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6 THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2007 EDITORIAL Distributed to every home in Acton and area as well as adjoining communities. 373 Queen Street East, Unit 1 Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 email: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com Frances Niblock Mike OLeary Angela Tyler Janis Fread Rebecca Ring Publisher Editorial Ted Tyler Hartley Coles Editorial Contributors Advertising and Circulation Composing Marie Shadbolt Bruce Cargill Danielle McIsaac Janine Taylor By Angela Tyler with Hartley Coles (519) 853-0051 Fax: (519) 853-0052 Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a claim is made within five days of publication. All articles, advertisements and graphic artwork appearing in The New Tanner is copyrighted. Any usage, reproduction or publication of these items, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher of The New Tanner is a copyright infringement and subject to legal action. Need choice here When the need was clearly spelled out by a letter in The New Tanner from the Seniors West Planning and Education Commit- tee for housing to accommodate seniors wanting to downsize in Acton, the first to step up to the plate willing to do something about it was 1001 Developments Limited which is composed of local developers Fred Dawkins and Ron Heller. They propose building 23 townhouse condominiums on Dr. Moore Court to alleviate the lack of suitable housing which makes it necessary for seniors to move to nearby places for accommodation. A previous plan for a 63-unit condominium apartment building, marketed several years ago stalled for lack of financing so 1001 Development is stepping into the breach. Acton developer Fred Dawkins has pleaded with Halton Hills Council as recently as September 25 of last year to avoid the de- velopment crisis which stalled Acton growth in the decade prior to 1992. He asked council to talk with Halton planners to look at ways to expand Actons urban boundary to round out the town which was paralyzed by the provincial governments Greenbelt designation. Dawkins and his development company, which owns property east of Acton, were blindsided by the provinces Greenbelt which took in land they hoped to develop in the east end. It was particu- larly galling for the local developers since local councillors had urged them to take the initiative in developing Actons east end. They did so on 600 lots. It was done in the face of widespread cynicism from large developers that houses in Acton would not sell and if they did would be well below market prices. The results showed how wrong the big developers were. The planned growth of what Dawkins called the catch up period, after 20 years of stagnation, clearly showed there was a need for housing in Acton. The seniors plea for suitable housing so they can downsize clearly shows planners need to find some way around restric- tions on growth to give Actonians the choices enjoyed in every other Halton town of any size. It seems only the local developers understand the situation. Help for smokers Were on the threshold of Weedless Wednesday, Jan. 24, the day set aside for smokers to quyit the habit. Theres some very good reasons to quit smoking, not the least of which the fact that 47,000 people a year die from its effects. Thats without adding the annual cost of health care, estimated at $15 billion. Smoking causes approximately 30 % of all cancers in Canada and about 85 % of lung cancers. More than 75 % of deaths from oral and pharyngeal cancers are caused by tobacco, whether smoked or chewed. Of the 75,000 that die per year as a result of heart disease and stroke in Canada, 18,000 die as a result of smoking. So why wont some smokers give up the habit? The benefits of quitting can be seen very quickly. Over time the re- sults are substantial. After 8 hours oxygen levels in the blood increase to normal. After 48 hours the chances of having a heart attack start to diminish; the senses of smell and taste begin to improve. In 72 smok- ers will find they can breath easier as bronchial tubes relax and lung capacity increases. In two to three months circulation improves. In six months those who quit will notice a decrease in coughing, sinus congestion, tiredness and shortness of breath. One year after quitting, theres a 50% reduction in risk of a smok- ing-related heart attack. After 10 years theres a 50% reduction in risk of death from lung cancer. In 15 years the risk of death is equivalent to that of a person who has never smoked! Finally, the Dude got his dinner My mom is a great cook. She may not delve into haute cuisine but she can make just about every- thing successfully. My dad claims he taught her to cook decades ago but I dont agree. He may have taught her how to make great soup; however, she can hold her own in the kitchen. I once calculated how many meals she has possibly prepared. I think at the time we brought the total somewhere around 80,000 plus meals. After all those how could she not be fabulous? My sister is a pretty good cook, too. She does the dinner party thing usually at Thanksgiving and on Christmas Eve. She is like Martha Stewart in the kitchen. Everything looks very elegant and it tastes just as good. She does the things that you dont expect at the dinner table, like prosciutto wrapped melon, or rack of lamb. When I look at the family tree, I come from a long line of people who can cook. I think I am an okay cook. I can muster around recipes. I love the Food Network. However, when the Dude and I got together I needed to establish some rules after making him wait almost three months for the first dinner I cooked for him. Number one I cant cook a roast and my steaks arent much better. Its hard to believe because my mom, dad and now father in- law are like steak cooking gods. Number two you may love creamed corn, but Im not the one to prepare it. I find the mere sight of creamed corn nauseating. And finally, I dont cook roast chicken or turkey. It isnt because I cant its because I wont. I told the Dude I refuse to stick my hand up anything fowl. If he wants that he has to go to my moms or his moms. After much harassment during the Christmas break from my par- ents about not cooking a Sunday roast for the Dude, I succumbed. My parents and in-laws offered their advice on how to cook a roast, yet my dad had the best suggestion why not get one of those roasts that are in a bag. They are supposedly fool-proof. So a week ago I set out to make Sunday dinner. I had my ready- made roast, complete with gravy, that just needed to be heated. The Dude would get a proper Sunday dinner and I also had another surprise for him. What time will you be home for dinner? I asked him as he was putting a few extra hours at work. Why? Whats for dinner? he asked. I told him he had to wait to find out. When he came home, he sat down at the dining room table while I brought a roast beef din- ner to the table complemented with his precious creamed corn. Wow! the Dude proclaimed Two things I never thought I would see on the tablecreamed corn and a roast. The odd thing was, that this roast in a bag thing was actually pretty good. I guess rules are meant to be broken, but Im sticking with rule number three. Hell still have to go to one of the mothers homes for that dinner. This aerial photo of Acton taken in the late 1960s shows the extent of the town before there were any major developments. Growth was stalled for years prior to 1992. Now Greenbelt legislation has again penalized Acton. See editorial.