Toronto Star News, Friday, November 26, 2004, p. B01 Province takes over troubled Oaklands Jim Wilkes The province has moved swiftly to appoint an overseer at Oaklands Regional Centre after another resident wandered from the Oakville facility this week. A Halton police officer spotted a shoeless resident in pyjamas wandering along a neighbourhood street shortly before midnight Tuesday, just 15 days after Randy Mogridge's body was found in a nearby creek. "This is inexcusable," Sandra Pupatello, minister of community and social services, said yesterday as she announced the appointment of Gary Sandor as manager to oversee operations at the centre. "With the spotlight that has been on this facility I would have thought that the agency might have responded a little differently." The body of Mogridge, 46, was found in Sixteen Mile Creek on Nov. 8, more than two weeks after he wandered from the residence for intellectually challenged adults, where he'd lived for 24 years. Police later confirmed he had gone missing from Oaklands twice the day he disappeared. Visibly upset by the latest report of a missing resident, Pupatello said she took the "extraordinary step" of appointing Sandor to run the centre until a review of the operation is completed by the end of next month. Sandor is a public sector and human services consultant specializing in strategic planning for community services and government. Pupatello said Oaklands staff would also receive immediate training on security precautions and safety measures. Earlier yesterday, Halton police confirmed a resident had been found wandering Tuesday night and was returned to the centre even before an alert had been issued that he was missing. "An officer driving in the area very close to Oaklands observed a man who wasn't wearing any shoes and wasn't dressed for the conditions," said Sergeant Jeff Corey. "There had not been a report of a missing person," Corey said. "It was a very alert officer driving along and, based on the weather conditions, seeing a person who looked out of sorts for the area, particularly the fact he wasn't wearing shoes and had pyjama bottoms on." Corey said that when the officer escorted the resident back to the facility, Oaklands staff were in the process of alerting police that a resident was missing who, they claimed, had disarmed a security alarm. Oaklands executive director Sheila Masters said yesterday it was beyond the ability of most residents to disarm an alarm. "It isn't an easy matter," she said. Masters said she was still trying to determine how the resident, in his late 20s, was able to get out. She said she didn't regard the demand for more security training as showing a lack of confidence in current training procedures, which she had believed were adequate. "I don't want to interpret the minister's comments," Masters said. "We welcome having someone come in and support the board and support me, but beyond that I don't have a lot of details." Pupatello said a decision about whether Masters would keep her job might come within a week. "We are going to determine very quickly if additional action needs to be taken," she told reporters at Queen's Park. Masters said last night she was surprised Pupatello would raise the issue of her continued employment at Oaklands. "I don't work for her," she said, explaining she was hired by the centre's board of directors. She said Oaklands is funded by the ministry but operates independently under provincial regulations. Pupatello said the latest incident would be investigated as part of an independent review launched by the ministry into Mogridge's death. But the probe wouldn't be limited to Oaklands, she said. "We have asked our regional offices for an audit of all our residential facilities across the province as a result of this." The disappearance of Mogridge, an autistic man who couldn't speak and suffered from epilepsy and bipolar disorder, captured the attention of residents across the GTA. Thousands of volunteers searched for him in late October and early November. The province announced last week that it would hire an independent investigator to focus on how Mogridge was able to wander from Oaklands, and to examine its policies. At least two other Oaklands residents have died within the past four years, one after eating a Halloween decoration, the other by drowning in a tub. The ministry took charge following an emergency meeting of the centre's board Wednesday night. "Quite frankly, we can't wait for some review without finding a comfort level with security, and that's why we have sent someone in to take over the management of the facility," Pupatello said. WITH Files from Richard Brennan Category: News Uniform subject(s): Laws and regulations Length: Medium, 620 words © 2004 Toronto Star. All rights reserved. Doc. : news·20041126·TS·0TS230380