The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

T h u O a k v i l l e OFRCIAL KEDIA Of SHERIDAN CHAMPS AGAIN Sports AMetmland Publication VoL37No> 29 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10,1999 52 75 Cents (jdusGST) H ash ish in p o lic e ra id Halton Regional Police made their largest seizure of hashish in five years Friday following the raid on a Tansley Drive address. Members of the Drug and Morality Bureau executed a search warrant at a residence in the housing complex at 1500 Tansley. They reported seizing a total of 1.5 kilograms valued at approx­ imately $6,000. Two people were arrested. Michael Dueck, 33, was charged with possession of a controlled sub­ stance for the purpose of trafficking. Tawnja Dueck, 30, was charged with possession of a controlled sub­ stance for the purpose of trafficking. Aid flows in to £ family displaced by house fire By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakville's outpouring of assistance for a family burned out of their home two weeks ago continues. "People we don't even know have helped us so much," said James Dickinson. "You don't realize how sup­ portive people are until something like this happens to you." The fire started in an old fireplace insert in the basement of a Samford Place house. The family was renting the house but did not have insurance for the contents. The blaze forced Dickinson and his fiancee Gina Connolly to live with Dickinson's sister while Connolly's children - Lyndsey, 8. and Alyssa, 12 - stayed with their grandmother in Burlington. Since the fire, friends and strangers have rallied to come to their aid. Dickinson said people hear so much about how uncaring society is these days, but his experience has been the opposite. "People have been calling and offer­ ing us clothes," he said. "It's really incredible." Oakville resident Gerry Pielsticker , for example, donated a computer, (See 'F am ily ' pag e 2) Residents win * noise dispute with CN Rail Transport A gency orders firm to lessen noise levels By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The O akville Stop-CN -In-Their-Tracks Com m ittee has won airesounding victory over C anadian National R ailw ay w Photo by Glen Thiessen T H E S A P IS R U N N IN G : Mark Lome helps his son Matthew tap a maple tree at Bronte Creek Provincial Park Sunday. It's part of the park's celebration of spring and the tradition of making maple syrup. See page 2. On Monday, the Canadian Transport Agency (CTA) handed down a long-awaited decision that orders CN to take immediate action to reduce noise levels at the company's Oakville Marshaling Yards. "We are ecstatic," says Stop CN president Peter Krysmanski, whose group represents the 230 residents unit­ ed against the railway. "It is a decisive victory since the CTA rejected all of CN's arguments and points. We have a really far-reaching decision here." Under provisions set out in the Canada Transportation Act, the CTA has ordered CN to immediately take corrective measures to "significantly reduce" existing sound levels "to something approaching those that existed prior to the transfer from the Hamilton Yard in the spring of 1998." "This is a wonderful decision for all of the residents that have lost enjoy­ ment of their properties since May of last year," said Krysmanski. (See 'A g ency ' page 8) * With $17.5-m capital budget approved, * OTMH emergency room changes com ing East end hom e a total loss following blaze 4 > By Irene Gentle SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER The investigation continues into the cause of Sunday's fire which complete­ ly destroyed an east Oakville home. According to Chief Fire Prevention Officer John Peters, investigators are focusing on the basement of the Ardleigh Boulevard house which was a "total loss" after the blaze, he said. "It was a big fire," said Peters. "Three-quarters of the house was lost down to the foundation." Heavy equipment had to be brought in to help shore up the structure to ensure the walls and roof were sound enough to permit entry to the bumed- out shell. Total damage is estimated at $350,000. The family - which was not home at the time - are staying with friends. Peters explained that the call came in to the Oakville Fire Department around 3:45 a.m. The first crew on the scene reported seeing heavy black smoke and a red glow emanating from the basement window wells. Firefighters knocked down the flames but the persistent nature of the fire prevented entry to the 2,200 sq. ft. bungalow several times, said Peters. Crews remained on the scene until noon when the investigation com­ menced. The family - Julie Ann Guiry, Paul Minigan and their daughter and son had been away at a cottage since Friday. Following approval of a $17.5-mil- lion capital budget, Halton Healthcare Services (HHS) is ready to roll on a $9- million Oakville emergency department restructuring project. HHS operates the newly amalgamat­ ed Milton District and Oakville Trafalgar Memorial hospitals. The OTMH emergency department revamp is the largest of a series of pro­ jects set to go following the approval of the 1999-2000 capital budget by the HHS board of directors last week. The budget is divided into three main components: capital projects, renova­ tions and return on investment projects. Weighing in at $11.7 million, renova­ tion projects directed by the Health Services Restructuring Committee bite off the largest chunk of the budget. These projects were identified after an investigation by