The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 16

B4 The Ottawa Citizen, Thursday, February 27, 1997 ClTYLIFE Sister of critically ill man Regional budget gives tax break marrow donor By Mohammed Adam Citizen municipal affairs writer Ottawa-Carleton's regional government approved the last budget of its three-year term Wednesday, with tax decreases of between $2 and $81 for most residents in the region's urban municipalities. Residents in Ottawa, Nepean, Gloucester, Vanier and Cumberland will get tax breaks, but those in Kanata and Rockcliffe Park will see a slight tax increase, largely because of policing costs. And residents in the rural municipalities will see tax increases of between $8 and $40 because they are now paying for police services they previously received free. With an eye on the fall municipal election, most councillors say the 1997 budget rounds up what has been a successful term. They kept their promise not to increase regional taxes, except for municipalities that had to pay for policing.

They point out that in the urban areas, the average Ottawa taxpayer who owns a $150,000 home will pay $1,345 in regional taxes this year, down from $1,352 in 1994 when this council took This year's tax decrease for most residents was possible only because the region used reductions in water and sewer rates to offset property-tax increases. Four weeks ago, when staff tabled the proposed 1997 budget, residents in eight of the region's 11 municipalities faced tax increases of between $6 and $40 because of higher police and garbage fees, as well as provincial spending cuts. Ottawa's homeowners faced $14 tax increases while in Nepean the increase was $6. But politicians decreased the water and sewer rates by two cents per cubic metre consumed. They also reduced by $3 a tax levied to pay for sewer capital projects, thereby raising $17 per household to offset the increased costs.

Most rural areas didn't benefit from these savings because they don't pay for water and sewers. The region has an operating budget of $976 million in 1997, down from $1.1 billion last year. Spending on capital projects is $227 million, up from $125 million in 1996 largely to pay for new OC Transpo buses and work on the west transitway extension. The budget includes $100 million for police services and $48 million for OC Transpo. In Nepean, the taxes dropped to $1,341 this year from $1,357 in 1994.

During the same period, the regional debt dipped to $269 million at the end of 1996 from $294 million in 1994. Regional chair Peter Clark said council managed the feat despite a reduction in provincial grants during the three-year period. But he acknowledged that with Ontario's massive transfer of services hanging over the region, this may be the last time regional council gives back money to taxpayers. "Today, it's a good news story, but I can't tell what is going to happen next year," Clark said. Based on the region's preliminary analysis, Clark has said that Ontario's sweeping government overhaul would raise the average homeowner's property-tax bill by as much as $500 next year.

Some councillors say while the region has done a remarkable job coping with massive cuts in provincial grants, it has been less than charitable to the poor. "We inflicted a lot of pain on the poor in the 1996 budget to cut taxes. I question denying frail elders escort drivers for medical appointments and cutting bus passes for people looking for work," said Coun. Alex Munter. is likely bone Family needs help to fly woman from Vietnam By David Gambrill Citizen correspondent potential bone marrow donor for a dying 19-year-old Ottawa high school student has been found among the man's relatives in Vietnam.

Trung Dinh was diagnosed a month ago with aplastic anemia, which prevents bone marrow from producing blood cells and platelets that prevent hemorrhaging. He faces the possibility of dying within months if he does not receive a bone marrow transplant from a compatible donor Lothar Huebsch, one of the doctors handling the case at the Ottawa General Hospital, said Wednesday he was "reasonably certain, 95 per cent certain" that the young man's older sister, Dinh, who lives in Vietnam, would be an appropriate donor. Initial tests on a sample of her blood brought backfrom Vietnam were positive. "I'm very happy. My brother is re-Born-," said Vu Dinh, Trung's older htother, who flew to Vietnam last week collect blood samples from family members in the hope of finding a mafch.

"i was so nervous when I came back from; Vietnam. It felt like I was carrying 100 kilograms of blood (he was car-Eying 245 millilitres). When I heard ier was a match, it didn't seem so $138M west transitway extension gets approval French-language school gets reprieve Many councillors expressed grave reservations about the cost of the road, at $35 million a kilometre, especially when local taxpayers could end up pay- ing for it all. Some wanted construction to be delayed for a year to complete a review of the entire transitway project. Others simply wanted to kill the project.

