877 the HERALD Home Newspaper of Hills Wednesday May lM THE BIO WITH THE BIO CIRCULATION COVER GEORGETOWN ACTON A SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES Landbanking sug Realtors on tour of town industrial sites Heal estate brokers from Toronto as well as res on will be touring this week to examine potenlnl sites for new industry and commerce according to Ihe region business develop ment officer Hill Marshall for the town tee Monday night the tour can bo expected to underline Hal ton If lis and pirticularly Georgetown unfortunate of serviced industrially zoned land Mr Marshall To assist the business deve lopment office he added the town might consider Tennis club agreement unwanted PUTTING PROWESS a grade student at Public School showed off his putting to his father at the Spring Fair held Friday evening at the school Games palm reading a rummage sale were of fair more popular features Herald photo by Stephen Frost By PHI- FROST Herald The Gordon Tennis Club was forced to accept its new agreement with the town a take It or leave it proposition club member Alex charged Monday night Dr told the town general committee hat the club executive exceeded its authority by endorsing the agreement proposed by town recreation director Tom Shepard whom he said failed to recognize previous agreements between the club and the town The new agreement which council will consider next Monday asks that the club give the town per cent of all registration Tees and pay for per cent of hydro costs at the arena four courts during the season The executive tried to negotiate for per cent of toe dues up to a maximum of Dr said They also asked that the town pay for the hydro Mr came back to them and said no it was to be per cent across the board for member fees and 50 per cent for the hydro Take it or leave it claimed the rise in membership fees this year was a direct result of the proposed new agreement The executive has raised junior fees from to senior fees from 50 to and family memberships from to he said Coun Ross Knechtel said that council instructed the recreation department under Mr predecessor to increase fees for all sports facilities This was not just some thing dreamed up by the rec Georgetown student skips illfated bus ride Betty Milton of Prince Charles in Georgetown received a very special and very important Mother Day gift Sunday from her year old daughter Char a reassuring from Charlene and her travel companion Pat White of Brampton missed an en counter with tragedy Friday when they twice decided a gainst getting on the same Greyhound touring bus which later plunged 150 feet Into Tampa Bay when the bridge it was crossing was struck by a rain blinded freighter The accident Friday lunch time which claimed at least lives in all made interna tlonal headlines but fortun ate vacationers Pat and Charlene Inadvertently stir red up some publicity of their own when reporters discov their good tuck They were lucky Mrs Milton told The Herald Sunday shortly after speaking to Charlene on the telephone She told me they almost got on that same bus twice Friday The girts credit a guar- dlanangel and the driver of the bus who lost his life in the accident or keeping them off the doomed Grey hound Enjoying Greyhound a special Canada nationwide lour since April IB thepairdecidedtochange buses minutes before the crash which killed driver Michael Cur tin and nearly passengers Mr Cur tin had advised the girls In St Pet to catch a later bus which would take them In land and save an hour s travelling lime As far as I concerned we had our guardian angel us told a reporter for the Fort Lauder dale News Mrs Milton said she was unsure of the girl second reason for skipping a ride on the fated bus had just completed a social course at McMaster and Pat is entering third year at the University It was Charlene second call home since news of the accident sent a Shockwave through the family Friday Moments after the noon newscast however the first reassurance that all was well had Mrs Milton shedding tears of relief Id had this gut feeling when we heard about the crash recalled We heard from Pal through Pat a Thursday night like we were supposed to so I was already wondering if anything was wrong Sunday second phone call set remaining tensions to rest Mrs Milton calmed by Charlene plans to head home Tuesday yesterday Sunday morning Mrs Mil ton said brother Mark 19 said to her That was awfully close you know Sharing his relief are M and also younger than Charlene I can sleep a little better tonight Mrs Milton said expressing her appreciation for the many calls she d received from friends and acquaintances since the sto ry appeared Sunday In Tor herself was sit ling on a Florida park bench with Pat when she overheard two passers by discussing the crash only hours after shed opted to wait or later bus In a telephone interview Sunday Charlene said the girls wanted a seat to them selves for the ride because they were pretty tired and wanted to stretch out and sleep Since Mr first bus was crowded they opted to wait for a second which had to be called out of the barns and dldn leave until Friday morning they ac tually boarded the bus which later plunged off the end of the broken span of the bridge into the bay saw their ticket he advised them lake the bus behind his because it would be veiling by an inland route and would shave an hour off their travelling time to Fori