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Sports For the finest in | CUSTOM UPHOLSTERING call Baier's. I Makers of fine upholstered furniture. 2333Wyecroft Rond, LratT OTT UJM I Ihcnwxn BnwcA Thinl Lne) 0 * / *0 0 1 | ; Psyching * up for Sydney Helping Dreams take Flight Focus 1 ,2 0 0 0 A Metroland Publication Vol. 38 No. 26 W ED N ESD A Y . M A R C H Shooting stuns community No clear motive in attem pted m urder of Halton Taxi owner S H archaran Singh Brar (left) and area outside his north O akville hom e w here the ow ner o f H alton Taxi w as shot several tim es Saturday n ig h t H alton R egional Police are still looking for a m odve. P la n u rge s q u ic k a c tio n on n e w s c h o o l fu n d in g By Dennis Smith SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER H alton D istrict S chool B oard tru stees have been warned to act quickly if they w ant to borrow m oney to build new public schools. A d ead line o f M arch 22nd w as su ggested for adopting the B oard's strate gic capital plan, w hich rec om m ends building 41 schools and closing 15 oth ers to students. "I f the board w ants to open new scho o ls by Septem ber 2001, it's critical the process begins as soon as possible," noted education director D usty Papke. T he co n su ltan t p la n 's early proposals include start ing construction o f an ele m entary school this year, (O akville's R iver O aks is the suggested site) and closing Fairfield Public School by June 2001. T he C .N . W atson plan recom m ends spending $409 m illion in school construc tion and renovations over 20 years. Provincial grants and Get funding now to start new River Oaks school says report debentures are suggested for financing. But the board needs to approve the capital plan in principle to borrow money, Papke warned. "It will be difficult going to the m oney m arkets and Stinking sludge from Toronto fouling Halton air By Irene Gentle SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Halton is hoping Toronto will clean up its act. Foul smells emanating from the biosolids lagoon opposite the landfill site on Regional Road 25 have been attributed to Toronto sludge, the Region's planning committee has been told. And trucks transporting the sludge have also been accused o f stinking up Halton air. W illiam De A ngelis o f Terratec Environmental Ltd., appeared before the committee to answer any questions about a recent acquisition o f the company by Azurix North America. The acquisition w on't alter Halton's contract with Terratec. But councillors were more eager to talk about the big stench. Toronto officials will be contacted about the transportation problem promised De Angelis. "Halton spent a lot o f time and money putting their program in place and now they're dealing with odours from Toronto," he said. "If public pressure does arise and there are odours, that (See `Sludge1page A8) d ealing ' w ith u n d erw aters w ithout dem onstrating that the board is prepared to deal with its surplus," he said. School closures have been suggested to eliminate the board's capacity surplus and obtain provincial fund ing for new schools. E ven if the plan is approved, the education d irector said individual motions will still be required to build, close or renovate schools. Papke has suggest ed the following timetable: Wednesday (M arch 1) -- Trustees discuss capital plan as an inform ation item at the next board meeting. M arch 8th -- A com m ittee-of-the-whole meeting is held to hear public delega tions' views o f the plan. M arch 22nd -- T he board considers adopting the plan. (Future meetings listed are based on it being approved.) M arch 23rd -- A school closure study com m ittee for Fairfield public school (Burlington) is established. (See `Board' page A8) In the im m ediate afterm ath o f the shooting, police cordoned o ff a large area around B rar's house as team s o f officers com bed the neighbourhood hock, prayers and an attem pt searching for possible suspects and to m aintain business as usual have follow ed in the w ake o f evidence. S aturday's shooting o f the ow ner o f H alton R egional Police then estab lished a tip line (825-4725) and are H alton Taxi. asking the public's assistance in the H archaran S in g h Brar, 39, w as case. A nyone w ith inform ation can w ounded several tim es in front o f his also call C rim e Stoppers at 1-800-222M arch C rescent hom e around 8:30 p.m. and is now listed in serious but TIPS. M ajor C rim e U nit detectives are stable condition in a Toronto hospital. now looking into B rar's personal and N one o f the bullets hit vital areas. business background, including Halton T he violent attack, o f a kind virtual Taxi em ployees and B rar's involve ly unknow n in O akville, has stunned m ent w ith the Sikh com m unity. fam ily m em bers, co -w o rk ers and Brar, the m arried father o f tw o sons neighbours alike. and a daughter, w as raised and educat "T his is extrem ely shocking," said ed in England then cam e to C anada in fo rm er H alton Taxi o w n er D oreen 1977. H e has been an O akville resident Blake, w ho is w orking for B rar during since 1982. the transition period since last y ear's Blake, w ho ow ned Halton Taxi and sale o f the business. "T his is right out J& J A uto R epair for 24 years, sold ; o f the blue." both businesses last June to Brar, who A ccording to B lake, w ho said B rar's wife Sarbjit is asking for every operated Tow ne Taxi in O akville since 1986 and has been ow ner o f M ilton one's prayers, Halton Taxi custom ers and other m em bers o f the public have Taxi for the past eight years. B lake explained that Sarbjit has | been phoning constantly to voice their also asked H alton Taxi staff to contin support for Brar. ue operating the business, a business "We really appreciate that," said w hich B lake says m eans everything to Blake. T he shooting occurred at B ra r's her em ployer. "O ne o f H arry's dream s w as to ow n home, located near Sixth L ine and H alton Taxi," said