The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2000 Big time Tykes Wie a thrill for the Halton Hills Tyke Bulldog lacrosse team -- includ- ing Acton's Riley McGilloway, Jessie Kuenzig and Gordie McKeon -- that will play at Maple Leaf Gardens next Friday in a pre-game match with rival St. Catharines before the Toronto Rock game. On Monday the Bulldogs, who lost the provincial final to St. Kitts, received municipal awards from the Town of Halton Hills for their Ontario Lacrosse Association sec- ond place finish. Vision help You can check out the latest tech- nical aids for those with vision prob- lems at CNIB service day on April 4 at the Acton Seniors Centre. CNIB staff and volunteers will be on hand with information for seniors and the general public. There will be a talking book exchange and referrals for serv- ices. A vision rehab worker will also be available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wine winners The Scotch Block Country Winery -- located at Andrew's Scenic Acres off Highway 25 -- is enjoying the fruits of its labour after winning two medals at the first National Fruit Wine competition that featured 36 wineries from eight es Scotch Block's Regal Black Cur- rant and Cassis, a semi-sweet black- currant desert wine both won bronze medals. The cottage winery at Andrews has come a long way in the year since it began making wine from fruit and -- grown at the pick-your-own Much music Members.of the Acton High school jazz band and other local stu- dents in various ensembles and massed choirs are among 1,000 Halton elementary and secondary school students who will perform at the annual Halton Music Showcase. Proud parents, friends and teach- ers are expected to jam the Great Hall at Hamilton Place for the April 27 event that sold out last year. Natural muscles Andrea Apulinario is the best ad- vertisement for Personal Fitness by Tomas, her husband's Mill Street fit- ness studio. Just months after giving birth, Andrea captured first place in body building, 2nd in Miss Figure and 3rd in fitness model at a natural body building competition in Oshawa on the weekend. Andrea and Tomas took first place in the mixed pair body building cat- egory and Tomas also won first place in body building, first place in men's fitness, first place in fitness modeling and 3rd in body building. Andrea said she had to take Tomas away to Mexico last week for some serious training. Nice that it paid off. "Our goal is to set people straight that there's health at any age and any condition and naturally, because this is a natural competition and they are very strict on natural," Andrea said. Gone fishin' For some, opening a new business might mean less time for favourite hobbies, like fishing. But for Acton's Herb Dodds and partner Steve McLeod, opening a fishing tackle shop in Dodds's Royal Jug City, the extra work won't be unbearable. "We'll have to test the equip- ment," Dodds, and avid fisherman, laughed when asked if their new ven- ture -- Royal fishing Tackle -- which opens on Saturday, will mean more time behind the counter and less time on Lake Ontario looking for salmon and rainbow trout. Smoke Shoppe sold An as-yet unnamed Limehouse man has made an offer to buy the Smoke Shoppe from Acton's Helen Jocque, who is retiring after 33 years of owning and operating variety stores at four downtown locations. Helen can't wait to start her retire- ment and sleep in. "T was aiming for the end of March, but he doesn't think he can have all the paperwork done by then, so I said "Okay, I'll get up for two more weeks," Jocque said, adding the deal closes mid-. With the glut of variety stores in Acton, Jocque said she was able to maintain a steady clientele because she's an old Actonian." Down Under wonders Congrats to the gusty Canadian life saving team -- including Acton's John Eddolls -- that captured six med- als at Rescue 2000, the International Life Saving Federation's World com- petition that wrapped up in Sydney, Australia on Sunday. In their first international outing, Canada won silver and three bronzes in pool events. Adam Nicholson of Guelph, grandson of Elmer Smith of McKenzie-Smith Bennett, finished third ina manikin carry race. The Canadian team placed fourth in the emergency response event and seventh overall in the ocean events. The top 10 finish qualifies the Cana- dian squad for the Olympics -- as a demonstration sport -- in Australia in September. The team also will com- pete in surf lifesaving competitions at the Goodwill Games is Brisbane next year and the world championships in Japan in 2002. John was one of two Canadian team members invited to compete in an inter-club event this weekend. He returns home April 20. 7 "ERUERS--( ) Consultation committee meets regularly with police To the Editor, In response to the letter from E. Dunn (March 23), there is a group of concerned Acton citizens named the Acton Community Consultation Committee that meets regularly with the village constable to discuss prob- lems in our town. like vandalism. This committee along with the village con- stable has tried to get more Actonians involved but to no avail. I assume that E. Dunn has not heard of the Acton Community Con- sultation Committee, so we are invit- ing you to join us to problem solve with the police on the vandalism and other issues that affect the peaceful- ness of our town. The next meeting of the Acton Community Consultation Committee is May 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Acton Police Station. In addition I would like you to know that our village consta- ble is Bill Riddle. who is available during the day at the police station; the phone number is: 853-2050. Chair, Acton