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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018 5THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 20184 Next Wednesday is Bell Let's Talk Day. For those who haven't seen the ads, Bell Canada donates five cents for every ap- plicable text, call, tweet, social media video view or use of their Facebook frame or Snapchat fil- ter to mental health initiatives in Canada. Any call or text from a phone on the Bell Network counts for the donation, while social media users can contrib- ute by watching the Bell Let's Talk Video or using the frame on a picture of themselves. Bell's initiative started in 2010 after a need for Canadians to talk about mental illness was perceived. It makes sense--Bell is an organization that helps people communicate, and a large part of dealing with mental health and illness hinges around communication. Now, let's get some definitions straight. Mental health is not a euphemism for what people would've called, in less politic- ally correct times, being crazy. We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. It's what the Greeks would've called the balance between body and mind. Sometimes, because of trauma or a predisposition to illness, we need to allow our- selves to heal. If the trauma is severe enough, we seek medical help and possibly use medica- tion. In the world of mental health, where we're solely dis- cussing the health of our mind, this is called mental illness. The statistics are clear--one in five Canadians will experi- ence some form of mental illness in their lives. That can be something physically equiva- lent to the common cold, where you lose a parent and you feel lost for a couple months, or it can be like a cancer where nothing seems to get better. Ever. The key is knowing when you're going through something minor and when you're going through something that will re- quire a team of doctors and the best support you can find from friends and family. Just as we shouldn't immedi- ately assume we have lung cancer the moment we get a cough, we shouldn't immedi- ately assume we have bipolar disorder the moment we notice that we're not as happy as we perhaps should be. Sometimes, we need to improve our life- style, and our discontent is just a sign of that. In other instances, we need someone to listen. This is the beauty of a communica- tion company like Bell taking up the standard of this particular cause. Many times, communica- tion is the most important thing; with friends and family in more minor situations, and, when we realize we're really struggling, with a professional. Just as a serious physical ill- ness needs to be addressed, so does a serious mental illness. If you're struggling, Distress Centre Halton is a great local helpline at 905-877-1211, or check out the resources on the Bell Let's Talk website at let- stalk.bell.ca Either way, remember to call a friend or use the Facebook frame on January 31. For some people, happiness is a struggle, and it's up to us as a community to do what we can to alleviate that struggle if only in a small way. Editorial By Alex Hilson Let's Talk with Angela Tyler Distributed to every home in Acton and area, as well as adjoining communities. Contact us: 379 Queen Street East Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 Tel: 519-853-0051 Fax: 519-853-0052 E-mail: General: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com (including Advertising and Circulation) Editoral: tannereditor@bellnet.ca Deadline: Advertising and Editorial TUESDAY at 9 a.m. 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. Publisher: Ted Tyler Editorial: Dawn Brown, Angela Tyler, Jane Dougan, Vivien Fleisher, Les Schmidt, Harry Rudolfs, Trish Bell, Alex Hilson, Michael Oke Advertising and Circulation: Marie Shadbolt Production: Iain Brennan Your Hometown Newspaper 20 YEars ago A random chance meeting by two lifelong Actonites in the doc- tor's office 21 years ago was where it started. Hartley Coles and Ted Tyler started talking. The Acton Tanner had recently closed its door and they both knew Acton needed and wanted a newspaper with local coverage. On January 29, 1998 The New Tanner Publishing Limited pro- duced their first edition. It was a 12 page, black and white paper with "spot red". There was a great variety of news, sports, Mike O'Leary's first column and we even had ads. Thus, began our first 20 years. Ironically, our paper started in the old Acton Free Press building where our then Editor Hartley Coles started his apprenticeship under the care of the Dills family. Hartley was a wealth of knowledge and was eager to be back at the helm of a paper. Twice retired, he couldn't stay away from the smell of the press or let go of his passion for news. He often called himself a "scribe". He shared his years of experience eagerly and ever reminding us that "People want to see pictures of their children and their pets", and no matter what you see in town, take a picture of it. There was news to be found in our town, and he was determined we would cover it. Our moto from day one was "Your Hometown Newspaper". Al- though, unofficially we proudly proclaim read cover to cover, coast to coast. It actually is true on both accounts. Our readers include subscriptions from British Columbia to Newfoundland, from Ari- zona to Michigan and many places in between. One day in our early years, we realized how much we really were read when the printer at the time had a problem with the press and our delivery was quite delayed. Our phones were ringing off the hook with people demand- ing to know why they hadn't received their paper at the regular time. Early in those days, the Rockwood Miller joined our pages so we could extend our coverage to not only the folks in Rockwood, but our neighbours in Eden Mills and the rural area right up to the Garafraxa Townline. Currently, we have approximately 30,000 readers, and we are still growing. We have a lot of memories from the past 20 years. We've learned so much. Not only about the newspaper business, but also about you, our reader. We've had some great staff, and we've covered a number of stories. We have had the honour of capturing so much of this town's recent history in pictures as well. Over the past few years, we've been changing and evolving. In this age of digital media and instant news, the survival of a newspaper is a challenge. However, we've taken on that challenge and this is the first issue of our next era. In this issue, we bring you some memories from our first edition and some headlines from our archives. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we have had reliving them. Throughout our anniversary year, we will be sharing some relics from our past and continuing to bring you local news--your news. As always, we are The New Tanner Publishing Limited, "Your Hometown Newspaper". It's yours. Enjoy it! NEW SIGN: The Hillsview Active Living Centre had a new sign installed at their location in the Acton Arena and Community Centre at 415 Queen Street earlier this week. - Alex Hilson photo