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“It‘s an awful feeling." she said in a recent in- terview. “I thought: ‘Oh my heavens, it's hap pened to me.‘ ” She was at the York» Peel returning office in Aurora on election night and returned home shortly after 10:30 pm. 7 Her firs! thought was for her dog. which always runs to meet her at the The King mayor believes homeowners should “look out for each other." maintaining a vigil for suspicious ac- tivities in their neigh- borhoods to prevent similar occurrences Mayor Britnell admits that she had an “ilcan‘t- happen-toâ€"me" attitude towards break~ins before her personal experience on May 22‘ A breakâ€"in at her King Township home earlier this year has launched Margaret Britnell on her latest crusade. After her home ransacked I'BUYII 8-10 â€" THE LIBERAL. Wednesday. August 8. 1979 WOMAN CHARGED A Richmond Hill woman has been charged with three counts of break, enter and theft as a result of break~ins at three Richmond Hill locations. BUILD A STEEL ROOF Better Iron Works Limited. Doughton Road, Concord is the victim of a recent theft. Someone took 234 sheets of steel roof deck, from a construction site on Connie Crescent. Police searched the premises of a Thornhill, residence and charged one man with possession of marijuana with intent to traffic. possession of marijuana. possession of cannabis resin, possession of cocaine and possession of LSD. PHONE: ' 6 before 10 am. Police were able to match finger prints found at Apollo 11 (‘oiffures with those of the accused and she was arrested. Further investigation tied her to the other break-ins. _ A second man was chargéd with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and possession of marijuana. The Classified Section of this Newspaper is the people’s market place. Buy, sell rent or swap. Every week there are hundreds of Ads. from the people for the people. When you have something to sell or want someâ€" thing to buy, your neighbour wants to 'know. BUY& READ THE CLASSIFIED ADS. ITS YOUR NEIGHBOUR CALLING! The missing items are valued at more than $11,000. A man conQinced her to make the withdrawal, and took her money and some jewelry from her store and fled. A Canada-wide warrant was issued for him, and he was arrested in Montreal. POISON El) TREE During the month of May. a willow tree in the yard of Ernest James Meekin of Sugar Maple Court. Richmond Hill‘ was poisoned. Apollo 11 Coiffure, Markham Road: Allencourt Restaurant in the Allencourt Plaza and Our Lady Help of Christians School were all scenes of recent break-ins. V DRL'G BUST ‘ Two Thornhill men have been arrested and charged with a variety of drug possession charges. He is'51 years old. stands 5 ft. 10 inches tall. weighs 150 pounds and has brown hair, and hazel eyes. ' FRAUD Ella Stillman of Markham was the victim of a fraud artist. when she was persuaded to with- draw $11,000 from her bank account supposedly to invest in gold stocks. MISSING PERSON Norman Stanley Tyndall, well-known residenl of . Woodbine Avenue. Victoria Square. is missing. His locker in the basement was broken into and several items were taken. included in the missing items is a quantity of camping. fishing and ski equipment, Michelin tires and some personal items. The missing items are valued at $3.000. HAVE A DRINK Town and Country Food Company Limited, Markham Road, Richmond Hill is missing several cases of coffee and tea as a result of a recent break-in‘ Al this lime. the value of the missing items is unknown. "GEEâ€"m}; was 30 Clark Avenue. and Brian White of that address has been the victim of another theft. In a recent theft, the keys to several apartment buildings in Thqyphill were taken‘ AA, . ,,.I The damage to the tree is éslimated at $2,000 mam ms PEUPLE you mow... AND Regional ' Police Briefs Libéral 7'0 THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW... "SELL" King mayor tells people “be alert” They had ransacked the house. evidently looking for 'money. and even opened the box containing the ashes of her husband. Her first reaction: “If I catch them. I‘ll kill them “You feel as if you’ve been violated," Mayor Britnell said of the ex- perience. “The fact that someone just came barging in â€" you feel their attitude." door. Despite the fact that she had locked all the doors before she left. the doors were wide open when she returned her first thoughts were for her big Dalmatian. She heard he‘d been killed. But she found the dog laying on her bed, covered with clothes pulled from the closet. “I didn‘t touch a thing," but waited for police to arrive. she recalled. Thirty-nine high school teachers from throughout Ontario wheeled away from Don Head Secon- dary School last Friday with a Ministry Driver Education Instructor’s course under their belts. The teachers showed again that summer school is more than just a place for students to pick up a few courses for credit or interest‘s sake. This gives certified teachers the re‘t‘juire'd experience and knowledge to teach at~ tractive and imaginative programs in Driver Ed. The thieves ransacked her bedroom, making off with jewelry they put in her pillow case. Her files were torn apart. A rifle was removed from her son's room and her fur coal was taken. That‘s why she was most upset at the loss of her husband's ring, a jade ring handed down from an aunt, an old pair of binoculars. a tin rooster she brought back from Mexico, and some antique scales. Chief Bruce Crawford said yesterday that the increase is part of a general increase of crimes against property in the area. .. “The increase is not just local here," Chief Crawford said. “Metro Toronto is up something The worst losses weren’t the television set or the stereo, but the personal items of sen- timental value. Statistics compiled