$1.00 www.oshawaexpress.ca “Well Written, Well Read” Vol 4 No 28 Wednesday, May 6, 2009 Swine Flu hits region By Katie Strachan Region and there could be plenty more on On April 24, The Oshawa Express the way, says Durham Region’s Medical Lakeridge Health con- Officer of Health, Dr. Robert Kyle. firmed three cases of the It hasn’t been declared a pandemic, yet. “There are probably a number of cases flu, which is now being But there have already been six con- that are in the pipeline in Durham Region,” deemed H1N1 Influenza Giving the gift of life firmed cases of Swine Flu in Durham says Dr. Kyle. A by professionals in an See story page 6 effort to reassure folks that it does not come from eating pork. Dr. Robert Kyle Those three patients Durham Region A mere four were apparently treated at Medical Officer Lakeridge Health Port Perry hospital. bedrooms However, Lakeridge Health is not releas- ing the details to protect patient identities. “We’ve been fairly rigid but as things get won’t work noted...we’ll probably provide a little more See SIX Page 5 for some By Lindsey Cole Hospital The Oshawa Express Mareen Sooriyakumar came to Oshawa from Toronto as a student. back on She married and now has two student renters living with her in the city. Coming from a large family, Sooriyakumar says she lived with many relatives in Toronto, as it’s part of her culture. track Such is the reason why she says the city’s proposed four-bedroom cap in any dwelling within the city is By Katie Strachan simply a human rights issue and a Feb. 24 letter from The Oshawa Express Ontario Human Rights Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall seems to suggest the same. While the worst may be over, Lakeridge “You are restricting the number of people that can Health Oshawa will continue to monitor the live in a house. It (having large numbers) is something overcrowding it’s experiencing. we’re comfortable with and we don’t have a problem The hospital declared a Code Orange with.” (Disaster) Level 2 due to its overcrowded She, along with about 50 others, gathered at the emergency rooms last week. Oshawa and District Shrine Club on Monday night to The entire Lakeridge Health network was inform members of the Development Services facing considerable bed pressures and over Committee just what they thought about the issue dur- crowding in their ERs. ing a Planning Act public meeting. However the Code Orange Level 2 has “We (the city) are really, frankly, just trying to been cleared. move students out of certain neighbourhoods,” “Lakeridge Health has made considerable Sooriyakumar says. “I don’t think this four fits every- progress in easing the pressures at Lakeridge body.” Health Oshawa’s ER with the assistance of While the four-bedroom cap was cause for the Durham EMS, the Community Care Access majority of discussion, the other side of the token was Centre, our long-term care facility partners as a temporary use bylaw for properties abutting Photo by Katie Strachan/ The Oshawa Express well as our Port Perry and Bowmanville hos- Dalhousie Crescent and Concordia Court to permit a pital sites,” says Lisa Shiozaki, vice president maximum of six bedrooms until Feb. 11, 2011. of patient services. And while many tied closely with the Hopeful for Teddies At the time the code was called, the hospi- UOIT/Durham College Student Housing Taskforce Chelsey Prosser, 17, was recently named Miss Teen Oshawa and has since taken on the task of tal network had 69 Alternative Level of Care were wholeheartedly against the cap, others were collecting stuffed animals for the Teddy Bears of Hope campaign. She hopes to collect 2,000 (ALC) patients in its three hospital sites. See MEETING Page 5 bears and $4,000 by June 1. They will be sent to children in Uganda. See story page 3 See CODE Page 5 Festival exemption raises eyebrows By Lindsey Cole them saying, now because we know you, you “They’ve got a business license,” he says. to the community. The Oshawa Express don’t have to do police checks. We make our “There are not a lot of criminal checks to “If you don’t know the cast of characters, coaches do it. I think it’s really sad,” she says. do. This is a well-known small festival. We you take the cautious approach. This is one Kyle Nicholson has nothing against the At City Council recently several council- know the Oshawa Garden Club. Why would that is well known to us.” Oshawa Peony Festival. lors explained that since the festi- we put all those people through crimi- As a resident of Oshawa, she thinks it’s val is well known in the area and nal background checks?” great for the community and it is a beautiful they know most exhibitors there He says the councillors that didn’t representation of the peony flower. isn’t a need to make them go approve of the motion were just grand- However, she is against City Council’s through the licensing process. standing and ‘chasing headlines.’ recent decision to waive the Peddler’s licence “God forbid anything should But for Nicholson it just comes for Oshawa Peony Festival Exhibitors. happen,” she adds. “They (council) down to making sure each and every While she isn’t against giving people a are the one’s that decided to do the person is safe. break, when it comes to festivals she feels it’s exemption. There has just got to be “That’s scary to me.. It has nothing imperative that all exhibitors in any festival go a better way.” Oshawa Mayor to do with this particular group. I’m not through a criminal background check, which is However, Mayor John Gray John Gray sure they should be picking and choos- mandatory under the Peddler’s licence. says that this isn’t setting a prece- ing,” she says. “If City Council thought it was onerous, dent for other festival exhibitors who will be Mayor Gray says they aren’t picking and pay for their licences. I have a problem with required to go through the process. choosing, as this is a group that is well known Need for depot questioned by councillors By Lindsey Cole whether Oshawa was in need of more develop- attended the meeting. mental and engineering studies for option D The Oshawa Express ment, in particular a fully integrated works Other options included building a depot and that additional funding of $75,000 be depot. near Farewell, or west of Thornton Road, north charged to the City Operations and Councillors bantered back and forth at a During the meeting there was considerable of Taunton Road. Environmental Services Centre account to pay recent City Council meeting, questioning debate over a proposed depot that could cost Other options for the site were west of for the studies. the city more than However, some councillors were $40 million and completely opposed to the idea, stat- house various city “The private sector is ing this project isn’t a good idea for services. aware that we’re Oshawa. While discussions “I don’t believe there is any sup- are still in the prelim- considering the port in the community to spend $45 inary stages, and no million,” says Councillor Brian decisions have been possibilities. All this Nicholson of the total projected cost made, several sites is doing is opening if the depot were to go through. have been in consid- He also says spending $75,000 eration and were the the door.” on study costs is not worth it at this subject of open public time. debate in March. -Nester Pidwerbecki Councillor Nester Pidwerbecki Of the sites con- City Councillor had a different take on the issue. sidered, option D, “The private sector is aware that west of Harmony we’re considering the possibilities. Road, between Thornton Road, south of Winchester Road, or All this is doing is opening the door,” he says. Conlin Road and north of Conlin Road, west of Thornton Road “I think it’s something we have to deal Winchester Road got and lastly the existing site of the Ritson Depot. with.” the highest ranking As a result City Staff explained that some The matter was referred back to staff for from the 44 members residents were against a depot entirely, but it them to get more information before any steps of the public that may be necessary to go forward with environ- are made in going forward. Hockey ticket fraud in Oshawa A 30-year-old Oshawa man has found himself on tickets. thin ice after allegedly trying to sell hockey tickets A police investigation revealed several victims over the Internet and not delivering. across Ontario and some from out of the province One of his client’s contacted police and an investi- were duped by the suspect. gation was launched in February 2009. Investigators want to make sure there are no more The suspect allegedly offered Toronto Maple Leafs victims. tickets for sale online with the website Kijiji Canada. Kijiji Canada recommends all transactions related Interested buyers sent e-mails to off_season_land- to their site occur locally and in person and urges peo- [email protected]. ple not to send money by cheque or wire transfer. The seller insisted that before the tickets were They have safety information on their website shipped, money for them had to be sent by Interac E- detailing how to handle transactions. mail Money Transfer.