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A head-on collision on Wellington Road 125 (Hwy. 25) near Country Road. 50 (5 Sideroad), just north of Acton on Sunday, August 15 at 12:23 a.m. resulted in the death of a 35-year-old Acton resident. Wellington OPP said the collision oc- curred when a 1992 Honda travelling south on 125 crossed the centre line and collided head-on with a 1995 Chevrolet Wellington OPP called to three head-ons CTV van travelling north on the highway. The driver of the Honda, 35-year-old Darin Kettlewell.of Acton, was pro- nounced dead at the scene. The driver of the van, Earl Caine, 53, of Amaranth Township, was taken to Guelph General hospital with non-life threatening injuries. ILLAGE Rent-A-Car From Per Hour 856-0000 387 Queen St. East, Acton 286 Alma Street, Rockwood Police called a Technical Traffic Colli- sion Investigator to the scene to assist in the investigation. The highway was closed between County Rd. 50 and the Town Line just north of Acton for several hours -- while police conducted an investigation. Funeral services for Mr. Kettlewell are being held at St. Louis Catholic Church, 53 Allan St., Waterloo at 10 a.m. on Fri- day, August 20. Another head-on crash Wellington OPP responded to another head-on crash on Country Rd. 44 (Guelph Line), south of Highway 7, in Eramosa Township, on Friday, August 13 at 10:10 continued on page2 A PRS Au. Eres 336 Guelph St. Georgetown 905-877-0149 Onn ee Town tries to help Seniors stay in homes with assessment freeze BY FRANCES NIBLOCK The New Tanner In a compassionate move to help seniors deal with property tax increases resulting from ris- ing property assessments, Town Council will ask MPAC -- the. Municipal Property Assess-.-households in Halton Hills -- ment Corporation -- to freeze property tax assessments on homes owned by people over 70 years, who have lived in the home for more than 20 years. Ward Two Councillor Joan Robson said she'd been approached by a number of seniors who asked for help in keeping up with their taxes. "One senior mentioned to me that his home was a converted garage -- when they were younger that was all they could afford -- and they've kept it up and converted it into a little bungalow," Robson said adding a house that cost $20,000 30 or 40 years ago, today is assessed at $270,000. Robson said many peo- ple lived frugally, paid off their mortgages and thought they'd be okay in their old age and now can't afford their taxes. Robson underlined the important role seniors play in the community, volun- teering their time and talents, not asking for handouts and duly paying their education taxes even though they haven't had children in the education system for 30 years. "For an additional con- tribution of approximately $5 per year from the rest of our community, we could reach out to these people and help these val- ued members of our community live on a scale that is not grand, but that at least allows them not to go into debt," Robson said. Mayor Rick Bonnette said the assessment freeze would be a great opportu- nity to keep seniors in their own homes until all levels of government develop in- centive programs so developers will build af- fordable housing for seniors. Town staff said there are approximately 2,000. where the owner is over 70, and staff assumes that 15 per cent, or 300 own- ers, have lived in their homes for more than 20 years. Assuming that a home is valued at $250,000 and a reassessment would mean a 10 per cent increase in value, the potential savings if the freeze were approved would be $270 for each eli- gible homeowner. That would mean a total cost of $80,000, or about $5 more for each of the re- maining 16,000 residential property owners. There are no Halton Hills seniors registered in a Regional program that al- lows homeowners over 65, with a combined family in- come of less than $23,000, to defer tax increases. The amount of the deferral is registered on title and is payable when the property is sold. ENTRANCED: Four-year old Nicholas Firth was mesmerized with the medieval stories told at the Damsels and Dragons pre-school party at the Acton library on Thursday. Being the only Prince in attendance, Nicholas had to protect the Damsels from the stuffed animal dragon: - Angela Tyler photo é ACHILL ES Power Locks The All-New 2004 Mazda6 Sport Includes: Powerful 2.3L 4 Cylinder Engine Traction Control Power Windows Power Heated Mirrors Cruise Control 17° Alloy Wheels Air Condition Keyless Entry Engine immobilizer AM/FM CD Stereo Fog Lights 16621 of Cargo Capacity 4 Wheel Disc Brakes ABS Brakes 60/40 Split Rear Seats Plus Much More 357 Queen St. (Hwy 7) Acton, ON 519-853-0200 info@achillesmazda.ca The All New.2004 Mazda Sport Bi A ie RRR <<) Ri Very Well Equipped at only $25,495* o be the Pn!