A 4 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday D ecem ber 27, 2002 Protesters camp out for homeless shelter By Craig MacBride SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER The Suburban Resistance Network (SRN) members unfurled their tents and their flags Dec. 20 night to protest what they see as a lack of com mitment to finding the Salvation Army's Lighthouse shelter a permanent home. Only a dozen protesters showed up at the previously proposed site for the shelter, with even fewer prepared to sleep in the freezing cold tem peratures. "We chose this spot as sym bolic," said SRN organizer Thomas Pasco. "This is where the dream initially died." Where the "dream died" was in Iroquois Ridge on Eighth Line, just north of Glenashton Drive. The old Hydro land, beside the Iroquois Ridge Community Centre and high school, was considered by proponents to be an ideal spot for the Lighthouse, but when some Iroquois Ridge residents rose up to fight against sharing their area with the occupants of a shelter, the location was reconsidered and then dropped. After leaving its Kerr Street location earlier this year, the Lighthouse found a spot in the old Chamber of Commerce building on Country Squire Lane, just north of the QEW. That building, however, only holds 25 per cent of what the permanent 40-bed shelter would hold, and it is just tem porary. The SRN claims the shelter, now on land owned by Canadian Tire for a new store, will be closed by next Christmas, which is why they slept outside in the freezing cold on Dec. 20, just as they say the homeless will need to do until land for a new shelter can be found. According to Salvation Army spokesperson Wendy Perkins - who was not contact ed by the SRN about its protest - the current site can in fact be used until such time as the QEW is widened. In a telephone interview, Mayor Ann Mulvale, said, "it is probably in that 18 months time frame, but absolute dates are always difficult." Mulvale, however, is opti mistic there will be a place for the homeless to stay. "We've had two or three other sites," she said, "so whether you have a temporary site or whether you have a permanent site in place, we will have a way, as we have done in the past, to address this issue." SRN members were also armed with leaflets stating their demands, among them "Build a shelter now!" One of their primary con cerns, and another reason why they decided to set up camp in ' Iroquois Ridge, is the fear that all communities will react to the prospect of sharing space with the Salvation Army shelter the same way Iroquois Ridge did. "We don't want the residents to feel that they can get way with this," Pasco said. "If they want to build this shelter in Glen Abbey we tlon't want them to use the same excuse." Pasco also believes that councillors are not giving the issue proper consideration. A group created in the wake of the Iroquois Ridge opposi tion to come up with criteria for an appropriate location for the Lighthouse, however, has fin ished its work. Your Total W eddin g Experience S atu rd ay, J an u ary 4 th & Sunday, Jan u ary 5 th 12 noon to 6 pm At The Burlington Convention Centre 1120 Burloak Dr. ( 2 blocks North of QEW) sponsored by... BARRY'S JEWELLERS LTD THE DIAMOND SUPERSTORE .33CT Diamond Pendant worth $1900 · Designer Bridal Gown · Luxury Luggage Set Parisian Facial Peel · Tuxedo Rental · Much Morel, Present this coupon at the door and receive $2.00 J OFF Regular Adult Admission January 4th & 5th, t 2003 at the Burlington Convention Centre. ! · Products · Services 2 Fashion Shows Daily · Prizes · Free