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THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2004 THE NEW TANNER KNOW ANYONE? Former Actonian Brian Otterbein brought this photo into The New Tanner office in the hopes the editor could help identify the occasion and some of the students. Looks like a grade 8 graduation class to us. Some people we can pick out include John Leatherland, George Ware, Peter Newton, Bill Dawkins, Norm Elliott, Bob Duby, Paul McGeachie and Tom Fountain but the girls have us stumped. Brian, son of Helen Otterbein of Acton now lives in Collingwood. He'd appreciate identifying all the students and what the occasion was. LOCAL TAXI Acton has its own taxi service again. Blue Springs Taxi Service started business from the old taxi offices on Mill Street, just south of Main, on the weekend. The business is being operated by Sandra Tucker of R.R. 2, Acton. The business has two minivans in operation and will add more as business increases. CAR WASH Off the Wall Youth Centre will be the beneficiary of a car wash and barbecue at Sobeys supermarket this Friday, August 6 from [1 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The car wash is by do- nation while hot dogs and pop/water will set you back $2 and $1 respec- tively. It's a good cause. BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS The Central Ontario Baseball Championships, Grasshopper divi- sion, is being held at Prospect Park in Acton this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Five teams, two from Acton, two from Carlisle and one from Brookville, will compete in two semi-final rounds followed by a final at 2 p.m. Grasshoppers in- clude boys and girls ages 6 and 7 years old. At least one Acton team is guaranteed to be in the final game because of their first place league standing. BACK AT HOME Good news from the Acton Medi- cal Centre. Dr. George McWilliam is back at home after spending some time in Guelph General Hospital re- cuperating from surgery in June. Doctors David Vanderbent and Nather Alshakarji have been bear- ing the brunt of the work at the medical centre while Dr. MeWilliam recuperates. The New Tamer joins with the doctor's many patients in hoping he is soon back to his familiar practice in Acton. MORE BASEBALL The Jeremy Ware selected to play for the Canadian baseball team in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, is a grandson of John and Betty Ware, formerly of Acton, now residing in Guelph. Jeremy has been playing professional ball with the Montreal Expos farm teams and his selection for the Canadian national team is a big feather in his cap. Former Blue Jay Ernie Whitt is the Canadian team's manager. 60TH ANNIVERSARY There's still time to purchase tick- ets for the Junior Farmers' Association of Ontario (JFAO) 60" anniversary celebration on Satur- day, August 14 at the Orangeville fairgrounds. The committee is pre- paring for the Alumni Reunion to give all former JFAO members time to rekindle old friendships and remi- nisce about the drama, sports, debating, travel and other experi- ences the organization provided. Acton and area like other parts of Halton has had very active Junior Farmers organizations. The Halton rep is Christine Dickson at 905-847- 7209. BLOOD DONOR CLINIC Don't forget the next blood do- nor clinic at the Acton Legion on Thursday, August 12 from 4:30 to _ 8 p.m. The Legion hall is located at 15 Wright Ave. on the banks of Fairy Lake. The clinic's motto still is -- "Blood -- it's in you to give." TORCH RUN CHEQUE Halton Regional Police Chief Ean Alger presented a cheque for $15,000 to the Ontario Special Ol- ympics yesterday, (Wednesday), money raised during the 2004 Law Enforcement Torch Run. The pres- entation took place at Halton Regional Police Headquarters, Bronte Road, Oakville. Special Ol- ympic athletes and members of the Torch Run team were on hand for the presentation. HURRICANE COMING Hurricane Gerty, the unstoppable clown-genius, will be blowing into ~ Halton Hills Public Library on Au- gust 28. Her 45 minute show is packed full of puppetry, ukulele songs and physical comedy. Tickets are $2. And are now on sale at both the Acton and Georgetown branches. Thé show is 45 minutes long starting at 10:30 a.m! in the Georgetown branch and 2 p.m. in the Acton branch. For more information, please call 905-873-2681, extension 2520 (Georgetown) or 853-0301 in Acton. a One of the most enjoyable tasks.1 perform as a town councillor is to participate in opening new busi- nesses in Acton. Usually, these are family owned enterprises. As a lo- cal small business owner I understand the commitment, both fi- nancial and personal, that these new operations demand. This column often points out the advantages of supporting local busi- nesses. Business in Acton hires our kids, supports local schools, sports teams and charities. Acton's mer- chants and small businesses contribute to parks, road and other town infrastructure through taxes. Often these owner /operators are our neighbours. Granted, you may save a buck