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'd fe 3 AKvniE Beaver ? C iw u ttm tty M erced es-B en z A new spin on an old favourite! Focus ip r TERFRONT jI IVAL20 f>4Pages For the finest in CUSTOM UPHOLSTERING call Baier s. Makers of fine upholstered furniture. !3 3 3V Y w croft Rind. IM 7 o v i v o i hrtwern BnnteA Thffri Lnc) U m l'M Q l A Metroland Publication Vol. 38 No. 7 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21,2000 75 Cents (plus GST) Many questions follow crane tragedy Inquest appears likely after two workers killed when boom collapses By S cott M acArthur SPECIAL TO TH E BEAVER O Oakville Fire Department personnel (above) check out scene of Monday accident that saw two workers killed and others injured. Ambulance personnel (below) were on the scene to help the injured (left). Ministry of Labour officials are investigating the tragedy. Photos by Peter C. McCusker ntario Ministry o f Labour investigators are trying to determine why two workers died Monday when a crane collapsed and dropped its bucket o f concrete. Crews were busy pouring the foundation o f an expansion at the Mid-Halton Water Treatment Facility on the North Service Road, just west o f Third Line, when the mishap occurred. "While it's no At approximately 1:50 p.m., the victims were working longer m andatory for atop a five-metre-high wooden the government to wall overlooking a nine-metre implement an inquest pit when something went into situations like wrong, causing the crane this, we certainly boom, carrying a concrete bucket, came crashing down expect that they will on the workers. request one. " Jose Alves, 58, o f Winnipeg -Mike Gallagher, and Darren Leon, 31, o f International Union of M ississauga were killed Operating Engineers instantly while two others, Robert Driscoll, 50, of Mississauga and Daniel Figueredo, 50, o f Toronto, were treat ed for non-life threatening injuries at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. The crane operator was treated for shock at OTMH and released. About 40 workers with the non-unionized North America Construction company, based out o f Campbellville, are work ing on the expansion o f the treatment facility. The project got underway three months ago and should be completed in six to eight months. It's believed that dozens witnessed the accident, and work ers held their heads in their hands in reaction to the tragedy. "The frequent growth that w e've been experiencing in the region has required us to expand the plant," said Halton's Chief Administrative Officer Brent Marshall, who added that North America Construction won the expansion contract with a $22.5 million bid. "I don't know if they were the low bidder. But w e look at all the issues (when awarding contracts). We look at experience. We look at competency. Cost wasn't the only issue." Mike Gallagher, business manager o f the International Union o f Operating Engineers, Local 793, arrived on the scene and was dismayed by what he saw. "Absolute horror and sadness for the families o f the vic tims," Gallagher said of his initial reaction to the accident. He said that since mandatory certification and apprentice ship programs were implemented in 1978, there has been a 75 per cent reduction in crane accidents. Cranes are supposed to be inspected daily before their use. "While it's no longer mandatory for the government to implement an inquest into situations like this, we certainly expect that they will request one," he added. Town Council approves own salary hikes Mayor's salary goes from $45,000 to $64,000. Councillors to receive $26,000, up from current $17,000. By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF After dancing around the issue o f pay increases for 12 years. Town Council finally - and unanimously - voted itself a raise Monday night. Buoyed by largely unqualified sup port from the public, councillors approved a package proposed by local ratepayers groups that actually exceeded the recommendations of the consultant. This means that at the start o f the next term in December, the mayor's salary goes from $45,000 a year to $64,000 while local councillors' pay increases from $17,000 a year to $26,000. Martin Harts from Hay Management Consultants had been recommending approximately $59,000 and $22,000 respectively but said he has no problem supporting the higher figures. Regional councillors and the mayor receive an additional $18,500. Harts' original recommendations rep resented the median pay o f 14 compara bly sized communities while the approved salaries push into the 75th per centile. While no one will be "getting rich," said Harts, this should help attract and retain qualified individuals interested in serving their community - a sentiment that permeated the evening. "This job, to me, has never been about money ... but about how much it takes away from my full-time job," said Ward 1 councillor Kevin Flynn. `T o me, it's always been a labour o f love." The pay increases will affect council lors and the mayor serving from Dec. 1, 2000 to Nov. 30, 2003. Harts compared Oakville to 14 Ontario municipalities with similar pop ulations, including Burlington, Guelph, Oshawa and Sudbury. The salary of Oakville's mayor ranked higher than only one of the 14 places polled - Guelph - which pays its mayor $32,451. Oakville's population, however, has swelled to 140,600 which exceeds the average o f the other cities by 12,500 while Oakville's mayor is paid $13,600 less than the $58,600 average mayoral salary. Mayor Ann Mulvale spends on aver- Liver recipient in town Thurs. to promote organ donations Liver transplant recipient George Marcello, who plans to walk 12,000 kilometres across Canada over the next 17 months, is stopping in Oakville Thursday -- the third day o f his cross country trek to raise awareness and funds for organ donation. Last summer, he walked 2,375 kilo metres around Ontario to say `thankyou' to the family that saved his life. Marcello received his liver trans plant in August 1995 in Toronto Two years later, he completed his first walk, a 12-day trek from Toronto to Ottawa. Marcello will kick off his walk from Toronto on June 20th with a ceremoni al lighting o f the Torch o f Life to be carried and passed by thousands o f hands including premiers, professional athletes, celebrities, as he visits 464 cities along the way. He plans to visit more than 200 communities in Ontario over the next six months before heading west to Victoria, B.C. There he plans to board a Canadian Armed Forces Hercules for a flight to St. John's, NFLD, where he will resume his walk. He hopes to arrive back in Toronto on Dec. 1, 2001. He's calling his trek the Canada 500 Day Walk. Sponsored by the Step by Step Organ Transplant Association, Marcello, its co-founder and a volun teer, hopes to raise more than $1 mil lion. age 60 hours a week on Town business, not counting her time spent at the region, hydro commission and the Greater Toronto Services Board. "There have been plenty o f times, by my calculation, I haven't made minimum wage," said Mulvale, who filed to run again this fall well before Harts' study. The most recent local pay increase occurred back in 1988. Three years ago another consultant recommended 2.5% salary increases but these were rejected by Council. Harts - who explained that some municipalities have experienced as many as eight pay increases since then maintained that it is Oakville's turn for a pay hike. If the past is any indication, however, Ward 3 councillor Tedd Smith said he was prepared for a contentious evening but was pleasantly surprised when the anticipated acrimony never materialized. Mulvale, too, was gratified that in the two weeks since the stipend issue hit the headlines, no constituent has commented to her in the negative. Ward 4 councillor Stephen Sparling who said he's embarrassed that Oakville's mayor is the lowest paid in the GTA - explained that the demands on his time in recent years have been extraordi nary. "I believe what is before us is reason able," he said. "Those who sit on Council are hardworking men and women." "I think it's fair and justifiable," said Ward 3 councillor Keith Bird. INSIDE today's paper AS Rnnie. . .» «_!---------A R1 BS Rfl r .i m Sports. Classified................... ______ D4 Automotive......................... 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