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Young offender thefts up 25 per cent Theft complaints and thefts by young of- fenders rose 23 and 25 per cent, respective- ly in 1988 over the previous year in Penetang. The figures are from Police Chief Robert Cummings' annual report, prepared for the town's public safety committee to study. There were 167 theft complaints in 1987, compared with 206 in 1988 and 35 charges of thefts by young offenders, compared with 28 in 1987. More young offenders also found their way to the courts, an increase of 33 per cent from 1987. A total of 36 young of- fenders appeared on a total of 97 criminal code charges in youth court, compared with 27 on 105 charges in 1987. Criminal charges overall were down 14 per cent in 1988, to 377 from 441 in 1987. Traffic accidents were up 14 per cent (168 up to 191), but the number of injuries from these decreased to 30 from 36. For impaired driving, the number of charges also dropped to 75 in 1988 from Hold still Christina Westcott draws a design on the face of Sarah Berthin as Sarah's mother, Helen, watches. Face pain- ting was a part of the Penetanguishene Co-operative Murray Moore) Nursery School trike-a-thon held last Saturday. (Photo by du Bonnet, Man.. wasn't sharp = se Brier Tournament. yells instructions: at mem See RINK/page 3 109 in 1987, a reduction which Cummings said was possible due to a $20,000 grant. The money came from the office of the solicitor general to pay the police officers overtime for working the RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) program. Cummings noted that the force's first possession of cocaine charge was. laid, which was part of a small increase in nar- cotics charges (15 charges in 1988, up from 13 in 1987). Cummings also specially thanked all the teachers who assisted in the Value, In- fluences, Peers program at various schools in Penetang. The VIP program, administered by Const. Donald Penrose, involved visiting schools and informing students about safe- ty and other topics, such as shoplifting, drugs and a Students Against Drunk Driv- ing session. The only recommendation Cummings made to the public safety committee is that the municipality move to ensure the found and seized property is kept in a safe and secure environment. Changes force court move Renovations for the town office will re- quire the Thursday provincial court ses- sions in Penetang to be relocated in April. In order to arrange the move, Wilf Guthrie, assistant to the clerk, said a meeting is being set up between the dif- ferent parties involved. "We're meeting (last) Friday with the Ministry of Government Services and the Attorney General's office to work out the arrangements."' The town recently accepted a $100,000 tender for the restorations, which includes removing paint, repairing damaged bricks and restabilizing the roof. "The court has to move because the work, especially on the roof, will be quite noisy. We'll be starting in mid to late April and will take five to six weeks to com- plete,'"' said Guthrie. Developers are eager A development company negotiating with the Town of Midland is offering to spend a six-figure sum on McCullough Park. The company is willing to pay much or all of the cost of turning the municipally- owned woods and slag piles on the shore of Midland Bay into an attractive municipal park. The developer plans to build a family resort hotel on the adjacent land, known as the Georgian Lodge property. Townhouse condominiums and single- family homes are also planned. The developer is anxious that the Midland-owned parkland, lying between its Georgian Lodge land and the bay, com- plements its resort and planned housing. The Provincial Planning Act requires a subdivision developer to give a municipali- ty either five per cent of its land for parkland, or the value of that land in cash. The municipality chooses. The company sees development of McCullough Park as part of its investment in its own property. Apart from a few trails, the bed of an abandoned railway track and slag piles, a reminder of the foundry that once stood nearby, McCullough Park is a mature wood of beech and maple trees. The proposed development includes parking, washrooms, trails, a lookout, and floating piers for the use of boaters during the day.