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Pages~ WAfihby flertseWdsøeAo#4 I M The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents! MEMBER OF: E ONTARIO CANADIAN COMMUNITY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER M NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION CANADIAN CIRCULATIONS CNA DIVISION AUDIT BOARD ISSN#0844-398X The Whitby Free Press is distributed free to 99% of the homes ln Whitby, Brooklin, Ashburn & Myrtle as well as numerous public and commercial outets in Whitby, Oshawa, Ajax, Pickering & Port Perry. 27,000 COPIES DELIVERED WEEKLY MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE Canada $32 + GST • Outside Canada $75 + GST Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontaro Inc. Box 206,131 Brock St. N., Whitby, Ontario L1N 5S1 Phone: 668-6111 Out of town: 1-800-668-0322 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pifher - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 20% recycled content using vegetable based inks. • Al written material, illustrations and advertising contalned herein is protected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for commercial purposes without the express permission of the newspaper Is prohibited and is a violation of Canadian copyright law. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credit line to the whitby Free Press. mo the u'àeditor.. Care 'burden' To the editor: I am not claiming to be an authority on the health reforms being worked on by our provincial government. As a member of the Durham Regional Labour Council Committee on health and safety, the new trades and labour representative on the Whitby hospital board of directors and also a public member of a health profession college, I can say that I ave had the chance to read and study most details of the health reform. I agree with some of the reform measures and admit that past practices must be addressed. But I am immensley troubled by the government wanting to spread the care of geriatric and psychiatric patients across the community. The government uses the word 'community' as if it means a warm, safe and caring place to be. We are going to be asked to shrink our hospital, shorten the length of stay in the hospitals and send our sick to community care services. The Ministry of Health has already stated that there will be no new money to increase the number of care facilities and that the home must be the place for extra care. Whitby and surrounding areas are growing at an amazing rate. Many of the newcomers and present residents are families with teenaged sons and daughters. Already struggling to balance family lives with careers, any additional pressures with regards to health care would cause unnecessary strain. Also our seniors in the community deserve the right to choose where and who takes care of them when illness strikes. i ask your readers to talk to their local police, friends and counsellors about domestic disputes involving the problems of raising a family in our community. Now the government asks that we (I am afraid to say that when I say 'we,' it will probably be the women in our community) will have the extra burden of looking after the sick. .ask your readers to contact their MP, MPP, council or anyone on the Durham District Health Council and ask them not to agree with the provincial government's plan to return the very poorly parents to their untrained children. Malcolm Parish Fine hospital To the editor: My wife and I took up residence in Whitby just over a month ago and already the community imparted to us a sense of belonging. We have found that most people still smile and say hello when you pass on the streets. The attendants in most shops and services greet us as if we had been long-term residents and personal friends. Being so close to the coldness of what is now a very impersonal Toronto, let us hope that Whitby will never lose its "innocence" to the demands placed upon if by the tentacles of Metro. But the real point of my letter is to praise the staff, volunteers and facilities at Whitby General Hospital. i've been informed that the future of WGH may be in question. What a tragedy it would be to lose what obviously is an extremely fine hospital. Recently my wife developed what we had thought might be a minor heart attack and I immediately drove her to WGH emergency where she remained under observation for three days. We cannot say enough about the professionalism, kindness and friendliness shown to her (and to me) by the complete medical and hospital staff -- including the volunteer services. Whitby, you . are a lovely community. We hope to help you keep if that way. Bill Stewart Whitby I To theedo. o Petition organizers 'bungled' To the editor: I am in receipt of a letter sent to The Free Press by Ruth Holdsworth, with respect to the presentation of a petition about plans for the Whitby General Hospital. As the MPP for Durham East, I represent parts of Whitby north of Taunton Road and including the village of Brooklin. When the 30,000-name petition was completed I was approached by the MPP rfor Durham Centre, Drummond White, whose riding includes the Town of Whitby, to present part of the petition. I said that I would be willing to