Wednesdsay October 18, 2000 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A5 Money still main block to teacher contract By Dennis Sm ith SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Many more numbers may need crunching before a contract settlement is reached with Halton's public sec ondary teachers. Negotiators hope to make more progres son Friday but the board's negotiating chair doesn't believe an agreement is near. "On Friday we'll get down to more of the nitty-gritty matters," said Michael Ellis. "But we're still a ways from an agreement. We'll have to work on it a little bit more and do some number crunching." The Burlington trustee said flip charts were being used when a previous contract was settled and that stage has n't been reached this time around. But as long as both sides keep talk ing, the situation is hopeful, said Ellis. Both sides met briefly last Wednesday to share information. Ellis said business services superintendent Wayne McNally provided enrolment information, which union representa tives had requested. Only three public boards have set tled contracts with their secondary teachers, noted union leader Larry Chud. `They are all along similar lines, with the same salary increase percent ages," said Chud, president of Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation District 20 (Halton). "It would be foolish not to look into them, although they are not exactly the same deals. There are differences between each board." Most smaller issues have been agreed upon and a lot of contract lan guage has been cleared up, said Chud. Compensation and workload are considered major issues in the con tract, which affects 1,000-1,100 teachers. Stricter provincial regulations are requiring teachers to handle an extra half-class per year. Chud indicated the union is still advising members to make teaching 6.5 classes the priority and decide them selves about participating in after school activities. Teacher participation in extracur ricular (supervising sports, music, art, clubs and providing extra academic help) varies among schools, he said. "There is very little activity in some schools and more activity in other schools," Chud said. Teachers representatives say the increased workload makes it difficult for them to handle extracurricular. An education ministry official said the current requirement is bringing Ontario up to the national standard. Union members have not had a raise in 7-8 years, although newer teachers can earn annual salary increases by advancing through a 12year experience grid. Pride Committee looking for new members The Halton Pride Committee is looking for new members. The group - founded to support gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gendered pride in the region - is interest ed in people with experience in fundraising, promotion and organiz ing or those just interested in con necting with other community mem bers. Check out www.haltonpride.org or contact Jean Clipsham at 8256065 or email info@haltonpride.com. Residents vow to keep fighting Those who signed the petition live not just in the immediate area, said Jakubowski, but from other parts of town as well. `Traffic issues are a concern all over," she added. On Monday night, Ward 4 council lor Stephen Sparling presented an amendment that will allow the Town to look into the possibility of accelerating reconstruction of Upper Middle. In the meantime, Jakubowski said she will keep pushing. "I guess we'll have to keep up the pressure," she said. Anti-torture campaign launched today Amnesty International is launch ing its International campaign Against Torture today. Amnesty International (Oakville Group 75) is planning to celebrate the launching of this campaign in front of the Millennium Clock at Towne Square, Lakeshore and George, from 4 to 7 p.m. Campaign theme is "It's time to stop torture." Sign a card, and buy a rose for a toonie as a tangible show of support. For more information, call Wendy, 844-4194; or Rita, 3388824. , See our 797 lb. pumpkin I M u m s & Scarecrows E n te rta in m e n t Kids' C rafts - T v ; · : o m { 680 Plains Rd. W., Burlington/HamiJ Iton (905) 527-1158 · eveuts@Tbg.ca · vw.rbg.ca ttffiCOGECO f*Y>E e,N £ R O Y A L B 0 T A N 1 C A L G A R D E N S v<« f« U H lll flX K O K ...i s t e : u J tti A H a r v e s t C e le b r a tio n - B o ta n ic a l B a n q u e t O ctober 2 « · Tltkmts on ra to l · 5 * 7 -1 1 5 5 , mxt * 9 5 Construction se t to begin in 2002-2003 ( C o n t in u e d f r o m p a g e A 1 ) the future but Mulvale, regional chair Joyce Savoline and senior municipal staff met with Turnbull, who moved plans ahead a couple of years. "This is how co-operation works," said Carr. Added Mulvale: "(Turnbull) immedi ately saw the wisdom of bringing the timeline forward." Anyone expecting immediate changes, however, will have to remain patient a while longer. According to Green, consultants are now being inter viewed who will prepare the detailed designs of the project. These should be finished sometime in 2001. Green said construction will take place in 20022003. Turnbull - who said the QEW widen ing will involve land acquisition explained that all eight lanes through Oakville and Burlington will be "sub stantially" completed in five years. The province has already finished an additional westbound lane between Trafalgar Road and Hwy. 403 and the new Royal Windsor Drive bridge. The eastbound lane has been started. The QEW improvements are part of an overall bid to improve traffic flow through the GTA and its member munic ipalities. In Oakville, for example, com pletion of the Rebecca Street Bridge in September 2001 will give motorists another crossing of Bronte Creek other than the QEW and Lakeshore Road. The 26-kilometer Hwy. 407 exten sion from the Freeman Interchange in Hamilton to the Hwy. 403/407 ETR Interchange in Oakville will be complete around the same time as the bridge, also diverting a lot of Burlington-bound vehi cles. SALE PRICES END SUN., OCT. 22, OR WHERE SEARS IS CLOSED, SAT., OCT. 2 1 ,2 0 0 0 Sears stores close to you, close to home Furniture and sleep sets · are available at M ississauga Furniture &Appliances Store Hwy 5 & 403, Erin M ills Pow er Centre (905)820-6801 Save *451 `RAVENNA' LEA TH ER S O FA Sears reg. 2 0 9 9 .9 9 . $1648 M a tc h in g pieces and custom o p tio n s also on sale Natum i School closure a blow to community ( C o n t in u e d f r o m p a g e A 1 ) Most of the scenarios the committee is considering call for QEP to close in June 2005, with a new Glen Abbey high school opening the following September. Closure of QEP would also mean the community would lose the swim ming pool housed in the building. However, the track, soccer fields and most of the green space around the school are owned by the town. Petrusich, whose own children took swimming lessons and played soccer at QEP, admits there will be a loss to the community if the school is closed, but added, "Our mandate is to look at edu cational resources, not recreational resources." INTEG RATED COIL SERIES 1641SY COM FORT SLEEP S E T Available in Twin-King. Sears reg. 1 2 9 9 .9 8 -2 5 9 9 .9 9 . Set $598-1249 · `Don't Pay' offer: D o n 't p ay 1/2 price `M ILLBROOK' TW IN B O O K C A SE M ATE'S B ED Sears reg. 8 9 9 .9 6 . $448 Consists of headboard, footboard, rails, storage box and posture board. Matching pieces also on sale u n t il O c to b e r 2 0 0 1 . On a p p ro ve d c re d it, w ith y o u r S e a rs C ard . M in im u m $ 2 0 0 p u rc h a se . $ 3 5 d e f e rra l fee a n d a ll a p p lic a b le ta x e s an d c h a rg e s a re p a y a b le a t tim e of p u rc h a se . E x c lu d e s ite m s in o u r L iq u id a tio n / O u tle t s to re s an d C a ta lo g u e p u r c h a se s . O ffe r en d s S u n d a y, O c to b e r 2 2 , 2 0 0 0 . A s k fo r d e ta ils . 'D /6 0 1 F u r n itu r e sh op ; e x c lu d e s b ab y f u r n it u re This Saturday & Sunday only, during Sears Days B iW ay All furniture' & sleep sets are on sale or at Special Purchase prices Plususeyour Sears Card and CORRECTION N OTICE The price of the Open Stock Glasses and Glassware Sets advertised in this w eek's flyer at 25% off was listed incor rectly at $1.87 each. The correct price range for these items is from $0.38 to $13.49. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. don't pay fo r one full y e a r' . ,. , . . . Sears. For the many sides of you.TM BEARS on all fu rn itu re 1 and sleep sets Store H ours: M on-Fri. 10:00am-9:00pm Sat. 10:00am - 6:00pm Sun. 12:00pm-5:00pm 3 0 5 0 V e jj Bird., Mi«*i«Mu£a, Ontario wRolc(^2pho/» co o rd in ate d fu rn itu re fu rn itu re & ap p lian ces sto re C a n a d a '* lartfeat ·election o f mayor appliance M is s is s a u g a Sears furniture & appliance store (9 0 5 ) 8 2 0 -6 8 0 1 NP1031600 Copyright 2000. Sears Canada Inc.