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Get local 24/7 newsdurhamregion.com✦ 20 PAGES ✦ Pressrun 51,400 ✦ Optional delivery $6/Newsstand $1 ✦ FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2009
The Pickering
Plans leave
a bad smell
Pickering group fights
odour control plant
NEWS/7
A look at
education in 2009
New schools to open
as others set to close
NEWS/5
Mayor says business
expansion number
one priority
By Kristen Calis
kcalis@durhamregion.com
PICKERING — Despite current tough
economic conditions across Canada,
Mayor Dave Ryan sees good things for
Pickering in 2009.
His biggest priority: the expansion of
the business community.
“That’s always my number-one pri-
ority in the City and it will continue to
be,” he said in an interview.
Pickering received good news in
2008 for the manufacturing sector that
will be realized in 2009.
Most recently, the Province an-
nounced a partnership with Purdue
Pharma, a local pharmaceutical com-
pany, that will expand its current op-
erations in Pickering and create 53
high-skilled jobs in 2009.
“I am, as our council and economic
development staff, continuing to work
every day...identifying new opportuni-
ties within the municipality,” Mayor
Ryan said.
Aker Kvaerner Chemetics, an en-
gineering firm, announced in Febru-
ary it plans to move from Toronto to
Pickering in 2009.
About 20 businesses began in
Pickering in 2008, including the call
centre, RecoverCorp Canada which
alone will bring 35 to 50 jobs.
In the new year, and once all the
details are finalized, Mayor Ryan will
make a major announcement regard-
ing the consumer industry.
“Our job as a municipality is to pro-
mote Pickering for what we already
know it is,” he said, adding it’s a great
COME ON DAD, HURRY UP
Ron Pietroniro/ News Advertiser photo
PICKERING — Scott Spicer gets a helping hand from his daughter Nicole during the Tim Hor-
tons free skating program at the Pickering Recreation Complex.
Pickering capable of
weathering economic
storm in 2009: Ryan
Highlights
2008 economic development and in-
vestment in Pickering
* Construction value of all building
permits issued up to the end of No-
vember, 2008 was $141,000,000, com-
pared to $87,000,000 in 2007.
* About 55 per cent of the total value
is attributed to non-residential devel-
opment activity, compared to 26 per
cent in 2007.
* There were 16 vacant acres of land
absorbed in 2008.
* About one million square feet of
previously unoccupied space was
filled from 2005 to 2008, due to a de-
crease in industrial occupancy rates.
* According to Ron Taylor, co-ordina-
tor of city development, Pickering can
avoid the harsh economic conditions
because it has: diverse employment
sectors; strong, innovative and adap-
tive lead corporations expanding into
multiple products, services and mar-
kets; local strength in high-demanded
products and services; relatively af-
fordable and available land and space
compared to other GTA jurisdictions;
and regularly improved local roads
and transportation infrastructure to
accommodate efficient travel and
goods movements.
✦ See Ryan, Page 4
durhamregion.comA/P PAGE 2 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, January 2, 2009
THE NEWS ADVERTISER, January 2, 2009 PAGE 3 A/Pdurhamregion.com
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INVENTORY BLOWOUT SALEINVENTORY BLOWOUT SALE
‘It’s just something you’ve
gotta show support for’
By Margaret Cappa
Special to the News Advertiser
AJAX — Peering over the Harwood Av-
enue overpass, waiting to pay their respects
to the three Canadian soldiers killed over the
weekend, were three generations of Dacam-
bras.
They arrived hand-in-hand, with Cap-
tain Mark Dacambra and his father Philip
each holding a hand of Mark’s young son
Lucas. As Mark recounted his experience in
Afghanistan, grandpa picked up little Lucas
so he could see the honking cars and trucks
passing under the bridge. Soon, Philip would
be picking up his grandson to see something
else -- fallen men coming home.
The fallen soldiers included Private Mi-
chael Freeman, who was killed in a roadside
explosion on Friday, as well as Warrant Of-
ficer Gaetan Roberge and Sergeant Gregory
John Kruse, both killed Saturday.
Cpt. Dacambra returned from Afghani-
stan last year. He served as a doctor in
Afghanistan from 2006 to 2007. He’s now in
training to be a surgeon, he said. The train-
ing won’t be over for another two years, but
he said once he’s finished, he could be going
back to Afghanistan.
“I’ve been to ramp ceremonies in Kanda-
har and Trenton,” said Cpt. Dacambra, “but
this is my first bridge repatriation.”
Cpt. Dacambra is visiting from Calgary for
the holidays. He said he doesn’t experience
these types of repatriations unless one of
the fallen soldiers is a Calgarian. His father
Philip, a local resident and former member
of the British army, has been attending the
bridge repatriations, he said.
