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the HERALD Home Newspaper of HBb Since 1866 A Division of Canadian Newspapers Company Limited Guelph Street Georgetown Ontario PAUL J TAYLOR Publisher and General Manager PAUL DORSE Editor PHONE DAVID BEATTIE Advertising Manager Second Clin Mall Registered Number SECTION A THE HERALD Wednes 1MI Ontario government releases report Turnoff needed to deter vandals If Hills seem to have lost that old familiar glow its because town workers have spent a lot of time this past year replacing the illuminated street signs with simpler sturdier bladetype signs which have to catch car headlights before theyll give up their message at night Its a metaphor for our times when our civic leaders must resort to the old functional designs for municipal paraphernalia simply because growing social problems in this case rampant vandalism no longer tolerates the more aesthetic more vulnerable designs of the recent past Like the renewed tide of global militarism bolstering civilians for what many predict will be harder times our governments at all levels have had to tighten their fists as they tighten their belts societys ills from drug abuse to violent crime in creasingly putting people on the defen sive Hence the trend Simply turning our backs on our problems will only make matters wor se of course so it pleases us to see steps being taken to curb the van dalism problem at least where people were previously reluctant to take firm action Were not talking about jail terms or any other reactionary overkill Instead an Ontario gover nment task force on vandalism which released its report last week is finally making some strong recommendations along the lines of retribution something many people have talked about for years Why not make the vandals pay for their crimes when they can be caught Its a simple solution to part of the problem although it only applies to those convicted Our psychologists will have to look further for an overall solution to the motivation itself behind vandalism that we fear will be some years coming In the meantime young people are flowing through our courts Nab bed for smashing windows and chided by the judge theyll spend a year or so on probation reporting to a counsellor The worst offenders will spend a week or two in jail Its an inappropriate ap plication of legal punishment that we suspect does little to turn the kids off crime but instead reinforces their basic antisocial belief that society is out to get them On the other hand as the provin cial task force points out putting the offenders in indirect contact with the victims of their crimes could work like a tonic Now most young people dont have the money at hand to repay their victims for property damage so the courts would put them to work for so many hours a week either helping the victim while under supervision or doing community work of some kind We also praise the task force for warning against making parents of vandals liable for the crimes their children commit To suggest as North York council recently aid that van dals parents should be liable to lawsuits for damages caused by their children is to totally forget the paren tal neglect which probably contributed to the childs problem from the outset While many parents would no doubt react to a lawsuit by attempting to properly discipline their children most we feel would take the wrong steps to do so Remember we are talking about parents who have already failed in some capacity to properly coach their children about right and wrong and the relative im portance in our society of personal property Needless to say parents of con victed vandals would still be finan cially accountable if another task force recommendation is accepted Their report suggests court fines for van dalism should be boosted from the current low of to With tough reactions like that someones going to get the message Letter from the editor Paul Dorsey Writers helping readers Readers may have noticed some unfamiliar bylines in The Herald lately attributing stories and reviews to writers whom you KNOW arent on our staff with the added message Herald Special By way of explanation the Herald Special designation whether alone or accompanying a writers name indicates the story was not written Herald staff member Most of these stories come from our Thomson affiliates In Guelph and Brampton others are moreor less verbatim press releases received in the mail Recently though some bylines have been attributing stories to local writers As they continue helping us out on a freelance basis I hope to Introduce them to you For the most part theyre amateur writers who take an Interest in Hills events and activities and who responded to our recent classified ad looking for parttime reporters You might expect problems In hiring amateurs particularly In the area of writing quality but quite frankly Ive been amaxed at how vsSvjrf Pitching in Actons Beardmore leather tannery has coma to the towns rescue following an unsuccessful search by the recreation depart ment for land on which to build a new community baseball diamond Town council Monday night endorsed the departments propo sal to build the new diamond on property located on Poplar Avenue subject to a lease being negotiated between the two parties Initially the department planned to move a soccer field from