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The Acton Free Press Wednesday June 18 Don McDonald Publisher Founded In low Strom Acid Pie J is Inland Co ted group of suburban which rrcludo Tho Whitby Pick on juaidun Tho ting ton Pet Tho Independent Econom and Sun Milton Canadian Champion Tho yews Thu Aurora lo Beaver This Ocliawa This Weekend Tribune EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor Murray Eric stone a Diana Rock wood Nows Jennifer Contributor Helen Mu ray Darkroom ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT Manager ill Cook Soldi Barr Clasilf lad Pol BUSINESSACCOUNTING OFFICE Officii Manager Rhona Thornl ill Carolyn n CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT Manager Marylm TELEPHONE 2010 Business and Editorial Office Mall on drawing board It is heartening to learn this week that commercial development plans for the east end of downtown Acton are back in the works though the project is still on very shaky ground It is even better news to hear another of the principles in the deal say the town is being co operative This project is crucial to the future of downtown Acton so it was alarming to hear one of the developers claim the town shot down some of their plans Halton Hills staff has ap parently been very helpful another source says and planner Mario Venditti says the municipality will continue to do everything it can to make sure some sort of major commercial development takes place on the old Force Electric plant site and surrounding properties Residents here have made it clear they want more commercial development and dont really care where it goes But the interest of proper planning and the healthy survival of our downtown it is essential a proposed plaza on the east side of town isnt built However to help make sure commercial development doesnt take place on the fringes of Acton it is necessary that commercial development take place down town Also the developer who proposed a plaza for the east side of Acton Jerry Sprackman has demonstrated here and elsewhere he isnt a very good corporate citizen Through his plan he will contribute little to Acton other than the plaza building itself If present dreams for downtown revitalization dont materialize though we may have to settle for the next best thing a plaza on the outskirts of town simply to get the commercial development everyone wants Need stops to cut speeding Its not news but speeding on residential streets in Acton and using stop signs to slow drivers has been a long simmering issue here The issue seems to have come to a head this spring Councillors have received complaints about speeding on no less than five streets in Acton this year McDonald Boulevard Churchill Road North Churchill Road South Road and Church Street Residents have repeatedly called for stop signs to slow the traffic having given up on police enforcement of the posted speed limits The engineer is invariably asked to report on the need for stop signs to slow speeding in each and every case and most times recommends against stop signs Robert Austin has good reason for discouraging the use of stop signs to curb speeding Studies have conclusively proven they dont really stop speeding Stop signs result in less speeding only by trimming the traffic count on a street When stop signs are used to reduce speeding they simply move traffic and hence some speeders to another street causing another problem area Stop signs can waste as much gasoline as speeders do It is a waste of gasoline stopping and starting People who are prone to speeding roar up to the stop sign slow rarely come to a complete stop and then roar on the the next stop sign Accelerating and ap plying brakes also causes con siderable noise residents must endure Yet with all the evidence that stop signs dont really do much to solve speeding do our councillors have much choice but to install them when requested by residents Parents are understandably worried about speeding on residential streets where their children may wander Speeders also make backing out of ones driveway dangerous It is often said the answer to solving speeding on residential streets is stricter enforcement Residents have heard this many tunes They are all for stricter enforce ment but have given up on ever seeing this materialize The police arent really that much to blame either This has been a rough spring for the force Its hard to find men to free up for radar duty when police are busy with four strikes and the usual fare of vandalism and crimes Does it really make sense to have a highly trained police of earning good wages sit in a car on one of these streets all day nabbing speeders Pew residential streets offer the kind of cover needed for a good speed trap The cruiser is spotted and the speeder slows down If the police arent on the street the next day speeding resumes Its a tough problem However for the time being until someone comes up with a better solution stop signs appear to be the answer albeit not a very effective one Reject Church St stop June Dear Sir In reference to your article on page of the June of the Free Press con cerning the plana to install stop signs on Church Street I have the following com merits to offer As a resident of the east side of town I am tho many who use Church Street as an alternate to Mill Street in order to avoid the congestion that la frequently present during the evening rush Hie route a most pleasant one by comparison would like to take the Hills committees acceptance of Mr Austins report to task on two points Firstly the Intention of reducing traffic volume on Church St if successful will mean that there will be more traffic In the downtown core on MU1 Street where It la already frequently crowded Thus there Is potential for more accidents as a direct result Secondly the Installation of stop signs will result in a needless waste of gasoline for every vehicle using Church Street Surely in this day where energy Hon is of vital concern or should be to everyone including local government the proliferation of stop signs should be viewed with the utmost concern and stopped except where absolutely neces sary Another negative side effect to the In stallation of additional signs is the increased traffic