The support that people show to troops
coming home is amazing, said Cpt. Dacam-
bra. When he returned in February 2007, he
experienced this support first-hand.
“People were out when we returned in
2007,” he said. “It was in the middle of the
night, in February.”
The weather or time of day doesn’t stop
people from attending the bridge repatria-
tions though. Ajax resident Doug MacDon-
ald will tell you that.
“I stood here for two-and-a-half hours
last time,” he said. “But, it doesn’t matter,
because if these boys can do what they do,
we can sure stand out here in the cold for a
few hours.” Mr. MacDonald said he’s been
to almost every repatriation and the ones
he’s missed have been because he simply
couldn’t get the time off work.
“It’s just something you’ve gotta show sup-
port for,” he said. That support, which Mr.
MacDonald and many others have shown
on the Harwood overpass and on bridges
along the 172-kilometre Highway of Heroes,
is why Cpt. Dacambra feels proud of the Ca-
nadians in Afghanistan.
“Seeing this makes me feel like what we’re
doing over there is worth it.”
Ron Pietroniro/ News Advertiser photo
Madeline Sialtsis holds onto her flags on the Harwood Avenue bridge overpass during the repatriation procession on Tuesday afternoon. Three more
Canadian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan last week.
Heroes
welcomed
home
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durhamregion.comP PAGE 4 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, January 2, 2009
place to start and grow a business and raise
a family.
Mayor Ryan said the City will
continue to work with the Prov-
ince and developers on how
Seaton lands will be developed,
specifically by committing to a
jobs-first philosophy that will see
active employment and servicing
of lands along Highway 407 con-
current with the neighbourhood’s
development.
The final stages of planning for
Duffin Heights, a multi-residen-
tial neighbourhood to be located
along Brock Road between the St. Law-
rence and Hudson Rail Line (formerly the
Canadian Pacific Rail Line) and the Hydro
Corridor, will take place in the coming
year.
Durham Region is widening Brock Road
in the area and the development of resi-
dential properties should coincide along
that corridor, Mayor Ryan said.
Details on the 2009 property tax remains
to be seen until budget discus-
sions, but “we will do our best to
keep the increase to a minimum
as we always do,” he said.
While Ward 3 Regional Council-
lor Rick Johnson asked that staff
review Council salaries in Decem-
ber 2008, Mayor Ryan said among
the rest of Council, “I don’t think
there’s any real appetite for that.”
Looking back on 2008, Mayor
Ryan was pleased with the posi-
tive events in the City, such as the
successful Rotary Ribfest, and the City’s
own accomplishments, including winning
top honours once again at Communities in
Bloom and being recognized by the Fed-
eration of Canadian Municipalities for its
sustainability initiatives.
Ryan says no ‘appetite’
for review of Pickering
council salaries
✦ Ryan from page 1
Dave Ryan
THE NEWS ADVERTISER, January 2, 2009 PAGE 5 A/Pdurhamregion.com
Building new schools,
closing some others
By Crystal Crimi
ccrimi@durhamregion.com
DURHAM — The Catholic school board
closed five schools in 2008 and the public
board might close three in 2009.
Along with saying hello to some new
schools and goodbye to many portables,
and possibly a few Whitby schools, the Dur-
ham and Durham Catholic district school
boards have lots on the go for the New Year.
In the public board, trustees are: wrapping
up negotiations with employee groups, with
the exception of the elementary teachers;
working to improve student achievement;
increasing eco-schools; adding more prima-
ry classes; and, continuing with its accom-
modation review committee that could see
Palmerston, Leslie McFarlane and Florence
M. Heard public schools in Whitby close.
Elsewhere in the region, the public board
has plans for new schools.
“Really anticipating the new schools open-
ing up, we have five elementary schools, two
in Ajax and three in Whitby,” said Oshawa
Trustee Larry Jacula, the board’s chairman.
Durham is also opening a north Oshawa
secondary school.
Throughout the region, about 300 portables
will be eliminated through expansions and
the Province’s elementary student class-size
cap. Increasing student achievement is also
on the 2009 to do list, with the board bring-
ing in more numeracy and literacy coaches.
“We’re really looking at closing the gap for
special-needs kids... we’re trying to improve
everyone,” Trustee Jacula said.
By the end of the school year, a child-care
ad hoc committee will present the school
board with a report on early learning for
four-and-five-year-old kids, Trustee Jacula
said. He’s a member on the committee.
“I think people can look forward to an
overall improvement with child-care,” Trust-
ee Jacula said. The board is also looking to
double the amount of schools participating
in the Ontario EcoSchools program.
