Halton Plowing Match - where farmer meets farmer

Today I was at the annual Halton Plowing Match. This year Ernie Alexander's farm was the host farm. There was a lot of events today including 50/50 draw in support of the Plowman's Association, lunch, and of course tilling contests and of course the politician's contest to driving a tractor. All three of the Halton Hills rural councillors were there ( Bryan Lewis, Clark Somerville and Joan Robson ) along with Milton Mayor Gord Krantz and Milton local councillor Cindy Lunau. Most important many farmers from all over Halton were there. You could see many pockets of farmers talking to each other, comparing crops, the markets the economy and a host of other conversations. People came and participated for most of the day. There were even beautiful horses pulling. Once in awhile you can turn the clock back. For the people in the farming community this is a day where they can strut their stuff. For the plow contest there are many rules to score points. I will share just a few of them so you can fully understand how skilled are farming community really are.


1. You lose a point for each five minutes of overtime.
2. Average depth of furrows have to be a minimum of 6 inches
3. No shaping of the furrows by hand, plow stake or otherwise will be allowed.
4. The width of the furrow will not be less than nine inches for walking plows and 12 inches in tractor classes excepting in the crown and finish.

Just a few of the rules that contestants have to obey by.
In Halton Hills we have a rich history in agriculture and it is one that our council will fight to maintain.

Parents Make Sure Your Kids Are Safe At College

As a former College instructor I have seen a lot of College Students in my time getting excited this time of year. Many are moving out of the house for the first time in their lives and are moving into residence at College or University or a rental unit nearby. Believe me, in my 13 years as a College Instructor at Humber College of Arts I have seen it all. I have seen students come in to my 8am classes in their house coats. I seen some under the influence show up to class or hung over. Some were just dog tired from studying all night. So nothing surprises me and it shouldn't surprise parents. What is important is that parents need to have a serious conversation with their kids about being fire safe and good safety practices. It should be an exciting time for students and it should not be marred by a tragedy.

It is important to find a safe rental home. Tell your kids to be an attentive cooker. Never leave cooking unattended. It is so easy to be sidetracked while talking on the telephone, watching television or texting their friends.

Drink responsibly. Alcohol is a common denominator in many fire fatalities involving smoking and cooking. There have been many cases of people being half in the bag and they decide to fry something up and then pass out. This has happened too many times leaving a unnecessary fatality.

Inspect any potential rental to make sure the smoke alarms are working. This is the law. Never tamper or disable a smoke alarm. This could save your child's life. Know where they are going to exit if does goes off and make sure the path is clear. Also keep towels, paper and things that burn away from heat sources such as stove burners, portable heaters and appliances.

These are just a few common sense safety tips that will keep our young citizens and students a bit safer from the dangers of fire. Whether your kids are returning to school or just starting out for the first time, have a frank discussion about fire safety as this could make a difference. Believe me, I know how a lot of kids behave when they are away from home.

Acton Town Hall Gets Trillium Grant as New Plans Unveiled

Heritage Acton members had huge smiles on their faces when they heard they have now been awarded a remarkable $150,000. Trillium Grant. This will go along way for the Town Hall Center to become accessible. The Town Hall in Acton is rich in history. If you ever have a chance to visit please do. It was built in the 1883. In 1977, it dodged a wrecking ball when the newly amalgamated Town of Halton Hills council deemed a parking lot would be a better fit. A small group of citizens headed by Ted Tyler, Kathy Sanford and others spear headed a move to avoid the wrecking ball.

Later council decided not to tear in down but for the Town Hall to be repaired at their own expense. Heritage Acton did get some Provincial Grant money and did a lot of fundraising.

Thirty years later the renovations are complete and the Town Hall is restored. Now there is a phase two in the works. Our Town council has given Heritage Acton $40,000 to Heritage Acton to assist them. The figure was the amount it would have cost to demolish the building in the early 80's. I felt it was time to right a wrong so I brought a motion to council. Everyone on council supported the money going to Heritage Acton. Ron Birrell and Kathleen Dills deserve a lot of credit carrying the torch and putting in applications and for seeing the last renovations being completed.

The Trillium Grant and additional money will go towards an ambitious expansion plan to build a separate building with an elevator to make the Town Hall accessible. Congratulations to all involved. As I said, if you want to go back in history, take a trip to Acton and visit this preserved Town Hall.

Eye See...Eye Learn Program coming to Halton Hills

Did you know that one in six children have a vision problem significant enough to impair their ability to learn? Children with poor vision often find it diffiuclt to focus on their work and may be misdiagnosed as having a learning or behavioural disability. Acton's Melissa Secord told me about an exciting new program to address this issue. I am excited to tell you that a new program is coming to all junior kindergarten classrooms thorghout Halton Hills. It is called Eye See...I learn!

Chidlren who participate inthe program will receive a free comprehensive eye exam by an optometrist ( covered annually by OHIP ) and a free pair of high quality eyeglasses should they require them. Look for your child's Eye See...I Learn package that will be sent home by your child's JK teacher when they begin school. Lets face it, good vision is an important part of learning. You can help your child immensely by having their eyes examined by an optometrists. A child with good vision is vital to developing the skills of reading, copying and hand eye coodination.

