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m1LTQNi PU L [1 nri Vol. 139 No. 15 Tuesdav. Avril 21, 1998 iz rages I ~¶C (CiSI includea> I- A swim and a smîle. Skylar Kerklaan, 2, seems to be gettlng rlght Into the swing - or rather swlmn - of things et the Mlton Lelsure Centre where she and mother Angela have been enJoylng classes. Photo by GRAHAM PAINE] Police: Duo stole $50,OOO in goods 5vy KAREN SMITH 1 *ton grocery, drug, variety and clothing toons leading up to the execution of the The Champion stôres, and six businesses have already search warrant." Six police officers spent three hours been identified as targets, she said. Twin brothers Grant and Gary unloading about $50000 worth of what's The arrest of two men in connection with Heseistine, 47, of Martin Street face believed to be stalen property following a the stolen property followed a month-long charges of theft under $5,000, possession search warrant at a Martin Street home investigation, Det. Sgt. Gordon said. of stolen property under $5,000 and pos- Wednesday. 'Ihis was good police work," shte said. session of stolen property over $5.000. But the goods recovered in the 4:30 p.m. '*The investigation was well organized and Gary was heki for a bail hearing sched- search weren't items typically targeted by there was good co-aperation between pla- uled for yesterday in Ontario Court thieves. The 121 boxes removed from the__________________ (provincial division) in Milton. attrac'tive twfl-storev homeA were filed with W&QF9 à Me e photo on page 3 small items such as groceries, househald supplies and clothing, said Det. Sgt. iackie Gardon of Halton Regional Police. T he cartons of toothpaste, toilet paper, shampoo, dlocks, books, videos, cameras, babies' clothing and office supplies "neatly stored" trougbout the home were stolen from Mfilton stores over a period of about a year, DeL. Sgt. Gordon said. .lt's unclear for what purpose the proper- ty was taken and the investigation is ongo- ing. Det. Sgt. Gardon said investigators have their work cut out for them in sorting out the hundreds of items. It's believed the goods came from 1 Fîshîng fun is on downtown Young anglers get ready. The annual volunteer-run Milton Mill Pond Fishing Derby will be held Saturday f rom 8 a.m. to noon. WrigHr. The f ree family event invites people of ail ages ta take part. to atay #Il Prizes will be awarded for each age group. The Miii Pond is closed to fishing prior ta the derby. Anyone who wishes to make a donation to the event can do so by cash or cheque payable ta the Miii Pond Fishing Derby at the Halton Community Credit Union, 44 Main St. A Metrolniril mmiiniiv Nennr t anabt~An <japo * t% ivic;uuiaiiu %-viiniiuiuty iNuwbijap-,i Cop Union wants more street officers By KAREN SMITH lTe Champion Members of the police association are on a mission to increase the number of officers in Halton. Bill Henshaw, president of the Halton Regional Police Association, said the group is in the midst of building its case for the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services. He said association members are working on asking the com- mission for a review of policing in Halton, but they first must gather data to back up their dlaim - that Haltan is short-staffed. Constable Henshaw said regional councillors want police ta step up enforcement of the Highway Traffic Act, answer calis for service and drive through neighbourhoods ta prevent crime. But the number of officers available faUls short, he said. And it's already common for officers to give up their lunches and breaks in the line of duty. "The north end (Milton and Halton Huis) has always been short," he said. "There're not as many officers on the platoans." Const. Henshaw was on hand late last month when Halton politicians challenged Chief Peter Campbell on some aspects of the service's 1998 budget request. Ten new constables will join the service this year but that baie- iy puts a dent in the problem, Const. Henshaw said. Chief Campbell himself has warned politicians a review by *~e commission couid see Halton directed ta hire up ta 36 officers just ta meet the police-to-citizen ratio ordered at the completion of an earlier Halton review. Const. Henshaw referred ta a 1988-89 study in which the Ontario Police Commission, the farerunner of the civiian body, did a review and ardered Halton ta hire 49 more officers ta bning the service up ta adequate levels. In fact, anly 40) were hMÇe He said he the association will use that data as well as other sta- tistics ta try ta canvince the commission that a review is warrant- ed. Const. Henshaw said he cauldn't narrow down a time frame, but said aIl the costs in the process would be borne by association members. .Last year, Halton had 1. 16 uniformed officers for every 1,000 citizens. Halton's population has been pegged at about 350,000. TMe provincial average, excluding Toronto, is 1.33 officers. 32 Pages '/.' ) 0 (GST included)