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THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2007 THE NEW TANNER 7 GRAPEVINE with Mike OLeary The Way I See It I resolve not to resolve Its an old custom that, along with kissing any stranger in reach at the stroke of midnight New Years Eve, many of us still make New Years resolutions. As adults, most involve health issues such as dieting, exercising more, stopping smoking, etc. I dont make many New Years resolutions. I have resolved to make more time for visits to our place up north. I havent mentioned that to the Bride yet because last summer I spent almost 60 days up north and I fear she may want me to catch-up on last years outdoor chores let alone dream up some new ones for the summer of 2007. Lets just keep that resolution be- tween us. Thank you. For years now I have resolved to re-grow my hair. Needless to say, my efforts have not produced the desired results. That disappoint- ment, year after year, probably led me to resist making any further resolutions. That doesnt mean Im against other people making New Years resolutions. In fact, Im not beyond suggesting resolutions for public figures you may be familiar with. Close to home I would like to congratulate Regional Councillor Clark Somerville and his family on the purchase of Tanners Restaurant effective New Years day. Located across from the olde Hide House, Tanners has been a popular spot from the time it opened. I suggest an appropriate resolution for the new owners of Tanners would be to supply sharply discounted Guin- ness to fellow Councillors with the appropriate Irish heritage. To newly elected Regional Chair- man Gary Carr, a change of tact in handling this critical position. Forget about your past successes in hockey and provincial/federal politics. Resolve to be able to an- swer the question That was then, this is now. What have you done for us lately? There is a high level of confidence this question will be asked early in 2007. Provincial Premier Dalton Mc- Guinty is between a rock and a hard place. McGuinty set the elec- tion date early in his term. Now he has to go to the people in October of 2007. Our Dalton gives new meaning to the saying, Its a dogs life and hes wearing milk bone underwear. In addition to a train wreck of broken promises hes also saddled with the unrealistic com- mitment he made to close Ontarios coal-fired plants. He finished 2006 with the infamous raise for MPPs. Id say Dalton is up a creek without a paddle. His resolution should be to get a paddle and row like hell, or, buy a barrel and go over the falls in anonymity. Opposition leader John Tory, who was a willing accomplice in the great Christmas heist, has a significant amount of fence mending to do. He may not have planned the caper but he sure drove the getaway armoured truck. His resolution should be to avoid making promises he cant/has no intention of keeping. Failing that, see Dalton McGuintys resolution above. I suppose we need a resolution or two for NDP leader Howard Hampton. Dont hold a grudge over Bob Raes book which pretty well repudiated the basic NDP philoso- phy and insulted your union buddies as a bonus. Polls indicated your fortunes may improve in the fall election. Resolve to fight new battles instead of dwelling on backstabbers. Youve already tasted some revenge. Sweeeeeet isnt it? General Rick Hillier walks the walk and talks the talk of a soldiers soldier. He should resolve to keep the heat on waffling, spineless politi- cians of every stripe to support the missions of our troops in the field. The lives of our soldiers, sailors and airmen are far too precious to be scarified on the altar of political expedience. Canada has suffered through devastating losses in 2006. Almost all the families reported their loved ones were committed to the mission and were proud to serve. Who should you believe? My sug- gested resolution for Gen. Hillier: Soldier on, General, soldier on. I saw Prime Minister Harpers year-end interview on C.T.V. While I thought some of the PMs answers were thoughtful and accurate, some of the policy ques- tions gave me pause. Its not that I doubted Mr. Harper but he was less than convincing. This was especially odd since he was on home turf and should have been relaxed. The problem seems to be that although Harper is intelligent he lacks interpersonal skills. For his resolution I suggest enrolling in professional selling skills I & II. If you master the two basics of the course namely: What is it and what does it do for me? you may just be able to convince Canadians to follow your lead. Stephane Dion needs to change his public image. I think he should consider revising his environmen- tal strategy and stop referring to the Kyoto accord. Under Dions min- istry air pollution increased almost 30%. We wont discuss the report that claims that Bovine Flatulence (cow farts for we simple folk) is responsible for much