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THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2005 GRAPEVINE ACTON SCOUTS Thanks to some new leaders, there will be a Scout Troop in Acton this fall, and that's great news for a group of boys who are ready to become Scouts, but were unsure if the program would be offered after not running last year because there weren't enough leaders. Revival of the Scouts means that there will be a full slate of Scouting programs in Acton this fall -- right from Beavers through to Ventures; and its good news for the Scouts -- they always need more leaders to help offer these programs to boys aged five through 17. Registration for the fall programs is September 6 at the Scout Hall. TALES FOR BABES Rhymes, movement and music are what make Baby Tales, a pro- gram for babies and parents, that is offered at the library, so much fun. The program, designed for babies aged six to 23 months, will run on Wednesdays at 9:45 a.m. from July 6 to 27, at the River Street branch. It is a registered lottery program, and forms are available until June a SALVATION CHANGES The Acton Corps of the Salvation Army is welcoming new officers later this month as Majors Dean and Margaret Locke are coming to Acton from Simcoe. Majors Lyndon and Lisa Hale are returning to Newfoundland after their posting to Acton and will say farewell to Acton on June 26. EATERY FOR SALE A Taste of Italy is on the market, but so far there are no takers. The Italian-style eatery with the popu- lar patio has been listed for about a month. SWIM ASSESSMENT The Acton Aqua Ducks Swim Club is offering free assessments of kids aged five to 12 who are interested in improving their swim- ming ability. If your kids like to swim, bring them to the Acton in-door pool on June 20 or 21, from 6 to 7 p.m., and ask for Rose, Jerry or Julie. RELAY THANKS Congrats to rural Acton's Rebec- ca Burtney who was honored by the Canadian Cancer Society on Friday night for her unstinting volunteer work with the Acton branch Until she left for university this year, Burtney was the treasurer of the Acton branch for the Wel- lington Cancer Society and helped organize several teams for Relays for Life. "Rebecca never let me down. She changed her plans when I told her I needed her. What a nice commen- tary on youth," said Cancer Society unit manager Mary Anne Myhill. Along with her work for the Cancer Society, Burtney was a repeat Miss Acton first runner-up who helped represent the Acton Agricultural Society with poise and expertise when Miss Acton was unavailable. PADRES SELECT ACTON PLAYER Acton's Justin Worby is going to the show. The 18-year-old, 6',180-pound catcher was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 43rd round of the Major League baseball 2. last week. Worby, who bats left and throws right, hit 350 last season with 14 RBI and nine stolen bases. He graduated from Georgetown High School in January. KINETTES' CALENDAR There will be dancing and nosh- ing at the Acton arena/community centre this weekend thanks to the Kinette Club of Acton that is host- ing a dance on Friday (tomorrow) night, and a Community Brunch for Father's Day on Sunday. The dance, co-sponsored by ASAP - the Acton Sports Action Park committee working to build a skateboard park at the arena site - will feature door prizes, snacks and hot tunes from 7:30 to 11 p.m., all for $5. RK Bet Dad would love to be treated to an all-you-can-eat buffet at the Kinette's Community Brunch on Sunday at the arena/community centre. In exchange for helping cook, serve and cleanup, members of the Acton Air Cadets will share in proceeds from the popular brunch, which is $5 per person with pre- schoolers eating free. The brunch runs from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is the last brunch for the summer - the Kinettes will be back September 25, marking their 10th year helping Acton foster commu- nity spirit and enjoy a tasty meal. PULPIT EXCHANGE Knob Presbyterian Church Min- ster Pieter van Harten is trading lives with Reverend Gary Barclay each Saturday night to lead services at Barelay's United Free Church of Scotland. Likewise, the Reverend Barclay will take over the pulpit at Knox Church next month, and, with his wife and three young children, will move into the van Harten's Guelph residence. Along with the pulpits, the min- isters are also trading cars, maps, lists of local attractions and basic information about their towns. Acancelled flight means the Bar- clays will not arrive in Acton as scheduled and they will miss Knox Presbyterian Church's annual Strawberry Social on Wednesday, June 29. "Tt would have been a great way not only to have been fed, but to informally meet some of the con- gregation," van Harten said, adding the family arrives June 30, and he leaves the next day. KK The buffet table will tempt with fresh strawberry desserts and salads -potato, cabbage, jellied and pasta to name a few - at Knox's Strawberry Social on June 29th from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The annual sit down or take out feast was enjoyed by over 150 people last year and helped raise money for church programs and projects. BOOK SIGNING Former Acton resident, author and archivist Hugh MacMillan will be in Guelph, at the Book Shelf, signing copies of the his new book Adventures of a Paper Sleuth, on June 25 from 5 to 7 p.m. The Ontario rural history, re- portedly including Acton's, that MacMillan has uncovered, is in- cluded in his book. THE NEW TANNER BBQ WINNER: Ralph Mulder of Georgetown won the BBQ donated by NAKA Sales