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Wednesdsay April 12, 2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A5 P a id c h ild s u p p o r t b u t P r o v in c e lo s t c h e q u e Jim Young is no deadbeat. In fact, he was ahead in his child support pay ments - that is - until the province got hold of the money. On Jan. 17th. the Oakville real estate agent mailed a $600 child-support cheque to the Ontario government to cover the months of February, March and April. Ontario's Family Responsibility Office, which channels support money from payers, mostly fathers, to women and children, cashed the cheque 10 days later, but then lost the money. "I don't know what to do about it," said the exasperated Young, who now finds himself among Ontario's 128,000 deadbeat dads who collectively owe more than $1.2 billion in support arrears. "I don't like being in the deadbeat class, officially or unofficially." added Young. 55. "What if the government decides to go after me for these pay ments?" In an effort to rectify the situation, Young said he has phoned the govern ment hotline numerous times, some times waiting up to 90 minutes to speak to a live agent. What he found out. dis turbed him greatly. `They know they've got it, but they don't know what they did with it, so now they say they're not going to pay it to my former wife and daughter. . . . It's simply ludicrous," said Young, who has been paying support to his wife and three daughters for the last 12 years. The youngest daughter, Amy, is now 20, so Young's monthly payment has C h e q u e cashed but he's now deadbeat dad been reduced to $200 a month. A provincial spokesman said the case is being looked into, but, he added, privacy laws prohibit the government from commenting. Young's former wife, Marilyn, said that missing three support payments in a row is causing her stress and finan cial hardship. "I count on that money . . . not hav ing it now means that I'm late making my car payment," said Marilyn Young, an Oakville medical secretary. Marilyn Young said she. too, is frus trated that she can't solve the problem with a phone call or a fax to the Family No w eap o n seen in CIBC robbery A lone bank robber held up the CIBC branch on Speers Road Tuesday afternoon. Halton Regional Police said the bank was robbed at 1:17 p.m. when a man produced a note to a teller and was handed an undisclosed amount of money. The robber fled the bank on foot. No weapon was seen by witnesses and no one was injured. Police are looking for a five-foot 10-inches tall black man, weighing about 200 pounds. Responsibility Office. The government closed its store front offices in 1996, replacing them with one central office in Downsview. Under the new system, payers and recipients can't visit an office and speak with a government employee in person as they once could. The consol idation and overhaul which included new phone and computer systems was supposed to make the system more effi cient, but the Youngs say it's worse than ever. "I've called and called . . . but I've had to wait at least half an hour . . . I've faxed the information twice. Jim has faxed the information twice, but neither of us ever hear anything back. And, of course, you get a different person every time you talk to them," Marilyn Young said. For six straight months last year, Marilyn said she received no support payments from the government despite her ex- husband's payments. Then one day, the money simply showed up. "It's a ridiculous system," said Jim Young, adding that even Oakville MPP Gary Carr has had no success in resolving the case. `The Family Responsibility Office has advised us that they are unable to locate where the funds were directed," an aide in CarT's office wrote to Young last month. "My MPP did the best he could to solve this," Young said. "You've got to wonder about a system, when it's this difficult, even for people in the gov ernment, to get any answers." ·Torstar News Service Cedar Grove School i W* 1 1 "PrefHiring children fo r the future through academic excellence " All inclusive enriched, accelerated and challenging curriculum providing a solid foundation in the basics of language arts and mathematics and including science, geography, history, physical education, computer science, music, art and french. · Small class size · Full Multimedia Computer Resource Centre · Computer in each classroom · Music program · Good work habits and study skills taught · Education-related field trips · Up-to-date resources available in our library and classrooms · Gymnasium · Year-round extra-curricular activities offered · School newspaper · Parental involvement encouraged · Hot and healthy lunches · Before and after school supervision provided · Assessments arranged as necessary · Transportation available OPEN HOUSE 8 Saturday, April 15 · 10am- 1pm For more inform ation or to book a tour call I (905) 855-0563 1884 Lakeshore Road West, Mississauga, ON CORRECTION NOTICE We wish to draw your attention to the following in our current '2000 Annual Catalogue'. PAGE 376 - Items #6, Reese Draw Bars, 40-6000X. Copy reads: Fits all Hitches on Page 377. 2" drop ball platform. 5000-lb. Capacity. Each $30.99-869.99 Should read: Fits all 'Class III' Hitches on Page 377. Each $30.99-$ 104.99 We sincerely regret any inconvenience we may have caused you. cnote OOcat - Ail Zones SALE PRICES END SUNDAY, APRIL 16, OR WHERE SEARS IS CLOSED, SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 2 N EW Location ALL Kenmore major appliances, vacuums' & sewing machines Oakville Trafalgar High School ·ColourStudio ·Drawing * ·Pottery` Video* for kids 5-14+ years old T aught by highly skilled artisans. Sheridan and U niversity trained graduates. 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