F LAWHMOWEB TUNEUPS --- -*B S !544* (c p m ) tm m ^ a = = ^-- = ^ atevenr Mfttn /«,«« ftamtt ? » w * rfK ^ P W » w /» » . ZZSSZSZZZST, 8224211 Commercial Success The arts Ontario Cup Report S ports 68 Pages 75 Cents (plus GST) A M etroland Publication Vol 38 No. 71 W ED N ESD A Y , JU N E 14,2000 Sales of suspect drug to continue Despite the removal of a heartburn drug linked to deaths, including teenager Vanessa Young, it will still be available here until August. V anessa' s father, Terence, wants to know why By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF W Photo by Riziero Vertolli B la zeskeepfirefighters busy Despite one of the wettest days of the year so far, the Oakville Fire Department was kept hopping Tuesday attending to three separate house fires. Crews responded to a home on Chartwell Road (left photo), where fire erupted around 8 a.m. Fortunately for the residents, their place was undergoing reno vations and they were living elsewhere. According to Oakville Fire C hief Wayne Gould, the house was "fully involved" when crews responded and although a cause was not determined at press time, the blaze appears to have start ed somewhere near the southeast comer of the place. Damage is estimated at $250,000. The investigation continues. Around 1:45 p.m. fire fighters respond ed to a house on Third Line (top photo) just south of Speers Road where a blaze had broken out in the basement. Four people were home but managed to escape, and damage is estim ated at between $50,000 and $60,000. At press time no cause had been ascertained. Around the same time as the second incident, fire crews responded to a kitchen fire in a home on Sixth Line. Once there, said Gould, they found a toaster on fire. Photo by Barrie Erskine East end house party ends up in wild brawl Halton regional police are investigating a house party on Caimcroft Road that wound up as a brawl in the streets between dozens of youths early Sunday morning. Five people were injured in the fracas. Two were hurt by flying beer botdes and three others received hos pital treatment for minor stab wounds. Police said the incident involved two groups -- about 50 people in their late teens to early twenties at the house party and another dozen people in their early to mid-twenties, who were not originally at the party. The dozen people were coming to aid of a young woman who had been at the party, but left after com plaining about $20 being wrongfully taken from her. They had intended to retrieve the woman's money, but were ambushed in the streets by flying beer bottles from the party-goers. When police responded at 3:05 a.m. the fight had mostly broken up with the ambushed party fleeing for safety. The injured youths were treated at OakvilleTrafalgar Memorial Hospital and released. The matter remains under investigation by detectives out of the Oakville Criminal Investigations Bureau. hile a heartburn drug linked to the death of an Oakville teen will be pulled from Canadian pharmacies August 7 father of Vanessa Young calls any hes itation a possible fatal mistake. "There's no excuse for not remov ing it now," said Terence Young. "My fear is others will die due to the delay." Health Canada has announced that Cisapride (known as Prepulsid in this country and Propulsid in the United States) is being withdrawn due to the possibility o f "rare, but serious, heart complications, including ... irregular heartbeat rhythms and sudden death." Consumers using the drug are being advised to contact their doctors as soon as possible to discuss alternate treat ments. Prepulsid is used to treat gastro esophageal reflux (heartburn), gastroparesis (inability of the stomach to empty properly) and other disorders of gastrointestinal movement. Vanessa Young, 15, died on March 19th after her heart stopped while she was at home. Family, neighbours and emergency personnel managed to re start her heart, but she was later pro nounced dead at the M cM aster University Health Centre in Hamilton. Vanessa, a Grade 10 student at Oakville Trafalgar High School, had been taking the drug off and on since last year. An autopsy revealed that there was nothing wrong with Vanessa's heart, nor had she exceeded the dosage of Prepulsid. There were no other drugs in her system. Rumours about a pre-existing eating disprder have been prevalent since Vanessa's death. Her father said Thursday that his daughter had been taking Prepulsid for mild bloating after meals, period. "We hope for a public inquiry, an inquest," said Young. "We want to get to the bottom of this." By that, Young say$ he means he wants to find out why his daughter's death happened and to 'h a v e recom mendations made that would make the Canadian drug approval and distribu tion system safer for everyone. "W hy would a life-threatening drug be prescribed for a non-life threatening condition?" he asks. (See `Decision' page A2) National awards for newspaper The Oakville Beaver has been named a top three finalist in six categories by the Canadian Community Newspaper Association. The nominations came from entries submitted in the CCNA's 2000 Better Newspapers Competition. In addition to being nominated for the top news paper in the country, the Beaver has also been short-listed for the following entries: best editorial page, best photo illustration, best sports photo, best newspaper promotion and best house advertise ment. The CCNA annual convention and award cere monies will be held next month in Quebec. 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