At the Catholic board, the closure process
for five Oshawa schools was its biggest chal-
lenge in 2008.
“That took up a good chunk of the year,”
said Pickering Trustee Jim McCafferty, the
board’s chairman. It moved 1,200 kids to
other schools and only 50 kids left the sys-
tem. The schools were closed because of
declining enrolment.
“We’re still looking at declining enrol-
ment,” Trustee McCafferty said. “For the first
time we’re looking at the secondary panel.”
In secondary schools, there’s about 300
less students this year than last.
The board may also have to tighten its
financial belt in 2009.
Although the four-year contracts signed
with employee groups are based on the
provincial framework, their enhancements
were offered before the economy took a
nose-dive, Trustee McCafferty said. There
may be some other areas clawed back to
honour the agreement, he said.
Other things 2009 brings to the Catholic
board include more EcoSchools and a St.
Bernadette replacement school, which in-
cludes additional classrooms to accommo-
date the all-day kindergarten being inves-
tigated by the Province. The board has also
applied for prohibited-to-repair funding for
Our Lady of the Bay in Pickering, as well as
for some port-a-pacs, but hasn’t heard back
yet, Trustee McCafferty said.
Hot tub used to
hide from RIDE
DURHAM — An Oshawa man who at-
tempted to evade police by submerging
himself in an outdoor hot tub was among
those charged with drinking and driving
offences during the sixth week of Durham’s
Festive RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Ev-
erywhere) effort.
Cops responding to a citizen’s report of a
suspected drunk driver Sunday found a ve-
hicle stuck in a snowbank near the corner of
Stevenson Road and Montcalm Avenue and
concluded the driver had fled on foot. They
called in a canine team and a suspect was
tracked through several back yards in the
area, police said.
Police eventually found a man submerged
in the water of a hot tub on the rear deck of a
residence.
Byron Lott, 19, of Cabot Street in Oshawa
faces charges including impaired driving
and failing to remain at the scene of an ac-
cident.
In total officers working on the RIDE cam-
paign charged seven people with drinking
and driving during the sixth week of the
annual initiative, bringing this year’s total to
132.
That’s significantly higher than at this
point in last year’s effort. A total of 113 im-
paired charges were laid during the 2007
RIDE campaign.
Coming to education in 2009...
‘I think people can look forward to an
overall improvement with child-care.’
-- LARRY JACULA
‘We’re still looking at declining
enrolment.’
-- JIM MCCAFFERTY
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We need to help ourselves to get ahead in challenging times
We think.. e-mail responses to mjohnston@durhamregion.com
NEWS ADVERTISER 130 Commercial Ave., Ajax ON L1S 2H5
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& Editorials
Opinions
Tim Whittaker - Publisher
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Our readers think...
A/P PAGE 6 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, January 2, 2009 durhamregion.com
O n more than one occasion I
have been stopped by Festive
RIDE officers and asked the
obvious question -- “Have you had
anything to drink tonight, sir?”
Every time I have had the perfect
answer -- “No” -- and I’m waved on.
So when Dave Selby, director of com-
munications for Durham Regional
Police Service, invited me down to
Durham College’s EP Taylor’s for a
drinking and driving experiment, I was
intrigued because I really didn’t know
how much alcohol it would take before
I blew over the legal level of .08. Better
yet, I didn’t know how much I could
drink before my driving was impaired.
It was a sobering lesson for me.
I’m not a big guy. Five foot six, 160
pounds. It shouldn’t take long for me
to get my buzz going.
But I figured I could handle a driving
simulation exercise after a mere two
beers. I was wrong. I was not unlike
most people who have had a few beers,
I was told by Lesley de Repentigny of
DriveWise.
I was overly cautious, driving well
below the speed limit, I braked too
often and too quickly, and took cor-
ners far wider than I needed to. But the
dead giveaway I shouldn’t have been
behind the wheel came when I collided
with an ambulance.
Bright lights, sirens and its sheer
size should have warned me it was
approaching. So why didn’t I get out of
the way faster?
My blood-alcohol level after two
beers was .025, well below the legal
limit. My driving -- well let’s say if a
machine could measure it I would have
been charged with impaired on the
spot.
I continued to drink after this simula-
tion test to see how long it would take
before I blew a 12-hour suspension.
Five beers. A much-bigger colleague
of mine had nine before he blew a 12-
hour suspension.
What’s frightening about this whole
scenario is the number of impaired
charges and 12-hour suspensions
being handed out by the police this
month.
As of last week the number of people
charged with drinking and driving dur-
ing this year’s initiative stood at 125;
that’s 40 more than had been charged
at the same point last year.
