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Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012

yorkregion.com

905-853-8888

Memories of fallen officer burn brightly Const. Garrett Styles was ‘family man’: father

Styles baseball event supports children

BY JOE FANTAUZZI

BY JOE FANTAUZZI

jfantauzzi@yrmg.com

Resting his arms on the boardroom table, Garry Styles grips a water bottle. “He was a family man,” he says of his son, York Regional Police Const. Garrett Styles, 32, killed while on duty in East Gwillimbury last year. “He was honourable and he loved his community.” More than a year after the incident, Mr. Styles’ grief is palpable. Now retired after more than three decades of policing York, the elder Styles no doubt saw a lot of what society can dish out during his career. But today, he weeps for his lost son; a son for whom he caught baseballs, who followed him into policing and, just like his dad, donated blood to help others get healthy — even though he didn’t like needles. The respect his son showed to adults, his modesty and his sense of knowing what needed to be done and doing it showed his true character, Mr. Styles says. So, it didn’t surprise the family when Garrett decided to serve his community. He attended Newmarket High School and, in 2001, graduated with honours from police foundations at Humber College. “I think he always wanted to be a policeman,” Mr. Styles said, recalling photographs of his boy wearing his old gear. Const. Styles joined York Regional Police as a cadet-in-training in 2003 and became a constable in May 2004. He worked uniform patrol in Richmond Hill before moving north to patrol Newmarket, Aurora and East Gwillimbury. Father and son even had the opportunity to work together on some paid duty assignments. But work wasn’t Const. Styles’ See STYLES, page A9.

jfantauzzi@yrmg.com

As a boy, Const. Garrett Styles loved baseball. A pitcher, he played in Newmarket and the family regularly travelled around southern Ontario for sports, his father, Garry, said. As he got older, Const. Styles loved attending baseball games with his dad. Since the officer’s death June 28, 2011 during a traffic stop, the family has faced challenges anyone would find difficult. But instead of retreating into his grief, Mr. Styles is now a driving force in the second annual Garrett Styles Memorial Baseball Tournament. “It gives the community a way of See EVENT, page A9.

STYLES TOURNAMENT The games are free to attend and will be held at the Newmarket Fairgrounds, 220 Muriel St., near the corner of Gorham and Prospect streets, in Newmarket and Stewart Burnett Park, 1400 Wellington St. E., near the corner of Wellington and Leslie streets, in Aurora. A tournament social night will be held Sept. 22 at the York Regional Police Association Building at 600 Stonehaven Ave. in Newmarket beginning at 6 p.m. A draw will be held that night and the grand prize is a trip for two anywhere WestJet flies. Tickets for the night are $25 and can be purchased at Summer 365 at 1140 Ringwell St. in Newmarket, the York Regional Police Association, Newmarket Legion Hall #426 at 707 Srigley St. and the Police Credit Union at 18025 Yonge St.

STAFF PHOTO/SUSIE KOCKERSCHEIDT

Const. Garrett Styles’ father, Garry, holds a York Regional Police Blue Sox jersey featuring his son’s badge number. The Sox host a memorial tournament for Const. Styles (inset) next month. Const. Styles was killed in the line of duty last year.

York Catholic board approves deal with union

T H E H O LY G R A I L I S S U S T A I N A B L E G O V E R N M E N T : Y O R K C A O

Provincial uploads will save region $124M BY CHRIS TRABER

Local trustees support province’s deal with teachers BY KIM ZARZOUR

kzarzour@yrmg.com

York Catholic school board trustees have signed on with the province’s deal reached with its teachers’ union. It’s the second Ontario board to buy in to the controversial wage freeze agreement hashed out by the Liberal government and Ontario’s Catholic teachers. Trustees passed a motion yesterday on an intention to sign the memorandum of understanding reached between the Education Ministry and Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, the board announced this morning. Toronto’s Catholic board was the first to reach an agreement. However, about a dozen other Catholic boards, mainly in the southwest portion of the province, have reached impasses and filed

‘We want everyone to start the year off knowing everything’s been resolved... When there’s no anxiety, then students can learn in the classroom.’ Elizabeth Crowe

York Catholic District School Board chairperson

for conciliation, union spokesperson Michelle Despault said. The York agreement is a result of a good relationship between the board and its employees, York Catholic board chairperson Elizabeth Crowe said. “We recognize the high degree of uncertainty this issue has created for our employees, parents and students,” she said. “Adoption of the (memorandum) will help provide labour stability and peace See TORIES, page A7.

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York Region’s fiscal health is strong, thanks, in no small part, to the province helping municipalities defray expenses, York chief administrative officer Bruce Macgregor said. The provincial-municipal fiscal and service delivery review initiated in 2006 is better known as the municipal uploading agreement. By 2018, when the uploading is complete, municipal budgets will see a net benefit of $1.5 billion each year. York Region’s share, from 2007 to 2018, will total $124 million, Mr. Macgregor said. That’s good news for York Region, which sent more than $90 million to Toronto as part of the GTA pooling program that is being phased out, concluding in 2013. The region is in good shape and moving in the right direction, Mr. Macgregor said. “Of course, the holy grail is sustainable government and there’s none on the planet. We’re still looking.” Still, the provincial initiative

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designed to help shore up and maintain public services has made municipal administrators’ jobs a tad less stressful. “No question,” he said. “It’s made things easier. To the province’s credit, it’s a challenge. Taxes and services must be in balance.” This year, uploading translates into $5 million in Newmarket court security costs being picked up by

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BRUCE MACGREGOR: York Region CAO applauds Ontario uploading services from municipalities.

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the province. York and other municipalities will also continue to see cost savings from previous uploads in social assistance programs, including the Ontario Works and Ontario Drug Benefit programs. The uploading has created other tangible regional benefits. Affordable housing projects in Richmond Hill and Keswick are underwritten by uploads. York Region Transit has also benefitted from gas tax transfers. Since the program launched, more than $2.2 billion in gas tax funding has gone to municipalities to help purchase transit vehicles, add routes, extend hours of service and upgrade transit infrastructure. York Region council has done a great job balancing competing demands, Mr. Macgregor said of the region’s $2.8 billion 2012 budget. York Region will contribute $8.6 million to a new fiscal stabilization reserve to steady tax rates once GTA pooling is fully phased out

ctraber@yrmg.com


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