Trio Acton Press Wednesday April 9 Founded In Press is Inland slung L irbn l which include Tho sit Tl Guardian Tho Tin Si lion Clio on News En Week haw Don McDonald Publisher nil com thai n by together with a not ho flod for but iha adven II bo In a or or may bo Bold on olio- EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor Eric Sport Wa in Contributor Darkroom Kon ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT It Cook Salsa for Burr Clmilllod BUSINESSACCOUNTING OFFICE OHIcoMnnagar I Shiny Jocquo CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT TELEPHONE 2010 Business and Editorial Office Shameful no aid for Hellers The industry development bureaucrats at Queens Park and in Ottawa should be hanging their heads in shame The treatment and assistance given Frank Heller and Co Ltd the firms bid to expand and create jobs in Acton was nothing short of disgraceful Lake all small businesses and industry in Canada Hellers was behind the eight ball just about from the beginning this winter as far as expansion was concerned Interest rates have been on the rise for several months now al most in step with borrowing rate hikes south of the border and are now climbing weekly without so much as a hint of help for beleaguered homeowners small businesses and manufacturers from the new government in Ottawa The current economic climate of little growth rising inflation energy costs poised to soar and rapidly rising interest rates are enough discouragements to ex pansion Despite these economic woes Hellers was willing to proceed with their expansion plans But the lack of real help not just tip service but real assist ance from the two senior levels of government shot Hellers plans down Help from Ottawa and the prov ince was virtually In his statement to this news- paperone of Hellers ownersFred cites two examples of government assistance for firms not nearly as deserving Hellers with their recent track record were a much better risk of taxpayers dollars than the two industrial development assist ance examples reported Governments are gambling with our money and not examining the odds of success closely enough Another thing both Ontario and Canadian governments talk a lot about boosting Canadian owned business and industry Its obvious they blew a good chance in Acton Hellers found money lenders dont want to risk their funds on industrial growth in Acton If this area is a depressed one economically then why arent governments giving the kind of breaks for development here that they offer in areas farther from Metro Toronto Is Acton be ing penalized just because it is in the Toronto centred region Dawkins notes Hellers plans would have created about 125 new jobs enhanced Canadian exports bolstered the faltering local ind ustnal base and cut the im portation of one type of leather thus improving our distressing balance of payments situation And to boot Hellers is totally Canadian owned All the benefits of expansion would have rem ained in Canada mostly in Acton says it all when he notes our expansion would cr eate jobs increase exports and help reduce imports hardly at tractive goals for a Canadian held company to pursue With things like what Hellers have gone through a far too com is it little wonder this country finds itself in such an economic mess Why have governments made it impossible for a small Canadian company to obtain the crucial aid they need without having some available to devote months and months to securing the financial help How can a company tend to keeping their ship afloat in these perilous economic times and still find the time to chase bureaucrats and slash through layer upon lay er of red tape says government platitudes we have heard promising to stimulate employ ment reduce imports stimulate employment and promote Canadian ownership are as usual merely political promises Isnt it the truth And if it isnt the norm then Ottawa and Queens Park sure missed the boat this time To make matters worse not only will a local firm not take over the empty plant and create two building openings for some new entrepreneurs but Hellers may have to leave Acton someday so they can finally consolidate their operations What could have been a boost to the local economy and create many new jobs here may well turn out to be a new economic blow and loss of more jobs Judds remarks disturbing Its disturbing to hear any teacher suggest maybe students should be failed for missing classes due to a teacher strike However it is much more shocking a development when one considers that idea came from a Halton teacher their colleagues in many other boards high school teachers are frustrated by con tract this year But for people entrusted with developing the minds which will someday chart the course of this nation to suggest using students as pawns in their bargaining table battles with school boards is shocking Parents and taxpayers have good reason to be enraged But maybe the statements about failing kids because they missed lessons during a strike shouldnt be that surprising since they came from David The first couple of years after teachers gained the legal right to strike there werent any real negotiating problems in The first year problems cropped up was the first year Mr came to the forefront of contract talks He was very much involved in introducing Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation brass to contract talks in Halton for the first time a few years back Before that District Nine OSSTF ran their own show Bargaining has become more difficult with each passing year since then Mr has since gone on to the post of OSSTF vice president and is on a leave of absence from Halton Probably it is just coincidence that talks and relations deteriorated since Mr Judd first brought in