PAGE 4, W)BDNESDAY,JANUARY 6, 1982, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby (" blihed êeryWednesday by M.B.M. Publlshing, and Photography Inc. Phone 668-6111 Voic oftho ouny Twn Mchal Ia Buges, Puliser- anaingEditr *ThtFree Press Building, Voic ofthe ouny Tw'n ichel an Brgçs, ubliherManagin Edtor1 31 BrockStreet North,, The only Whitby nt-'wspaper independently owvned and operated by Whitby residents for Wbtby residents. P.O. Box 206. Whitby, On MICHAEL J. KNELL Communlty EdItor MARJORIE A. BUR GESS Advertlslng Manager <Mà liing Permit No. 480 > 94 Second 01188 Mail' -Regastrat 1Ion No. 5351 Tenew yearbrns heema jor. soial 1Issuesta ut eecm e t seems that 1982 sà golng ta be the year in which the Town of Whitby Is golng ta have to'deal with. many pressing social' problems - three of whlch have gained promînence in'the news ln the last month or Sa. A panel commlssianed by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) has heard charges by many union members that the condi- tions for bath staff and-patents at the Whitby Psy- chlatrlc Hospital are not what they should be. The panel was toldthat the Institution has problems with staffing levels, patient care and, other services. At the same time, Durham Regional Council is faced With seriaus problems at Whltby's -Fairview Lodge Home for the Aged. The facility needs an estimated $3.5 million ln improvements ta brlng It Up ta modern standards especlally ln the area of sanitatian. And ta make matters worse, the hydro sub- station i n the building uses potentially dangerous PCBs ln Its cooling system. In theevent of fire, this could pose a major threat to the health of the residents and the staff. SA third major social problem.in the Town of Whltby has to do wlth the conditions of rooming. houses. Complains have beený voiced that these roomlng houses are violatlng 'the property stan- dards bylaws in many different respects.- These three issues are not new ones, but during the last few weeks> have corne out intothe open because, frankly, they have been ignored by, everyone for far too long., While they may be-different in specific applica- tion ail three 0f these situations have one thlng in .Dommôn. ,They ail deal with the lives, health and well being of people. Because we are dealing. with a human Issue It concerns ail of us whether we are private citizens, politicians, members of the media or social ser- vice agencies, churches or any other group:- However, it.seems to this publication that the situations found at the psychiatric hospital, ýthe old age home and, ln these rooming houses will have te be add ressed. Recently, this publication called for the ,ap- pointment of a Royal Commission ta i1 nvestigaà te the charges made before the OPSEU panel and we still believe that this is a prudent course ta take. The situation at Fairview Lodge is more difficult ta assess correctly., Durham Regional ,Chairman Gary Herrema has been quoted as saying that there simply is no money available ta carry out ail of the Improvements needed. We cannot dispute that but at the' samne time, we must.,say that It, Is Iýmperative that, Fairview Lodge be brought up ta modern standards. A way, must be found ta secure t 'he necessary funding. Reglonal Councillor Tomn Edwards has been bringing to the publi'c's attention the condition of somne roomling houses ln the Town of Whltby. He has claimed that they are sub-standard and ]s essentially calling-for Whitby, Town Council ta "lay down the law asIs Its rlght. There is one problem .with this, however. Where will the residents of these homes. live should.the buildings be.condemned? Wlth the current 0.0 per cent vacancy rate 1in Whitby it is obvious that in the short term housing cauld not be provided. There is no simple solution ta any of these thrée major social problems and arrivlng at an equitable solution Is made moreý diffilcuit because. they are "motherhood Issues." Therefore, they become very emnotionaVand people tend to think wlth their hearts and not their brains. We must avoid that. Our local and provincial governiments, social service agencies, churches and lnterested groups and individuais should be working towards solving these probiemns.. WVhat ls ýneeded is facts and figures not only measuring the -problem' but the solution, as well. When this Information Is secured, only then'can an intelligent course of action be.taken. We must deal with the proble <ms suffered by the people, but at the samne time we.owe it ta themn to find the best possiblMe solution, not one found in the heat of emotional argumnent.ë A gloomy overview to match the winter weather. There was an article ini the Globe and Mail recently, delineating in irridesoent detail what would -happen to To Ãir if it were bit by a one megaton nuclear devioe. A civil defence system wouldn't help, which is just as well, because there isn'.t one. We are also gloriously unready for anything else. Item: I heard reoently of a Ivisit to an Armed Foroes base by a group of Canadian civilians who were carrying mat-' erials that the miitary authorities deemed should be under guard. Those* assigned the guard duty -- I'm talkig about servioemen now -- had acoess to sidearms ail right, but the man who had the key to the ammunhtion couldn't be found. We should tel the world now that we wiil tolerate no emer- gencies at lunchtime. t tem: Our naval forces are in such a sad state of dis- repair, th at we couldn't defend the Gulf of St. Lawrence, let alone three coastlines. Item: Apart from two new aircraft, the rest of our Armed Foroes equipment is similarly antiquated. Item: Militia units are foroed to shout bang-bang as they fire their guns because they can't afford the expenditure for live or even blank rounds. Item: Polie who woldn't know an assault rifle from a squirrel'gun, or a, gun coilector from an anarchist, seize legitiniate weapons and cail themn an "arms cache". A similarly iil-informed media goes along with them. If we discount C anada's membership i NATO, and the NORAD partnerslhip, it is as if the government has decided that we live i a warless, crimeless society, and has unilaterally issued a declaration of peace and non-violence.. That would bea dirablecnitoI admit, but. it seems to me that the probability of war, nuclear and otherwise, is increasing daily; and that herei Canada, the rate of violent crime is rising. I suggested amoment ago that we might discount our NORAD and NATO -ties. Our-afes certainly do. It seems to me that i our current state of readiess, -we would be putty ini the hande of a particularlyr voracious banana republic. But then again I always have bad dreams at this time of the year. Al I can hope is that tomorrow I'il wake up. That's not news, bit that too is reality.