T he Oakville B O K s IllS i a fo r ffe * s im r t - J i/tm m f C c w m u m ty f t e 2 TS For the finest in CUSTOM UPHOLSTERING call Baier's. Makers of b e upholstered furniture W Butting out Sheridan Brains hoop It up Sp o r t s 48 Pa&a 75 Cento (p h isOst) BD W recrrftR M d, lift 7 jmVjM I (b e w * e nB iu w eA T h in lL i* ) V U d lM JOl 1 A Metroland Publication Vol. 38 No. 8 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19,2000 C A N A D IA N S C E N E : As the temperature plum mets, the lure of skating in the outdoors beckons. And those who braved the weekend cold were rewarded with great ice conditions on Bronte Creek. Whether it was just a time to enjoy the out doors with a skate or the more serious hockey pur suit, it was a weekend to honour a great Canadian tradition. Photo by Peter C. McCusker r r ,v » 4 a Si: M ayor `open' to suggestions on Town' s future By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF W hile the mayors of Greater Toronto's larger cities have called on the province to scrap the 905 regional gov ernments and cut the number of munici palities in half, Oakville's top politician continues to monitor her peers' work. "It's not the definitive statement, but only a piece of the puzzle," said Mayor Ann Mulvale. "I think this report will be a good tool." Good, the mayor continued, even if it only stimulates all stakeholders to grap- M ulvale not invited to mayors' meeting that proposed killing regions, creating super cities pie with the issues at hand and not sim ply adhere to the status quo while hoping for the best. Quibbling about the process and not dealing with the substance of the report is simply counter-productive, Mulvale said. What all area politicians should be doing, she continued, is drawing upon every resource available - including the GTA mayors - to determine if there are any principles they can embrace. If not, she continued, they run the risk of being unwilling players in someone else's agenda. Markham Mayor Don Cousens is heading up the eight-mayor group which hopes to come up with an amalgamation plan for 905 municipalities before Queen's Park does. Mulvale was not asked to join the group, but attended last Friday's meeting where she obtained a copy of "Maintaining the Momentum" and helped craft some wording. Mulvale said she does not endorse or dismiss the document since Oakville Town Council will speak by resolution once they dis cuss all available information. "That's why I felt it was wise to stay as close to the loop as possible," she said. In their report, the mayors propose that Durham, Halton, Peel and York regions would cease to exist and the 24 cities, towns and townships within their boundaries would be merged into as many as 12 large cities. The mayors want the boundary changes made law before November's municipal election, or else they want the election delayed to allow time to create the new municipal governments. They also want Premier Mike Harris to appoint a special adviser to look at this and other issues and report back by midApril - taking into account any existing amalgamation studies. (S e e ` P la n ' p a g e A 2 ) 1999 record year for construction If you thought there were more con struction sites in town than ever before, you're right. The Town of Oakville announced yesterday, that 1999 was a recordbreaking year with $542.2 million in construction taking place. The total surpasses the 1998 total by more than $100 million. T he Oakville Building Services Departm ent has implemented a Building Enterprise Model that moni tors productivity and measures the time and costs o f issuing a permit. The approach has allowed Town Council to reduce permit fees by 10 per cent for new houses, shell restau rants and shell industrial buildings. Region launches smog com m ittee to help battle Halton pollution By Irene Gentle SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Halton Region is taking aim at haze. Dissolving smog is the objective of the Halton public sector smog response committee, formed last spring. "Smog is one of the most important and most persistent air quality issues today," said John Hall, an environmental health specialist with the Halton Region Health Department. "It's a public health issue. It's a health hazard." The committee is made up of mem bers of the Region, area municipalities, local hydro commissions, school boards and Conservation Halton. Battling the brown-yellow haze formed largely of ground level ozone is a communal effort, said Hall. "We must have the community involved and get the private sector involved as well," he said. That's because both residents and industries are the contributors to the problem. In Ontario, smog is produced through unbumed byproducts of gasoline, coal and natural gas, the Region's health and social services committee heard last week. Those stem from homes, businesses, vehicles, industrial boilers and power plants. And the evaporation of liquid fuels and the use of solvents and products such as oil-based paint act as a herald of the problem. They can be exacerbated by fine dust and ash blown up from roads, construc tion sites and agricultural areas. Smog can lead to a slew of ailments, such as eye, nose and throat irritations as well as reduced lung capacity. It also intensifies a host o f medical woes, including chronic bronchitis and asthma. And those stricken with cardiac conditions will feel the effects of smog more harshly than others. To fight back, the committee has set forth several resolutions. They include anti-idling policies for all public sector vehicles. Encouraging the use of alternative fuel and ensuring all public sector vehi cles are Drive Clean compliant is also a mandate of the committee. (S e e `C o m m itt e e ' p a g e A 5 ) G iv e b lo o do nJa n .2 6 th Canadian Blood Services is holding a blood donor clinic at the Croatian Parish Hall, 2110 Trafalgar Road North, on Wednesday, Jan.. 26th. The clinic is from 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Donors must be healthy, between 17 and 70 years o f age, and have proper identification. Photo by Barrie Erskine YAH, IT'S COLD: Heather Reeson and Brenda Lewis fight the cold and blowing snow along Lakeshore Road during winter's first blast of frigid air to hit town. Husband of breast cancer victim honours wife through foundation Dr. K.C. Dhawan wants funds to help those most in need By Nancy Alexander SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Watching the courage of his wife as she struggled with breast cancer, that ultimately claimed her life, her hus band has established a private, charitable foundation to honour her memory. Dr. K.C. Dhawan, a retired professor of international business and marketing, has donated $100,000 over the last two years to establish the K.C. Dhawan Foundation, the income from which will be used to support of host of local and international charitable activities. Dr. Dhawan, a world renowned international business consultant and former coordinator of the International Business Program at Concordia University, has been living and raising his three sons in Oakville since the death of his wife in November, 19%. At the time of her death, he was still living in Montreal, but had purchased a home in Oakville which his wife had managed to visit for only three days before entering hospital for the last time in Montreal. foundation, Dr. Dhawan said the concept of giving to the community and helping others is a long-established tra dition within his Hindu faith. Upon the death of his wife. Dr. Dhawan said he imme diately gave a substantial donation in her memory to the palliative care unit of Montreal General Hospital. He now also finances in her memory the "Madhu Bala Dhawan Summer Research Bursary in Palliative Care or Cancer Research" in the McGill University Faculty of Medicine. The reason for subsequently establishing the founda tion, he told the Beaver, was to maintain control over the (S e e ` F o u n d a tio n ' p a g e A 2 ) today's paper Fnms_................. .............. R1 Classified.............. ............. R4 Entertairart........................C1 Business............................. .... .. C3 Homes & Gardens.............. ..........C8 Sports. eeaaaaaeeaaaaaaaeaaaaaaaaaaaaeeaaaeaaaaaaeaaaD 1 5uppkm6nt$! H o m ed e liv e ry :H y4Z e is ,S o b e y 's ,P a rtyC ity ,T h eB e y Partial delivery: Swiss Chalet, Business Depot Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreem ent #435-201 Dr. K.C. Dhawan: remembering courage of his wife, through foundation HaltonSearch.cAm . . . j u A t 'O s 'c l i c h 'M m j/! . A P eter Watson I N V E S T M E N T S RETIREMENT PLANNING SPECIALISTS Free C o n sultatio n 8 4 2 -2 1 0 0 0 P w c r C . W atson M .IU , C M L R .F.P .,