the pros from Toronto to help with Bargaining a few years ago There is no question the present trend to more confrontation by both sides and the public per ception of an increasingly militant teaching profession wont help our students or improve the publics confidence in the education system Mr Judds comments will make it much tougher for teachers to improve their deteriorating image and make their case to the public So much for the Canadian house dream My heart goes out to all the young people who have been saving to buy a home At to day Interest rales they have about as much chance to achieve their ambition as I have of being chosen Best Dressed Man of IhcYear Let take typical example and reflect on the grim picture a couple young children face when Ihey want a home of their own with a bit of lawn a little gar den some room for their kids to explore and set some roots By dint of cutting every comer pinching every portion Dick and Jane who have two kids called and Dane have amassed a total of over their five years of wedded bliss Theyve been able to do this only be eating cheap food eschewing all luxuries such as drinks steaks movies They have taken moonlight jobs on their holidays to make a few extra bucks And of course they have both been working sending the kids to daycare for which they have to pay Their only concession to enter to en t has been a black and white TV an old car in which they occasionally vent forth for a picnic and extremely careful sex Mind you they re not suffering They re getting enough to cat unlike those poor little starving children in China of whom my mother reminded me every time I clamped my lips tight and refused to eat lumpy oatmeal I wonder what happened to those poor little starving kids in China anyway Every time I ace some little Chinese kids on TV they look remarkably well nourished I think theyve all moved lo or Bangladesh or South America At any rate this is no horror story about a young Canadian couple who can afford a of beer only on Saturday nights Their kids are healthy and reasonably well dressed thanks to Wool worths He is Halton Hills youngest mayor and he could very well be Halton youngest grandfather Pete and wife Judy were recently presented with a grandson by daughter Chris and husband Terry Legate was born in Georgetown Hospital March He is also the grandson of Mr Mrs Donald Legate of Eden Mills Mayor Pomeroy thinks ho a too young just barely Into his to be a granddad but Is making the best of the situation Chris and Terry lived on Churchill Acton for a while before moving to George town few months ago Congratulations to all Thanks to a good turnout at information sessions for a University of Waterloo social work program in Acton and Georgetown a regular course will be held at Hills libraries The course was proposed by the Universitys College Anglican and other phllanthropical Canadian companies who buy cheap but sturdy rags In Hong Kong and Taiwan But I still feel sorry for Dick and Jane They had a dream the old Canadian dream of owning your own house and a bit of land and it a turning into a nightmare They dont want to be up there with the Vanderbills Theyd settle for a very modest home around If there Is still a detached house in the country Tor this price Dick would work on Improvements and Jane would make it warm and lively with her unerring sense of taste So they decide to take the plunge With their hardsaved cheque for clutched in one of their hopeful hands they go to the bank or a trust company to borrow the rest No problem as the ads sold a few years ago Then comes the crunch Tie bank man agcr or the realtor or the rust company bird welcomes them with the warmth of an undertaker and fiddles with his pencil and mutters about the Canadian dollar and interest rates and finally gives them a figure For the they need per cent a year their interest would be 5250 Just more than they walked In with To say that Dick and Jane arc stunned would be like saying that Pierre is humble both their jobs they gross Church college on the campus About 35 people gathered at Acton and Georgetown libraries March for more information The certificate program in social work will Involve a scries of courses dealing with such subjects social casework child abuse and family therapy The first course contemplated for this fall would be an introductory In social work Other courses offered In Halton Hills by the University of Waterloo are sociology psychology and English literature More information is available at the library Mo3t first sign of spring Is the spotting of a robin or the sprouting of crocuses Not mot I need a bee sting to Jerk me Into spring Thats right a bee sting while Its pouring rain outside I spent the rest of Easter weekend scratching my seasonal reminder Urban Geography high school students ore out door knocking in town conducting a survey for the Chamber of Commerce They will be out visiting homes and businesses gathering Information about a brochure about Acton They will be putting their work together ana hopefully the brochure will bo published by June The brochure should be very useful to both old new residents in town giving up-to- date Information on business schools churches recreation etc After the Revenue Department is through with Ihem hey II be lucky lo have More like But that still quite a bit tlf Take off another just to cat and keep clean and maintain the old rusty ear Take off a few hundred for telephone and hydro and medicare and all the othtr deductions from their pay checks and another 1 they haven laid hands on Or course If ihey have a house they wont have lo pay rent That will save about GOO a year if they happen to be living in a slum But that 600 will be gobbled up by taxes fuel and all the other that houses gobble