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

Meet Ministry push Sr Citizen housing here A meeting is being arranged for Monday after noon in the town offices to discuss the planned senior citizens apartments in Acton Officials of the Ontario Housing Corporation will attend the meeting with clllors and others to discuss the building or the units on Elizabeth Councillors who had had assurances the units would be built soon began to realize two weeks ago there could be a snag in their hoped for accommodation The second building for low income housing has been in the works for three or four years However councillor Lea heard from several applicants who were very concerned since they had been asked if they would be wilting to accept STALLED TRUCK WAS CUT in two by passing tram in Rock assistance when the collision further details see wood Tuesday Nobody was hurt in the accident The driver of Tram crunches stalled truck on page B6 in the second Series of the truck David Douglas was in Northern Stag phoning for section questions which is resulting in a rash of phone calls this week and the subsequent meeting Councillor Pat just back from Florida on the weekend was also very con corned when he learned of the unexpected turn of events He too got right on the phone to find out what happening Thi two councillors now have the impression Acton being required to prove a need for the units here Georgetown first Construction is due to start on units in Georgetown this month Councillor Duby questions the need of filling the units in Georgetown before considering Acton Why should we suffer if the requirement has in Georgetown he wants to know He thinks if not all the units arc needed in Georgetown the building Twenty two pages Fifteen cents ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY MARCH 1977 One Hundred and Second Year Number BP closes pipe plant 30 employee off Building Products of Canada Limited an Thursday that effective from March 31 it will cease the manufacture and marketing of plastic pipe and fittings its Acton plant on Main St The announcement was made by Brian plant manager of the division In making the announce ment Mr said that employees by this re the company had suffered organization significant losses in thi plastic pipe business over the past several years He pointed out that current forecasts of future demand and prices for these products were not en raging and that losses could be expected to continue Accordingly A hock It says union president Hector Daigle The 72 men and three woman in un on have sun their ranks decline in recent years The union is presently try to get everybody situated RUBY HANSEN cuddles Gregory Harmon at Acton Ys Kiddie Club on Friday The club could become a monthly event License lineups avoided this year operation at the Acton facility p seniority wise and will be discontinued departments This This will mean Mr Lock shifting will leave about for hart added that the present facilities would fully be needed engaged in the manufacture of arc taking vinyl siding severance pay and leav This closeout of the plastic pipe operation is expected to others are being shifted to mean the lay off of jobs for a while As well producing Canada Manpower has been machines the machine shop requested by thc Company to and lab will close down The cut down in numbers occurs in four stages on March May and July 12 and October By then the number or people in thc union They belong to local of Urn ltd Workers of an international union Alter announcement of thi closing uas made last Thursday morning the union a membership meeting at thi Legion in afternoon The union members questioned company officials on the changes Apparently there are no jobs available for them at the division of Building Products where the manufacturing operation Mr said the cm ployecs wen told that of 134 plastic pipe plants in Canada only one broke even last year Alternatives were discussed such as renting part of the building but the alternatives didn sound hopeful Mr said Building Products head office is in Montreal It Is a Acton managed to escape the crushing lineups which were common in Toronto Monday at licence renewal stations Edwin Watson who runs the Motor Vehicle Bur in said thai publicity helped to case the load The biggest day for the office was Friday when applications were processed Only people renewed their licences in the first month a half they were avail able load was spread out over the last few days this year instead of all coming on the final day We bam running three to four thou sand dollars a day for the last few weeks said Mr Watson Mr Watson pointed out that there is a fine as of Tuesday If the new sticker is not on your car now In thc glove com doesn t count he said It has to be on thc car Water project jumps 69000 EDWIN WATSON Citizens of Acton won go short of water this summer providing construction of a new piping station and mam go as planned but they II pay more than was earlier pated to have the work done Tenders for construe lion of a pumping station and a 12 inch watermuin came in at over the 1974 male The total of Ihe work will run to Regional Director or Works Bob Moore said there was a definite need for the additional water for the town and the job would have to be done soon to prevent water shortages this summer The region will have logo to thc Ontario Municipal Board for approval to debenture the additional Chief Administrative Officer e said the work would be paid from the Acton Water Rates and noted those rates would definitely have to be increased to pay for this and other projects in the town division of Imperial Oil which is owned by Standard Oil of New Jersey Laid off employees will have a hard time getting work according to Nancy Evans of thc Canada Manpower Centre She explained that the job market is very slow at present time and said one of the reasons is because so many factories are laying off workers Mrs continued to say that usually in the spring the job rate is up but this year is an exception This is happen ing all over she says not just locally She suggested that laid off workers go to the Can a da Manpower Centre in Acton to see what Jobs are available on Fridays between and330pm About 