PAGE 12, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1974, WHITBY FREE PRESS Words from West Lynde by Norm Meoling On Thursday, June 13th, Mrs. Mealing and 1, along with about 45 other people, attended the West Lynde Com- munity Association General Meeting at Henry Street High School. It Was an excellent meeting and the Association Executive deserve a great deal of credit for arranging for the assessment officials to attend. The Executive must have been disappointed by the turnout. I know I was. Association membership numbers about 400 and slightly more than 10% attended. I know that I can be accused of harping on involvement and part- -cipation, but unless it is there, the Association won't get off the ground. The Executive spends a great deal of time and effort organizing events and they need to be supported by the membership. ASSESSMENT Mr. Wally Parnell, Regional Assessment Commissioner for Durham, and Mr. Fred O'Dell, Supervisor of Assessors for Whitby, Ajax, and Pickering, attended the general meeting. Mr. Parnell addressed the meeting for about 15 - 20 minutes, and a spirited question and answer session followed for about one hour. In speaking to the group, Mr. Parnell explained the role of the Regional Assessment office, and its relationship to the Town of Whitby. He clarified what assessment means, how it is determined, what factors are taken into account when an assessment is made, and the timing and procedures involved in appealing an assessment. My own personal observations on the question and answer session were tiat there existed a great deal -of confusion between assessment and mill rates. Mr. Parnell dispelled much of this confusion. One fact, however, remains. The majority of people in attendance gave me the impression that they felt they were improperly assessed, and I would have liked to have seen Mr. Parnell agree to having the whole subdivision re-assessed. One final cautionary note. Market value assessment frightens me, and I would like to see some guarantee that the municipality will not raise the mill rate when the assessment is raised. Perhaps the Association should explore this with Council further. COMMUNITY CENTRE - The W.L.C.A. Executive has indicated that, due to a healthy bank account, they will enter into negotiations with the Town of Whitby to secure property upon which to build a community centre. Their intent, as I understand it, is to negotiate during the summer, and then meet with the membership in the fall. I am neither for nor against a community centre at this time. I do think, however, that it is such a major under- taking that all the factors must be considered by the membership before any final decision is taken. LYNDE CREEK PUBLIC SCHOOL Apparently, tenders have been called by the Durham Board of Education for Lynde'Creek Public School. They are due on June 20th. Given the time necessary to app- rove and award a contract, the school is now slated to open in September 1975. 'A principal, David Disney, has been appointed, and plans for a K-8 school are well under- way. The Executive has met with Board officials, and some measure of community use of the school seems assured. To assist in programming for the first and succeeding years at the school, the Association will be doing a survey on the number of school-age and pre-school-age children likely to attend. The street reps will be doing this in the near future. It has been suggested to the Association that, in the course of the survey, the separate school ratepayers be asked if they intend to switch their kids from the separate to the public school. If the Executive agrees to do this, they are doing the Association a disservice and running the risk of spliting it in half. It will be interpreted as an attempt to influence separate school supporters away from the separate school system. Whoever requires this inform- ation, should be prepared to gather it themselves, and not put the Association in the position of doing their dirty work. CENTRAL PARK Beginning the first week of July, a playground program will begin in Central Park. Cail the Recreation Department for further details. MORE ON CENTRAL PARK The issue of future use was raised briefly at the general meeting. The Executive is going to determine what the exact plans are and inform the membership. I still think it needs further discussion. 337 Forest Fires Down From Last Year Despite a wet spring, 337 forest fires were recorded in . April by the Canadian For- estry Service in its first re- port of the 1974 fire season. The fires affected some 3,000 acres of the country's forest land. The number was, however, less than half that for the corresponsing period last year (694 fires) and the acre- age affected was less than one-third last year's (10,000 acres). These statistics are com- piled monthly by the Fire Research Institute of the Canadian Forestry Service. Board of Education Has Ratified Contract- At its regular Board Meet- ing on June 10, The Durham Board of Education ratified the secondary school salary agreement settled in an all- day session, Saturday, June 8, 1974. The O.S.S.T.F. District No. 17 Negotiating Council had earlier submitted the agreement to its member- ship for ratification and re- turns indicated almost total acceptance. The agreement, negotiated over a three-month period, provided for salary increases ranging from $550 to $1,850 over current levels. The 1974-75, teachers' salaries based on a four-category scale, will range from $7,750 for a beginning teacher with basic qualifications to $19,, 300 for a teacher with 13 years experience or more and top qualifications. Under the new agreement, Principals and Vice-Principals received increases bringing them in line with Metropoli-, tan Toronto administrative levels with salaries ranging. from $21,700 to $28,175. The new agreement pro- vided for active involvement of teachers in administering their fringe benefit coverage, with the establishment of a' Fringe Benefit Administra- tion Committee. The settlement provided for a minimum staff comple-- ment of 872 teachers for the school year 1974-75 with the pupil/teacher ratio lirn- ited to 17.89/1. The new salary agreement represents approximately a 10% increase over 1973-74 levels, and is intended to- take into account inflation- ary trends and current levels, in comparison to surrounding jurisdications. Trent University Had Many Local Graduates Get Degrees/Prizes More than 440 under- graduate students received degrees Friday, June 7, at Trent University's spring con- vocation. These, together with three honorary degrees, were conferred by Trent's chancellor, Dr. Eugene Forsey. Honorary degrees were re- ceived by Harry J. Boyle, Ottawa, author and vice- chairman of the Canadian Radio Television Commission; John M. Gray, Toronto, bio- grapher and chairman of the board of the Macmillan Co. of Canada, and Ross M. Matthews, Peterborough, for- mer president of both the Canadian Medical Association and the Ontario Medical Association. The following local people received degrees and/or prizes at the convodation. Bachelor of Science, Honours Programme: Ronald- David Rundle, Pickering; Sylvia Rundle, Pickering. Bachelor of Arts: Alexandra Catherine Elisa Cunliffe, Whitby; Judith Mary Donnelly, Whitby; Judith Adora Forsythe, Pickering; Atsuko Gail Suginomori, Pickering; Jacqueline Anne Tobin, Whitby. Bachelor of Science: Nicholas Ralph White, Whitby. Send your dollars to CARE Canada, Dept. 4, 63 Sparks Street, Ottawa, K1P 5A6. 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Ontario Riding Progressive Conservative Association See Joyce Bowerman On Channel 5 Television Wednesday June 19, 6.15 p.m. 4- 0