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

2 Acton businesses and employees earn prestigious awards Acton once again dominated the annual Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Awards ­ Acton Home Hardware earned Business of the Year, Nancy LaRose received the Employee of the Year award for her stellar service at the Salvation Army Thrift store and Andrea Clark, co-owner of Tanners Pub and Grill garnered the Entrepreneur of the Year award. The Awards, judged and announced on Monday, publicly recognize outstanding achievements made by local businesses and their employees. The Business of the Year award, sponsored by Prosperity ONE Credit Union, denotes significant social and economic contribution to the community, good business ethics and excellent customer service. A Home Hardware nomination form credited the Manes for providing "great service with a smile." "I love the quality of the service that's provided" which is music to the ears of Acton Home Hardware co-owner Val Manes, who said she was "caught off guard" by news of the win, a "very big complement" to staff who she was quick to credit for the honour. "Thanks to everyone on the judging panel ­ it's nice to know that your efforts to make customers happy are working," Manes said on Tuesday. The Manes ran a Home Hardware in downtown Acton for 2.5 years until 1999, when they opened the Acton East location, which has been honoured with a Home store of the year award. Nancy LaRose was nominated for Employee of the Year, sponsored by P&H Milling Group Cambridge & Halton Divisions, which showcases highly valued individuals who had a significant impact on attaining excellence for their company through exceptional customer service. She learned of her win when a past winner delivered a bouquet of flowers early Tuesday morning. "It came out of nowhere. It's a little hard to believe," LaRose said, adding she does her job ­ manager of the store ­ because she loves the work, not because she expected any award. "It is all about the customers," LaRose said, an attitude underlined by her nominator who wrote that LaRose offers excellent customer service, interesting store designs and features, like a silent auction. LaRose "exudes compassion, understanding and dedication to her job, staff and customers," a nominator said. Andrea Clark had mixed emotions following a phone call late Tuesday night with the news she was Entrepreneur of the Year. "I so excited and I started crying and then I started laughing that I was crying," Clark said on Wednesday, adding the award is a validation and a "reward for working 60 hours a week." The Halton Region Economic Development, Small Business Centre sponsors the Entrepreneur award to recognize individuals or small businesses that create a new THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 07, 2013 Just What Does a Homeless Person Do With A Frozen Turkey? by Roxanne Thornton Georgetown Little Theatre's "Frozen Dreams" written by award winning playwright Robert Ainsworth, directed by Pamela Niesiobedzki-Curtis and produced by Gina Van Raalte is a witty, lighthearted comedy; not your usual tale about the plight of the homeless. It is to be GLT's ACT-CO festival entry at the Feb. 17th matinee performance. The story takes place at an abandoned loading dock where Sam (Bart Penwarden) and Harry(Rob Pearce) are carping at each other. In enters Rainman (Shayne Coffin) a developmentally disabled youth, carrying a frozen turkey that some charity organization had given him. The two older men decide to fulfill Rainman's dreams by finding a way to cook his bird. Add to the mix a sympathetic public health nurse(Janice Van Olst), a super efficient police officer ( Aaron Sawczak) and a scattered bag lady (Kathy Sanford) and you have the makings of a wonderful and touching story that reminds us all that one needs to dream, no matter what the circumstances. "Frozen Dreams" is to be presented at the Acton Town Hall Centre at 19 Willow St. Acton February 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 evenings at 8 pm with 2 pm matinees on February 10 and 17. Tickets are $17.00 (Thursdays/Sunday) and $20.00 (Friday/Saturday). Please phone the JET Box Office 905-877-3700; or on-line at http://www.haltonhills. ca/theatre/ or (cash/cheque) at the door, or pick up at Acton Home Hardware; Sports Unlimited or the Georgetown Library at 9 Church St. For additional information see our website www.georgetownlittletheatre.ca. So with Valentine's Day fast approaching, why not buy your special loved one the gift of live theatre! What a wonderful inexpensive gift of fun and laughter. Come buy your ticket for a wonderful production that is sure to be the talk of the town as "Frozen Dreams" brings a touching reality to Acton. Advertorial product or service and accomplish business growth demonstrated by increased revenue, employment and expanded markets. They must be in operation between two and six years in Halton Hills. Clark's nominator said she operates with "class and professionalism" and is a fair and good employer who widely support the community. The Georgetown BIA's beautification efforts earned it the Green Award, sponsored by TVCOGECO. The award recognizes environmental preservation through conservation efforts in the following areas: energy, water, waste, green procurement and protection of natural heritage. Award recipients will be feted at a We Honour Halton Hills Best banquet on Wednesday, March 6. Acton alternate route needs long-term plan Act quickly to refine preliminary corridors and routing for the GTA West Corridor ­ that's the main message from Halton Council to the province about its longterm transportation strategy to move people from Guelph to Vaughn until the year 2031. Tim Dennis, Halton's Director of Transportation Services, said Halton and Halton Hills Councils support the Ministry of Transportation's strategy ­ detailed in a final report on the H alton Council agenda yesterday (Wednesday) ­ which includes developing a new alternative route from Brampton, into Halton south of Georgetown, and connecting to the 401. Vigorous opposition from Halton and Halton Hills politicians and the public convinced the Ministry to widen the 401 to 12 lanes between the 407 and Regional Road 25, and 10 lanes west of Regional Road 25 to Highway 6, to avoid building a new freeway cross the south end of Georgetown. Dennis said Halton Council wants the Ministry to "now consider" some infrastructure improvements in the Region's Transportation Master Plan. In Acton, that includes an alternate route around the downtown ­ four new lanes of Highway 7, from east of town to rejoin the existing Highway 7 west of town. "The desire there was to provide traffic relief to the centre of Acton," Dennis said, adding the alternate route would involve a new four-lane road which would "somehow go around the centre of Acton and wouldn't follow the existing route." From the terminus of the new alternate route, the road would be widened to four lanes to 32 Side Road, and Highway 7 would be expanded to four lanes from Trafalgar Road to the Acton alternate route. Dennis said it could be decades before there is an alternate route around Acton. Lilly(Kathy Sanford) Harry (Rob Pearce) Sam (Bart Penwarden) and Rainman(Shayne Coffin) What are we going to do with a frozen turkey?