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y. A Vol. 114 No.3 Wednesday, December 5, 1979 » 36 Pages ~ Christie stepping down as chairman of Durham education After four years as chair- man of the Durham Board of Education, Yvonne Christie is stepping down. YVONNE CHRISTIE Mrs. Christie said last week that she will not be a candidate when the Board meets December 10 to elect a new chairman for 1980. In an interview with the _ Star last week, Mrs. Christie gave no single reason for deciding to step down at this time, other than to say that four years as chairman has been long enough. "I came to the decision about three months ago," she said. "But I also said last year when I was elected chairman that- this ~ would likely be my last term." Mrs. Christie, who also served a year as vice-chair- man, and is going into her eighth year as a trustee from the Scugog area, added that she hasn't yet made up her Durham council puts halt to $6 million Regional building. Durham Region council has put the brakes on a $6 million proposal to expand the Regional headquarters building on Rossland Road in Whitby. By an overwhelming margin of 19 to 7, councillors decided November 28 after a lengthy debate to reject a recommendation from the management committee which called on the council to give full consideration to the project during preparation of the Region's capital budget early in the New Year. There has been strong opposition to the project since the detailed plans were unveiled two weeks ago, led by members of council from Oshawa. However, the decision by council last week to put it on the shelf comes as a bit of a surprise, as it has been expected that councillors would at least agree to give the issue full consideration during the budget debate in 1980. After trying without success for an amendment to have the financial commit- tee prepare a full report on the financial implications of the project, Scugog council- lor Reg Rose joined Mayor Jerry Taylor in voting with the majority against the management committee recommendation that the project get full consideration during the budget debate next year. While most members of council said last week during the debate that it would be logical and more efficient to have all eight Regional departments located under one roof, the opponents argued that Durham cannot afford to proceed at this time. The proposed expansion to be built in two phases in- cludes a 48,000 square foot addition on the front of the existing building, and major renovations and structural improvements to the exis- ting building. At present four regional departments - works, plan- ning, finance and social services - are renting office space in Oshawa and Whitby at a total cost of $750,000 per year. The Region calculates that (Turn to page 3) mind whether she will seek re-election to the Board of Education next November. "But 1 certainly will be doing something," she stated. 'I will never lose my interest in children and education." Looking back on her four years as chairman of the Board, - Mrs. Christie said that some of the personal high-lights for her have been dn the area of special educa- tion, classes for exceptional children, and the classes for trainable mentally retarded students which are in place in several schools in Dur- ham, including Prince Albert and R.H. Cornish. She also mentioned the two classes in Oshawa and one in Ajax for austic children. "I think Durham has also done relatively well in provi- ding new additions to schools,' she said. This year, architectural drawings are being prepared for a new gymnasium and library resource centre for the Prince Albert School, and the Board is expected to make a decision before next April on whether to start construction in 1980. Mrs. Christie said the job as chairman has become increasingly complex and time consuming. While it does have its bright mo- . ments and rewards, there (Turn to page 2) weid Tal anid tisdusminiigess shonnlidine }-4 - wv .\ RRS IR A IAs Le SM SOAS IEA OL HEE NM EY k ATS ' 4 t ' b la A asd: =a , } ' LA / £2 abpaliitutd minis yiloritabiscbidaint ied snaitalidardimenlarbidinmid od ant anes: BAL Fy YieN Hydro rate increase to cost households an average 14.3 % It is going to cost you more to live better electrically, a lot more. Residential hydro rates in Port Perry are going up by an average of 14.3 per cent, as of January 1, 1980, and the rate increase for homes which have electric heat will be 16 per cent. The commercial and industrial rate for users in Port Perry is also going up, on average 13.9 per cent. The new rate structure was approved November 27 at a meeting of the Scugog Electric Commission (for- merly Port Perry Hydro Commission) and will effect all customers within the Port Perry boundaries. Glenn Broomhead, a supervisor with Ontario Hydro's Central Region, told members of the Scugog Commission that there are two reasons for the rather substantial hike in the hydro rates. The first is that Ontario Hydro has increased its wholesale rates to commis- sions by 8.6 per cent, and the second is that an anti-infla- tion rebate of 7.8 per cent which Ontario Hydro passed on to its customers in 1979, has been taken off, resulting in a cumulative increase of 16.4 per cent for 1980. The average increase in Port Perry will be about 14.3 per cent, as the Scugog Commission agreed that the local utility will absorb the (Turn to page 3) Two year old Debbie Hopman of Seagrave was all smiles as she sat on Santa's knee after the jolly man in the red suit had been the star of the annual parade held in his honour Saturday in Port Perry. Debbie was just one of hundreds of Township youngsters who lined up at the Latcham Centre for a chance to tell Santa that they've been good all year. [More parade pictures on page 8]. "Wording erroneous, misleading' Mayor critical of petitions Scugog mayor Jerry Taylor says the wording in anti-library petitions being circulated in the Township is erroneous and mis-leading. Mayor Taylor referred to the fact that the wording of the petitions attempts to link the construction of a new library with a new municipal building. "The municipal building is a dead issue," said Mayor Taylor in an interview with the Star last week. "My council will not build a new municipal building on the lakefront property or any other property in the Town- ship," he emphasized. Mayor Taylor stated that the re-zoning by-law which the Township council passed recently permits a library building only on the lake- front property. "Half the piece of land is being re-zoned from commercial to P-112 for a library only. The other half of the property, that along the waterfront itself, is being re-zoned for parkland," he stated. Mayor Taylor suggested that while people have every right to express their opposition to a new library, they should be careful not to cloud the issue or mislead people with reference to a new municipal building Inside This Issue Sports Section... Classified Ads . ................... wn Eo ~~ - --- vas Ines heel. " - SA Lo. rh ----- pt Phas vy yg \ t fo ~ = 7 Sa "Nat ) lS He ; Ne ~ u.", HS poe - p Srna 3 SAAR cI AR As eT MT mS Re mk o. 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