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BEAT THE RUSH Service your Iawnmoter now! Call today. royal Le p a g e CURRENT POWER MACHINERY INC. i 2b lockent olS outhdow nR oadinC lark so n ) Ohfc'Hfcl Sp rin g Aw ards Pull-out section 1 6 6 1L a tesh o reR d W M ssissau g a q a a imj I M orning m unchers Focus WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23,2000 6 8 Pages TSCents (ptusGSl) * AMetroland Publication Vol. 38 No. 23 Sikh students attacked at OTHS By Nancy Alexander & Howard Mozel C r im in a l c h a r g e s la id , o t h e r s p e n d in g involved racial and religious overtones. Sergeant Frank Phillips, spokesper son for Halton Regional Police, con firmed the investigation is on-going. "It is quite sad and very outrageous," says Amrit Rai, spokesperson for the Oakville Sikh Cultural A ssociation. "W e're still sorting through the pieces." Rai - who said racial slurs against in r a c ia lly - m o tiv a te d a s s a u lt O other received minor injuries. Both are ne student has been arrested and students at OTHS. charges are pending against oth The altercation occurred just outside ers following a racially motivat the school on February 15 as students ed assault last week at Oakville-Trafalgar were leaving for the day. High School (OTHS). OTHS principal Larry Dilanni called The assault on two Sikh students the incident "ugly and regrettable" . He resulted in one victim being treated in said the occurrence was unique in his hospital for a fractured skull while the five-year tenure at the school in that it Sikhs do happen in schools - explained that his association is undertaking a twoprong approach to the incident, the first avenue being pressing the police for action "This is hate crime ... and as such we are pushing that charges be laid," said Rai. The association is also working to help maintain an environm ent for learn ing, not violence, by asking the board to take a tough stand on those responsible for the assault. Only then, he added, will other young people think twice about even considering such reprehensible actions. "Students are there to learn and their (S e e `Incident1 page A2) Celebrate our roots for Heritage Week T he O akville H istorical Society is staging four m ajor events to celebrate H eritage Week. G loria O akes o f the U nited Em pire Loyalists Association will talk about O ntario's Loyalist roots at an OHS m eeting at Knox Presbyterian Church, L ak esh o re R oad and D unn Street, tonight at 7:30 p.m . T his is a free lec ture, how ever donations will be w el come. Publications from the society will be available for purchase at this m eet ing. T he O H S will have three displays at its archives and office at 110 King St., today throughout Feb. 25th, and again on Feb. 27th, from 1 to 4 p.m. T hese exhibits include the George S um ner D iaries, from 1867 to 1909. Sum ner w as a local police constable and w ell know n historical figure. A . T h o m as H ouse M useum Sam pling will feature personal item s and artifacts from this 1830s pioneer cabin, a popular sum m er attraction at L akeside Park. A nd, th e re's O akville: G etting A round, the society's m ajor archival ex h ib it o f transportation from the 1850s to 1950s. F o r m ore inform ation, call the O akville H istorical Society at 8442695. * Rising temperatures * prompt flood safety advisory in Halton C onservation H alton-C H , (form er ly the H alton R egion C onservation A uthority) yesterday issued a Flood Safety A dvisory for all area creeks and streams. W ith w arm er tem peratures expect ed to last through the w eekend, C H anticipates localized flooding in lowlying areas. W ith w aterw ays expected to rise above norm al w ith high flow s and w eakened ice conditions, cold w ater tem peratures and unstable banks, C H says all w atercourses and ponds should be considered dangerous. C H is w arning everyone, especially children, to stay aw ay from these areas. The A dvisory is in effect through Feb. 28th but will be updated if condi tions change. * Teen runs out of time for transplant Photo by Peter C. McCusker L A S T S L ID E O F W IN T E R ? T he tem peratures w ere okay for the slopes up until M onday, but rising tem peratures yesterday and throughout the w eek, will play havoc w ith the hills at B ronte C reek Provincial Park. G etting in w hat m ight be their final slide o f the season are Brad and M argrethe N orm an. Catch Canadian film T h e W e d n e sd a y F ilm F e s tiv a l c o n tin u e s its W in te r 2 0 0 0 run to n ig h t w ith T h e F iv e S enses. T his C an ad ian film is d ire c te d by Jerem y P o d esw a, is ra te d A A an d ru n s fo r 105m inutes. E ach o f the fiv e se n ses is in g e n io u sly ex p lo re d w ith w itty ch arm in Je re m y P o d e sw a 's fin e featu re film . T h e c lev e rly stru c tu re d story fo llo w s th e lives o f five p eo p le w ho each h av e an in tim ate re la tio n sh ip to one p a rtic u la r sense. "W arm , funny an d p e rc e p tiv e ," rep o rts V ariety. T he F iv e S e n se s w as n