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Region back on right track according to Whiting Regional government in Italian is back on the right track but It is moving very slowly in the right direction and has a long way to go according lo Ac ton freshman regional representative Dive Whit ing in a recent interview Whiting reviewed Ins first eight months in office paying particular attention to the issues he raised in the election campaign in November which resulted in his ousting one term regional councillor Ed Wood During the campaign he raised questions about the region deficit regional staff policing and water and sewer policies Speaking about the deficit noted it turned out to be much than the he ment ioned in his campaign literature It turned out the deficit was over SI million and a one year problem but the culmination of four years of budgeting errors Also it was far greater than any one had expected The deficit was ultimately solved by two methods both of which hurt taxpayers The water and sewer account shortfall was made up with a hetty per cent increase in rates brought In by the outgoing council Then this year to cover Ihe operating bud get deficit and Pay for the Works and other shelved lost year the regional council ap proved huge tax hikes Despite the result which pinched everyone badly in the Whiting still thinks the deficit problem was handled in a responsible manner or at least the only way possible Dave roads were so bad in 1979 they were the second worst in the province By 1980 we d slipped to last place Work this year paid for with steeply higher taxes and mostly in the north will lift into fourth spot from Ihe bottom in Ontario for the condition of our roads The region is on the right track like he said it a long track In his campaign literature Dave asked where the needed to complete five major pro was going to come from The old council that question by the funds something ho hopes won t be repeated in the future The issue of regional staffing was closely tied to the region s financial woes Whiting great strides have been made in of regional staff Previously nobody was really checking on staff Now department heads arc hired by a council com one he has sat on and the department heads assess their workers He wasn originally in support of hiring consult ants to study the region staff but Is now glad this was done and thinks the taxpayers received good value for this money He explained councillors mply don t have the expertise to compare staff wllh those working in comparable municipal operations so consultants were needed lo determine if the staff was doing its jobs properly The answer from the MO study in a number of cues was no Now Halton has a now a totally revamped treasury department new chief officer a new Manor administrator a new head of social services will be hired soon a new Medical Officer of Health is on the Job and so is a new solicitor Another eventual result of Hie con work will be a study and overhaul of the works department We got a lot for the money spent on the study Policing in Acton has come a long way because of a new attitude on the part of citizens the regional force However despite a healthy policing budget hike this year the force is still undermanned under stuffed Policing like other services wasn set tip in Hal ton like it was In other areas of Ontario under rcg government Whiting explains In other regions were set up to operate on the big scale despite the fact it resulted in enormous tax hikes the first couple of years Today regions like Peel have moderate tax hikes However in the was the case Services like policing were slowly expanded and still up lo the they should be Tor a reg ional operation But the tax increases were mod compared to this year increase the first few years The police got enough of an Increase this year to set up special squads but not the extra men needed for patrols It s been the same In other region departments Whilmg observes The region docsn have the staff and equipment needed to lower costs so keeping the region going is costing five times more than it would have If it was set up properly in the first place Now we are way behind and it a horrendous task and very costly to up Returning to the police Dave bald policing an urban rural mix is very difficult the has been struggling with the same problem for years In many areas of Canada and still haven t hit on the right formula Regarding Acton complaints about the police not enforcing speed limits he says a lot more men will have to be hired before police can tackle that job He thinks there is no question more men are need ed on tho streets but that means more money tor the What bothers Whiting Is he hears from residents concerned about policing and then tho same residents will later complain about the high cost of financing the force Another thing Whiting wants the region to do la quit spending money on rehabilitation through fac like the Sheridan Youth Centre and give that montyto the police During the campaign he talked a lot about water and sewer works and rates Whiting is counting on the region retaining water and sewer operations because it it reverts to the area municipality level then It will cost Hills customers a bundle to pay for previous sewage plant expansions He pleased with the way the region has system been upgrading the sewage system