The holiday season is a time of last minute shopping, with many people heading to malls and parking lots filled to the last spot with shoppers’ vehicles – all in a mad rush to get their shopping needs done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

With so many shoppers caught up in their own busy activities, it’s no wonder that some individuals prey upon these flustered and distracted people. Ironically, police records show that there’s an increase in crime rate during the Yuletide season.
To avoid falling victim to mugging and theft, here are some tips brought to you by police authorities in the area.

• When leaving your vehicle, don’t forget to double check if all doors are locked

• Bring enough cash only for your needs

• Choose a parking spot that’s well lit and nearest to your destination’s entrance
• Be extra careful when withdrawing money from ATM machines. Cover your hand as you input your PIN. Same thing applies to using a debit card.

• Keep your purse or bag with you at all times. Keep it zipped, and avoid placing it on your shopping

• Keep a close watch over purchased items
• Place your purchases in the trunk and out of sight

These are just a handful of tips that local police encourage the public to employ. Act smart, and keep your eyes peeled this holiday season!

Every Christmas, Nella Coluccio, a local of Brampton, recalls the time when she was only eight years of age. Colluccio, two brothers, and three sisters would wait in excitement for the big arrival of Christmas presents at their doorstep. Those presents meant everything to her back then.

Coluccio is just one of the many children given the chance to receive gifts courtesy of The Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund, which has now broadened its reach into Brampton. Even now she says, seeing other kids receive those boxes makes her heart skip a beat.

Coluccio got to have an informal reunion with the boxes this Christmas season, as her employer Lou Bellotti of Clearance Warehouse donated the amount of $5000 to The Brampton Guardian Santa Claus Fund. A regular contributor, Bellotti donates the money around the same time she holds a Christmas celebration for her employees. The company recently brought in 143 of the gift boxes, indicating the number of lucky children that would receive Christmas gifts.

Coluccio is more than happy to help, as she knows first hand how the gifts can be so magical to a child.

If you want to help make Christmas special for a child in need, you can send in a cash donation or cheque to The Brampton Guardian Santa Claus Fund. You can also log on to the website at www.thestar.com/santaclausfund for more details on the cause.

The old community of Bramalea officially turned 50 this month.

The community—which traces its history back to 1956—was created largely due to the ideas and efforts of one Dr. James Sihler, who hailed from Sutton, Ontario.

Lynda Voegtle has been an avid researcher of the town’s history, growing up on the edges of the community and watching over as the area blossomed from what used to be fields of farmland. She currently resides in Bramalea’s D-section.

According to Voegtle, who is also the co-chairperson of Brampton’s Heritage Board, Dr. James Sihler envisioned a neighborhood or village that centered on its people and inhabitants.

Dr. Sihler chose the spot due to its strategic location of open land between the two major towns of Brampton and Malton.

With this inspiration, he approached a farmer who lived in the area, Bill Sheard. Sheard was enthusiastic about his plan, even rounding up other farmers to convince them to sell their land and put up Bramalea Consolidated Developments Limited. At the time, they had gathered close to 5,500 acres.

Although Bramalea no longer exists as a separate area today, its heritage can still be found in the names of local establishments, like a shopping mall, roads and streets, schools and other institutions.

Lynda Voegtle hopes that Bramalea won’t be forgotten as the years go by, and as the community turns half a century old, it doesn’t look like that’ll happen anyt time soon.