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Council changes its mind SANDSTORM PLAYFULLY tossed by Suzanne falls In sparkling grains on sunbather Corey as they enjoy the delights of long summer days on the beach at the park A quiet dip in Last week faithful readers If there arc any left followed the enthralling appalling in Ihc financial world I had suggested that I felt I was being caught in the middle of a great financial squeeze when someone offered to buy my Peel Elder stock at a share 1 something peculiar and promised I try to get to the bottom of it I haven t but I hate to part with those twenty five shares of Peel Elder I had them as long as I ve had my wife They are all hat left of my second and final age at tac stock My first was rather deflating as I mentioned last week But the second time around any It was only when a trusted stockbroker told me Mines was going to be the hottest thing on the market that I carefully bought 1 shares They cost me The broker was a former prisoner of war so could be trusted The stock held firm went up about five cents a share In a week and this time there actually was a producing gold mine reckoned 1 was In Biscuit City as we soy In these parts What nobody told me was that there was more money In gravel than there was in gold in those days and for many years to come 1 should have bought a gravel pit I have previously related how hat 1 000 shares of has shrunk to shares Elder so I won Butldld learn one of inevitable or so It seems to me laws of stocks became known as Elder with capital and great prospects in the offing I old thai for my shares of that Bill Smiley cheap little old Lid ridge I mould get 120 shares of this tremendous There was no money in gold mining apparently so Elder became Peel Elder and got heavily li to real estate Assets increased profits rose and Smiley wound up with something like 12 shares of Peel Elder rhere was one halcyon period when Peel Elder went up to more than a share I was tempted to sell I could have come out only about in the hole after twenty years Not bad that But I hung in there Then about year ago Peel Elder with a flamboyant burst or something or other informed me hot as a loyal shareholder I could have two shares for every one I had I don t remember the details I think you had to be a white Anglican with some teeth missing a bad back and no more or less than two children neither of them self supporting Something like that Anyway qualified Thit how I wound up wilh shares of Peel And now along comes in brochure from an outfit called Canada Limited with an offer lo buyatl3ashare In February and March I could have sold for about is a Canadian affiliate of Hambros Lid a London England based international merchant binker with good many fingers in a good monj pies the lake will soon wash off that sand as the ageold twosome of summer fun sand and sea works its magic again Canada Ltd already owns almost SO per cent of Peel Elder but wants to buy the rest Most of the directors and officers of Peel Elder are also directors or officers of Canada Limited Its pretty a takeover of an established Canadian corporation by a British based corporation with somebody probably about to make a pot of bullion In the process And something else that puzzles me After thirtyodd years of watching Peel Elder grow from a sickly little gold mine into a husky corporation and chins my share of the cake diminish from a small wedge to a crumb I suddenly get two whacking great dividend cheques from Peel Elder One for the other for SI Wouldn vou be wary when you d not received dividend for three decades and suddenly got two In one malP The offer to buy me out from Canada Ltd states rather sternly that the offer will expire Julj If I accept the offer I will receive The stock cost me thirty years ago And would probably want a capital gains tax if I sold Well there we arc t started out in a quandary and ended in a quagmire I wish I put that original Into a couple of beach lots which would now be worth However that the way it goes with us chops who play the market We accept the fact that we re compulsive gamblers and take our losses with a stiff lower lip But I won sell that stock Let them fight it out the corporate bums years ago Mrs J blooms in her garden this week A fine new metal clad bam is being of S Bennett on the Seventh Line Light blue steel lockers have been delivered the new Acton High School this week to be placed in the corridors Police reported this week an electric fence unit was stolen Saturday from the farm of Charles Thompson off No High way east of here Mason recovered from a leg operation returned to duty Wednesday tils place has been tiled by Cpl C the past few weeks In town league last week the Spitfires defeated the Tiger Cals IS8 This Wednesday the same Spitfires scored a 1 win over the Panthers to gain a four- point lead in the three team league Stratford popular Shakespearian has attracted many Actonians in recent weeks Three plays Measure for Measure Taming of the Shrew and Oedipus Rex are In this year schedule of performances years ago Interest in the Armenian boys seems to be general Twenty or so of them visited town again on Sunday evening taking an interesting part in the service at the Church where they sang several hymns Mr Alexander the Interpreter told a thrilling story of his in es caping from the Turks during the days of the Armenian massacres The