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Vandalism the crime everyone pays dearly for by Walter Kwlatkowskl In Acton there are as many vandals in their 20s and 30s as there are in their teens according to police and town of ficials Vandals are responsible for the destruction of street signs shop windows picnic tables and tombstones Many who dump garbage on rural roads are in their 30s and Vandals simply don care about other peoples property However insurance agents store owners school principals municipal officials bankers homeowners and the police do care They believe there should be stricter enforcement of laws They believe there should be work programs for the people responsible for vandalism They believe there should be more police in Acton Vandals have no respect for private or public property Cars the cemetary parks schools recreation fachties and construction sites are all favourite tar gets for vandals They are usually un protected vulnerable and accessible Vandalism is a costly problem and strikes us where it hurts the most our wallets We get hit in the form of higher taxes increased insurance premiums and soaring replacement cost So the more we pay the more vandalism is a problem Wilful damage A pamphlet published by the Independent In Association defines vandalism as wilful damage to private or public property Including break ins theft and robbery Of a number of people questioned about this definition most of them replied with either malicl damage or destruction to property Others however gave different in notations of vandalism Laura Mao Cook who works tit the Book Nook said vandalism was unwarranteddamagolo personal property According to J A manager of the Toronto Dominion Bank vandalism is the destruction or defacing of property Destruction to private or public property said RusselLee a college student from Acton Most of the people interviewed in the sampling around town agreed that vandalism was a problem in Acton though not a huge one Most of these people thought something should be done about vandalism and many offered opinions how to solve the problem Need stricter enforcement Robert Faspruk a resident of Churchill North said more police patrols especially on lht subdivision streets An Acton high school student Ramsey suggested More home control Is needed recommended Harold Denny of Denny Insurance Lee a college student answered courts should make the people responsible work as a way of repaying for the damage that was done Churchill Road South resident Tom re marked There should be more police patrols and more police cars Vandalism costly According to Ken Richardson clerk administrator for Ha Hon Hills vandalism is a costly problem for taxpayers Last years figures showed the total cost of vandalism for Halfon Hills and Milton was Of this total more damage was to cars than any thing else Regional Police Wayne said that damage done to cars last year totalled This makes cars the most vandal of private propi It can cost nearly WOO to repair a large scratch on the body of a car said Bob Leopardi manager of Superior Motors Last yeir the price for the same repairs would have been A mirror costs tires or more A total body job could coil nearly Denny Insurance Agency Manager Harold Den explained that tough a comprehensive plan covers repairs the car owner still must pay a deductible of 50 100 or A deductible is the initial amount of money the ear owner must pay mself A comprehensive insurance plan covers re pairs which have been damaged other than by collision turn prime target Several dealers in town have had troubles with vandalism Cars on their lots have been damaged We found scratches on a few of our cars and a couple of screws missing commented Frank Beet derman vice president of Pel Us owner of Achilles Motors recalled Yes we have hod problems Kids would come with hockey sticks and scratch the cars Some even walk on the hoods Cars are just one of the examples of the grow if list of targets of vandal Another example is the cemetery Of all the pub lie property vandalized It has been the As many as tombstones had lo be replaced last year according to Richardson Street signs have also been smashed the cost to replace them last year is 5 lie damage done to picnic tables totalled in single year Trees planted around own have taken a lot of abuse from vandals manhole covers have been stolen and had to be replaced Recently a f re was set in the lobby of the post office Chris McMillan did not know why it was done or who was responsible People come in They drink and smoke and sleep in the lobby during weekends Now the lobby is kept locked Brad Buchanan ManagerofMcKcnxies Lumber commented It costs about to replace a set of keys from a lift truck They were stolen from the same truck we had vandalized Hernandez can t believe the home she manages in downtown Acton has not been vandalized more She stated the reason for that was The kids have good relationship the people here on 2 An Inland Community Newspaper Oik Hundred and I ifth Year No ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY MAY Clang clang clang goes he trolley Threeyearold Wilkinson discovered a new with the help from his mom Sara and Dad Robert during a visit to he Halloa County Radial Railway The street car and electric railway museum on he Guelph Line nine miles north of Highway recently opened for the sea son The museum operates many street cars and Interurban vehicles on he mile and a quarter track The Wilkinsons to to the Toronto Civi Railway s car ItwasondisplaynttheCNEIaslyear Fireworks display caps funfilled Back to Acton Days celebration Acton Firefighters will cap off the three day Back to Acton Days celebration with a bang when they present a fireworks display at Prospect Park Sunday June Any business or organization or individual wishing to contribute towards the purchase of the fireworks should contact Herb Dodds at or by June Planning Is well underway for the third annual Canada Birthday bash in Acton The first organizing meeting took place last Wednesday night and chairman Terry Grubbe reported about 10 com groups will participate in the project so far Mrs Grubbe added enthusiasm is running high and people have como up with lots of ideas to make this the biggest and best Back to Acton Days so far It will be a long weekend of fun residents won want to miss It all gets started June 27 with a bargain ledsidewalksale There will also be booths downtown in the mall One new booth for this year is a fire display Opening ceremonies take place Friday night at 7 with entertainment following The Acton Legion ore participating and a band will also per form To get in shape for all the fun and activity Saturday there will be a health hustle session downtown at a 30 am Then comes one of the highlights of Back to Acton Day the parade beginning in several locations around town and converging downtown The parade starts at a During the day downtown the sidewalk sale will continue and there will be booths featuring crafts Continued on Page 2 Decoration Day in Acton Sunday One of the biggest Decoration Days In years Juncl The Acton Legion has successfully revived the ea r old gram Helen Fowler of the Decoration Day Com says a complimentary bus will take seniors and handicapped participants to Fair view Cemetery from the Post Office at and take them back at 4 The remainder of the expected participants will parade to the cemetery from the Post Office form The service at the