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THE HERALD Wednesday 1990- Page 30 Years Ago The president of the National Council of Women Mrs GD suggested that wives spend more time behind the wheel Mrs said women should be behind the wheel more often because they are naturally cautious women motorists are far less accidentprone than men She also said that statistics show that out of 130000 drivers involved in traffic accidents in Ontario in only 11500 were women drivers She suggested women who do not drive act as safety engineers to keep traffic accident occurrences down Mrs said women could act as spare drivers to relieve their tired husbands and make sure the family goes to bed early the night before starting a tnp Her safety driving tips also in eluded frequent coffee breaks tak ing along games to keep children occupied and keeping snacks in the car when going long distances Mrs insisted that with the cooperation of Canadian mothers and housewives the number of accidents could be cut in half 20 Years Ago A massive celebration was held in honor of the golden wedding an of Mr and Mrs Mathew Hennessy of years ago Telegrams and letters of con gratulations were received from then Prime Minister On tano Premier John Robarts and Governor General Roland A special mass in their honor was performed by Father Gerald Craig in Holy Cross Church and the couples two grandsons Tom Ken and Stephen Brunski assisted as altar boys Four generations were present at the celebration Immediate family included Mr and Mrs Tom and son Tom Mr and Mrs Jack and daughter Christine Cindy and son Jack Mr and Mr Joe Kennedy and sons Tom Joseph and daughter Margaret Kathleen Mr and Mrs CJ Hennessey Diane and Mark Mr and Mrs A J Brunski hosted the affair Hall History from our files LETTERS New national holiday proclaimed Years Ago Someone was listening to the prayers of Parent of Georgetown years ago after he won in a draw Mr Parent and his wife who bought a book of tickets for every draw and usually won or free tickets struck it rich that day The family knew exactly what their plans for the money were but they were not about to let anyone else in on them Mr Parent planned to buy more tickets for the next and Provincial lottery draw to test his luck further He said he was going to frame the ticket and hang it up for six months and then give it to his daughter to hang up on her wall Mr Parent was about to retire after 37 years at the Ontario Ford Truck plant in 5 Years Ago The students are only as good as the teachers who teach them said Barbara Singleton the new pnncipal of Georgetown District High School five years ago Mrs Singleton believed the first year at high school would be the exploration time necessary to become acquainted with the school and to identify its needs The se cond year she said would be the time to implement those changes The new vice principal believed her efficiency organizational skills and her love of challenges were some of her best qualities I am a good listener and enjoy kids They make me laugh Mrs Singleton said adding that she en joyed a good joke with teenagers Believing the ability of students was important Mrs Singleton maintained otherwise students will never challenge themselves Dear Sir On July I Canada Day due to the failure of the Meech Lake Accord I lowered my dian flag to half mast cancelled the celebrations and contemplated our country future After a con amount of time I thought that if Quebec leaves con federation and as a nation we break up we will need another day to take the place of our national holiday Tax Freedom Day that sit Just think how great a day that will be for the taxpayers of Halton Hills I can see it now Dancing in the streets partys galore brass bands neighbors shaking hands etc We could use the Ontario flag instead of the Maple Leaf and we would still have approximately 5 months and days to make ends meet Seriously though after reading recent letters to the editor of the Herald from Mr Furness and Mor row on local taxes I realize that there really is no Tax Freedom Day Realistically it is a pro gressive Tax Freedom Day and perhaps next year it will fall on ly and this fact scares me and it should you too Local taxes in Hills have increased rapidly over the past 5 years and when you consider that only one local politician and one school trustee voted against this years drastic increase in taxes one wonders whether we are being adequately served by our elected officials Local school board spen ding has increased approximate 60 over this same period Most taxpayers understand that they require a substamable in come and that if you spend more than your net income then debt is the result The municipality of Halton Hills is no different this respect Hills taxation is based to a large extent on residential and commercial with a very small in dustnal tax base The question is can we sustain service growth etc by keeping the yearly tax in crease to the inflation rate or do we up the taxes as we have and continue to do well above the taxpayers wage increases Let us keep our town the beautiful place it is Do we really need to destroy lovely residential areas to accommodate high rise apartments for tax revenue tear down historical buildings to make Georgetown another poorly planned community We elect our governments to represent the people to work in their best interests Perhaps the time has come to form a strong ratepayers association one en compassing the Hills area and one which will keep the politi cians aware of our concerns Maybe then we can all afford to live here Sincerely C McHale Georgetown Mandatory tests required for soil Editors Note A copy of the following letter to Halton Hills Mayor Miller was forward ed to the Herald for publication Dear Mayor Miller I am writing to request that ex tensive soil testing be made a man part of any building ap plication for ravine properties in Halton Hills I would further re quest that resulting consultants recommendations be followed strictly by the builder under the close supervision of appropriate town staff Approximately eighteen years ago when Georgetown East was being developed soil testing was carried out by Arthur Trow Con The town council of the time acknowledged receipt of the resulting report and forwarded it to the Engineering Department However the recommendations in the report were never and the developer pro ceeded as he saw fit a result thirty three Georgetown residents now suffer intermittent problems with their properties The cost of repairs is in the area of We are to day paying for an error made by a town council or staff almost twenty years ago This must not happen again Consider the proposed fifteen storey twin towers on sensitive ravine property where only three homes stood on Maple Avenue You require a twenty five foot set back from the ravine edge for in dividual homes Is this sufficient for fifteen storey towers How much will soil erosion increase with the removal of a considerable number of trees