WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, .111Y 29. 1987. PAGE 5 Her name is Leena. She drives a large, not-too-new American type automobile, on which she has customized plates. She has a son about 19 months old. What she also has - but does not always use - is an infant seat for her baby, which she keeps in the rear seat. So one day recently she was tooling down the four-oh-won just slightly above the speed limit with the baby seat empty, and her son standing on the centre of the front seat. Had I the opportunity, I might have mentioned to her that she was breaking the law. Had I the opportunity, I might also have told her about the bad old days before baby seat legislation. Back in the sixties, as the very young city editor of a very old paper, I dispatched reporters to the police files to write about ac- cidents and crimes. And one all-too-frequent accident, which in my book even then was a crime, involved children standing on car seats. You see, an unseated child becomes a victim of the laws of momentum. One minute, he's standing on the car seat beside his mom, and both are safely wrapped in the cocoon of a car traveling at sixty miles an hour. The next minute the driver of the car is slamming on the breaks to avoid theS.O.B. in the next lane. In two seconds, the car slows from sixty miles an hour to thirty miles an hour. And now, all of a sudden, the child is an unprotected missile travelling toward the dashboard of the car at thir- ty miles an hour. Usually the driver has successfully avoided an accident on the highway. But the child often ends up an accident statistic anyway. The usual result is head injuries. The reporters handed versions of this story to me once, perhaps twice a year over a period of five years. I never want to see another like it. That's why I get a little preachy about the topic. I'm Ssorry, Leena, if I embarrassed you publicly; I'm even Preaching safety more sorry if I got the identity of your automobile wrong. Memory of that sort of detail always has eluded me.' I would have told you' all this privately, Leena, had we the opportunity. I just hope you read this and burn for only a few minutes. Then I hope you buckle up - both you and Junior - the next time you get in the car. Then neither of us will have cause to be sorry. SOMETHING FOR RUNNERS An impressive looking missive crossed my desk earlier this week. The Durham Athletic Club newsletter, a crisp, professional-looking publication, (with only one typographical error and one editing error that I could see) made its debut. Although mainly aimed at club members, copies are available through members and at some athletic establishments throughout the area. President is Oliver Sinclair of Oshawa, and first vice- president is Anne Emmett of Whitby. The club specializes in jogging or running and other endurance sports. Those interested in membership could call Oliver at 579-3123 or Anne at 668-1288. Tell them Bill sent ya. WELL, I SAID THIS WOULD HAPPEN..... From the paranoia-comes-true department: some few weeks ago I predictd this would happen, although at the time I had my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. Now it's begun. Several weeks ago the NDP surged in the polls. This has been verified by competitive polls, and confirmed last week in three by-elections. My predictions were that the Americans would never allow a socialist government this close to their borders, and would take preemptive action. (They would hit first, in other words.) 'This would result in the release of news about scandals involving NDPers: divorces, payoffs, mistresses, whatever. And the trump card would be the connections between the communists and the NDP. Now would you believe it? I am glancing through that most glanceable Metro tabloid daily Monday and lo1 two of the columnists are hard at work mentioning the com- munists and the NDP. Not really connecting, mind you; there are no hard facts yet. But George Jonas says that communists are the one party that doesn't boast about its meinbers. Instead, the members disappear and surface as NDPers or whatever. And he says he has no hard facts but someone told him that someone is searching through records to find com- munists in a Toronto tenants' association. Why does my paranoia see this as American-inspired? Because good old boring Canadians aren't frightened enough of the socialist horde. That is the specialty of the Americans like Ollie North - and maybe a few right-wing reactionary Tories. Stay tuned for more. Sehool trustees, couneillor discuss growth problems By MIKE JOHNSTON Parents, school board trustees and a Whitby councillor met last week to discuss mutual problems brought on by the growth of Whitby. "We hope this meeting will foster a closer communication between the Durham Board of Education and the Town and also a mutual respect for one another," said Den- nis Fox, president of the Education Action Committee which organized the meeting. Regional councillor Gerry Emm first explained that when the Town processes sub- 'division applications, comments are received from various agencies such as the board. Emm said the board makes comments but "they do not often go into depth. I would like to see more comments." But Whitby trustee John Buchanan said while the board usually gets a few years' warning about subdivisions, it has difficulty recommending a school site. "The school board has choice of site but our policy is to try and put them near a municipal park. Sometimes, though, that is not where we like to see a school. "Also that may not be where the developer wants us to put a school." According to Buchanan, when the board receives a copy of an ap- plication, street patterns are not mapped out, which, in turn, causes transportation problems. "The problem usually arises when the school opens, even though we knew there would be a school there for a while," he said. Buchanan defined the board's policy on transportation of studen- ts. He said no school bussing provided where there is scheduled public transportation. He said the Province will either grant money for a public bus system or school buses, "but not both." "That is a ridiculous statement," interjected Pat Dooley, president of the Corridor Area Ratepayers Association. He said the Town's bus system does not service many areas of the community. "You policy assumes public tran- sit covers the whole town," added Dooley. Buchanan continued, saying students in rural areas are only bussed if they live more than 1.6 kilometers from their school. He then noted an exception to the policy, when bussing is provided where safety is a major concern. Buchanan said the board wil of- ten ask Durham Regional Police to map out a safe route, but he admit- ted not al students will follow that route. 