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rr s8s533p 1 wy ny g- b- arh f c- c mi i- education by jennifer brown staffwriter although the york region public school board isevaluating options to scrap or reno- vate existing portable classrooms board chairperson- bui crothers says that doesnt mean all 686 portables in the system are unsafe the board doesnt believe the portables are unsafe but there is enough parent con cern and at the same time a need to reduce dependency crothers said m an interview lastweek the board is trying very hard to respond the reality is you will probably find mould in any house if you look carefully principals were busy this weeklooking at every availablespace to move students into school buildings and out of the potentially harmful portables in recent weeks portables at keswick v public school morning glory pefferlaw holland landing huron heights stonehaven newmarket and mount albert- have been closed due to complaints whether the mould causes a specific is only the mould is a little difficult kaplan saidwheh you start blaming attention deficit disorder on mould youve gone a little far tmt attention spans may decrease because a childs nose is stuffed up or they arent feeling well kaplan said it is critical the board study the problem but added mould is just one factor that could be contributing to symptoms a child or staff member is suffering arid officials at the york region health department said studies by the ministry of health are still inconclusive as towhether mould is harmful the information we have is that it has been associated with respiratory problems said helen doyle manager of the health pro motion division and the ministry of health says it isnt a health hazard but conditions can cause com- plications in a portion of the population and can contribute to problemswhen exposure is high- j r i mould has beenshowh to trigger asthma health problem is difficult to say according to attacks in 10 to 30 per cent of people with dr 1 alan kaplanchief of family practice at asthma but doyle said the amount of mould york central hospital in richmond hill and how long someone was exposed to it are whether you blame it on mould or lack of also factors to consider in assessing damage circulation dust or overall air quality to say it done- whether the mould is direcuy to blame or not sources said the ministry of labour is conducting an investigation at the board since the discovery of stachybotrys atra mould at holland landing and other schools the investigation will determine whether the board violated the health and safety act by failing to take appropriate action of the 686 portables in the public school system 500 are used on a regular basis by 15000 of the boards 80000 students while about 20 per cent of the portables have already been renovated at a cost of between 500000 and 750000 the balance of the boards stock of portables will be repaired in the near future with a firm policy to reduce the number of portables in the system the board hasnt added any new portables in the past five years but eyen with a commitment to get rid of them crothers said it is unreasonable to believe portables wont be part of the land scape philosophically it would be nice to say we will operate without portables but feasibly it is not possible crothers said uuuil isjjflss our general manager has some sweet deals for you drop in today v v 1999tahoelt4door leather cd player heated seats powerwindows locks stkl90375 includes plow t j 1 v t 7 v y v v v y 1999 lumina ls power windowslocks dual zone air aluminum wheels tilt cruise stk 80268 1999 34 ton ext cab 4x4 new style j12 ft western plow air auto v8 60ltr chrome wheelsjplus l j- more stk 90268 39500 ls4x4 v door auto air cassette power pkg auto track its gof it all stk 90151 ihoi m o b i l- 1 1 is i boiard plati fdr the worst with y2k bug by patrick casey staff writer york regions catholic school board has established a task force to tackle potential problems created by the year 2000 millennium computer bug the strategic millennium awareness remediation team smart will focus on a sixstep process to ensure the y2k bug will have minimal impact at the board the internal clocks on most com puters operate on a twodigit system and at the stroke of midnight on jan 31 1999 the clocks will read 00 instead of 2000 system shutdowns of computer programs such as air traffic radar sys- terns bank machines and hydro outlets are feared during the early hours of the new millennium we take this very seriously because we dont know whats going to happen separate board finance superintendent normand fortin explained we have to plan for the worstcase scenario steps will include identifying all hardware software and equipment that could cause problems classifying all noncompliant items testing repairing or replacing components and developing extensive contingency plans the bug is totally predictable in its timing but totally unpredictable in its effect added school board program mer analyst darlene clapham we need to be proactive because we are all atrisk a major target of the millennium bug surrounds embedded systems such as elevators and fire alarms they are a weak link in the chain because the board must relyon outside agencies to provide proper service luckily the christmas holidays con tinue until jan 9 2000 giving school board officials some flexibility to deal with problems that may arise y vmmiwnicnwayagimiemtofkftc 294nm0tpllvfierl8009242209 s vv ii ksteyiti- wwwautonetcanorthpomtes ivir v4servicehours 7 morht tiurs- 730 a jn9 pm fr- 730 arhj6 pm sat 8 amv 1 pmm c i m nqki hwy7 jsalbhourfeir monthurs 9 amf9 pm ftwctopatiaequh trade of 5000 f year36 mtissate prfs phb fteigm tow 4 lietras on 5000 down paymenl or watenttrajej 60 month torn with 78120 balbbv- x v- i ex j f f t