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News/A3 Prescription for doctor shortage CLARINGTON'S AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER SINCE 1854 Sports/Bl Birds set to battle tonight WHAT'S ON Saturday: Help Community Living's Clarington Project by having your picture taken with Santa. All local children arc invited invited to join the Clarington Project on Saturday, Dec. 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Bowmanville Loblaws, Hwy. 2 and Hwy. 57, to have their picture picture taken with Santa. A 5-by-7 picture is $3, with all proceeds going to Community Living's Clarington Project, in support of children and adults who have a developmental disability. disability. The group is also raffling off two stockings of goodies, one for a girl and one for a boy. For more information, call Darlene Matthews at (905) 623-6814, ext. 35. Dec. 21-23: St. Paul's United Church will be hosting a Living Nativity from Dec. 21 to 23. It will be held at 178 Church St. in Bowmanville at 7:30 p.m. This will be an open- air presentation depicting the birth of Christ. The 30-minute tableau has live animals and there will be a participatory carol sing. INSIDE Wheels: General Motors will revamp its entire mid-size car portfolio over the next three years, focusing focusing on fewer, yet stronger n a m e - plates. GM is stepping up its efforts in this core segment, the largest in the industry, with a. portfolio of "gotla-have" vehicles vehicles that will cater to more diverse diverse customer groups than ever before. INDEX Editorial Page A6 Sports B1 Classified . .86 GIVE US A CALL General 905-579-4400 Distribution 905-579-4407 Death Notices 905-683-3005 Sincerely Yours 1-800-662-8423 General FAX 905-579-2238 Newsroom FAX 905-579-1809 durhamregioü.com • SERVICE • PARTS • NEW & USED SALES & LEASING EXTENDED SERVICE HOURS MON., TUES., THURS., FRI. 7:30 - 6:00 WED. - 7:30-9:00 SAT.-9:00-1:00 ACCREDITED TEST & REPAIR FACILITY •An olfUiul murk of tlie Pun line oC Oiilui lti uwil under licence. Whitby - Os ha wet 11 ono a 1110 DUNDAS. ST..E. WHITBY , i .oca I. (vtisi 666-1772 .oor.ir, www.homlii1.coin aurtWclisaacsEECoaEUs;^^-; . , '4 TT/"' ' WALTER PASSARELLA/ Statesman photo On solid ground BOWMANVILLE - Custodian A1 Mailey throws salt on the walkways pevatures dipped earlier in the week causing slippery conditions for leading up to John M. James Public School in Bowmanville after tern- students. Victim testifies of sex abuse by Catholic priest BY STEPHEN SHAW Staff Writer WHITBY - A 10-year-old boy suffered excruciating pain while being sexually abused at the hands of a Catholic priest, Superior Court has heard. The alleged victim, who's now 28, testified he was sexually sexually assaulted between 1983 and 1985 on five separate occasions by Father Patrick Joseph Herli- hey, former parish priest at St. Francis of Assisi church in Newcastle. During the attacks the priest told him "God loves you," he testified. The abuse began when lie was aged nine with fondling, he said. It progressed to fellatio and forced intercourse when lie was 10, court was told. "1 just recall this horrid pain inside of me... very sharp, invasive, invasive, severe (pain)," said the Father Patrick Joseph Herlihey: Has pleaded not guilty to committing gross indecency and sexual assault. complainant, detailing how Fr. Herlihey raped him during the fifth and final incident, which occurred in the church rectory like the others. "1 remember it hurting just as much when it stopped," he said. "I just felt totally, totally confused... I remember I was just crying." Father Herlihey, 50, has pleaded not guilty to committing committing gross indecency and sexual assault. Justice ' Michelle Fuerst Monday began hearing evidence evidence in the trial, which is being held without a jury in the Superior Court of Justice in Whitby. The alleged victim said he met 'Father Pat' while a Grade 3 student at St. Francis of Assisi school, located beside the church on the same property. The priest played an active role in school activities, often visiting classrooms, while students students attended regular lunch- hour masses at the church. Fr. Herlihey was popular with parishioners, who included included the alleged victim, his mother mother and siblings. "Everybody liked him," the man said, describing describing the