Lauderdale said she and Pat were a lillle upset Friday and Saturday but are fine now The shock has pretty well worn off she said but I can I get over all the fuss at home Mom says had about 50 phone calls from press and all I can under standi We Just wanted to get to the beach for a tan and some sun so we took the other bus We had no premonitions or anything Charlene said that al though she knew ft was rain ing and thundering she hadn t realized how bad the storm was during the night I guess we were pretty bred and we slept through it she said The two girls will spend the next couple of days resting and soaking up the sunshine before heading to Port Col borne Sunday to watch a baseball tournament in which their former team mates Georgetown Royal will be playing departments Surtly your major dis agreement is with the tennis club executive and that is something we can t Miller said that this is the first complaint he has heard from a sports group We had some complaints under Glen Gray the former director Miller said but since Tom has explained to the different groups the new system no complaints have come before us Asa matter of fact we vc received a letter from a lady belonging to the Acton Tennis Club who have same cement as you and says she satisfied with the proposed new arrangement Coun Roy Booth asked if he had in fact heard Mr Shepard say it was a take it or leave It deal No I heard It from another member Furness Then its hearsay and I don t like people coming before this council making comments based on hearsay thai criticize our staff Coun Booth said I have never threatened anyone nor would Mr said If Mr Furness wants to deal In rumors up to him Coun Marilyn Scrjcantson said that she dldn think the new tennis rates were taxing the club members that much There are things that the town has said they will do for the club as a result of the new agreement Coun Serjeant son claimed However I do have some question about maintenance for the courts What really needed Mr acknowledged that there is very do other than keep the courts clean but added that all water and sewage costs lo Ihe new clubhouse will be paid by the The tennis club will no longer have to pay for screens or nets and any major repairs to the new clubhouse will be looked after by the town according to the new agree ment The town would also cover ihe insurance on the building Because both clubs are associated with the recreation department now they are eligible for provincial grants Mr Under the old situation they would t been The reason we are asking for per cent of the hydro costs is because under the new agreement the tennis club will be using all four courts during prime time hours he cxpla ned Naturally the summer they II be rcctit ihe of the lights The town will be happy to reimburse them for Ihe cost of the hydro if arc ghts when the club using the Club president Tony Hull told the committee that he feels the club gel the deal possible but executive voted in favor of the agreement We felt that we needed to get the club moving and we Mr Hull said 1 admit we ignored club wishes and look matters into our own but there some pressure on us and opening day was Mr Shepard said part of the pressure stemmed from the fact that the Acton club had agreed to the terms three weeks previously Mr Shepard told The Herald that the club had set their new rales before he talked to hem about new court charges ing as a means of miking more industml land readily avail to outside investors Such i move on the town part he would prove lis worth In where some industrial land is now available but re quires i lean up before po ten I al buyers will it Mr Marshall told the com thai establishing new ndustrinl sites on land adja cent to Georgetown in his department lop priority when it comes to Hills The chief obstacle however is the fa a that the lands pur and development costs arc too to make the competitive with munit to the south and LOST While sewer and water rates and hydro costs in Hills are sufficiently lower than those in neighboring Missis and Brampton lo attract corporate shoppers the shortage of suitable land and Its relatively high cost out weight these attractions he lined In order to be truly competi live land prices must drop to the level of comparable land in Milton and Mr Mar shall said Mr Marshall said the results of a group of surveys on which the economic strategy was based show that the number one need in the next few years in will be the creation of jobs During the next six years 100 jobs will be added to ihe work force In looking at the three Job areas primary and service areas the emphasis should be lo encour age manufacturing since this wilt create Jobs in all areas The third priority in the strategy is to bring each of the three corridors through to their maximum potential Seventy two per cent of Hal ton jobs and people are south of the Queen Elliabelh Way corridor he said The dors along and 7 have not produced the same results and in fact cost the region money since they drain resources out of rather than bringing them in Support for companies ready established in lakes first place In strate gy attempts to industrial base After that is taken care of the business development deportment can look at companies in close proximity to Halton Forty per cent of Canada manufacturing takes place within a 100mile radius of Halton and companies have been identified within that area