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

Voter turnout down slightly Voter turnout in Monday's municipal election was slightly lower than in the 2003 election. The percentage of eligible voters who voted this year was 31.6 per cent, compared to 34.4 per cent three years ago. Acton had the highest turnout at 35.3 per cent. Ironically, Acton's local and regional councillors were acclaimed, and the community came out to vote only for school board trustee and the mayor and region chair races. The percentage was 29.39 per cent in Ward 2 and 31.98 per cent in Ward 3. These numbers were on par with those recorded in the 2003 election. The biggest drop occurred in Ward 4-- despite active councillor and trustee campaigns-- where the percentage of the voter turnout slipped from 34 per cent in 2003 to only 30.1 per cent. Storm could cause localized flooding Conservation Halton is warning area residents that some localized flooding may occur over the next couple days due to heavy rainfalls in southern Ontario. A large weather system that hit the region Wednesday evening is expected to continue into today (Friday). It is predicted that as much as 50-75mm of rain may fall. The rain, in combination with relatively moist soil conditions, is anticipated to result in streams, throughout local watersheds, overflowing their banks, with a potential for some localized flooding in low-lying areas. The high water levels in all local stream systems are anticipated to last into tomorrow (Saturday). The heavy rainfall will result in dangerous conditions along all streams. Please alert any children under your care to these dangerous conditions and supervise their activities. Local family `lucky to be alive' after fire Halton Hills firefighters were called to a John St. house Friday (Nov. 10) morning after a resident of the building noticed smoke coming from the heat vents in her apartment. Firefighters found the building filled with heavy smoke but the fire had already been extinguished by the superintendent who had evacuated the building prior to firefighters arriving. All three residents of the apartment were treated at the scene by Halton Region paramedics who transported them to hospital for smoke inhalation. A fire department spokesperson said it is suspected a toddler playing with a lighter started the blaze, and due to the quick reaction of a neighbour and the building's superintendent the family avoided tragedy. "This young family is lucky to be alive; the apartment was not equipped with a working smoke alarm," said Chief of Fire Prevention and Public Education Harry Olivieri. He stressed that all single family, semidetached homes and townhomes, whether owneroccupied or rented, are required by law to have working smoke alarms on every floor as well as outside all sleeping areas of every home. The fire caused minimal damage and minimal dollar loss.