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THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2007 THE NEW TANNER 7 GRAPEVINE with Mike OLeary The Way I See It We seem to be experiencing a rash of vandalism in our town over the last few months. This is by no means a new phenomenon, had there been spray paint in an- cient times, I have no doubt that the pyramids would have been tagged. For the past few years, however, the vandalism locally hasnt been noticeable. I am aware that garden gnomes and other decorations have been targeted over the last few years. In my mind, though, that is not vandalism but rather petty theft, with the emphasis on petty. My Websters defines vandal- ism as: the malicious destruction or defacement of public or private property. The word is derived from the name of a Germanic tribe (Vandals) that overran Gaul (France and Belgium) Spain, North Africa and sacked Rome in 455 AD. Lets look about vandalism first. I presume most of us have seen the graffiti on Speyside School, the poultry barn in Prospect Park and several of the buildings downtown. This is not a victim- less crime. Business owners and you, the public, are the victims because someone has to pay for removing these eyesores. If town staff or school board staff have to spend time and use material to clean up the mess, you pay for it in your taxes. If busi- ness owners have to spend time cleaning the stuff off you can bet the prices you pay for goods and services will reflect those costs. My point is that no matter where vandalism occurs taxpayer end up footing the bill. So vandal- ism is far from being a victimless crime, its one that affects us all. I believe that someone out there, probably one of our young people, knows who is responsible for the latest rash of tagging. I suggest you talk to your kids about his problem. Then as a responsible adult, you should make the police aware of who is responsible. Please dont tell me you dont want to be a fink or a rat by in- forming on these people. Cmon people were not in grade school anymore. I get so tires of hearing people say why doesnt the gov- ernment do something about (fill in the blanks here)? My response usually is Why dont you? The police, or any public service agency for that matter, are only as good as the cooperation they receive from the citizens they serve. If you saw a house on fire, you would hesitate to call the fire department would you? If you came across a person in obvious distress youd call an ambulance ASAP. So why is it that when otherwise responsible adults see or know who is committing vandalism is hesitant to call the police because they dont want to get involved. Give me a break! You are involved by virtue of just living here. Do you like the plantings that beautify our downtown? I think the hanging baskets are particu- larly stunning this year. Would it surprise you to know that some moron has tied to pull some of them down this summer? In a couple of cases they suc- ceeded, and you know what the genius did then? They smashed the holder and left the flowers there to die. If it werent for the tender loving care of BIA coor- dinator Josey Bonnette we would have fewer handing baskets grac- ing our downtown. By now some of you may be thinking, so whats the big deal here? Its not as if anyone dies. You should know that statistics show that vandals often proceed to more serious crimes. Through the generosity of the Rotary Club, and the support of our town Prospect Park now has a new bandstand. Before anyone had a chance to play there a group of doorknobs not only painted graffiti on it, they started a fire on the wooden floor. Were they trying to burn it down? I doubt it but that could have been the result, One member of the Rotary Club said to me, with sadness in his voice, Why cant people stand to see a beautiful addition to our town? I had no answer, Long time readers will know that I have been associated with the Acton Fall Fair for more that 23 years. During all that time, I never noticed a flagpole on the right, just inside the gates. That was probably because the pole was hidden amongst the tress. During the construction of the new Ag. Building it was discov- ered and I noticed a capitol A in a circle on the top. Recogniz- ing that as a piece of our history, I had it removed to beside the poultry barn. The plan was for the societys building committee to refurbish it and re-erect it in the park. Before we could do that some thief cut the A off the flag pole as it lay on the ground. We know it was cut off as we could see the marks on the pole. The Acton Agricultural Society would like the top of the histori- cal flagpole back. It can be left beside our new building or at the New Tanner office. There will be no recriminations. If we dont get this ornament back, I say that anyone displaying it will not be a proud Actonite. I think they will be proclaiming themselves as a two-syllable eu- phemism the second part would be hole. Leathertown fun Family fun, good food and great deals will be on tap at Actons 16th annual Leathertown Festival on August 12 when six blocks of downtown Acton will host a street party. Rolly Rocker and the Hemi Heads will bring this years theme Rock on to the Leathertown Festival alive at the main stage, and the entertainment lineup also includes an Elvis impersonator and a vocal illusionist. The festivities also include rock climbing, a classic car show, pony rides, a petting zoo and the Halton Hill Fire Department Safety House. The fun begins at 11 the open- ing ceremony is at the main stage at 12 and it continues until 5 p.m. Unsafe swimming For the fourth week in a row, bacteria levels at the Old Beach in Prospect Park were too high for safe swimming last week. to be safe to swim last week. Testing done for the Halton Health Department found higher than acceptable levels of E. coli bacteria that could led to intesti- nal problems and ear infections. The Old Beach is one of seven recreational water areas tested weekly by Halton that posts the results at 1-866-442-5866. Wedding vows Planning to say, I do this summer, but dont belong to a church? Actons William Stra- chan of Halton Wedding Vows can help. The ordained minister, who retired to Acton several years ago, helps couples design wedding ceremonies to suit their tastes with ceremonies that include civil, religious or spiritual. So many people dont have a connection to a church but want a ceremony, Strachan said, add- ing hes married people in his backyard, on beaches and at a many of the beautiful locations in this area. I wont leave the ground or go underwater, Strachan said when asked about wacky weddings, and when asked about the statistic that shows one in two marriages will end in divorce, Strachan noted he also has marriage and family therapy training. Vandalism costs us all mallards but large mud and snapping turtles were the main denizens of the lake, a deadly foe of waterfowl. The lake also had the advan- tage of a large swamp where the Rotary Park soccer field is now located. The swamp acted like a filter, cleansing the water before it drained into Fairy Lake. There was also a large outlet beside the Mill St. dam which took water down a cast iron pipe to the Beardmore tan- nery at a rate of an estimated 500,000 gallons a day, (ball park over 2 million litres). The constant drain kept the water moving even in the depths of a dry summer. The solution then to make the old beach safe for swimming again would have to be either to reduce the number of geese on the lake, cut back on storm drains and release some of the tepid water in to the Black Creek by lowering the dam. Creeks which flow into the lake could then replace the tepid, contaminated water with fresh clean water. The likelihood of it hap- pening? It would need strong popular support for it to happen and we doubt it now exists. Continued from page 6 Beach woes... Old beach on Fairy Lake deserted by everyone but Canada Geese. DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: Mac, a Wheaton Terrier, is one pooch that knows what to do when theres a heat alert. He simply snuggles up on a chair, consults the TV guide and relaxes in front of the Tube. -Jack Carpenter photo