Western flavour to Ed., centre downtown Whitby ini operation pagelOl page 15 Busv ,yuth clubon the agamn page8, It's Redlmen vs. Six Nations page 21 Trai t unding .approved By Mike Kowalski Provincial government funding for Whitby's portion of the Lake Ontario waterfront walking trail has been approved. Qens Park will contribute $ 65'u,650 tewards the cost of the $1.3-million project, Durham Centre MPP F>rummond White announced Tuesda nex When compieted ei spring, the five-kilometre walkway will be part of the future 275-kilo- metre Waterfront Trail stretch- ing from Burlington Bay te, the Trent River. White's announcement was made during a brief ceremony and cheque presentation at Hey- denshore P avilion in Port Whitby. Among those taking p art were Whitby Mayor Tom -Edwards, Durhaxn Regioný chair Gary Her- rema and David Crombie, com- missioner of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust. The Trust is a provincial Crown corporation established two years agg te guide future Te -aerfont Trail grew oqut SEE PAGE 4 The siglis corne down By Mike Kowaiuki Signs directing travellers te WhitbVy General Hospital are coming down. Lat Friday hospital employees began removýing the blue and white U signs from Whitby roada. Potential liabiity probiems, due te, a reduction in emergency departmnent hours, promped the decision te, take down the signs, hospitai board chair Jim Souch said Monday., In s0 doing, hospital officiais rejetted a proposed compromise from the Town of Whitby that would have ieft the signs in place, aibeit in an altered form. uWe're concerned that with the sign staying up, people would go down there late at night,» saidý Souch. "We did this te cover ourselves from a legal standpoint,»hle said. Last month hospital president Elizabeth Barton wrote Whitbyis public works departmnent requesting the Town's assistance in removing the signe. Since April 1, Whitby Generai's emergency department has been closedrbetween 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. in a cost-cutting move expected to save- between $250,000 te, $30&,000 annuaily. In making the announcement iast January, hospital officiais pointed out that signs on area, roads wouid have te be removed or aitered te reflect the new hours. While signs on Hwy. 401 were removed by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, other signs in Whitbys9hd not been, Barton's letter noted. Although the letter seems te 12 candidates thus far By Mike Kowalski Election fever is siowiy build- ing in Whitby. With just under three months te go, a dozen people have regis- tered for the 19 positions te, be filled in the Nov. 14 municipal election. Although înost are incumbents seeking re-election te, Town coun- cil, the school boards or the hydre commission, there are four political novices and a paat can- didate ameng those who had filed as of last week. 0f the four people making their first run for public office, Mapiewood Drive resident Pat Perkins is seeking the most pro- minent position up .for grabs in November. The 40-year-oid mother of two has challenged incunibent Tom Edwards for the right te be niayor of Whitby for the next three years. Currently a homernaker, Per- kins has 17 years of municipal government experience.. She worked fer the City of Scarborough finance department in its purchasing and tax collect- ing branches until 1990. During that time, Perkins ser- ved a stint as president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local at Scar- borough ityhall. IronicalIlyi er opponent also has a CUpE background. A (JUPE staff representative before becoming mayor in 1991, Scarborough was, one of the SEE PAGE 2 indicate the hospital assumed the ministriy was responsible for al signa in Whitby, hospital vice- president Marc Kaiey said that was not the case. lIn a proviens interview, Kealey toid The Free Press that both the Town amd ministiry -wrenotid Of the liositai's request in March. .Bart;ons letter, however, in- furiated xnembers of Whitby council. Counciliors John Doistra and Dennis Fox criticized the request, especially since it came at a time when there. is such uncertainty surrounding the hos- pital's future. (A consultant's report prepared for the Durham Region District Health Council has recommen- dèd converting Whitby General Hospital into a rehabilitation treatment centre. (If approved by the health council and uitimately, the Ontario government, Whitby patients requirinl general medi- cal care would n1ave te- go to hospitals in Oshawa or Ajax.) Last week, Town administra- tor 'Bill Wallace offered. a pos- sible compromise in a reply to Barton. In his letter Wallace, a former hospnital bo)ard chair, referred te a Toronýto hospital which aise reduced its emergencéy depart- ment hours. Wallace noted that a sign loca- ted at* Eglinton Avenue and Rumsey Road designates «hospi- tal,» but beiow it is an additional sign indicating when the. emer- gency department is not open. UIt might be an idea, rather than removing ail the H signe, te have signs with the hours of emergency service noted on them, appended to, the exiisting H signs,"Waliace said. H e added that Town employees wouid net assist in removing the signs shouid the hospitalhoid to its decision. Souch doubted that Waliace's suggestion would work. Existing signs can be altered, Souch conceded. "But how maniy people read signs? Theyi see t he symbol and they reoff,"he said. Souch added that the H sign is a Uuniversal» one which implies that emergency services are available. 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