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THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2005 THE NEW TANNER EVERYBODY MOVE! Congrats to Acton's Marie Burland, a teacher at Robert Little School who was honoured by the Halton District School Board with an Award of Dis- tinction last night (Wednesday) at the board's meeting in Burlington. Burland was instrumental in en- couraging a quality daily fitness program at the Acton school, and that evolved into an intergenerational fitness and active lifestyle resource kit called "Everybody Move! Daily Vigorous Activity." With a $74,400 provincial grant, Burland and three teachers at George Kennedy School in Georgetown, de- veloped the resource kit thatincludes a book which explains the program, a CD of music and a DVD showing how to do the dances, activities and games -- demonstrated by 10 Robert Little students and seven seniors from the Acton Seniors' Centre. The Robert Little students who perform on the DVD went to the board meeting with Burland and taught the trustees how to do the Marching Circus. ROTARY CLEANUP Money, dead animals, car parts, tires and lots of garbage. That's a partial list of what Rotary Club of Acton members, Ist Acton Scouts and other volunteers expect to find on Saturday when they conduct their annual cleanup of the ditches on both sides of Highway 7 from Sobeys, easterly to the Sixth Line. Rotary, which "adopted" that stretch of highway 10 years ago, is always looking for more volunteers. and is working with the high school and students who must do community service to graduate. Volunteers, who must be 12, should turn out at the Tim Hortons parking lot at 8 a.m. on Saturday and look for somebody in a safety vest. Call Doug, 853-0239, for more information. ACTON IDOL Think you've got what it takes to be Acton's idol? Well, you'll get your chance to strut your stuff before a panel of judges this summer in the first Acton Idol contest. The contest will kick off with con- testants singing or playing their hearts out in the Prospect Park pavilion on Canada Day before the fireworks demonstration. : The contest will culminate with the winner being announced, and performing during the Leathertown Festival six weeks later. The idol contest is open to those aged 11 to 18. For details, call Josey at the Acton BIA office at 853-9555, or apply on-line at actonbia@aztec- net.com RK Leathertown Festival planners are busy lining up events and per- formers to make this event bigger and better than last year's summer extravaganza. This year for the first time a Fes- tival Ambassador will be selected -- a boy or girl from Grades one through six who will be chosen to represent the festival -- possibly by writing what they love best about the festival. SPA SPECIAL A limited number of women will be able to pamper themselves and help a good cause on May 17 at Blue Springs Spa and Salon. Owner Kristine Cieslok is hold- ing a Breast Cancer Awareness and Spa Evening -- a $25 event with all proceeds donated to The Walk to End Breast Cancer. A rep from the Breast Cancer Foundation will discuss awareness and another will offer stress man- agement tips and there will be mini spa treatments along with wine and cheese tasting and desserts. Tickets, which are limited. to 40, are available-at the spa. MEMORIAL UNVEILED Early this morning (Thursday) a memorial marking the 60th anni- versary of the end of WW II and the liberation of The Netherlands was unveiled at the Civic Centre. . The memorial was donated by grateful Dutch Canadians from Halton Hills, along with J.C. Duff Limited. oR Acton's third annual Candlelight Tribute takes place tonight with silent walks to the Cenotaph for a ceremony and then a reception at the Legion, hosted by Branch 197. Anyone who wishes to take part in the silent walk is asked to meet at either St. Alban's Church or the old Hide House parking lot at 7 p.m. The silent procession will leave at 7:30, and at the Cenotaph, the stu- dents will place their lighted candles at its base and shake hands with the veterans who have been invited to the ceremony. BLOOMIN' BARGAINS The Acton Horticultural Society is holding its annual spring plant sale on May 17 in the parking lot of the old Hide House. : The popular sale will offer a wide range of perennials and shrubs for every garden condition, including ground covers, herbs, day lilies and more. Master gardeners. will be on hand to offer advice and answer ques- tions. : The sale begins at 8 a.m. and lasts until everything is sold out. HERITAGE OF FAITH Local historian Rick Ruggle will explore the development of religion in this area at the May 11 meeting of the Esquesing Historical Society. Ruggle will explore the heritage of faith as he outlines the develop- ment of various religions in this township. All are welcome to the free meet- ing that will be held at Knox Church on Main Street in Georgetown, begin- ning at 7:30 p.m. IODE BAKING Delicious home-made baking -- pies, squares, cakes, cookies, muf- fins, angel cakes and more -- will be for sale at great prices.tomorrow (Friday) at the Lakeside Chapter of the IODE's bake sale at the Off The Wall youth centre on Mill Street. The baking comes from the kitch- ens of IODE members and the proceeds from the annual sale will help fund IODE projects includ- ing school bursaries, the Chapter's adopted school, its part in the Acton Christmas hamper program and com- munity aid. The bake sale runs from 9:45 a.m. until noon at 45 Mill St., East. MS SUCCESS Thanks to the generous support of many Acton residents, Acton busi- nesswoman Yvette Simpson was able to raise $1,530 in pledges for the fight against Multiple Sclerosis. Simpson walked five-kilometres in the Super Cities WALK for MS on April 17 in Milton. "T was amazed to present a $1,530 donation to the MS Society. It was a beautiful day and the time seemed to fly by. I managed to finish the 5-km walk, but only with the support from all of you, making it even more of a success," Simpson, owner of Silver ) Creek Spa, said in thanks. DAFFODIL DALLIANCE: Over the creek and in the trees hundreds of daffodils are gracing the lawn at Acton Public Library. Other flowers are showing their blooms in the Laura Dietrich Memorial Gardens, front, while