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905-623-3303 18 Pages Wednesday, January 4,1995 Bowmanville, Ontario 141st Year 560 + 4çt G.S.T. =600 Issue 1 Mayor Wants Staff to Deliver Zero Budget Increase in '95 by Laura J. Richards yet to be seen what the impact will and the councillors heard from Taxes may go up in other lake- ,be once the social contract expires." many residents that "people will not shore communities, but Clarington's . While other municipalities may handle tax increases very well." mayor and council have asked that try to play catch-up when the econo- This means "councillors will municipal budgets toe the line in my moves forward, Mayor Hamre need to be able to say "no," and then 1995. doesn't think that will happen in be able to give reasons." "We directed staff to aim for a Clarington. Belts Tightened zero per cent increase in this year's "Generally speaking, people do Everyone still needs to keep their budget," Mayor Diane Hamre said not want a tax increase from the mu- belts tightened, the mayor said, on Tuesday morning, Jan. 2. nicipality," she said. She stated "In speaking with business own- Mayor Hamre noted though "it is while campaigning in the fall, she Continued on Page 2 O.M.B. Approves 290,000 Square Feet Too much, too fast, That's how representatives of the Bowmanville Downtown Business Improvement Area describe the new west Bowmanville shopping plazas approved late last month by the Ontario Ontario Municipal Board. After 48 days of hearings which look place throughout 1994, the OMB has given a green light to three shopping plaza plans for the western end of Bowmanville, north and south of Highway Two. ■; Although the approval is subject to some conditions, the OMB has essentially approved 290,000 square feet of new shopping space. The group which represents Bowmanville's downtown merchants merchants had agreed to smallcr-scale development at the west side of Bowmanville. A1 Strike, a member of the BIA board of directors and the BIA's lawyer at the hearings, said the downtown merchants were willing to accept a smaller development -- consisting mainly of a supermarket and department store -- west of Highway Two and Regional Rd. 57. HARD ACT TO FOLLOW - With both Christmas and New Year's days falling on Sunday, the holidays have been piling up . for businesses, governments and students. As a result, it's going [ to take a while to get back into the regular work routine for ' many of us; there was something enjoyable about sleeping in, relaxing and overeating continuously. Next Christmas falls on a Monday, followed by Boxing Day on Tuesday, which will be quite different. BIBLICAL TIMING - A Christmas baby boy was bom at 13:15 (1:15 p.m.) at Memorial Hospital Bowmanville, which, was a great occasion for all concerned. But, there was an addit- onal bit of biblical timing that accompanied the birth. The child's mother was Julie Mary Rich and the father's name was Greg Joseph Rich. They named their son, "TvlerUnfortunately, "TvlerUnfortunately, we have been unable to obtain a photo of Tyler with his mother, but we did get a picture of a set of twins bom here on New Year's Day. It appears in this edition. PRETEEN DANCE - Tonight, January 4th, if you are between 10 and 13 years old, there's a Preteen Dance from 6 to 9 p.m. at thé Memorial Park Clubhouse in Bowmanville. It's sponsored by the Theatre Dance Kids and the $5 each admission fee includes includes a bottle or can of pop. If you would like more information, information, please phone 623-6610. Probably you already know that the Memorial Park Clubhouse is on Liberty St. South. Join your friends and have a good outing to start the new year. TIME FOR RESOLUTIONS - Right now might be an ideal time to spend an hour or two analysing the past year and deciding deciding on goals to be achieved in 1995. This kind of concentration quite often leads to resolutions indicating that we are aware of the mistakes we made and are prepared to adjust our way of living living or working to make certain those errors don't occur again in the months ahead. If you would care to participate in such an exercise of self analysis, we wish you much success. Personally, wc resolve to concentrate on filling this column with items,that will provide readers with information about our community, its people and events. ITEMS OF INTEREST - Now that the OMB has approved considerable business expansion at the west end of Bowman- villc, wc have to wonder what its effect will be on the town's downtown core. Shoppers will, of course, welcome the additional additional choices they will have when the new stores are completed and they don't have to drive several miles to purchase the supplies supplies they feel they need. All these developments arc called progress, but, unfortunately, they often are accompanied by casualties casualties when over zealous developers' projects change established established shopping patterns. That's why the Ontario Municipal Board Hearings are held to establish a measure of control. WE'RE THE BEST - Once again, the best junior hockey players in Canada have shown their superiority over their international international rivals. Mind you, they had to come from behind and needed opposing teams' penalties to overcome their opposition, but they did it and won the gold medal again. Now, the hockey world will be back to normal if the powers that be can somehow settle that ridiculous NHL strike and get the Maple Leafs back on the ice