PAGE 4. WEDNESDAY, FEB RUARY 22,1978 WHJTBY 'FREE PRESS whitbïy VINOOVER28,000 lEADERS( Cormmunity Editor Published every Wednesday Contributing Editor Production Manager Print & Promotiona' by M.B.M. Publishig Manager 1and PhotographY laIe. Classfed Ad Manager I' .Phone 668-6111 Circulation Manager -Briar' Wirter -Jim Quail -Marie Burgess -Robin Lyonl -& vun Deelon -Sharon Lyonl Voice of-the County Town Michael Ian Burgess,, Publisher-Managinq Editor Teonly Witby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for'Whitby, residents.. The Free Press, Building, 121 Broek Street North, P.O. Box 206. Whitby , Ont. L. Malling Permit No. 460 Member of the- Better Business Bureau of Toronito Whitby Charnber of Commerce Christmas Seal .f undasuccess Dear Sir: It's a pleasure to once again report a successful Christmas Seat Campaign fo r Durham Region.. Total contributions ap- proached last year's total of $70,638.00, and this means that we can con- tinue those worthwhile programs to which the Durham Region Lung As- sociation is dedicated. We wish to thank al War vei contributors within the region for their generosity, and, in addition, we wish to express our grati tude to you, as an important member of the media, for your support and co-oper- ation during our cam- paign. Sincerely, 1. K. MacDonald Christmas Seal Chairman Du rham Region Lung Association. terans ares oughtfor a, reunion Dear Sir, It is hoped th at a de- tective storywithout mur- der, fraud or other crime may, be sufficiently no vel- ato win space'in your paper. There is such a story of a Canadian Army unit that served throughout Europe WW2. This unit, the 65 TANK TRANS- PORT COY.ý RCASC was disbanded in Holland i: 1945. Ex-members de- parted. for civy street ini every part of Canada and contact between,.individ- uals was lost. Twenty eight years' lter, two former mem- bert met in Flin FMon, Man. and speculated on what had happened to their wartime friends. It was decided to try for some answers. It should be noted that a 28 year old trait is a cotd trait and difficuit to fotow. The first answer was a shock,' a man remembered as a happy joking youth and unit favourite was found dying in an Edmonton hospital. A notice in the Legion Magazine produced eight replies, att from lhe area between Sydney, N. S. and Powell River, B. C. (a truty generous hunting preserve);. The search be- came a chain *reaction as the members when found joined ini lhe endeavour. After some progress had been made, the undertak- ing was organized by pro- vince wath exchange of information. Leads were dredged upfrom memory, unit daily orders (source Ottawa Records), from oki address bôoks, phone books, old photos, etc. cated 210, living ex-mem-i bers and about 35 deceas- ed out of la possible of a- bout 700. The . search., continues. Will 1anyone reading this, pl ease, chetk with your WW2 army acqua in- tances, if a 65th man be found, please advise him - of a company' re- union to be held at North, Bay, Ontario, Juty 7-8-9, t978. For reunion de- taits and other important information, he should contact Maurice ,Rains.- forth, P. 0. Box 1071, Stirling, -Ontario, .6 13 - 39-352(or thé writer). Mr. Editor ptease- ac- cept, the thanks of the men of the 651h for this vatuable' space in your paper.1 Sincerely, L. L. Purdy P.O0. Box 145 Waterloo, P. Q JOE 2N0 Smaell déaims, courts By R. ROY McMURTRY Atomey General for Ontario One of the least-known segments of the-legal system in Ontario is the Small Claims Courts. These courts-are established to provide -for the public, an easy, informai and inexpe.nsive way of settling disputes- over goods and services. The ýsmall Claimns Courts are available to individuals and businesses and many people who use the service can do so: on their own wilhout the assistance of a lawyer. These courts were recently described in a Toronto news-" paper editorial as the "people's courts" because of their. accessibility and lack of ceremonial tarppings that somne persons frnd intimidating in other parts of the court system. The Legistature recently approvçd expansion ot' the- jurisdiction of these courts so they can serve even more people. The Smatl Claims Courts can now heu- cases involving dlaims of Up to $1 ,000.00, exclusive of interest of any out- standing debt. Tiere is a -wide range of matters that can, be resolved by these courts. For example. a.person who contracted for home renova- Letters Editor Box 206 Whitby tions but disputes the price 'and quality of the work, can start an action in Small Claims, Court to settie the dispute. The Court can also hear negligence actions, including motor vehicle accident dlaims; some landlord and tenant mnatters, including arrears in rent or dlaims for damage to the apart- ment by the tenant; disputes involving unpaid loans; actions to recover goods in the possession of another person or company. ,To make use of the Sniall Claims Court a person, need only file in duplicate-with the Court office a "statement of dlaim". This may be done on a busine ss firm's letterhead or on plain paper and should set out the -namies and addres- ses of both parties to the dispute, the'amounït owing and the reasons for the amounit owing. The person launching the court action may ask for interest on the amount owing during the time the deb t has been outstanding. SThe dlaim will be s'erved on the other party by a bailiff of the court and the other paty bas'10 days.to file a dis- pute to the dlaim. The cost for enteriuig a dlaim is nomninal. For example,. the fee for enteringua daim for an oùtstanding debt of be- tween $ 100 and '$200 is $15. The fee for dlaimrs of debts between $400 and $ 1,000 is 19.50. If the defendant ini the action'files a dispute of the dlaim, the clami will be placed before a Judge for settlement and you will bc notified of the date of the hearing. If the defendant does niot file a dispute of the dlaim, the Clerk of the Court may sing a "default judgment" of the claim. After default judgmient is signed or judgment given in court, the person who started the action mnay proceed in various ways to recover the amnount of the dlaim, plus the costs of the action. These include garnishment of the debtor's wages or batik accaunt;, seizure of personal assets of the debtor; and a judgment sumnmons under which the debtor Is brought to court to explain reasons for non-paymient and to outline his financial position. The Clerks of the Court are avaitable to explain these various procedures and to assist in the fMing of claims. There are three Small Claims Courts in the Region of Durham. Court No. 1, 501 Brock Street South, Wliitby which covers Whitby, Ajax & Pickering north to the Ux- bridge Town Uine, No. 3 i Uxbridge which covers the northern part of the Region and Court No. 8 whkch coveus thec City of Oshawa and Bownianville areas. Their addres- ses and phone numbers are listed ini the phone dircctiory under Ontario Govertiment, Attorney General. The clcrk of the. Smatt Clulma Court i Whitby is Shirley Femiu. The. phione niamber la 668-3624. to the qmb.- lq