marsh marigolds are breasting the current in the School Creek which runs merrily along in its search for Fairy Lake. The display is the result of the hard work of Acton Horticultural Society which tenderly cares for the area. Last week we found out what lengths the Liberals would go to stay in power. They sold all of us out to the N.D.P. It's not just the changes to the proposed budget, we can live with them. It's the whole idea of the Liberals caving in on a program as basic to party philoso- phy as a budget. When last year's election was in full swing I don't recall Paul Martin campaigning for a blended Liberal/ N.D_P. ticket. Actually, I remember the opposite. When it looked as if the New Democrats were going to bleed support away from the Liberals Jack Layton became the devil incarnate. Now I'm not so naive that I don't understand that politics can't make strange bedfellows. But the Liber- als and the N.D.P.? Next thing you know the Conservatives will hook-up with the Bloc. Hmmmm, on second thought. Thave a lot more respect for Jack Layton than I had before, (I'm taking medicine for it). Layton negotiated a win/win situation for his party. If the budget passes he' ll take all the credit for the "socially progressive" part of the legisla- tion. If the government falls, and the budget doesn't pass, he'Il run on the fiscal propositions he's put forward. And how could the Liber- als possibly argue against them? The only thing the Liberals can possibly do is include them in their platform. Of course this wouldn't be the first time the Liberals ever "adopted" a policy. As for the Conservative marriage of converience with the Bloc, that may turn out to be the downfall of Stephen Harper. It's less a coalition of equals and more an association of co-conspirators. The Bloc sees an opportunity to take more seats from the Liberals in Quebec. The gamble is that Quebecers will vote against Liberals but not vote for sovereignty when the Bloc pushes for another referendum. That's a gamble I don't think Harper had a right to take. As I said before, the country doesn't want an election. By the same token, I'm not sure we want way Paul Martin and cohorts are spending money like drunken sailors looks like they are resigned to an early election. The first signs we' re going to the polls is when the government of the day tries to buy us with our own money. The sad thing is, we usually fall for it. eR an N.D.P. blended budget. The © 'What price ethics? $4.6 billion ) The Way I See It with Mike O'Leary Remember last year we had a lost child at a pick-your-own farm south of town? It was pretty scary but for- tunately the child was found and all - ended well. The incident, however, threw a scare into many people and out of what well could have been a tragedy came something positive. Laurie Andrews of Andrews Sce- nic Acres, Geoff Knuff from Halton Hills Rural Watch and Constable Laurel Barnett with Halton Re- gional Police decided to develop a plan. What follows here are their proposals on how to handle a lost . child incident. With spring and summer seasons almost upon us I strongly suggest you make note of their ideas. We townies can also benefit from these ideas. All too often children wander and we have parks and woodlands here in town. The first thing to do is call police. Officers I know assure us they'd rather answer 100 false alarms than be late for one real one. LOST PERSON PROCEDURE Research to Personalize Your Plan *Discover the phone number of the local police officer who can help you make this plan. *Obtain the phone numbers of other local groups that might help in a search, such as Rural Watch, Conservation Security, Junior Farm- ers, etc. . *Identify hazards on the property and on land adjacent to property. *Locate a source of maps of your property and the surrounding con- cession, probably your municipal or town office. *Announce your intentions to fam- ily and staff and seek their advice. *Announce your intentions to your local agricultural organization and seek advice. *Purchase a bullhorn or public address system. *Repair perimeter fences, and fence off hazards where practical. *Identify outbuildings that should be kept-locked due to farm imple- ments, chemicals, etc. *Identify a site for a police com- mand centre vehicle, to avoid damage to crops or the vehicle becoming stuck on soft ground. Preparedness for a Lost Person Scenario These steps should be taken be- fore a person is reported missing, so that when you are called upon to deal with one, you can activate the Lost Persons' Procedure. *Designate someone to be in charge if you are absent. *Have good detailed maps avail- able for use by emergency services and volunteers. *Identify hazards on and near your property, such as ponds, quar- ries, railway tracks, etc. *Share your plan with your neighbours and/or Rural Watch. *Have phone tree available to activate when necessary. If acti- vated, caution volunteers to wear appropriate clothing and bring flashlights. Have neighbours' phone numbers handy. *Keep supply of flashlights and batteries for nighttime searches. *Post your plan near the cash register or some other obvious place, for police and other search- ers to review upon arrival. *Brief employees and neigh- bours so that they are aware of procedures. Run training sessions if possible. *Post signage to alert visitors that the property has potentially hazardous items or locations, that you have a Lost Person's Proce- dure, and that adults should watch the children in their party. Activating the Plan Step 1 -- to be performed simul- taneously *Notify property owner or other person in charge. *Call 911. *Send staff to secure known haz- ards (ponds, railway tracks, etc.) *Obtain description of child and clothing, amount of time missing, and photograph (to be photo- copied) if possible. *Use bullhorn to get attention and assistance of customers and staff. *Search parked vehicles and out buildings. *Activate neighbourhood watch phone tree. Step2 , *Send staff/volunteer to parking lot to watch for child. *Close down admissions/exits to farm. Write down licence plates of vehicles if drivers are adamant about leaving. If police are on site insist that each departing car is searched. *Follow direction of police. oD