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Special Report First of two parts The spiralling cost of nuclear refitting ♦ Durham in the energy mix ♦ Timeline of shutdown dates back to 1997 News/A7 CLARINGTON'S AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER SINCE 1854 IN BRIEF Sunday: Eldad United Church at the Solina Community Community Centre located north of Taunton on Solina Road, will be hosting a salad supper on Sunday, April 27 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Adults pay $12. For more information, call Wes at 905-623-8540 Monday: The after-hours clinic at Lakcridge Health Bowmanville will reopen Monday, April 28. Previously closed because of the SARS outbreak in the GTA, the clinic's clinic's hours will be Monday to Friday 6 p.m. to 8:30. p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All patients attending the clinic must have the Provincial SARS Screening Survey completed upon registration. registration. INSIDE Wheels: General Motors will be debuting several new models models at the 2003 New York Auto Show. Innovative Innovative concept vehicles will show how GM is stretching its design design and engineering talents in pursuit of future "gotta have" products. Vehicles shown publicly publicly for the first time at the show will include the Cadillac CTS V-Series, the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx,- the Buick-Rendezvous Buick-Rendezvous Ultra INDEX Editorial Page A6 Sports Bl Classified B6 GIVE US A CALL General 905-579-4400 Distribution 905-579-4407 Death Notices 905-683-3005 Sincerely Yours 1-800-662-8423 General FAX 905-579-2238 Newsroom FAX 905-579-1809 durhamregion.com SERVICE PARTS • NEW & USED SALES & LEASING EXTENDED SERVICE HOURS MON., TUES., THURS., FRI. 7:30 - 6:00 WED. - 7:30-9:00 SAT.-9:00-1:00 ACCREDIT ED TEST & REPAIR FACILITY ♦An ulllvinl murk cil'lhe l'rmiiuT of Onturlo used tinder llcriur. Whitby - Oshawa M n 1110 DUNDAS. ST. E. WHITBY, l.OCAI. (005) 666-1772 honda www.homln1.com SARS: 'We're never going back to normal again' Health care workers and patients at Lakcridge Health Oshawa donned masks during a briefing held by officials that included an update on SARS. See related story on page 3. BY MARTIN DERBYSHIRE Staff Writer I t was 3 a.m. March 27 when THE PAX CAME INTO THE BACK OEEICES AT LaKERIDGE Health Oshawa. Not just any fax; this one would change the way the hospital, hospital, and all hospitals in Ontario, would conduct the business of health care over the next day, the next few weeks and beyond. Lakcridge staff had been very aware of the presence of the atypical atypical pneumonia known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) since tire deadly illness first hit Canadian soil from Asia and an outbreak was identified at The Scarborough Hospital Grace Division March 16. In fact, health care staff at local facilities were told to be on alert for the symptoms over the previous two weeks and were advised advised of the kind of protection needed for patients and themselves themselves to avoid spreading the dreaded virus. But, when the 3 a.m. fax came in declaring SARS a provincial emergency, everything changed. "We all received it in the morning and by noon hour we were operating under the code orange orange conditions," said Dr. Don Atkinson, Chief of Staff Lak- eridge Health. "Setting up a command command centre, making plans to reallocate reallocate staff and cancel elective patients that had been booked for surgeries, clinics and admission to the hospital." While they did not completely shut down, Lakcridge facilities across Durham, usually virtual beehives of activity, were forced to shut the doors to visitors, volunteers, volunteers, clinics and many elective procedures - a logistical nightmare nightmare for a place like Lakcridge Oshawa, where an average of 300 people walk through the front door every hour. Hospitals in Ontario always have a pre-organized plan in place for emergency response and preparedness. In fact, James Ramsay, Lak- eridge head of security, says the hospital held a mock 'Code Or ange' in February and staff regularly regularly conducts training exercises testing communication links and making sure everyone's on the same page. But this Code Orange was clearly a code of a different colour. "Code Orange doesn't normally normally apply very well to a situation situation that extends over several weeks, it is to get us ready for an immediate influx of patients from a fire, natural disaster, major motor vehicle accident or something something of that nature and in this situation situation the circumstances were slightly different, the timeframe, the fact