PAGE é, WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15,1987 VOICE OF THE COUNTY TOWN i e ~ww L Publlshed every Wednesday By 677209 Ontario Inc. Phone: 668-6111 e w DOUG ANDERSON Publisher MAURICE PIFHER Editor PETER IRVINE Advertising Manager The »n ' iil %sewIspiper iIepiwii<teii ah <om ed aand opt-ritied b% %W 1,itl>i resileis ..for WMliid L. r.ie t. Is the strain starting to show? Residential growth in Whitby is placing in- creased demand on both municipal councillors and school trustees to meet the student numbers as well as their needs as demanded by parents. A confrontation last week between councillor and trustee at a meeting over school building materials may have just been the first outward skirmish between the Iwo representative bodies. Residents are asking councillors where all the children frorn subdivision growth will go to school - a question more properly to be addressed to the board which considers and makes provision for space according to planning forecasts. Meanwhile trustees are asked to ensure the safety of children. walking to school in the urban area, along or across streets becoming more and more busy. The board (i.e. taxpayer) pays for bus transportation and has a policy under which no bus service is provided when students live within 1.6 km. of a school, with exceptions made for un- safe conditions. That policy, designed to prevent the board from Under the strain becoming what Whitby trustee Ian Brown has called the "Durham Board of Transportation," has provided some difficult moments between the board and ratepayers who want busing under the exception clause. When buses aren't provided, the next best op- tion is a crossing guà rd, which may or may not be accompanied by a traffic light, at a.busy street crossing. Then the Town becomes involved - the Town pays'the cost of guards. The Town has budgeted in 1987 for two crossing guards. it appears that one of them won't be at the railway crossing at Garden St. since a proposai for a guard there was rejected by council Monday night. When parents get neither option, they never- theless continue the pressure to build a case. In parent of home and school associations, they become one voice that is stronger, louder and more sustained than any individual or scattered complaint. Associations also speak out when disruptions occur - overcrowding at a school that forces changes, such as boundary- changes or a newi school (complete with portables) opens its doors, leading to more changes at nearby schools. The Town recently offered.a new wrinkle when it asked for more "interesting" front exterior on the new Kendalwood area school - bricks over blocks. Trustee John Buchanan threatened a delay in opening the schQol because of- the change, and the increased cost. One Whitby councillor says Whitby board trustees and councillors should "work together" more. He's right. Both need to know more about where the other is coming from and both should seek to organize their efforts so that the best in- terests of Whitby residents are being realized. Perhaps more public forums attended by representatives from both areas will clarify to the public just who handles what and where-or where riot each feels tax dollars shouldbe spent. Rather than exterior, what about interior of sehool To the editor: So the Whitby Town Council wan- ts to see bricks on our schools. Is this the same Whitby Town council who derided the residents of Bluegrass Meadows for having the audacity to suggest bricks for the proposed non-profit housing in Bluegrass Meadows? Does this mean that they learned from our input, or are they im- plying that the appearance of the school is more important to them than the type of housing afforded to the subsidized families of our town? For those parents affected by the lack of integrated planning bet- ween the Whitby Town council and Concert band appreciates support To the editor: The Whitby Youth Concert Band extends thanks to the merchants and residents of Whitby for all their help and support in their bottle drive on April 4. A special thanks to Canada Dry, Highland Beverages and Smith Beverages for their co- operation and assistance with the returns. The 50-member band generally consists of graduates of Whitby Senior Public School, who under the direction of Bruce Court will play in 1988 at the Olympics in Calgary and at thé. Bristol Music Festival in England. They are only one of two Canadian bands invited to par- ticipate in the prestigious Bristol festival, which is quite an honor for a band consisting mostly of 15-year- olds. Money raised from their bot- tle drives together with other plan- Why patients unsupervised? To the editor: My concern is how the psychiatric patients are allowed to Watch those resales To the editor: You can't be sure the resale car you've purchased is what you think it is. The one I purchased from a Durham Region dealer was sup- posedly an executive-leased vehicle. It was actually from a rent- a-car outlet in Toronto when I in- vestigated. No thanks, I'll buy elsewhere next time. D. Bartram Whitby roam around the town unsuper- vised. Most of them do mentally need help and yet are permitted to just hop on the buses and walk around town. If they behaved more normally, it wouldn't be that big of a problem, but the ones we see are sometimes freaking out on the buses and streets. They are a little scary to the younger kids who don't really un- derstand about them. I hope that the people who may be potentially dangerous are not allowed out. The citizens of Whitby should be better informed about these patients. The hospital should explain better to the public about the psychiatric patients so if they were to approach us we will not be upset or nervous about the situation wearein. Sincerely, Jennifer Williams Whitby ned fundraising activities will help defer costs towards thèse trips. Thank You Bob Ashby for the Band Executive the board of education, we are more into the quality of the interior. What matters the appearance of the school, when it will be surroun- ded by portables before the first student gets through the front door? Do the children have to visit the washrooms in shifts? Is the gym- nasium large enough to hold haif the school in one sitting? Do the children have to be bussed to other schools for shop subjects? Has the safety of our children been con- sidered? Can the school facilities be utilized for social activities? These are some of the questions that are of more concern to the parents,, rather than the question of bricks and mortar. The standard response from both, the Town council and the board of education, is to blame each other for our current. miserable situation. Unfortunately for the parents and our children, the fact is that there is no relief in sight. Yours sincerely, E. G. Feather' Whitby Let's get a movie theatre in town To the editor: I think it is very unfair to the people of Whitby, especially to the teens, to not have a movie theatre in this area. Many of my peers find that they have no place to go on Friday or Saturday nights. I am sure that the number of drunken teens would greatly decrease if they had some other type of entertainment to oc- cupy their time, other than bending the elbow or hanging around on the streets to all hours. Some of them may not have tran- sportation, to get to either Oshawa or Pickering to see a movie. Since the summer of 1985 when the Brock Theatre was gutted by fire and then shut down, there has been no form of entertainment for the avid moviegoers. Personally I would like to be able to walk up town and go to see a movie. Sincerely, Shelley Mitchell Whitby -g 13. __ _ LETTERS The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the Editor on any sùbject of concern to our readers. Letters should be brief and to the point - rarely more than 300 words. Al 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 agree that there is a valid reason. The paper reserves the right to reject or edit al letters. Send to: The Editor, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontario LiN 5S1 or drop through our mailslot at 131 Brock St. N. 'q rhe Free Press Building 131 Brock Street North .P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont.