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THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2005 EDITORIAL Greenbelt does Acton no favours! The Ontario government's attempt to thwart urban sprawl] by the imposition of Greenbelt legislation is generally believed to have been a good move but it does no favours for this neck of the woods. It has stunted modest Acton growth by the imposition of boundar- ies which follow the present urban ones. It has also clamped down on any future fine tuning of greenbelt boundaries for 10 years. Acton was just beginning to emerge from decades of some kind of limbo -- neither vigorous nor feeble -- and the prospects look good for a thriving community when the boom came down, effectively crushing hopes for a self-sustaining town. Although there already is a community at Bannockburn just east of Acton, which could easily have been included in the urban boundaries. However, the planners decided to cut off development just east of the Acton arena instead of including land as far east as the Fourth Line. The irony is that areas in the Greenbelt south of Georgetown which includes some of the best farm land in Ontario is wide open for development. You figure that one out. Let's face it. Acton will always face a lack of fundamental social and commercial services unless the Province allows it some modest growth. We need doctors, a full time Halton police division here and other basic services most communities enjoy but we'll never get them unless we have enough population to sustain them. The Province needs to rethink some parts of their Greenbelt legisla- tion so the people in this community can enjoy the amenities others take for granted. We should not be hobbled by constraints that may fit other parts of the Region but only penalize places like Acton. Committee on track The acute lack of physicians in Acton and Georgetown has resulted in the mayor striking a Physician Recruitment and Retention Com- mittee in an effort to solve a problem which is getting progressively worse as time goes on. In a statement elsewhere in this newspaper the mayor says: "We need family physicians to service the growing needs of our com- munity. In Acton the situation is critical with 10,000 people being serviced with only three doctors, two of them part time." It's true but the 10,000 figure should probably read 15,000 be- cause a large part of the rural area as far as and including Rockwood looks to physicians here for health services. Fortunately, Dr. George McWilliam who has been off for several months due to illness is - hoping he may be able to resume his practice at the Acton Medical Centre at least part-time in July. It will relieve some of the pressure on the other three doctors. The new committee is actively recruiting doctors for Acton but they are handicapped not only by the aggressive efforts of other towns and cities to attract physicians but the need to upgrade or replace existing ---- which look tired and inadequate. The committee has already looked into the need for better facili- ties in Acton with two spots in mind. The New Tanner reported in December of 2004 on a suggestion that the former Cogeco build- ing on Main St. N. be used for a medical centre and there is now a second location in their sights. In view of the fact that most residents now pay anywhere from $300 to $900 a year more for healthcare on their income it leaves room for the provincial government to kick in some money to construct or renovate new facilities in Acton. We are as entitled as people in other communities to have modern and adequate facilities for medical care. It's ironic to note that when Acton had a population around the 4,000 mark there were seven physicians serving the community. Now the population has more than doubled there are only three doctors doing their best to provide medical care. That's what some people call "progress." THIS LAND 15 OUR Lan rT TRACTOR PROTEST: An almost mile-long parade of farm tractors proceeded through Rockwood and Acton on Tuesday afternoon all part of a farm protest about the farm policies of the McGuinty Liberal. Seven OPP cruisers accompanied the parade which started in New Hamburg Tuesday morning. The parade on Hwy. 7 met with two others from different directions for a rally at Queen's Park Wednesday morning. -- Danielle McIsaac photos. Stiletto heels, retro shows...bah! Retro...it's a simple word. For those who are young, it's a fash- ion trend. However, when you reach a certain age it just means you're now old enough to relive it for a second time. It's a reaf- firmation of your actual age. I suppose my new way of look- ing at 'retro' was when I was at the hair salon about a moAnth ago. There the shampoo girl was dressed with big hair, bold make-up, an elaborate amount of pearls, a lacey top, poofy skirt and fishnet stockings. One glance at her and all I could think of was being at a high school dance circa early 1980's. She had perfectly recap- tured Madonna's "Like a Virgin" look. It was with the same look that a generation of young girls copied with the release of her then controversial record. As I skimmed through the fashion magazines, I couldn't help but notice the shoes. Pointy- toe stilettos are reappearing far too much for my preference. I could feel my feet groan in agony with just the thought. Throughout my late teens and early 20's I squeezed my wide feet into those painful things that must have been designed by a man. I remember blowing my bud- get on a pair of very expensive black leather high pointy toe shoes. The leather was so soft. The heels were a glorious four inches. They were beautiful. Even as fashion trends changed, I couldn't part with them. In- stead I delicately packed them away in hopes of wearing them again. A little while back, I took them out of their hibernation. As I tried to stuff my foot into them going through my head was "what was I thinking when I bought them'? The shoes hurt. There was barely any sole and my toes were crammed in like sardines. I could barely stand up let alone walk in them. I decided the shoes were evil. No retro shoes for me. Before I knew it, retro was ev- erywhere. There was everything from Bohemian style clothes, reminiscent of Woodstock, to reunion television shows. I tried to avoid the reunion shows. However, my curiosity got the best of me. How could I resist a Happy Days or a One Day At A Time reunion? Were Valerie Bertinelli and MacKen- zie Phillips friends or was there really a feud between them that lasted since they were on One By Angela Tyler Day At A Time? Was Fonzie still wearing his leather jacket or was he in Depends now? In the end, I should have gone with my original thoughts. If you lived it once, who needs to live it again? The reunion shows were pretty boring and lasted for hours. Where are the new ideas? With all the advanced technology, you think we could find new ideas for television, movies or even clothing. Why do we need to remake television shows into movies like the Dukes of Haz- zard or Miami Vice? How many more comic books can be turned into an action movie? Isn't Spi- derman I and IL and Superman I, II, If enough? Why do we need to do a movie now on Superman before Superman I? For me, enough is enough! I refuse to wear pointy-toe high- heeled shoes. I am not going to watch the 'new' Miami Vice movie or the Dukes of Hazzard. If I want old television shows I'll watch them on the satellite stations like Dejaview. Give me some originality. Bring on more episodes of Desperate House- wives! Keep us glued to the tube with all the juicy details in the show Lost. I tried retro before and it didn't work. I thought I'd try again and it still didn't work. For me my new motto is remember the past, but live for the future. AT EIRST 1 DIONT {BELIEVE IT... BoT Then (4 NOT Sue... Now I'M CONVINCED WE ARE SUFFERING THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING - v 2005 ae Z2 paw THE Tanner PuBLisHING Lip. 373 Queen Street East, Unit 1 Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 email: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com (519) 853-0051 Fax: 853-0052 Publisher Editorial Ted Tyler Hartley Coles Editorial Contributors Frances Niblock Mike O'Leary Angela Tyler Janis Fread Rebecca Ring Advertising and Circulation Marie Shadbolt Composing Danielle Mclsaac Bruce Cargill Janine Taylor Distributed to every home in Acton and area as well as adjoining communities. S to legal action. Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. 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