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Acton businesses get holiday opening approved under new exemptions BY FRANCES NIBLOCK Four Acton businesses and two south Halton shopping areas can now open every day of the year, except Christmas, under new tourist exemptions to the Retail Holidays Business Act. The local businesses include the olde Hide House and its satellite operations Flight-Line, Leathertown West Wearhouse and the proposed Tannery Run. Halton director of business development Brent Kearse said last week that the Province's new legislation allowing Sunday shopping for businesses which qualify for tourist exemptions does not cover nine statutory holidays. "When the report was written we were only dealing with statutory holidays because the Province had said they were going to remove the reference from Sundays in the law," Kearse explained. "Unfortunately the free-vote at Queen's Park hasn't happened and we have no formal indication that they are going to remove Sunday shopping. So to cover the whole shee-bang and not have to go through this again, we removed all reference to statutory holidays. By changing it just to holidays it covers Sundays, which are defined as holidays, and nine statutory holidays." Olde Hide House president Steve Dawkins expected the bylaws to be passed. "It went through like I thought and hoped it would with little or no debate. All of this was directed at the one per cent chance that the free vote won't go as Bob Rae hopes in the Legislature. I think the politicians at Queen's Park will find they can't put the genie back in the bottle." Halton council approved the tourist exemptions in an 18-1 recorded vote with little debate. The only dissenter was Burlington councillor Ralph Shoultens, who argued businesses that want to close Sundays and holidays for religious reasons will be at a disadvantage. Municipal Diges Acton public meeting on future growth Acton residents will be asked what type of growth they want to see and where they want it at a public meeting this fall. The Town's new urban land use study is ready for public input and Acton councillors pushed for a separate Acton meeting so local residents don't have to travel to Georgetown to have their say about the meeting which will shape the face of Acton until the year 2,000. If sufficient water is found, Acton will be allowed to grow to 10,000 people from the current population of 6,700. The land use study will also decide the amount and location of new commercial and industrial growth to support the increased population. A firm date and location for the Acton meeting will be set before the end of the month. Local roads in "bad need" of repairs Town staff want to spend $71 million dollars on road repairs over the next five years -- a good portion of it in Acton. Halton Hills operations manager Ted Drewlo told Council last week there is a on-going program to upgrade the Town's 316 kilometre road network. " We're not in desperate need but we are in bad need of dollars spent for road repairs," Drewlo said. Acton has 32 kilometres of municipal roads and almost half of them are on the "now' list for needed repairs. To fix them would cost $10 million dollars. Drewlo says the roads needing immediate repairs include Churchill Road, south of Highway 7, Cobblehill, Church, Victoria and Brock. Nine-year Town plan has $62 million dollar price Phase two of the Acton seniors' centre and paving 10 Sideroad from Highway 25 to the Third Line are two Acton items included in the Town's nine year capital projects plan. The capital forecast, the Town's vision for the future, is the proposed spending plan but Town officials are quick to point out that it is not written in stone, but that it can be altered depending on the needs and wants of the community. --Niblock NEWSSHORTS Young Offenders cause ruckus Halton police had to be called to the Spruce Lane open custody facility for young offenders on Highway 25 Saturday night. The manager called police when residents, upset with conditions at the facility, caused a disturbance and did about $150 dollars damage to some drywall and a lighting fixture. Police questioned six residents who identified the ringleaders. They were both verbally aggressive to police who cautioned them. No charges were laid but centre officials say further disciplinary action will be taken. One for the ditch An Acton man was charged with impaired driving and driving with over 80 milligrams of alcohol in his blood following a two-car accident Saturday night. Police report the suspect was involved in an accident on the S ixth Line j ust north of Highway 7. His van was found upside down in the ditch and and the suspect was arrested at his home. Charged is Donald Hilts of R.R. 2, Acton. Acton pigeons fly the coop An Acton man is crying foul after some of his prize racing pigeons escaped when someone damaged two pigeon coops in his backyard on Saturday. The Mill Street, West homeowner found the coops damaged and ripped open when he returned from dinner about 8 pm Saturday night. About $950 damage was done to the coops and numerous pigeons, valued at $500 to 600 escaped. As an added insult, the next morning the man found one of the pigeons had flown into his truck and made a real mess. Accused Acton arsonists in court Acton real estate agent Ken Thomson and his wife Patricia will be tried on arson charges in Milton Court January 26,1993. The Thomsons are charged with arson and fraud for the purpose of arson in connection with a fire at their Young Street home last January 25 which did $120,000 damage. No one was home at the time of the blaze, which police say was started when a plastic bag containing gasoline was jammed in a doorway and ignited. Cedar chair caper Unknown thieves made off with a $130 cedar lawn chair from a rural Acton lawn furniture business early Thursday morning. The resident was awakened by his outdoor alarm system and when he looked out he saw two men loading one of his chairs into a two-tone pick-up truck. The suspects fled when the man ran out to confront them. A cedar table was also damaged. Window smashing continues At least $1,100 dollars damage was done to windows in Acton in the past week and police have no suspects. Early Saturday morning the alarm at Jug City on Mill Street went off and when police arrived they found someone had thrown a large rock through the side door facing Willow Street. Nothing had been taken from the store. Damage was $350. In another incident, four bay windows at Acton Auto Tech on Agnes Street were smashed with rocks. An area resident heard the sound of glass breaking and saw a group of youths walking up the street but when police arrived there was no one around. Damage is $250. A Kingham Road woman reported that someone used a pellet gun or a sling shot to smash windows at her home between midnight and 7 am Wednesday. Damage is $500. QUOTE OF THE WEEK "I think the politicians at Queen's Park will find they can't put the genie back in the bottle." -- Steve Dawkins, president of the olde Hide House commenting on Sunday shopping legislation, Page 2 DID YOU KNOW? Wildlife lover John J. Audubon was also a wildlife killer. He shot as many as one hundred birds a day, using the victims as models for the paintings.