Page 4—Haiton Hills This Week. ‘Saturday, June 19,1903 ~ Editorial A sign of the times When word came out earlier this week about the possible Teporter has talked with Mr. Dawkins on occasion, and it should be noted, he has also disagreed with my particular rendi- tion — as it were — of certain events in our Community which have appeared in my editorial forum, We have also allowed Mr. Dawkins right of reply — as it should be — in our ‘The People’s Corner’ space. Be that as it may, it should also be Pointed out that Mr. Dawkins is also one of the most fore-sighted and far-sighted and willing to take challenges entrepreneur this area has seen for quite some time - in the opinion of this writer. So what if he’s thin-skinned, so what also, if at times he suspi- ciously views media forays into his various businesses as unwarranted glop-trop. The fact remains, he Tejuvenated Acton with his leather businesses and he also returned pride to a town that was hurting and quite possibly, felt hard done by. As for our provincial and feder: ‘esentatives who purport- edly represent and support the best interests of our area, and who might have helped; let it be written, recorded and remem- bered, they were conspicuous by their absence when, for a change, they really were needed. Halton North NDP MPP Noel Duignan apparently was too busy giving out provincial money to Milton, while Halton-Peel MP Garth was more concerned about his personal politi- Cal aspirations than what was actually coming down in his own .| Constituency, Both Turner and Dui; deserve condemnation for their lack of support in helping not only the olde Hide House and its asso- ciated stores survive, but also for turning a deaf ear - for what- €ver reason - on an issue which could decide Acton’s future. One hell of a pair of nerds they were, when we really needed them in Halton Hills. This ink-stained wretch first put pen to paper in Halton Hills as a sports writer for The Herald way back in 1974. Even then, I was able to sense and experience the special sense of ity pride and that definitely made it worth the drive to Acton. The Acton Rams lacrosse team, the Acton Sabres hockey team, minor hockey, minor lacrosse and a host of other commu- the duck and geese crap at Prospect Park while getting information on a story; I’ve thoroughly enjoyed taking Pictures at the Acton Fall Fair in a wnpour; I’ve sampled milk and cookies at the various water- ing holes and to top it off, I’ve even Survived a level crossing accident in Acton (in 1975) when I was going to cover a story. Thanks in part to’ the help of several Acton residents, I’m still around to stir up the duck and geese crap. I have special feelings for Acton, and I insist here that the Town of Halton Hills do all in its power to put the olde Hide House, and the jobs for Acton residents, up front on its council agenda. Its obvious, no one else is going to help out. Colin Gibson ge [HIS WEEK Halton Hills This Week, Weekend Edition, i publi y y iph St, Georgetown, Ont. L7G 481, and is printed in Oakvile at @.E. Web Printing. Halton Hils This Week Y 4 duced by this ly In the event of ical error advertsi ice, goods ay Not be sold. Advertsing i offer i PUBLISHER: Ken Bellamy PRODUCTION MANAGER: Kathleen Topolsek CIRCULATION MANAGER: Marie Shadbolt OFFICE MANAGER: Jean Shewell HALTON HILLS THIS WEEK IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED & OPERATED. services EDITOR: Colin Gibson PHONE: 873-2254 FAX:873-3918 To the Editor: So our new Prime Minister Promises to practice the “Politics of Inclusion” while not abandon- ing the memory of her former master, Brian Mulroney (the most reviled PM since the Second World War) and his warped agen- da. Let’s see, who shall she include? Well, there’s Mike Wilson, whose hand at the finance helm put an extra $10,000 in debt on the head of every woman, man and child in Canada. Don’t forget to include Perrin Beatty, who Started our military big buck ‘Spending ideas with $5 billion in nuclear-power bath tubs. ($5 bil- lion in copters, seems like a nice round number). And lets not ignore Marcel Masse, Gilles Loiselle, Ross Reid.. the list goes on, In fact, the politics of inclusion will mean little more than includ- ing those who supported Campbell’s run at the crown.’ Of the three leadership hopefuls who talked actual substance of Policy at the Ottawa leadership convention, they garnered’a mere P.O.W.E.R. to the people To the Editor: Once again, P.O.W.E.R.’s Annual Giant Garage Sale was a huge success. Almost. $7,000 was taised to fight the R.S.1. dump pro- Posal. Other benefits were the recy- cling of trailer loads of used goods and the amusement of thousands of bargain hunters. It was a town-wide effort and we would like to say thank you to all those who participated, even if we forget to mention you here. We appreciated the assistance of the following people: the generous public who donated items for sale, Cecil, Bill and Al at the Georgetown Memorial Arena, Marion, Mary, Norm, Peter and the staff at Georgetown Terminal Warehouse, Ward Brownridge, Wastewise, Ferro Steel, Childscope, Woolco, Georgetown Rental, Paul Yates and Georgetown Branch 120 of the Royal Canadian Legion, Limehouse Women’s Institute, Georgetown District High School, Knechtels, Acton