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•T he IFP• H alton H ills, Thursday, A ugust 22, 2013 3 e-mail: hassellsauto@bellnet.ca www.hassellautomotive.com Warranty 2009 Kia Rondo EX $9,995 + HST/LIC CALL Warranty $15,500 2008 Ford F150 XLT + HST/LIC2007 Chev Uplander LT Warranty $9,450 + HST/LIC 2007 Dodge Caliber SXT Warranty $7,830 + HST/LIC Index was listed at 64.52 (down from 70.9 in 2011), while Peel Region received 47.49 (down from 50.3 in 2011) and Niagara Region scored 63.53 (up from 60.3 in 2011). Hamilton received an overall Crime Severity Index of 71.14 (down from 76.1 in 2011). Surrey, B.C. had the highest Crime Severity Index for 2012 with a score of 123.85. Canada, as a whole, has seen a decrease in its score from 77.6 in 2011 to 75 in 2012. During last week's meeting of the Halton Regional Police Service Board, Halton Police Chief Stephen Tanner at- tributed Halton's Crime Severity Index score to various factors. Among them are Hal- ton's aging population, its philosophy of proac- tive policing and the increased visibility of po- lice in the community. The police chief said increased resources di- rected at drug enforcement may also be help- ing to drive down other crimes, as many crimes occur hand-in-hand with drug-related activity. "It appears the increased resources direct- ed to drug enforcement are paying off with a better community," said Oakville Mayor and police board member Rob Burton during the meeting. Statistics Canada introduced the Crime Se- verity Index in 2009 as a way of monitoring crimes committed in Canada. Crimes are assigned 'seriousness weights,' which are determined by the number of peo- ple convicted of the crime who spend time in jail, and how much jail time those individuals serve. To calculate the Crime Severity Index, the number of incidents for each offence is multi- plied by the weight of that offence. A large section of eavestrough on the Railway Exchange Hotel crashed to the ground Monday morning, rais- ing questions about the safety of the building located adjacent to the Georgetown GO Station. Built in the 1850s, the 37 King St. property is said to be the last of its kind in North America and Heritage Halton Hills has been investigating ways to preserve the frame stagecoach-style hotel. About 20 feet of eavestrough at the front of the hotel came down Monday, just missing several cars parked in the GO Station lot. Offi cials from the Town of Halton Hills, the Halton Hills Fire Department and an offi cer from the Halton Regional Police were on the scene to investigate the damage. The building is owned by heirs of the Wright/Hillock family, who owned and operated the hotel for about a cen- tury. Tony Iavarone, manager of corpo- rate communications for the Town, said Monday afternoon that a decision on the fate of the hotel is still being discussed. In April, the building's own- ers fi led for a demolition permit, pre- empting a bid by Town Council to list the property on the heritage roster. "Our role right now is to ensure pub- lic safety and that no people are hurt or property is damaged," said Iavrone. "We're working with the owners to come to a solution, but at this point it's in limbo." A man is said to still reside in the building, although Town offi cials couldn't confi rm that. There were no injuries or damage to nearby parked cars at the Georgetown GO Station lot Monday morning after a long piece of eavestrough fell to the ground. Photo by Eamonn Maher Historic Railway Exchange Hotel really starting to show its age By EAMONN MAHER Staff Writer Drug enforcement is key to reducing crime, says Halton's top cop Continued from pg. 1 CHIEF STEPHEN Police blotter A Georgetown man is facing an assault charge after a cab driver was punched early Satur- day morning. The Georgetown Taxi driver picked up three men at the Mc- Gibbon Hotel about 2:40 a.m. He dropped one of the men off a short time later and one of the remaining men, who was in the back seat, began verbally abus- ing the driver using racial slurs. Police say the driver was punched in the shoulder. He then dropped off the men and the man who had been in the back then attempted to get the driver to fi ght him, but the driver drove away and contacted police. Police identifi ed the man who had been in the cab and made an arrest. Charged with assault is Thomas Dales, 31. • • • A 38-year-old Toronto wom- an was charged with impaired driving and having over 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood following a minor collision at the intersection of Guelph and Adamson St. about 1:15 a.m. Sunday. Charged is Pamela Cordeiro. • • • A post mortem examination has determined the man whose body was found in Fairy Lake Tuesday morning (Aug 13) died of drowning. Police identifi ed the man as a 48-year-old Acton resident, but did not release his name at the request of his family. A Town Parks and Recreation employee discovered the body about 20 metres from shore. Man charged after cabbie hit