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4 EDITORIAL with Frances Learment THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012 All aboard ­ it is about time Town officials promise that "very shortly" they will announce a deal has finally been signed with GO Transit/ Metrolinx and the Hide House allowing GO to use part of the Town-owned parking lot for a GO Train station ­ actually a kiosk ­ and commuter parking. The Acton GO station was approved in 2009 as part of GO's $18-million Union Station-to-Kitchener expansion. In November 2010, GO said service to Acton would begin by the end of 2011, and since then, people have been waiting ­ some impatiently ­ as two GO trains whistle through Acton daily in each direction. Seems the hold-up in the deal was getting to the point where everyone was "comfortable," including the Hide House that wanted assurances there would be enough parking for its shoppers with all of the commuters using the lot. While the Town owns the parking lot, the Hide House has a non-exclusive lease ­ for $5,000 annually, an amount which will be reduced in the new deal ­ to use the lot for its customers. Also allowed is parking for 24 vehicles for the medical centre and special occasion uses for the Trunk Sale and the annual charity Christmas tree sales. Train travel in Acton has been patchy ­ The Grand Trunk brought train service to the area in 1856. Canadian National Railway ended service in 1967. GO Train service to Acton was instituted in 1990 by the Bob Rae NDP government at Queen's Park, but was derailed in 1993 by the David Peterson Liberals, citing low ridership. No word when the inaugural Acton GO Train will be in service, but for many, it hopefully will have been worth the wait ­ not the drive. Shop local, and often If you haven't noticed, our town is growing with retail. This is exciting news. First, I was quite pleased to read last week in the paper about another possible grocery store coming to town. I'm hoping it does because I think it is needed to give consumers choices, so we can encourage residents to continue and maintain shopping in Acton. Downtown, a couple of weeks ago, I went into one of the stores that has a new owner, a face lift and a ladies clothing store on the one side. I found it ironic that decades ago that same store was a ladies clothing store. At the time I was with my mom and I told the new owner how my mom shopped for clothes there. Both stores are quite nice and I am looking forward to returning to them very soon...hopefully without the kiddos in tow, so I can really enjoy it. I drove through the "four corners" and noticed the building on the south-west corner has signs in the window about yet another clothing store soon to open. It is nice to see something going into this space as it has been empty for By FAÇADE FIX-UP: In readiness for a new tenant ­ Trendz Hair Studio ­ at 122 Mill St. East, Mark Kri (right) owner of MK Masonry, and helper Vincent Zmija "pretty up" the front of the building. ­ Frances Learment photo Angela Tyler a while. How awesome is another clothing store opening? We will not only be able to buy clothing in town, but from numerous places in both new and existing stores, and for everyone in the family. While we were heading home on the weekend passing by the Roxy, the Dude noticed how nice the upstairs is looking with the drywall now done. We're assuming it was recently completed because we hadn't noticed it before this. Either way, it is a work and progress and is looking really good. Heading east along Mill Street, renovation work continues on a former convenience store and the old Salvation Army store, which was a house. Now, the building beside it is receiving a makeover. This really helps the downtown brighten up. Quite a few buildings and stores have been doing renovations. The old Godfather's Pizza Looking Back · Concerns about leash lengths and potential abuse will be fined tuned by Town staff working on a tougher dog control bylaw. · Fourteen houses have been sold in the new Honeyfield subdivision ­ a 227 - lot development on the north side of Highway 7 by the Acton arena. · Plans for a new medial centre are approved by Town Council for a vacant parcel of land bounded by Eastern Avenue, Mill Street, Fellows Street and Church Street. · The new owners of the Shopper Drug Mart plaza asked for more time to respond to the Town's new "use it or lose it" policy governing water allocations. Ten Years Ago building has been redone, as has the former Andy's Restaurant. Hopefully, the second unit will be rented soon. If you look, there are quite a few who have painted or done other fix-ups like new windows. At the east end of town, the store where the ice cream place was also has a sign up indicating a new business for a consignment and thrift store. As well, the "Sobeys" plaza has quite a bit of work being done to the anchor store. The renovations are a huge bone of contention with me; however, I'm very frustrated when I go into there during the renos and am impatient for it to be completed. It's hard to believe that plaza is ten years old. Overall, there is a lot of wow's going on in town. Instead of just driving through or going from point A to point B, take a look around and even better, take a moment to stop and shop in the new places as well as the existing businesses. Shopping local is a good thing for our town, our economy and our residents who are employed here...in the end we all benefit. Five Years Ago Publisher Ted Tyler Editor Frances Learment Angela Tyler 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 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 Traci Gardner, Iain Brennan Typesetting Melissa Paul