Board plans to_ changehospital n'am-e A name change bas been proposedl for Whit- by's hospital. Dr.. J.O. Ruddy Hospital, may become the Whitby General Hospital, pending ap- proval by the Ontario Miistry of Health. A public meeting must also be .called to hear commaent on the proposaI. Hospital board mens- bers recently passed a resolution to change the name. They plan to designate an area within the hospital as a memorial to Dr. J.O. Ruddy, who led the move to establish a hospital in town. 'lit was just thought it was time," said Jins Miler, executive direc- tor of the hospital, about the board's decision, which he supports. He said board mem- bers wanted a shorter name and one mhat iden- tified the hospital with Whitby. 1 "They'll thiink it's our hospital - they can relate to Whitby General Hospital," he said. He said some residen- ts are apparently even unaware that Whitby. has a hospital and may have gone to Oshawa General Hospital or Ajax & Pickering General Hospital. He said if the Whitby hospital was identifiecl, it, was often.- as the "Ruddy hospital". "There's certainly going to be an awareness, even in the phone book," said of the proposed name. The name change ac- tuaily restores the original name for the hospital. The hospital was first called the Whitby General Hospital but that was later changed to Dr. J.O. Ruddy, in 1970, said Miller. The hospital opened in December, 1969. Miller said some hospital board rnembers disputed the name change, offèring historical argument to maintain the existing name. Miller added that board members in-, formed Dr. Ruddys widow, now Mrs. Rud- dy-Wilson, about the proposed change, and that she had accepted it. Mrs. Ruddy-Wilson said she was disappoin- ted that the name would change but admitted it was probably best for the community. "The families coming here now don't know who Dr. Ruddy was. So maybe it's the better thing to do,' she said. Mrs. Ruddy-Wilson, an honorary board member, said she ap- preciated the visit by board members to ask ber about the proposed change since she now attends very few meetings. "They were very kind to corne and see me and ask me what I thought," she said. She remembers that Dr. Ruddy was.ill when board members decided' to came the new Whitby hospital after him. "When he found out, the tears rolled down his cheeks he was s0 hap- py," she recals. (Dr. Ruddy died in 1969). Miller says the Ministry of Health has already assured board members there would be "no complications" to changing the came of the hospital. But he ex- pects the public meeting will be well-attended. Vol. 16, No. 45 Wednesday, Nov. 12, 1986 28 pages Town revises Bluegrass plan de spite threat of legal action by MIKE JOHNSTON Whitby council has given -approval to a revised site plan for the construction of sub- sidized housing in Bluegrass Meadows despite being threatened with legal action. The threat was delivered by Doug Miller, president of the Bluegrass Meadows Ratepayers Associa- tion, who appeared before council in op- position tomte plan. The revised plans cal for'the units to be built of brick and stucco in- stead of wood; each unit to have a garage instead of a car port; the removal of parking spaces from mhe rear of the housing and a larger - play area for children. The housing is being built by the Durham Region' Non-Profit Housing Corporation with 45 percent of the 58 townhouses to be sub- sidized. "I would like to see this referred to commit- tee for a complete I review because of al the changes," said Miller. (Council gave approval to the original site plan in September.) He told council that a solicitor has issued a notice of intent to the DRNPHC, Mark- borough properties, who owns the l-nmd, and the Ontario Ministry of Housing, indicating that a court injunction will be requested to stop the development. The injunction can be requested by a resident of Bluegrass when the DRNPHC request a building per- mit for the town. There J iWhitby new se] Iby Jan Dodge The Ontario, gover- nment's announcement 1 st week of an extra $400 million will, among other things, translate ito a new school for Whitby. SRuth Lafarga, chair- ý":man of the Durham M. Board of Education,,an- nounced at the board's Monday night meeting that the ministry would provide $3.5 million for Kendalwood in Whitby, e $3.5 million for Westney Heights North in Ajax, and $745,000 for an ad- dition for Gandat- setiagon in Pickering. Tenders will be let in the spring of 1987 for Kendalwood and the Sschool . will open by February of 1988, SLafarga said. SGrants for Ken- 1dalwood make it the second Whitby sehool to 3receive the go-ahead Sthisyear. PringleCreek lis expected to open in September, 1987. The grants were sup- iplemental to those was no indication of when the permit will be requested. Miller warned each counil member that the injunction may have legal implications for council. Miller also reminded council of the covenants he believes are binding on the land which states that no townhouses are to be built. Mfter his deputation, councillor Joe Bugelli called it a "Rehashed version of an earlier deputation." *"I take umbrage at See P. 6 gets 11001 received in the spring, Lafarga said, adding that they came about as a result of the intensive campaign by Durham and the Association of Large School Boards.' Durham has written to every provincial member of parliament to try to get their case across about the crowding in the area. They have also met with Ministry of Education officiaIs to get the same point across. The building of Ken- dalwood, a kindergarten to Grade 8 school with room for 441 students, will relieve the over- crowding at Dr. Robert Thornton which has raised enrolment to 777 and mhe number of por- tables to 10. A last-ditch attempt by Pickering Trustee Louise Farr threatened to derail the Whitby school in favor of a school for Pickering. However, in spite of ber See p. 26 lIn appreciation SIONA SMITH of the Gaetan Ollesch Sehool of Dancing performed Highland dancing at the Whitby Optimist Club youth appreciation meeting last week. The club recognized the school which performs for various organizations in Whitby and entered competition last year. M S-Ide .ý 1