HomeMy WebLinkAboutNA2005_05_08 The Pickering
20 PAGES ✦ Pressrun 46,600 ✦ Metroland Durham Region Media Group ✦ SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2005 ✦ Optional delivery $6 / Newsstand $1
Floyd Rutledge
got married before
heading to Canada
By Keith Gilligan
Staff Writer
PICKERING — Floyd Rutledge
had to get hopping after VE Day.
The end of the Second World
War in the European theatre
meant Mr. Rutledge was going
to be shipped home to Canada.
But, he couldn’t leave his British
girlfriend Winifred, so he had to
move pretty fast.
“We had planned to get mar-
ried before the war was finished,
but I got put on a draft to come
home. I had to get a couple of
days off to go back up to York
to get married. I had to talk to a
padre and I got special permis-
sion to go get married,” Mr. Rut-
ledge says.
He recalls the joy on VE-Day.
“Everybody celebrated of
course. I went into York to meet
my girlfriend, who’s now my
wife,” he says.
The newly-married Mrs. Rut-
ledge, however, had to wait 10
months before joining her hus-
band in Canada.
This July, the Pickering couple
celebrates its 60th anniversary.
The couple is in Ottawa with
other veterans to mark the 60th
anniversary of VE-Day. They are
End of war brought new life for many
Developers dangle
$7.5M for expansion,
in return for Pickering
building approvals
By Danielle Milley
Staff Writer
AJAX — Some local politicians
say three developers are trying
to buy special treatment by of-
fering to donate $7.5 million to
the Ajax and Pickering hospital in
exchange for planning approvals
from Pickering.
Joe Lebovic made the offer
Wednesday to Hume Martin,
Rouge Valley Health System’s chief
executive officer, to help with the
Ajax site’s redevelopment cam-
paign in exchange for subdivision
approvals within 18 months. Dis-
tribution of the money is to be tied
to the number of building permits
issued.
Mr. Lebovic, Fred DeGasperis
and Mattamy Homes are the three
builders to receive property in the
Seaton lands in exchange for giv-
ing the Province land they owned
on the Oak Ridges Moraine. (That
exchange is still subject to the
completion of an environmental
assessment.) Lebovic Enterprises
had been meeting with the hospi-
tal on behalf of the three builders.
Pickering Ward 1 Regional
Councillor Maurice Brenner said
he was not made aware of the
offer until he received a call from
a Toronto newspaper. He said the
City should have “most definitely”
been told of the announcement.
“Some of what they’re asking for
might be consistent with (the time
frame) we’re planning but even if
that is the case it doesn’t give any-
body the right to jump the cue and
buy approval,” he said.
Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan is
away at a conference.
“The strings that are attached to
it are not acceptable to our coun-
cil,” Coun. Brenner said. “It is not
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PICKERING’S OFF-BROADWAY PRODUCTION
Jason Liebregts/ News Advertiser photo
PICKERING — Our Lady of the Bay recently performed ‘Broadway at the Bay’, with a selection of musi-
cal numbers from shows such as ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Oliver!’. In ‘Give My Regards
to Broadway’, in front from left are, Trishya Perera, Chelsea Kaefer and Kelsey Burt.
Hefty hospital
donation has
strings attached
BATSMAN UP
Cricket taking off in
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Page 9
EASEMENT BATTLE
Region report on legal
decision to stay confidential
Page 3
ON THE RUN
Ian Mayne tries for
collegiate glory
Page 12
✦ See Several, Page 2
✦ See Couple, Page 4
acceptable to request approval from the City
of Pickering of a development of this magni-
tude without public input.
“It is a generous offer to help health care
in this community but if you really care
about the health care
of this community,
don’t attach strings.”
Lloyd Cherniak,
executive vice-presi-
dent with Lebovic
Enterprises, said this
deal was no different
than anything they’ve
done in the past.
“We make con-
tributions based on
each time we build
a house we donate a certain amount to the
hospital,” he said.
He said the money is committed if the 18-
month time frame is met.
“We thought that was fair, especially after
how long we’ve been waiting,” he said.
Mr. Martin said the meeting with Mr. Leb-
ovic was one of several the hospital has had
in its ongoing efforts to raise money for the
redevelopment. He said $7.5 million was the
minimum they needed for the campaign.
“The commitment of this gift is important
in getting the redevelopment approved,” he
said. “The money was a firm commitment if
the approvals were given.”
