Chaneswould help loc ate new hotel -. The Town of Whitby wants to reconstruct the 401 and Brock St. S. intersection and extend Consumers Dr. to Brock -changes that will help to locate the hotel proposed for the area. The proposal, to be put forth to the Ministry of Transpor- tation and Communications (MTC) which would pay about two-thirds of the estimated $4 million cost, and to Durham Region, also includes the extensioni of Blair St. to Con- * sumers Dr. when Consumers has been extended to Brock. The reconstruction of the 401 ramps would include the realign- ment of the westbound off ramp and the westbound on ramp with Consumers Dr. If approval from both gover- nment bodies is given, the work would start in early 1988 and be completed for the opening of the Brock St. GO station in the fall of 1988. The Town's proposal also in- cludes: • Lights at the Blair St., Con- sumer Dr. intersection; • A bridge over Pringle Creek so Consumers Dr. can be extended; • Reconstructing Brock St. S. from Clarence to Consumers to allow for widening, turning lanes and medians. "The extension of Consumers Drive would appear timely for a number of jurisdictions...There exists an opportunity now for all these agencies to work together to reduce future construction costs," states a report from the planning department. Those parties are the Region, MTC and the Town. The Town would contribute $692,000 towards the project; MTC, $2,618,000; and the Region, $204,200. As well, an -Ontario numbered company, 639373, would contribute $548,000. The company has submit- ted two subdivision plans on land between Brock St. and Pringle Creek to the Town. SEE PAGE i DEBBIE WHELAN, with1 danced to the sounds of t Encore Jazz Band on the the Four Corners in Whit Dancing to Dixie painted face, day as part of he Dixieland Easter promot sidewalk at various events bv on Satur- visitors. f the Eggstravaganza, ion in downtown. The held attracted many Free Press photo Having fun while raising funds They're the Horse's Ass and proud of it. Jockeys, rangehands, waterboys and watergirls, stablehands and veterinarians make up the mem- bership although they may know nothing about horses or racng.- But what they do know and care about is helping others - and having a good time while raising money to aid various organizations. There are about 170 of them in Durham Region, mostly from Whitby: They're the first members of the first Canadian corral (bran- ch) of the All American Horse's Ass (AAHA). For $6, anyone may join and ob- tain a lifetime membership card. "People will join just for the sake of having the card," says Terry Coker, a ranchhand (activities chairman) with thé corral which was formed last summer. -4 a "We're all people that are in- terested in raising money but want to have fun doing it," he says. Coker is the former manager of Cokee Joe's Roadhouse Tavern, which operated until February on Dundas St. W. in Whitby. The char- ter members of the Durham Region corral approached him to use the roadhouse as meeting place. He thought he was being kidded. "My immediate reaction was "Ah sure!" I was going along with the gag. But then I found out a few weeks later they were absolitely serious." Randy Keller, a local truck driver, started the first Canadian chapter after he heard about the group in the U.S. He stopped at P.I.'s Fastbreak Inn in Fulton, N.Y., saw the fun that was going on at a round-up (meeting) there, sent out for a starter kit and recruited some felow charter members. "Little Dick" Miller started the AAHA in Schuyler County, N.Y. in 1975, and the first corral was for- med in January 1976 at Miller's Tavern in Cayuta, N.Y. The Durham Region corral is the 221st SEE PAGE 2 Three jailed for murder Three men have received jail sentences for their part in the mur- der of-an Ashburn man five years ago. Ralph Fisher, 34, and Donald McCoy, 37, each received a prison term of eight years, while Fred Fisher, 33, was sentenced to five years in jail. The trio had originally been charged with second degree mur- der, robbery, possession ofstolen goods over $200, and conspiracy to commit theft. They -pleaded not guilty to these charges, but sub- sequently - pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. In his summation to Mr. Justice Gregory Evans in Ontario Supreme Court last Thursday, crown attor- ney John Scott stated the events that led to the death of Walter Clark Major on August 7, 1982.were not a "tragic accident" as claimed by defense counsel. "These people put all the facts in motion...they planned the whole thing from beginning to end and should be held accountable," said Scott. Scott recounted that the trio, along with the wife and sister of the Fishers, attempted to steal a set of tires chained to a tree in front of the Major home on Ashburn Road earlier on in the evening, but were scared away by the family dog. Shortly before 3 a.m., after returning from a party in the Pickering area, they returned to the Major property with bolt cut- ters and while Fred Fisher waited in his van, Ralph Fisher and McCoy cut the tires and rims free from where they were chained to a tree and loaded them into the waiting van. As McCoy was loading the last tire, the party was surprised by Major who had been aroused frorml sleep. As he reached through the window of the van in an attempt to remove the ignition keys, Fred Fisher accelerated and dragged Major 387 feet north on Ashburn Road. SEE PAGE 10 L .y %A