Then there that a year interest on the mortgage They arc left with around a year to pay for clothes toothpaste repairs to everything dental bills and all the other flack of modern living And they still haven bought a washer and dryer a stove and refrigerator and color TV or a second car all the absolute necessities for a proud houseowner Poor devils They might just make it if they were prepared lo eat porridge and spaghetti for the next years never take a holiday stayed healthy and each got an extra job They could always send Jick out baby sitting and Dane our shining shoes but they won be ready for another ten years By that lime Dick and Jane will have paid about interest on a house Forget it Dick and Jane Take your five thousand blow it on a good holiday and go on welfare be better off and without the stress would live an extra ten years So much for the Canadian dream And I don want some accountant writing and refuting my figures Theyre close enough and directory brochures are currently available from Chamber secretary Janet Fleming In all the five years and a bit I was reporting the news for this paper I bet you never would have guessed you were dealing with someone who had a bit more wisdom than the average person knew either until a recent visit to the dentist revealed I had five wisdom teeth It is a dental phenomenon according to Dr However I II soon join the ranks of the ordinary when I get ail flvs yanked out Boy If that leaves me with fivefifths less wisdom Im really In trouble For those who core and Im one of them say farewell to Acton Hydro Commission and hello to Hills Commission Bob Mac Arthur and Orville Brown stepped down last week after ser ving many years with the local com mission Chairman was ap pointed to the new commission by Hills council To Bob and I hope you enjoy a bit of free time you might find youll have and who knows maybe well see you come municipal election time Thanks for all hard work you have done for so many years To good luck in the future and keep up Iho good work Back issues 10 years ago Taken from he Issue of The Acton Free Press Wednesday April IS 1670 For three days in Guclph the Canadian Transport Commission presided over hear ings into abandonment of passenger trains which run between and Toronto Many objections were heard Gray Coach Lines did not object saying they could handle the extra commuters with three extra buses For the first time since Acton will have an increase in hydro rates Worried about drug abuse in Acton and parents lack of information a group of concerned citizens met recently to talk over the problem They will now hold a series of three meetings Rev Harry Dawson heads the informal committee Alec Johnson has opened his new modern office building Laura Scolt and Marguerite Splelvogel are 50year members of Lakeside diopter of the and Alice and Helen year members The new Sheridan College campus at Oakvllle was opened 20 years ago Taken from the issue of The Acton Free Press Thursday April I960 Five new teachers have been hired to fill public school vacancies Patricia Jones Joan Parker Fern Small Olga and Heather Jackson at salaries ranging from to Trustee Tom Watson predicts a surplus of teachers In the future Mrs Wolfe is president of the annual music festival this year Ten urban schools took part at the Robert Little school and about 600 students from Esquesing and schools competed at and finals will be Friday at the Robert tittle school Adjudicator for the urban festival was Dr Leslie Bell Linda Braida of Guclph Figure Skating club performed as a guest star at the Milton carnival A new flag was dedicated by Rev A McKenile for Lakeside chapter of the IODE Mrs J Jocque standard bearer and Mrs Splelvogel regent took part in the ceremony About families ordered Hot Cross buns from the Scout and Guide Mothers 50 years ago Taken from the issue of The Acton Free Press Thursday 10 1830 Rev H L of Halifax and for merly of Mitchell Ontario was the choice of the congregation of Knox church to fill the vacancy caused by the re moval of Rev A C Stewart The stipend is with manse Acton W f will present a threeact play Safety First with proceeds used to erect gates for cemetery The characters include Messrs J J Stewart Joseph Hurst R Davidson Roy John son E J Gamble Mrs J J Stewart Miss Lantz Mrs Desserault Miss Hawthorne Mr and Mrs Charles Matthews Billy and Graham and Mrs Jennie Matthews of Toronto spent Sunday in Acton Mr Mat thews was celebrating his fortieth birthday and an event of the day was the taking of a photograph of Mr Matthews and his mother at the home of his birth on Frederick St This cottage now owned by Mrs Talbot was built by Abram Matthews great grandfather of Mr Matthews about years ago Chief hosted the rink rats a banquet at the City Cafe The watercress is later than usual this year Daylight Saving goes Into effect In Toronto but not in Acton or this vicinity 100 years ago Taken from the issue of The Acton Free Press Thursday April The roads in are in almost impassable state Mr James Warren provincial land but veyor will bo in Acton for a few days Orders left at Acton post office will be promptly attended to A Toronto firm been examining Messrs and Co s tannery In this village with a view to reopening it for the purpose of manufacturing light Block They are awaiting an answer from council in reference to exemption from taxation on real estate and personal property for five years Council should now proceed the erection of a public stand in some central location where the band could play during the summer months for the benefit of the A blizzard fell on Saturday night A party of English emigrants passed through on the railway destined for Western Ontario The boating season has now commenced Boys don t desecrate the Sabbath