The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

FACTORY SHOE WHY PAY FULL PRICE FOR SHOES? Q.E.W. ot Winston Churchill Turnoff Are You Driving Clean? EMISSIONS TOTING '****#%•■■ • CENTRES PAGE D6 m scustom upholstery 1*1 F o r the finest in C U ST O M U PH O L S T E R IN G call B a ie r's. Makers of fine upholstered furniture. 2333 Wyecroft Road. Unit 7 n w -neo-i(Hawaii BruncA Third Lre) / *̂ 00 j A Metroland Publication Vol. 37 No, 32 W E D N E S W M A R O H ^ ^ 56 Pages 75 C e n ts (plus GST) Residents vow to fight Home Depot plan By Norm Alexander O A K V IL L E B E A V E R S T A F F A zoning appeal now before an Ontario Municipal Board could determine whether a row of 'big box' stores develops along North Service Road from Fourth Line to Bronte Road. Home Depot wants to build a 113,000 sq. ft. facility on a 10-acre site on the North Service Road and Fourth Line, but both the Town's plan­ ning department and area residents have con­ cerns about the project. When Home Depot officials came to the Town with their idea, they were told they should apply for an Official Plan amendment and a zon­ ing change. This process would permit town­ wide public input on the proposal. Instead, Home Depot went to the Town's Committee of Adjustment for a minor variance to the bylaw. That application was denied and Home Depot filed an appeal with the OMB. As far as the Town is concerned, Home Depot went about its plans incorrectly in defi­ ance of a planning department directive. John Ghent, Oakville's Manager of Current Planning, said he regarded the development plan as more than a minor variance. "We certainly want Home Depot to come to town, but we don't feel their current site is the proper place," said Ghent. today's paper Editorials................... Focus......................... • a a. ■ â V6 ............. B1 Homes & Gardens...... ...............B8 Business................... Classified................... ............. C4 Entertainment........... ............. Cft Sports........................ ............. D1 AlftOTllOtlVGMaaiiiiMiMi..... .......... laMDS Special Supplements For Home Delivery: Business Depol Partial delivery M a r , The Brick, Elton's, Spice ige Shelving Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement #435-201 R e ta ile r w a n t s to lo c a te s to r e o n N o r th S e r v ic e R o a d s i te . . .b u t n e i th e r a r e a r e s id e n ts n o r th e T ow n w a n t it t h e r e He's also fears the Home Depot development would open up the entire North Service Road from Fourth Line to Bronte Road as a 'big box' strip of retailing and that isn't what the Town wants. Home Depot wants a change to the bylaw in the percentage of space allocated to retail versus storage. Currently, businesses are required to have 60% of floor space for retailing and 40% for other uses such as offices, washrooms etc. "What they really want is 100% retail and therefore we felt it wasn't a minor change," said Ghent. But Home Depot's director of real estate doesn't see it that way. According to Stephen Kauffman, his outlet does meet the required percentages since it only has floor plans for 40% retailing with space above the eight-foot height mark, used for stor­ age. Given that the building is 20 feet high, Kauffman argues that the footprint of the build­ ing would be the same with or without the same retailing-storage percentages. Ghent said there are other sites currently zoned for operations such as Home Depot including one at the QEW and Bronte Road. "Some people thought we were making an 'end run' around the Town but we didn't intend that at all," said Kauffman. "We did the same thing in Etobicoke and there was no problem." Ghent said the situation in Etobicoke may have been different than in Oakville and a minor variance may have been all that was required in that case. There have been two open meetings on the store's plans and Kauffman said his company has done everything to assuage residents' con­ cerns. "We've had two meetings and given them (residents) everything they've asked for," said Kauffman. "And that includes baffled lighting to reduce glare, no external loud speakers and we have agreed not to cook burgers etc. so there will be no cooking odours." Kauffman said Home Depot has also agreed not to operate the store on a 24-hour basis and will fund any improvements needed to the road system. Delivery areas have also been planned so they won't abut residences and there won't be any outdoor storage. (S e e 'R e s id e n ts ' p a g e A 8 ) No Canada Day fireworks....but... While Canada Day fire­ works in Bronte this summer have been canceled, the money will now be used for a variety of smaller events in the village. Last week Bronte BIA chair Lee Bernard announced that area businesses cannot afford to finance the $15,000 required to mount the popular event. Last year corporate sponsors and public donations saved the display but overall, 1998 Bronte Heritage Day fes­ tivities ended up costing busi­ nesses over $30,000. "That's way out of line," said Bernard. As a result, a choice had to be made whether to blow the budget in one day or host more activities throughout the year. The Bronte BIA decided to spend $5,000 on each of six projects rather than drop