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GeorgetownActon Wednesday Feb TELEPHONE 5191 Founded in every by Onlat 17J S3 Sutn par Canada MO at I the Common Scccui Ken Bellamy Don Ryder PuWahw Direct Of of Advertising Hartley Coles Managing Editor The Acton Ffcs one of Itw Printing and Ltd ncwipapeci includes The Whitby Aurora Banner Bolton Brjmpton Guardian The Pott Th The IrwHrpendwu Tha Pent Thanh Economist and Sun The Milton Champwn Tha The Newmarket Economist and Sun The The Newmarket Eti The North York Motor Beaver Friday Bearer Wee Tho Weekend The Richmond Liberal The Scarborough Tribune The Neva Editorial department Editor Mtr Sports Paul Nolan Payne Darkroom Nancy ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Rata Mvardalng Manage Cook Sate Kh Daw McKnnon CJ Arum Debbie MacDougai BUSINESSACCOUNTING Manager Jam Shewel Dan This years budget tough nut to crack Councillors must be rel ieved these days that they generally campaigned on restraint platforms in the election last November It will make it easier for them to bring down this years budget at both the Halton Hills and regional levels Undoubtedly many tax payers wont be happy with the budgets just as many wont remember they were warned repeatedly last fall that this would be a tough year But at least the council lors will have the comfort of pointing to their campaign planks and saying they told us well in advance that they wouldnt be able to improve levels of service tackle much in the way of major projects or launch new pro grams We dont envy Halton Hills budget committee chairman Ross Knechtel and colleagues the job they are now facing Bringing down a responsible budget something Hills has a fine track record of doing is never an easy task This year it is twice as tough Case in point is the pre liminary capital budget the budget committee is now struggling to trim It runs about 3 million about million would come from property taxes Treasurer Ray King has urged councillors chop it down so only about 1 mil lion must be raised through property taxes It wont be a very easy job chopping enough projects so that is saved Most of the projects con tained in the budget staff framed with restraint very much on their minds too are simply continuations of projects started in previous years like reconstruction or Glenlea reconstruction engineering The remaining projects are items which really cant be delayed any longer And because grants are scarce this year from Queens Park council will be tempted to keep those province helps pay for even if in their own minds they arent as- important as some works which the Town must pay for totally Word from the treasurer that with revenues shrink ing when the operating budget is combined with the capital budget total Town spending should be kept at the same level this year as in about million will also be a bitter pill to swallow With inflation last year driving up costs over per cent just marking time will be a chore Halton Hills because of wild spending other years by the board of education and the region has been struck with a lockstep budget for some time now To keep tax increases from throwing us for a real loop in past years Halton Hills has bit the bullet and kept their part of the tax in crease at a very modest level Taxpayers havent given local councillors the credit theyve deserved They look at the bottom line and see a staggering tax increase each year and point the finger of blame in the wrong direction at Halton Hills Really its been the region and school board which should have been blamed Fortunately since their def icit problems of the late 70s the region has pulled up its socks brought in as respon sible budget as conceivable considering they had to cover the deficit Since last years unbelievable educa tion tax hike trustees now too have heard the message and are tightening up their spending Poor Halton Hills just when the other two levels start practising a little res traint which in other years would have given the Town a little manouvering room the Town is now faced with the need for even more belt tightening Grants are down drastically the province is passing its problems on to the municipalities and sch ool boards Interest the Town earns on money it col lects will be down And because Halton Hills hasnt been growing mostly because of reams of prov incial red tape property tax revenues will not be much higher than last year If for no other reason than to broaden our tax base councillors must continue to push full steam ahead with growth GM From the editor s des Brush up on flicks for trivia by Gord Murray Free Press editor A Trivial Pursuits update A week or two after Christmas I filled this space with a report on a new game two couples we know had introduced Helen and I to over the holidays Trivial Pursuits If the reaction in our composing room and what I heard from a few readers is any Indication people found it pretty interesting I spotted number of our plant people checking out the questions and answers published last time Well weve tried a new set of questions and answers for ihc games and heard a number of newsy tldblts about Trivial Pursuits since the first time I wrote about It so I concluded It was time for an update I wont explain the rules again there isnt the space It doesnt seem to be necessary anyway since from what I hear a lot of readers already know how to play Suffice to say the objective of the master or original game is to consistently correctly answer trivia questions dealing with Sports and Leisure History Geography Arts and Literature Entertainment and Science