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•T h e IF P • H alto n H ills, Thursday, January 9, 2014 7 • 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) HEATING COOLING BOILERS RADIANT HEAT GAS LINES WATER HEATERS WWW.BROOKS HEATING AND AIR.CA COMMENT Region approves tax reduction in 2014 budget I am pleased to let you know that Regional Council approved the 2014 Budget and Business Plan, marking the fourth time in the last eight years that Halton Re- gion has achieved a property tax reduction for Regional tax supported programs and services. Over the past eight years, we have either reduced or frozen taxes, this is an in- credible achieve- ment. Halton Re- gion has one of the best records in Canada for keeping taxes low while maintain- ing and enhancing service levels. This is great news for residents and businesses in Halton. We are one of the few mu- nicipalities in all of Canada that has actually reduced taxes. By main- taining our AAA credit rating and reducing our taxes we ensure Halton is competitive which attracts jobs and in- vestment to our community. Budget highlights include: • $177 million in transpor- tation capital investment • $405,000 to create addi- tional child care subsidies • $721,000 to maintain ser- vice levels for waste manage- ment services • $300,000 to increase the number of SPLIT passes available in the community (subsidy for bus passes for low income residents) • $65,000 to support the development of an Agri-tour- ism Program to attract more tourism to Halton's rural communities • $195,000 for Locates (Ontario One Call) a new un- derground infrastructure no- tifi cation system • $600,000 to support ini- tiatives outlined in the Com- prehensive Housing Strategy • $320,000 for assisted housing pro- grams including continued im- plementation of subsidies for low income residents Halton Re- gion's strong fi s- cal management policies ensure we can deliver high quality ser- vices for our resi- dents. Our AAA rating and tax re- duction attracts companies like Target, Siemens, Toronto Premium Outlets and Gypsum Technologies Inc. making Halton a hotspot for business. To review the 2014 Budget and Business Plan, visit www.halton.ca/budget. As always, if you have any Regional concerns or comments you would like to share, please feel free to email me at gary.carr@hal- ton.ca. You can also fi nd me on Twitter @garycarrhalton, LinkedIn or Facebook. To receive further updates on Regional issues, please subscribe to my quarterly e-newsletter, "The Carr Re- port." GARY CARR HALTON REGION CHAIR From our readers Dear editor, I would like to take this oppor- tunity to thank a very kind person for their act of kindness at the Ca- nadian Tire store over Christmas. I did not realize I left my purse in the cart outside, until a manag- er from Canadian Tire called to let me know that a citizen had found my purse and returned it to the store and it would be kept in the safe until I could pick it up. I am so grateful to you for re- turning my purse and to Canadian Tire for taking the time to contact me and showing such honesty. C. Patey Georgetown Samaritan thanked for fi nding purse Christmas Dinner: demonstration of community spirit Dear editor, By Saturday, Dec. 21st, a total of 57 guests and 20+ volunteers had been arranged for holding the free Christmas Day dinner at St. Alban the Martyr church in Glen Williams. Then about 10 p.m. the lights went out and severe storms buffeted the church grounds. For the next few days, we held our breath and prayed that the dinner would not need to be cancelled. At about 10 a.m. on Tuesday Dec 24th, the miracle workers of Halton Hills Hydro restored power to the church and a mad scramble started to chainsaw and remove about four badly damaged trees and start the dinner's prepa- ration work. Several neighbors near the church showed up unsolicited to assist with the tree clearing. Oth- ers sprung into action and with little direction arranged and deco- rated the Church Hall and tables. On Christmas Day, the din- ner went ahead on schedule with much help from the pre-arranged volunteers as well as some ad- ditional ones determined to help ensure the Christmas spirit prevailed. About 18 additional faces were added to the guest list on short notice to help those unfortunate neighbors who were left without light, heat or a means of making their Christmas feast. When all was tallied, the dinner was served to about 75 guests and a number of the 25+ volunteers. On behalf of St. Alban the Martyr church in Glen Williams a heartfelt thank you to the many people in Glen Williams and the broader Halton Hills community who stepped forward to lend their generous help and their support in the form of donations for the dinner. Pulling together this din- ner under trying circumstances clearly demonstrated the close- ness and generosity of the Halton Hills community-- thank you one and all. On behalf of St. Alban's, Don Robinson Reader frustrated with snow removal Dear editor, Frustrations continue this year. I like many other residents are very thankful for all the Town and Hydro have done for us all this year and I am not one to normally complain about issues but our frustrations with snow removal continue. I am sure I am not alone when I say that the lack of snow removal in front of the schools in Halton are a major issue that seems to have no resolve. In the last few years the town does do the sidewalk in front of St Francis School but only on the side where the seniors apt. is and not down Duncan. I witness parents leav- ing strollers with babies in them at corners while they walk their other children down the sidewalk to the entrance of the school. How unsafe is that but there is no way the strollers will make it in the deep snow. I personally on two oc- casions have helped seniors walk down Sinclair to the Calvert Dr. mall entrance because they were out of breath trying to walk in the deep snow. If it is a battle of responsibility between schools and Town then the Town should clear them and bill the school board. This year I witnessed the crossing guard-- bless his heart-- bring his own shovel and between trying to cross the children to somewhere safe he was clearing the corners. This truly is an issue that needs resolv- ing. Please sort this out before someone is seriously hurt. Lauren Egerton Georgetown Dear editor, I am writing this on Jan. 6 and since Dec. 20 we have had mailed delivered to our address in urban Georgetown once-- on Jan. 2. I realize that the weather has been an issue. (Our power was out for over four days.) However, I receive six day a week home delivery of the Globe and Mail, before 6 a.m., and they have not missed a day nor been late yet. I have also received courier deliver- ies regardless of whether the town has electrical power or not. I suggest that the Canadian Government sell Canada Post to a private sector operator capable of maintaining service instead of their ridiculous plan to cut home delivery and raising prices. Rod Taylor Georgetown Where's my mail?