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the HERALD Home Newspaper of Page Wednesday April IBM A Division of Canadian Newspapers Company Limited Street Georgetown Ontario WILLIAM Publisher PAUL Editor DAVID PEATTIE Advertising Manager II Registered Number ON Real problems in Halton region The Great TwoWeek Mini Debate sparked by Ward Coun Pat Patterson at a recent town council meeting came and went without generating much interest among either the public or those council members who were not directly involved In the brief discussion All of which belies the scale and Importance of the real issues behind Coun Pattersons charge that Halton region officials are spending money like drunken sailors To be sure the town coun cillors who sat back and wisely waited for this flurry of angry words to pass by were given little on which to focus heir attention Coun Pattersons complaints concerning the regions recon struction of Trafalgar Road outside the municipal of rices were characteristic of the frequent conservative rhetorical and somewhat offbase challenges he likes to launch from time to time against regional government and a kind of urban conspiracy he seems to think is threatening to shred the fabric of rural life His opponent in the drunken sailors debate Mayor Pete Pomeroy mollified the Ward councillor to a certain extent a week later with an equally offbase display of how regional council has spared Halton taxpayers this year In its annual mill rate kickoff It seems to us there are two distinct Issues at hand here con nected only by a fine line called financing one involves regional services and the suggestion that certain communities and par ticularly the rural areas are receiving less now than they were under the old county system the other is the related topic of rural roads a political can of worms for any council Regarding the latter problem a phone call to The Herald last week Indicated that at least one Ward ratepayer feels Coun Patterson backed down too soon when he reloaded his guns and pointed them toward Queens Park rather than regional headquarters in The callers big complaint about rural roads involved the allegedly poor surveying and jt anr construction culverts by either regional or town works crews Poor drainage is causing plenty of Ward lan downers problems she charged and In many areas has weakened road foundations I thought he had more guts she complained about her elected representative Coun Patterson to his credit finally ackowledged that regional government for better or worse Is a creation of the Davis government and not something that breeded overnight in south Halton The inherent problems of the system came into sharp focus last week however not at town council but at regional council Faced with the headache of to justify a 31 per cent ucation tax hike for 1980 and a 8 per cent regional tax hike against a one per cent municipal tax hike Milton town council is now planning to petition Queens Park to let the municipality secede from region An angry Milton Mayor Don Gordon announced this latest challenge to regionalizatfon last week pointing out that the town entered the regional system against its will like everyone else with a balanced budget Now because of equalized cost sharing across and a growing Milton population his municipality gets a kick in the wallet about 23 per cent harder than the light tap received by northern neighbors in Hills Clearly questions must be answered and hopefully the an swers will come from those who held the shotgun at Halton regions wedding in As relieved as we In Halton Hills can afford to be this year our Milton colleagues deserve our support at least as far as resolving their longoutstanding complaints concerning rising mill rates Meanwhile town council meetings here will continue to provide a forum for Coun Pat tersons repetitive but mindful Jibes about regional government versus the poor farmer he or someone else from Ward provides a recognizable voice for Esqueslngs genuine problems soon budget figures from Mayor Pomeroy will act as a sandbag dam to the rising tide for only so long Letter from the Editor Paul Dorsey Im alright Jack A conversation I had last week with a Georgetown resident who is personally Involved with the problems of urbanizing farmland served to point out an important aide Issue to The Heralds April 23 editorial As the writer of that editorial which found fault with a town consultants recommendation to consider highdensity housing when the time comes to redevelop Ihe Dominion Seed House lands I was somewhat surprised to meet with disagreement from this rurallyoriented fellow opponent of rampant urbanization My surprise over this unexpected opposition turned Into surprise at my own inadvertent elitism when it was noted that the Seed House property smack dab In the centre of Georgetown is a far better for housing than SB McLaughlin lands on the southern boundary or anywhere else along the urban fringe Given the rapid rate at which Ontarios agricultural land is disappear ing this argument makes a lot of sense One ends up weighing the cons of boosting Georgetowns highway traffic problems gainst proa of Isolating housing tbe urban area If we endorse town councils stated priority to infill before extending outward with bousing an Important policy question arises should Georgetown yield to a rising demand or more residential growth and thus provide more lowcost bousing nolets block housing altogether leaving the Seed House lands as well as the fringe properties at they are Enter the problem of elitism or perhaps isolationism is a better word Is it ethically right or a community to tell would be developers and home buyers to simply look elsewhere particularly in view of the currently enormous demand for homes While everybody supports the view that new industry should be established in order to balance our housing heavy assessment ratio few address he problem of where to draw the line on residential growth Perhaps our civic lea are hesitant to long range ideals while such specific issues as Focal Properties Ltd and Its home subdivision remain unresolved On a personal level however each of us must choose our own preferred objective growth according to demand limited growth or no growth at all At risk of