of the CO2 emissions causing global warming. Resolve to develop a new platform Stephane. Jack Layton is, in my opinion, a lost cause. He should resolve to return to Toronto where he lacked any national stage. Not that anyone listens much to him anyway. Gilles Duceppe gets no sugges- tions from me. Ill have no truck nor trade with someone I consider to be a traitor to this wonderful country. Many of my readers will have made personal resolutions they have every intention of honouring. To them I say stay the course and I wish you success in your efforts. I hope you have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2007. Now, the only thing to look forward to is a hopefully short and mild winter. I, for one, am marking off the calendar and looking for- ward to my first trip north. Thats when my New Year really starts. AA meetings If you want to stop drinking and you live in the Acton area Alcohol- ics Anonymous meetings are held locally throughout the week. Call 1-866-715-0005 for de- tails. Agricultural snapshot From oxen to tractors, life on an Esquesing farm will be explored at the January 10 meeting of the Esquesing Historical Society. Stewarttown native Rob Burnett and Acton resident Ray Denny will share their stories of agriculture in Esquesing at the free meeting at Knox Church in Georgetown. Young readers Space is still available in some programs for kids that begin Janu- ary 9 at the Acton library on River Street. Aimed at those from six months to five years, the programming is free, although pre-registration is required. Call 519-853-0301 for details. Fire stats Nice to see a drop in the number of emergency responses by Acton and Georgetown firefighters last year. There were 750 calls for service in 2006, compared to 777 calls in 2005. High school information Parents of students entering Grade nine in September are invited to an information session at Acton High School on January 17. The meeting will cover an over- view of the Grade nine program, services available to students and diploma requirements. The main presentation begins at 7 p.m. followed by smaller groups for question and answer sessions at 7:45 p.m. and tours at 8:30 p.m. *** For Acton area parents who want more information about the public school boards French Immersion program, a meeting is scheduled for January 18 at Robert Little School. French Immersion (FI) students can enter the bilingual program in Grade one or Grade seven, and receive half of their instruction in English and half in French. Applications for the FI program, are available on the Halton Dis- trict School Boards web site, and should be filed by January 29. The Acton FI meeting begins at 7 p.m. Extreme weather... Continued from page 6 ment. Vancouver newspapers were full of stories during both extreme weather events about how much these natural disasters were go- ing to cost the citys economy. In developing countries, severe weather events are doing more than harming the economy theyre killing people. Of course, extreme weather has always killed people. But in a recent article in the journal Science, Indian researchers report that extreme summer monsoon rains in India are becoming more common. Last summer, for example, more than 1,000 people died during one torrential rainstorm around Mumbai. For the Science study, research- ers analyzed data during the period 1951 to 2000 from more than 1,800 weather stations around central and eastern India. They found that while overall rainfall remained fairly consistent during the 50-year period, the number of extreme rainfall events doubled. Researchers cannot conclusively say that human-induced global warming is the cause, but the studys findings are in line with what computer models predict will continue to happen unless we seriously curb greenhouse gas emissions. The new research helps shed light on why, when global warm- ing models predict more rain in places like India, rainfall there doesnt seem to have increased overall. The answer is that, al- though annual average rainfall hasnt necessarily increased, extreme rainfalls have. Thats unfortunate because more steady rainfall could actually benefit In- dias agriculture. Extreme weather benefits no one, especially in a developing country like India that lacks the infrastructure to deal with it. Keep that in mind for Canada. Canadians by and large sure wouldnt mind more pleasant weather. But global warming wont benefit anyone if more ex- treme weather is the result. Just ask folks in Vancouver. Whats Your Beef? Put it in a letter to the Editor! Deadline is Tuesday at noon. GOIN UP: Structural steel for the new Acton Agricultural Societys building in Prospect Park is all in place and Tambro COnstruction, general contractors, are starting work on the cladding and concrete block facing. Completion of the building is targetted for late spring but the fine weather this area has been enjoying may speed completion up.