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3 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,January 3,2019 insidehalton.com Guitar, Piano, Drums, Vocal & Ukulele ratiuG ,smurD elelukU & MUSIC LESSONS Sign up toda y... • No RegistRat ioN Fees • No CoNtRaC ts • PRIVATE - oN e oN oNe • all ages wel Come • all levels av ailable, R to advaNC ed 905.257.3110 • theguitarworldoakville.com 380 Dundas St. E. at trafalgar Road in longo's Plaza 905.257.3110905.257.3110 • theguitarworldoakville.comtheguitarworldoakville.com Expert Service and World Class Repairs all la begib NNeR to advaNCNCed HUGE SELECTION OF GUITARS, AMPS, UKULELES, ACCESSO RIES & MORE! MuSical inStruMEntS MuSic lESSonS For a Free consultation call oakville: 905.842.2022 ToronTo: 416.644.3999 Denied Disabled Benefits? I canhelp. My teamof experienced lawyers can help youwith: •Disability Claims Short-TermDisability, long-TermDisability, CPPShort-TermDisability, long-TermDisability, CPP •Car accidents •Slip and Falls •Wrongful Dismissal Injured? injurY and emploYment law I don't get paid unless I getYoumoneY. oFFiCeS in oakville and ToronTo eMail: sspadafora@slspc.ca It's about trust. Our relation-It's about trust. Our relation-I ship with our readers is built on transparency, honesty and integri-transparency, honesty and integri-t ty. As such, we have launched aty. As such, we have launched at trust initiative to tell you who wetrust initiative to tell you who wet are and how and why we do what we do. This article is part of that project. We welcome your questions andWe welcome your questions andW value your comments. Email our trust committee at trust@metro-trust committee at trust@metro-t land.com.land.com.l There were some big political changes in Halton Region this year. Voters in Burlington put many new faces on council in Oc- tober's municipal election, includ- ing a new mayor. Provincially, sev- eral Liberal MPPs in the area were turfed for an all-PC slate in June's vote. Then there were lost turtles, found peacocks and developmentsfound peacocks and developmentsf in several ongoing stories that af- fect the lives of local residents.fect the lives of local residents.f Here are some of the big stories we covered in 2018. CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD ENACTS, PAUSES, THEN QUASHES SANCTITY OF LIFE MOTION On Jan. 16, trustees at Halton's Catholic District School Board passed a motion restricting school fundraising to charities that dofundraising to charities that dof not support - either directly or in- directly - abortion, contraception, sterilization, euthanasia or hu- man embryonic stem cell re- search. After retracting, reinstat- ing it and pausing it, it was eventu- ally voted down for good in Octo- ber, but not before gaining the board provincial and national at- tention, and becoming a lightning rod for parent- and student pro- tests. HALTON MUNICIPALITIES GO TO COURT OVER MILTON CN HUB On Feb. 21, the Region of Hal- ton, City of Burlington, towns of Oakville, Halton Hills and Milton and Conservation Halton an- nounced they'd launched a court action to affirm that local laws should apply to CN Rail's planned intermodal hub in Milton. In Sep- tember, the new provincial gov- ernment announced it was siding with Halton in the dispute. The hub as proposed would cover 400 acres adjacent to a rail line, be- tween Britannia and Lower Base- line Roads. LOCAL HOCKEY PLAYERS WIN OLYM- PIC SILVER Local athletes Brianne Jenner and Renata Fast did Halton proud at the 2018 Winter Olympics, held in North Korea and South Korea in February. The women's hockey team, featuring Oakville's Jenner and Burlington's Fast, made it to the tournament final. The squad lost 3-2 to the United States in a tense shootout.Burlington adopts official plan; Region says 'try again' After seven years and count- less heated delegations from citi- zens, Burlington adopted a new of- ficial plan in May; one that criticsficial plan in May; one that criticsf said would lead to too much densi- ty and allow high-rise buildings to overtake the downtown character. On Dec. 4, Halton Region informed the city that it would have to take another stab at the document, say- ing it doesn't conform to the Re- gion's plan in areas such as use of agricultural land and transporta- tion. New mayor Marianne Meed Ward welcomed the opportunityWard welcomed the opportunityW for revision, saying "This is thefor revision, saying "This is thef news the community has been POLITICAL CHANGE AND SANCTITY OF LIFE AMONG HALTON'S BIG STORIES IN 2018 SAIRA PEESKER speesker@metroland.com NEWS Students at Bishop Reding high school in Milton stage a walkout over the Halton Catholic District School Board's charity ban. Duaa Shakeel photo See - page 22