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The Acton Free Praia Wednesday May 2 Will Acton and townships pay regional piper With the Imposition of regional government only a few months away residents of Acton Es and should be concerned about disquieting reports of crucial problems facing the town of Georgetown The four municipalities will comprise the northern borough in a four borough Halton region The reason for concern is that residents of Acton and the two townships may be asked to share in developments which will benefit only residents of Georgetown and the immediate area at the expense of programs in the other municipalities The immediate concern is in the field of recreation but it also extends to such costly items as sewage disposal fire fighting police and lack of facilities in our neighboring town pointed out by former Georgetown councillor Joan Smith in an article in the Oak ville Daily Journal Record Georgetown has proposed a major recreation complex to include a new arena and an indoor swimming pool Estimates for the complex range as high as a million dollars This is all well and good for residents of Georgetown but since recreation is to be paid for and administered at the local level in a two tier regional government system we fear all four northern municipalities could get stuck with the bill or part of it Now we have read information that seems to pooh pooh this concept but have seen no safe guards to ensure it will not happen Since we are to be one community with one council where would they draw the line This fear also extends to other areas Mrs Smith mentions in the Oakville paper insisting every facility in Georgetown is over loaded She says the sewage treatment plant is polluting the Credit River and the Department of the Environment insists Georgetown must add a million dollar extension When the town was a mere 3 500 people it had a volunteer fire department of 30 a figure which hasn t changed although the population has almost reached 000 The new paid fire chief is recommending a capital expenditure of 000 to bring the department up to standard Mrs Smith declares the list of needs Is endless Police are in cramped quarters theres no facility for live theatre meeting rooms are scarce and many people without storm sewers sidewalks or boulevards want to get their fingers into the tax pot She blames part of the problem on Georgetown s rapid growth and the direction councils of the past took to keep taxes down Lot levy charges and subdivision agreements did not make any sub stantial improvement until last year she claims because much of the rapid development took place without them The town haB never introduced any form of local improvement taxation which means everyone pays for them and for new residents who pay through sub division agreements it can mean paying for their own and helping pay for others Although some of these problems are familiar to Acton as well Mrs Smith s report should cause us to shudder since we are soon to be joined in marriage with our neighbor Who will pay the toll to ensure Georgetown gets the needed improvements While all the financial arrangements have not been resolved our uncertainties and alarm increase as the time for regional government approaches They are not soothed by reports such as the one Georgetown councillor Phil Siddall prepared which suggests the slow growth of North Halton is going to hamper its tax base and widen still further the gap which exists between the north and the south of which the province proposes to plug with grants It is becoming increasingly clear that the loss of Milton to the north has far greater implications than most of us realize Milton would have provided the foil to balance the north so Georgetown and area does not completely dominate The province has decided other wise and this means the two town ships and Acton must be on their guard to ensure we go into this regional set up fully aware of all its costs and hazards determined to be a full partner in a borough council Spirit of legislation must guide municipal planners EVEN THE CATS want more power these days as black feline belonging to Free Press columnist Wendy Thomson says mutely without benefit of clenched This particular cat also seems to be bilingual at least when her mistress caught her in this pose almost boxed in There seems to be unanimous accord at all levels of government that the family farm must be preserved The federal government has promised to amend the tax laws so the capital gains tax is postponed on farms transferred within the family during the farmer s lifetime Ontario has introduced a three part program to reduce taxes on farmland to help keep the family farm possible Grants to relieve property taxes will be increased to 50 per cent which is almost complete exemption Succession duties on farm assets will be forgiven over a 25 year period provided the farm continues to operate as a family farm and finally a farmer will be allowed to make a gift up to to his children Bill Smiley as long as they arc left in peace on Incredible amount of being pushed around without doing more than grumble But there comes a point when all the frustrations the the bullying merge under some catalyst and the great heart bolts over with rage and When it docs heads roll This Is just a little advance notice to some of our various governments so that any of their man Sarins who want to take he hills on the day of reckoning can get their bags packed and pick out the particular hills they want to to In the French Revolution the Bastille was the symbol of authority and repression The people stormed it and took It The American Revolution or The War of Independence as our friends to the south prefer also began with a symbol chests of tea Large numbers