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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2004 THE NEW TANNER GRAPEVINE MEDIA MESSAGES Cable television and rented mov- ies will be used to "enlighten, educate and inform" local teens, thanks to a $500 grant to Acton's Off The Wall youth centre from the Royal Bank. "People have different reactions to kids watching tv, so we developed a program around it called 'media mes- sages and awareness,' so, part of this money is funding us to have cable," youth worker Clair Langridge said, adding they will be "processing" what the kids watch. "We will take a look at the mes- sages they get from different shows and rent different movies that we feel are important for different program themes in the year," she said, adding kids may be able to make better choices for themselves after they talk about choices made by characters on a favourite television show. RK Kids attending the December 8 junior (9-to-11) session at Off The Wall may be able to resolve a Christ- mas gift problem and have a good time between 3:30 and 7 p.m. Scrapbook Crazy is donating all of the supplies kids need to make Christmas bookmarks. HEP B CONCERNS Local health officials wonder why so many Acton parents with kids in grade 7 did not have them immunized against Hepatitis B at two recent free clinics. The Halton Health Department sent consent notices home with Grade 7 students at McKenzie-Smith Bennett and St. Joseph Catholic schools, and were disappointed with the return. Information about a make-up clini¢ date in Acton last Wednesday was mailed directly to the students' homes and staff at the new health office in the Sobeys plaza said the turnout was better than expected. Next year, information about the vaccine against the potentially fatal, sexually transmitted liver disease and immunization consent forms will be mailed to the parents of Acton's Grade 7 students. Asked about the vaccine's 97 per , cent success rate, a public health nurse said the cost of immunizing every Grade 7 student in Ontario is cheaper than the cost for one liver transplant. MEDICAL UPDATE Acton's Dan MacCallum and his new kidney -- donated from a former co-worker -- are doing fine almost two months post-op. "T feel well and the kidney is func- tioning properly," MacCallum said on Monday, adding his doctors lave urged him to become more active, so be began playing non-contact hockey again recently. "T didn't realize I was so out of shape, but what can you expect-with three major operations in a year," he said, adding he is still tired much of the time. MacCallum also wanted to say thanks to all of the people who have offered his family well wishes, prayers and help over the past year. He particularly wants to publicly thank neighbours Dobbie Frizzell 'and Colin Ash, whose help has made life easier for him and his fam- ily. KK Reports say that Acton's Mike MacDonald is also doing well after a heart transplant last month. The 56-year-old has been released from hospital and is recuperating slowly --- too slowly for MacDonald's liking -- at home. MacDonald, whose own heart was damaged by a virus, must make regular visits to St. Mike's Hospital to ensure the new heart is working properly. His doctors say it could take a year to recuperate because he was so sick before the transplant. CHRISTMAS TEA The hall at Churchill Community Church is festooned for the season and ready for Saturday's (Nov 27) annual Christmas Tea and sale. ~ A "real" English tea will be served featuring a selection of teas and coffee, finger sandwiches and English-style sweets. The sale tables will offer unique gifts and homemade treats, and there will be a raffle for a wreath. The church is at the corner of Churchill Road North and 32 Side Road, and the event runs from 1 to 4 p.m. POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS? Monday was a hectic, eye-open- ing and fun day for Georgetown student Julia Holland who was mayor-for-a day, job shadowing Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette. Julia, a Grade five student at Holy Cross Catholic School, had the highest mark in her civics class and was chosen to spend a day at the Civic Centre. Julia said she was surprised how busy the: mayor was and how many phone calls he had to deal with. Mayor Bonnette said the plan was to engage students in the political process and get them involved with their town. He said he'd welcome a student from Acton to be mayor-for- a-day. LADIES ONLY SHOPPING Ladies -- want to do some Christ- mas shopping, unencumbered by your children or significant other? If so, check out Dollar Stretcher Daze from 6 to 9 p.m. on Decem- © ber 2 for a special ladies only shopping night. Along with great gift ideas at the dollar store, several other businesses are taking part in the night, includ- ing Blue Springs Salon-and Spa and Willow Lane Natural Foods. If all the power shopping leaves you a little peaked, Vintner's Cellar will be on hand with wines to sam- ple and Gottahaveit will offer delectable homemade treats. SANTA REVISITED Missed the Acton Santa Claus pa- rade? Don't despair. You can catch the annual parade on Cogeco televi- sion, in the comfort of your warm, dry home. The parade video will air on Fri- day (tomorrow) at 7:30 p.m., on Sunday at 9 p.m. and on Monday at 2 p.m. SANTA & FLAPJACKS ~ Santa will be making a visit to Limehouse Public School for its an- nual pancake and sausage breakfast on December 4. Sittings are at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and tickets must be purchased in advance by calling the school prior to December 1. Along with Saint Nick, there will be a silent auction, penny raffle ta- bles and a bake sale. Parents are invited to bring along a camera to take a picture of their little sweetie on Santa's knee. ON THE TRAIL: We made it!! Betty Blain, Marg Haring, Margaret (Peggy) Nielson and Eileen Dix taking a well earned rest after hiking at the Hilton Falls Conservation Area last Friday. They managed to encourage the friendly chickadees to feed from their hand from sunflower seeds along the way. The next Seniors' hike is planned for Friday, December 2 at Ip.m. starting from the Acton Seniors Centre and hiking the Starkey Trial at Arkell west of Eden Mills, (weather permitting). Missing