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•The IFP• Halton Hills, Thursday, N ovem ber 14, 2013 7 HEATING AIR CONDITIONING BOILERS RADIANT HEAT GAS LINES WATER HEATERS WWW . B R O O K S H E A T I N G A N D A I R . C A FREE Furnace Tune-up & Cleaning when you join our Preventative Maintenance Plan• Truck Accessories • Upholstery• Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 We handle all insurance work. Quality & Service You Can Count On! www.bathstudio .ca 905-702-0885 332 Guelph Street, Georgetown (Across from Canadian Tire) COMMENT Halton is an economic hotspot Last year, 2012, was a record setting year for industrial, commercial and in- stitutional (ICI) development in Halton, with ICI development surpassing over $1.2 billion in building permit value. On Tuesday, October 29, I joined industrial and commercial developers and real estate brokers from the GTA, along with my colleagues from Region- al Council and Halton's Lo- cal Municipalities at the Halton Real Estate Forum. The event was a terrific opportunity for business- es to network. Attendees also had the chance to learn about economic and real estate performance, trends, development cost competitiveness in Halton and the surrounding area, and hear from business panelists their reasons for choosing Halton. Halton has been named the safest regional municipality in Can- ada for the past five years. We have an AAA credit rating, location and quality of life that is second to none, and incred- ible talent living within our borders. Judging by our growing ICI develop- ment numbers and recent investments by companies such as Target, Siemens, Toronto Premium Outlets and Gypsum Technologies Inc., it is clear that Halton continues to be an economic hotspot. A key message voiced by the speak- ers at the Forum was that with our eco- system of leading companies and excep- tional quality of life, Halton is indeed a location of choice-- one of the best communities in which to live and work. Speakers mentioned Halton's attractive business environment, ac- cess to skilled workers, cus- tomers and suppliers, the entrepreneurial eco-system, excellent infrastructure, lo- cation, facilities for innova- tion and startups, such as HalTech, and proximity to post-secondary institutions. You can view presenta- tions at www.halton.ca/ ref2013. If you have any Regional concerns or comments you would like to share, please feel free to email me at gary. carr@halton.ca. You can also find me on Twitter @garycarrhalton or on Face- book. To receive further updates on Regional issues, please subscribe to my quarterly e-newsletter, "The Carr Re- port." --Gary Carr is the chair of Halton Region GARY CARR The way we were Business was bustling on Main Street in Georgetown, in this photo from the 1880s. Star Grocery, owned by J. M. McDermid was established in 1881. Items for sale included gro- ceries, crockery and glassware. Following his death, J. McDermid Jr. succeeded his father adding boots and shoes to the store's wares. The site is now the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Photo: courtesy of the Esquesing Historical Society Content: Heritiage Halton Hills A 19th century grocery run 'We should... have our antennae up in the future.' --HDSB trustee Alice Strachan see story pg.12 The competitive team from Georgetown Dance Company held a Halloween party to col- lect food for the Georgetown Bread Basket. Here members show off their costumes and their collected goods. Submitted photo Got a photo you want to share? Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca. DAnCeRs' DonAtion From our readers 'Quote unquote' Santa Parade will force road closures Dear editor, Please join us for the George- town Santa Claus Parade and say hi to Santa as we celebrate our 82nd annual parade. The parade will be held Satur- day, Nov. 16 starting at 5 p.m. and will travel along Guelph St. to Mill St. then to Charles St. before end- ing at the fairgrounds. Just a reminder there will be some road closures starting at 4:30 p.m. so please be patient as they are necessary to ensure the safety of volunteers, participants and spectators. Also those going to Mold-Masters SportsPlex for hockey are reminded the arena is in the area of the road closures. So remind your family, friends and neighbours to arrive early and get a good spot. Kevin Robinson, Georgetown Lions Club Letter to the editor