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905-842-6030 90 MECHANICAL SERVICES dentistoakville.com den AUTO AUTO AU TOPR PRO PR O OA OAKV OAKV KVIL ILLE E SNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010 ontario's top newspaper - 2005-2008 Battle of the Bands Artscene FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012 2 2 Wyecroft Road, Oakv 221 kvill ille e autoprooakville.mechanicnet.com 905-469-2442 2 A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 50. No. 12 "Using Communication To Build Better Communities" 40 Pages $1.00 (plus tax) A record Cabbie was beaten over $19.49 fare By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF An Oakville cab driver, who was brutally assaulted early Saturday morning, is calling on Town officials to make surveillance cameras in Oakville taxi cabs mandatory. Muhammad Akmal, 48, told The Oakville Beaver he picked up two men from the AMC Plaza near Winston Churchill Boulevard around 2:15 a.m. Saturday and drove them to a Mac's Convenience Store at 2163 Sixth Line. When the time came for his customers to pay the $19.49 fare, Akmal said things quickly went wrong. Akmal said as soon as he stopped the cab, one passenger ran away and the other refused to pay the bill. Muhammad Akmal The cabbie alleges the remaining passenger thought his friend was going to pay the fare. But things turned ugly between the two and Akmal said the passenger began shouting at him. At this point, the cab driver alleges the first passenger returned and began to make threatening comments. "He started shouting, making racial remarks," recalled Akmal who alleges he was soon hit in the face and pushed to the ground. "I was on the ground. At that time they could have run away, but instead they started kicking and punching me. They were kicking and punching my head and face. They didn't hit anywhere else. They even kicked my face until my left eye socket got smashed." The two men eventually fled the area at which See Cabbie page 2 We are an authorized clinic for DVA, WSIB, & Green Shield clients. Graham Paine / oakville beaver Town buys post office for $11M The Town of Oakville announced Thursday it bought the downtown Oakville post office site at 193 Church St. from Canada Post for $11 million. Canada Post had offered the property for sale through a competitive open bidding process and the site attracted significant interest from numerous private developers. "It is very rare that a piece of property this large comes on the market in downtown Oakville so it's not surprising that major developers were interested in the site," Mayor Rob Burton said. "Council felt very strongly that it was in the best interests of the downtown that this site be maintained in the public domain as it provides us with greater control and flexibility in implementing our strategic vision for a successful and thriving downtown commercial district." Burton indicated the site would be used to provide additional parking for the downtown until its future use is determined. "The Town has been building up its job done: The United Way of Oakville (UWO) held its campaign achievement celebration Tuesday at Sheridan College and announced its campaign results. Here, the 2011 Campaign Cabinet members hoist placards declaring the total raised. It met its goal. The UWO honoured fundraising initiatives. For story, see page 4. parking reserve for many years to help fund the purchase of additional land for parking in the downtown commercial district," Burton said. "We will be able to fully finance the purchase cost through our parking reserves and ongoing revenues from the town's parking operations and so this purchase will not affect the town's property taxes," said the mayor. The Town hired external consultants to conduct a land appraisal to determine See Town page 2 We take the time to carefully explain your hearing options and give you a complete and honest assessment. You will feel confident that you have been served to the best of our ability and offered the best prices! BEST HEARING AT BEST PRICES HEARING AID SPECIAL From *$ Hopedale Hearing Clinic 295 Up to 3 Year Service Warranty 60 DAY GUARANTEE WARRANTY (Clients portion) * Some Conditions Apply In Hopedale Mall, next to the CIBC, 1515 Rebecca Street, Unit 38, Oakville · 905-827-7333