hearing that sclfaccusatory applied to those who care little about others as long as they re comfortable I believe in the case of bousing that Id have to support tbe latter goal Premier Davis after all seems to be building plenty of lowcost homes on his own neit door and now wants to do more of the same In Pickering Seaton community Thus far we in Georgetown are Indeed alright Jack Olympic boycott endorsement prompts wrath against Soviets tyranny Queens Park By Derek Nelson Queens Park Bureau of The Herald Listening as the Legislature endorsed a Canadian boycott of Moscow Olympics one had a feeling of sheer awe for what most of ihe participants were saying Such antiSoviet rhetoric has been out of fashion for so long that it has become in trendy circles kind of locker room joke never mentioned in polite company without embarrassment For those who believe detente was merely a mirage and that the Cold War ha a actually intensified In the past decade the debate was music to tbe ears True the Legislature has no power in the matter but the purpose of he resolution calling boycott was to send a signal to the federal government The vote was 18 absent with Conservatives 17 Liberals and nine NDP against four Liberals and 12 in favor of shunning Moscow The Soviet Empire for once was denounced for what It is the most powerful successful and bloodiest tyranny the world has ever seen made more threatening today by being the worlds number one military power as FEW SPOKE What the halfdozen who spoke had to say deserves a wider audience than the media has so far given them so heros a few excerpts From Osie Villeneuve PCStormont Glengarry who introduced the resolution advocating a boycott a worry that either we stand up and be counted now or some of our children will have to pay dearly for If In hot war not Cold War Liberal Leader Stuart Smith was black eye for the West since Russia will interpret going to Moscow as support for its Afghanistan Invasion MPP Ramsay Ste Marie noted only an Olympic boycott has the potential to impinge Western anger on Ihe average Russians consciousness in that tightly controlled society An Identical sentiment was reluctant ly endorsed by MPP Evelyn Gigantea NDPCarlelon East who adopted the ritual posture of condemning the United States at the same time OTHER SIDE Meanwhile Mike was the only one to carry the torch for Moscow arguing In essence that the Olympic Games are separate from politics He chose naturally references to supposed wrongs In Chile poor Chile will she never be forgiven for preempting a Marxist dictatorship and Vietnam presumably delaying Hanoi s conquest by a decade was wrong to make his point Nobody boycotted the Games because of these U S actions he said Interestingly while used Chile and South Vietnam as examples he mention South Africa and Taiwan the other two Evil Powers in Maybe its because politics does exclude them both from the Olympics LAST WORD The last word should be reserved for Bernard Newman who was once an Olympic coach himself and was blunt about the Soviet Union in a way almost forbidden In politics and media nowadays The name of the game Is world domination with Afghanistan yet one more warning It was shameful foolhardy and selfdestructive for the Free World to consent in the first place to hold the Olympic Games in Moscow nerve centre of the most brutal colonial empire in the world from which are directed the concentration and slavelabor camps the inhuman psychiatric asylums and unrelenting Soviet expansionism and Herbert back with questions between them Ottawa Bureau of The Herald Tom Cossitt the yearold member of Parliament from Leeds might be called a freespirited Tory since he has always tended to do his own thing And for the same reason Hal Herbert who Is also and the MP from Montreal Vedureuil might be called freespirited Liberal Cossitt achieved fame by his persistent questioning about expenditures made on behalf of Prime Minister Trudeau with particular attention to that famous swimming pool at Sussex Drive And Herbert has popped up in the headlines from time to tune as he levelled some considered criticism at his own parly and its leadership Both men have at limes annoyed Ihcir own colleagues But it was thought that Cossitt and I for different reasons might be a bit more mellow In the new Parliament For the first time Cossitt has been appointed an opposition critic Not only that he recently remarried and in the normal course of events would be spending more time away from his parliamentary office And with the Quebec referendum campaign preoccupying Hal Herbert it was assumed he I have time to toss darts from the Liberal back benches We should have known belter QUESTIONS GALORE When the new Parliament met this week Herbert was ready to fire complicated questions at the Libera government he supports And lest anyone think that added parliamentary responsibilities had rapped the zest of Cossitt he came armed with 158 questions ministers and their staffs can formulate drawers And Heaven alone knows the cost The two MPs between them are asking far more questions than were answered in the last halfdown election campaigns One of Herberts questions all about Statistics Canada has parts all of them requiring heavy research Some will probably never be answered Ottawa Report MacLeod Under parliamentary rules MPs can ask the government pretty well any question that comes to mind They are submitted in writing and arc published on Commons order paper Somedealwlth weighty affairs of state others deal with trivia The government and that means any government tends to look upon written questions as a nuisance The authors of the questions Invariably regard them as being next to the Beatitudes in terms of importance In any event both Cossitt and Herbert have given the government enough research projects to keep a good many summer students employed TIME CONSUMING Even simplelooking inquiries can take Cossitt for instance wants to know who pays for those tape flowers worn by the prime minister It doesnt look like much of a question but I talked to three people in Trudeau office who t know And how about this simple inquiry What constituencies have the highest percentage of senior Or Are there any public servants receiving higher salaries than members of