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JETLINK Door to Door Tyler Transport i Ltd 379 Queen St. E Acton 833-1550 ACHILLES in Acton 9 What's Inside What do you do when a large helicopter lands in your pasture? Find out on Page 3. Acton seniors held a picnic at Prospect Park despite the hot, sticky weather. Enjoying re- laxation beside Fairy Lake are Jim Hall, Nancy Hall and Julie Curry. More photos on Page 6. By FRANCES NIBLOCK The New Tanner Too little, too late is a common reaction among Acton residents to the 21- month sentence handed to an Acton father last Thursday in a Brampton court for starv- ing his daughter. James Clayton, 30, pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessaries of life tc his oldest child, who is not toilet trained, can only speak five words and in the opin- ion of a social worker, will never function as a normal, healthy girl or even as an adult. The child's mother, 38-year-old Maryanne McCutcheon, who reportedly has the intellectual ability of a 6 to 8-year-old, was placed on three years probation for child neglect. She since has Canada Day was lots of fun at Prospect Park where Lilreta Ladd en- joys the wading pool be- fore the fireworks in the evening. Thousands at- tended. More Canada Day celebrations on Page 8. Fall Fair posters from 1914, some real memora- eo bilia, are on sale. See | ad a tubal ligation. Page 5. The horror is com- pounded by the knowledge that the Halton Children's THIS WAY FOLKS: Former Town Coun Fest on Canada Day. More photns inside. -- Angela Tyler photo Children's Aid silent on tragedy Court case results in many questions Aid Society and other social agencies visited the family in Acton 48 times before a nurse at the Georgetown hos- pital noticed in 1995 that something was very wrong and got the girl the help that saved her life. Ina press release on Mon- day the Halton CAS declined to comment on the case. "The reported circum- stances of a young child's neglect at the hands of her parents is of deep and seri- ous concern to me, as acting executive director of the Halton CAS;" Gail Vandermeulen said. "Since most of the Soci- ety's staff who were involved with this child are no longer employed by the Society, and since then I was not respon- sible for this case, I have un- dertaken an internal review Biker lucky in Acton accident An Acton woman was charged with making an improper left turn after coming in collision with a motorcycle at the intersection of Church Street and Maria Street last Wednes- day afternoon. Halton police said that the motorcyclist, a Norval man, was "very lucky" to have escaped with just bumps, bruises and abrasions in the crash which demolished his $4,000 Kawasaki and caused approximately $2,000 to the car, a Pontiac Sunbird. of the Society's actions at this time," Vandermeulen said, adding that she won't have anything to say until the in- ternal review is completed. At least one Acton woman wishes she had not kept si- lent about the lack of care the little girl was getting in the 33 months that she was with her parents, who lived on welfare and McCutcheon's disability pension. A waitress at a Mill Street restaurant frequented almost daily by the parents said that she and other staff used to try to slip the girl crackers when her parents weren't looking. "She (the girl) used to go from table to table mooching food because her parents wouldn't feed her," the wait- ress remembered. "If I'd spo- ken up sooner maybe things would have turned out differ- ently for the girl. Never again will I keep quiet if I see a child being mistreated. Never again." PAUL SIMMONS, PARTS MANAGER ge 357 Queen Street "**) 853-0200 Halton Hills (Acton) °°) 453-8965 Council ignores planners Over the objections of their planning staff, Town councillors have unani- mously voted not to appeal a Committee of Adjustment decision that approved plans for an 8,000-square foot Home Hardware store on the south-east corner of Queen Street and Churchill Road. Planning staff had recom- mended that councillors ap- peal the recent Committee of Adjustment decision that ap- proved a minor variance for the proposal, but on Monday night general committee members chose to ignore that advice and let the Commit- tee's approval stand. Although the Town's Of- ficial Plan allows the pro- store and : , the uses are not stowed under the current zoning and the appli- cant, Home Hardware presi- dent Bill Manes of Acton, asked for a minor variance instead of going through the longer rezoning process. Town staff argued that the minor variance doesn't sat- isfy the intent and purpose of the current zoning and are concerned that the site could be over developed. "You could end up with a development on that site that you don't like," warned Plan- ning Director Bruce MacLean while acknowledg- ing that from a economic de- velopment point of view the proposal would be good for the eastern gateway of Acton. Planning staff are wor- ried that the site isn't large enough to handle the re- quired 27 parking spaces and landscaping, issues council- lors feel can.be resolved through the Town's site plan process. The Committee of Adjustment's approval in- cluded the condition that a site plan would have to be approved by the Town. Acton Councillor Clark Somerville led support to not appeal the Committee's de- cision, arguing he was wor- See NEW, Page 2 LEASE FOR TOYOTA '98 Camry CE per month for 48 months FREIGHT & PDE INCLUDED Or Get 3.8% Maui} for up to ely selected models* DOWN PAYMENT ¢ Air Conditioning » Automatic © Power Windows ¢ Power Door Locks ¢ Cruise Control ¢ AM/FM Cassette MONTHLY PAYMENT GEORG ETOWN TOYOTA SALES 15 MOUNTAINVIEW RD. N., GEORGETOWN 877-2296 Tor. 874-4276 WEBSITE at www. haltonhills.com/toyota or E-MAIL at toyota@aztec-net.com $323 $1,000 $301 $3,000 $255 *Based on a 48-month walkaway lease. First payment and security deposit due on delivery, based on 96,000 kms. Additional km charge of 10¢ if applicable on the Camry CE. Nicely equipped for $24,978