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8 - The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, ApnIl 6,1999 Making past corne alive is Jim Difis' passion By STEVE LeBLANC The Champion Jim Dilis may be taken with the past, but his immediate future looks pretty bright as well. The 68-year-old Miltonian - who for decades now has passionately helped preserve local heritage - is set to be honoured with the Chamber of Commerce's Lifetime Achievement Award. He'll accept it at the 1999 Community Awards Gala this Saturday at Granite Ridge Golf Club. "I'm very honoured, but as always it makes me think of how many others who are equally deserving," said the historias, refer- ring to The team effort for nearly ail initiatives with which he becomes involved. "This is certainly out of the blue. I've already been well honoured by this town in the past." The past - that's something most of us think about when referring to Mr. Dilîs, co-founder and active member of the Milton Historical Society. And what many longtime residents will perhaps beat remember is his hand in rescuing the county courthouse, now the Town Hall building, which was destined for demolition in the late '70s before a small band of activists successfully lobbied to save it. Recalled Mr. Dilîs, "The county buildings were abandoned and derelict. A few of us, including librarian Shelagh Conway and achool inspector Leonard MeNeil, decided that action must be taken or else it would become a pile of rubble." Seeing the value in restoration rather than ruin, the trio solicited support frore the public as well as politicians and eventually reached their goal. "It was a pretty courageous move by the Town to repair the building, $3 million was an awful lot of money back then," he said. Since then Mr. Dilîs has uncovered many fascinating tidbits about the historic structure and its surrounding grounds - including the fact that at least two public hangings were carried out there. And that's juat the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his tireless research efforts. He cxplained, "The excitement is in the discovery. I've found s0 many interesting thinga about this town and for the most part I'm still stuck in the 1800s." Through the Milton Historical Society, Mr. Dilîs has helped put together a number of publications about local history. Realîzing that another avenue might be needed to start reaching a younger audience, he recently co-produced a video with Halton Cable on the history of Victoria Park, which he hopes will be available to achools in the near future. "This community bas a rich historic reservoir, but you still have to tell people about it and get them excited." Mr. Dilîs has done juat that over the years through regular walking tours and presentations - most recently about the local newspaper business, in which he was an active player for more than two decades. He's also helped place Milton Historical Society plaques on more than 100 area homes and is in the midat of rejuvenating interest in the town' s agricultural heritage. "Probably the most rewarding thing for me is aIl the great peo- ple I've come to know like Alex Cooke, Jack Charlton, Ken Lamb, Mike Ledwith and many others," said Mr. Dilîs. "I've had 50 many wonderful experiences working with different people on local projects." Photo by GRAHAM PAINE Local historien Jim Dilla is set to be honoured with the Chamber of Commerce's Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be presented to hlm this comling weekend. ~nternetprogram takes students on a long, computerizedjourney-1 .By STEVE LeBLANC Thse Champion Milton youngsters are about to embark on a cross-country journey - only suitcas- es, extra socks and postcards for the folks won't be necessary for this trip. AIl that's required is the click of a button and a willingness to experience ail that Canada bas to offer. This Internet excursion - that will he enjoyed by students at 80 achools nation-wide including Brookville, E.W. Foster and Our Lady of Victory - has been made possible through an education initiative by Govemnor General Romneo LeBlanc. On April 15, he'll send off three cycling teams frore Rideau Hall in Ottawa. For the next nine weeks, these voyageurs will visit each participating; achool and share their discoveries. In tumn, those students are to act as program hosts for that day by posting information about their achool curriculum, community and individual interests, which will be accessed by fellow youths from British Columbia to Nova Scotia and ail pointa in between. "It's a great idea, to have a student exchange like this," said Mary Kebalo-Plata, who'll mun the Canadian Heritage Interactive Joumey at E.W. Poster. 'They'll get to see the trends and cultures of places aIl acruss the country. Plus they'll becomne more Internet literate." Brookville instructor Marg Davies knows ail about the educa- tional rewards associated with Internet ventures of this magni- tude. Last year her students connected with those frore Central America, who taught them about archeological digs and the ancient Mayans. "Any kind of real life experience like this is a wonderful oppor- tunity for leamning," she said. While the program's grand kick-off isn't for another week or asee PROGSRAM on page 10 e Di i 'j Asphalt Paving -*Main Roade * a - e e s nterlocking * Walkways * - - -.. Concrete Curbs e __________ -Driveways -Excavation e e-Parking Lots -Grading King ol-kQuality & Service ___________________________________________ We use heavy-duty equipment for better compaction. Ail work is guaranteed.. PAV/IN G LTD. References are proudly available. Free estimates. Proudly Serving Your Community Local ca11 257-7283 (PAVE) Pager 24 Hours, 7 Days a Week 416-376-8828 or 416-680-2120 a