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The Acton Press Wed April J Priorities for the north press report of Trustee Watson plea for better school accommodation in North Halton said It raises the ugly head of parochialism something the board has excelled at avoiding during open sessions also suggesting it was his sternest speech in his tenure on the board The editorial observation in the news story did not go unnoticed but it was obvious the reporter missed the facta real shortcomings in the high schools of the north It was not only Mr Watsons privilege but also his duty to point omissions to tho full board and for the public which may not be of them Watson pointed out one of the major objectives of the board was to give equal opportunity to every in County and of course one of the major reasons for disbanding local school boards and amalgamating them into one Halton board was to opportunities Watson presented a six page fact sheet to illustrate his point shortcomings at Acton high school in particular He urged the board to bring in positive plans for a new high school that will give a more equitable solution to the problems of the north than have been seen in the last six Wo dont know what Trustee Watsons broadside but we It had something to do with priorities Ho a suggesting the board should bo doing something about high conditions In Acton they proceed with lavish plans for hoots elsewhere And hes right Hie now Letter Pearson school in Burlington is being built In area which is not yet built up but students at Acton continue to cope with inadequate facilities High schools in Georgetown and Milton are also operating capacity We would think some priorities belong In the north a fact acknowledged by the assistant director of education who reminded the board a report had been commissioned to outline improvements Acton high school But It should go further than a report It should initiate action Watson also said school borders should be drawn more realistically so students in and Nassngaweya could be ac commodated in areas in which they live Any parent who has a child who attends a school entailing long bus rides cant help but agree It also makes economic sense ook for a raise If Halton Hills follows the pattern of most Canadian municipalities property taxes will jump at least per cent and pei ips as much as 25 per cent this year to meet much higher costs The Financial Post is predicting taxes most Canadian cities will probably rise from to per house and the reasons for the tax inuoases are as numerous as the municipalities that have to collect them Every community it seems has the same dismal story Although no concrete information is yet available from Hills which is waiting word from the Board of Education and the Region on the amount they are going to have to fork over there seems to be no doubt among some councillors polled that taxes are on their way up The Posts crosscountry survey shows labor costs are up 15 to 20 per cent education costs have sky rocketed the cost of repairing streets has risen 30 to per cent fuel prices are up 20 per cent and even the cost of all the bureaucratic paper has doubled There is no reason to suppose Halton Hills will escape the effects of a country wide hike in costs although the Finance committee of council last year did very well with the budget they control However consider only about 20 per cent of the budget is controlled at the local level so much is going to depend on spending at the Board of Education and at the Region where forecasts to date are ominous Councillors may still be able to salvage a reasonable budget but it will take a wave of a magic wand Bird sanctuary or no Now the time to settle the nutter of the sanctuary at the lake If the town is to have the wild birds the regulations must be understood made clear For lack of knowledge to result in the comical tragic scenes of the past month is too bad Dozens of ducks liav been trapped and taken remain The pet domestic geese are locked in cages in a countryside barn the mated pair no longer together Dale Gartley agreed their are two alternatives The permit can be revoked Or there can be a few swans few Canada geese and a few tame Mallard There have apparently been far too many birds here for a proper sanctuary Water quality for swimming could suffer too Less worry on skates A to raise money this spring is a commendable idea Abolished are the worries about traffic blisters and cold that accompanied a The worries were the adults not the childrens of course The participants always had a ball But an organized skatathon on the last day of ice in the arena seems a lot less nerve wracking even though it is likely less exciting for the participants The Rotary club is arrangmg the event with the profits going to both the club and schools Need oldtime weather Winter sports fans didnt have the best of seasons although this week snow squalls keep remind ing us winter hasnt gone yet Various winter events especially planned to take ad vantage of the Canadian cold have gone awry due to too mild weather Skiing locally wasnt the best Events planned by conserva tion authorities foundered on bad days The Men just gave up on their snowmobile rally By next year theres a good possibility the multi recreation trails will materialize in this district Plans are being made for publiclyowned land to be used for winter hiking snowshoeing and crosscountry skiing All well need next year is a lower Celsius reading than this years sometimesdisappointing If we are to live in Canadian winters they might as well be cold crisp and sparkling in the spring a young gooses fancy Sugar and Spice by bill smiley This column is being written in con pain It Is caused by one of things but 1 haven lime to sec a doctor because have to write my column So don be surprised if it breaks off In the middle in But don I worry gentle reader It only hurtfl when 1 cough laugh my nose or take a deep breath Possibly it a heart attack which seems to be the current fad among my peers these days snot because I dislike chasing after popular trends On he other hind it may he an attack of pleurisy l have a cough like a lion and am spewing oysters Into tissues toilet paper and the snow depending on when the fit strikes me A third possibility Is that I twisted a muscle in my chest yesterday when I fell on a ski slope and decided to plow Die Inst yards with my nose winding up in contortion of limns that would have made green with envy Personally I subscribe to the third the mainly because it makes mi seem like a clean living chap secondly Ik cause don t like the sound of the other two Is hit fraught At any rale this ominous or silly lit lie pain OUCH I Just sneezed has made me a topic that is all the rage