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J fc . w w w .o a k v ille b e a v e r .c o n le B e a v e r MUSIC LESSONS 905.825.8668 www.m usicisfun.ca A Metroland Publication Vol. 42 No. 152 More honours for Oakville rowers SPORTS U SIN G C O M M U N IC A T IO N TO B U IL D B E T T E R C O M M U N IT IE S " TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21,2004 O a k Park M edical C lin ic ^sa sE S B sm n m M o n . - Fri. 8:30am - 8:30pm Chrivtrras Day CLO SED Sunday 10:00am · 3:00pm 2530 Sixth l ine, O akville 905-257-1006 44 Pages $1.00 (piusGST) Board prepares to close three elementary schools in Oakville By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The new year may be the beginning of the end for three Oakville elementary schools. The Halton District School Board has scheduled a special meeting on Jan. 5 to discuss the closure of Gladys Speers, Lome Skuce and Sheridan public schools -- as well as what to do in south east Oakville. Trustees and staff will gather behind closed doors at 7 p.m. and the public will be invited in at 8 p.m. Up for debate w ill be recommenda tions to set up committees to close Gladys Speers, Lome Skuce and Sheridan public schools by next September. A school closure committee is also being recommended to look at southeast Oakville where a school viability study has taken place over the past year. School closures were put on hold for the last year after the provincial govern ment, shortly after being elected in the fall of 2003, allowed the delay so it could study funding, both of new schools and per--pupil grants. Local school board officials awaited the news since the funding policies include prescribed dates by which school closure decisions have to be made. See April page A7 P E T E RC .M cCUSKER / O AKVILLE B E A V E R BIRD'S EYE VIEW: Oakville resident Joyce LeChasseur was one of many South Peel Naturalists Club members participating in a Christmas Bird Count at Bronte Creek Provincial Park this weekend. The Bronte Provincial Park Bird Count was one of 350 similar ones held across Canada between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5 as part of the 105th Christmas Bird Count in North America. Birders flock to Christmas Bird Count By Wilma Blokhuis OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF < "I love it. It's quiet, and you get out and enjoy nature." · Christmas Bird Count volunteer Joyce LeChasseur In s id e Editorials................. A6 Living........................ B1 'Tis the Season..........C1 Classified................. C6 Artscene................... C8 Sports........................D1 At Christmas, one's thoughts turn to turkeys, but what about all of those other birds out there? Who's thinking of them? The South Peel Naturalists Club is. Small groups of volunteer birders headed out early Saturday to par ticipate in the 105th annual Christmas Bird Count. It was a wake-up call to reconnect with our natu ral environment. I accompanied Joyce LeChasseur, of Oakville, into the campground area of Bronte Creek Provincial Park on a bird hunt. Binoculars in hand, I focused in on a hawk perched high up in a tree. We saw large numbers of European starlings, a few robins, finches, a downy woodpecker, a Mourning Dove, a flock of Canada geese flying over head, and chick adees, but the `piece de resistance' was seeing seven Long eared Owls in flight. "This is roosting time for them," said LeChasseur as she walked through two stands of young ever greens causing these beautiful downy coloured birds to spread their wings and fly away to another hiding spot. "They like to roost in young evergreens," LeChasseur said, "and I don't like to disturb them too much." For that reason, she doesn't walk through the evergreen stand a second time. Walking along the quiet roads and trails of the park - some areas had a thin covering of snow - one develops a keen eye for spotting birds, and an alert ear to hear them chirping. Notepad and pen at the ready, LeChasseur, who has participated in the annual Christmas Bird Counts for four years, writes down every bird she sees or hears. She, like the other eight birders covering the Bronte area, can identify literally hundreds of birds See Birding page A5 How cold was it? Partial Delivery: Rom, CMS, Lawyer referred to tree clearing charges as witch hunt By Stephanie Thiessen SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER A Burlington landowner was the target of a "witch hunt" that saw him charged for clearing trees on his Fourth Line property and later charged again for destroying seedlings, a lawyer testified Thursday. If found guilty, the charges could total almost $1 million. David Goodman, who acted as George Vastis' lawyer when Vastis bought the property in 2001, testified a letter was sent to his office shortly after Vastis was slapped with 44 charges for clearing trees on his land contrary to Halton's tree bylaw. The letter, Goodman said, instructed Vastis to cease clear ing on the property, which falls on the border of Milton and Oakville. Vastis complied, court heard, but was later charged with four more bylaw violations for unintentionally destroy ing regenerated growth -- seedlings -- when clearing away the trees that had already been cut. "In a million years I never read the letter to mean when Mr. Vastis or his workers drag out the trunks (already cut), he can't disturb a two-inch seedling. A tree is a tree is a tree," Goodman said from the witness stand. "So when the second charges were laid, I referred to it as a witch hunt." He added the comment was " in poor taste" -- Crown Attorney David Olah agreed -- and apologized. The case was heard at Milton provincial court by Justice of the Peace J. Woloschuk. See Trial page A4 Ho Ijx Chow Restaurant, Little Caesars, Tippers Pizza, Radio Shack (Support Your Local Carrier) S Y LC D ELIVER Y F o r home delivery & customer service call (905) 845-9742 M o il . Tues., & Thurs. 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., Wed. & Fri. 9 aun. - 8 p.m. o r Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. F o r new subscriptions, call (905) 845-9742 or subscribe online @ www.oakvillebeaver.com I r o q u o is R id g e M e d ic a l (C e n tre 9 0 5 -2 5 7 -8 7 7 7 (n e x t to guardian b e h in dL o n g o s ) m F R O M WALK-IM CLINIC A ccepting New P atien ts FOR M O ST M A K ES S 8 5 P L U S P A R T S LIESA KORTMANN I SPECIAL TOTH E OAKVILLE BEAVER Pick up & delivery S70 CURRENT POW ER MACHINERY INC. 1661 Lokoshore Rd. W. Mississ.iuy.i (5 S to p l i g l l b of >n O ) 1 /t t S o u tlid o w n R o .u l tn CUirfcvon) S! ° ^ ^ ~ ^ 1 1 CHILLING SIGN OF THE TIMES: The double-digit sub-zero temperatures that prompted Halton Region to issue an Extreme Cold Weather Alert didn't put a chill on the sense of humour of this sign writer at Murron's Cabinetree in downtown Oakville, nor did the frigid weather discourage shoppers, who bundled up to keep warm. AD D C e n tre Dodge SRT-10 Ram Quad Cab FIVE STAR U n d erach ievem cn t? · A t t e n t i o n s p a n is s h o r t · D if f ic u lt y o r g a n iz in g & c o m p le t in g w o r k · a ls o h e l p f u l f o r a s p e r g e r 's OOOOO CERTIFIED Neurofeedback and learning strategies can provide a lasting improvement. Director. Lynda M. Thompson, Ph.D.. C o -a u th o r w ith Pediatrician W illiam Sears o f T h e A .D ./ J . H o o k : J\Ietv (9 0 5 ) 8 0 3 -8 0 6 6 w w w .a d d c e n tre .c o m I ruh'tsttnulitiys. N e tt · A fjprouches to P a ren tin y Your C'hiM. 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