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Elma towns longest merchant sells store by Helen Mum Braida has been a familiar figure In down town for more years than she cares to reveal but eves though her association with Acton Home Fur waning is coming a close she will always be remembered for her role in Acton businesses Dave Hunter has purchased Acton Home Fur the oldest in town as of last week Misa Braida will remain In the store until the end of the month when will settle back and en joy leisure time Miss will not say when she started work at the store But V B Rumley owned the place then called Johnson and along wilh the funeral home When she started she worked In the store and did books for both businesses A chap by the name of West was the at the home and when put the store up for sale Miss and West bought a November I IMS That when it acquired the present name It was business as usual until December 1965 when West died suddenly of a heart attack Sudden ly Miss was faced the prospect of lag the store alone tor the first time Acton has been good for Miss With complete home furnishings except appliances she sold many their first chesterfield and helped others catch up on new furniture styles as they replaced the old with new Most folks bought on the credit plan Miss recalls She remembers the store holding the loan on many purchases and while most people could be trusted there were a few who stuck her But business was based on trust back then she says and for the most part it paid off These days she says people have been paying cash or with a credit card Very few people take bank loans to purchase furniture she says Contrary to current trend Miss Braida did not sell because of high interest rates or the troubled economy Matter of act was one of the best years she had as far as sales go While many businesses are forced to close due to low sales or financing problems Miss decided to sell because the opportunity was there She explains that she had planned to sell in few years but when Hunter approached her she decid to lake him up on his offer Now she looks forward to travelling and relaxing I don know the meaning of the word retire she laughs preferring to use the term leisure lime Miss Braida is well known around town for her work wilh the Cancer Society and heart fund as well as the store For many years she has taken care of In for both organizations a job the new But she will still keep her The town has changed since Miss first walked through the doors of the store The town hall is now boarded up two schools have been built Bennett and Acton High and a third Joseph Is nearly ready to go There s been an in flux of newcomers doubling the population of the town stores havecomeandgone Anew been built and the post office torn down Regional government has bowled everyone over and we phone Oakullc when calling the police For the past 33 years Miss has kept her stalwart watch over the happenings of the town and now it s her turn to enter into the changes column of the history of Acton It s people in the like Miss who give Acton such a strong past A Metroland Community Newspaper One hundred and seventh year Issue ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY JANUARY Pages Thirty Cents St Josephs to tender aim for March start The new St Josephs School project went to tender this week Trustee Irene announced that last Tuesday the Halton Separate School Board the project go to tender this week Working drawings were approved recently by the provincial Ministry of Education McCauley says the board wants the lender back by the first week in February Once the lenders have been opened and the con tract awarded the board will have a better idea when work can begin noted the board would like to see ground broken on the Mill St West site in March but that will depend on the weather other factors The ministry has set a maximum grant level cost for the new school of 1 1B8 out of financing This maximum grant level t mean the board If you can l beat It join It That what Greg Wagner Gall Gall and Terri Miller tage of the mow and go tobogganing Gall centre decided to do recently when the cold temperatures got to be too much Robert new toboggan to have a good time Little school playground was the Ideal spot to Target the cold and take ad van Photo by HELEN MURRAY Cops plan another open house will keep dirty dozen intact Halton Regional Police are planning to hold another open house in Acton this year despite the fact there apparently t the unhappiness and dis content with the force which existed a year ago A year ago this month the force in an effort to stabilize its presence here and improve community relations assigned 12 officers to patrol Acton in 1961 In February or last year the police held an open house at the Acton Legion and about 250 residents turned out to meet the new Acton officers and the police brass In an interview this week Chief James Harding described the past year as a community success story He said the best way lo gauge the success of forts to Improve relations with the community was lo look at complaints about service from the community and Harding noted they are way down Inspector Matt commander of district one Acton Georgetown Milton and said he t been hearing many complaints either The lack of complaints in things are working well We the big dark strangers anymore in Ac ton declared But even though people seem happier with the force here now the police still are definitely go ing to hold an open house In Acton in 1982 Harding said He added the open house may be held in con Yugoslavs to trial April 1 Two of six owners of the Canadian Yugoslav Cen south of Acton appeared in court Thursday In Milton and pleaded not guilty to noise bylaw lion charges The trial of Nick Cajic and Orbovic was scheduled for April Both men were charged December faces two counts for noise bylaw violations at the tion centre on July and August 9 and Orbovic has been charged over noise complaints from July Police and the town bylaw enforcement office were called to the Yugoslav Centre on Highway 25 several times during the summer by neighbors liv on the Third Line who were annoyed by loud music and public address system announcements In November Cajic appeared in court and two charm were dismissed because the town was unable prove he was responsible for the Yugoslav Centre on two occasions even though the court agreed the noise bylaw had been violated The other threes charges were withdrawn at that time junction police week in the spring Holding another open house in an absence of complaints and