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y y ~ :! ~ 4 êkend 'eà 781 MAIN ST. #1 & 2, MILTON" % 876-4785 _ A Metroland Comimunity Newspaper Vol. 140 No. 57 Friday, October 1, 1999 32 Pages 4871buieAe. 878-2881 SuIosmdbromrISpweI $1 .L0 (GST included) Town bylaw enforcement doubles up 8v IRENE GENTLE The Champion The Town has doubled its municipal bylaw enforcement team. Two officers have been hired to take the place of Ian McNally, whn retired Friday. But that doesn't mean the Town is sud- denly cracking down on bylaw benders. And the budget hasn't been beefed up to accommodate an additional officer. That is because two officers were always meant to be working the bylaw beat, aaid Town clerk Helen Lisi. "We always had two," she said. "We haven't hired additional staff." But when a longtime bylaw officer retired in 1998, ànly Mr. McNally was left to do the job on a full-time basis. "He bas*cally carried the load of enforcement on bis own for 32,000 peo- ple," said Ms Lisi. That was- despite a council direction approving the hining of a second officer at see BYLAW on page 3 AVicé available Intlerested in giving your youngster a leg up? The Milton Community Resource Centre wiIl host the Developmental Early Identification and Prevention Program Monday, Oct. 4. The 1 10 3 p.m. çlinio will offer con- sultations for children aged 5 years and under in any or ail of the follow- ing areas: speecMAanguage, hearing, leaming, behaviour and motor skills. Advice on helping children reach their full potential will also be -avail- able. For more information, cal 876- 1244, ext. 10. ewtowduUs 0 Fod 9~s *u amal Tea Ne ulIIs * e IA* *-fuhws h$MW*a EmbrIdgOiCoiiumoT * Suait Soaso* 9 Home DupeS - Aute Park »MARKETPLACE SATURDAY OCT. " IDA * -MSM Meut** - Suama* -No FrIIIa* iYilton Hydro bihl increase is inevitable By IRENE GENTLE The Champion As town council debates whether to buy or seil Milton Hydro, one thing is certain - the customers are going to pay. Average bills are set to increase by eight to 11t per cent no matter what decision the Town makes, Marvin Stemeroff, director of Deloitte and Touche, told counicil recently. Mr. Stemeroff bas been act- ing as a consultant for the Milton Hydro Transition Steering Committee, appointed by counicil in January. The committee was formed in response to Bill 35, or the Energy Competition Act. The bill aims to inject competition mbt every aspect of the elec- tricity industry, including dis- tribution, retail and generation. 'Me ides is to gamer savings in the long mun by cutting down on industry fat. But first, Ontario Hydro's massive debt bas to be paid down. Doing that wiIl pad the aver- age home bill by $7 to $9 per month. And thc rate hike is expected to continue for up to 20 years. Although final numbers aren't known, the debt has been estimnated at $39 billion. 0f that, approximatcly $23 bil- lion will be passed on to be paid down by the ratepayer under Bill 35. In the past, hydro was a pub- licly owned. not-for-profit cor- poration. But new owners have the option of running it as for prof- it (subject to caps hy the Ontario Energy Board), not for profit or something in-between. If sold, the new owners would almost definitely opt for the maximum Il per cent rate hike, Mr. Stcmeroff said. Judging by its recent vote, esea TOWN on page 2 Enrolment drop puzzles board By TIM WHITNELL Special ta The Champion Student enrolment is down significantly this year but senior administrators with the Halton District School Board are baffled as to the precise reasons. Trustees at last Wednesday's board meeting were told 285 fewer elementary pupils than anticipated are in the public educa- tion systemt for the 1999-2000 sehool year. lIn most years, student enrolment projections made by staff and the actual number of students in the system are very close. There are 27,520 elementary students enmolled in the Halton public board this year while secondary figures, though not final- ized, are expected to be around 16,000. The bulk of the nearly 300-student drop-off in enrolment eses TEACHING on page 5 Photo by GRAHAM PAINE V Towering tomatoes Filippo Trento of Oak Street has ta use a ledder ta get ta the top of hlm glant tomato plant, whlch stands 10 test tall In hîs backyard. JO'fLEEN'rS 224 MAIN ST. E. MILTON 878-0506 ~1