noise to local residents living on a corner myself I am acutely aware of the noise generated by vehicles accelerating through the intersection particularly those who chose to make drag striplike starts The argument apparently submitted by Mr Austin that the number of speeders will be reduced by virtue of the reduced traffic volume to approach the problem from the wrong end I would submit that frequent and Judicious en of the speed limit would be a more effective and beneficial approach to solving the basic problem M Chell OuiOui NonNon boredom writing this on the day of the Great Quebec Referendum or the OulOui vote sounds like naughty game for kids No results have come in yet but 1 find myself viewing the evening news with a monumental calm bordering on bore dom Hundreds of thousands of column inches of newsprint have been wasted hundreds of hours of television and radio time ex exploring explaining and ex ploitlng a question that for true am resembles that old timer When did you slop beating your wife Bleeding hearts all over Anglophone Canada whose connection with the Quebec fact consists of one weekend in Montreal and one encounter with one real live French Canadian have been bleeding all over the upholstery in which the Great Question has been cushioned I sincerely doubt there has been much of this bleeding taking place west of Winnipeg And I sincerely believe that even less of it has been done cast of Fred eric ton In the great Liberal less west the vote has some curiosity value but as far as I can sense no wrenching anguish at the possible break up of a great and beautiful country In the Maritimes there have been some valid economic qualms at the thought of a fractured Canada but no panic from what 1 can read It stands to reason then that my bleeding hearts all over Anglophone Canada are mostly in Ontario And the only time hearts bleed in Ontario Is when there is some chance that that province will come out on the short end of a deal If the question had not been wrapped In cottonwool I think there might have been some sense of a real potential tragedy in Canada the bloated pumped up phony Issue created by pollsters and poll Word has It that the judges involved were disappointed in the turnout of entries for the Back to Acton Days essay contest All told there were eight entries with none from grade The contest was open to grades 7 and Hellers donated prizes to the winners Robert Little school students visited the African Lion Safari near on day I hear they had a pretty good time Saturday was Media Day DO at the famous park Thats when the Safari pub- lie relations department invite represent from newspapers television and radio stations and lo enjoy a free day at their facilities and enjoy a big barbecue Hubby Gord and I took advantage of the invite Saturday and went wild Tho wild animals roaming around tho terrific barbecue the meeting of old friends was tlclans which has produced little but ennui outside Quebec Id like to have seen a ballot with two statements on it one to be marked with the traditional The first would say Nous partlrons and the second reate Canada Loosely translated from my execrable French they mean lively We quit and I stay wid Canada A straight question like this would test the validity of the claim to self determination and would settle once and for all the nightmare of a foreign country stuck like a thorn in the body of this spraw ling country that exists only because of Sir John A Macdonald the CPR rye whiskey maple syrup and the fact that the Americansdontllkeacoldclimatc These are what have held us together not Ideal ism mutual respect maple leaves or a national culture Whichever side wins in Quebec its going to be hollow victory If the Oui vote takes it a funny little passionate rather endearing man is going to think he the Second Coming and will press on from one flounder to the next If the Non vote It the Oui arc going to scream bloody murder Federal Intervention Anglo duplicity and faulty reading of the stars among other things It appears that it will be fairly even This solves nothing whatever and serves only to make four million Quebecols mad at the other four million And this is about average for any Canadian election or vote so nothing is new talk about lack of communica tion as though It had Just been Invented Of course there Is But Ill bet theres more communication and a closer rapport between a French farmer and an Anglo farmer than there is between a Gaspc fisherman and a Montreal banker or between an construction worker and Toronto stockbroker all more than we expected And to top the day off I met my media hero No he not Walter or even Harvey Kirk or Lloyd Robertson or geou3 Gord but uncle Jim Brady of CFTR radio Toronto Anyone who listens to his morning show has to admit hes a real eye opener first thing in the morning When commuting from the big city of Uncle Jimmy as he calls himself helped mo wake up more than once I had a hurried but nice chat with Mr Brady but I think he thought I was a bit weird But I only called him Uncle Jimmy once and asked to be introduced to his twin girls and asked him to give another disc Jockey a message for me Is that so strange And it only looked as If wo were following hi later on honest After all he was walking behind us and not vice versa Anyway in spite or my making a fool out of myself in front of a complete stranger which wnsn t the first tune I had a great time The Safari is just a short drive from here and is frequented by many adults as well as youngsters The University of Guelph recently con ducted an energy study in Acton the re sults to bo released soon I am consciously doing my bit for the energy crisis but for some reason everyone laughs at me Now that we re living in Acton and living They talk about two different cultures Of course there are But theres no hang up Theres a whale of a difference bet ween an Oxford professor and a Scottish Highlander but they manage to stagger along under the same crown and con stitution You can tell me thot a playboy in Nice has the same moral values as a shepherd in Breton but they are both Frenchmen A resident of the Bronx in New York and one In Hayfork Centre Mississippi have less In common than a dog and a