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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 1996 THE GEORGETOWN GEMINI GRAB Ws "Grasscycle" on Monday Duetoan excessive number of phone calls from irate citizens - as many as 80 calls a week - who don't want to wait until the next scheduled yard waste pick up in October, Town Council has agreed to hold an addi- tional yard waste pickup on Mon- day, Aug. 19. During the last additional collec- tion in June 64.5 tons of yard and garden waste were collected at a cost of $4,811. In recommnding yet another ad- ditional collection day Mayor Mari- lyn Serjeanston noted that grass clip- pings are banned from collection with regular refuse but she suspects that a lot of yard and garden waste is being mixed with regular garabge. Serjeanston said that holding an additional yard waste pick up Mon- day will atually save money be- cause it costs $174 to collect and dispose of one ton of regular gar- bage but only $74.50 to collect and dispose of one ton of yard waste which is then sent to a composting facility. Canadian Tire says 'Say cheese' for safety The Georgetown Canadian Tire store has agreed to pick up the tab for purchasing film for a Kin Child Protection Day next month in Acton. The soon-to-be-chartered Kins- men and Kinette Clubs in Acton will photograph and finger print children at Prospect Park, using film supplied by Canadian Tire. "When the Canadian Tire store closed in Acton, the Georgetown store offered to help and we really appreciate that," explained future Kinette Catherine Andersen in an interview on Sunday. Along with the photographing and finger printing there will be some very special guests the Sept. 6 event. Fresh from their appearance at the Georgetown Fall Fair, several members of the RCMP Musical ride, and their trusty steeds, will travel to Acton to sign autographs and pose for pictures. Voice mail 101 Love it or hate it, voice mail is coming to the Town's municipal offices. In an effort to upgrade the Town's over-worked and ineffi- cient phone system, a $20,000 voice mail system willbe installed, despite the grumblings of several Georgetown councillors, includ- ing Anne Currie and Al Cook, who would rather have a live person and not a recorded voice at the other end of the phone and feel ratepayers want the same thing. Town staff will be briefed on _ the proposed voice mail system at four special presentation slated for this Friday and Monday. HEY! "Tt was fun walking there because it feels safe and comfortable." Julie Quiza, Craig Cres. "First of all; they did overkill on the lamping. Have you ever scene Las Vegas at night? And the bridge didn't have to be so wide. This bridge is for the Burlington _ Skyway, not a little stream." Gary Frei, Mountainview Rd. Question: What do you think of the new Hungry Hollow (9th Line) bridge? "T like the bridge. I can walk every morning and afternoon and it's nice." Fatima Kamsa, Craig Cres. "We were concerned about the speed limit of the traffic over the bridge. In the long run, it will be better for the wildlife." John Clare, Smith Dr. GONE FISHING! With less than a month to go until the start of school, Mark Hilts, 15, left, and Corey Clark, 14, both of Limehouse, get some fishing in while they can. All they were able to catch up 'til them were some chubb. (Jamie Harrison photo) DP've Got an Olympic Hangover I feel awful. I'm going through OI- ympics withdrawal. I'm addicted to the games, always have been. First thing in the morning I check the TV. I watch the late evening reports. My converter is smokin' from changing back and forth between CBC. and NBC. [havea TV. inn my office, an old black and white one. The an- nouncer says "the Canadians are in the red boat." Drives me crazy - I forget which colour of grey is red. I really should sign up for Olympics Anonymous or something. Whether you're a fan or not, the Olympics are big news. The traffic tie-ups; the tragic and unforgiveable bombing in Centennial Park; buses being hijacked by athletes; would T.O. have done a better job, and so on. As a means of closure, and per- sonal therapy, here are my observa- tions on Canada's most successful summer games ever. OPENING CEREMONIES: Much too long! There is some talk about restricting the numbers of ath- letes in each delegation to speed up the parade. Now there's a typical 1.0.C. bonehead idea. The Olym- pics is, or should be, about the