Teachers The 375 teachers of the Durham Separate School Board are back to work after they accepted an average sal- ary increase of about 20.6 per cent. Classes resumed yesterday for 8,500 students enrolled in the region's 28 Catholic schools. Of the 375 teachers, 66 of them are employed by Whit- bv's six schools The teachers voted to accept the latest offer on Monday after board trustees ratified the contract Sunday afternoon. Joe Ryan, chief negotiator for the teachers, had urged them to accept the contract as it met with the teachers' original dema..ds of a 20 per cent minimum settlenient. Salary increases range from 23.4 per cent for teach- Take ers at the lowest level to 17.8 per cent for the experienced and qualified. Minimum starting salary will range from $7,775 to $9,650 for a teacher with a University degree. The average salary will now be $13,100, a $2,100 increase over 1974's contract which expired December 31. The cost of the wage and fringe.benefit increases to the Wage board will be $840,000 or about 18.4 per cent over 1974's salary costs. In addition to the salary hike the contract provides a dental·plan, 75 per cent to be paid by the board, an in- crease in the board's share of health insurance costs and a $ 10,000 life insurance policy. The teachers are, however, disappointed that no improve- ments in working conditions 0ffer were promised in, the contract. Working conditions will be studied and set by the board's Educational Policy Committee. The Durham teachers were the first of seven separate school boards in the province to settle their contract dis- pute. The other school boards involved in bargaining were Elgin County, Ottawa, Carle- ton, Sudbury,WVellington and Windsor. The seven regions have 293 schools, 4,168 tea- "hers and 89,200 students. According to the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA), 4,000 teachers or 85 per cent sub- mitted their resignations to their boards, effective Dec- ember 31 of last year. CUSTOM DENTURE CLINIC WHITBY MALL Phone 723-7496 CHARGEX ACCEPTED 10 CENTS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1975 Kim Crouch, 18, of Whit- by, is in "very satisfactory condition" after an opera- tion was performed to repair his throat which was slashed during a weekend hockey gaine. Crouch, a goaltender with the Provincial Junior 'A' Markham Waxers was injured during a Sunday contest a- gainst the Royal York Royals at Chesswood Arena. île left his net in the sec- ond period to chase after a loose puck. A Waxer de- fenceman and a North York forward also sped toward the puck. As Crouch dove to recover the puck, both players leaped over him. One of ilie players' skates cut across the right In the month of Novem- ber, 26 building permits were issued in the town of Whitby. A total of 20 of the 26 were for residential or resi- dential agricultural purposes, nine for construction of dwellings and I for addi- tions or extensions to same. The value of these properties is $527,400. Three agricultural permits were granted for work valued at $15,300. One permit was issued for industrial purposes, a $350,000 building to be owned by J.D.S. Investments Limited at the corner of Wentworth and Thickson Roads. One commercial permit was granted for an extension to a restaurant which will dost about $6,000. No permi'ts were issued for side of his throat. As the son of Whitby Fire Chief Ed Crouch lay on the ice, Waxer trainer Joe Piccin- inni applied pressure to the wound to stem the flow of blood. Team trainer Bob Arris and Steve Harrison, a Markham player, assisted Piccininni. An ambulance was, called and Crouch was rushed to Branson Hospital. Metro police set up road blkcks to clear the way for the ambu- lance. Two doctors and one specialist performed the operation. Croucli as been playing organized hockey for 12 years and during that lime lias suffered fractures o' a finger, elbow and arm. recreational or institutional purposes for the month. A comparison of tyts and costs of buildings con- structed in November and throughout the year shows that November was a big month residentially but far behind in commercial activity. In November, residential work took up 56.15 percent of the total construction value as compared to 36.27 percent over the year. In contrast, construction for commercial purposes made up .67 percent of the total cost.in November while the yearly total to November is 25.17 pçrcent. The total value of build- ings constructed in the town from January I to November 30 of, last year is $16,204,588. It took a last minute settlement to avert the threatened illegal strike by almost 20,000 Ontario civil servants. The settlement affects a- bout 800 civil servants in Whitby. A wage settlement, aver- aging about 21 per cent over one year, was accepted by highway maintenance men, tradesmen, jail guards, police dispatchers and workers at psychiatric hospitals and homes for the nentally re- tarded last week. The 19;55 civilM eri' were to begin their illegal strike last Wednesday, but instead, voted overwhelm- ingly to accept the province's final offer. The Civil Service Associa- tion of Ontario (CSAO) orig- inally demanded a 61.5 per cent increase. Their next request was for a 41 per cent hike which was later dropped to 29 per cent. The Province held stead- fast to its offer of between 15 and 23 per cent through- out the.negotiations, Durring the bargaining per- iod, Premier William Davis and Eric Winkler, chairman of the cabinet's management board, said they would not be intimidated by the threats of an illegal strike. The agreement allowed the normal operation of the local psychiatric hospital, home for the retarded and jail. There are about 600 nurses, dietary workers, cooks, laundry room workers and skilled tradesmen enployed at Whitby Psychia- trc Hospital, 90 workers at Ili ai FIRE AT LADIES' Whitby firefighters were called to the Ontario Ladies' College at 8:41 a.m. on Monday to douse a blaze which started in a maid's room on the third fbor. One bedroom and part of a hallway were gutted and two adjacent rooms suffered smoke damage. The college's 117 students were evacuated from the COLLEGE building and huddled in the chapel until the fire was brought under control at about 9:20 a.m. Damage was estimated at $25,000. It was the third maj- or fire in the college's 100 year history. Careless smoking is believed to be the cause. Free Press Photo by Mike Burgess Ontario's Civil Servants Settie Contract Dispute the Durham Regio.tal Centre retardation unit and 18 guards at the Whitby jail. The settlement ended bitter negotiation tactics on the part of both the CSAO and the province. CSAO ads attacked Davis and the Crowr. Employees Collective Bargain- ing Act, which bans strikes by civil servants. Davis and Winkler retalia- ted with criticism of the tactics in the legislature. The settlement is the first one-year settlement reached by the CSAO. In the past, 3ddt'râts*éeirtvoyears. Vol. 5 No. 1 Slse SlashedP Residential Work Up in November Li-Y a . FR EE PR E ýS, ýýS 1