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Between Youand Me F;w >ým By RUTII COIESý After reading about the Whitby Jail I felt I wanted to see for myself what conditions existed in that in- stitution. As an interested citizen and a taxpayer I needed to know and only Athen could I form an opinion, an educated one I must admit, but at least my own. I was impressed and pleasantly surprised after a very comprehensive tour of · the building and meeting all the staff on duty that day. I tried to let nothing escape me and the visit was unhurried and lengthy. The staff impressed me and there was a healthy, good feeling in the atmosphere, something that is often lacking in institutions. No doubt in this line of business everyone is very carefully screened and in this case I thought the outcome was excellent. Many years ago, I heard the head of the penal system explaining the jail system from his exper- ience and his point of view. To lose one's freedom is the worst punishment of all. Even though you were incarcerated in the best hotel in the country, once the key turns in the lock your freedom has gone. Nothing within that room can make up the loss. We aretold that we imprison more people in this country than others do. So often facts and figures don't tell the whole story and are most deceiving. I always reserve judgment on statistics especially after helping with a few polls. Whether this is true or not we can feel we live in a very fine country with freedom to walk about. The Whitby Jail could certainly be enlarged and modernized but with what is on hand at the moment good things are happening. Spending huge amounts of money does not necessarily bring excellence to such an institution. The quality is there because of staff, their attitudes and the administration of the whole. At this point in time people are having to learn that bigger and better, more and more, the sky is THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF WHITBY PLANNING DEPARTMENT NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING Re: Official Plan Amendment Please take notice that the Administrative Cdm- mittee for the Town of Whitby wili consider at a meeting to be held on: DATE: June 21, 1982 at 8:00 p.m. PLACE: Meeting Hall, Town of Whitby Municipal Building 575 Rossland Road East Whitby, Ontario A proposai to amend the Official Plan for the for- mer Planning Area of the Town of Whitby. The purpose of the amendment is to delete the collector road designation of Crawforth Street ex- tended over the Hydro Electric Power Corridor as shown on the map below from Map 'C' of the Of-. ficial Plan. A jail is not a luxury hotel nor for that matter a hotel of any sort or even a stopping off place to bide away some time. There was a great deal of work going on the day I was there, work and maintenance which must be kept up because of usage. Coming and going by so many people on a daily basis bauses wear and tear. Carefully chosen colours of paint were much in evidence. In fact, so much painting done by the in- mates created a hazard when it came to walking up and down stairs and through doorways. To be productive and busy is a happy and healthy occupation. One inmate had drawn colourful murals on a hall wall which were great. Others are taught carpentry, the results of which we saw and thought were very well done. Many of these articles are made for certain public places such as day nur- series. Vegetables are grown, used in the jail; thousands are frozen and stored in their large walk-in freezer while others are sent to hospitals. There is an acre and a half of land for this purpose. Pork and beef are brought down from the Rideau for the inmates, bred and raised by the inmates of that institution. We looked at the pounds and pounds of meat in the freezer, all carefully wrapped for future use. We should applaud the powers who be and their decision to provide Canadian-grown fruit. Apple juice and apples to name a couple are every bit as nutritious, maybe more so, than oranges and so on. The citrus fruit syndrome to me is nonsense, costly and unnecessary. There was much to see in the kitchen which I thought was very clean. I looked long and hard and watched the- inmates under good supervision preparing stew for the evening meal; one of my favourite meal dishes. Of course, this facility is too small and rather outmoded but seems to be adequate at the moment. The menus I thought were fine. Bacon and eggs for breakfast on Sunday. I read the monthly menu sheet carefully and found such things as apple crisp, rice pudding, Dutch apple pie and fruit and vege- tables, especially at this time of year. An interesting chat with the recreation director who takes care of the sports which are played in the court yard and he, of course, participates. He is in charge of crafts and there is evidence of these han- dierafts in various parts of the building. A library of books of all sorts for anyone who enjoys reading. The female inmates were sewing and mending jeans when we were there while at the same time they watched their "soaps". There is a sewing room with a machine on this floor which the inmates use. Most needs are met. An infirmary with staff on hand so all medical and dental problems can be at- tended to. Clergy are on hand to care for spiritual needs. Recreation and crafts are of prime consider- ation. The work ethic was much in evidence, a necessary part of anyone's life. These men work for the town on many occasions and one job is snow clearing for seniors in the winter. There is so much more to say but for now this will have to suffice. Thank you to all the staff who shall remain name- less; your consideration and thoughtfulness was much appreciated. For your sakes we will be glad when the time comes to improve existing conditions and come it will. If great amounts of money can be spent now or in the future I would like to see an improvement in the court system. Letters most welcome Mail to: The Editor Whitby Free Press P.O. Box 206 Whitby, Ontario LiN 5S1 Information related to the proposed amendment is available for inspection in the offices of the Plan- ning.Department, 575 Rossland Road East, Whit- by, Ontarlo. If there are any questions related to this matter, please call Mr. Robert B. Short, Direc- tor of Planning, (416) 668-5803. ROBERT B. SHORT, Director of Planning. the limit attitude must 'stop. We and most of the world have been on a merry-go-round for the past few years and now the time to account has arrived. Catch up, over extend these phrases are heard over the land and it seems to apply in the financial and banking institutions, the marketplace; everywhere you look it's better and better and the consequences be damned. We remember Henny Penny in her anxiety cried out, "the sky is falling, the sky is falling." So when a halt is called let's make the best of it. This I think is happening at the jail. I heard no beefing or complaints from thé staff but there seemed to be a determination to have a healthy and optimistic outlook on and about their work. The Whitby Jail is a holding jail and not for long- term inates and this means at times it canbe overcrowded and a very busy place. If I had to be lodged in this building because I broke the law I can't think of a better place to be; easy to say of course, but I will try to avoid such an occurrence from happening, needless to say.