these days corporal punishment In our schools It ft almost as capital punishment for criminals and Is even more widely discussed for while als make up a comparatively small men of our society rotten kids are always there in great numbtrs Usually the business or beating kids is seen in black and white On the one hand you have the fundamentalists who go to the with old chestnut Spare the rod spoil the child These people forget that stvcnl of thi disciples were fishermen and that what this particular one meant was If you don t let the kid use your spare rod in a while he II grow up to be lousy ang ler On the other side ore other trades psychologists who think a kid who is thumped will bo warped for life mothers who read arlicks by psychologists and former child beaters who ire now school And in between as usual are all the confused decent and sensible people like you and and the Moderator of the Unit Church of Canada who thinks the strap should be brought back of course are full of crap in the first group w have people wtoo were whipped unmercifully when they were kids and by some weird type of logic now claim it was good for them They can hardly wait for a get own back And In the second group are all the other people who were whipped unmerci fully when they were kids and arc trying to prove that that is what made them queer ever since I despise both groups and will stick with the great mass in middle Most of us were whipped at one time or another hut not unmercifully and we deserved every stroke of the hairbrush of the yardstick and swish of the willowswitch It warp us psychologically or physically it us something about the society we would be living in that there arc certain limits and If you trans gress them you lake your licks My mother used to work over my kid brother and me about once a week thcr we needed It or not She used fly swatter which has a sting like a scorpion or yardstick if we got under the bod the fly awn Iter t reach It did us no harm whatever and probably saved her sanity The same brother and I were in the same class in school and once a week our teacher Old Mary Walker would give us a good strapping along with a buddy G We thought the world of her The strappings stung but once in a while wed Jerk back our hand and she d hit herself a good crack on the thigh which doubled Ihc Thin only two re sons for tea to us a strap 1 he or is a poor teacher and I to add a littli drama to of the classroom A word the bleeding There ire lot more insidious ways warp a child personality than physical punish The real sadists of the classroom and they ore few thank goodness are those who use personal tonng and sarcasm These do far more permanent damage than a good hump Naturally my sympathies in this affair ore with the teacher I have no time for the bully The teacher with strength of char has few discipline problems Hut what about the sensitive young lady teacher who asks a lout to do something and he says Screw So the punk gets a suspension for a few translation holiday If I had the say I turf him out of school for a year and let his p put up with him It would serve both parlies right J of original lfitrj Battalion The Free Press Back Issues 20 years ago Miss Dorothy None teacher who liven at him samples of her work in a new textbook which has just Immi appro vi A for use In Ontario secondary Plan specifications were submitted on Monday night for he three room ad Ion Acton High school They were approved by the North high school board Tenders arc be opened after April when it Is anticipated plans for Inn two room addition at Milton will be ready for Hie a Inspection education costs Increasing greater outlay for Hi works with sizeable detail items municipal ex pens lo present local rati payer with 1 mill rise for their IWH tax rate this week as night tabled annual budget and fixed rate at mills IV74 rat was mills week Premier announced hat special grants would be made municipalities lo aid in and school affairs The amount lobe given unrwidilionnlly alt Ontario munk was between seven and eight million dollars oldest resident William Main prize is Us jh birthday his on Mill Mr is a great grandfather Is his home but is in events if own 50 years ago Thi- A will J fi Mr 5 the popular diinct will ufnnterjj t t ex be by expert from the artery at be two and fc repealed clock Jimmy Jones ton Mr J ft Jones manager of the was operated I the s Hospital Tororio on and it is hoped that a weeks he will be fully recovered Mr Wilhcms and his daughter Miss Jessie Brock Avenue Intend taking a trip to Scotland this summer They will moke their headquarters with friends in Perth and vicinity The Acton Scout troop acted as hosts to a number of Toronto scouts Including bugle band of the Toronto troop during the day The Toronto contingent arrived in town on the electric cur and paraded to the lotal scout headquarters There the Acton troop under Scoutmaster Joined he parade which marched through the main streets in town until the church hour Mr Jonathan Lone has purchased the new brick cottage on Ave which has been the home of Mr and Mrs the past year 75 years ago Mr Murray McDonald came home last week from Southampton for a few days recuperate On Monday of lasl week while in an elevator at the tannery at South the cables broke and he fell with the cage some forty feet He was badly shaken up but escaped serious injury Mr James Drown of Browns Saw Mills has decided after mature consider to erect and equip a firs I class planing mill sash and door factory In connection with his saw mill A new In ground Door and in second floor will be erected at once and the equipment will Include a fifty horse power engine which will also run the mill Mr Cook and mother Mrs Cool have decided to remove to Grand Rapids Mich about the middle of next month They intend to dispose of their property on Iake Avenue The very interesting letter from Mr J M Moore on our first page was written during the last days of the voyage to South Africa and was posted at Cape Town upon the arrival of the Free Press readers will enjoy this well written letter Mr Kitchen who has had charge of the municipal electric lighting plant here since last April put in his resignation to the Fire and Light Committee last week He leaves today Tor Newmarket where he has secured the position of electrician of the municipal electric lighting plant PICTURES OF the 164th Battalion in World War I have been loaned by Dr A J Buchanan He and his comrades from Grand Valley are included in the picture He knows there are Acton men there too but he cannot identify them Can anyone else give the names of the Acton soldiers for the record THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Business and Editorial Office Mil ta mm Dm Mrt