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

GeofjjeiownActon Wednesday Jan 1984 TELEPHONE Bujine and Edit oral Off Founded In 1875 every Wednesday by Printing Lid at Willow Street Acton Ontario 17J Telephone Subtenpuoro Single 30 each per year in Canada other than Canada Allocution anil The Ontario Com Number Ken Bellamy Don Ryder Director of Advertising Hartley Coles Managing Editor The Acton Free none of Ltd group which The Aurora Banner Picketing The Bolton Enterprise Tho Guardian The Burlington Post The Weekend Peat The EtobKofco The Georgetown Independent Marti ham Eco nomist ft Sun Tho Milton Champion The Moasaoga News The Newmarket Eib The North York Mirror Beaver Friday Beaver Tha Week Thrj Weekend Richmond Hill Liberal Libera The Scarborough Mirror The Trfcuno end Woodbndg Libera Printing of Harlequin EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor Murray Editor Murray Sport Msk Holmes Darkroom Nancy ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT RetaB Advertftlng Manager Gil Cook Salaa Kirk Davy Susan McKmnon CI nil ted Debbie BUSINESSACCOUNTING OFFICE Office Manager Jean Shewn Our readers write Council leaves reader disgusted disappointed To the Editor and my Fellow Tan payers Reading of the activities at Hills council meetings in November and December of left me feeling extremely dis gusted and also very disappointed Many of you must share these feel ings and must also be asking where democracy has gone Government by the people is one description of democracy The right to vote I will never cease to wonder why a person with great expertise and a willingness to work for the people should be over look Perhaps she is not in a commercial business As you all know our downtown streets are not only a mess they arc a hazard to pedestrians Not all of our citizens are agije them Many of them find it too difficult and dangerous to walk over ice and mounds of snow As a result our local stores must be experiencing some loss of bus- It appear that we cannot afford efficient snow removal and yet there must be other people as well as myself who have seen town trucks throwing sand on dry roads And at timeandahalf no doubt It would be nice to see our 13 councillors putting some time and effort into running Kills in a more efficient manner thereby lessening the tax burden First- Efficient snow removal Second More efficient use of town equipment Third Equal taxation Attention to these matters could help them earn their keep and perhaps get back some or the faith and respect they have lost through their irresponsible actions Or will they now vote themselves a hefty raise Of course they now wont a multi- million dollar complex to have their little meetings In Heavens Think of the joy of the taxpayers in paying for these same councillors dreams Personally fm very thankful for Citizens Group who are battling on our behalf Many of the group are longtime residents of Hills One I know is a fourth generation Actonian They really care about what is happening to us Phone in write in give them your support They arc working for you the taxpayer the little guy who is going to pay for the dreams of our councillors One thing we could do is hold our taxes in a trust fund until this matter is way we people want ft Should we fail to support our citizens group now we could very well find ourselves paying taxes to walk down main street Come on guys and dolls band together Mary Waterfield Storey Drive Supports nuclear free zone issue Sir As an occasional visitor to the Hills I have had though infrequently the oppor tunity to read and enjoy the Acton Free Press It was particularly gratifying to see an article on the nuclear free zone issue and I find it quite impossible to disagree with many of the points presented I would like to take this oppor tunity to enlarge on two of the points you made in your editorial- one regarding the role of local government and the other the continuance of an open forum on the issue of nuclear disarmament Firstly while in general the point you made regarding the role of local government is valid both municipal and provincial govern ments have assumed the role of foreign policy on occasion me condemnation of the Ruse an in vasion of Afgajiistan was one exam pie a posture which techni cally these levels of governments had no right to take Many municipal government have in fact actually seen fit to pass just the sort of legislation that you describe in your article I understand that Hills supported the referendum on nuclear disarmament by a significant majority and therefore it is likely that a nuclear free zone would also receive considerable support It is not quite as difficult as you suppose to prevent undesirable industrial land use and municipalities have in fact been using selective or discriminatory zoning for this purpose for many years Civic governments have successfully prevented toxic waste disposal plants for instance with the active support and encouragement of their citizens and I would suggest that certain support already exists for the adoption of nuclear free zoning bylaws in Hills Secondly I am reassured by your support of attempts to moke the public more aware of the nuclear weapon menace Surely then you would encourage the adoption of nuclear free zone status as it serves as yet another method of igniting a public forum on this issue As you say this sort of thing cant hurt and I appreciate your encouragement of the ongoing debate Adoption of nuclear free zone status is a method for continuing an open forum on the nuclear disarmament issue and I am glad that in your article you supported this type of activity Sincerely NTaylor Edmonton Alberta Get behind Chamber As is the case from time to time with most voluntary community organizations the Acton Chamber of Com merce found a period of rebuilding and