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CLEAROUTCLEAROUTCLEAROUT 33 Mountainview Road North, Georgetown I 866-239-1480 Shop 24/7 with us at:www.georgetownchev.com Making room for 2016's! EFFIE DIMOU Sales Representative www.georgetownrealty.ca edimou@georgetownrealty.ca Thinking of buying or selling? Call Effie Dimou for all your real estate needs. 905-873-6111 Dir: 416-991-4247 hairlounge.com Thursday, February 4, 2016 Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper serving Acton & Georgetown 56 Pages 50 Cents (+HST) Good eats at Taste of the Hills Pg. 10 Visit us at www.theifp.ca facebook.com/Independent&FreePress Twitter: @IFP_11 Mobile: m.theifp.ca A WET AND WARM ACTON WINTER CARNIVAL Even the ice sculptures were melting Sunday, but that didn't dampen spirits at the Acton Winter Carnival Pg. 15 SENIOR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR Rowing Canada bestows honour on local rower Cristy Nurse. Pg. 35 While Halton has the lowest crime rate in the country, police calls for service-- particularly mental health calls-- are on the rise, says Halton Regional Police. In fact, the number of mental health calls police respond to has been slowly increasing for the past six or seven years, according to In- spector Ivan L'Ortye, who services Halton Hills. "When I first started, it was very rare to get a mental health call. But in 2014 Halton Region was averag- ing eight mental health calls a day. It's quite a drain on resources," he told the Halton Hills Community Affairs Committee Tuesday after- noon. "I'd like to say there's some par- ticular cause and effect, but my research has shown there's not one single item that points to it (a reason for the call increase). It's happening across the country. We have looked at mental health as a holistic problem." Statistics presented at the meet- ing show that police responded to Mental health issues are a rising drain on Halton Police resources An apparent road rage incident played out on Hwy. 7 at 22 Sideroad late Sunday afternoon involving a man wielding a hammer while blocking both lanes of westbound traffic at one stage. Halton Regional Police received a call from a driver heading west through Norval just after 5 p.m. that he was being followed closely by an enraged man in a vehicle who was honking his horn and flashing headlights. The pursuit continued through Georgetown on Guelph St. and onto Hwy. 7 toward Acton as the suspect vehicle attempted to cut off the vic- tim a number of times leading up to the intersection at 22 Sideroad. The victim reported that the sus- pect vehicle blocked his path and reversed on the roadway before the driver exited his vehicle carrying a hammer, approaching the victim, who attempted to drive away. The suspect eventually blocked both lanes on Hwy. 7 prior to the ar- rival of police. Charged with assault with a weapon and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle is Christopher Conway, 63, of Brampton. What a way to start off 2016! Georgetown's Vincent Wright dropped by the Ontario Lottery & Gaming's offices in Toronto this week to pick up his $100,000 in winnings from the Jan. 13 LOTTO 6/49 draw. Wright purchased his ENCORE ticked at a Petro Canada station at Mountainview Rd. and Guelph St. in Georgetown, matching six of the seven winning numbers with his selection. OLG photo Police arrest enraged driver with hammer By Eamonn Maher emaher@theifp.ca By Melanie Hennessey Special to The IFP Continued on page 3