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On again off again downtown plaza off again the on again plans for commercial development of the Force Electric property at the east end of downtown ore off again Owner the property Art Gordon and a variety of developers have been working many months now to put together a commercial development on the s but all plans have fallen through Gordon however remains optimist development I materialize Doug Itosart Properties of and McLaughl n Real Estate of Toronto have come up with number of plans However they have all collapsed In a recent interview McLaughlin d It would appear they won be able to put any project to gether for the Force Electric land Back the spring n unveiled a b pro posal called for a square foot ex pan led A Foodland a theatre drug store convenience store restaurant bowl ng alley and other shops A few nor objections to the proposal by the pal ty and a lack of interested firms to fill the semi enclosed mall and investors sent the proposal down the drain The next proposal he came up with featured an A B of to square feet and a row of shops at the rear of the site but that also fell through when Lumsden Brothers who lease the store and then sublease It to the operators of A rejected expansion plans William Lumsden said at the time McLaughlin plans were too costly and the rent would be too high It was back to the drawing board for the summer with the project though everything hinged on sden Brothers going for an expansion McLaughlin noted McLaughlin reported recently he half expected new numbers cost and rent figures would produce a new proposal That t been the case McLaughlin says just don want a larger store and price t a consideration this time He and Rosart are now back to looking for a or tenant for the development an anchor store for a small plaza and they have already explored vir every avenue they can think of with no luck McLaughlin notes they have put too much work Into the possible development of the Force site to just let It go but without a major store there Is Just nowhere to go with At the same time Gordon says be turn been hear Ing for weeks there Is another developer Interested In bringing In a proposal for commercial develop He noted ho has never met or heard directly from this developer only heard about It through Century Real Estate in Guclph Details of the proposal are sketchy Gordon believes it involves eight or nine stores However after weeks of waiting Gordon is run out of patience He reports he has been told repeatedly by the real estate people a developer in Toronto has come up with a proposal I Gordon declared He t heard for some time from McLaughlin and t contacted that developer because everything Is changed every time I talk to him Gordon isn t optimistic that group will wind up put ting something together now Gordon la now out looking for a now developer and real estate firm to handle the development for him in fact Tuesday he was waiting on a phone call regarding getting something new going for the Force land I want to get moving on this The town needs It badly Gordon stated He wanta one large store like a grocery store and fve or six other shops and not places or beauty salons which ho says seems to be all the new business Acton gets these days Back in January Ha I ton Hills approved of the land for commercial development subject to site plan approval Gordon says the municipality Is per cent behind his efforts to develop the land and the planning department Is doing all it can to help get development going Development of the Force site and refurbishing of downtown Acton are key aspects of the town case In Its battle to prevent Jerry and Shopping Centres from building a plaza on the east side of Acton An Ontario Municipal Board hearing on that issue is still pending Gordon says he wants to have something concrete going on his land before the east end plaza case comes up Gordon says be welcome a proposal from any one for the site Any developer can come forward with a plan I feel certain once the first step Is taken development of the Force site there will be lots of development at that end of downtown Gordon says He pointed to Canadian Tire which wants to expand but is waiting to see what happens with his land example of the kind of redevelop ment he expects will take place Ho said everyone he has talked to seems a 1 nenous about commercial development in Acton and about prospects of renting new stores An Inland Community Newspaper d da Year No 7 ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 3 Eighteen Pases Twenty IS First Actario draw Saturday ih the f rst draw just three days away Ted icr has branded Actario a success InanintervewTylersa as of Tuesday about I have been sold and turned back In so they have covered the prize money and trip prizes com m Tyler organ know there are sold tickets which haven been turned back n yet and the ticket for the rst draw will continue r up to Saturday morn covering the pr money and trips Act has raised approximately in profit for restoration of the old town hall Actar s not ng that almost made it It made it and is going ahead Tyler declared Acton C of the Year White who has sold about a dozen tickets