wer ,rl~ot o , EafldW, jV1en irwJ ,Oi u§&$1 .'~~~~M ~ # ~ . 'Whitby OYWPress,. VdnesdayMMtber 19,1994.PagVWI Some debris removed romW7arrn. prop'erty By Mike Kowalski Owners of a dormant Whitby industrial sité have begun clean- ing up their garbage-strewn pro- perty. Old tires'and assorted debris have recentlybeen re ,moved from a former smnelting plant y_-ard at 110-114 Warren Rd., *However, a large quantity of scrap metal, concrete and pro- paeue tanks still lie scattered abu the property. The Markham-based owners jhave until the end of November to complete the dlean-up. If not, Town officials will pro- ceed with plans to prosecute them under Whitby's property standards bylaw. Mayor Tom Edwards informed Town council last week that wor- ker-s had begun removing some of the litter. "The majority of tires were removed, but the concrete, tanks and other debris is stili there,» said Edwards. "But we've been assured it will go," he added. Although owners Jack and Leonard Lambersky have started cleaning the site, the municipa- lity will not back off its order to bring the property into com- pliance with the bylaw, Edwards stressed. "I'm happy to report some tires were removedi, but because debris is stili there, charges have been. laid," he told The Free Press. "People who violate the Town's bylaws must realize we mean business. To protect the com- munity we have te go this route." If t he property is not te the Town's satisfactiqn, then the issue will be decifled in court, Edwards said. "'Ne want it cleaned up, it's been too long," he said.- Largely inactive since the first of several fires hit the aluminum smelting plant more than 20 years a go, the site became a virtual îumping ground in recent heproperty is Iocated, on the north side of Warren Road, a dead-end street running east off Hopkins Street, south of the Canadian Pacifîc rail line. .While garbage is the most noticeable problea potentially more dangerous one lies lurking beneaththe debris. HIigh levels of copper and chro- înium have been detected on the site. Aithough the amount exceeds poicial standards, there is no helhor safoty risk as long as the soil rem ains.undisturbed.* In fact,, according to. the Ontario Minisr of Environment and'Energy, thée soul can be safely dumped ina landfil site.' The problem facing Town offi- cials, however, is determining who is responsible for removing the soil. When no a pparent health or safety hazard exists, the pro- vinoes jurisdiction is limited and it cannot order a" dean-up, the ministry contends.. Meanwhile, both the Town and the Royal Bank (which holds the mortgage on the property) could take stops to seize it, but.neither is inclined to do so. The bank has lost money from delinquent mortagage payments and thé municipahity has lost revenue from non-payment of taxes. Earlier this year, councillor Joe Drumm called on the Royal Bank to assume responsibility for the clean-up. But bank officiaIs insisted the dispute was solely between the Town and1 thé- Lamberskys. In an nttempt te resolve the impasse, Druùmm wrote Royal Bank of Canada president J.E. Cleghorn. Flowever, .Drumm n was not home on the four occasions when Cleghorn telephoned from b- is Montreal office. When' Drumm returned the calls, Cleghorn was not available. "I thought 1 could induce the Royal Bank te do somxething, but I was not able," said Drumm. "'The last word te our staff was they- weren't getting involved.» B ut while -Drumm isapleased that workhas started on t&he site, he promises not to let the matter rest. "In the final analysis, if this doesn'tgo well, I wilI get them involved," he said. "They have te be good cor- porate citizens.»- Moriswill, seek re-election By Mike Kowalski Whitby trustee Judy Morris is seeking a second terni on the Durham separate school board. First elected in 1991, the 46- year-old Calais Street resident is running for one of three Whitby seats on the board in the Nov. 14 municipal election. According to Morris, one of the major issues facing the new board will be dealing with the effects of Article 136 of the Edu- cation Act. Beginning in 1995, separateý .schoýol boards will no Iongor be able to consider only Roman Catholic applicants when hiring new teachers or promoting exist- ing employees. JUDY MORRIS This was a condition of the legislation which extende d full funding tô separate echools in Ontario nine years ago. «It will restrict our hiring à bi- lity we cannot give preference to Catiolic teachers,» said Morris. Under the new rules, separate school officiaIs can only require that future employees "agreto respect the philosophy and tradi- tions" of the Catholic system, the art States. "For ipe, thats really the core of -the Catholic ,system," said Morris. «Even though they would res- pect the philosophy and tradi- t ions, there's more to Catholic taligthan being a teacher in the system," she said. - "«Teachers are expected to live the faith on a daily basis. You can't-iive what you don't know if you're not a practicirig Catholic." On other issues, Morris wants to maintain the "fiscal responsi- bility» demonstrated by the out- going board. «I think we've done a fair job in that regard," she s *aid. Morris is also concerned that "aIl chidren" in the system receive a "quality education» and points to the recent opening of the technolo~y department at St. Paul's Schoil on Garrard Road as an example. j Y I 4 'il VI *1 t~1 .1 i ) M