,-Pagei6, hV*111*FeeProsd Wednesday, Novegnber1s, iqR5 The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whitby resîdents for Whitby resîdents! MEMBER 0F: CANADIAN ONTARIO COMMUNITY .COMMUNITY. NEWSPAPER -NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION ISSN#0844-398X The Whitby Free Press is distributed free to, 99% of the homes in. Whitby, Brooklin, Ashburn & Myrtle as weIl as numerous public and commercial outlets in Whitby, Oshawa, Ajax,-Pickering & Port Perry. j27,500 COPIES DELIVEF3ED WEEKLY MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE Canada $34 + GSI - Outside Canada $80 + GST Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Imc. Box 206, 131 Brook St. N., Whitby, Ontario Li N 5S1 Phone: 668-6111 Out of town: 1-800-668-0322 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pifher - Editor Alexandra Martin -.Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 20%/ recycîed content using vegetable based inks. c Att written material, illustrations and advertising contained herein is protected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for comrnercial purposes without the express permission ot the newspaper is prohibited and is a violation oft Canadian copyright taw. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution shoutd bear a credit mie to the Whitby Free Press. -o tOUhe edior... Straight tacts To the. edItor: It seems that the ugly spectre of the Whltby DBIA has raised its heed again. Mayor Tom Edwards has decided that the. economlc woes of our downtown core can be completely blamed on mhe not even year..old demise of the DBIA. In an newspeper article, h claims t m te DBIA felI viciim 10 a group of people, including some who had poltidial ambitions and who were determined to end the co-operative program for downtown.promotion. Let's gel the facta stralght, Mr. Mayor. The people who declded tà stop the DBIA were the members mhemsehies. The mejority decided Rf was lime to stop paylng for the benefitsof a few.Take a page from the currntprovincial political climate andel iththe times. As for those wth politicak- aspirations, I reaize this was probably a barb meant for my attnion. Unfortunately, Mr. Mayor, I did not even vote ln the referendum that decided 10 end mhe DBIA. AilI1 took part ln was the process that put the deaislon-maklng Into the. hands 0f the people who were payin the money. The mayor may be bitter* about the outcome *0f that referendum, but that la democracy in action. More unfortunete than this, 15 the tact t the mayor has maligned one 0f the most consaientious and hard- working counculors the Town has ever had. Shirley Scott was Instrumental in putting the decision- makdng process back mbt the handa 0f mhe OBIA membership. Her efforts wlll not go unnoticed by those members 0f the OBIA who have fet so maligned for so many years. I don't believe for a moment that Mrs. Scott had anything but the.bée Interests 0f our downtown at heert. As for the County Town Camnival, even though the mayor has managed 10 gether most 0f the political credit for ifs achievements, those 0f us in the know remember that Rl was Mrs. Scott's idea alone 10 resurrect the camival and thet she and others tolled endlessl, wthout mention, 10 ensure ils suoeess. 1 have some advice for WA. Edwards and for many 0f the other oeed offkcials 0f our Town. Cléan up your act. Stop blaming others for thlngs thet should have been done years ago. .l1don't ce the way this Town treats ifs people. From environmentel Issues, ice ninks, merchants, developments ln Brooin to taxpayers, they seem 10 forget who they represent. If mhe people 0f thus town wanted to have if run by' and for the developers, we wouki have elected them lnstead. Sornetimes I feel we have. Rernember the saying, nilm fed up and lm not going to take if anymore.0 WeI, ho warned, Im not golng 10, go away. Il ho there at the next election and I Intend 10 hold everyone acountable for theïr actions. Pet Perklns Whltby Communfity comfort given To the oditor; On Oct. 30, while sorne Canadians were deciding their place in the big plriure, a smal (n companison) event look place that reassured my faith in our community. My mothers dog was hit by a car ln front of her house. I was called et work and arrived at the scene soon after. What I saw, in reflection, ae I tumned onto the streel was heartwarming. Wy mother, who le elderly and lives alone and had only her dog as a constant companion, was recelving support fromn her neîghbours. A klnd stranger Who was Ywrking in the erea hed wrapped a blanket around the dog, another person was providing support Iootme dog while ochers had made oeils ta the animal control and veteninanians. Though Bandit dld not make if through Nis ordeal, the compassion and goodwil received by both my molfier and hedog clarifies not what le wrong wlth our country but what Is so veY rght with aur communify. Thank you ail Jlm Wînek Whitby soth ed.. , WMHA stili wants more ice To the edlitor: Re: Free Press article, Nov. 8, 'Staff report says new ice pads not justified' Seve Riems require amplification. I do not take issue with the facts reported, but rather what was not reported. The premise for the Town epansion of two ice pads at Iroquois Park or the