Prospect Park to land available at the curling rink on Churchill Itoad north making room for a new diamond However the Idea was shelved when the rink property was found unsuitable for the soccer pitch good our freelancers have been of Georgetown did a superior Job reviewing the GLTs Not Now Darling and Ted Brown of Limehouse took some great shots of he show and Acton fair board honors night recently In this weeks Issue 13year old Wlntcrbum of Georgetown rose to a formidable adult challenge by reviewing the Once Upon a Time It was Kathys mother Linda who responded to the ad for reporters suggesting that she and her daughter would like to tackle an assignment together I thought they could compare notes on the Little Theatres Christmas play from the viewpoint of two different age groups but ultimately Knthy found she shared her reaction so she handled most of the review herself And Id like to stress shes done a fine semi professional job that suggests shes more talented than most 13year olds Also in this Issue Is a review of the Choral Societys Messiah concerts Though it was written by two Hills women one of whom had not seen the Societys previous performances Both were literally astounded by the calibre of the twin Sunday shows as theyve indicated In their review Although we usually like writers names on top of our reviews I agreed to an exception In this case when the two authors asked too have done a commendable Job All of this Is not Just In aid of Herald reporters though needless to say were grateful for the Theres much more to It though as were finding out Our freelancers are bringing a new perspective to The Herald and In time I think you notice their contribution of new and different visions of Halton Kills My very first Letter from the editor two years ago stated In no uncertain terms that I wanted to get as many readers directly Involved in The Herald as possible This Is YOUR newspaper I said Many have responded hough not enough These new freey lancers 1 feel are bringing us all closer to what I consider the community newspaper Ideal ITS REALLY SANTA tram mom this youngster defiantly Saturday afternoon at the Glen awn hall and Joined clowns and made up his own mind about whether or not the man dressed In muilclam smiles on he standingroomonly the red suit and sporting be silvery beard really was Santa and crowd Hie annual party la by the own ball board of eventually decided that Indeed this Is the fellow who will visit bis directors home and thousands or others Eve Santa Herald photo close friend of Run Miller dropped Into the kids party Constitution achievement humbles Prime Minister By Stewart MacLeod Bureau of The Herald When the attending members of Parliament stood In tho Commons and burst Into a rousing version of Canada It was all over again This time our Parliamentarians were celebrating the passage of a resolution which will give Canada a new constitution an objective that has eluded successive government since was founded The last time 1963 that Is It was the passage of a resolution that would give Canada a new flag something else that had Intimidated governments for years The parallels are striking And as you watch the constitution reach Its Commons climax with Liberal MPs greeting Prime Ministr Trudeau like a conquering hero was an almost Identical playback to 1965 At that time Prime Minister Lester Pearson looked Just as selfeffacing as did this lime and his Liberal followers were Just as enthusiastic In ensuring he had his moment of glory On both occasions clear major 1 ly or the MPs supported the resolutions before the House But on both occasions a minority remained bitter ly opposed Most wanted to sing Canada In 1965 and in 1981 But both times a few would prefer to remain In their ALL TIRED On the two occasions most MPs tired The arguments debates and the emotional strains had taken their toll In 1965 a Tory defending the Red Ensign had bloodied the nose of a Maple Leaf Grit There is no record of this happening during the constitution al squabble but there were a few mavericks in all parties who had troublefuinillngsoclalobligatlonswlth their colleagues On both occasions every effort was made to conceal the divisions at the lost minute so the celebrations would not be marred But thats easier said than done sure they celebrated all that preceded this constitutional war who could blame them But just as it was years ago the joy was not unbridled Amid the musical din In the Commons you could still sense the apprehension even more than you could back In As we walked out of the Commons after that latenight flag vote a colleague remarked that we had just witnessed history in But he added just think how much better It would be If the whole country accepted the flag The Commons had just celebrated the adoption or a resolution whose opponents ranged from John to the Royal Canadian Legion One Tory had even refused to stand for Canada STAKES HIGH This didnt happen with the consti tutional resolution yet as alt MPs Joined in the celebrations there was still a bit of 1965 in the air As the French and English versions of Canada echoed off the chambers ceiling the Quebec government of Rene Levcsque was preparing to fly lis flags at half mast to protest the resolution And Tory MP was saying that It la Impossible for me to support the resolution without the Inclusion