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Shelter takeover completed smoothly 'Vol. 16. No. 1 Wednesday, January 8., 1986 28 Pages É By SUSAN LESJAK Free Press Staff True to their word, the towns of Whitby, Ajax and Pickering had an animal control service in place by Jan. 1. And the sheiter's new super- visor, Carol Lang, says "things are running the same as ever'" The municipalities decided to take over the operation of the Thickson Rd. shelter af- ter a contract dispute wltb the Ontario Humane Society (OHS) which, had been providing the service for the past two decades. When the Pickering, Ajax, Whitby (PAW) animal control commit- tee announced its plans last November, it came under fire from both the OHS and the Canadian Union of Public Em- ployees (CUPE) representing the shelter's 12 employees. The committee was ac- cused of cutting costs at the expense of the sheiter's animais and its employees. Less than a week after PAW took over the operation, however, staff morale is high. Though the employee ranks have been cut from 12 to five. CUPE Whitby Psych.staff wal1kout. Friday A great stant Gîsele Andrews rememnbers the passing of 1985 The Whitby cou clearly. She was f lat on her back in the labor room of restaurant with frie Oshawa General Hospital and It was between cOn- Gis ele's rapld conti tractions. nlty ward. "The nurse came in and shook our hands," said Matthew was borr her husband Mark, who was with Gisele at the tîme. 10 oz. While there "We knew then that our baby would be the f irst Of Toronto who clockE The birth of their f irst child, Matthew, on January Oshawa-Whitby'are. lst was "a complete surprise," said Gisele, adding that he hadn't tieen due for another few days. )uple were eating pizza in a ends on New Year's Eve, when tractions took them to the mater- nat 5:54 a.m., weighingin'at6 lb., ,e were two other newborns In Sd in, at 12 a.m. and 12:01, Mat- bid to be born In 1986 in the a. Free Press Staff Photo BySUSAN LESJAK Free Press S taff Thirty, of Whitby> Psychiatric Hospital's 32-memfber, medicai staff will be waiking off their shifts Friday. to protest the lack of negotiatinig mechanism. The physicians and psychiatrists will be joininig medicàLý 'staff' from nine other Ontarlo psychiatric hospitals at a meeting in Toronto to discuss further- san- ctions against the Ministry of Heath.. The 200 doctors expec- ted at the mrieeting beiong to the Ontario Psychiatric H ospitaiý Association (OPHA). Many- of them- like the Whitby doctors - Will be leaving their patients in the care of a skelton "lemergency" staff to attend the meeting. According to Dr. Stephen Nugent, president of the medicai staff at Whitby Psych, the doctors are angry at the provincial gover- nment's historic "lack of respect and lack of receptivity" to physician's input in matters reiated to pati ent care and doc- tors' working con- SEEPC. 10 Ad min gives nod to, new Ashburn plant By SUSAN LES.JAK Free Press Staff The administrative committee of Whitby council has given! its ap;- proval for Domninion Automrotive Industries ta move into Ashburn. The recommen- dations passed at a public meeting Monday grants Dominion Automotive - 1'the rezoning permission it requires to set up a plant to manufacture and assemble automotive mirrors on 30 acres of land now owned by Andrew An- tenna. The proposed plant, while strikingly sinilar to the one previousiy operated on the proper- ty by Andrew Antenna, has met with con- siderable opposition from Ashburn residents. The residents of the rural hamiet fear that by aliowing Andrew An- tenna to severe the land and seli it to another in- dustry, the town is opening the door for a future industrial park. The land, originally zoned for agricuiturai use is not "suiable" for industry, said severai of the more than 30 residents who attended Monday's meeting. Regionai councilior Tom Edwards ex- piained ta them, however, that a decision ta deny the rezoning request would be dif- ficuit ta defend should the company challenge the town before the On- tario Municipal Board. Residents are concer- ned, however, about the volume of. traffic that wili be generated by the new plant, which is an- ticipated to employ 150- 200 workers and oaerate SEE PC. L-7 b bb ~ ~ f ~ f ~' t,9.~ ~ ~ f~ ~ ~ f~>~ 44~4~f4f f 4bf, ~ w representative Jim Woodward said that I'under the circumstan- ces, the (PAW commit- 'tee)-, acted in a reasonablermanner." This verdict is quite a switch from his earlier statements criticizing PAW for leaving the union in the dark about its plans to take over animal control. While Woodward acknowled- ged that he was initialiy "lvery concerneci" by the cornmittee's way of handling the matter, "in the end," he said - after meeting with the chairman of PAW (Ross Batten) and expressing the union's concerns, "it became evident that both parties were going down the same path. " Woodward is satisfied that the committee made every effort to rehire the former staff on the basis of seniority. While the new super- visor (aiso a former OHS empioyee - though not working at the sheter at the time of the take over), regrets that staff had to be cut, she said she's confident that' if more empioyees are needed, they'll be ad- ded. "I have no reason to doubt that they'll in- crease staff or make SEE PG. 13