private development of a, four-lce-pad complex was based on the Incremental requîrement 0f 195 hours per week by the traditional 8 Se user groups (minor hockey, men's hockey, figure skating, preaision and ningette). Town staff held severai meetings with these groups and aithme Oct. 3 meeting when the private developers proposa] was tabîed, staff requested that ail groups review theor requirements pnior to the next meeting on Oct. 17. Te purpose of the -Oct. 17 meeting was to obtain a commitment f 'm ah 0f the ice user groups for the adiional ice Urne requlred and at the proposed new hourly rates. The two-pad expansion at Iroquois Park required a minimum 0f 162 hours and the private four-pad rproposai requîred a guarantee 0f at least 180 hours per week to be finanoial viable. A the meeting on Oct. 17leach of the user groups tabled their Incrémentai Ice requirements, whlch Wotaled 123 extra hours per week. Ail user group requirements decreased sgndficandiy except for the Whitby M nor Hockey Association, which malntalned Its original submisslon 0f 85 hours. The WMHA was shocked, as I arn sure Town staff were, at the decline ln the ocher groupse requîrements. I MlI not speajlate on.the reason for this dramatic change. OnIy the executives of the other associations cen answer thet. Councilbr MIchelI and others question whether the 85 hours of additional ice time for minor hockey over and above our current 116 hours per week la sufficient. Sure, we should have committed more, but we have a fiscal responsibiîity 10 our membership. The new ice rates for aIl 0f user groups widl increase by $25 to $30 per hour for ail (existing plus new) ice time, This would represent an approximate 30 per cent increase in mhe basic WMHA registation fee, dniving the cost f rom the current $26 per season 10 more then $330. We know there la a huge pent-up demend for more childiren bo play this greet game. and meny families in this liockey mad townS wuld say go for more. But we must not forget those who cannot afford any Increese. Our projections for more ice had to be tempered by the economc realties of these Urnes. Whlle we are terrlbly disappointed by this setback, the Whltby linor Hockey Association is committed to push for additionaî ice fac~Ifies in 'Whitby and we WiII continue to work wlthi Town staff Io0look for innovativ ways to gelt tis endeavour back o terails. Peter A. Uan Preslder Whltby Minor Hocko ASSoclaio To the edItor: Reading the announcernent of a Christmas downtown progrem for 1995 by the local coundil brings b mlnd a boyhood mernory. I had a frog, it jumped high and often, if was the envy of my fellow f rog-lovers. I fed'if fles and other goodies. Thon the frcg began 10 jump lsa and eventually lay in the bottom 0f ifs shoebox, motionless. I loved if not bass but more for I remembered the great leepa if had made, and the pride I had shared In its eccomplishrnents. I used to poke it with a sharpened stick 10 revive if. My mother, wiser than I In the ways 0f Ife, told me that no malter howrnuch 1Ipoked itwith the stick, it was dead.- When vMll Mayor Edwards and fellow trog-Iovers accept the fact downtown Whitby has died. The downtown merchants have To the. edItor: Copy 0f leter ta Durham Board 0f Education chair Patty Bowrnan Dear PMa. Bowman: k has corne t the attention of the Counal for a Tobacco-Free Durham Region thet Durham Board 0f Edice n trustees have reversed an earler decision 10 eliminate the smoking area et the board office on Taunton Road. Our concerna about the decisions are: 'permitting staff and vLisitors bo smokein an area which la visible to students sends a contradlctoy message. The Behaviour Model States the- adult behaviour has a Signfficant influence on Young peopîes decisions. Reversing the. accepted it by ebandonlng thel assoclation. WhatkIdlled my trog 1I wll nove know, maybe too much klndness. We do know what kiled downtowî - the town grew to the north shopping mails, lack 0of assesslbh parking spaces, shopkeepers wit Inadâequate capital t0 promoti worthwhile sales promotions. I arn fed up watchlng our loca leaders paylng tax dollars 10 bu~ more expensive fies 10 feed thit dead tog. The difference wlth-mq frog dying and the death of thE downowntmgwasthat I knew wha to do wth the body - I 1burted mine, Their problem is whai to do wth th£ body they have. Whed is the answer? I don't know R*was the reason I helped elect these Nwise peopleu to solve problems. Sonry if ry croaklng sounds unseasonal. A. Roy Nethercoti Whitby decision t elminate the smoking ara communîcates that smoking le acceptable behavlour and thatItIs acceptable 10 have two sets of contradictory rules; *the standard expectation ls that board staff are not allowed to amoke ln their workplaces. How WII you justify allowing this amaîl percentage 0f staff tb amoke? We recognize thet for a very few people, elminating thia smoking area woulho inconvenient, but recent studies indicate that people adjust. The coundil urges the Itustees to recognize this opportunity ta set a healthy precedent end hopes tü" WiIl reconsider this latest deaision. Mary Sue O'Connr Chair, Counil foir a TobaccoFroo Durham RegIon Expensive files Concerns over trustees" reversai 1 1 . 1 - Il -- -- - - -- , - RRURWR