I.G.A., Mr. Mugs, B.F.I., Outdoor Power Equipment, The Town of Halton Hills, Frank Morette, Kentners, Homestead Antiques, Briggs Upholstery, McDonald’s Esso, Tim Horton Donuts and Leathertows Food Supply. ° We would also like to thank your newspaper for your-publicity sup- port. Lastly, we would like to thank our garage sale coordinators, Susan Cox and Mary Grossman and_all the family and friends~ of P.O.W.E.R. who worked so hard to “~ make the day so successful. Maybe when we have defeated R.S.I. we will keep doing this because it is so much fun! Lois Fraser Publicity Coordinator P.O.W.E.R. Georgetown The People's Corner It’s time for real change in Ottawa 12% of the delegates support between them. Once again the Conservative Party has proven that “It’s who you know, not what you know” that matters to them. Garth Turner, to his. credit, has spent the last two months feverish- ly talking common sense reforms to our political system and a return to government fiscal responsibili- ty. Yet none, not one of his ideas, hit home with any impact. Lets roll back the clock to 1984: The Conservatives bemoaned the $160 million inherited debt from the Liberal party; Mulroney told Liberal Leader John Turner that Patronage and pork barrel politics was wrong. Now it’s 1993: The debt is over $470 billion ($69,600 for every family of four in Canada); Spirit of the To the Editor: The olde Hide House in Acton, which opened in 1980, has been expanding slowly and steadily since its inception. The building in which store and restaurant are housed has been beautifully restored to teflect the town’s leather heritage, but it’s the business itself that is the heart and soul of the community, not just through the: people it employs but through the support it generously extends to community and volunteer groups, the encour- agement to-fellow merchants and the-huge influx of visitors it gener- ites. Mulroney is feverishly appointing anybody he can think of to the Senate. Are we to believe the Conservatives, who have been blowing hard about deficit reduc- tion since gaining power in 1984 are suddenly born again and will now fix the country, just give them one more chance? Service of this Tory/Grit debt is choking off jobs and driving taxes sky high. And for all his talk, Garth Turner has had no input and will continue to have no input, because the old line parties work to their own ben- efit and don’t work for Canadians, It’s time for real change in Ottawa, not just the decor at 24 Dr. Sussex Dr. Don Dagenais, Acton community The devastating impact the clos- ing of the olde Hide House, West Wear-House, Flight-Line and Jack Tanner’s Table will have, affects the very existence of our communi- ty and will have far-reaching reper- cussions throughout the region. We are disappointed that the financial institution involved may not have considered the whole’ ture. This. business. spirit of our community; we sup- Port it passionately. Halton Hills Tourism ittee Death of free enterprise To the Editor: It is with a sense of shock that the news about the Olde Hide House is bad, that they are closed pending financial Testructuring. The truth of the matter is that they, along with all other business, have an intolerable amount of tax and government regulations work- ing to put them and most other small firms out of business. Herewith a copy of part of my letter written last year concerning the same thing. A phone call tells me that our ever-vigilant governments have struck again. A new farmers market was to open on number 7; highway this coming weekend, I believe. Can you think of a worse crime to commit? Just think, a new ser- vice for the people — in Acton/Georgetown, provided by People who only think that free enterprise is alive and well in anada. The death of this small enter- prise, at the hands of our govern- ment really signals the demise of the free enterprise system. Just think, one can no longer even open up any kind of enterprise without the great white fathers having to be consulted, or rear ends kissed. Different letter, different firms, same result. John Shadbolt Leader Ontario Libertarian Party Acton The Community _ Safety Councils of Ontario (CSCO) have expressed concern over proposed government funding cuts to high school driver education programs, At CSCO’s Annual General Meeting, June 6, newly-elected president Christine Burke said that ed to cut the program completely, tather than passing costs on to stu- dents. Although excellent com- mercial driving schools are avail- able throughout the province, she noted, many students will take the easy way out and not bother to get Professional training. » Ontario’s high school driver Driver-education cuts school boards may now be tempt- education program has been in lace since the mid ‘50's. Without the up-to-date Loowiedee and techniques offered by profession- als, Burke said, young people will tepeat the bad habits of the family members and friends who teach themto drive, ‘ = -The 16-24-year age group is the highest risk group in traffic colli- sions, as acknowledged by the Ontario Government and its Graduated Driver Licensing pro- posal. Training and education are among the key elements in equip- ping our youth to avoid becoming a statistic in the carnage on the Toads, Burke said. 2