PAGE 26, WIITBY FRE E PRESS, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16,1987 Town's rented garden plots represent good value for many By ROXANNE REVELER There is nothing quite as satisfying for a gardener than 'grubbing about in the soil. And for many area residents, the fact they do not have space for such pursuits- at their domicile has not stopped them from the annual ritual of preparing the soil, planting seeds, and finally, reaping their harvest. These residents are the fortunate few who have rented a garden plot from the Town of Whitby and their, backgrounds and reasons for doing so are as varied as the produce they plant. The municipality has been operating the garden, plots for over five years now. This year, 35 of the 56 sites available were occupied. At a charge of $32 for the season, it is, for many, good value for money spent. Town of Witby staff plow the land in mid-May and again after the growing season has come to a halt in October. They also keep the grass cut around the 20 by 40-foot lots throughout the summer and spray for weeds when necessary. On top of this, water is supplied to each lot owner by way of taps at each site. Rt.iîomas Aglican, csri Brooklin, Anderson St. N. Sunday 8:30 a.m. - H.C. 10:30 a.m. - H.C. or Morning Prayer Nursery and Church School Incumlbent: Rev. Ivan Dyer All Wecome 655-3883 The majority of people who take advantage of this Town facility are from the Whitby area and most have one thing in common. They either live in apartments . or townhouses, or have limited space in their back yard for a substantial garden. Many are repeat customers and all have their own way of planting and are diversified in the crops they grow. A Dutch gentleman prefers to grow mainly potatoes, which he shares with his married family each year. Although he confesses it might not be any cheaper his way, considering the number of hours spent at his task, he finds it comfor- ting to know what he is eating all winter. It also serves as an ex- cellent hobby in his retirement. Yet another gentleman, also retired, is an immigrant from South America. His specialty is beans... all kinds of beans. Tbere are the regular green beans, unusual pole beans from Italy and Holland, kidney beans and even an unsual specimen of Chinese beans. One young couple decided to rent a garden plot for the first time this year for a dual purpose: to enable them to eat the results of their toil, and also to teach their two young children, ages three and six, to ap- preciate nature and where their food comes from. A section of the garden was allotted to each youngster and in turn they were expected to cultivate the soil, plant their seeds and look after their mini-gardens throughout the sum- mer. The results of the children were better than either parent ex- pected as they harvested strawberries, tomatoes, cucum- bers, corn and carrots. The soil at the garden site is san- dy loam and well drained. It has Drugstaken from store A large quantity of narcotics in- cluding tylenol 2 and 3, codine powder, novahistex, novahistine and morphine syrup, were stolen from a Brooklin pharmacy early Sunday morning. Police say a front door was smashed to gain entry to Shorts Pharmacy at 65 Baldwin St. Police were alerteel when a neighbor awoke after hearing glass break. No value was given for the narcotics. produced an abundant crop of peas, beans, carrots, potatoes, cucurm- ber, squash, beets, peppers and a variety of other produce for those wbo have gardened there. Therewas some concern during the summer months as gardeners saw surveyors on the property.The land, located immediately west of Durham Regional Police station on Rossland Road, has been owned by the provincial government since the 1970s. The Ministry of Gover- nment Services has given the Town of Whitby permission to rent out the site to local gardeners, and when soil tests were made this 'year, it appeared the property was doomed for development in the near future. In fact, the location will be the site of a new registry office for the area. First stage approval for the facility has already been passed and they have been authorized to go ahead with constructiondesigns. But according to Cathy Milson, project manager for MGS, Whit- by's gardeners will be given a year's reprieve. She assured The Free Press that the gardeners will be able to reap their harvest at the location again next year. Ground breaking has been planned for the spring of 1989 with a tentative opening date for the registry office in 1990 or 1991. Although this delay is good news for Whitby parks and recreation director Larry Morrow, whose department oversees the garden plots, he still is faced with the problem of where to relocate the site. Morrow indicated he would be hard pressed to find another spot with such high visibility (next to the police station) and one which deters vandals, adding he and his staff were seriously looking to find one to ensure the program's