in Ac ton which was substandard He convinced regional government can and will work butalotmorechangesarestillneeded I think Halton on the right track But we have run Ihe system with the changes we ve made while and sec how it works before making more Ho maintains regional government Is seven years behind the times as tar as evolving Into an effective Continued on Page A Community Newspaper One Hundred and Sevenlh Year No ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY JULY 14 Pages Twenty- five Cents Town hall consultants to ask if citizens want building saved Citizens will be asked during the upcoming feasibility study for the restoration of Ihe old town hall if want the building saved In an interview following his brief presentation to Hills council lasl week rereation director Tom said the study terms of reference which with tbc JHiniStry of Culture and Recreation include a public par component Shepard sa d how this is handled will be up to the consulting firm which is hired for the study but he expects the citizens Interest groups the Restoration Committee and groups which might use hall facilities and municipal officials will all be asked for their input They the consultants will want to get a feel of why the community wants the town hall saved and what uses the residents envision said How this Input will be gathered will be by the consulting firm but said he ex pects there will be some public meetings and possibly on interviews too The deadline for the municipality finalizing itsap- phcation for a Wintano capital grant for restoration of the hall was August While the has received nothing in writing yet from the province Shepard said he has received verbal assurance from Ihe ministry thai the dead lineisbeingexlendedtoDecember31 He had Written out terms of reference as well as background on the restoration project and phoned it in to the regional representative of the Its Kawasaki Japan time for Denise Dilbey by Helen Murray When Denise goodbye to her parents and sister on August she be off on a year adventure equal to none other for the rest of her life The 16yearold Acton High School graduate will be spending the next year in Japan was chosen by the Acton Rotary Club to represent Acton on a student exchange program in any of the participating countries in the world Her first three choices were Sweden Belgium and Japan and out of those three she finally selected Japan She explained that the program is a cultural exchange and she felt Japan would be the most different She also surmised that she may one day travel lo Sweden or Belgium probably never to Japan This was a good chance to see Ihe exotic place Denise just found recently that she will be spending the year in Kawasaki Just outside of Tokyo She will be living with four different families just as Jenny Nunan Acton exchange student from Australia has been Denise ex plained this is so the student does not get too at tached to one family Since she found out she was chosen has been studying up on the Japanese geography and history She has been having difficulty however finding an English Japanese dictionary She will be learning the language and hopes to be fluent by the she returns next August However she had hoped to get a hit of a head start but so far hus met with a dead end A trip to the of Toronto library next week should help her though The mail strike has really put a damper on planning however She explains she has had to go to the Japenesc consulate in Toronto to arrange her visa but It won t bo ready until the day she leaves She will also not have her airplane ticket until August either Information concerning her schooling which is mandatory what she needs to lake and the homes she be living in is also held up in the mail A package was to be mailed to Buffalo and sent by courier to her two weeks ago but she still received It All these complications because of the strike have sort of taken the excitement out of leaving tor her says though she is finished high school in Canada Denise has to a 11 end either high school or college while in Japan Had she not graduated from school she would not have received credits towards graduation while In Japan Adopting the Japanese culture means there will be no Christmas for although she hopes her parents will call that day She plans to take a lot of western world clothes but she ex plains even In China blue jeans have invaded the country and she feels she will fit right in She also being on the safe side by taking a year supply of toothpaste make up etc Justin case they as rcadilyavallablc in Japanese stores While a messenger of good will in Japan Denise will be giving gifts to those she meets She Is taking extra blue Jeans maple sugar Canadian Cheddar Cheese and small plastic Maple Leaf flags courtesy of MP Otto Jclinek Ray or the Acton Rotary Club or rangedforthe flags first flies to Vancouver and then on to Tokyo She spends the night there before going on to Kawasaki and her first family was surprised to learn recently there is a girl from Toronto who will be heading to Japan also on an exchange program on the same flight as her Unfortunately she will not know who she is until they reach Vancouver Ml exchange students heading to the various countries will be taking the same flight out of Toronto to Van so it will not be until she is on the plane to Tokyo that she