockey crazy at the time When Sonny decided he would coach the Acton Juvenile hockey club we were ec static That was during the war years Acton arena was closed so the Wool Combing Corporation of Canada had somewhere to store wool they processed for making uniforms It was a patriotic measure by council then but it left the kids in town without any place to play hockey except the niter beds the mill pond Fairy Lake and paddles which It was a time of shortages and we hockey outs talked men like Sonny into organizing a Juvenile hockey team Home ice was in which was rented whenever ice was available It was natural ice and most teams were lucky to get games in during one season which lasted anywhere bom the end of December to the middle of March or ex tended further when the weather was cold That was also before the days of the school bus and when winter vented Us fuD fury on this district rural roads were sometimes closed for days on end On occasion after a dense snow storm the team would go as far as it could by car and then go over fields by horse and team to the arena But we accepted these setbacks with little grouching because we would do anything to play hockey Some of these memories come crowding back when I think of Sonny giving us advice on the best way to get the puck in the net He was a natural pivot who had built a reputation In Stratford and Oakville for his loess with the stick Most of us tried to emulate him without much success We won our share of hockey games in those arctic freezes they called arenas In those days and lost some too One loss I remember In particular came in Elmira The team got there just before a snowstorm and when we arrived found the arena bad no roof The good burghers of Elmira when they lost the arena roof through some natural disaster unduly perturbed They left the walls standing and continued to make Ice inside the boards Practical solution We ran Up a lead In the first period over the dub but it started to snow be tween the first and second periods By the time we got back on the Ice for the sand wich session it was snowing pretty hard and Acton players found it difficult to keep track of the puck which continually disappeared aider mounds of snow The club seemed to thrive on It They chipped away at our lead went ahead and won the game while the Acton were floundering around In the snow which periodically was swept off by a handful of youngsters with brooms Nope the team did not protest We played for fun and reasoned at the time both teams had to play under the same difficulties although they were new cond itions for us But that losing the thread When the war ended end Acton got back Into inter mediate hockey Sonny Townsley suited up He was past his prime but he was still very much the slick centre player on the Ice When he got the puck he kept It until he either passed to a team male or hod a good shot on the net It was a pleasure to watch Sonny perform In an era when Inter mediate hockey was the prime attraction this district The day came when Sonny hung up his tack along with many other veterans Acton teams He still kept his interest In hockey serving in many capacities with Acton teams which now included son Harold who inherited many of Sonny ice talents He also kept busy sharpening skates as well as performing other duties to help teams along Now he has been married for SO years to Grace who encouraged him in his hockey interest Sports fans and hundreds of in town and district wish this well known pair many more happy years It is men like Sonny who make living In small communities a pleasure Back Issues 10 years ago Octobers 1MB Hundreds attended Open House at Elm I Tree Farm for Elizabeth Wilkes Hoey and daughter Martha I Mr and Mrs John who operate White Oak Ceramics on Five won first prize for small display at the Gift Show Kanaka a German Shepherd from Kennels nosed out the first positive clue In the Mary kidnapping The dog works for the A wide new beach along the north shore of Fairy Lake was created this summer by bulldozers Fronting subdivision the shore was cleaned and dredged and soon became an inviting spot for swim Executive of the Students Council at Acton District High are president Mark Hurst vicepresident Diane Fisher secretary Marie Timbers and treasurer Bob Smith A triple fatality Saturday cast a pall over the district which has experienced four deaths in the last five weeks on the road Dead are William Spehar Gerald Robinson of Acton Ted Hood of Milton and Doreen MacLeod the proprietor of store 20 years ago Taken from the of the Free Press of Thursday October IS last Over 50 members of the United church met to sanction demolition of the fed church and completion of the new portion as soon as possible The Free Press plant moves next Thurs day to Its new location In the former Baxter Laboratories building The regalia of office as Grand Sword Bearer of the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario was Invested on Very Worshipful Brother Herb Ritchie by Right Worshipful Brother Bruce Acton population is now ISO Halton populations shows Its biggest increase In history Postmaster Frank Terry is on an assign ment to the post of flee at where the postmaster is ill Gordon McKeown has taken over temporarily Guides planted 300 tulip bulbs under the direcUon of their leader Capt Mrs Watson Lieut Mrs J Hurst and Lieut Mrs J Ban- Boosting the morale of the high school rugby team are cbeerleaucrs Betnice Joyce Sandi Davidson Rosemary Piatt and Barbara Adams SO years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press of Thursday October ID IKS Sunday morning at limebouse the over head railway bridge would have gone up In flames but for our early risers Mark Given Robert Doughty and Richard Mar shall when fire from a passing engine lodged in the umbers No one knows how much of the village would have gone up In smoke for everything Is so dry and water so scarce The tables fairly groaned at the tea meeting at Churchill Monday night end report has it that many groaned after Between and worth of goods was stolen from Coopers gents furnishings store The matter Is being investigated by Chief MacPherson With startling suddenness the call came to Mr Robert Wansbrough at his home on Lake Ave He was born in Erin township years ago Acton Women s Institute at their meeting at the home of Miss Emma Haw thoroe decided to send to help furnish the nurses room at General Hos pital About attended the meeting 100 years ago Taken from the bite of Free Press of October 1871 The finance Committee of Council brought in the following estimates of receipts and expenditures for the following year receipts arrears of taxes licenses fines statute labor lax dog tax rate of four mills on the 1 of assessment of total Expenditures county rate 119 clerk and treasurer collector and assessor hall rent printing charities constable street walk325 uncollectable taxes contin gencies total James Campbell was paid 150 for keeping tramps E Matthews for teaming J and Alex JO each as special constables Ryder and Murray were paid for drawing stones The annua exhibition of the Agricultural Society was held at Brookville on Friday In stock the snow was good and inside the ban the displays Inter esting Nasssgawaya sustains ber reputa tion for butter making and the dairy de partment was excellent