cemetery involving placing geraniums on the graves of past members of the groups involved in the program begins at 3 Besides the Legion the Legion Ladles Auxiliary Acton Cubs Scouts Brownies and Guides the IODE Acton Chamber of Com Dublin WI Acton Volunteer Fire fighters Acton Rotary Club and Acton Optimist Club will participate in tho program Decora Day was started many years ago by the and later was taken over by the Legion The past few years the Legion kept the program going dcspltedwindlingsupport A committee was set up this year and has successfully revived interest In Decoration Day The final meeting of the committee will also be held this Sunday following the service at the cemetery Region accepts new senior citizen building The senior citizens who have applied for housing in the new Elizabeth St apartments will soon be receiving invitations to inspect their new home Housing Authority took possession of the building this morning during a ceremony at the site In the ceremony the builder J P Homes Ltd signed over to the Ontario Ministrv or Housing which turned the building over to the housing authority An open house only for those peoplo the authority is offering units to will take place next Wednesday according to Anne Gabriel of the Housing Authority Offers to applicants will be mailed today accord ing to Mrs Gabriel They be offered a specific unit Vieve already asked for peoples pre Pat said he would talk to applicants who may not like the apartment which they are shown It the best senior citizen apartment in according to who is a member of the Hal ton Housing Authority The authority has more than 1 units in Dolly also of the nous ng authority said We re relieved it finally ready for the poo pleof Acton who shown great patience The final stages of construction have seen some problems which forced postponement of the opening from the beginning of March Mid June in to be the earliest period for occupancy As far as Mr McKenzie is concerned he said the problems in the building have been resolved Rent in the apartments will be geared to in come of the residents A caretaker for the units has been engaged There is a list of applicants That list has Changed in part because some people ask to have their names removed and others to be added Market assessment rejected There will be no market value assess ment in Hills unless the government initiates It Hills general committee decided Monday night Over the lone objection of Councillor Ross Knechtcl Hills general committee recommended they advise the ministry of Revenue they do not want to Implement Section of the Assessment Act market value assess Knechtel argued no one had enough information to make an in formed decision either for or against market value assessment Robert Beach Assessment Com for Halton Peel explained the request must come from the local municipality and If this was done the assessment based on values would be implemented in 1981 He estimated the average Assessment would be raised ten times o bring the existing assessment up to market value The total assess In town would go from 49 million to million but the mill rate would drop accordingly In Hills where the three for municipalities ore assessed on a slightly different basis Ihe change would mean the same assessment basis throughout the town said Beach Using charts Beach claimed of residential propertes in Georgetown would see little change in taxes would go down and 1506 would go up In market value assessment would mean out of 1815 res properties would see no change in taxes would decrease and would increase In with residential properties would stay the same would decrease and 848 would have tax increase In farm properties 145 would stay the same would de crease and 334 would Increase Beach said vacant buildable land in Esquesing is assessed at a low value at present usually at five per cent of market value He said most homes in town are assessed at one tenth of market value at present In reply to a question from Councillor Roy Booth Beach said if a lot is proven it cannot be built upon for some reason the assessment would be reduced He explained a house and lot is assessed as a package Councillor Pat Patterson asked if someone with a house on three acres would pay more than someone with the identical house on acre Beach said the three acre owner would pay more but said there is a breaking point He said there is a special rate for farms around an acre no matter what the buying price Councillor Russ Miller commented Then the speculators get breaks Beach disagreed saying as long as it is farm it docsn t matter who owns it Patterson asked who is qualified to determine whether land is class one two or six Beach said sod maps from the Mini of Agriculture aroused and staff with farm training are used for the pur pose Patterson said in Milton where market value has been established he heard there have been BOO appeals No there are retorted Beach which he estimated is per cent of the population Patterson contended the provincial government will thrust market value down the municipalities throats event but hoped council could set it back for five to ten years Asked by Miller how many pa lilies Peel had voted for market value assessment Beach replied In the whole and Peel only Milton has gone for it The assessment commissioner ex plained that if council requests market value assessment there would be a series of public meetings and the ex planation of the working out of in dividual tax bills An example of the already prepared brochure of a house assessed at the market value of says to divide by making then multiply by the mill rate In the example a mill rate of mills is used making a tax bill of Councillor Harry Levy said it most councillors knew too little about it Beach said he could came out for a longer on and emphasized he was not there to push or sell market value assessment Booth stated the existing resident al axes are shared throughout Halton Hills with Georgetown paying per cent Acton per cent per cent and former Oakville area four per cent He contended per cent of Acton property taxes would go up per cent of and per cent of Georgetown in the redistribution mi on Page Separate Board buys school site The Halton Separate School Board announced Tuesday May it purchased the five acre property west of the Acton Legion as the site of a new Catholic school After more than a year search and he failure of some proposals he board made an offer of Other sites were also under consideration Board chairman Robert stressed the fact hat board has only purchased a piece of property The board has no allocation from he Ontario Min is try of Education to build He went on to say the board has not yet received the site purchase allocation from the province inside You II find Profiles concerning a cake decorator on page Some residents have a petition of complaint con a road that not been repaired in y See page Township s new tax rate Is up a bit De tails are on the page Acton High School returns from Ihe They gained weight and lost sleep See story page A resident Is complaining to council about swarms of mosqui Iocs Her story is on page 10 New minor hockey rules do not alt well with the Read about their displeasure on the front of the sports section Mark and Malcolm McLclland with two of their adopted babies The teenagers found seven Mallard eggs unattended after murder of ihe duck mother They have managed to hatch and raise three of the eggs Seestory n ram