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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010 7 GRAPEVINE with Mike OLeary The Way I See It Relief concert Haitian earthquake victims will benefit from proceeds from a concert being staged by the Ac- ton High School student council at the Roxy on Mill Street East on Saturday, from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Student organizer Jessica Change said it would be a cele- bration of life featuring local musicians a smorgasbord of styles including a crooner, a rap- per, a band and several acoustic acts, along with a guest speaker who has been in Haiti. An in-school fundraiser brought in $500 which the student council matched and then was doubled by Ottawa and Chang said money raised with a $5 minimum dona- tion, a silent auction and raffle tickets sales will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross. For more information visit the face- book page. Free skate The provincial and federal Liberal Party Associations in Wellington-Halton Hills will pick up the tab for everyone who wants to skate at Acton arena on Saturday from 3 to 4:20 p.m. The Associations advise people to bring your skates, your family and your friends. Youth Dance The community centre at the Acton arena likely will be packed with Grades six, seven and eight students on February 19 for a youth dance sponsored by the Town. The event which runs from 7:30 to 10 p.m. is chaper- oned by adults. Tales of Iona Expect inspiring stories about life altering experiences on Wednesday, February 24 when Knox Presbyterian Church wel- comes Milton orator Carol Hyde (Swackhammer) who will recount her experiences working at Iona Abbey, a Christian ecumenical community on the Celtic island of Iona in Scotland. There is no admission and babysitting is available for the 7:30 p.m. start. Refreshments will be served. Cab issues fixed Its business as usual almost at Blue Springs Taxi where owner Al Bickers has one of three vans back on the road this week. The Town yanked three of his taxi plates last Tuesday when Bick- ers could not provide all of the necessary inspection paperwork. At press time, Bickers had one of three vans back on the road and the Town was waiting to con- duct safety inspections. Bickers has been invited to a closed-door meeting with Council next Mon- day to discuss how he intends to abide by the Town bylaws. The Town has licensed taxicab owners, drivers and brokers since 1981, with a bylaw designed to ensure safe cars and insured driv- ers. In 2004, concerned about public safety, Town Council re- fused to issue a brokers licence and owners licenses for four taxi vans operated by a local company that later went out of business. you cant hide A sharp-eyed web watcher re- ports that streets in Acton and Georgetown are now on the Google Street site that offers views of neighbourhoods, towns and cities all over the world. As one reader said its cool, but kinda creepy. Special Olympics Acton brothers Austin, 8, and Isaac, 10, Daleman will compete in Alpine skiing at the Special Olympics Ontario race day on February 20 at Glen Eden Ski and Snowboard centre in Mil- ton. The brothers, both autistic, are members of the Snowblazers, a Special Olympics Milton Alpine Ski team and are carving up the hills in their first year of com- petition. The meet is a regional qualifier for the provincials. Cancer volunteers needed The Acton door-to-door cancer campaign needs a zone captain for the annual residential cam- paign in April. A zone captain contacts existing volunteers, recruits new ones, distributes canvassing kits and collects them. The job begins mid-March and runs until the end of April. If youd like to be a zone captain, a canvasser, a daffodil salesperson or driver, please call Cathy at the Acton Branch of the Canadian Cancer Society at 519- 853-1424. Waterlife screening The documentary Waterlife will be screened by P.O.W.E.R. (Protect Our Water and Environ- mental Resources) on February 25 in the gallery of the Halton Hills Cultural Centre at the Georgetown library. Admission is free. Family featured The Shepherd family, former Acton residents, were featured on Family Day on the 100 Huntley Street television show that aired on Monday. Jamie and Pam Shepherd shared how their son Cole was born with only two heart cham- bers and how, in the first three years of his life, he endured three open-heart surgeries, 14 medical procedures, 50 blood transfusions and 136 x-rays. The Shepherds reported how Cole is now a healthy seven- year-old who runs cross-country, plays soccer and torments his brother Davis, 9, and sister Jin- ja, 4. Pam Shepherd is a teacher at Robert Little School and Ja- mie, formerly pastor at Evangel Family Church, is the senior pas- tor at