all the cash on one. Canada Day will also receive $5,000 and Bernard said corporate sponsorships will be solicited to help defray the rest of the costs. "There is no way we can justify $15,000 for fireworks," she said. Events will include the May 29th Treasure Hunt, Art- in-the-Park, the Christmas charity challenge and more. "This is not something we decided overnight," said Bernard. "We just haven't been able to get the support." Bernard went on to say that while they would not say no to a sponsor, time has virtually run out to book the display in advance. While Bronte's skies will remain dark, Bernard assures residents they can enjoy two evenings of fireworks just the week before at the Waterfront Festival. Almost 40,000 visitors attended last year's day-long Canada Day attractions and evening fireworks display. Bernard hopes this year can be a repeat performance. YOA reform gets mixed reviews Police & politicians in 'wait and see'mode By Howard Mozel O A K V IL L E B E A V E R S TA FF P roposed changes to the contentious Young Offenders Act (YOA) are winning guarded local support in Halton, from law enforcement offi­cials to area politicians. Halton Regional Police, for example, have adopted a wait-and-see attitude and hope the Act delivers as much as it promises. Halton Centre MPP Terence Young maintains the legislation's language is not nearly as air­ tight as it should be. Federal Justice Minister Anne McLellan tabled new legislation in the House of Commons last week called the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Designed to replace the YOA which came into effect in 1984, it takes pains to draw lines between non-vio­ lent and violent offenders. According to McLellan, most Canadian youth crime is property and drug-related. Only 17% is violent in nature but these offenders will be dealt with more harshly under the new Act. For example, the age at which an offender may receive an adult sentence for serious violent crimes has been lowered from 16 to 14. All offenses in which a weapon is used will be con­ sidered violent. More than a pair of violent crime convic­ tions will label a youth a repeat offender and transfer their cases, in * most instances, into adult court. At the same time, those who commit non-violent crimes can be dealt with by way of police warnings, restitution, community ser­ vice or personal services to victims. The Act also contains provisions for a parole sys­ tem for young offenders and for naming young offenders under certain circumstances. There will also be tougher penalties for adults who renege on promises to super­ vise youth out on bail. Young says that while he has some serious concerns about the Act, many of the proposed changes will do more than just save money in the long run (court and jail time, police resources) but will also help rescue young people's lives. "I feel they've taken a step in the right direction," he said. Young says the changes bring more accountability into the criminal justice sys­ tem and will help promote respect and responsibility among youth. Young is (S e e 'Y O A ' p a g e A 4 ) Life Quilt aids cancer research The Life Q uilt for B reast Cancer depicting touching tales o f cancer trium phs and challenges will be on display at the Sir John Colborne Seniors C entre (M arch 18th-19th) and Oakville Place Mall (M arch 22nd- 25th). The Life Quilt includes three quilt panels; each q u ilt having a centre panel painting framed by 136 six-inch squares. These centrepieces were designed and painted by BC artist Gay Mitchell. U sing the forests as a m etaphor, M itchell expressed the experience of coping with the initial d iagnosis, subsequent treatm en t and life changes associated with breast cancer. More than 20,000 peo­ ple have been involved with the making o f the Life Quilt and have either stitched the fabric paint­ ing or created one of the individual squares. S titches have been taken by a two-month-old child, a 97-year-old man and people of all ages in between. Each represent­ ing a significant personal story, squares have been created as a memorial to women lost to breast can­ cer and as a celebration of those who survive. The quilt has traveled across C anada where groups o f men and wom en have come together in support of friends and family to cre­ ate squares in their mem­ ory or take stitches on one of three painted panels. The Life Q uilt for Breast Cancer is a non­ profit organization com­ m itted to m eeting the em otional and practical support needs of women and fam ilies living with breast cancer. The q u ilt's v isit to Oakville was arranged by Burlington Breast Cancer Support Services, Canadian Cancer Society, H alton R egion Public H ealth , O ntario Breast Screening C linic and Atlas Van Lines. I PeterWatson llil I N V E S T M E N T S RETIREMENT PLANNING SPECIALISTS F re e C o n s u l t a t io n 842 -2 1 0 0 Peter C W atson CFJP-, RJF.P.. 0 * 1 19 9 9 Provincial Championships May 7th - 9th at the Glen Abbey Recreation Centre Hosted by the Oakville Gymnastics Center "H o m e o f t h e A n t o i n e t t e s " F o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e C h a m p i o n s h i p o r o u r r e g u l a r p r o g r a m s p l e a s e c a l l 8 4 7 - 4 4 7 4 ©Co pyn ght 0 Bea vei W