Beaver THE OAKVILLE Voted Ontario's Top Newspaper Four Years in a Row - 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Mystical Mark-O's magic ARTSCENE Aboutowne Realty Corp., Brokerage Independently owned and operated 905 - 338-9000 www.homesforsaleontario.com EXPERIENCE·EXPERTISE·INTEGRITY CELEBRATING 25 YEARS! Renate Penkett Sales Representative Between Kerr & Dorval YOUR FRIEND IN THE BUSINESS 175 Wyecroft Rd. Oakville 905.845.6653 www.lockwoodchrysler.com A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 52 No. 69 "USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES" FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2009 48 Pages $1.00 (plus GST) Trustees Heritage beat disagree on southeast schools By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Harper turns down Raitt's resignation Instead young aide will be looking for new employment By Tim Foran METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP Halton District School Board trustees do not appear to like the latest recommendation expected to address declining student enrolment in southeast Oakville elementary schools. Wayne Joudrie, director of education, formally introduced his recommendation and reasoning at Wednesday night's board meeting, but many trustees remained unimpressed. The recommendation, to be voted on June 17, will close Brantwood, E. J. James and Linbrook elementary schools. This leaves three elementary schools operating south of Cornwall Road, including Maple Grove, New Central and Chisholm, as well as the already approved new school in Clearview, effective September 2010. Philippa Ellis, trustee for southeast Oakville, said she has problems with the recommendation -- option hybrid 3. "I don't believe this option, hybrid 3, serves the interest of the community in that it leaves out any school in the centre of the ward," she said. "Not only that, but by eliminating E.J. James Public School, you are eliminating a school on a five-acre site, with two gyms, a stage, an art room, a science room, a recently-renovated large library, a separate bus circle and available parking. Why did we eliminate our larger facility in favour of our small, JIM BRADFORD / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER IN SYNC WITH ASIA: Rishi Mahabir, left, and Vicky Doon were at the Halton Region Auditorium Saturday as part of Asian Heritage Month 2009. These musicians belong to the band, Humming Bird Tassa, which brought its beat to the event that included cultural displays, vendors, live entertainment and Asian cuisine. Halton MP and Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt has come under fire after a binder that included documents marked secret was left behind at the Ottawa bureau of CTV last week. The network released the contents of the binder Tuesday night after no one from the ministry reported the documents as missing. On Wednesday, the 26year-old press secretary for Raitt, Jasmine MacDonnell, resigned for the indiscretion. A spokesperson for Raitt said Tuesday afternoon she was Lisa Raitt unavailable for comment and that her position had been made clear in Wednesday's Question Period in the legislature. "Clear procedures were not followed in this case," Raitt said. "Corrective action has been taken. I offered to resign if the Prime Minister (Stephen Harper) felt it necessary and he did not accept it. The person responsible for handling the documents offered to resign and I did accept that resignation." She reiterated variations of that theme seven times as Opposition members attacked the ruling party for allowing Raitt to continue on in her cabinet role. The Opposition noted Harper had accepted the resignation last May of former Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier after he left sensitive briefing notes at the home of his then girlfriend. The Prime Minister's guide for ministers says the See Board page 4 See Who page 3 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. 1540 Cornwall Rd., Suite #100, Oakville, ON L6J 7W5 Tel: 905-845-9793 Fax: 905-845-9149 The Magnes Group Inc. has its roots in Syd A. Vince Insurance, Est. 1953 · Home · Auto · Life · Business · THE MAGNES GROUP INC. www.magnesgroup.com