The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Chisholm SCHOOL SUCCESS (905) 844-3210 www.chisholmcentre.com Segin posts perfect Tigercats debut S ports New Community Living fundraiser sets goal Focus w w w .o e ik v ille b e a v e r.c o m NOR Ik llL IJ i B E A M RDED COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER Does Canada's voting system need changing? National organization says Canadians deniedfair vote FairVote C anada (FVC), a new national organization focused on building a nationw ide cam paign for voting system reform, hosts a non-partisan public w orkshop at the Central Public Library on Saturday, Nov. 2. The event, w hich runs from 1:30 to 4 p.m ., is being held to study alternative voting m ethods as practiced in other coun tries with an eye on deciding if this country's present system is the best one for all Canadians. The w orkshop is organized so that various types o f m ock elections are held and participants will vote on them. T here will also be different types o f ballots to illustrate the different types o f voting systems. The cost o f the w orkshop is $5 each, or $2 for seniors and students. A dvance registration required (pay at the door) by "In only four federal em ailing vdelany@ sym patielections since World co.ca or by calling 905-827War I has the govern 3076. Refreshm ents (hot apple ment actually been cider, juice and hom em ade car rot cake) are included in the elected by a majority cost. Space is lim ited to 60 of votes." people. · Fair Vote Canada T he library auditorium is literature located at 120 Navy St., on the second floor. The w orkshop is being sponsored by W om en o f Halton Action M ovem ent (W HAM). The prim ary purpose o f Fair Vote Canada is to gain broad support for a national process to enable Canadian voters to choose w hich voting system shall be used to elect their repre sentatives. FVC believes that Canadians m ust have an opportunity to learn about and com pare today's voting system with those which would better m eet such objectives as broad proportion ality; extended voter choice; stable and responsive govern ment; m aintaining a link between representatives and geo graphic constituencies. FV C's m andate is "to provide concerned citizens, com m u nity leaders and activists with an organizational fram ew ork to build a nationwide, grassroots cam paign for voting system reform in Canada." For more inform ation, visit www.fairvotecanada.org. A ccording to FVC literature, C anada's current voting sys tem `'underm ines dem ocracy and its system o f representative dem ocracy is not very representative." Som e examples; · A bout half o f voters are not represented by som eone whose political views they share. Forty-nine per cent o f the ballots cast in 2000 failed to help anyone get elected. (See `National' page 3) BUBBLING OVER W ITH ENTHUSIASM: It was a celebration o f cultural diversity that offered good food, good fun and good entertainm ent. The annu al Carousel o f Nations, held Saturday at St. Ignatius o f Loyola Catholic Secondary School, served up a wide variety o f activities including the chance to play with a C hinese bubble. Above, A lyssa Thom as, 7, appears to have her hand(s) full. R ight, K eith P ascall from the H um m ingbird D ance and Perform ing C om pany belts out a song to an appreciative audience. For more photos, see page C8. Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver Fire fails to put restaurant out of business Agabi re-opens its doors six months after devastating blaze By Paula Henriques O/KKVILLK BEAVER STAFF Six months after a fire ravaged his beloved restaurant, Essam Farag is back in business and ready to serve. "I want to work for the Oakville people again," he said. The fire caused approximately $100,000 in dam ages to his M editerranean restaurant, Agabi. on Lakeshore Road. Three H am ilton residents have been charged in connection with the incident. The blaze nearly extinguished the 42-year-old chef's passion for creating exotic dishes, but he said it was the support and encourage ment from the Oakville public that gave him the strength to reopen again. He recalls one woman in particular who fueled that need. "A month after the incident, I was still depressed. I was just out front of the restaurant and 1 over heard a woman next door tell her daughter, `there was a very good restaurant here'. She didn't know that I was here. She didn't see me, but I still rem em ber that and it real ly pushed me to reopen again." Putting the incident behind him, Farag reopened Agabi M editerranean R estaurant three weeks ago and is overwhelmed at the traffic already in the restaurant. "The customers have been w on derful. They tell me, `we were waiting for you to open." He was able to salvage most of the furnishings. The tables and chairs were refinished and the E gyptian papyrus paintings, brought back from his native Egypt adorn the walls. Within hours o f tearing down the brown paper from his windows, his old customers were coming in Essam Farag (See `Restaurant' page 3) Friday deadline for Santa Claus parade entries The deadline is fast approaching for entries in the 54th annual Oakville Santa Claus Parade on Nov. 16. Any service club, charity or com m u nity group, school or sporting group or a local business can join the parade, but the deadline is this Friday. Entry forms can be obtained from the O akville Parks and Recreation D epartm ent or online at: http://www.town.oakville.on.ca/parks/sa ntaclausparade. The theme o f this year's parade is Favourite Christmas Carols. The parade begins at 9 a.m. from the com er o f M acD onald and Reynolds streets (just past the hospital) and contin ues south on Reynolds to Lakeshore, w est along Lakeshore to Navy, north on N avy to Rebecca, along Rebecca to Kerr and finishes up at about 10:30 a.m. at Stewart and Felan streets. Each year the parade picks winners in many different categories and this year there will be a grand prize o f $500 to the overall winning entry. Should a com m er cial entry win this category, the money will be donated to a registered charity of their choice, non-profit and charitable organizations may use the money to fur ther support the work of their group. For further information call Louise Veres at 905-845-6601 ext. 3154. Newspaper carrier attacked H alton Regional Police are hunting for the suspect responsible fo r the assault on a 41-year old w om an as she delivered new spapers early Saturday morning. A ccording to investigators, the inci dent occurred around 4:45 a.m. when the w om an had ju st delivered a daily p ap er to a hom e on H edgestone C rescent in G len Abbey. She was grabbed from behind by an unknow n assailant w ho pulled her to the ground then punched her in the head. The w om an managed to struggle free and ran to her vehicle. The attacker pur sued her, but finally tied w hen his intended victim screamed. Police, including officers from the K-9 Unit, searched the im m ediate area but could not locate the suspect, who is described as 5-foot -8 to 6 -fo o t-1 wear ing a black "puffy" jacket and black gloves w ith the face concealed by an unknow n black material. APPLAUDING OUR VETERANS: Regional Road Road 25 (Bronte Road) is officially known as Veterans Highway following a special dedica tion service Sunday. Local dignitaries and representa tives from the local Legions, Naval A ssociations, the Canadian M erchant navy and the Korean Veterans Association participated in three ceremonies including one at the Halton Regional Building on Bronte Road. Far right, George Donnelly listens to the dedication speeches. "Signs posted along Regional Road 25 will serve as a permanent tribute to the heroes in our midst," said Halton Chair Joyce Savoline. Editorials........................ A6 Focus............................... Cl Classified........................ C4 Business......................... C6 Artscene......................... C8 Sports............................. D1 P a r t ia l D e liv e r y : Sport Chek, Rom Home and Garden, Rona Cashway, Rom Laming, Cambridge Towels, Guardian Drugs, Home Depot, Hy & Zel's, The Bay, Party Packagers, Sears Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement #435-201 LOCKWOOD H R Y S L E R 1 7 y e a r s i n t h e s a m e lo c a t io n . FIN/E S T A R © © » & © C E R TIFIE D 175 Wyecroft Road, Oakville 905.845.6653 www.lockwoodchrysler.com ............. C H R Y S LE R· JE E P *D O D G E RETIREMENT PLANNING SPECIALISTS F r e e C o n s u l t a t io n 8 4 2 - 2 1 0 0 M - 8 _ A _ C J E R , S L F .P ~ P e te r C- W a tso n