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Chisholm SCHOOLSUCCESS w w w .chisholm ccntrc.com (905) 844-3240 Aquinas girls serve up all-Catholic bronze Show your spirit and win great prizes! S ee page S ports A7 Mercedes Benz CLE.W. & D o rva l Dr. w w w . o a k v ille b e a v e r . c o m N O R I C A 'S Y'ol. K ) N o . i s MOST W l DM AWARDED C OMMUNI \ ljL > < .\s NEW S PAPER s I .< k ) '/ >h is a s i> A M c ir o l.iiu l I 'tib lic .u io n S I> . \Y. I l l ' > 1U . \l \Y l_>. _!< H » . High school teachers set to walk out Feb. 17 strike deadline approaches for public secondary school teachers By Tim Whitnell S O C IA L TO T H E BEA V ER Public can still comment on sewage plant expansion By Jason Misner s n :r i.\ i. t o ti ih b h a vk k Halton's public high school teachers are in a legal strike position next Monday. The 1,200 full and parttime instructors with the Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers' Federation (O SST F), District 20, recently voted 95 per cent in favour of giving its negotiating team a strike mandate. Teachers can legally walk off the job and out of Halton's 17 public high schools on Feb. 17. They've been working without a con tract since Aug. 31, 2002. However, one of the negotiators for the Halton District School Board said she doesn't believe teachers will leave their jobs if the two sides can't reach a deal between now and then. " I 'm not expecting a fullscale walkout, but possibly a withdrawal of services like extracurriculars. the supervi sion of students during the day or attendance at staff meetings," said Dawn Beckett-Morton. the board's executive officer of human resources. "This is a really difficult situation considering it's a double-cohort year," with Grade 12 and O AC students both expected to graduate this June. Beckett-Morton hopes a strike can be averted noting there is a mediation session scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday). The board will negotiate throughout the weekend if need be. she said. The secondary teachers reached a strike position alter the parties met with a labour (See Money' page A5) llalton Region w ill continue to accept public input on the proposed expansion of the iVIid-Halton Sewage Treatment Plant. However, all comments on the proj ect received after the original deadline of Feb. 7 will not be part of the public record or included in the staff report to regional councillors. Instead, all comments received after that date, will be provided to councillors prior to consideration of the issue. The staff report, including all publicinput before Feb. 7. will be presented to councillors at the March 18 Planning and Public Works Committee meeting and to Regional Council on March 26. The staff report will be posted on the Halton Region Web site on March 16. Halton's Commissioner of Planning and Public Works Patrick Murphy warned that even a minor delay could jeopardize the timing of the entire proj ect and have dire consequences on the regional economy. (See Councillors' page A5) Man walks off with $6,200 ring Halton Regional Police are investi gating the theft of a $6.2(X) diamond ring from a Kerr Street jeweller Monday afternoon. According to investigators, a man walked into Oakville Jewellers around 12:55 p.m. and asked about the pur chase of an engagement ring. After being shown a .6-carat dia mond ring, he left the store and returned 20 minutes later. At that point he looked at the same ring again - as well as others in the store - then as the clerk turned her back for a moment, the man scooped up the ring and lied. He was last seen run ning west on John Street toward Brock Street. The suspect is described as a white male, five-foot 10 inches to six-feet tall, with brown hair and green eyes, wear ing dark clothing possibly a dark jacket zipped to the neck and black pants. He was also wearing a distinctive, tight-fit ting gray hat with a strip around where the brim attaches. Police are asking anyone with infor mation on the suspect or the ring to con tact them at 905-825-4747 ext. 2205 or Crime Stoppers at I-800-222-TIPS. New name and status for Sheridan Sheridan is no longer a college, but an Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (IT A L). thanks to yesterday's announcement by Minister of Training. Colleges and Universities Dianne Cunningham. Sheridan is one of three Ontario colleges to be grant ed this special new designa tion. which will allow the college to develop and offer an expanded number of applied degrees - up to 15 per cent of its overall programs. " Our new designation recognizes Sheridan's record of success in providing high quality programs that pre pare our students for success ful careers." said Sheridan President and C EO Dr. Robert Turner. "Applied degrees, which blend theo retical knowledge and applied learning, are a unique new credential in Ontario which will be attrac tive to both students and employers." Sheridan will accept stu dents into its first applied degree program. the Bachelor o f Applied Arts (Animation), beginning this September. Additional applied degree programs either awaiting approval or under develop ment include Athletic (See Sheridan' page A3) Barrie Erskine · Oakville Heaver SWEETHEARTS RUN: Noel Agellon (in dress) and Craig Gagne (in suit) of Oakville decided to spice up the Burlington Sweetheart 5K run by dressing up as a sweetheart couple and tying their ankles together to run the event as a three-legged race. The two 26-year-old men ran this way to help promote the fun of running. Agcllon. who has been running competitively since last Ju ly, talked his friend into running in a race for the first time. The duo completed the 5km run in 37 minutes -- Agcllon said his usual time for this distance is 22 minutes. Agellon works full-time with a Burlington insurance firm and part-time with the Running Room in downtown Oakville. Catholic high school students get crash course on income tax Students will help low income earners prepare tax returns By Wilm a Blokhuis (), \KVILLK 13KAVEI<S T A B ; A one-day crash course on income tax preparation attract ed 21 Grade i 1 -OAC students who expressed a desire to learn a new skill that would benefit them for life. They were at Holy Trinity Catholic High School on Friday to learn this skill in exchange for helping low income earners complete their income tax returns at upcoming clinics. Many of the students who will work at the clinics have already completed the required 40 hours of volunteer work needed to receive their Grade 12 diplomas. "Many of these students already have their hours, but they want this experience," said of St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School business teacher Suzanne Rolland. who acted as spokesperson for the program. "The new Ontario curriculum stipulates the students must complete 40 hours of community service over four years to receive their Grade 12 diploma," she said. " But in the Catholic system, we required our students to volunteer 25 community service hours (under the old system) for their Editorials............ Aft Com m unity Update.. A8 1 Valentines............ R Focus ................ Cl Business............ C4 Education............ rs Classifieds........... C6 ArtScene............. C8 Sports................ ni 4 Best Wheels......... D Partial Delivery: On Site Magmjne. The Colour Rox/Aiuliotnmic. W heels, @ YourLibrary. Guanlian Drugs. Home Depot. Hy &Zel's. The Bay. Ullle Caesarof Canada, Colour Your W orld RAMADA® INN & CONVENTION CENTRE O A K V I L L E Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver St. Ignatius of Loyola High School students (left to right) Chris Reinhardt, Sergio Gomes and Brendon Sequeira earn how to prepare a tax return during a special one-day course at Holy Trinity High School on Friday. Come See The Difference (See 'Program' page A4) 9 0 5 -8 4 5 -7 5 6 1 I P e te r W atson Mention this to Receive M I N V F. S T M K N I S RETIREMENT PLANNING SPECIALISTS Free C o n s u lta tio n 842-2100 Peter C Watson .M B A , CJFJ*..