DO IT NOW! Lawnmower Service < 5 p Hi>i » $6 9 « CURRENT POWER MACHINERY INC. 1661 L fte s fc v e Rd. W. M ississauga 3rd-place Blades Gift ideas that say prepare for playoffs "Be my Valentine!" Sports I Section b Mercedes-Benz CLE.W. & D o n a I Dr. w w w .o a ik v ille b e a v e r.c o m THE OAKVILLE BEAVER N O R T H A M E R I C A 'S V ol. .{<) N o . H> M O S T A W A R D E D C O M M U N I T Y <>. j m j N E W S P A P E R A M i'iro lc in c l I 'tih lit a i i o n W E I >m :s i ).\ y . i · t iim u a r y r> j r a n t ' s <. > ( '.c i u s tfjk i* ( is i . . . . . __________________________________________________________ Glen Thiessen · Special to the Beaver FOILED AGAIN: Scott Nichols and Ron Jackson practice the fine a rt of 17th century dueling in prep aratio n for the O akville Sw ords Fencing A cadem y's d u b day at the Burloak C anoe C lub on W ater Street on Saturday. The day-long event will feature teaching sem inars for m em bers and duels between club m em bers and a visiting group of historical-based fencers from southern O ntario, O ttaw a and Boston. The academ y is a non-profit organization dedicated to prom oting interest in historical and m odern fencing, including the foil, epee and sabre. W ithin the academy is The C om pany of Cavalier G entlem en, a historical-based group, th at recreates w estern K uropcan m artial a rts of the 17th century. Councillor raises more OPA 198 questions By Angela Blackburn 0,\KVIL1T-: BEAVER S"IAFF While some town councillors say they w ant m ore infor m ation about Official Plan A m endm ent (OPA) 198, the growth plan for lands n orth o f D undas Street, others say they have enough -- and have had enough. At Monday's Town of Oakville council meeting. Ward 2 Councillor Fred Oliver started the hall rolling by asking a host of OPA 198-related questions. He wanted answers that he said weren't in the Staff Issues Response Report presented a week ago. But Oliver's questions, or the manner in which they were asked, didn't sit well with Ward 4 Councillor Jody Sanderson. "I'm having a hard time with some o f these questions. They're too subjective, ihey're not objective. I don't even know if some of them can be answered," complained Sanderson, Many, she said, were couched in Oliver's opinion. "Who made the decision to wiihhold the fact that a devel oper had filed an application last October from the council?" asked Oliver in the first of the 10 questions he filed in writ ing. (S ee 'O live r' page A4) HRPS plan gets high marks from chief By Howard Mozel o a k of other emergency The decision to set the plan in motion rests with the police on-scene command er depends, of course, on the sever ity of the situation. ' HRPS' first · Ean Algar. responsibility will be Halton Police Chief to maintain law and order then bring the appropriate agencies up to speed with as much information as possible. HRPS will establish a mobile command unit, alert those in harm's way and co-ordinate evacuation procedures. (Working with the regional Commissioner of Social Services, police will designate and set up evacuation centres as needed.) Officers will also set up both inner and outer perimeters in order to restrict access to essential personnel. "We think that and support services. v im : beaver sta ff From natural disasters to man-made calami ties the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) says it's ready as it can be to cope with emergencies that threaten local lives and prop erty. Central to this preparedness is the HRPS emergency plan, a comprehensive strategy that sets in motion everything from communica tions to evacuation in event of a widespread sit uation like an ice storm to a more localized catastrophe such as a plane crash. "We think that Halton is very well pre pared." says Police C hief Ean Algar. "It's not ad hex: any more. It's a refined process now." According to HRPS Senior Planner Keith Moore, the HRPS plan acts as a general guide line for a fast initial response to all manner of emergencies as well as the efficient deploy ment and co-ordination of resources with those Halton is very well prepared. It's not ad hoc any more. It's a refined process now." Police will also notify the Coroner's Office in the event of fatalities then assist with the col lection. security and identification of the deceased, as well as notify (he next of kin. Depending on (he scope o f the event, police could activate the Regional Emergency Control Group (ECO) and initiate clear com munications between the ECO and the mobile command unil. Prompt and accurate informa tion must also be disseminated to the public. Officers will investigate criminal activity, whether confirmed or suspected, provide