protests will demonstrate the force cont interest in being part of the community and show this interest exist only when the public Is unhappy Right now there arc no plans to change the off leers in Acton often called the dirty dozen Con stables Alex Fishbeln William Parry Robert Art Don Cousens Nick Rod Beaumont Jack Poot Keith Woods John Lyver and Garry George will continue to be posted to Acton for the foreseeable future Police feel a pretty good job was done of keeping the same faceshcreall year There was one change in the contingent last year BUI Cunningham was promoted to Sergeant and so was replaced by Lyver hasn t been around town much the last four or five months because he has been working all over Hills as an Acting Sergeant Fr6m time to time a new face has popped up on the street or in a cruiser because of Illnesses court appearances training sessions etc but generally the same men have been patrolling all year Both Harding a MacPherson said there may be a few personnel changes later this year officers could be promoted or assigned to criminal Invest i gallons or youth work but there won be any wholesale change of the officers assigned to Acton Harding said the force may decide later to put some new blood into the Acton contingent and take the op portunity to expose more officers to the Acton policing experience The chief and district commander both pointed to Increased willingness of he public to get involved In helping officers make arrests providing tips and unproved flow of Information between police and citizens as signs that relations are definitely better now than they were in 1980 Harding said it remains his goal to see the Acton police station open longer hours though manpower increases he asked for in 1982 may not be enough to permit the station be open more this year Calls for police service increased as they did everywhere else in Acton last year reported At the same time he said there was roved enforcement the officers assigned here things well and there was a general over all improvement in the performance of the officers Citizens now recognize and know the officers and he has been receiving positive feedback about the community from the men assigned here The majority are in Acton of their own volition that where they want to work MacPherson observed adding the men are enjoying doing police work here He said the community has shown an interest in the officers and the officers have responded Work by the 12 has been very good A comparison of crimes between the first nine months of i960 and the first nine months of 1981 In Acton only show upswings in some areas and creases in others House break ins went up by while shop burglaries decreased by 18 School break ins went down by one and there were six fewer break ins of other buildings There were 19 more theft cases in Acton and one more car was stolen There was an increase of one in the area of sex offences Vandalism soared There were more cases of wilfull damage to private property mostly damage to cars but one less incident of vandalism to public property Police laid more liquor offense charges nine more impaired drivers were nabbed and there two fewer drug cases MacPherson noted police clearance or solving of burglaries was very good and there was a per cent increase in enforcement throughout north Halton Doberthien sa Police and citizens talking real change for the better The man whose public complaints about the Regional Police sparked efforts by the force to improve relations with Acton says the ty should be pleased with the results of the past year Lome wrote a letter to the chief and this newspaper last January saying the officers were unknown to the community involved in Acton suggested the was needed back in Ac too and warned vigilantes might be the only answer to improving the situations here Toe police responded by assigning 12 officers to patrol here all year gave some citizens the red car pel treatment at the headquarters and held an open bouse here About a year later said he thinks In his mind there no question there s better rapport between citizens and the police Everyone and I mean police and citizens is go ing out of their way lo say hello and be nice to each other now Dobcr thlen declared hears complaints some people say the police any better now than they were before but negative comments are now the ex to the rule Also he has heard citizens saying many very good things about the police 1 has been the past year I a real change for the better and Acton should be pleased with the results will receive that much from the province just that the can cost more than This cost estimate based on the working drawings covers con struct on professional fees furnishings equip ment library The maximum amount that can be for the project by the board is Board official John Birred explained right now projections ore about over the maximum grant level He noted the amount would be subtracted from the maximum gran table level so the board will likely received Ml from Queens Pirk He added sometimes the province will allow more money to be raised through debenture if costs are higher than expected and there are special circumstances or additional funds such as over project gran table level could come from local taxes Hope spring start for new IG A plaza There better than a chance work will begin this spring on the planned new plaza on the Dominion Hotel site Doug a local contractor and one of the principals in the project said they are still work ing to complete all the arrangements for a spring start The project which has been approved bv Halton Hills calls for a new supermarket about four times larger the existing store adjacent to the plaza site In addition there would be about six retail stores He explained the money is there to finance the project but they lenders giving it out too easily right now Even after the question of what he interest rate will be is settled said lenders wont more guarantees and other conditions Interest rales haven really dropped as much as hound his partner would like but they realize they may have to finance the project at high rotes and not make any money back for a few years He noted they must pay per cent higher than the Bank of Canada prime rate which is 15 and recently a 13 month low said they must decide if they will accept current interest rates it ride a while longer hoping rates will go lower Besides the interest rates problem they must still cut some red tape In Hon with financing and leases We re still hoping lo get started in the spring It belter than a 5050 chance we will Stars on ice