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i vCeleèbration erupts as PryM r Shospedthe axe 2B RAD REAUME Paiterson, a member cf the Percy Merry last faîl while the malter was put off for Tim Kingsbury. cxsý Melr lv IICtd W1)11.11CmicLiGal (iuci is a d \,îulitaiîî Unîd1dcn. sclio In IQv c r y î v. înitîaîîy the Halton Board ci' Educalion Tuesday night the board chose to close Burlington, were spared the axe. The cîh- Parent,, Were unawarc of thc decision lion if six schools, including Milton's schools in Burlington and Woodsidc in teached laie Tucsday nigbî. Pcrcy Mcny. were closcd. Oakviilc. Woodsidc has been motbballed "Yippcc," said a disbclieving Cecii The schools got a tcmporary reprieve for 10 ycars, accordiiig to Milton Truste crs will bc sold. Mr. Kingsbury said thc vote on Percy Mcrry was 12-5 in favour of keeping it *see SCHOOL on page 7 APPLE j AutoGlas WINDSH.IELD REPAIR 781 MAIN ST, #U&2, MILTON 876-4785 J A Metroland Community Newspaper Vol. 12 No. 51 Friday, May 2, 1997 40 Pages 75e (GST includcd) Opponents say: vLiberal health money just ploy to buy morect votes By BRAD REAUME 1 The Champion A Liberal promise 10 put back $1 .5 billion in federal health care transfers to, provinces is an election ploy, according 10 some local candidates. Only one day after calling a June 2 federal election Prime Minister Jean Chretien announced that the re-investment in health care was possible because deficit reduction targets are ahead of Separate achool trustee Joe Deoni le concerned about structural defecte and overcrowdlng at Martin Street's Hoiy Rosary school. A French clase le held in this stairwell. Trustees r.centiy approved the construction of a new Holy Roary but there are stlif several hurdies to overcome before ground is broken. VThey refuse to give un Fighting to rebuild HoIy Rosary By BRAD REAUME The Champion The world bas changed! since 1954 whcn Holy Rosary opened as a sim- ple four-room Catholic schoolhou01se. Pcrhaps most scriously in a wired world, Holy Rosary is not wired. Thal and a number of other deficien- cies arc bebind a $4.8 million plan by parents and trtistees 10 rebuildc it. Thei plan cleared two hurdies Ibis week, first bcing approved by thc separate sehool board's propertY commitîc and then receiving sup- port froru the whole board. According 10 Milton Trustee boe Deonu thc push is 10 fund a new schol through a combination of borrowed money and board reserve funds. Meanwhile. parents and tnîstees, are worried that Holy Rosasy will have t0 wait behmnd two other Burlington schools - Ascension and St. Patrick's - despite a study tbat ciearly points 10 the urgent need for a new Milton facility. There are still several barriers 10 pass before ground wîll be broken. The idea must pas scrutiny of the provincial Education Improvement Commission and then survive board approval of a specifle tender. Mr. Deoni said il is possible work wilI begin as early as tbis fali. According to Milton Tnustee Mary Lom Loughlin, ail alie and schoofi parents want ii for Holy Roay stu- dents 10 have the s ame opportnte and facilities as other kida in Halton. Refurbishing the achool 10 modem standards has been estimated at $4.2 million. Holy Rosar parent council presi- dent Michael O'Gorman said he did not want 10 pif one sebool against another in the race for funding. Ali three schools have been identified as having seticus problems so they asee FIGHTING on page 4 schedule. Thc govemment had prcviously said hcaith carc transfcrs to provinccs would bc rcduccd 10 $1 1 billion for 1998. This mcasurc raiscs tbc transfer to $12.5 billion. "Wc're climinaîing the final set of cuis bccausc we are about 18 months ahead of our deficii cutting targets,' said Liberal MPP Julian Rced. "Canadians by and large look ai hcalth care as their number one con- cem.' Mr. Reed said despîte the increascd spending the deficit sbould siill disap- pear nexi year. He agrccd the nexi îhing îo tackle is the national debi, a battle whichbch said should begin by paying back money borrowcd froru forcign markets. "Paying back off-shore debt staricd last ycar in a small way," Mr. Rced said. "The feeling is wc are far enougb ahcad of the game to put a little moncy back mbt bealih care. Il's pure- ly a poliiical decision based on or abiliiy to do il." Howcvcr, Progressive Conservative candidate Ralph Scboltens and Reforru candidate Rick Malbocut slammcd the move, calling il oppor- tunistic. ese. GRITS on page 5 NEIVSUNES Springrido belps cut drunk driving A fun family levent wilI help take drunk drivers off the road. Springridge Farm wilI host the Mother's Day Festival in sup- port of Mothers Against Drunk Driving the weekend of May 10 and 11. Activities for the whole family wiII include trout fishing, sheep shearing, sheep dog demon- strations, pony and wagon rides, a puppet show, oilidren's craffa, barbecue and entertain- ment. Admission lis f ree. 327 Bronte St. S. Milton LeT 4A4 New Dr. Jo-Ann McKinnon 875-1322 Cecil Patterson LOUIS Vt1/ « P4 TOM