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bat te i aR A AAT Or GS Ae LA p [OV PORT PTRIY WED., MAY 26 1999 COPY 75¢ (70¢+ S¢ GST) 28 Pages Parents brought to tears as board cancels program By Jeff Bower Special to the Star It was an emotional night, with presenters alternating between angry words and tears. Members of the public school community in North Durham present- ed their wish list to the Durham District School Board's (DDSB) finance committee during a public meeting in Uxbridge last week. Topping the list was the need to maintain the board's successful Learning Strategies program. But based on the comments made by committee members, it appears the program, at least in its present form, won't be offered in September. Among the presenters were Denise Chennie and Debbie Allison, members of Beaverton Public School's School Community Council (SCC). Like others, they urged the board representatives to keep the Learning Strategies program in place for next year. ~ Ms Chennie, who has three children at the school -- one of whom has been identified as having a learning disability -- talked about the expe- riences of one student to highlight the success of the Learning Strategies program. The board has blamed changes in provincial funding as the reason for scrapping the program. While the DDSB will actually receive more funding this year for special education, new restrictions on how the funds can be spent mean the board is short $7 to 9 million necessary to - Please turn to page 16 v - BE I SN MAY FLOWERS: A soggy Monday didn t keep too many people away HETIL SISSY AVIS ToT0 IY ToT SCAM MI IVEYSIW IR) on May 24 when the museum held its annual Yard and Plant Sale. On hand selling their wares throughout the rainy EWR WTTAVRST IV] oT oF [c) A SF: [a Te IRSIV ESE: 12 Dutton of the Olde Thyme Gardeners. £ GRAND CAFE GLOBE | & PRO CHEF BARBECUES et te ta Fa I TT " a Five in running for Durham riding seat By Sally Cooke ort Perry Star The deadline for running in the June 3 provincial election elapsed Thursday (May 20), leaving voters in Durham riding with five choic- es for MPP. Here's a list of who will bo on the ballot: --0 Incumbent John O'Toole will be running for the Progressive Conservatives; _OHis Liberal opponent is Garry \nnie, a sales associate and rétired teacher: a The NDP candidate is Jim Morrison, a custodian with the Durham Catholic School Board; 0 Gail Thompson is running for the Green Party; aJacinthe Millaire has entered the fray for the Natural Law Party. The new riding covers a wide range of land -- 1,282 square kilo- metres, and encompasses rural and urban communities. Durham riding covers communities includ- ing Port Perry, Columbus, Prince Albert, Bowmanville, Courtice and northeast Oshawa, all of whom will be courted by five politicians for their vote. The new boundaries draw in 20 percent of the old Oshawa riding, and 90 percent of the former Durham East riding. The Durham East riding has generally been regarded as a safe seat for the Tories. During the 1995 election, Mr. O'Toole gar- nered almost double the votes cast for NDP incumbent Gord Mills, his closest rival. Mr. O'Toole won with 62 percent of the vote. Please turn to page 20