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News/3 Fire forces family to start all over CLARINGTON'S AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER SINCE 1854 Sports/15 Critical time for Generals WHAT'S ON March 5: Local residents can jump on the information highway with free Internet training at the Clarington Public Public Library. The training will teach people to surf the Internet Internet in just two short hours, with no experience necessary. A free session will be held Wednesday, March 5 at the Bowmanville branch of Clarington Clarington Public Library, 62 Temperance Temperance St., from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. To register, call 905-623- 7322. March 19: Deciding to make an animal addition to a family is a big commitment. Registered veterinary technician technician Melissa Van Druneii of the Durham Region Veterinarian Association will be at Clarington Clarington Public Library to help families families through a list of considerations considerations to make before getting a pet. Issues covered will include suggested chores, yearly physical physical and medical requirements, as well as how to handle the cost of owning a pet. The free information session will take place at the Courtice branch, 2950 Courtice Rd., on Wednesday, Wednesday, March 19 from 7 to 8 p.m. For more information, call 905-404-0707. INSIDE Wheels: With the advances in systems and the incredible strides made possible by modern rubber compounds, you can take a car as powerful as this week's tester out in the dead of winter without worry. INDEX Editorial Page 4 Classified 11 Sports 15 GIVE US A CALL General 905-579-4400 Distribution 905-579-4407 Death Notices 905-683-3005 Sincerely Yours 1-800-662-8423 General FAX 905-579-2238 Newsroom FAX 905-579-1809 durhami'egii cm.com if' ri •SERVICE i | • PARTS i. ONTARIO'S DRIVE CLEAN • NEW & USED SALES & LEASING ,'i EXTENDED SERVICE HOURS ? MON., TUES., THURS., FRI. Jl 7:30-6:00 WED. - 7:30-9:00 !j SAT,-9:00-1:00 ACCREDITED TEST f! & REPAIR FACILITY i* 'An uflUial mark nl lliv I'rm lino of ( ' ( Inhirlu iihiI iiniliT llvoiivv. |,j Whitby - Osliawa I H [j [ Honda „ 1110 DUNDAS. ST. E. WHITBY , LOCAL ('JOS) 666-1772 ,, wmx www.homin1.com 1~ : ^ A.J. G R0EN/ Statesman photo On thick ice BOWMANVILLE - Sisters Charlotte and Olivia Johnston bundled up and braved cold temperatures to go skating on the Bowmanville Marsh during a party hosted by the Port Darlington Community Association. They were playing a game of follow the leader. Orono mom on hunger strike Quit eating Sunday to bring attention to her cause BY JENNIFER STONE Staff Writer ORONO - An Orono mother has vowed not to eat pending passage of a divorce and custody bill she says doesn't do enough to protect the rights of fathers. Voting on the bill, which amends the Divorce Act and several other pieces of legislation legislation related to child custody, is expected later this week. But until then, Kris Titus, 29, says she won't be eating. She admits her efforts are unlikely to bring down the bill. "I wasn't trying to sway the vote of the Parliamentarians. Parliamentarians. If they're not going to listen listen to what kids want, they're not going to pay attention to me," she said Tuesday, more than 50 hours into her hunger strike. The bill, she says, doesn't do nearly enough to promote the idea of equal and shared parenting, a subject close to her heart. Ms. Titus, who has two children and two stepchildren, stepchildren, quit eating Sunday Kris Titus: Took her protest over a divorce and custody bill to Ottawa. morning, and spent nine hours Monday on Parliament Hill with a placard to draw attention attention to her concerns. The Orono mom says she See HUNGER page 8 Catch the buzz! Registration hours extended for Durham Regional Spelling Bee DURHAM - Children all over Durham Region arc buzzing with anticipation as they sign up for this year's Durham Regional Spelling Bee. There's still time for parents parents to register their children for the popular Bee, which gives children in grades one through eight the opportunity to sharpen their spelling and literacy skills. All Durham Region children in the above- mentioned grades are welcome welcome to participate. Registration is being taken this week at all our Durham newspaper offices during regular regular business hours; our Os- luiwa location at 865 Farewell St. will also he open this Saturday, Saturday, March I, from 10 a.m. until noon, Registration sites are: Os- liawa, Whitby and Clarington This Week/The Canadian Statesman, 865 Farewell St., Osliawa; Ajax and Pickering News Advertiser, 130 Com- Scc SPELLING page 8 Nightclub owner says tragedy 'would never happen here' JASON LIEBREGTS/ Statesman photo Tony Albis, owner of the Jump nightclub in Osliawa, says a tragedy like the one in Rhode Island wouldn't happen in Durham Region because of strict lire codes. BY MARTIN DERBYSHIRE Staff Writer DURHAM - In the wake of two deadly nightclub tragedies in the US, local lire officials and the owner of one of Durham Region's largest clubs say similar incidents arc unlikely to ever happen here. "Never, it would never happen happen here," said Tony Albis, owner of Jump, a 1,300-capacity 1,300-capacity club on Champlain Avenue Avenue close to the Whitby and Osliawa border. "That's why I'm so shocked." At least 96 people were killed and more than 190 injured injured when a fire swept through the Station nightclub, in West Warwick, R.I., last week. Flames filled the club immediately immediately after a pyrotechnics display during a rock concert, trapping hundreds inside. The blaze took place just four days after a fight led to a stampede at a Chicago nightclub, nightclub, crushing another 21 people people to death. "A fire like that is definitely definitely less likely to happen here in Ontario," said Norm Lansing, Oshawa's chief fire prevention prevention officer. "The Ontario Fire code is very strict." Strict regulations in the provincial code prevent as sembly halls from using the kind of combustible materials that may have helped to quickly spread the flames around the Rhode Island club, Mr. Lansing said. In Osliawa, lie said, any club owner or hand that wants to use pyrotechnies inside a local venue would lie forced to apply for a permit requiring them to provide fire services officials with a demonstration. "We make sure that it's safe," lie added. However, lie admitted some underground raves or clandestine after-hours nightclubs nightclubs may he guilty of not adhering adhering to fire regulations. "We can only control the things that we see," lie said. "Like a rave...they could lie doing things without our knowledge." Osliawa fire services has a mandate to perform annual inspections inspections at the city's nightclubs nightclubs making sure everything is up to code and Mr. Lansing said Durham Regional Police often visit local establishments establishments to make sure they strictly adhere to capacity limits. Nightclub inspections will be definitely be a priority for fire services staff in 2003, lie added. Mr. Albis said when lie built Jump, originally calling it Opium, he paid strict attention attention to the provincial fire code and says he goes through fire inspections on a regular basis. "The fire code is strict," he said. "When we built this place we asked the fire department department what's the best thing to do and we did it." The club has five clearly marked and visible exits plus the front doors. It also has a complex fire alarm and monitoring system which will directly notify local fire officials in the event of an incident and two garage doors on one side of the club leading out to a patio area. Mr. Albis says they never have pyrotechnic displays inside inside the chili, but its state-of- Scc NIGHTCLUBS pago 8