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APPLjjiekend 781 MAIN ST. #1 & 2, MILTON A Metroland Community Newspaper Vol. 141 No. 1. Friday, March 17, 2000 24 Pages $1.00l (GST included) Merger with Halton means big tax hike for Flamborough Photo by GRAlHAM PAINE 'Irish eyes are smilin') Four-yeer-old Sophie Begg-Lennon pute morne flnlshlng aprInkies on ber pot of gold craft for St. Patricks Day marfier this week et Sefe and Sound ChIIdren'a Centre. BV IRENE GENTLE The Champion Flamborougb taxpayers should expect to pay a big price for cozying up to Halton Region, a new analysis has shown. A media briefing at the Region Wednesday aftemnoon revealled that east Flamborough residenta could face tax and utility hikes of hetween 16 and 27 per cent JKing admits to stealing poppy boxes By USA CARTWRIGHT The Champion A woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to eight counts of theft for stealing poppy coin boxes on Remembrance Day - a crime that outraged local war veterans and the community at large. Lorraine King, 24, of Milton, who appeared in Oakville court, alto pleaded guilty to welfare fraud for receiving $5.500 in social asistance ahe waan't enti- tled to. Court heard that on November 1l, Ms King went to eight stores in Oakville claiming she waa collecting poppy boxes for tise Royal Canadian Legion. She waa weaning s poppy andi holding charts. The clerks at each of the stores believeti she waa a representative of the legion andi allowed her to take the dons- tion boxes. Ms King was caught on surveillance tapes at three Beer Store ourlets in Oakville. At one of the stores, she was seen getting into a vehicle driven by an unknown driver. T'he Crown eatimated that each poppy - ee POPPY on page 3 as the cost of divorcing Hamilton- Wentworth. For the owner of a $175,000 home in urban Flamborough, that would amount to between $482 and $790 a year. Those figures atem from a technical analysis undertaken by the Region to determine the conts of remarriage should a portion of Flamborough find a home in Halton. 'The financial impacta are of course the moat critical," said Halton CAO Brent Marshall. But aince Hamilton charges a much higher commercial tax rate tisai Halton, a merger would havie a dramatically differ- Cnt result on the commercial aide of the tax coin. On a $200,000 asseasment, east Flamborough commercial taxes would plummet between 25 and 28 per cent, while industsial taxes would Iikely dive 17 to 19 per cent Eaat Flamborough, which includea Waterdown, Freelton and Carlisle, is tise portion of the town most likely to hook up -a FINAL on page 12 Comment........ 6 A&E ........ 14-15 Datolns ....... 16 Sports ...... 17-19 Classified ..20-22 M SAUO ail of your Emissions Tsting & Car Repair Needs %,uto Place credit cards available. Cail ford-etails. ..vm~ ~i -I