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0 r C C N A BETTER N E W S P A P E R S C O M P E T IT IO N 2 0 0 0 T h e O a k v il l e B u lk F o o d s N o w A v a ila b le www.oakviltebeover.com lieu'j Ow Joint, O ne Yua, Om Pmb) `to ! Hat* F w jet! 9:30 pm to 3 aw BO O KTO O A Y ! T o w n C e n tre D o w e l & QEW lHtra food&drug U pper M id d le /8 th L in e 8 4 4 -8 7 0 3 A Metroland Publication Vol. 38 No. 152 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29,2000 32JPa^es 75 Cents ( jr iu s G S T ^ Police Association stands by Subway Elvis investigator The Halton Regional Police Association is standing behind one of its officers singled out by a judge in the recent wrongful prosecution case involving Subway Elvis. Despite criticism of Det. Rod Wilson by Justice Norman Dyson of the Superior Court of Justice, the Association's membership and elect ed officials "remain completely sup portive" of their fellow officer. "We stand firmly behind Wilson's ability as an investigator and more importantly, we stand behind his integrity," said Association adminis trator Paul La Course. Michael McTaggart, the former busker known as Subway Elvis, was recently awarded $230,000 after win ning his wrongful prosecution lawsuit against Halton Regional Police. McTaggart, 45, spent 20 months in jail for bank robberies in the mid1980's which he says he did not com mit. In a written judgment, Justice Dyson said McTaggart had not received fair trials in 1986 and 1987 the key reason being Wilson's failure to disclose vital information to both the Crown and defense that showed witnesses identified another suspect as the robber of two trust companies. {S e e `P o lice ' page 5) N o resolution in public se co n d a ry te a ch e rs' co n tra ct negotiations Job action will continue in new year By Dennis Smith SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Halton's public secondary teachers will be going through their Christmas break without a contract settlement. Another marathon bargaining session last week failed to produce an agree ment. More talks are scheduled for Jan. 10th. The two sides reached an impasse last Friday after 25 hours of talks, said Michael Ellis, chair of the Halton District School Board bargaining com mittee. "I feel that we're close, but we felt we'd gone as far as we could go after that length of time," said Ellis, a Burlington school trustee. He would not identify the roadblock, because negotiations are at a sensitive stage, but Ellis believes the two sides are on the right track for an eventual settle ment. However, the lack of an agreement means teacher sanctions will continue when high schools resume classes on Jan. 8th. Under sanctions, which started Dec. 15, secondary school teachers have stopped hall and lunchroom monitoring, participating in school or board commit tees and using their spare periods to cover for absent colleagues. "We have been keeping a close eye out and monitoring that situation," said Ellis. `To my knowledge, there has been very little disruption." The president of Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation District 20 (Halton) said last week teachers have been directed to intervene if there's an emergency. Larry Chud has said teachers will continue to handle all assigned classes and programs to allow schools to stay open and all academic programs to1con tinue. Workload and compensation have been previously cited^as key contract issues. The talks affect 1,000 teachers and 16 secondary schools acsoss Halton. ·A « Parent Watch pins hopes on non-profit application By Shelly Sanders Greer SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Crime grant for two years, Parent Watch enjoyed a growth period, but as demand for the program grew, facilita tors Ray Pidzamecky and Penny Smith, both full-time social workers in Halton and Peel, found themselves needing more money and more people. Parent Watch helps parents who are being held hostage by their own kids. "The most important thing we do is mobilize people in crisis," says Smith. "A high percentage of people come when there is a crisis -- if their kids are stealing, have drug dependencies, men tal health issues and truancy prob lems." At the monthly meetings, parents meet with other parents and Smith and Pidzamecky to get some answers, and find a more solid direction for their families. The meetings are free and open to anyone. At one point, there were groups in (S ee `P are nt' pa ge 5) today' s paper Update...................--------------- A 8 til---LL. .............. .A12 Entertainment,------------- A16-A12 Sports-.................. ............. R1-Rfi Cbssifvvi............... .................... R13 DaJ Prt it n ...............R%Rm R11.R19 Business __________ B14 Spedcri Supplements: Oakville Beaver Photographer B arrie Erskine was among the many curious skywatchers who observed the partial solar eclipse on Christinas Day. The event marked the first Christmas-Day eclipse in 46 years. The eclipse reached its peak at about 12:30 p.m. covering about 50% of the sun in most parts of the country. CHRISTMAS ECLIPSE: B lo o d d o n o r c lin ic S a tu rd a y Home Delray: Canadian Tire, Food Basics. Loblans, Sears, Shoppers Drug Mart. Zellers, The Bam Partial delivery: The Brick, ASP, The Bay, Home Depot, Ennisdare Interiors, Biway. Home Hardware, Home Outfitters, Ultra-Mart C anadian P ublications M ail P roduct Agreem ent #435-201 *i The Oakville Beaver is a recyclable product Help avoid a blood shortage over the holidays by attending a Blood Donor Clinic at the Glen Abbey Recreation Centre, 1415 Third Line on Saturday. The clinic will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Canadian Blood Services is asking all eligible donors to attend. The Toronto Blood Centre, which supplies hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area, requires 11,000 units by the end of the month, and stood at 6,000 units before Christmas. Especially needed is `0 + ,' `A+' and `O-.' Parent Watch, a program started in Halton to help families in crisis, has applied for non-profit status, a move that will hopefully gamer the funding so desperately needed to keep the orga nization alive. Parent Watch originated in Oakville in 1993 and expanded both geographi cally and in terms of the services offered. But funding shortages have forced Parent Watch to withdraw from some communities, and the future of the entire program is in jeopardy. Earlier this year, the Halton Regional Police Commission turned down a request by Parent Watch for a $5,000 one-time grant. The initial idea behind Parent Watch was to strengthen the association between community policing and social workers. With a Partners in Photos by Peter C. McCusker benefits of a White Christmas is plenty of snow for tobogganing. Taking advantage of the snow-covered hill at Old Abbey Park on Tuesday after noon were Lee Jollymore and Anthony G oulart (left),- Katelyn A ndrade (centre), and Stephanie Frid (right). SNOW FUN: One of the IJU S C U A R L U N C H B U i Plus a large order of wings & 2L Pepsi p lU - 0 with purchase of regular beverage Beginning Ja n u a ry 2, 2001. No co u p on .required. Valid at O a kville lo cations only. Plus taxes With cotton E x p ire s J a n . 12, 2001 · Offer valid at Oakville Locations only. 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