will make the big first Free Press goes up 5 The single copy price of The Acton Free Press was increased from cents to cents for home del very and at publisher Don McDonald announced today Wednesday He said increased newsprint production labor and on costs forced the cent a copy increase Free Press earners and dealers will receive part of the ncrcasc Home del very of the paper will cost or a month depending there are four of five publica t the month Subscr remain at annually draw for 350 cash this Saturday morning at about 30 a in front of the Actario booth at Family Cleaners downtown The Acton Citizens Band will be on bond to entertain the crowd There will be weekly draws for and 12 monthly draws for trips valued at between it and Besides the prize money draw and monthly trip draw there will be weekly bonus prize draws Winners of cash or trips need not be present for the draw but bonus prize winners must be downtown For this Saturday draw there is a special bonus prize for the cash prize winner if he or she is down town for the draw The cash winner will also walk with inch black and white TV But there will be lots of other bonus prizes for ticket holders who are downtown Tyler most merchants have responded pos to and there will be weekly clothing and food voucher prizes as well as vouchers for film bowling shoe repair milk cleaning and meals out Another bonus this Saturday morning will be the announcement of the destination for the first trip draw which will be made at the end of September The odds for the first draw are fantastic and In fact will be throughout the entire 52 weeks the Act program lasts since a maximum of tickets will be sold Even after the first draw is over tickets will con tinuc to be sold Ticket prices will be reduced monthly not weekly so at the end of September the price will drop and shrink by the same amount every month through the year A year long ticket costs cash or cheque or plus three postdated cheques for the same amount Tyler admitted sales haven t as high as hoped nor have profits but the part is over and every ticket sold now takes the town hall a step cl to being sa School hat Marled again today and teachers Sharon Bradley left and Donna Robertson of St Joseph a nave made sore there are plenty of textbooks notebook and workbook to It won be all work and no play for Bradley grade three sod four classes and Robertson grade one class There are plenty of colorful displays and a few games In he room teachers were back to school last week throughout Acton preparing for today onslaught of pupils For a look at more teachers and schools preparation see This Week Through The Lens page Pbotoby DIANA Insane at the time Mother not guilty of murder inside Good to bumper crops are predicted for Ha ton this Acton High School new principal welcomes stu summer Details on page 10 dents back far another year Today a paper features a number of wedding re- parts on pages and A former Acton resident was found not guilty by reason of Insanity of the murder of her son and stab bing of her two other children following a trial in Iowa last week Gall Vukovich released by the court following Mrs Vukovich can now return to onto and live with her parents while continuing her psychiatric treatment Mrs Vukovich was charged with first degree murder In connection with the stabbing death of her son Michael age on October She was also charged with attempted murder for the stabbing of her other two sons Matthew and Jonathan She also stabbed herself The Vukovich family moved from Acton to Cedar Falls Iowa cnt took place on the day her husband Joseph formerly of Medical Centre started work at Allen Memorial Hospital In the ad jacent city of Waterloo Iowa Assistant County Attorney David Coll said the trial was held lost Monday The court heard that on the night of the Mrs Vukovich feared a tornado waa on its way that would destroy everyone and was worried blacka would break into her home and hurt her children Psychiatrists testified Mrs Vukovich believed the delusions and stabbed her children to protect them She was said to be so psychotic she dldn t know right from wrong and felt what she did was not only and legally right but also absolutely necessary On Friday the judge ruled Mrs ch was not guilty of the three charges by reason of Insanity and then conducted a hearing to determine if she should be committed to a state mental hospital Two psychiatrists as well as Vukovich testif led at the hearing and it was concluded Mrs Vuko should continue her program of treatment Coll said the judge agreed with witnesses that Mrs Vukovich t dangerous now and attached no conditions to her release Mark Craig puts me mushing loaches on an which be part of a new display area In Moontsberg interpretive centre He hired aloof with another art student Caesar Parent to create be exhibit which wildlife In Its natural habitat through the seasons Forest display well underway By Jane Mailer Mountsberg Wildlife Centre northern forest display Mb been In the planning stages for two now and this summer two art students an making the display a reality The display located in the main foyer of the interpretive centre will incorporate preserved specimens of nocturnal