Blake. "He w ants us south o f D undas Street. B rar had ju st to keep things running sm oothly until arrived hom e and left his car to w alk he gets back." up to the front o f his hom e w hen he -W ith file s fr o m Torstar N ew s w as approached by a man, shot, and Service. suffered m ultiple gunshot w ounds. By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Sgt. Frank Phillips said investiga tors are not releasing the num ber o f tim es he was struck. Sarbjit heard shots, ran dow nstairs and found her husband on the ground, bleeding, at the front door. B rar w as ru sh ed to O akvilleTrafalgar M em orial H ospital where he w as stabilized. He was then transferred to the critical care unit o f T oronto's Sunnybrook H ealth Sciences Centre. All indications are that Brar will recover from his injuries. Police say there is no evidence to support that this was a random attack and are attem p tin g to estab lish a m otive. P hillips, how ever, said he w ould not com m ent on w hether Brar w as u n d er p o lice p ro tectio n at Sunnybrook. D etails about B rar's assailant are sketchy at best: a person dressed in dark clothing arm ed with a handgun. T he suspect vehicle is described as a 1995 to 1997 dark coloured L um ina or Corsica-style car. Betw een three and four individuals w ere in the car w hen it fled the scene. INSIDE to d a y ' s p a p e r Editorials... Focus.----------------------------- B1 Homes... Classified.............................. C4 Automotive________ C6 gpnrfg m Business._______________ D6 S p e e d Supplem en t s H o m eD eliv ery :H yan dZ eT s, B usiness D ep o t Partial delivery: Alberts Carpets, The Bay, City Parent, Danier Leather, Biway, Ho-Lee-Chow Restaurant, Lansing Buildall, Little Caesars Pizza, Chris Taylor, Mark's Work Wearhouse, Revi Home and Garden Canadian Pubficaitons Mai! Product Agreement #435-201 Way cleared for lo n g -te rm care facility in n o rth Oakville By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF An apparent clearcut land-use issue involving the zoning and Official Plan (OP) applications for a new subdivision in north Oakville was clouded by seri ous healthcare issues at Town Council M onday night. On the floor was a plan by H am ount Investments Limited to create a new neighbourhood featuring 68 detached dwellings, a 133-bed long-term care (LTC) facility and a church. H am ount is seeking an O P am end m ent and a zoning am endm ent to accom modate its plans for the parcel o f land located south o f D undas Street and east o f Postridge Drive. H amount has made arrangements to sell the long-term care facility to Central Park Lodges, which must have the place operational by spring 2001 as part o f its provincial licence awarded under the Nursing H ome Act. "This LTC facility is the exciting part o f this plan," said Ward 6 councillor Kurt Franklin. Ward 2 councillor Kathy Graham, a longstanding advocate for LTC in Halton, wanted much more information about Central Park's plans for the facili ty, especially the range o f income levels it would cater to. W ithout a Central Park representative on hand, Graham said Council is being asked to accelerate a proposal that no one knows anything about. G raham said it was "not unreason able" to have all the answers before approving the O P and zoning amend ments. She asked that the matter be deterred for one week. As an interim measure until perma nent long-term care sites are open in O akville, Extendicare and O TM H signed a three-year lease to house LTC residents on the hospital's fifth floor. This expires September 2000. OTMH and anxious families have been waiting years for the province to green-light the old O akville Trafalgar High School (OTHS) as a LTC site. With Central Park set to open its facility in early 2001, Graham said a short extension of the Extendicare lease could finally bring some stability and peace o f mind to the residents and fami lies. So far, she continued, neither O TM H nor Central Park have "com m it ted" to such a scheme. G raham 's Council counterparts appreciated what she was driving at, but maintained that M onday's meeting was not the venue in which to delve into such a contentious issue. `T h is is not the tim e to debate health care policy," said Franklin, w ho explained that Central Park plans to host public meetings in the com ing months to gather input on its proposal. Smith went on to say that he would not "hold a hammer" over the appli cant's head because o f w hat the province did or did not do. Ward 3 councillor Keith Bird said Council's jo b in this case is to weigh the evidence for or against land use approval - not to apply pressure to Central Park. "Either this is an appropriate use for the site or it's not," said Bird, w ho sug gested giving the zoning am endm ent bylaw first and second readings only and holding off for a w eek for the third. After councillors becam e em broiled in a convoluted procedural m ess, Graham withdrew her deferral motion. Franklin said waiting for third reading was simply a deferral by a different name. Council agreed to B ird's idea, how ever, but added more language to the original motion: that Central Park Lodge report to Council in w riting on its plans for the site and the income brackets to be serviced. Central Park will also be asked to review the needs o f the O TM H fifth floor residents. 2 0 0 0 C H R Y S L E R N E O N 2 2 1 > 2.0L 16 valve, 132hp engine, auto, air, AM/FM/cassette, 4-wheel fully independent suspension, tilt, full console w/centre armrest, 60/40 split, dual ext. mirrors w / driver's side m anual remote, inted glass, child protection rear door locks, next generation dual airbags. ' [ PETERVtoN I 1 N V E S T M E N T S FINANCING Plus freight taxes & license. SO d o w n $ 2 6 5 . 6 9 /mth 48 mths. 25,200 kms. lyr. up to 60 mths. RETIREMENT PLANNING SPECIALISTS Free C o n s u lta tio n C H R Y S L E R 175 W y e c ro ft R o a d , O akville 8 4 5 - 6 6 5 3 842-2100 Pteter C W atso n NLRA., CFJV, R.F.P-