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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday July 26, 2008 - 3 "Based on the tone of some of the letters I've seen, some people don't want anything to change there and that's really not a realistic option to the school board at this time." Giacomo Corbacio, superintendent of facility management services, Halton Catholic District School Board MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER CONTROVERSEY BREWING: The Halton Catholic District School Board's plans for a new St. Thomas Aquians Secondary School to be built on the site of the current school has many of its neighbours worried and has spawned the formation of the Southwest Central Oakville Residents Association (SCORA). Neighbours at odds with plans for new high school By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A final decision on what the new St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School will look like may be months away, but it's already stirring up controversy. A new community group, the Southwest Central Oakville Residents Association (SCORA), is calling on the Halton Catholic District School Board and the Town to scrap some of the existing ideas being floated for the school in favour of plans which the group believes will preserve the environmental character of the area. "We were formed to protect our community from the perceived environmental impact of this project," said Lawrence Quinn of SCORA's founding committee. "We are not even remotely against the rebuilding of St. Thomas Aquinas. We just want it done in a way that is environmentally friendly." Current plans call for the new high school to open in September 2010. The group has a number of key issues with the direction the project is currently taking, including the school's increased size, which they say will destroy considerable portions of the area's existing green space. "We're essentially taking 11 or 12 acres of green including a forest area and a creek and Critics say new St. Thomas Aquinas will be too big, too much and bad for the environment basically paving the whole thing over," said est, all for the sake of adding a new road and Quinn. "From an environmental perspective we don't believe for one second that road is it's going to be a heartbreaker." necessary with some creative design around The group fears the location of the new the circulation within the school property," school building will result in the removal of said Quinn. 100-150 mature trees, especially from the "Also, every morning and every afternoon area of Lakeshore there's going to be Road and Dorval "We are not even remotely against somewhere between Drive. They are also the rebuilding of St. Thomas Aquinas. 280 and 500 cars tryopposed to the new We just want it done in a way that ing to get in or out. lights planned for the It's going to be gridis environmentally friendly." school's future sports lock down there." field. On the other side Lawrence Quinn, member of "This means we're of this issue, the going to have our SCORA founding committee Halton Catholic backyards lit up until District School at least 11:30 p.m., Board noted that the seven days a week," said Quinn. parents and students of St. Thomas Aquinas "So we've got light pollution and we've have been campaigning for improvements to got noise pollution (from cheering crowds) the learning environment at the school for because we didn't have a night-time facility years and now they are going to get access to there before." the same educational facilities as other secThe group also has concerns about a new ondary schools in Halton. road they said the Board plans build in the Superintendent of Facility Management area that will connect Rebecca Street to Services Giacomo Corbacio outlined what Lakeshore Road. the school will be like when it is complete. "That's carving into the green space. It's "We're going to make it a compact, threecarving a hole at least 30-40 feet through for- storey school situated on the corner of Lakeshore and Dorval," he said. "It will have a gymnasium, hopefully a theatre and it will have the tech shops that are not in place now at the school, which there has been a demand for. We'll be putting in more infrastructure to support the new health sciences curriculum program that we have in the school. Then there will be all the other science labs and specialty rooms that are normal with a secondary school." The school will also feature an artificial turf sports field, which will be available for public use, via permit, when not being used by the school. "The community will have access to the school itself, the indoor facilities as well as the outdoor surface," said Corbacio. "That's part of our reciprocal agreement with the Town." Corbacio is aware of the opposition that exists to some of the school's features and pointed out that the board is trying to alleviate people's concerns, where possible. On the issue of the sports field lights, Corbacio said high tech, modern lights will be used, which will only focus on the sports field and, he says, thereby reduce the glare nearby residents will have to deal with. He also noted that the worries about how often the field will be used at night are exaggerated. See Board page 8 CALIFORNIA & PLANTATION SHUTTERS · Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed · Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service · Wood & Vinyl Shutters, Supplied & Installed · High Quality at Affordable Prices Shop at Home Service Authorized Eclipse Shutters Dealer FREE SHUTTERS ETC. 905.691.4455 · www.shuttersetc.ca