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Chisholm SCHOOL SUCCESS w w w .chisholm centre.com IT'S TIME FOR THE ANNUAL OAKVILLE ROTARY TV AUCTION Look w m r A r r r A TELEVISION COMMUNITY (905) 844-3240 f o r y o u r o f f i c i a l p r o g r a m i n s e r t e d in t o d a y ' s r e a l e s t a t e s e c t i o n ! Mercedes-Benz C L E .W . & D o r v a l D r. __________________________________________ www.oakvillebeaver.com T H E O A K V n i E B M W NORTH A M E R I C A 'S M O S T A W A R D E D C O M M U N ITY N E W S P A P E R T o w n 4 .6 % e y e s ta x For sale: One soul, slightly used By Howard Mozel O A K V IL L E B E A V E R S T A F F in c r e a s e By Kim Arnott S P E C IA L T O T H E B E A V E R Next year's town budget could cost you an extra $43. Town councillors are considering a proposed $104.5 mil lion budget for 2003 that will raise Oakville's residential property taxes by 4.6 per cent. That translates into an increase of $17.25 per $100,000 of residential assessment, and a $25.15 increase per $100,000 of commercial assessment. The $43 tax increase is determined to be for an average residential assessment of $250,000. People with properties worth more than that would obvi ously see a higher increase, while those with properties worth less would see a smaller tax "Believe you me, if we hike. "A decade of tax rate con could bring in a zero straint, an aging infrastructure budget, we would like and shrinking non-tax rev to. But we do have to enues require an increase in property tax dollars to ensure be responsible." that the needs of the residents · Oakville Mayor are met while maintaining Oakville as a great place in Ann Mulvale which to live, work and do business," wrote Town treas urer Maurice Lewis in the executive summary of the budget document that councillors are working their way through this week. During meetings last night, tonight and possibly tomorrow night (Thursday), the Town's finance committee will exam ine the budget and hear public input. A final budget proposal is scheduled to be considered by Town Council on Dec. 2. Mayor Ann Mulvale said she believes residents under stand the municipality faces cost pressures, and are also pre pared to see money spent to address issues that aTe important to them. "I think people understand that there is a capacity in the economy to deal with some of the issues that have been pent up, that have been put off and, frankly, can't be put off any longer," she said. "Believe you me, if we could bring in a zero budget, we would like to. But we do have to be responsible," she added. While Town staff are projecting a 3% increase in tax rev enue due to assessment growth, a number of growing costs are driving the budget up. The Town is facing increased utility, insurance and staffing costs, along with lower investment revenues due to interest rate declines. (See `C a p ita l' page A11) James Burchill isn't worried about burning in hell - he was too busy this week having fun auctioning off his soul. On Monday, Burchill - a self e m p l o y e d Oakville business development and marketing con sultant - offered his "immortal soul" for sale on eBay. The Internet auction house quickly pulled his adver lames Burchill tisement, but in the meantime the publicity stunt garnered him exactly the kind of attention Burchill wanted. "When the conventional fails you, go with the unconventional," he said. "As a business development and mar keting consultant, I look for ways to promote a product or service. In this case I was looking for a powerful way to promote my own services and at the same time demonstrate my creativity and commitment - such as offering my soul to the highest bidder." Burchill, who listed his soul on eBay around 9 p.m. Monday, said in his ad: "For a limited time only, I am offer ing my 'immortal soul' to the highest bidder. This unique collectors edition immortal soul is priceless and can be yours just in time for Christmas!" According to the blurb, Burchill's soul has "just under four decades usage, estimated 'a ir tim e' left is approximately 50 years. This of course (See `S o u l' page A7) Hockey player charged with assault Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver PARADE PRAISE: Santa Claus gives his thumbs-up approval for the 54th annual Santa Claus Parade in downtown Oakville on Saturday. Besides Santa and his reindeer, the parade featured an entertaining assortment of floats, clowns, marching