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Clarington's mayor says Darlington is the right place for new nukes BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer CLARINGTON - A Provincial Provincial announcement Tuesday calling calling for Ontario Power Generation Generation to begin the process aimed O'Toole asks for Hwy. 401 barrier at eventual construction of new reactors at existing nuclear facilities has Clarington's mayor confident they will be built next to Darlington. The government directed the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) Tuesday to go ahead with a revised version of its 20-year electricity supply mix, which includes directing OPG to look at the feasibility of refurbishing units at both Pickering and Darlington, Darlington, and building new ones. So far, there has been no specific specific announcement as to where new reactors may be built, though a news release from the 'It's been indicated to me that Darlington will be first to go.' -- John Mutton Province said OPG has been directed "to begin a federal approvals process, including an environmental assessment, for new units at an existing facility." facility." That narrows the field to six: three sites near Ottawa, the Bruce facility near Tiverton, Pickering and Darlington. But, Clarington's mayor said he had it on good authority that the preferred preferred site is on the OPG-owned lands next to Darlington. "I think the other potential sites are going to get a look for some of the other future nuclear capacity, but it's been indicated to me that Darlington will be first to go," said Mayor Mutton, who declined to say where he got the assurance. Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is still awaiting direction on >vhat it's to do, said spokesman spokesman John Earl, who notes OPG has always said there's room for new units at the Darlington site. But, until more detail is avail- Residents say noise is worse able, it's hard to say what sites would be considered. "We are happy the government recognized that we have a role to play moving these processes processes forward," said Mr. Earl. But, "what are the details around these processes?" Those should become a little more clear Thursday, Thursday, after the OPA has time to "analyze the directive" from the Province, Province, said OPA spokesman Brian Hay. The OPA plans a news conference conference (hen, and more updates in weeks to come. But, it may be months before specific specific sites and technologies technologies are decided decided on. The Ministry has pointed to three primary sites -- Darlington, Pickering Pickering and Bruce -- but no decisions have been made, stressed Mr. Hay. "The Ministry Ministry has said those are the three primary primary sites, but we'll do the analysis. We don't jump to any conclusions," he said. John Mutton BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer BOWMANVILLE - Claring- ton council and Durham MPP John O'Toole are asking the Ministry of Transportation to erect noise barriers along Hwy. 401 in Bowmanville. "Constituents have pointed out that there are no noise barriers along the '■ highway at this location, as there are in our neigh- bouring communities," communities," said Mr. O'Toole in a letter to council, asking for Clarington's position on the matter. The sound carrying from the highway does seem to be getting worse, said Ward 2 Councillor Don MacArthur. "This is an important issue. The noise from the 401 is increasing daily," he said. "Since the berm was cut down on the property directly north of the 401, the noise seems to be carrying more easily into our residential areas." Per Mr. O'Toole's request, Claringlon council passed • a resolution Monday, asking the Ministry to erect the barriers. John O'Toole • SERVICE Stix ONTARIO S DRIVE CLEAN • 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 OSHAWA ' Honda 300 THICKSON RD. S. WHITBY 1-866 240-6192 HONDA .honda1.com i Photo by Merlè Robillard Playing on their new field of dreams CLARINGTON - Clarington Orioles bantam baseball players Greg Park, 14, left, and Michael Lambert, 14, are joined in a game by four-year-old Jake Weeden during the grand opening of Clarington Fields Ball Complex in Bowmanville Saturday. KPR Board 'rejects' Fraser Report findings Results do nothing to further education, says board spokeswoman BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer CLARINGTON - A BC- based think tank's ranking of Ontario schools docs nothing to support better education, says a spokeswoman for the Kawar- tha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPR). "We are among all of the boards in (the Ontario Public School Board Association) that reject the results of the Fraser Institute's rankings," said Judy Malfara. The Fraser Institute used Grade 3 and 6 Education Quality Quality and Accountability Office test results in reading, writing and mathematics, as well as information on the difference between male and female students students in Grade 6 reading and math, and the percentage of EQAO assessments that did not meet the provincial standard, to conic up with its ranking. "We believe testing results are only useful if we use them to improve student learning," said Ms. Malfara, the board's communication communication officer. Test results are used by the board to "identify strengths, weaknesses, places we need lo improve," she noted. "That's far more useful, practical, and beneficial for our students than 'There's so much more to a school than where it may rank in one particular organization's belief.' -- Judy Malfara KPR school board using rankings. That does not improve student learning in any way." For the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board, St. Joseph's in Bowmanville was the top-ranked local school, with a score of 7.2 out of a possible possible 10. On the other end of the spectrum was St. Stephen's elementary, which achieved a 3.4. For KPR, Ontario Street was the top-ranked Clarington school, with an 8.5, while Orono Public did not fare so well, gaining gaining only a 1.0. Ontario Street principal Jean Marchand said the fact that his school and St. Joseph's, both local French immersion centres, were on top has to do with the learning of language. "One of the reasons that is so is that whenever someone learns a second language, it only enriches their first language," he said. St. Joseph's principal Tammy LcBlond agreed. "When you're in French immersion, the focus is on language, language, and students are learning learning literacy skills that arc then transferred to the other" language, language, she said. Both sited a strong staff and parental and community support support as other reasons for their success. Teamwork within the school is key, both said. "If a student isn't doing well, it's not just an individual teacher's teacher's responsibility," said Mr. Marchand. "The whole staff gets involved." Orono principal Pat Moffat, who has only been at the school for a few weeks, referred calls to Ms. Mallara, who said the test results don't show a full picture of the school. "The truth is, it's not really an accurate reflection of See KPR, page A6 COWAN PONTIAC BUICK OMC '20 Year Member off the Used Car Dealers Association' 166 King SL E. Bowmanville 905.623.3396 HH BEST ■ PRICE! !fj 1ST TIME! 1 EVERY TIME! «1000 OWNER LOYALTY BONUS FOR SUNFIRE, CAVALIER, SUNBIRO, MALIBU. GRAND AM, ALERO, G6 OWNERS SCOTT STEWART 905-213-8546 OR DETAILS!!! SAVE THE 1% HEAVEN <=TP PROGRAM U $i 000 (I I \ v * V / FOR YOUR CJV_I \J\J TRADE ENDS SOON!!! Clarington Community/A5 Twins a cut above the rest Durham Daily News EVERY WEEKDAY AT NOON ivIdeodurhamregIon.com durhamregion.com ♦ Pressrun 24,150 ♦ Founded 1854 ♦ JUNE 14, 2006 ♦ 64 Pages ♦ Optional 3 Week Delivery $5/$1 Newsstand OPG told to expect new reactors