consultants revealed that OTMH is not equipped to handle upcoming growth in the area. Although the emergency department makeover polishes off the lion's share of the renovations budget, a 39-bed, $500,000 rehabilitation unit is also on the to-do list. Reconstruction of the hospital's his­ tology unit swallows another $200,000, while $720,000 has been designated for mental health services. Capping the renovations is a new $1- million Women's Diagnostic Centre. The centre will focus on providing services in areas such as mammography and ultra­ sound. The Ministry of Health is expected to bankroll half that project. In all, the Ministry is expected to shell out $7.9 million of the total $ 11.7-million renovation price tag. In the area of equipment and capital projects, OTMH again came out on top. About $1.38 million of the $5.1-miIlion budget is slated for Oakville projects. Milton's share is $416,000. That takes in such things as construc­ tion of a new patient washroom and the purchase of a $66,000 film digitizer. For OTMH, new mammography and retinal surgery equipment are the big ticket items. The balance of the $5.1 million will be spent on information technology to be shared between the two HHS hospitals. That includes software to aid in an aggressive Y2K campaign aimed at ensuring the hospital isn't bitten by the 2000 computer bug. The last portion of the budget is $771,000 set aside for return on invest­ ment projects requiring a payback of three years or less. These are, for exam­ ple medical devices that will pay for themselves in that time period. Last year's actual capital budget spending amounted to just under $6 mil­ lion, since many renovation projects were identified but not approved at the time. $ 1 1 - m i l l io n T o w n H a l l e x p a n s io n a p p ro v e d By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF It's official: Town Hall will be expanded. Despite several lingering ques­ tions and some opposition from a handful of residents, the final deci­ sion was made during Monday's Planning and Development/Council meeting. The vote marks a critical point in the process which revealed criticism of the plan from individuals as well as some ratepayer groups. In the end, though, councillors said they realized the time has come to spend the $11 million necessary to expand Town Hall and consolidate the municipality's many facilities. Forcing the issue were several finan­ cial factors, not the least of which is a narrow window of opportunity to use - or lose - pre-collected development charges. "The need is there for building at this point in time," said Ward 3 coun­ cillor Tedd Smith, who expressed the hope that all monies would be spent wisely and that the project would come in under budget. Ward 1 councillor Kevin Flynn said he does not possess a "high level of confidence" at this point and believes more options and avenues must be explored. The only reason Flynn said he voted yes was because all tenders will be voted on by Council. Flynn said he was not sure that the Town has to build for approximately $100 per square foot when he was not entirely satisfied that another building is not available. (See 'P ro jec t' page 8) M illenn ium C o m m ittee w an ts you r input Will it tick and tock? Will it sound out the hours or will the second hand on the town's new Millennium Clock, a legacy for future citizens to be installed in downtown Oakville, just majestical­ ly sweep time aside on its one-minute rotations? Most importantly, where will it be located? While some of these questions will be answered, others, like the preferred location, will require input from Oakville citizens at tomorrow's public forum. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 114 at Church and Navy Streets. With town council approval and financing through fundraising activities planned by the Oakville 2000 Millennium Committee, the new per­ manent clock is already an eagerly- awaited feature in Oakville's down­ town streetscape, says Susan Sheppard, the committee's executive director. "We'll have a lot of information to impart and pictures to display at the meeting," she says. "And we'll be ask­ ing the public where they'd like to see the new clock installed." Within 30 days, the Millennium Committee will take all the information to town council with a final recommen­ dation. INSIDE t o d a y 's p a p e r Editorials............................. Focus............................. . Cla«ufied............................ .......A6 ____ B1 B5 Entertainment................... Sports................................ Business.......................... ....... B6 ____C1 ...... CA Automotive.........................____rs March Break...................... ........D1 Spetial Supplements: for Home Oe/rVery: Eaton s, Tlie Bay Partial Belnery: kcorn Ftomer, City Parent The Shoe Company, CMS Guardian, The Brick, Patriot Computers, Little Caesars, Lapsing Builiall Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement #435-201 1 N V K S T M E N I S RETIREMENT PLANNING SPECIALISTS Free C o n s u l ta tio n 8 4 2 -2 1 0 0 P eter C W atso n C F .P ., K-FJ».. F u l l P r i n t i n g & D e l i v e r y S e r v ic e s ! • flyers • brochures • catalogues • samples Target y o i • Inserts or Stand-alone pieces • Distribution targeting dv Geography/Demographics • Stringent Verification follow-up #1 D IST R IB U T O R O F FLYERS ii* delivery... * 1,000 homes! Please Call Deliveni T h e O a k v i l l e B e a v e r ««&> 8 4 5 - 3 8 2 4 E x t . # 2 4 7 S 3 S p erm