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Page 7 Rats plague north Oakville community Page 5 Safeguarding Halton's biodiversity www.insidehalton.com 353 IROQUOIS SHORE DRIVE, OAKVILLE dentistoakville.com 905-842-6030 Stay Connected! Friday, August 1 2014 | 64 pages A Publication of Metroland Media Group Connected to your community - $1.00 incl. tax Weather for Oakville, ON Fri Sat Sun Mon 25° 13° 24° 17° 23° 16° 23° 16° Emanicipation Day Picnic at Erchless Aug. 4 by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff Boy jumps to the rescue as stormwater pond dredged by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff History, courage and freedom will be celebrated in Oakville on the Civic holiday Aug. 4. People are invited to celebrate Emancipation Day, a signi cant achievement in Canadian History, at Erchless Estates on Navy Street from 1-4 p.m. The annual picnic, which commemorates Aug. 1, 1834, pays tribute to the day slavery was abolished in Canada and throughout the British Empire. "The port of Oakville was a gateway to freedom via the Underground Railroad," said Mayor Rob Burton in a press release. "This annual event is a welcomed opportunity to celebrate our town's rich history." The Emancipation Day celebrations date back to 1850, when African Canadians from across the nation would gather at Oakville's George's Square to honour their journey to freedom. see Black on p.10 Oakville's Lucas Azevedo, 13, contacted local authorities upon becoming concerned about the fate of wildlife during the dredging of a storm management pond in the vicinity of Sixth Line and Glenashton Road last week. Azevedo has become a fan of the pond this summer after visiting and discovering it teeming with activity as a wide variety of wildlife calls the pond home. | photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/ HaltonPhotog) A 13-year-old Oakville boy became concerned about local wildlife when a developer began dredging a storm management pond in the vicinity of Sixth Line and Glenashton Road last week. Lucas Azevedo said he had only recently come to appreciate the pond, visiting it nearly every day for the last month with his friends. Despite being arti cial, the pond is home to more than 100 different sh as well as a local beaver, great blue herons and Canada geese, said the youth. "When I go with my friends and my family, I watch the wildlife just for entertainment," said Azevedo. "I've really come to care about the wildlife and I was really hurt when I found out they were draining the pond." Last Friday, Azevedo said construction crews had drained the pond to such an extent that some sh were swimming half exposed out of the water. He was so worried about what he was seeing he contacted not only the Oakville Beaver, but also his Ward 5 councillor and Oakville's mayor. Philip Kelly of Oakville's Development and Environmental Engineering Department said developer Metrontario is cleaning accumulated sediment off the bottom of the storm management pond so it can continue to be used. The developer is required to carry out this project before the Town takes over management of the developing area. see Accommodation on p.3 · HOME · AUTO · LIFE · BUSINESS · AV I AT I O N T H E M A G N E S G RO U P I N C . 1540 Cornwall Rd., Suite #100, Oakville, ON L6J 7W5 Tel: 905-845-9793 Fax: 905-845-9149 www.magnesgroup.com END INSURANCE CONFUSION. For informed decisions that you can feel good about, contact us!