PAGE 4,WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23,1975, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby Voice of the County Town High density not for Whitby The confusion surrounding the high-rise development planned for the corner of Dundas and Jeffrey Streets is no more. On Wednesday last, an Ontario Housing Corporation official admitted that O.H.C. money would finance the project, that O.H.C. money would directly subsidize the rents of 25% of the tenants, that O.H.C. money would control the rents of 75% of the tenants, and that the O.H.C. itself would have a direct, and substan- tial involvement in the selection and approval of 100% of the tenants. It is, therefore, an OHC project in fact, if not in name. The issue of whether or not this community should have a high-rise, high-density, low rental subsidized housing development is, therefore, now with us. It is a dual issue because opposition to the project comes not only from those who oppose low-rental subsidized housing, but also from those who oppose high-rise, high-density, residential development. Thanks to the OHC decision and the method of announcing that decision they are inextricably intertwined. They are upon us now, thanks to the OHC decision to make public money available to those builders, who, for whatever reason, are unable to obtain private financing, They will be decided soon and because of this fact, they must be decided after full and complete consideration of ail the factors. Should Whitby have high-density, high-rise, development of any kind? Low rental, subsidized high-rise development has not, in the past, proved successful in that it has created instant ghetto-like situations which have served only to emphasize rather than alleviate the conditions which bring people to low rental housing. High density, high- rise development is not supportive of the family structure in the main as numerous studies have shown and the family unit has been seen as the strength of this comrnunity for years. High-rise is primarily an urban phenomena and it is based on the need to place people close to their mea.s of livelihood. With the majority of this community going elsewhere to work, one has to wonder at the wisdom of concentrating many people, let alono 1,500 - 2,000 low to moderate income wage earners, so far from their centre of commerce. Should the existing social, economic, and envir- onmental order be disturbed by high-rise? The Whitby community is based primarily on single- family homes, and this is totally true when you consider West Lynde. High-rise development is certainly not compatable with the present situa- tion. The environment is what we characterize as rural-urban and high-rise does not fit into that sett- ing at ail. The total economic structure of Whitby is such that an influx of 1,500 - 2,000 people condensed into one corner would place serious overloads on traffic, municipal services, and local commerce. Whitby's schools are not particularly capable of instant expansion and the province in the past two years has not been particularly quick to react to overcrowded situations. Should the future development of Whitby be predicated upon high-rise development of any kind? Those of us who are newcomers to Whitby see the town as a refuge from the ugliness and excess of places like Toronto. We chose the urban- rural setting, as undoubtedly many others before us did. We are anxious to preserve Whitby as a place where our children can grow and enjoy the benefits of urban life juxtaposed against a rural set- ting. Only one high-rise will destroy ail that, be- cause it will lay the groundwork for many more. On balance, therefore, this particular develop- ment should be stopped, now. Our local governi- ment should recognize its potential for harm and exercise its authority. Should they fail to act, our provincial government should govern in their place. To do any less, is to destroy the character and the fabric of our town. Decision commended Dear Sir; Thank God for the recent Supreme Court ruling against Dr. Mor- gentaler for illegal abor- tion. The life-respecting, self-respecting Canadian woman can now breathe a sigh of relief in the knowledge that the high- est court in Canada is ready to act to uphold our much-abused Cana- dian abortion law. The idea of making the famous Dr. Morgen- taler à modern "saint", going off to jail as a "sacrifice", is as ridicu- lous as an American women's group who want to give him the American lumanist A- ward. Surely the militant Doctor and his flocks of lady apostles have got their thinking mixed with their yearnings. They want freedom for women - at the cost of human life. They want justice for women - at the cost of their true femininity. They want repeal of abortion law - at the cost of eventual whole- sale disregard of human life, young or old. Let's face the abortion issue with open eyes. World authorities in the medical sciences con- cluded years ago that human life begins at conception. Even if you cannot buy that - think on these facts concerning one facet of abortion that most of us are una- ware of. Sometimes abortions are performed later on in the pregnancy at four and-the odd time, even five months after conception (Hysteroto- my). At this time a premature baby can sometimes survive. Who or what is this premature 'something' struggling to survive? is it human life there in the hospital incubator - but not human life when des- troyed by the "helpful" hand of the abortionist? The pain and anguish of women experiencing unwanted pregnancies we must all share. And in sharing - care enough tg, act on her behalf! How can we preach to such a woman that to tear her own child from her body will solve her problems. The misery of psycholo- gical repercussions are evident and recorded in a good percentage of those women having abortions. The current abortion law * is far too broad (although this was not intended by Partiament when it was first initiated). It enables hospital therapeutic a- bortion committees to authorize abortion on request with the result that they are now being performed at an alarming rate. The Right t o Life Association believes that equal recognition and protection be given to ail human life, before birth and after birth. We must help restore concern about human life in Canada. We musi counteract the deluded thinking of the many women's groups blindly pushing abortion for selfish reasons. We must become a part of a society that upholds its duty to protect the basic right to life. Sounds strange, but some day it could be your own right to live that you'll be worrying about. Is euthenasia just around the corner? If you want to help, contact, The Right to Life Association of Tor- onto, Suite 444, 17 Queen Street East, Tor- onto, Ontario M5C 1F9. (Call 364-4768) Or, Right to Life Association (Ajax Sec- tion), 903 Walnut Street West, Whitby, Ontario. (Call 668-7911) Thank you. Right to Life Assoc. (Ajax Section) 903 Walnut Street W., Whitby, Ontario. Coverage praised Dear Sir; On behalf of the Brooklin-Whitby Consol- idated Building Corpora- tion Juvenile Ail Stars, i would like to extend our appreciation to ail those connected with the excellent coverage given to our team in the sports pages of your newspaper. The boys looked for- ward to seeing their eu y names in print and it was a great morale booster over the past season. Once again our sincere thanks for your courtesy. Yours truly, Brooklin-Whitby C.B.C. Juvenile Alîstars, Gordon D. Kinzie, Manager, 706 Clarence Drive, Whitby, Ontario. lette rs box 206 whitby Mike letters wrio te.