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Get local 24/7 newsdurhamregion.com✦ 32 PAGES ✦ Pressrun 50,400 ✦ Optional delivery $6/Newsstand $1 ✦ SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2008
The Pickering
New start for
injured wrestler
Million smiles
for family
NEWS/12
Talking
infrastructure
MP questions
future rail link
NEWS/4
Suspect in police custody
By News Advertiser staff
PICKERING — Police have a suspect in
custody following a stabbing near St. Mary
Catholic Secondary School Friday morning.
Meanwhile the victim, a St. Mary student,
is offering “little co-operation,” report Dur-
ham Regional Police.
“We have one male in custody and the
investigation is continuing,” said Sergeant
Paul McCurbin, Durham Regional Police
spokesman.
Shortly after 9 a.m., police received a call
about a stabbing on the footpath just north
of St. Mary. The two males involved in the
altercation left the scene, but one was lo-
cated at the Rouge Valley Ajax and Pickering
Hospital, where he was treated for “non-life-
threatening” stab wounds, police say. Police
won’t say where on the body the victim was
stabbed.
“We had a report of a person being injured
off the school property, in a walkway. When
we checked, there was no one there,” said
Principal Mary Curran, shortly after police
arrived at the school.
“The police did a terrific job,” Ms. Curran
said. “The students were well behaved. The
lockdown procedure went well.”
Although there were no threats involving
the school or the nearby community, St.
Mary was locked down following the inci-
dent simply because both of the students in-
volved attend the school, located on Whites
Road just south of Finch Avenue.
Interviews with students outside the
school showed most of them were shaken
and silent following the ordeal.
George Linons, 16, was in one of his first
classes of the day when the police came in.
“We went into lockdown and didn’t get
out of our class until 11:40 a.m.. I heard the
police went into all the classrooms. We’re
just going for lunch now, but I doubt if very
many people will come back to school this
afternoon,” he said.
“I was in my history class and I had to sit
against the wall when we went into lock-
down,” said Shelley Florio, 16. “I just heard
when we got out of lockdown that someone
was stabbed. It’s kind of freaky; it doesn’t
make me feel safe.”
Ryan Cudahy, 17, said, “I heard about it,
that someone was stabbed. While I was sit-
ting in lockdown in my math class, someone
text messaged me about it. It sucks; it’s kind
of shocking.”
“When we heard that there was a lock-
down on the P.A. and that it wasn’t a drill,
we were shocked,” said Grade 12 student Ra-
chel Calvelli. “Our teacher turned off all the
lights, closed the blinds, blocked the door
window with paper, slipped a yellow piece of
Jason Liebregts/ News Advertiser photo
Durham police were called to St. Mary Catholic Secondary School after a student was stabbed Friday morning. Police eventually caught a suspect but
said the victim was not co-operating with the investigation.
✦ See Stabbing , Page 2
Students shaken after stabbing at St. Mary
newsdurhamregion.com
Watch a video from the school
at newsdurhamregion.com
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durhamregion.comP PAGE 2 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, May 4, 2008
Stakeholders come out
for one final meeting
on mental health move
By Kristen Calis
kcalis@durhamregion.com
AJAX — The consultation period regard-
ing moving the mental health beds in Ajax
to Scarborough has been “an absolute farce,”
says the co-chairman of the Friends of the
Ajax Pickering hospital.
“Through all this consultation process, I
get the impression that you people haven’t
listened at all,” Bill Parish said, adding no
one in the community supports the plan.
Mr. Parish attended the second stakehold-
er meeting in the public consultation pro-
cess held Wednesday regarding the transfer
of the 20 beds from the Rouge Valley Ajax
and Pickering Hospital to Centenary Hospi-
tal in Scarborough.
Director of mental health Cheryl Williams
explained the implementation plans for the
mental health consolidation at Centenary
and emphasized the hospital’s plan to use a
recovery-oriented philosophy. She also said
the RVHS is committed to maintaining the
same service volumes.
“Just because it’s at one site doesn’t mean
you don’t get access to that service,” she
said.
The transfer is expected to begin in the fall
and be completed by Dec. 31. In the mean-
time, working groups will choose the best
way to implement the plan. Rouge Valley
Health System is inviting interested people
to join the committees, such as the trans-
portation working group, the community
integration and transition planning group
and an out-patient process group.