cat but they arc both Americans Personally I have a certain affection for Quebec I spent my first two years and all my holidays into the teens in that pro vince But I am equally or more fond of Edinburgh London Paris North Wales I dont and I don t believe many Anglos do want to take away the language cut lure religion of the Quebecols They can all go around in their bare skin and smoke Cuban cheroots as far as care At the same time I dont want to be bullied into learning another language at my age I dont want some member of the family treated better than the others I dont want to be told by some flamingeyed radical that I represent a class and a nation that has no soul that exists only to gouge others Some gouging Ive done from Quebec When all the smoke settles will there be any fire Quite possibly There is ig But Im not envisioning civil war Quebec politicians like those of the rest of Canada are hap pier when there Is a marsh mallow at the end of the rapier only a few blocks from the office I ve traded in my four wheel for a 03 two wheel subsub compact When Santa Claus delivered my new bike to me years ago he threatened me to toko care of it and moke It last because it would be the last one he was going to squeeze into his bag for me Well its still around but for some reason everyone is making Jokes about it My father has used it for the past five years and he painted it bright red and put a funny looking seat on it But when I collected It from Colling wood a few weeks ago he put the seat down I was actually able to reach the ground something I never managed to do while I used it to get to school So now 1 can be seen pedalling down Wallace Street with the five and ten speeds rooming past me Sure Its but when I think that I have a hall a tank of gas in my car and haven t been to a gas station in two weeks and have gone to Toronto twice and Georgetown three times I Just keep my chin up and remember the energy crisis Its busy few weekends for Acton and Georgetown residents This weekend is and Pioneer Days In George town and next weekend is Back to Acton Days A lot of hard work has gone Into both weekends Be sure you participate Back issues 10 years ago Wednesday June 1OT0 Actons size would double and the pop ulation more than double if of acres of is approved The present population is BOO ana the Toronto- centred region plan limits population at for Acton Property owners con cerned all asked that their property be an nexed Owners would also like to have the and McCullough farms annexed Residents are objecting to apartments being built on property off Bower Ave owned by Hazel Orr The five new stores and offices at the cor ner of Main and Church are taking shape One tenant will be a new dentist for the town Robert Stecn A laundromat is also expected An Acton man Corp Charles Watson Is assisting with rescue operations in Peru following earthquakes there A birthday cake for Miss Z Ben was a highlight of the Duke of Devon shire tea Her birthday is August Eden Mills school will be closed this month and children bussed school in Rockwood Most of the parents favored the 20 years ago June IS I960 Anglo Canadian Leather Company will discontinue production at Huntsvllle mov Ing their operations to Acton president WG announced Employ merit should be on a steadier basis in the sole leather department here The in creased use of substitutes and growing shoe imports weighed the scales against the Hunts ville tannery A child playing with matches has been blamed for the fire which caused over damage to special lumber being used In the erection of the new United Church uary Over 100 attended the grade graduation banquet in the Robert Little school Don Long was master of ceremonies Taking parts in the program ere Marie Huisman Robert Myers Swackhamer Tony Lcighton and Neil Franklin Top went to Jill Hurst Nancy Miller Bill Reid and Janice Mrs Robert Allan grabbed the family Bible and ran outside when their 3 home caught fire Lifeguards Fairy Lake arc an In novation Alfred is assisted by Chris Denny and Anthony Hopper of the Water Swim Club There will also be a lifesavlng boat Ruth Landsborough has Herb Is park attendant Bill gate keeper 50 years ago June 19 1930 An impressive service was held by the Presbytery of Guelph when they met to conduct the dedication service for Miss Mary Anderson who is to take up work among the Koreans in Japans Sunday was the annual Decoration Day of the Acton Lodge I O and their church service The parade halted at the home at Mr A Smith who has been 111 and the band played a few numbers A barn dance will be held at the home of Mr A Clarridge under the auspices of Acton Farmers Club A highly respected citizen was called home when Mrs William Wiles passed away The children of tho home are Harold and Miss Laura The three Farmers Clubs of the Acton district held a picnic at Stanley Park Race and game winners Included Mr and Mrs J J Stewart Wilmer Davidson Margaret Somervllle Kathleen Robertson Max Storey Dorothy Eileen Clar Mildred Foster Genevieve Margaret Waldle Mr and Mrs Davidson George Wallace Nellie Young Mrs Geo Somervllle Mrs Henry Savers The examinations of the High School have been in progress this week years ago Jane On Friday night last a second but not very serious burglary in our usually quiet little town The burglars vis ited four or five places and their principal idea seems to have been to obtain pro visions They entered Mr Samuel Moores cellar from an outside door and helped them selves to a ham several loaves of bread and a crock containing pounds of butter A bylaw was passed at a council meeting prohibit tog cows from running at largo at any hour of the night or day sayB he has had his garden destroyed by cows for years Charles Hill and others signed a petition asking that by law remain the same allowing cows to run at large from April to November They said to any extent cannot be obtained sufficient for the villages at all convenient and to compel owners to dispose of that which goes so far toward our support Is certainly diminutive to our village wealth During the discussion of cow question some person mistook Reeve W Storeys hat for their own Tho return will bo con sidered a favor as the one left Is rather large