PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 1978, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitbySEI Voice of- the Cou nty Town Michael Ian Bur The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by MNG OVER- 28,000 READERS c à jess, Publisher-Ma naging Editor Comfmunity Editor Published every Wednesday Contributing Editor Production Manager Print & Promotiona' by M.B.M. Publishing, Manager, and Photography lnc.ç Classif ied Ad Manager Phone 668-6111l Circulation Manager Maiing Permit The Free Press Building, Member 121 Brock Street North, Better Business But P.O. Box 206. Whitby, Ont. Whitby Chamber c, -Brian Wiflter -Jim Quail -Marie Burgess -Robn Lyon -S. Van Deelet -Sharon LyÃ"fl ît No. 460 rof the: ireau of Toronto of Come - Than ks from cancer group Dear Mr. Burgess: not have been'completed On behaîf of the' Public as successfully. Relations Class of - Durham College, C2P, we Trhank v'ou. woulcl like to take this Sincerely, opportunity to say thank you for al1 those who gave Durham, Public their help and co-opera- Relations Group tion in the promotion for Melody Glazier the Carnadian Cancer Cathy Skuce Society. Without your Laurie Thomson assistance our task would Ellen Coolen Belligerence and lack of.care by kids is deplored Dear Sir: Much praise is in store for the people involved wi ,h the Block Parent Organization. When parents band together to make our world a safer place to live, there is hope - but - parents can't od It alone- children have to.ý assume some responsibil- ity and it has to start early. ItIf s.beconllng more evident that children are being over protected with no returns. If we don't wake up parents .we are going to ralse a genera- tion of monsters. Now just consider the prominent hallowed qame of (roadl hockey) for example which the darlings are allowed to play so blazonly with noses in the air as if no one else existed and by no means say anything, even.if they are blocking youûr driveway, for you will get a mouth full of the foulest language you ever heard. I have seen kids damaging public proper- ty, dumping garbage so, they can play in the gar- bage cans, cheating, bullying, you name it, right before their parents' eyes who look the other way. No one gets more joy out of seelng people hav- Ing a good time more Mayor Gartahore than 1 and i adore child- ren, but I can't stand bel igerence and a lack of care for others or any- thing. 1Our wonderful country provides us with an abundance of beauty and pleasure - for God's sake. friends, let's keep if that way. Yours truly M.Brenn replies to editorial Ruad speuding has increased 60% in Commenting on our editorial of April 26, "Our Roads are the Worst in Region," Mayor Jim Gartshore says that roads are a high priority item for council now, whereas they were not three years ago. The actual amount of money budgeted for road construction and maintenance from 1973 to 1975 was $3,500,000, he said. For 1976 to 1978, that amount has increased by $60,oo0 to $4,100,000. This year the Town of Whitby is spending $1,585,000 for roads, and because of the road needs etudy, it bas recei ved a 20 per cent increase in provincial subsides ($140,000), says the mayor. This compares to $900,000 in the roads budget in 1973 and represents an increase of 60 per cent ini road spending in five years, the mayor reports. Mayor Gartshore also reports that it cost $400,000 to build one mile of new road to maximum standard, and $40,000 to repave one mile of road. The road needs study says that $19 million worth of road repairs are required in the next 10 years. Mayor Gartshore says that using municipal tax money alone to do this job is "-less than credible, "because to do the complete job, it would cost each taxpayer $50 per mile, and 10 miles of road reconstruction would cost each taxpayer $500 if town dollars paid 1(dU per cent of the cost. "Wve could spend another $100,000 at 100 per cent this year to give us three miles of paved road or three quarters of a mile of .new road," says the mayor, "but we can get (provincial> subsidies next year." Only a certain amount of money is provided in subsidies to each municipality each year he says. the mayor points out that the town also has to budget money for sidewalks, bridges and storm sewers, in addition to road repaîrs. "6We've gone a long way in the last two or threc years in recognizing the problems and doing something about them," be said. years "We don't have the worst roads, but we've proven our needs (by provincial standards)." Mayor Gartshore points out that Whitby was one -of the first municipalities in the Durham Region to, prepare a road needs study, in 1972, and it passed through its first updating in 1977. Through this study, he said, the town is able to prove to the province that more subsidies are needed to bring the town's roads Up to standard, and has succeeded in getting more money this year. "No community can ever Ineet (provincial) standards on ail roads," he said. "Our roads are not as bad as some communities in Ontario for the sarne age as this town. "For so many years se littie was done on roads, but we have been doing a lot with our preventative maintenance program to repair many roads. We still have about 10 years of work to do or more; then we have to start ail over again." Mayor Gartshore says he recognizes that Whitby has a problem with its roads, although he doubts they are the worst in the region as we said in our editorial. Because of the costs, he says, the town can only do so much work a year, and if provincial subsidies are available why should the town pay 100 per cent of the cost? The province pays 50 per cent of the cost of repairs and reconstruction of most roads up to a certain limit each year he said, and on roads with connecting link agreements, the provincial subsidy is 90 per cent. One thing to remember, says Mayor Gartshore is that to build a road to, full urban standards it costs $1 million to, do two and a quarter miles, and these costs are based on tendered contracts. The mayor feels that Whitby is further ahead than other municipalities in the region because it got an early start on its road necds study and is able to prove to the province there is enough of a need to get more subsidies than the town would -get without such a study. t'. lqmft»ý , w niti)y, resiaents tor Whitby residents.