Strong named Canada's top junior athlete Lori Strong of Whitby has been named Canada's junior female athlete of the year by the Canadian Sports Federation. She received the Elaine Tanner award at a ceremony in Toronto on Monday. Strong, 15, was on her way home from a gymnastics meet in Japan when she found out she had won the award. She was on a stopover in Vancouver and phoned her parents in Whitby to tell them the plane would be arriving late. "My mom told me over the phone," she says. "I was really happy. I didn't expect it." Strong captured a bronze medal in the Elite Tokyo gymnastics competition last Thursday. She had 9.80 points to finish just behind Yuria Kutj of the Soviet Union and Aurelia Dobre, who tied for the gold with 9.85 points. Strong earlier had fourth-and fifth-place finishes in the competition in Japan. The Elaine Tanner award is the culmination of a very busy and successful year for Strong. She completed a move on the uneven bars that may even be named after her. The move involves a one-and-a-half twist on the bars that she completed at the world championships in Rotterdam in October. . At a meeting in May of 1988, the Federation of International Gymnastics will decide if the move can be named SEE PAGE 26 Heron, Visser honored See page 8 Neurofibromatosis: two stories of local awareness See page 14 LORI STRONG Campaign falls short but total exceeds last year's The United Way campaign fell short of its target this year but chairman Michael Starr said campaign workers and those who contributed can be "proud of what we have done this year." The campaign for Oshawa, Whitby and Newcastle raised $2,502,352, more than $97,000 under the $2.6-million goal. But Starr said the 1987 total was still 9.4 per cent or $215,000, higher than last year's total. "That's twice the rate of inflation," he told a large crowd attending the victory celebration at Elusions in Oshawa Monday Heritage home could become treatment centre By ROXANNE REVELER Some local citizens are concerned that a Brooklin heritage home could be turned into a treatment centre for rehabilitating alcoholics without first obtaining public input on the plan. David Godsell and Marie Williamson, both residents of Colston Ave. in Brooklin, say they learned by accident on Nov. 21 that a conditional offer had been made on the heritage property at the corner of Coston and Baldwin St., a building known locally as the Carnwith mansion. The offer is by Renascent Fellowship Foundation Inc., which now operates three treatment centres in the Toronto area. Williamson said the chance information spurred she and Godsell to make inquiries about the operation of the foundation, and its location on a property zoned residential. Whitby planning director Bob Short told The Free Press that the Carnwith mansion was zoned R-1. But under specific provisions of the bylaws, certain types of institutional useage are permitted. He added that Renascent had not yet made a formal application to the Town, and in fact might not have to as the plan conforms to the present zoning. He said he had met with some of the Renascent executive and felt the type of operation they proposed would be within the existing designation for the property. According to the foundation, Renascent House was founded in 1970 by a group of Toronto businessmen who focus their efforts "on treatment of the disease of alcoholism." Their centres are staffed with counsellors who themselves are recovered alcoholics, with counselling available to clients on a 24-hour basis. With offices at 250 Bloor St. E. in Toronto, they now oeprate two treatment centres: a men's facility on Bayview Ave., adjacent to Sunnybrook Hospital, and a women's centre on Spadina Rd. in Toronto's lower Forest Hill area. Godsell indicated he had spoken with an administrator at the Bayview location who said 30 male clients attended the program every 28 days. Upon completion of the four-week program, they were replaced with another group of clients. Lucille Toth, director of development and public relations for Renascent, said there might be fewer than 30 at the Brooklin facility, but it would be, relatively, on the same scale as the Bayview House. She indicated Renascent had intentions of adding four or more bathrooms (there are now five) within the 7,200-sq. feet SEE PAGE 5 night. Starr nevertheless urged citizens to continue to give donations. "The funds are desperately needed by the agencies," he said. General Motors and its 20,000 employees provided $1,430,258, or 55 per cent of the total. Other industries donated $380,836 while public employees in the area contributed $247,501. Schools raised a total of $90,127, professionals $69,706, businesses (banks, trust companies, insurance) $70,162, commercial $41,245; and personal gifts or foundation donations totalled $172,517. ..N S ID E "DURAM- MOVES" ~Santa s coin I o townf1 SM 9 ar'etrs l a*m -ep1 et et Iý iê4 ' i «I, l4A lAI~~t 't îrI Ij 4.AA AlAI $,,