3ussing will be provided for - rural students in kindergarten to Grade 2 who live less than 1.6 kilometers from school but who are not accompanied on the walk to school by an older student. - Bussing will be provided if ac- commodation is not available at the student's home school. - If a student presents a doctor's certificate stating why he cannot walk to school. That, however, is only valid for one year. Buchanan said the board's cost for transportation has increased to $9 million from $2 million five years ago. He emphasized it is parent's responsibility to get a child to school; it is the Town's respon- siblity to provide a safe route; and it is the board's responsibility to provide the school, teachers and equipment. Angela Fountain commented she wàs shocked that there is no in- vestigation of access routes to a school while it is under construc- tion. "I would like to see the board and the Town get together and assess safe routes ahead of time," said Fountain who has been fighting recently for a crossing guard at Bradley and.Anderson for students that have to cross Anderson to get to the new Pringle Creek school. "If there are no sidewalks how can you say any route is safe?" asked Jill Towrie. Emm admitted the Town is def- ficient in sidewalks, adding there is often opposition to their in- stallation. "You mean we have to put up with unsafe routes because my neighbor doesn't want a sidewalk!" said Towrie. "The Town has been on an ac- celerated program with sidewalks but obviously we are not going fast enough," said Emm, suggesting any parent who believes a sidewalk should go on a road for safety reasons should approach council. Emm was then asked if council could delay development until the board has caught up with the demand for education. "The Town has found it difficult to put a halt to development due to the availability of hard services," responded Emm, referring to the availability of water pipes and sewers. He said the Province provided the Town with money to build hard services because it wanted growth in this end of the province. "Why don't they provide interest- free loans to the board to help pay for schools?" he asked. Buchanan said Whitby has recen- tly done better than any other municipality in Durham in receiving schools. He noted the board can comment that it would be unable to place children coming into a new subdivision but it is only a comment and council can override it. The board could then take council to the Ontario Municipal Board. But Emm said the OMB will not listen to a case if there is not a "just reason. And I don't know if a school is. The questioning then turned serious when Cathy Powell asked "who is responsible if a child is killed on his way to school?" "The parent is," responded Buchanan, adding "If you have told council and they knew of the problem, they may be respon- sible." Buchanan admitted to parents that crossing Thickson Rd. is not a safe route and neither is Anderson. "Trying to cross Thickson Rd. is even crazy for an adult," agreed councillor Emm. He said the future answer for streets such as Thickson may be walkovers. The meeting ended with all sides agreeing to set a tentative date of Tuesday, Sept. 15 for their next meeting. LUSTED'S FARM EST. 1972 BEAT THE MOB, GRAB A COB! Fresh Picked Daily - Corn Available Dawn to Dusk... 1DAYS A WEEK AT OUR FARM JULY 24th TILI. FROST TIME Delicious Apples also available late in the season. Two locations to Buy: (Farm) Mud Lake Rd. Myrtie Station or Road Side Wagon (weekends) Myrtie Station Phone 655-3563 for L.arge Orders Looking Forward to seeing > AR our Loyal Customers RON & J ANE T .UST ED THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF WHITBY REQUIRES PART-TIME CUSTODIAN Applications will be received by the undersigned for the position of Part-Time Custodian until Friday, August, 7,1987, at 4:30 p.m. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Duties will include, general cleaning including dusting, mopping and polishing; general maintenance including minor carpentry, plumbing, electrical and painting work; implementation of a preventative main- tenance program; assisting with equipment moves as required; and, other custodial duties as may be assigned. QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates considered for the position shall have a minimum of grade 12 education and preferably some working experience as a custodian. Candidates must be p .ysically fit and capable of lifting and carrying heavy objects. The position requires the employee to relate effectively with the public and to be able to work independen- tly. A recognized custodian/cleaning course and/or certificates of completion for trade related courses will be considered assets. HOURS OF WORK: Approximately 24 hours per week with flex hours as required. This position requires evening and some weekend work. Please submit your detailed resume to: Wm. H. Wallace, P. Adm., A.M.C.T., C.M.C., Administrator, Corporation of the Town of Whitby, 575 Rossland Road East, Whitby, Ontario. L1N 2M8 Note: We thank ail those persons who apply but advise that acknow- ledgement will only be forwarded to those applicants who are successful in obtaining aninterview.