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12 THE NEW TANNER WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 29, 1999 1999 was a momentous year here By FRANCES NIBLOCK The New Tanner Looking back over the past issues of The New Tanner, medical issues -- an acute shortage of doctors and ex- tension of ambulance service around the clock -- made headlines in 1999. Here's a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of the past year. JANUARY The last year of the millen- nium started as a winter won- derland in Acton with a 25- centimetre snowfall that forced Town crews to work around the clock to clear it. In sports, the Acton Major Nov- ice Tanners edged Brampton 4-3 to win the championship at the rep. Hockey league's annual Christmas tourna- 'ment. Four downtown stores close, leaving the downtown BIA (Business Improvement Area) pondering how to con- vince people to shop locally. Ground breaking takes place at the Beckers plaza, pur- chased by the Halton Credit Union, which will build its new Acton headquarters on the property. Several groups urge the Town to beef up its smoking bylaw to protect people from the harmful ef- fects of second-hand smoke. Construction ABT Building Products was sold to Louisi- ana- Pacific of Oregon for $225 million. } 310 Guelph St, Unit 5, Georgetown j 905-873-4405 a JIL ACE FEBRUARY In order to slow traffic on Mill Street West near St. Joseph's school, the Town designates the area, asa Com- munity Safety Zone where anyone issued a traffic ticket will pay double the fine. Acton councillor Norm Elliott makes the first of a series of requests for the Town to look at the issue of how to get owners of basement apart- ments to register them to en- sure building and fire code regulations are met. The Halton Catholic school board locks out its secondary school teachers in a labour dispute, prompting one Acton parent to seriously consider pulling her son out of Bishop Reding High school in Milton and enroll him in the public system. Ac- ton's Kyra Parker, 9, is ac- cepted in the elite summer program of the National Bal- let School. Mental health of- ficials begin the search for homes for residents of the Vil- lage Manor that will be closed. MARCH Longtime Acton busi- nessman Dave Manes is named as the Acton Citizen of the Year. Two Acton skat- ers, Jenny May and Bronwyn Marshall, members of the Ice Image synchronized skatin; team, skate to a Silver meda' at the Canadian champion- ships. Poorly ventilated class- rooms force McKenzie-Smith Bennett officials to open classroom windows on a daily basis to lower high levels of carbon dioxide. An Acton newcomer, who couldn't get medical help for her sick son, complains that pets get bet- ter medical treatment than humans do after she can't find a doctor willing to accept new patients. The McKenzie- Smith Bennett senior girls' Mustang basketball team captures second place at the all-Halton championships. A Rockwood couple gets hit with hefty fines after plead- ing guilty in connection to a conspiracy to smuggle booze into Ontario. The extension of Queen Street to ease traffic through Acton's downtown core is identified as an option for study in a long-term traffic study. An Acton family and several downtown stores are featured in the children's book, Melted Star Journey, illustrated by Acton's Karen Ruczuch, an award winning artist. Halton staff investi- gates expanding ambulance service in Acton to 24-hours- a-day, seven-days-a-week. Students at St. Joseph's Catholic school receive envi- ronmental awards at a cer- emony at Ontario Place. Plas- tics Eighty Ltd., a custom manufacturer of plastic prod- ucts, relocates to Milton be- cause it's cheaper to move than try to expand in Acton. The Town begins the process of having Acton designated as an under serviced area to try to bring more doctors to town. The Acton Minor Atom Tanners make a clean sweep at a Milton tournament and capture the champion- ship. MAY Plans to reconstruct High- way #7 from Silvercreek into Acton are announced by the Ministry of Transportation. Acton's Dorothy Allen, a re- tired teacher and longtime volunteer and foster parent is name one of four winners of the Halton Woman of the Year Awards for 1999. A Guelph woman who works in Acton wins $250,000 ina Lotto 649 draw and pays off her mortgage, plans for a trip and ioalibhiet badbendand dune . grown children very happy. Candidates in the provincial election begin kissing babies, shaking hands and making promises. Acton Jiu-Jitsu members spar and grapple their way to 15 medals at the Canadian championships. Plans for a 190-unit seniors' housing development adja- cent to the new West Mead- ows subdivision are un- veiled. Four options for rede- veloping prospect Park are discussed at an open house. JUNE The death of a man visit- ing Acton sparks questions about the adequacy of ambu- lance service in Acton. Triple V Plastics Ltd. is