Central Pentecostal Church in Elora. The Olympics got off to a wet beginning last week. Amidst much debate as to whether the weather would cool down enough to allow the actual sporting events to take place, Vancouver put on its best face for the opening ceremonies. The opening national anthem was vaguely familiar. One of my pet peeves is people who take liberties with the arrangement of our national anthem. Dont mis- understand me, the vocalist had a wonderful voice. Its just that I cringe when someone feels the need to jazz up our na- tional anthem. One never hears a jazzed-up version of God Save the Queen. Its a national anthem not the theme from Shaft. I thought the opening sequence featuring Native Canadians was appropriate but went on too long. It smacked to me of our national tendency towards hand wringing and public pandering to assumed native sensibilities. I am also wondering why all the announcements have French preceding English. Perhaps this is some International Olympic Committee (IOC) tradition or rule. Last I looked, English was/is the dominant language in Canada. I realize that we are a multi-cultural society but in that case, seeing as how the games are in Vancouver, shouldnt the second language be Mandarin? The parade of athletes has to be exciting, especially for those whos sport has them toiling in obscurity between Olympics. Did anyone else notice the vol- unteers, dressed all in white, who lined the entrance tunnel disco dancing in place? I found that a distraction, serving no useful purpose. I know all the rain the past few weeks has been difficult for Vancouverites but surely someone could have told them that Discos dead. The rest of the light show vis- uals were excellent. The ice, sea, whales and forests were cleverly presented and imaginative. The presentation illustrating this great country from sea to sea was inter- esting. The fiddler sequence was great while I did wonder why the first one came on complete with what appeared to be horns. I thought the choice of Olym- pic flag carriers was excellent and represented a good cross section of Canadian celebrities. The choice of Betty Fox, Terry Foxs mother, was especially appropriate. Terry Fox did more to bring this country together than any other Canadian in recent memory. So too were the choices of the five people who carried in the Olympic torch. All were sports icons and represented a broad spectrum of Canadian sports champions. There was a tech- nical glitch when one arm of the Olympic torch cauldron failed to rise. This potential calamity was handled with typical Canadian aplomb. They lit the three in place and carried on. I was amused that Wayne Gretz- ky carried the torch down to the waterfront standing in the back of a pick-up. Kids dont try that at home youll get busted. With the millions spent on security for the torch relay, I was surprised to see several yahoos running alongside the truck carrying Gretzky. From the wary glances he was throwing them, so was Gretzky. One huge disappointment to me so far is the C.T.V./T.S.N. on air broadcasters. Although it pains me to say so, the C.B.C. announcers and analysts were better last Olympics. Even old pro Brian Williams missed Gretzky exchanging torches in the truck and prattled on about how that particular torch must have extra fuel. Had he been watching the coverage he would have seen the exchange. Its little things like that, that attention to detail, that makes for a slick production. I was also disappointed in the attitude shown Jenn Heil, Silver Medal winner in Womens Mo- gul Skiing. Jenn Heil came into the Olympics as the favourite to win gold according to the press. She won Silver. Hanna Kearney of the U.S.A. won Gold. On that night, Kearney was slightly better than Heil. And yet, in interview after interview after the race, T.V. talking heads seemed intent on getting Heil to say she lost to Kearney. Perhaps the dumb- est question, that was repeated over and over, was how do you feel? with the unasked portion about losing the Gold? It makes me angry when T.V. personalities just assume that they are the stars of the show. You will notice that the ana- lysts, usually former athletes, do no labour under the same impressions. They have been there and know how much dedication and sacrifice Olym- pic athletes have made to their sport. I wish the T.V. execs would have a heart to heart talk with on air personalities and tell them who the real stars are. The athletes! I for one am proud of each and every one of them no matter where they place. Go, Canada Go! Fun and Games on the Wet Coast OVAL EXPERIENCE: The New Tanners Olympic correspondent, Linda Olson, is awed by the ath- letic events she sees daily as a volunteer at the Olympic Oval in Richmond B.C. Submitted photo