revitaliz- ation necessary in the last half of Now with the reconstruction job com pleted and an ambitious future program set for it is time for the com munity particularity the business community to get behind the Chamber Getting behind the Chamber means much more than just paying 1984 membership dues though to be sure this revenue will be important to the Chambers work in 1984 and subsequent years No getting behind the Chamber means active in volvement The Chamber will only be as strong and accomplish as much as its membership decides to devote energy time and ex pertise to the organization Besides continuing its traditional functions such as the Citizen of the Year program the Chamber plans for 1984 include a much needed start on a blueprint for industrial development in Acton The job of luring new firms to town to enhance the tax base as well as provide jobs for residents obviously cant and shouldnt be left solely to Hills Haiton region and Queens Park Past government ef forts havent proved that successful so a fresh ag gressive approach is needed Through the efforts of the Chamber early in this decade a fine start was made on the huge task of giving Acton an identity in keeping with the com munitys leather heritage Actons identity as Leather- town has been entrenched in the minds of both Acton and area residents as well as outsiders Some work has been done to develop the theme and there has been some succ ess mostly because of the Hide House and North Haiton Tourism Assoc iation in attracting tourists and their dollars to the com munity Some special events such as the Wintafio draw and Leathertown Market and Ciderfest have also attracted attention to Acton A small foundation has been built for now is the time to come up with an overall game plan stretching into the future which will bring more peo ple to the area as weli establish more attractions for them to see when we get them here As a forum for the ex change of political thought particularly about the local level the Chamber also has an important role to fill A lot of taxes are paid by local industry and business the Chamber should be that sectors voice to council Nobody should be looking for instant results or waiting for the tourists to come and then find the dol lars for development of the community The proper course of ac tion on tourism and ind ustrial development is an overall plan devised locally using local resources and then investment by the bus iness community to realize the game plan There have been num erous business oriented organizations in Acton in the past and can be in the future But the most effect ive way for these organiz ations to function is through a broadly based strongly supported Chamber of Commerce Interim president Steve is absolutely correct when he points out generally when you see a progressive vibrant com munity it has a gungho Chamber GM Cofes slaw From brick laying to the old town hall by Hartley Coles Managing Editor Heres a note from Allen who is now living in Tavistock Morley says he enjoys the stories in this column about living in a small town but advises me not to take up painting or paper hanging as a project advice I have no diffi culty in accepting also says he enjoys Bill Smiley especi ally his column on the Bucket of Bricks Morley who describes himself Acton bricklayers asks if anyone especially Jess Coles can tell him where Ernest Walford fs now He says Mr came out from the Old Country with my grand father Fred Coles and Frank Benton who had the store at Lime- bouse and also Gus Clifford and Bob Cross all well know names in Acton says he visited Ernest in Los Otis California in 1973 and had any word from him since would welcome any anyone has about Mr He can be reached try writing him at Woodstock St Tavistock Out NOB And you Ye in the area hed appreciate a visit ft was a coincidence perhaps but Dine of us were talking last week about the tradesmen who lived to Acton and were masters of their job Theyve left visible testimony of the skill they practiced In the homes and businesses here and the district If you wanted bricks laid blocks placed and other work done around your home you were always sure of a quality job when you got someone like to do it People of his ilk are not the type to raise a new home in a few days with cardboard and sticks They used quality material and were always around in the event anything went wrong a highly unlikely event There are still some of the old breed and their offspring around but those who know where these treasure are often keep the infor mation to themselves aware that if everyone knows of them they wont be available when they want them Good tradesmen dont need to moonlight to keep the wolf from the door they rang the at the old town hall again to usher in IBM and Tom Watson said I should have been there to join in the festivities and recall the last time that beU was rung conveying message to lb community When was the proverbial moppet and later when age crept up and went through the teen years the old town hall bell was rung for important occasions in the community such as fires New Years and the nine oclock curfew The latter made sure everyone under years of age was off the streets unless accompanied by an adult And It was enforced Chief enforcer in my growing up years was EE the village constable yep Acton was a village then and once the commanding officer of a rajahs army in India It was said with justification that Mr Harrop only to enter a room where there was brawl let the sparks fly from his eyes twirl his moustache and the participants would break ft up saw it happen on one occasion and the respect his presence engendered was trans mitted to we juvenile delinquents Needless to say there was more than one occasion when we managed to outwit parents and ig nore the nine oclock curfew We kept an