and Nature Anyway the games popularity is growing phenomlnally One player recently told me hed heard Trivial Pursuits outsold every game by Incredible margins at Christmas even the alltime favorite Monopoly both the inter national and special Canadian edi tions by to one Theres been rumors of Trivial Pursuits tournaments right here in Acton And a real testimonial to the popularity of the game every morning a Toronto radio station plays the game on the air with prizes for listeners who an swer questions correctly Since first wrote about the game weve been present when he game was introduced to other friends Twice weve played it with rookies at parties once in three teams of four and once In six teams of pairs- Even the players who didnt shine at the game seemed to have fun Recently one of the first people who exposed us to Trivial Pursuits acquired a new set of question- answer cards all based on the Silver Screen It was about time One gal we played with often had taken a lot of kidding about reading the cards and memorizing the answers shed become that good It was nothing for her to answer as many as a dozen questions in a row correctly Personally I think she knew a lot all along she certainly won often enough and questions she didnt originally know he answers to she learned by playing the game repeatedly I was looking forward to playing the Silver Screen edition even though entertainment is my worst category We all gathered for the unwrapping of the new packages of question- answer cards they didnt dare invite us to play with the packages opened lest they be accused of doing their trivia home work Talk about tough had trouble with the original cards but Silver Screen was something else I think got three or four questions right all night You really have to know everything about films from the start of the art all the way up to todays TV movies to excell Cate gories are Sets Titles On Screen Productions Por trayals I found I couldnt answer questions even for movies only comfort was the other four players Helen was away werent all that much either It was a long game When we opened the Silver Screen cards we learned theres two more sets of cards on the market though havent seen them for sale One set Is on sports I can hardly wait to play with them Ill finally have a chance of tasting victory Theres also a new set of general questions covering six new general interest cate gories Saturday night we played the original game introducing it to a couple which has never played before Playing rookies didnt help much The female half of this partnership who was delighted to finally get a crack at the game shes heard so much about could challenge our resident ace I dont think she missed a geography question all night and she was strong In the other areas too Her husband struggled as we did the first couple of times but still gave Helen a good run for third spot in both games we played while 1 chased his wife for top honors If cards and other games have become bit mundane next time a crowd gets together try Trivial Pursuits its a great nights en tertainment One last thing Ill give you some and answers upside own to discourage peeking of course from the Silver Screen edi tion 1 Where did Deborah Walleys Gldget go 2 What 1979 film asked the question What about Billy 3 Who was the last of the Marx Brothers to exit from the world stage Who won the case of Kramer Vs Kramer What Pulitzer Prizewinning playwrite wrote the 1956 movie Baby Doll Who played the title role in the Ella Kazan film Baby Doll What movie turned Sweet Apple Ohio insideout for a rock stars departure What film had Peter Loire saying to Bogie You will please clasp your hands together at the back of your neck Who was known as the girl who couldnt help it 10 What words were painted on Sam Spades office window at the start of the Maltese Falcon 11 What queens head was lopped off 1895 in the first use of trick photography 12 Who played the in the Maltese Falcon JOlsy VVS 1 1 pPpmW aUiCof a a whits 5 jaiUHJM JsuiBijj J3UJBJX lBMOH I Coles slaw Weathers vagaries have no rhyme or reason Where are all the who predicted last fall wed have on of the coldest winters on record I suspect they Include those who voted for Pierre Trudesu in the last election or for Joe Clark when be and John Crosbie made their oil tax gaff Theyve Just dis appeared Meanwhile we who live in the banana belt that used to be called southern Ontario are not taking a backward look as we enjoy one of the wannest Februarys I can remember with sunshine and bare streets to boot Last weekend my wife and I left here in the buggy for a wedding in St Thomas As we drove the skies sot dearer and the mow career even along the fence rows It was idyllic Golf era were out on courses starting to turn green tops were down on conver tibles people were riding motorcycles and and walking streets with families Making It up Those who the resources and the time to spend some time in the Sunshine State of Florida came home with heir tail between their legs The state had rain cool nights and generally u weather in January and carry part of February They even had tornado down in the citrus belt unlike last winter one of their warmest and on record course Canadians talk about the weather at the drop of a hat More than a few are blaming the unusual turn around of the climate for some of the things scientist and others are doing with bombs missiles and other Then we also haw theaf terms th of some of the hare been Washington State and Mexico to create further havoc weather patterns Thinking back though weve had warm