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905877-6944 33 Mountainview Rd. North, Georgetown SPRING LOADED EVENT See Dealer for Details www.georgetownrealty.ca edimou@georgetownrealty.ca EFFIE DIMOU Sales Representative Thinking of buying or selling? Call Effie Dimou for all your real estate needs. 905-877-5211 Dir: 416-991-4247 Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage Thursday, March19, 2015 Halton Hills' award-winning newspaper serving Acton & Georgetown 56 Pages 50 Cents (+HST) Making a Bench Buddy, pg. 3Visit us at www.theifp.ca facebook.com/Independent&FreePress Twitter: @IFP_11 RAIDER ACTION Raiders have dug themselves a hole in their playoff battle with the Jr. Canadians. See page 33 WEATHER WOES Halton Hills Hydro is dealing with numerous outages, as a result of weather. See page 3 High school teachers could be on strike in April The Halton District School Board is facing a po- tential teachers' strike in April if contract nego- tiations are not advanced. An announcement was made over the week- end by Paul Elliot, president of the Ontario Sec- ondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF), at an annual address to union members. Elliot named Halton as one of seven districts facing a "full withdrawal of services." OSSTF Vice-President Harvey Bischof said it's more about how long it has taken to set up meet- ings with the board than the issues themselves. "The movement has been exceptionally slow so we are increasing pressure to try and get the employer to sit down and talk with us," said Bischof. The Halton District School Board (HDSB) is- sued a statement Tuesday saying negotiations between the Province and unions, representing teachers and support staff, have been underway since the fall, as outlined in the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014. Bischof argued that although there have been ongoing negotiations with the Province, those decisions apply to all teachers and support staff and are not directly related to the concerns of HDSB employees. "Members are frustrated that we are even still at the central table and seemingly far from an agreement there too," he said. The roughly 2,000 teachers who are employed by the HDSB have been without a contract since August 2014. They are joined by teachers in Dur- ham, Lakehead, Ottawa-Carleton, Peel, Rain- bow and Waterloo districts. Meetings have been slated for March, throughout April and into May. "As a board we remain committed to reach- ing fair, negotiated agreements and avoiding any disruption to student learning," said HDSB By Rachael Williams Metroland Media Group FACES OF MARCH BREAK: Six-year-old twins Cameron as a dragon and Addison as a unicorn were well protected by big sister nine-year-old Emma, the werewolf (centre). The Hoewing kids were at George- town Market Place with Grandma Gisela and waited in a long lineup for the face painting. They all thought it was worth the wait. Photo by Jon Borgstrom Continued on page 4 www.RealEstateGeorgetown.com Your Home Sold For 100% Market Value Guaranteed Or I Will Pay You The Difference* 905-877-3629 Direct* Angie Cormpilas Broker REMAX REAL ESTATE CENTRE INC., BROKERAGE