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THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2005 THE NEW TANNER GRAPEVINE WETHERBY'S CLOSING With the retirement of Jo Lister at the end of July, Wetherby's:--- an Acton shopping institution and des- tination -- will close. After 16-and-a-half years of sell- ing delicious foods and intriguing gifts -- "In the British Manner" -- Lister decided recently that "it was time to retire" and do other things. Wetherby's is known for its beau- tiful location in an old house with shining hardwood floors and shelves full of authentic, hard to get British gifts, toys and foods. It's also-a great place to catch up on the latest Coronation Street gossip. Lister said her plan is to retire and close the business, but she would also sell it. Shaun Walker YOUTH AWARD Congrats to Acton's Shaun Walk- er, one of 10 Halton Hills youths honoured by the Town at last Thursday's Youth Recognition Award ceremony to mark Interna- tional Youth Week. Walker, who attends Georgetown High school, was recognized for the dependable dedication and hard work he shows twice weekly at Ac- ton's Off The Wall youth centre. With minimal guidance, Walker helps supervise other youth who attend the programs, all the while with utmost respect. Walker was also recognized for being spirited, motivated and selfless. LAKE CLEANUP The Friends of Fairy Lake is looking for volunteers to help with _ its cleanup of the shoreline of Fairy Lake this Sunday. If you can help, meet at the Boathouse in Prospect Park at 8:30 a.m., wearing boots and gloves and armed with a rake. SCHIZOPHRENIA SUPPORT There isn't a support group for family members and friends of people with schizophrenia in Acton, but area residents are welcome at a group that meets at the Milton Mall on the fourth Thursday of each month. The next meeting is May 26. The drop-in group provides care- giver support and information on resources available in Halton. The meetings are in the second floor boardroom at 7 p.m. For details call 905-876-1647. POOL POWER Kudos to Acton's John Eddolls for his speedy ways in the pool at the recent Ontario Division I swim team championships in Ottawa. Eddolls and other Guelph Marlins earned Silver in the 200-metre free- style relay, and Eddolls powered his _ way to five top-eight finishes. CHARITY BBQ Acton's M&M Meat Shops will join with 385 M&M franchises across Canada on Saturday (May 14) in the annual charity barbecues to help raise money for Crohn's and Colitis Research Canada (CCFC). Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., for a minimum $2 donation, sup- porters receive a hamburger or hot dog, drink and a bag of chips. All product and time is donated, so every penny raised goes directly to CCRC. KUNG-FU KELLI: Bus drivers at Tyler Transport took part in a safety meeting on Tuesday which focused on handling emergencies. Bus driver Kelli Callaghan attempts to kick out the front window of a bus in case of an evacuation. Jonathon with mom, Ms. Rafuse Nathan with mom, Kim Bishok MOTHER'S Day TEA: Robert Little's Junior Kindergarten classes celebrated Mother's Day by invit- ing mothers and grandmothers to a tea party on May 4. The children made special hats for their moms decorated with tissue paper, ribbon, and flowers. When the mothers came the children sang songs to them and served them juice-tea and cookies. Later, teacher, Mrs. Doreen Ottaway read Robert Munsch's book, Love you Forever, a story celebrating motherhood. - Submitted photo Its been some time since we caught up on different topics which, while interesting, don't fill a complete column. Here then are a few snippets of the news. The60" Anniversary of VE Day was a world wide remembrance. What continually impresses me is the dedication the people of the Netherlands have to our Veterans and our glorious dead. To this day Dutch children,place flowers and candles on the tomb- stones of Canadians who never made it home. Our Veterans are welcomed over there as family. It's not just the Dutch seniors who still have vivid memories of the war years. Folks in Holland of all ages still hold Canadians in high regard. Compare their attitude with the unfortunate outlook Cana- dians took to the war during the 70's, 80's and 90's. The educational system did its best to downgrade the war effort. Veterans felt largely forgotten. During the last 10 years, how- ever, there is a renewed interest in Canada's war efforts. Cana- dians are taking pride in the fact we went from a depleted military (sound familiar?) to having the third largest navy in the world. We had 90,000 sailors on 400 ships. We had the fourth largest air force in the world. Almost a quarter million pilots and sup- port personnel. Canada had the largest all volunteer army ever assembled. Those are facts that should be, and perhaps are today, taught in every school in this country. Canada has a proud history and it should be celebrated. The downplaying of our military history through two world wars and Korea is one of the colossal mistakes resulting from mis- guided multi-culturalism. We are so terrified of offending anyone we've sacrificed a large part of our national pride. But there is hope on the ho- rizon. Canadians seem to have finally recognized that we have to support our troops with proper equipment. Decades of neglect \ though will take years to rectify. ' Catching up on current events | The Way : | See It with Mike O'Leary But it's a start. Last Thursday the Dutch com- munity of Halton Hills paid more homage to the brave Canadians who liberated their country. A large stone with suitably engraved plaque sits in front of our town hall. The Dutch never forget. Neither should we. 26K For several weeks now I've been saying the Conservatives shouldn't be forcing an election. Canadians are generally fed-up with Ottawa's shenanigans and don't want an- other 200 million dollar public relations extravaganza which will probably end up with the same result give or take a few seats. I've changed my mind. We can't afford much more Liberal largesse. First it was the deal with the N.D.P. which was worth around $4 billion or so. In the past two weeks alone the Martinites have announced over 80 separate hand- outs totalling $7.5 billion. Mr. McGuinty just made up with Mr. Martin over their little war of words. The bill for that? A measly $5.75 billion. Of course, that's over five years. Then if we add back in the $4 billion that Mr. Layton cut from the budget for corporate tax cuts and Mr. Martin promised to reinstate, we're look- ing at a tidy sum. Of course, if the government falls, the budget goes away and all bets are off. And that's why a $200 million election sounds like a bargain. AK It's refreshing to see Provincial Attorney General Michael Bry- ant actually doing something to protect our children. Bryant is trying to put some teeth in our anti-pornography laws. He wants no more conditional sentences for those convicted of child pornogra- phy offences. . Scott Brison. I agree that the Much of the child pornogra- phy comes over the internet. It is, in my opinion, the scourge of what was intended to be a useful tool. It's difficult to police, how- ever, because of the world wide reach of the web and the attitude that the internet is somehow above the law. I don't buy that and I think it's long past time we enacted laws with teeth to put some controls on the internet. Why don't we demand that the big network providers shut down these sites? They're mak- ing a half-arsed effort at it these days but they could be a lot more serious. In addition, the Attor- ney General wants to act against those perverts who use hidden cameras and cellphone cameras to spy on innocent victims. I applaud AG Bryant for his efforts as a good first step. If we as a society can't, or won't, pro- tect our children what good are we? After that, maybe we could do something about handguns. AK The Gomery Inquiry is always good for a few lines. Mr. Guite, who reversed his earlier testi- mony, may be the first sign that the rats are deserting the ship. It looks like Teflon Jean has a few sticky parts. But justice doesn't come cheap. The bill for the Gomery dog and pony show could be as high as $72 million. Three government lawyers alone have raked in $1.75 million in fees so far. Nice work if you can get it. "Getting the truth for Canadi- ans--- is well worth the money," said Public Works Minister truth is important but wouldn't it have been easier if the govern- ment had just been honest in the first place? If you get a traffic ticket you are charged an additional surcharge. Canadians had $100 million stolen and look to be out an additional $72 million in inquiry costs. Later this year there'll be additional court costs. So how come those crooks don't have to pay any of these 9 costs? 7