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ar » Along line of abandoned cars and trucks was still stretched out along the Osh kl Vol. 112 No. 13 Fear, confusion and fatigue are all evident on the the Oddfellows Hall. face of this motorist as he waited for his car to be earlier in the afterno Wednesday, February 1, 1978 pulled from the smash-up Thursday night in front of Durham Region wants changes in provincial and federal legislation so that some persons on 'welfare will have to work for the financial benefits . they receive. ; By an overwhelming vote ®. of 25-1 the Durham Region council 'supported a motion last Wednesday "from" the social services committee which states in part that employable recipients should work for their bene- fits. The motion, which was amended a couple of times during debate, also says that any work performed by welfare recipients would not put anybody out of regular 28 Pages awa Road south of Port Perry after a single lane of traffic had been opened by snow plows Friday morning. [More storm pictures on pages 12 and 13]. Violent storm causes death, destruction It came up suddenly and with little warning. By noon, last Thursday, Scugog Town: ship was in the grip of the most violent winter storm in His car had been badly damaged on, and he had been stranded in it for a couple of hours during the worst of the storm. Region feels welfare recipients 'should work for their benefits employment, and that any work done would be paid at the going union rate in the community. Because welfare recip- ients are not required to work for benefits under the regulations of provincial and federal law, the motion asks that the Ontario and federal government make Newman to open special office Durham-York MPP Bill Newman will be setting up a special office in Port Perry on February 9 to assist Scugog Township residents in solving prob- lems or getting information © concerning provincial. government matters, . Experienced 'personnel from Mr. Newman's office will be on hand February 9 at the Port Perry Town Hall from noon until 9:00 p.m. Anyone is welcome to drop in and no appointment will be necessary. In an effort to bring his office closer to--residents who may require help with specific problems, Newman has started a system of moving his office in various communities throughout the riding. " the necessary changes in their respective legislation. The wording of the motion suggests that while able bodied recipients may have a right to benefits, the tax- paying public at the same time has a right to expect some service on their behalf for the money spent. It was suggested during debate that the services could be such things as shovelling snow for. senior citizens, or others who are not able to do this them- selves. Or, it could be work within a community that. would not normally get done such as tree planting, or clean-up of conservation areas. living memory. And before it was over, the vicious winds and driving snow had caused death, injury, massive pro- perty damage, power failures, and a huge traffic jam on the Oshawa Road that involved more than 400 abandoned vehicles. The -Ontario Provincial Police Whitby detachment reported a total of 82 accid- ents, many of them in Scugog Township. There were almost 200 vehicles involved, and a police spokesman estimated that at $500 per vehicle, total dam- age could run to over $100,000. Death One of the worst accid- ent scenes was on Highway 12 near the 4th Concession Road where a 64-year-old Uxbridge woman lost her life when struck by a tractor trailer driven by Lawrence Halsam of Lindsay. Police report that Elva Eileen Rynard, of 52 Balsam Street in Uxbridge, had been involved in a prior accident and was standing by the side of the road in white-out con- ditions. The northbound transport slowed and pulled to the left of the road to avoid the cars in the accident. In all, there were 16 vehicles involved in the pile-up on Highway 12 which occurred about noon hour on Thurs- day, including 12 cars, two tractor trailers and two flat- bed trucks. A "second major pile-up occurred - about the same time on Regional Road 2 in front of the Oddfellows Hall, south of Port Perry. There were about ten vehicles involved during the white- out conditions, with the accident bringing north- bound traffic to a halt. Police report that Allan Sykes of Crandall Street in Port Perry was sandwiched between two vehicles and taken to Port Perry Hospital with leg injuries. A spokesman for 'the hos- pital reports that 21 persons were treated in the emer- gency department for injuries suffered as a result of the storm, and six persons were admitted with more serious injuries. One of them, Mr. Douglas Anthony, 66, of Toronto, had his right foot crushed between two cars in an accident on High- way 7A near Yelverton. Mr. Anthony was a passenger in a car that was in a minor accident. He got out of the car, and had to dive for the snowbank to avoid a second car which plowed into the rear of his vehicle. After surgery to save the foot, he is resting comfortably in Port Perry Hospital. Lost The accident about noon in front of the Oddfellows Hall created a massive traffic jam on the Qshawa Road as northbound motor- ists could not get past and were forced to abandon their vehicles. The fierce winds and blowing snow reduced visibility to zero and many residents waited several hours in their cars before they were rescued by snow- mobile, or could find their own way to the Oddfellows Hall and then on to the Port Perry Fire department. - Sgt. Gary Byrne of the Lindsay police force was one of the hundreds on the Oshawa Road, and he said he stopped about 150 yards south of the Oddfellows Hall. The wind was blowing so hard he couldn't see a car Continued on page 12 Downtown Changing? * The annual meeting of the Scugog Chamber of Commerce will be held tonight [February 1] at the Port Tavern in Port Perry. This is an important meeting as a final report will be presented on the downtown beautification program by Anthrogram Plann- ing. Included in the presentation will be slides. and conceptual drawings. The evening gets underway with a social hour at 6:00 p.m. followed by a buffet dinner at 7:00 and then the business agenda. rm ren SA SA - re pe = Toni LASS Ca 5 WL eens ZR mmm A a Ne ao -~. JE