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Weather for Oakville, ON Thurs Fri Sat Sun 2° -4° -2° -6° 5° 1° 7° 2° Shooting at coyote is an offence Page 3 New ballet troupe in town Artscene www.insidehalton.com MECHANICAL SERVICES AUTO AUTO AU TOPR PRO PR O OA OAKV OAKV KVIL ILLE E 2 2 Wyecroft Road, Oakv 221 kvill ille e autoprooakville.mechanicnet.com 905-469-2442 2 dentistoakville.com 905-842-6030 Stay Connected! Thursday, January 28, 2016 | 40 pages A Publication of Metroland Media Group Connected to your community - $1.00 incl. tax Oakville gives warm welcome to sponsored Syrian family by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff Riyad Al-Balkhi sits with his wife Nadia and their eldest son Ahslan, 20, in the living room of their new home. They are relaxed and at ease. That's a far cry from what the Al-Balkhis were experiencing when they escaped war that started in Syria in 2011, as refugees to neighbouring Jordan in 2012. I told my dad, `I Now, having moved to Mississauga Jan. 6, after arrivwon't believe it until ing in Oakville in late Decemwe go to the plane, ber, the Syrian family memit takes off and I see bers shared their story of we land in Canada. nding refuge in Canada and nally being able to shift from Ahslan Al-Balkhi Syrian refugee merely surviving day-to-day to living for their future. The three met with the Oakville Beaver Monday afternoon. The couple's other children -- Asyed, 19, Mohammed, 14, and 12-year-old fraternal twins Awsam and sister Shahd -- could be heard laughing and talking downstairs in the basement of the three-bedroom townhouse. The mood in the home exuded warmth, relaxation and safety. see Journey on p.6 Maple Grove United Church hosted the of cial welcoming of the Al-Balkhi family from Syria Sunday. The family is being sponsored by a group of faith organizations called Children of Abraham Together (ACT), which includes Maple Grove United, Shaarei-Beth El Synagogue and charity Canadians in Support of Refugees in Dire Need (CSRDN). Pictured, Reese Kalverda, 6, meets Nadia Al-Balkhi, the Syrian family's matriarch, after last week's of cial welcome. | photo by Justin Greaves ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) SAUNDERS, SAXTON & WINTER ~ A Legacy of Excellence ~ Wendy Saunders Kim Saxton Sales Representative Sales Representative Ruth Anne Winter Broker Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage 136 Church Street, Suite 1B - Oakville, ON | 905.845.1223 JOHNSTON & DANIEL DIVISION sswteam.ca | sswteam @ johnstonanddaniel.com 1096 Cedar Grove Blvd.