,ef-wýWWeekendô JNjtstG îssJ www.karenstloweshop.com MILTON 876-47851 sing Communication to Buid Better Communities" 487-2881e,4- A Metroland Community Newspaper Vol. 144 No. 44 Friday, August 15, 2003 36 Pages $ 1.00 (GST tncluded) Town stays calm as blackout hits By STEPHANIE THIESSEN The Champion Mfilton was a scene of calm confusion yesterday when the power went out at 4:10 p.m. in a blackout that stretched from Ontario to parts of the U.S. Just afier 5 p.m., Milton transformed into a true small town as downtown store owners wajted out- side their store fronts and chatted with neighbours and fellow proprietors. Moods varied, but puzzlement was the order of the day everywbere as people waited - although nobody knew exactly what for. Kathleen Smith, of Kalena Flowers, sat on the step in front of the Main Street florist and expressed what seemed to be at the back of every- bodys minds - was it terrorism? "Were campers. su first 1 tbought,'nu biggy' But in the back of my mind, 1 thought, we've been warned - how many times bas thecUUS. been on high alert?," she said, adding tbat her customers said tbey were tbinking along the samne lnes. She said she was slightly worried about her bus- band, wbo was taking GO Transit as well as a sub- way from downtown Toronto. "'m supposed to pick bim up from tbe GO sta- tion at 5:30 p.m., but be migbt not be there. But hes a big boy. He can take care of himself." At about 5: 10 p.m., Leigh Silva pulled up tu the downtown post office and asked empînyce John Shields if she could pick up ber mail, whicb she did. Ms Silva said sbe had been talking on tbe pbone with a friend whcn the uine wcnt dead. She tirst tbougbt it was a minor power outage, but got a flash of reality wbcn sbc tumed on ber car radio. "I beard tbcm say peuple should pull over and park at tbe side of the road. 1 was thinking, 'I won- der wbat bappened in downtown Toronto?' But then 1 realized there were no traffic ligbts on here.' She said aIl Uic drivers in Milton were extreme- ly polite, treating intersections as four-way stops. Within a few bours of the initial blackout yester- day, there were pockets of power in the area, including parts of Main Street. Today, the scene wasn't much différent, altbougb the calm seemed to prevail over thc confusion. As of this moming, most traffic ligbss were out in Milton, with the known exception of Main and Martin streets. Initial plans to set up a cooling station at Allendale to provide relief from the heat werc squelcbed by the facility's lack of power. Milton police said the scene last nigbt wasnt much different from a usual Tbursday, altbough see PROBLEMS on page 18 Comment .....6-7 A&E ........... 10 Dateline ....... 17 Sports.....24u26 Classifiled .... .30-33 f 1