PA(M 6, WHITBV FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25,1987 f AJ VOICE OF THE COUNTI f TOWN Publlshed every Wednesday .By 677209 Ontario Inc. Phone: 668-6111 DOUG ANDERSON. Publisher - MAURICE PIFHER Editor PETER IRVINE Advertising Manager Preparing for growth Here we go again. Economic activity in Durham Region in 1987 will likely exceed last year's record-breaking growth, predicts Pat Olive, theRegion's economic development commissioner. He has charted an investment growth of $1.5 billion in the Region in the past three years, in- cluding 5.1 million sq. ft. of industrial construc- tion. As' he admits, the Region enjoys good health but underneath the 'sheen' of those figures is a warning that the area municipality should provide enough industrial land as well as revised policies to meet future growth. Pending council approval this week, a regional tri-committeé (finance, planning and works) has done just what the economic doctor has ordered. In fact, commissioners for the three departments along with chief administrative officer Don Evans have long been working on the prevention to avoid the necessity of cure. In the industrial and commercial sectors, the Region has previously charged developers full Palmerston ne To the editor, I thought our elected Durham Board of Education trustees gave top priority to providing the highest quality education to all our children. Was I wrong! In a recent edition of the Free Press I was ap- palled to read that our trustees want to abandon their 27-year-old building at 555 Rossland Rd. W. Oshawa because it's an "em- barrassment" to the board when people visit the building. Talk about embarrassment! I in- vite vou to come to our 27-year-old building known as Palmerston Ave. Public School, Whitby. We have top quality staff at Palmerston but our facilities are outdated. Em- barrassment! Our library is a converted classroom, overcrowded with books and displays. Our librarian does the best he can within his budget to meet the needs and demands of teachers and students but the facility is inadequate to meet all the educational requirements of our children. Our parent meetings are held in Article on old ferry boat raises questions construction costs for water supply and sanitary sewer services. Now, to be more..fair to those developers, and to promote more such activity, a reserve fund has been proposed (for water supply and sanitary sewer budgets) so that the Region will share the servicing costs. For 1987, the reser- ve for each budget is $200,000. Moreover, a report is to be made later this year on the Region's industrial needs. A Town of Whit- by planning report will contribute to that study. In housing, the service area limits in the Region, including the Whitby-Oshawa zone, will be exten- ded to provide enough land for residential development for the next 10 years. In Whitby, it would be those lands north of Rossland Rd. and generally east of Highway 12 (Brock St.), including the large Graywood development. For Whitby- Oshawa, the extension would provide a total potential supply of 7,900 serviced units. The cost, $8.7 million, would be paid for from the develop- ment charge levy fund. (More than 80 per cent of the Region's reserve eds updated the library and when we invite of- almost non-exis ficial people like trustee Ian Brown therefore have and John Buchanan, is it not an rooms. embarrassment to us to sit at To enteFtaino elementary-size tables and in cert times, a cri petite-size chairs? Trustees Brown erected in our and Buchanan, please jog your tivities halt - no memories. noon-hour house Trustee Cathy O'Flynn stated tices and concert "We don't have the facilities now to Trustee Ruth1 handle all our people." Our school think the resi< doesn't have adequate facilities to Region would w hold all our children. Portables oc- they can be prou cupy our playground. Our teachers' of Palmerston st staff room (which is a joke in size) wêlcome a scho is also an academic resource room dated facilities1 and health unit. children receive Embarrassment!? How does our possible. Is the principal feel when he interviews children not givE parents in his crowded office that by our trustees? houses a bed! This is our sick room. the Board office Check out our storage space, it's been promised a funds consist of monies collected from subsidies in the form of development charge levies for water and sewer). In essence, the Region has updated its policy which provides that ail. work on water supply, sanitary sewers and roads will be paid for from a combination of those levies, user rates and taxes. "This just sets down where we're going and channels the cost away from the taxpayer," says Gerry Emm, regional works committee chairman. However, that doesn't mean the taxpayer escapes. The Region's policy of equity distributes "fairly" the burden of the cost of servicing the Region among new and existing residents, at least insofar as the taxpayers' share. "We're just trying to keep up with the growth we've had, and to keep the cash flow going to handle development as it comes in," says Emm. The update is necessary for the continued good sense of an "upfront" financing scheme for ser- vices, rather than debenturing, and applies some of the financial framework, and necessary control, on growth within Durham Region. facilities tent. Our teachers to clutter their our parents at con- udely built stage is gym and all ac- o gym periods - no league till all prac- ts are over. Lafarga states: "I dents of Durham velcome a building md of." The parents udents would truly ol addition and up- to ensure that our the best education education of our en first preference As documented at since 1982 we have n addition with up- dated facilities. We are still waiting! Your new site and building will cost millions. Palmerston Ave. Public School could do a lot with even a small percentage of that. I invite all of the trustees to visit our 27-year-old building and then talk to me about embarrassment. I suggest the trustees take an in- formal poll and ask any 10 of their constituents how concerned they are about the administrative building. Then ask the same 10 con- stituents as to how they feel about overcrowding, lack of adequate facilities i.e. libraries, gyms, academic resource space, etc. etc. I would be very interested to know their true findings. Yours truly, Lynda Kuchma To the editor: Your centrespread article relating the possible transfer to Haiti of an old ferry boat adapted for electrical generation raises questions both from what is told and what is not. My concern derives from involvement with medical endeavors there over some years and numerous visits. Quoting only voltage fails to disclose the power capacity, but six $1 million generators suggest that it is quite substantial. However, a §ingle concentrated power source would be ill-matched to the few, small and scattered hospitals there, and could only be justified for broader general application in a coastal town with a real need. Presumably the generators are diesel-driven, certainly not hydro powered. So for Haiti, where all oul is imported, the fuel cost would be a major factor. With the added un- certainty of guaranteed perfor- mance, the only arrangement likely to appeal to a potential client country is one of buying the elec- tricity while the facility rèmains the property of the vendor. Yours truly, H. R. Stratford Whitby LETTERS The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the Editor on any subject of concern to our readers. Letters should be brief à nd to the point - rarely more than 300 words. All letters must be accompanied by the name, address and phone number of the writer; however, on request, your name may be withheld from publication if we à gree that there is a valid reason. The paper reserves the right to reject or edit all letters. Send to: TheEditor, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontario LiN 5S1 or drop through our mailslot at 131 Brock St. N. .dm LETTERS FROM OUR READERS 'Ille t) Ill% Whi dm il t-%ý spilper i n( lept. il (Je il fl% te m sied and ope ris ivd b% M hit h% rv-idt-ni-ý for %Nh il b% rhe Free Press Building 131 Brock Street North P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont.