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

Province may download Hwy.7 Is the other shoe about to drop? Is Halton Region about to have another road downloaded? I'll give you a little background. In 1997 and 1998, the Ministry of Transportation downloaded Highways 5 and 25 to the Region of Halton. As part of the transfers, one-time grants of $122,500 and $10,600,000 were received from the Province. This was a huge rip-off to the Halton taxpayer. It will cost a minimum of 23 million dollars over the next five to ten years to bring these roads into a state of good repair, plus an estimated 88 million dollars to widen these roadways in order to meet forecasted traffic demands. Well, guess what? The MTO are once again looking at the possibility of downloading Highway 7 to the Region of Halton. This is something I predicted back in 1997. At the last Regional Council Meeting, Council supported a recommendation NOT to accept this downloading, and further, Chairman Joyce Savoline is to write to the Minister of Transportation expressing our deep concern. **** On February 27th the Town hosted a Pandemic Influenza Community Information Forum at the Gellert Community Centre. Thirty-five local businesses were represented, along with many community and church leaders. Presenters at the event were Karen Stanley, Regional Public Health Nurse, Wayne Gould, Regional Emergency Planning Consultant, and Harry Olivieri, Chief Officer Prevention and Education, Town of Halton Hills. A community panel included Walter Sguazzin, Administrator, Bennett Health Care Centre; John Langill, Halton Catholic School Board, and Marilyn Holm of the North Halton Red Cross. The Forum was held to prepare and discuss the impact that a Pandemic Influenza outbreak would have on our community. * * ** Rick Bonnette Congratulations to the newly elected Presidents of our local Seniors Associations. Representing the Georgetown Seniors is Clarence Gough. Dave Dodgson is President of the Acton Seniors Association. **** Special thanks to Gord Morton for hosting his10th Annual Fun Day - Golden Agers Bowling Tournament, at the Georgetown Bowl on March 9th. As always, the participants enjoyed the fun, exercise, and good fellowship. **** On behalf of Council I welcome the following new businesses to Acton:Wall to Wall, and D & D Restaurant. **** Congratulations to Acton Legion Branch 197 as members celebrate 75 years of devotion and commitment to our community. **** The Mayor's Showcase is displaying quilt samples on behalf of the Halton Hills Quilters Guild. This talented group is gearing up for the "Symphony of Quilts" Quilt Show on Saturday, May 6th and Sunday, May 7th at the Acton Community Centre. For more information contact Ann Totten at 905-877-6038. **** Keeping it real! I can be reached by telephone at 905-873-2601, ext. 2342, or by e-mail at mayor@haltonhills.ca - Rick Bonnette is the mayor of Halton Hills