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Business section of town shouldbe moved-Task Force 'e CW atter four months of study and_in- CU alter, Penetanguishene's Downtown Revitalization Task Force is ready to present its findings. A public meeting will be held at the municipal offices tonight, and the four- member group will present its finding and recommendations at that time. The Task Force released a press kit on Monday, basically explaining their major recommendations. "Cosmetic changes will not be sufficient to revitalize the downtown area, and major changes are going to have to be made", Task Force chairman John Gignac said in the press release. The major recommendation made by the Task Force is that the downtown section of Penetanguishene be relocated. The business section should be moved to the area of the High Poyntz Mall, according to the Task Force. 'The municipality should acquire the mall, by way of negotiation or expropriation, the report said, and properties located between Gerrow's Flower Shop and Ken's Esso should also be acquired by the town. The Task Force suggests that residences on those properties be demolished, and the landscaping changed to provide a major en- trance to the plaza as well as parking. It was also suggested that some reconstruction take place on the mall to make it more suitable for the business core, and eventually the mall should run towards Main Street. After properties have been acquired, and modified to suit commercial purposes, the Task Force recommends they be sold, either to a company owned by local merchants, or to individual merchants on a condominium basis, If sold on a condominium basis, each merchant in the mall would actually own the section of the mall where his / her business was located. A second suggeston made by the Task Force involves the property along the Main Street hill. Presently, that property is zoned general-commercial, and is occupied by businesses and apartments, but the Task Force feels that the hill is not suitable as a viable business section. "We believe that the hill area is not suited as a commercial area because of the motor vehicle traffic and parking problems and because of the problems associated with pedestrian access,"' the report said. It is suggested in the report that the zoning regulations be changed so that Main Street along the hill would be zoned medium density residential. According to the Task Force the existing buildings may be very well suited to medium density town house dwellings, and properly done the hill could be a very at- tractive place to live and properties could retain their value". Businesses presently located on the hill should be encouraged to move to the High Poyntz Mall area, the report said The Task Force also made some recom- mendations regarding the parking situation in the downtown section of Penetanguishene. They suggest the town should maintain and improve the small parking lot behind the The Mental Health Centre in Penetanguishene has a new medical director, and a new administrator. The two appointments were announced by the Ministry Of Health on Monday, and both will take effect on June 1, 1978 Dr. Ronald Stokes has been appointed medical director of the MHC. Dr. Stokes replaces the recently retired Dr. Barry Boyd. The new medical director has worked as director of the Bracebridge Community Mental Health Service, since 1972. Dr. Stokes eels WS from Wayne McKerrow | University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine in 1951. He then obtained his specialist certificate in Psychiatry, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Canada, in 1963: Dr. Stokes is a member of that organization, and of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, England. The new medical director of the MHC has held many positions since his graduation. He worked as assistant director, Forensic Clinic, at the Toronto Psychiatric Hospital, and also as the director of psychiatry at the Ministry of Correctional Services. He held a __ position as the assistant superintendent and chief of staff at the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital, and also at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto Dr. Stokes is also an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He has acted as a consultant for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the National Parole Board as well as many organizations in Ontario Presently, Dr. Stokes is the president of the Ontario Psychiatric Association Wayne McKerrow has been named administrator of the Mental Health Centre. He will replace Les Moricz, who is leaving his position at the MHC to go to Toronto. Mr. McKerrow has been ad- ministrator of the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital.in Toronto since 1975. He received a Bachelor of Science-Pharmacy degree from the University of Toronto in 1964. After working for several years as a pharmacist, Mr. McKerrow returned to university and completed the graduate program in hospital administration in 1970 New MHC appointments announced He joined the Ministry of Health as a consultant in hospital administration and has held administrative positions in the Aurora, Whitby, and Woodstock Mental Health Centres during the period from 1970 to 1972. In September, 1972, he was appointed administrator of the Adult Occupational Centre in Edgar, where he remained until he was appointed to his present