When I blew a 12-hour suspension I
knew I was drunk. I didn’t need a cop
to tell me that. But I also knew my driv-
ing was impaired after just two beers,
thanks to the driving simulation test.
Mr. Selby said a lot of people worry
about crime in their neighbourhoods
and gangs. But what they should be
worried about is getting killed by a
drunk driver, because it’s drunks who
are disrupting lives in Durham Region,
not gangs.
There’s no safe amount of alcohol
when it comes to driving, so don’t do it.
It’s a huge risk and the chances of you
getting caught are greater now that the
police are on high alert.
News editor Ian McMillan’s column
occasionally appears in this space. E-
mail him at imcmillan@durhamregion.
com.
There’s nothing ‘festive’
about drinking and driving
I t simply has to be a better year in
2009. At least we can all hope so.
That has to be the rallying cry as
we look out at the new year in the first
few days of January, poised to take on
whatever difficulties we face together as
a community, as a region, as a province,
as a country.
We realize it’s a very tough world out
there, packed with plenty of challenges
be they economic, violent, tragic, heart-
breaking -- but it’s a world this com-
munity can handle because we have the
skills to deal with it.
This past year saw many difficult
body blows hit our area such as the
Bowmanville fire, the Humane Soci-
ety fire, the Kelly family murders, the
General Motors layoffs and bailout,
economic strife, more soldiers coming
down the Highway of Heroes -- the list
goes on.
But generous people gave of their time
and money to help those in need and
people did what they could to help.
As we look ahead to a challenging
year, we can only hope the government
assistance to the auto sector will help
General Motors and its suppliers sur-
vive and once again thrive.
GM is critical to the area’s success but
its ultimate survival depends largely on
what happens with the economic situa-
tion in the United States.
That’s where most of Durham’s auto
production is shipped to. With that in
mind, let’s hope the incoming American
President can help stimulate a growing
U.S. economy and growing wealth so
demand for GM products expands.
That would be the best result we could
hope for in 2009.
Whatever the outcome of the Jan.
27 Canadian federal budget, we know
it will result in a big boost in federal
spending and possibly a nudge in eco-
nomic growth. Perhaps it will help kick-
start the economy and push us out of
recession.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has
pledged to listen to the opposition and
to Canadians in general in an effort to
do whatever he can to get us out of the
doldrums of economic stagnation.
Like the GM issue, much of what Can-
ada is going through is an international
problem and requires a global solution
but Canada must do everything it can
to help itself. Let’s hope the federal gov-
ernment can give us a hand up.
Ian McMillan
We need some help
with rising taxes
To the editor:
Re: Region looks at 7.9 per cent hike for
water and sewer in 2009, Dec. 10.
Can you honestly believe the explana-
tion provided by the Region on the above
subject?
Water reduction equals an additional
7.9 per cent per year. Reason -- higher
wages. However, if taxpayers were to
increase consumption then the increase
would be less at 6.4 per cent. Does this
make any sense to anyone?
I’m sitting here scratching my head
wondering who the heck is running the
asylum.
The part I like the best is that we should
consider ourselves fortunate not to be liv-
ing in some other municipality where the
increase for the decrease in water/sewers
is even higher at 9 per cent. Is the Region
using a dart board for these figures?
If so, please try to aim a little more
towards helping the overtaxed residents
of Durham Region.
Today, everyone is experiencing some
financial grief due to the current eco-
nomic turmoil. Why can’t the Region do
its bit to help out?
L.G. Brindley
Whitby
Residents say they
weren’t informed about
odour control facility
By Reka Szekely
rszekely@durhamregion.com
PICKERING — A group of
Pickering residents is raising a stink
about a proposed sewage odour
control facility (OCF) to be built
near their subdivision.
The OCF is part of the York-Dur-
ham Sewage System (Big Pipe)
extension and would be located
just south of the Cherrywood West
subdivision, near Altona Road and
Concession 3 in Pickering.
A group of Cherrywood resi-
dents argues they weren’t properly
informed about the project and
is now fighting to stop the facil-
ity. Their main concern is odours
from the facility will prevent them
from enjoying their backyards and
homes and decrease their property
values.
“We believe this can be placed
in a number of locations. It doesn’t
have to be placed beside our subdi-
vision,” said Cherrywood resident
Pete Herman.
A group, Stop the Stink, has been
created to fight the OCF and the
group met last week to learn more
about the environmental assess-
ment (EA) process, with roughly 60
people cramming into the White-
vale Community Centre.
