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custom Uf-hublerv ltd For the finest in CUSTOM UPHOLSTERING call Baier's. Makers of fine upholstered furniture. (betw eenBrum cAThrnl Line) C a m p A rts & en ter ta in m en t C o m in g _ F o cu s 2 3 3 3W v ecro ftR oad. IM7 A M etroland Publication Vol. 38 No. 98 W E D N E S D A Y , A U G U S T 16,2000 www.oakvillebeaver.com 52 Pages 75 Cents {plus GST) Sch o o l jan itor faces child p o m charge It e m ss e iz e d f r o m N e w C e n t r a lS c h o o lo f f ic e A custodian at an east Oakville elementary school has been charged with possession of child pornogra phy. The accused is a custodian at New Central Public School. The charge was laid after a school official discovered various inappro priate items within the custodian's office at the school on Aug. 10th. The school official called Haiton Regional Police. Upon obtaining a search warrant, members o f the O akville Detective office seized num erous writings, pic tures, and other paraphernalia. Police said there is no evidence to suggest any children at New Central Public School were involved in the matter. C hristian John W alker, 42, o f M ilton, faces charges o f possession o f child pornography and theft under $5,000. Safety blitz hauls 28 cars off the road Police removed the licence plates from 28 cars in Oakville during a "Safety Lane" blitz on Saturday. "There were various reasons for fail ing the safety inspection, but the major ity were defective braking systems," said Acting Sgt. Stu Smith, of the Haiton Regional Police Service's Regional Traffic Unit. The safety blitz actually began two weeks earlier when police in Oakville started issuing notices to vehicles that appeared to be in questionable mechan ical condition. Police issued 39 notices to drivers to attend a "Safety Lane" on Saturday, Aug. 12th at the Haiton Regional Police Service headquarters on Bronte Road. Eleven cars passed inspection and 28 failed -- mostly due to brake system problems. The vehicles that failed inspection had their plates removed and were not allowed back on the road. In order to get back on the road, the owners of the cars would have to get the defects repaired and the vehicles re-cer tified by a licenced mechanic. Four highway traffic act charges were also laid including: use of an unauthorized plate; no insurance; oper ation of an unsafe vehicle; and use of an expired licence plate. Inspections were conducted by Ministry of Transportation (Burlington) inspectors with the assistance of the Haiton Regional Police. Police said the Safety Lane Blitz will be conducted throughout Haiton on a rotating basis. Photo by Barrie Erskine J U M P I N G J A C K S : Rebel and Griffey race each other at Hendervale Farms prior to the Haiton Valley Summer Classic 2000 on Sunday. The dog race was put on by the Jack Russell Terrier Club of Canada. For more pictures on the equestrian event see Sports. * Cab owners split fromH aitonThxi to formrival com pany By Scott MacArthir SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER After 25 years as the only taxi com pany in town, Haiton Taxi will now face some competition. This comes after 22 independent cab owners, who formerly used Haiton Taxi as a brokerage, left the company and formed Oakville United Taxi Ltd. The co-operative business opened on Aug. 2nd and is now a licensed brokerage. Oakville United is comprised of 30 taxi cabs, with some owners owning more than one car. All have bought var ious amounts of shares in the venture and the brokerage does not own any cars, said United co-owner George Hattley. "There was complete discontent with the taxi operation (at Haiton Taxi)," said Hattley. "Drivers were having problems with the dispatch service and some of the other arrangements were not to our liking," said Hattley. The move leaves Haiton Taxi short on cabs - there are 49 cabs total in Oakville, leaving 19 at Haiton Taxi - but office manager and former owner, Doreen Blake, believes the company still offers the best service in town. "We are still the oldest and most established taxi service in Oakville," said Blake, who sold Haiton Taxi to its current owner, Harry Singh, in June of 1999. "We are reliable and offer a num ber of alternatives, including three wheelchair accessible vans, with two more on the way." Blake, who founded Haiton Taxi in 1975, said she has heard "no credible reasons" for the decision to split, but believes a long-standing rift between independent cab owners and fleet oper ators could be at the heart of the matter. Independent cab owners have their own car and pay a brokerage fee to use a company's dispatch service (such as Haiton Taxi or Oakville United). Fleet operators drive company-owned cars and are paid a salary by their employers. "I want to stress that Haiton Taxi still has independent owners," said Blake, who estimated that more than half of the 19 remaining drivers with Haiton Taxi own their cabs. Oakville residents will not be affect ed by the changes, but Blake feels that the drivers will not make as much money until the numbers even out. "For years the magic number in my mind, for two companies to work well in Oakville, was 66 cars," said Blake. "It costs the same for a company to operate 20 cars as it does 50, but without one central brokerage, drivers won't be able to make as much money. "The numbers will even out," she added, referring to the amount of cabs. "We have an established client base who will stick by us, and others will natural ly try something new. I hope that our custom ers will be patient with us through this process." Hattley, who acknowledged that dri vers who defected are much happier working under the Oakville United umbrella, had a short answer when asked if there is now taxi service com petition in town. "Oh, definitely." t o d a y 's p a p e r EcStoriais________________A6 Focus_________ B1 Entertainment___________ ~B6 Sports__________ Sports____________________ C1 Automotive________________ Automotive__________ _____ C8 Fal Registration_____________D1 Spetiol Supplem ents; Hom e delivery: Business Depot, Sears Partial delivery: Cashw ay, Future Shop, Mark's W orkW arehouse, Revi Hom e &G arden, Hoopers Pharm acy, Classic D ance, SwissChalet Canadian Publications M ail Product Agreement *435-201 Photo by Barrie Erskine W A T E R , W ATER E V E R Y W H E R E : Huge puddles of water appeared on several Oakville streets, including Wyecroft Road between Fourth Line and Dorval Drive, after a torrential downpour blew into town on Monday afternoon. 10 Day PANAMA CANAL - Costa Rica to Florida Departing on the new n m.s. AMSTERDAM, January 28/2001 Itinerary: Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica; San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua; daylight transit o f the Canal; Willemstad, Curacao; St John/StThomas, USVl; Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; Fort j ... --- I P eterWats°n 1111 I N V E S T M E N T S $ Holland America Line » I I »· I I I 0 I 31 · I C I I l » C I* cruu irom *2,395 SSL-1 f c / w RETIREMENT PLANNING SPECIALISTS F r e e C o n s u l t a t io n 8 4 2 -2 1 0 0 j w charges extra H 9 0 5 3 3 8 2 0 7 7· 6 3 5 * F I