position at Lakeshore Hospital. Present MHC administrator Les Moricz has been appointed Assistant Director, of the Psychiatric Hospitals Branch of the Ministry of Health. " Ronald Stokes Water and Light Building on Main Street. Other possible parking lots are behind the Olympia Restaurant, and Fiesta Hairstyling Shop, and behind the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Charlebois Real Estate building. Land in those areas should be developed as parking area with '"'pedestrian walkways leading to Robert Street and on to the main street", the group recommended. It is also suggested that the town help to pay developing these parking lots, though some of the land is not owned by the municipality. That the town dock and the Waterfront Park should become a '"'major attraction for the people of the town of Penetanguishene and for tourists', was another suggestion made by the Task Force in the pre-meeting report. Waterfront Park should be the major recreational area for the town, the report said, and should also contain a number of attractions for use during all seasons as opposed to just the summer months. According to the Task Force, the dock area should be the site of '"first-rate" hotel- motel complex, and the municipality should "actively seek out a major hotel-motel" and make appropriate zoning changes to ac- commodate such a facility. The group feels that a recreational complex of that sort would act as a drawing card for people all over the Georgian Bay area, and would eventually increase the amount of business being transacted in the downtown section of town Land presently used by Aquarobic and Penetanguishene Motor Sales should be acquired by the town, according to the report, so that a major entrance to the Waterfront Park could be constructed in that area. Task Force secretary Ken Cousineau concluded the report by saying that the. suggestions contained in the report were only part of what the group wishes to discuss at tonight's public meeting. Many other smaller and related proposals will be discussed also, Mr. Cousineau said. There are three major factors that should be taken into consideration before any development takes place in Penetanguishene, according to the Task Force. Those factors are, the natural beauty of Penetanguishene, the French-English heritage of Penetanguishene and the proud historv of Penetanguishene Mr. Cousineau stressed that the report was made up of 'draft proposals", explaining that allideas put forth by the Task Force can be revised by either members of the public or municipa! council. Another area investigated by Task Force members was the financial feasibility of a downtown revitalization, and how financing would be broken down. That will also be discussed at the meeting. "In particular," the report said, "we plan on discussing the Downtown Revitalization Program offered by the provincial govern- ment."" If Penetanguishene can qualify for that program, the government will provide some subsidy for the project, up to a certain per- centage of the cost. Four local men injured in boating accident A 30 foot sailboat is at the bottom of Midland Bay and four local men suffered multiple injuries as the result of a boatin accident Monday night near the Great Lakes Machine Works. Midland OPP reports that at about 11:30 p.m. Monday a 21 foot inboard - outboard pleasure craft driven by Patrick Laurin of Midland collided in darkness with « sailboat moored in Midland Bay. The sailboat was unmanned, and after the collision, quickly sunk. Apparently after striking the sailing vessel, the motorboat careened and collided with another unmanned sailboat which was moored in the bay. As the Laurin boat struck the second sailing craft, some of the motorboat's occupants were thrown into the water and had to be rescued by other passengers. Laurin sustained multiple fractures, cuts and bruises in the crash, and three other occupants of the motorboat also received cuts and bruises. Laurin and another passenger were taken to hospital for treat- ment. Police describe the Laurin boat as a write off, and estimate damage to the other vessels as running into tens of thousands of dollars. The incident is still under investigation by OPP, and no charges have as yet been laid. 64 pages Penetanguishene Civizen Wednesday, May 31, 1978 Tv Guide Plus 8 pages of Colour Comics SIMNos22) Folio 43 20 cents Gormanconcerned with supervision at Midland Y pool by Dave Wilson After failing last Thursday to receive an ex parte court injunction to temporarily close the Midland YMCA pool, lawyer John Gor- man said early this week that he will wait until the outcome of a meeting Tuesday between YMCA officials and supporters of Vicki Hinnells before taking any further action aimed at closing the pool. He did say, however, that he is in the process of gathering affadavit information that would be used if another attempt to close the pool is made. "I'm waiting for affadavit material in order to proceed with the injunction. I'm not saying that I'll go ahead with it, nor am I saying that I won't go ahead with it," he said in a telephone interview. Gorman was refused the ex parte in- junction--an injunction granted without notice of action being delivered to the op- posite party--by High Court Justice Steele at Osgoode Hall on the grounds that ex parte injunctions are only granted in situations of extreme urgency: He had originally sought the ex parte