wildlife set In their natural habitats The students Mark Craig and Caeser Parent started working on the northern forest display June and employed through Experience grants The pair dldn t complete the splay which will span the four seasons Coescr entering his third year at Sheridan College In animation Is experimenting with materials to give the effect of snow His choice is an important one and as the display must stand the teat of time durability is a major con sideration Night creatures large and small will have a place In the display A great homed owl Ing for the kill a beaver in Ita natural environ and a cross section of a mole burrow on an artificial river bank providing a good view of a starnosed mole Caesar constructed the mole a habitat a Job which required research into the tiny animal a habits and environment He discovered moles often burrow into river banks with the mouth opening into the water Moles can swim under water a point which was overlooked in the display a original conception but design alleviated the original Inaccuracies of thd plan Mark Craig Is studying Illustration at Sheridan College and will be returning for his second year in the fall Fire a rest home danger operators dont think so A tragic fire similar to the one which claimed the lives of over senior citizens In a Misslssauga nursing home earlier this summer could happen in any rest home in Acton a fire department official says Larry Brassard Halton Hills fire preven lion officer says a tragic rest home blaze could happen In Acton However operators of a couple of local rest homes expressed confidence that they have taken ample precautions against fire Brassard noted Home for Senior Citizens Is governed by provincial legislation while Acton Seniors Residence and Cher Best Home t Mapleview Lodge RR Acton comes under Erin Township jurisdiction The fire department official said all three rest homes Acton have been Inspected and some of his recommendations for all three haven been followed The town can moke them follow the fire department Brassard noted the town is working on a by law to govern rest homes and the fire department made comments He said the town needs regulations because set stan dards would certainly help Rest home regulations were urged by Acton Councillor Terry early this year and a by law Is due back at council In recent Interviews the operators of Acton Seniors Residence a Home for Senior Citizens and Lodge outlined the fire safety precautions they had taken even before the killer blaze in Mlssilsauga A fourth rest home operator Travina Cherwonlak of Cher was invited to comment but no aUtementa were forth coming Jeanette Femandes reports she ham t taken any special precautions or added new equipment since the big fire In Misiissauga There was no need to rest home was already loaded with smoke and heat detectors Each resident room Is equipped with heat detectors and smoking Is allowed In just one room the dining room Seniors must also check their supplies of cigarettes in and out with staff There are smoke detectors In the dining room lounge and kitchen and nine fire extinguishers which are checked regular ity spread throughout the building The building Is equiped with an Edwards fire alarm system which runs on electricity and if there Is a fault In he system a buzzer sounds There is also a monitor which lets staff know where the fire Is Immediately when the alarm goes off In summer there are fire drills once a month at Jeanettes about every half months In winter and the location of the mock fire changes with every drill The building housing seniors can be emptied In about five minutes One day there was a real scare The fur nace had lust been cleaned and somehow some smoke came out a vent the alarm went off and within four minutes and seconds all the seniors were In the living room waiting to go outside Acton fire fighters were quite impressed the operator of the home noted The fire department makes regular spot inspections of Jeannette s and at least every six months an Inspector comes out from Queen Park The alarm system is serviced every six months Janet Booth of Acton Seniors Residence also expressed confidence her building won be the scene of a tragic fire She says her 1 has been rated A l ever since it was first inspected by local fire officials back In 1977 There are smoke detectors on every level of the building and in every room and the eight seniors living there have been made aware of what the fire alarm sound is and what they should do If they hear it Drills ore held every three months and the one time the detectors sounded the sen ior citizens were all at the front door within three minutes Mrs Booth said it was amazing Mapleview Lodge follows closely all the recommendations of the Erin Township fire department and the seniors rest home has been inspected several times in the past couple of years Joan Waldie said There are smoke detectors in bedrooms hallways and the living room as well as fire extinguishers at our strategic locations Twelve seniors live at Mapleview Lodge and all ore very alert to fire dangers and fire emergency procedures Mrs noted the fire department has set requirements for the building and they have been followed