Parliament and if so how many Or Is it an established fact that caffeine can often cause cardiac Or Does the government have any plans for Ihe two Cadillacs formerly used by the prime minister what is the average miles obtained per gallon in the case of each vehicle Some of Herberts questions will require even more research What percentage of porting goods used in Canada are processed and manufactured in Canada he asks Or What Is the present portion of the imported supply of wide flange steel beams as a percentage of total Canadian production Another one Does the government recognize dance opera music theatre literature visual arts film and photography as art forma of federal interest And What percentage of all persons employ are In part jobs In view of the fact that on the second day of this new Parliament there were already S68 questions on the order paper it would be Interesting if some freesplri MP would ask how much Ihe answers are costing us the taxpayers Halton s History From our files THIRTY YEARS AGO April is gam and following is a comparison of months averages with the norma averages Average maximum tempera ture was degrees three degrees brio normal Average minimum tempera tort was degrees five degrees normal Total rainfall was which was half an inch above normal Total snowfall six inches double normal average Now you can make yom own comment upon April A salary schedule for teachers it Georgetown Acton and Milton high schools was adopted by North Haltot District Board at its meeting Monday Georgetown The new schedule provides I salary of to for nonspecial and J00 to GOO for specialists Of the staff with an annua increment of until the maximum is reached A new teacher coming on staff can benefit to extent of for experience Presbytery of the Unite Church at a meeting at last week condemned the progressive com of Sunday which they feel is a symptom of paganism and ultimately a greater threat than even Communism Christians must oppose this pressure and should be encouraged lo make recreation a family matter but not to patronlxe professional sports that draw huge crowds of spectators on Sundays TWENTY YEARS AGO The aver age Georgetown taxpayers will face an extra to in his tax bill this year Georgetowns new tax rate set at Mon days council meeting is mills for residential properties mills for indus trial and commercial Uncollected and contingencies pushed the mill rate up four mills this year Assistance in a location for lacrosse either in the park or the arena was sought by a group of sportsmen when they Interviewed council Monday Herb Robin son and Red Asset tine were spokesmen for the men who last year started a boys league Mr Robinson explained that they had operated In the arena but thought that this year council might assist them in getting a lacrosse box in the park Fire of unknown origin levelled a bam owned by Harold Brown of George town last week Mr Brown and neighbors sawing wood near the farm home noticed the fire about 4pm and sent a call lo Georgetown Fire Department who rushed to the scene Tbe fire had gained headway and firemen were only able to prevent nearby buildings from igniting Lost in the blaze were several pieces of equipment and a quantity of straw and hay as well as seed grain for spring planting Ail stock was removed from the building In the nick of time and taken to neighboring farms The Lorne Scots will be seen and heard on Channel 11 TV Sunday Final scheduling of the program was announced this week by CHCH TV Dave Rogers who said the units pipes and drums would be featured on the Jane Gray show at 11 a m April 28 The only Canadian band participating In massed Military Bands Tattoat the Edinburgh festival this August the Lome Scots pipes and drums have brought honor to all of Canada and are attracting nation wide publicity TEN YEARS AGO After a lively bailie Monday council decided to go ahead with the hiring of a recreational director The vote was to 3 with Mayor Reeve Hunter and Coun Hyde opposed Reeve W F Hunter warn ed of the mounting costs and urged council to wait til the budget was struck A reunion with a father thought dead was the happy experience of Mrs Jeanne three weeks ago Mrs lost track of her father Pat ten years ago when he moved from his about tobe demolished home In London England In the move he lost her address ana that of her sister Ban Landry Quebec After trying to locate him for three yean Mrs con cluded her rather was dead Just recently Mr Rodway found her address In an old bunk and immediately wrote her Upon receiving the letter and seeing the fami liar handwriting Mrs dropped two bags of groceries The town is paying a month Interest on borrowed money which was used o finance the Main Street bridge because they have not received the grants due them from the Board of Transport and the CNR Roads chairman Smith told council Monday night MP Whiting has already been contacted and has promised to by to expedite matters A second separate school for George town has been given top priority by the Ontario Department of Education said board chairman Peter Walters last week The board has possession of the property needed for the school and Ontario MunJcl pal Board approval of the project is all that is needed to get the project going ONE YEAR AGO The million cultural and recreational complex pro posed for development near Norval by Toronto area Croatian Canadians has been narrowly endorsed by the town planning board A vote lost night from Coun Mike Armstrong chairing the board meeting to cast the deciding vote on a re commendation authorizing tbe prepara tion of a development agreement for tbe project Public mistrust of business is some thing business people are Mrs At there are steps businesses can take to reduce hat mis trust and Mrs guest speakers at the Georgetown Chamber of Commerces annua dinner meeting have completed a study of childrens attitude towards business which indicates atti tudes towards business nave become very negative It will cost Hal too region more than si million to bring Actons existing water on and sewage systems up an acceptable standard consultants hired by tbe region have estimated In same report he firm gives various estimates for the respective costs of expanding and improving the water and lo meet future needs