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Page 4 — Halton Hills This Week, Wednesday, June 23, 1993 Editorial = We can work it out Yon weekend past would likely be deemed great if; A) You started your weekend on Thursday. B) You are a properly certi- fied visible minority duck or C) You booked passage on Noah’s Ark rather than the Titanic. None of the above applies to this writer who got properly soaked both Saturday and Sunday (in the weather sense) and also learned that Georgetown, like Acton - the veritable hubs of Halton Hills - has residents more concerned with the community as a whole than in particular, themselves as individuals. In a cliched sense, and to paraphrase numerous comments on the threat to Acton with the possible permanent closure of the Olde Hide House and its associated stores, Georgetown people were saying, “Well, we’re all in this together and we can get out of it together.” Halton-Peel MP Garth Turner has called a meet- ing for tonight at the Acton High School Cafetorium to discuss the town’s immediate problems and to - hopefully - set out a plan which will ensure its future as a community. This is to be commended. However, let’s hope the meeting doesn’t turn into a political rally, with Acton once again relegated to the back burner. To truly define this get together as a meeting to come to terms with Acton’s problems, Mr. Turner would have been better advised to send special invitations to Halton North NDP MPP Noel Duignan and representatives from the Town of Halton Hills and Halton Region so that all those who supposedly wield political power - as it relates to Acton - could have their say and then jointly, map out a plan of action. If tonight’s meeting turns out to be merely another partisan political party, then Acton truly is in trouble. As both the friendlies, and the unfriendlies are aware, I grew up in the small northern Ontario town of Cochrane (pop. 4,500 and ee about 700 miles north of here as the sea bear flies. ; While Halton Hills is a much larger community in terms of population, we still have that non-derogatory “small-town” feel- ing which makes this area so special. As opposed to say Oakville, Burlington and yes, even Milton. We have been hit hard by the recession - which is ongoing, by the way and likely won’t top-out for another year or two - more- so than other so-called transient communities. The reasons are both a blessing and a bane. Drive to Acton, trek to Ballinafad, sojourn to Limehouse, Glen Williams or Norval and other Halton Hills boonies and you will see historic houses, historic sites and be regaled by stories of third and fourth generation residents. The majority of us don’t want to leave. By the same token, some of us aren’t high school graduates, or college or university material. But these people want to work and live in Halton Hills - near their roots. It should also be noted very strenuously that these ordinary working people also form the backbone of our community. They are the charity organization volunteers, the minor sports people, the ones who help organize things like Pioneer Days and the Acton Fall Fair, They are the core of the community, the strength in the fabric that keeps the garment together. Politicians at all levels should realize this.Tear the fabric by failing to protect jobs and you are in danger of ripping apart the very community you supposedly represent. Colin Gibson The inefficiency of Regional government To the Editor: Re: Grass Mountainview Roa Most residents of Halton Hills don’t really understand the differ- ence between regional roads and local roads. Well, hard as it is to understand, the Region of Halton looks after some of the roads and cared for by the Town of Halton Hills. In the Georgetown an three well-traveled roads are cared for by the region. They are Trafalgar Road, Maple Avenue and Mountainview Road. Don’t ask me why these roads were picked, but they were. The Region of Halton fixes these roads, Plows them in the winter and cuts the grass in the summer. These Toads, I think, demonstrate the inef- ficiency of Regional government anything else. Which brings me to the point of this letter. Many residents have New schools! New taxes! To the Editor: Re: Don’t ding developers” - your editorial of June 17, 1993 While I appreciate the general direction of the above noted edito- rial, I also think that you have a responsibility to your readers to be fully informed and to present all of the facts. The Board of Education has no control over development in Halton. However, we do have a duty to educate the students asso- ciated with the development and to do that, we must also provide schools. Halton’s policy is that “new development no impact on exist- ing rate payers”. Given this poli- cy, it would seem logical that the housing that creates the need for new schools should pay for them. If educational development charges (lot levies) are not imposed, the cost for new schools will amount to an extra 4 million dollars a year for each and every year in the future. Cutting on id Probably noticed the hay field that is growing on the northeast side of Mountainview Rd., S. between Sargent Rd. and Sinclair Ave. It seems that due to budget cuts, the region decided not to cut grass on the a of bine ly ask “Why is the grass cut ta n Sinclair Ave”? Well, dear tax- payer, this grass is cut by the Town of Halton Hills because Sinclair Ave. is a local road. Your next ques- tion may be “If the lawnmower is already on the street, why don’t they cut Mountainview at the same time?” The simple government answer “That’s not our t”. Do you Pp oe if the region does decide to cut the grass, trucks, mowers and wi eked