will find out who the other girl A Milton youth returns soon tram the same ex change In Japan Denise hoping lo have a chance to talk with him before she heads out Before she was accepted for the exchange pro gram was accepted to three community colleges in the Re til Coop courses She had planned to enter Humber in the fall but post her plans for a year When she returns lo Canada next August she will only be back a few days when she starts school It a a busy life ahead of her and knows she is bound to change seeing tho different ways of life and learning a new language She admits she Is going to be lonely at times and hopes all her friends write to her She will be looking for ward to the mall in English ministry However when passed the in formation on to others at Queen s Park he failed lo Include the background information is now providing that information to the province as well as changing the wording of some parts of the terms of reference as requested by the ministry He said ho expects the terms of reference will be nailed down week Then a special meeting of council town hall committee meeting will be held to finalize matters No consultants have been selected yet for the study because the terms of reference final Shepard has contracted qualified firms which will make proposals carry out the study once they have reviewed them The study will delve into many areas The con will determine if there is a need for more community facilities In Acton and do an Inventory of existing hrlls and rooms available for use by groups They II find out which groups in the community might like to hold meetings and functions in a restored town hall Viability of the building for recreational uses will be examined as well as what other possible uses there are for a restored town hall such cia Programming and operation of the building will also be examined Shepard said Conceptual drawings of both Ihe Interior and ex terior following restoration will be made up Besides determining the capital or restoration costs for both tho interior and exterior of the town hall they also investigate maintenance and up keep costs Initl operating costs must be establish as well as a projection of operating costs and revenues for Ihe building for years Once restoration costs are the con will look for ways to pay for the project such as grants and fund raising The drawings and study will address the question of blending the restored own hall with the fire hall so it will be easier to secure heritage grants Raindrops are falling on my sunflowers Fred New of Elmore Drive protects 14 bloom sunflower from recent ralni The Impressive plant grows amid Fred popples courtesy of a passing bird who Fred surmises dropped his sunflower set a lunch residents and Cecil Hardy recently celebrated their wedding anniversary The couple was married here and moved to Brampton about 10 years ago The have five children eight grandchildren great grandchildren PHolo Guard an Wintario here question is when The Lottery draw will be com Ing to Acton When is the question Chip chairman of the com mittec and a director of the Acton Chamber of Com merce has been working on bringing the draw here for several weeks now He said In an Interview this week the draw will definitely be coming here but he doesn t know If it will be before Ihe end of this year or in 1982 Ontario Lottery Corporation officials arc ex pectcd to come to next month to look the town over as well as inspect the Acton High School cafe torium Petrlllo said he spoke to Joanne King of the Lot tery Corporation Inst week she t say for sure when the evening draw on Global TV Network will be held In Acton said ho was told there arc 177 applications Tor draw sites While tho fall agenda is act nailed down its November and December schedule yet the lime Acton could bo host Lottery officials have reviewed information about and the Leathertown project mostly clip pings on Leathertown from The Acton Free Press Information such as size and voltage capacity about Ihe high school has also been to The Board of Education has also been con about having the draw the school noted me official he deall with gave permission but Leathertown would have to rent the building and would later discuss Ihe arrangements with If It costs us the r town a few hundred dollars that no problem It will be worth It lo the town declared Leathertown will be seeking the aid of Burlington MPP Julian Reed Mayor Peter Pomeroy and Halton MP Otto lo persuade Wintario to hold the draw here In late tall or early winter favors a draw here In winter wishing to stay close to Toronto during the winter months in case of unfavourable conditions Since officials round the school satisfactory and wants to help promote Aclon as Leather town It sounds good for the draw be ing held he re Cheques in mail today Regardless of the month long postal strike the mail will get through All government cheques are being delivered by letter carrier this week Acton residents will receive their social security family allowance and other government Wednesday Box holders and those residents served by general delivery may up Iheir cheques at the Royal Canadian Legion 15 Wright Streetjust off Mill WestJuly and 31 between am and Identification such as driver a licence social insurance or necessary Cheques for rural routes will also be delivered mall boxes Wednesday