Ms. Williams said RVHS hopes to involve
people already using the system because
“frankly we believe they’ll be done better
that way.”
But, Mr. Parish was angry that consulta-
tion is taking place regarding implementa-
tion, not whether or not the RVHS will go
through with the plan. He said when the
RVHS reports its findings, it should report
that the public wants the beds to stay in
Ajax.
“The people have spoken and you’re not
listening,” he said.
Rik Ganderton, RVHS president and CEO,
said the fact remains that severe financial
problems remain within the RVHS. The hos-
pital is $78-million in long-term debt and
capital deficiencies.
“We have to solve that problem and that
requires making decisions that are difficult,”
he said.
Deborah Hammons, CE LHIN CEO con-
firmed “the implementation of the consoli-
dation of beds is going forward but we are
modifying the plan.”
Chief of psychiatry Dr. Steve Fishman said
he routinely sees patients with both medical
and mental health problems fall through the
cracks and said the long waits in the emer-
gency room are unacceptable. Currently, he
said the mental health department is geared
toward people with just psychiatric and not
medical needs.
“This is going to bridge that gap,” he said.
Ms. Williams said to date, crisis expertise
hasn’t been in the emergency department,
but confirmed the RVHS will move forward
with that.
Patient Ashley Swalm said the upgraded
emergency department won’t be completed
for another three or four years and asked
what will be in place to ensure appropriate
services are there for mental health pa-
tients.
Mr. Ganderton explained the hospital’s
redevelopment will be done in five phases
over 30 months, but said for the emergency
department, “I’m going to say it’s 12-to-15
months away.” He added two new beds will
be there for mental health patients.
“It’ll be better than it is now,” he said. “I
don’t guarantee it’ll be perfect, but it’ll be
better.”
Dr. Karen Dockrill, a pediatrician, sup-
ports RVHS’s plan, and said in order for
health care to be sustainable, there has to be
people who can make tough decisions.
paper outside the room and told us all to sit
against the wall and not to speak. We were
sitting for about an hour or so, everyone
silent, uncomfortable and unaware of what
would happen next.”
A letter was to be sent home with students
“at the end of the day,” Ms. Curran said. “We
want to reassure them.”
Classes resumed after lunch and two po-
lice officers were to remain at the school for
the day, Ms. Curran added.
“We were very pleased with the police
response,” she stated.
Sgt. McCurbin said the two were involved
in a verbal confrontation that eventually
turned physical. Although it was reported to
police that a portion of the argument took
place inside the school, the actual stabbing
did not, added the sergeant. The school was
shut down for approximately an hour and a
half “in efforts to locate that person.”
The school was in lockdown -- meaning
no one could enter or leave the school -- for
about 90 minutes, reopening shortly after 11
a.m.
“There is no threat to the community,
there’s no threat to the school and there’s no
threat to the staff there,” Sgt. McCurbin said.
Sgt. McCurbin said the victim is not co-
operating with police.
“He’s indicated he doesn’t know the name
of the person that did this,” he stated.
Sgt. McCurbin said at a school with as
many students as St. Mary, there are a lot
of rumours flying around, and police would
appreciate any information they can.
“We continue to work, obviously, and we
hope to get more cooperation from the com-
munity and students,” he said.
Unconfirmed reports from students were
that a Grade 9 student stabbed a Grade 11
pupil in the throat with a pen.
Consultation period on hospital beds called a ‘farce’
Stabbing suspect not co-operating with police
✦ Stabbing from page 1
John O’Toole
tells
councillors that
2015 is ‘most
likely’ time
f rame for
toll route
By Chris Hall
chall@durhamregion.com
DURHAM — When it
comes to the much-antici-
pated extension of Hwy.
407, Durham residents
will “most likely” have to
wait until 2015 before the
eastern connection of the
toll route is completed,
says John O’Toole.
Appearing before Scu-
gog councillors on Mon-
day for his annual ad-
dress, the Durham MPP
touched on a wide variety
of subjects, from finances
and Ontario’s recently an-
nounced pesticide ban to
the future of the toll road.
Providing his thoughts
on Hwy. 407, Mr. O’Toole
explained there is ongo-
ing “arguing” between the
Province and federal gov-
ernment over funding for
the project. However, no
matter where the money
comes from, the Durham
MPP stated there was little
chance Durham could see
the extension carried out
in the next five years or
so.
