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F REE PRESS Vol. 15, No. 27 Wednesday, July 3, 1985 28 Pages Whitby's new chief scouts These three young men - all members of the First Whitby Scout Troop - have earned the highest honor of the Canadian scouting movement. They have all been named Chief Scouts, a honor so rare, that a Whitby boy hasn't received the honor for over six years. But Thomas Hourahine, Ron Kane and Sean Steele have. To earn the award, the boys had to perform over 200 hours of community service work, hike 25 kilometres, swin 800 metres, become proficient in first aid and other skills. They had to com- plete the tough requirements in the three years before their 15th birthday. They received their Chief Scout badges from Mayor Bob At- tersley last week but will be properly invested by Governor- General Jeanne Sauve, the Chief Scout of Canada, later this Free Press Staff Photo Best original fire rig No, these guys aren't demonstrating the newest piece of Department by the Watson family last year. The Watson family equipment owned by the Whitby Fire Department - they're has given over 130 years of collective service to the fire depar- showing off the oldest. And with good reason - itwon two prizes tment this century. at the recent York Region Muster sponsored by the Sutton Fire The pumper won prizes for being not only the oldest rig on Department. parade but for being the best original rig as well. This old style pumper, built by H. Spencer Co. of Whitby in Manning the pumper are Firefighter Dave Chalmers (left) 1827 was used to fight fires in the grain storage silos in the Whit- and Firefighter Joel Gangemi (right). Holding the leather hose by Harbor in the last century. It was donated to the Whitby Fire is Capt. Jim Corner. Free Press Staff Photo Downtown must unite Whitby's downtown core is facing stiff competition from other communities, Carol Nixon told local merchants at the first ever annual meeting of the Whitby Downtown Im- provement Area Board last week. Nixon, executive director of the Burlington Business Improvement area, also warned the downtown business community that shopping malls and other modern commercial facilities are also putting strains on them. If they are to survive, they have to update their stores and their services. She also urged the merchants to forsake "a little independance to gain a united front" in order to compete. For more on Nixon's com- ments, see story on page 3. In other downtown related news, the mer- chants gave a round of applause to Ed Buf- fett, the chairman of the Whitby Downtown Improvement Board and called him "the driving force" behind the core. Merchants also expressed some concerns with the direc- tion of the core and offered some suggestions for improvements. For more, see story on page 13. W.R.A.P. is taking hold The Town of Whitby's pilot recycling project seems to be gaining momentum. In a report submitted to Whitby Town Council last week, public works director Dick Kuwahara said that during the programs first five weeks of operation some 15,890 kilograms of recycable material was collected. The director also noted that participation in the Whitby Recycling Action Program (or W.R.A.P., for short) has jumped from 18 to37 per cent since it was implemented on April 30. The pilot program is currently being operated in the West Lynde subdivision and the town will have to decide sometime later this year whether or not to expand the program across the entire municipality. For more about W.R.A.P.'s progress to date, see story on page 9. New rules for street dances Local residents planning to hold a street dance this summer should be advised that Whitby Town Council has adopted a new set of regulations governing street closures. While council is going to continue to permit street dances and other social, recreational, cultural and athletic events to be held on closed streets, where they can be held will be limited. Residents will also be required to pay $50 for barriers and agree to certain conditions including maintaining access for emergercy vehicles before council will close the street. For more in the new policy, see story on page 10. Home needed Can anyone out there give a good home to a kitten? If someone does, then Dr. Clayton MacKay of the MacKay Animal Clinic would like to talk to them. A few weeks ago, the clinic became ward to a little kitten that was abandoned by its owners. The little ball of fur had been in an accident which resulted in one leg being am- putated. Since the owners have failed to claim, MacKay must either find a home for the kit- ten or send him to the Ontario Humane Society where it will be put down if no one adopts him after a week. And according to MacKay, the little fellow has been through too much to allow that to happen. For more about Tripod, see story on page 2. Whitby on top The Whitby Warriors are continuing to play winning lacrosse. The Minto Cup champions are still leading the junior 'A' division of the Ontario Lacrosse Association. IF they keep this up, they could be on their way to another championship season. Meanwhile, the Brooklin Redmen seem to be having a few problems holding on to second place in the O.L.A. 's major junior 'A' division. They are still battling Owen Sound for second spot and league leading Peter- borough seems to be charging ahead. For more details, see our sports section on page 18.