PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9,1977, WHITBY FREE PRESS W h iby s --s s Voice of the Cou nty Town Mik The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated iERVING OVER 28,000 READERS Publishcd every Wednesday by M.B.M. Pub and Photograp The Free Press Bui e Burgess, Publisher-Managing Editor 121 iBrock Street nt '" k^""'" ---- '- """" 2, whitby Ontano a ny vvnIIIy resiUaUis oruvniILy reslder ntm Community Editor - Brian Winter Contributing Editor - Jim Qu-ýI Production Manager - Marje Burgess blishing Display Advertising Ma bin Lyon hy Inc. Classified Ad Manager -MReneLyon Marlene Byromi Circulation Manager -- Sharon Lyon Box 206, Whitby. lding Mailing Permit No. 460 Porth, Phone 668-6111. MPPs ask province for assistance on sewer financing EDITOR'S NOTE The following is a copy of a letter sent by the three Durham Region MPPs, Dr. Charles God- frey, Mike Breaugh and Doug Moffatt to Ontario Premier William Davis, asking the province to provide funds to assist the region in paying its water and sewer costs. The letter was handed out at the public meeting held Sunday at Anderson Collegiate. Dear Mr. Davis: I am sure that you will have heard there is considerable -conceW'n'in the Region of Durham with regard to water and sewer rates. This concern has been mounting over the past three months as various householders and industries received water and sewer bills with increases of up to 1000% (one thousand percent) in a few cases. This letter is addressed to you in the hope that you may persuade your- self and the Minister of Treasury, Economics and Intergovern mental Affairs, Mr. McKeough, to change a decision which was made in 1976 to limit assistance to the Region of Durham. The basic of the appeal is that it is honestly felt that much of the increased amount can be ascribed to start- up costs associated with regional government in Durham. On October 24, 1975 the Region of Durham prepared a brief to T.E.I.A., in which was stated in part: "One of the major water and sewer services, and the inability of the individual areas within the Region to finance these significant costs without causing an undue burden on applicable ratepayers. The costs of improve- ments or upgrading of the water and sewer systems included in our current operating budget for these services reflect an attempt to provide a basic level of service to all areas within the region.. Furthermore, the Region of Durhan is participating in the az tario Housing Action Loan Programme. It should be kept in mind that although the loans under this programme are interest free, the repay- ment of the loan principal will significantly increase the annual oper- ating costs of the Region's water and sewer systems. As a result of meeting with you, and discussions with your staff earlier this year, we submitted a proposal to you in July indicating the proposed implementation of a uniform rate over a five year period. The Pro- vincial Capital Assistance required is approximately $7.929 million over a five year period when mdi- vidual rate changes are' limited ta reasonable amounts. O this total, $4.468 million applies to. assistance for sewage purposes, and $3.461 millionfor water pur- poses ... This request was answered by Mr. McKeough with the statement: problems facinig he Region at the present "I have found that time, is the critical need your demands are some- for necessary improve- what out of ine with our ment to an extension of general guidelines for Peterborough school seeks former students Dear Sir: This year is the Sesquicentennial Anniver- sary of the Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School in Peterborough, Ontario. To mark this 150th anniversary PCVS will be holding an Alumni Weekend on June 3, 4 and 5 for all former students of the high school. The Alumni Weekend events will include a special dinner and dance, open house at the colle- giate and displays and exhibits depicting PCVS over the years. As well, a souvenir edition of the school year book, the Echoes, will be published. It is an event not to be missed by anyone who has ever attended this school. I would like to invite all former students of PCVS to come to this gala celebration on June 3, 4 and 5 in Peterbor- ough. For those wishing to attend or for more information please contact the PCVS Sesquicenten- nial Committee, PCVS, McDonnel St., Peterbor- ough no later than April 15. Yours truly, Mary Craw Thompson, Sesquicentennial Chairman. special assistance, and certainly well in excess of the support provided to other regional govern- ments....." He then offered to recomnend to his Cabinet colleagues special assistance of $1.1 million - that is approx- imately 15% of what had been requested. He further stated: "It has not been this Ministry's role in the past to provide for services run dowi by area rnunici- palities, nor will it in the future, especially in the light of the current economic climate". This step forced the Regional Council to adopt Dear Sir: I have always been a firm believer in not mouthing off about an issue if I arn not in possession of all of the facts in the matter. It's a pity that more people don't follow my example, especially one Whitby resident, Mr. Ron Heard. the policy that the annual debt expense,, mainte- nance and operating costs, and minor