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A4 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday July 30, 2003 Businesses come forward to replace stolen bikes (Continued fro m A I) profit program that Pearson started four years ago for special needs children. Each week, about 25 special needs boys and girls from the Halton area-- many who have autism -- go to the Milton track to race the BMX bikes. Pearson said she hopes the Riders Ready program will soon be able to run twice each week and there's even talk of forming a mountain biking program for underprivileged kids. All she needs now are volunteers -- people willing to ride alongside the spe cial needs kids so all the new bikes can quickly be put to use. T he bikes were stolen sometime between July 19 and 22 from Track 2000 BMX race track near Britannia and Trafalgar roads. Pearson, founder of Riders Ready, was quickly thrust into the spotlight as major news networks like Citytv picked up the story and put it on its nightly newscast, pulling heart strings near and far. Oakville resident Janice Spicer, whose son Adam is a member of the Riders Ready program, said people have been coming in to the TD Canada Trust branch to make personal donations. "It's incredible," said Spicer. "We are Harrison Smith · Special to the Oakville Beaver M ilton resident M ichael Danielli, 8, tries out a BMX bike sim ilar to the one being donated to the R iders Ready program by Bill M cKeown (second from left) of M cKeown Collision and C arol and Dale S h arp of D and D H andym en. Looking on is Raven Heaney, 12. N um erous o ther businesses and citizens have ju m p ed on b o ard to help replace the p ro g ra m 's stolen bikes. now able to help so many more kids." She said the program will be ready to begin again within two weeks and the kids will be able to finish the season as well. "We can focus all of our efforts for next year," said Spicer. Carol Sharp, co-owner of D and D Handymen in Milton summed it all up by saying, "Things happen for a reason. Look at all the good that's coming out of the bad." Sharp and her husband. Dale, are issu ing a challenge to Halton small business es to match their donation of a BMX pur chased at cost from Spokes `N Slopes together with Bill McKeown, owner of another Milton small business, McKeown Collision. Spokes `N Slopes in Milton is contin uing to offer BMX bikes worth at least S350 for the at-cost price of $225 to any one who wants to donate a bike to Riders Ready. "I knew that people would band together and turn this around," said Matt Burger, owner of Spokes `N Slopes. "Now they're (Rider's Ready program) coming out ahead of the game. The people on the waiting list will have an opportuni ty to get in." -- With files from Paula Henriques, Oakville Beaver Staff. Don Popplow · Special to the Oakville Beaver T hirteen-year-old E ric Bang hugs his m other Debbie a fte r com pleting the 12.8 Swim for the C ure on the Severn R iver on Saturday. Touching E ric 's shoulder from the red kayak is his fa th er Steve, who followed him du rin g the swim. Swim for the Cure participants overcome inclement weather By Craig MacBride S P E C IA L T O T H E BEAVER Thirteen men, women and children challenged nature to raise money for breast cancer on Saturday. The weather wasn't on their side, but the third annual Swim fo r the Cure went on anyway. The official numbers from the swim aren't yet in, but organizer and swimmer Debbie Bang, of Oakville, is During Kenmore' Days take the Kenmore Challenge Purchase this Kenmore fridge (#6 5 10 2 ) and if within 30 days you find another brand fridge with all the same features, advertised at the same or lower price, the Kenmore fridge is Free*! ·Sears will refund the purchase price, including taxes. Some restrictions apply. Ask Sales Associate for features list and details. Offer ends Saturday, August 9, 2003 m tm ~ l;,, |P , Includes factory-installed icemaker. Fits 30" wide opening. 