Protege pumps up the power B est w heels Excitement on ice! · * A rtscene NORTH A M E R I C A 'S \ b l. N o. 4 3 OAKVILLE MOST AWARDED \V I COMMUNITY NEW" A \ k * t r o liin d P u b lic , it io n \ ).M :s i ). \Y A1 'I <11. H ). _ > < K )_ Did Internet dare spark vandalism spree? Car, school and home windows smashed A possible "Internet challenge" exhorting youths to carry out and report the best "smashing window scenario" is being investi gated by Halton Regional Police in the wake of several acts of weekend vandalism. From Friday through Sunday, inves tigators report a rash o f willful damage occurrences - mainly broken windows at homes, schools and vehicles. Examples o f reported vandalism include broken windows at three schools, St. Luke, Queen Elizabeth Park School and Eastview Public School. At St. Luke, the windows of nine portable classrooms were smashed and in one case, a fish tank in one portable was removed and dropped on the ground outside. Three east-end houses in the vicinity of St. Luke - such as Lambton Drive, Teak Crescent and Dogwood Crescent also had windows broken, largely by rocks thrown through them. In addition. eight motor vehicles parked in area drivew ays had their rear windows smashed. Damages are still being assessed. Because QEP and Eastview are in west Oakville, Det. Sgt. Grant Wilkinson said investigators aren't sure if these incidents are related to those at St. Luke. Police want to alert parents about the as-yet unconfirmed Internet challenge in hopes o f stopping what they refer to as "senseless acts o f vandalism." In addition, anyone with information about the past weekend's incidents are encouraged to call police at 825-4747 ext. 2217 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-TIPS. T h ir t y - o n e d e le g a t io n s r e g is t e r e d f o r b u d g e t t a lk s The Town of Oakville's public meet ings on the 2002 budget got started last night and are scheduled to continue tonight and tomorrow night. Budget committee chair and Ward 4 Councillor Jody Sanderson opened the meeting before Town staff gave an overview o f the proposed 2002 operat ing and capital budgets. Delegations then took the stage. As of press deadlines yesterday, 31 delega tions \vere listed to speak, each having 10-minutes to make their presentation. The budget committee is also expected to poll the audience for speak ers once all registered delegations have been heard. Among the topics under discussion this year include algae control, pesticide use (on Town land only) and the new cat bylaw. Other issues of interest are local bus service, creek erosion, trail rehabil itation and road conditions. The committee expects to wrap up its deliberations tomorrow. All budget committee meetings are scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Oakville/Trafalgar Rooms at the Oakville Town Hall located at 1225 Trafalgar Rd. The proposed 2002 Town of Oakville budget predicts a 9.2% budget hike -- $80 more a year ($1.50 per week) on the tax bill of a $250,000 home. The Town's proposed 2002 $99.3million operating budget represents nearly 29 per cent of the local property tax bill -- 41 per cent goes to the Region of Halton and 30 per cent to education. With the Province of Ontario not expected to boost education taxes and the Region bringing in a 3.1-per cent hike, the overall tax increase on a $250,000 home will be $ 120 (an overall 3.9-per cent hike over last year). The Town has whittled down a 17per cent hike to 9.2 per cent. The proposed budget makes no pro vision for potential costs of an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing on growth north of Dundas Street. It does invest some $12 million toward the $276 million capital budget the Town will need over the next decade (2002-2011) to maintain or upgrade buildings, roads, sewers and bridges -- a budget that has only $140 million ear(See Budget' page A5) Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver MAGICAL SKATERS: S pectators at the O akville Skating C lu b 's Thanks fo r the M usic Ice Show last weekend were treated to a H arry P otter hockey gam e. This was ju st one of the m any costum ed routines at the three-day event th at involved 550 skaters. F o r m ore pictures and a story see page C8. E a s te r fo o d Overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for Fareshare Foodbank's Easter Food Drive, all organizers can say to all those who donated this year is "Thank you!" "We couldn't have asked for a better food drive." said Fareshare's Dudley Clarke, who explained that this year's event netted 48 per cent more donations than the 2001 Easter drive. "You'd be hard-pressed to beat the numbers." As of Monday, the drive had raised d r iv e s e ts n e w re c o rd more than 40.000 pounds of food dona tions, well over last year's 27,000-pound total. This is by no means a record (Thanksgiving is the traditionally the biggest drive of the year) but Clarke said the generosity of Oakville residents is never taken for granted. "We need to be thankful for the tremendous response," said Clarke, who maintained that the Easter drive's results can't merely be attributable to the growth of the town. "This is a matter of people digging a little deeper." Oakville's seven fire stations and the town's two Loblaws stores acted as drop-off points for donations again this year. Financial donations - which are cur rently being tallied - are welcome, as is food throughout the year. Cheques (for which income tax receipts will be issued) can be sent to 1240 Speers Rd., Unit 6, Oakville, Ontario, L6L 2X4. For more information call 905-847-3988. Woman dreams of group home for physically-challenged adults By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF INSIDE Editorials................. A6 Focus...................... B1 Best Wheels..............B6 Sports........................Cl It would be called Tasslehouse. TASSLE stands for To A Safe. Secure Living Environment and Tasslehouse would be a place for physically-challenged adults to call home in Oakville. Members of the TASSLE Non-Profit Residence Inc. want to build and operate such a group home, but say they'd be glad to open anywhere in Halton, neighbouring Mississauga or Hamilton, or in the southwest GTA for that matter. Oakville resident Mary Wheeler, a long-time nurse's aid who has worked more than 20 years with physically chal lenged adults in both group homes and institutions, is spear heading the effort. Wheeler said TASSLE is looking at Oakville because its five-member board, and 30 members, are familiar with local services like Care-A-Van transportation, swimming programs and mental health clinics. "We know the services in this area. We are looking at Halton. but we will not say `No' to Hamilton or Mississauga," said Wheeler, who admits this is a dream, her personal dream. TASSLE hopes someone will donate land to its cause --; if (See Tassle' page A2) Artscene...................C8 Business................... D1 Classified.................. D2 Homes...................... D6 P artial Delivery: Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver HOT DOG DRIVERS: Five-year-old M aria S kinner and her two-year-old brother, Ryan, were am ong the m any custom ers to enjoy a hot dog a t a fundraising barbecue a t the Dominion store, 478 D undas St. W,, on S aturday for the W om en's C entre. R onaC ashw ay. R onaL ansing. B uffet G ardeti O nSiteM agazine, C olortourW o rld . 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