Year in Review
January

Andrew the Amazing thrilled visitors at WinterFest in January with his great feats of magic.

It didn't take long for Caledon's population to start growing in 2007.

Ella Laird Ptacek arrived at Headwaters Health Care Centre at 9:11 p.m., Jan. 2. She is the first child of Jennifer Searles and Wayne Ptacek of Caledon East, and she weighed in at seven pounds 14 ounces.

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Town of Caledon councillors and staff hosted their fourth annual WinterFest early in the new year, which was well attended by local residents.

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Things did not get off to the greatest start for council in '07. They had to endure two brief power outages at their first meeting of the year.

* * * * * * * The Town's new Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw officially came into effect. Caledon resident Matthew L.O. Certosimo was named Dufferin - Caledon's member on the Ontario Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. The assembly, with one member from each riding in the province, was to gather input and consider if proposed changes to the electoral system in the province should be put to voters in the upcoming provincial campaign.

Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory hugged Sylvia Jones after she received the party's nomination for Dufferin - Caledon.

* * * * * * * It was a hot race to see who would replace Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory as the party standard bearer in Dufferin - Caledon, but in the end, his executive assistant, Sylvia Jones, got the nod, but this was after five full rounds of tabulation, which took about two hours.

Tory, who had been the MPP for Dufferin- Peel - Wellington - Grey since winning a 2005 byelection, had opted to seek a seat in a Toronto riding in the upcoming provincial election, which was set for October.

"Thank you for accepting me," he told the riding association members on hand for the nomination. "I won't forget where I served first."

Jones, who had also served former local MPPs David Tilson and Ernie Eves, stressed her loyalty and commitment to the cause in her address to the membership.

"I have worked hard for three MPPs and I will work hard for you," she pledged. "I know how to win provincial elections. I will be honest and available."

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Town staff presented a proposed budget to councillors, calling for property tax increases in the range of two to three per cent.

As the budget deliberations progressed, numerous community groups put forth their applications for municipal grants.

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A Mississauga man, Fiore Isabella, 49, lost his life after a two-vehicle traffic mishap on Airport Road, south of Patterson Sideroad.

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The Caledon novice AA Hawks, sponsored by Nuforce Electrical and Ontario Flooring came home from Longueuil (near Montreal) with a tournament championship under their belts.

* * * * * * * The Bolton Wanderers Soccer Club announced that Billy McKenna had been named their new head coach.

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Town councillors voiced their opposition to the issuing of an aggregate pit licence to Lafarge Canada Inc. for a property in the Willoughby Road and Charlestown Sideroad area, by way of a letter to the Ministry of Natural resources. They argued it was premature.

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Lives were saved after a traffic accident the previous October in the area of Charlestown Sideroad and Mississauga Road due to the prompt and professional action on the part of firefighters from the Alton, Caledon village and Inglewood stations, so Town councillors took time out from a council meeting in January to recognize them for their efforts.

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Windy Hills Caledon announced a series of seminars and workshops over February and March to provide information about renewable energy installations.

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The Town was recipient of the Reach for the Rainbow's 2006 "Gift of Belonging" award, in recognition of the Town's inclusive community enrichment activities offered in partnership with Brampton - Caledon Community Living.

* * * * * * * A proposal to install a Bell mobility tower in Wildfield drew negative reaction from some local residents.

One of them, Dan O'Reilly, asked Town councillors to call on the Association of Municipalities of Ontario to come up with a policy position paper on these towers.

He also expressed concern that structures like the one being proposed would stick out in the area, as has been the case with towers in other areas of town, including "the incredibly ugly structure that now looms over the Albion Bolton Community Centre."

He was also worried about possible health and safety risks posed by such towers, citing scientific research into the impacts from exposure to electromagnetic radiation.

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The possibility of a federal election some time in 2007 was not being discounted. The Dufferin - Caledon federal Green Party riding association had announced a new slate of officers.

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The people running the William Osler Health Centre in Brampton were interested in renewing their focus on patient safety by declaring their entire facility smokefree.

Effective Jan. 14, that applied to all areas, even outside the building, including parking lots, vehicles exterior walkways and off-campus clinics.