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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY,DECEMBER 20, 2007 7THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 20076 1151 Bronte Road, Oakville, Ontario L6M 3L1 Tel: 905-825-6000 Toll Free: 1-866-442-5866 TTY: 905-827-9833 www.halton.ca The Regional Municipality of Halton www.halton.ca Your 2008 Halton Waste Management Calendar will be delivered to your mailbox in mid-January 2008. This will be a shorter Calendar than usual. Starting on April 7, 2008, Halton Region will be providing you with more recycling opportunities. Youll receive a new Calendar in March outlining our new levels of waste management services. Halton Waste Management Calendar coming soon! More Blue and Green for a Better Planet 201207 Christmas & New Years Waste Collection Notice Please Note Collection Day Changes Due to Christmas and New Years Day holidays, waste collection services the week of December 25 and January 1 will take place the day after your regular collection day. There is no change to Monday collection. Due to high collection volumes, please place your waste at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on your scheduled collection day. Please check your 2007 Curb Appeal Waste Management Calendar for details in your area or the Regions Waste Management website at www.halton.ca/waste. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Dec 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Jan 1 2 3 4 5 Christmas New Years Day collection moves collection moves collection moves collection moves collection moves The Acton BIA wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year. A special thanks to all those who donated to the Sharing Tree. It was a huge success. My most memorable Christmas Each and every Christmas is unique in our family by Tracey Gardner When asked to write a story on my Most Memorable Christmas, I must admit I was at a loss. Besides the years my children were born, I cant say that there is any one Christ- mas that stands out as being the most memorable. Of course, there are a few fond little memories that always spring to mind, like the year my mom set the table center- piece on fire, or the year my brother put my uncles car in the ditch, but there has not been a real miraculous event, or thankfully any tragedies that makes any one Christmas stand out above all others. Christmas in our family is not about any specific tra- ditions, its about making each Christmas special and unique. Each year my children think up new things to do as a family on Christmas Day. We have spent the day to- bogganing one year. Another year we decided to stay in doors and be lazy all day long, allowing the kids plenty of playtime. One other year was spent playing board games and watching Christ- mas movies all day. This year we are thinking of suiting up and filling a thermos full of hot chocolate, and spending the day snowmobiling on the trails (if we find the lost key to the sled, which I suppose is a Christmas memory on its own). With each and every Christmas being unique, each memory stands out in its own unique way. The one thread through them all is making the most out of the time together as a family. It is those times that make Christmas memorable, not the food, or a special gift (like a new snowmobile if anyone is taking hints). So which Christmas is the most memorable to me, the one that hasnt happened yet, for I look forward to each and every one of them, and keep them close to my heart. Traci is a member of The New Tanner Staff.Tracey Gardner My memorable Christmas ignited into a passion The snowflakes flew early in the December of 2000. By mid December, my home, lo- cated just south of Acton had a healthy eight to 12 inches of snow blanketing the lawn and driveway. This was a sign. In the years leading up to this eventful Christmas, my parents had talked about going on a weeklong snow- mobiling trip up north with my uncle. We didnt own snowmobiles and my dad of all people hadnt ridden one in around 30 years. My young brain was filled with fantasies of caressing deep powder hill tops and racing along frozen lakes at over 150 kilometers an hour. We were always told it was too expensive a trip to take a father, a wife and two kids up north in the dead of winter. But at last my father said it was true, we were going to rent some snowmobiles and equipment and head up north some time in the New Year. The weeks before Christ- mas were exciting. My parents took us all over Mil- ton, Georgetown, Guelph and Mississauga sizing up helmets and snowsuits so we would know what sizes to rent when we went on the trip. On a frigid -15 degree Christmas morning, every- thing changed. We woke up to a mound of presents under our newly sawed down Christmas tree. The wrapping paper was torn to shreds in a flurry of excite- ment like a squirrel trapped in a dryer. Among the presents were spanking new snow- suits, helmets, gloves and boots. My parents said they decided to buy them in case our snowmobile trip turned into a yearly event. After all the shredded paper lay astray across the living room floor, Dad comes up with two more envelopes, hid- den behind the foliage of the thick spruce. My brother and I fondled the envelopes won- dering why they were saved to last. Inside the envelopes were ignition keys to two brand new snowmobiles. The two machines were perched on a shiny new trailer, which was purposely pushed very close to the house so we didnt see it in the driveway on Christmas morning. My brother and I stared out the living room window in disbe- lief. I believe the term, Holy Crap! was thrown around a few times as well. Out we went into the crisp morning air; air so cold your nostrils froze together as you inhaled. We inserted the key and three sputtering pulls later, the engine roared to life in a monstrous cloud of blue-coloured smoke. It en- gulfed everything, swirling into the sky. From that day my love of snowmobiling has grown into a passion, and that special Christmas morning I will never forget. Matthew Reid is a member of The New Tanner editorial staff. Matthew Reid by Matthew Reid Have you got a great Christmas story to share? Send it to us for next years issue www.thenewtanner.on.aibn.com Attn: Hartely Coles