A 4 - The Oakville Beaver, W ednesday N ovem ber 21, 2001 FREE GAS FIREPLACE SEMINAR Presented by Smokers may get reprieve... By Angela Blackburn O A K V IL L E B E A V E R S T A F F Bar-B-Q Gas Grill & Fireplace and ^Regency" Im portan t questions to ask w hen choosing a gas fireplace. ' Speak w ith o u r Regency M anufacturer's representative and Gas Fitter. Service & Maintenance tips. Date: Time: Location: Thursday, November 22nd 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Bar-B-Q Gas Grill & Fireplace 490 Speers Road, Oakville 905-844-3224 CALL: LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE - PLEASE CALL TO RESERVE SPACE B ar -B -Q G as G r ill & F ireplace Sm okers may be able to light up a cigarette and enjoy a m eal at a restau rant, as long as the restaurant has an outdoor patio. A proposal to include a sm oking ban in outdoor patios in the Tow n's making by-law failed to gain approval, M onday night. The sm oking by-law is scheduled for approval at Town Council on Dec. 3. The Tow n's A dm inistrative Services Com m ittee had previously recom m end ed sending the report back to staff for more information. But instead o f rubber stam ping the recom m endation, W ard 1 Councillor K evin Flynn spearheaded a drive to rem ove an outdoor restaurant patio sm oking ban from the by-law proposal. "W hat's been done is a very good initiative to protect people from second hand sm oke," said Flynn. However, he added, "It's turned into a bit o f a crusade. It's turned into an anti-sm oking by-law and that's not what w e're here to do." Flynn said the "vast m ajority" o f restaurants already offer sm oke-free environm ents and that's "reasonable." He called a ban on sm oking on out door patios unreasonable and said "a m ove into that realm and we lose credi bility. The good intent gets lost." Flynn said the hospitality industry is already facing tough times. `T o inflict this to this degree on the ho sp itality industry d o esn 't m ake sense," he said. W ard 6 C ouncillor K urt Franklin, w ho has pushed the sm oking ban in public places to protect non-sm okers from deadly second-hand smoke, dis agreed. "I think it m ade a lot o f sense. It kept a level playing field," said Franklin. He said bars w ithout patios fear th ey 'll lose custom ers to bars w ith patios. "W hat about the rights o f those who d o n 't sm oke?" asked W ard 5 Councillor Jeff Knoll, who noted m ajor restaurant chains, including K elsey's, favour the ban. "I 'm not trying to regulate if people sm oke or not, I'm trying to regulate the second-hand sm oke issue," said W ard 4 C ouncillor A llan Elgar. W ard 3 C ouncillor Tedd Sm ith w on dered about dow ntow n Oakville restau rants that don't have a patio, but put tables out on the Tow n-ow ned sidewalk. The inclusion o f outdoor patios in the proposed by-law, lost on a recorded tie vote. Those w ho supported inclusion were K noll, F ranklin, S m ith, W ard 5 C ouncillor Janice C aster and Ward 6 C ouncillor Janice W right. T hose ag ain st w ere W ard 4 C o u n cillo r Jody S anderson, F lynn, Ward 2 C ouncillor Fred Oliver, Elgar and W ard 3 C ouncillor Keith Bird. M ayor A nn M ulvale w as absent from the meeting. The proposed by-law w ould take effect on M ay 31. Bingo halls were excluded from the by-law after m any o f the 54 local chari ties that receive m oney from bingos com plained they w ould lose m oney if O akville's only bingo hall, the DeltaM ayfair on Speers Road, closed. Council w as told the 54 charities receive about $1 m illion from the bin gos. If the bingo hall folded, the charities w ould look to the Town for funding. "W e're not here to advocate for smoking, w e've consistently asked for a level playing field ," said B ronte B usiness Im p ro v em en t A rea (B IA ) executive director Liz Behrens. Special funding needed to avoid further cuts (Continued from page A 1) SALE PRICES END SUN., NOV. 25, OR WHERE SEARS IS CLOSED, SAT., NOV. 24, 2001, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED Sears stores close to you, close to home M ajo rA ppliances areavailableat thefo llo w in gG reaterT o ro n tolocations: STORE MA N A G E R S ' North Bolton Dealer Store (905) 857-4390 Markham Furniture, Appliances & Home Improvements Store Don Mills & Steeles (905) 881-6600 Markville Shopping Centre (905) 946-1866 Newmarket Furniture & Appliances Store Yonge St. & Davis Dr. (905) 830-0049 ' Promenade Shopping Centre (905) 731-3388 Richmond Hill Furniture & Appliances Store Hwy. 7 and Yonge St. (905) 762-0870 Upper Canada Mall Newmarket (905) 898-2300 Best Buys now $ 898 KENMORE 2 0 .8 -C U . FT. FRIDGE WITH TOP FREEZER 4 half-w idth 'spillproof' shelves. "61182. Sears reg. 1199.99. Available in White and Bisque 598 w a s h e r 498 "IW A S H E R 4 7 0 DRyER now $ 498 KENMORE ULTRA WASH DISHWASHER 5 wash levels. *15522. Sears reg. 629.99. Available in White and Black Woodbridge Furniture & Appliances Store Hwy. 7 & Weston Rd. (905) 850-6406 KENMORE SUPER CAPACITY LAUNDRY TEAM 3.2-cu. ft. washer. *22722. Sears reg. 779.99. 