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Ibaier's For the finest in CUSTOM UPHOLSTERING call Baier's. Makers o f fine upholstered furniture. 2333 Wyecreft Road, tail 7 j>VT j z o i (between Bn«e& Thud Line) / " * 0 0 1 «*wuS nSfc,. OFFICIAL MEDIA OF A Metroland Publication Vol. 37 No. 62 WEDNESDAY, MAY 26,1999 5 6 P a g e ^ 5 C e n t ^ £ G S ^ Photo by Peter C. McCusker W endy Bell of H am iota M anitoba gives Oakville's M ike Schrenk a big hug for his bone m arrow donation which W endy needed to survive. Hero worship: Bone marrow gift saved her life By Sandra Omand SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER To his girlfriend, Michael Schrenk is a nice guy with a big heart, but to the mother of three whose life he saved, he is much, much more. This weekend in Oakville, Wendy Bell met the 24-year- old who saved her life. Two years ago, Bell, a 33-year-old resident of Hamiota, Manitoba, contracted a rare and deadly form of cancer called myleofibroios. Unable to find a bone marrow match from within her family, a desperate search began to find a com­ patible donor. At the same time in another province, Schrenk, now a GIS Analyst at Canadian Tire's head office in Toronto, reg­ istered as a potential bone marrow donor during a drive held at St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, where he was a student. "I've seen two more years of my children growing up that I might not have seen," said Bell in regards to Schrenk's action. When she was diagnosed, Bell was told by doctors that she had eight months to live without a bone marrow transfu­ sion, and only a 50% chance of surviving if a matching donor was found. Schrenk had arranged to register with his girlfriend of five years, Vivienne Skobeme, 24, an urban planner with Diamante Development Corporation. Skobeme was unable to donate because of an illness to her grandmother, but Schrenk, with his girlfriend's encour­ agement, still registered and gave the required two vials of blood. (See 'Donation' page 2) B ankers abandon K err S tre e t Once there were four...now there are none By Scott MacArthur SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Kerr Street will lose its last remaining banking facility on June 28th when the Bank of Montreal shuts its doors and moves to a new location at Oakville Town Centre II on Dorval Drive and North Service Road. The move has sparked concerns among Kerr Street residents and coun­ cillors, who feel their area is being abandoned by the banking industry. The Bank of Montreal relocation was preceded by the loss of Royal Bank and CIBC branches and a much earlier closing of a credit union office that now operates as the Avestel Credit Union on Lakeshore Road. "I'm looking at a community (Ken- Street) that's dying," said Tom Large, a resident of the area since 1973. 'T his street has such a rich history. It's very sad." Senior citizens, a demographic that greatly occupies the street, will now have to travel to either downtown Oakville or Dorval Drive just north of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) for their banking. "Seniors don't like change," said Ward 2 Councillor Kathy Graham. "A lot of them don't know how to use bank machines and aren't interested in learning, so they need a bank nearby." , "It's easy for us to get downtown, but not if you depend on a walker to move around." Graham said. Many Senior citizens depend on the bank not only as a place of doing business but as a stop on the road where they can catch up on community gossip. "Stopping at the bank was som e­ thing for them to look forward to ," said Large. "Now they have to take a bus from K err S treet to the Oakville GO Station just to get on a bus that will take them to the Town Centre on Dorval Drive" "None of these banks sat down and asked anyone how they could continue to serve our com m unity," said Graham. "They never agreed to one of them staying or anything like that. They've just left Kerr Street residents out in the cold." An unnam ed spokesperson for the Bank of M ontreal on Kerr Street said that as a service industry, the bank must periodically consider its options and resources to determ ine the best way to serve its custom ers. In this case, he said, the move to Oakville Town Centre II will allow the Bank o f M ontreal to provide a higher quality o f service to a greater number o f people. Advance polls begin Advance polls for the Ontario Provincial Election begin today and will run through Friday. Hours for the advance poll on all three days are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Oakville