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A2 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday November 3, 1999 R e s u l t s h e l d f e w s u r p r i s e s F ire r u le d a c c id e n t a l b y F ire M a r s h a l (Continued from page 1) (Continued from page 1) He said the results validate staff's work in helping students develop their full potential. After analyzing EQAO results from 1998, the board took several measures, said Diane Rabenda, superintendent of curriculum. These actions included purchasing new language and math textbooks, pro gram materials with relevant software, action plans for im provem ent and teacher resources to address areas requiring further development." She noted the board has also appointed a math consultant to focus on assessment with respect to the provin cial testing and helping teachers meet needs of the children. "Parents and teachers will be able to analyze this information to help them further refine their school action plans for further improvement and to monitor students' progress," she noted. A total of 1,767 Grade 3 students and 1,436 Grade 6 students at all 29 of the Catholic board's elementary schools participated in the tests. there's a van in the garage, there's three people in the house," Osborne said. He testified platoon chief Cassey then kicked open the garage door to discover the van inside. Osborne added that he told Cassey that a red car in the driveway didn't belong to homeowner Lynn Fedoruk, so there could be additonal people in the house, as well. During the opening day of the inquest, the jury also heard from Dan Magda, an investigator with the office of the Ontario Fire Marshal. Magda testified that he determined the fire at the Fedoruk residence to be acci dental, and either caused by careless smoking or a halo gen lamp igniting a chester field. The fire started in a main floor family room. The four victims of the fire were even tually discovered in a bed- S t* A v ib r c w s JWbilee 2000 Concert Series o f S t. Church B R ID A L - E V E N IN G A T T IR E P r e se n t in g a series o f fo u r c o n c e r t s in S t . A n d r e w ' s C h u r c h . T o aid D ev e l o pin g C o u n t r ie s a n d t o assist in the restoration A n d rew ' s C hurch. huge b ir t h d a y / in v e n t o r y room directly above the fam ily room, with the bedroom door open. The jury, as well as mem bers of the public, the media and other interested parties in attendance, watched two edu cational videos showing the speed with which fire can consume a house. The videos suggested peo ple may have only minutes to escape a burning home before being overcome by heat, smoke and toxic gases. While Magda testified that he found evidence the fire began as a slow and smouldering combustion, he could not estimate how long the four residents would have had to escape once they real ized the house was burning. Fedoruk, a special needs and enrichment teacher at Heritage Glen School, died on the day of the fire after being transferred to a Hamilton hospital. The other three fire vic tims were removed from life support systems the next day. The inquest jury will examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths and make recommendations to prevent similar tragedies in the future. In his opening address to the jury, Halton Crown attor ney Brian O 'Marra, serving as counsel to coroner Dr. Barry McLelland, told the jury they were there to answer a baffling question. "How did four apparently healthy persons, ranging in age from 12 to 45, fail to get out of the house on their own, or to be rescued in time to save their lives?" The inquest has been adjourned until Nov. 9th. It will resume at 9:30 a.m., at Oakville Quality Inn on Bronte Road. L «3 O F F E N T IR E STO CK m Program offers help (Continued from page 1) l TAKE AN F e a t u r i n g a d d i t i o n a M ich ael ScVi^bc & T he V ic to ria Scholars D ecember 1 8 , 1 9 9 9 at 8 : 0 0 p.m . 10% OFF SA L E IT E M S A m ic i M ay 1 3 , 2 0 0 0 at 8 : 0 0 p.m . L A v < 5 V ifo ti & O 'M c « m *a S eptember 3 0 , 2 0 0 0 at 8 : 0 0 p.m . 5% OFF CUSTOM ORDERS T h e C a f ia M a m C h a m b e r Ensem ble N o v em ber 1 8 , 2 0 0 0 at 8 : 0 0 p.m . T ic k e t s m a y be p u r c h a s e d in d iv id u a l l y o r a s a package. A J U l im it e d n u m b e r O FF o f p a t r o n t ic k e t s w il l be a v a il a b l e w h i c h w il l in c l u d e p r e f e r r e d s e a t in g a n d a r e c e p t io n f o l l o w i n g t h e c o n c e r t a t t h e p a r is h c e n t r e w i t h t h e a r t is t s . SELECTED HEADPIECES T ic k e ts A l s o A F o r T ic k e t s a v a iI a W c A t B O O K E R S , L'ATELIER G R I G O R I A N iv tfo r m A tio n p lc A s e c o n t A C t I cs o r m o re SA L E O N W ED., N O V . 