ath- letes. Why not cut out some of the artsy-fartsy stuff? What is the point ofthe 1/2 tons driving around? Who needed those gigantic white butter- flies? I think they should slash the culture vulture's time by a half or two-thirds. Leave the athletes alone. Who designed the Canadian uni- forms? Our national colours are red and white. I thought this year's uni- forms were the second worst I can remember. The worst being the pur- ple people eater winter Olympics of a few years ago. Our team looked great in red and white at the closing ceremonies. It should be a regula- tion that our official uniform is red and white. The Yanks always man- age to look fashionable in red, white and blue. Did the designers not know that Atlanta was hot? Why put our ladies in long dresses and vests? Bet that was fun. When I saw them come in I started to hum, "Granny was a Girl Guide, she wore a funny hat." The men looked like unmade beds. The Way |. I See It With Mike O'Leary It was a brilliant move to have Muhammad Ali light the flame in Atlanta. Former Atlantapastor Mar- tin Luther King Jr. must have smiled down with some satisfaction. On top of that, the secret was well kept. Very emotional. OPENING CEREMONIES HERO: Ten-year-old Marty Cun- ningham of Cobourg. He carried the Olympic flame on Canada Day. He went one km, all uphill, in37 degree heat. He earned his way into the Olympic experience as much as any member of the athletic team. I think the government orat leasttheC.O.A. should give him some kind of award. His courage and determination is an inspiration to us all, and especially to those involved in competitive sports. MOST OLYMPIC MOMENT: A tie, I think, between bronze medal- list Annie Pelletier of Montreal and U.S. gymnast Kerri Strug. , Pelletier barely qualified for the quarter and semi-finals. In the finals she was, at one time, as low as sixth. Guts, determination and a go-for- broke dive selection put her on the podium after many had counted her out. Truly, an Olympic moment. Probably, Kerri Strug will be- come a millionaire. That shouldn't take away from what she did though. If you've ever had a badly turned ankle, just imagine landing on it from seven feet in the air. Her last vault was courageous -- there's no other word for it. The image of her coach carrying her to the podium and back will always be with me. She deserved her gold medal. LOCAL HERO: Kara McGaw and the ladies' softball team. Al- though they didn't medal they prob- ably did more to promote and ad- vance their sport than has been done in the last 20 years. Kara also had the "most distinctive mouthguard." It's the dad in me, I'm sure, but my first reaction was "There's a lot of expensive orthodontic work behind there." Maybe I'm entirely wrong, but I think a local drugstore should get in a pile of those guards, get Kara in to autograph them and put onasale. Parents of girls (and boys) involved in sport would be eternally grateful. The kids would probably wear them if an Olympian said it was "cool." The Canadian ladies' softball team games were all excit- ing to watch. Having someone from home on the team made this event even more enjoyable. We' ll get 'em in Sydney. MOST SATISFYING EVENT: The men's4 X 100relay. The Yanks have owned this event and were sure they had it in the bag. Our guys blew them out of their - um - er - supporters. That whole controversy about Carl Lewis running almost made me hurl. One magazine even claimed the U.S.A. could pick some- one out of the stands to run anchor and still win. As if! Gold for us and second best for the also rans. I loved every minute of it. WE WUZ ROBBED: Boxer Mike Strange from Niagara Falls. Not since Sylvie Frechette has a judge so blatantly taken one of our ath- letes out of the Games. I hope Nia- gara Falls does something nice for him when he comes home. BEST COMPETITION UNI- FORM: The synchronized swim- ming team who won a silver medal. I thought it was great when they huddled, these women from French and English Canada, and sang the national anthem in both English and French. Benedict Bouchard must have had a oiseau. Unexpected bo- nuses are always appreciated. MOST UNORTHODOX WIN: Boxer David Defiagbon who took one in the puppies to advance to the semi-finals. David battled on to win asilver. Kind of gives new meaning to the idea of "taking one for the team," though. The Olympics ran for two weeks and so will this column. More next Wednesday.