“2013? Good luck,” said
Mr. O’Toole.
“It’s huge in my riding,”
continued the Durham
MPP. “It’s very important
to Durham and is Dur-
ham’s No. 1 capital prior-
ity.” He added it’s “most
likely” that Durham will
see the highway in 2015.
Mr. O’Toole also fielded
questions regarding the
Province’s plan to share
annual surpluses with
municipalities.
“The year-end surplus
(plan) may be in jeopardy
given the economy,” said
Scugog Mayor Marilyn
Pearce. She then asked
what the provincial Tories
preferred to do with any
leftover funds -- spread
the wealth amongst needy
municipalities or pay
down the Province’s debt.
In response, Mr. O’Toole
noted he would “support
having a much more hon-
est budget,” which would
see provincial bean-coun-
ters have a better handle
on expenditures and rev-
enues which would then,
theoretically, reduce the
Province’s annual “un-
scheduled revenue wind-
falls.” He also acknowl-
edged the Association of
Municipalities of Ontario
(AMO) has asked for long-
term, predictable funding
for municipalities.
“We’re on record saying
that we want to see a fair
investment in (municipal)
infrastructure and debt re-
duction,” said the mayor.
“Both, not either/or.”
As for concerns sur-
rounding Ontario’s spiral-
ling economy, the Durham
MPP noted there “is some
evidence we’re certainly in
trouble,” but added there’s
a chance it might not be
all doom and gloom for
the nation’s most popu-
lous province.
“Stay tuned, it’s not over
yet,” he said.
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THE NEWS ADVERTISER, May 4, 2008 PAGE 3 A/Pdurhamregion.com
Don’t expect to see Hwy. 407 anytime soon, says Durham MPP
DURHAM — Durham re-
mains one of only seven
municipalities in Canada
with a Triple A credit rat-
ing, the Region announced
this week.
The rating comes from
Moody’s Investors Service
of New York, the largest
credit rating agency in the
world. The Triple A rating
means Durham’s credit is
deemed to be of the high-
est quality, with minimal
credit risk. According to
the Region, Moody’s out-
lined a number of credit
strengths, including strong
financial planning, the
ability to accommodate
increased future pres-
sures, a strong and diver-
sified local economy, in-
cluding a well-developed
transportation network
and strong manufacturing
base, commitments by the
provincial and federal gov-
ernments and the mainte-
nance of reserve funds,
“In order to maintain
this rating, fiscal planning
must include property tax
and revenue-based in-
creases that are manage-
able,” said Scugog Mayor
and finance and adminis-
tration chairwoman Mari-
lyn Pearce in a prepared
statement.
Durham Region keeps Triple A credit rating
Town Hall
meeting sparks
environmental
discussion
By Kristen Calis
kcalis@durhamregion.com
PICKERING — Why is the
recently-announced rail
link from Union Station to
Peterborough planning a
stop on the Federal Airport
Lands? asks Ajax-Pickering
MP Mark Holland.
“Are they already going
ahead and planning infra-
structure before an airport
has even been approved?”
he said.
This is just one of the con-
cerns Mr. Holland raised
at his Town Hall meeting
last Friday night, held to ad-
dress Durham’s transporta-
tion priorities.
He doesn’t understand
why an infrastructure proj-
ect low on Durham’s pri-
ority list was chosen over
other needs.
Of the $500 million that
was allocated to transit in-
frastructure in the federal
budget, he said $300 million
is dedicated to the Peter-
borough line.
“I don’t know about you,
but when I make a prior-
ity list, I don’t choose from
the 60s,” he said, adding the
public should have been
consulted, especially since
the line was can-
celled in 1991 due
to low ridership.
Ray Laxton
used to take the
train from Peter-
borough to Union
Station for work,
and said there was
never more than
50 passengers. He
said taking a Grey-
hound bus into Os-
hawa would make
more sense.
Pickering resident Ted
Gauder noted how long
it took to extend the east-
bound GO Train from
Pickering to Whitby.
“It was a big deal to get it
there and it was really need-
ed,” he said, indicating the
Peterborough line decision
came quickly.
