W ttjL U PUBL|c\|8fM« ; ftu'araf-P l/tm ttta Ctwtm tm ty f o te m ic H s OAKVILLE'S Headquarters 1260 5 peers Rd. #13 baiers For the finest in CUSTOM UPHOLSTERING call Baier's. Makers o f fine upholstered furniture. 2333 Wvecroft Road. Lnit 7 I m U M (between BronteA Thml Lnel Q i/* * U 0 1 8 4 7 -5 2 9 5 AM etroland Publication Vol 38 No. 62 WEDNESDAY, MAY 24,2000 56 Pages 75 Cents (plus GST) C lash of visions for n o rth developm ent By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF 1 W hile the citizens group Oakville Green can sum up its opposition to development north of D undas Street in one word - "W hoa!" ' Thursday's public forum made it painfully obvi ous the issue is proving far more complex for everyone involved. On a fundamental level, the activists, Town and consultants all agree that green space in the north E n v ir o n m e n ta l g r o u p w a n ts g r e e n s p a c e , to w n s a y s i t c a n 't a ffo r d to b u y p r o p e r tie s should be preserved as much as possible. The problem is that not all parties are on the same wavelength when it comes to determining just how that can be accomplished - realistically. The issue centres on North Oakville Strategic Land Use Options Study recommendations regarding plans for 7,600 acres of agricultural land designated "urban," and the effect development will have on 1,250 acres deemed "sensitive." The purpose of the study is to determine the amount and location of residential and employ ment land, as well as a phasing strategy for imple mentation. In short, change is on the way and the Town is trying to determine the best way to man age it. This, says Ward 6 councillor Kurt Franklin, will only be accomplished through years of nego tiations, since the astronomical dollar figures involved with buying all the land outright are sim ply prohibitive. `T h e answers aren't available and neither are the finances," said Franklin, who explained that many residents' expectations are being frustrated by the realities of the process. (See `Attempts' page A2) Saved friend, teen dies in canoeing mishap A 19-year-old Oakville man sacri ficed his own life to save his friend after their canoe capsized on Clarke Lake near Huntsville, early Sunday morning. Sanjeev Michael Watson - known as Michael - pushed his 17-year-old com panion back into their capsized canoe, then disappeared after swimming off to retrieve the paddles. OPP divers recovered his body from the lake Monday afternoon. "His friend couldn't swim that well, so my son saved him first and ended up giving his life," said his mother Mona Watson. Her son, a strong swimmer, and his friend were heading out in the canoe to watch the sun rise over the lake about 12 kilometres west of Huntsville when the canoe capsized. It was still dark and foggy, said Constable Harry Raw luk of the Huntsville detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police. Neither man was wearing a lifejack et and there were none in the canoe, said Rawluk. Each vessel is required to be equipped with a life jacket for each occupant but they do not have to be worn at all times: W hen Watson disappeared, the friend used his hands to paddle the 300 metres to shore to summon help. "His friend is distraught, he blames himself, he keeps saying over and over, "He gave his life to save me," said Watson. The incident helps illustrate the importance of life jackets, said Rawluk. "We can't emphasize enough how important it is for all boaters to wear life preservers even on a small lake like this one," he said. The mother said her son was a for mer student at White Oaks Secondary School in Oakville who was working in a factory to raise money for college next year. -- Torstar Wire Service O ly m p ic a rch ery h e r e if TO w in s b id By Scott M acArttxr SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER It's official: if Toronto is awarded the 2008 Summer Olympics, Oakville will play an important part in hosting the inter national event Mayor Ann Mulvale and Minister of Natural Resources John Snobelen were among those on hand at Bronte Creek Provincial Park yesterday, to announce that the park will host the archery competition as part of Toronto 2008 Olympic Bid (TOBid). `W e had been told that this bid would embrace the Greater Toronto Area and today's announcement is a confirmation of that," said Mulvale. "Our community is ready to work with all involved to make sure the park is ready." The park was chosen due to its proxim ity to the would-be site of the Olympic vil lage in Toronto. A temporary setup would feature a seating area with a capacity for 5,000 spectators. In recent Summer Olympics, the archery event has spanned five days and involved 64 male and 64 female athletes. `W e have a suitable venue here given that archery is a recreational sport and we are a recreational park," said Park Superintendent Paul deCourcy, adding that a 20-acre vacant field near Spruce Lane Farm will be the site of the competition. "I'm veiy proud that the park was given consideration and accepted as an Olympic venue." The Ministry of Natural Resources will donate the park to the TO-Bid, meaning that Oakville will be spared any cost "The province is firmly behind the Olympic bid and this announcement today is a result of the co-operation of all parties involved," said Snobelen. "The donation of the use of the park by the province is the least we can do." (See `Bid' page A4) Photo by Peter C. McCusker S h erid an School B