The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Knechtel charges A cton s being yally shafted The tax mill rate is per cent higher in Acton than Georgetown and Acton tax pavers are being royally shafted cording Councillor Ross Knee hi el In a stunning move a few weeks ago Ha I ton Hills council narrowly defeated a Knechtel for a provincial tax dealing with the resultant impact if Ha on Hills adopted a form of market value tax assessment under Section of the Ontario Assessment Act this section was formerly numbered he study backed Acton three councillors t have been binding on the municipality only provided further information Monday night fought back He presented his colleagues with graphs showing the Acton mill rate has been leaping ahead of Georgetown mill rjte since the time equalization factors designed lo help reduce the disparity created different mill rates in the two urban areas of Ha I ton Hills have been decreasing dramatically since 199 The iqualiiation factor is the ratio of assessed value market value expressed is a percentage The data in this graph is calculated province each year for municipjlitv and is used to determine am units of grants be made available The data is published each year in the Gazette his report said Acton equalization factor has slumped from to per cent compared to a Georgetown decrease from to Between 1979 and the Acton mill rate from 133 13 while the mill rale moved up from 105 to tGl Knechtel noted council in its wisdom rejectedlhetaxstudy addmghehadnoidea why He said the tax disparity might have been reasonable 10 years ago but not now and that why he wanted the tax study Gradually the equalization factor is moving down to zero he observed It proves Acton filing a screwing He called on the treasurer to be authorized to prepare a report commenting if the current situation is justified and outlining remedies The treasurer s report was approved unanimously Knechtel and a minority of councillors already feel strongly that beet Ion adoption is the only remedy available It is optional for municipalities adopt Section over half of Ontario municipalities already have However If a municipality Continued on page These graphs drawn by Councillor Rots Knechtel show Acton getting the short end of the stick The graph the left show Increase to mill rales for Acton and Georgetown over the past five The graph above show how equalization factor are going down is booster of Hills adopting a form of market value assessment available to the Town the A MI- TROl AND COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1983 Pages Thirty Cents teens risk fives saving fife of smoking materials probable cause of killer blaze ire on Willow St Tor over three which people were killed under control Here a fire fighter works at the window of the upper floor south side apart Photos by MURRAY issue yet if Towns new lower r Stevens land is accepted by Helen Murray Three Acton youths and an unknown Toronto teenager say they risked their lives early Sunday morning to help occupants of Willow St escape their flameengulfed house Police say the probable case of the fire was an improper disposal of smoking materials There was an estimated damage to the building Mike Pehura 19 David Hargraves and John Nessitt were the first on the scene of the fire which claimed the lives of Gene Miller and his daughter s best friend Kathy Wears 14 of Kmgham Rd sky and hydro wires were sparking Some firefighters speculate the fire could have started in a downstairs couch or bed It spread up the front wall and then south through the The Ontario Fire Mar office and the Ho lion police are Investigating and samples have been sent the Centre of Forensic Science for examm Results should be back in about three weeks giving the exact cause police say Hyde noted are four flats in the semidetached house but only Ihe Miller family was home at the lime of the blare They lived directly above where Ihe fire is suspected to hovt slarletl The house Is own by David Johnson of Pickering About 29 firefighters from Acton and Georgetown worked until Gam Hyde said but the fire was under control around Acting Staff Sergeant Keith Gregory of the Regional Police said there wen two detectives and the Fire Marshal office working on case were numtrous officers on the scene also are witnesses and neighbors in order to piece the sequence of events together Windows blown out Other lhan the fact the windows were blown out then is no indication there was an explosion which alarmed many of the neighbor Gregory He also said inutd on page Estate in or a future of Monday back if the roufihly 30 subject of Hills the old expired by he Town put refund extended a torch for 90 that the tended the who is act owners of he he was in made a d then the the pur he has no ad then the pent about in appraisal ranch had been wot an to- camera council meeting on July In fact Councillor Miller said he was concerned hat other than price the Town has offered everything discussed at ihe meeting was in the paper He wondered what the point was in holding incamera sessions if everything ends up in the paper anyway Councillor Finn noted this was a good point Miller asked why Stevens property purchase wasn I on Monday agenda for public disclosure and confirmation of council actions of July as was planned He said he straw vole held on July was only because il would be two weeks before anolher council meeting Richardson said that he and the major discussed the matter Friday while Ihe agenda and since there was no word back on acceptance or rejection of Ihe Town new offer there was no point yel in bringing forward Ihe building committee s recommendations for approval He added thai by early Monday evening there was still no word Miller said it was his opinion thai one reason for bringing mailers up at Monday meeting would have been get things out the open He noted lhat since the municipal election in November and old council put down Ihe new deposit there have been changes In some opinions and the way some councillors will vote AH nine incumbent members of the old council voted for putting down the deposit and taking out the options on the Stevens land Councillor Knechtel said here was nothing bring to council until there is Continued on page Inside todays Free Press Niagara ricarpmrnt taking lue International lamp court for a road on their norm a develop ment permit Tarn to lUttoa Regional Police gat excellent report from Ontario Police Com mil lion Taralapagel It going to more to la I litis and rink rale are going up too Details in on pages and The fate of the Hill billing office opera lion In At loo won be ed until next month at the earliest More on page 1 1 A girl Bound lor Louder See New mixer Wife daughter escape Millers wife Gloria was admitted to Georgetown broken bones In her heel and baby toe and was released Monday contrary to rumors that she had also died from injuries Her daughters Terry and Stephanie 7 and a niece Caroline Lover were treated and released from the hospital for smoke inhalation and cuts and bruises The family Is now staying Caroline and were staying overnight at the Miller home Halton Regional Police released the name of David of Wallace St as being a witness and credited him with saving the I ife of one of the residents told The Free Press John a Toronto youth named Wayne and he were searching faro bicycle which had been taken around Sunday morning They were at the corner or Willow and Mill St when they taw flames coming out of a first floor window Hesaidheheard a loud bang shortly after but did not feel it was explosion While ran to the Si Bull where the police were on a routine check he said the others raced down the street to the fire Heard glass break At MikePthuro wasinhis bedroom on Main St directly behind Miller home when he heard gloss breaking He looked the window and saw pouring out of the bottom windows He from his house to Willow St and using outside refrigerator he climbed to the at Ihe rear of the building explained Pehura told this newspaper he look screen off a window of the apartment acre the hall from the Millers and entered buildmg By the time he got to the Millc smoke was so thick he anyone nor could he hear anything water running he said At one point Pehura noted flames came through the wall and he jumped back hitting his ribs on a dresser They are still causing him discomfort he admitted In the meantime said Nessitt had kicked in back door and attempted to enter the building but the smoke forced him back Wayne to get in the front door according lo but tin flames were too much Hargraves said he was going around the back to help out when he saw a young girl In the downstairs window screaming He wrapped his coal around his arm and broke the window pulling her safely as bleeding girl the arms of a female passerby and went back towards the house injured his shoulder in all the commotion he said but it is better now received cuts to his arms said at one point he saw Mr Miller outside but lost track of him as be helped the other family members and the firefighters Mr Miller bring outside Is a point the Halloa Regional and the fills Fire Department have been unable to confirm or deny engulfed Deputy Fire Chief Bob Hyde said the call came In at 1224 a from of Bower Ave and then seconds later from the police When firefighters arrived tbe flames were licking tbe the outside of tbe wooden structure and pouring out tbe win Smoke was seen over 100 feet in the Willie family rXmijSipiiii photo Katby Wean left of Klagbam Raid was friend Terry right when tae tin claimed life early Both tended McKenileSalUi School