for what's left of the season. The networks arc having a dreadful lime filling the hours with old time movies. Also, it will soon be time for the Blue Jays to head for camp in Florida, but they also arc on strike. Life is certainly complicated, isn't it? The development acceptable to the BIA had a floor area of, about 140,000 square feet. However, in its decision last month, the Municipal Board has cleared the way for much more than a new deparüncnt store and supermarket supermarket plus a few ancilliary outlets. In addition, the board approved about 170,000 square feet for other shops. Mr. Strike estimates that's equal to about 85 additional stores, if you assume dial a typical store occupies about 2,000 square feet. In other words, the area available for development is larger than the commercial floor space in the historic historic central core of Bowmanville. "My thinking is wc don't have the population right now to support all the retail space they're allowing,"added allowing,"added Ron Hoo[x;r, chairman of the BIA board of directors.. At the OMB hearings, the downtown downtown merchants had asked that additional additional growth be allowed at the western plaza sites as the population of the town increased. But, the Board appears to have approved all of the proposals at once. "It's almost like they didn't listen to anything we had to say," Mr. Hooper observed. He also points to a paragraph in the board members' written judgement judgement which notes that a decrease of 15 per cent in sales in the downtown core over a three-year period would be acceptable. "I don't known anybody who would go along with that," he said. Although the BIA is not planning to take any further action in opposing opposing the malls, they believe there will be a big challenge ahead. Continued on Page 3 A Bird's Eye View Cora Trimble, 4, was perched on top of the shoulders of Bowmanville Eagle teammates Todd Cannings (left), and Curtis Hodgins during a special "Skate with the Eagles" session that was held at the Darlington Sports Centre on Thursday, December 29. The event was well attended, as many young fans of the Eagles took advantage of the opportunity to meet members of the team, and do a few laps around the ice with them. -Photo by Brad Kelly In Durham commuters will have a happier new year starting Monday, January 9th, when GO train service to Oshawa is increased. Instead of racing to catch the one weekday morning train running into Toronto, or the one rush hour return train, GO riders will be able to board any of 33 peak service trains operating between the two cities. "It certainly is an improvement over one train," says Bev Simpson, GO Transit information officer. "Now our customers in Oshawa will, have more options. They'll get the the same choice as Whitby customers." customers." Seventeen trains westbound to Toronto will leave Oshawa from 5:37 to 8:41 a.m., and again from RIDE Program Catches Ten More Drunk Drivers In the fourth week of Durham Region's RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) program, police police charged 10 people with drinking and driving offences and issued a dozen 12-hour driving suspensions. Between December 26 and January January 1, the Durham Regional Police RIDE unit stopped 6,653 vehicles. Twenty-eight people were asked to lake a roadside test which resulted in ten charges and 12 temporary driving suspensions. During this same period, six other other drivers were arrested for impaired driving by regular patrol units. To (tote, the RIDE program in Durham has stopped 26,284 vehicles, vehicles, administered 179 roadside tests, issued 53 12-hour driving suspensions suspensions and charged 23 people with drinking and driving offences. During the past week, the Durham Durham Regional Police Service operated operated their RIDE program in Ajax, Oshawa, Port Perry and Bowman- villc. The unit will continue to operate full-time throughout the region until January 8th, 1995. 3:41 to 7:41 p.m. Sixteen trains east- bound to Oshawa will leave Union Station from 6:13 a.m. to 8:13 a.m. and from 3:13 to 7:13 p.m. Trains will run Monday to Friday, except for holidays. Most will serve all stops on the Lakcshorc East route. The new train service out of Oshawa is expected to draw at least 1,400 riders, Simpson notes, which includes people already using the system but who drive to Whitby or Ajax. "They're going to switch (to Oshawa) because it'll be more convenient. convenient. And wc expect to attract new riders as well." A single round-trip GO ticket into Toronto from Oshawa is $11.70. Ontario Transportation Minister Mike Faman says: "This new level of service is a boon to the hundreds of people who travel between Oshawa and Toronto every day. It gives them extra flexibility in their schedule, something many people welcome in today's working environment." environment." Oshawa Transit will serve Oshawa GO station and GO- tickcted passengers can ride the local local bus free to connect with the GO train. The rail expansion project cost the province $55 million. New property was acquired and several bridges were constructed, notably at Hopkins Street and at Continued on Page 2 Z-- Toro Teams Capture Four Championships at Sue Page 12 LEES-It's a Girl! ' 5> * » * MARTIN -It's a Boyl ZONDERVAN - It's n Girll Total This Year Boys 1 Girls 2 Shop the Rest Buy from the Best! Your local General Motors dealer for the past 25 years, 166 King St. E. Tolophono 623-3396 PRESTON We Move li! 623-4433 Bowmanville