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4 THE NEW TANNER EDITORIAL We CAN do it! The symbolism was there for all to see. Heritage Acton staged a public meeting Sunday on the steps of the old town hall, a' building saved from the wrecker's ball, to start another kind of ball rolling to save another building -- the old Acton arena. The similarities between the situation with the old town hall and the arena are based on estimates from professional engineers. Both buildings have had estimates of over $600,000 to bring them up to snuff. The old town hall was saved from demolition by the group who formed Heritage Acton at a cost of a little more than half the estimated cost -- and renovating by degrees. Heritage Acton feels the old arena could be saved, too, at a fraction of the estimated cost, again doing it in phases. It should be noted the Acton Agricultural Society has been trying to work our a compromise solution to demolition since it was recognized a a. Y new arena would be built elsewhere. The Society realizes a building in aye 4 sw Prospect Park is a necessity to keep the reputation of the Fair as one of Ontario's best. Separating the exhibits from the carnival activity in the arena has been a big plus. However, the Agricultural Society has felt it could not carry the burden of either managing a renovated facility or the cost of a new one. Heritage Acton with the successful town hall save under its belt, feels ° they have the credentials to assist in the effort to save the old arena. a [am Sunday, a sub-committee was formed to investigate the feasibility of Society discouraged by garden litter THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 1998 STANDING ROOM ONLY: Local businesses enjoyed the large crowds at Sunday's Leathertown Festival including the Red Dog Café which was filled to capacity. saving the Prospect Arena. They hope Halton Hills Council will give them the time to come up with the funds to save the facility for public use. Mayor Marilyn Serjeantson, the only member of Halton Hills Council to attend Sunday's town hall meeting, assured the dozens of citizens in attendance that if they can do it -- "great." "We (council) are trying to do what is best for the community," she declared, noting also to questioning that there is flexibility in plans for the arena. They were encouraging words as citizens volunteered to serve on a committee to plan a campaign to save the structure from demolition. Thousands of dollars have already been pledged, the Fair Board has $80,000, the Town almost $140,000 budgeted for demolition. If those funds were available, the cost of renovating even the engineer's estimate is already one-third of the way there. Watch for developments. Nothing to do? For those who complain about the lack of things to do in a small town, last weekend was a perfect rebuke. Not only was the Leathertown Festival drawing thousands to the downtown, there was a ball tournament in Prospect Park, the closing ceremonies at Camp Weselka on the Fourth Line as well as all the regular happenings in sport. Saturday morning a huge motorcade of motorcycles and police cruisers went through the downtown as part of a ride to publicize the drive to eliminate child abuse. Saturday evening, people robbed of their sleep, there was a "bush party" reputed to have over 3,000 in attendance on the Fifth Line. Rumour has it the remnants of The Grateful Dead band played to an appreciative audience until the sun rose over the clover. The music carried clear into Acton. This all went on in spite of the hot, very humid weather which descended on the area for the weekend and made every movement a monument to "sweat." Nothing to do? C'mon! much to the dismay of : Enthusiasm Nothing worthwhile is achieved without enthusiasm. Every day could become boring unless we had something to look forward to eagerly. To one who enjoys soap operas, the program is anticipated with pleasure. Even a small thing like this makes life more interesting. It is so good to talk with someone who is bouncing with enthusiasm over some project they have begun or are intending to . When one is full of enthusiasm whatever one has to do seems easy. People who organize such things as Fall Fairs or Bake Sales or Teas or Bazaars must be enthusiastic and the feeling seems to run off on the co-workers and the whole affair becomes a huge success. Without enthusiasm you might as well quit before you begin. You will have lots of set-backs along the way but enthusiasm will carry you through to the finish. It has nothing to do with age; young people seem to have it in abundance and older people who have it, seem young. Enthusiasm is the spice of life which gives a lift to our spirits. Granny Granny is Marion Jean