priest as "friendly, Boards get $17 million more Great news providing there are no strings attached says PVNC director BY JEANNE BENETEAU Stall Writer NORTHUMBERLAND - Millions of dollars in added funding will he flowing to local school hoards as a result of provincial action on recommendations recommendations made in a recent public education report. On Friday, Northumberland MPP Dr. Doug Galt announced a combined total of more than $17 million in additional funding funding to the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington (PVNC) Catholic District School Board and lire Kawartha Pine Ridge (KPR) District School Board. The funding follows follows the Dec. 10 report of Mordcchai Rozanski, who encouraged encouraged the Province to put an additional $1.8 billion into public public education over the next three years. The PVNC hoard will receive receive an estimated $5,974,525 increase which includes: $3,451,500 in increased special education funding, $2,295,072 more for salary benchmarks to support a positive and stable learning environment for students students and $227,953 for student transportation. Mike Langlois, PVNC's director director of education, says the money is great news provided there are no strings attached to where the funding must be applied. applied. The special education money may make it possible for the board to move forward with a number of projects put on hold due to lack of funds, says ■ Mr, Langlois. These projects include include a special program for See MORE page A5 affectionate, soft-spoken and outgoing." One day his lunch bag ripped and Fr. Herlihey sent him an invitation, delivered through his teacher, to have lunch with him in the church rectory. At the time he thought "it was quite the honour" to be summoned to Fr. Herlihey's second floor church living quarters, where they had lunch together. After they ate, Fr. Herlihey took his hands, led him to the living room couch and started rubbing his leg while telling him: "I was special, loved," he said. Fr. Herlihey reached, into his pants and began "touching my private area," while encouraging encouraging him to do the same to the accused. Three future visits followed where similar mutual fondling took place, he said, adding he felt safe and comfortable when lie was with the priest. See VICTIM page A5 Truck enforcement officer hit by flying truck wheels BY STEPHEN SHAW Staff Writer COURTICE - In a "bizarre coincidence," an OFF truck enforcement enforcement officer escaped injury injury when his police van was struck by flying truck wheels. Constable John Hominsky, of the OFF Commercial Vehicle Vehicle Enforcement Unit, was in his parked van at the side of Hwy. 401 near Courtice Road when a pair of wheels came off a westbound tractor-trailer at 1:15 a.m. Monday. The wheels smashed the driver's driver's side door of the one-ton OFF van. "He had just finished with a violator and was sitting in the van doing his notes," said Sergeant Cam Wooley, who heads the 'Truck Troopers' unit. The driver of the rig kept on trucking and was pursued by Const. Homiiiksy, who slopped the tractor-trailer near Harmony Harmony Road in Oshawa. Sgl. Wooley alleged the dri ver was "fully aware" of the flying wheels and. collision, based on chatter between truckers truckers overheard on radio airwaves. airwaves. The driver, a 46-year-old unidentified Quebec man, has been charged with failing to remain remain at an accident, operating an unsafe vehicle, failing to complete a pre-trip inspection and failing to keep a driver's log of work hours. Sgt. Wooley alleged the man, who faces a maximum $20,000 fine for each offence if convicted, "violated every section section of the Highway Traffic Act." The Quebec owner of the truck, which was impounded, is also charged with a detached wheel offence, which carries a maximum $50,000 fine. Ironically, Const. Hominsky is part of an OFF enforcement unit formed and funded in the aftermath of a series of flying- tire tragedies in Durham. Sco FLYING page A5 yry Thomnn Coxhemi Murray O'Brien Craig Strong Scott Stewart Mark Hamilton .'NI'.'U Af.iiwuiv Uvno/iil Afrf/wyer 166 King St. E., Bowmanville 905-623-3396 I'hll Even# John Crelnt Kelly Beleon Jell Slewnrl wms Rudolf Sending Christmas Greetings Hour Wmj Hero's hoping your holiday is filled with good choorl Thanks lo our loyal cuslomors,