PAGE 6; WÃŽ3FfE A4AR4 199W. f f: I!~ ~ ~ iU ~ i Ba~5a .f2~ ' J ~ e LA>- • • I VOICE OF THE COUNTY TOWN L Published every Wednesday By 677209 Ontario Inc. Phone: 668-6111 Doug Anderson Publisher The Free Press Building 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. Maurice Plfher Editor Peter Irvine Advertising Manager Alexandra Simon Production Manager. Sue Blanchard Circulation Manager T he only Whitby newspaper Independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. What's ahead in '89? A look back can offer some indication as to what's ahead locally. In 1988, the first serious look was given by Region politicians to the landfill problem. But as a commendable prelude to a waste disposai solution, a serious effort in recycling was implemented. In 1989, a decision must be made about a disposai option so that activity can begin on what will be a project taking several years to put in place, and one that will hopefully take care of region disposai needs for many more years. Local residents, like most Canadians, sought to understand the effects of free trade with the U.S., and free trade was really the sole issue of the federal election. We can expect that aberrations in the economy in 1989 will, rightly or wrongly, and depending on one's point of view, be attributed by. many to free trade as close scrutiny is paid. And, of course, the effect of the agreement will be monitored in Whitby and Durham Region. Past and future Unprecedented residential growth in Whitby continued last year, and plans were unveiled that assure further substantial development this year. A nevv residents' group from north Anderson St. opposed certain development plans, including the huge subdivision project that will include the new Catholic high school complex, and more will be heard about that should an anticipated OMB hearing be held in 1989. Whitby council, and rightly so, appeared determined to put a cap on the number of gas stations in Whitby, although they may no longer have the power to do so thanks to a decision by the Province last year. However, we can expect further discouragement on the part of the Town against gas bars, despite an OMB ruling to the contrary. Were it only possible such discouragement could curtail the number of donut shops here. Concern for the environment was at issue at LASCO (test berm, emissions and PCB spill), Cranberry marsh (report that it's dying), Pringle Creek (possibly affected by development), Corbett . Creek (possibly affected by development), the Lake Ontario waterfront (closed beaches) and with tritium transportation along the 401. Expect even more pronounced concern in 1989 as residents increas- ingly take up the cry for cleaner air and water. One of the big boats still remains in Whitby harbor after an unsuccessful attempt to have it removed. But garnering even more attention at our waterfront was the Coscan plan for residential development, including some multi-story buildings. The coming year will see more attention focused on that project as arguments unfold for the harbor as a "people place." Regionalized bus service should be considered To the editor: Copy of letter to Minister of Tranportation. Re: GO Transit East As a regular GO Transit user for sorbe years, I ani ruÃved-to comment on the new service, as introduced on December 5. There are a number of oncomings that I believe have been overlooked or ignored amidst all the "ballyhoo" of the extension of GO Train service to Ajax and Whitby. Firstly. the service along Bayly Street (Ajax to Pickering) has been totally withdrawn without any effective alternative being provided. This means that people, such as myself, who used that service to get to and from their place of work, have been abandoned with no service at all! 'The only way I have available, to get to and from work is to go to the Whitby GO Train station then ride by GO Bus on Hwy 2 to the Pickering Go station, and take a Pickering Transit bus back to Brock and Bayly. That 's three pieces of equipment and a total travel time (door-to-door) of 75 minutes. Prior to Dec. 5 the travel time was 50 minutes!! On the return tnp, it is now taking 95 minutes. Prior to Dec. 5 the sanietrip took40 minutes!! I think I have more than reasonable grounds for coinplaint. Why can't all Hwy 2 buses serve both stations. You see, it is GO Transit that forces me to use the local transit buses, GO train, and Hwy 2 GO buses (Yorkdale- Oshawa) since they have decided not to provide the same service Thanks for coverage To the editor: Re: A Public Need - A Private Charity ('The Other Side of the Fence' by Doug Anderson, Free Press, Dec. 7). As business administrator for the Whitby branch of St. John Ambulance, I read with great pleasure your comments in regards to the efforts and results you put into our 25th anniversary issue. Why? Finally someone outside of our organization had experienced and, above all, expressed their frustrations and feelings in regards to fundraising. I immediately forwarded them to our communications officer in Toronto along with your supplement on our behalf. I knew that Mr. Cameron would appreciate your comments. As the person in charge of St- John Ambulance communications for all of Ontario, he and all public relations officers in our organization could appreciate what you went through to accomplish our goal to advertise our 25th anniversary in our community. I am pleased to inform you that Mr. Cameron agrees with us. He therefore forwarded a copy of your column and supplernent to all 73 branches in Ontario. Congratulations to you Doug and your paper the Whitby Free Press, for taking a firm stand that could result in a rippling effect that may hit home n.ot only SEE PAGE1, 20 out of Whitby GO station as they used to provide from Pickering for people needing the Hwy 2 service. In view of the abandonment of the Bayly St. route, and all the people needing the service can some thought be given to the idea of routing a few Oshawa- Yorkdale buses, through Bayly St. in the morning and vice versa in the rush hour evening time? I think ites about time al tranisit authorities in Durham Region got their acts together and formed a workable system, with overlapping services at their respective boundaries to better serve the people of Durham Region as a whole. I know that 'talks' are going on but let's fact it 'they've' been talking about GO trains coming to Oshawa since I first came to the area in 1967!! I hope that 'talks' concerning 'regionalized' bus service don't take as long --Ill be retired, or dead, 24 years from nowl Just to let you know there are some positive aspects to your GO Transit system, I an for the most part able to praise your bus operators, they are friendly, courteous and helpful* Yours truly, Transit User Peter Mills Oshawa Increasing lot levies was great idea To the editor. In the recent flurry over the provincial government's proposal to raise extra money by upping lot levies, I was amazed to learn that developers in Toronto pay $10,000 for every house they build. Whitby's lot levies, I understand, are less than $3,600. No wonder every bit of open in Whitby is being gobbled up! And no wonder our taxes are going up, payng for the wear and tear all the new inhabitants are causing on our town. A great idea that came out of the recent municipal election was to in- crease lot levies to help pay foi some of the expanded service. we're all providing for our new neighbors. I suggest we jump in there and do so before some other level of government does. Margaret Carney RR2, Whitby "Any changes coming ?" LETTERS The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the Editor on any subject 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 all letters. Send to: The Editor, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontario LiN 5S1 or drop through our mailslot at 131 Brock St. N. a 'q . 1 '