Wednesdsay January 26, 2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A5 More officers better than red light cameras say police while the light is red. By Irene Gentle And the cam eras can only tag the car, not the SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER driver. "A cam era can't tell if a driver is impaired," H alton w ould be better off beefing up police said LaCourse. "O r if they have a valid driver's patrols than installing red light cam eras, says the license." head o f a local police association. A nd stiff fines aren't enough to change driver A visible police presence can m ake the streets behaviour, he added. safer than putting the special cam eras in danger For that, dem erit points need to be taken off, ous intersections throughout the region, said w hich c a n 't be done w ith red light cam era H alton R egional P olice A ssociation (HRPA) offences. adm inistrator Paul LaCourse. "Fines are good. Increased fines are better," he "An increased police presence clearly is the said. "But dem erit points are the best." best deterrent," he said. Adding more m uscle to traffic enforcement O ne reason is that the cam era deals with only would have the same effect on slowing down bad one infraction -- speeding through an intersection drivers as the RIDE program has had in discour aging drunk drivers, said LaCourse. For stranded m otorists, assistance can be ju st a He agreed with com m ents Halton M PP Ted phone call away. Chudleigh m ade to the Beaver that while the cam The H ighw ay H elp Program is a province-w ide eras may reduce the num ber o f cars zipping initiative in w hich a reflective plastic sign em bla through red lights, it could cause the number of zoned w ith "Call Police" alerts others while those rear-end collisions to increase. in a bind rem ain secure in their vehicles. A nd he welcom ed pitting the police against the Since starting in 1996, the program has distrib cam eras in an attem pt to learn w hich is more uted 350,000 signs. Originally launched by the C an ad ian A sso ciatio n o f C hiefs o f Police, effective in putting the brakes on poor drivers. "A beefed up police presence is clearly better," H ighw ay H elp expanded nationally this week. he predicted. `T h e H alton Regional Police Service is pleased Perm ission to install the cameras in Halton, to be involved in this w orthw hile program ," says C hief Ean Algar. "It further enhances the safety o f H am ilton-W entw orth, Toronto, W aterloo, Peel and O ttaw a Carleton for a tw o year pilot project the m otoring public." T he new "Call Police" sign easily hooks on the cam e dow n from the province a year ago. d riv er's w indow so passing m otorists with cellular B ut all the participating regions have to be at phones can call for assistance. the starting line before the test can officially Canadian Tire is the national retail partner o f launch. the H ighw ay H elp Program and sells the signs on The cam eras could be up in running in Halton a non-profit basis throughout Canada. som etim e this summer. W an d e re rs I ta lia n K n its IM PORTS LTD . / , ~ FINAL CLEARANCE 5 0 % ,.7 0 % M R off 100 BRONTE RD. 905 469-0500 Highway Help on the way A L L Floor M odel So fa Suites ON SALE Leather Suites Circles used as support groups for individuals (Continued from page A1) Cecile A ndrew s. In it, the author advocates the form ation o f "sim plicity circles" as a way to get started. T he circles, com prising six to eight people, are m eant to act as a support groups. A ndrew s' book outlines a ten-w eek plan w hereby participants deal w ith topics such as consum erism and con sum ption, finding your passion and personal gifts, nature and environm ental issues and establishing links to the community. M cA rthur says no one is expecting people to throw aw ay everything and go live in the bush. `T h a t's the kind o f thing the m edia w ants to write about," she adds. "B ut in reality, people tend to do things in small steps." C onsum erism , for instance, is a big issue with m any people and M cA rthur suggests that exam in ing buying habits-- how much, why, and how we can reduce it-- is often a logical starting point. She believes that many people realize deep dow n that they are on a consum er merry-goround, but ju st don't know how to get off. And the media, she feels, feeds into it with constant focus on growth, production and bottom lines. O ne o f her favourite quotes is as follows: "Living simply is not a sacrifice. It's a choice." M cA rthur believes there are many people, like herself, who are ready to make that choice, but they ju st need some support and encouragem ent to get started. To that end, M cA rthur and a Hamilton col league in the simplicity m ovem ent will host an inform ation night in H am ilton on M onday, January 31 for anyone in the area interested in becom ing part o f a circle o f sim plicity or general ly learning more about the movement. A nyone w ishing further inform ation about the meeting, or wanting to arrange car pooling should contact M cA rthur in O akville at 827-9900. on A LL Floor Model Suites including Quality Brand Names such as · Sklar-Peppler · Brunetti · Huntington House · Sterling · Leathercraft · and more! SQDflSS I N r ^ R I O R S c x b 217 Lakeshore Rd. E., Oakville 844-3530 M o n . - T h u r s . 9 : 3 0 -6 , K r i . 9 : 3 0 - 9 , S a t . 9 : 3 0 -5 G E gas leak clears hotel Fifty guests o f the M onte Carlo Inn w ere evacuat ed Saturday in the wake o f a gas leak at a nearby busi ness. A ccording to H alton R egional Police, the risk o f explosion prom pt ed the evacuation after a hydrogen tank accidentally vented inside Canadian General Electric on Davis Road. Roads in the area w ere also closed temporari ly as the situation w as brought under control. T he incident occurred around 6:15 a.m. w hen police and the O akville Fire Department responded to the G E plant. For som e reason a tank released hydrogen into the air and a quantity o f the gas ignited. No explosion occurred. T he cause o f the venting and the tank's condi tion w ere not know n so the im m ediate area was evacuated as a precaution. Praxair, the com pany respon sible for the tank, was brought in to help deal with the situation. 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