attle of the Book w inners will be going onto fu rth e r com petition. F ro n t (1-r) Rebecca Schinkel, M atthew B utler and L a u ra H unter. Rear, C aitlin G ardner, A m ba Bertie a n d Shalyn O range. (Photo of W.H. M orden com petitors is on page A2A ( Sheridan & Morden students prevail in Battle of The Books Karen Robbins SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Sheridan Public School's junior (earn and W.H. Morden's senior team proved they are the best bookworms in town. The teams competed in the 18th annual Battle of the Books at Oakville Public Library's Glen Abbey Branch beating out Linbrook in the junior category and E.J James in the senior. Barbara Dubrule, Chair of the Friends of the Oakville Public Library presented each team with their trophy and tshirts. The teams had to answer 10 questions identifying titles of books and authors from a wide range of books, as well as answering questions on their settings, plots and characters. Jim Ross, teacher from W.H Morden's team, was very proud of his students. "We got all 10 questions correct plus received bonus marks for answering the question the other team missed." The senior team has nine students plus two substitutes from grades six through eight. The students try to cover as many authors and books as possible, which Ross said is quite difficult. `There are so many books and so many authors that you can't know them all. So there are some that we don't cover - we hope they don't show up in the questions." Mike Davis, teacher from Sheridan's team, said the juniors also cleaned-up at the competition by gaining bonus points. The junior team has six members with students in grades four, five and six. The teams represented Oakville at the regional cham pionships at the Georgetown Library. Board ready to spend $1 m to help slow learners By Dennis Smith SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Thousands of Halton students identi fied as slow learners are in danger of failing Grade 10 literacy tests, public school trustees were warned, Wednesday. Brenda Kearney, special education superintendent for the Halton District School Board, made the warning while requesting $1 million over two years to help 5,590 students identified as slowerpaced learners. `T hey are not special education stu dents, but they're struggling desperately and need support," said Kearney. "When they write the Grade 10 literacy tests, these students could be in great jeop ardy." Trustees were sympathetic to the request for slow learners, one of several special education recommendations. "They're stuck in the middle between gifted and special education students," noted Burlington trustee David Abbott. "Sometimes they just slide by because they're perceived to be making an effort. "They're stuck in the middle between gifted and special education students. Sometimes they just slide by because they're perceived to be making an effort. We need to support this." -Halton District School Board trustee David Abbott We need to support this." Other trustees agreed slow learners have fallen into a grey area. `They desperately need help in our system," said Milton trustee Erica Andrew. "They're not identified as spe cial needs because their intellectual abil ity is below average, but they're not intellectually deficient." Board chair Ethel Gardiner warned there could be problems if slow learners don't get support. "We have to do some thing or you're going to see dropouts like you wouldn't believe." Peter Petrusich expressed concern about financing special education pro grams. "I know special education is impor tant," said the Oakville trustee. "But if we overspend our allotment, we're tak ing away programs from other stu dents." Kearney said 237 more instructional assistants will be sought for programs. She noted student grants have increased and the province has indicated it will spend another $70 million on special education. Since funding formula changes in 1996-97, provincial funding for special education has been reduced by $6 mil lion annually. "But we've spent $1.5 million more than we've received in grants," said Kearney. "We're spending more than the province gives us for special education." The board eventually approved the slow learners proposal. It will be consid ered in June budget deliberations with these two other special education recom mendations: · Establishing a Halton safety pro gram. This is for students aged 12-18 with behavioural problems who pose a risk at home, with the school population or with themselves. Anger management, problem solving and other measures were suggested for these students. Students should return from suspensions with skills and sup ports, trustees were told. · Implementing a plan and task force for autism. The board has 100 students with autism and developmental disor ders, and specific programs were sug gested. It was recommended nearly $100,000 be spent to develop an autism team with a speech language pathologist, plus a teacher and/or assistant. Trustees approved supporting cre ation of centres for blind and deaf stu dents within its three areas (Burlington, Oakville and north Halton). The centres will provide a range of placements with in the resources available. Kearney said these facilities will be resource centres with materials, space and special education teachers. "We don't currently run self-contained classes and parents don't have to go there." 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