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THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2007 THE NEW TANNER 7 GRAPEVINE with Mike OLeary The Way I See It Limehouse celebrates Limehouse is celebrating 150 years of existence with a celebra- tion this weekend at Limehouse Memorial Hall from 10am to 10pm. Therell be displays in the hall and at Limehouse Presbyterian Church from 10am to 5pm, an historical presentation and walks including a history of Limehouse by Jean Somerville at 2:30 p.m, and histo- rian Mark Rowe is conducting short walking tours from the hall from 1pm to 4pm. Guided tours of the village in a wagon ride though the village will include various points of interest, Theres a bake table in the hall at 10am and a barbecue from 11am to 7pm, a coffee house with Bob Gee and friends from 7pm 10pm. Sunday at 9:30am Rev, Dr. Jim Cooper will conduct a church service at historic Limehouse Pres- byterian Church at the corner of 22 Side Road and the Sixth Line, There will be refreshment following the service. Another wrinkle: Halton Sketches Revisited which contains informa- tion about Limehouse will be on sale as pen and ink sketches by Robert Law. Everyone is invited to celebrate the 150 years of the historic vil- lage and how it evolved from when Limehouse quarries and 10 lime kilns hired hundreds of men around the clock. The kilns in Limehouse ceased production in 1918 as World War I ended and the cost of fuel for the old kilns became unprofitable. Still some room There are still a few spaces avail- able for foursomes at the Three Musketears golf tournament on Saturday, August 25 at Acton Golf Course on the Dublin Line N. Fees are $90.00, which include 18 holes of golf, golf cart and barbecue dinner. Theres a fun scramble for- mat and a shotgun start, prizes for the longest drive and closest to the pin for both men and women. All proceeds go towards the upkeep and upgrades to the Three Musketears Skateboard Park. For information call Cathy Ever- son at 519-853-2151. New Constable Acton Village Constable Rob Felske is transferring from his role in Acton to the Street Crime Unit of Halton Police Services. His replace- ment will be Constable Chris Borak who will start in September. More details later. Beach Safe Believe it or not the old beach in Prospect Park in Acton has been de- clared safe for swimming following six weeks of poor water conditions. Beach water samples taken on August 14 by Halton Health Dept. revealed the beach had acceptable levels of bacteria. The Kelso Conservation Area in Milton and two beaches in both Oakville and Burlington were also declared safe. Only the Coronation Park East beach in Oakville failed the test. No reason was given for the sudden change in water quality. Parkway Open. Remember the road that went nowhere James Snow Parkway? Halton Region has announced the opening of two lanes of the Parkway (Regional Rd. 4) between Main St, and Derry Rd. (Regional Rd. 7) in Milton completing a north-south thoroughfare in Mitlon. All four lanes of the Parkway between Main and Derry are sched- uled to be open by November of this year. Brit cars on display British cars from the pre-war era to the present day will be showcased at Halton Region Museum grounds in Kelso Conservation Park in Mil- ton this Sunday, Aug 26 from 11 am to 4pm. This years crowd-pleasers are two Rolls Royces and a 1978 drop- head Cornishe said Tony Fox of the British Saloon Car Club of Canada. According to the Club has a wide variety of vehicles including Wol- seleys, Rileys, Hillmans, Austins, Rovers and Morrises. These cars are all saloons - a British English term for sedan. The British Saloon Car Club of Canada, established in 1994, boasts approximately 540 members worldwide who are passionate about these lesser known British cars. The Club hosts its display for the general public at the Halton Region Museum each year. Entry to the display is free. Fair Parade Word from the Acton Fall Fair Parade committee is a rumour that the annual parade will be cancelled this year because of construction on Main St.is not true. The official opening of the fair usually follows the parade which has been a popular fixture for decades. Mill St. closing An emergency meeting between the Town, King construction compa- ny and members of Acton BIA was take place last night (Wednesday) to discuss the continuing closing of Mill St. from Willow to Main. Merchants thought the block would only be closed for one day after the Leathertown Festival but theres been continuing closures which have affetced business. One merchant declared she had only one customer in the store all day Monday. The signs of summer are fading fast. The Ex opened last Friday. Its getting dark earlier and earlier each day. Theres a definite nip in the air in the evenings. Back to school ads flood the airwaves and clog our blue boxes. In another week or so Jerry Lewis will be screaming at us from the TV about defeating Mus- cular Dystrophy. A worthy cause no doubt. I shudder and shiver to think we face another long, dark, cold winter. There is one event which we can all look forward to. In October, we get to go back