PAGE 6, WHJTBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 1989 Maurice Pifher Published every Wednesday Editor By 677209 Ontario Inc. Phone: 668-6111 Peter Irvine Doug Anderson Advertising Manager Publisher Alexandra Simon The Free Press Building Production Manager DCJA VOCE OF THE COUNTY TOWN131 Brock Street North, The on/y Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. Whitby residents for Whitby residents. Low impact Whitby's $42.6-million budget for 1989 seems to have something for everyone in every part of the town. More money will be spent on parks and recreational needs and the Town has introduced a local improvement policy which will give residents an opportunity to contribute towards repair work on their streets. The latter is not a new policy but is one which Whitby's neighbor to the east, Oshawa, has apparently used with success in the past. Whitby urban taxpayers will be faced with a 3.9-per cent increase, or $19.80 for the average ratepayer, in the Town portion of their tax bills while rural ratepayers will see a 2.7-per cent increase, or $17.10, for a rural resident. Few complaints can be made about an increase that is under inflation. It will serve as somewhat of a counterbalance to the double-digit increase likely in the Region portion of the tax bill, and perhaps in the education portions as well. Councillors said the assessment growth of 7.7 per cent in the past year contributed to the low tax increase. The growth continues, but so, too, does the demand for services and roads. The budget also allows for council to debenture two major projects in town. One is for the first phase of the new recreation centre. The other is the expansion of the Town's operations cente on Thickson Rd. N. While debenturing, for many, is not a popular alternative for financing, it is necessary. With the Province continuing to cut down on its grants to municipalities to trim provincial expenditures, and the continuing demands by municipal residents for more services, debenturing is the quick fix. After many years of a pay-as-you-go policy, Whitby, as well as Durham Region, will have to debenture this year. We only hope it does not become an ongoing answer to a growing problem. With debenturing and increased assessment, there is some relief in the low impact of this year's Town budget which makes up only about a quarter of the total tax bill for a property owner. Unfortunately, we don't expect the impact of the Region and education budgets will be quite so low. Region officiai plan doesn't deal with significant threat To the editor: Copy of memo to Regional Council Re: official plan It is the opinion of Durham Nuclear Awareness (DNA) that a very significant threat to our local environment is not being dealt with adequately in the Offi- cial Plan for Durham Region. The nuclear industry and its It's my pension, my money To the editor: My pension is my money and I feel I need a say. I need a negotiable pension plan - one which allows me to make needed changes for the times. An early retirement, with full benefits; improved benefits for current retirees, and a dispute resolution mechanism! It's essential that we are allowed a say in the manner pension funds are invested, so that the fund, for the first time in its existance, can work for the maximum benefit of its contributors! It's not good enough for the government to invest our money at "bargain basement" interest rates. We need a marketable rate of return on the fund - and we need a fund that works for the people who pay for it. We need a real money pension fund - a plan for bargaining unit members onl., so our contributions on't end up subsidizing perks like double credits for deputy ministers. I am one of the 67,000 members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who has an interest in the Ontario Public Service Pension Plan, and I don't accept the bargaining position of the Ontario Government - "Pensions are not negotiable." It's my pension. It's my money. m prepared to go the extra distance to make it negotiable. Sincerely yours, Joan Gates, President OPSEU Local 331 Whitby Psychiatric Hospital associated hazards must be addressed at the planning stage. Specifically, residents should be provided with adequate plans to enable them to cope with a nuclear accident. The Official Plan should gve a "special desig- nation" to the emergency plan- ning zones and restrict popula- tion density to a level which will make p rompt evacuation fea- sible. Tris option is rapidly dis- appearing in the Pickering station v.cinity and should be the subject of a regional council. In addition, residents should be the subject of a thorough baseline health study to track the public health impact of the day touday activities of the nuclear industry in our community. DNA urges council to encourage the provincial govern- ment to pursue a policy of phas- ing our nuclear energy and replacing it with conservation initiatives and renewable, environmentally safe technolo- gies for electricity production. The technology and knowledge exists to do this - the political will to make it happen doesn't. However, even if the reactors are hased out before a serious accident occurs, this does not solve our problem of what to do with the highly radioactive spent fuel which is now stored on the site at Pickering and which will soon be piling up at the Darling- ton site. Nor does it help us deal with the decommissioning of the old reactors when they are shut down. A special policy should be developed with regard to the Pickering andD arlington nuclear generating station sites. This policy should aim to ensure the proper handling and storage of the radioactive wastes and the proper decommissioning of the reactors themselves. Regional council should also encourage the Canadian govern- ment to decide the fate of the high level. radioactive wastes. No site for this task currently exists, and until a site is selected and prepared, these wastes which will remain hazardous Ãor hun- dreds of centuries, are to remain at the Pickering and Darlington sites. In summary, DNA feels that it is your responsibility to ensure that planning is carried out in a way which benefits all residents ofDurham Region, not only right now, but for generations to come. We do not inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children. Irene Kock Durham Nuclear Awareness 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 LiN 5S1 or drop through our mailslot at 131 Brock St. N. Give as generously as you are able. 3@ ONFARKD F N[i1ES