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6 Editorial Debt deferral with Frances Niblock THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2011 WELCOME 2011: Acton's Riley Muise, 8, was chosen to ring in 2011 ­ the junior version at 9:30 p.m. ­ at the New Year's family party at the Town Hall Centre. ­ Frances Niblock photo "Frightening," a "bit concerning" and a "little scary." Not exactly what you want to hear from Town staff and some budget committee members during debate on the capital budget, including a potential debt of $36.5-million for three new ice pads/arenas, two new libraries and debt for two new fire stations. Seemingly spooked by the financial implications of the $29.5-million arena/ice pad plan, a majority of budget committee members sent the proposed arena spending plan ­ described by one councillor as an "all arenas, all the time" scenario ­ back to staff for approximately one month so they can develop some cost-cutting options with a "sober second look." Staff said if the proposed costs can not be covered by dwindling reserves, development charges and fundraising, ultimately it will be up to taxpayers to foot the bill. To mitigate the impact of higher taxes ­ increases of up to seven per cent are possible ­ staff said they are preparing a report on the potential sale of Town assets to come up with the much-needed cash. As Mayor Rick Bonnette said, "We all knew this was going to be tough...and there's going to be some pain and there's going to be some hurt...." and some projects would have to be dropped to build the ice pads/arenas. Talk about tough times. Looking Back Ten Years Ago · Magna International officials continue to investigate a site in Acton for a car manufacturing plant ­ but the car parts giant continues to look at other Ontario sites. · Acton shoppers spent as much as in past years over the holidays, but there was no wild rush or frenzy of last minute shoppers, according to local merchants. · High school teachers, including those in Acton, returned to class after the Christmas holidays without a contract settlement, and they continue with work-to-rule sanctions. Five Years Ago · Sleigh bells and cash registers rang in the New Year in Acton as local merchants reported strong holiday sales. · Six voters in the federal riding of Wellington-Halton Hills who were unable to make it to a scheduled advance poll, voted by special ballot on Christmas Day in Acton. · Acton has a new Village Constable. Constable Rob Felske replaced Constable Garry George in the position which includes working on the streets in Acton. The New Year has already brought a big change in our life. Just before Christmas, Little J finally ventured into the great big world of walking. I had "uh oh" warnings from friends and family that this when the fun would start. Of course, their thoughts of fun were more along the lines of terror and visions of a toddler getting into everything and anything. I, on the other hand, welcome this change. More specifically, my right shoulder and arm welcome this change. After carrying her around for a year, mommy's body was starting to feel the wear. Knock wood, so far I am surprised that the warnings haven't materialized into actual destruction. Of course, the kitchen cupboards are of most interest to Little J, yet with a quick utilization of mommy's hair elastics and some other child proofing, along with her surprisingly understanding the phrase "close the door please," it hasn't been too bad... yet. The only big thing so far is my thighs have been aching and I finally realized they ache because of all the small steps I am suddenly taking. My shoulder ache has been replaced with achy legs. It's a no-win situation I suppose. Along with walking, she has Baby steps.......Baby steps Angela Tyler her daddy's independence quality. She's all for holding on to mommy's hand but she certainly has those moments when she wants to do everything by herself. This independence can be a tad frustrating at times. I want to let her grow and learn how to do things herself, but there are other times when it would be a lot easier for her to just let me do it. Lately, dinner time is one of those times. We're lucky. She has got to be the only kid that prefers vegetables over pasta, and has absolutely no love at all for ketchup. The problem is vegetables and independence is it is trying mommy's patience. A few nights before Christ mas, she was having her dinner of chicken and broccoli which she loves. That night though, broccoli was not cutting it. No sooner was the cutlery loaded with a mouthful when it was it sent flying across the kitchen with the swift action of a toddler's hand. I was confused about the sudden dislike, then realized it wasn't that she disliked the By broccoli; it was she wasn't thrilled with being fed. That night she ate her broccoli, but it had to be placed on her highchair tray so she could feed herself, not floret by floret, but by little itty bit by little itty bit. It took 45 minutes to eat that broccoli, but she did it herself and applauded when she was done. Last night's veggie dejour was niblet corn, which again, she loves. Keeping with the broccoli tradition, each niblet had to be placed on her tray and ate separately. The good news is nothing ended up on the floor, although I'm sure the dogs weren't happy with that. After Little J was sound asleep, our world continued to change. I headed off downstairs to our DVD collection. Normally, I would have picked up one of our movies, or maybe a couple of the DVD's from television shows. Instead, I came up with a free DVD I got in the mail back in the spring. It was from Huggies Diapers. Our viewing this week will be their DVD about doing the "Potty Dance." Two years ago, I would never have thought about watching a potty training DVD let alone knowing that there is actually a complete song and dance about going potty...welcome to parenthood. Publisher Ted Tyler Editor Frances Niblock Distributed to every home in Acton and area, as well as adjoining communities. Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a claim is made within five days of publication. All articles, advertisements and graphic artwork appearing in The New Tanner is copyrighted. Any usage, reproduction or publication of these items, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher of The New Tanner is a copyright infringement and subject to legal action. Mike O'Leary Angela Tyler Denise Paulsen Editorial Contributors email: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com 373 Queen Street East, Unit 1 Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 Advertising and Circulation Marie Shadbolt (519) 853-0051 Fax: (519) 853-0052 Composing Ken Baker