construction costs associated with water and sewer functions be recovered from service users or municipal levies. Associated with this, a schedule to. lead to uni- form sewer and water rates over a five year period was drawn up. However to meet the terms set out by the Treasurer, it was neces- sary to sharply increase the sewer and water charges in 1976 in certain areas. Thus inspite of a de- mand based upon reason- I am referring to a front page article in the March 2/77 edition of the Free Press. This article con- tains a ridiculous remark by Mr. Heard, who says "We are Paying for sewers going in Uxbridge and Port Perry because they did not pay for the upkeep of their systems". NOT TRUE!! WorksDepartment' receives praise Dear Editor: Well we are always full of complaints these days but I thought it was time for a little praise and a very big thank you for the Works Dept of the Town of Whitby. Not just for this winter but every winter. They are wonderful guys, in all this bad weather we have had they were there clearing out roads, not part of the time but all the time. There's not another town to come up to them and we travel quite a lot in the winter, but we always know when we are nearing Whitby we will have safe driving for the rest of the journey. So once again thank you boys for the wonder- ful job you are doing and god bless you. Mrs. K. Driver Annes St. Whitby able projections for the Region of Durham as a growth area, with growfh accelerated as a result of its invôlvement and com- mitment' to the Ministry of Housing under the OHAP scheme, and with the development which will result from the York/Durham sewer ser- vicing scheme, it was not possible to convince T.E.I.A. of the heavy financial burden which would be visited on our ratepayers. As representatives of three of the ridings in the Region of Durham, we are addressing an I am an Uxbridge resident and my sewage bill for the year of 1976 came to a total of $150.00. Mr. Heard obviously knows nothing about the Whitby sewage system, and less still about other outlying communities. While it doesn't especially matter to me if he insists on displaying his ignor- ance of matters in public, I resent the fact that out of his stupidity, he tries to put the blame on Uxbridge and Port Perry residents. How many other uninformed people are going to read that article,, and fall under the same delusions as Mr. Heard? A noticeable retraction or correction would be greatly appreciated, on the front page, in your next edition of the Free Press. Let's get the facts straight. An Irate Uxbridge Resident urgent appeal to you to re-consider the previous decision. We would be happy to sit down with yourself and the Treasur- er, to discuss in further detail the justification for such a decision. Yours sincerely, MIKE BREAUGH MPP for Oshawa CHARLES GODFREY MPP for Durham West DOUG MOFFATT MPP for Durham East One reader's way to beat the sewer bill EDITOR'S NOTE With ail the indignation aroused by the recent sewer and water -bills, there has been a lot of shouting, but very few suggestions for a solution to the high costs of using water. The following is an article submitted by one of our readers, which offers some ideas on how to beat the sewer bill in Whitby. If followed to the letter, these sugges- tions should bring some interesting results. BEATING THE SEWER BILL IN WHITBY by Ann Cogan Here are a few tips housewives and mothers; can use to beat the Sewer Bill. To begin with make sure vou are the first out of bed in the morning. Run only one wash basin of water to be used by every member of the house- hold. Secondly, place clamps on the toilet, thus, firmly locking the lid. Everyone must be given the same instructions, "HOLD IT, AND WAIT UNTIL YOU GET TO WORK OR SCHOOL. Too bad if your husband has to travel to Toronto, but with four kids and two adults, thats 6 toilet flushes, and at 5 gallons a flush, that is 30 gallons you've saved. All totaled, in a 5 day week, you will save 150 gallons. And thirdly, tooth brushes and tooth paste are to be packed with all lunches with instructions to brush 3 times a day at the Office or School. During the day, the housewife must visit a friend for coffee. With this point in mind, she makes sure she uses the friend's bathroom before leaving. Finally, we've .. all heard of the expression "SHOWER WITH A FRIEND. Who can be more friendly at Election time than your Mayorality Candidate and people running for Council. Therefore, simply line up at the homes of the Mayor and local Couicil Members, and take along with you your towel, soap, shampoo and creme rinse. However, ta avoid gossip, you 'must insist that the Mayor or Council Members share the shower with each and everyone of you. What a refreshing thought, not only are we saving money, we would also have the cleanest Mayor and Council Members 'in Durham Region. Thanks f or tour Dear Mr. Winter: We would like to thank you for your tour of the M.B.M. Publishing Co. It was both educational and interesting for aur room to see. We appreciate the time you spent with our class and the ideas you given us for both our learning experience and our own publication of our school newspaper Yours truly, Students of Room 12 E.A. Fairman Public School Whitby residents should not place blame on Uxbridge & Port Perry says ratepayer Admpffl