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Children delighted to find milk snake hiding in ivy Dad freed snake with a hockey stick Imagine trimming the ivy had escaped. snake. growing up the side of your He summoned his seven-year-old His five-year-old sister, house and finding a brown son, Quinn, an avid nature and reptile Sydney, looked on with milk snake. lover, to have a look. curiosity but didn't attempt to That's what happened to The lad checked one of his snake touch the snake. Brad Dalgamo early in July. books, and found it to be a harmless The D algam os put the The Glen Abbey resident, milk snake, "very gentle and common snake into a pillow case and a retired NHL star, grabbed a in North America" - much to the relief released it in Bronte Creek hockey stick to free the rep of his parents. Provincial Park. tile from the ivy. "My husband was too scared to About two weeks after the Realizing it w asn't a touch it so after getting it down out of startling discovery, the family garter snake commonly the ivy with his tool of choice, a hockey found a second, smaller milk found in the ravines of Glen stick, my son was the only one who snake by their pool. Abbey, he and his wife, could handle it," said Lesley. They carefully moved it Lesley, initially thought it Quinn had no hesitation in pick into the ravine behind their was a neighbour's pet that ing up or in handling the tw o-foot house. Quinn Dalgarno, 7, a nature and reptile lover, handles a milk snake with ease, while his sister, Sydney, 5, is apprehensive about touching it - and doesn't. Brad Dalgarno · Special to the Oakville Beaver Meares was a pioneer female principal Good news from (Continued from page C1) Meares began her teaching career in 1934 in the one-room United Schools Section No. 17 School, more commonly known as the Ash School, which was located on Tremaine Road in what is now north Oakville. Her annual salary for that first job was $400. Her remuneration as a rookie instructor became a bone of con tention when it was discovered she should have been paid $500, so her salary was temporarily raised to $600 the following year. Meares became one of the first female vice-principals in 1947 at Glenwood School in the Guelph Line and The Queensway area of Burlington. She was the first woman princi pal appointed by the Burlington Board of Education when she joined the newly opened Kilbride School in 1960. She went on to principalships at Lakeshore and at Elizabeth Gardens in southeast Burlington. "I certainly aspired to become a principal," said Meares. "When the Glenwood principal moved on a young man was brought in (as principal). I was somewhat disap pointed, but maybe it was for the best. It gave me a chance to start fresh and open Kilbride. It was new and exciting." Meares earned her Masters of Education from the University of Toronto in 1966. She was a Halton their background and attitudes public school board trustee from haven't changed that much. 1976-1982. "Children are children but they She has garnered public laurels are different and so is society. Now in her latter years bging named they are influenced by so many Burlington's Citizen of the Year in outside things and the advantages 1987 and the International Year of of a more materialistic society." the Older Person for Burlington Other notions that are not new, South in 1999. She won an Meares said, is the standardized Ontario Residential Care testing of students and the manda Association Award in 2001. tory certification of teachers. The calling to "We had standard become a teacher did ized tests in the 1960s; n't really hit Meares "I hope Mr. (Ernie) they have some merit." in a defining moment, She said the chal Eves (the premier) she said. lenges pupils and "I never really will develop a better teachers in her time made up my mind (to faced in trying to get relationship with do that). At one time I the former to reach a teachers." thought I'd like to be a certain level of · Florence Meares pharmacist. I soon got achievement is no dif rid of that idea. Then I ferent from today. considered being a As for teacher secretary." accreditation, Meares recalls con Meares attended Hamilton stantly upgrading her skills, by Normal School, the forerunner of her own choice and as mandated the teachers' college, and went on to by the provincial government of have a long career as an educator. the day. As a teacher and principal she "(Liberal) Premier (Mitch) considered herself firm but fair. Hepburn said everyone (teachers) "The kids would say I disci had to have one year of university plined them ... I liked the kids," training or the equivalent in devel she said. opmental courses in order to get a As for her former colleagues, "I permanent (teaching) certificate. used to say there are some teachers "When I started teaching you who gave the same lesson every had five years to do it but then war year in the same way; I always broke out and they needed women tried to give (pupils) variety." to teach," so the rules were As for the pupils, Meares says relaxed, she said. "In the 1940s, I went to sum mer school at Queen's University and took correspondence in the winter and I got my certificate in short order. "In the 1950s I could see the writing on the wall, all the teach ers would need degrees, so I switched to McMaster and poked away until I got it. Then they made a rule that you couldn't be a prin cipal without a degree." As for the politics of teaching, Meares said, also remain unchanged. She believes the present-day tension between teachers and the Ontario Conservatives is caused by too sudden and too drastic changes in the classroom. "The Tories would say the teachers had their own way too long, but they destroyed a good relationship. However there has always been change. "I hope Mr. (Ernie) Eves (pre mier) will develop a better rela tionship with teachers." Meares never married saying her students were like her children. Legally blind for the past seven years, it hasn't kept her from keep ing busy around town or at Christopher Terrace, the Burlington seniors' residence where she now lives. "I run into (former students) all the time and I have a lot of contact with former teachers." United Way AGM Volunteer Jeff Thompson, a Ford employee, was award ed with the Volunteer of the Year award for his commit ment to the organization. Ford Motor Company was honoured with the Thanks a Million award for its excep tional campaign contribution. Retiring directors Romesh Ahuja, Mary Mayo and John Vail were recog nized and incoming directors Pamela Appelt and Gail Stinnes were welcomed. United Way CEO Alison Pickard stressed that while Oakville is viewed as an affluent community, there are many challenges to face. "One in ten citizens live in poverty in Oakville, and one in nine children. A healthy income will not protect us from the common challenges in life that we deal with every day," said Pickard. "Year after year Oakville residents show their capacity to care for one another. It's an investment for all of us," she said. The AGM was hosted by Appleby College. For information on United Way of Oakville call 905-845-5571. United Way of Oakville had a lot of good news to share at its recent 47th annu al general meeting. Don Pangman. chair of the board, reported on the organization's successful year to date, with a substan tial rise in the Leadership division, representing dona tions from individuals of $1,000 or more. From just four years ago, the number of leadership donors has increased from 226 to 426, and total contributions are up from $389,000 to more than $885,000. This is an 88 per cent increase in the number of leaders and a 127 per cent increase in revenue. Board member and treas urer, Peter Hancock, described United Way's finan cial picture, including an 8.3 per cent increase in campaign revenue to just under $3.2 mil lion. Combined campaign and administration costs of 12.9 per cent are well below the United Way norm of 15 per cent and the 26 per cent aver age of North American chari ties. Funding to United Way's 33 member agencies increased by 9 per cent. 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