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Warns of Pitfalls in Development of Courtice Subdivisions Couneil "Irresponsible" Cowman Says Town Council's approval in prin- ciple of an approximately 18 acre subdivision in Courtice sparked the anger of Darlington Councillor Ann Cowman Monday night. "This council is acting in a very irresponsible manner in this area. You can't even build a kitchen in Tyrone but you want to put 20,000 people in Courtice. I defy you to tell me you know what you are doing," Councillor Cowman said. She warned members of council that they would face an Ontario Municipal Board hearing for "every damn subdivision you approve." The Ward One Councillor was referring to development in the Courtice area in general when she made her comments. But her remarks were sparked by council's Young Performers at St. John's Musical Production One of the nicest things about the St. John's Church's It's Cool in the Furnace was performed at St. John's production of It's Cool in the Furnace was the fact that Church in Bowmanville Sunday night with a large even the youngest member of the church family could audience on hand. The church choir and members of the take part. Shown here are some of the young singers Sunday School were among those who took part in the about to lead the Drocession into the church auditorium. performance. Residents Block Closing of Walkway A petition from 15 residents of Sunset Road and Vanstone Court in Bowmanville halted passage of a by- law to close a walkway between Sunset Road and Summerfield Court Monday night. Mayor Garnet Rickard explained to Council that the people who are opposed to closure of the walkway use it for an access. He said the decision to close the walkway in the first place was based on a request by nearby residents. They told Council it was hazardous and no longer necessary. The matter was referred to the town's public works department and it recom- mended closure. To keep the walk- way open, the works department said, would cost the town money because some repairs would be required. Lionel Tennant of 29 Sunset Road, who has lived beside the walkway for 13 years, told council he thought it should be closed. He said neighbourhood children ride their bikes through the walkway onto Sunset Road. When cars are parked in his driveway, Mr. Tennant said, these children are unable to see cars coming south on Sunset Road and a few ofthem have come close to getting hit. Litter, he said is another problem in the walkway. "I've picked up a bushel of beer cans, pop cans and garbage." In view of the petition opposing closure of the walkway, Council decided to table the by-law until Town Manager, Albert Guiler comes back to Council with a report. action on a 10 lot estate-type sub- division. The project is proposed by D.R. Agencies of Bowmanville and would be located between Nash Rd. and Highway Two. In a letter to Council, Cowman said approval of this subdivision will place it third among 10 that are now being processed by the planning department for this area. Two Courtice Heights and Ontario Housing Action program (OHAP) proposals have already been ap- proved by the town, the Region and the Minister of Housing, she noted. These subdivisions "will provide housing for more people than live in the Village of Newcastle today." In addition, she pointed out, the Region of Durham has made provision in its official plan for Cour- tice to grow to 20,000 persons or 6,000 units. "It must be noted,'" said Cowman, "that the Village of Newcastle has sewer and water to all existing homes, a community hall, tennis courts, swimming pools, areçia, stores and a post office plus capacity to grow to 10,000 persons and yet we are told there is a delay in develop- ment because of the "planning process." Bowmanville is in a similar position. "Courtice," she argued, "has ab- solutely none of the above and no money on the line to pay for them, not even a planning process agreed upon, and yet subdivision ap- piications receive approval ap- parently almost on demand. Councillor Cowman also ex- pressed concern that "no one to my knowledge has seriously looked at the implications to the existing tax- payers of the Town of Newcastle with particular reference to aptly- named "front end costs." "As a councillor I have seen very little if any indication that these costs have been identified and a "policy" devised. Indeed it appears that the only recourse at this time is to general rate these costs as and when they arise over all taxpayers. To me, this is unacceptable." In her letter she explored some of the costs involved and questioned who will pay. For instance, before the first subdivision can begin, she said, and the first levies are collec- ted "a very elaborate storm drainage system has to be engineered." Much of it is to be con- structed on property not owned by Turn to Page Two CN Planning to Remove Station Town council was advised Monday that Canadian National Railway is planning to demolish its station building in Bowmanville. A letter from Marie Hubbard, chairperson of the Local Architec- tural Conservation Advisory Com- mittee (LACAC) stated this organization is interested in seeing the building preserved. Mrs. Hubbard informed council that the CN station was built in 1855- 56 of limestone quarried in Bowmanville. The interior, she ob- served, is reasonably well preserved as are the wainscotting and win- dows. Council agreed to ask CN on behalf of the LACAC committee for the original "Bowmanville" sign, the old telegraph set, some of the inside furnishings and the ticket booth. These could hopefully be preserved in the Bowmanville Museum. BALLOONS AWAY - Ted Miller is pretty big to be playing with balloons, but last August 26th when he attended Blackstock Fair, he bought one and released it on behalf of Bowmanville Lions Club. There was a card inside addressed to Mrs. Gerald Kelly of Blackstock Fair and in due course back came the card from John Trepasso, Webster, N.Y. six miles east of Rochester. He'd found it the same day in a nearby field. That's a fast trip. GOOD RESPONSE - Memorial Hospital dir- ectors are delighted with the response to their recent survey. Over 300 have filled out the questionnaires, taking time to express their con- cerns or compliments in detail. There are, however, over 600 who haven't replied. They'd like to hear from them too, whether it's good or bad. NOVICE TOURNEY - This Saturday, there is a Novice hockey tournament at Bowmanville Arena with