175 Wyecroft Rd. Oakville 905.845.6653 Between Kerr & Dorval YOUR FRIEND IN THE BUSINESS! www.lockwoodchrysler.com VISIT OUR ALL NEW WEBSITE SERVING OAKVILLE FOR 26 YEARS! ADD Centre Optimize Performance Attention span is short Difficulty organizing & completing work also helpful for Aspergers also Psycho-educational testing Neurofeedback and learning strategies can provide a lasting improvement. 905-803-8066 www.addcentre.com Director: Lynda M. Thompson, Ph.D., Co-author with Pediatrician William Sears of The A.D.D. Book: New Understandings, New Approaches to Parenting Your Child. (Adults and Children) n By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Sunday mornings massive explosion at a 620-megawatt gas-fired power plant in Middletown, Connecticut has been deeply felt in Oakville with residents and politicians alike asking the question Could it happen here? That query was front and centre in the mind of Citizens For Clean Air (C4CA) President Doug MacKenzie, whose group has been vigorously protesting a 900-megawatt gas-fired power plant proposed for the Ford- owned lands of 1500 Royal Windsor Dr. While these protests have focused largely on the air pollution such a plant could cre- ate, MacKenzie noted the building of a power plant less than 400 metres from the nearest residential area needs to be reevaluated from a public safety perspective. An accident, sim- ilar to that seen in Middletown, would cause unimaginable devastation in Oakville, he noted. The Oakville plant is 50 per cent bigger than this, said MacKenzie. The location of the Middletown plant is in a remote area. Its on a 137-acre plot of land and it is at least a kilometer or two away from any homes. MacKenzie said in addition to killing five construction workers, including a Hamilton man, and injuring 12, the Middletown blast blew out the windows of a hospital that was three kilometers away. The blast also reportedly shook homes as far as 50 kilometers away. Middletown is a town of only 48,000, within the 15 or so miles of the affected area you could fit all of Oakville and west Mississauga and then weve got the QEW and the GO Train, said MacKenzie. If this hap- pened here, it would just be a colossal disas- ter. With his home less than a kilometer away from the proposed site of the Oakville power plant, Joshua Creek Residents Association leader Ron Fiorelli also admitted to being nervous given the explosion in the United States. The safety card cannot be ignored and has to be a focus, he said. I lived in Oakville during the Mississauga train derailment, we were relocated for three days. There is always the possibility for something like this to hap- pen and the closer it is to people and major transportation routes the worse it is. TransCanada calls for calm TransCanada, the company selected by the Ontario government to build and operate the Oakville power plant, is calling for calm among Oakville residents. Company officials are confident the safety measures planned for their proposed plant will prevent an inci- dent similar to what happened in Middletown. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, co-workers and others affected by this tragic incident, said Chris Breen, TransCanada spokesperson. TransCanada owns or has interests in 20 power facilities across North America and there has never been a serious incident dur- ing the operation of our facilities. Safety is a top priority at our company for members of the public living near our plants, employ- ees at our facilities and the environment. We CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Artists rendering of TransCanadas proposed 900 mega-watt natural gas-fueled power plant on 1500 Royal Windsor Dr. n See TransCanada page 3 What if? THE OAKVILLE 64 Pages $1.00 (plus GST)A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 48 No. 17 USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 Beaver Voted Ontarios Top Newspaper Four Years in a Row - 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Its that Canada Guy ArtScene www.oakvillebeaver.com U. S. power plant explosion sends shockwaves to Oakville IMAGE COURTESY OF TRANSCANADA There is always the possibility for something like this to happen and the closer it is to people and major transportation routes, the worse it is. n Ron Fiorelli, Joshua Creek Residents Association refill OUT OF INK? 60%REFILL ANDSAVE UP TO (formerly Island Ink-Jet) Upper Oakville Shopping Centre (Upper Middle & 8th Line) 905-842-5600 fill