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Decide stations fate Continued from page Transport Committee and disputed them point by point The railway was alive to its role in Industrial developmeni Mr Veems said and when the master plan was implemented there was no deterioration of service He said it was his feeling was improved and the master agency would help the area to grow He cited the expansion of Micro Plastics as an indicator industry in Acton was satisfied with service and hesitate to expand under the master agency system Mr reminded the railway official the Micro Plastics plant was established in Acton under the agent system later in the meeting Mr Veems admitted the CN made changes in the passenger information service for Acton customers after complaints revealed Georgetown tram times were being given out He blamed the telephone system and said it was now rectified At one point in the testimony the Railway Transport Committee commissioner presiding over the hearing asked Mr Veems The impression you are giving is one of improved service Where is the improvement Mr Veenis replied that more hours were being spent providing it Final testimony at the hearing was given by grade 13 high school student Marianne Coles who scrapped the prepared brief in favor of remarks on the evidence She said students at Acton high were per cent opposed to closing of railway services in Acton and it was difficult to see where the railroad had a case for closing Acton station Based on the facts the town had a much stronger case than the C N She told of a student trip to Quebec City and the difficulties experienced in getting information Students had to board the train and in the eastern part of the run it stopped at so many places it was called a milk run Why she asked couldn the same courtesy be extended to smaller centres in this area She concluded by reminding the hearing that Acton opposition to the railway plans had been a lot of hard work and the people involved were not there simply for their health They knew the CN was wrong and only facts which t been established at this hearing could change minds Mr concluded the hearing at approximately remarking he must return to Ottawa and put the facts to the Committee He trusted there would be a speedy decision made Several interested spectators attended but most of the in attendance were railway officials or from the Railway Transport Committee The Acton Free Press Wednesday January 1970 Oppose CN Following is the complete combined brief presented by the town of Acton Acton Chamber of Commerce and Nation Member of Parliament Rud Whiting at Tuesday public hearing of the Railway Transport Committee The brief was read by Mayor Duby who told the chairman he was disappointed in the restrictions placed on the towns case which tookaway much of its impact He pleaded earlier in the meeting that Acton and brief should be heard before the railroad testimony was questioned His request was denied The residents of Acton appreciate the opportunity to present their views to the Railway Transport Committee of the Canadian Transport Commission with regard to the CNR application to remove its agent from the Town of Acton and incorporate Acton under the Guelph Master Agency Plan We feel however that the terms of reference stated by the secretary in his letter of December 10 1969 are too restrictive Removal of the station agent is in fact only one step in a series of steps the CNR has taken over the last several years that have led to the almost total deterioration of its service to Acton In order for the Town of Acton to present its case to you today we feci we must be in a position to show the members of the Commission how the railroad service in this community has deteriorated over the years in this community and especially since the implementation of the Master Agency Plan Going back as far as IS years ago when trains stopped in Acton to unload and load passengers and freight you can detect the Tine guiding hand of the railway gradually service although their operation here was a going concern By the service had deteriorated to the point where only four trains stopped each day two each way Today the status of the railway passenger service in Acton is one train each way per weekday The express service was removed from Acton to in 1965 While the express service was handled from the Acton station a local carrier made the deliveries and a total charge to the CNR was per month The only other cost to the CNR was the commission paid the agent which we behevc was six percent of revenue And Acton residents had a very satisfactory daily express service Today the CNR is paying their subsidiary trucking firm per day to render what we consider a less satisfactory service To further illustrate the decline of railroad service in Acton On November 1967 the telegraph passenger and carload freight services were moved to Guelph The operator was transferred leaving only the agent at the station He had no duties even his telephone was taken away It would appear that the actions by the CNR in this instance were designed to eliminate all relevant objections at a hearing with terms of reference such as this one With reference to a letter of October 1967 from Mr R T vice president to the then Member of Parliament for Halton Mr Vaughan said that the stages of implementation of the Master