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905877-6944 33 Mountainview Rd. North, Georgetown UP TO $2000 IN HOLIDAY CASH ON ALL NEW VEHICLES See dealer for details and terms www.georgetownrealty.ca edimou@georgetownrealty.ca EFFIE DIMOU Sales Representative Thinking of buying or selling? Call Effie Dimou for all your real estate needs. 905-877-5211 Dir: 416-991-4247 Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage • your window & door professionals • 341 Guelph St., Unit 3 Georgetown 905.873.0236 www.buy-wise.ca info@buy-wise.ca • awarded readers choice 22 times • Visit our showroom Thursday, December 11, 2014 Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper serving Acton & Georgetown 72 Pages 50 Cents (+HST) Gift Guide, 4 pages insideVisit us at www.theifp.ca facebook.com/Independent&FreePress Twitter: @IFP_11 Mail delivery to change in Acton Door-to-door mail delivery in urban Acton will be eliminated next fall (2015). See page 5 GOOD SERVICE A longtime Fred's Towing employee recently received the Canadian Automobile Associa- tion's Service Driver of Excellence Award. See page 27 Larissa Miedema, 13, centre, gets her face painted at Breakfast With Santa Saturday morning at Knox Presby- terian Church while 12-year-old Victoria Mitchell looks on. The annual event, which included a pancake breakfast, photo with Santa and plenty of activities, serves as a fundraiser for the Georgetown Girl Guides. Photo by Melanie Hennessey Transforming into an elf Province's complex ice storm claim guidelines frustrates mayor It's been almost a year since last December's crippling ice storm and not a penny of the $190-million Ice Storm Assistance Program has been paid to municipalities, including hard-hit Halton Hills and Toronto. Municipal Affairs Minister Ted McMeekin blamed municipalities for not completing and filing detailed applications. The deadline is Dec. 31. "It's simple as that," McMeekin said. Only one of 53 municipalities has completed the necessary paper work. The Dec. 21, 2013 ice storm is still fresh in the minds of the residents. Thick ice knocked out power for days in some cases. Fallen trees toppled wires and made streets impassable. Municipalities say the claims process is un- necessarily complex and even convinced the government to move the Oct. 31 deadline to end of the year, which also might be flexible. The application is so detailed the government had to find a consultant to help municipalities make a final submission. So far only Township of Mapleton in Wel- lington County has made an official claim for $23,009. There are also six conservation author- ities looking for money but none of them has filed an application. Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette said the Town, which is hoping to recover $1.8 million in costs directly related to the ice storm, had sub- mitted its costs to the Province and was work- ing towards the Oct. 31 deadline based on the guidelines that had been set out. He said the deadline was changed to Dec. 31 "because the Province is now asking for more detailed information." By Richard J. Brennan Toronto Star Continued on page 2