in- junction to close the pool because of what he and the Vicki Hinnells committee saw to be inadequate supervision there. "I'm very concerned with the apparent lack of supervision at the pool and the total lack of responsibility on the part of the board of directors to deal with the situation. I felt that if the board was not ready to deal with it, I'd get a court order to make them do something,"' he said after hearing the judge's decision. The Midland lawyer said in the telephone interview that if further litigations are initiated in the YMCA issue, counsel for the Y's board of directors would be given notice as stipulated by law. Amid developments surrounding the possibility of legal action to close the Y pool, there remains a chance that the Vicki Hin- nells issue, which originally sparked the controversy within the YMCA membership, will come a step closer to being resolved as a result of the Tuesday night meeting. At press time, details of the meeting were not available, although it was learned from Hinnells committee member Paul Henry last Thursday that some Y board members had expressed a preference that John Gorman not attend. YMCA board member Jean Hartman said Monday that last Thursday's announcement have some bearing on whether Mr. Gorman was allowed into the meeting. was "'not entirely true", that no firm decision had been reached on whether Mr. Gorman would be welcome to attend or not. She did admit that some board members were afraid that 'John might have a disruptive effect on the meeting," and also said that the question of the issuing of a writ of injunction could Mrs. Hartman said that the YMCA board of directors would have a press statement following the Tuesday meeting. As the controversy over the Hinnells issue continues, the parents of Tracy McCrimmon, the nine-year-old girl who died May 21 after being found unconscious in the Y pool, have spoken up strongly against the Y board. At an emotional public meeting and press con- ference last Thursday outside the Y pool, Lois Parr, the girl's mother, charged that the circumstances surrounding her daughter's death were being "whitewashed and covered-up."' "Tintend to prosecute," she said. "If that's what it takes to get answers, that's what I'll do." "T want to find out what happened to Tracy. The Y won't give me any answers, all they say is that they're not responsible." Commenting on Mrs. Parr's allegations Mr. Hartman denied that information was being witheld. "The YMCA hasn't any more information than anyone else. We're just as anxious to find out what happened, and all we're doing is respecting the legal processes of the province," she said, claiming that the results of post-mortem examinations such as the one performed on the McCrimmon girl are the privileged property of the police. Gardhouse has heart attack - resting at HDH Former MSS principal and Area 3 supervisor for the Simcoe County Board of Education Al Gardhouse is reported to be resting comfortably in Huronia District Hospital after suffering a heart attack. Mr. Gardhouse was taken to hospital Saturday around the noon hour. He was reported under observation in HDH's intensive care unit its four occupants to hospital, sunk a 30 foot sailboat, It's not hard to see why Midland OPP are calling this 21 foot fiberglass pleasure craft a total write off. The nd damaged another. Police haven't laid any charges boat, belonging to Patrick Laurin of Midland was in- 5 yet. volved ina smash up late Monday night that sent two of Staff photo , )Write-off Autopsy shows drowning caused death The inquest into the death of nine-year-old Tracy McCrimmon will learn that the autopsy performed on the girl did not reveal any other cause of death than drowning, Skeleton was at least The skeleton found by a man digging out the basement under his Tay township house is at least 100 years old and not 50 years old as earlier reports indicated. According to Constable MacKay of the OPP the skeleton was examined at the Centre for Forsenic Sciences in Toronto and coroner Dr. Robert Besley said Monday. The McCrimmon girl was discovered unconscious at the bottom of the YMCA pool May 20 during a public swimming session, 100 years old found to be a female North American Indian who was about 18 or 20 years old when she died. No cause of death was determined. The skeleton was buried in a shallow grave under a house in Tay township. It was discovered when the owner began digging in order to put a basement in. and died the next day. Dr. Besley said the autopsy report has been completed, and will be presented to the inquest as evidence when it convenes. He said he has been talking to the Coroner's Office in Toronto, making arrangements for the inquest. Undecided at this point is who will conduct the proceedings, and who will be called to testify, the coroner explained. Dr. Besley said the inquest will 'Probably be held in Midland"', and added that he would like to see il get under way as soon as possible. "Personally, I'd like to see it next week," Dr. Besley said. Firemen from the Penetanguishene Fire Department didn't have far to go to ex- tinguish this 'minor blaze, caused by a short Car fire circuit in the engine of the car. The vehicle was parked right across the street from the fire hall when the alarm went off, and one truck drove across the road to hook up hoses and extinguish the blaze. Damage to the car was minimal, and there were no injuries.