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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1998 THE NEW TANNER A CENTURY OF SERVICE: Victorian Order of Nurses staff nurse Linda Dougherty (left) visits client Linda Peddle of rural Acton three times a week. -- Frances Niblock photo VON celebrating 101st birthday BY FRANCES NIBLOCK The New Tanner Rural Acton resident Linda Peddle has only good things to say about the Vic- torianOrder of.Nurses. (VON), and in particular VON staff nurse Linda Dougherty. phen is the kindest, most helpful, compassionate person," Peddle, a quadriple- gic since a car accident four years ago, explained in an interview on Friday. "Linda not only takes care of all of my physical needs but I also consider her like my social worker. She's will- ing to listen, she answers all my questions and I can count on her. I don't know what 'd do without the VON," Ped- dle said. Peddle is one of approxi- mately 30 VON Nursing Services clients in the Acton area. Locally the VON Volun- teer Visiting Services pro- gram has 77 clients and 73 volunteer visitors. With hospitals releasing patients more quickly than , in the past, there's a grow- , ing need for community- based health care services like the VON. The primary focus of the VON, celebrating 101 year of operation in Canada, is community-based health care delivery. Supported mainly through fund-raising, the VON offers programs includ- ing visiting nurse services, pre-and post-natal education, foot care clinics, seniors day programs, care-giver support groups and education. Nurse Doughtery down- plays her importance and said that it's people like Ped- dle who make the job worth- while. "They have such resil- are dealing with terribly dif- ficult issues and yet, when you get to know them, to talk to them and just sit and lis- ten to their stories, they are wonderful." Dougherty, who has worked in the Acton area for the past six years, has been with the VON is various parts of Canada for 25 years. She said that there really is just one drawback to the "The weather in winter. I sometimes have trouble get- ting around if the ploughs haven't been out and I know my clients are expecting me." For more information about VON services in the Acton area call 905-837- 8800. Are we facing big tax hike? BY FRANCES NIBLOCK The New Tanner Acton taxpayers could be facing a 7 per cent jump in their municipal tax bills this year if, and it's a big if, the budget committee, which in- cludes all councillors and the mayor, approves the budget they recently asked staff to draft "The budget committee instructed staff to prepare an operating budget with a 2 per cent increase and the latest figures we have concerning the impact of Provincial downloading would result in a5 per cent increase, or about $135 more for a property with an average assessment," Treasurer Andy Koopmans explained in an interview last Thursday. Despite the uncertainty of how Provincial downloading will affect Halton Hills, Koopmans said they have to get on with the municipali- ty's ae bright "Our approach right now is that we lave to get on with business and we are presum- ing that we are going to iso- late what the Province does and set it off to one side," Koopmans explained. -- ABD Ce The reason February is the shortest month is that it always feels like itS the longest. Vy eT as Fea eae 1 Foot Long Subs & Get 1 FREE Free sub should be equal or less value of each of the purchased subs. Limited time offer "If the Provincial numbers change, it's not going to change how we view our budget. We are going to fo- cus on the things we can con- trol." Koopmans said staff rec- ommendation that Council consider a budget with a 2 r cent mill rate increase indicates that the Town has absorbed all that it could. "We have to address some of our own issues this year and we can't necessarily do it within the money we had allocated to us in the past," Koopmans said, noting that almost all discretionary ex- penses have already been cut from the budget and the Town can expect "virtually no" Provincial grants this year. In his briefing to budget committee members Koopmans said that if a tax increase as proposed was not acceptable, the council would have to look at alternatives including increasing user fees for municipal services, decreases in the level of serv- ices, or decreases in fundin transfers to others tifough various forms of municipal support programs. Turning to the capital budget, Koopmans reported that the financial viability of the cai forecast was ques- tionable because of addi- tional pressure on the Capi- tal Reserve Fund due to un- anticipated capital expendi- tures. ~~ In order to handle the shortfall Koopmans sug- gested that the contribution to the reserve fund from the operating budget be in- creased by 10 per cent and to do that some proposed capi- tal projects this year will have to be deferred. The shuffling of the capi- tal forecast will see Council and staff put priority on spending to get existing fa- cilities and infrastructures up to speed while placing items like buying new vehicles, equipment, phone systems and computers on a lower cuts. The category one capital items include vehicle and equipment replacements, roads improvements in the rural and urban areas, storm drainage works, parks and parkland improvements and facility improvements. Lower priority items in- clude building new facilities, buying and developing new parks and parkland, informa- tion technology enhance- ments and improvements priority where they wouldbe and new minor capital acqui- more vulnerable to budget _ sitions. 55th Anniversary | iit ss |... Ont,,.Dan.and David, both.of Acton, _ Charlie and Doris Allen Married on January 29, 1943 at St. John's United Church in Georgetown. They have four children - Larry of Baden, and Jo Anne of Ajax, Ont. FLOORING & KITCHENS Cron CARPET REMNANTS while supplies last $429 PER SQ FT ARMSTRONG In Stock VINYL NO PAYMENTS / NO INTEREST TILL 1999 oac. INDOOR/OUTDOOR CARPET RUNNER FANTASTIC SAVINGS ON RICHMOND CARPET wks (519) 853-4577 or 853-1190 1 mile south of Acton on Hwy. 25 Lnininitiianl 0) website: www.haltonhills.com. lakeview. ience and strength of char- acter and I don't know if I can say that I've ever met somebody that I didn't enjoy visiting," Dougherty said. * + "A'lot of the'people I visit ~ - Acton Subway (beside ica) 853-5531 3