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PA ilu 199 Prank itncludes photos of 'Journey,09 Barthoiom ew the-,bear returs home"ý- By Mike Kowaluld <Bartholo mew is safely back in his Whitby home -- only now he hâs Company. Looking none the worse for wear, Bartholomew returned to -bis West end abode shortly before last Halloween. After Ieing on his 'own for about four weeks, Bartholomew grewv tired of travelling aud is again enjoing life'on :Audrey and]Hon,-Barker'sfront porch. But, oh what a journey he hadi How manygpe, let alone a three.foo suied bar, can cdaim te have had an audience with the POatholomew caine to live at the Barkers last summer after Audrey Barker purchased hlm while on vacation in the United States. Quite taken with the almost life-like creature, Barker posed the bear on her front step, sitting at a table with its paws around an empty bowl. There the bear (he had no naine at this time), sat until one morning in September when the Barkers discovered it gone. "I think it was taken after midnight. We got up on a Friday morning snd it was gone. It had only been out on the front step for three weeks," said Barker. «Wo neyer reported it to the police, we figured it was no use, there were no elues. .Assuming this was probably the work of a thief, the Barkers, did not expect to see the bear augain.e, uc Bgu early theuetwkuh to hier surprise, Barker found a brown envelope under the bear's bowl. .Perhaps half-expecting to find a ransomn note inside, ail the envelope contaiu'ed- were two snapshots of the bear.which in- dicated that hie left home on his own accord, said Barker. One photograph depicted the bear standing in front of the former Whitby train station with the following message under- neath: 'Mhe bowl was always empty, 50 Fmn leavin' towni» The other photo had the bear hangingfrom the side of a boxcar with a poke (a kerchief tied te a stick) s ung across his shoulder in hobo fashion. The accompanying caption read: "Ridin' the rails, lookin' for Both photos had a pawprint beside the message te prove their authenticity. At this point he Barkers kuew immediately they were the vic-' tims of a prankster, but.who? "If it wasn't a friend, it would have te be someone who drove by the house and sa the bear out front," said Barker. A few days later the Barkers received a brown envrelope in the mail. It coutained nothing but a single photo of the bear sitting by a stream, fishing pole in hand. The caption r-ead: "I hate por- ridge, gone fishin.» O ver subseqent days more photo arrived iu the mail. Durn his journeyteba visited the Oka Indian reserve and ran up some gambling debts along the way. But the lengths te which the perpetrater(s) went with the prank is beat reflected in the hotoraph the Barkers received The bear is shown with someone dressed as the Pope and the message reads: "T'ravelling abroad,-- niy audience with his holiness.n The, envelope had an" 'Italiani stamp, and postmark.,ý, We figured whoever did i sent the letterto Italy for somebody, to mail it from there,» said Bar- ker. By this time, Bartholomew' (he- now had a. name) exploits were becoining known to an in- creasng numb:er of people.' In addition to, her fiends aud relatives, fellow participants in Barker'si.,weekly euchre and, darts gaines were kept aîbreast of the latest developments. "There's got to be t 'least 300 peole h.know about it now," After receiving one more photo in the mail, this one of Bartholo- mew on a. sailboat, the -bear.ý suddenly appeared on the Bar- kers' front step theween before Halloween. It was dressed in a devil coes-. tume and there was stili another photo, this one showing.the bear in the saine costume with a sign reading:«The devil made me do, «Vie had a lot of fun, with it, someone went to a lot of trouble to do this,» siaid Barker.. -"Wen we got the bear back I too itwitumeto euchre and dairt,, everyonie wae happy to a00 ,Figuring-.the prank a over, the Barkers thouaht nothing' .inoreo f41t,,unfil hj ma on orb.eon, the, fronht ,porchl was ùotr' only Batholomeëw ,but tm'nr ercubs, one pink, -the other bue, lyingn a cradle. o Thee ws I'àa hotoah thecul!i, or 's ats 'as they were ;,aclled, indý a Chistina card. The "message inthe card' read: «Dee~ Bartholomew, Fin sick and t-edof 1oôkin ' afIter ýyour brat cube B0fo it M y time to see thé world!