1full-width and 2 half-width spillproof' glass shelves #65102. Sears reg. 999.99. ONLY 35.42 MONTHLY** Plumbing hook-up required S a v e$ 1 5 0 .K e n m o r e2 0 .5 -cu . ft. fr id g ew ithto pfre e z e r · now 8 4 9 confident the swimmers have helped the three-year total surpass $20,000. In constant, pouring rain, strong winds and high waves, the brave 13 entered Severn River, at the southern end of Muskoka, and attempted to cross the 12.8 kilometres. Some people tackled lesser swims. Jennie Popplow, who was celebrating her 20th birthday at the swim, set and reached her impressive goal of eight kilometres. Though the swim is not a race, it was Kym Banting, who was the fastest on Saturday, completing the swim in five hours and 21 minutes. Bang wasn't far behind her at five hours and 45 minutes. Both Banting and Bang stopped to chat as they passed slower swimmers, encouraging and motivating the team. Camaraderie is the point of the race. It's about being in the water, swimming for a good cause, with friends and family. Bang's 13-year-old son Eric swam the entire way on Saturday, ready to quit several times but continuing on. He then swam two more kilometres the following morning, in the Kids Swim fo r the Cure. Talking about swimming with Eric and her older son Mark nearly brought Bang to tears, it meant so much to her. "Their lips were blue, they were shivering," said Bang, "but they work their little hearts out." Eric and Mark, Bang said, were swimming for their great Aunt Teri, who had fought cancer, but now suffers bone metastasis. "Her quality of life just isn't the same," said Bang, "but she's an amaz ing person." Bang saw her grandmother suffer with breast cancer, and that really effected her. "There's a lot I can't do for breast cancer, just being a woman increases my chances [of being diagnosed with it] by 80 per cent," said Bang. "But this I can do." To find out more about Swim fo r the Cure , visit www.swimforthecure.net. To learn more about breast cancer, visit the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation website at www.cbcf.org. Largest selection o f m ajor appliances in Canada Environment plan will encompass entire town (C ontinued from page A1) · We service what we se llm · Ask about our Price Match Guarantee on national brand m ajor appliances; details in store · Satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded Look for onourproducts. Itshows that the product meets the ENERGY STAR* guidelines for energy efficiency 0% financing 'til August 2005*' on all major appliances w h e ny o uu sey o u rS e a r sC a r d ··Pay in 24 equal monthly payments, interest free, until August 2005. On approved credit, only with your Sears Card. Minimum $200 purchase. $55 deferral fee and all applicable taxes and charges are payable at time of purchase. Monthly payment shown has been rounded up to the nearest cent. When billed, any unpaid portion of your Sears account balance w ill attract credit charges, commencing the following month. Excludes items in our Liquidation/Outlet stores. Ask for details. Payment options and plan details may be changed or discontinued at any time without notice. Ask about other payment options. Major Appliances Department excludes vacuums and sewing machines 50 5 0 y e a rs of q u a lit y , value, s e rv ice , t r u s t S e a r s O a k v ille P la c e M o n .-F ri. 10 a m -9 pm . S at. 8 a m -6 pm . S u n .1 1 a m -5 pm . M on.-Fri. 10 am 9 pm . Sat. 10 am -6 pm . S un .11 am -5 pm . NE081M303 ® 2003. Sears Canada Inc. S e a r s F u r n itu r e & A p p lia n c e S to r e M is s is s a u g a While details of the task force size and composition are still being worked out, Martin said she expects it to have about 14 or 15 members representing a wide cross-section of the Oakville com munity. Final decisions on the composition of the task force and its role in the strate gic planning process will be made by town council at an upcoming meeting. Martin noted that community involvement will help create a plan that is distinctly local, reflecting Oakville's character, priorities and needs. Although the demand for the envi ronmental strategic plan initially came out of the public consultation surround ing the town's plans for development in North Oakville, Martin emphasized that plan will have a much wider scope than planning issues. "This is not focused north of Dundas (Street)," she said. "This is about the whole area of Oakville." The plan will likely look at a whole range of issues, including water and air quality, vegetation management and pesticide use, as well as planning issues, she added. The official aim of the plan is to "outline targets, measurable goals and the means to achieve environmental protection and improvement throughout the geographical area o f Oakville." Anyone interested in being part of the strategic planning process is asked to e-mail Martin at nmartin@oakville.ca or call her at (905) 845-6601 ext. 3906.