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THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2004 EDITORIAL with Hartley Coles Ambulance service Although few members of the public attended the official opening of the new Acton ambulance station on Churchill Rd. S. last Wednesday evening, the event was a significant step in Acton's development. Recognition that Acton and area deserves more attention has been up front ever since Halton Region took over Emergency Medical Services (EMS) as a division of the Region's health department, in August of 2000. At that time Halton Region assured direct responsibility for the delivery of Land Ambulance Services from the province. It was part of the Province's downloading which obviously was meant to save Queen's park money. It may have but it certainly benefitted areas such as Acton which now has full time ambulance service as well as a first class building. The Region expanded the number of ambulance stations to nine with construction in both Acton and Milton in 2003 and a new additional station in Campbellville and Oakville (2004). The Region has also increased the number of paramedics since it assumed responsibility for land ambulances, working towards equalizing the delivery of care throughout the Region by placing Advanced Care Paramedics in all local municipali- ties. The headquarters for EMS services is at Bronte Road in Oakville. : : There are 138 permanent and part-time paramedics and 30 vehicles which respond to over 45,000 calls a year from a popu- lation of approximately 400,000 in Halton. It has all been a tremendous boost for the Region and a big improvement for this part of Halton which in the past was often bypassed either for being insignificant or not worth the bother, Most of all it has been a boon for patients and accident victims who know they haye a first class system available, if needed. The magnitude of the task and the efficiency displayed in implementing the restructuring of the EMS in Halton is a trib- ute to Regional Councillors. Downloading in Halton's case was uplifting. PLAQUE PRESENTATION: Regional Chairman Joyce Savoline, and Halton CAO Brent Marshall present a commemorative plaque at the opening of Acton's new Emergency Medical Services (EMS) station on Wednesday, July 14. They are flanked by Mayor Rick Bonnette, left, and Regional Councillor Wards 1 and 2 Clark Somerville. 40 YEARS WED: It's not true that (Mayor) Rick just goes out t 'o his car and creates commemorative certificates, Regional Councillor Clark Somerville says. However, it appeared that way at the opening of Acton's new ambulance station last wee presenting a Halton Hills recogniti " gratulating the well known Acton couple on their 40" wedding anniversary. ion certificate to Joyce, k when Mac and Joyce Sprowl paid a visit, The mayor's shown left, and Mac while Somerville joins in con- Prospect Park being neglected? Prospect Park is neglected. It was a great idea on a warm but not too hot summer evening. The Dude and I decided to do what many in Acton do ... go for a walk and on the way back take a slight detour via Cones for a cool treat. We put Shadow, the Dude's mild mannered dog, on a leash and headed out for Prospect Park. Other than during Fair time, I hadn't really been there for quite a while. It would be a field trip for Shadow and some quality time for us away from cell phones, work and all the re- sponsibilities of being an adult. Shadow was thrilled as she stopped to explore anything and everything. At the leash-free Dog Park, she was at first a lit- tle unsure, then quickly made new friends from the few dozen dogs and the dog owners. Sniffing and being sniffed, she explored the area from top to bottom. Opting not to drink the water we brought for her, she sneaked a giant gulp of wa- ter from another dog's bowl while we were being chewed by mosquitoes. As she played, I couldn't help but notice the almost creek-like stream that saturated some of the ground near the tennis courts and headed into the lake. Soon, I was wondering, how many dogs using their new out- house might it take to have a contributing effect on the boat- house beach area that, is closed to swimmers? Could the dogs have anything to do with the bacteria level? After a game of "catch-me- if-you-can," we leashed Shadow and walked through the park. Yet, it wasn't the same park | knew and grew up with. © Still a potentially glorious place, I couldn't help but re- member the endless summers Maria and I rode our bikes to the park. Pedalling as fast as we could through overwhelming By Angela Tyler heat, we ended up on the swings. There we would sit pushing the swings as hard as we could as if we could almost reach the clouds. Then, there always seemed to be plenty of things going on from picnickers, fishermen, pedal boats on the lake, kids playing on the playgrounds, swimmers to endless ball games. There was no shortage of the park being used. That evening, the boathouse and canteen were closed and the boats were in storage. The bat- ting cages were padlocked with - a raggedy tarp separating the two cages. A single ball game - was wrapping up and no teams waiting to play the next one. One lone couple was utilizing the barren tennis courts. There was hardly anyone around. The park seemed lonely. As we left the park and headed downtown, I couldn't help but feel sad. The park is missing something. No longer having an arena, services closed up, empty ball fields, a dilapi- continued on page 7 THERE SEEMS TO BE MORE DEMANDS For SAME SEX BENEFITS We BEEN THE SAME Sex ALL MY Lire. WHAT BENEFITS Do! GET? Y 2004 "Jacy -c- : PUBLISHING Lip. 373 Queen Street East, Unit 1 Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 email: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com . (519) 853-0051 Fax: 853-0052 Publisher Editorial Ted Tyler Hartley Coles Editorial Contributors Frances Niblock Mike O'Leary Ellen Piehl Maggie Petrushevsky Angela Tyler Janis Fread Advertising and Circulation Bruce Cargill Marie Shadbolt Composing Danielle Mclsaac Laura Maitland > Distributed to every home in Acton and area as well as adjoining communities. ADVERTISING POLICY Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly pre- sented, is correctly printed. 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