7-cu. ft. dryer. *62722. Sears reg. 599.99. Gas dryer extra. All gas connections should be done in accordance with local gas codes East Oshawa Shopping Centre (905) 576-1711 Pickering Town Centre (905) 420-8000 Scarborough Furniture & Appliances Store Kennedy Rd. & 401 (416) 332-8577 Scarborough Town Centre (416) 296-0171 Central FairviewMall (416) 502-3737 Gerrard Square (416) 461-9092 Sherway Gardens (416) 620-6011 Woodbine Shopping Centre (416) 798-3800 Yorkdale Shopping Centre (416) 789-1105 Allen Rd. Furniture & Appliances Store Allen Rd. & Sheppard Ave. (416) 398-9947 West Ancaster Furniture & Appliances Store Golf Links Rd. & Legend Crt. 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Sears reg. 499.99. $ 2 4 8 Major appliances from Sears are Canada's Bestsellers Based on independent national surveys current at time of advertising preparation but the tally w as $294.1 m illion. A fter a funding offset o f $9.5 m illion from education developm ent charges, grants and proceeds from the sale o f E lizabeth G ardens school, that still leaves $2.2 m illion o f red ink. If the reserve fund is used to cover the shortfall, it w ill leave ju st $43,728 in that account. Papke said the cost to the board o f paying retirem ent gratuities, at a tim e w hen teachers are leaving in large num bers in H alton and around the province, is creating a serious short term fiscal crisis. If the provincial governm ent does n 't step in w ith special funds for the issue, P apke said the board m ay have to take drastic m easures w ith its next budget. "T h at's why you set aside (m oney) for a rainy day - and it's raining," he said o f the situation. Papke refuses to call the 2000-01 funding shortfall a deficit, but says one is loom ing. "It is not a deficit because w e w ill cover it off. If w e c o u ld n 't cover it off, it is a deficit and it w ould stay on our books. (But) I f w e are in this position next year, w e co uld find ourselves in a deficit position," he said. T hat could have dire im plications for current and future budgets, he said. "T he governm ent did not recognize the retirem ent gratuities in term s o f the funding m odel; in grants they fund us for actual (teacher) experience. "W e're going to look for it," Papke said o f additional governm ent funding related to retirem ent gratuities, which province provided one-tim e to H alton $2.3 m illion in 1998. "If w e d o n 't get it this year, w e'll have to look to cut elsew here" in the budget, he said, w ithout specifying. All indications are that w ill be the case unless the governm ent steps in, said P ap k e, n o tin g h e ex p ects the retire m en t g ratu ities d eficit in this y e a r's budget to at least m atch the shortfall from last year, w hich w as around $2.9 m illion, including b en e fits. T he full retirem ent gratuity cost is currently around $6 m illion annually. P rior to 1998, Papke said school boards w ere able to keep the difference betw een retiring and new teach ers' salaries and that paid for the fo rm er's ow ed gratuities. "T h a t's $6 m illion that w e d o n 't have (anym ore) b ut w e still have the liability. T he m inistry is aw are o f it; all boards are in this position," said Papke. T he general rule o f thum b, said Papke, is that a retiring teacher w ill be m aking about $60,000 w hile an entrylevel replacem ent gets around $30,000. T he H alton b oard does not pay retirem ent gratuities to its elem entary teachers anym ore, follow ing last y e a r's contract settlem ent. Instead, it m akes an R R SP contribution to the teacher. "It w ill have significant savings for the board, but not for about 20-25 years," he said. T he board has m any veteran teach ers, said Papke, and w ith the frosty relations betw een their unions and the province he d o esn 't see m uch o f an incentive for them to stick around. "We are facing a very severe teacher shortage. I've heard (recent) statistics like 6,500 applications (for teachers college), but m ore than 6,500 are retir ing." It is anticipated that 46,000 teachers w ill retire province-w ide over the next five years. S E W IN G M A C H IN E ST O R E R E P A IR S T O S IN G E R a n d a l l o t h e r m a k e s dr m o d e ls EXPERT PINKING SHEARS & SCISSOR SHARPENING Sale price ends M on. D ec.. 24.2001 198 SPEER S R D . 8 4 2 -2 0 3 3 In s id e O a k v i l l e V a c u u m ®/MD M ajor appliances online at www.sears.ca Sears Oakville Place Mon.-Fri. 9:30 am-9 pm. Sat. 8am-6pm. Sears Furniture & Appliance Store Mississauga Mon Fri 10 am-9 pm. N P l140401 Sun.11 am-6 pm. sat 10 am 6 pm sun.11 am 6 pm. Copyright 2001. Sears Canada Inc.