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100 reasons for a party Halton Hills welcomed its latest centenarian this past weekend as Janet Tourle, a resident at Extendicare Halton Hills, turned 100. Staff and family threw a birthday party for Tourle and among those on hand to wish the `great nana' well were great grand-daughters Jenna Innes, 4, and sister Carly, 20 months. But Mayor Rick Bonnette, however, pointed out that this was the schedule the Town and ASAP had agreed to and the tenders just came in high. He said while the Town could re-tender, they could run the risk of the costs being higher. He added that many Region of Halton projects are also coming in over budget due to the Canadian dollar and the cost of oil. "It's a project the whole of Acton is looking forward to, the kids are looking forward to it, and we have to do something for the kids. I'm in full support of this going ahead," said Bonnette. Councillor Clark Somerville said, while ASAP has been planning the park since 2002, the group raised the $100,000 in three and half months. "So that's a testament to the Acton community and the businesses and even the businesses throughout Halton Hills as well, that we had that tremendous success," he said. Both Bonnette and Somerville are members of the ASAP committee. The 3 Musketears Skatepark was named in honour of three Acton teens killed in a train-car crash in 2000. (Cynthia Gamble can be reached at cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Photo by Shawn McAlpine Business fined $60,000 for safety violation A Georgetown business was fined in Milton court Friday for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that resulted in serious hand injuries to an employee last year. Justice Richard LeDressay fined Cooper-Standard Automotive Canada Ltd. $60,000 after the company pleaded guilty as an employer to failing to ensure the post-form rolling mill (a component on a production line that manufactures parts for jeep vehicles) was equipped with a guard or other device. The incident occurred on January 4, 2005 at the Georgetown plant when a worker was attempting to fix a problem with the rolling mill. The worker's hand became caught between the mill's two metal rollers, causing lacerations and crushing injuries to the worker's right hand and fingers. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge. Resident says decision process was unfair Median petition fails to sway councillors CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer Despite yet another attempt by a resident to delay the Main St. reconstruction project in Georgetown, Halton Hills council remained firm in its commitment to the project last Monday night. This was the second time David Harley addressed council about the project-- he had first done so when the project was officially approved in June. The current eight-foot wide median will be reduced to four feet wide when Main St., from Church St. to George St. is reconstructed next year at a cost of $1.2 million. Sidewalks will be widened and other beautification features added to the downtown street. In the 106 comments received from the public, 64 (60%) voted to retain the island, 36 (34%) voted to remove it and widen the sidewalk and six (6%) had no opinion. Council decided on a compromise-- a smaller median but wider sidewalks. Harley, who views the process leading to the council decision as "unfair", presented a 200-name petition he had compiled over the last couple of weeks in downtown Georgetown. It calls on council to rescind it decision and opt instead for the median removal. Harley said council based its decision on the opinions of 64 people who "live outside the parameters" (the downtown area) instead of the opinion of staff and the consultant which recommended the removal of the eight-foot wide median. Harley himself lives in Ward 4 with the downtown being in Ward 3. But his petition came under fire from Ward 2 Councillor Bryan Lewis, who pointed out that some of the names on the petition had possible out-of-town telephone numbers and that Harley had prefaced his remarks by saying he had talked about issues with visitors from Erin and Montreal. Harley said all the people on the petition are residents of Halton Hills, but acknowledged, "There's a possibility of some names slipping through on that. No document is perfect." Director of Engineering, Public Works and Building Rick Henry said the project's timing would be placed in jeopardy if there were a deferral of any kind. He said the Town has made a commitment to the Georgetown BIA to begin the project next January so that it would be completed before the next Farmers' Market season begins. Henry will present to council a report on pre-budget approval in September. A delay would push the project back for another year, he said. Council voted to receive the petition and distribute it to councillors for their perusal. No other action was taken. "I respect what Mr. Harley tried to do," said Mayor Rick Bonnette. "Yes, there are some people in downtown who don't want it (the median)-- even the BIA was split-- but we came up with a compromise and I've received e-mails from people happy with the compromise and I haven't had anyone (except Harley) that was disappointed that we did come up with the compromise. I think we have to move forward." Ward 3 Councillor Mike Davis, who in June voted against the council decision and wanted the decision deferred, wanted it on the record that he did not assist Harley with his petition. The Town intends to set up a section on its website, www.haltonhills.ca, on the Main St. project so area residents can be kept informed on its status and look at the Town council accepted a petition from local resident Dave Harley who wants the median in downtown Georgetown removed but didn't reopen discussion on the matter. The median will be reduced in size during reconstruction next year. File photo design drawings. (Cynthia Gamble can be reached at www.independentfreepress.com)