fund providing for the adoption of one and possibly two of the boys to grow Subscriptions may be made at The Free Press Office The work of repairing Mill Street has been on In earnest this week On Monday a force of men were busily engaged in sweeping the street from the CNR tracks to Main Street On morning the large tank with oil burners for heating the and an apparatus for spreading it started work on the blocks between John and Main Streets The heavy rain at noon Tuesday coming right after this first application made it rather hard to handle Finely ground stone was put on the fresh When the tarvia has been spread to the edges and holes along these edges levelled down the roadway will be in good condition again 75 years ago Rev J the new pastor of Oak Presbyterian Church wilt occupy the pulpit next Sunday and preach his initial sermons as pastor He was very cordially received by congregation the induc tion service held last Tuesday Prior to their departure for Mr George Davidson on behalf of the congregation read an address expressive of the deep attachment and high appreciation of the congregation for Mr and Mrs which accompanied by a well Tilled purse of gold Rev is having a driving shed added to his barn on Agnes Street A contract for leather supplies to the Kingston Penitentiary has been awarded to Messrs Bcardmorc and Company The excavations are completed and the stone is on the ground ready for he builders at the new Baptist Church site The Garden Party at the home of Mr James Barry this evening under the auspices of the young people of St Josephs Church will no doubt attract a large company THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Editorial Office Readers must be confused by reports of council meetings in The Free Press where bold face in sertions proclaim a decision made one night was changed the next The confusion is created by the clash of council meetings and newspaper deadlines on the first and third Mondays and Tuesdays of the month Council operates on a committee system which calls for meetings of Committee of the Whole on Mondays followed the next night by a regular meeting Every member of council is expected to attend committee of the whole meetings However resolutions passed at Committee of the Whole are only They must be legally passed at a regular council meeting the next night Tuesday That s where the hitch develops Sometimes two or three councillors miss committee of the whole On a close vote a resolution which passed on Monday can go down to defeat with a full roster present on Tuesday It can work the other way as well A full roster of councillors Monday can pass a recom mendation which goes down to defeat at a meeting on Tuesday Why cover committee of the whole then For two reasons that is where all the background discussion and material on stories emerges Reason two is that council passes resolutions from committee without much discussion on Tuesday nights unless there are amendments or a change in thinking So a reporter must be completely familiar with what took place on Monday to stay with the discussion Tuesday It is at this point newspaper deadlines intervene Deadlines mean the reporter must write the story before the Tuesday evening meeting hoping council will stick by the decisions made Monday night But it doesn always happen That s when youll see those inserts announcing council has changed its mind and reversed the decision of the previous night or passed an amendment There just isn t the time to re write the stories without waiting a full week It is not the most satisfactory way of keeping readers up to date on municipal business but it is the only way it can be done under the present schedule of council which hobble the weekly press 8 The Acton Free Press Wed July improve two tier system Regional chairman Allan is being pilloried for his complaint people expect too much too fast from regional government He has said criticism shouldn be given 1975 but saved until 1985 when the system has had a chance to operate and iron out the wrinkles It would be a valid comment if it were simply a matter of ad but we get the impression the region has thrown away the road map and councillors are struggling to keep abreast of mounting confusion and cost Theories which propounded the saving in staff money and duplication from regional govern ment have failed to recognize historical factors such as mum pride which were responsible for many unpaid services The frustration of councillors with red tape and bureaucracy is well known especially when they were done simpiy and well under the old system However Mr Masson frustrations with the impatience of press and people are understand able since he advocated a one tier form of government with every thing centralized in a single location It would do away with local councils and move the decision making into one place where the appointed chairman could keep his finger in all pies Undoubtedly a one tier system would be more efficient but as an exercibe in democracy it would lose the ear of the grass roots That we can do without Far better to improve the present two system than dream about a pie in the sky situation Criticism It will continue as long as there are councils or governments Politicians have to live with it and heed that which is constructive or make way for someone else Carrots or concrete Agriculture Minister Eugene Whelan won be too popular