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weikiim wmmtitrnfffia y tft it mahag crothers says mike adler staff reporter cautious school boards in york region arent celebrating even after hearing theyll win with ontarios new basic for mula for funding education the perpupil foundation grant based on students not levied from local taxes raises operating grants 86 per cent for the district catholic board and- 46 per cent for the district public board over three years catholic and more rural boards have more to gain while richer boards in toronto and ottawacarleton stand to lose many millions in operating grants but other special purpose grants covering school construction and mainte nance special education transportation and other key areas for the growing region have not been revealed and wont be for a week or two nobodys waving flags because there are a lot of unknowns right now said catholic board spokesperson chris cable adding the boards treasurer john sabo will try to give its trustees an overview tuesday dont expect definitive numbers cable warned yesterday public board chair bill crothers warned the operating grant numbers are projections not guaranteed amounts we get more money than last year but weve got more students to educate crothers said v the markham trustee said the province hasnt clearly defined the categories in which it wants money spent what he askeddo they include in school admin istration the new funding system will force the board to make adjustments crothers added but our first impression is that its quite manageable jk coming this fall york regions district school board will run its own junior kindergartens this coming school year its a ques tion of how many and when says board chair bill crothers the board announced this week that the program cut after provincial sup port for it was slashed in 1996 would be coming back but trustees and parents wont know for at least two weeks if can start in september said crothers people want answers acknowl edged the markham trustee were try ing to buy ourselves another month he suggested the board is running short of time for a september start adding 10000 fouryearold pupils by then also means finding 100 teachers and 100 classrooms crothers said the provinces new funding formula includes an early learning grant which the ministry of education says will give boards flexibility to offer alternative learning programs for stu dents in early grades or start up jks its a local decision said ministry spokesperson danielle gauvin move okay local tory from page 1 al liberals prentice and cross hold a different view at the grassroots level the partys strong the grassroots has a strong voice and that voice is not calling for a merger said prentice while a lifetime pc stouffville res ident cliff moss 81 is not disturbed by the loss of its party leader charest did the right thing said moss its for the good of canada i believe in cana da i think mr charest and prime minister jean chretien will work well together ive never voted liberal in my life but im happy with this mr chre tien and charest will get along for the good of the country a merger between the reformers and the pcs would only be accepted if it was done to guarantee a united coun try said moss if thats what it would take to save canada from separation then okay but not for any other rea son said moss the pcs will host a leadership race either this summer or fall while pren tice is suggesting the party take a hard look at former cabinet minister perrin beatty or former party leader joe clark cross thinks otherwise id rather see a new face than someone recycled said cross the local tories do agree the year ahead will be interesting and the local pcs are not waiting for the partys upper crust to lead the way plans to map out the partys future are under way at the local level the oak ridges pcs holds their annual meeting on april 27 beginning at 730 pm at the lions hall in richmond hill 44 markville s i 8 kwtf7 3 4072 hwy 7 4707044 markham wwwmuvllltqrd1mxom e mail address markvilleacompusebvecom all offers expire sat nite 6pm esther rose left and krista lawrenson both whitchurchstouffville food bank volunteers pack a parcel with foodstuff at the ninth line foodbank on thursday march 26 with the coming of easter the foodbank is facing tight times and is asking for food donations food bank kicks off annual easter drive joan ransberry staff reporter canned tuna and salmon spaghetti sauce cheese spread pudding mixes shampoo tooth paste and tea and coffee are all on the needlist for the easter food drive getting under way on april 3 the food drive designed to ward off hunger for about 300 whitchurchstouffville residents including 150 children runs until april 11 whitchurchstouffville food bank spokesman jean anderson said at this time the bank has enough canned goods baby food and pasta but needs lots of other nonperishable items donations are being accepted now foody bank bins are set up at the tribune weston foods the iga the ap and the local fire hall if anderson and the other food bank volun teers have theirway no one in stouffville will go hungry at easter she said anderson pointed out that housing costs for people living on welfare takes most of their allotment and need the foodbank to get through during last years holiday seasons the giving at the local food bank tripled food bank volunteers were overwhelmed with the generosity shown she said gaming club coming to markham mike adler staff reporter a casino operator has picked a markham hotel to house its permanent york region gaming club a tentative deal the consortium and hotel say would directly create up to 450 jobs embassy suites hotel has signed a letter of intent to rent space to trillium gaming inc the corporation offered an eightyear provincial con tract to run a charity casino in eastern york region a spokesperson for the hotel confirmed this week weve made an arrangement of a sort wherein we would be the landlord the spokesman said he added the hotel on hwy 7 at warden ave plans to add a banquet hall and a convention facil ity if a casino deal goes through leading to 40 or 50 new jobs for hotel staff the casino itself means 300 to 400 jobs each paying including benefits 3500040000 a year said ron richards a spokesperson for trillium the province has said such casinos can run 24- hours a day and have 40 table games and 150 videolottery terminals richards a consultant acting for trillium said the toronto corporation believes the hotel central and yet not close to res idents is the by far and away the best site all around 1 windstarvillager dealer 199398 brand new 1998 lincoln knavigator memoes- sno plates rear ak cd chancer ao watt souhosysibi rear buckets much bore best price or2yrpun kncmn 57388- 7383 brand new 1998 lincoln town car signature cubes leather h00n b00f j6l souk o chaucer heated seats cokvektiohal spare a more bestpwce orjyrpun ctkt 47788 768za brand new 1998 best price or 2 yr plan 26988 144co dstargl 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