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PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1977, WHITBY FREE PRESS ~~whitby SERVING OVER 28,000 READERS I Vnice of. thp CountV Town Mich ael lan Burgess, Publisher-Managiflg Editor ý ...lf1 ---4 ...ah i Aald ntcq -Brian Winter Commuflity Editor -Jim Quail Published every Wednesday ContributIflg Editor Production Manager Print & Promotional by M.B.1. Publishiflgi Manager an d Photography Inc. Çîassified Ad Managetr Phone 668-6111 Circulation Manager Uh iiFree Press Building, 121 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. -,Marie BUrgEIS9 -Ro0bin *Lyon -S. van Deelene -Sharon Lyon' Mailing Permit No. 460 Member of the: Better Business Bureau of Toronto Whitby Chamber of Commerce The only Whitby newspaper independently owned andoeatdbWIbyrsuit rVUIY Kiwanis projeet could lie key to stopping vandalism Vandalisrn bas become a big probleni ini Whitby this year, and no-one seenis to know what to do about it. The incidents appear to be increasing in their severity, and so too are the suggested solutions. The publie works departrnent bas reported that several stop signs and signs indicating hidden curves or driveways have been pulled up,thus endangering the lives of rnotorists- in the rural part of Whitby. A band of teen-agers recently broke into the Iro quois Park Arenla and smashed vending machines resulting in about $4,000 damage. Christinas lights have been stolen froin the comnrunity tree at Brooklin, and schools have been constant victims of attacks of senseless vandalisrn. The Durham Board of Education lias asked for stricter penalties ini the courts because of this. All this activity lias led to the Oshawa-WhitbY Social Planning Couincil making Whitby the subject of a special study on vandalism, and everybody seems to be getting rather uptight about .wtiat's happening. Mayor iim Gartshore has suggested that unless something can be done to control vanldalismn, the town may have to close its recreational facilities such as Iroquois Park Ar ena. Councillor Joy Thompson at a recent council mneeting called for curfews for childrcn to be en- forced by the police. On one hand, we have a few people scaring the powers that be into possibly denying the use of comnmunity facilities to the law-abiding public, and on the other hand we have the advocacy of what amounts to a police state where chilttren will not be allowed out at niglit. Rather than turning ail our efforts toward the result of the problem, we should be looking more at the cause. In last week's issue of the Free Press there was an article about a youth extension program bjy the Whitby Kiwanis Club which offered a sports night for local teen-agers at the Whitby Senior Public School. This is one means the club lias undertaken to keep children off the streets at night, without the use of curfews, provides themn with soi-ne healthy activity to fili in idle tirne and gives theni a chance to work off whatever aggressions might otherwise be turned against public or private property. One of the purposes of the club's nation wide programn is the prevention of crime, and althoughi this is not openly publicized, it is something worth lookîng at. Local organizations ini the Town of Whitby should look at what they can do to provide young people with, something useful to do witih their leisure time. "Idle hands are the. devil's tool," is an old- fashioned phrase sorne miglit think, but there is a lot of t.1t*--it. Bird'ps Vîew Eye ày iini Quail "Peace or> Eartlî, good will îowards ail mer>", that's a latig", thougit Baker as lie lot-too-p,«,itien tly waiîed for a street light te change te greer>. "If it were truc 1 wotildi't be workir>g toniglit', Baker added as lie sat alene in his police cruiser at a deserted initersectioni. Police Constable Baker, had Ibis year, drawn the id- nigl or graveyard shift and'Ibis partictilar evening it wvas Clîristnmas eve, or 10 be more exact, by this lîie it wvas wveil irt( the early heours of the r>orning of' Christmas day. Ratior>alizing that sonmebody had 10 do(Iobis shift Baker jammned dowr> the gas pedal and tore off b neic place ir> particular. This part of his shift involved checking ot ilte factor y area and lie wasn't looking fo-,rward 10 Ilie bunîpy an>d snow pluggcd back Llleys surroutnding dhe assortiTilent of rew an>d eld buildings. Norrrally lic would probably have a parîtner on board tlie cruiscr with him but because tonighit'was Chrisîmias eve and the division was operating oni a skeleton shift, 10 allow as mnary of the menaLs- possible to tinie 10 spend Lit homie witlî Iliir laihes Baker was family. liecnmentally catitioned inîiseif to get his iind back on the job and just as he did SO lie cauglit a glimpse of a light flashing by orn the ji(lie of a grimny factory window lie was passing. "Probably a christimas tree left on ir> the office"~,he reasor>cd but just as quickly alight flashied across another window furtlier down the wall. Baker quickly shut off his ignition and braked 10 a stop while he grabbed his microphone and radioed in. lie kr>ew hie probably wouldn't get help because of the skeleton shift but even as he hung up the mnike he knew the lhelp woulcl arrive t00 late as W-, noticed a window aI the end of the waIl. in> a dark corner begin to open and a mani start to climb out., Almiost immediately the man spotted Baker and his cruiser and took flighit across a ncarby snow covered field-, Baker swore 10 himAref and ran after the suspect. The foot- steps in the snow were the eventual downfall for the suspect and Baker finally collared him and put handcuffs on him. As they trudged silently back 10 the cruiser Baker studied his prisoer. "Lon)ig faired punk", thought Baker las he studied the youtli. ini his early 20's, poorly dressed aganst the coId and not exactly overfed. "Probably hyped up 0on drugs too", Baker figured as lie, pût his,-prisoner in the Jim Quail Christmas tale screened-in back seat of the cruiser. Baker radioed in again and started heading back 10 the station. He had gnne only a quarter of a mile when the ,gunshot caughit him completely by surprise but fot s0 much so that lie didn't instinctively reach for his service revolver. Unfortur>ately the gunshot wvas a blown tire and Baker should have reached for the steering wheel instead of his gun. The car veered across the road, recovered, and then veered back again 10 suddenly turn over on ils side and slide dowvr on ils roof mbt a water fil led ditch. The silence was total. There w'ere no witnesses and Baker lay unconscious in bIis upside down cruiser witlh blood running out of a severe cul ini his head. Dirly cold water began to run mbt the car but appeared t0 have no reaction on the also unconscious and upside down prisoner. Baker awoke 10 pain in lis eyes and suddenly realized he was looking righit imb a brighit ceiling liglit. He tried 10 nise, was restrai>ed and looked around 10 discover he was in the recovery room of a hospital. The resîrainer turned out 10 be his wife and she was accompanied by his off duty partner. "How did 1 gel here?", Baker said in answer 10 bis wife's question as 10 how he feit. His parîner replied, "The kid, in fact he's out in the hall with P. C. Jenkins." "Bring hlm in, and leave us . . .. alone, Harry," asked Baker. Harry knew better than 10 proteSt 50 he took Bakers wife wilh himr and sent in the kid. What the kid didn't tell Baker, Jenkins did. In that wrecked cruiser the kid camne 10, assessed the situation and got free. To do so lie kicked out the heavy metal prisoner scree> but not before his shoes were ruined and bis feet bloody from kicking. He then dragged Baker out Ithe cruiser, fashioned a bandage on Bakers badly bleeding hecad and ran barefoot in the snow to a nearby house 10 phone the police. He even waited with Baker 1 rnake sure the ambulance found him. The next day,after a few phone caîls, Baker and bis wvife went homne 10 enjoy Christmas with the faîniily. Lt was al- niost like other Christnmases except there mis a "glist.-who stili had long hair and who limiped a littie but a guest none- theless who would, spend many more Chirîiîmases with a cop Cont'd on P. 5 V7-771P741 t