Families wait for word

Erika Engel
Special to The Hamilton Spectator
(May 7, 2008)

The people she holds nearest to her heart have never felt so far away.

Kyin Khine, 56, is waiting in her Hamilton home to hear news of her sister in Myanmar.

Cyclone Nargis has claimed more than 20,000 lives since it struck just a few days ago. The government says more than double that are still missing, with hundreds of thousands left homeless.

Entire communities, such as the ones where Khine's relatives lived, have been destroyed.

There's no word from her brother who owned some rice fields on the coast.

Her husband, Tint, 64, also waits for news of his brother.

"We are thinking, 'he could be dead,'" said Khine.

Waiting and thinking is all they can do.

"We don't know how long it will take to get news," she said. "I feel very bad. You can't do anything. You can just pray."

Some relatives have turned up uninjured, but the rest remain among the missing in Myanmar.

Khine watches the news, and hears the death toll rise. She prays.

She calls her niece in Singapore again -- no word. She prays.

Khine and her husband are alone in Hamilton. Most of their relatives, including their three grown children, live in Singapore. They came here as political refugees in 2000.

A little less than a year ago, nearly 100 Karen refugees came to Hamilton from Thailand and Myanmar. Hser Mu Lar was among them. She may have had relatives in Myanmar when the cyclone hit, but will never know. She lost contact with them years ago.

International relief organizations such as Red Cross, World Vision, UNICEF and the Salvation Army are forming a relief effort in the affected areas.

Brian Burditt, director of world missions for Salvation Army, visited Myanmar three years ago. He said the devastation from this kind of catastrophe weighs heaviest on the country's poor.

"A very difficult existence will be made intolerable," he said.

To help:

* Red Cross is accepting donations on their website at redcross.ca, by phone at 1-800-418-1111, or at the local office at 400 King St. E.

* To donate to World Vision, use their website WorldVision.ca or call 1-800-268-5528.

* For UNICEF call 1-877-955-3111 or visit www.unicef.ca.

* To make a donation to the Salvation Army call 1-800-725-2769 or visit salvationarmy.ca. All four organizations are asking for financial gifts only. It is nearly impossible to ship goods into Myanmar at this time.

Adventures in Literacy

By Erika Engel
Special to The Hamilton Spectator
(May 3, 2008)

See Spot run. See Spot leap over tall buildings.

Big B Comics is donating 1,500 comic books to the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board to promote literacy for boys on Free Comic Book Day today.

The day is celebrated across North America at many comic book stores, including Big B Comics on Upper James Street and Comic Connection on King Street West.

This is the first time Big B has made an extra donation on Free Comic Book Day.

"It just seemed fitting," said owner Walter Durajlija.

Chris Spence, director of education for the board, will be at the store to receive the donation today at noon.

Durajlija decided to make the donation after he attended a Boys to Men literacy seminar organized by Spence and the board.

"I thought, 'I have stuff boys love reading,' " he said.

He later approached school board staff to arrange the donation.

Durajlija remembers comic books igniting his interest in reading at a young age, and he can see the same interest in his son, who is in Grade 3.

"I hope it sparks an interest, I hope it proves that reading isn't painful, that it's enjoyable and it's a door to adventure," he said.

The books, which are screened for content, will be given to schools as teaching resources.

Spence says he believes educators should broaden their perspective of what literacy is and how they teach it. He says they should use the Internet, games and other technology to promote literacy.

"If you want to be successful in reaching them and teaching them, you have to go through their door," he said.

According to the Education Quality and Accountability Office test results from last year, 57 per cent of Grade 3 students in the public board were at or above provincial standards for reading. In the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, that number was 69 per cent. The province-wide average is 62 per cent.

International testing from the EQAO showed that girls scored an average of 13 per cent better than boys in reading achievement.

