The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday October 22, 2003 - A3 School mourns loss of student (Continued from page A1) end of Monday's school day, staff and stu dents gathered for what Susi described as a "beautiful memorial to Marti." Lit by can dles and washed in soft music, the service included readings of poems and prayers written by students earlier that day. Also on Monday, the Halton Catholic District School Board's Compassionate Care Team was on hand to lend its support for students and staff in the wake of the "tragic loss," said Susi. St. James' social worker also offered counselling services. Susi said staff and students will also be attending Thursday's funeral service. At press time Tuesday, the Ontario Fire Marshal, Halton Regional Police and the Oakville Fire Department were still investi gating the fire. According to Halton Regional Police Sgt. Val Hay, the investiga tion so far indicates that the blaze is not considered suspicious and that it began in the master bedroom in the north-east por tion of the house. The exact cause, howev er, has not yet been determined and at the family's request the location where she was found will not be released. According to investigators, a 911 call was received around 3:40 p.m. from some one believed to be Martinique's mother. Three pumpers, a ladder truck and a rescue vehicle were dispatched by the fire depart ment while police and Halton EMS person nel responded as well. Motorists aren't taking anti-speeding message to heart W hile O akville drivers have been w arned about the new crackdow n on speeders by police, it apparently still hasn't sunk in that they need to slow down. In fact, according to Halton Regional Police Staff Sgt. Chris Perkins, several motorists stopped by officers during w eek five o f the enforcem ent initiative mentioned that they had heard about the traffic project from reading about it in the paper - w hat he calls the "it w on't happen to m e" syndrome. O ne wom an, w ho received a speed ing ticket less than three weeks ago and a w arning last week, was pulled over again by the same officer after being clocked at 58 kms in a 40 zone. "We're hoping she slows dow n next w eek," said Staff Sgt. Perkins. A nother motorist was clocked doing 68 in a 50 zone and when he was stopped, the officer noticed the driver's eight-m onth old son in a car seat was pushed up between the two captain's chairs and not secured in any fashion. Yet another driver was stopped doing 65 in a 50 zone, and when he produced a G l driver's licence he earned a second ticket for driving while unaccom panied by a full licence holder. "Inexperienced novice drivers and speed do not m ix," said Perkins. The police unit had a bit o f a setback this w eek with one officer gone all week on annual mandatory training and anoth er officer off sick. This reduced the effectiveness by alm ost 50 per cent. Even so, during w eek five they laid 99 charges in O akville w hile 47 m otorists w ere stopped and w arned about their driving behaviour. O f the 99 tickets issued, only 13 driv ers live outside o f Oakville. M ost o f the offenders live in close proxim ity to where they were stopped. This week, a considerable num ber o f drivers w ho live on Pinegrove Road, Q ueen M ary Drive, Eighth Line and Pilgrims Way received tickets for speeding on their ow n streets. Some o f the more worrying speeds recorded were 6 1, 6 2 ,6 9 ,6 8 and 74 in a 40 school zone. Two motorists were adam ant the 40 limit only applied to school hours. The officer pointed out children have to w alk to and from school outside o f those hours. Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver Fire investigators search inside for clues to the cause of a fatal fire on Felan Avenue. The mother had been able to take two of her daughters to safety but heat and flames prevented her from returning for Martinique. Firefighters found Martinique inside and rushed her to Oakville-TrafJilgar Memorial Hospital in critical condition. She died about an hour later. The Oakville Fire Department said heavy smoke badly damaged the inside of the house, yet the only visible damage seen from the outside was a smashed living room window and a hole in the roof patched with plywood. Rick Barrett. Public Education/Special Projects Officer with the Oakville Fire Department, confirmed that at least one smoke alarm in the house was not function ing and that tests are being carried out on the remaining units. If any possible good can come out of the tragedy, said Barrett, it's that the incident painfully underscores the need for home owners to install and properly maintain all alarms. "They help give people as much warn ing as possible," he said. "The important thing is to get everyone out." As a general rule of thumb. Barrett explained, batteries in alarms should be changed when household clocks are moved ahead an hour in the spring and again in the fall - this weekend in fact. "Have working smoke alarms," Barrett again stressed. The names of Martinique's mother and two sisters have not been divulged and at the family's request no further information about them will be released. -- With files from Torstar News Service Alexanian Presents A n o t h e r w e lc o m e a d d itio n t o y o u r h o m e . Halloween for Hunger expands across town By Craig MacBride SPECIA L T O THE BEAVER * Halloween is a time o f excess, where children gather candy from their neighbours and then gorge on it for the following month. Kim Plewes is trying to change that though. As children eat candy to their delight, there are people in the community who are having a hard time getting any food at all. T hat's why the Grade 12 student brought the international campaign Halloween for Hunger to Oakville in 2000, and it's why she's increasing her efforts this year by taking the program beyond the walls o f her own school, Oakville Trafalgar High School. The program involves students taking part in the ultimate Halloween ritual o f trick-or-treating, but instead of holding their bags open for candy, they ask for non-perishable food items that will, once collected, be taken to the Fareshare food bank in Oakville. Residents in the areas where non-perishable food will be col lected are given notice ahead o f time, as students taking part will be handing out flyers to the houses where they intend to trick-or-treat. Plewes and the group she has organized have also planned their routes so that they don't overlap. With 25 groups taking part, they already have a lot o f Oakville covered. Two years ago, the last time Plewes organized the event, the Halloween for Hunger gang collected 3,200 cans o f food to donate to the foodbank. "My goal is to beat what w e've done in the previous years," said Plewes. With Iroquois Ridge High School, White Oaks Secondary School, T.A. Blakelock High School and St. Thomas Aquinas all taking part this year, beating those pre vious numbers should be achievable. She added, "I do it every year because it's a great way to have fun. spend time with your friends and help your com mu nity." For more inform ation about Halloween for Hunger, or to learn how to take part, em ail Plew es at oakvilleh4h@ hotm ail.com. * * ' '*/< * '· Tty our crowd-pleasing platinum award winning sandwiches * Great Good · Always Fresh · Always Delicious · Fast, Friendly Service S ( Emergency Catering is just a call away! SANDW ICH TREE O akville Place M all · 905-842-4701 Sharon Moonlight from Hunter Douglas will show you the latest and greatest in window coverings. B ring y o u r questions and y o u r sizes an d ask th e experts a b o u t y o u r w indow decorating challenges. Join us for a fun and informative evening Thursday October 23rd · 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm w Please R.S.V.P. as seating will be limited 905-823-9410 2222 S. Sheridan Way Mississaugi 5 J3 N o r th S e r v i c e R o a d S u 1 1 QEW S o u t h S h e r i d a n W ay Mat ^./4lexanian 1Vusted since 1925 L H O n ^ n .c a Mayor calls for OMB changes (Continued from page A1) there under new rules. M ulvale says she might support a timed deadline for municipalities to deal w ith developm ent issues, but she believes the clock should not begin tick ing on an application until it is complete. Any necessary studies related to an application should be com pleted and filed with the municipality before the 90day period should begin, rather than the current process, which begins the day the application is simply filed. Mulvale believes the current process discourages local solutions and com pro mises, because it allows developers to force the municipality into an OM B hearing quickly. W hile the Town o f Oakville has won som e O M B hearings, m ost political observers believe that the provinciallyappointed board is biased in favour of developers. As well, regardless o f an outcome before the board, hearings are expensive and time-consuming legal battles that critics say take control o f the planning process out o f the hands o f local coun cils. 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