Pickering Ward 1 City Councillor Kevin
Ashe was also at the meeting in his role as a
volunteer with the hospital foundation and
called it “good news.”
He said, “It would have been better if
there were no conditions attached to the
money,” but said development has been
planned for Seaton for 30 years.
Coun. Ashe added he didn’t think this
would cause council to do anything that
wasn’t in the best interest of the city or the
public.
The Province, the Region and the City
are currently working on a development
plan for Seaton. Before any building permits
could be issued that plan would have to be
finished, as would the infrastructure work,
which involves the Region.
Regional Chairman Roger Anderson said
he was also not told of the offer, adding de-
velopment is not going to be rushed.
“We will move development along at
a controlled manner,” he said. “Just be-
cause you have money doesn’t mean you
move to the front of the line.”
Mr. Anderson said if the developers have
the money to give, it should be given with-
out any conditions.
Brian Kozman, director of the North Pick-
ering Land Exchange Team, said the pro-
posed plan would be finished in a couple of
months.
He doesn’t know if all the work that
needs to be done before building per-
mits can be issued could be finished in 18
months.
A/P PAGE 2 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, MAY 8, 2005 durhamregion.com
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✦ Several, From Page 1
Several meetings between developer
and hospital to work out donation
Read up online at:infodurhamregion.com
PICKERING — A group of young
children will hold their heads high
next week to show off their hats.
The second annual walkathon in
memory of Ameena Haq is Wednes-
day, May 11 beginning at 10 a.m. at
Discovery Place Childcare. Aman-
da, who attended the day care,
passed away Feb. 15, 2004, three
days before her second birthday.
Walk organizers welcome everyone
to participate and to come wearing
hats. The more creative the better,
as Ameena was quite fashionable
with the hats she wore.
A trail of white balloons will
mark the path leading to a deli-
cious lunch and ice cream dessert.
The rain date is May 12.
Pledge forms are available at Dis-
covery Place, 1848 Liverpool Rd.
Unit 12, in Pickering. Proceeds go
to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Resident questions
Region’s support of
urbanizing ag preserve
By Carly Foster
Staff Writer
DURHAM — The public will not
be told whether the Region has
any legal standing to challenge the
lifting of agricultural easements in
north Pickering.
“I’m saddened by that,” said
Bonnie Littley, a member of the
Rouge Duffins Greenspace Coali-
tion. “I think, as the signatory to
the (memorandum of understand-
ing), they had taken on the re-
sponsibility.
“They owe it to the public to
share what their responsibility is.”
Because the document will
reach a conclusion and show how
that opinion was reached — the
same argument potentially used in
court — it’s considered confiden-
tial, said Brian Roy, the Region’s
solicitor, at Wednesday’s council
meeting.
At issue is whether the Region,
as one of the parties to the memo-
randum of understanding signed
before land in the Duffins Rouge
Agricultural Preserve was sold
with easements on it, along with
the Province and the City of Pick-
ering, has any grounds to fight a
move by Pickering that saw the
land opened up for development.
The preserve was to be protect-
ed from development forever, until
the City con-
verted the
easements
on land in
the south-
ern portion
to inhibiting
orders.
Bowing
to pressure
from angry
residents,
the Region
asked staff to look into the matter.
Now it looks like the results will
be kept from the public.
Ajax Mayor Steve Parish raised
questions about the public’s due
process in viewing and comment-
ing on the report while maintain-
ing the Region’s right to keep legal
opinions confidential.
“My gut feeling is the people
involved feel totally betrayed by
Pickering... and they will be look-
ing to the Region to do the right
thing,” he said. “I’m somewhat
doubtful the Region is going to
do that, because politically, the
Region is not going to want to get
into a fight with one of its munici-
palities.”
“There’s no question, if we do
this now, we’ll open a Pandora’s
box that we can’t close,” he said.
A resident from the easement
area also questioned why the Re-
gion supported a motion from
Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan asking
the Province to remove the lands
from the Greenbelt plan and open
them up to development.
“This strikes as premature, even
as a kind of fast-tracking of the
planning process,” said Mike Wil-
fer, president of the Cherrywood
Residents’ Association, adding
that residents had no knowledge
the item would be dealt with at the
April 13 council meeting.
He presented a petition from
residents asking that their neigh-
bourhood be protected.
