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30-The Canadian Champion, Friday, November 8, 2002 Pla; Mother warns teens to watch for sigus of abuse cal usftI'lc <ucloa ak~' Sy DONA FOUCAULT Special to The Champion Many of the attendees at Halton's annu- ai 'Victim-less' community policing con- ference wept quietly as anti-violence cru- sader Dawna Speers spoke of ber daugbter Monica's tragic deatb at the banda of an abusive ex-boyfriend. ly murdered by lier ex-boyt'rxend Ad!"". Sbortly afier ber daugtcr's deatb, Ms Speers joined the now defunct CAVEAT (Canadians Against Violence) and devel- oped Monicas story "so that others would not walk in ber footsteps." Ms Speers was at tbe Oakville confer- Halton's Water is Clearly Top Quality_ u r ri g w ter Re Halton Regionn's Water Quality Quarterly Report a'ton S Wate t rio ri i g W r S C'ea (July-September 220022) is nnow available. The report provides information about 0 s Ito m sure up? where your ddrinkking water comes from, what it contains, and how it compares to available Th lauart rl lit tandards. the Ontario Drinkking Water Standards. io ow i 0 How doees Haaltonn meeaasure up? " Haltons water is purity tested more than 125,000 times each year; " Haltons water has consistently tested SAFE; " Halton Region meets the requîred Ontario Drinking Water Standards; " Halton Region staff are highly qualified, licensed and dedicated to delivering safe drinking water. Find out more about water quality in Haton. " Visit http://www. region .halton.on .ca/ppw/water/waterquality/ to view resuits for aIl water supplies in Halton Region; " Pick up a copy of the Water Quality Quarterly Report from Haltons Planning & Public Works Department at 1151 Bronte Rd., Oakville; " Order a copy of the report by phone at 905-825-6000 or toîl free at L_1-866-4HALTON (1-866-442-5866). Information About Yard Waste Collection Effective September 2002, Halton Region phased out the collection of plastic yard waste bags as part of the yard waste collection program. Many communities in the GTA and across Canada have already implemented similar yard waste collection programs. This change will help us improve the quality of the compost we are able to offer our residents, minimize plastic waste in the landfill and reduce costs. While plastic bags are relatively inexpensive and plentiful, they are costly to process and are not environmentally friendly. We ask you to consider some alternatives to plastic yard waste bags: Open reusable containers (such as an open garbage can or bushel basket) with a yard waste label - Saves time because it s easier to flîl - Saves money by reducing the number of bags you use - Saves the environment by reducing plastic waste Biodegradable paper yard waste bags - Sturdierthan you mightthink, and will stand up through aIl kinds of weather - Biodegradable and therefore will not contamînate the compost available to residents - Easytofill Backyard Composting -Leaves provide a rich component of carbon to the compost pile. A successful compost mix includes 75% carbon (brown material) and 25% nitrogen (green material) Leaves a Brush aWeeds * Trinings Pick up a complimentary yard waste bag (10 per household) and a label foryour yard waste container at the following location: 0 North District Operations Centre 1600 Steeles Ave, Milton Saturday, November 9th from 1:OOam - 3:OOpm and Wednesday, November l3th from 6:OOpm - 8:00pm 111on teRod.Oae le O tM L at (905) 878-2341, ext. 234, if you have a good story idea. which included a presentation of her award- winning film 'A Love that Kilîs'. Her six-step curriculum based instrue- tional guide was adopted in 2001 as a pilot project in 14 bigh sebools in four provinces and her film is used as an educational tool across Canada, the Uinited States and most recently Europe. Tbe educational program focuses on rec- ognizing the signs of abuse. "As 1 was writing Monica's story, 1 real- ized that there were signs along the way that Monica was becoming a victim," Ms Speers said. "He was cbipping away, little by littie. at bier self-esteem until she wasn't bier own person anymore." Ms Speers discussed otber signs like put- ting people down, playmng on a weakness (Monica bad a learning disability tbat Adam used against ber on a regular basis), seV OUTH on page 31 Holiday Open ýe House MSaturday & Sunday ,ýa laNovember 16 &17 'at a ltte,' b-e' fortî,ý HIAt '.t "trPý r Li 5o e 1t, '/ Miltorn Malil Walker Place Millcroft Centre 55 Onitrio 5t 3505 Uppr MiddlIe 2020OAppley LUne 875-3776 33 -4274 336-0172 E/-1 .'-lOt rv,. :791 Damna Speers speaks et the 'Victimn-less' conference. m