traf fic control and liaise with other levels of gov ernment as needed. Depending on the scale of the event, a call-out of additional officers would be authorized and those from special ized units would be released from normal duties to respond. The full-time Tactical Rescue Unit (TRU), including tactical officers, explosives disposal members and canine offi cers. would immediately be available. (S ee 'E m ergency' page A3) `People of Ontario ready for politics of truth' Dismantling of education system has been ` deliberate, ' Liberal delegates told `By Kim Amott SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER O n tario is ready for a com m on decency revolution, according to a speaker at last w eekend's L ib eral policy convention in Oakville. Dr. Charles Pascal, a leading expert on edu cational policy and executive director of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, addressed about 500 Liberal delegates in Oakville Saturday. "The people of Ontario are actually ready for the politics o f truth," he said. He suggested the Tories, under the leader ship o f Premier Mike Harris, have purposeful ly undermined the province's educational sys tem for their own ideological reasons. By attacking teachers and throwing educa tional funding in disarray, they have "created an artificial lack of confidence in public educa tion," said Pascal. "1 think it has been deliberate," he added. "I think it has been part of destabilizing the sys tem to create a thirst for a two-tiered system." The Liberal delegates were in Oakville to disHe ridiculed the idea that government can change any system as complex as education overnight. "This big bang -- we're going to change things by next Tuesday -- just isn't fair," said Pascal. "Anything that's done by next Tuesday is just a smoke screen." While he believes the education system needs clear and obvious standards to measure its success, he derided the current provincial government's policy on student testing. Standardized testing should be random, and it should evaluate the success the system is having teaching students. It should not pit stu dent against student, or school against school, he said. "Let's test the curriculum." said Pascal. "Let's not create test anxiety or phobia that has absolutely nothing to do with lifelong learn ing." Pascal said children need the health care and parenting supports that will see them arrive at school with "a high readiness to learn." When there, they need to be taught by teachers who are enthusiastic models of lifelong learning. He encouraged parental involvement in the school system, and added that schools need to develop multiple pathways to success, to ensure they are meeting the needs of all stu dents. (S ee S trong' page A5) Man found dead in cell A 57-year-old Oakville man awaiting trial on attempted rrvrder and aggravated assault charges died at Milton's I'aplehurst Detention Centre Saturday. Viet Huan Nguyen, of Stone Cutter Drive, was found dead in his cell by prison guards Saturday morning. Nguyen was arrested in May 2000 after his estranged wife was brutally attacked in her Mississauga apartment. When found in his cell, Nguyen had no vital signs. Police and the coroner attended and the dead man was taken to Hamilton General Hospital. Under the Ontario Coroner's Act. an inquest must be called into any death at a provincial detention centre. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and that Nguyen had recently been treated for what they called "a (See A utopsy' page A3) Editorials................ ........ A6 Valentine's Ideas....... ........B1 Artscene.................. ........B6 Focus ...................... ....... Cl Classified......................... C5 Business.......................... C8 Sports..................... ....... D1 Best Wheels............. ....... D8 Special Supplements Kull Delivery: Glen Thiessen · Special to the Beaver Dr. C harles Pascal addresses p arty faithful at a Liberal policy convention held at the O akville Convention C entre. cuss education, agriculture and rural issues poli cies. Pascal urged them to develop a clear, com prehensive vision for education, along with a game plan for change for the next 10 years. B u sin ess[kpot Partial D e fra y : T h eH a y ,D a n iertjta tfvr, H o m eH a n kn rre. H o m ean dR u ra lA p p lia n c e s, P a rtyhxiaya. F u tu reS h o p ,SeanS w issC h a le t C anadianPlications M a il P roduct A Q ro © m « n t *4352 0 1 Oakville Volkswagen 557 Kerr Street I P eter W atson I I N V E S T M E N T S 9 0 5 .8 4 4 .3 2 8 5 www.oakvillevwaudi.com RETIREMENT PLANNING SPECIALISTS Drivers wanted. 0 Free C o n s u lta tio n 842-2100 P e te r C W atson CJF.R, R.F.P..