Mr. Wilfer questioned how the
Region would support the move
while the land remains an agricul-
tural area in both Pickering and
the Region’s official plans.
Councillors at that meeting said
they were supporting the right of
Pickering to be its own planning
authority — not supporting ur-
banizing the land.
In a recent legal opinion by On-
tario Nature, well known environ-
mental lawyer David Estrin said
the City had “no legal right to can-
cel the agricultural easements,”
and the Region or Province could
initiate legal action.
A covering report on the Region’s
legal opinion will be released May
9, and will be discussed at 9:30
a.m. at the May 10 planning meet-
ing in the planning department
boardroom, 1615 Dundas St. E., at
Thickson Road in Whitby.
durhamregion.com THE NEWS ADVERTISER, MAY 8, 2005 PAGE 3 P
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Watch for
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Easements legal opinion to remain confidential
Bonnie Littley
Day care walks in memory of Ameena
are both veterans, as Mr.
Rutledge served with 420
Squadron of the Royal Ca-
nadian Air Force, known as
the Snowy Owl Squadron.
Mrs. Rutledge served with
the Royal Observer Corps.
Mr. Rutledge was sta-
tioned in several places in
England and spent time in
Tunisia, in North Africa. His
final station was in Tholt-
horpe, in Yorkshire.
He was an aero-engine
mechanic, joining the air
force in October 1940, just
after he turned 18.
“I was always interested
in aircraft. I use to build
model aircraft when I was
a youngster,” Mr. Rutledge
says.
He lived in Doaktown,
“right in the centre of New
Brunswick,” and signed
up in Moncton. He was
shipped to England in the
spring of 1942.
“I went straight to 420
Squadron and stayed with
them until the end of the
war.”
He liked what he was
doing. “I only wished I was
a flyer,” he says.
Mr. Rutledge couldn’t get
into the air group because
of a problem with his nose.
Not being able to fly was
a disappointment, but he
kept busy working with the
planes.
“I looked after four differ-
ent types of aircraft — the
Hampton, Wellington, Hali-
fax and Lancaster,” he says.
“I’ve very pleased to tell
you all the crews I looked
after completed their tour
of operations. I still stay
in touch with a couple of
crews. A couple were shot
up, but nobody was killed.
They did 30 to 32 operations
(in England) and they all
came back. We just did the
best job we could do.”
Ground crews were made
up of five to seven men, de-
pending on the aircraft.
“The one thing we were
proud of was when we went
to North Africa in 1943. We
were attached to the U.S. air
command down there for
six months. We had the best
record of any other wing in
the entire war. Our crew did
82 operations in 87 days.
It was considered a record
for the war. That was the
longest period on continual
operation.”
As a member of the Royal
Observer Corps, Mrs. Rut-
ledge helped track aircraft.
Observers were stationed
around the country, in
fields, church steeples and
tall buildings, looking for
aircraft.
Mrs. Rutledge is original-
ly from Leeds, but was sta-
tioned in York, on the east
coast.
When the war broke out,
anyone 18 and in a non-es-
sential job was conscripted
into the war effort. Mrs.
Rutledge was a secretary
and “it wasn’t essential, so
I was called up and put up
where they needed you.
They needed observers at
that time.”
Once in York, “it was in-
evitable I would meet him,”
she says of her husband. “It’s
amazing how these things
changed all our lives.”
She was indoors doing her
job, with the corps motto,
‘Forewarned, Forearmed’.
While in Ottawa, the Rut-
ledges will visit the new
war museum, as some of
Mr. Rutledge’s nose artwork
is on display. Nose art is
a painting on the side of
a plane, usually up on the
nose on the pilot’s side.
One of his works is called
the Fangs of Fire and shows
a wolf biting on a bomb. Mr.
Rutledge did several paint-
ings, but hasn’t seen them
since the war.
“When the aircraft was
taken back to the Halifax
factory, a piece was cut off
and maintained by a chap
from 420 Squadron. He kept
a couple of these,” Mr. Rut-
ledge notes.
After the war he worked
for a few years and then
went to the University of
New Brunswick, graduat-
ing with a degree in geol-
ogy. He worked for a mining
couple before going to work
for Ontario Hydro, where
he stayed for more than 25
years, retiring in 1983.
A/P PAGE 4 THE NEWS ADVERTISER, MAY 8, 2005 durhamregion.com
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