riding voters unable to make it to the polls on election day, June 3rd, may also vote at the office of the Returning Officer at 468 Morden Rd. every day from 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. ending Friday. Other advance poll locations include: the Oakville Municipal Building on Trafalgar Road, Sir John Colbome Centre for Seniors at Third Line and Lakeshore Road and The Senior Citizens Centre located at 263 Kerr St. Halton riding voters may cast an early ballot at the Croatian Catholic Mission at 1280 Trafalgar Road. Lake rescue averts tragedy Five men are lucky to be alive today after they were rescued from Lake Ontario Sunday night when their boat sank off Oakville. The men were on a 28 ft. power boat travelling westward off Ninth Line when the craft hit the wake of another boat, throwing the men into the lake. None were wearing lifejack­ ets. A short time later, a passing boater picked up the men and transferred them to shore. One of the wet sailors received minor injuries in the incident and was taken by am bulance to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital where he was treated and released. The Halton Regional Police Service Marine Unit and TOWARF also assisted in the incident. Investigators believe the boat in which the men were travelling, suf­ fered structural damage, causing the craft to sink. Police review recom m ends 3 7 new o fficers be h ired By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF While a review released this week of the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) calls for only a fine-tuning of the force, it is recom­ mending the hiring of 37 addition­ al officers. "Bringing Into Focus, " a docu­ ment prepared by the consulting firm of Perivale and Taylor, will be formally presented to the HRPS Board Thursday morning. In it, the findings address changing the police service's rank structure and seeking supplementary funding for vital programs, but the document states clearly that large-scale changes are not required. 'The suggested refinements in this report are simply that, refine­ ments, proposed to improve struc­ tures and processes," states the report. "There are no strategic changes or wholesale re-align- ments required. The community of Halton Region is policed well by dedicated officers and civilian staff." According to the report, "all the principal elements of an effective and efficient policing service exist within the HRPS." The report offers suggestions for enhancing service - in short, to make the best use of available resources and determine where additional staffing is needed and how it should be re-organized. The report does state, however, that "important functions within the service are short of staff." To that end the report calls for the hir­ ing of 37 new officers, 13 more than the 24 new constables already approved. (See 'Report' page 5) S H E A R E D S H E E P : This sheep may look a little humiliated alter facing the cutting shears of Richard Zila, but she's better off with the heat of sum­ m er coming on. Visitors to Bronte Creek Provincial Park on the weekend had a chance to see sheep being sheared, and wool spun. Photo by Riziero Vertolli INSIDE t o d a y 's p a p e r Editorials.............................. A 6 Homes & Gardens...................... A S Focus............................................ B1 Business...................................... B8 Summer Fashion........................ C1 Art & Entertainment.................. C4 Classified..................................... C6 Sports.....__________ D1 Automotive.................................. D8 Special Supplements: For Home DeliveryiMoore's The Suit People, Eaton's Partial delivery: The Brick, Lansing Buildall, Petro-Canada, Laz-y Boy, Holland Park, White Rose, Future Shop, The Bay, Double Double Pizza Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement #435-201 l T h e '9 9 S a tu r n S L 1 Automatic and air conditioning. $2,500 down payment ^206/m th. + taxes Lease bused on 36 month term. $2500 down payment, 60,000 kms over term, optional end value plus taxes on approved credit. A D i t H K h M K i n o o k C o m p a n y , A D i k k k k k n t K i n o o k C a r . W B u d d s ' SATIR ISE k w j 507 Speers Road, Oakville, Ontario (905) 845-1610 ^ WEBSITE: www.buddscars.com EMAIL: info@buddscars.com 1 PeterWatson M I N V E S T M E N T S RETIREMENT PLANNING SPECIALISTS F r e e C o n s u l t a t i o n 8 4 2 - 2 1 0 0 P e te r C W atson M H A ., C F JR , R .FJ*. 1 http://www.buddscars.com mailto:info@buddscars.com