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Miss Teen Oakville ready to represent A rtscene 4k M e rc e d e s -B e n z Q .E .W . & Dorval Or. MOST A Metroland Publication Vol. 40 No. 69 vlLLE BEA V ER AWARDED COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER WEDNESDAY. JUNE 11, 2003 72 Pages $1.00 (plus GST) www.oakvillebeaver.com "USING C O M M U NI C A TI O N TO BUILD BETTER CO MM UNI TI ES' Public elementary teachers threaten to strike Elementary teachers in Halton have .given their union an overwhelm ing strike mandate. Nearly % per cent of the public scluxtl teachers who attended a June 5 meeting \otcd in favour of backing strike action if necessary' in their contract talks with the Halton District School ; Board. "The strike mandate says they really, strongly support the work we do on their behalf," said Maureen Weinberger, pres ident o f the Halton chapter of the Elem entary Teachers Federation of Ontario. Weinberger said more than twothirds of the approximately 1,500 full time equivalent teachers attended the strike vote. Despite the vote Weinberger said her group is ready to meet again with board negotiators. "Basically, w ere Ux>king at things happening around the province and expect the same respect given to our ele mentary and high school counterparts (elsewhere)." The E T F O Halton contract expired Aug. 31. 2(X)2. M ore than nvo-thirds of school boards in Ontario have settled with their elementary teachers, said Weinberger. The two sides in Halton meet again this week with conciliation sessions set for Thursday and Friday. "W e've had meetings with the board previous to this, four or five since last Ju ly ." said Weinberger. "W e've always had a cordial relationship with the board." She expects the same atmosphere for the upcoming meetings. Dawn Beckett-M orton, the chief negotiator for the Halton board, said they are hoping to get a deal with their elementary teachers. The board settled a two-year agree ment with its 750 full-time equivalent high school teachers last week, which w ill boost secondary instructors' pay by 6.24 per cent over the term o f the deal. Harrison Smith · Special to the O akville Heaver L IG H T IN G T H E W A Y : Relay for L ife volunteer G e ri C larke lights one of the 4.500 lum inaries w hich spelled out the word H O P E on the grounds of Appleby College Frid ay night. Fo r complete coverage of this event see the Focus section in today's O akville Heaver. P i n e G r o v e a n d O a k w o o d t o p s c h o o l c lo s u r e l i s t School board wants to remove 825pupil places from southwest Oakville By Kim Amott SPECIAL TO THE HEAVER How many different ways can you count up to 825? That will be the question on the minds of southwest Oakville parents over the summer, as the community prepares to launch into another round of school clo sure discussions. On Monday night, residents received a first look at the board's enrolment projec tions for the five schools - Brookdale. Gladys Speers. Oakwood. Pine Grove and W .H. Morden - that are being considered for potential closure. School board superintendent Gary Sadler admitted that the closure process, which w ill get underway in September, w ill be "somewhat unpleasant and diffi cult." Still, a four-member board committee has been struck with the task of finding a way to eliminate about 825 surplus pupil places from southwest Oakville schools. The official recommendation for con sideration is a scenario that would see Pine Grove school close in 2IXJ4 and Oakwood close in 2(XJ5. That recommendation is not carved in stone, emphasized Sadler, who is chairing the consolidation committee. A process for public consultation has been established and the committee will consider other options. "The bottom line, however, is that the combined capacities of Oakwood and Pine Grove add up to about 825 student places," said Sadler. (See Closure' page A3) Pride Picnic embraces support from community By Melanie Cummings S P E C L \L TO T H E BEA Y 'ER The word community turns a non-descript living environment into a place of shared friendliness and respect. It's the very atmosphere local gay and lesbian people aim to enjoy in their neigh borhoods and beyond. W hile idling at a traffic sig nal this past weekend. Iwona Kossek happened to notice a rainbow-coloured flag li ving in front of the municipal build ing in Oakville, which is her hometown. "It made me feel awesome and supported by my com munity." she said. The flag and its multi coloured stripes has long been a symbol denoting acceptance for gay. lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and transsexual people. The rainbow Hag Hew last week in front of each town hall in Halton. (except Halton H ills), at the Halton Region building and in a display case at the Halton District School Board in Burlington. The Hag flying gesture is an inroad in the eyes of Marcus Logan, a quiet activist with the Halton Pride Committee. Sim ilarly, when B u rl ington city councillor Rick Craven showed up at the committee's fourth annual Pride Picnic this past week end at Bronte Provincial (See An' page A2) I Editorials..................... A6 Business.......................A8 Downtown Sidewalk Sale...Bl Focus........................... Cl Classifieds..................... C5 ArtScene.......................C8 Sports.......................... D1 Father's Day...................D4 DELIVERY F o r home d elivery A customer service m il S45-9742 Mint., Tin's,. & Tliurs. V iu n . 6 p.m.. Wed. A F r i 9 a.m. -S p .m o r S uiuniux 10 i u t i · 4 p.m. F o r new suhscriptums. m i l (90S) S45-V742 o r subscrilte o nline wnwiaakvillebeaveKConi Partial Delivery: S po rts Chek. D e h a G o lf, H ona H o m e a n d G a rd e n . R ona. S ew s 4 K id s. S /u trt M o n . F o rd , G u a rd ia n D ru g s . H o -L e e -C h o w , H o m e Def>ot. U tt le C aesars. P ie Hay, C o lo u r Your W orld. H y u n d a i D e a le rs CtnacW 'P u tM c x to mU*i Pmduu Agrewiwn M R r c * I R A M A D A ® IN N & CO N VEN TIO N C E N TR E O A K V I L L E Peter C. McCusker · O akville R eaver N ad ia Ripley and M elissa W allace share an intim ate moment on the law n during the H alton Prid e Picn ic at Bronte C reek Pro vin cial P a rk Saturday afternoon. Come See The Difference 9 0 5 -8 4 5 -7 5 6 ! Cz ' Large selection of frames · Doctor's appointment arranged 1We accept all vision care programs Off 5 0 2 Top B ra n d Nam es - All F ram e s S to re w id e with purchase of your Rx lenses Space Optical invites you to come in and see all the new latest styles of eyeglasses. Visit us for personal and prompt service. 2H U 2 D P T O . 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