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THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1998 THE NEW TANNER GRAPEVIN So long, Sharon After 17 years of supplying Acton shoppers with frozen foods Freezer Frenzy owner Sharon Vincent has sold her business and is retiring for "a much-needed rest." The deal closed on Monday, but Sharon will be behind the counter for another week as she teaches the new owners the ropes. Sharon, a long-time Acton resident, said she'll miss her loyal customers but won't miss the long hours. "This business has been like a baby that never grew up," Sharon joked, adding that she'd like to say a special thank you to the staff who have worked with her over the years. Mini carnival coming The Acton Figure Skating Club will hold a mini carnival at the Acton arena this spring. Plans for the an- nual popular carnival were up in the air until last week when the skating club executive determined that they could stage a one-day event to show- case their skater's talents and enter- tain the public. The mini carnival will take place on Saturday, April 4 from noon to 4 p.m. Tickets, avail- able only at the door on a first come, first serve basis, will be $2 per per- son of $5 for a family of five. Attempts to save the Prospect Park arena Attempts by the Acton Agricul- tural Society to save the old Prospect Park arena from the wrecker's ball are continuing. A recent vote by the Society executive cleared the way for a formal proposal to be drafted and it should be presented to the Town by the end of the month. One earlier plan called for the cement pad arena floor to be saved so a tent could be erected over it for the Fall Fair weekend to house ex- hibits that need protection. The Town has earmarked $110,000 in this year's budget for demolition of the old arena. Tribute trees It's not too late to "purchase" a tree from the Rotary Club of Acton to be planted in Rotary Park in memory of a loved one. For approxi- mately $300 you can have a tree planted in the Elizabeth Drive Park and the name of the person being honoured will be inscribed on a plaque on a stone marker in the park. Last spring 14 trees were planted and any one buying a tree no will be in- vited to a planting and dedication ceremony this spring. For more in- formation call Rotarian Doug Fread at 853-0239. Looking for donations The Acton Legion Ladies Auxil- iary will once again be holding a garage sale and bake sale at the le- gion on April 4. If you have items to donate to the sale, they can be dropped off at the Legion or you can contact Fern Shultis, 853-0866 Go team! The Acton Juvenille Sabres host Trenton this Saturday in the next gamie of the OMHA semifinals. Acton is trailing the 5 game series with only 1 win to Trenton's 2 wins. The Juvenille Sabres play great home games. Come out, make some noise and support your team. It promises to be an exciting night. "Our Surv ays... What are you doing during the March Break? This week's New Tanner survey by Angela Tyler "T'm going to relax on March Break. I'm go- ing to take in a few games of Bingo. I really like Bingo." Ed McGilloway, crossing guard "T'm going to be doing some spring-cleaning and wallpapering. I'm also going to be visit- ing my family in Kingsville and spending time with my grandchildren." Joan Parker, secretary, Robert Little PS. "(My sons and I) are going skating, for walks and playing in the park. My sons are also go- ing to visit their grandparents for a few days." Lisa Howe "T'm going to visit family and friends in Toronto, Ottawa and Brighton." Lucy Gibbons, bus driver "WHO DUN IT?", a murder mystery and silent auction by the members of the Acton Curling Club drew appreciative audiences for this strange cast of characters. Cast members above are, left to right, Wayne Atkinson, Chery! Daponte, Peter Vidler, David Breen, Arlene Lindsay, Gerri Hardcastle, Gus Jeffrey, Sonia Breen and Greg Faber. SkERKK HK Next Tuesday is March 17, the holiest day of the year -- St. Patrick's Day. In addition to my annual greetings I thought this year I would give you the rea- sons I love St. Patrick's Day. There are, naturally, seventeen of them. ¢ Winter is over when the shamrocks come out. * We don't have to eat haggis. ¢ I can go out for a drink with my friends 'cause I'm allowed. ¢ My daughters, who are fiercely Canadian, are reminded of our family heritage. ¢ Daughters have to. pay for dad's beer. * St. Patrick's Day parades are fun for children from 4 to 94. ¢ When I come home from the pub and (in my best John Wayne impersonation) bellow: "Woman of the house -- where's my sup- per." The bride doesn't laugh in my face. She leaves the room first. * Girls look great in green. * My friends Heather and Bill McGrath got married on St. Pad- dy's Day. Happy 19th anniver- sary, guys. ¢ I can wear my cableknit sweater and tam without some people thinking I'm a sissy. * People buy you beer if your dress in Irish fashions (Station Hotel, please note). * It's hilarious when my friend Richard Paramonczyk tries to do an Irish Brogue. * I don't have to drink green beer (ugh!) to be Irish. ¢ When walking home from the pub and the banshees try to capture your soul a leprechaun is always ly to save you. + Potatoes taste better. ¢ My RRSP mutual fund owns Molson's and Labatt's stock. ¢ And lastly, I can share this Irish blessing with you. "May you be in heaven an hour before the devil knows you're dead." A HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S \ DAY TO YOU ALL. that é 'Tis a fine day to be Irish The. Way. I See It with Mike O'Leary ok Your correspondent is always looking for world news, which is both interesting and historic. Con- sider this: (A) President Fidel Castro was re-elected last month for another five year term as dictator of Cuba. (B) Dog pees on hydrant. Each was equally. unexpected. Poor Jean Charest. He's in a lose-lose situation. The pressure on him to take the Liberal leadership in Quebec is incredible. He's cooked, no matter what he does. If he goes to Quebec City and loses the referendum, everyone will blame him. If he wins the referen- dum but reform makes a successful raid on PC members in the East, everyone will blame him for desert- ing the National Party. If he wins the election and stops the referendum he'll be a short term hero. In order to win, however, he'll have to adopt policies that are popu- lar in Quebec but odious in the rest of Canada; especially in the West and parts of Ontario. He'll be fin- ished as a national political leader. If he doesn't go to Quebec City and Bouchard wins both the elec- tion and the referendum everyone will blame him for losing the coun- try. Poor Jean Charest. If were him I'd say, "To hell with them all" and go back to Sherbrooke. He won't; he'll do what he thinks is best for his family and his country. It will destroy his career. It's a darn shame. ay RR Seems like the International Skating Union (1.S.U.) is finally taking notice of the outrage over the cheating that went on at the Olympics. Specifically, the judg- ing farce in ice dancing. They have announced proposals for rule changes to be voted on. At the I.S.U. congress to be held in June. David Dore, President of the Canadian Figure Skating Asso- ciation, said, "It's a start." Ini- tially, you see, the I.S.U. was denying there was any problem at all (their anthem is 3 Blind Mice). "To me," said Dore, "this is recognition that there is a prob- lem and we're going to go ahead and do something," But hold on. In the next breath, Dore cau- tions that the changes will not be in effect for the world champion- ships later this month. Dore hopes the ice dance judges there will "be on their best behaviour." Is that code for: expect Shae- Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz to get screwed again! Don't place any foolish bets. Dore, ever the politician, ob- served that these things take time and that, "Rome wasn't built in a day." Perhaps not David, but after two months even the Ro- mans expected to see some *1#$!*# bricks laid. Why can't they just fire the Olympic judges? That would be constructive. As a final thought, how about this? Jean Charest goes to Que- bec City and trounces Benedict Bouchard. Don Cherry takes over the federal PC's, punches out all the blockheads and kicks Preston Manning's butt back to Calgary. The rest of us get on with our lives. It could work! Sounds great to me sacs Erin Go Braugh! 3)