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18 suffer overdose following Acton drug theft By Linda Kirby Halton Regional Police are linking a recent theft of an estimated value of prescription drugs with a drug overdose involving North Halton students Police report following a break and enter at Acton Pharmacy in the early morning hours of Thursday eight Acton juveniles were taken to Georgetown District Hospital suffering drug effects We suspect the drugs involved were the same pills taken from the drug store said Sergeant Keith Robertson head of the Regional Police criminal investigations branch in Georgetown The following morning a school bus load of Acton and Milton students travelling to General Brock High School arrived with 10 students sick Burlington police stated they suspect the high school students received pills taken from the pharmacy break When the bus arrived at school some were violently sick and approximately 10 were taken to hospital said a Burlington police spokesman All students taken to Georgetown District Hospital and Joseph Brant Hospital have been released police said Police are withholding the names of those students who suffered drug effects owing to the fact they were juveniles Two Acton juveniles have been charged in the incident according to Milton police youth officer Bill Riddle He said further charges are pending investigation An investigation is underway by Halton Regional Police detectives and Milton and Burlington Police youth bureaus to determine how the pills made their way into the hands of the students According to Sergeant Robertson police have not recovered all drugs taken in the pharmacy theft Drugs believed still in dilation include an estimated capsules of Serax Sergeant Robertson described the pill as similar to Valium and possibly fatal if taken in any quantity or with alcohol Other stolen drugs included Hycon and a cough syrup remedy with codeine Police have charged two Acton people with the break in at Acton Pharmacy Return Drug charge One Hundred anil Fourth YearNo ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY MARCH 1979 Twenty PagesTwenty Cents trial Region joins town in losing venture By Rod Lamb He said the decision to Hallon will support put the corridor through Halton Hills has already been made and to appeal is useless The nutter of consent is launching an appeal tetwwn The appeal is with re- fighting the corridor to the Ontario Mr Booth it is Municipal Board allow going to cost another Ontario Hydro to ex tend a power corridor through Hills to Milton approved the Why should appeal despite advice it mora money down the would lose Councillors were told last week the region has more than a per cent chance of winning the appeal The opinion was ex pressed by a represents live of the region legal Churchill ltd vile favored the appeal We should continue to support she said Just your team is losing is no reason withdraw the team She she felt the Ontario government has no control over Ontario Hydro McLean Anderson opposed the appeal He said council is rid in ft a rocking horse He said the previous council was sucked in to fighting the corridor Now that the has ruled it is time to get off the rocking horse Mayor said the Ontario government Involved with egg over its face This route is the wrong location He said the provincial government doesn care but the town does So should the region The motion carried Apartment blaze department Council was informed appeals from OMB arc not being ap proved by the provincial government is confined to a clothes basket in a closet of the apartment of Robert He Justice has little to do said the fire wilh appeals The com men was made by Oak Mayor Harry Bar rett He was one of a number of councillors who spoke Hilts Mayor Peter favored the appeal He said the town had agreed to appeal The man in the street should be backed he said I think there is a place for the small person Mayor said the town believed a big corporation be allowed to throw its weight around Milton Mayor Don Gor don said he was suspic ious of hydro a intentions He said most of the a fourplex levy power system is already from SI lo in place Only the section and cacti apart in Halton Hills remained ment unit of three storeys Residents of 200 explained a rag which hud lien covered in fluid caused combustion causing the clothes in the basket one was home the lime if the m in Mr Holmes said 1 discovered upon residents re turn Ik said there wis ceived a rather rude awakening early Monday morning when fire broke nut on the fourth floor of their apartment building Tire chief Mick Holme Lot levies up 41 per cent Lot levies will be in rreasurer Kay King creased per cent said the levies art in line rctroactivetoJanuary if wilh of council goes along w Ih a and Burlington recommendition made by Hills committee Monday night The loi levies art tied increases in the Southam Construction index and go up iceord The lot levy on a single family house will now from way of knowing how long it had been smouldering said Firefighters re moved the basket from he building and used fans to clear the smoke from the apartment Mr Holmes assured the Free Press had it been a blaze requiring hoses and additional fire figh 1 1 nc equipment local teal Centre with a colorful handmade bookcase some books and toys for he waiting roam Bowers left and Paula right were on hand for the presentation while office re Stella accepts the gift Photo by HELEN MURRAY An Acton man was one of three committed to trial on a drug trafficking charge after a twoday preliminary hearing at Provincial March date has been set trial on a charge ff Icklng four ounces for Geoffrey Dubois 33 Acton William Hunt Id wood and John iSwackhammcr accord RCMP drug squad Fred Dubois and Mr also appeared last at Burlington Court to set a for a preliminary on charges of 11 racy to Import conspiracy to cocaine and ilracy to traffic in I according to the three men and tour were arrested by provincial and Peel police following a four month undercover investigation The arrests were made in December Police alleged the men were part of a drug smuggling ring with Brazilian connections Regon spurs Halton business by Denis Gibbons and Milton Region plans to Local Input firefighters would have establish economic According to Bill Mar been more than capable committees In each of shall director of business 1 handling it Hoses and l3 municipalities as development for the Re equipment are able to part of a program to reach five floors and u business and create each floor of the build jobs in the 1980s ore with Regional Chairman individual extinguishers Jack told the Burl permit plained In 1977 and we only million Land bonking revealed the Region investigating the feaslbi of industrial land banking in both Burling ton and so that serviced land would be be settled Thus to appeal is a lost cause he said Not every councillor from Halton Hills was In favor of appealing Roy Booth was op posed He said he fought the appeal at town council He