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*Pagâ 6, Whitb*'Free Pmsés, Wednb"dy;, Fel*ùaty14, 19lm The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whîtby resîdents for Whitby resîdents! MEMBER 0F: CANADIAN ONTARIO COMMUNITY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION ISSN#0844-398X Pu ty Boin sblished&eve ryed esy bya677209 Ouspbi n daj c 900 Hopkins St. /Box 206, Whitby, Ontario Li N 5S1 Phone: 668-611il Out of town: 1-800-668-0322 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Pubisher Maurice Pither - Editor Donald G. Hinton - Sales Manager Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minirtum 20% recycled content using vegetable based inks. cAil writen material, illustrations and advertising contained 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 credif line f0, the Whitby Free Press. -'T th i ltre.e . . Senior public school? To the editor: I arn a student currently attending Anderson CVI and I have been foîlowlng the letters publshed regardlng the new unnamed sohool. I have found many of themn quit. amusing. mhe majority of Anderson students are gaod students as Ms. MoUntjoy taed ln Iast WednesdayVs edItIon. However, my latter is more of a practIcal reasonlng than a defence of the Andersôn student body. This Is an Idea that I ho p e il be sertously considered. It la obvious that parents of young children do not want their ch~ren attending a school that la so close to a hlgh school. R lsaiaso obvius that the board 0f educatian, building this school during a ime of cutbacks, MiI not liai the Many concerns Superior service To the edîtor: 1 hope to make other, passengera uslng Whîtby Transit reaize and recognize the unique services they recelve. Despife funding cuts and negalive connotations, the service is superior by far ta any other I have corne across. I arn a dally GO Transit commuter who relies on Whitby Transit ta get me ta the train on lime and take me home. I have only Iived ln Whitby for Just over a year and have noted several perks ta living in this community. mhe people are generally friendiier, for Instance, and more apt ta help ouf someone who looks confused or dlsoriented. mhe same can be said of the Whitby Transit drivers, who, by the way, are not Town employees but contracted' tram Trentway- Wagar. From the firat day I toak the bus, 1 have aiways feit comfortable and aasured even though 1 was in a foreîgn place. The drivers are generaly pleasant he1p>ful people wha rauftnely go above and beyond the *normal- requirements 0f their lobs by walting and Ioaking for regular passengers, jadbing aheari to ensure passengers can make transfer connections, alerting each other ta potential traffic problemai and aven calling for help when witneslng accidenta etc. Whitby Transit also albudes to this leVel of service by providing evening shutties after rush hour, and diai-a- ride service. 1 suppose since I1 experienced quit. the opposite previously,I1 was pleasantly surprlsed by what mnoat people take for g ranted and therefore truly appreciate their extra efforts. This- la not the statua quo, quite the opposite, Rif l somnething thaf cannot b. wnitten Into a, job description or ontract and enforced. I hope we can ail leamn ta a ppreciate and encourage these Invaluable assets as they do say so mruch about the communfy itself. Sa the next timne you go an the bus and the drIveris9 a MtIe lateor «a ftIle eariy or the bus'la colddor nolsy, don't take it out on the driver, their efforts are already unrecagnized-and under- appreclated by most. Katherine A. Howat Whtby FSPý office closu res scary To the edItor: The possible closure of ail eight regianal family support plan offices, ln exchange for a computertzed answering machine, scares me. ln a province where 46 per cent 0f al mariages end ln divorce, the need far these offices ta b. accessible la obviously there. The breakdown of a famiiy unit la tragic,. both emotionaily and financlly. The family support plan nat only saves the redipient thausanda 0f dollars ln legal services, but alao serves as a buffer between the two offen bitter parties. If I had to askç my ex for chlld support directly, I simply wauld ntget i. I h ave had ta visit the Whitby FSP office many limes for a varlety 0f reasona, mostly invaMvng the compietion of documents. How could I da thia if I had ta travel ta downtown Toronto? Toronto is as inaccessible ta me lime and distance-wise as limmins. My ex-husband la Just waiting for aur case to disappear in the bureaucracy of on. overioaded office. He wi rejoice the minute the service la no longer accessible ta me or aur chiidren. As f stands, many single parents are one support payment away from the wetfare Ine ... will the wefare ineups eventually b. relocated from aur communities ta" downtown Toronto as welI? * nam lt'hheld by requset To the editor: R. New aschool belng built behind Anderson'CVI Dr. Robert Thornton Public School, our chilldren's school for six ye ara, la nat avercrowded. Other Whitby achools are ovecrowded due 10 ouf-of-dlstrict attendance, therefare why should we be forced to, attend the new achool bucause of thîs prblem? Weohave numerous safety cancerns If our children attend the new achool; walklng 1.7 kilametres; crassing Bowman Avenue and Crawforth Street;. ail trafflc ai St.Theresa