T h e O a k v ille W '- 's i 't / ,// ^ > yt /'IA S ' ' C tm fu m tty /O LAW N M OW ER TUNEUPS . $" 4T *d Jnu T - p a r ts ( C p m ) Pickup and 1 Delivery Available ; " CURRENT POWER MACHINERY INC. 1661 LakesJiore Rd. W. Mississauga Crowded with Cats! Focus Vol. 38 No. 89 Olympic trials at Hendervale Sports www.oakvillebeaver.com M ercedes-B enz 822-4211 A Metroland Publicatl WEDNESDAY, JULY 26,2000 52 Pages 75 Cents (plus GST) Old dump far from inactive The Fourth Line landfill site hasn Yseen any new trash since 1982 but buried waste still generates nasty liquid stew By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF W The old Fourth Line landfill site (right and above) has a very serene look to it, but under the grass and soil, water mixes with the trash to produce leachate that must be taken away and treated at the sewage treat ment facility. Unusually heavy rains this year have dramatically increased the amount of leachate being pro duced, according to John Smith (inset) Halton Region's Acting M anager o f W aste Management Services. Photos by P eter C. M cCusker and hile much has been made, in some media lately, about the safety o f hazardous waste in Halton, one thing Oakville residents won't have to worry about is the old Fourth Line landfill site. According to John Smith, Halton Region's Acting Manager of Waste Management Services, leachate produced by the former dump - capped in 1982 - remains well within all provincial regulations and is being managed according to established guidelines. Contrary to what some might think, the site is far from sim ply sealed and abandoned but is constantly monitored and drained of non-hazardous leachate which is, in turn, treated. "We ensure there are no environmental impacts because of the site," said Smith. To appreciate how this is accomplished, it's best to under stand just how the site was constructed and exactly how it was used during its lifetime. Set on 90 acres north of Dundas Street (60 acres of that actual landfill) the site consists of a hole with a clay liner and a piped leachate collection system at the base of the garbage. Leachate is caused by rainwater which "percolates" down through the site and interacts with the waste that is breaking down. On Fourth Line, this material is non-hazardous resi dential and small commercial waste. Liquid waste (paint etc.) and solid hazardous waste (batteries etc.) were not dumped there. "We want to capture that material to keep it from going into the groundwater and streams," said Smith, who explained that monitoring wells were sunk around the perimeter of the land fill to check for leachate. In 1982 the site was capped with clay and topsoil, then grass was planted to mitigate run-off. Sod also keeps the cap moist so the clay won't crack and the soil stays in place. Depending on rainfall (this year is a real spike on the chart, says Smith) the site generates approximately 90 cubic metres of leachate per day. This is pumped into tankers and trans ferred to water treatment plants where it is cleaned. Gas. namely methane from decomposing organics which is also generated by the site, does not require a formal collection system like much larger landfills, says Smith. On Fourth Line, a "passive" method allows methane to simply seep out of the ground slowly and safely. "We monitor continually and send a monitoring report to the Ministry each year," he added. To date, the Fourth Line site remains fenced and is not used for any secondary purpose. (Landfills in other municipalities baseball diamonds and even golf courses.) Smith (See 'New' page A2) Oakville woman finds e-mail namesake related to her husband By Sandra Omand SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Home invasion thwarted A 15-year-old North York youth is facing charges in con nection with Friday's attempted home invasion in Oakville. According to Halton Regional Police, the incident occurred around 11 a.m. when a Ross Lane resident answered his door and was confronted by a lone male. The suspect was armed with a pellet pistol and attempt ed to gain entry but the homeowner slammed the door and the intruder fled on foot. Police, however, located him a short distance away and made the arrest without incident. The teenager, who cannot be named under the Young Offenders Act, has been charged with pointing a firearm, weapons dangerous and breach of probation. The odds o f finding someone with the exact same name were so great that at first Beverley Heilbron thought someone was either impersonating her or play ing a hoax. Instead, after months o f email correspondence, she real ized she had come upon a long lost side of her husband's family. It first began back in April when the O akville resident received some e-mail from South Africa. "I got this e-mail from South Africa with all these wedding pictures saying these are pictures from your Auntie's garden but I didn't know anyone from there," said Heilbron. M eanwhile, in Toronto, I another Beverley Heilbron was ' e-mailing South Africa insisting she had not received the photos and wanting to know where they had been sent. `T h e person I e-mailed said we sent them to you at this address and that's when I real ized there was someone imper sonating me," joked the Toronto Heilbron. Only a dot differentiated the Photo by Barrie Erskine The two Beverleys check out their own e-mail sites. e-mail address of the two bheilbron@... women. The Oakville Heilbron, "I e-mailed her saying we who calls herself Beverley, had have similar email addresses so the address b.heilbron@ ... while you may be getting my email and the Toronto Heilbron (Bev) had if so could you send it off to me," said Bev. "I sent her a return e-mail say ing I don't believe this but my name is Beverley Heilbron as well," said Beverley. They began e-mailing each other daily, exploring the strange coincidence further. They dis covered they not only shared a first and last name but also the same middle name, Ann, although Bev spells it with an "e". "I was aghast, I was quite flabbergasted that there could be someone else with my name and once she responded with some more details I began to think that not only do we have the same name but I'm related to her hus band," said Bev. "I e-mailed asking when is her birthday and I was holding my breath to see if that would be the same as well," said Beverley. But, thankfully, said Beverley, they finally found a difference. The 54-year-old Beverley has a birthday in March while 43-year-old Bev's is in May. Still the fact remained that Beverley's husband, Bill, and Bev were definitely related. Although Bill Heilbron grew (See 'Connection' page A5) IN SID E today's paper Fditnriak................. _____ M E/v-uc m Business,................. ______B6 -C1 Automotive............... ... .....,,C8 Blood donor clinic A blood donor clinic is being held today, July 26th, at the C roatian Parish H all, 2110 T ra fa lg a r Rd. N ,, from 1 to 7 p.m. Each unit o f blood d o n ated can help save the lives o f four people. A ll healthy d o n o rs are en co u rag ed to attend - bring blood donor card o r photo ID. Spedd Supplements: Home delivery: National Sports Partial delivery. 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