Growth,. surplus kept increase down.... Water and sewer rate-s-to. Whltby residents are faclng with a 6.8 per cent increase in their water and sewer bill next year. Laut week, a special committee of Durham Regional Council met to dlscuss the new rates whlch wiUl see the average regional water and sewer rate dimb five per cent. However, Whitby rates are slightly lower than the regional rate because a reserve fund was established when the region assurned responsibiity for water and sewer services ten years ago. Until then, water and sewer had been the responsibillty of the old Wbitby PubliceIjtlities Commission (now the Whitby Hydro Electric Commission). Accor- ding to town treasurer AI Claringbold, the fund will probably run out next year meaning that Whitby residents wilI be paying the full regional rate for waterý and sewer in 1986. Next year, the quar- terly water and sewer bill wilI climb to an average of $52.50, $336 greater than this year.. According to a report prepared by regional finance commissioner Jack Gartley, the 1984 Whitby water rates were at 94 per cent of the regional rate and wHi move te 97.7 per cent of the regional rate next year. "This will resuit in a 9.1 per cent increase in Whitby's water rates which together with a five per cent sewer rate increase resuits in an a combined increase of 6.8 per cent for an average water and sewer customner." Next year, the average regional customner will pay $530o6 every three months for water and sewer ser- vices, $251 more than this years $50.55. The average Whitby resident*pays 56-cents a quarter less. According to the report, sewer rates were held down to five par cent by two factors: firstly, the water and sewer systemn earned a surplus of $1.8 million which will be applied against the 1985 rates. The. other factor in keeping rates dowrn was residential growth. Council This year, Whitby ad- ded 510 new homes to the service. While regional of- ficiais said that while growth bas been good,*it bas been tapering off in F'ortunately there were no fatalities Mon- day morning wben- heavy fog caused a 124- vehicle pile-up on the westbound lanes of Hwy. 401 between Henry St. andfDurham Rd. 23. According to a spokesman for the Whitby detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police there were 44 separate accidents in- volving 124 cars and a yet undetermined num- ber of people. The spokesman said that 32 people suffered injuries. Only two people suffered senious injuries. -He added that the first accident occured at 7:34 a.m. and police were still taking accident reports at 10 p.m. Mon- day evening. In fact, one officer was still inter- viewing victims at. 1 a.m. Tuesday morning. The accidents were caused, he added, by the fog. People were driving too fast and following too close behind the car in front of them. It will take at least two weeks for the detachment to process the reports and until then, there will probably not be any estimates of the total damage caused. reent months. Howeveér, they predict a 3.4 par cent growth rate in 1985. In 1985, the region will spand $13,44o,ooo to sends bikebylow bock services and $15,967,000 for sanitary sewer ser- vices. This represents a 15.2 par cent jump in the water budget and a 14.1 par cent increase in the to committee for p'ubliïc input A proposed bylaw designed, to prohibit bicycles from using sidewalks in the Town of Whitby has been refered back to the operations committee by Whitby Town Council. Council took the ac- tion Monday night in response to a number of letters it bas received from area residents either protesting or supporting the measure. According to Mayor Bob Attersley, several people, wished to ad- dress council on the matter Monday night but instead of holding up bu -R I sinsi a eie Vol. 14, No. 48 Wednesday, Novemne 8 943 ae zmpbr 818 3Jae LA> The spokesman said that it was still too early to determine whether or flot any charges will be laid. While the highway was neyer officially closed, westbound traf- fic was slowed con- siderably for most of the morning. that their views could be more properly deait with at thé committee level. In his report to coun' cil, public works direc- tor Dick Kuwahara said that the number of cyclists that use sidewalks bas not been determined and "cannot be easily obtained. " "Undoubtedly there are a number of cyclists who* ride on t he sidewalks but I doubt they do it ail the time,"1 he added, "From obser- vation it appears that they do it on streets where there is a lot of automobile traffic or where the cyclist is un- sure of himself and afraid to ride on the streets. " Kuwahara'noted that the speed cyclists can get out of their bikes can pose a danger to padestrians and for that reason,' somle restric- tions should be put in ef- fect.. He also pointed out that the ideal solution would be to ,provide a separate lane for' bicycle use but it cannot be done economically. The director also said Six .orreg Six Brooklin area men have been charged in connection with a series of fires that 'struck the village Hallowe 'en night. A spokesman for the Whitby. Fire Depar- tment said at the time over $31,000 damage was done to a bouse on Myrtle Rd.' W. and thousands of dollars in further damage was done to other structures. The resulting in- vestigation by Det. Hal Leslie of. the Durham Regional Police Force 's arson squad resulted in Mon dies fromn injrysuffere'd in cor occident A Whitby man bas died as the result of a single car accident on D'Hillier St. Nov. 6. According to a spokesman for the Durham Regional Police Force, the victim was southbound on D'Hillier St. ' hen he Iost control of bis car turning it'over into a ditch. that bicycle paths would also have to be heavily poiced to ensure that motorists do not park, stop or stand in the lane. Some concern bas also been expressed concermng the . use of large, oversized tricycles employed by handicapped parsons. Kuwahara bas recommended that these be prohibited from sidewalks because their 28-inch rear wheel base makes them fairly stable. "If these vehicles were ailowed to use the sidewalks they would take up a good portion of the walk and would become hazardous for pedestrians," he said, ".These vehicles should not be allowed to use the sidewalks." The proposed bylaw would restrict any per- son from -using a sidewalk for -bicycles and similar vehicles but will - excempt .*baby carniages, push, carts, wheelchairs, children's toys and'bicycles with .wheel diameters -of les than' 61 centimeters., Town snowclearing is also excempt fromn the measure. 0te i connection with Halloween f ires cbarged with three counts of arson and three counts of con- spiracy to commit arson each. Charged are: Michael Jobnston, 21, of Garside Ave.; Kevin Cosgrove, 20, of Way St.; Richard Johansen, 20, of Garside Ave.; Kevin Patrick Ewing, 19; of Roebuck St.; Daniel Lynn Mid- dleton, 20; of Baldwin St. N., Myrtle; and, Philip Steven John Hod- son, 21, of Baldwin St. Ail made their first appearance in Whitby provincial court last At the time of the ac- cident he was taken to the Dr. J.O. Ruddy General Hospital and later transferred to the Sunnybrook Medical Centre in Toronto where he was pronounced dead last Wednesday after- noon. Police identified the victim as Hayden J. Wood, 20, ý of Kirby reg.,Whtby. um6.8 %e/ A Whitby OPP officerÎis seen'here surveying the-- damage Fog causes i 24-vehicle pile-up