con- tinuation. By FLORENCE ASHTON We had a change of format at church school last Sunday morning, when we met on the lawn of the Community Centre for a fun time together. Singing and lots of hot dogs were enjoyed by all the youngsters. Even the weatherman co-operated nicely. Next Sunday, we begin our fall term at church school, and we invite all who would like to join each Sunday at 10 a.m. Classes for all ages. It was nice to see a good atten- dance at morning worship on Sun- day. Hugh Knight favored us with a solo 'Beneath the Cross of Jesus.' Ron Ashton and Theo Knight read the scripture portions. Rev. McEn- tyre's sermon title was 'Busy Sin- ners and Lazy Saints.' Morning worship each Sunday morning at 'I X b LANDON HARRISON, 3, and sister Hope, 6, inspect Charlie the scarecrow they helped to erect to stand guard over their vegetable patch at the Town of Whitby garden plots. Ashburn news 11:15a.m. The Ladies Bible Class held their regular monthly meeting last Wed- nesday evening at the home of Joan Knight with 10 ladies present. Vice- president Florence Ashton chaired the meeting. The meditation was titled "Bells, Bells, Bells." A display of bells was arranged on a table and a little story told about each bell. Brooklin and area youth ministry are having a corn roast at St. Thomas Anglican Church, Brooklin on Saturday, September 19 at 7 p.m. Call Rev. Ivan Dyer at 655- 3883 for further information. The Eleanor Knight-Group of the Women's Missionary Society cor- dially invite you to Burns Church on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. for their fall Thankoffering. The theme will be 'Youth' with guest speaker lJes Karen McAndless, a student at Knox College. We hope you cap join with us. Burns Church 138th anniversary is on Oct. 18at il a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Rev. Robert Spencer from Crieff Hills is the guest speaker. EUCHRE PARTY The Ladies Auxiliary of Brooklin Legion Branch 152 will be hosting a progressive euchre party on Wed- nesday Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. in the Legion hall on Baldwin St. Everyone is welcome. Prizes and a light lunch will be provided. Lands are redesignated in Brooklin Large sections of land in Brooklin's eastern section have been rezoned to modify both the Durham Region and Town of Whitby official plans. Councillors last week over- whelmingly supported a planning director's recommendation to change the zoning on land in the vicinity of Thickson and Win- chester Roads. In September, 1982, the Minister of Municipal Affairs approved amendments to the Durham and Whitby official plans to permit residential development in the Brooklin area for a potential population of 10,500 persons. At that time, two areas proposed for predominantly industrial uses were deferred by the Minister for further study. One of these areas, located on the northeast corner of Winchester and Thickson, comprises ap- proximately 175 acres; the second on the southwest corner of the in- tersection contains about 100 acres. These deferred areas resulted from an objection by the Minister of Agriculture. and Food who in- dicated that the proposed industrial areas contravened the Provincial Foodland Guidelines. It has taken five years, but the deferral on all the lands in question has finally been lifted. As it now stands, the land on the northeast corner of Winchester and Thickson has been changed to a permanent agricultural reserve area. The property on the southwest corner has been approved for in- dustrial zoning, and the land on the northwest has been included in the small urban area boundary for Brooklin. This means that any residential construction in the area would take place west of Thickson and north of Winchester. Regional councillors have ap- proved the acceptance of a Town of Whitby tender for the reconstruc- tion of part of Cassels Rd. in Brooklin. On the recommendation of the works department, councillors overwhelmingly gave sanction to the low tender of Kamlu Construc- tion Limited of Sharon, Ont. The Kamlu tender of $119,047.93 was more than $17,000 less than its nearest competitor. The reconstruction will be for the Regional council supports Brooklin road reconstruction section of Cassels Rd. from Bald- win St. to Heber Down Crescent. The Region will commit $45,000 to the project for the installation of a ,150 mm diameter watermain in- cluding service connections along that section being reconstructed. Gerry Emm, works chairman for both the Town of Whitby and Region, indicated the work would start soon.and should be completed this year as there are still at least two months of construction time left before winter weather arrives. the place for CHICKEN & RIBS featuring ... Salad Bar, Children's Menu and more! LOCATED on HWY. 12 Just South of Thickson Rd. 655-8911 NOW IN BETA & VHS S T A L LSN.M E Rock Rambo Cobra and now HAWK, in the biggest fight of his life. 76 Baldwin St. (Hwy 12), Brooklin 655-3386