The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

4 Editorial with Frances Niblock THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2011 Fighting poverty "I get a glass of milk every Sunday," the disadvantaged, bi-polar woman said at a recent meeting with service providers trying to get a handle on what Acton needs in the way of support, including housing and transportation. "If I have $10 in my pocket, I feel better. If you don't have any money, you feel like s---, and that's how other people treat you," the woman said, adding having little money makes everything harder. While many think of Halton as an affluent community, 8.5 per cent of its citizens are considered low income ­ the figure is 5.1 per cent in Acton and Georgetown. As one Regional councilor said, Halton is not the "Garden of Eden" as many believe, because there is real poverty. Halton is attempting to deal with the issues of poverty with a task force ­ one of the main outcomes following a Summit on Poverty held several months ago. One key issue is affordable housing ­ there are 2,000 households in the Region on a waiting list for rent-geared-to-income housing ­ households that are spending so much of their income on putting a roof over their heads, that there's not much money left over for healthy food, let alone for school supplies, for an emergency, or for fun. Along with the task force, the fight against poverty includes inviting people living in poverty to help come up with solutions, or as several said, teach us how to use what money we have, better. Sounds like a good place to start. KNIGHTS' CHEQUE: St. Joseph Catholic School vice-principle Carol Lanois (left) accepted a cheque from Acton Knights of Columbus members Wayne Montgomery and Bruce Lampkin recently. The $250 has been donated to Spinal Muscular Atrophy Canada on behalf of St. Joseph student Rebecca Van Fraassen of Limehouse, who battles SMA, and her mother Theresa. ­ Submitted photo Making family Day memories I find it hard to believe that we've been celebrating Family Day in Ontario only since 2008. At first, I honestly was thinking what a b.s. holiday, however, who was I to oppose having a day off? Oh, the controversy it brought and complaining from businesses and opposing political parties, yet, it seems like it has been around as long as we've been having all the other holidays off. The first two family days were just a thankful day of not working. It was a time to sleep in and do nothing. Last family day was our first real family day. We tried to do a family thing. When I suggested the same thing this year, the Dude reminded me we already tried it last year. I think I abolished it from memory because it was too overwhelming. Last year, I suggested we head to the Gellert Centre conveniently located in the center of Halton Hills (small sarcastic dig ­ sorry) to go to the pool there as it had a more modern kiddie area. We packed up, trudged through snow and off we went. It was still a challenge for us as Little J was only four months old. By the time we got Angela Tyler there, I think anybody who had a kid was at that pool for the family swim. After that memory had been brought back to life I quickly had a change of mind about going swimming. We needed another plan of attack. This year with the winter we've had, the Dude has been working a lot and the time we have as a family has definitely been quality not quantity until this weekend. I'm not sure how it happened but our family day turned into family weekend. The weekend was great. We had a family dinner with my family and we had a great visit from the Dude's folks. However, the highlight was Saturday. This was our family day on family weekend. Mid-afternoon we headed down to Milton to an indoor children's play area (note to economic development officer ­ I couldn't find one in Acton or Georgetown, but at least Milton is still in Halton). It was our first By Looking Back Ten Years Ago · The first emergency shelter for homeless Halton youth is set to open in the Spruce Lane facility for Youthful Offenders on Highway 25, south of Acton. · A 30-year-old Acton man was arrested for a long list of alcohol-related charges after leading police on a 1.6-kilometre slow speed chase through downtown Acton. · Still no word if Magna International will build a truck plant ­ with 500 jobs ­ on Main Street, north of the rail racks. Acton is one of several sites under consideration. Five Years Ago · With balloons, best wishes and treats, the 40-year career of Acton Dr. David Vanderbent was celebrated at an open house at his Mill Street office. · The new owners of the former Canadian Tire store want to give a facelift to the existing building and construct a new one on the site. · Undefeated in league play, the Acton High School senior girls Bearcats volleyball team captured the all-Halton championship and advanced to the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference. real venture into this, and none of us knew what to expec,t but it did come highly recommended by a friend with a son almost the same age as Little J. As we pulled into the parking lot, images of the Gellert Centre appeared. The parking area was packed and the Dude asked me "Are you sure you really want to do this?" I replied, "This isn't for us, it's for her." By early evening, she had a blast playing in a pit of plastic balls, going down slides, riding on mini-cars, visiting a book store and enjoyed holding an ice cream cone for the first time when we were out for dinner. It truly was a wonderful outing, and it was at that time that I really understood the need and meaning of Family Day. However, I knew we really were a family when I looked at my watch and it read 5:15 p.m. We were in a restaurant, almost done dinner and were seated in the back with a pile of other families with young children. "Look around...we're in a new world," I told the Dude, We're surrounded by seniors and other families with little kids. That confirmed it was officially Family Day for us. 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. Editorial Contributors Mike O'Leary Angela Tyler Kelly Kennedy 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