with city folks but he had a point when he told a University of Guelph audience last week that food prices are not too high that in fact they are not high enough Before non food producing readers get angry at and at us for supporting him they should stop a minute and think Mr said food prices should increase until it pays as much to keep good land in agriculture as it now does to sell it to a developer for a parking lot or shopping centre And he s right As long as land will bnng far more as a parking lot than as a field of corn we re going to lose our good farm land What do we value anyway concrete or carrots Any society that will pay speculators huge amounts for real estate without a murmur and will pay those who produce and sell luxury goods much more than It is willing to pay for basic com modifies like food has its priorities twisted We better get used to having a spokesman for agriculture like the present minister who tells us the facts of life without any sugar coating Huron Expositor OUR READERS WRITE A Thank You to Beardmore A Letter To The Editor Through you I would like to take this opportunity to thank Division of Canada Packers for the good things they ve done for this town ana its people Although I nave lived in Acton most of my life I am very ignorant of most of the things you really do Of course we alt know that you would have to go a long way to find another factory appearance to match yours An asset to our town We all know how well you treat your employees and retired employees I do feel though thatslncewehave over the years acquired a certain amount ot people in Acton that can smell no further than their noses It Is a shame they have chosen to prolong their residence here I wonder if they know that what they are yelling about has been there for over 100 years Maybe they have the answer on how to get rid of It in a few weeks months or even a year How nice it would be If with a snap of the fingers we could rid ourselves of the things that annoy us most Just think of no more taxes mosquitoes traffic jams or even neighbours sticking petitions at your door How nice life could be One begins to wonder sometimes that if Acton is not the best place to live why then do they remain here I feel that Acton is the best place to live mainly because the good outweighs the bad and I am happiest here In conclusion salute you Division of Canada Packers for your part in making this town what it la Proudly Mrs Jackie I9KlnghamRd Acton The lady who refused to sign Sick of Beardmore abuse Dear Sir As a lifelong resident of Acton I am sick of the constant abuse which Beardmore are taking They are spending countless dollars trying thcirbesttoeliminate but in the meantime and let them do the Job without all the badgering There are many other sources in town and on the outskirts which add cons to the problem but as far as most people in the town are concerned they point their fingers at who else I am sure no one gives a second thought to all the good points the company has done over the years They give employment to approximately people At Christmas time they light up their grounds for the town people and visitors alike to enjoy Does any other industry do this They have an annua banquet in June for all the put employees who have been retired to have get together Ask any former employee who has attended these and they will say they really enjoy them They alio provide donations too numerous to mention I could go on and on but my point is can no one look on the good side of Beard mores Yours sincerely Name omitted by request Morrow attacks contract methods Dear sir Last week Council by resolution discontinued the services of their in dependent architect and on the advice of a local builder contractor has begun negotiations of an arena to be constructed via the Design Build Concept I voted against this resolution becuase feel this council is abdicating its public duty to en sure maximum return for the tax dollar and to protect the quality of construction on the new arena Last year when the former Georgetown Council decided to build the arena initially commenced discussions with a builder to see what would be offered in the way of an arena complex for in the design build concept At that time Mr and outers made council aware of the weakness in the design build concept After consideration Council realised a mistake had been made and that the proper method of approach was to hire an architect who would design the arena to Till the requirements as specified by council Then when tender specifications had been completed contractors would submit sealed public tenders and the con tract awarded to the lowest bidder This method has been followed and the tender documents were to be ready so that con struction was planned to be commenced by the end of September building committee Further no use will be made of the architect a services over the last eight months for which council has Incurred a charge which will likely be in the neighbourhood of On the advice of the same Mr design build Council has now embarked on this concept with Its associated weaknesses My opposition to the change is for the following reasons I am convinced that the only proper way to invest this much of your money Is by sealed tenders based on specifications which have been drawn up by an Independent architect working for the town The contract would then be awarded Continued on past