teams from a fair distance coming here to participate. It gets underway about 8 in the mor- ning and winds up late in the afternoon. They'll be happy to have a cheering section on hand. There are quite a few playoffs games at other area arenas this weekend that could decide the future plans of some of local teams. Check Bowmanville Cleaners advertisement for details. PLAY LITTLE BRITAIN - This Sunday night at 7:30, the Junior C Eagles, sponsored by Port Darlington Marina and Hotel, will be entering their first round of playoffs with Little Britain in a best of five series. The game is at Bowmanville Arena. Drop down and enjoy some exciting action. NEW GROUP - We're not particularly interested personally in this item but hopefuily others will be. A new group of La Leche League will meet here for the first time on Tuesday, Feb. 13th at 3 Vanstone Court, Bowmanville at 8 p.m. It's an informai gathering open to ail women interested in breast feeding. For further information, please call 623- 3607. BLOOD DONORS - Keep ini mind the Red Cross Blood Donor Clinic being held at the Lions Centre, Bowmanville, on Wednesday next, Feb. 7th from 1:30 to 8:30 p.m. There's an advertise- ment i this edition giving details on where to call if you require transportation. GREAT IDEA - You have to hand it to those un- selfish souls who are involved in the Community Care organization. They are doing a great job and their latest project sounds great. Any senior citizen who would like to have some help filling out his or her income tax forms will now have some qualified help available. There's a story in this issue giving details. GOODBYE JANUARY - It's a pleasure today to bid a fond farewell to the month of January which really hasn't been all that bad in this part of the country, compared to others in Ontario. But, February brings us closer to Spring and warm weather. WHITE CANES - Next week has been designated White Cane Week to focus attention on preventing blindness and assisting those whose vision is im- paired. Every year about 2,000 Canadians suffer severe or total loss of sight, half of it preventable. Watch for those white canes all year, not just next week. Burketon House Destroved A fire which demolished this unoc- cupied house two miles east of Burketon last Friday morning is being investigated by Durham Regional Police.. The fire was apparently of an in- cendiary nature and fresh footprints in the snow leading to the home were observed by Bowmanville firemen when they arrived on the scene. Fire Chief, Jim Hayman said the blaze~appears to have started in the rear quarter of the building and was well underway before it was repor- ted at 11:50 a.m. Damage to the two storey frame building is estimated at $17,000. and approximately $2000. on the con- tents. The dwelling was owned by E.B. Lechowicz Company Ltd,, R.R. 2, Burford, Ontario, and had been vacant since November. -Photo by Rick James Grower Specializes In Exotic By Donna Fairey The employees of Jensen's Exotic Plants north of Newcastle seem to be whispering the right words to the $175,000 inventory of lush greenery in their care. Although the vast stock is generally not rain forest foliage, the addition of a few tropical birds could conveniently create a jungle illusion. Manager of the operation, Bruce Jensen, explained that his exotic plant nursery is an off-shoot of Eric Jensen Greenhouses Limited, Toronto, which was started from scratch by his father 40 years ago. The company was subsequently sold to a larger outfit which now has branches in Ottawa, Moncton and Boston. Mr. Jensen has remained with them in a managerial and con- sultant capacity. At the time of the take-over, nur- sery expansion was required and Mr. Jensen rented the company space on his farm northwest of Newcastle. A 34,000 square foot greenhouse complex was erected and is now the home of Jensen's Exotic Plants. In addition to his Canadian in- terests, Mr. Jensen and his father totally own Jensen's Nurseries Inc. in Orlando, Florida. The semi- retired senior Jensen operates the American nursery and Bruce Jensen manages it from Newcastle. Greenery The Newcastle nursery is primarily a production facility dealing in plants of Indo-Malaysian origin. Some are sold as is and others are used as parents to produce large root beds of saleable secondary plants. The greater portion of Jensen's stock is imported from the Florida operation. On arrival, the plants un- dergo a 30 day acclimatization period and at the same time are treated for pests and aIl known diseases. The tallest plant handled by Jen- sen's is 18 feet high and 70 per cent of ~all the company's plants pass through the Newcastle nursery. For optimum growing conditions, the greenhouse is kept at 72 degrees fahrenheit during the day and 65 degrees at night. Humidity runs at 100 per cent plus and 35,000 gallons of fuel per year is used to maintain the necessary heat. Jensen's sell wholesale to other greenhouses. However, the bulk of their business is the design and in- stallation of plant decor for office complexes. "Whole packages are our speciality", Mr. Jensen said. They are presently under contract to Denver Square, Denver, Colorado, (which is akin to Com- merce Court in Toronto, only three Turn to Page Two This time of year a touch of Florida looks pretty good. Bruce Jensen of Jen- sen's Exotic Plants Limited admires a grapefruit ready for the picking at his Newcastle greenhouse. Bowmanville Summer Sehool Possible A sumier school program may be offered in the Town of Newcastle this year, superintendent of special services, David Patterson, told the Northumberland and Newcastle Board of Education Thursday. Last summer, said Patterson, 177 students from Newcastle attended Eastdale Collegiate in ,Oshawa because there was no courses of- fered in the Newcastle area. "We shouldn't be sending our students to Durham," argued Patterson. if, however, enrollment registrations are not sufficient to warrant the operation of summer school programs at three centres, it may be necessary to incorporate the program at two locations. The board's summer school program is available to elementary and secondary students, as well as adults in the community. Duration of courses is from July 3 to August 10. Daily sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 12:30 p.m. Credit courses, credit make-up courses, remedial courses and general interest courses will be of- fered in this year's summer school program. Registration fee is $10. Bits And Pieces