MILTON P-2. 21ARY ~bc anab n Iia'p W A Metroland Community Newspaper Vol. 138 No. 43 Tuesday, July 1, 1997 28 Pages 75e (GST included)_ Teache rs reject deal By TIM WHITNELL Special ta The Champion l-alton'v public secondary sehool teachers have rejected a final contract offer and given their bargaining tears the right t0 cail a strike. LavI week the 1,050 local members of the Ontario Secondary Sehools Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) voted 93 per cent in favor of rejecting the final oller from the Halton Board of Educaton and 90.5 per cent in favor of a strike mîanîdate. The federation only has t0 give five days notice otf sîrike action or other sanctions, but that iv flot the goal rtf the union, the chair of the teachers' negotiating leani said in a prepared statement. "If is not the intention tf the teach- ers' negolîating tears 10 begin a sanc- tion against the board unless the board unilaterally moves to change the job securily, compensation or working conditions of' the teachers," said Jirn MeQucen of Toronto. Kathleen Carroll, president of' the local chapter ol the OSSTE, said tîte onus is now on the board to gel nego- hialions restarted. "ls a shame svc'vc liad 10 go 10 those lengths to gel the hoard bo lis- ten. We'rc serirtus about wanting a cootraci. We wanl a settlement that's eSee NO DEAL on page 3 Cops will charge gun owners who let papers lapse 1.1fuum uy %mnruwvrM Real col1 Four-year-old Vanessa Mato$ had a great time playing ln the cool spray of the 'Splash Zone t Rotary Park Saturday aftemnoon. Afterward she (Inset) drled off andi cuddled to keep warm ln her towel. The popular water attraction la free today es part of Canada Day celebrattons at Rotary Park. By KAREN SMITH The Champion Police say charges are pending against four Milton residents in a crackdown on improperly regislered handguns, and wam that more action will corne if offenders don't comply with firearms laws. A total of 10 Halton handgun ovn- ers face charges for allegedly tailing to notify the proper authorities ot their new addresses afier they movcd, said Hialton Regional Police lnsp. John Vanderlelie. Eighteen restricted firearms, which include handguns and certain types of rifles, were seized following the two- month investigation.. "This is a fairly serious oflence. Il's actually a criminal offence," he said. The charges camne afler Halton police's representative on the Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit -a task force made up of RCMP, OPP and regional police ser- vice memhers - iniîiated a crack- down on olfenders. The action isn't associaîed with the tedieral government' s controsersial Police raid scratch and win contestfirmn By KAREN SMITH The Champion The RCMP-OPP tavk force Phonebusters has exe- cuted search warrants for company records in con- nection with a Canadian scratch-and-win contest that advertived more than $500,000 worth of prizes. Phonebusters, which investigates telephone and mail frauds. iv pursuing charges againvt the Montreal-based company Interactive Casino after many contest participants paid $25 10 calI in their winning cards. "We're saying you don't have 10 pay $25 to find out what you' ve won," vaid Det. Gus Laforge of Phonebusters. Police received hundreds of complaints from citi- zens ahout Canada Povt-delivered cards that revers- bIc Ontario Lottery Corporation scratch-and-win tickets. The cards, which depict a slot machine and are dubbed 'Slots of Gold', were dropped in mailboxes by the millions across three Canadian provinces - the majority in Ontario - in late 1996 and early Fr1Ià 7 ý1Si7OlA, 1997. Milton was one destination. The contest, which closed June 15, adver- tised $500,000 worth of prizes încluding $10,000 in instant cash, televisions, round- trip tickets 10 Hawaii, personal computers, Sony cameorders and gas barbecues. Winning cardholders who had three identi- cal prize symbols - many naturally curious 10 leamn what they won - were urged to caîl a 900 number. When dialing the number, however, contest participants were warned that they could hang up at no charge or continue the caîl for $25 t0 find out their prize. Notification of the fee iv also written in fine print on the back of the cards. Callers who proceeded heard another recording informing them of their prize according 10 the winning combinations on Police are continuing investigations int mne Montreal-based Interactive Casino, which recently sent out "Siots of Gold' scrach-and-win-type cards in Ontario, including Milton. thî.ir tickets. Interactive Casino, kept the majority of the $25 and 'ihe 900 number service provider Inlotel, a Bell Canada, which h.indles the billing, rcccîscd Monîreal-based company which alto operates e See WARRANT on page 12 gun control bill, lnsp. Vanderlelie said. Failure to notify of an addrcss change constilutes an offence under the Criminal Code. -We just decidcd to look at our records to do an audit." Investigators checked rcstricted weapons owners' records through dri- ver's licence information aîîd "other confidential date hases," hc said. Police said about 500 otf 35,000) restricted weapons in Haltoit are iînproperly registered and more charges are pending. "The message here tor us is that we still have a number of' visits to do," lnsp. Vanderlelie said. However, he saîd offenders can avoid such action il îhey update their records now. Being charged means a home visît by police armed wiîh a search warrant. scizure of fircarms and a court appear- ance. Offenders can face fines and even love their weapons penrnanently. See CRACKDOWN on page 3 qqNE'WSLINES Big9 bike back Il's flot 100 laIe la book your seat on the Btg Bîke for Stroke Saturday. Teams as well as indîvîduals can sign up for the Heart and Stroke Foundalion fundraîser, which takes place from 9:30 arn. 1o 2 p.m. To book a leam, sign up indi- vidually or make a pledge, cati Helena Donaldson or Debbie Ferguson at 875-3237. Proceeds fund research on heart disease and stroke. 1*ILL'S AUTO BODY $HOP Working Harde .à to stay #1 0eni4iee autio body "i mefnîsNng seMvme 155 i iiplasing Rd., Miton leff0l 878-2721 M