30 people lost their jobs last December when United Carr closed down its operation after 16 years in Acton Plant manager Ernie Parker said at the time that competition high rales of pay and internal problems killed us Pepsi gives clock should be reduced in size and the one in Acton built at the same time It too could be built in two parts if the requirements call for fewer units He points out he was already told this could be done Approved In August of 1975 Ha It on Hills council approved the Ministry of Housing recom for 33 units in There are units already in town on Cobblehill Georgetown already has 74 units and the building due to start this month to have units The Georgetown ap plication was first The Georgetown building has suffered from delays but is expected work will begin there soon Acton councillors assured their colleagues on council that units in could be filled I was confident that by fall wc would have people in their apartments looking over the lake said councillor Duby Tuesday However thc Ministry of Housing now apparently thinks otherwise Gordon Hickory manager of special projects for Ontario Housing in Toronto had in dicated to council the depart ment would be making ap plication to the planning department and would pro ceed However the councillors have been given the im department feels need for the Acton unit should be proven before con struction starts of the Hallon Hills planning department suggested to the Free Press that the Ministry is looking on Hills as a unit and wishes to fill up one building before proceeding with the second one The high rise building in Georgetown is first on the list Planner Mario says the Mmislry has not yet applied for rezoning as he had ex As far as the planning department is concerned all requirements have now been met A land exchange has been effected between Rugby Construction and Lou neltc and the land has been purchased by Ontario Housing The planning department had expected the application for rezoning and that con struction would begin soon this year We re all set says Mr Venditli There would be no delay as far as council Is concerned No late list who have applied in thc past few years for hous ing are listed but since their original applications the situation has changed for some of them There is no up- to date list of applicants Laura of Housing Corporation Oak who visited some of the applicants here says that few or the people she spoke to wished to move to George town Housing Cor poration is a recendyor office which ad ministers senior citizens housing in the region manager of Housing explains his office is still getting es tablished and maybe there has been a mlsunder standing Mr Hickory of Ontario Housing has said it is not a matter of money Mr McKenzie reported to the Free Press The Department Continued on page two St Josephs K to 8 assured FIRST PRINCIPAL of the new St Joseph School will be Sean Bnggs presently cipal of St Joseph s in Oakville Between and children were registered for St Joseph separate school last Thursday at St Josephs church Combined with the children whose parents have already made a commitment they make a total of 111 who will attend the first Roman Catholic school in Separate school director of education Cliff Byrne said registration is higher than expected Since there are about 18 boys and girls registered for grades seven and eight these classes will be Included in the new school It had been fell originally that the- school would only go from kinder garten to grade six However there arc enough students to make a viable program Mr Byrne told the Free Press Tuesday He will recommend to thc board that all grades be Included The new principal is con all the parents con corned The school in the old stone school at the Robert Little school site will open In the fall By then Ihe senior dents from Robert Little will be attending the new middle school Acton arena will have a new sports timer ments of Kitchener Beverage Co Pepsi tola if council accepts a Hills fin anccadminlstratlon com mlttee recommendation made Monday night Recreation Director Glen Gray said there would be no advertising on thc clock He pointed out new cable and Continued on page two Youll pay 20 more for education The average Acton tax payer could pay between 84 and more IhTs year in education taxes If Board of Education ratifies a proposed million budget Ratepayers in Eiquesing could pay any where from to more in education taxes this year Average assessment Is in and in Thursday board finance committee unveiled budget which bowl Vice Chairman Noel Cooper predicted would add 3 to mills to the tax bills m this year He said committee had limited ihe mill- rate hike us much as possible and taken current economic conditions and financial restraints into Is the lowest figure ughl we could bring In into account all facets of ur complex system Die proposed budget colls for the hoard to spend nearly million more than last year In s education system cost 380 while it is ex pected to cost this year Thc budget Is up 12 per cent As usual greatest portion of the will be spent In area Instruction which Includes teachers and principals wages fringe benefits and oilier items con netted with classroom Instruction costs have gone up from lo It will account 72 per cent of the bain budget Operation of the schools will take up per cent of the Iward budget and will cost in 1977 year school operation Debt charges have gone up only slightly from S 921 to This ex pcndllurc is 7 per cent of the total budget Thc cost of transportation will go up In while capital expenditures have risen by Maintenance of schools has gone up from the cost in and business administration will cost 104 more this year Educational services such as supplies services and staff for libraries audio visual services guidance and support staff will cost more In 1977 than In Attendance health and food service costs are expected to be up this year Continued on page two SCUBA TREK club divers made their first winter dive of the year Sunday afternoon at Fairy Lake The first to go down into the frigid black water were Dan Hewitt Glen Williams and Dave Hannah Acton Six divers took their turn as shivering spectators ringed the hole cut in the