PAGE 6, WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 989 VOICE OF THE COUNTY TOWN The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. Maurice Pifher By 677209 Ontario Inc. Phone: (68-6111 Peter Irvine Doug Ariderson Advertising Manager Publisher Alexandra Simon The Free Press Building Production Manager 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. Here we go again. Whitby councillors have just initiated what they had hoped would not happen. On Monday night, council unanimously voted to retain the Durham Region headquar- ters in Whitby, and, will send a copy of that resolution to Durham Region council for its information. That decision will bring the debate and discussion about the headquarters from the back rooms, out into the public forum, where it was held two years ago when both Whitby and Oshawa were vying for the new regional Here we go again headquarters building. Council voted 15-14 at that time to remain at its present location on Rossland Rd. W. in Whitby. Durham mayors have now begun to look at the office crunch Regional employees are now facing because of that decision. The most logical answer is a new headquar- ters. But councillors had hoped that the debate on the issue would be less parochial and would be for the benefit of the Region. Whitby council's resolution has just forced the issue. Oshawa will now have to, if it already hasn't, send a similar resolution to Regional council, then representatives from the other municipali- ties will have to declare their.preferred loca- tion and the debate will once again be on. What goes around, comes around. Hanna report a welcome step to protect marsh To the editor Last Monday's (March 6) un- veiling of the H.E. Hanna Asso- ciates vision for the eastern shores of Lynde Creek marsh was a welcome first step in protecting the assets of a unique natural area. There seems to be three key components of Mr. Hanna's recommendations. One is to avoid routing storm sewers into the marsh. A second is to establish a naturalized protective buffer zone between the marsh and the area of development. This would be partially forested and par- tially open to facilitate viewing of the marsh from the nearby road- way. The third, and perhaps most innovative proposal, is the establishment of a sort of umbrella committee including citizens, town staff and elected officials to ensure that the plan works. Mr. Hanna stressed that it is absolutely essential to establish the buffer zone and the commit- tee before any development occurs, and to instili in new residents of the area an under- standing of the benefits the marsh can contribute to their lives and a sense of pride in maintaining those attributes. Positive comments from both Mr. Short, director of planning, and from members of the plan- ning and development commit- Opposed to market value To the editor I would like to express my opinion on market value assess- ment on older homes. We do not want to sell our homes for profit, we just want to live in them and not be a liability to anyone. Council members do not real- ize we lived through the depres- sion of the thirties and if they think the people in those new houses are having a hard time they should have lived in those days. There was no baby bonus, OHIP or unemployment in- surance. We were on our own. When you are speaking of fair- ness, we should not be the ones to help pay their taxes. Also, I am sure not one of the council- lors would live in the homes they had in mind. Sure we have a back yard but we do not have a swimming pool and two cars in the driveway. In our,. area there are no gut- ters or curbs and the sidewalks are a disgrace. Our children and grandchil- dren are long gone so we have no need of a school and swimming pools, squash and tennis courts. You name it, they have it. All that is of no use to us, but our taxes help pay for it. And with Mr. Bugelli's big raise in salary I hope he thanks God for his free ride. E. Smith tee, chairman Joe Drumm, and councillors Ross Batten and Lynda Buffett, suggest that the Town will give serious conside- ration to implementing Mr. Hanna's recommendations. I would certainly support them in doing so in an yway I can, and I know many others feel the same way. In addition to adding immea- surably to the quality of life of people who live in Whitby natural areas such as Lynde Shores, Thickson's Woods and Corbett Creek Marsh attract thousands of tourists to the area each year. Natural open space is fast becomin ga scarce com- modity in southern Ontario. It is encouraging to see that we are beginning to recognize its value and take steps to ensure its long term survival. Sincerely Dennis Barry Resident holds meeting to hear views on deletion of walkway To the editor Re: Development of Whitby Harbor: I am so glad to hear Whitby residents are alarmed at the decision to scrap the walkway plan along the waterfront. I was shocked when I read council had rejected this pro- posal. And the statement by Ross Batten "...it dosen't serve a pur- pose," I find hard to believe. Maybe for Ross the idea of enjoy- ing the waterfront, looking at the boats on the harbor, watching the seagulls and feeling close to nature does not appea to him, but for many people it does. In the Beaches in Toronto, their boardwalk is a wonderful place to stroll for families and people of all ages. all vear round. 'his is what gives Toronto some of its character. We want charac- ter for Whitby. If you are interested in fight- in this decision come to the itby Public Library Audi- torium March 23, at 7:30 p.m. Whitby has a voice, let us be heard! Jennifer Leet In favor of walkway To the editor: I think there should be a walk- way around the new develop- ment where the high-rise con- dominiums go. If you block off that part and let the developer build intthat area, which they will do and call it private pro- perty, the first thing they'll want is to tie their boats up there and the harbor is quite congested with boats as it is. Albert E. Quist Port Whitby More letters, paeq 22 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. 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 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 L1N 5S1 or drop through our mailslot at 131 Brock St. N.