Agency Plan would be effective on November 1967 and that all this means is that the work will be taken away from the station and placed into the master agency but the agent will be left on the premises although he will be performing no function as far as the public is concerned Despite this letter the reality of the situation was that the first steps had been taken in To summarize thus far then there had been a deterioration of passenger service taking plate since 1955 the express service was moved to two years prior to what was said to be the planned schedule the remaining operations were taken away in 1967 except for the agent who performed no public function And we have now been given the opportunity to have a public hearing apparently not to discuss the actions taken by the CNR since 1965 and prior but to discuss the removal of the station agent who was deliberately set up two years ago with no public function so that it would appear a reasonable step to remove at this tunc Our desire and understanding of the purpose of this meeting today is to allow the CNR to prove to the Committee of the Canadian Transport Commission that the removal of the agent and the implementation of the Master Agency Plan will in no way be detrimental to the ommunity Over the past several years the deterioration of service by the CNR has led most of our industries to arrange other forms of transport for its considerable freight We know too that one firm has extended its plant in Edmonton lo take care of western shipments Another firm is considering the removal of its railway siding It is more difficult to state the difficulties and inconveniences that the CNRs deterioration of have caused individuals in the community or what potentially new residents to Acton have moved elsewhere because of the deterioration in this important factor of transportation We fail to see how the CNR cm substantiate its claim to the satisfaction of the Committee and the people of Acton that it can provide the same or better services that were enjoyed by residents the year 1965 and prior when we had full services in 1 passenger service ticket and timetable service telegraph service freight service 5 express service including pickup and delivery to private homes We should also out that at no time has the CNR said to NANCY HURD A GRADE STUDENT at Robert Little School received word last week sho hod won prize in the 8 year old group In the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests C E conservation poster contest Nancy received a cheque for 15 and a letter of congratulations from tho Honorable Reno Minister of Lands and Forests Nancy is daughter of Mr and Mrs D 171 TidoyAvcnuu Staff Photo Douglas Wood new chairman Douglas Wood of Oakvillc w is elected chairman of the County Board of Education during the group s first meeting of 1970 in Mr Wood a former chairman of the Board of Education is manager of management development in the Toronto office of Continental Can Compmy of Canada Ltd Three other trustees nominated for the position ithdrcw They were John and Liberty Peace J i Burlington trustee wj elected when the only other contender for the position Bruce Ldwards indicated this would be Ins with the T Ljwsou J Noble Pease declined to seek the position Some Ospringearea pupils still missing kindergarten Some area kindergarten children arc still not going to school and others arc being kept home during the winter months Mrs Eleanor Taylor of 1 Orton told Free Press week The Wellington County Board of Education the kindergarten at Ospringc school in September and decided to have Ospringc area five year olds bused to schools in Hi lis burgh and Brisbane Mrs Taylor headed group of protested the Hoard decision The it id conditions in tl lot be desired in the winter months and that a return route of some miles per day u rue tor five year olds The refused to reverse its decision Mrs Taylor says she knows of no minor bus but reports that ill buses were forced to off the ids one day after he ivy Winter drought caused from page 1 town workmen for working all night in bone chilling weather to repair the One resident said there had been an apparent leak there last summer and he the leak could have been fixed then but other nearby residents said the road is full of springs would be impossible to tell spring from a leak unless there was I irgc hole the main Meanwhile Acton council was told by the Tucidiy that the town will have to do something about the main line this ycir or the droughts be a situ our knowledge that the Acton operations were money At least not in the period when they were giving us Further to all this what assurance is there that even the present status of service will be or can be maintained in the luture Neighbors Tyler lose burn us up OAKVIUES REEVE IS WARDEN Alan nr a re Clonal Hulton should Councillors were burned up about burning and instructed the clerk lo send a letter to the Minister of Energy and Resources the Hon George Kerr While the town of Acton is adhering as closely as possible to the rules concerning the burning of leaves garbage Christmas trees etc municipalities In the immediate area are prone to disregard such regulations Mr Kerr will be told if direction and control cannot be made more comprehensive the town of Acton feel privileged to revert dump burning of refuse Christmas trees lejves etc Exclaimed