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I .# I Sports/12 No. 1 Eagles face No. 2 Predators Clarington Community/5 Resource Centre makes connection Canafatan Statesman durhamrogion.com ♦ Pressrun 24,150 ♦ Founded 1854 ♦ MARCH 8, 2006 ♦ 52 Pages ♦ Optional 3 Week Delivery $5/$1 Newsstand Durham drugging incident revisited Charges never laid in nursing home incident BY JEFF MITCHELL Staff Writer DURHAM - Police in Durham Region are. revisiting a bizarre incident at a Bowmanville nursing nursing home following the arrest in Alberta of a nurse accused of secretly administering drugs to -her colleagues. * Sarah Christine Bowes, who 'was arrested by RCMP in Grande Prairie Feb. 21, was employed at .the Strathaven Lifecare Centre in Bowmanville when similar incidents incidents occurred there over three 'years ago, several sources have "confirmed. : Three workers at the home were treated after they ingested ■morphine pills that had been placed in their drinks on Oct. 30, 2002. Durham police launched an investigation but never laid charges. While Durham police are saying saying the case has remained open since that time, one Durham cop who investigated the incident at Strathaven said developments in Alberta have created renewed interest here. "It's getting another look," Staff-Sergeant Paul Hamilton said. Staff-Sgt. Hamilton^said police identified persons of interest during the investigation into the drugging of the Strathaven workers, workers, but did not form the grounds to charge anyone. "We had our suspicions," he- said. "We were never able to prove anything; it came down to just a few people." Ms. Bowes, a 27-year-old nurse, is facing more than 50 criminal charges in Alberta, including mischief, endangering life and administering a noxious substance. The charges came after a year-long investigation at the Queen Elizabeth II hospital hospital in Grande Prairie, where for months staff members complained complained of flu-like symptoms; Police have determined the victims victims were being given tranquilizers tranquilizers without their knowledge, RCMP said. Police in Alberta also allege staff had credit cards stolen during the same period. Meanwhile, workers at Strathaven havd been rocked by news that Ms. Bowes has been charged. The development packed particular impact for two of the woman who were sent to See DRUGGED, page 11 -fj. ■■ . <v ■ . - '-*■ ■îA-'S'ÿ.i ./- ». - - PJSBk -«all ■ f/ri/ ; ' ■ ' ' 1 '* ■ X.. . - . ... -T'K *> A.J. Groen/Metroland Durham Region Media Group Taking a slap at Winterfest COURTICE -- Jack Thompson takes a slapshot at the goal set up by the Town of Clarington Recreation Services department. It was part of the Clarington Winterfest held at the Courtice Community Centre. BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer CLARINGTON - Fake guns displayed in public will be a thing of the past for local youth, under a bylaw that received preliminary approval from Clarington councillors councillors Monday. Clarington's General Purpose and Administration Committee Committee approved a bylaw yesterday, modelled on one put in place by Scugog in January, which makes it illegal for those under 18 to possess possess a replica or imitation firearm in public. The bylaw, says a report to Clarington Clarington committee, is intended to not only stop those under 18 from . possessing such items in public, but to stop them from using them in such a way that is reasonably likely to cause harm or damage to a person or property, or to instill fear in or intimidate someone. It's an issue of. police often being unable to tell the fakes from the real, Constable Todd Petzold, of the North Durham Office of Durham Regional Police, recently recently told Clarington council. That could have tragic consequences, since in such cases, police have to respond as if it is the real thing. Such a bylaw gives police a tool to get such fake firearms off the street, he said then. "This bylaw is not an attempt at gun control. This is more due to young people not having an idea of the consequences of then- actions," he told council last month. "This is not gun control; this is child protection." Council will vote on the bylaw March 20. Decision is now in the hands of CAW workers GM Canada# Vote will take place this week BY IZABELA JAROSZYNSKI Staff Writer OSHAWA - Thousands of Canadian Auto Workers union members gathered at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium on Saturday to hear the details of the cost savings deal reached between the union and General Motors Canada on March 1. Members will vote for or against the deal this week. The deal includes concessions on a