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PAGE 14, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1977, WHITBY FREE PRESS Bruce Afeck toprosecute for province Bruce Affleck, considered to be one of the top crown attorneys in Canada, is leaving his position in the Durham Region courts on November 1 to assume new responsibilities in the attorney general's ministry in Toronto. Mr. Affleck, at the age of 29 was the youngest crown attorney in the province when he succeeded the late Alex Hall as Crown Attorney for Ontario County .,in March 1961. In hs new position lie will be prosecuting major trials across Ontario. This will be nothing new for Mr. Affleck, for he has often been called upon to do this kind of work before. At 46, with 16 years of experience in the Ontario County and Durham Region courts behind him, Mr. Affleck says he regrets leaving, but sees his new job as a "distinct challenge". In his 16 years as crown attorney, the province has had six attorneys general and three assistant crown attorneys have been hired in Durham to help handle a growing case- load. The crown office pre- sently employees 12 lawyers on a part-time basis. The three assistants, Ted Howell, Neil McCrank and Alex Sosna have taken up much of the court work, while Mr. Affleck has become more involved in paper work. However, ,he has had time to prosecute 45 murder trials in various Ontario cities, with no acquittals, more than 300 jury trials and about 35,000 tases in Supreme, county and provincial courts. Mr. Affleck was the Crown prosecutor at such famous trials as the Nelles kidnapping in 1969, a million-dollar bank robbery in Windsor, and the three unprecedented murder trials of Toronto lawyer Gerald Shea. Mr. Affleck is a noted lecturer at law schools, police colleges and international attorneys' conventions. At the peak of his career, the pressure caught up with him in September 1975 when he suffered a serious heart attack. Under doctor's orders lie is taking on less onorous duties in Toronto. Mr. Affleck is at his best in the court room, and many people say lie is a fascinating man to watch and listen to when lie is prosecuting a case. At a speech at the Whitby Chamber of Commerce last year, he* stressed the impor- tance of integrity in Canada's systern of justice to ensure that the accused person gets a tair trial. Mr. Affleck has been described by lawyers who have come up against him in the court room as fair and compassionate, and a man with good sense. If he truly believes he does not have a case he will withdraw the charge or accept a plea on a lesser charge. Recently Mr. Affleck was featured in a magazine supplement in a national newspaper as one of the top 10 Crown Attorneys in Canada. In many speeches he has said: "the trial purpose is to determine guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt. It is important for you to maintain a consistency as far as your ideals are concerned. It is far better for a guilty man to go free than an innocent inan to be convicted. The system demands the calibre of inte- grity that protects the inno- cent people even though in the long run it may protect the guilty". Bruce Affleck, Crown Attorney for Ontario County and Durham Region for 16 years, will be leaving Durham Region on November 1 to prosecute major trials for the Ministry of the Attorney Geieral of Ontario. He is considered to be one of the top Crown Attorneys in Canada. Free PressPhoto New administrator for local hospital A number of changes have taken place in the administra- tion of the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital recently. After having an acting administrator throughout the latter part of the summer, the hospital has a new full- time administrator, Michael O'Keefe. Mr. O'Keefe obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree from St. Mary's University, Halifax, and a Diploma in Hospital Administration from the University of Toronto. He also received the Dr. G. Harvey Agnew award for highest academic standing in the first graduate year in Hospital Administration. Mr. O'Keefe comes to Whitby from Regina, Saskat- chewan where he was Execu- tive Director of the Regina Pioneer Village, a 770-bed nursing home. Previously he was Associate Director of Humber Memorial Hospital and Assistant Executive Director of St. John's General Hospital in Newfoundland. Mr. O'Keefe is married, with four daughters. He is an avid sportsman who enjoys golf and jogs more than four miles a day. In September, Assistant Administrator Gary Ainlay left the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital after two years of service, to complete his studies at the University of Toronto for his Diploma in Hospital Administration. While at Whitby, Mr. Ainlay was instrumental in bringing about many improve- ments in hospital conditions and programs. Under his direction, the new staff cafeteria was built, and several areas of the hospital were redecorated and renovated. A new food system was also introduced to enable patients to eat on the wards. Mr. Ainlay was alarmed over the large number of accidents occurring to hospital staff, so he organized seminars on accident preven- tion. Later, Maybe When two cars collided at a lonely crossroads, both drivers were shaken up. Af- ter a while, one said, "It so happens I have a bottle of wine in my truck. Would you like a little to help calm your nerves. The other said it was, a good Idea and took a healthy swig. The first driver then corked the bottle and started back to his car, "Aren't you going to have a little wine, too?" asked the other. "Not until after the police corne," he replied while shaking his head. Irrigating Acres American farmers and ranchers are irrigating a- bout one million acres of additionalland each year.