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rn 781MAN S. 1 &2,MILTON A Metroland Community Newspaper Vol. 139 No. 69 Friday, November 6, 1998 28 Pages 750 (GST included) Parade needs ho-ho dough By IRENE GENTLE The annual Santa Claus parade is put on through the The Champion volunteer efforts of a numnber of service groups in This may go down as the year that the Santa Claus Mfilton. It is funded completely by community dona- Parade was hijacked by the grinch. tions. With less than two weeks to go before the The 1998 price tag is up $2,000 from last year'. November 15 Mfilton Santa Claus parade, organizers $14,000 toîl, due to an increase in costs for the are a ful $13,000 short of the $16,000 needed to get parade's 12 marching bands. the show on the road. * see SANTA on page 7 Malboeuf slams siots approval as ludicrous 5v IRENE GENTLE The Champion An angry Councillor Rick Malboeuf has accused his colleagues of passing the buck on gaming in Milton. Now, Mr. Malboeuf warns, councillors have probably blown their hand. The stake is the likely installation of 1,200 siot machines at Mohawk Raceway on Guelph Line. Acting on council' s earlier recommen- Siots could also dry up the charity bin- dation, the Ontario Jockey Club (OJC) gos in town that raise more than $450,000 recently went to the committee of adjust- annualy for local charities, he wamed. ment (CA) seeking relief from a bylaw "The fact that we have slots at Mohawk restricting the use of the racetrack to horse could mean the end of the local charity racing - in order to instaîl slots at bingo hall," said Mr. Malboeuf. Mohawk. "If this bingo hall is forced to shut down The committee is an unelected citizen's due to siots, or if their revenues drop, who group formed to judge minor bylaw vari- wili make up the shortfall?" ances. Mr. Malboeuf tried to galvanize council On October 29, the CA granted the in support of appealing the CA decision bylaw relief, openîng the door for slots at before the Ontario Municipal Board the racetrack. (M) Last June council went on record approving in principle reîatîveîy large An appeal, he said, would at least slow~ gaming operations in the community. Thi down the process, giving council time tc was in response to a provincial proposai at open a public debate on the issue. the time to create charity casinos. Before "I do not accept that a decision of this that idea died, a charity casino was slated magnitude could be made by this commit- for Mohawk* see SLOTS on page 5 The CA decision did not address the pros and cons of gambling. It probed whether the installation of 1,200 siots at the racetrack is a minor vaiance in usage of the raceway.hsot Ch sma fu dh p wouldraw 2400-2500 peope per day to nsedsd once again Mohawk. It would also change the operation of the t's lime again for The Champion's racetrack. Today, Mohawk races 100 Snnaltion Ay fnrie o h nights a year, for a total of 350 hours. The tom Amny nwppr sam With slots, that will likely leap to 24- ing 10 ra is0,0 y n Chnpr sm hour operation 365 days a ya. help families enjoy ail the holiday trim- That bas at least some councillors argu- mings and gifts for the ids. ing that the addition of slot machines is Last year, generous Miltonians less a minor variance and more a complete donaled a whopping $21 ,000, far sur- overhaul of the use of the racetrack. passing the $15000 goal. "To venconide theinsalltio of Send donations to the Christmas 1,0TotvencnsrMtheisal atio aof Bureau Fund, Box 248, Milton, Ont., 1,20 slt mahins t Mohwk s a L9T 4N9, or drop lhem off at The minor variance is ludicrous," said Mr. Champion office, 191 Main St. E. Malboeuf "TMe slots, once installed, will e not be an accessory to racing at Mohawk M N but rather it will be horse racing that will II n become the accessory to the siot machine -operation. And that is a major change to 32 the current situation." s Mr. Malboeuf womred that opening the e door to slots could carry a hefty price tag Dr. Jo-Ann McKinnon for road repairs and policing to Milton, 875-1322- - - with no word on who will pay. 0 is D 1- s r- s .1 e