You can learn more about this program by going to www.EyeSeeEyeLearn.ca
Your child depends on you to make sure they have good vision. We are lucky to have this program coming to Halton Hills. Congratulations to the Ontario Association of Optometrists, Hoya, Bo Optik, and both of our school boards.

Acton's Leathertown Festival Draws a Crowd

The Leathertown Festival has now come and gone. This was the 19th year for this Festival in Acton. At one time, it use to be called "Back to Acton Days" as in many ways it is like a homecoming. After a few years it was changed to the "Leathertown Festival" in keeping with the theme of Acton and it's leather industries and businesses.

The Festival usually attracts anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000. This year had to be one of the best ever. The theme this year was "Mardi Gras" and downtown Acton looked like the Big Easy. Street names were changed from Mill St. to Bourbon St. The historic YMCA building had a new sign "Preservation Hall". The Farmers market on Willow St. was renamed "the French Market". The Georgetown Little Theatre youth were dressed in appropriate costumes handing out masks and beads. We even had Louisiana weather, hot, humid and the odd rain shower to make it feel like we were in New Orleans.


The Kids Zone had little cars for kids to drive and obey the stop signs and were awarded with a certificate by our village constable. Councillor Clark Somerville was at the kids corner volunteering for the MasonChip program. A wonderful program in assisting missing children. Lots of service clubs were on hand and of course Jenny the Hot Dog Lady was also on hand as she is really part of Acton's fabric coming to all of the events. There were pizza eating contests thanks to Dominos pizza. The entertainment was terrific. The numbers may have been down but that was because the weather forecast was for thunder showers all day which never materialized but may have had some change their plans. I met an Asian couple of Toronto who experienced corn of the cob for the first time. They went on the Leathertown web-site and decided it was "worth the drive to Acton". Many say the Leathertown Festival is the prelude to the Acton Fall Fair.

I know I am being biased but I can tell you this Festival would never happen if it wasn't for a small group of volunteers headed by my wife Josey. Also Terry Foster, Councillor Jon Hurst and Nicholl Spence. On the day of the festival many other volunteers showed up to clean up and have the streets look as if a festival never happened. I must give kudos to the Town of Halton Hills staff for being prompt on putting up the picnic tables and closing the streets and again being prompt on taking down the tables and opening the streets shortly after the Festival closed.

Mark your calendars for next year's festival. It is always on the second Sunday in August. It is going to be celebrating the 20th year. Plans are already under way.

See you then!

Movies in the Park in Glen Williams

Last Saturday night I went to experience the Movies in the Park that was held in Glen Williams. This is a real family event and I strongly urge anyone to come out to the next one. This is a huge HD screen so it looks just like a drive-in theatre. Families come early with lawn chairs, blankets, tents and pick your spot. Party Cinemas are the ones who put on this free event. The only thing they ask in return is to make a donation to the local food bank. On Saturday night, HeyRay Chesher the real estate agent donated glow sticks and many of the kids and parents put them around their neck.



Councillor Joan Robson was also at the Movies in the Park on Saturday night along with close to 400 people. The movie was " How to Train your Dragon". It is just like going to the drive-in but instead of sitting in cars you are sitting in lawn chairs in the park. These events happen once a month and they alternate between Acton Prospect Park and Glen Williams.

The big winners, besides all the families, experiencing an outdoor movie on a nice summer night are the Food Banks. Thanks to the generosities of the public, already 450 pounds of food have been collected for our local Food Banks. It is this time of year that the food banks need donations. We think of the Food Banks in the winter time but tend to forget about them in the summer months. So everyone wins with Party Cinemas "Movies in the Park".

Halton Hills in Power Pledge Challenge

Last year Halton Hills took up the Power Pledge Challenge and we did extremely well. This year again we will be taking up the challenge. Local residents, businesses and organizations are once again demonstrating their commitment to energy conservation and sustainability by choosing to participate in the 2010 Conservation community Challenge.

The winning Municipalities will earn the right to be considered Ontario's most conservation-conscious community as well as earning valuable " green " awards such as a $10,000 Renewable Energy Award that can be used towards the installation of solar panels on a municipal property.
Presently we are in 6th place out of 89 participating communities-representing 82% of Ontario's population. C'mon Halton Hills we can do this. Currently over 1000 Halton Hills participants have taken the Power Pledge. Just think if each of these individuals fulfills their pledge:

- over 2.2 million kilowatt hours of energy will be saved each year
- nearly $500,000 worth of energy costs will be saved
- about 230,000 kilograms of annual greenhouse gas emissions will be avoided

To help make our community competitive and the challenge a success, the Town has partnered with Halton Hills Hydro, Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce and Practically Green Solutions to raise awareness of energy conservation and sustainability.

This is our you can participate. Register at http://www.powerpledge.ca/ . It only takes a few simple actions to lower energy use and avoid energy costs and reduce greenhouse emissions.

On August 11th, between 8 am and 8 pm do the following:

- turn off any unnecessary lights
- unplug any unnecessary electronics ( i.e. TV, computer, toaster, etc. )
- turn off air conditioner
- avoid major appliances
- do laundry during off-peak hours, use cold water

In the past, it has been rewarding to see so many Halton Hills residents, organizations and businesses taking the Power Pledge. With every new Power Pledge, we are that much closer to winning the competition and being considered one of Ontario's most conservation-conscious communities.