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SALE PRICES END SUNDAY, AUGUST 29, 1999, WHILE QUANTITIES LAST . . . . . . . L - J Only$99 KENMORE MICROWAVE OVEN This 0.7-cu. ft. microwave oven features 600 watts of cooking power, recessed turntable and a 'push release' door. *86708 " " l Plus, use your Sears Card and don 't pay fo r one fu ll year on a ll major appliances Don t pay until August 2000, on approved credit, with your Sears Card. Minimum S200 purchase. $35 deferral fee and all applicable taxes and charges are payable at time of purchase. Excludes items in our Liquidation/Outlet stores and Catalogue purchases. Offer ends Sunday, September 26, 1999. Ask for details.S E W IN G M A C H IN E S T O R E REPAIRS TO SINGER a n d a ll o th e r m a kes & m o d els 198 SPEERS RD. 842-2033 Inside Oakville Vacuum If you have a news tip or story idea, call the Oakville Beaver at 845-3824. ■ Come see the many sides of Sears™ V Visit Sears Oakville Place Mon.-Fri. 9:30 am-9:00 pm. Sat. 8:00 am-6:00 pm. Sun. 11 am-6 pm. Back to School? We'll help you get started! Now 299$ KENMORE» 3.6-CU. FT. COM­ PACT REFRIGERA­ TOR WITH PEPSI LOGO Features include 'canstor' door liner which holds seven 355 mL beverage cans and a 'euro style' rounded door design. *98369. Sears reg. 329.99. Now 249$ KENMORE 3.2-CU. F T COM­ PACT BAR FRIDGE This bar fridge hap a 'euro' rounded door design. *99312. Sears reg. 299.99. Wednesday, August 25, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER NP0841699 Copyright 1999. Sears Canada Inc. Former Halton Taxi owner plans to keep busy in retirement 0nlys98 KENMORE CANISTER VACUUM 200 watts of peak cleaning power and a 17-foot power cord with a cord reel. *28085 $44-4300 t-F A By Wilma Blokhuis BEAVER FOCUS EDITOR The woman known as 'Doreen Blake of Halton Taxi' is looking forward to retirement. Having recently sold the business and agreed to remain as a consultant for a year, she is looking forward to the summer of the New Millennium. "I'd would like to do some hiking in the Canadian Rockies . . . go kayaking along the West Coast" . . . do more cycling and cross country skiing. But, more importantly, Doreen Blake, a Glen Abbey resident, wants to spend more time with her two grand­ children, Andrew and Sarah Pink, 10 and 8 respectively. Her immediate plans include taking her family - son James and daughter Susan and their spouses, plus the grandchildren, to Walt Disney World in Florida in November, "as my retirement gift to them." Blake has been with Halton Taxi for 24 years, having worked her way up from buying one taxi cab and plate to owning the whole business, including J&J Auto Repair. Her entry into the garage and taxi business came as a result of a twist of fate. In 1967, she and her former hus­ band Jim opened Blake's Supertest ser­ vice station at the present-day 7-Eleven location in Bronte. "I was married and had a full time office job. Jim raced stock cars - we were young and had a lot of fun." By July 1968, she was pregnant with her first child "and we were asked to leave because, back in those days, a woman couldn't be pregnant in an office job." Jim found other work, and "I stayed home being 'Mom' to my two kids." Some years later, Jim was approached by his long-time friend Jerry Lyons, staff mechanic at Halton Taxi, then owned by John Stains, to set up a new venture. "Stains was looking to sub-contract the auto repair side of Halton Taxi, and Jerry, who was a very good mechanic, asked Jim to be his business partner. That's how J&J Auto Repair got start­ ed," said Blake, on Jan. 1, 1975. In October of that year, the Blakes bought one taxi cab and plate, and over the next 24 years her name became synonymous with Halton Taxi and J&J Auto Repair. Five years later, Halton Taxi was sold to an absentee owner. Unhappy with that situation, the Blakes, with partner Alex Lloret, bought Halton Taxi, "and in 1985, we bought Alex out. "I began running Halton Taxi's dis­ patch services in 1980 as a half-partner in the business. And, I began looking after appointment bookings and pur­ chasing for J&J Auto Repair," said Blake. "I'll never forget that one night in 1985, when I awakened from a sound sleep and sat bolt upright in bed. I had over 100 drivers, an office staff . . . I woke up with a start and wondered what I had done. It had suddenly hit me what I had done. (Looking back) I have enjoyed it." Blake obtained full ownership of the two. businesses in 1992 "after Jim divorced me. I bought him out." In June, she sold Halton Taxi and J&J Auto Repair to Harry Singh of Oakville, owner of Milton Taxi and Towne Taxi, and agreed to remain for a year as a consultant smoothing over the transition of the ownership process. "It's been a very good life for me," says Blake, of her years in the garage and taxi business. "I never thought that I, as a woman, would be running a taxi service and garage. It's not a women's business. But, here I am and I loved it.' As 'Doreen Blake of Halton Taxi,' she became involved with several com­ mittees, both through the Oakville Chamber of Commerce and also as a result of being in the taxi industry. "It has given me an education I would have never gotten in university. It's been a pleasure to work with these people, and has been a benefit to the company and to myself personally." Currently, she sits on the Chamber's business affairs committee. "I joined its Women's Network when it first started, and found the other women to be very supportive of me." She has also sat on the tourism com­ mittee. "The taxi and tourism indus­ tries have a lot in common. I got involved with selling Oakville as a tourist destination at a trade show about three years ago." Last year, Blake was a member of the Athena Awards nomination com­ mittee. Currently, she is serving her second two-year term as regional vice-presi­ dent for the Association of Canadian Clubs, a 108-year-old organization with 14 clubs in Southern Ontario including Oakville, 50 across Canada and 10 international groups. Representing the taxi industry, she was a member of the Canadian Taxi Association and the International Taxi Regulators Association. Membership in these organization required her to travel across Canada and North America. "Whenever I was in another city, I would make it a point to visit local taxi companies across Canada and learn Photo by Barrie Erskine Doreen Blake has sold Halton Taxi after 24 years of involvement with the company. 107 Reynolds St. at Lakeshore Road E., downtown O A K V IL L E 8 4 5 - 1 2 1 0 EXPERT PINKING SHEARS & SCISSOR SHARPENING SALE PRICES END SUNDAY, AUGUST 29, 1999, WHILE QUANTITIES LAST Only$99 REPAIRS TO SINGER Inside Oakville Vacuum We'll help you get started! Now 299 Now 249 0nlys98 By Wilma Blokhuis BEAVER FOCUS EDITOR 107 Reynolds St. at Lakeshore Road E., downtown OAKVILLE 845-1210 EXPERT PINKING SHEARS & SCISSOR SHARPENING