and ground cover How stable will the land be with ex- tens ive excavation for underground parking and other amenities Can the ravine edge be made stable enough to cantilever a swimming pool from considering the pool that fell into the ravine on one of the aforementioned proper ties in east Georgetown Is town staff prepared and numerous enough now to see that all safety and other requirements are carried out Having had to per supervise the construction of my own home on Gardiner Dnve five years ago because of the lack of expected support from town in we are aware of the shortcuts builders may try to get away with without scupulous supervision Safety must be made a priority Please make developers who stand to make excellent profit pay now for soil testing so that we the taxpayers do not have to pay later Yours truly Gail Rutherford Georgetown Mare letters Perturbed by public Thinking of elkskin boots As you might have noticed one of the many new additions to the Halton Hills Herald is the Com munity Forum appearing on page 2 of the Wednesday paper It was in produced to the newspaper to give the people of Georgetown and Ac ton a means to communicate with each other on the important issues of the day But in having to go out and ask the questions the last three weeks Ive quickly learned a lot of people arent that excited about stating an opinion at least for publication that is This week question which I asked outside the Georgetown Market Square this past weekend was Do you think premier David Peterson should calla provincial election soon The first person I approached looked at me as if I had the plague and quickened her already speedy pace to avoid me No thank you were the only words I got from her Who knows who the woman thought I was In handing me the assignment my editor Colin Gibson stressed that I talk to a variety of age groups So I approached a woman about old When asked her if she would participate in the forum I got a giggle followed by Im shy Whats there to be shy about It s only a picture Just a head and shoulder shot at that I thought youth was supposed to be open to risks And if there ever was a chance to go out on a limb that was it Its incredible how many people are afraid of the camera and its strictly for reasons of vanity Whens the last time you picked up the community forum and started judging someones looks Readers dont recognize the feature as some sort of beauty contest If they do well enough said If the camera was scaring people Bens Banter away I thought to myself I d hide it and broach the idea of a pic ture at the last minute Let s call this approach fishing newspaper style The only problem was had no hook Theyd nibble but there was no way of getting around the fact I needed a photograph Several people agreed to answer the question but no picture What s the big deal I thought to myself My appreciation goes out to the older people in town They are the only ones who have overcome their vanity Needless to say it took me over an hour to have three people agree to have their photograph taken and also answer our Community Forum question Lets get straight to the point Lately Ive been thinking a lot about elk skin cowboy boots Those who were hoping to read something meaningful and penetrating might as well take this opportunity to flip to another sec tion of the newspaper I won t be offended But there are times when a guy just has to come out and state whats on his mind And what s on my mind is this I have decided I cannot be truly happy until I ve found a way to separate my new cowboy boots form the elk they re currently attached to As you probably guessed I wear cowboy boots A lot I wear cowboy boots all year round I wear them to work to leisure activities and to formal gatherings Last Sunday I wore them to the beach And if you re beginning to suspect there may be something pathological in this attachment you won t be the first Let me hasten to add that I stop at the bootsI don t go in for sons and embroidered shirts let alone string ties A guy has his dignity to preserve There no point in look like a refugee from Audie Mur last movie Or the Mayor of Calgary Let it also be said that I NOT one of those utterly pathetic fakers who wears western boots even though hes never been on a horse in his life Perish the thought Im one of those slightly less pathetic fakers who wears western boots even though he hasnt been on a horse since he was Theres a difference And theres a simple reason why I wear cowboy boots Its because a mans gotta do what a mans got ta do We live in a society that condi tions us to believe that Real Men wear cowboy boots So you can tell a lot about a guy by his footwear If he wears boots hes rugged and masculine If he wears boots constantly he probably has a few doubts about his ruggedness If he wears them to bed he knows in his heart hes a wimp But hes trying Occasionally of course you come across someone who wont tell the truth about this A couple of months back I wound up at a meeting with a TV producer who had a splendid new pair of black cowboy boots I admired them and he turned slightly pink Oh he said These I only wear them because Ive got such a narrow foot that shoes dont fit properly This was of course a shameless fib Were talking about a short slight mildmannered guy with a bald spot Wearing boots is not an attempt to find comfortable footwear Its a lastditch attempt to look like John Wayne if only from the shins down It was only a couple of weeks later that bought myself a new pair of cowboy boots myself I spent a couple of days trying subtly to get people to noticesitting with my feet up on my desk that sort of thing Nobody noticed at all Until I walked into a theatre all places And bumped into another playwright of all people He looked down at my feet Wow He exclaimed New boots I looked down at his feet Wow I exclaimed And you have new boots too Yes he said happily angling them so that they reflected the light I bought em yesterday Now I think Id like to get a snake- skin pair I bought mine on Monday I replied I think my next pairs go ing to be suede My friend nodded his grave approval Oh yes he said quietly Suede is excellent It was a moment that brought two realizations into sudden sharp focus It made me realize what a strangely exalted place the cowboy boot occupies to male mythology And it helped me understand how Imelda Marcos got started All of which brings us back to those elk skinned cowboy boots I saw them the other day in a catalogue sent out by something called the J Company in Lexington Kentucy Mr catalogue in cludes a beautiful drawing of a pair of boots Underneath Mr has written Large herds of elk roam the nortHem tier of Europe This boot is made from those hides I know its wrong of course I know I dont need another pair of boots And I know those elkthe ones roaming the northern tier of Europeare quite attached to their hides But I want those boots Perhaps someone could explain this to one of the elk If hes a guy hell understand