continued from p.1 could reconnect the power. The ice storm caused trees and branches to collapse, taking power lines with them. Initially, about 25,000 Oakville Hydro customers were deprived of power. Oakville was not the worst-hit Halton municipality. An estimated 350 Milton Hydro customers, 200 Burlington Hydro customers and around 1,000 Halton Hills customers remained in the dark as of Friday, Dec. 27. "We've got crews here doing trouble work and clean-up work and then we have a crew dispatched to Milton Hydro, Halton Hills Hydro and Burlington Hydro. We also have staff over helping the Town of Oakville with forestry work," Lister said Friday. "We are going to continue to support those three utilities with crews until they are at the point where they no longer require the crews. We are going to continue to support the Town forestry people in general forestry clean-up work related to power outages." Lister told the Beaver Monday, Oakville Hydro crews have completed work in Burlington, but are still Town trails will reopen after they pass inspection Priority was given to the cleaning up hydro wires, driveways, roads and sidewalks. As of Christmas Eve, Town officials said they had received more than 500 requests for service. The Town estimates more than 3,000 Oakville trees were damaged by the ice storm. With the milder weather last weekend, utility companies warned residents to watch out for ice falling from branches and power lines. Residents are asked to be especially careful in heavily-treed areas. Due to the risk of falling tree limbs, town trails and woodlots will remain closed until further notice. Park cleanup is scheduled to begin this month after priority calls are completed. The Town expects clearing the damaged trees will take several weeks to complete. Town trails will reopen once they have been inspected and any broken or hanging limbs removed. The Town and the Halton Region will provide enhanced bulk brush collection services to Oakville residents from Jan. 6-31. Residents can place bulk brush with branches a maximum of 7.5 centimetres (three inches) in diameter and two metres (6.5 feet) long, out on their regular garbage collection day. Larger branches and stumps can be taken to the Halton Waste Management Site until Jan. 31, free-of-charge or can be piled separately for pickup by the Town of Oakville as weather permits. For more information, visit www. oakville.ca. 3 | Thursday, January 2, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com A fallen street lamp lays broken amidst tree branches on Kerr Street as the cleanup continues around town from the ice storm that hit the GTA including Oakville. | photo by Graham Paine Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) helping to restore power to homes in Milton and Halton Hills. Once Oakville Hydro has finished work in Halton, crews would be made available to other utilities in the GTA that are still in need, explained Lister. He said teams could be dispatched to Brampton, York Region and Toronto where, as of Dec. 27, thousands were still without electricity. "Our staff and the other support groups have just been phenomenal. We deeply appreciate and admire those that have stepped up and helped people get their power back and minimized the hardships they have gone through," said Lister. The Town of Oakville reported storm cleanup continued during the holidays with forestry crews working Christmas Day and Boxing Day to inspect damage reported by the public. Kevin Flynn, MPP Oakville REDUCE NEW YEAR'S 14 in 20 to do s g in e Th shap Wishing you and your family a Connect with us! Connect with us! /KevinFlynnOakville NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS? le t in 1. Ge t new peop e e M . 2 ve fun 3. Ha out of the t e 4. G e more hous o dance rn t 5. Lea e stair re d A o s Ca l l F c e S t u d i Da n SPECIAL 5 Lessons for $25.00* /KevinFlynnOakville @KevinFlynnMPP @KevinFlynnMPP recycle REUSE Gift Certificates Limited to first 50 callers. The Holiday Season is here and we have the Perfect Gift for you! If you would like to get in shape, meet new people, and have a ball this year, call the dance professionals at FredAstaire Dance Studios and start the year off on the right foot. One call will make 2014 a year to remember! One call takes care of them all. *By Yourself or with a Partner New adult students only OAKVILLE: HAMILTON: 225 Lakeshore Rd. East 1092 Main Street W. (2nd Floor) 905-522-3237 905-815-3237 Community Office: 2318 Lakeshore Road West, Unit 2, Oakville, ON L6L 1H3 Tel: 905.827.5141 Fax: 905.827.3786 kflynn.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org www.fredastaire .ca A reputation you can trust. They're in good hands. Oakville North 180 Oak Park Blvd Suite 107 Jan 18, 19, Feb 1, 2 or Feb 4 - Tues/Thurs 2 Convenient Locations: Oakville 345 Lakeshore Rd. E. Suite 312 Jan 28 - Tues/Thurs or Feb 22, 23, Mar 1, 2 www.yd.com MTO APPROVED BEGINNER DRIVER EDUCATION COURSE PROVIDER Enrol online or call 289.644.2325