"$35 million a kilometre there's a lot we can do with that money," Coun. Madeleine Meilleur said. "Mega-week (the announced provincial downloading of of responsibilities to municipalities) has changed the universe in Ontario, and we still don't have a good picture of that universe yet," argued Coun. Jacques Legendre in asking for a year's delay To allay fears that too much money is being spent on the transitway, Regional chair Peter Clark offered the com- promise of delaying construction of the more expensive section, which requires a tunnel to bypass greenspace. Clark urged councillors not to kill the project, saying the transitway would boost retail sales at the Bayshore Shopping Centre.

About 30 per cent of shoppers at the east-end St. Laurent Shopping Centre arrive by By Joanne Laucius Citizen education writer Hintonburg's ficole St-Frangois-' Assise will remain open after a 10-month stay on the endangered list. rLast April, the school was given a War to nrnve it could attract mnrp stu dents after the French-language Catholic school board did a review of schools with low enrolment. Closing St. Francois would have aved the board $200,000 in mainte- nance and administration costs.

One ether school, Jeanne-Lajoie on Donald ptreet, was closed because ot the re- viewr But even before the moratorium ended, file board has decided that St-Eraricois deserves to stay open because 2 ha? made an effort to attract more Students. The board also took into account the fact that St. Francois is the only' French-language school in the heavy any more," he said. Despite his happiness and relief about finding a potential donor within the family, Vu Dinh said there are still "too many steps" to go. Dr Huebsch said the next step is for the family to fly TRUNG DINH Uyen to Canada sometime in the next two or three weeks.

Once she is here, doctors must conduct more tests to make sure she is healthy enough to donate the bone marrow. Linda Dao, Trung's cousin, said her husband is prepared to pay some money for the trip, but the family needs help. A trust fund for donations was established this month on the advice of Sheryl McDiarmid, transplant co-ordi-nator at the General. Dao said the account, which financed Vu's flight to Vietnam last week, has only $2,300 too little to pay for another trip. Dao said if Vu has to return to Vietnam in order to arrange his sister's flight, the whole trip could cost the family between $4,000 and $5,000.

(A return ticket to Vietnam costs between $1,500 and $2,000.) The trust fund account is at the Bank of Nova Scotia branch at 661 Somerset St. W. Dao said anyone who wished to make a donation should make a cheque out to: "In trust for Trung Dinh." area. St-Francois has 122 students in a school with an operational capacity of 484 students. It has slowly increased its enrolment since September, when only 110 students were registered, says planning manager Ronald Nault.

There has been an exodus of francophones from Hintonburg, Lower-town and Vanier in recent years, a trend that some parents believe will reverse itself. Meanwhile, overcrowding in French-language schools in the suburbs continues to grow. In January, the Ministry of Education announced about $8 million in grants for the French-language Catholic board to build two new suburban schools. "We're dealing with old downtown core schools," Nault said. "When you look at downtown schools, you have to look at viability and student needs." more buttons.

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i- 3 3 A Ww lUlows (Restaurant Him $ar Siano- bus, he said. At Billings Bridge in the south, about 25 per cent of shoppers travel by bus. At Bayshore, only 10 per cent of shoppers come to the mall by bus. The transitway will also ease congestion on the Queensway for 2,000 peak-hour riders heading downtown from Kanata when Highway 416 is completed. Clark said.

Regional staff estimate the 416 will pour about 10,000 cars a day on to the Queensway and clog it. "The 416 coming in there could destroy reliability of buses and that could drive up the costs," Clark said. But others said that breaking up the project into sections doesn't hide the fact that regional taxpayers could be on the hook for $138 million. They may pay it in bits, but they will still pay it. "You are being asked to spend $48 million for three kilometres and then spend $73 million on one kilometre," said Coun.

Alex Cullen. "Whether we split in half, it is still a mega-project and we will pay for it." More Citylife news on page C9 iv sai itttintw By Mohammed Adam Citizen municipal affairs writer Ottawa-Carleton's regional government has approved construction of the $138-million west transitway extension, despite the loss of provincial subsidies. Regional Council voted 12-6 on Wednesday to go ahead with the four-kilometre-long buses-only road. The work will be done in two parts. Work on the first three-kilometre section from Pinecrest Road to Acres Road near Bayshore would begin this year at a cost of $48 million.

The more expensive section the one-kilometre $73-million portion from Pinecrest to the southwest transitway near Lincoln Fields would not begin for at least 10 years. A study would have to clearly established the need for the road. The region has already spent about $18 million on the project for such things as property and studies. The region is clinging to the faint hope that Ontario will pay half the cost, even though the province announced during mega-week that it will no longer pay for public transportation. If the province doesn't, the region will have to foot the entire bill.

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