school; Town bus stop at the corner of Anderson Street and Crawtarfh Street; no guarantee of lights or a crassîng guard on Anderson at Crawforfh; crossing Anderson CVI parking entrances; carloads>jofatudents- racing ln and aut af Anderson CVI, up anddown My street between 3 and 4 p-.M., we see. it everyday; increased trafic when the new achool opens; close pro)dmty ta Anderson CVI; Influence. of some hlgh achool behaviour. The majaitfy. of hlgh achool atudents anywhere are good peaple. Association wvith the high achool atudents la not as much of a ooncem as la safety along the way to and tram achool. The achool la being bulift, but we would 1k. the apportunity to chaos. aur chlldren's achoal. Out-of-diatnlct atudenta and parents have had this choice, why can't w.? lan't safety important when sending'our children ta aSchool, and can the board 0f education provîde solutiana ta ail af aur concerna? Carl and Bambl Berezluk WhItby Let reason prevail To the edîtor: Copy 0f letter ta, Durham Centre MVPP Jîi Raherty 1 amn wniting to express my concern over John Snobelen's attackç on the education system in general and teachers In parfîcular. Mr. Snobelens preoccupation wifth teacher preparation lime speaka volumes 0f his ignorance 0f the achool systemr. Teachers are not production lin. warkers that walk up taitthe Une 0f students and lighten nuls of knowledge on their heada. Teaching is a very cerebral occupation. Teachers use their preparation lime to plan lessons that accommodaI. the vanied learning styles 0f students and plan evaluation Instruments ta enable them ta assess performance fairly and accuraeiy. Howeve, teacher preparation lime also has a more pragmatic use. Teacher-planned absences for fild trips. mathematica contesta, business competitions, music competitlans and sports tournaments are covered ai no, additlonal coat by' teachers on preparation perloda. WlVthout- proprain Im th». vents, would not oc'cur. I. for one, do not want education for my chikiren to b. as ht was for me 35 year ago - boring, unlntereating and irrelevant. I want my chlldren ta be stimulated by field trips, competitiona and contesta, and by sports. IR la quite clear that Mr. Snobelens *mhted and unpleasant experiences with the educatlon system have deept affected his attitude toward h. Clear1y, he does not valueeducalion. Mr. Flaherty, I value educationi Wy grandparents emIgrated from Poland in the earty 1900s and inatiIled in their chIldren and granchilçlren the value and nieed for education.. Education broadens the mmnd and allows a more holistic approach ta, problem- soMng and Ife in general. h alao supplies us wvith the tools to allow for the many career changes that, wAIl b. required in aur future Society., Mr. Flaherty, for yaur chikiren and MY chldren-and aur -future, speak out againat this unwarranted attack on the education system. Demad that -cammon- sense and reason preval and' that the future 0f aur chikiren la not compromlsed for short terni monetary gain. construction. I 1propose an ideathat wl deal with bath'0f these problems. Why dont we make the new school a senior p ublic'school (grades 6,7 and 8)? Thîs would keep - the younger chlldren away from the ftnegative Influences" of the hlgh achool, and ht wauld brlng the future students dloser to the next-step ln younge3r children. lt's not fair to the Grade 8 students ta keep them ln a school wlth kindergarten students and it's not fair for kindergarten students ïo be kept ln a school With Grade 8 students. mhis wIil give senior students a chance, to mature ln a school made for thern. As; for tIhe actual building, I hope the board, lanot.,planning on puttlng televisiona, In every room as they dld at Sinclalir. mhis la an extra expense that ha8 not been proved successful ln atudenta' education.. Everyone wants the best for their chlldren and their students, -but don% you thlnk the board should b. Investing soma money~ Into the older achools as wel?A new cafeteria would be nîce. Bmea Maddeaux Preserve the ho spital To the edltor: Do I detect a saftenlng of thée position of the SOGH ^committee (Save-. Our General Hospital) regarding the' ýImplementation 0of a rehabhalian centre ln the place of an already existing general'haspitai ln Whitby? Many Influential people, arn'ong them Mr. Flaher1y, our MPP, and Ms. Prout, co-diair 0f SOGH, seem to think that a merger 1wlth the Oshawa General Hospital would bu a good thing. Fortunately enough, though, the Idea had Utie ment and cansequentiy h was tumed down. How dld this affect the statua 0f Whitby General Hospital, ln relation ta the propoîsed rehab venture? Further, the rehab plan, as espoused by aur Mnister 0f Heaith and supported by Dr. Reed, chlef 0f staff at WGH, appears not to bu bosing hts appeai, but may bu gaïning mamentum. After .all, Dr. Reed switched aliegiance, and others may folbow hîs example.- FM. Prout la quated ln the press as saylng, . we must regroup.* I hope that this means' the SOGH ommlftee wlll get backç to Its original stance, thae la, preservlng the Whitby General Hosphitalin ifs original farm as a 'ful service hospital and encauraging the rehab people to Ulnd other accommodation. mhe SOGH committee s111 has a fight. on has handa againat the pawerful proponenta 0f the rehab scheme, and I wish them welL - - Gordousil