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PAGE 6: ,WTBY,FÙ 'i. WENE~ BR 28, 1988' e ap VOICE OF THE COUNTY TOWN A- j ww L The only Whitby newspaper Independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. Published every Wednesday By 677209 Ontario Inc. Phone: 668-6111 Doug Anderson Publisher The Free Press Building 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. Maurce Plfher Editor Peter Irvine Advertising Manager .Alexandra Simon Production Manager It was a sad,.yet timely, reminder. steroids. And so it was mentioned, quite appropriately, by The Ben Johnson rumor had only minutes before • Whitby trustee Ian Brown that training of youth in sports become fact, when outstanding athletes and coaches of i1ak e "t esson include education about the use of drugs so as not to the Durham X-L Track Club appeared before the Durham produce a future embarrassment or "national disgrace." Board of Education to outline the club's successes of the It will be hard to forget the 1988 Games, and it will be a past summer. achievements insports. One of those outstanding X-L's is memory of surprise, pain and shame. But it will also serve The club features elementary school students who are Jason Brumley of Whitby's E.A. Fairman public school, as a huge, harsh reminder to Canada's sports' Durham Region's best in track and field. With funding from Ontario bantam age hurdles champion. organizations as their athletes are groomed for future, the Oshawa Track and Field club, the X-L's club enables Few, if any, at Monday's meeting were unaware of the competition. The X-L club is well-named, as long as these young athletes to continue competition beyond the decision that stripped Johnson of a gold medal at the excellence carries on beyond the club years - without school year \ and perhaps realize even greater Olympic Games because of tests that showed he used steroids, without embarrassment. LETTERS FROM OUR- READERS Tired of complaints about "poor" senior citizens To the editor: I'm sick of hearing complaints about our poor senior citizens and their terrible plight. I am very close to becoming a senior citizen myself and am looking forward to those comfortable days ahead. Everyone who works has to pay income tax regardless of their age, with few exceptions. How else should we come up with the funds to help us grow as a beautiful, fruitful country? And how are we to pay for the repairs to our roads and highways, which we complain of forcefully if they are not kept in good repair? (so we can drive up and down them in our reasonably new cars which we ALL seem to be able to afford). Everyone, war vet or not, should have some financial assets by the time they reach 65. There is no reason one should go through life from one loaf of bread to the next with nothing to show for three score and five years of existence. Our country is the best in the world to live in, our freedom is sometimes more than we need, our "human rights" are so strong in our favor that they could destroy us. But we keep wanting more and yelp if anyone dares to step on our toeb. Our medical coverage is enviable to all outside our country, and seniors get all this free and more. Also most pre- scriptions are covered for seniors, but do we complain? Of course, we do, what else is there to do, except complain, complain, complain!!! There are many seniors that I know, and some in my own family, and they all say that they are better off now than they have ever been in their lives. Who else has a steady income every month, with supplements and assistant programs for anyone in need and subsidized housing that the rest of us are all enviable of. Go to any bus depot, train station, airport and check on the average age of people standing in line to travel. You will find a large percentage of these carefree travellers are senior citizens. I'm looking forward to that day of release from the working force myself, so I, too, can take time to travel a bit, have people cater to me, and, of course, receive that guaranteed monthly income every month for the rest of my life. What I decide to with it is then my business - whether I Funeral procession bylaw To the editor: Re: Bylaw to control funeral processions I still think Cam- bridge (Ont.) has the right idea. The respect still remains the same when there is no 30-car-long parade from the church or funeral home to the cemetery. In Cambridge, because of a bylaw passed there, friends pay their respects to the deceased at the church or funeral home and then they leave. Close relatives, in a maximum ofthree or four cars, go with the hearse to the cemetery. This precludes the need to assign three or four police vehicles to control traffic at the many intersections, a control that is needed when there is a parade of cars. With many intersections involved, police have to leave one to get to the next and cars are running through red lights. A few years ago there were accidents in Oshawa because of a funeral procession. I believe police officers would much rather be gainfully em- ployed answering the various calls that are constantly coming in, in a large area like Oshawa- Whitby. Toronto is now wrestling with the same problem according to recent articles - the cost of $40,000 policemen controlling funeral traffic and traffic congestion which is produced unnecessarily by lack of a bylaw. Dugals Gorden Whitby work carefully with it and live comfortably somewhere of my choosing as it is a large country; or throw it away by drinking myself to death, which is my right to do if I so please; or throw it away on unnecessary expenses of any means. But I do not have the right to complain about doing without money to live on - this bucket does have a bottom. I, too, have to struggle to pay my property taxes, but I don't expect anyone else to come and pay them for me. If I own property, I have to pay taxes, that's the name of the game. If you don't balance your books properly, don't expect us to. always bail you out. It seems to me as people grow older they lose their sense of direction and expect a larger allowance like To the editor: I had the occasion to be at the intersection of Brock and Dundas streets, downtown Whitby the other day, when suddenly the air was torn apart with the sound of a siren. I stopped to watch our fire rescue team exit the fire station to respond to someone's call for help. I was astounded with what unfolded before my eyes. Every vehicle in the path of that familiar yellow vehicle pulled to the right and stopped. Why was I so surprised? As business administrator for the Whitby branch of St. John children that have spent their allowance foolishly, so then need another bushelful to see them through, and through, and through..... I had two brothers, a number of uncles and an.- aunt who were in the armed forces during World War II. One uncle who returned with a severe back injury, but could eventually return to work, and never let that injury interfere with his sense of dignity and pride that carried with him until he died in his eighties. I remem- ber him saying many times that we have so much in tins country to be grateful for and for that reason he was glad to fight for it and when he became ill afterwards, the veterans' hos- pitals were so good to him and to others that were there, he Ambulance, I have a close association with our emergency servies and its personnel. The horror stories I have heard from some of the drivers of the response vehicles would make you wish you could stop each driver and shake some sense into them. Therefore, what occurred that Tuesday in downtown Whitby was a pleasure to witness. Remember, if the ambulance is on its way to the hospital with lights and sirens going, the attendant is probably in the back with a patient. He stands free of all restraints as he works on the received a pension and foùnd life too good to brood away in. My brothers used the V.L.A. to purchase their first homes and my aunt continued her education, all paid for by the government. I have never heard a, complaint from any of them, and they are all in their sixties now, living well and happy. Count your blessings, un- grateful ones, for we help feed deprived countries or help bail them out of financial difficulties. Remember this old, old saying: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Waiting for my senior citizenship, M. Managhan RR 2 Whitby patient to save a life. If the driver has to stop fast or swing around your car, well, l'il leave the picture for you to complete We all have to make a better effort at becoming better and more alert drivers, especially conscious of occurrences like an emergency vehicle in our rearview mirror. The life you save with your evasive action may be your own. Yours truly, Shirley Spicer Whitby w LETTERS The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the Editor on any subject of concern to our readers. Letters should be brief and tq the point - rarely more than 300 words. All letters must be accompanied by the name, address and phone number of the writer; however, on request, your name may be withheld from publication if we agree that there is a valid reason. The paper reserves the right to reject or edit ail letters. Send to: The Editor, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontario LiN 5S1 or drop through our mailslot at 131 Brock St. N. Vit... VIL, U Be alert when ambulance comes IL >ýi«-',ý*