a m e d B e st C a n a d ia n F ilm at th e T o ro n to In tern atio n al F ilm F estiv al. T h e W e d n e sd a y F ilm F e s tiv a l sc re e n in g s take place ev e ry second W e d n esd ay at 7 p.m . at th e F am o u s P la y e rs C in e m a s in th e O a k v ille T o w n C e n tre I, lo c ate d at D orval a n d th e QEW . T ic k ets are a v a ila b le at the d o o r sta rtin g at 6:3 0 p.m . T ic k ets are $8 fo r n o n -m em b ers a n d $6 fo r m e m b e rs o f th e W e d n esd ay F ilm F estiv al, O ak v ille A rts C o u n c il, O ak v ille C e n tre B ig T ic k et, O ak v ille G alleries, F rien d s o f th e L ib ra ry , a n d O a k v ille M u se u m . M em b ersh ip ca rd s m u st be sh o w n at p o in t o f p u rch ase. F o r m ore in fo rm atio n a b o u t the W e d n esd ay F ilm F estiv al, call 8155 977. Bronte trees make way for washrooms, parking By Howard Mozei OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Sixteen trees on the w est side o f Bronte H arbour are being cut down to m ake way for parking expansion and new w ashroom s. T he renovations, w hich are set to begin this spring, are part o f the Bronte H arbour M aster Plan, a 10-year blue print prepared by the O akville H arbours D evelopm ent A uthority (O H D A ) and O akville Parks and Recreation and approved last May. A ccording to A ssistant Parks and Recreation D irector Chris M ark, the majority o f the trees are willows in the latter stages o f their lifespan. M any o f these, M ark explained, are "structurally unsound" and have been trim m ed down severely over the years. M ark explained that the original plan was to m ove the parking lot fur ther back into a hill but it was deter m ined that this w ould have had a greater im pact on existing vegetation in the area. It was decided, then, to pull the lot to the north. "F or a lot o f people, parking is defi nitely an issue in Bronte," he said. "Residents are telling us this on a regu lar basis." M ark w ent on to say that trees are one o f the to w n 's m ost valuable resources so the decision to remove the w illow s was not m ade lightly. "Unfortunately, to achieve the effi ciency o f parking we want, the trees have to com e dow n," he said. "It was not som ething we relish doing." A bout 25 new parking spaces will be added as a result o f the expansion, bringing the total num ber o f spots to 66. M ark said 23 new trees will be planted adjacent to the site, more than were cut down. The existing w ashroom building is (S e e `Trees' page A2) ------- f i i j l l i l Oakville's Christopher Cooling, 17, has lost his battle with acute myeloid leukemia. Chris died about midnight on Sat. Feb. 19, surrounded by fam ily and friends at M cM aster University M edical Centre. The Oakville Trafalgar High School student who loved snowboarding had battled the disease since last June and his death has com e as a shock to all who knew him. "It's been a difficult week," says his mother, Paulette. "His imm une system was very w eak and he ju st couldn't fight any longer. He was a wonderful person and so strong through this. H e never complained. I'm am azed at the amount o f people he touched. The phone hasn't stopped ringing. I'm sure he's up there snowboarding in heaven." Paulette and her husband Scott had hoped a suitable bone marrow match would be found for their only child and two bone marrow donor information sessions set for today at O akville Trafalgar High School on Devon Rd. are still planned. The family hopes peo ple still com e out to learn how the reg istry works so they may be tested for others on the waiting list if they wish. Visitation will be held today at Ward Funeral H om e from 12 to 4 p.m. The funeral takes place at St. A ndrew 's Church tomorrow (Thursday) at 2:30 p.m. today's paper Pnms........................................R1 rvi ______ CS ra Entertainment............ ............. D1 Business.........______ ______ D4 Spcod Supplements: Photo by Barrie Erskine Trees like this one by Bronte Beach Park are com ing dow n to m ake w ay for new w ashroom s and m ore parking. Partial delivery: 8/Way, White Hose, The Brick, CIUS Guardian i C an ad ian Publications Mail Product A greem ent #435-201 A u xiliary officers w anted The H alton R egional P olice A uxiliary unit is looking for new vol unteer officers to round out this com m unity policing program. A total o f 20 auxiliary officers are needed to help m eet the increasing dem ands o f the service To that end, an open house inform a tion session has been scheduled for tom orrow, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m . in the south auditorium o f police headquar ters at 1151 B ronte Rd. P e t e r W atso n I N V E S T M E N T S -FINE OUTERWEAR SINCE 1815- W IN T ER SA LE Furs · S h eep sk in C loth Coats A R R IN G ID N S 8 4 2 -2 1 0 0 P e te r C W a ts o n | M . B A , C .F .P .. R .F .P .. | R E T IR E M E N T P L A N N IN G SPECIALISTS Free C o n s u l t a t i o n 209 Lakeshore Rd E. Oakville (1st lights west of Trafalgar) 845-2031 2 5 -5 0 ° / /o OFF