by like 35 per cent." York Regional Police In response to a Show a 35 Per cent in- suggestion from King crease in break-ins in the Mayor Margaret Britnellv first half of this year. the chief said the force is ¢ (‘ ' ‘ h- From January to June StUdymg mfg. Mag there were 734 break-ins. borth Ale" approaCh‘ From January to June there were 734 break-ins. compared to 573 for the same period in 1978. “I don‘t cry very often, but I sat and wept,” Mayor Britnell said. Stats ShOW break-ins up 35 per cent 39 high school teachers complete driving course 'Whi'le 80 of the homes in the area sit on the flood plain and feel the effects of a major'storm, the Last week, the Town of Rich- mond Hill launched the con- struction of a $297,000 water channelization project for Lake Wilcox and combined with other drainage work, the new channel should end flooding problems residents experience every spring. Thanks to the third and final leg of the Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP), about 80 Oak Ridges households will be left high and dry. New channel will solve area flooding problems The Lake Wilcox water channel project was on the road to fruition last week thanks, in part, to this nucleus of councillors, staff and public com- mittee nIembers Who steered the design through the necessary planning and approva stages. Left to right: Marjorie Lyons (Lake Wilcox Committee); Wards Councillor Bill Corcoran; Shirley Weiss (committee member); Dick They took the regular high school driver ed. course. earned the standard classroom certificate and got enough experience to try a driving examination on their own. Rather than being depressed, Mayor Britnell became angry, and decided to'try to do something to alert people to the prevalence of breaking and entering. She feels that neighbors should be alert to strange vehicles or people in a neighborhood. Even though she has been critical of police actions in the past, Mayor Britnell feels “the police really do try" but they are hamstrung by legislation that restricts their activity and gives criminals an edge. She says that if she has any criticisms. it's the failure of York Regional Police to actively enlist residents to help fight the The course began July 4 and rather than the teacher candidates Ileaching each other, high school students who had never driven a car par- ticipated also. The shoe was on the other foot at Don Head under Master Teacher of Driver and Traffic Safety Education Phil Randell. “I think it‘s something we‘re going to bring to the public in the near future," he added. Police want to en- courage “an attitude of coâ€"operation between neighbors." he said. Such a campaign requires everyone‘s co- operation to be effective. and “I‘m not sure it will work,“ the chief said. Work is well under way just behind the Oak Ridges Post Office. and Friday several councillors. Mayor David Schil- ler and parks and planning staff paid a visit to the site to see how things were getting on. In as few as 10 weeks. Oak Ridges residents will be able to enjoy the benefits of the new, wider canal, which also includes an easement containing a nature-jogging trail â€" replete with landscaping. project should reduce this number to about 20, according to NIP administrator Bil] Coristine. Mayor Britnell said she confronted Police Chief Bruce Crawford and bluntly asked him: ‘What have you been doing about it?“ “We’ve all got to be a little more alert," Mayor Brilnell said. “You‘ve got to stand up and be counted if we want to preserve law and order." The chief replied that lenient courts and the difficulty in tracing criminals have created a great deal of frustration for the police. “What we tried to 'do was provide teacher candidates with the op- portunity to teach secondary school students to become safe and efficient drivers capable of safely par- ticipating in today’s complex traffic society," said Mr. Randell. Some of the innovations of the course included stopping distances, following distances, adverse conditions and driver attitudes. The teacher candidates are made aware of human. physical and rising crime rate She suggests a system called “Neighborhood Alert." which has been used in Winnipeg and Ottawa. “Neighbors should be looking out for each other." she said . “We don‘t need more police in King Township." “We‘ve got, to deploy people in a different manner," she said. "I resent being forced into putting an alarm system into my house,” Mayor Britnell said. “Responsible precaut- ions. yes, but I refuse to put iron bars on my Windows She says t‘hal the feeling of insecurity citizens have could lead “people to circumvent the law." As mayor. she is sur- prised by the number of people who share her concern. She feels that it would be a mistake to add more police when ordinary residents can help do the job. should 0 Report suspicious- looking and unfamiliar vehicles and note licence numbers. .Check with neighbors before going out or on vacation. She suggests citizens It will follow the path of a creek that previously was unable to handle high water levels during spring runoff because it was clogged with weeds. It had a width of only two feet. The new channel will be 80100 feet wide and a service road yet to be built will give the full The channel will control water flow from the lake and the main structure is situated about 800 feet from the water's edge. It was supposed to be a ground- breaking ceremony but en- thusiasm of the construction people couldn‘t be held back. . Notify the police of any suspicious activity in the neighborhood Deputy Police Chief Robert Hood is in basic agreement with Mayor Britnel]. ' Appropriate driver response patterns were discussed for the variety of adverse road con- ditions. Candidates learned that attitudes toward human