of these were dumped Into Boston harbour In a protest that has resulted In the peculiar way which the people or Boston have spoken ever since In both cases the revolutions were produced by the same basic factor ex taxation In the case of the French the taxation produced extreme poverty and hunger With the Yanks it produced violent anger In the one case the result was the loss of a head for a great many people who had the tame quantity of brains before the operation as they had after it In the other the result was the loss of a halfcontinent of incredible riches Both events In history brought their advantages course Without the French effort which spawned Napoleon we t have had the Napoleonic Wars and the Retreat from Moscow and where would our history teachers be Without the American Revaluation western culture would have been infinitely poorer What other nation would have had the and gumption to develop such monumental human achievements as Hollywood and the hamburger You may think this excursion history ha no point But the more discerning readers of this column know that County and township councils have always been sympathetic to the farmer and the needs of the land recognizing they are a special case The independence of Canadian farmers must be preserved There are however other on the land with which must contend that make operation of a family farm more difficult as the years go by For instance the increasing power of government and planning boards over land use Ordinarily the problems would not infringe on the rights of farmers too deeply but there could be occasions wnere unused land cannot be directed towards another use because of unyielding impractical application of zoning Although the farmer owns the landandcould use the extra money from the sale of a few acres he is not free to act without the sanction of land use authorities at Queens Park It could be land which has no agriculture use but is tied with the farm and as such is bound by the same rules as fertile feeds pasture and We note that the Advance Times has similar thoughts about the restrictive nature of the legislation The paper points out the city man who craves a spot in the open countryside and is not short of funds can buy one or two hundred acres and neglect the big portion of his holdings while he luxuriates on the few acres he really only wanted in the first place Such disinterested owners of agricultural properties have driven Smiley Is getting somewhere in his own laborious way And the most discerning readers are chuckling 111 bet he Just made out his income tax The latter are right of course And as sat there surrounded by papers sick at heart when I realized what a puny amount a I had only one thought When is the great Canadian Revolution going to start Then came other thoughts What symbol shall we attack Do they need anyone to lead the attacks on the barricades Which of the dastards will I personally gun down I have news for those In power I m not kidding If you don get It with bullets you It get it with ballots You can rub our faces In it only so long and then the hand that robs the cradle along with everything else that can be robbed is going to be bit ten To the bone Our national Liberal party supreme in its power arrogance and scorn should have learned a lesson It is still bleeding In province after province the people have had their say and have tossed out the old guard Ontario is one of the few that have survived Here is a prediction Check it later I ve never been wrong Premier William Davis the most unimpressive politician I ve ever heard and that ranks from deputy reeves up is In for a big fat fall along with his party Why Its obvious from the recent Ontario budget The party has lost touch with reality And that s death in politics As an example The energy tax the government proposed now dispatched to Umbo Tax the luxuries Whack it on cigarettes and liquor and fur coats and there 11 be some grumbling But stick a tax on light and heat necessities in this climate and you are accepting the political kiss of death We shall not forget at election It the most stupid single tax that I have ever encountered and that is a big statement It hits the little guy the elderly those on welfare and everybody else who is scrimping to make ends meet EPILOGUE My wife asked me as I paced a hole in the rug grinding my teeth do we get for all this income tax we pay Back Issues of The Free Press 20 years ago Taken from the Issue of the Free Press of Thursday May The grandstand in Prospect Park will be boarded up according to the park com of Acton council when they decided not to repair the structure A rough estimate of had been received for repairs Councillor J Greer declared I t spend a nickel on It The school board hired Miss Dorothy Warne and Miss Vivian for he ensuing year and Mrs Heard as music supervisor It is expected there will be to 90 pupils in the kindergarten A slide has been purchased by Acton Men to be placed In the park near the swing Joyce Farmer is visiting Ottawa this week as a guest of Acton and Ottawa Rotary club More than students par ticipated in the Music Festival in Knox church Milton Georgetown carried off the most awards with second and Milton Ihird Receiving top honors from Acton were Donna McMillan Blair Hot Pat Coles Ruth and Peter Paintings by members of the art class in the Instructed by Dorothy Stone are on display In the window of Talbot hardware Grounds of the recreation club have been cleaned up Tennis and lawn bowling enthusiasts ore getting ready for the season nursery school had a closing party Mothers made a presentation to Mrs Price and other leaders IB raised 50 years ago A meeting of those Interested in girls baseball was held on Monday evening and a girls team was formed with