to go back to the polls to vote for the next provincial government. Oh Goody! The race, if you can call it that, has been mostly ignored though the summer. And most people say there is no God. Dalton McFibber has been flit- ting about he province spending money like its yours. Actually, it is yours! And because of all the lar- gesse, we are supposed to forget the duplicity demonstrated throughout this term. As if! The N.D.P. and the Green Party are out there doing something. Im not sure what because I pay little or no attention to them. Im sure, thought, that the socialists amongst us and the tofu munchers, plus the Birkenstock brigades, are hanging on every word. At the risk of being a realist my friends, Shangri La is an imaginary state. John Tory has been busy on the bar-b-que and rubber chicken circuit, federal and provincial political party leaders must have cast iron stomachs. Well leave an analysis of whats in their heads for closer to the election. The one issue that is currently smoldering is Torys promise to extend provincial funding to faith based schools. Judging from the letters Ive seen in the papers lately this issue is being fanned by those opposed and will likely erupt into an inferno around mid- September. Only two school systems are cur- rently funded from the general tax base. Those being the public and separate (what an unfortunate name) boards. The public school system goes back to Canadas earliest years but was once religious-based. The separate system was guaranteed in Upper Canada in the B.N.A Act. So please, lets not fight that battle all over again. Tory proposes to extend provin- cial funding to Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and other schools. Im not sure what the plans are for secular private schools but Im sure theyll be lined up for a piece of the pie. Regular readers will know that Im a product of the separate school sys- tem. In my day, only grade schools were supported from the tax base and only those taxes from separate school supporters were allocated to the Catholic grade schools. The few Catholic high schools in Toronto charged tuition just like any other private schools. That usually meant that separate schools were usually short of amenities like libraries and gymnasiums. I can still remember that my tu- ition to Michael Power High School was $150 per year. A lot of money in those days, My arrangements with my parents was that they would pay for my school uniform but I was responsible for the tuition, Part time jobs for kids in Etobi- coke were few and far between so I ended up as a caddy at Islington Golf Course. My pay was $3-$4 for 18 holes. Rainy days were a financial disaster. After a couple of year I managed to get hired by the greenskeeper mostly because I has been driving a tractor since I was 10 or 11 on my uncles farm. I made the grand sum of $1.15 per hour. I was in the tall cotton then. I tell you all this so you can know that, no matter what the perception is these days, Catholic education wasnt always free from 1867 through to today. In fact The Bride and I would have had to pay tuition after grade 10 for our oldest daughter to continue at Bishop Mac in Guelph. Fortunately, the grant system changes and her last three years at Bishop Mac were funded by the province. My advice to parents of children attending secular schools in this area is basically beware of Greeks bearing gifts. Looking back, I think the biggest mistake Catholic schools made was agreeing to the conditions proposed by the educrats at Queens Park. We lost control of our schools and in my opinion, our children have paid the price. Many of my friends sent their children to Catholic schools be- cause they thought the standards were higher and the discipline was tighter. Thats not true any longer. The curriculum is dictated, and thats the right word, by the Board of Education. Teachers have to fol- low the guidelines. The matter of discipline is bounded by societys attitude as a whole and the fact that todays children are all civil rights lawyers in training. Again, the province and the local board have so many rules regarding discipline, and what con- stitutes discipline, most teachers I know just ignore all but the most serious cases. When funding was accepted by most Catholic boards only two schools in Toronto opted out. St. Mikes and De La LaSalle refused the funding option and today they still have more applicants than spaces available. I suppose what I am saying is, if you accept government funding and expect to still be able to run your schools as you se fit, well, youre dreaming in techincolour. Been there, done that, got the T- shirt and video. Theres an old saying in busi- ness; caveat emptor, Let the buyer beware. When dealing with the government, any government, that should be your guiding prin- ciple. Caution is strongly advised Whats Your Beef? Put it in a letter to the Editor! Deadline is Tuesday at noon. CHONG MEETS WITH COUNCIL: Wellington-Halton Hills MP Mike Chong met with Guelph/Eramosa council last week to discuss issues such as agriculture, population growth and public transit. See story on page 12 -Rebecca Ring Photo