Educator 'on a mission' to close boy-girl literacy gap

Chris Spence, director of education for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and a former Canadian Football League running back, talked to The Spectator about literacy.
Q. What got you reading as a kid?
A. Sports. I was really involved with sports, and I read anything with sports in it. I remember reading the sports pages to my parents. I would pick up Sports Illustrated at the store.
Q. Are comic books really going to help young boys learn to read?
A. Absolutely. You want to engage them in reading. Once they enjoy it, they are inspired to pick up more. When you find their interests, you can continually expose them to other genres.
Q. Why the focus on boys?
A. In the total picture, girls are outperforming boys. I'm on a bit of a mission to close the gap. If we give further support to our boys, our schools will be better and safer.

Gas 'n' dashes take off as fuel prices skyrocket

Pub Date: May 2, 2008 A1
By Erika Engel

Desperate times fuel desperate measures.

The grainy, unofficial mug shots covering the wall at a Pioneer gas station on Upper Gage are proof. Pictures of people who fill up and drive away without paying.

They're called "drive-offs," and staff at area stations say they are increasing along with gas prices.

Two drive-offs a week are common at this station, according to attendant Alan Sharif.

Other stations near highways are more likely to see fuel 'n' flees.

The Esso on King and Dundurn had $500 worth of drive-offs last week alone, said station operator Paul Gallardi. But a bigger concern, he said, is thieves' disregard for safety as they run red lights, drive the wrong way on one-way streets and speed to get away.

"When these guys go, they go."

Lilia Lutes is worried about skyrocketing gas prices. She fills up at the Petro-Canada station on Cannon Street and recalls gas siphoning during the gas shortage in the '70s.

"We're this close to being there again," the Hamilton woman said.

It's only going to get worse.

Michael Ervin is the president of MJ Ervin and Associates, a Calgary-based consulting firm specializing in the gas sector.

He said we'll see an increase of 15 to 20 cents in pump prices over the next three or four weeks.

Another building may have to go

Pub Date: May 2, 2008
By Erika Engel

Another building on King William Street just a few doors
down from the fallen Balfour building faces an uncertain future
as engineers have been called in to assess its integrity.

The Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), owner of
the vacant building at 33-35 King William St., has been
given an order by Hamilton building officials to submit an
engineer's report.

The report is to say whether or not the building
is structurally sound and what may need to be done
to make it sound.

"We would like to keep it," said LIUNA vice-president Joe
Mancinelli, adding that the outcome depends on the results of
the engineering report.

"I have no idea at this point," said Mancinelli. "The
next step is to go through the building with a
fine toothed comb to make sure it's structurally sound."

Mancinelli added that the building may have to be torn
down if it cannot be fixed, but said LIUNA would
build another in its place.

Although they have no specific plans for the building, they
plan to restore it as storefront rental space if it
can be saved.

They have until May 6 to submit the engineering report,
according to acting director of building services John Spolnik.

Spolnik said this building and the one housing a Thai
restaurant are the only buildings on that block that received
orders from the city for engineering reports.

He said the city ordered the report because of concerns
about the structural integrity of the building after the Balfour
building collapsed more than two weeks ago.

Spolnik said if the owners apply for a demolition permit,
they will no longer be required to submit an engineering
report.

As of Thursday night, LIUNA had not applied for a
demolition permit. "I'm not sure what their intentions are," said
Spolnik.

Ward 2 Councillor Bob Bratina said he hopes the building
doesn't get torn down.

"I don't want to see any more buildings demolished on
that block," said Bratina.

LIUNA also owned the now collapsed Balfour Building, which was
just placed on Heritage Canada Foundation's worst losses list.

The Hamilton Spectator: Fire blamed on metal grinder

Pub Date: May 01, 2008
By Erika Engel

Firefighters had to work around debris scattered across an upper
Stoney Creek property yesterday to fight a blaze apparently caused
by a spark.

Firefighters fought the fire for almost five hours as it
destroyed a barn and consumed scrap metal, lumber and vehicles
cluttering the property at 241 Mud St.

Winds carried flames almost 100 metres across the property.