sold and will relocate to Milton. The Town backs off plans to make Halton Hills 100 per cent smoke free and meets with bar owners who are worried they will lose business if patrons are forced to butt out. Acton Cadets help the BIA (Busi- ness Improvement Area) clean up the grungy down- town. Halton MPP Ted Chudleigh steamrolls to vic- tory in the provincial election. Over the objection of Town planning staff, councillors vote not to appeal a commit- tee of adjustment decision that approved Home Hard- ware's plans for a new 8,000- square-foot-store in east Acton. A 30-year-old Acton man is sentenced to 21 months in jail after pleading guilty to starving his toddler daughter who, because of the neglect, will never lead a nor- mal life. Acton celebrates Canada Day with a huge cake, enter- tainment by the Acton Citi- zens' Band and a ghost tour featuring local haunted houses, Veteran Acton fire- fighter Herb Dodds retires af- ter 41 years. Wet weather means bumper crops for local farmers who report higher than average yields and im- peeved quality. The Acton outh Centre finds a home at 45 and 47 Mill Street and Halton Hills community sup- port and Information plans to move from the former ASSIC Willow Street HQ. Halton Re- + gio uses- Acton ambulance call volume and response times to back requests for around the clock service. Two young Georgetown men and one from Milton die after their car slams into two horses that had escaped from a paddock on 17 Side Road, east of Geor- getown. AUGUST An Appeal Court judge orders a new trail for Blue Cir- cle Aggregates on privately laid charges that it quarried without a licence. Perfect weather, top -notch entertain- ment and record crowds make the 8th annual Leathertown Festival the best ever. Devel- opers of the proposed Leathertown Junction at the Mill and Queen Streets re- ceive necessary planning ap- provals but complain about how long it took. Balloons and hes from lots of dig- nitaries mark the long over- due official opening of the new $1 million Halton Credit Union building in Acton. Ina burst of civic pride, a group of citizens, led by Acton Councillor Rick Bonnette, stage a cleanup day at Fairly Lake. Acton Agricutlural So- ciety members are asked if they are willing to go door- to-door to help raise $350,000 for a new building in Prospect Park -- they say no. SEPTEMBER Halton officials announce Acton will have full-time am- bulance service before the end of the month and the search begins to replace the cramped ambulance bay be- hind the Beckers store. Halton police use a high tech helicopter to locate hundreds of marijuana plants growing in the area. The United Way of Halton Hills kicks off its annual fundraising campaign without the usual door-to- door appeal for donations. The promoter of a rave party in rural Acton was fined $3,000 -- a "ludicrous" fine according to one Town staffer who reported it cost $6,000 to prosecute the man. The Town considers a re- quest to exempt the Acton and Georgetown Legions from a proposed tougher smoking bylaw. Plans are fi- nalized to reconstruct Mill Street from Acton's eastern limit to the railway tracks at Mill Street. The 87th edition of the Acton Fall Fair breaks attendance and gate records. Fifteen thousand people vis- ited the fair. -- Sa OCTOBER Town politicians want more information but refuse to be "spooked" into Greater Toronto Area amalgamation talks. Grade 8 students at McKenzie-Smith Bennett in- terview local seniors about their lives and times for an intergenerational book. Coun- cil bows to a patriotic plea from local Legions and will allow them to light up with an exemption to the smoking bylaw. Acton's outdoor mall. the trunk sale, wrapped up another year of great bar- gains, fresh produce and all the news that fits. Trillium Funeral Services continues to deny it has sold Shoemakers. Five thousand dark purple millennium tulips are planted all over Acton by the Horti- cultural Society. The Educa- tion Improvement Commis- sion tells the Halton public board to sell its underused schools if it hopes to get pro- vincial cash for new schools in growth areas. Acton High school honours the student leaders of tomorrow at an awards ceremony. Forty thou- sand dollars in federal fund- ing is announced for murals in Acton. NOVEMBER Heavy rain and high winds turn to flurries and Acton gets its first snowfall. After 22 years on Mill Street, Andy Katsilieris sells his restaurant to Emmanuel Dalios. A gravel truck driver dies after collid- ing with a VIA - operated Amtrak train on the Fourth Line north of the Acton quarry. Eleven passengers and two crew are taken to hospital, treated and released. In less than three-and-a-half hours, 9,100-pounds of food were collected in the 9th an- nual Scout-Calvinist food drive. Acton remembers its war dead with a moving wreath laying ceremony at the Cenotaph. Halton MPP Ted Chudleigh accuses Halton Continued on Page 15