2-The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, November 11, 1997 Lunau tops in rural council tilt Teachers go back By KAREN SMITH The Champion It was a long, drawn out night, but a quick finish for two fresh faces who will serve rural residents on town council. When the results finally started coming in at 10:30 p.m., the winners were clear. Cindy Lunau, who earned 970 votes, was the overwhelming favourite and Lieven Gevaert, with 596 votes, was the best of all the rest in the five-way race to fill two empty Ward 3 councillor seats. Irene Grier had 501 votes, Joe DiPalma had 453, and Frank Wilson Jr. trailed with 189. A jubilant Ms Lunau, talking among a Cind Lunau 970 Lieven Gevaert 596 Irene Grier 501 Joe DiPalma 453 Frank Wilson Jr. 189 erowd at the Milton Lions Club Hall said she was somewhat in shock. "I never even thought I'd be a candi- date," said the former joumalist and single mother of three daughters. But after leaving her position as a news- paper reporter, she decided she could still stir the pot as a politician. Mr. Lunau, 52, said her role as a journal- ist helped her understand the concems of Nassagawaya residents - issues she dis- cussed while knocking on doors. Preserving the community and protect- ing it from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are the biggest bones of contention, she said, and they're ones she's willing to fight for. She said she couldn't have won the Ward 3 seat without the help of many Nassagaweya residents. "People were really kind of leading me through the process (of running a cam- paign)," she said. "I~was humbled by the number of people offering to help." Now she's anxious to get into town council chambers, she said. The Ward 3 seats were up for grabs after Cindy Lunau Councillor Marion Howard refrained from seeking re-election and Councillor Gerry Brooks gave up his post to take a run at the Wards 1 and 3 regional councillors. No other candidates could be reached for comment by press time. • from LINGERS on page 1 changes are inpacting their unions, which nay explain the union actions." Bill 160 will reach third reading next week and likely become law before Christmas, Mr. Chudleigh said. Union head Marshall Jarvis of the Ontario English Catholic Teacher's Association said his organization will "work with opposition parties to amend and block" the legislation. "Our actions exposed the government's true agenda to cut hun- dreds of millions of dollars from Ontario classrooms," he said. "We will take the Harris government to court in a constitutional challenge of Bill 160." Earl Manners, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, (OSSTF) said the protests would continue, but in a different form. He added his union will join others in a court challenge. Halton Board of Education Chair Linda Glover tried to smooth the transition back to the classroom. "We appreciate that the past few weeks have posed difficult sit- uations for all but it is important that we recognize and respect the individual choices and decisions that were made during this time," she said. Most teachers across the province have returned to the class- room, however the strike continues in some places, where local unions were in a legal strike position when the general walkout was called. Most of Ontario's 126,000 teachers had walked off the job despite having valid contracts. Schools in Milton were operating routinely Monday morning although some students had questions for their teachers regarding the walkout. "Everything is back to normal around here," said John McCart, a grade 11 student at E.C. Drury High School. "I'm glad we're back. I wouldn't have wanted to it go on much longer." OSSTF Halton vice-president Steve Gayfer was pragmatic. "Given what happened with the elementary teachers and the Catholic teachers over the weekend it was pretty obvious we were going to have to change our direction," he said. Mr. Gayfer said he wished the unions had stuck together, explaining that the teachers had not reached the maximum extent of public support. "Even members within the groups that moved were unhappy with the result," he said. "We clearly have not achieved our goal of removing the bill from consideration but in terms of educating the public we did well. "The challenge is out there for the goverment to listen to the teachers and the public," Mr. Gayfer said. Mr. Gayfer said the Ministry of Education has put the onus on the local school boards to make up the lost class time. He said it would likely be done through a loss of professional development days and by shortening schedules for exam days. thera irTr S _ c 01U u 0 During the past 24 years I have appreciated your continued support and confidence in my ability to represent you. I will strive to oversee your best interests for another 3 year term.