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•T he IFP• H alton H ills, Thursday, Septem ber 19, 2013 3 e-mail: hassellsauto@bellnet.ca www.hassellautomotive.com 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe • Auto, 6 cyl • Cruise Control • Certified & E-Tested $15,500 + HST/LIC CALL • Auto/6 cyl • Certified & E-Tested • A/C $5,600 2004 Pontiac Montana + HST/LIC2006 Pontiac Pursuit • Auto/4 cyl • Certified & E-Tested • A/C $6,800 + HST/LIC 2008 Suzuki SX4 • Auto/4 cyl • Certified & E-Tested • AM/FM CD Player $9,400 + HST/LIC 45 Mountainview Road North Georgetown, Ontario 905.877.7958 Warranty Warranty WarrantyWarranty Seniors fed up with parking lot car vandals Residents of a Durham St. seniors' apartment building are fed up with finding dents and scratches on their cars in their parking lot that weren't there when they parked them. The parking lot of the build- ing-- John Armstrong Seniors Residence which provides af- fordable housing and is run by Halton Community Hous- ing Corporation (HCHC) at 8 Durham St-- is located next to Guelph St., with an opening, which previously had a gate, onto the Guelph St. sidewalk. Many people cut through the lot as a shortcut. One resident who didn't want her name published, said recently she came out to her car and found a deep, several- inch long scratch on the hood. "When I left the car there it was perfectly alright," she said. "It's very, very frustrating." She reported the incident to police and took the car to the dealership to have it repaired and was told the scratch was so deep it had gone right down to the metal, and would cost about $460 to fix. Her deductible is $300-- so that's what it will cost her to repair the damage. "When you're on a fixed in- come $300 is a great deal of money," she said. Once she does get it fixed, she's afraid it will just happen again. "Nobody should hurt your property, they're doing it be- cause they can get away with it," she said. Another resident, who also didn't want her name pub- lished, found a deep nine-inch long scratch on the hood of her car on July 7. "Apparently four or five oth- er seniors in this building re- ceived the same," she said. She had the scratch touched up somewhat and on July 28 found the car had been scratched again, elongating the original scratch by about eight or nine inches. The inci- dent was recently reported to police. "We are a senior apart- ment complex and our park- ing lot is used as a shortcut to Guelph St.," she said. "We are told nothing can be done as it is a right of way. Nobody has the right to destroy or damage property." In previous years she said the tenants have had drinks thrown on their cars and gar- bage left behind. She said skateboarders, cy- clists, dog walkers and joggers come through, and onto the property behind the building. She said one instance an- other resident saw some youths walking through try- ing the car doors to see if they were unlocked. "Please have some respect; we are not rich seniors. This is rent-geared-to-income apart- ments. We have reported these incidents to police and are hoping to get video sur- veillance installed. So beware folks, we are on the warpath," she said. Another resident has had items stolen from his vehicle and said other cars had been dented when it looked like they had been kicked, and an- other resident had seen youths jumping on cars. Detective Sgt. Nick Milinovich said police were initially only aware of the one incident (as the two victims who received scratches to their cars) informed the police under one report. But police have since spoke with one of the victims and received further information. Milinovich said a community support officer and seniors' investigator plans to meet with the residents to address the issue. In regards to the comment made by the one resident about her being told nothing can be done as it's a right of way Chris Mills, the Town of Halton Hills Director of Infrastructure Ser- vices, said he believes it's a pri- vate property issue. "If the apartment building wants to close that fence that would be their decision," said Mills, adding, however, he thinks it would be a mistake because he believes the walk- way is used by many of the building's residents. He said he would be happy to speak with a representative from the building. Shawn Crawford, chief building officer with HCHC was unaware of the incidents until contacted by the newspa- per as residents had not report- ed them to the corporation. He said when they heard, staff went to the building, spoke to residents and are in- vestigating a possible solution- trying to determine "what best suits our community." He said they are confirming the own- ership of the fence/opening. One possibility could be to reinstall a gate, but they want to ensure that whatever is done doesn't impact residents ability to "move freely in and out of the community, " said Crawford. By LISA TALLYN Staff Writer Police will be vigilant watching school zones Continued from pg. 1 • 76 others (55 Georgetown and 21 Acton) • 41 warnings (33 George- town and 8 Acton) Sgt. Paul Davies of HRPS Traffic Services said during the project in Georgetown one driver was charged for failing to stop for a school bus, an- other for disobeying a cross- ing guard and there were five charges laid for using a cell phone while driving. During the project there were two separate incidents of drivers in school zones in Ac- ton receiving suspensions for registering a warn on a breath- alyzer. Davies said he was very concerned the project revealed there were people driving past stop signs without stopping or doing rolling stops in school zones. "We might be watching stop signs at school zones a little more vigilantly outside of the project," said Davies. Local seniors are on the warpath about damage being done to their cars, and believe the culprits are us- ing a sidewalk backing onto the parking lot as a shortcut. Photos by Ted Brown