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pariod. are That a $1 3,323 quotation from Ace Curb Cutting of Scarborough be approved for Whitby's annual curb-cutting requirements. Caried .ý.«%genda Items from Whtby Council 1agenda(s) Monda, F ra907 Recommenda- fions from the Planning and Development Committee That a holding designation on portions of the Brooklln Meadows subdivision, west of - Thickson Road between Columbus Road and' Winchester Road, be removed. The designation was lmposed on the subdivision plan until serviclng Issues were resolved. Cari-ed Recommenda- tions from the Operations Committee That the clerk's department revlew the current ward boundaries and make recommendations as to possible changes, but on the basis of contlnued represen- tation from the northem, predomlnantly rural aiea of Whitby, with Taunton Road continu ing to be the southerly boundary of the north ward. Cariried That an off-track pari-mutuel wagering teletheatre at The Banker & The Bandit Restaurant at 1600 Champlain Ave. be approved and that the Ontario Raclng Commission be notified of councll's decîslon. A teletheatre has been operatlng successf ully at Golden Spurs Restaurant ln downtown Whitby for three months, and the commission has approved the second teletheatre for Whftby. Cariried That a joint* report f rom the public works and parks and recreatlon depariments on damage from vandalîsm and theft be received for Information. In 1993, the total cost from vandalîsmn to Town property was $38,764. Last year the f igure ju mped to $73,472. In 1994, one reward was gîven.for Informatin By Mke KoWabuld Whitby Generai Hospitai's future as an'active treatrnent health care faciiity now reste With the Ontario government. Aý report which recomrnends a major restructuring of hospital services in Durham w"a ppro- ved by the Durham Region Dis- trict IHealth Council iast week. Inciuded in the report from the health councii's acute care steer- incommittee je a proposai that yb Generai Hospitali ecme a rehalilitation treatment centre serving ail of Durham. Although the report states that there je a upotentiai» for some outpatient acute care services at Whitby, the $375,000 study makes it ciear that a drastic overhaui of the hospitai's future role is neceseary. Without a change in direction, closure of the 26-year-oid hospi- tai would be a viable option, the report notes. With nary a dissenting word, health council members unani- mously endorsed the studyat their monthiy meeting iast Wed- nesday. The 57-page document, aiong with a suppiementary report from the council itef, wiii now be sent te the Ministry of Heaith for what local officiais, hope wilI be quick approvai., But after approving the report, council members received a biast from Whitby councillor Marcel Brunelie for not seeking further public input. Bruneile, a council member until, hie term expired iast November, toid hie former col- leagUes they made a large mis- tk»by not deiaying the matter for at least two weeks. «Not only muet justice be done but it muet be seen to be done,& he said. "You've made a large mistake and gone a ion g way te undo a lot o f the work thate been done » Brunelie said in referenoe te th& 20 rnonthe it took te compiete the study. Eariier, in the meeting, Brunelie had requeeted timne te address council, b ut chair Gerry Blake would not let him speak. Blake said council poiicy require that a deputation muet give two weeks' notice and te h ave bent the ruies for Brunelie would be unfair since others would not have the same oppor- tunity. While Bruneile was content te bite hie uip until after the meet- ing, Durham Centre riding Pro- gressive Conservative candidate Jim Flaherty was flot as patient. An angry Flaherty stormed out of the room when it becaine apparent that the report wouid be passed that evening. «What about the taxpayers and coneumers? We've not seen the report," said Flaherty after Blake înformed him that council had For bianket coverage of ALL the homes and/or businesses in Whitby OR to selected areas oniy, cati the Whitby Free Press - 668-6111. If you did flot get a flyer which is isted for fuit distribution, give us a cati. Durham Region, but it'e> juet an initiai phase," he cautioned. Operating coste and determin- ing what capital expenditures are required under the new sys- tem ae but two exampies of decisions that will have, t6 be made b a committee empowered te impiement the recommenda- tions. If approved by Health Minister Ruth Grier, the health council hopes te select the 'mimn tation committee by the end of May. Blake said council reviewed the steering committee's entire report, but in the end opted not te «wordsmith» the document.. "We brought it forward aiong with our commenta,» he said. "The minister and government will'decide what to do with the plan.