3RD-SAT. N O V . 13T H /99. 346 Lakeshore Rd. E 905-842-2002 S t . A N D R E W 'S CHURCH, 4 7 Reynolds St. O akville, O ntario L6J 3J9 (905) 844 8585 programs sponsored by Oakville churches. Approximately 35 of the 55 churches in Oakville are con nected to Kerr St. Ministries in some way, although Chartwell Baptist Church is the largest supporter. One of Chartwell's most ambitious outreach projects, Prince Charles Place, was built in 1992, a 52-unit apartment building off Kenr St. offering affordable housing to seniors, sin gles, the handicapped and single-parent families. The Kerr St. Market is now located just around the comer, and Shantz refers to the two projects as practical demonstra tions of God's love. The Kerr St. Market began life in 1996 as a non-profit food coop, but has since been transformed into a food bank which operates every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Families or individuals needing help are assessed by min istry volunteers who issue vouchers based on perceived needs. Monthly and daily limits are established, up to a maximum of $10 per visit Shelves in the market are stocked with canned goods, pastas, baby supplies, etc., but for other perishable sta ples, vouchers are issued to Frank's Food Basics which Shantz says has been a steady supporter of the market. In an effort to keep the shelves stocked, "blessing bags" are handed out at participating churches on the last Sunday of each month. There is also a used clothing exchange which received a boost recently from Hopedale Mall through its annual clothing drive. Shantz is quick to point out that Kerr St. Ministries is supported by many such groups in the community. While Chartwell Baptist funds most of the hard costs of administration for the programs-- ie. salaries for Shantz and two assistants-- the broader community "funds the benevolence". "We work in hand in hand with many organizations and agencies," he says. "From Halton Family Services, to the police to parks and recreation, we very much welcome anything people want to contribute. We enhance one another." Shantz says the bulk of people helped through Kerr St. Ministries generally fall into two categories-- those who will always need help because of health rea sons and those he calls "the broke". These are people who are temporarily out of work and who have depleted their resources. "We often find they need help for only a month or two, and if we can do that, it takes a lot of stress off the family," he explains. "The church needs to do these things. It sets us apart from a neutral orga nization because we can offer a shoulder, a coffee or a prayer." Shantz notes that while Kerr St. Ministries doesn't provide counselling, it is there to listen, and to make referrals to other social service agencies, as required. One of its long-standing programs is a summer day camp which was originally launched in 1995 in cooperation with Halton Housing. Kerr St. Ministries runs the program in its entirety now which this past summer served 130 kids for eight weeks. The two main funding sources are Oakville churches and the Community Foundation of Oakville. The parks and recreation department helps out with pool passes and access to Oakwood School. Shantz says 23 paid and volunteer staff members are needed to run the sum mer-long camp which includes a free lunch and a "bible-based life lesson". "We try to make sure we get the mes sage to them, but without a lot of Bible thumping," he adds. He stresses that while the religious component to the programs is never forced on anyone, the consistent goal is to try to improve people's lives "through the ministry of Christ". « . C iv ic S c e n e Wednesday, Nov. 3rd: The Traffic Advisory Committee meets at 7:30 p.m. in the Bronte Room of the Oakville Municipal Building, 1225 Trafalgar Rd. Town Council's 2000 Budget Committee meets at 6 p.m. in the Trafalgar and Oakville Rooms of the Oakville Municipal Building. Thursday, Nov. 4th: A public information meeting on the Giffels Zoning Am endm ent, 2175 Cornwall Rd., is at 7 p.m. in the Trafalgar Room of the Oakville Municipal Building. Saturday, Nov. 6th: Town Council's 2000 Budget Committee meets at 9 a.m. in the Trafalgar and Oakville Rooms of the Oakville Municipal Building. Monday, Nov. 8 th : A public information meeting on Short Term Emergency Housing is at 7 p.m. in the Oakville Room of the Oakville Municipal Building. YOUR OAKVILLE LINCOLN DEALER AK-LANH TM FO RD LINCOLN 570 TRAFALGAR ROAD, O AK VILLE at the Q.E.W. A i 844-3273