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Two chosen for Rotary exchange trip Acton Rotary Club has selected two Acton High School students to represent the dub and the town in an international student exchange However final approval roust be received from the- club regional offices before Bow en and Stephen Sojka are officially on their way and Stephen were chosen from five cants for the year long exchange anywhere in the world where the Rotary Club operates pres ident Ken Grubbe explained students are chosen on their personality type of ambassador they would make and their school marks At present the Acton club has another local dent explained that Acton is allowed to send out as many students as they bring in In the past few years Acton has accepted three exchange students from other countries while only scnduig out one Thus Acton is entitled to send out two more However regional office could veto Acton sen ding two students Sixteen year old daughter of Allui and Bowen Place has named Holland as her first choice of countries to spend a year In Sweden is her second choice and South Africa third explains The Netherlands is her first choice because it Is situated near two other coun tries she would like very much to visit Germany andrTance it is not as convenient location wise for seeing other countries While this was the first year was old enough to apply to 18 years are preferred she was busy last year thinking about It She wants to travel and leam a new language and felt this was the best way Alanna is finished high school this spring taking four years in three just as did While in Holland or any other country she is sent to she will be attending high school and will not be getting for it However because she is a year ahead of herself and finished this the year off wit not be making any difference in her academic life When she returns plans to either work for a year and then go to university or return to high school for her grade 13 Stephen Sojka 60 Elmore Drive hopes to be liv in Denmark this time next year The son of and Georee Sojka he applied for the student exchange to travel and become more independent He has listed Holland as his second choice and West Germany as his third Stephen explains the reasoning behind his three choices is due to the sound economic and political situations in those countries He feels they are safe from political strife and quiet countries The 16yearold grade student is already familiar with Germany and its culture being the son of German immigrants In fact he has relatives still in Germany in the Black Forest where he hopes to be able to go at Christmas Stephen is already fluent in German and thinks learning Danish or Dutch should come easier to him because of this Stephen sees his year away as preparing himself for future travel and future plans He wants to get to know the people and culture When Stephen returns home from his year away he w ill be going into grade 13 From there he hopes to join the Canadian Armed Forces and attend the Royal Military College in Kingston His ultimate aim Is to be an air force pilot Stephen looks upon the year as a challenge It is a big step to go away for that length of time he said It is going to be quite a challenge in all aspects not just leaving home but trying to be a good ambassador for the country best 1 can Everything is a challenge A Community Newspaper One hundred and seventh year Issue ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY JANUARY 27 14 Pages Thirty Cents Driver shot in scuffle A 30yearold Acton man suffered a superficial gun shot wound alter his car was allegedly fore to stop on a rural road early Thursday and a rifle placed against his head Staff Sergeant Lcs Graham Hal ton Regional Police said Daniel Perron was treated and released from Georgetown Hospital for a superficial wound to his upper left shoulder Perron was driving on Sideroad and was being followed by a 1373 brown Cougar when he was cut off by the other car around about a half mile from Highway The car Perron was driving was loaned to him by frank Jones of Acton Two suspects got out of the Cougar and one pulled a rifle on Perron and placed the end of the barrel against his forehead Perron went to the Canadian Style Donuts shop at the Main Mill corner in Acton and the police were called before he went to thehospital The suspect who shot Perron Is described as being about feet tall approximately pounds and has short dark hair and a moustache He years old The was wearing a dark blue ski Jacket and had a day growth of beard The only description of the second suspect Is male and white Police say they have not determined the motive for the incident yet but they have ruled out case of mistaken identity Ithasbccnrumorcdaroundtown that Perron was mistaken for someone else The investigation is continuing Murder hearing April 13 The preliminary hearing of Eric Howard KeUar charged with first degree murder In connection with the death of Colleen Oates in October tan expected to last much more than a day Kellar