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Page 2, Thursday, July 20, 1972, WHITBY FREE PRESS A, Rabid Train of Thought It Is shocking t o real ize there are still people In public life who feel - "it Is none of the publ ic's businessi" - where rabid animais are concerned. A s i t u ation where potential rabies i s involved is indeed an explosive one for people do, as the Ontario Humane Society repeatedly points out, tend to become emotional where the dreaded disease is concerned. Perhaps people w I t h i n the society t ike Tom Hughes, President for the Province of Ontario and Helen Allen, the local Ontario Humane Society sup- ervisor, whose attitude i t is that it is none of the public's business where rabies is concerned, cannot be judged too harshly. They have deait with the sometimes unpred ictabl e public before, and have, because of their particular 1 i n e of work, h a d a closer look than most at one of the earth's most dreaded diseases. It is the contention of the society, w h e r e T o m Hughes is concerned at least, that rabid animais fail into the irrevocable jur isdict ion of the Heal th of Animal s Branch o f t h e Department of Agr icul ture. Unl1 e s s e c o nomic shots are made mandatory for all pets and rabies ciln- i c s ar e s e t up, Ontario someday be rampant with the virus, he says. One can sympathize with the OHS who say they neither have the funds to quar- antine and tend suspected rabid animais nor the manpower to track them down. One c anno t sympathize however, with the attitude that the public has no right to know. The society's ever-present fear that the 500 cat kill1ings in York County will be r e pe a ted again is, under certain circumstances, immature. Let us remember also that the pov- e r t y -str icken society workers are in their chosen roles. One almost arrives at the conclusion that at theOntario Humane Society, the value placedon animal life ishigherthan the value placed on human life. If that is the philosophy of the latter something isdangerouslywrong. There is no real comparison between animal and man - who has a soul. There is alsono question that people when it comes to the welfare of their own childrendo have the right' to know. More and more the Ontario Humane Society is getting bad newspaper pub- licity and appears to be losing the con- fidence of the public in general. Perhaps some of the people manning O n t a r io Humane Societies across the Province of Ontario have been around caged animais too long... Sir; When I first came into the Hatch manor, home of the Whitby Free Press , the first thingl1 saw was the two and mighty mice one at each side ofthe giant of the Town of Whit- b y . 1lam pleased to see that you got over your first year in publicat- ion. Hope you h ave m a n y more years of success. It i s a long time since we had a regutar weekly paper inour town. We had to pay for the Gazette, but we got some Whitby news in it. P l e a s e d to see that Jim while serving the liquor at your anniver- sa r y party kept sober. As for the one who locked himsel f in the bathroom - he must have been seeing mice! I served at a lot of parties.for the o f f icers In camp near Timmins dur- i n g my war days. Dur ing that time liquor was scarce so to make it heng out, we waited until the party was well undervvay and watered it down. I was pleased to see in your paper the happy ending for John X. Iwould not be surprised if there are many more John X's in t o w n i f w e only knew. With the best o f success t o you in your second year. Your friend, the old timer. sîng TO THE EDITOR: Th!is morning a very sweet, little o 1 d lady, eighty- y e a r s-young and as big as a minute brought three wigs i n t o my shop for servicing. They were overpriced, they didn't fit and they were poorly styled and I won- der what business person would take advantage of some one's grandmother and still sleep night s.' To satisfy short- term desires at THE WHITIBY FREE PRESS 1 (Voice ot the County Town) Hometown pêper of Whitby, Brooklin, Myrtie and Ashburn. Ma" publish Editor Editoria Staff Dispiay Adverti - J. Quail - Ron Winstanley ~4. 1 ong- term goals - easy money in the til today for a bad repu tat ion tomorrow cannot help a business community grow and noone bene- fits. Let's make every day Senior Citi- zen'sDay. Surely we can make our living In amore honourable and sa t is fy ing man- ne r than prey ing on het1 pt1 es s old people. Sincerely, Val Vickery, Whitby. Tobe or not to be is the question to be d e c i d e-d upon 10 a. m. , September 13 when the Ontario Municipal Board will hearboth pros and cons from the elec- torate of Whitby on the controversial Rossland Road Municipal-Police com- plex. TheOntario Municipal Board decid- ed onthe publ ic'hear ing date 1last week. If their decision calls for a plebisci.te, c it izens will have the opportunity to vote for municipal leaders and the proposed complex on the hill simultan- eously at the December municipal el- ect ion. READER'S FORUM READER'S FORUM is a weekly feature for the readers of the Whitby Free P r e ss. A IlI questions must be signed and deltivered to Box 206, Whitby. Questions need not be of a political nature but must be of a local nature. Redr wrt Published every Thursday in and for the people of Whitby. Offices - 301Byron St S. Whitby - Box 206. Whtby - 668-6111 - W. Bill"Durkee - Judy Durkee E dà' 1 t o'ý','r 'I', i ý,a, Goni ni en 1 F 0 X - ont1nued from front page. no t belleved the cat in captivity Is the cat In question. Most of the residents aware of the si tuation are angry because no one seems tobe taking the matter serlously. "The police thought i t was a joke, " Mr s. W. Rostek, a resident of Wal ton Boulevard reported, "an d the Ontario Humane Society took too long in arriv- in g. As an example she cited the cat being under a c a r for an hour, but by t h e t i m e the Ontario Humane Society a r r i v e d on the scene the cat had run off again. Another p o I i c e off icer was sa id to have told residents he didn't think the cat was rabid because it didn't appear to be frothing at the mouth. Dr. Hendry, the government repres- entative for Ontario County says the cat isnot necessarily dead and contrary to publ ic bel ief can become rabid anywhere between two weeks to six months. Under the circumstances it would be wise to issue a word of caut ion to young- sters to keep away from cats. But there is no need to panic. The last time reports of rabid anim- a i s w e r e m a d e publ ic approximatel y 500 cats were needlessly destroyed, while in Ontario County for the entire ye ar of 1971, three dogs, one cat and e i g h t bovines w e r e the known rabid cases reported by the Heal th of Animal s Branch of the Department of Agricul- ture. If y ou r cal to the Ontario Humane Society does not bring results contact the Byl1 aw Enforcement Officer, A. Craigie at 668-5803.