present that part of the petition signed by constituents living in my riding of Durham East. On Nov. 1, i read the petition in the legislature, stating it had been signed by about 5,200 of my constituents. I affixed my signature to that petition as required by the legislature. After a few minutes, the Table Clerk returned all but two pages of the petition, advising that the petition had been presented in the wrong form and as such could not be accepted. h is my understanding $6.84 To the editor: $6.84 is not a lot of money these days. Ih will not buy much in a grocery store nor will if put much gas in your car. To a charity however, it is a considerable sum and how this charity came to receive it is a story in itself. ' On Oct. 25, a gentleman came, upon some children trying to open a Canadian Diabetes Association coin box in the north end of Ajax. The box had been stolen from a nearby store. He took the box from the children and drove from Ajax to our branch in Oshawa where he handed in the box with the money intact. He then left without leaving his name. Sir, if you should read this, you have our most grateful thanks. As I said at the beginning, $6.84 is not a lot of money but, who knows, maybe this $6.84 when donated to diabetes research will be the $6.84 that finds the cure to this disease that affects one in 20 Canadians. George Leitch President Canadian Diabetes Association that Mr. White returned them to those responsible for the petition, and, in fact, had some discussion Students support shores To the editor: We, a group of Courtice Secondary students, would like to express our support for the many Whitby residents who, share a concern for the proposed development adjacent to Lynde Shores Conservation Area. We, too, are currently trying to maintain a valuable woodland ecosystem beside our school. One proposai calls for the removal of a significant number of trees for a laneway even though we believe this forest is of high educational and environmental importance, As a result, we can readily sympathize with your frustration at trying to preserve this unique wetland. Although we are r ot residents of your town, some of our classmates have ' had similar experiences of enjoyment at Lynde Shores. This has included the chance to- canoe through the marsh, try our luck at fishing or take in a brisk day of skating. t is a shame certain people, who are in the position of ultimately determining the final destiny of this significant wetland, are failing to realize that such an ecological jewel knows no political boundaries. Consequently, the degradation imposed by the residential project would be a loss not only for ail citizens of Durham Region but to the province as well. Furthermore, are these people prepared to assume responsibility later if their preliminary findings are incorrect and an irreplaceable habitat is eventually destroyed? We want you to know that your struggle has not gone unnoticed. Students outside our class have also been made aware of your plight and have eagerly joined us in signing the petition opposing the urban sprawl that threatens the marsh. We can only hope that our respective endeavours will lead to success. Each site should receive the necessary protection it so richly deserves. Best of luck. Grade 10 environmental science class Courtice S.S with the presenters over the incorrect form used. For the petitioners to somehow expect members to remain in the House while a petition is presented, points to not knowing just how the Ontario legislature operates. What may look like 'socializing in the lounge' may well be the only opportunity members have to bring concerns to the various ministers on a one-on-one basis, and the only opportunity to speak with other members before attending committees. The so-called "bungling" of the presentation of the petition was not the fault of either Mr. White or myseif. The "bungling," if that is the term to be used here, was by the people who prepared the petition sheets incorrectly. If they had taken the time to call my office, we would have provided them with the correct wording required to validate a petit ion. t is also worth mentioning that many of the names affixed to the petition were by people who live nowhere near Whitby hospital. I noticed one signing from a person who lives in Ottawal Gordon Mills MPP Durham East Cut claims To the editor: In a summer newspaper report, the Administrator of the Town of Whitby list shows big cost savings by cutting corners on all Town operations. However, there is another side of the coin where pennies can be saved. The administrator and the mayor are given car allowances of $8,400 which are not accountable. There is the administrator's cellular car phone, $1,400 or better per year not accountable. Then we have councillors' medical and dental benefits, over $2,000 each in cash in lieu of these benefits. Do you know of any company that would give you cash in lieu of benefits in regards to your medical plan? Then we have a $50,000 insurance policy on all councillors which costs $7,200 per year. The total costs are over $41,000 per year. Why aren't we cutting some of these claims? This is another case where a penny saved is a penny. earned. W.A. Lovelock Whitby L