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Best pals Tom and Huck Centennial Public School, is well into rehearsal for Garth Serjeantson (left) Huckleberry Finn. The show is scheduled for the Hal (located at 9 Church St, in Georgetown) April 6, has the lead role, MacFarlane at Centennial School, telephone 877-6976. isl Vol. 1, No. 38 its special production of the Mark Twain classic T: while Garry Norman plays his faithful sidekick ton Hills Cultural Centre’s John Elliott Theatre 7 and 8. Tickets are oe by contacting Mr. Photo by Simon Wilson By Colin Gibson ‘There is relative peace in the val- ley between the Halton Board of Education and its teachers, but the Provincial NDP’s got a verbal lash of the strap; following Thursday’s budget meeting which saw the board approve the lowest expendi- ture increase in over a decade. Faced with plummeting financial support from the province, the board had requested that teachers volunteer a day without pay to bring the 1993 budget in line with fiscal reality. Although the teachers at first balked, at Thursday’s meeting, it was revealed they had agreed to the voluntary day, thus avoiding the Possible forced layoff of 75 of their co-workers. “This year, after the most exten- sive public input in our history, we have approved a budget that is Tesponsive to community demands and responsible to students, staff and taxpayers alike,” said Don Cassidy, chair of the board’s finance committee. The trustees approved a 1993 budget with a 2% increase in expenditures and a 3.43% mill rate increase heralded as “The lowest Ryaer-lel-) Education board meets its goal expenditure increase in the history of the Halton board and the lowest mill tate increase in well over a decade.” Board vice-chair Dave Whiting, Halton Hills Wards 1 and 2 trustee, commended staff for their willing- Ness to contribute one day’s pay. According to the board, as of March 25, 2,000 staff had voluntar- ily contributed about $500,000 (a total of days without pay) of the $1 million the board had been forced ‘to pare from its 1993 budget. Dave Coons, chair of the board, condemned the Ministry of sana 3 for the slashing of Srani “When will this end?” he asked. “Last year our grants dropped by $7.8 million, this year by another $3.4 million. As the portion of our budget continues to plummet, now to about 20%, I have to wonder when the increase in funding promised by our NDP government will occur. Coons added that the board is looking to further decrease the bud- get by “4% to 5%” in 1994 and noted, “The approval of this budget (for 1993) is only the start of sub- stantial long-term reductions. SUNDAY BRUNCH * 232 Guelph St, Georgetown 873-2254 Your independent voice in Halton Hills’ Local control stressed for escarpment By Dianne Cornish Hearing officers, members of Ontario’s Environmental ane Board, have tecom- implementation of the Niagara Biearenont Plan (NEP) “be delegated to regional munici- palities and counties” along the escarpment. The recommendation appeared in a 400-page report Teleased Wednesda: lementation of the Plan cur- rently rests in the hands of the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC), a 17-member agency whose members are appointed by the Pension plans are great...if you can afford to live that long. Ontario government, In their report, hearing officers Mary Munro and John McClellan were sharply critical of the NEC which, they suggested, should have put forth proposals to “fine-tune” the Plan rather than major changes that weren’t gi eile by docu- mentation at the h itario. erate should set-a deadline for municipalities with lands in the escarpment to bring their official plans for devel- opment in line with the NEP, the report said. Once this has hap- pened, administration of the Plan can be delegated to the municipali- ties. “The Commission was set up to develop the Plan—a task now largely accomplished—and it was never given suitable resources for the Plan’s el a degaae 9 they said. “Those are available elsewhere, in Tae a jaubleisilidies conservation authorities and other partner agencies and in the provin- cial ministries.” A group called the Niagara Escarpment Landowners Coalition (NELC) asked Halton regional council last fall to initiate discus- sions with the province for the transfer of development control authority of escarpment lands in Halton from NEC to the region. The proposal led: to several contro= versial debates involving NELC ‘members and representatives of ‘environmental groups, including Haltom Hills-based POWER (Protect Our’. Water. and Environmental Resources). The proposal remains unre- solved. It is expected to re-surface Wednesday’s.regional council meeting. Contacted at her Georgetown home Thursday, POWER president Barbara Halsall said she had just received a summary of the report’s recommendations. “I’m very sur- prised the hearing officers dealt with this issue (the Plan’s imple- mentation),” she remarked. Halsall questioned whether the terms of reference for the Five- Year Review included administra- tion of the Plan. “If they intend to ieeots control to municipalities, I hope there is a new mechanism put in place to ensure that municipali- ties follow the Plan,” she comment- . Halsall then cited a recent case in Milton where town council ignored a recommendation from its Continued on page 5 | Oliver, executive Jeorgetown and ast- the Georgetown hospital is cur- Service reductions, cers “ but it is expected that some changes will be necessary. J meeting on Thursday femorial Hospital, - that the Operating Plan The operating plan will not ays in a strong financial Pas: tion. ‘Nevertheless, the hospital ‘is eae for new sources of Tev- oT ~w. programs, such as plastic ye and tehabilitation, are being developed which will bene- fit both the hospital and the com: munity. The mammography pro- gram was completed March 1 and 80 patients have been already : ted. The hospital i ‘is anticipating vol- Ea, and it is doubtful the same | increase will be : as an additional - “The ministry is providing a mn for hospitals going source. of funds. Paid parking at the hospital, which is currently ‘being debated, may not need to be implemented if voluntary. dona- tions are instead. Ney Gray, assistant executive Continued on page 5 40% off Kaufman = aaa Guaranteed Lowest Prices of the Year! CEE, IN-STOCK AND CUSTOM ORDERS © UNTIL APR. 30 ¢ OPEN 7 DAYS/WEEK © 853-1031 A Division of the olde Hide House