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50 cents (+GST) Vol. 131 No. 11 Wednesday, May 28, 2008 44 Pages Circulation 22,500 www.independentfreepress.com Brothers cancer battle inspires sisters in Relay for Life challenge Page 3 Home, Lawn & Garden special section 8-Pages Georgetown soccer season kicks off Page 16 Family, friends rally to ride for Matt Page 8 INSIDE Snake eyes? Editorial 6 Health 12 Calendar 13-15 Sports 16, 17 Classifieds 21-23 A story about two local schools involved in a pilot project designed to encourage more chil- dren to walk to school that was originally to appear today will now run Friday. FRIDAY... (905) 873-1655 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown APPLE Auto Glass Truck Accessories Upholstery Heavy Equipment Glass Window Tinting GEORGETOWN CHRYSLER We handle all insurance work. GEORGETOWN VOTED #1 FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE 2008 KIA SEDONA FINANCE0% CALL THE GEORGETOWN HEADQUARTERS 1-866-364-0697 or 905-877-7818 Up to 60 mos 2 LocationsGeorgetown Kia 905-877-7818 314 Guelph St. (Hwy. 7) Superstore Open Sundays 199 Guelph St. 905-877-8375 The Power to SurpriseTM 0 Financing on all 2008 models 3 FREE LEASE PAYMENTS 0% Financing on all 2008 models OR 3 FREE LEASE PAYMENTS OR EQUIVALENT DOWN PAYMENT OFFER ENDS JUNE 2ND! For breaking news go to: www.independentfreepress.com Halton Hills award-winning newspaper The head of the association representing Halton educational assistants is worried there could be layoffs next year, despite assurance from the Halton public school that there will be no cuts. Lynne Gurzi, president of the Halton District Educational Assistants Association, said she doesnt believe Halton District School Board superintendent Kathy Schaffer, who oversees special education on behalf of the board, that there wont be a reduction to the current comple- ment of EAs when the new school year starts. Currently, there are almost 600 educational assistants full and part-timers who work for the board. EAs often work one-on-one, in regular or self- contained classroom settings, with children iden- tified with physical or developmental disabilities or behaviour issues. Gurzi said she has heard from some schools that their EA allotment for 2008-09 is down drastically. Principals were given their (EA) allocation a couple of weeks ago and the message from (Schaffer) was that they were going to experience a 20 per cent reduction in their allocation requests. Currently, its more like 40 per cent. As an example, one particular school had eight full- time EAs and theyre down to three for next year, said Gurzi, noting shes heard similar sto- ries from several schools. She said the current holdback of EAs, which is what the board calls the contingent of EAs for whom there is no work at present for the follow- ing school year, is far greater than 20 per cent. Even if the holdback is 20 per cent that repre- sents 120 EAs, noted Gurzi. Thats an incredible number. Schaffer disputed Gurzis interpretation of the situation saying that no cuts to EAs are planned or expected for 08-09. Unfortunately, some people seem to be shar- ing very erroneous information with some of our parents. All of our EAs will be deployed now and into the fall. ... There are 590 full-time equivalent EAs that I have right now, and to my mind all of that will be needed (next year). At last Wednesdays school board meeting, Halton Hills Trustee Gerry Ockenden asked Schaffer to publicly address the status of EAs, which she did. Union and parents fear cuts to EA staff GERRY OCKENDEN See BOARD, pg. 3 TIM WHITNELL Special to The IFP Bekky Gibson, 17, of Acton, who was one of the youths who helped organize Saturdays Chance for Change event held at Prospect Park in Acton, gets up close and personal with an albino snake. Local youths organized the event to highlight their talents. The day featured a wide variety of entertainment, games and, of course, a hands-on reptile display. See page 7 for more photos. Photo by Calvin Dyke