The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Vol. 4 No. 40 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1974 KEY WITNESS IN MURDER TRIAL Unable to test'fy Warren Mowat, retiring Deputy-chief of the Whitby Fire Department and past Whitby mayor, smiles gleefully as he proudly displays one of the many gifts presented to him at the annual Whitby Fire Department Fire Prevention Awards Night held Saturday night. Mr. Mowat was offici- ally recognized by the Town of Whitby for his 31 years of service to the W.F.D. On the left is Mrs. Mowat, and on the WilIiams Mistreatment Trial Delayed Further The completion of the case against Camilla Williams, Whitby charged with mis- treatment of animals has been delayed for another two weeks. The prosecuting Crown Attorney is tied up "with criminal matters in the Higher Courts" and is unable to be present in both Courts at the same time. A good portion of the evidence of the case was Province C New Regisi The province is consider- ing building a new registry office in Whitby to service the region. To be located west of the old county build- ing on Rossland Road, the new building will replace the overcrowded faciity present- ly in use on Centre Street S. According to reports from the Ontario Government Ser- presented during two days of the Provincial Court trials in Whitby. "The hour was late" and Crown Attorney Edward Howell delayed the cross examination of Mrs. Williams until the following week. This was in September and on September 16th the Gen- eral Assizes for the Judicial District of Durham began at the Administration of Justice onsidering try Office vices Minister, James Snow, the new building will proba- bly also house the regional assessment office, and district court chambers and offices. The court chambers and offices are presently located in the Durham Region build- ing (the ,old county building), but the region needs more room in the building. right is Kathy Crouch, wife of Whitby Fire Chief Ed Crouch. Also recognized for their years of service, and also retiring were: Jim Watson, R. Schad, L. Mowat, R. Correll, Irvin Gibson, and Alf Minaret. See page 5 for more photos of the awards night. Free Press Photo Building Rossland Road, Whitby. The Supreme Court Sessions are also in progress which makes it very difficult for the Crown attorney's to be in the various courts prosecuting the cases that have been sent from the Provincial Courts, which are held weekly ail during the year, to the Higher Courts either District Court or Supreme Court. The sche- dules for these Courts are not set by the Court Officiais in this area but by the Attorney General's Department. Our Seniors Get a Break Senior Citizens in Durham Region's homes for the aged won't have to pay higher ren ts. Durham Regional council last Wednesday approved a new daily rate of $11.50 ef- fective November 1 for five months. The increase, and the retroactive amount back to last April 1, will be ab- sorbed by the region. The region is planning a protest of the provincial rates May Join macs Former Toronto Maple Leaf, Carl Brewer, may sign with the Whitby McDonalds' Senior A Hockey Club. Brewer played with the Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association, the Canadian National Team in '66 (when he obtained his amateur status), was player coach of the Finnish National team '68, was with the Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues before joining the Toros. Negotiations are continu- ing between Brewer and the McDonalds' executive, and sources say an announcement Will probably be forthcoming within a week. requesting the province to withdraw its new rate and come up with a reasonable increase effective next April with at least two months notice. This protest will go to Rene Brunelle, the Mini- ster of Social and Commun- ity Services. Due to Illness Will the key witness'for the Gerald Shea murder trial be available during the pre- sent schedule date of the trial? That is the question that has been uppermost in the rninds of the Supreme Court Officials on Monday the opening date for the re- trial of Gerald Shea 48, a Toronto lawyer charged with the murder of Sandra Speiran 37 in July 1973 at Atherly, Ontario. Mr. Justice Morden on Monday morning welcomed the jury panel to the Admin- istration of Justice Building Rossland Road, Whitby. IIe told then that in "their role as jurors they are judges. The administration of Justice is our most priceless posses- sion." Before His Lordship completed his remarks in re- gards to the selection of a 12 member jury for this trial he was interrupted by Mr. Shea. Mr. Shea is acting on his own behalf'as defense coun- sel. He informed the court by saying "apparently the Court has not been informed that the trial may not pro- ceed and there is the possibil- ity that we may not be pro- ceeding with the choice of jury." Crown Attorney Bruce Affleck agreed with the accused, Mr. Shea, that there is the possibility that the trial may not proceed. He told the Court that "the case is scheduled for trial today (Monday October 7th) but one of the main witnesses is not available as she is in the hospital. She is unavail- able due to a medical pro- blem which may result in > surgery. She is a material witness for the Crown." Mr. Affleck sought an "enlarge- ment" a lengthy remand of the case in order to have this witness available for the trial. Mr. Shea objected to any further delay in the proceed- ings and asked that the doc- tors in charge of Mrs. Doreen Dwinnell, of Orillia be pre- sent in the Court to give evidence as to the medical condition of the witness. "All we have before this Court is a statement. No one in this Courtroom knows a- bout this witness other than a letter. Surely, at least, the Crown could have the doctor present to be cross examined as to the availability of the witness." Mr. Shea wanted to know how many other witnesses would be unable to attend. A motion was presented to the Court; and in the absence of the jury panel both the Crown attorney and the defense presented argu- ment on the motion. The ... jiry panel was recalled at 12:30 noon at which time Mr. Justice Morden said,"a matter has developed and the matter is unavoidable. I don't think anyone can be criticized for this unforseen delay." His Lordship then gave the jury panel permission to leave the building and return at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning. During the afternoon discussion it was learned that one doctor was away at a convention and that the oth- er doctor was "in surgery at the Orillia Hospital until 3 p.m. on Monday". It would take from an hour and a half to two hours for the doctor to corne from Orillia to the Courtroom in Whitby. It was decided to continue the legal discussion on Tuesday morning and that the jury panel be notified to return to the Court at 2:00 p.m. on October 8th, Tuesday. Broadbent L.I.P. Grants Oshawa Whitby M.P. Ed Broadbent has re-nominated the same 11 Oshawa-Whitby residents constituency advis- ory group responsible for grants under the L.I.P. pro- gram. Mr. Broadbent in a letter to the minister said he wished to retain the same nominees as last year because of their exceptionally good work last year. The members of the advis- ory group are Mrs. Mary E. Brown, director of the three day care centres in Oshawa; Mrs. Roberta Adamson, an Oshawa social worker; Mr. Garry Kent who works on the line at G.M. and has headed a number of L.I.P. projects, and Mr. Doug Manuel, who is the president of the Oshawa Handicapped Association. The total amount of L.I.P. grants for Oshawa-Whitby is nearly 50% higher this year than last. The 1973 - 74 total was $110,000 while the total amount for 1974 - 75 is $195,000. INSIDE Readers Write...............P.2 Law & You...................... P.4 Photos............ . P.5 For Women............... P.6 West Lynde............... P.7 Birds Eye View...........P.8 Brooklin................... P.9 Girl of the Week..........P.10 Sports ..................... P.12 Bil Newman M.P.P.....P.13 Horoscope...............P14 Emporium................. P.15 @6ý (7ony's -a airstyling BLAIR PARK PLAZA WHITBY 668-5441 10 CENTS