The fire seems to have started when a man was
using a grinder on the metal of a truck bed.
Sparks ignited nearby debris and spread from there, according to
Hamilton fire media officer John Verbeek.

The fire started between the house and the barn, and
the wind carried the fire to the back of the
property. The house was about 10 metres in the other
direction.

Verbeek said the challenge fighting the fire was navigating through
the large amount of debris scattered all over the property.

This included decrepit vehicles, scrap metal, trailers, tractors, snowmobiles, tractors
and tires.

Since there were no nearby hydrants, several trucks were called
in to replenish the water supply.

The fire department raised property standard concerns, and called the
Ministry of Environment in to inspect some suspicious drums they
found on the property.

The Hamilton Spectator: A moving story

Pubdate: April 30, 2008
By Erika Engel

Another piece of downtown history is disappearing two weeks after the Balfour Building collapse.

Allan Petteplace has been a business owner on King William Street for almost 40 years.

Experts now say his heavy history may literally weigh too much.

The 74 year-old has 100,000 books in a space above Thai Memory restaurant next to where the Balfour stood, demolished because of structural concerns. City inspectors and insurance engineers are worried the books might be too heavy and cause the ceiling to collapse in the Thai restaurant.

Worried, but unsure. It may be safe. The floor and structure can only be tested when the books are out of the way.

The city won't let Thai Memory reopen until the tests are done .

Petteplace must act quickly: Pat Satasuk, owner of Thai Memory, is depending on it. Petteplace's livelihood depends on it, too. This is his pension plan. He needs them all.

Those books are wall-to-wall, they creep down the stairs, up into the attic and across the floor. The history section is stacked to the ceiling. There's a few dozen banana boxes full of paperbacks. The shelves in the biography section sag.

He must move them all.

Immediately.

"It's mind boggling moving all those books," Petteplace said. "It scares me ... I don't want to move."

He would rather stay on the street he has known for 40 years. But, it's not up to him.

Today, he'll sign a new lease and pack up his books. Later, he'll find 100,000 new places for them all.

The Hamilton Spectator: City 'dropped the ball'

Pubdate: April 30, 2008
By Erika Engel



Mayor Fred Eisenberger admitted yesterday that the city "dropped the ball" when it came to supporting downtown business owners after the Balfour Building collapsed two weeks ago.

Eisenberger and Tim McCabe, the city director of economic planning, visited with business owners along King William street yesterday afternoon. This was just six hours after the same business owners met for a press conference at Reardon's Deli to tell their stories and express their frustration with the city's lack of communication.

Eisenberger sent staff members to the morning meeting, and when he heard the concerns raised by the downtown business owners, he decided to pay a personal visit to each business.

"We're apologizing," said Eisenberger. "We want to let them know we care."

During the morning meeting, delicatessen owner Paul Reardon said he remembers seeing the mayor walk by his business earlier that week, but was disappointed the mayor didn't walk in to talk to him.

Reardon, a third-generation butcher in a business that has been in the downtown for 90 years, asked for "a little compassion."

"We work hard," he said. "They let us down."

Kevin MacKay, 35, is executive director of Sky Dragon Centre on King William Street. He was at the morning meeting and later met with the mayor.

MacKay said the mayor's afternoon visit was "damage control."

When he spoke to Eisenberger and McCabe, MacKay told them that if they were serious about economic development in Hamilton, they should realize the importance of smaller businesses.

"In situations like this, small businesses need to be protected," he said. "If we can't look to the city for that protection, then who can we look to?"

Ward 2 Councillor Bob Bratina was at the morning meeting in Reardon's, and said he would push for the city to respond to the business owners and provide answers about what they can expect.

He said there would be a meeting on May 12 where city committees will discuss the issues related to the building collapse.

Anyone wishing to raise an opinion or concern at this public meeting must submit their thoughts in writing to Mary Gallagher from the city clerk's office.

Requests may be e-mailed to mgallagher@hamilton.ca.

The meeting is at 9:30 a.m. in the Convention centre's Albion room.