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THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2006 THE NEW TANNER 3 GASOLINE LINE-UP: Toth Motors was besieged by motorists when Ray and son Steve conceived a unique way of pumping gas using a battery during the hydro blackout on Thursday, August 14, 2003. Power went off about 4:10 p.m. and only very few service stations could provide gasoline. The Toths were praised by motorists for not raising the price of gas as some stations did. - Angela Tyler photo Serving Acton, Georgetown, Rockwood & Guelph THOMPSON CHIROPRACTIC Dr. Dave de Melo D.C. Deanna Wilson B.Sc., D.Ch. Foot Specialist Naomi Bedell R.M.T. Registered Massage Therapy (519) 853-3460 EVENING APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE Safe, Gentle Chiropractic Care Computer Generated Spinal Analysis Emergencies & Workers Comp Accepted New Patients Welcome 25 Main Street North, Acton Across from Giant Tiger Plaza Chiropodist / Foot Specialist DEANNA WILSON B.Sc.,D.Ch. Thompson Wellness Centre 25 Main Street North Acton, Ontario L7J 1V9 519-853-3460 Foot/Nail Care Sports Injuries Pediatrics Diabetic /Arthritic Foot Conditioning Custom Orthotics and Footwear Home visits ELECTION WORKERS NEEDED A number of workers are required for the Town of Halton Hills to work in the 2006 Municipal Election, to be held on Monday, November 13, 2006. Deputy Returning Officers: Note: DRO Positions have now been filled. Revision Clerks: responsible for assisting voters with the completion of amendments and additions to the voters list, and assist the DRO with counting of ballots at the end of the night. Election Day Payment = $170.00 Information Clerks: responsible for assisting voters by using a laptop and electronically looking up voter information. Election Day Payment = $105.00 Successful Applicants: ? must fill out an Election Official Application Form which is located on the Town of Halton Hills Website (www.haltonhills.ca), can be emailed, faxed or can be picked at the Clerks Department, and which must be returned to the Clerks Department by August 31, 2006 ? must provide their own transportation ? must arrive at the voting place 30 minutes prior to the opening of the polls (10:00 a.m.) and remain at the voting place until the close of the polls at 8:00 p.m. Monday, November 13, 2006 and after to count ballots ? must attend a training session Please return or email your Election Official Application forms to the attention of: Leesa Emmerson Clerks Department 1 Halton Hills Drive Halton Hills, ON L7G 5G2 Tel: 905-873-2601 x2333 Fax: 905-873-1431 leesae@haltonhills.ca 1 Halton Hills Drive, Halton Hills, ON L7G 5G2 Please join Len, Elly, Natalie and Katie in celebrating Christine Coles 25 years of dedicated employment at Tuitmans Garden Centre With a Open House on Sunday August 20th 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm at Tuitmans Garden Centre, Presentation at 2:00 pm SHHHH... dont tell Christine! Its a secret! Remember Thursday, August 14, 2003? Like a boxer in a heavyweight knockout, the lights sud- denly went out. It happened just after 4 oclock in the afternoon as all three feeders to Halton Hills Hydro were lost with- in 1/6th of a second. Callers deluged the hydro offices asking why the power was out. By 6a.m. the next morn- ing, Friday, all of Halton Hills Hydros 18,000 cus- tomers had their power back. In places like George- town, Brampton, Guelph and Milton, however, they still lacked power. People there flocked to Acton to stock up on beer, food, ice, flashlights, batteries and gasoline. The lucky ones had back-up generators. The blackout caused by a falling tree which knocked out three trans- missions lines in Ohio, one of eight U.S. states affected also zapped this provinces supply. Ru- mours ran rampant about terrorists after all it was only two years since the World Trade Centre disas- ter. Next it was thought to be over consumption, which Hydro One had been warning about for days as air conditioners ran 24/7 to combat the sickening heat and humidity. Americans suggested the blackout was a Cana- dian fauxpas. After all they thought the 911 tragedy was due to Canadian neg- ligence in letting terrorists across their border. All bulls, of course, but like weapons of mass destruc- tion in Iraq soaked up by the credulous. An Acton couple, Barb and Chuck Steed, visit- ing New York City when the blackout occurred re- counted their experiences for New Tanner readers the following Thursday a 10 hour scramble to get back from Manhattan to their hotel in New Jersey. In Acton IGA store owner Mike Manes said they lost $25,000 in food including meat, frozen foods, seafood and all the food in the delicatessen. The store was able to use its emergency lighting to let a few customers in on Thursday evening until back-up power for the tills ran out. Friday afternoon when the rolling blackouts hit, shoppers from Erin, Lime- house and Georgetown swamped the store for bread, hamburgers, buns and milk. Other stores had the same experience. Toth Motors on Guelph St. was able to keep their gas pumps with back-up power until about 9p.m. on Thursday. Owner Ray Toth kept his prices the same 73.9 cents a litre. However, the Beaver gas bar on Queen St. jacked up prices to 76.7 cents from 70.5 cents a litre. Bui ld ing P roduc t s , Actons largest industri- al consumer, lost a days production following the outage but was operating at half capacity by the fol- lowing Tuesday. Most people took the emergency in stride but Where were you when the lights went out? with more realization that all the talk about conser- vation had some bases in fact. Said Dan Guatto, Halton Hills Hydros general man- Remember August 14 2003 ager, People tend to take it for granted that you just flip the switch and the lights come on we should, perhaps, be more careful in the way we use it.