which can be ap proached on behalf of region Only after these two areas have been firmly estab lished will thai department look at the rest of North America or Europe for poten new industries to bring to Halton FIRST AID ANTICS II started out as an Innocent family picnic for the Joneses but things went astray when Mr Jones was burned by barbecue starter fluid and the shock gave Grandpa Jones a heart attack The demonstration was given the annual Inspection of Squadron of the Air Cadets Monday evening to show the cadets skills In first aid See page 10 for more photos Herald photo ExActonians for Action watching antiregion efforts Herald Special The current furor raised by and Milton civic lead crs over Halton region all eg failure to Queens Park expectations has cast a flattering light in the eyes of some upon Acton own semi official attempt to challenge regional govern ment two years ago Peter Paplllon a founding member of the AUonians for Acton formed in to try and determine whether as a com munity from Hills and the region would benefit Acton said he wishes new challengers luck with their aspirations I don t think anyone is happy the system he said but the whole question is whether it feasible to get out of tha the whole thing is so entrenched Mr recalled that the IB members of the Acton- ions group formed three com and were very careful to keep the hotheads out of them One committee gated the possibility of getting out of regional government a second investigated ways of better deal within the existing regional system and a third looked al leaving and joining Wellington County You know which one got the cooperation he said and even ihey do get much We wanted a review of the system then before got so locked in we could gel out There itrc those who said Acton got nothing while Georgetown got everything under Halton Hills Others kept saying how much better off we were under the region We wanted a review to determine whether we were that hard done by or not and they said review would be done after five years We felt that would be loo late By then wedbelockedin It was a sore spot that we never did get any McKeoughs assistant George Ashe was a man and he listened but he just said Yes boys every thing s fine boys and nothing ever was done Mr Pa pi lion said he was hoping Waterdown resident Mike Majic would contact him about his petition but so far he has not heard from him We saw 1 all two years ago Maybe now s the time to re vive our group he said If nothing else it will keep the politicians on their toes and make them aware that people Ihappywilhlhesystera Oakville Mayor Harry Bar rell said last week that no decision has yet been made as to exactly what sort of question will be put before voters the municipal elections this fall but it will seek input on changing regional govern ment Mayor Barrett said he has no intention of trying to take the town out of the region com He just wants to nego tiate a better deal for the towns Most people In regional government are frus led he commented and he sees paral lets now between what the Actoruans for Acton wanted and what his own council would like to see Queen s Park however Is reticent to admit it made a mistake Mayor Barrett said The region has been given a darn good try and now It is up to the various towns seek ing a belter deal to sell their new version of regional go vernment to Queen Park in such a way that It can be turned down While Mayor Barrett knowledged there are a her of services like Centennial Manor social and family health services and the board of health which were more efficiently handled at the regional level he said there are hard services such as care of sewers water and roads which should never hove been moved to the region The county didn I deliver hard services he sold and efficiency went out the window when they went to Ihe region Everything was made to the most expensive level of service rather than geared the level of service the residents In each town wanted Mayor Barrett is also con cerned with the millions of dollars which have been ploughed into stabilizing re gional government and feels the money would have been better spent in serving the people Milton Mayor Don Gordon said he sees no similarity between what Milton wants and what the Acton group wanted two years ago In his books the Acton group just like the community losing its identity and joining Georgetown Members of his council have met with intergovernmental affairs minister Tom Wells In search of answers as to Milton can get out of the region Milton council recently con passing a resolution asking Burnton MPP Julian Reed to Introduce a private member s bill in Ihe Legislature which will re solve some of Milton differ with regional govern men Mayor Gordon sees the town reasons for wonting changes not only as a matter of finance but also as a matter of responsibility Like Mayor Barrett of he would like to sec sewers and water returned to local control HERALD STAFFERS IN THICK OF THINGS Trying out the pillory In New Zealand last year Herald reporter Steve Frost was about to encounter plenty of advenlnrn daring his IBSday tour of the world which coded last October Read all about It in The Herald new feature lerlei beginning this week on page Bl Toe Herald brave and courageous sports editor Mark Clatrmont shows Us mettle as be Us finger pricked al the Red Crow Mood clink held Monday at Holy Cross photo SEE PAGE 3