" 'Could the life of one child have been saved and the lives of five others been improved if the Children's Aid Society had acted sooner?' This is the question that Mrs. Carol Simone keeps asking herself after the drowning on Monday of her neighbor's child, Betty Lowder, aged 12..."

"Life ended suddenly on Monday afternoon for a 12-year-old Holland Marsh girl who went swimming in the Holland River. Betty Lowder, R.R.2, Newmarket, was swimming under the bridge at the intersection of No. 3 Concession and the Graham sideroad with her brothers and sisters, when she submerged in the middle of the murky river in about eight feet of water. There were no adults present..."

"Charges of neglect have been laid against the mother of the 12-year-old girl who drowned in the Holland River on Monday, August 5, according to the Executive Director of the York Region Children's Aid Society, Donald Van Camp.
Eleanor Lowder, mother of Betty Lowder, the girl who drowned, has been charged under Section 40 part (1) of the Child Welfare Act which makes it an offense for anyone to leave a child unattended for an unreasonable length of time without proper supervision. Under the provisions of the act the maximum fine the court is able to impose in such a case is $200 and a maximum one year prison term.
Hearings on the charge will take place in camera on September 3 in Newmarket family court.
The surviving five Lowder children are in the care and custody of the Children's Aid Society, according to Van Camp. After the accident one of the children was in the care of relatives, according to him, but now all are with the society.
Any inquest into the drowning will have to wait until the charges have been taken care of by the courts, according to Dr. Robert Seaver, who is acting as coroner in the case.
"Its all up in the air right now," said Doctor Seaver, "any charges will take precedent. Until some of these things are straightened out," he said referring to the charges, "we can't go ahead." He is also waiting on further details on the accident to become available from the police and the autopsy report.
The possibility of an inquest will still be up in the air, according to Dr. Seaver, until it is decided if some particular aspect of Betty Lowder's death has to be "...brought out."
The police will only be acting as witnesses and assisting the Children's Aid Society in this case according to Deputy Chief Robert Hood of the York Regional Police. Police could have laid the charge against Mrs. Lowder, but they deferred to the Children's Aid Society in the case.
The drowning was the first case in which Bradford firemen were called to the Marsh area which recently switched to Newmarket for its fire protection. The Bradford department's answering of the call raises the question of the $800 charge which King Township is supposed to pay when the Bradford department enters King.
When asked about the fee and whether it will be charged, Bradford mayor Joe Magani replied, "If someone is drowning and we coulz be of some assistance, I don't think its a matter of dollars and cents."

"Constable Easterbrook of the Alliston detachment of the OPP is shown here with Carl and Clara Pleasance and school bus driver Vera Marie McKenzie. Carl and Clara were presented with pins by the OPP for their great help during a school bus accident, October 3. Carl and Clara escorted students off the bus after it was struck by a car. There was no serious injuries."

"Last week there were two incidents of cars hitting deers on Highway 400. Neither drivers was seriously injured. On Sunday, November 9, Gordon Walker of Newmarket was southbound on Highway 400 south of Innisfil Beach Road when he struck a deer in the centre lane. On Thursday, November 13, Laurence Blake of RR 2, Bradford, was northbound on Highway 400 south of Highway 88 when he struck a deer in the driving lane."

"When Southern Ontario residents put away all their snowmobiling equipment and winter clothes, they thought the long, cold winter had ended, but Old Man Winter decided he still had some say in the matter. Over a foot of snow covered southern Simcoe County and winds gusting up to 50 miles an hour created 15-foot drifts that blocked traffic, closed businesses, schools, and stranded travellers. The Ontario Provincial Police detachment had their hands full like everybody else. The detachment has waded through only a handful of accident reports and so far they report four property damage collisions involving six vehicles on Highway 400 between Highways 88 and 89. Five property damage collisions involving six vehicles south of Highway 88 were also looked into. There are still numerous accidents that have yet to be fully investigated."

"Miraculously, the driver of this truck survived. The flat bed tractor trailer had been carrying a load of steel south on Highway 400 when just south of the Highway 88 intersection it spun around and overturned in the west ditch facing northward. The car was demolished, the seat and windshield being forced out."

"A 19-year-old Downsview man, Robert O'Brien, was the second driver to end up in the canal in the past four weeks. Mr. O'Brien lost control of his car on Friday night after freezing rain covered area roads with slick ice. O'Brien was not hurt in the mishap."