Parking Burlington Convention Centre 1120 Burloak Drive QEWHwy `Z O O Tyler Anderson · Special to the Oakville Beaver S u b u rb an R esistance N etw ork m em bers (left to right) Jesse D inning, Igor K asprzycki an d Bill Van D riel p re p a re to cam p a t the fo rm er site fo r a shelter on E ighth Line on Dec. 20. OFF £ OAKVILLE One coupon per customer DDBQD 1 0 2 .9 J£ Z ,iteF M co-sponsored by... A Promises (y Lace the, Visit our website: www.kellyalex.com Hi more than you cam e for w om en's fashions save 50% * men's fashions save 40% SELECTED M A N TLES'" & TOGOTM PY JAM A S & ROBES save 25% MEN'S REGULAR-PRICED SPORTSWEAR B y Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Izod, Chaps & Ralph Lauren. Y o u r T o ta l W e d d in g E x p e rie n c e S a tu rd a y , J a n u a r y 4 th & S u n d ay , J a n u a r y 5 th 12 n o o n to 6 pm At The Burlington Convention Centre 1120 Burloak Dr. ( 2 blocks North of QEW) s p o n s o re d b y ... ALL W ONDERBRA BOXED BRAS & BRIEFS *With mail-in rebate. buy 3 or more, save 40% · ALL WARNER'S BOXED BRAS & BRIEFS · ALL WOMEN'S DESIGNER DENIM save 35% buy 2, save 30%; buy 1, save 25% M E N 'S U N D ERW EA R & SO CK EV EN T Underwear by Stanfield's & Harvey Woods and socks by McGregor, Weekender, CCM , Dockers®, Levi's®, Superstar, Nike® & Stanfield's. kids' fashions B aby W e e k o n n o w ! JEW ELLERS LTD T H E D IA M O N D S U P E R S T O R E B A R R Y 'S By Tommy Jeans, C K Jeans, Levi's®, Ikeda & Buffalo Jeans. save $30 A LL REGU LA R-PRICED CRIBS Present this coupon at the door and receive $2.00 1 OFF Regular Adult Admission January 4th & 5th, i 2003 at the Burlington Convention Centre. ! co-sponsored by. save 35% WOMEN'S SELECTED CALVIN KLEIN INTIMATES S 2J00 OFF One coupon per customer 1 0 2 .9 save 35% SELECTED CALVIN KLEIN U N D ER W EA R & SOCKS save 20% A LL INFANTS' O SH KOSH FASHIONS & SETS looking for a challenge? buy 1, get 1 free ALL JOCKEY BRAS Second item must be of equal or lesser value. save 30% M EN 'S REGULAR-PRICED FASHIONS By Tom m y Jeans, C K Jeans, Point Zero, Levi's® & Nautica Jeans. your choice $89" G R A C O NU RSERY FU RNITURE "LA ZY LION" CO LLECTIO N Reg. $109.99. N ewL on g-T ermCm F acility apply to be pan of a D y n a m ic T e a m We are seeking motivated, enthusiastic individuals to join our team at A l e x a n d e r P l a c e in the following Department Head position boxing week clearout on now SHOES' R e s id e n t a n d Fa m il y S e r v ic e C o - O r d in a t o r T his part tim e position m ust have a degree or diplom a in Social W ork. This position - squires excellent com m unication, leadership and interpersonal skills. Hast experience in a long term care setting w ould be an asset. Please reply in confidence to: ALEXANDER PLACE Box 50, 329 Parkside Drive Waterdown, Ontario LOR 2H0 Fax: (905)689-2625 Season's Greetings from the faculty and staff at The Centre for Skills Development & Training We wish to thank our clients, partners and friends for making this past year such a success! Have a very safe and happy holiday season! _______________ fcx W a tc h fo r it! * F o r m o re in fo r m a tio n . .. _ M'ee*; O akville Place 9 0 5-84 2-4811 Fri. 10:00-9, Sat. 8:00-6, Sun. 11-5, Mon. 10-9, Tues. 9:30-5, Wed. Closed, Thurs. 10-9, Fri. 10-9, Sat. 8-6 9 0 5 -3 3 3 -3 4 9 9 or 9 0 5 -8 7 8 -1 2 4 0 ca.. usat: M l The Centre ------------------------------------ Skills Development & Training www. thecent r e . o n . ca EARN UP TO 5 0 % MORE POINTS* WHEN YOU USE YOUR HOC CREDIT CARO ANO HOC REWARDS CARD TOGETHER *Some exceptions apply. See in-store for details.