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

THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009 6 Distributed to every home in Acton and area, as well as adjoining communities. 373 Queen Street East, Unit 1 Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 email: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com (519) 853-0051 Fax: (519) 853-0052 Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a claim is made within five days of publication. All articles, advertisements and graphic artwork appearing in The New Tanner is copyrighted. Any usage, reproduction or publication of these items, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher of The New Tanner is a copyright infringement and subject to legal action. Publisher Ted Tyler Editor Emeritus Hartley Coles Editor Frances Niblock Editorial Contributors Mike OLeary Angela Tyler Rebecca Ring Advertising and Circulation Marie Shadbolt Composing Ken Baker Coles Slaw with Hartley Coles Recently, a local councillor asked me if it appeared Halton Hills Coun- cil was all singing out of the same song book (almost wrote hymn). Acknowledged that sometime it does seem as if they are all of the same mind on one issue or another. However, my experience of over two decades covering municipal councils, has been the opposite. Depending on a councils make-up theyre usually a disparate bunch, reflecting just about every point of view on most issues of any import- ance. Sometimes theres a maverick amongst them that keeps things interesting. The local councillor explained that the appearance of unanimity on the issues was the result of hashing out the issues at committee meet- ings where all points of view are exchanged. It makes sense and saves a lot of councils time when theres a regular meeting, where time is often at a premium. Council no longer resembles these when every town and township had their own mayor, reeve, deputy reeve and a slate of councillors who could cover all the business every two weeks, or in the case of rural municipalities, once a month. The business is much more com- plex and covers a lot more ground. It was a simpler time and really grass roots. In my reporting career I covered township councils as different as Esquesing, Eramosa, Erin and Nassagaweya, the latter only a few times, but it gave me a pretty good grasp of things in the rural areas around Acton. I also spent innumerable hours in the old Acton town hall covering Acton Council, most of them under the mayoralty of the late Les Duby. When we moved into regional government as the Town of Halton Hills, I was privileged to cover the growing pains of the new municipality. In view of the rivalry between Acton and Georgetown and George- town-leaning Esquesing, one would have expected a David and Goliath contest. However there was a tacit agreement among the mayor and councillors that Acton issues would be handled mainly by their local representatives as would Esquesing and Georgetowns. Of course, after a while, the preponderance of votes from Georgetown and area swayed decisions to the point where Actons last mayor, Les Duby, said Acton had made a mistake by agreeing to the merger into Halton Hills. Its my impression after over 35 years of Halton Hills that much of the disagreement that plagued those first few years has been solved especially since most of the issues are not Town-wide instead of pecu- liar to the borders of the older municipalities. I believe it is also due to the quality of the people we have chosen to represent us at the council table. With the odd mistake, of course. If anyone asked me what was the most interesting of the rural councils I was privileged to cover, I would have to put Esquesing at the head of the list, followed closely by Eramosa. Esquesing Council was domin- ated by a triumvirate of three men, all of them now deceased George Currie, George Leslie and the clerk, K.C. Lindsay. The two Georges, it was rumoured, used to decide among themselves who would run for reeve each year when they had to face the elector- ate. K.C. Lindsay was the balance and a reservoir of the history of the township and municipal law. Later, the personnel changed as Tom Hill, Russ Miller and Pat Patter- son were elected to office. Pat Patterson, youll remember was the top referee in the Ontario Hockey League for many years. He wasnt par- ticularly liked in Acton due to his decision in an Intermediate hockey playoff between Acton and Georgetown to penalize Acton defenceman George (Pordge) Riddell with only a few minutes left in a tie game. Georgetown went on to win the series by a goal and a suspicion was aroused that since Patterson lived in the Norval area and reportedly rode to the game with Norval players on the Georgetown team, he was giving Acton the old razoo. No matter he was an effective councillor. Eramosa Township? It was true grass roots under reeves such as War- ren Parkinson, whose ethical leadership impressed me at a time when some councillors were cooking expense accounts and were difficult to deal with. But thats another story for another time. To the editor On behalf of Acton Legion and Mike Atkinson, I would like to thank Mr. Ted Tyler and the staff of The New Tanner for the splendid job they did by publishing the pictures of our comrades who gave their all for us and their country. Considering the short time they Dear Editor, Heritage Acton is in the final stages of restor- ing the former Acton Town Hall after many years of planning. Community theatre, live perform- ances and concerts will be available as a positive alternative to driving elsewhere. Kudos to Heritage Acton. The drawkiln in Limehouse is nearing its final stages of reconstruction along with interpretive signage that will give the viewer a detailed history of the lime industry as it existed in Limehouse dur- ing the 19th century. This project was taken on by the Limehouse Kiln Society to highlight early in- dustrial history in Ontario. Kudos to the Limehouse Kiln Society. The Deveraux House on Trafalagar Road has been restored and preserved as an example of Victorian architecture in this area. The Georgetown Soccer Club utilizes this space as well for their organiza- tion. Kudos to the Friends of the Deveraux House. The latest good news story is that of Scotsdale Farm north of Silver Creek. Ontario Heritage Trust has been able to access monies to begin the chal- lenge of preserving the homestead as well as the farm buildings. Trees are being trimmed; buildings are receiving a fresh coat of paint; windows are be- ing replaced and the well has been restored. Kudos to Ontario Heritage Trust. There is much to celebrate. Heritage is alive and well in Halton Hills. Mary Shier Limehouse had, and the amount of work ne- cessary to accomplish it; They do indeed deserve our praise. A reader will note that not all the names on the Cenotaph are represented by a picture; it is our sincere hope that with the help of the community we can rectify this in the future. Anyone who can contribute to this end in any way is asked to contact me (Bob Doyle) at 519- 853-2325. We are also looking for pictures of those local cit- izens who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Korean War. Thank you, Bob Doyle. Legion says thank you Heritage is Alive and Well in Halton Hills MILITARY MARCHES: Under the leadership of Acton Citizens Band Bandmaster Dr. George Elliott, the band played a series of military marches at a Remembrance Day concert on Sunday at Bethel Christian Reformed Church to honour the services and veterans. Frances Niblock photo