or two on some items, if you drive to the chain stores fff Georgetown or Guelph. Factor in though, the price of gas and your time and you may decide its false economy. At the very least, give local business a chance to earn your patronage. The construction downtown on Mill St. has hurt our core stores. Even though the contractors have bent over backwards to minimize the dust and disruption, business has been slower than usual. That's why I'm asking you to take advantage of the sales, contests and other pro- motions downtown merchants are running during construction. Re- member, every dollar you spend shopping in Acton helps support our children's jobs, our worthy causes and our town. During last fall's election cam- paign many people told me they were determined to retain Acton's small town atmosphere. Friends, a strong and successful merchant sec- tor is part of that atmosphere. Next Sunday is Leathertown Festival day. I encourage you to come down- town, join in the festivities and visit the stores and restaurants. You won't be disappointed. What brought all this on was my participation, along with Mayor Bonnette and Councillor Somerville, in the grand opening of Acton's newest restaurant. A Taste of Italy is located next to the Sta- Hon Hotel and across from Bon Appetito! Alexanian's Carpets. The business is. owned and operated by the Cortese family who have lived locally for some time. Pino, Lora and Joseph are the wizards of the kitchen. Daughter Melissa is, I think the brains behind the operation and has a smile Botticelli would have painted in an instant. Remember I said that local busi- nesses provide jobs for our families. We arrived for the ribbon cutting to find two of Clark Somerville's nieces had been hired by the restaurant. The Cortese's were unaware of the fam- ily ties until Clark told them. There are similar situations in businesses all across Acton. Obviously, without these businesses, our children would have to leave town to find work. Once the ribbon was dutifully cut by vice-president Melissa we decided to sample the cuisine. 4 Taste of Italy specializes in southern Italian cook- ing. For the uninitiated (I had to ask) southern Italian cooking tends to be lighter than northern Italian. Fewer heavy sauces and lighter crusts on pizza; that type of thing. We shared a Little Italy special pizza. At 18 inches we were all quite full but the tray of brushetta, which was also delicious, probably contributed to our feelings of being stuffed. The pizza crust was thin and flaky and was topped with yummy homemade spicy sausage, hot chili: peppers, diced tomatoes and green onions. While it was spicy, it was not overpowering as some spiced foods tend to be. I would say it tended to stimulate the taste buds rather than try to burn them out. I'm probably telling tales out of school but I've been accused of that before, so here goes. While Coun. Somerville, and I were content with the chef's selection, Mayor Bonnette felt compelled to add anchovies. So there we sat watching him add raw dead fish to a perfectly good meal. It was friends, in a word, disturbing. If hizzhonour keeps this &p we may \ have to change his nickname from "Bunny" to "Mouser". But I di- gress. The Cortese family has com- pletely renovated the restaurant. The small dining room downstairs has a Mediterranean feel and com- fortably seats 10. Upstairs, the dining room seats 20 in a very cozy atmosphere. | mention these num- bers in case you are looking for a location for dinner meetings or Christmas parties. The patio, which has been popular in the past, seats more than 60. The dinner menu features eight different antipastos (appetizers) in- cluding the aforementioned brushetta, calamari (don't ask if don't know) shrimp and scallops. For kids under 10 you can order chicken fingers and fries, personal pizza or spaghetti and meatballs. That selection should keep the rug rats quiet while the adults enjoy finer foods. For a main course choose from seven kinds of pizza or seven kinds of pasta. While I haven't had a chance to try it yet, I'm looking for- ward to Spaghetti del Mare. That would be spaghetti with shrimp, scallops, capers, onions and diced tomatoes in a brandy rose sauce. Is your mouth watering yet? For those looking for something meatier A Taste of Italy offers chicken, veal, salmon, grilled New York steak and a seafood platter. [I'm sure The Bride will take a quick look and opt for the latter platter. When you're down at the Leathertown Festival why not pop by 4 Taste of Italy and try a gelato (Italian style ice cream) or a creme brulee and a cappuccino. That should give you enough energy to finish exploring the festivities. You may wonder why an Irish- man is reviewing an Italian restaurant. Well, the dirty little se- cret we Irish have is that St. Patrick was born to Roman parents. Shhhh. Sinée then, we Irish have consid- ered Italy to be part of southern Ireland. Way south, granted. Be- sides, both countries' national foods can be described in-a single word. Italians say pasta. Irish say eis