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economist sunsuntribune public safety saturday feb 12 2005 emergency workers set to invade region liirfritni itffii rimmhi m set your ipye on a nevvoy re world famous a la eatte mertu for reseryatiorts or email kwifliamsangusglencom more than 300 police fire public health and emergency service person nel from across ontario will descend on york region this month to discuss dealing with potential hazards from a nuclear event the regions ems unit is hosting ontarios first chemical biological radio logical and nuclear confer ence in richmond hill according to brad meekin manager of york region ems given recent world events natural disasters and terrorist events this is a good time for a conference of this nature mr meekin said everyone knows tilings like this can happen anywhere at anytime keynote speakers for the twoday invitationonly event include retired major- general lewis mackenzie famous for peacekeeping in the former yugoslavia explosives expert john bureaux and dr chris mazza of ontario air ambu lance the best way to learn and plan for emergencies is to get all these people into one room and do it collec tively mr meekin said roy green police board cuts 500000 increase capped at 9 per cent fire officials continue to probe thursday blaze a 100000house fire in markham thursday night remains under investigation the call to the blaze on 14th avenue west of markham road came in at 1025 pm deputy fire chief bill snowball said by the time firefighters arrived on the scene flames were coming through the roof deputy chief snowball said a search by firefighters deter mined no one was inside the build- a markham man said yesterday he was living in the house rentfree but was not home at the time of the fire no services were connected to the house the man said no one was injured in the fire by roy green staff writer in a special meeting this week the regions police services board met the chal lenge of trimming its 2005 budget by an extra 500000 the boards final operat ing budget proposal of 1506million represents a 9percent increase over last year but is down from the 116percent increase origi nally proposed its expected to get regional council approval next week espe cially since the board met councils request to cap any increase at 9 per cent police chief armand la barge was able to comply with the request by delaying hiring plans for some civilian employees and by identify ing additional revenue according to board chairper son dave barrow its about half and half in revenues and in delaying some of the civilian support staff hiring said mr barrow a richmond hill regional councillor were reducing what we were originally asking for but were not reducing our actual service the budget comes in the second year of an ambitious fiveyear staffing plan for york regional police and originally called for 67 offi cers and 35 civilians to be dave barrow police services board chairperson said some hiring will be delayed hired this year it takes so long to get extra officers through the training process and on the road we were able to delay hiring some of the civilian support staff mr barrow said board vicechairperson and georgina regional councillor danny wheeler was pleased cuts could be made without affecting the chiefs hiring plan chief la barge will have the resources he needs to deal effectively with traffic enforcement and education youth issues and violent crime mr wheeler said the plan will see the addi tion of 45 officers to district operations 27 on the front line and 18 to the criminal investigation bureau in vaughans district four it means an additional 11 constables two detectives a detective sergeant and two civilian positions dont have an unlimited budget for home decor look no further than living lighting because our best sale of the year is on now weve got a huge selection of lighting ceiling fans chandeliers lamps fixtures and home decor pieces with instore experts to help you make the right decision take advantage of these incredible markdowns while supplies last this is one sale you wont want to miss living lighting its light for living living lighting home decor 5308 highway 7 markham 905 2949557 ask the experts at wwwlivinglightingcom sale ends february 20 2005 selection may vary by store m trademarks of air miles international trading 8v used under license by loyalty management group canada inc and living lighting m c o t 8 u 2 h hwy7 e s m 5 my friends my neighbours at arnica we understand retirement living can be a big step but you are not alone over 1700 mature adults enjoy living in beautifully appointed residences across canada perhaps even some friends from the old neighbourhood isnt this the lifestyle youve always wanted the lifestyle you deserve amica at s w a n lake a mature waj of life amica at swan lake 6360 16th avenue markham on 9o53oi6058 full service rental retirement suites elegant restaurant style dining wellness vitality fitness programs wwwamicaca a wellness vitality residence