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TIM WHITNELL Special to The IFP Another one down and one more employee contract to go for the Halton District School Board. The board and its Halton District Educational Assistants Association (HDEAA) announced they have ratified a pair of two-year deals. The agreements run consecutively and are retroactive to September 2004 and run to August 2008. It covers more than 500 educational assistants (EAs) working in the board's schools. EA duties include working with special needs students, assisting with program development, planning and implementation, and helping prepare instructional materials. "We are pleased to have come to a mutually beneficial agreement which will ultimately serve the needs of our students, our system and our schools," said Dawn Beckett-Morton, executive director of Human Resources for the Halton board. The president of the HDEAA is also happy with the pact. "We believe the ratification vote of our members, showing 95 per cent approval for the contract, demonstrates the extremely positive reaction to this agreement by Halton Educational Assistants," Lynne Gurzi said in a news release. Beckett-Morton said the salary and benefit improvements for the EAs are in line with other employee contracts settled in 2005-06. She said the first two-year deal will see EAs get a two per cent raise back to September 2004, 2.4 per cent back to September 2005, two per cent in September 2006, one per cent Feb. 1, 2007, 1.8 per cent on Sept. 1, 2007 and 1.4 per cent Feb. 1, 2008. The Halton public board now has just one employee group without a contract. In late June the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF), District 20, Halton Professional Student Services Personnel (PSSP) bargaining unit asked the Ministry of Labour for a No Board Report. That step will put the unit in a position to take legal strike action by Aug. 26. The action was taken after negotiations with board personnel on June 16, with the assistance of a provincial conciliator, failed to break a labour impasse. PSSP represents more than 40 staff, including psycho-educational consultants, social workers, speech and language pathologists, and child and youth counsellors who work with at-risk and special needs students in Halton's public elementary and secondary schools. The board and union have a meeting scheduled for Aug. 22. Councillor laments condition of ponds CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer Councillor Jane Fogal wondered out loud at a recent council meeting whether the Town could do some regular maintenance on stormwater management ponds. She passed around two photos she had taken: one of the new Meadowglen subdivision pond and the second of the Dominion Gardens pond. "When I look at the plantings at the new one, it's better planting than what we get at just about any park," she said. "And then we (the Town) leave it and it becomes just another stormwater management pond that is to go to some sort of natural state. It strikes me as a great waste of this planting. It's in beautiful condition to start with and then we turn it into overgrown weeds." The planted ponds areas are handed over to the town as a condition of development agreement. "I would like to take better advantage of them if we could," said Fogal. JANE "We should incorFOGAL porate it into the neighbourhood so that it is useful for the people who are there." At Dominion Gardens Park pond area, it's a mass of weeds and the trees have died, with no chance of anyone be able to walk Fogal suggests a trail should be developed, and asked whether those options can be built into future subdivision agreements. Engineering director Rick Henry said it could be done as long as it does not compromise the function of the pond. He said developers give the Town a perpetual maintenance fee to fund the future work on the ponds. The Town assumed control of the Dominion Gardens Park pond last year and Henry said he would speak to staff about cleaning up the site. Councillor Bob Inglis questioned why the new ponds are not fenced today. Henry replied that the slopes in the past were substantially smaller and steeper. Now the Town has adopted the Ontario ministry standards on larger ponds with flatter slopes and the safety issues no longer exist. (Cynthia Gamble can b e reached at cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Police blotter FREE Reserved Parking for All Customers! Vehicle stolen as owner talks to salesperson A 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser, valued at $25,000, was taken from the lot at Georgetown Volkswagen on Guelph St. at approximately 8 p.m. Thursday while the owner spoke to a salesperson nearby. The keys were in the ignition of the car. A man seen in the area at the time is a possible suspect. He is described as white, 35 to 40 years old, 6' 2", with black hair and a thick, heavy mustache. He was wearing a light-coloured baseball cap, blue tshirt and carrying a dark knapsack. Anyone with information is asked to call Acting Detective Dave Shortt at 905-878-5511 ext. 2106. ··· York Regional Police have charged four people in connection with thefts at Sobeys and Shopper's Drug Mart in Acton last Monday evening (July 10). Police report four people were seen stuffing items into tote bags at Sobeys, then left the store without paying, and prior to that were seen in Shopper's Drug Mart. An employee of Sobeys saw them leaving the parking lot in an Acura SUV. Arrested and charged later by York Police with several counts of theft under $5,000 in connection with the Acton thefts and others in York Region are a 16-year-old Toronto girl, Nicole Williams, 28, of San Gabriel Rd., Toronto, Michelle Davis, 30, of Christie Dr., Brampton, and Travas Ward, 22, of Dellbrook Cr., Toronto. Dr. Robert DeVries graduated from Ontario Veterinary College, U of G on June 13, 2006 with a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. He will be practicing at Mitchell Veterinary Services in Mitchell, Ontario. Your family and friends are very proud of you! DR. ROBERT DeVRIES Lee Snow is pleased to announce the upcoming marriage of his father, Clare Snow to Trudy Thomas. Wedding will take place Saturday, August 19, 2006. Congratulations and Best Wishes