Mr. Holland sug-
gested an idea,
but stressed it’s
his own, not nec-
essarily the Lib-
eral party’s: put-
ting one per cent
of the GST toward
infrastructure
needs. He said
since the Conser-
vatives reduced
the GST from
seven to five per cent, it left
the federal coffers dry. He
suggested making the GST
six per cent, resulting in $5
billion being invested in
infrastructure each year for
environmentally sustain-
able projects. Money would
be handed out to those who
can demonstrate they’ll use
the money for environmen-
tally-friendly means.
“Can you imagine where
that can take us?” he said.
He also said communi-
ties must be planned differ-
ently to take away the need
to drive from one plaza to
another for example.
Mr. Holland said Port-
land, Oregon is a prime
example of a livable city,
which has strict rules about
building in urban areas.
“It grew up instead of out,”
he said. “Now Portland is an
incredibly livable city.”
He also said it would
make sense to build on top
of old small plazas with
large parking lots, but said it
can be expensive, so people
tend to build on green lots.
Glenna Duncan, part
of a single-vehicle family,
noted how dangerous rid-
ing a bicycle is with the lack
of dedicated bike lanes. Mr.
Holland said it’s true, we
have to build more holistic
communities, and plan for
things like bike paths ahead
of time - much easier than
adding them after the fact.
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durhamregion.comA/P PAGE 4 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, May 4, 2008
Holland talks infrastructure needs with residents
Mark Holland
MPP says fears
of services moving
west coming true
AJAX — The House of
Commons will hear about
the transfer of Ajax’s men-
tal health beds to Scarbor-
ough next week.
Ajax-Pickering MP Mark
Holland opposed the merg-
er of the Ajax Pickering
hospital with Centenary
hospital in Scarborough
when he was on Pickering
council “because I feared
exactly what’s transpir-
ing.” The merger occurred
in the late 1990s by a re-
structuring commission
put in place by the Mike
Harris government. Mr.
Holland feared services
would move from Durham
to Scarborough, and that it
would become a satellite
hospital.
Although it’s up to the
Province, not the fed-
eral government, he feels
it’s important all elected
members speak out on the
issue. “We need to get the
board to reverse its deci-
sion,” he said.
Mr. Holland said his of-
fice has received many
letters, e-mails and phone
calls since the plan to move
20 beds from the Rouge
Valley Ajax and Pickering
hospital to Centenary, and
noted “everyone I’ve talked
to is united in this.”
House of Commons
to hear about plan to
move mental health beds
‘I don’t know about
you, but when I make
a priority list, I don’t
choose from the 60s.’
-- MARK HOLLAND
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THE NEWS ADVERTISER, May 4, 2008 PAGE 5 A/Pdurhamregion.com
ENTER THE SPRING SPECTACULAR CONTEST
SEE PAGES 13,14,19,20
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Our readers think...
A/P PAGE 6 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, May 4, 2008 durhamregion.com
‘Greater understanding’
needed in windows
dispute
To the editor:
Re: the controversy over the St. Francis
de Sales stained-glass windows.
If the parishioners receive from the
diocese a guarantee that the windows
will be installed in the new church
building, then the Town should relin-
quish claim to the windows. It is,
however, possible that the modern
architecture of the new building will
not accommodate the windows. Should
the parishioners have no reliable assur-
ance that windows will be installed in
the new building, it is quite possible the
windows will be stored in some ware-
house long forgotten. Then it would be
better to have left the windows where
they are so the beauty and the heritage
of the windows can be admired and
remembered.
A greater understanding among the
negotiating parties is required.
I just spent the better part of the morn-
ing trying to get a frozen squirrel out
of the bottom of my downspout. So
much for the life of a celebrity. I was chip-
ping away at the gruesome little rodent-
sicle and found myself wondering if John
Wayne or Gregory Peck ever had to do
this kind of thing. Somehow I don’t think
so. Richard Gere had a thing for rodents, I
recall, but I don’t remember a downspout
being involved.
Getting a squirrel out of your downspout
is not as cut and dried as you might think.
And of course, it begs the question: How
did he get in there in the first place? I’ve
considered several scenarios but I think
the closest explanation involves said Squir-
rel, on my roof, poised precariously above
the downspout, uttering the phrase “Hey
fellas, watch this!”
No squirrel can be said to be smart, and
this particular fellow, I can only assume,
was nowhere near the head of his class. It
seems only reasonable, after all, that Moth-
er Nature, on occasion, creates a moron in
the animal kingdom. Why should all the
idiots be human only?