Mr Marks That like saying if you won dim your lights then I won dim mine SMASH It too small However his objections wcic buried under the fire and smoke of the other councillors determination As a result of provincial legislation the Twelfth Night Christmas tree burning was celled firefighters discontinued issuing bonfire permits dump procedures were changed and many began bagging their leaves During the reporting week of Jan to Jan the men it die Acton Detachment Ontario Provincial Police worked a total of hours while patrolling miles of the town roads Occurrences investigated included a break and enter and two eases involving the use of by an adult and a teenager A local man wjs charged under the new section of the criminal code in regard to having moie than 08 PPT alcohol in his system and driving a motor vehicle Provincial Court in Mi ion Monday Jan saw two convictions registered and a total amount of in fines costs levied Police warn It necessary to down when driving under snowy conditions And you should slow even more when approaching a blue light the warning signal of a slow moving snow plough or ahead We again like to urge you to your cars from the town streets during the night and give the plough a chance to up the streets Remember face fine for parking and have your vehicle towed iw in the bargain list Roy Wood No Approve hydro appointments At their fust meeting of the new year night Acton Hydro Commission approved the following appointments for Chairman Wilf Vicechairman E Tyler Sr committee Tyler and Bob Property committee Orval Brown and Mayor Reeve Alan Day Oakville was decisively elected warden of County during the inaugural meeting of council on Tuesday He was opposed for the position by Deputy Reeve Ted Tyler of Acton who criticized member commitments of a month or year ago He pressed members to realize the rules were changing How can you pick a horse before you see the program he queried The deputy reeve maintained voting in County had been on the basis of scratch my back and I scratch yours he charged He emphasized he didn I want any strings on any votes for him Open voting on the two candidates resulted in a decision for Reeve Day I hold no grudges 1 made my pitch and lost Deputy Reeve Tyler declared as he extended best wishes to Reeve Day The lone vote for the Acton deputy wjs his own cast as he observed since he was pretty hard up for votes he d vote for himself In his address lo members Reeve Day said he had felt a ycir when he sought the position more progress have been made on regional government by his year He suggested the Minister of County council history made I wrote county council history today reeve Ted Tyler told Acton council Tuesday night I was the only deputy reeve ever to challenge the wardenship He cheerfully reviewed his overwhelming support of one vote his own I think ihe deputy reeves will get a better shake from now on he fell I went oil the reform bit When you knock the system you II gel knocked down The roots go deep He recalled someone said to him after the county council meeting that it was to have tried and failed than to have done nothing and succeeded Municipal Affairs could share some of the blame for slowness He called on the ahead in regional government P omlsing full time service to the county Reeve Day indicated he would take a leave of absence from his present employer for the balance of 1970 Reeve Oakes Acton nominated for the position indicated he had given the matter serious consideration but declined to contend his year He told members if the county council continued in its present form another year he would be serious contender In his of he position of Warden Reeve Day noted that in four years on county council he has not seen evidence of hard feelings between north and south is he was led believe before joining County Council In fact always found a free exchange and acceptance of idcis I feel there is an acceptance by our public for government on a regional basis Halton should lead the way into regional government and not take the attitude thai it is being forced on us We must work to establish a regional government that will be efficient and acceptable for many decades to come The warden elect warned the premise of representation by population could be impractical if large of low population are to be disenfranchised He called on members to not put so much emphasis on interml boundaries for really they will be little more than ward boundaries Lei us put parochial feelings aside and use our efforts to bring about a viable of regional government January Clearance Now On DONT WAIT YOUR FOR PAINTS WALLPAPERS CARPETING RUNNERS BUILDING SUPPLIES mi 0BLIGA1M WE INSTALL FLOORING CARPETS ETC Phone Discount Centre Annual Dinner ACTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WEDNESDAY JANUARY AT HALTON HEIGHTS COUNTRY CLUB MEMBERS ONLY WELCOME DINNER SERVED PM Bus provided leaving Tyler Transport TICKETS Includes But and Dinner TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM C OF C EXECUTIVE OR ANY LOCAL MERCHANT Now off Fiberglas Drapes pair Reg Sate pair x 45 Reg 15 Solo 1 88 3 pair 45 Reg Sale 1388 pair Reg 12 Saje 8 88 par 63 Rao 19 Sola 88 3 pair x Reg Sate 18 88 9 pair Reg Sale 1 1 88 pair Reg 23 Sale pair x Reg Sale 22 88 pair 120 SO Reg 39 Sale par Reg Sale 33 88 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