The featured speaker was Char-
lene Cressman, special project of-
ficer for the ministry of the envi-
ronment (MOE). Ms. Cressman is
handling the EA for the Big Pipe
extension and she fielded ques-
tions from the group. Ms. Cressman
said the proponents of the project,
York and Durham regions, have to
demonstrate that the community
has been consulted and they’ve ad-
dressed concerns. She did not com-
ment on whether the two Regions
had done those things, but spoke
about the general responsibilities of
proponents.
“They have to show they’ve fol-
lowed a fulsome environmental as-
sessment process ... if they haven’t
done that, we have an issue and
they need to address it.”
Whitevale resident Peter Rodri-
guez questioned the EA process and
said while proponents may listen to
residents and respond to concerns,
that doesn’t mean members of the
public get what they want.
“They ask you if you want blue
or green, not do you or do you not
want to do it.”
In an interview following the
meeting, Rich Tindall, a project en-
gineer for Durham’s works depart-
ment, said the two Regions have
made an effort to contact area resi-
dents.
“We’ll definitely meet with them
as many times as it takes to address
their concerns.”
It could include arranging for
community members to visit a
similar OCF, perhaps near Ottawa
or in Ohio. He said the new OCF
would have a backup so that there
won’t be a smell in the event of a
breakdown. There is another OCF
in Pickering which smells when it
breaks down.
The EA was recently submitted
by the regions to the MOE and the
public has until Jan. 23 to comment
on it. After that the MOE will review
the EA.
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THE NEWS ADVERTISER, January 2, 2009 PAGE 7 A/Pdurhamregion.com
Pickering group wants
sewage facility stopped
Jason Liebregts/ News Advertiser photo
Cherrywood residents Robert and Griselda Verbancic, left, and Helen Gard-
ner are concerned with an odour control facility connecting a big pipe sewer
line from York to the Duffins sewage plant.
By Parvaneh Pessian
ppessian@durhamregion.com
OSHAWA — Jamie Web-
ber lost his wife Alice to can-
cer this year but it was her
influence that guided him
to the Durham Humane So-
ciety after last Wednesday’s
tragic fire.
The Oshawa resident said
he felt compelled to help
the shelter -- where his wife
was once an employee --
as he marched into animal
services in hopes of taking
home one of the surviving
animals.
“She was just a lover of all
God’s creatures and I know
that if she was still here, we
would have both been down
there as soon as we saw this
devastating thing and we
would have wanted to try
and help out some of the
animals,” Mr. Webber said.
He ended up walking away
with not one but two of the
just more than a dozen ani-
mals that survived the hor-
rific blaze: canine siblings
Flash and Ruby.
“The dogs have been
through a lot and I really
didn’t want to see them sep-
arated so it was nice to be
able to take them together,”
he said.
The former shelter volun-
teer hauled the brother and
sister -- mixes of border col-
lie, lab and Newfoundland
-- to Karon’s Groom Shoppe
in Oshawa on Monday to be
soaped up and cleansed of
any remnants of the trag-
edy.
“I realized that there would
still be a layer of smoke on
them from the fire and you
can’t really smell it but I just
thought they might be un-
comfortable,” he said.
Mr. Webber and his wife
rescued a white golden re-
triever named Jazzy from
the shelter a few years ago.
Jazzy died from hip dyspla-
sia shortly before they lost
their other dog Bam-Bam.
“There was quite a void
there until I was able to
adopt these two dogs and
now they’ll have a splendid
home and they certainly
filled in a gap for me as
well,” he said. “It’s like Jazzy
and Bam-Bam are reborn in
Ruby and Flash.”
Humane Society staff are
grateful for being able to
find loving families for the
surviving animals but con-
tinue to grieve for the near-
ly 200 others -- cats, dogs,
hamsters, rabbits and other
small animals -- lost during
the fire.
“We’re all having a very
difficult time coping with
what happened but all the
support we’re getting from
the community and all the
people coming forward to
adopt has really helped us,”
shelter manager Ruby Rich-
ards said.
Flash and Ruby were sur-
rendered by their owners a
month ago when they down-
sized to a condo but have
quickly made themselves at
home on Mr. Webber’s prop-
erty that includes a 400-foot
lot and more than 200 acres.
“They’re very nice little
dogs and their mannerisms
are terrific,” he said.
“I feel that this is like a
Christmas gift to me -- hav-
ing them here and along
with knowing in my heart
that they are going to be
well taken care of and have
a good home.”
The animals that perished
in the blaze will be cremated
and Humane Society staff
are planning a special me-
morial service in early Janu-
ary.
durhamregion.comA/P PAGE 8 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, January 2, 2009
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Jason Liebregts/ News Advertiser photo
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