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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 14, 2007 - 27 Write2Xpress recognizes talent of young writers By Grace Ki TEEN ADVISORY GROUP OAKVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY The 3rd Annual Write2Xpress Contest Awards evening last month at the Glen Abbey Branch attracted aspiring writers and Teen Advisory Group (TAG) members. Award-winning Canadian writer Marsha Skrypuch gave an inspiring talk to the young writers, as well. She discussed some tips for writing better, what is the hardest thing about writing, her experience getting published and also encouraged the young writers to keep writing to their hearts' content. The Annual Write2Xpress contest is for Grades 7-12 writers. It was started in 2005 by the TAG group to promote the library and encourage aspiring writers. This year, the only prompts for the creative writing contest were three pictures, of the Eiffel Tower, Stonehenge and the gondolas of Venice. The distinct tales by the 51 contestants left the judges and audience in awe on the awards evening. The Grades 7-8 judge was Lynne Scott, a long-time Oakville resident, who is the co-owner of Pick of the Crop Toys & Books and one of the board directors of the Selection Committee of the Canadian Children's Book Centre. She could not catch a breath while complimenting the contestants, and especially the winners. The Grades 9-10 judge was Shelli Harrison, the former editor of Teen Issues magazine who has been involved in youth issues and is a volunteer wish granter for the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation. She was impressed by the maturity of writing of the contestants and the winners. The Grades 11-12 judge, Diane Hart, is the executive editor of Oxygen and a journalist contributing to many Canadian magazines and newspapers, as well as a guest speaker to many health seminars. She confessed to being blown away by the inquisition and depth of thinking of the contestants and shared the winners' works with the audience. The winners of the Grades 7-8 category were Brynn Wheaton in first place for Light Snow, Victoria Joch in second place for Hide & Go Seek and Courtney Morrissette in third place for Have Wings, Will Travel. The winners of the Grades 9 -10 category were Jessica Kim in first place for The Full Moon over Paris, Elizabeth Mackay in second place for Memories in a Bottle and Laura Johnson in third place for The Mystery of Stonehenge. The winners of the Grades 11-12 category were Alice Main in first place for Annie, Bill Chang in second for Sales Meeting and Katie Pollock in third for Harvey Cole. Winners each took home a gift card from the Oakville Place and a new inspiration to continue to perfect their skills in writing. The Teen Advisory Group, fondly called TAG, advises the Oakville Public Library to improve to be more available and effective to all library users and especially the teens. It meets once a month to organize and facilitate the Teen Book Club for high school students, operate a Teen Wiki, help with library-organized events like the Santa Claus Parade, plan such as Write2Xpress and its awards evening, and much more. In addition, the TAG members earn volunteer hours. If you are a high school student eager to make a difference in your community, have great leadership skills or want to develop some and need community service hours, join TAG. Contact Shauna Clinning at sclinning@oakville.ca for more information. -- Submitted by the Oakville Public Library. Residential construction site theft Halton Regional Police is investigating a break-in at a residential construction site in Oakville sometime overnight Dec. 7. Police report someone entered a new home under construction on Gladacres Lane and stole a 24-foot section of black granite counter top valued at $7,500. The counter top, which had recently been installed, would have had to have been removed within four hours after installation before the glue dried. There was no sign of forced entry. If you have any information that leads to an arrest in this or any other matter, you may be eligible for a cash reward. You will never have to give your name or testify in court. Crime Stoppers of Halton does not subscribe to call display. Call 1-800-222TIPS (1-800-222-8477) or visit www.haltoncrimestoppers.com. Super 3 Day Sale Flyer in today's paper! (Only in selected areas.) See in store for complete details. Look for our Program and Accommodation Review Committee (PARC)-PE14 in Southeast Oakville REVISED MEETING DATES! The third PARC (Program Accommodation Review Committee) public meeting originally scheduled for Monday, December 17 has been moved to Tuesday, January 15 star ting at 7:00 p.m. at Oakville T rafalgar High School. 3rd PARC Public Meeting: January 15, 2008 ­ 7 p.m. 4th PARC Public Meeting: January 29, 2008 ­ 7 p.m. Meetings will take place at Oakville T rafalgar High School (cafeteria), 1460 Devon Road, Oakville. The committee will study, repor t and make recommendations on the accommodation options in PARC Review Area 14 and express a preference if possible. The study will include the following schools: Chisholm, Brantwood, E.J. James, Linbrook, Maple Grove, New Central and Oakville T rafalgar High Schools. 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