lost He said he was fighting It at regional council Again as events proved he lost He said Hydro had readj built the towers in the corridor They ore not going to be torn down or less now pays levy of Si up from SI High density ment of more than three will pay 1 per unit up from A graph included in the report to council of the Con on cost index shows materials rose from an index of to from January of 1978 to January of 1979 During the same period wages rose from 192 2 to 197 making the com posite index for construe tion costs up from to by the middle of January this year Chamber of Com last Thursday that will need the committees are being created provide input from local tries and assist in the respective Com munities with prospective investors said the new Jobs jobs by an increase will be necessary because of per cent over the more of the female Two radio base stations present figure of population arc moving in the fire department Burlington now has its into the work force there radio system will be re- own mayors advisory are 3 people under the placed committee and Oakvillc age of unable to find work and of its Chamber of Com population could Increase Acton is not working by over the next present so the purchase surfacing machine will Committees appointed eight years necessary lmmed be bought to replace one by the mayor of each We will have to get condition which municipality will be investment activity up to would have cost a day formed in Hills million in building Hills general to rent chairman ready for prospcctivi Replace equipment after breakdown committee agreed with the urgency of the and authorized the purchase which had al According to Fire Chief Mick Holmes the system Similarly an ice re vel ope He said he expects to million to go into the Re gions capital budget for that purpose said over industrial commercial developers are working now to attract businesses to and that Mar shall has been In future said he d like to spend per cent of his time working with Marshall on Indus trial development up the industrial develop ment department by transferring two cm ployces from planning predicted 1 100 budget to do his structi on of the new Cam own selling The Region has already sent out brochures 400 firms in the Metro Tor onto area and plans to make a pitch large industries in the Chicago Raftis said the regions of Peel and Hamilton Went worth arc spending a lot more money than on industrial development bridge Mall in Oakvill will cost Burlington million in department store type merchandise trade Indicate that Burlington residents ready spend 50 million in DSTM trade outside of the city Another study revealed that only per cent of Burlington residents actually work in the city Border plazas help Bolton depends on who is talking Identification bureau Staff Sergeant Dave lifts print from the door used by thieves Tor a break and entry at the Acton Pharmacy lam week A man and a woman have been charged as well a pair of juveniles In the drug theft bvEricEtstone La dawn Shopping Centres Ltd developer Jerry Sprackman claims a store on Acton eastern border will not adversely affect the downtown He invited people to check the effects on other towns where his plazas have been built One such place Is Bolton about miles east of town where Highway meets the River Henry Joseph one of Mr consultants indicated Bolton benefits from the Zehrs and other stores in the plaza The Store at Bolton up graded its facilities and the Red and White is doing fine according to Mr Joseph Doing fine depends on who is talking My business dropped off per cent over the first six months Bolton Red and White Store manager Gene said in a telephone inter view last week What does he Joseph classify as doing fine said Mr We re hanging in there Bolton IGA manager John Killeen said The IGA store is apposite on the south end of Bolton The older part town is nestled in the river valley Plaza developments including Zehrs and Bolton population is about but the official plans envisage about twice that number of people Nat all storekeepers agree with the glum picture drawn by the food stores Downtown Business Men Association president Larry said he has no doubts about the effects of Mr s efforts We are particularly Mr said With the exception of the IGA everyone has benefitted said the association president Its kept people shopping here Groceries and other shopping provides fuller service Mr runs a book store in downtown Bolton Mr Nelles went on to say the Red and White store had to pull up its socks He also said he has never met Mr Sprackman Grocery shopping in Bolton before was just too expensive acknowledged Mr Even his wife shopped for food at Brampton Association vicepresident John Davidson Home Hardware also said the plaza is not affecting the downtown The hardware is In Bolton down town Bolton downtown business association has the increase in business downtown as Its mam purpose This year Mr said the groups name will be changed to drop the downtown so that the association includes stores up the hill The plaza Is one of four added onto Bolton southern end They straddle Highway 50 Development is the south because the land is zoned commercial and because there is not too much room in the valley Much of the valley land is also in the flood plain of the Humber River so that no construction is carried out there Bolton merchants have taken steps to provide parking downtown However there are plans to widen Highway to four lanes through the town The widening will eliminate much of the parking on the downtown core In addition to the Zehrs food store there are eight shops in Mr s plaza at Bolton One is empty but there is a Toronto Dominion Bank travel agency hair stylist cleaners restaurant drug store and a The exterior of the single storey plaza is brick and wood In the parking lot there is a gas bur and photo store The IGA and Red and White store people were divided as to whether Mr Sprackman plaza has drawnshoppers to Bolton The plaza according to Red and White Mr Bid mell has made a more cut throat market and has not necessarily meant a decrease in prices IGA Mr Killeen said he did not doubt the Zehrs store has brought people into the Bolton area but from what he has heard from other store owners the additional people have not translated into business for the established stores Calcdon town planner John Stevens whose authority includes Bolton is of the opinion the lime is too soon to tell the effect of the Zehrs plaza on the town Mr Stevens indicated he would like to wait until two years after the opening of the plaza until it and its clients become established before carrying out a study Halton Hills council recently voted against the proposed plaza by Mr Sprackman The proposed plaza would include a and eight other stores to be located on Highway and Churchill Road South The proposal was deemed premature in Halton Hills and Mr Sprackman is appealing to a the highway which also runs through the heart of higher authority the Ontario Municipal Board