Patterson who published her Philosophy for S To the Editor: A project of Acton Horticultural Society this year is the enlargement and refurbishing of the Memory Garden at the corner of Main and River Streets. We have had many compliments on the improvement and are pleased to help beautify our town for the benefit of the citizens and visitors. Many hours of volunteer labour as well as considerable expense have gone into this venture. The rustic rocks were donated and put in place by Larry Melton. Several times each week the flowers have been Old arena good gallery To the Editor: I'm responding to your article "Save $5 million by fixing old arena" in the July 30 newspaper. I personally felt the new arena was very narrow in that it only accom- modates seniors and those who skate. What about a fitness centre for those of us who like to work out and travel several times a week to Georgetown or Milton? What about an art gallery? I don't believe we have such a thing any- where in Halton Hills! The library in Georgetown charges artists an arm and a leg to exhibit there and half the time it's closed. The old arena and park would make a wonderful gallery. You could even put sculp- tures in the park. All this and you wouldn't even need pipes in the floor! Think of the money we would save and at the same time include the rest of the population that doesn't even like hockey, let alone play it. deadheaded and watered during the recent drought, the weeds removed and the grass nearby kept trimmed. A recent clean-up included a large half-empty bag of potato chips, two opened containers of chip dip, pa- pers, used tissues, candy wrappers, popsicle sticks, cigarette butts, etc. Unfortunately, the flower garden is also used as a toilet facility for cats and dogs. I realize that cats prowling at night cannot be controlled, but wouldn't a dog on a leash (as re- quired by bylaw) have a human also attached to the same leash who would discourage messing the area? The alternative, of course, would be to clean up after the dog. Working in the animal waste has been most unpleasant (and unhealthy) for the gardeners. Please continue to visit, sit on the benches and enjoy the garden, but use the nearby garbage containers for your refuse and "stoop and scoop" if you bring your pet. The Society takes pride in our ef- forts to improve the town's appear- ance and plans to plant spring bulbs to further enhance that interesting corner. We hope with co-operation it will be a successful undertaking. Our regular meetings resume in September on the third Tuesday of each month at Knox Church. We welcome new members and guests. Jean Somerville Summer Carnival a SUCCESS To the Editor: On behalf of the Halton Hills Rec- teation and Parks Department, we would like to thank the businesses and individuals who contributed to PP -- D ' '£ <% Closeness is when you spend two weeks in a camper with the people you the success of our annual Summer Carnival which was held at the Acton Arena on July 28, 1998. Due to the generousity of local businesses, the children of Halton Hills experi- enced a fun-filled and exciting evening of games, prizes and enter- tainment. We would like to thank the fol- lowing businesses: Blockbuster Video, Acton Bowling Lanes, Wal- Mart, Loblaws, Allison's Farm, The Freckled Lion, Pizza Delight, Young's Pharmacy, Georgetown Cinemas Three, Godfather Pizza, Shoppers Drug Mart, Georgetown Yarn and Crafts, Carney Electric and Country Style Donuts. Many thanks to magician Brent Mackie, Georget- own Police Services, the Acton Arena staff and all who attended the annual summer carnival. Many thanks are also extended to Tyler Transport, The Gordon Alcott Arena, The New Tanner and the In- dependent/Free Press for their adver- her children and grandchildren in a booklet called Meditation from an | (There are quite a few of us, believe thought you loved tising and promotion. Old Rocking Chair. 3 it or not.) ieee, the most. Sarah Carney, N Valerie Nichol Carnival Co-ordinator Publisher Ted Tyler Distributed to every home Editorial Hartley Coles in Acton and area as well as Frances Niblock -- Ellen Pieh| adjoining communities. Mike O'Leary Angela Tyler J g Tanner its ADVERTISING POLICY 59 Willow Street North Advertising Sales ; , | Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly Maggie Petrushevsky Acton, Ontario Bob Rutter presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no : ; ; : financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions L7J 1Z8 Circulation Marie Shadbolt in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part Composing Christine O'Leary of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a (519) 853-0051 Fax: 853-0052 claim is made within five days of publication. Karen Wetmore