If we slow down and take a little more
heed of the natural world around us we
begin to see abundant evidence of this
shallow end of the animal gene pool.
The one bird in a flock of 100 who flies
into a window. The myopic dragonfly who
manages to find the only car grill in 1,000
miles of open prairie. The mouse that nests
in the cozy confines of a shotgun barrel.
At a downtown rooftop party I once wit-
nessed a dog happily leap over the edge
of the building in pursuit of an errantly
thrown ball. Miraculously, a canvas
awning three stories below broke his fall
and he was completely unharmed. Lucky
for him there was no downspout.
Some animals, in fact, some whole
breeds of creatures seem so completely
stupid that they defy Darwin by their very
existence.
I have yet to see a Mourning Dove, for
instance, that didn’t appear to be wearing
the avian equivalent of a Dunce Cap.
Their call, I think, should not be a ‘coo’
so much as a ‘huh?’ Sheep have the IQ of
a bran muffin. In fact, had sheep not been
domesticated all those years ago, does any-
one really think these woolly blobs of panic
would still be around? Are you kidding?
Sheep have two speeds; Graze and
Cripes! These ovine psychotics have con-
vinced themselves that if we could, human
beings would eat lamb three times a day,
seven nights a week.
Have you ever witnessed a herd of sheep
destroying a patch of mint? Mint sauce is a
sheep’s worst enemy.
And deer, for all their athletic grace and
beauty are unquestionably the Britney
Spears of the animal kingdom.
If deer had thumbs I have no doubt we
would see them riding snowmobiles over
thin ice well into spring.
But as I say, if animals sometimes display
idiotic behaviour, they are only mimicking
their human counterparts.
We have a corner on stupid. And the only
reason no one has ever had to chip a man
out of a downspout is because we wouldn’t
fit.
Durham resident Neil Crone, actor-comic-
writer, saves some of his best lines for his col-
umns.
S quirrel prompts thoughts
on animal, human stupidity
Ad ban a useful tool to fight adolescent obesity
U nlike issues such as the proposed
incinerator, obesity isn’t at the
top of Durham Regional Council’s
agenda. And, while some would argue it
has no place at all at the Regional level, we
believe all levels of government need to at
least begin talking about it as a precursor
to taking action.
Thus, we commend Ajax Regional Coun-
cillor Colleen Jordan for doing so at Ajax
and regional councils.
The issue arose when the Region’s health
and social services committee was asked
to endorse a ban on all food and beverage
advertising directed at children under the
age of 13. The committee voted to receive
the memo for information and did not
endorse the call for the ban. When the
matter came before the whole council,
Coun. Jordan was unable to get the nec-
essary two-thirds majority to change the
committee’s motion into an endorsement
and the issue wasn’t debated.
“I think it’s a very important issue, espe-
cially when you look at the statistics of
obesity and excess weight among young
people and when you look at the billions
of dollars directed at advertising junk food
to children,” she said.
Coun. Jordan’s position is supported by
hard data.
According to Statistics Canada, obesity
rates among children and adults increased
markedly between 1978 and 2004, accord-
ing to results from the Canadian Com-
munity Health Survey (CCHS), which
directly measured the height and weight of
respondents. Increases in overweight and
obesity were similar among boys and girls.
However, trends differed for various age
groups. Most notably, the overweight/obe-
sity rate of adolescents aged 12 to 17 more
than doubled from 14 to 29 per cent, while
their obesity rate alone tripled from three
to nine per cent.
Stats Can noted that “this upturn among
adolescents is of particular concern
because overweight or obese conditions in
adolescence often persist into adulthood.”
Translation? Overweight or obese young
people often become overweight or obese
adults.
As Coun. Jordan noted, the costs to
our health-care system are immense. A
healthy, fit population requires less medi-
cal care than an obese one, as the latter are
more prone to develop diseases and other
health problems.
But, on a more human level, the quality
of life of obese youngsters is substantially
lower.
Coun. Jordan was successful in getting
Ajax council to endorse a motion calling
on the federal and provincial govern-
ments to take action. She plans to again
introduce the issue at Regional council on
Wednesday.
Action indeed needs to be taken on the
issue and, while a junk food ad ban is not
the only answer, it certainly is a step in the
right direction and something area politi-
cians should support.
Neil Crone/ Enter Laughing
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