are dispatched from Milton to do this task. Once again, more government efficiency at work. In the winter time, snow Plows dispatched from the Town of Halton Hills Works Yard on Trafalgar Road are told they don need to drop their blades o Trafalgar Road and Maple Avenu - because they are regional roads an a snow plow from seven miles awa will come to plow them. Tight budgets are here to stay fe all governments, they must loo carefully where the money is sper and these silly jurisdictional thing must be addressed using commo! se. Oh, by the way, Councillo Serjeanston informed me that th grass will be cut using people wh have been ordered to do communit servicé as part of their sentencing. wonder how many al worker will supervise this endeavor and hoy trucks dispatched from Milto will deliver the lawnmowers an gas. Doug Penric Georgetow1 Don’t be intimidated Hooray for — Gibson and his gutsy editori: We have in te past lost several of our special journalists. Paul Dorsey, Stuart Johnston and most recently, Dianne Comish, All of these people gave us in-depth coverage of local and regional affairs in an honest manner. I miss them all. Here I would add more harm is done by the falseness of trying to please than the honesty of trying to lease. Intelligent people are influenced by intelligent argument and are intimidated by no one. I eae compelled to express my to Colin Gibson for his edito- Sat “A sign of the times”. In the good old days. we electec le to parliament and the legisla tures because we thought they hac the foresight, wisdom and interest it public affairs to make the decision they are now either reluctant to mak or incapable of making on their own Now, the desire to be reelectec becomes the chief aim of an incum bent and takes the place of a prope interest in the public good. Politic: a to be a public service for toker y and no pension. Now, we have eitical careerism anid huge pen- sions. Keep up your good work, Colir and be intimidated by no one. Dr. Esme A. Bal Georgetowr To the Editor: The Federation of Ontario Naturalis: strongly criti- ae of the Hearing Officers’ Ri the Five-Year Review of the Niegara Escarpment Plan, and recently wrote to the Ministry of This cost will show as tax increas- es of 1% on all of our tax bills. There are suggestions that we can find alternatives to building new schools, but the reality is that people don’t want their children bussed. For example, look at the White Oaks Community in Oakville.- The choice.is a simple one: do we all pay extra taxes every year or do we charge a one-time, up- front fee on the house that is cre- ating the need? Of course, all of this is now redundant given the most recent court on on educational if (HIS WEEN Halton Hills This Week, Wednesday at 232 Guelph St., Georgetown, Ont. L7G 4B1, and is ried in Oalville at Q.E. Web Printing. Halton Hills its ph x his newspaper. Such material may only i isher. In the event of typog ‘may not be sold. ene price, goods or services soll which rh yb se withdrawn at any time. EDITOR: Colin Gibecn PRODUCTION MANAGER: Kathleen Topoisek CIRCULATION MANAGER: Marie Shadbolt OFFICE MANAGER: Jean Shewell ‘TON HILLS THIS WEEK IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED & OPERATED. PHONE: 873-2254 FAX:873-3918 arges. Once again, the province os reduced its par- ticipation in capital projects for school boards (new schools) and homeowners will be hit with an extra burden on the property taxes. Dave Whiting, Trustee The Halton Board of Education Georgetown town, L7g 4B1 wae ‘them to osiosreso%e and Energy urging him to reject the ‘One of the FON’s Major con- cers was that the exceeded their makin, Sapa wes for the wae of the lementation Helse iaikicipatitics and pa eA ccordlas to the Hearing Officers, “Most larger municipali- ties have staff capable of adminis- tering complex land-use plans.” However, staff reports from the Regional Municipality of Niagara ¢ Regional Municipality of Peel indicate that additional staff would be needed at a cost of as much as $350,000 in Peel alone. Also, municipalities have stated that they do not have sufficient trained staff oe eee develop- Tent applicatic Area rausioipeties wanting to take control of development so1 times have not acknowledged that. the Escarpment is more than a local feature, but is also a natural gift which must be managed in the interest of all Ontarians. As well as exceeding their authority, the FON believes the Hearing Officers may have failed ivity and impartiality in their report. They persistently attacked the NEC for being “partisans for a preserva- tionist viewpoint.” Since the Le pose of the ee Escarpment and Development Act is its vicinity substantially as uous natural canttchient ¢ es Criticism illustrate a complete of understanding of the pelieee of | the Plan and of the Commission. ‘Unlike conyentional land use plans, this plan places the onus on devel- opment to prove that it will not | harm the natural environment. On the whole, the Hearing Officers favored those groups with a vested interest in the development of the Escarpment area, ay esis most of the NEC’s tions which ‘would bie tore effectively protected Escarpment’s natural values, such as: etary ae to control | plans of subdivision Rural areas; omen to eliminate pits and quarries as per- mitted uses within the Plan area; and a recommendation to eliminate golf courses in Escarpment Protection areas. The report betrays a public trust and must be rejected. Using Niagara Escarpment Commission recommendations as a base, this government must amend the Plan to strengthen, not weaken, its abili- ty to protect the Escarpment land- scape. John Lounds | Executive Director Don