of Quebec Or as John said IS years earlier How can we support a pennant thai ignores our heritage Would the flag eventually unite the country or further divide It Pearson said it will be loved by all Cana- the constitution unite us or divide us And in this respect like Pearson before him Is optimisllcallyconfldcnt But were still not absolutely certain Like we must wait to sec how the country as a whole and one region In particular handles this new acquisition The only difference this Is that the stakes are much Ontarios legislative lunacy over human rights revisions Queens Park By Derek Nelson Queens Park Bureau of The Herald One would think human rights cither are or they are not It seems only logical that something so Import ant and fundamental should bo total and not riddled with Inconsistent And yet thats exactly fundamental premise Ignored by Labor Minister Bob craty Bill an act to revise and extend human rights protection In Ontario Tako this example from the final draft of the bill that passed legislature this week Marital status and family status have now been added to the Human Rights Code as prohibited grounds for discrimination In accommodation Well sort of If you own an adultonly high rise with a common entrance you can keep out people with children That remains legal But If you want to rent out the basement apartment in your house with its own entrance and reject someone on tho grounds they have children youll be In trouble with the human rights police Thats illegal REVERSE APPLIES Exactly reverse applies however if you want to deny people accommodation of heir marital slalus If an unmarried couple wants your basement apartment you can tell them get lost You cant do that If you awn a high rise however Then It Is discrimination These ore not Iho only human rights that arc limited in strangest ways Discrimination in employment on grounds of citizenship is also forbidd en with same exceptions one of them being that a corporation can make citizenship intention to acquire It a Job requirement but only as it applies to chief or senior executive posi tions Tough luck for minions And one could go on What used to be a clean simple Human Rights Code has become encumbered with all kinds of useless and unnecessary even contradictory adornments SPECIAL PROGRAMS Still Bill Is a somewhat better bill than It was before tabled a number of amendments recently although there ore aspects hat remain troubling The special programs section the lolcst bun word for affirmative action or quotas is Intact although it was reworded to make clear the Human Rights Commission can only recommend such discriminatory policies to business Of course any Ihn ells a company to Jump the normal reaction of businessmen Is to ask how high I doubt many private sector firms would defy the Commission COULD BE What we are going to to do Is see how tho bill is used by the Commission in its drive for increased powers prestige The fear Is that It will go overboard But maybe not Time will tell Fortunately too opposition amendments were rebuffed Both the Liberals and NDP wanted to tack on several more human tights beyond the existing dozen or so That lunacy Included matters such as political belief Worst of all was a suggestion by Jim to severely curtail free expression by forbidding someone to say for example dont want any more Boat People coming to Canada toyed with the idea but finally rejected it The amazing thing is hat ho considered it for so long POETS CORNER The Stump Puller As a boy this story was old me an old dump puller whouied to be Old pine stumpi would never rot Man worked with all he Bo They winched them out with ox and Man and Ox worked with a grinding Men shovelled tons of earth and rock To free those roots some they had Then hose stumps were dragged In Thai formed a fence all made of pine Oxen strength was powerful great For dynamite bote days was too late The country was cleared by man and Cut off he rees and moved the rocks Farmers hey grew hay and wheat Some kept cattle hogs and sheep When he lime of harvnit came All he family cut the grain Long hours hard work time and sweat They sore earned all hey did get By Albert Brooks ri real winter day for Santas annus Georgetown Considerable snow fell on Friday ending an unseasonable mild spell and Saturday was cold and clear After all the children received their bags of candy on Main Street Santa visited Ccdarvule School and Notre Dome de Beauregard Farm where he distributed goodies to the children Spring flooding has begun early In the Glen this year This morning residents of the flats along the Ninth Lino were unpleasantly surprised to find the river had overflowed Its banks and was in their cellars The river is frozen over and water trapped under Ihe Ice has no other way of escaping The Christmas seal campaign undertaken by the newly formed Tuberculosis and Health Association Is meeting with marked success In the Georgetown district A total of has been received to date The fund raising will continue for another week or two Inspector visited Georgetown Public School and announced It had a good staff relationship and fine working spirit with courteous and well behaved pupils Mr said the board was fortunate In being able to get St Johns Church Hall this year for use by the kindergarten to primary classes Walter was reappointed to the North