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Fire guts Dominion Hotel one man Firefighter fought flames which completely wiped out the centuryold Dominion hotel early Sunday morning A paster by potted smoke pouring from turned Sunday morning Firefighters were hampered In their work by the mohe Flames were confined to the Inside of the building and t break out andtheplct urea by Acton photographer Jim Jennings catch the action as firefighters pour water on be building Far right part of the wall comes down sending ire- fighter Herb running for shelter Another unidentified firefighter rushes in to help Bricks crushed the roof of a car parked along tide the hotel Owner says he will rebuild the structure which Is composed of buildings con strutted since well back in the IHOOi Photos by Jim Jennings One Hundred and if Year ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY AUGUST Police nick ring thieves Two men who allegedly stole more than worth of rings from local were arrested Kitchener police on the weekend According to Regional Police the pair would enter a shop in dicating interest in some gems After being shown some Hems they would leave Only after they left the shops were the thefts noticed Two Safari diamond rings and a man dla ring were reported stolen from Kerns Jewellery Lid George town Market Place Total value of the take was placed by police at Later the same after noon the men paid a visit to Barber s Jewellery Main St where they managed to pocket diamond ring Cars in collision Two passengent in an car suffered slight injury during Friday night two car collision on Main St N Robert Fitzgerald and Avis both of Oakvllle were hurt in the crash according to Regional Police The driver was William also of Police estimate damage to the car to be Damage to the other auto driven by Warran Hawthorne Eliiabeth is about according to police Firefighters spend hours fighting hotel fire Sunday Volunteer firemen spent a gruelling 13 hours at the scene of the Dominion Hotel fire Sunday morning By id in the afternoon when most major cleanup v as accomplished firefighters crawled home lo sleep- most for hours Some were too tired to wash away the grime and smoke smell causing their wives lo grumble and sleep on couches the Free Press was lold Many fire- I sec bed at all on day night going nearly two days w sleep r were paged 30 in the ing all turning up within minutes of each other Most of the danger was over by a and job of cleanup began All through the long morning fire fighters were fed and given coffee by Jcanellc Fernandez and Mrs Synoll who supplied sandwiches The men were able to cover for each other going in shifts to the rehall for a good break fast of bacon and eggs Another call dur the night pulled one truck off the hotel fire to answer an alarm at a nearby nursing home Fortunately t serious and f men were told by nursing supervisors could handle It themselves One volunteer fireman a fulllimc firefighter for came right off duty to help at the Dominion Because the fire belched out large quantities of smoke obscuring the smoldering flames deep inside relays of for the firemen kept coming from the fire hall Police were at the scene all ighl and day reeling traffic assisting and the I undreds of spectators According to one firef ob servers were more of a help than a hindrance keeping well back except lo ass with moving hoses and running errands By Tuesday most of Ihe firefighters fell back to normal catch ng up on Ihelr steep and having their washed although one firefighter ap parently has a good suit that needs lo go to the cleaners Herb Dodds volunteer firentar for Acton for the past 22 years com mented 1 ve always wanted to be a reman but I never figured out why Fire and police officials are continuing to investigate the cause of Sunday Are which killed one man and gutted the centuryold on Main St Officials from the Fire Marshall s office were at the scene soon after and they were checking the site yesterday and Monday Police and fire officials also conducted interviews with Acton fire fighter crew members Monday night in the fireball Dead is 58yearold Howard Gibbons a hotel resident His body was removed from the scene at about noon Sunday Another resident Joe was released from Georgetown and District Memorial Hospital after he was treated for smoke inhalation He was released Monday Friends brought him out of the burning building from the third floor Firefighters used a ladder to rescue an other man from a second storey window at the front of the burning hotel Most of the residents escaped the flames without injury A passerby turned in the alarm at about in the morning after he spotted smoke coming from the three storey building Regional Police arrived at 39 a and they described the hotel as being completely engulfed with smoke A crowd had already formed across the street from the hotel One passerby driving through said There was all this blaze and hordes of people standing around We stopped for a while One estimate stated there were about people watching the fire Crowds continued to flock to the scene all day Sunday to