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KfflaB^^BSgKg Delivered j Free of Charge to 18,000 Homes in Clarington from The Publishers of Œfit Canadian àtaUstnan i W&j immm ■v.y. , /y//. , .vA , .y//;/W'wywÆW «HH 'tÊêÊÊm mmmM mmm mil XmmzmtfMÆL JjfJP§|§ iiliillt P*$*l MÜI Organizers Need Volunteers For Courte Carnival in May by Laura J. Richards There are only 105 days left until this year's Courtice Carnival and the organizers need help. The two-day extravaganza is slated slated to take place on Saturday, May 28, and Sunday, May 29 at the Courtice Secondary School. Planning Committee Chair Nancy Nancy Coffin told The Statesman on Tuesday morning, Feb. 8, there will be plenty of activities for everyone. But, to ensure these events take place, volunteers are desperately needed. Coffin admits it is hard to get people interested in the carnival with the winter weather still here. "People can't picture the warm sunny days right now," Coffin said. Last year, about a dozen volunteers volunteers worked on organizing the Courtice Carnival. This year, for the two-day event, the call is out for more volunteers. "We need to have 20 working staff and they, in turn, will need volunteers," volunteers," said Coffin. "We need people who have contacts contacts in organizations and clubs -- those who have people skills, those willing to be available on the two days, entertainers, and those willing to contribute physical labor." The organizers also have job descriptions descriptions for those who want to help out on different committees, but are unsure what they can contribute. contribute. Coffin also said, "We need farmers farmers to let us post a sign in their fields -- that would cut down on stolen signs and help a lot." Activities being planned for the two-day event on Saturday include: a craft fair or flea-market, a Five- Kilometer Community Challenge, an All-Star Baseball Tournament, an antique car show and plenty of entertainment. entertainment. / To Page 4 V:" by Laura J. Richards A piece of land and buildings owned by Memorial Hospital, Bow- ,manville is up for rezoning in Newcastle Newcastle Village. A potential purchaser wants to convert buildings on the comer of Robert and Mill Streets into a medical medical clinic and funeral parlor. First would come a rezoning, and then a restoration of the buildings. The municipality's Official Plan currently states the land is zoned "Holding-Urban Residential Exception." Exception." This means only certain community community uses may be permitted to locate locate in residential areas, provided they are compatible with surrounding surrounding uses. Currently, the surrounding uses include, existing residential dwellings dwellings and Newcastle Public School. Current zoning does not allow for a funeral parlor. As for plans to restore the former nursing home property, a Planning Department report states: "It is proposed proposed the two separate buildings will be created by demolishing the middle portion of the existing structure. structure. The easterly building will be used for the funeral services establishment establishment and the westerly structure for the professional/medical offices." offices." It is also noted, "the applicant intends intends to sever the property, with each lot supporting one use." Three letters have been presented to Clarington Councillors regarding the proposal. Two come from Newcastle Newcastle business groups in favor of the application. The Newcastle and District Chamber of Commerce and the Newcastle Village Business Improvement Improvement Area both support the rezoning. rezoning. However, the plan is not without opposition. A letter from Nick Ma- tesic states that he conducted an "unscientific" survey by posing the following question to people: "Would it bother you to live across from a Funeral Service Establishment?" Establishment?" To Page 3 *7*t6Cefee*tcCe*tt A&P Family Realty 2000 Ltd. Graham's IGA* Maxi Drug v Wee Watch* Canadian Tire* Electrolux (•Indicates partial distribution) For information about inserting flyers in The Independent, - please contact our office at 623-3303 Toronto Troupe Entertains Students at Vincent Massey Students from kindergarten to grade 3 at Vincent Massey school in Bowmanville laughed and sang along with these four fine performers from the Golden Horseshoe Players earlier this week. The Toronto troupe visited Bowmanville on Monday, February 7, to stage an anti-racism play about how to break down barriers that separate people in society. Clockwise from top left are: Laura Laura Landauer, James Barrett, Alicia Payne and Kevin Sepaul. by Laura J. Richards Eleventh-hour negotiations have not resulted in any substantial changes to the proposed 200,000 square foot west Bowmanville shopping shopping plaza. Sometimes -- as in this case -- the lawyers get some concessions, but not the whole deal they wanted, said Clarington Mayor Diane Hamre on Tuesday, Feb. 7. During a four-hour special council council meeting held from 4 to.8 p.m. Monday, with two hours of incarnera incarnera discussion, councillors made • only a couple of decisions based on new requests. The first decision concerned a letter of credit. The municipality holds a letter of credit from a developer developer until work on a development meets the approval of the municipality's municipality's works department. Markborough Properties, the company which owns the property where the west end plaza will be built, wanted their letter of credit back from Clarington after the Ontario Ontario Municipal Board hearing takes place. The new plaza would be built at a site at the comer of Green Road, south of Highway Two, extending east towards the existing Canadian Tire Store. . Mayor Hamre said the council decided against giving back the letter letter of credit in a round about way. Councillors agreed that the devel oper would get part of the money being held -- $250,000. But, the town is keeping $750,000 plus $100,000 for security. This is to ensure ensure that the company will improve Green Road and Highway Two if the project proceeds. Councillor Ann Dreslinski told The Independent on Thursday morning, morning, Feb. 8, that if the developers were able to get the entire letter of credit back from Clarington, the fu- : ture of the plaza could have been in doubt. "Who knows when the plaza would be built once they had it (the letter of credit) back," she said? "Once the OMB decision is in, the To Page 3