The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2007 THE NEW TANNER 7 with Mike OLeary The Way I See It GRAPEVINE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: George DeRabbie, George Forrest, Bill Kitely in rear, John Wagg and Wayne Young, all of Branch 197 of the legion support our troops.- Ted Tyler Photo. Soccer camp Registrations are still being accepted for a soccer camp run- ning from August 13 to17 on the Elizabeth Drive pitch by Actons Crossings Community Church in conjunction with Athletes in Ac- tion Soccer. The groups university and club players offer soccer camp play- ers aged seven to 12 though an intense week that includes one-on-one instruction, skills de- velopment, exciting competitions and tournaments with the focus on excellence, fun and commitment. Register at 519-853-9757 or at www.realfaaith.ca Skatepark opened After five long years of plan- ning, Actons 3 Musketears Skatepark officially opened yes- terday (Wednesday) afternoon with a reception, ribbon cutting and skateboard demonstrations. The facility has been jammed with boarders, bikers and bladers since before crews completed the work last week, and the consensus is that the park is awesome with lots to do for all levels of skill. Actons new facility supervisor Aaron Matthews, a member of the Acton Sports Action Park commit- tee that helped make the facility happen, said theyll put out a few more garbage cans and let people know that garbage bags are avail- able inside the arena. Auxiliary cops wanted Halton police are looking for voluntary Auxiliary Police Of- ficers who commonly are used to augment police at public events like fall fairs and Christmas pa- rades. Applications will be accepted until August 10 and the first part of the selection process involves a general aptitude test. Application forms are available at www.hrps. on.ca or from any police station. Auxiliary officers receive over 100 hours of instruction including legal training in powers of arrest, ethics, traffic direction and use of force. Dance divas Three Acton teens whose dance audition impressed the judges were invited to compete in the Rising Star 2007 competition at this years CNE. Amber Price, 17, Amber Piette and Monique Lalande, both 16, just recently began to perform competitively as a trio. The num- ber they will perform at the CNE dance competition is Haunted and the girls, all who train at Actons TDI dance studio, are costumed as zombies. The first round of competi- tion for the girls is August 17, and hopefully the trio will move through to the finals on Septem- ber 2. Dont swim The Old Beach in Prospect Park continues to be unsafe for swim- ming because of high levels of bacteria in the water. For the past three weeks, Halton Health department testing has shown unacceptable levels of bacteria and the results are caus- ing concern for Halton staff, including environmental health supervisor Paul Burgher who said they believe the Fairy Lake pollu- tion is caused by four storms water drains that dump into the lake, run-off from goose poop and the slow movement of the water that leaves the lake dead. Despite signs warning people not to swim without first call- ing the beach hotline to check for water safety, people were swimming at the Old Beach on Saturday and Sunday and Burgher said they may have to reconsider their strategy next year in order to prevent people from becoming ill by swimming in bacteria-con- taminated water. The Prospect Park beach is one of seven recreational water areas that Halton checks on a regular basis. The test results are posted on a beach hotline 1-866-422- 5866 and information is updated weekly, or as conditions change. This was sent to me by a friend and I thought I would share it with you. The hard part will be to remember each Friday. I intend to mark my calendar but even if we just try to send the message it will have an impact. Last week, while travelling in Canada on business, I noticed a soldier travelling with a folded flag but did not put two-and-two together. After we boarded our flight I turned to the soldier, who had been invited to sit in First Class (across from me), and inquired if he was head- ing home. No, he responded. Heading out, I asked? No, I am escorting a soldier home. Going to meet him? I asked. No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Afghanistan. I am taking him home to his family. The realization of what he had been asked to do, hit me like a punch to the gut. It was an honour for him. He told me that, although he didnt know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldiers family and felt as if he knew them after many conversa- tions in so few days. I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do, so my family and I can do what we do. Upon landing in Canada the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announce- ment over the intercom. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honour of having Sergeant Steeley of the Canadian Armed Forces join us on this flight. He is escorting a fallen comrade back home to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the forward door to allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign. Without a sound, all went as requested. I noticed the Sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realize that I am proud to be a Canadian. So heres a public Thank You to Our Military Men and Women for what you do so we can live the way we do. Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing RED every Friday. The reason, Canadians who support our troops used to be called the silent majority. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing. Many Canadians, like you and I and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Canada supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and ev- ery Friday until the troops all come home. Hopefully, this will send a deafening message that every Ca- nadian who supports our men and women in the armed forces will wear something RED. It could be just a small RED RIBBON By word of mouth and through the press lets make Canada on every Friday a sea of RED. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, it will not be long before Canada is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once silent majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than some in the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked, What can we do to make things better for you? is ... We need your support and your prayers. Lets get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something RED every Friday. It is your choice, thanks to our armed forces! ***** A few weeks ago I wrote about the plague of gun crimes now infecting our cities. n that column I misrepre- sented the Boyd Gang who operated in Toronto as being armed but not as dangerous as todays trigger happy punks. My observant readers called me on that mistake. It had completely slipped my mind that the Boyd Gang ended their careers by murdering a police officer, one Pete Tong. I also think that two members of that gang were the last two men hanged in the old Don Jail. Of course other things were dif- ferent in those days, Bank branch accountants, most of them kept a loaded .45 pistol in their desk draw- ers. Its hard to believe these days but the bank brass expected their underpaid employees to defend their cash at their personal risk. The other thing that changed in police attitudes, If they saw some- one who was wanted for killing a fellow police officer the sounds they might hear would be: Bang, Bang, Bang; Stop Police! Bang, Bang. So, for the most part, crooks avoided getting into a gunfight with police. Ah, the good old days. In any event, I stand by the general tone of that column. Most Toronto policemen I knew up until my late 20s had never even drawn their pistols in self-defence. And those were cops working in down- town Toronto. Ill wager few, if any, could make the same claim today. Todays criminals, often fueled by drugs, have no respect for human life, not even their own. Witness the tragic murder of an 11-year-old boy last weekend. I do appreciate readers pointing out inaccuracies in my humble offerings I would like to remind everyone that this is an opinion column. As Marshall McLuhan ob- served; the media is the message. Another column that got me in to trouble was the one on smart cars. For the record I did not sat that anyone who drove a Smart car was an idiot. I did say, and still do, that the jerk I saw on the 401, weaving in and out of lanes, cutting off 65 foot highway rigs was an idiot. I stand by that observation. To the reader who suggested we would all be better off if everyone drove a Smart car perhaps. I prefer a slightly larger vehicle with some available crumple zone in case of an accident. No, I do not drive an SUV. Friends, if someone wants to drive a smaller vehicle, or a larger one for that matter, like a moron then dont expect the rest of us to grieve if they end up a messy puddle on the highway. My only observation is that there is not much crumple zone in Smart cars. Other than the occupants of course. Thus endeth the mea culpas for this week. Consider me duly chagrined. To the editor: Hartley Coles, in his July 19 column wrote about Maisie Roach the author from Acton and wanted to know if there were any books out there that used Acton as the setting. Could you please advise him about Judy Fongs Midnight at the Dragon Caf This is a fabulous book about a Chinese immigrant family in the 60s, living and working in Acton. Best regards, Ruth Germain Editors note: Coles completely is completely astonished at his fail- ure to include Judy Fongs Midnight at the Dragon Cafbecause a copy of the book was sitting on the desk beside him where he wrote the column, He has also read it and was intrigued by the story which anyone who lived in Acton during the era Judy describes found it fascinating. He says: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa. A good reason to see red Jody Fongs book about Acton left out of column