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Vol. 120 No. 17 Tuesday, March 25, 1986 Copy 35¢ Hospital one-step closer to becoming smoke-free Community Memorial Hospital in Port Perry has taken one more step towards a totally smoke-free environment. Starting early in April, smoking will be banned in all areas of the hospital, including the cafeteria and lounges. Lo The only exceptions, according to administrator David Brown, will be a designed area for patients in the solarium at the south end of the hospital, and in one of the staff lounges for employees who wish to light up. The Hospital Board of Directors approved these changes in principle last January and decided last week that the solarium will be divided with a floor to ceiling partition Police seek 17 new officers in proposed $25.2 million budget The Durham Region Police Force is seeking more money to increase its manpower by 25 people this year, including 17 additional officers. The request for the additional manpower came as the Force unveiled its proposed 1986 budget of $25.2 million at a meeting last week of the Region's Finance Committee. Chief Jon Jenkins said the force 'needs 17 additional officers, three ~ more cadets, and five civilian employees to keep up with the. demands of a growing population in the Region. He noted that in 1985, the force responded to more than 124,000 class, and in the poor economic Cats, especially black cats, are traditionally famous for their mystical qualities, and will be a featured part of the skating carnival's Magic years, there were no increases in the staff of the police force from 1982-84. The number of calls to police in .Durham last year was more than in York and Waterloo Regions, both of which have a similar number of of- ficers as Durham. Chief Jenkins said the Force needs five additional officers for the Ajax/Pickering area; five for Oshawa; two for criminal investiga- tions, one each in the youth bureau and community services, and one for the Bowmanville area. The proposed police budget, which Chief Jenkins called respon- sible, would represent a 9.4 per cent increase over the previous year. - be »- (partly glass) with one area for non- smokers and the other for those pa- tients who wish to smoke. Mr. Brown said the final decision on where hospital staff members will be permitted to smoke has not been made yet, but likely will be in one of the existing staff lounges. '"We are asking for support from the community in reducing as much as possible the amount of smoke in the hospital," he said. The hospital policy is to strongly "encourage visitors not to smoke at all when they are visiting patients. The number of staff members at the hospital who now smoke is 'in the minority," said Mr. Brown and they will not be permitted to smoke in their offices or work places. He said many Board members "and staff would ultimately like to 'see a total ban on smoking anywhere in the hospital, including patients, but this may not be feasible. There is a concern that a total ban would lead to people trying to "sneak a smoke" in washrooms and other isolated places in the hospital and that could create a hazardous situation. Mr. Brown. said the smoking policies adopted at the hospital are among the strictest of any hospital in the Region, and Community Memorial will continue to try to move towards a voluntary smoke- free institution. theme. The cats are, from left, Vanessa Sorley, Tammy Zaparanuik, Valerie Sanderson and Lori Thompson. For more pictures, see page 12. More than 250 Cubs from the Pine Ridge District took part in the annual Kub Kar Rally last weekend in Port Perry. When the competitions ended, these two youngsters had won first place in their categories. At left is Ryan Ruskay of Cartwright B for the best paint job on his car and Ken Orr of Port Perry for best design. For complete details of this popular event and photos of all the winning Cubs, see inside this issue of the Port Perry Star. Father gets six month jail sentence for deaths A Port Perry man convicted of criminal negligence causing the death of two young children was sentenced Friday to six months in jail by a District Court judge. John Arthur Begin, 46, was con- victed of failing to rescue his children from a fire that consumed his family home in January, 1984. The defendant was drunk when a kitchen electrical stove left on high overheated, setting fire to the house. Mr. Begin's two sons, aged 3 and 6, died. In his sentencing, Judge John Hoolihan said cases of negligence in- volving impaired driving deserve stiff sentences. But an offence such as that committed by Mr. Begin is not common, and requires different - standards. "This is not a normal case. The facts are not usual facts." Judge Hoolihan described the case as "a tragic one, not only for the victims and their mother, but also for the accused." In a pre-séntencing report, Mr. Begin was described as an alcholic with a drinking problem that goes back 28 years. In the past 30 years, he has been in and out of institutions for treatment and has held 20 dif- ferent jobs. Mr. Begin was also given two years' probation and was told to get treatment for his alcohol problem. Penalties for criminal negligence causing death range from a suspended sentence to life imprisonment. Farmers hear details of proposal banning farm lot severances There appears to be significant opposition among farmers in Durham Region to a Provincial government proposal banning farm lot severances. Several members of the Durham Federation of Agriculture express- ed reservations about the proposed han at a meeting of the Federation held at the Prince Albert Hall March 18. "In our zeal to protect something, we may be hurting a lot of people," said one farmer at the meeting. Tonu Tosini of the government's Foodland Preservation Branch was guest speaker at the meeting and he outlined the reasons why the government is proposing to ban farm retirement lots and the crea- tion of lots on farms for family members or hired help. He said the proposed ban is part of an overall change in policy designed to prevent further fragmentation of Ontario's farmland and prevent the confron- tations that are appearing between farmers and urbanites who live in rural areas. Mr. Tosini said that in some areas of Ontario, nearly three-quarters of the lots severed from farms are be- ing sold within three years. He said there are documented cases of (Turn to page 2)