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VI ih Sp oat IRE ~The Whitby detach ment of the Ontario Provincial Police has a new staff sergeant. Jay Hope officially took over the position on Monday, June 25. (See story for details.) Whitby detachment of OPP has new staff sgt. Ninety-five per cent of all ac- cidents are a result of driver er- Yor. Jay Hope wants those num- bers dramatically decreased. Mr. Hope is the new staff ser- geant at the Whitby detach- ment of the Ontario Provincial Police. - Although many people tend to believe inclement weather is the main factor in accidents, Staff Sgt. Hope said the prob- lem lies with the drivers. "They are less attentive than they should be," he told the Star. Staff Sgt. Hope has listed traffic management as one of his first priorities since taking over the head job in Whitby. He said the detachment cov- ers a very large area and most of the highways under its juris- diction are commuter routes. "We want to make that drive to work each day, and to the cot- tages on the weekend, more pleasureable," Staff Sgt. Hope said. Over the last 10 years, Staff Sgt. Hope said the Whitby de- tachment has responded to 700 fatal accidents, and 50,000 per- sonal injury accidents. "Programs will be aimed at reducing those numbers," he said. And how does he plan to do that? By eliminating aggres- sive drivers, unsafe lane chang- ers, drivers who follow too close and, of course, drunk drivers. Since January, the Whitby OPP has removed almost 1,000 drunk drivers from the provin- cial highways. Now, the OPP will also focus its attention on careless drivers with the Survive the Drive pro- gram. The OPP will be giving re- fresher driving presentations to the communities. Most of the presentation will be on items the experienced driver knows but just needs to be reminded of, Staff Sgt. Hope said. job At 32 years of age, Staff Sgt. Hope is one of the youngest offi- cers to hold down such a high position on the force. But he said that the OPP is going through "quite a period of pro- motions now" as a large num- ber of officers hired in the early '60s reach retirement age. Staff Sgt. Hope joined the OPPindJuly 1979. Since then he has worked mostly in the Toronto area. He has been on the anti- rackets branch, the drug en- forcement section , and the or- ganized crime division. Before making his move to Whitby, Staff Sgt. Hope was at the Siploymens equity unit of- fice of the commissioner. He says the move to Whitby allows him to "get back to the roots in the field" by serving the people on the road. But controling traffic on the road isn't the only concern Staff Sgt. Hope has. He wants to en- courage more people to join the force. "The OPP is looking for more good men and women to do the During the last two years, he said the force has been initiat- ing a very proactive program to entice women and racial minor- ities tojoin the OPP. "There has been direct re- cruiting in that direction. We are trying to attract people from different groups." At present, only 5.6 per cent of the force are women, 1.3 per cent are visible minorities, 1.7 per cent are first nation people, and 7 per cent are francophones in the 4,425-member force. The OPP has 189 year round detachments and five summer detachments across the prov- ince. To qualify for the OPP, one must be between the ages of 18- 64, have a minimum Grade 12 education, a valid driver's li- cence, no previous criminal record, and meet the vision standard. A height require- ment is nolonger enforced. VALMED HEALTH SERVICES INC. Foot Care Services in Your Home (416) 433-1494 PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, June 26, 1990 -- 17 Hospital June 15 - 21, 1990 Admissions res wap EAA SERS I q to 8 PM Emergencies....... eee om [Latcham Centre - Port Perry [Lakefront BONS... / Discharged or 35 Music by the Golden Slippers Remaining IER II en ep Ge 27 Adults $7.00 Children 12 & Under $4.00 CENTRAL SEVEN ASSOCIATION -- presents a -- , | Canada Day B.B.Q. \. [ N DIN Come into Anderson's and test Dave's skills. EE » DAVE ARNOTT on his achievement as a GRAND MASTER TECHNICIAN in his specialized fields of ELECTRICAL and TUNE-UP. Dave achieved 98% on the GM exam which ranked him 1st in Durham Region. Nobody Does it Better! DENNIS DERSON CHEVROLET OLDSMOBILE LTD. AJAX LINE: 427.6903 268 Queen St., Port Perry (@iibsmosit; ~~ d PORT PERRY: 985-8401 ex ldny cr vA tern