appeared briefly in Provincial Court in Milton Monday and April 13 was set for the pre liminary hearing A preliminary hearing is held to determine if there is sufficient evidence against an accused to warrant a trial Crown Attorney James told Judge Douglas Latimer that he has provided defence counsel Fred with two volumes of evidence and witnesses statements pertaining to the case This is called the Crown s trial brief Both lawyers told the court they t expect the preliminary hearing to last more than a day though another halfday might be needed Latimer said the halfday of proceedings could be held on April 19 if it is needed though that date set aside Leitch concluded that based on what I know now one day On behalf of his client waived the criminal code requirement that an accused kept in custody must be Drought back to court weekly won t have to appear again until the preliminary hearing Leitch also said they have not applied for a bail hearing and t planning to at this time was remanded following his fourth court appearance in custody to the Hamilton Detention Centre Protect Alert Button sends doctor running Jack family can that he has Pro tect A I Installed In his home At the touch of a button medical way to his home in case of an by Helen Murray Jack McKerracher created quite a running stir In the Church St apartments recently and is he glad he did While sat quietly in a friend s apartment having a cup of tea his doc tor ard an ambulance driver rushed into his apartment with the building superintendent ex peeling to find the senior citizen ill or otherwise incapacitated He was oblivious to all the til had gone back home But for the elderly apartment dweller the commotion was a reminder of the wisdom of his investment In ProtectAlert a personal security and medical alarm which he rents on a monthly basis could mean the difference between life or death in an emergency situation Owned and operated by and its subsidiaries the Group Protec tAlert made its Canadian debut in July and already has saved several lives Originally designed for senior citizens who must live alone the system has been rented out to people who work alone and fear robbery or to those with ill children or babysitters consists of a small transmitter about the sue of a firefighter pager This can be clipped onto the belt or as In case worn around the neck on a chain In fact it works much like a pager but in reverse When pressure applied to a thumb- site square in the centre of the transmitter a radio signal is sent to the base unit which is tnto the telephone system The base unit in turn sends signals to the central response tre in Toronto where there is an operator on duty hoursaday When the signal Is received the operator telephones the subscriber back and lets the telephone ring three times This is done to ensure that the transmitter was not set off accidentally If there is no answer the operator proceeds to call various people on s list In McKerracher case the operator is to first call his doctor then his son then the building superintendent and then a friend the same building Within minutes of the emergency help can be at the door Many people with poor hearts or in wheelchairs who are alone a lot find the roughly a month cost very rcosonable considering it could save their lives The base unit plugged into a telephone jack to send the messages to Toronto At the same time It also runs on electricity In the event of a power allure a battery automatically kicks in is good for six hours The transmitters are supposedly good up to a distance of feet from the base unit However McKerracher found out differently When his went off accidentally he was In another apart ment on another floor doing his carpentry work When the ProtectAlert operator tclephon him to see if it was an emergency or false alarm they failed to get on answer and mediately dispatched help Alter the excitement died down the superintendent found McKerracher having a cup of tea after he was finished hammering McKerracher says he had never had cause test his system Sure he says there were the regular tests of the equipment but that was when everyone was expecting the transmitter to go off Now that he has seen the actual process unfold he is reassured with its effectiveness He is also impressed with its working more than feet from the base unit He highly recommends anyone living alone to look Into a It is well worth the cost he says As far as be knows he is the only person in Ac ton to have the home security system It cuts down on the fears of living alone in an emergen and also cuts down on family fears So while the doctor and the ambulance driver may have made an unnecessary trip for which be apologues he is glad that Indeed the system does work and has seen It in operation before it is needed in a real emergency Frozen gas line is suspected as the of an emergency landing of this Cessna 172 Thursday on Fairy Lake Plane makes emergency landing on Fairy Lake No one was injured when a four seater airplane was forced to make an emergency landing