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PAGE 12 WFfNESDAY, AUGUST 1; 1979, WHITBY FREE CN1> F.RM PAGE 10 Handicapped can contribute is unable to be active and help other than giving comfort with her happy smile and friendly says. After going to Hamilton to be reassessed for maybe a month she may go to Extendicate in Oshawa. Here again she still be in a poor atmosphere for her. Without Handy Transit there is no way such a patient can leave the hospital unless a friend or relative can transport them. There are many places they should be' able to go. Last year Sue bowled and once had the highest score. This week if she feels up to it she hopes to go.to The Whitby Art Gallery with her mother to enjoy the music under the stars on Thursday evening by Brookfield & Hawes. So what is the answer? Where are our priorities? We spend many, many thousands of dollars on animals. Wonderful' zoos. Humane Society facilities and so on are needed we all admit this but what comes first. Half way homes for convicts. Forty four millions or so for a museum; do we care for the dead than the living? Of course we need all these things; we should have more cultural outlets too, music, the theatre and other arts. First DENTURE THERAPY CLINIC 111 DUNDAS STREET WEST WHITBY 668-1464 PRESS lets help the ones who are unable to help themselves. Many of the handicapped can contribute to our society in rnany ways often maybemore so than some physically wellpeople do. Sue is only one of many waiting for a place to live. She may need a support person as many of these physically handicap- ped people do. There are things she can do for herself but after Xthese years of being cared for constantly in a hospital atmosphere she will need help. I take great exception to the news that there is to be a $28 million hospital plan to start in 1980 at the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital. To renovate or modernize they say would cost as muc or more I say this is utter nonsense but again this of course depends on what they have in mind. So the buildings built in 1913 are to be replaced? Maybe this is the key to the whole story. I ask you are they being scrapped so a monument can be built to bolster some egos? To make broad statements such as these you have to realize that there are exceptions to every rule. I have not been through every building so I am speaking generally. I have been through "cottage" No. 4 from one end to the other. Cottage is a misnomer; these are substantial houses. A friend, David mcRobert took me through No. 4 and showed me with great pride the renovations which have been done t four of these houses; I only saw one before it was to be occupied. These houses will stand for a good hundred years, strong and sturdy. I will stake my life on it. I must hasten to say these four buildings will not be destroyed or come under the new. renovations. They come under the Ministry of Community And Social Services. I believe the others are under the Ministry of Health. However, I'm sure all the so called cottages are very similiar and built in the same manner with the same materials. These buildings are brick with I think stucco on top. The walls are twelve inches thick, warm in winter and cool in the summ'er. I was here on the hottest day of this summer and every room had cool breezes blowing through due to cross ventilation. These houses could not be built today; the materials are not available. The cost would be prohibitive. These buildings are magnificent. I have seen such all over the world and believe me they will stand foù many a year. I'm sure new heating facilities are needed over all. So this is just maintenance. 1 could describe the house in great detail from a structural point of view, an aesthetic point of view and discuss the costs pro and con but again lack of space. I don't believe in destroying or destruction. I'm all for progress but not at the expense of what is proven and tried. I think I understand the point of view of the people conderned who do the studies and so.on cornmissioned by Queens Park. However, one learns by experience and living and one lesson is that whatever is destroyed cannot be brought back to life. One cannot help butthinkof our two City Halls in Toronto. On which has stood for many years, no leaks; theother a very young structure a calaminity of water every time it rains. A lesson to be learned, yes that all that is old need not be scrapped for something which will cost the tax payers a fortune to maintain. So to getback to our friend Sue. What better way to remember the living than to keep a few of these buildings and use them fdr the handicapped. They could be made accessible without great effort. I'know the cost of renovations, a great way to spend tax dollars. The beauty of the site, the lake, the grass'and trees would bring joy to their hearts and in so doing would nourish heir bodies. If there is a need to seperate the two facilities a fence could be built another good use of tax money. The handicapped have a great capacity to understand and accept many things; the need for a fence may be unnecessary. Let us determine what our priorities should be. Let us not be afraid to squash a few egos. Let us not build monuments to the living as we have done so often. We should think this over and if need be ask the powers that be to think it over. We don't need or want lost dollars. They~can be put to use in helping our fellow man. There are many Sues and many Johns in our region who need help, our help. They can't wait for ever. To keep Sue in her ward at the hospital costs $124.00 a day & $150 a day for a single room. As she said multiply this by 365 and then by 2. It is horrendous isn't it and to make matters worse does Sue need to take up a bed in a general hospital? No money for stop lights