eye pealed for Mr and his patrol car which unlike to day scruisers was his own vehicle It had squeaky brakes and you could tell he was coming blocks away I suspect he knew his brake gave him away and kept the streets clear of delinquents But one would never know it from his attitude He always looked the epitome of the British army officer Spit and polish perfectly correct and un swerving in his dedication to law and order Underneath that mili tary bearing was a sense of humor and typical British politeness One Halloween evening I recall several of us walked along Bower Avenue bent on mischief We spotted a studio couch on our partys parents verandah We slipped upon the verandah lifted It and started down the sidewalk with the lounge tippy toe unclear just what to do with it At about this who should appear on the scene but Mr In his car He stopped directly opposite us He wound down the window while our group stood frozen the evidence still in our hands He smiled We smiled back And then we scurried to put that couch back In fts place He smiled again rolled his car window up and started down the street again If nothing had happened There was an immediate feeling of relief Not a word was ex changed but we were all thankful we hadnt ended up in those old cells in the town hall Somewhere along the line I lost the thread of this story the lost time the old bell was rung Jimmy Robertson who looked after the old hall for years was missing The bell was rung the boy scouts called to help in the search for Jim who invariably dressed only in a ragged cardigan over his shirt even in the coldest weather But no trace of Jimmy could be found It was a mystery But somehow in the exchange information which accompanies any bearer of news In small towns someone mentioned that Jimmy was missing to Dr Doug Garrett who lived and had offices at the corner of Willow and River Streets not far from the town hall No wonder you cant find him he obviously said I had him checked into Guelph hospital today The word soon got around and the bell never pealed after that according to Tom Appealing story what Maybe even apocryphal But Just one that can be told of the old hall which was hub of Acton when I was Back issues years ago Januarys 1974 Mick Holmes long time Acton Fire Chief turned down the job of Hills Fire Chief at fills first regular council meeting After a bristling debate the job was offered to both Holmes and Ken Bui kem a a former Georgetown Fire Chief and Holmes refused the job leaving the position open to Bui a Grace and Elmer Lucas of IBS- Churchill were surprised to learn they were the parents of the first baby to be born In Acton in The swans and ducks at Fairy Lake will soon be walked over to the other side of the lake far the winter according to Harold Townsley So far the birds hove been keeping a patch of water open with the warmth of their bodies but they will be moved to the south arm of the lake bubbler is being used to con tinue to keep open water and food available to the birds years ago Januarys Thieves left a trail of broken glass and littered classrooms after smashing through two double windows and stealing a record player an electric tea kettle and four pennies from Spcyside School County Council will hold its inaugural meeting Tuesday after noon in Milton and a three way race for the honored position of Warden should be the highlight of the evening Reeve 11 H Hinton or Ac ton Reeve Herbert C Merry of OaK- Reeve Gordon Gallagher of will try for the position The newly formed Acton and dis trict figure skating club will have five of its members journeying to Fort Erie to compete in the Western Ontario Sectional Championships The local competitors are Wendy Lynda Wickham Linda Sally Wilson and Sharon Bradley 50 years ago January IB34 Reeve ford forwarded a list of names to county engineer Smith requesting that employment be given to them as soon as the work on the second line is started urgent cases were marked for special at tention Acton Juniors showed some class when they swamped the boys from Burlington Cecil Gibbons who is new to the team thlB year and Norm Morton another new mem ber were hits with the fans At the first meeting of council Messrs Graham and F Salt were appointed auditors RJ MacPherson and tax col lector Named to the Board of Health were Henry with Dr A J as Medical Officer of Health and as sanitary inspector milk inspector and weed inspector McDonald was appointed chief of the fire brigade 75 years ago January The Sunday School concerts the Methodists on Christmas night and the Presbyterian on New Years night were both gratifying succ esses The Methodist entertainment was under the direction of Miss Amy Doty London for fourth suc cessive year Seventy five scholars and the Sunday School orchestra took port The splendid local talent of the Presbyterian church was by a quartette from Grit Swackhnmer was reelected in an exciting contest with Dr Gray Mr appeal for support was almost exclusively on the ground of his strong expectation of securing the of the county 100 years ago January IBM Mr James Moore was elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Acton Public School for the present year It is Important to remember to put bells on the horses or on sleighs as accidents can occur if people can not hear oncoming traffic The semiannual Convention of the Branch of the Temperance Alliance will be held In the town ball in Milton to consider the position of the Temperance Act in the county to more thoroughly organize to more perfectly secure united prompt and efficient service and to prepare for any emergency mat may rise At the election on Monday there was but one spoiled ballot and there was do doubt It was spoiled to tentionaUy In this case a voter failed to mark in of amy of the candidates but wrote the face of the ballot alter buss