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Vol. 1. No. 2THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 1973luc miIk for son hilUybattis Dunbarton church razi by early DUNBARTON An cariy iiiornir)g blaze, Monday, rav-. agcd and guttcd the 87-ycar old Dunbarton Unitcd Church in tl)is village, 10O miles wcst of' Whitby. Pickering Township fire- men baîîicd the sni)oke aId flames for hours on) onc of the coldest mnornings oIf the wintcr to date this year. No actuai cstirnatc ut' dam- ages couid be in)I)lediateiy given although il is bclieved replacement value of tbe struc- ture will be in the S I 50 to $200,000 range. The blaze, of undetermnined origin, Was n(ticed by a neigh- bor about 6: 30 Monday miorn- ing. When firemen arrivcd on the scene thcy wcre con- frontcd by a roaring inferno which sent longues of flame and biîlows of smoke hun- dreds of fect imb the air. Despite the use of cvcry available piece of f irc-figbting apparatus and full comple- ments of firemen there was little that couid be done 10 save the building's interior. morning Efforts wcrc mainly dircctcd lu con troiling tl)c sprcad of the tire an)d saviI)g the cx- terior structure. Tihc temperature was su iuw that f ircîniad cquîp- menft werc coatcd Will) icc and walcr froin buscs turrncd the arca adjacent lti)tceblaze mbt a skating rink. Trees and bushes necar the building were coated with inches of ice and boughs were breaking froni tl)c wcigl)t. The churchi was crected on tke site in 1 886 and was a landmark in the arca. The original congregation was formed in 1 835 when the site was originaliy purchased. At first il was fcarcd that church records dating back scores of' years were losI in the fire. Hlowever, it was later icarned that the minister, Dr. W. A. McKay, had rernoved the records 10 bis home soine lime ago. If this had 1)01 been donc hundrcds of records of mur- niages, births and deaths wouid have been losi. blaze The structure, buLiilt of stone and brick and cor)tain- ing Ilnagni lice!)t pille beamis, was comnpictciy gutted. No- thiing litit the wails and badiy scorchced and burncd heamis reinain. It is bupcd that a ncw structure wiii risc on the site but this wiii have- 10 be de- terrnined by the congregation. At one lime the congrega- lion nunmbered close 10 500 persons but in recent years this hias dwindled with many mnembers now attending other chu rcbes close r 10 home. Word froin Fire Chie f Don Lynde's office is that the blaze is being investigated by the Ontario Fire Marshal's office and the probable cause wiiI i)ot be known for several days. Hundreds of spectalors throî)ged to ti)e scene aI 1the height of the blaze, mnany of thcm- Toronto-bound workers who were attractcd by the fiarnes and smokc which eould be seen for miles. Firemen rush additional equipment înto place es the Dunharton United Church burns in the background (top> and fire fighters struggle with hoses and hydrants, f ouled by ico in the below freezing temperatures <bottom). Photos by Alex Katnins I 9-year-oid Grace Waiker of Whitby was running out of miik for ber 9-month-old son, Jamie. If she scrimped here and there it would last an extra day or two. It ail started when lier 21- year-oid husband, Les, said no 10 a three-day job offcr 10 clean streets by the local wel- fare department. The welfare deparrnerit informed Canada Manpower about the job re- fusai, and a' few days later there was a notice in the mail advising Mr. Walker he no longer qualified for his unem- ployment insurance benefits. That was on Wednesday,, January 3. At the lîie Mrs. Walker hiad three tins of Ja- mie's special formula left, which she explained would have lasted her for about four days. Luckily on Tuesday, Janu- ary 9, a friend purchased a galion of iik for J amie. But in the neantimie food was running low for Mr. and Mrs. Walker. They had been, Up to tbis point, paying $25 out of their $57 unemiploy- ment cheques t0 Mrs. Walker's miother toward the grocery bill for the bousehold's tbree aduits and one infant. Since hier mother is alone and earns only a miodest weèkiy salary, the situation graduaily wors- ened with the benefit cheque cU toff. The Whitby Welfare De- partment doesn't believe the Walkers require emiergency as- sistance for food. Departmnent director George Thwaites in- formied the FREE- PRESS here was more to the case than met the eye. When asked for details he said ki was under no obligation 10 answer to anybody regarding refusai of assistance. He was, of course, perfect- iy righit. A byiaw passed by Whitby Council in Septemiber 1972 authorizes that not only does he flot have 10 be an- swerable to the media, he does not have to deal with M.P.'s or M.P.P.'s posing que s- tions on behaîf of welfare irecipients or wouid-be reci- pients either. A social worker says Mr. Walker has shown unwilling- ness to accept jobs and sub- sequentty t1k deparîmient will nlot of fer aid of any kind. Wben Les Walkcr was otf- féed the sîreet cleaning job for three days, kie daimis Io have had an appoinîmnent with a Toronto firi which offered 1 c(»jtiý,jjed on page 9