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THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2004 THE NEW TANNER 19 KINETTE DANCERS: Hundred S s of kids lined up outside the Acton Arena recently for the hugely popular Kinette Teen Dance.-Frances Niblock photo. Cost $21,000 to impliment Town's new smoking bylaw It will cost the Town $21,000 to implement its new smoking bylaw that made _ Halton Hills workplaces and public places 100 per cent smoke-free on July 1. All businesses have re- ceived information packages including a copy of the by- law, a no smoking sign and list of frequently asked questions.The Town bylaw enforcement staff have vis- ited 60 to 75 per cent of 90 establishments most affected by the-bylaw- Establishments will re- ceive a second courtesy call to ensure staff has been trained, and warning letters would be issued to anyone in contravention of the bylaw. Staff said actual enforce- ment of the bylaw would be done by "two out-sourced investigators" at a cost of 160 hours over the next year. Af- ter that, Town staff would respond to smoking bylaw violation complaints. If someone refused to put out a cigarette, the owner of the establishment could call police and have them enforce the Trespass to Property Act. The maximum fine in the 'TOWN DIGEST Town's bylaw for smoking in public or workplace is $5,000, but Bob Ustrzycki, the Town's Manager of En- forcement Services said the number of people charged and taken to court won't measure the program. "It is going to be measured by not having to take any- body into court -- that will measure how successful we are," Ustrzycki said on Mon- day, adding staff reported positive comments about the new bylaw from the public on the weekend. Performance anxiety How much does worthless information cost? Two thousand and forty dollars ($2,040.00)and 43 hours of staff time according to Acton Councillor Mike O'Leary who authored a No- tice of Motion asking Queen's Park to scrap the Municipal Performance Measurement Program. It requires municipalities to supply annual data showing how it measured up in key service areas, including cor- porate management and governance, the cost of pro- viding water, paved roads and the number of hectares of ag- sicultural land that was re-designated for other uses. Mayor Rick Bonnette called the town's fourth year of filing performance meas- urements a waste of money and a "bloody waste of time." Treasurer Ed DeSousa said Halton's four municipalities have made a conscious deci- sion not to.compare-each other's results because of dif- fering levels of services in each municipality and differ- ing accounting systems that don't allow apples to apples comparisons. Councillor O'Leary stressed that it wasn't a.case of the information not being available, but it won't be brought together in a report that "doesn't mean anything, other than to some bureaucrat to fill a file." While the province does not issue a report card on municipal performance re- sults, it does list them on the Ministry of Housing Web site. Appoint new associate MOH Halton Region CAO Brent Marshall and Dr. Bob Nosal, Medical Officer of Health announced the appointment of Dr. Monir Taha to the po- sition of associate medical officer of health for Halton. Dr. Taha has most recently held the position of Associ- ate Medical Officer of Health for the City of Hamilton. Acton youngster fights deadly SMA disease By FRANCES. NIBLOCK The New Tanner Four-year-old Rebecca Van Fraassen of Limehouse is in a life and death race against time with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, (SMA) the number one genetic killer of children under two. The Senior Kindergarten student at St. Joseph Catho- lic School, who is confined to a wheelchair, is battling the paralyzing disease at a time when a treatment or cure has never been closer. Recently, the National In- stitute of Health in the USA declared that it could fore- see three diseases being cured or treated within the next five years -- HIV, ma- laria and SMA. That pronouncement gave "great hope" to Rebecca's family, including mother Theresa Van Fraassen, who recently returned from a SMA conference in the USA, where researchers presented data showing mice treated with sodium butyrate had decreased ef- fects of SMA. Rebecca has just finished baseline testing in Montreal in preparation for a clinical trial of a FDA approved treatment for SMA using valproic acid, now used to treat pediatric seizures. "I just heard at the confer- ence --just anecdotal stuff-- that said children who could not move their heads were given this drug and now they could (move)," mom Therese Van Fraassen said recently. "So there's great hope -- it's not just a desperate mother thinking that it wouldn't it be nice if there was something to help my little girl. There's actually hope that there's something in the works that could ben- efit Rebecca in her lifetime," Van Fraassen said. When Rebecca was diag- nosed three years ago, the doctors gave her family a death sentence, saying there was no cure and no treat- ment, but her mother said she is strong, and because the disease -- like a child- hood version of ALS disease -- progresses slowly and "they have time" to work for a miracle. Three years ago, Rebecca's aunt, Louise Smith, decided she wanted to help raise money to help Martial Arts and Self Defence RebeccaVan Fraassen find a cure, and organized a run for SMA in Newmarket. The first year they raised $45,000, that was matched by an anonymous donor, and last year's event raised approximately $77,000, a "phenomenal" amount of money, according to Van Fraassen, who can't say enough about her sister-in- law's efforts to fight the disease. "Louise is a runner and she set up a run that was so darn successful that people have a chance to make their donation really count," Van Fraassen said, adding the whole family will take part in the third annual mastic (the corporate sponsor) Rebecca Run for SMA on July 10 in Newmarket. Van Fraassen said she is also "overwhelmed" with the response to a fundraiser at the Acton Sobeys store. A $2 donation to the SMA Run earns the donator a chance in a draw for a bar- becue package donated by Sobeys and Acton Home Hardware. (That prize pack- age was presented to the lucky winner after press time on Wednesday.) Van Fraassen said Rebecca knows she has SMA and is "pretty accept- ing of the way she is," partially because of the way she is treated by fellow stu- dents and friends. "It's just one less thing to worry about because they've all embraced her . and they all want to be her friend. She just went to her first birthday party sleepover and it is great just ~~ to know she can do normal things like that." ae eer li POND PYROTECHNICS: Thousands lined the banks of Fairy Lake and crowded the west end of Prospect Park to enjoy Acton Firefighter's annual Canada Day Fire- works, which were described as "Spectacular" and "best yet." The park crowd also enjoyed the concert prior to the fireworks featuring the Robert Little dance troupe, Jenna Lynn Flesch, Georgetown Seniors Band CNE Idol Casey Manierka. Acton Jiu-Jitsu for Adults & Children gust Summer Camp Spaces Available *Proud members of the Canadian Jiu Jitsu Association® i (519)853-2424 5A Mill Street, East E-mail: jiujitsul@sympatico.ca New Region Commissioner Halton Council and Halton CAO Brent Marshall announced the appointment of Peter Crockett, P. Eng. to the position of Commissioner, Planning and Public Works for Halton Re- gion. Mr. Crockett most recently held the position of General Manager, Public Works for the City of Hamilton. Prior to working with the City of Hamilton, Mr. Crockett held a se- ries of increasingly responsible management positions with Peel Region. "Mr. Crockett brings a range of experience, including pub- lic works operations and transportation planning, to the Region. This combination of skills and experience will en- sure Peter is a valuable addition to Halton's Management Team as well as an effective leader within the Planning and Public Works department," said Brent Marshall, Halton CAO. Marshall recongized the contributions made by Ms. Jane Clohecy as Acting Commissioner, Planning and Public Works for the past few months. "I want to thank Jane for filling in as acting Commissioner, for the great strength and leadership she has demonstrated and for the tremendous support she has provided to me, to Regional Council, to the Planning and Public Works Department and to the Region," said Marshall. RONA MS BIKE TOUR Cycle For a Cure! Join in the fight against MS! Register today and make a difference for the estimated 50,000 Canadians (416) 967-3038 or 1-800-268-7582 ext 3038 eaten M Multiple Soa Society of Canada d Se Ree eR ESTEE STORET SRO TP ET TORTS ETE AHS