Community consul- tation Committee. B.W. Jones SMILES & HARDHATS: Members of the Montemarano family -- ditetageri of Lasby 'aie and the new 60-home Acto Valley subdivision -- and Town officials officially opened Bayfield Home's sales pavilion on Queen Street on Saturday. At the ribbon cutting ceremony were, front, left to right, Rob Montemarano, Jerry Montemarano, Mayor Mariyin Serjeantson, Pe- ter Hrkac and Allan Chabassol, both with Blue Springs Realty. Back: Angelo Montemarano, Rosario M., Emilo M., Tony M., Frank Sgro and Rud Whiting. -- Frances Niblock photo He is, you know. Our Pope, I mean. Yours and mine. Catholic, Protestant, Jew or Muslim; Most of the world regards John Paul II as an international/interdenomina- tional man of proce. and peace. His message always been to love and respect your neighbour. Were Diogenes still wandering through the wilderness looking for an honest man, I could suggest a candidate. Two weeks ago the pope asked God's forgiveness' for the sins of Catholics throughout the ages. I had some concerns when I first heard about the Pope's plans. I se I was out, though, when the Vatican called for my input. So I waited for the reaction from the mainstream press. It wasn't long coming. The same day the storey of the day of "The Pardon Mass" at St. Peters Basillica ran, the sniping started. The apology wasn't com- plete enough. What about women priests? No specifics and no names were given. The list went on and on. "Mea Culpa" said the headline in the Star. And then they added "What Comes Next?" One wonders what they expect? The nay-sayers will never be happy until the Pope brings church doctrine into line with the secular, "Progressive" thinking that passes for modern morality. That is never going to happen. If that makes some people uncomfortable: so be it. It's unbelievable that so many seem to be missing the historic magnitude of this event. The spir- itual leader of one billion Catholics has laid bare the soul of his church and sought forgiveness from the God he serves and the people who have been affected. has there ever been such a glorious declaration of faith in a loving God? John Paul Il is leading by example, as he was ( Can't they lay off our pope? | The Way I See It with Mike O'Leary during his entire papacy. He has tray- elled the world preaching peace and social justice. For this he gets criti- cized in the press? A perfect example of the unfair press coverage the Pope gets is his trip to Israel last week. There were veiled accusations that he was play- ing politics between the Israelies and Palestinians. My friends, he was not playing, His holiness, I am sure, was using his finely honed diplomatic skills and lending his considerable prestige to the efforts to bring peace to this troubled land. He gets only ging credit and questions about is motives. You have to wonder if the secular press is so critical because they are nervous that he might suc- ceed. Why is there any question at all about his trip to Israel? He is the spir- itual leader of the largest Christian church in the world. This is the 2,000 year celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Where would you expect him to go? I think it would be news if he didn't visit many of the significant sites a lan holiday land. This is a image as well as a visit aie a hea a state. The people of Is- rael seem to recognize this. Jews and Arabs alike have given him a warm reception. A fact that has only been given passing notice. But 25 radicals protesting his visit are sure to get their 30 seconds of TV fame. You can bet on that. What a crock. The world press concocted an anticipation that the Pope would di- rectly apologize to the Jewish people for the Holocaust. He didn't/ De did much more. A visibly emotional John Paul II personalized the Shoah. Present for his visit was a boyhood friends from Poland - a Jew. Another Jew, a woman, told the story of how the Pope, as a young man, brought her food and water and then carried her on his back for kilometers. This man needs no lessons in the suffering of the Holocaust. He lived it. Much of the furor over the. Pope's apology had to do with what wartime Pope Pious XII did or did not do to save Jews during the war. Peoples are people too and it's entirely possible that this Pope made an error in judgement. Re- member, though, that after the Catholic churches in Holland de- nounced the Nazi oppressions of the Jews. An enraged Hitler imme- diately ordered the deportation of tens of thousands of Jews from the Netherlands. We knows what kind of counsel Pope Pius was getting from his advisors and the Allies. Surely the Vatican was getting and giving intelligence to Churchill, Roosevelt, De Gaulle and the other leaders of the day. This is the prob- lem with this type of revisionist his- tory judgements. No-one will ever know. With any certainly, how much support the Vatican, through its church, gave the hundreds of thousands of heroes in occupied Europe who opposed the Nazis. To this day there are many docu- ments in Ottawa, London and Washington from the war which are still classified. Doesn't it follow that there are documents in Rome which have not been released? If there Vatican failed in not speaking out shouldn't Churchill, Roosevelt and the others be equally responsible? It'll be looking forward to Bill Continued on page 6 Ry 03826300 RT2300 TV. stavice We Service What We Sell * Powered subwoofer FRG HOME THEATRE Gives you incredible Digital Sound 300 Watt Dolby Digital Kit - . +5 wood satellite speakers * Easy colour matched connection system * Full multi-brand remote 14 Wesleyan St. Downtown Georgetown just off Main St. (kat mele A 877-3405