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THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2011 At $231 per capita, Halton residents get "good value" for the tax dollars spent annually on policing. Police brass attended the Halton Hills Council meeting last Tuesday to present a mandatory overview of the Service's corporate business plan for 2011. Deputy-Chief Bob Percy said the themes in the plan include a focus on traffic enforcement, youth initiatives and seniors programs. Faced with a growing population with changing demographics and increased diversity, Deputy-Chief Percy said police are improving internal and external communications, and focusing on front-line policing and opportunities for efficiency. With one of the lowest police to population ratios and cost per capita ratio, Percy said Halton remains the safest community Cops are `good value' for tax dollars of its size for the third year in a row. He said one way to gauge safety is to look at the crime severity index which shows a "pretty amazing" low score over-all, although the over-all crime rate is up 3.8 per cent, violent crimes are up 3.7 per cent and property crimes up 4.7 per cent. "There has been a 20.9 per cent drop in reported crime in Halton Hills," Percy said after the meeting. With a concerted focus on traffic issues, Percy said the number of tickets issued was up by 4.2 per cent, and collisions were down 1.2 per cent to 7,749 Region-wide. Traffic fatalities increased to 13 from nine, with six of the victims aged 17 to 25, and four alcohol-related. Percy said while impaired driving apprehensions are down 6.9 per cent to 376, roadside suspensions were up "substantially" ­ a 17 per cent increase to 524. Superintendent Signy Pittman zeroed in one District One ­ Acton, Georgetown and Milton ­ where the focus is also on investigations, traffic and youth. Pointing to the recent drug bust of 26 people on over 90 drug-related charges in Acton and Georgetown, Superintendent Pittman said street level drug activity spawns peripheral crimes and community safety issues and the work to combat crime is "incredible." In what she called a "paradigm shift," when dealing with youths, Superintendent Pittman said police are "looking at an opportunity to issue positive tickets" and reward someone for doing well with positive feedback, instead of a ticket. "Instead of having prescribed programs, THE NEW TANNER 11 we're going to work to have positive relationships. Instead of an incidental response, we're going to have an intentional response. Instead of recognizing problems, we're going to look at some of the strengths," she said. Asked by Mayor Rick Bonnette if grow ops are still a major problem, Superintendent Pittman said five years ago grow ops were the latest and greatest craze, a there has been a recent influx of the operations. She said they can educate citizens what to look for, including an absence of people at a house where the shades and blinds are always drawn. In response to a question about gang activity in Halton Hills, Superintendent Pittman said it is "incredible how very little" gang activity there is locally. The Regional Spring Compost Give Away 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Halton Waste Management Site 5400 Regional Road 25, Milton Municipality of Halton www.halton.ca Get Your Garden Growing! Monday, May 9 to Saturday, May 14, 2011 Rain 2011 $42 each (cash only) SALES Date Saturday, May 7, 2011 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Saturday, May 14, 2011 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Saturday, May 28, 2011 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Saturday, June 4, 2011 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Thanks to the participation of Halton residents, approximately 32,000 tonnes of yard waste wascompostedlastyearandturnedintorich,garden-friendlycompost. Halton residents are invited to come to the Compost Give Away and pick up some of this compostasa"thankyou"fordivertingthisusablematerialawayfromthelandfill,thereby extending its life! All Halton households are welcome to collect a maximum of seven bags (or equivalent) of compost. Please bring your own bags/containers (garbage bags, yard waste bags, reusable containers) and shovel. HWMS 5400 Regional Rd 25 Halton Region will be hosting four rain barrel sales events to promote wise outdoor water use. Halton residents can purchase a rain barrel for $42, cash only, at any of the four truckload sales. Diverting water from a downspout into a rain barrel allows you to capture rain water and store it for future use to water gardens, shrubs and potted plants. Location Mapleview Mall, 900 Maple Avenue, Burlington (lower parking lot) Oakville Place Mall, 240 Leighland Avenue, Oakville (lower parking lot) Milton GO Station Parking Lot 780 Main Street East (Main & Thompson), Milton Robert C. Austin Operations Centre, 11620 Trafalgar Road, Georgetown Residents are responsible for shovelling and bagging their own compost. Non-perishablefooditemsorcashdonations will be gratefully accepted on behalf of HaltonareaFoodBanks.Yourdonations make a difference! Helpful Hint: When applying compost to your gardens, ensure you blend it with topsoil oranothergardeningfill.Recommended application for best growing results is a 60/40 split (60 per cent topsoil and 40 per cent compost). ·Limit of one per purchase, per household ·Must provide proof of Halton Region residency (i.e. Driver's License) ·208 litre (55 gallon) capacity ·Minor assembly required Spring cleaning? We can help! Bringyouroldbatteries,paint,compactfluorescent light bulbs, pesticides and cleaners to the Household Hazardous Waste Depot at the Halton Waste Management Site. Maximum 20 litres per visit. No commercial loads can be accepted. For a list of acceptable materials and for additional information please visit www.halton.ca/waste. For more information visit www.halton.ca/waterconservation. Making Halton a better place to live, work and retire Gary Carr, Regional Chair 050511 Please let us know as soon as possible if you will have an accessibility or accommodation need at a Halton Region hosted event or meeting. 1151BronteRoad,Oakville,OntarioL6M3L1·Dial311or905-825-6000·TollFree1-866-442-5866·TTY905-827-9833·www.halton.ca