The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Page 6, Witby Free Press, Wednesday, July 20.1994, The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whtby residents for Whitby residents! ___ MEMBER 0F: ONTARIO COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION r;rmnCANADIAN :1 UCIRCULATIONS CNA DIVISION AUDIT BOARD ISSN#0844-398X 26 0 CPE ELVRDWE EKLY Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Ic. Box 206, 131 Brook St. N., Whitby, Ontario LI N 5S1 Phone: 668-611il Out of town: 1-800-668-0322 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pither - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 209/ 9b recycled content using vegetable based inks.tuj 0 Ail written materlal, illustrations and advertising coortalned herein is protected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for commercial purposes without the express permission of the newspaper is prohbited and is a violation of canadian copyri-ht Iaw. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution should bear a credit line ta thecv itby Free Press. Palaintr eort Keep Iobbyits in check By Alex Shepherd Durham rldlng Up Recently I gave a speech in the House ai Commons supporting the legisation ta make the reîatlanship between lobby groups and gavernment more accountable ta Canadians and ta earn back peoples' trust in government. Lobby graups are hired guns, sa to speak, who approach gavernment on behaf aof clients ta influence legîslatian ta benefit the pole, business or organization they are hired ta represent. C"igaàrette manufacturers, drug campanies, the gun lobby and the Canadian Manufacturers Association are examples af groups who lobby gavernment. Athough I see these well-organized and well-financed groups as legitimnate players in the system, it is important ta keep themn in check. As an example, why should drug manufacturers, making millions of dollars in prafits, have the ear of government any more than yau, who has toc pay for the drugs? Why should yau, if you had a prablemn with the govemment yau couldn't solve on your awn, go out and have ta pay a lobbist ta talk ta me? Youalreadj pay me ta work for you on prabîemrs you have with government. lts no secret that Ottawa, because the fedoral gavernment is based there, is pretty well recession proof unlike most other cammunities in this country. But it just astounds me that lobbying the gavernment af Canada was the largest growth industry in the capital last year. Under the new guidelines, an ethics caunsellor, f rom the civil service, will be appointed ta ensure MPs, civil servants, and cabinet -ministers do flot compromise government integrity by getting into a conf lict of interest when they deal with lobbysts. He will repart ta the government annually on lobby organizations, and lobbyists will be bound ta give the counsellor more information on what they have done in trying ta influence gavernmerit. Alex Shepherd is MP for Durham dng which includes Whitby, north of Taunton Road. To reach his constitutency office, cail 721«- 7570 (Oshawa). -o kSIte eitor,[ Vital service forgotten To the éditar: For the past iew weeks, I have been reading the many reports, plans, recommendations, propo- sais, etc., that have been printed regarding the future oi Whitby General Hospital. These articles have al addressed the concerns for the cantinued services ai acute care. urgent care, emergency, surgical and medical services. Hawever, I have found no mention made ai the vital raIe played by the hospital's cantinuing care unit and respite service. This unit is calied 'home' by many af the permanent and part-time residents who have already given up their Iown homes due ta illness or inj ury. What thought, in al ai your plans, has been given ta aur future at WGH? Who wiil take care ai aur needs? Perhaps we should get in uine at one ai the region's overcrawded, understaffed nursing homes. Heaven help us ail. - MIIie Treliord Former employée and part-timé respité résident, Hospital contlnuing cars unit so the eo., We are fighting for our lives. Join the fight. JoAmne Prout Save Our GêneraI Hospital shauld 'Whftby General Hospital close. Our commttee simply cannat accept that this is a "done deal."Yau can make a dfference. I ~ ~ .... ...tSret~ki Students not only problem To thé edîtor: Re: 'Harriet Street: Residents want solution ta parking problems,' Free Press, July 13. Vaur report which targets only students shouîd include the sohool facuhty wha are also very much in the parking picture. The prabiemn is flot only one af parking. Harriet Street is a street waiting for a seriaus accident ta happen and when it does happen let us pray that it will nat result in a death or deaths. Harriet is a narrow street in this ae ai high-valume and hîgh-speed traific. h is also a bus route during the winter discharging and picking up westbound and eastbaund passengers. There are also yellow sohool buses discharging students. The scenaria ai buses discharging an bath