't PAGE 6), WHITY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1989 IPu blished every Wednesday Maurice Pifher I By 677209 Ontario mc. Editor Phone: 668-6111 Peter Irvine 668-6112Advertising Manager 668-6369 wDoug Anderson AIlexandra Simon. Pubisher Production Manager 131 Brook Street North, A VOICE 0F THE COU NTY TOWN The P.O. Box*206, Whitby, Ont. Thonly Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by LIN 5S1 rdCs otiReltalna55 Whitby residents for Whitby residents.2MCadPsl estton051 t's apparent that many Whitby residents don't want private development denying citizen access ta aur waterf rant. Whether it be the walkway that was remaved from the plan for the Coscan develapment, or the tali, condo buildings that would abstruct their view of Lake Ontario, many comments have indicated that residents don't want t0 lase touch with the waterf rant. Cascan has presented a goad plan for development, and the original plan included a walkway along the waterfront. until Town Planning committee decided to remove it, fearing a walkway would lead ta problems of liability. Besides, il was argued, the former- Cartier-McNamara property has been inaccessible for so many years that keeping it privaI e would flot change a thing. But the develapment plan does allow the Town ta make changes that are in keeping with the long-term Town goal ta make the waterfront, as cauncillars have themselves stated, a "people place." There is enormous potenlial for Whitby's waterfronî. Such development has already been realized in other municipalities who had the foresight For the future ta see the tourism/recreational benefits realized f rom a resource they may have previausly taken for granted. Others have allowed private developrnient to ereot, it would seem, what they wish and whe.*e they wish along their waterfront areas. Such is not the case for Whitby, where plans, with the public in mind, have been outlined for much of the Town- owned land as well as for lands now provincially Brooklin Redmen lost ta a determineld bunch from New Westminster in, this, year's Mann Cup lacrosse championship. And Peterborough, who handed Redmen three lasses in playoffs, proved they will be a force ta reckon with in upcaming seasons. .But dan'I expect Redmen ta fade away next' season. Changes will be made, perhaps not of the magnitude that brought Gary Gait ta the club for the past season, but the ones that will fit the bill ta, make owned. Those plans -are for waterfront properties on both sides of -the -Coscan ýdevelopment, and a' walkway along the watertront through Coscan property could be regarded as a ink in the overaîl schemle. Again, we urge, the ýTown should furthei investigate potential problems of iability, corne up with solutions if they-ýare ,needed - but keep that piece of property that, could someday be part of ar attractive, popular "peop le'place." the club even stronger,.- perhapJs more considering t he taîlbarrier posed by Westminster, size, New That is the strength' and characteraf the Red- men arganization under general manager Bob Duignan. Just as New Westminster reclaimed the Mann Cup for the west aftera two-year absence, we expect Redmen will have the staff and mpti- vat ion ta gel il back next season. Ackowldgin gth passing of friends To the editor. Another 88 trees were eut down In one, week in Whitby recentîy, clearing yet another of our aid heritage farm sites. Many of them were century-old apple Chairman oppoees GST on hydro To the editor. We believe that your readers would be interested in an open letter by Municipal Electric Association chairman Carl Anderson. Addressed to Prime Minister Mulroney, the letter abjects te the inclusion of electricity in the application of the propased goods and services tax. The Municipal Electric Association represents 316 municipal utilities which distribute lectricity te aver 70 per cent of the residents and businesses in Ontario. "Dear Prime Minister: I arn writing an open letter ta you on a matter of significant social and economic policy. As currently defined, the goods and services tax will apply to electricity. In today's society, electricity has become a necessity like water, food, and medical services, ail of which are te be excluded. Low cost electricity bas played a major role in this country's e conomie development. As trade barriers are lowered we need to retain our advantages. As an elected commissioner in North York, I amn concemned for the customers I arn elected ta serve, and for the busmnesses which make aur community healthy. As chairman of the Municipal Electric Association, I know that over 1,000 other local utility commissioners in Ontario are equally concerned. Electricity should flot be taxed." trees and maples. As is so often the way, they were growing on a drumlin (another part of Whitby's heritage,p ut there 10,000 years ago byth e last ice age) slated for removal so a prestige industrial complex can be buil on fiat rather than roI- ling land. Iarn not writing this letter to condemn the developer or the Whitby planning committee. Their actions mimic a current trend - though, unfortunately, it's the same economic trend that's threatening our old-growth forests in Temagami and des- troying the Amazon rainforest.' Rather I'm writing to acknowl- edge the passing of those specific trees, just as we write to ac- knowledge the passing of friends. Because they were friends to me and my neighbors. They happen to be the trees I went b y everydar going to and from town. e re the ones I watched turn green in the spring and goId in the falI. They formel a living snow fence for my road home, and, after the Iong, sterile commute on the 401, helped set- tde my jangîed nerves as I came over the last hill and feît their sulent welcome. Trees provide beauty and peace, especially in a worîd being methodically. covered w ith asphaît. Mature trees, as these were, provide a heck of a lot more of these essential qualities than do spindly new ones. I'm gonna miss them. Margaret Carney Whitby Getti*ng i"t.back LETTERS1 The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters ta the Editor on any subjeet of concern to our readers. Letters should be brief and to the point - rarely more than 300 words. Ail letters must be accompanied by the name, addréss and phone number of the writer;, however, on request, your name may be withheld from publication if we agree that ithere is a valid reason., The paper reserves the right to rejecti or edit ail letters. Send to: The Editor, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontario LiN SSi. or drop through our mailsiot at 131 Brock!St. N.