^ýý J"MerryCh ristas ftrm ours trl.» e card wa sige with a paw. print and had -t he follow- SInaed -them HRon and Aud- ddn't lknow what. to think,» saidSBarker. "We didnt'-i recogniz thie;-.printing, on the Î card. We ha'v'e ndaofWlho did , 1 ýThe ideazmaynot be .originial. A similà 'stunt was apparently depicte4 onthe DavidLettermn telvision sho'w. Loaomayto oeate- data .centre for Metro Toronto. By MikKowalokl Metro Toronto' has 'roached outside its borders for help with its data processingoperations. e Metro officiais recently sigd a five-year contract with EDS of Canada Ltd. te have the Whitby- based coip any Manage the munlici lailsmassive informna- tion network EDS, one of Canada's largest information technology services companies, will- set up and manage a computer system, for Metro. The most recent IIBM main- frame computer will be installed at the compainy's data procesisingq centre in Oshawa. .EDS will manage the transfer of ope- rations from the City of Torontes data centre te Oshawa. Accordin#. to EDS senior account executive Fred Veluot, information from virtually every Metro, goverument department wili be housed lu the mainfraine. «Basically, an fuiction done by Metro: will ~ kept on the mainframe well'be operating for them," said Veinot. UTne extent of our service is te' manage the mainfiraine sud pro- Durham College Your'Success Connectio'n presents College, Prep Programs in Pre-business and Pre-technology Are you planning ta start a college program, but: " do not have the necessary pre-requisites, or " need to strengthen your academic skils Our Colege Prep programs can help. These 20 week programs are designed to provide you with the academic skills necessary to enter post-secondary study in your chosen field. Here Is what you need: - recent Grade 10 or equivalent - at Ieast 19 years of age or Grade 12 Here are the benefits you wlII receive: " An opportunity to ease into college life " The academic skills needed for sucoess in your post-secondary studies Programs run from February il ta June 28,1991 Ail programs are taught in a structured lecture setting by highly skilled Acoess Division faculty. FWndMulmm eby callln: Accss & Technical Training Divsion Studert Semces (416) 576-0210, Ext. 53 C 0 L L. E G E Durlum Colege Main Campus P.O. Box 385 TeI:416ý576-0210 2000 Simcoe St. N. Oshawa, Ontario TDD: 416-571-5560 Oshawa, Ontarjo Canada Li H 7L7 Fax: 416-436-9774 * ~ ~ -.* * J.. 'I ~ 4 * ide' t.M. ., Jk.ge'Jjsi . IUC4 U tfeàJipj vide services te !maximize their communications», Veinot said that while bis com- pauy ofteu puts data ftrn several clients on one main- frame, this will not be the case with Metro. Due. te the volume of data, the type of information and future Stirike at Witby By IMke Kowalski A strike by 400 employees of a Whitby automobile seat manu- facturing plant bas been averted. Employées of Lear- Seating Ltd. were te vote teday (Wedues- day) on a tentative agreemnent reached between their union sud company officiais early Monday. The employees membersi of the Canadian Âuto Workers (CAW), voted 100 per cent in favour of a strike last month. The old conutract, the firat for the Whitby factor expired New Year's Eve, but bot - sidesi agreed te continue talking. CAW Local 222 vice-president Jin Nimigon would not release details of the tentative are ment, but said the bargamnig committee was recommendiug acceptance. Workers had been poised te strike but the day shift reported for work as scheduled Monday, said Nimigon. «They (committee) had a long go of it, thlngs were not wrappea up until close te 6 this morning," said Nimigon. A company spokesman was not available for comment. The three-year agreement, if approved, also covers an estima- ted 800 Lear workers at a sister plant in Cambridge. Under the old contract, wor-ý kers earued betweeu $13-$14 per hour. The- comp.n mnufactuj'res, c c Eoseiti4lly, the system<,,, iz- iç volves iformation ben em*çtd 'inûto the varlous computer terminali located ln Mtro'officeos explained Veinot. The data is ý then 'itored âncd. processed at EDS' Os Ghawa centre.,. A comnputer printeut is pro- duced and sent back te Metro or the ,information relayed . bâck, "onï-line ot. comput erterminal,..- Ibisis,"the.firstofwhat.Vio hopes ý will be ýmany contracté. between EDS and Métro. "@me comapany has, held discus-l sious withDrh eRo n'for. simnil ar. wo rk,.. but .nothingcon- crete.has resultâd, saidVeinot. EDS of Canada Ltd. iè* a sub- sidary 'fDallas-based EMic tronic Data SysteinsCorp. The Canadian subsidiiary 'wase formed- lu 1984 following *theÏ parent coinpauy's acquistion by General Motors., EDS' has doubled its' initial workforce -of 700 te 1,400 employeesý in the luntervenîing It bas branches lu 10 other Canadian cities; -with the Whitby office serving as headquarters. W.eight 1088s AÀs a fundraiser for the local United Way Nutri/Slystein centres of Durhaxu Region have challenged their clients te lose 1,500 lb.. Clients have also been urged te collect their own pledges for the United WVay, based on their per- sonal weight loss during the January campaigu period. Ferry-boat IRMPAGE 2 the couple's proposal. Council approved a report pro- iared by ownadniinistrater BlWalace but the reasons for not meetin with the couple were. not provided tà the prouq. .However, one,'councillor said later that it involved questions. Il Yri.u