on Fairy Lake Thursday Emit Meshbcrg of Toronto and lzisca of were taken into the home Elizabeth after their Cessna 172 developed mechanical problems while flying over Acton around 4pm The plane was moved over to a more sheltered part of the lake beside the Legion until yesterday Tuesday afternoon John Wallace aircraft maintenance engineer from Toronto International Airport explained it is believed a frozen gas line caused the difficulties and he and apprentice Brian Hastings of Georgetown spent part of yesterday the line and warming up theengine Welner a pilot of 12 years was brought in to fly the plane away Welner told The Free Press he does not trust single engine planes in extreme cold Once a pilot opens power cold gels in and chokes the engine After the engine was heated by a propane heater and Wallace spent several min taxiing the lake before attempting to get of f the ground Once in the air the pilot circled the lake three times to ensure all was working well before heading off to Malton Hastings pointed out the craft will get a thorough checkout at the airport before being flown again explained that Mesh berg is a flying instructor and lzisca his student lzisca was flying the plane when the problems began Gwyneth said she and her brother Rhys were watching the croft in the air circling Acton and heard the engine cutting in and out They watched the plane land on the lake at the end of Elmore Drive the Papillon home The pair ran to the plane to offer any assistance they could The plane occupants spent about a half hours at the home making telephone calls and getting warmed up They told the they were flying out of Tor onto International Airport and were doing touch and goes a landing exercise at Airport After leaving Guelph the engine started sputtering By the time they were over Acton it became worse and they were losing altitude At this time they started looking for a place to land Meshberg has been a qualified Instructor for years he told and this is the first lime he has had to land on a lake When the problems started he took over the controls and brought the plane down to the safe landing lzisca said she nervous when the trouble started because she knew 1 instructor would be able to land The incident has not discouraged her from continuing her lessons Cooper of 111 Elizabeth Dr was credited by Guelph Airport for locating the craft Mrs Cooper explained she was shovelling her driveway when she heard the plane overhead sputtcnng and cutting out When she finally spotted it it was flying very low She watched as it circled the lake three limes each lime getting lower and lower On the third circle the craft nose was nted down and Mrs Cooper feared to was go to crash in a field She ran into the house to telephone airport to ask if they knew of an aircraft in trouble She was told they knew but did not have radio contact Toronto was In contact with the troubled plane When asked the present location of the plane she ran back outside but could not see or hear the plane A le later the airport called her bock to tell her the plane had landed safely on Fairy Lake and thanks to her they had been able to locate the plane and send another out alter it Mrs Cooper said she used to live in where there were a few pilots who would go up and deliberately cut their engines and glide However something lold her this was not the case this time Layoff 25 at Hellers Frank Heller and Co has become virtually the last Canadian leather firm to layoff workers this week Spokesman Fred Dawkins said 25 workers out of 165 most with six months or less seniority were laid off indefinitely effective Tuesday yesterday The layoff affects all areas of plant operation said the firm hopes call the workers back by midMarch Heller has a lot of potential orders due in March but with the present state of the economy and so much uncertainty they can t be definite the workers will be called back then This Is the first layoff at Heller s In years Dawkins and since the firm is in lower priced leathers which are usually safe from economic down turns it indicates how bad the economy really Is He said they are virtually the last leather firm In the country to have layoffs and there have also been a lot of layoffs in the leather Industry south of the border Another indication of the level of uncertainty In the economy Is that Heller has enough contracts to keep operating at full staff but can obtain color specifications from Actons new I tanker to the fireball Monday afternoon Ian Borland light colored Mobile Tank Industries mi a cheque for from Hills Councillor Rosa Kocchte Left to right firefighters Dong Andrews Ted Curtis Borland Hills fire chief Mick Holmes and deputy fire chief Bob Hyde The tanker will be used on raral Ores and will be the back op to mutual aU In Georgetown inside Keates Organs Is sending an Instrument to C Turn to page Acton Chamber of Commerce held its annual general meeting Saturday Detallonpage5 Hills Is looking at possible arcade regu More on page s Groundhog Day ruary Will he si shadow a