sides ai the street, students dashing across the street, cars speeding beyond that which the conditions warrant, becomes even less assuring during the winter when snawplowing narrows the street and cars have ta park mare into the roadway because the shoulders are blocked with snow. The roadway becomes hazardous underfoot because ai snaw and ice, and residents, students and people just passing thag, particularly parents esoing ttle ones ta R.A. Sennett Public Sohaol, could be victima ai a potentially nasty accident. There are solutions ta m'ake this dangerous street saler. Ban parking *iri the top hall (eastern end) oô Harriet Street iLe. bus discharge anhd pick-up areas. There are anly about 15 spaces involved. Grade the bottom hall (western end) on the north side, a few yards inta the sparts field and crate diagonal parking down ta Annes Street. Bring forward the date ai street impravement scheduled for Harriet Street ta create a boulevard and-a much wider thoroughiare and still ban parking in the bus area. I dan't think that parking an the north side ai Harriet is unrestricted as in- yaur report. I believe that there is a time limit which is exceeded every day by aIl wha park there. Harvey Alexander WhItIby To the edîtor: h has been almost four weeks since the citizens committee ta Save Whitby Generat Hospital was farmed. This very active proup af residents has been workung In g hours ta keep the drive alive ta save aur acute care hospital. Our numbers grow daily as people are moved ta get involved. We would like ta invite anyone wha is concerned with the future of Whitby Generai Hospital and the delivery of aur community health care ta volunteer some hours ta canvass for signatures an the petition which we intend ta deliver ta Minister af Health Ruth Griern There is a lot ai confusion and uncertainty surraunding the future of the hospital and. the position that variaus interested parties have taken. We wanted ta take this oppartunity ta clarify. the mission that Save Our General Hospital has established for itself. At aur i irst meeting held June 21 it was unanimaously agreed that we would pursue ail avenues open ta us to ensure that Whitby General Hospital would remain open as an active acute care treatment facility, notwith- standing any other functions the Durham Regional Heatth Cauncil may assign ta the ha-spital. Our ratlonale incorporates consideration af the foîlowing factors: - population naw and in the future, and its impact on health care requirements. - praximity ta heahth care for health care consumers. - cost effectiveness in utiîizing heaith care dollars for the entire region. - expansion ability of existing structures. - the commitment and dedicatian in time and dollars ai the Whitby community ta its ihospitai. - downloading ai somne acide services from larger hospitals ta IWhitby General Hospital. tion capability at Whitby General and thraughout'the cammunity. - the siginificance cf familiarity with surrounding in healing. *the dubiaus abiiity of adjacent hospitals ta handle the increased demands on their services. *the future cf the health care staff currently empîoyed at Whitby General Hospital. *coordination of admin- istrative and board functians between the region's hospitals. " sacrificing of the quality care currently being delivered at Whitb4 General Hospital. ht simply isn't possible ta list aI of the consequences Whitby and surrounding residents would sufer To the edîtor: Lynde Creek's historical accounits state that salman were so plentiful that Jabez Lynde, one ai Whitby's first settlers, and his sons would spear themn with ghichiorks and toss them inta arrels. Walves chased deer up ta the frant doar ai the Lynde's log cabin. Settlers called Whitby 'The Nine Mile Woods!' If we were ta, restare Lynde Creek ta, its natural form, we wauld ensure for the future ai Whitby a cultural wildliie park and sustain a quality ai lufe with respect ta aur invaluable enviranment. ln order ta sustain the present integrity ai Lynde Creek, we must nat deveiap the valleys and adjacent lands. Lynde Creek and farest areas are - highly environmentally sensitive and shouid be classified as nationally,, provincially and regionally significant. Lynde Creek wetland (hospital marsh) is the entry point ta upstreamn spawning areas for salmon, traut and bass migrating fram Lake Ontario. Lynde Creek Marsh is a prime stapaver and nesting area for migrating wateriowl and shore birds. The adjacent land (east shore) ai Lynde Marsh is used by turtles in nesting season. Deer and coyote feed and hunt there, finding shehter along the line ai mature trees at Jeffery Street. Lynde Marsh is also used extensively by schools in the area and famnilies who enjoy a little wilderness in their tawn. We must ensure environmental justice and respect the inherent right ai aur children an this natural pathway af aur past. Margaret Cornfat Whitby -- - . - --.-..--..- ~---- Hospital group fights on Preserve Lynde mnarsh C+CNA