from the picture is Heinz Rouche who was busy behind the camera. -- Submitted photo. Zz Right on schedule, Santa arrived in Acton last Saturday. The parade was one of the best ever. Congratu- lations to all the participants and especially to the best float winners whose names are featured elsewhere in your New Tanner, The many hun- dreds of young and young at heart, who turned out despite the question- able weather, thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Why even mother na- ture co-operated and the rain held off for the duration of the festivi- ties. Having. been raised in Toronto I have attended many parades there. While the Toronto parade has size and professionalism going for it, Acton's parade is a true reflection of our small town. The floats are built with equal parts of love and en- thusiasm. Small budgets are overcome with imagination and in- ventiveness. The results were delightful. The personal touch is car- ried through to friends and neighbours riding or marching and tossing candies to the little ones lin- ing the route. I prefer our little parade to the more glitzy one. No mention of the Acton Santa Claus Parade would be complete without recognizing the efforts of our volunteer firefighters who or- ganize and put on Santa's gala day. There's a lot more to conducting an event like this than just making sure Santa has us on his calendar. It takes hours of planning, fundraising, plus contacting bands and other partici- pants. Over the years much of the work has been done by Bill Spielvogel, ably assisted by his brace of elves. Bill will be happy, no less a personage than Santa him- self has renewed his contract for an indeterminate period. It's an offer Bill can't refuse. Not unless he want a reindeer head in his bed. Santa doesn't fool around about these things. Business Improvement Area (B.L.A.) merchants. In addition to entering an award winning float, designed and built by Josey Bonnette and friends, the B.I.A. also hosted visits to Santa for his ador- ing fans. The B.I.A. is also responsible for decking our down- town with lights and decorations. \Many people don't realize that our and possibly surprised, to learn that . Thanks also go. to the downtown Shop Acton first! The Way I See It downtown businesses pay for the flowers, banners and Christmas lights out of their own pockets through the B.I.A. Town resources are not used, except for electricity, on downtown decorations. This is not to say that our town staff don't have a healthy dose of Christ- mas spirit: those at the parade would have noticed several town vehicles forming part of the parade. I can tell you that several town employees, in addition to the firefighters, were pa- rade volunteers. The police you saw directing traffic were, for the most part, auxiliary officers volunteering their time. Many local businesses were involved in donating time and equipment. The New Tanner's own Ted Tyler supplied two trucks and flat- bed trailers for schools to use. The Acton Santa Claus Parade is truly a community effort and that's what makes it so special. Last, but by far least, congratula- tions to all the children, and young at heart, who participated in the parade. The Acton Citizens' Band was, as usual, tuned in and in tune. I don't think people realize just how lucky we are to have a group like the Acton Citi- zens' Band. I'm told they are the only both marching and concert band left in Ontario. They're certainly number one with me. Why even Santa picks them to lead his parade every year. What more proof do you need? It's very encouraging to see so many young people in the Citizens' Band. That bodes well for the future. With last week's leaf gathering ex- ercise and now Santa coming to town I can really feel my Christmas spirit coming alive. Regular readers know what that means. Yes friends, it's time for the annual Christmas rant. I want to encourage, cajole, per-_ suade, coax and convince readers that when you start out on your Christmas shopping you shop Acton first. We have many new residents who may not have had the chance to discover the retail treasures we have right here ~ from the Firehall. The new Shop- + in town. Acton merchants have eve- rything but the kitchen sink for you. Actually, Home Hardware and Leathertown Lumber have that sink so there's no reason to go out of town. In addition to existing favourite stores we have new businesses like My Cottage Dreams across from The Hide House. I could keep "the bride" happy for the rest of her life with stuff from The Hide House alone. Scrapbooking is very popular today. |" So much so that Scrapbook Crazy has expanded into a big new space across pers Drug Mart has thoughtful gifts and a huge cosmetic section. Candy is dandy for the lady in your life but liquor is quicker so check out the gift section at the L.C.B.O. Tell manager Bob that "Mike sent me." You won't get any discount but I might get a freebie. We have fine restaurants and a night out is always a welcome gift. Most restaurants have gift certifi- cates. How about a spa day gift Certificate? I can tell you from expe- rience those pay big dividends. Got wives or daughters who drive? I made sure all our girls had cell phones in their cars. Radio Shack has great deals. Having lived most of my life with five women you' ll notice most of my gift selections slant towards the femi- nine. That just proves years of training work. You can't go wrong with more power tools. Gift certifi- cates for gas at Toth Motors or repairs at any of our fine garages are always in vogue. Just think ladies, you can give the old man gas without turning on the stove. Country Reflections has a Tilley section. My Tilley shirt is the most comfortable one I own. Giant Tiger has a good selection of ready to wear. Dollar stores are a great source for stocking stuffers. I could go on and on and I apologize for missing the shops I surely have. But I think you get the idea. Local businesses hire our kids, support our charities and pay local taxes. Shopping locally is not only fun and more relaxed than in the major malls, it's an investment in the economic wellbeing of our commu- nity. So go out and shop till you drop. If you're in town, it's much easier to crawl home. There's another ben- efit to shopping Acton first. y