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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 14, 2009 - 7 Funeral Saturday for 5-year-old fire victim Friends and family will be saying a final goodbye to five-year-old Bentley Slaughter this weekend. The Lorne Skuce student perished in an early morning house fire on Tuesday, Dec. 23, despite the valiant efforts of police and firefighters who rushed into his smoke-filled White Oaks Boulevard home in an effort to save him. A visitation will take place at Turner and Porter Chapel, located at 1981 Dundas St. W., on Friday, Jan. 16, from 4-8 p.m. The funeral itself will begin at 11 a.m. at the same chapel on Saturday. The family is asking for donations to be made to the pediatric ward of Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. Bentley's mother, Kim Slaughter, remains in hospital where she is recovering from injuries sustained in the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Youth Support Services Expression of Interest United Way of Oakville, in conjunction with other United Ways in Halton, is committed to providing cohesive support services for vulnerable youth and their families. JIM GARNETT/ SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER POLICE BLOCKADE: Police blocked off the entrances to Sheridan College after receivng a 911 call about a student in crisis.The call may have been a hoax, police say. Tense moments at Sheridan Halton police briefly blocked off the entrances to Sheridan College Tuesday morning, following a 911 call, which claimed that a student in one of the college's washrooms was in crisis and possibly considering harming themselves. The Halton police tactical unit arrived on the scene moments later and searched the washroom, but found no such student. Police also note they have been unable to find the student who called for help, which has placed the validity of the call in doubt. Classes were not interrupted during the police investigation. An Expression of Interest (EOI) is now available to human and social service agencies in the community that provide youth support services. Deadline: Jan. 22, 2009 at Noon To learn more or to obtain a copy of the EOI, visit United Way of Oakville s website at www.uwoakville.org or contact Erin McAllister at erin@uwoakville.org. Ward 4 recommendation discriminatory Continued from page 6 The Board has recommended the complete opposite of what parents requested including proposing different methods of French immersion program delivery, promoting walkability over academic achievement and targeting one specific group of children who have been and will continue to be subject to multiple moves and instability in their primary education. Parents living in Ward 4 with children in French immersion will not have equal access to the same education. Some students will have access to single track, others will be forced to dual track, and no one in French immersion has equality. In every other ward in Oakville, parents have access to single-track French immersion, but not our children in Ward 4, yet we pay the same education taxes. This is discriminatory. In addition, walking to school should never be the basis upon which a recommendation for educational programming is based. The measure of quality education should be the achievement of students. It's very telling that academic achievement in French immersion has been consistently high, despite the fact that many, if not most, of its students are bussed to single-track schools in Oakville. Is the Board's goal to provide the highest possible quality education or the shortest possible trip to school? C. CARROLL If you have a news tip or story idea, call the Oakville Beaver at 905-845-3824. United Ways of Halton United Way of Burlington & Greater Hamilton, United Way of Halton Hills, United Way of Milton, United Way of Oakville Get away from winter even if you can't get away TM