number of points that had previously been agreed to in collective collective bargaining less than six months ago. Many reacted with anger that the company was forcing forcing the union to renegotiate an agreement just recently signed. One worker went up to the microphone to ask why the company company hadn't brought up these issues during negotiations. "What are they not telling us now that they will say in 2008 or 2009," she asked to wild applause. In an interview this week, Local 222 president Chris Buckley said that GM did bring up some of these issues in the September negotiations, but he said that the union was in a better position at that time to resist the demands. - He pointed to the declining auto industry in Canada and a strong Canadian dollar as reasons reasons for the sudden change. Mr. Buckley said that the anger expressed at the meeting was directed to what workers see as mismanagement by the company. company. "It isn't fair," he said of the company's strategy to. look to workers to cut costs. The union agreed to a shelf agreement, one that would only come into effect should a new product be guaranteed for Oshawa. Oshawa. In the deal is a restructuring agreement that will allow the outsourcing of 388 non-trades maintenance housekeeping jobs over the term of the collective agreement. All but 150 of these jobs are to be outsourced as soon as arrangements can be made with a third party service supplier, supplier, with 71 jobs being outsourced early in 2008. The union also agreed to decrease the current levels of paid relief tiriie, The four straight eight-hour shifts in Car Assembly Assembly Plants No. 1 and No. 2 would see a three minute reduction, while a two minute reduction would apply to the three factored 7.5 hour shifts in the Oshawa truck plant and the one 7.5 hour shift in Car Assembly Plant No. 1. Should the deal go through, . GM will have the green light to implement the Global Manufacturing Manufacturing System - a standard operating procedure that the company says maximizes performance. performance. The union had previously resisted its implementation, but has now agreed to work coopérasse coopérasse CAW, page 6 ONTARIO'S DRIVE CLEAN • SERVICE • PARTS : MON., WED., FRI. \ 7:30 am - 6:00 pm : TUES. &THURS. 7:30 am - 8:00 pm SAT. 9:00 am - 4:00 pm ;; ACCREDITED TEST & REPAIR FACILITY WHITBY OSHAWAjj Honda 300 THICKSON RD. S. j WHITBY 1-866 240-6192 HONDA , . www.honda1.com College teachers off the job Walter Passarella / Metroland Durham Region Media Group OSHAWA - Faculty of Durham College walk the picket lines as OPSEU members walked off the job at all 24 of Ontario's community colleges. The main issues still unresolved after the strike deadline passed on Tuesday are workload, salary and staffing. Pickets set up outside campus entrances BY CRYSTAL CRIMI Staff Writer DURHAM - School's temporarily temporarily out for college students. With picket signs reading 'College 'College faculty on strike', Durham College's teachers, librarians and counsellors were stationed at campus entrances ' Tuesday morning, temporarily blocking driveways to hand out information information on why they're striking. "All we're asking is dial people êi WATCH VIDEO AT DURHAMREGIOM.COM for more on this story. honour the picket lines," said Debbie Rautins, vice-president of Ontario Public Service Employees Employees Union (OPSEU) local 354 and the local strike co-ordinator. Just before 9 a.m, Tuesday morning, some people had already driven through the lines without slowing down, which is very dangerous, she said. Tlie teachers were in a legal strike position Tuesday following following Monday's failed contract negotiations between the College College Compensation and Appointments Appointments Council and OPSEU, the latter representing the province's college academic staff. According According to the information handed out, faculty want workload, salary salary and staffing improvements. It says the faculty at the province's 24 colleges want a contract that addresses smaller classes, more teachers and more faculty time for students. According to a March 7 release by the Association of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of See COLLEGE, page 11 -Jr COWAN PONTIAC GMC Isdfeii CHOICE Bit-- » imply taxes, Hosnss, administration fee mtm\ s M 4,285 Here at Cowan's we want everyone to know what they are purchasing. Our vehicle Birth Certificate for every General Motors product Includes, full warranty history, the vehicle's build, original warranty start date, original selling dealer! All completely documented! We pride ourselves In not stocking or selling out of ^^jjrovInc^dajh^entalsU^