that it has continued,.. For everybody in the province this was essentially a new situation that we were trying to deal with," said Dr. Atkinson. Emergency Nurse Ted Sellers says in a hospital emergency department, department, staff are used to dealing with all types of diseases and conditions. In the past, they have dawned masks and goggles for particular patients, but SARS, he admitted, turned out to be a whole different kind of emergency. emergency. "All of a sudden our whole department department was in isolation," he said. Immediately, fear from SARS kept people away from the emergency emergency department at Lakcridge Oshawa. Mr. Sellers said only 40 people came in the first 24 hours when the norm is actually a few hundred. And, for many of those who did come, the fear continued when they were confronted by health care workers wearing masks, gowns and goggles. Lakcridge officials say an outbreak outbreak is defined as two more cases of a disease titan what is normal in an area. "Because this was an outbreak, outbreak, measures are different," said Joanne Habib, of the Infection Infection Control department at Lak- eridge. "In an outbreak you implement implement and intervene with as many precautions as possible in order to contain so you don't con- See FAX page 8 Janitorial services should cost less: mayor and staff New numbers reveal savings of $6,200 a year BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer CLARINGTON - Having municipal workers clean town hall will end up being cheaper than contracting the service out after all, say Clarington staff. Though a staff report presented presented to council in early April indicated considerable savings could be found by contracting out, new numbers revealed Tuesday by Clarington staff show municipal workers may be able to provide the service for about $6,200 less a year than contractors. "It's a better deal because it's cheaper than what contracting contracting out would be," says Clarington Mayor John Mutton. Mutton. "Clarington will have local people who will be spending the money they make in the community ... rather than having a contractor who would cost more and invariably, invariably, the money would be taken out of tire community." Council had voted to keep the service in-house on a one- year trial basis to be reviewed next year, in spite of the initial staff report indicating it could be almost $50,000 cheaper to contract out. But new numbers indicate municipal workers can do the job for about $137,000, down from an original original estimate of about $190,000. The bulk of the savings is in tire area of staffing. Though the initial report indicated three full-timers and two part- timers would be required, new numbers call for two full-time positions and two part-timers. Quotes from contractors had not specified staffing requirements. requirements. The full-timers will be considered considered temporary employees within the existing Canadian Union of Public Employees contract. Council had asked outside See SAVINGS page 9 Newcastle parents get the call they were waiting for Phone call from Iraq is from son who is a U.S. marine BY JENNIFER STONE Stall Writer NEWCASTLE - The phone call came in the middle of Ihe night and seemed like a dream to Newcastle parents who had eagerly awaited news of their son, a U.S. marine in Iraq. Dave and Roberta Patterson got the call they were waiting for about a wcek-and-a-half ago, when their 20-year-old son, Lance-Corporal Daniel Patterson, was loaned a satellite satellite phone by a Toronto television television journalist in Iraq and was able to dial his parents' Newcastle Newcastle number. "We got the phone call at 2:30 in the morning. I don't think cither Dave or I slept much after that," says Mrs. Patterson. The phone call was Hie second second part of a very reassuring week for the couple, who had previously not heard from their son since a letter dated Feb. 20, just over a month after the young man shipped out from his base in California to join the U.S.-led fight in Iraq, On Friday, April 11, the Toronto Toronto Star curried a photo, taken by a photographer in Iraq, of their son, sitting with Iraqi children in Baghdad. Soo SON page 9 Photo courtesy Scott Nelson/Getty Images U.S. Marine Lance-Corporal Daniel.Patterson, whose parents live in Newcastle, talks with Iraqi children at a checkpoint in downtown Baghdad, Iraq. 0 y V i) I ! ' ' u » I 1 m Passenger, Air, Power Windows And More!! • ) . free Air Conditioning f PURCHASE *0 Down Cf tv N ;-i fo.J . for 60 months LEASE 48 Months Bo.oookms U m i.i" (J/month plus tax , " ' •///. J.V CASH PRICE Ù 11 •***"» 24.7Ê plus FRT.niul taxes