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Recession claims another victim ByBENDUMMETT The Herald If the economy is on the upsw or about to turn around as some are saying nobody has told the Georgetown based company Zavitz Technology Incorporated on Todd Road As well it was learned two other Georgetown companies are facing dif Acuities The circuit board turer will shut its doors in definitely effective May con firmed General Manager Lester Hogan Monday The closure puts 12 of the com 14 employees out of work Two people including Mr are being retained to carry out administrative duties he said Mr quickly added however his future with the com and that of the other employee is uncertain Zavitz which has been in Georgetown since 1985 circuit boards for airline companies and electrical compo nent manufacturers Mr Hogan attributed the in definite closure to sales being unable to match the increasing cost of doing business Sales haven changed over last year while operating costs have jumped significantly he said As well the company s customers have been unwilling to accept higher prices for Zavitz products said Mr s head office Is in Quebec with other plants located in London England and Ottawa The Georgetown plant business is done within Canada he said Free trade has had nothing to do with the shut down added Mr Hogan Mr Hogan expects the com pany should be back in business once the economy turns around but when that might happen he wasn saying Zavitz is just the most recent in a long line of Hills com panics that have either had to permanently close or layoff employees because of the reces sion Meanwhile a spokesperson for Georgetown Major Video Store on Street said the store will remain open despite the com pany filing for bankruptcy last Thursday However the spokesperson said the store could at sometime in the future operate under a new name The entire company and or individual stores are on the auction block said the spokesperson The company s bankruptcy is being attributed to an overly rapid expansion drive The com pany owns 38 stores across the country The end of last week also saw Georgetown company Baltimore of Canada Limited on Sinclair Avenue laying off 11 of its employees said a company spokesperson A slowdown in sales was behind the layoffs the person said Baltimore manufactures com ponents for air conditioning and cooling systems Cash for Cancer The Salon in Acton hosted a cut a tlion last month where per cent of all cuts perms colors and streaks was set to be donated to the Cancer Society Accepting a cheque from salon owner Sward right and stjlisl standing left Is president of the Cancer Society or row seated with herson Michael Hi raid photo Nice Kitty By the look on Dirk student face pet ting this full grown cougar more intimidating than animal conservationist Scott Armstrong far left made It look The cougar along with a python boa constrictor Hon cub and were some of the animals students at Harrison Public School in Georgetown learned about when Speaking of Wildlife a wildlife conservation and endangered species education group came to the school day Parent Kay also got a close look at the cougar while conservationist lookson Herald photo by Pot Ratepayers groups approached for town plan input Hills planning staff has targeted several ratepayer groups to help them in developing a comprehensive plan on how Georgetown and Acton should be developed Town planner Bruce MacLean said Monday invitations have been sent out to several groups such as Residents Active in Development Decisions RAIDD the Hills Building Association Hills Chamber of Commerce and the Georgetown and Acton Business Improvement area groups to participate in the Town Urban Area Study Review Steer ing Committee The study will focus on the potential commercial and hous ing growth in the Georgetown and Acton urban areas As part of the study said Mr MacLean loca turns for medium and high housing will be considered as will the issue of establishing more affordable housing in with the province s housing policy The province s housing policy requires communities to have 25 per cent of new housing as af fordable The will also focus on the Town commercial sector and whether there is sufficient land for plant expansions as well as indentifying new locations within Halton Hills where new com pames could locate said Mr MacLean He explained the Steering Com mittee will work with Town staff and the Town consultant Toronto based Walker Young Associates on the project The province is funding per cent of the project cost wile the Town is covering the re- ma ining per cent Wendy Knott a consultant for the planning firm said Monday the study will work on the assumption the Town s water and sewage capacity can only handle a maximum of people She stressed nothing in the study will reflect the Town s growth tial should a pipe be built to bring water into Halton Hills from Lake Ontario Mr said the Town has targeted ratepayer groups to join the Steering Committee because several public informs meetings for the general public concerning the study s direction will be held He predicts the study will be completed by year s end Mr urges groups wanting to participate in the Steering Committee contact the Town Planning Department by Friday by phoning 8732600 After the May deadline the commit tee will be officially formed An Inside Look SECTION A PoHce Beat Service Fire Calls Bulletins Community Forum NonalNews Council Briefs Money Matters 19 Kinsmen Hearth Watch TV Auction BilHnafad Hews Legion Lines Business 22 Ed Hospitals 23 Ben Banter Gardening Peoples Forum Parenting Tips 25 School News Arts and Political Forum Entertainment SECTION B Spods Entertainment Theatre Classifieds 12B14B Bogus bills Halton Regional Police in Burlington have noticed an increase in the amount of counterfeit Inited States currency in circulation in Burl ington Retail merchants are advised to be particularly vigilant when l S banknotes particularly in the twenty and one hundred dollar denominations Area restaurants convenience stores and mall merchants have been recently victimized The bills are of good ty the series The bills in question are part of a counterfeit senes well established in the north eastern S Serial numbers vary considerably and modem printing methods duplicate serial numbers on counterfeit bills is no longer a reliable indicator The bills are appearing random and do not appear tobe passed by any particular suspects Merchants who are suspicious of the validity of foreign banknotes should not be reluctant to ask for identification or direct the customer financial institution their funds