high school district board Georgetown has this extra appointment by virtue of having largest public school enrolment of the five municipalities which comprise he district The Raiders have won a hockey garnet Sparked by Del and Junior Beaumont who tallied five goals between them Dang boys came through with their first win of the season last Friday here against The win ended a string of defeats for the luckless Raiders who have been hampered this year with some missing TWENTY YEARS coming to town a spectacular reception Is planned TJie Georgetown Lions Club has their mobile extra vaganza ready to roll Saturday afternoon with units including four bands and 22 floats Clowns pirates majorettes and Leo Lion will proceed with visiting guest Santa in tow At a brief Esqueslng Council meeting last week Nell is or Acton was awarded the tender for snow ploughing in the township He will be paid an hour while towing and a day per machine stand by time contract runs from Dec to March Countys population has hit a record high County assessor Ford Rogers announced his week hat Hal tons population Is now I159QB an increase of over 1960s The populace is divided among five towns and three townships Burlington leads with Georgetown Is second with and Acton is fifth with were hosts to the senior citizens of Georgetown deftly balancing trays stacked high with dishes serve dinner then clearing the tables at their annual dinner to honor older citizens of Georgetown About ISO guests dined then watched as rotary club president Logan McDonald crowned Joyce McLean of Norval Snow Princess 1981 A letter relayed to council Monday by town so id tor George said that payment of an amount owing by Del rex Developments under a agreement to make up an industrial imbalance in cash would be paid by Dec Tho letter from company general manager Harold explained that there had been a delay due to technicalities In financing construction of the Standard Products plant The solicitor had been instructed by council earlier this fall to take legal action to collect the debt TEN YEARS Shell gas station In been gutted and a young man taken to Peel Memorial Hospital where he Is being treated for bums to his hands face and legs as a result of a fire Damage is placed at and for a while Tire threatened to engulf the United Church next door Firemen limited the damage to the church to the windows on one side the window frames and slight roof damage estimating the total damage at It took firemen three hours to fight the blaze They successfully prevented It from reaching the gas pumps in front of the garage owned by Norman Origin of the fire Is unknown Georgetowns snowmobile bylaw which would set stringent regulations for he operation of these vehicles within town limits Is still mired In a council recreation committee dispute over allowing snowmobiles In parks The bylaw has been in process since last spring and was presented for Its third and reading Snow Is here and we need the bylaw said Coun Harry Levy Some councillors want the recreation committee to map specified areas where they would be allowed Others and the committee want the bylaw to give control of this to the recreation committee without specifying locations in the bylaw A large dog hit by a car at the Georgetown Markets Montreal Road entrance Thursday night turned out to be a wolf An Ontario Humana Society officer called to the scene confirmed the identifica tion As the Humane Society officer was binding the animal with a rope in preparation for moving It the wolf apparently just stunned by the car regained full consciousness and with teeth gnashing leaped at police constable Henry Ademo As the constable jumped away he slipped on a patch of Ice and fell fracturing his right arm The Humane Society Officer Instructed Const Adema to shoot the animal and the carcass was taken to Cooksvllle for a rabies test Wolves ore normally shy animals and shun populated areas ONE YEAR AGOHalton regional police stopped drivers across he region In the first week of their now spot check program Of the drivers stopped received warnings under the Highway Traffic Act for such offences as equipment broken tall lights or being unable to produce a drivers licence or driving with an expired drivers licence Public relations officer Norm Ryall pointed out that there been a sharp increase In the number of fatal accidents in over the last year In 1979 people were killed In 20 accidents while to far in 33 people been killed In accidents An Acton merchant who suggested vigilante help for regional police patrols has had a conversation with Police Chief James Harding and expects to meet him personally to discuss matters within the week Lome DobcrUuen president of Dave Whiting when he takes concerned residents to meet Chief Harding Thursday Mr had written a letter to the police chief which he had also released to the Acton Free Press expressing his frustration with thefts and vandalism at his dealership A consulting firm has been hired to finally determine whether the Acton sewage treatment plant can handle more Industrial and commercial growth beyond the communitys present boundari es Town council Monday night approved an urban review steering committee recommendation to hire Proctor and municipal consultants lo conduct the study at a maximum cost of which equally shared between the region and tho town