winters before When I was a stripling one year during the days of WW It was so warm in March we were walking to school no school buses chum in shirt sleeves The girls were wearing bobby socks and saddle shoes Some of the more oaring even had their skirts hitched just below the knee I joined Ihe Farm Service Force a war time measure to aid the farmers when help was all in the services I started to work at a farm down the Second Line a gravel road then Later dignified with the name High way 25 This move enabled me to get out of school at the end of March and still get my year when I completed weeks It was so warm that year I can remember them seeding oats on the of March and my former employer marking the date on his seed drill so hed have a record for the next year and thereafter It stayed warm for weeks on Into April Then it started to rain- It seemed like it rained for days and night and just when some were thinking of arks it settled down We had a beautiful summer In those days they blamed the vagaries of the ther on the bombs the Germans were damping on England and vice versa the explosives the Allies were dropping on Germany Take your pick Further back even that I can remember receiving a pair of skis as a Christmas present and never being able to use them because of the lack of snow in January and February The only occasion they were used that winter was in late March when Ma Nature dumped an inch or two of the white stuff on us The terraces at the old stone school bad enough of it on them 0 zip down as far as the school creek So it could happen again this year although March the most unpredictable month may have some surprises in store for us That old saw about March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb or coming in like the lamb and going out like the lion has a lot going for it Snow We can still have It In May I also remember what a memory this guy has when along with two other carloads of Scouts we left for Algonquin Park one beautiful of May holiday weekend We camped that night Just outside We woke toe watt with about two inches of snow covering ground Youd almost think we are being tested wouldnt you And maybe we are years ago February El IB73 A Saturday morning house fire left a family of seven homeless Sid Spears resident of the centuryold home was away when the fire was discovered by his 16- yearold daughter Rosemary Fuchs a Grade a student at Acton High was chosen Queen of the Snow during the schools Winter Carnival last week Finalists included Ann Diane Timbers Judy and Roma A framed portrait of Queen Elizabeth was presented to Acton Council by Lakeside Chapter IODE The portrait is to hang In the newly renovated council cham bers Mayor Duby received the portrait on behalf of council at its regular meeting 20 years ago February 19M Jack local contrac tor said this week he hopes to bring dining and dancing to Acton by early summer McMullen just purchased the building which for merly housed the old Theatre on Mill St The theatre has been closed for two years Cost of constructing the new water reservoir on Churchill North is estimated at Acton Council learned Monday Acton artist Elizabeth Wilkes Hocy has won two first prizes worth top awards in the Ontario Souvenir and Handcraft competition held in Toronto 50 years ago February An appeal for funds to carry on the work of the Acton Welfare Board has been made The Can vassers bad hoped haVbha work of calling on every Acton done this week Let every citizen render whatever assistance he is able Not only the needy of Acton have been assisted but transients as well hove been supplied with two substantial meals One hundred criminally insane Including several of the most dangerous maniacs in the Dom inion were removed from the Reformatory at to a new building at The transfer was kept secret to ovoid the gathering of curious crowds Mrs who is visiting with Mr and Mrs Moore received a radiogram from her daughter in Philippine Islands An ordinary letter sent by post requires about a month to com plete delivery This came to Toronto In five days The present day methods of quick commun ication have truly brought together the farthest points 75 years ago February 20 Morris a resident has purchased from Adam Cook the frame house at the corner of Main and Church Sts and the vacant lot opposite McLeans blacksmith shop The house con tains three dwellings and is a fine property Mr has evidently prospered since arriving in Acton from Russia three or four years ago Mr Robert has again been awarded first prize for Sterl ing Oats in gold from J Gun- son and Co seedsmen Rochester As the result of the accumulation of snow the roof of the driving shed at the Disciples Church collapsed This old shed was erected by the fathers of the Methodist Church 60 years ago when they worshipped in the meeting house on Church St Mr M Crewson of Comers has sold gasoline engine and shingle mill to Mr Dickson who is moving it to his wood yard in Acton Still the snow banks grow years ago March Man Last evening the Brass Band played a number of tune in the open air We presume the dem onstration right after the prov incial election was a joint one be ing on the part of the Grits in honor of Mowats return to power and of the Tories for Mr Kerns election in At any rate both Grit and Tory parUctpated A robbery took place in the vil lage Sunday afternoon by which theGTRailwaystillwasrelleved of about A young man who was sent here from Boston to the business is suspected Not withstanding be fact telegrams have been despatched In every dir ection the thief has not yet been secured