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COURTICE LIBRARY 11.21.05 163 Church Street Bowmanville, ON L1C1P7 $1.00 GST Included Wednesday September 22, 2004 Orono Town Hall Serving Kendal, Kirby, Leskard, Newcastle, Newtonville, Orono, Starkville and Tyrone since 1937 Dogs take bite out of council agenda Councillors heard testimonies testimonies from five people last week, regarding two separate dog attack issues. The first incident took place in Newcastle on May 14th of this year. Mr. Eugene Skripkariuk of 122 Edward Street East in Newcastle reported that on that day, two men were rollar- blading up his street, each with a dog on a leash. According to Skripkariuk, one of the dogs "I saw a gentleman on his knees... restraining order on his dog, because as he said, "the crux of the matter is, if that other dog had been on some kind of leash, or unable to get off the property, this would never have happened." A third person, Mr. Greenfield, Mr. Skripkariuk's neighbour, was called to testi- 1 -- fy as an eye witness. witness. This was an unfortunate incident, incident, stated Greenfield before he told councillors councillors what he saw of the does , . lors what he saw pulled viciously trying to pry his that night as he Eiqht-vear old Summer Browne, cut her 21" long pony tail off Tuesday nightto give to the Angemair For Kids program which makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment. In School Mentoring Program Big Brothers & Sisters need volunteers m .... *_/~i 4-1%.i at this time number of Mèntees to 65 from on his leash and attacked Mr. ' Skripkariuk's dog. As the owner was on rollerblades, he dog from my neighbour's dog. " opened his front door to take the garbage out. "I heard a shriek," stated Greenfield, I opened the door roiiermaaes, ne x . „ had no control --Scott Greenfield and saw a few over the dog, Neighbour feet away from says Skripkariuk. The dog, an Warren McCarthy says, being a mentor has given him an immense sense of satisfaction. satisfaction. A retired training instructor, instructor, father and grandfather, McCarthy of Kendal says the in school mentoring program is an unusual opportunity to see the world through kid's eyes. McCarthy also says becoming involved in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters In School Mentoring program was a way of putting his toe in the water. He participated in the In-School Mentoring Program a few years ago, to give himself an idea of whether or not he wanted to become involved in he Big Brother program. The In- School mentoring program requires a commitment of one hour a week, where the Big Brother program requires a much larger time commitment. commitment. McCarthy now has his third mentcti, an Orono Public School student and says he is willing to take on another stu dent at this time. number of Mentees to 65 from Big Brothers and Sisters of the current 30 • ^ 1 • Ftrvhcnn Qî Clarington have just received a financial boost to their In- School Mentoring program by ------ -Jam, Mentor, Warren McCarthy of Kendal way of a three year Trillium Foundation Grant. This funding funding has allowed them to hire a Mentoring Coordinator -- Mr. Dave Dobson, on a three year contract, and purchase additional additional resources and training material for the program. In his time with the Association, Dobson hopes to have the Mentoring program in all of Clarington's 31 elementary elementary school, increase the Dobson says the biggest obstacle he faces right now is recruiting enough mentors. Schools are receptive to the program now, and Dobson has signed up a number of employers who are willing to have employees leave for an hour during the day to provided provided time for that one-on-one interaction (mentor-mentee) between adult and student. "Being in a school environment environment is very enjoyable," said McCarthy in an interview with the Orono Times last week. The school is fully alive, and abuzz with kids activities." McCarthy saw his first Mentee, a grade five student student from Courtice, through to his graduation from the program program in grade eight. The activities you get involved with are based on age, McCarthy has found through his experience. The younger the children are, the more physical the activities BIG BROTHERS S99ptg*4 English Springer Spaniel required $1,250 of veterinary care following the incident. Skripkariuk said his dog was on his front lawn retrieving retrieving a tennis ball when the attack occurred. "The next morning I felt guilty as to how helpless I felt when my dog was bitten," testified Skripkariuk. Skripkariuk. "I looked at my dog's eyes when he was wounded, it didn't feel right, my helplessness helplessness still gives me some troubles." troubles." Although he and his family have recovered from the incident, Skripkariuk said "Our sense of safety on our own property has been eroded." eroded." In his defense, Mr. Darren Berezowski testified that when he and his son were roller-blading up Edward Street at approximately 10 p.m. with their dalmations, a brown and white dog came running out from the west side of house number 122. The dog ran over the sidewalk and boulevard onto the roadway and attacked his dog. The owner was nowhere in site, said Berezowski who stated that he was offended by the remarks made by Skirpkariuk. Berezowski was opposed to placing any kind of me a gentlemen ■ = down on his knees trying to pry his dog from my neighbour's dog. Words were exchanged, but I can't distinguish who said what." The neighbor's dog then bolted for his garage, the other gentleman got up and roller-bladed away. The order to restrain was upheld by council. "If a dog can create that kind of damage in an attack" stated Schell, (councillors were provided photographs by Skripkariuk of the injuries his dog sus- DOGS see page 4 Orono B./A Annual Chili Cook-Off this Saturday on Main St. "Come join the fun!"