beings, the law and the actual task of driving generally determine the type of driyer a person will be. In an interview, he suggested residents “report to police anything suspicious â€" anything at all. Don't hesitate. “It makes you more cynical â€" and I've become more right wing than I was before," Mayor Britnell said. “If you‘re going away for any length of time check with neighbors or the police.” the deputy chief said. He cautioned people against taking the law into their own hands and trying to apprehend prowlers. For Mayor Britnell, the break-in has made her alert to the problem in her own area. She also ob- tained an unlisted telephone number. mechanical factors which influence the ability to stop a vehicle. Factors such as sight distance. vehicle condition,‘ driver awareness and road conditions were related to safe following distances. “We welcome any reports of suspicious actions in communities with vacant homes or homes left empty for any reason.“ he said. He said that York Regional Police have no plans to institute a “Neighborhood Alert“ program, but that doesn’t prevent people from being alert to unusual activities and reporting them to police. “Obviously. the licence number of a vehicle is a help in investigating that type of occurrence." He suggested that people make a detailed list of their valuables with a description of each item. especially noting serial numbers. Putting an identifying mark on valuables also will help in recovering stolen property, Deputy Chief Hood added. Part of 7the course was Evans (staff); Ward 1 Councillor Dave Amos; Mayor David Schiller: Director of Parks and Recreation. Dave Hamilton; Ward 6 Councillor Mike Burnie; Works Commissioner Bernie Toporowski; NIP Administrator Bill Coristine; and Engineering Director Bud Newton. (Liberal photo by Steve Pearlstein) In suspending sentence, Newmarket Provincial Court Judge Fred White said the case was “the exception rather than the rule" among welfare fraud cases. Crown Attorney Doug Bovell said that after the couple split up in May 1977. Mrs. Michailidis began receiving welfare A former Markham couple last week was placed on three years' probation for defrauding the Region of York of $3,256 in welfare payments. Tom and Mickie Michailidis. ages 42 and 37. were also ordered to repay the money they obtained illegally over a 19-month period. The couple no longer live together and court was told they had suf- fered severe financial problems. conducted by the St. John Ambulance so candidates could learn the basics in dealing with car ac- cidents. The inclusion of. first-aid was also a response to the Ministry of Educationfs concern ovefiéalcbhol and 'drug A classroom driving simulator helps Heather Roberts oi Bayview Secondary School (Grade 11) get the ‘feel’ of the road. She is aided by principal of the Driver Education Instructor's course Phil Welfare fraud puts couple on probation easement a width of 110 feet. Total length will work out to 3,500 feet, with the depth varying from 4 to 12 feet. Cost of the project is split among the town (25 per cent), the province (25 per cent) and the federal government (50 per cent). Richmond Hill also has a budget for the cost of the land for the channel, some of which had to be expropriated. It is also sharing that expense with its partners of the other two levels of govern- ment cuu Huvttuuer JU aner tnree years of providing improved services for deteriorating communities. It took a full year to plan the scheme. which had a budget of $1.4 million. $39599! W fifi The fraud incident was brought to light when the house was destroyed by fire and some $33,000 in cash reported lost in the blaze. York Regional Police investigated and discovered that Mrs. Michailidis was receiving welfare. In July, 1978 the couple’s home was mortgaged for over $33,000 while Mrs. Michailidis was receiving twice monthly welfare cheques for over $200 apiece, court was told payments. The final payment was received in January 1979. She was living at the couple‘s Buttonville home at the lime. Defence counsel noted that Mr. Michailidis had become involved in a worm-picking business The Crippled Children‘s Randefi wagâ€"pleas Centre provided a car his students‘ p with special hand controls “I've receive and participants saw that feedback from handicapped adUItS are teacher candida! safe and efficient drivers. students â€" they aspwell. glad to be part wcd‘v "After 30 years oftoursefimatd: education Randell. Besides students who have never driven before, 39 teachers attended Don Head Secondary. for certification to teach driver ed. in their own schools. (Board of Ed. photo) The NIP program draws to an end November 30 after three years of providing improved services for deteriorating communities. Tenders were to have been opened last week and work should get under way within the next three weeks. Mr. Coristine said the next project is the construction of storm sewers on Fergus and Moray Aves. in Oak Ridges. The defence called the charge a "technical violation“ of welfare rules. citing the couple’s poor knowledge of English as a factor in the fraud. “I‘ve received good feedback from both teacher candidates and students â€" they were all glad to be part of this The house was mor- tgaged to help pay the bills. court was told. and suffered heavy financial losses. A Greek interpreter transfated the courtroom conversation for the couple. “A public fund is not something on which there is an open season, be it welfare or any other" form of assistance, Judge White told the couple; He added that their case was “sufficiently unusual" to merit a suspended sentence. He ordered each to pay back one-half of the $3.256. refining the program, Mr. Randell was pleased with his 7 istudents’ progress. mm: H 3’)”, m M II} “M