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the season to celebrate and share glad tidings of joy May this wonderful holiday season bring you the best of everything fit An Inland Community Newspaper Ox Hi dnda ACTON ONTARIO TUESDAY DECEMBER 23 spirit of Christmas on these children smiling faces These young iters performed nativity scene at a recent St Albao Anglican Church Christmas service The children pictured here are Brian Glillss Sieve Ronton Scott Kevin Kevin Pries man jj Carolynne Porte Bryan Creasey Patricia Cook Kevin Tribe Scott Oliver Owens Fauna Commander Matthew GInn Laura Man a lei Tracy Diana and Tara J Gibson Photo by MURRAY No gas from dump report There was no leak of potentially explosive me thane gas from the closed Acton dump when it was tested by the province in October The province however recoramendsmorcprecautlonary tests In effect this is not a site having significant im pact on health concerns Martin Wood of the ario Ministry of the Environment waste manage ment branch said Thursday in reference to the Churchill Road South dump Government testers found no vegetation no leachate and we were not able to detect any me thane at all from drill holes Wood said is liquid which percolates through the garbage Wood indicated that because of the possibility of methane gas moving horizontally underground toward the three apartment buildings on Churchill Road the ministry recommends further testing to tell if anything is happening Old dump sites contain decomposing garbage which can generate methane a colorless odorless gas which in matures of between five and IS per cent with air can explode The report which Is being sent to Hal ton Kills council recommends inserting of 12 pipes into the ground between the dump and the apartment buildings said Wood Portable sniffers can be used if the report recommendations arc followed to detect the of methane Wood indicated the report urges that the pipes be checked for at least one season The pattern of gas flow according to Wood changes With the seasons In warm weather gas can escape into the open air In Winter however gas can be trapped under ground by the crust of frozen earth Then the gas can move underground to seek another escape The recommendation for the pipes to be inserted is really a precautionary matter said Wood Our concern is if it moves horizontally itcangct into basements Concentrations of methane gas bet ween five and 15 per cent can be explosive said Wood If gas is discovered Wood said there are remedial technologies The ministry also tested in the direction of Long field Road said Wood that the boundary of the dump be more accurately in so It can be marked on official plans Wood hinted municipalities would be exp ected to cover the cost of venting their dumps Police plan open house same 12 officers here The group of Halton Regional Police officers assigned to Acton will be ized in new year and the force will be holding an open house sometime next month Thursday Chief James Harding and a half dozen of his senior officers spent over two hours explaining the operations of the regional police force and answer questions from a delegation of six Actonmns In addition the chief decided to allow Lome Doberthien to be unofficial liaison between the police and Acton residents will carry residents com plaints and concerns to the force but the police will reply to residents directly The meeting was set up in response to numerous complaints about policing here from citizens Acton three councillors Dave Whiting Terry Grubbe and Ross Kneehlel were joined by residents Cory VanMerkesicin and Bruce Shoe maker Everyone expressed regret more citizens who had indicated they would be attending show up for the meeting Towards the end of his presentation Harding made two important announcements moves aimed at satisfying the community and promoting more cooperation between polLe and citizens He explained Acton Is never left uncovered by police so the people here must see theolficers However Harding noted the problem is Acton docsn know the officers and the people want to know the officers The force has been rotating officers through Ihe five Halton Hills patrol zones the past couple of years but Thursday Hording made a commitment that as of January the same 12 officers will be assigned to cover 10 and zones Acton and area and not be changed The chief noted because of days off sick leave sessions etc officers not in Ihe Acton group of may have to work in zones 10 and 11 but basically it will be the same 12 people all year The force has always tried lo leave a core or six officers who are familiar with the town patrolling Acton and rotate in six others so people here should know six policemen now Harding said With officers assigned to Acton he hopes the officers and public will mix and get to know each other In addition the force will hold an open house In Acton next month the date and place still to be determined to noon and to as the times for the open house and the Acton Business Improvement Area has volunteered to supply coffee a omits for the dropin On hand for the open house will be the chief deputy chief Bob Middaugh district commander Matt McPhcrson crime prevention officers and other brass as well as Ihe officers assigned next year to Acton Harding said the force hopes re sidents will come in and talk to them about their policing concerns describes the open house as a delight idea whose letter to this newspaper rap ping the police sparked the controversy resulting In Thursday meeting warned the force might have to send officers out on the street to grab residents and drag them to the open house Harding said the force will bust our guts to deliver the service people want He urged Lome and the others in attendance help the force by grab people and dragging them to the meeting Harding said the force needs to be told what Acton wants from its police We need com lo identify the problems Early next month Middaugh will be in town to hear the concerns of members and said the force will bring films and speak to any service club that invites them Public relations officer Norm said Ihe has had only two requests for speaking engage from Acton both times the Optimists and they have been invited into the schools five limes We will go anywhere anytime to talk to any one Harding declared He pointed to a survey on Fridays Acton in November which showed sometimes the police were as long as 30 minutes or more responding to calls on responded in minutes When citizens feel the police have been slow he urged they contact brass promptly and give the force the time date and place of the slow response so it can be investigated The police will then get back and explain why they were slow and also be able to discover ways of speeding up service and zero in on dispatch problems It is vital for to know Harding said the future emphasis of the force will ABC chairman Bill Coats presents Anita with her prize for having the most welcoming door at Chris Unas In Acton More on tliccontest Inside be on crime prevention rather than just reaction But crime prevention wdl never work without pub lic participation and cooperation said people are reluctant to contact police d rectiy about concerns and complaints The police department Is an alien world to most people and while they are willing to air all sorts of complaints to him Ihey just won go to the police He said somehow the force has to get through to people the need to contact Hard ng and others Police need to raise their profile in the community I Probation for technical theft Wellington County Court Judge J Sutherland never saw anything like the ty support which Keith Black recc in court Monday The court gave Black a three year probation term plus a suspended sentence for his part in what the judge described as the technical theft of more I ve never seen a court room full of people who vc shown up or what I believe is support for the accused said Ihe judge Twelve Acton High School teachers Black co workers wo church ministers plus 15 or so friends and relatives filled most of the court seats Some of those people in court wrote letters of character reference for Black Defence lawyer David Smith old the court he has received more than such letters The particular trait which but faces in many letters is Black naivete I think that explains why he finds himself here said Smith Crown Attorney It said it would be unfair to say the whole thing can be put down to naivete The Crown however did not allege there Black sport osteal Typical quotes from the letters submitted by Smith had Black as a dedicated teacher committed to the betterment of others and he is a highly regarded man in his community A rather overwhelming show of support for this man in need said Smith The facts show he and his family have suffered greatly observed Judge Sutherland not only be cauc It was published in the community but because of financial loss Judge Sutherland found Black guilty of theft over the accused pleaded guilty in a December Ontario Provincial Police laid charges In Feb ruary following complaints by cattle owner Jack Arthur Stansbury that a number of his cattle were missing from the Black farm where they were being ended Three civil court actions have been launched Smith indicated that none of Ihe funds from sale or cattle about Black All he money went into the farm operation Black 44 One of Ihe two Black farms which have been in the family for 155 years has had to be sold High Interest rates have delayed the sale of the other property I satisfied this man will not be before he courts other than the civil courts said the judge Normally a breach of Irust case would call for prison term However Icanscenoadvantagotothc accused or community The judge added to the suspended centence and probation term that Balck continue in his present i