-» (A communications assistant in Grier'e office couid not in- dicate Monday how soon the minister wiil make a decision on the report.) Brunelle, for one, did not accept Blake's explanation. «I neyýer imagined they would receive this without allowing some deputations,» Bruneile teld rep~orters.. "In view of the fact that there's no eiected person on the heaith council, it makes it even more important," he said. "Who speaks for the people? This is just a group of provincial appointees.» Brunelle was the lone politi- cian on the 15-member health council when hie termi expired. Despite a request from the health council, Durham Region has held off reappointing Bruneile or picking someone else. With its decision not te seek further public input- the heaith council has macle Whitby General's future a "giant political football,» Brunelle charged. "The issue has gone from whether the report and actions taken are correct to a discussion of the process and whether the heaith council acted in the pub- Ili's intereet,» he said. "They spent hundrede of thou- sande of dol lare and made their commente without finding out what the public thinke. «We'Il see what the pblic thinke, but I think the Il be outraged and no one wiýI ever take the district health council " De Ville Produce (full distribution) " Prince Restaurant (selected homes) " As You LikeIt - Fine Foods & Gifts (Brooklin, Ashburn, R.R. 1 & 2) Achmatowicz etressed that under the propoeed restructuring model,, none of Durhamn's six hospitals wiil close, as has been the case eieewhere in Ontario. This was an option under con- sideration due te *the> relativeiy smal percentae of local resi- dents using Whitby General and the proximity of. hospitais in Oshawa and Ajax, the report states. 'W have a' different role for Whitby Generai,» said Achma- tewicz. "I underetand how people feel on this issue, but as a resident of Whitby I'm satisfied that the neede of Whitby residents wili be well taken. care of, with- this plan. » In addition te Achmatewicz chair of 'the Hospital Council o1 Durham Region, the eteering committee je a virtual 'Who'e Who' of local heaith care officiais. Chaired by former Brock Township niayor Ailan McPhaii, the committee includes Ed Buf- fett, former Whitby General Hos- pital board chair, and Dr. Robert Kyle, Durham Region'e medicai officer of health. Other membere include ..Osh- awa Generai Hospital president David Home;Aax& -Pickering General, Hospital '.president Bruce Ciiff; Bowmanville Memorial Hospital board .chair Joan Higginson and Sheila David, executive directer of the Durham branch of the Victerian Order of Nurses. REDUCED - IMMEDIATE POSSESSION Large 3 bdrm. bungalow with w/o bsmnt.& dining room to large deck ovedooking huge lot, new remodelled kitchen. A must see. PRESTIGîOUS AREA Great N.W. Whitby location, spotless al brick 4 bdrmn. home with cent. air & close to ail amenities. Priced to selI at $189,900. 1 T IME UYR Beutf* 3bdm.ho e t ak ROTARY CA$H CALMDAR$ rie. un..... w F....8-2 'j seriousiy again.» Dirk Langerak, CO-chair of the Save Our 'Generai Hosipital citi- zens' committeg, concurred.. «We did not expect it te, be Passed. We expected it to, be t'abled and we wouid have an opportunity for discussion,» eaid Ae elng I get is that we've created another level of bureau- cracy and not a council that works on our behaîf.» Blake, however, denied that council 'rubber* stamped' the report and did not ailow for suifficient public involvement. "It wasn't a rush.- We. had an interim discussion paper' that went~ through an extensive con- 'sultation period,» he told repor- ters. More than 100 submissions were made te, the health council in response to the initial report released iast May, Blake noted. For example, providing for the as yet undefined acute care ser- vices at Whitby stemmed fromn the submissions, Blake said. 1«There- was neyer any indica- tion te the public that there would be a further consultation, procese,» he said. «But that, does not preclude anyone from expressing their point of view te the minister. »' The effectivenese of an'appeai to the minister appeare to be futile at this point- however. Durin a pres Lrefîng earlier in the day, steering committee member Jean Achmatewicz said Grier can expect an intensive lobbying campaign, from area hospital officiais. «Hospitals in Durham Region feel so strongly about thie that, I think they wili put ail their efforts into pressuring the minis- ter te, approve it," said Achma- tewicz, an Ashbum; resident. Although cognizant of the sig- nificant opposition to the pro- p osai from Whitby residents, Town council local businesses and service clubs, Achmatowicz said the steering committee stil arrived at the same conclusion. "I can appreciate that there lis concern, but from looking at the information we analyzed, the situation would only have gotten worse,»" she said. "For ail of us to have the health services we require we had te look at a new system.» ý9 Whltby Fr00 PreMsWeckesday, Merch 1,,1995, page 3 Rkpor appove Hospita role cange neessaystd