watch firefighters dousing the flames and a shovel pushing debris away The firefighters suffered burns to their hands Acton Firefighters were on the scene for about hours Two trucks from Georgetown were also called into action Georgetown firefighters helped for about five hours They found it difficult to find the fire because of the building con and dense smoke In order to aim water better firefighters used a hydro truck cherry picker resident bought the Dominion Hotel about two and a half years ago While firefighters battled the hotel fire another call for their services came from a nursing home on Mill St W Firechief Mick Holmes said he dispatched a pumper to the scene I think they were alarmed by the smoke drifting over said the fire chief Some bystanders helped firefighters A shuttle was set up to take empty tanks to the where they were refilled I thank the people who helped the department said Fire Chief Holmes Other people appeared on the scene with coffee for the firefighters Firefighters returned to the hotel Sun day night to pour more water on the rub playground wound up their season With a parade and Penny Carnival at the Acton Community Centre last week People from he Sports Centres Music Art and Drama Centres MAD along with Day Camp participants were all involved In the festivities Acton a Day Camp had a float in the parade with the nature heme In Larry Kttrti front right plays the chief with front row tor Wanlta Phillips back rowthrUColynaad Michelle Roolh Industrial subdivision approved An 18 lot industrial subdivision proposed by Alteo Construction at Highway and Highway Acton was approved by Hills planning board this week subject to conditions The land covered acres with the lots running off Continued on 5 parks plan urges more and better recreation Ha ton Hills master park plan prepared at a coat of will not be totally revealed to the public but will be discussed at public meetings with the section on possible land acquisition deleted This week Robert of the con sulting firm of and Associates outlined highlights of the page report to planning board The plan sets out a course of action on parks recreation and open space In general for the next years and In particular wart five em all facilities and open space were considered including private facilities CVCA schools Y and church programs and said the recreation depart meat provides less than a quarter of the programs in town Within the next five years the report two outdoor natural Ice rinks more beaches and outdoor swimming areas along the water courses three additional major ball diamonds for hardball an additional in termediate ball diamond upgrading of existing diamonds a major playing field five new intermediate playing fields and three new lighted tennis court locations with two courts each in scattered locations said there are other for upgrading playgrounds in areas where most of the children live Hesaid after talking to more than people representing many more be found a great demand for a trial system through town as well as picnic areas and outdoor passive recreation said according to their surveys Halton Hills has younger than average population with many more people than usual staying hone on wee daring the sum mer suggesting a greater need for recreational opportunities He assured planning hoard many of the sites are already publicly owned and now are unused so there are only a few land acquisitions recommended Two pieces of property now owned by the town should be sold and the money used to better recreational use termed the present level of land scaping In parks as below average and suggested it be improved He said the present park land deficiencies have to be Tilled Open space land should be used to buffer in congruous land uses and to preserve the separate identity of the hamlets which he seemed to be desired by the residents He pointed out there are very large boles such as soccer In town facilities Councillor Harry Levy contended the report out conned baa to be realistic- Citing one statement in the report Levy said It would be impossible to have playgrounds within eyesight of mothers said the playgrounds meant front lawns boulevards or In apartment buildings on inner court area where mothers could look He emphasized everything had been scaled back to be financially possible and responsible It can be implemented at less cost than the municipality has spent in the last four years commented Lockhart He claimed the report is based on the reality of the capital and operating budget and said it is a great community with great potential I believe everything in this report could be plemented A special committee of council will be formed to review he page report made up of a councillor from each ward after their review is brought to council public meetings will be held to acquaint residents with the prowls Hotel owner views fire Hotel owner Cosmo Mercart left watches as Firefighters battle he which totally destroyed Ms establishment In he early hoars of Sunday mom ing Halloa Regional Police Constable George talks with while hotel wall er Mike McCrhUD loaks on