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The Oakville Beaver NORTH AMERICA'S MOST AWARDED COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER www.oakvillebeaver.com Home Alarm Systems Oakville Town Centre I, (QEW at Dorval) Call Chubb First 905-338-0602 Mon.-Sat. 11am-9pm Sun. 12pm-9pm WHAT`S HAPPENING DOWNTOWN THIS WEEK? CHECK PAGES 29 - 31 TO FIND OUT! "USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES" FRIDAY, ,MAY 5, 2006 1-866-565-9351 A Metroland Publication Vol. 44 No. 53 56 Pages $1.00 (plus GST) Laps for lungs Earthquake rattles Oakville As if to underscore the seriousness of Emergency Preparedness Week (May 7-13), an earthquake shook Town Hall during the kick-off's press conference on Thursday morning, interrupting Oakville's fire chief in the process. As if on cue at 10:50 a.m. during Richard Boyes' address, there was a loud, deep noise that resembled a thunderclap and the entire south atrium shook. Boyes paused and, like many in the room, glanced toward the glass roof. Not knowing what had just happened, there was murmuring among the assembled crowd of first responders and jokes to the effect that all the town's emergency workers were already on hand if something bad did in fact happen. As it turned out, the quake -- centred about four to five kilometres northwest of Downtown Oakville -- rattled a few dishes, but little else. Halton Regional Police and area fire departments reported no damage or any unusual calls due to the 2.7 magnitude quake. There was also no damage reported in Oakville. Inside Artscene..........................33 Sports..............................38 Real Estate......................43 Classified .......................47 Full Delivery: Wal-Mart, Food Basics, 2001 Audio video, Superstore, Smart Source, Canadian Tire, No Frills, Partial Delivery: Ashley Furniture, Bad Boy, Office Depot, Pharmassist, Direct Energy, Dominion, Petrie's AG Disposal, Sport mart, Rogers, Linens-N-Things, Italtile, Oakville KIA, Buckley Ju Jitsu, Napa, DOT Pati, Price Chopper, RCSS, Oakville Basketball, Food Basics, Ho Lee Chow, M&M's, Holland Park, Home Hardware, Sobeys, Downtown by the Lake, Loblaws, Giant Carpet, Pharma Plus, Rabba Fine Foods, Fortinos, Stoney Creek Furniture, Best Buy, Total Landscaping, Super Pet, Goemans, Solutions, Centennial Windows, Sears, Shoppers Drug Mart, The Barn, Longos, Toys R Us, Shop N Save, GNC, Home Depot, Butler Oral Care, Zellers, Future Shop, JYSK GRAHAM PAINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER BLOWING IN THE WIND: Noelle Miller, 12, a Grade 7 student at St. Bernadette School, tries her hand at bubble blowing as part of the Halton Lung Association's Laps for Lungs event on World Asthma Day on Tuesday. The students played some running games until they felt short of breath, at which time they blew bubbles ­ mimicking the feeling of shortness of breath that children with asthma experience when having an asthma episode. Crime rate drops in Halton Halton's crime rate has dropped 7.6 per cent since 2004, says Police Chief Ean Algar, making it the lowest it's been since 1974. Algar made the announcement during his report of 2005 Year End Crime Statistics at the monthly meeting of the Halton Regional Police Services Board, where he elaborated that the crime rate has dropped a total of 17 per cent since 2003. Algar explained, however, that there was a slight increase in the violent crime rate by 1.6 per cent over 2004. That increase was anticipated in part because of improved access, reporting and attention to important safety matters such as domestic violence, robberies, Victim Services issues and overall crime prevention initiatives. "Those improvements in our service to the community continue to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Halton," said Algar. In addition to the declining crime rates, Algar said he was happy to report that the overall safety of drivers improved as seen by a 5.5 per cent decline in the number of motor vehicle collisions. Road safety continues to be one of the primary concerns of the citizens of Halton, he said. The Halton Regional Police Service was formed in 1974 when the municipalities joined to create the Halton Region. SYLC (Support Your Local Carrier) DELIVERY For home delivery & customer service call (905) 845-9742 Mon., Tues., & Thurs. 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., Wed. & Fri. 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. or Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. For new subscriptions, call (905) 845-9742 or subscribe online @ www.oakvillebeaver.com HOT TUBS! SEE OUR AD PAGE 26 See Small page 10 End insurance confusion. For informed decisions that you can feel good about, contact us! We are pleased to offer competitive insurance solutions in person, by email, or fax. Your hotline to great insurance products & services: 905-845-9793 www.magnesgroup.com THE MAGNES GROUP 1540 Cornwall Rd., Suite #100, Oakville, ON L6J 7W5 Tel: (905) 845-9793 Fax: (905) 845-9149 The Magnes Group has its roots in Syd A. Vince Insurance, Est. 1953 · Home · Auto · Life · Business · *As chosen by Oakville Beaver Readers