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• your window & door professionals • 341 Guelph St., Unit 3 Georgetown 905.873.0236 www.buy-wise.ca info@buy-wise.ca • awarded readers choice 20 times • Visit our showroom hairlounge.com $0 down, $0 first payment 1.5% interest rate Auto, Air, XM Radio, Pwr Windows & Locks Lease $109 biweekly 905877-6944 33 Mountainview Rd. North, Georgetown 2014 Cruze 2LS Thursday, February 6, 2014 Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper serving Acton & Georgetown 40 Pages 50 Cents (+HST) Visit us at www.theifp.ca INSIDE Rotary Clubs aid LNH Pg. 15 Memorial comes down Pg. 5 Lots of hockey action Sports, pg. 19 Triple A rating for Halton Online at www.theifp.ca Taste of the Chamber See pg. 3 From the ice storm, to the bone-chilling cold brought on by the polar vortex, and snow- fall after snowfall, there's no question, this has been a bru- tal winter. All that snow and ice ac- cumulating on area roadways has been putting a dent in the Town's winter control bud- get-- with about 30 per cent (approximately $550,000) of the $1.77 million earmarked for 2014 being spent already in January. Chris Mills, the Town's Di- rector of Infrastructure Ser- vices, says that is up 50 per cent over the average January expenditure (which is 20 per cent of the annual budget). He added that 50 per cent of the material budget (salt and sand) is already spent-- not includ- ing yesterday's storm. "If that trend continues into February it will be very signifi- cant," Mills said. 2013's winter control ex- penditures were over by about $100,000, he added. "This feels like a very long winter," said Mills. "We're still battling from the ice storm. As much as I say our staff are feeling it, I'm quite certain the folks in the community have just had it (also)." The public works crews have been logging long hours keeping the town's more than 900 km of road, 125 km of sidewalks and 22 municipal parking lots clear of snow and ice. When they're not on the roads, the workers have been out cleaning up the downed tree branches and limbs on boulevards across the town. Mills praises them for doing a great job. "They're coming in when they're being asked (overtime), they're always here doing the job. Without these guys, none of us would be leaving town," said Mills. Soon there will also be four new public works crew staff hired, as approved in the Town's 2014 Operating Budget. Despite the crews' best ef- forts, however, the Public Works Dept. does receive its share of complaints about snow clearing from residents. Their biggest beef-- how long it takes for a snowplow to get to their street. See MILLS, pg. 3 By LISA TALLYN Staff Writer Relentless weather has taxed winter control budget Milder temperatures this past weekend brought out the tobogganers to Cedar- vale Park. Paul Sargeant and five-year-old daughter Claire had a blast sledding down the hill on Main St. S. Check out more photos at www.theifp.ca Photo by Jon Borgstrom Whoaa!