the following officers president Mrs Adah captain Miss L Mason manager H M Kennedy secretary treasurer Mrs D Lindsay committee Misses Arm strong Eva Johnston Messrs Scott M Kennedy and Harry Harrison On Saturday evening a number of young people form were Invited to the sugar camp at the home of Leslie and Erin where they were treated to a real old fashioned taffy party They were welcomed by C J W Leslie who although in his year had been boiling all day and had taken off nine gallons of real syrup by six clock Mr Leslie bush is perhaps one of the largest sugar bushes in the country there being over trees available for tapping Mr John Kennedy and Miss Velma son of were joined in wedlock about the middle of the month Women in the US are boycotting sugar The best way to Judge your neighbor thrift is to look In his backyard and the best way to retain your neighbor s good will is to keep your hens in your back yard Citizens should commence to lay in stocks of flags Tor Acton s jubilee celebration John Ross or Sault Ste Marie has been appointed principal of new Collegiate vocation Institute At the weekly practice of Acton Cit liens Band Mr J Kerr treated the boys to ice cream Several of Acton leading citizens have received Invitations to luncheon with the Lieutenant Governor at Government House Toronto Tuesday at noon 75 years ago many legitimate farmers out of some rural areas It is difficult to frame laws that preserve land for agriculture There are loopholes open to those who have the funds and the expertise to circumvent them So much of the responsibility for a common sense approach to the use of land lies with planning boards and committees of ad who wield the power that can make the difference between conscientious application of the laws and senseless power for power sake Each municipality must ensure heir boards are composed of the best men available for the job with a full understanding of the spirit of the legislation rather than just knowing it by rote and applying it insensitively Mini Comment An Epitaph composed by the Ontario Safety League He felt sure his hot rod could win the race with the train to the crossing But it was a dead heat Taken from the Issue of the Free Press of Thursday May The close season for trout ended on Monday and before sunrise there was a fair quota of enthusiastic fishermen on the move The measure of success has been small indeed thus far except at the new stock pond of First brook Bros The trout there are now of good size and in prime condition Mr caught a large number and took them to the city Monday The pond is now open to fishermen upon payment of specified entrance fee and a rate per pound for fish caught In response to numerous complaints on the part of farmers and others whose property the stream passing through the tanneries runs through the members of the Township Board of Health made tour of Inspection Saturday They traced the stream up for several miles and then made a of the tanneries and of the refuse floating from them into the creek Owing to improvements now in progress to the filters and settling basins there has been somewhat more of the of matter passing into the creek for a week or so but Messrs and Co hope by the improvements in the course on construction to remedy the defects com plained of Mrs Duncan Kingsbury and daughter left Nassagaweya for the North West Her husband Is teaching school there Miss Laird the winsome deputy at the post office has been appointed librarian Mrs MacDonald who died this year One hundred copies of the catalogue will be printed The room in the town hall Is still being prepared for the opening of the library Acton population increased during the year by 114 There are children between the ages of and and dogs Assess ment is an increase of over last year The grumbled when the police clerk handed him a receipt for traffic fine Keep it the clerk advised When you get four of them you get a bicycle THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Business and Editorial Office on the nose For the life of her an answer that made sense Well the Armed Forces Protecting us against Iceland there are the salaries and offices and staff of parliament Producing more taxes you know welfare and uh icebreakers and uh royal commissions and uh well stuff like that barricades mes Lions ire misplaced In a letter to Parks Board last week Acton Lions took a bite out of the Free Press for publishing a simulated photo of their proposal to move the old railway station to a point at the bottom end of Tyler Ave Some members of the club fell the simulated picture which was designed to give readers an idea of what the Lions in tended to do with the station was misleading because the site was not exact They also said the picture appeared to hove been taken before the lake was dredged and was to a different scale What is actually superimposed is a building which would probably be close to feet long the letter charged We do not want to get Into a controversy with the Lions over this picture which of course could not perfecUy match the point where the Lions Intended lo put Ihe station since only they knew where it was to be However if the station had actually been on the property it would have looked much larger than it appears in the simulated photo we published Since the Lions have aired their opinions publicly we think it only fair readers should Judge for whether we erred or tried to misrepresent the proposal So here is the picture again on a slightly smaller scale which of course does nothing to alter the proportions We would also suggest that the picture had nothing to do with opposition to the proposal since It did not appear until residents had already banded together to oppose the scheme It seems the club is beating the wrong dog