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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, MARCH 08, 2018 5THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, MARCH 08, 20184 This weekend we will be losing an hour as Daylight Savings Time (DST) rolls in once again on Sunday. I must admit, the prospect of losing this hour is less than appealing, and I'm not look- ing forward to the inevitable disruption to my own internal clock as a result. While in- tellectually I realize that it is only an hour and it shouldn't have that big an impact, be- tween my internal clock and those of us with pets or young children, it can take close to a week before normal routines resume. Again, not really a hardship, and perhaps I wouldn't resent the disrup- tion so much if the purpose of Daylight Savings didn't elude me. This year, Daylight Savings Time will begin this Sun- day at 3 a.m. when we will "spring forward" an hour and end on November 4 at 2 a.m. when we "fall back" an hour. While gaining the hour in the fall is less obtrusive, the en- tire process feels arbitrary. Some who favor DST will argue that the extra hour of sunlight--which is based on the clock only since it's the same number of hours of day- light no matter what time it is--helps to save energy and encourage people to get out- side more. However, studies have since shown that DST has only a minimal if any im- pact on energy savings, and that extending DST in 2007 has showed no impact on energy use. There have even been stud- ies linking DST to negative impacts on our health. While that one-hour disruption may not seem like big deal, studies have linked the sleep- lessness as a result of the time change to an increase in car accidents, workplace injuries, suicides and even miscarri- age. The earlier darkness in the evening when DST comes to an end has been linked to depression, and studies have even shown an increase in heart attacks at the begin- ning of DST with a decrease in heart attacks at the end. While DST is practised in all 10 provinces and three ter- ritories across Canada, there are some places--like most of Saskatchewan--that don't. In Ontario, there are three communities that don't ob- serve Daylight Savings Time, using Eastern Standard Time all year long instead. So perhaps it's time to ac- knowledge that the benefits of turning the clocks back and forth are not what we once believed. We as a people are ever evolving, our needs changing, and it may be time to look at whether DST meets those needs. Doing some- thing simply because we have always done it really isn't a great reason. Whatever use- fulness DST might have had doesn't seem to be there any- more, and it may be time to let it go. However, in the meantime, at least DST acts as good re- minder to check the batteries in our smoke and CO detec- tors. Editorial with Angela Tyler A reminder and nothing more 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 By Dawn Brown 'Groundhog Day' or 'A New Hope' Last year, The New Tanner consciously made an effort to maintain coverage about our concern for "downtown Acton". Our goal was to regularly bring to the forefront news of our downtown, keeping the story in the news regularly and to uphold this with our readers. Therefore, we were hopeful that change would come in a positive and hopefully more steadfast manner than it had been. 12 months later, we felt little had changed. The same issues were discussed within our pages and amongst our elected of- ficials or Acton BIA members and managers. In four years, the Acton BIA has had three managers. All of which seemed eager to take on our dismal "Main drag". However, here we are; 12 months later after our first "downtown issue" with it's front page that was intentionally planned to be a "shock and awe" front page. 12 months later and our downtown is still amuck. We still have empty storefronts, some would argue more than last year, with unkept streets and dirty store win- dows. There are still many businesses for sale, and those who are surviving are managing because they have found a niche. Once again, we at The New Tanner intentionally set forth with a front page designed for "shock and awe" and ques- tioned if we were living a real-life "Ground Hog Day" over and over in our town because nothing has truly changed in our business/retail core. We took off our "rose-coloured" glasses and tried to cover this story again and not fluff up reality. The reality is our downtown is hanging on for dear-life. Yet, our issue was printed, distributed, read and probably put in the blue box. Were we surprised that we didn't receive any real feedback? Not really. Our town has become compla- cent and seemingly accepting of a dismal fated downtown. We were saddened that the only feedback we had was from one individual concerned about the store fronts chosen in the front-page spread. We have a new Acton BIA manager as of recent. We have a new Town of Halton Hills Economic Development Officer. We have a dedicated town councilor for our Acton BIA. We have resources at our disposal yet, how much longer can this town actually wait? We are now in a Municipal election year. Would be candi- dates are soon going to be filling their nominations for public office. Current elected officials maybe seeking re-election. Our downtown and its destiny will soon be in the hands of a new council. To those seeking office, we whole heartedly hope that you take a good hard look at this dire situation. We need help. Saying it isn't enough anymore. We need a solid plan and action. Those who are able to vote, need to vote--and vote wisely. We should all be asking questions and demanding answers from those who desire to be our elected officials-- especially if we hope to save Acton's downtown. COFFEEHOUSE: Bob Gee and Friends delivered their annual Coffeehouse Concert to a full house at the Limehouse Memorial H a l l o n S a t u r d a y night. Around 50 local residents enjoyed an evening of folk songs, b a l l a d s a n d s o m e amazing homemade pie, with proceeds going towards the Limehouse Memorial Hall. - Les Schmidt photo