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CENTRAL OAKVULE PUBLIC LIBRARY 120 NAVY STREET a k v u l e B e a v e r Stu'ant-ti/fmM? O&mumty For the finest in CUSTOM UPHOLSTERING call Baier's. Makers of fine upholstered furniture. 333 Wwcroft Road. Unit 7 (between B iun teA ThinJ Line) Beetnik IIS ARB OflFKUL MEDIA OF AMetrolandPublication Vol.37No.38 WEDNESDAY,MARCH31,1999___________________________ 64Pages 75Cents ftfoGST? U s e i t o r l o s e i t ! Neighbours aren't watching, so signs coming down By H o w a rd M ozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF In an effort to regenerate inter­ est in the Neighbourhood Watch initiative, organizers are taking the bold step o f rem oving the program 's signs from "dead zones" in Oakville starting this week. A ccording to O akville N eighbourhood W atch B oard chair Andy Chvedukas, the m ea­ sure is not being done lightly but given the steady deterioration of public involvem ent, he says something has to be done. "This is a drastic maneuver on behalf o f the Oakville Neighbour Watch Board," said Chvedukas, a Sergeant w ith Toronto Police. "To get strong results sometimes drastic actions need to be taken." The program started in Oakville in 1980 and over 10,000 residents have joined. Since then, however, new zones have been slow to be estab lished w hile hom eowners in many existing zones have seemingly lost inter­ est, says Chvedukas. (See 'Program' page A8) Photo by Peter C. McCusker Community Support Officer C onst Gregg Davidson removes a Neighbourhood Watch sign at Morrison Road and Botany Hill, Solving Y2K problem costing Board $ 3 3 2 ,0 0 0 By Dennis Smith SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Ongoing efforts to avoid Y2K (year 2000) computer problems will cost the Halton District School Board at least $332,000. The board approved allocating that sum from its working reserve Wednesday, following a recom­ mendation by superintendent Keith Johnson. He noted much of the work to avoid Y2K prob­ lems has been done by staff, but extra help had to be contracted. "The identification, planning and implementation of Year 2000 solutions continues to be the largest single undertaking the board has experienced in the last 15 years," said Johnson in his information report. "Hardware and software application replace­ ment is a very people-intensive activity." O f the reserve ftinds approved, $162,000 will go towards contract staff assisting with upgrades and implementations. The remainder of the $332,000 will be spent as follows: voice mail upgrade, $60,000; transportation server upgrade, $25,000; staff overtime, $35,000 and special education software requirements, $50,000. Vendors are in the process of reviewing the board's facility services equipment and applications, administrative software applications, hardware, wide area network infrastructure and telecommuni­ cations equipment. (See 'Problem ' page A8) H a lto n 's to p n u rse look ing forw ard to cash in fu s io n By Irene Gentle SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Halton Healthcare Services' top nurse is hoping that newly announced provincial reforms will deliver a critical transfusion of cash to her hospitals. "We really are delighted," said chief nursing officer Laurel-Anne Wallace. "This is a great first step." The nursing reforms announced recently by Health Minister Elizabeth Witmer promised to give nursing in Ontario a $20 million shot in the arm, with a possible $355 million more to follow. Currently, there are about 140,000 nurses in Ontario. In Halton Healthcare Services, which runs the amalgamated Oakville Trafalgar Memorial and Milton District hospitals, there are 622 nurses. That includes full-time, part-time and casual registered nurses and regis­ tered practical nurses. The reforms were borne out of a Photo by Peter C. McCusker V ictorious Oakville Liberal candidate Kevin Flynn embraces Kathy Graham who was also vying for the provincial Liberal nomination. Both are Halton Region and local councillors. nursing task force established by Witmer to pinpoint specific problems in Ontario's nursing community. The task force came out with a report last month recommending that $375 million be invested to shore up front line nursing staff by the year 2000. It also suggested that nurses be given a formal opportunity to participate in management decisions involving patient care. So far, the actual reforms appear to be short on detail. What is certain is that $10 million will be spent to fund 106 nurse practitioner positions in underser­ viced areas and long term care facilities. Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with extra training allowing them to participate in some non-nursing areas, such as diagnosing. Another $10 million annually has been dedicated to helping nurses update their skills. Nothing else is known, said Michael Forbes, spokesperson for the Ontario Hospital Association. "We're working right now on where this money is coming from," he said. "No one gets the numbers." Currently, it's not even certain that the money for nurse practitioners is new. It could stem from previously announced funding for long term care, said Forbes. It's also not guaranteed that all hos­ pitals in Ontario will receive a cash infusion, he warned. (See 'Ultimate' page A2) Liberal candidate Kevin Flynn to push 1Common Good Revolution' By Kim Am ott SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Kevin Flynn wants to replace Ontario's Common Sense Revolution with what he calls a Common Good Revolution. The long-time local and regional councillor, selected on Sunday night to be the Oakville riding's Liberal candi­ date in the next provincial election, says the province's institutions need to be run for the benefit of all. "We need schools that work for teachers, students and parents. We need hospitals that work for nurses, doctors and patients," he told a cheering crowd of about 300 local Liberals. "We must be the party that unites the community," he added. "We must counter the common sense revolution with the common good revolution." Flynn, who vied for the nomination against fellow councillor Kathy Graham, carried the night with 311 of the 554 votes cast. Right from the moment he entered the room, against the background noise of a band playing an Irish theme and supporters cheering loudly and waving signs reading "Win with Flynn," momentum appeared to favor the Ward 1 regional councillor. "This is the largest gathering of provincial Liberals in Oakville in recent history," Flynn told the crowd. "The Tories' days in power in this riding are numbered." The turnout of more than 550 voters, who lined up to register and crowded the room at the Galaxy Club, shows the strength of local dissatisfaction with the INSIDE today's paper FHHnriab_________ ____ Afi _.B1 Business.__________________ B6 Homes & Gardens.___________B8 Love of Art................................. C1 Spprts„.r..... ........ ...................... m Classified.................................. ,D4 Automotive.........__...........___ •D8 Spead Supplements: for Horn Minj: Elton's, The Brick, Nriml Sports Part'll dtlimj: M Host, Scoter's, Holland Part, CIIIS Guardian, Huall Drugs, Canaan Hestaurant, The Brick, Mu Canadian Publications Mail Product Agreement #435-201 provincial government, he added. "It's a sign that people are interested, and interested in changing the govern­ ment," Flynn said after the meeting. The campaign between the two coun­ cillors was clean and respectful, and after hearing the results, Graham threw her support behind Flynn unequivocally. (See 'Campaign' page A8) Teens attacked, goods stolen in home invasion Two Oakville teens were struck with a hammer Friday morning during a home invasion on McCraney Street. The incident occurred around 12:20 a.m. when three suspects forced their way into a home occupied by three teenagers. Once inside, the intruders - one armed with a hammer - forced the occupants into a bedroom and demand­ ed cash. Two residents suffered minor injuries from the hammer blows. The three thieves fled with cash and a stereo system. Police say two of the suspects were in their early twenties. (courses) ALLIAN CE Starting A prftz . 10 F R A N C A I S E ADULTS • CHILDREN • PRIVATE • GROUP • BUSINESS • CONVERSATIONAL •GRAMMAR rono**0 • 1MMERSON OR REMEDIAL PROGRAMMES • SUMMER GAMP NORTH YORK: (416) 221-4684 • MISSISSAUGA: (905) 272-4444 • DOWNTOWN: (416) 922-2014 RETIREM ENT PLA N N IN G SPECIALISTS F re e C o n s u l t a t i o n 8 4 2 - 2 1 0 0 ___________ fUr,tri»