bands and hundreds of young wide-eyed spectators. For more pictures see Focus on page 12. Algae forum offers lakeshore residents little relief By Dona Foucault S P E C IA L T O T H E B E A V E R Lakeshore resident Carol Osborn was literally left holding the bag at last week's Algae Forum 2002. Osborn was one of about 75 area residents attend ing the forum at the Halton Regional council cham bers last Thursday. Like manv. she was honing to hear the Town of Oakville would expand its cleanup program to private property. She produced a shopping bag full of algae she had collected off her property as evidence of the stench she had to deal with last summer on a daily basis. "We're stuck with it 24 hours a day, other people have a choice whether to go to Coronation Park," said Osborn. "We're already paying a premium to live on the waterfront and now we can't even eniov our prop- erties." But much to Osborn's dismay, Chris Mark, assis tant director of Oakville Parks and Recreation, told her that not only wouldn't the Town remove algae from her property, she might have trouble disposing of any she collects herself. The algae (or cladophora, as the strain found in Lake Ontario is known) cannot be disposed of through (S e e `A lg a e ' page A3) More than $100,000 in quality items up for bid The Auction Catalogue has been printed (look for yours at locations around town and inside today's Oakville Beaver), rehearsals are finished and the COGECO 23 studio is being decorated for this year's Oakville O a e v iiu Rotary Auction A U CT Nov. 22 and 23. You can also go online to www.oakviIlerotary.org and view everything that will be available for both the televi sion and Internet Auctions. Remember, you can bid this year by telephone to (905) 333-6085 or electroni cally from the Web site for all the televised items. And we've tried to make it easier for you to secure the items you really want with our Maximum Bid opportunity: tell the operator how much you would ultimately be willing to pay for the item right I o t a it away, and the IO N computer system will act as your agent to keep making yours the top bid. As long as yours is the highest bid received, you're guaran teed to get the item without any last minute phone calls and drastically increased bids. (S e e `A uctio n' page A9) A 17-year old Burlington youth has been charged in connection with an October assault during a minor hockey game in Oakville. According to Halton Regional Police, the incident occurred Oct. 30 during a M inor Oaks Hockey Association game at River Oaks Arena when a player used his hockey stick to intentionally strike another player in the head. The 18-year old victim was wearing a helmet and face shield which absorbed most of the impact. Even so, he suffered minor scrapes and bruising to his forehead. The subsequent police investigation led to the arrest on Friday of the Burlington teen - who cannot be named under the Young Offenders Act - and the laying of the assault with a weapon charge. Editorials.................... A6 Focus.......................... A12 Test Drive.....................B1 Business.....................B7 ArtScene..................... BIO Sports........................B12 Classifieds.................. A12 Partial Dedven: Sport Chek, The Bay, The Colour Bax/Auttiotmnic, Upper Canada Wealth, Bed Express Vu, Rona Cashway, Rona Lansing, Compucenter, Hy & Zel' s, Mississauga Booster, Party packagers. Peoples Jewellers, Salvation Army, White Rose, Square One Shopping Centre, liquidation World, Cogeco, Swiss Chalet. Action Inventory, Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement #435-201 The Oakville Rotary Auction organizers and its sponsors invite everyone to tune in to COGECO 23 Nov. 22 and 23 for some great bargains. Pictured here are (front row, left to right) Martin Rudnicki, of Flippance & Carr, Kelly Montague, of the Oakville Beaver, Kathy Ali, of COGECO 23, Jack Mlynek, of Avalanche, Gary Busteed, of Oakville Rotary North, (back row, left to right) Larry Branscombe, of Roblar Enterprises, Chadd Lockwood, of Lockwood Chrysler, Barry Kay, Auction Chair and Chris Draper, of Canada Trust. RIX/EE S T A R C H R Y S L E R· -JE E P *D O D G E O m 5 O & C E R T I F I E D f P e te r W ff 9°N j| i H V £ S T M £ W I' $ 175 Wyecroft Road, Oakville 905.845.6653 vwvw.lockwoodchrysler.com RETIREMENT PLANNING SPECIALISTS Free C o n s u lta tio n 842-2100 'Holer C . 'V M m m jM H w K a K fti