Ltd. raffled off at Willow Lanes Natural Foods on June 1. From left to right are Ralph Mulder, Peggy Mulder, grand- daughter Kennedy and store owner Annie Kerkhof. -- Submitted photo Sometimes the creative juices ae difficult to kickstart and so it was last Sunday while I was frying an egg on my front sidewalk. Seems like it was just yesterday when I was commenting (make that com- plaining) on how long winter was. I observed that we only get four months of "good weather." Do we really need to cram all the hot weather into 10 days? Obviously, those with a closer connection to a higher power need to start exerting some pressure for a respite from these unbearable temperatures. This hint is for the-Acton Minis- terial Association to get cracking. Enough already with the "you think this is hot???" sermons. Thank you for your co-operation. Does all the bad political news in this country have to emanate from Quebec? First the Gomery Inquiry, and that whole nest of vipers keeps crawling out of the pit. Now, with Gomery winding up and waiting for justice Gomery's report, the Supreme Court drops the next bombshell. The Court upheld the decision that a Quebec doctor has the right to offer private medical services to his patient. The Supremes agreed that the delay in his hip replace- "and Canadian Charter of Rights. The wait list represented an un- reasonable delay. . The usual suspects interpret the decision from both sides of the divide. I doubt either side is right. The feds say we will never have a two-tiered medical system. Others claim the decision, despite the fact it only applies in Quebec, spells the end of Medicare as we know it. One thing we should all agree on is that some changes are forth- coming. Now lets try to negotiate a deal that is sustainable. Medicare, as envisioned 40 years ago, needs a huge transfu- sion of money. I would suggest that the billion dollar boondoggle of gun control and the quarter- billion dollar sponsorship theft could easily be plopped into the pot. But even that wouldn't be \ enough cash. ment surgery violated the Quebec' Taming the Medicare monster The Way | I See It with Mike O'Leary Part of the problem is the number of procedures covered by Medicare these days and the number of citi- zens seeking timely access to these services. Tommy Douglas, bless his heart, never imagined the progress in technology and research avail- able today. His objective was a plan which would provide a bare-bones health plan for Canadians. We've added expensive procedures while demanding timely service without considering the fiscal problems. So now is a good opportunity to realistically look at the dollars. Just saying, "we want universal Medicare" isn't going to cut it any more. Right now would be an op- portune time for a debate on this problem. The N.D.P. is pushing for a $4.6 billion spending program on top of an already generous Liberal budget. If we are supposed to react to the recent decision made by the supremes the money has to come from somewhere. We can't keep piling taxes upon taxes. So what do we 'cut? Premier McGuinty saw the light and broke a big promise by levying a health tax. From what I've seen so far, not much has changed. I have some reservations that all this new tax levy is finding its way into healthcare but that's another story. The question is can we ever satisfy the appetite for cash under the present system? Some of the decisions made by ideologues recently are unbeliev- able. Take the private M.R.I. clinic the province decided to close at Sunnybrook Hospital. In addition to having to pay for machinery that would have been available to everybody during a regular shift, we lose the private patients who would have been serviced after hours. Government won't pay the = premium wages private patients would have. Doesn't it make sense that every private patient serviced would reduce the Medicare pa- tient wait list? Isn't that a win/win situation? . : Anyone who thinks we don't have two-tier Medicare now is delusional. Do you think sports stars or prima ballerinas wait ete ME RA8?. HO Warten y"TEAS | poi eral/provincial M.P.'s do you see hanging around waiting rooms? Big biz-shots aren't waiting six months for hip replacements. Both Quebec and Alberta have been running private clinics for years. Shouldice surgery, a private clinic, would probably have been shut down long ago except for the fact they do such an excel- lent job. Two-tiered medicine is everywhere. The way some talk, Canada would be a pariah nation if we instituted a public/private system. They trot out the big boogeyman Uncle Sam. Why, those Yanks spend twice as much per person as we do on health care. Prob- ably, but they have 10 times the population. And besides, no one is even suggesting that we con- sider a mostly privately financed system. The only ones suggesting you finance your house for hospi- tal costs are those who are quite prepared to gamble our entire financial future on an impossible goal. This Medicare model cannot be held together any longer. It's interesting to see just how many other nations try to keep Medicare costs totally public. Pri- vate medical practice is allowed in England, Sweden and most other countries whose system hasn't collapsed. Let Canadians who can afford to pay extra search out private care. It's either that or watch the whole system implode under its own weight. By the way, guess who are the two countries who demand the health system be entirely publicly funded, as well as we Canadians? Why, North Korea and Cuba, or course. That's something to aspire to. y