PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 3 1986. WHITBY FREE PRESS IPublished every Wednesday By 67209 Ontario Inc.BILL MCOUAT Phone 668.6111 Thle Free Press Biuilding. VoiceofthePublshirock Street Nort. Michael la Burgess Managlng ditor 1,P..Box 206. WhIitby, Ont. Rgsrto o55 - Couny ~ DugAndeson* anCommunity Editor~, The only Whitby newspaper independenitly owned and operated by Whithy residents for Whithy residents. Sewer system needs attention- Last week more than 50 Whitby households were hit by one of the worst sewer backups in the town's history. According to regional councillor Gerry Emm, who happened to be acting Mayor at the time, the effect of the heavily saturated grounds from a month of rain plus the more than three inches that fell August 26 combined to have an impact that was worse than that of Hurricane Hazel. Emm was out reviewing the situation the following day and said in an interview Friday that the system and all pumping stations had been functioning as they should. The problem, it would seem is that we just received more water than the system could handle. According to Jack Bird of Lupin Dr., however, the record rains may explain last weeks flooding but they do not explain why his basement has been flooded with sanitary sewage on at least three other occasions. And the effect of that- flooding on the Bird household and countless others has been disheartening to say the least. In Bird's own words: "It's not the most pleasant of tasks to have to clean up a foot of someone elses raw sewage." The back-up has not only destroyed thousands of dollars worth of property in homes throughout Whitby and the rest of the region but it also requireshours, in fact days of hard work to clean up after the mess. And even if some of the flood victims manage to convince authorities that the town or the region are liable for the damages and recoup those costs, they can never be compensated for the personal losses that accompany this kind of disaster. In Bird's case they lost close to 100 children's books - many out of circulation - books his children grew up with and can never be replaced. In the David Spencer household on Annes St., in addition to the damage he estimates in the thousands of dollars, there were things like the children's toys and the photo album of he and his wife's wedding that were destroyed. These are things no one can put a price on., However, if you can prove that the town or Durham Region were liable (the town is respon- sible for storm sewers and the region for sanitary sewers) you are entitled to recoup those losses and both municipalities have liability coverage for such disasters. Victims of flooding should make a detailed list of the damages and include photos if possible and submit these to the Town Clerk as soon as possible. Regional and town insurers are already investigating claims and will deteremine liability in each case sub- mitted. The broader question of whether or not our sanitary and storm sewer system is adequate to handle a rapidly expanding population must also be addressed to insure that this sort of thing does not happen again. Gerry Emm said last week that sewer improvements are very costly and hence difficult to promote to the already over- burdened taxpayer. Never the less, Emm said it was time the town and region took a close look at those systems and he believes that there are probably improvements that can be made. After the extensive flooding in downtown Whitby in 1971, the town undertook the Ash Creek project which probably saved most downtown households from similar flooding last week. That project cost some $6 million, according to Emm but in the long run it has certainly paid for itself. If the people of Whitby make themselves heard, they stand a better chance of getting the municipalities to address these problems, if in- deed any do exist. David Spencer is presently trying to organize flood victims on the assum- ption that there is greater strength in numbers. Spencer's first concern, obviously, is to get the municipalities to do something about last week's disaster but such a group could certainly play a role in forcing the town and region to make a thorough assessment of our existing sewer system and could help in the push for action where deficiencies exist. Letters to the Editor To The Editor: Some positive thoughts about the Lyn- de House at Cullen Gar- dens: PEOPLE: I believe people are more impor- tant than history and pure authenticity. A beautiful authentic museum in its original setting is very nice, but if only a handful of people visit daily, is not that a terrible waste? I think at Cullen Gardens people from Whitby, Durham, Ontario, yes, people from all over the world will visit the Lyn- de House of Whitby nearly everyday. COST: The cost of moving and restoring Lynde House will be no more and may be less than if it were left at the original location when the cost of land is calculated into the price of leaving the house on Dundas St. The operating cost of running the museum could also be less at Cullen Gardens. In- cluded in our agreement with the Town are the following expenses to the Cullen Gardens' ac- count: full use of free parking for staff and visitors; complete lan- dscaping of the grounds after the house is restored; free elec- tricity; free heat; free maintenance of groun- ds; free use of washrooms for staff and visitors; free garbage pick up; free Lynde House advertising to the account of Cullen Gar- dens on all literature, most radio and signs, news releases, etc. Publicity for opening of Lynde House on May 2, 1987. Musuem to be opened by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander at il a.m. Ongoing publicity for the Museum at each and every opportunity to en- courage people to visit. Government grants in all probability will be just as possible or more so at Cullen Gardens location because the location will be more viable and available to the tax paying public of Ontario. The operating cost will be offset at the Gar- dens location by revenue at the door or fund raising oppor- tunities on the grounds. Certainly the cost per visitor will be a fraction of the cost of leaving this treasure in its original location. The Town has full ac- cess to the Museum at any time. The Town has a 99-year lease on the house property at $1 per year. The operators in co-operation with the Town have control over the complete display and staff of the Museum. Any systems put in place for the operation, hours, etc. of the Museum with Cullen Gardens can be ad- justed to our mutual ad- vantage. Thousands of school children visit the Gar- dens each year. The Museum would be a natural to add to their visit to learn more of Whitby's history. Cullen Gardens, as well as the above, are contributing $20,000 this year towards the move and $10,000 each suc- ceeding year to help overhead costs. I firmly believe the Lynde House at Cullen Gardens is the right move. I think it will benefit the citizens of Whitby, the people of Ontario, and the tourism industry in Canada. I believe it will create jobs and help educate the population about our Town. I do not believe it will cost as much to operate on a current basis as it does now or would in the future if it were left at the Dundas location. I am excited about the move and I look forward to working and co- operating with the Historical Society and the Town of Whitby to make this a happy, suc- cessful, interesting, educational, and profitable arrangement for all the people con- cerned with this historic event. Believe me to be, Yours very truly, Len C. Cullen President of Cullen Gardens. To The Editor: Re: Decom Biomedical Waste Inc. Dear Mayor Attersley and Councillors: On behalf of the Citizen's Research Coalition, we have been directed by our organization to convey to you our concerns about the above matter. We are truly disap- pointed with the En- vironmental Assess- ment Baord's ruling, to approve Decom. As a result of this decision, we are strongly urging Whitby Council to act quickly and decisively, by appealing this decision to the Minister of the Environment. As Council is aware, a great number of people are opposed to Decom and by appealing this decision, Council would be serving the people of this community ad- mirably. Due to the fact that Whitby Council initially approved Decom on March 25, 1985 under Resolution No. 981-85, the Citizen's Research Coalition feels that Council must shoulder most of the responsiblity for the E.A.B.'s latest decision. The people of our com- munity have the right to know the decisions of Council, as well as, they have the right to par- ticipate in the decision making process - unfor- tunately this was not the case on March 25, 1985. During the council meetings, over this past year, and even through the period of the En- vironmental Assess- ment Hearings, Whitby Council had every op- portunity to inform their constituents of their previous decision, but decided otherwise. Mr. Attersley and Councillors, you owe it to the citizens of Whitby to pursue an environ- mental appeal, as vigorously as possible. The Citizen's Research Coalition is also for- mally requesting that Whitby Council explain to this community, why you did not inform the people of Whitby about your prior commitment to Decom. It is the opinion of our organization, that the residents of Whitby have gone far beyond the call of duty in fulfilling their role as responsible citizens. It is obvious, that after reading through the E.A.B. decision, that the Province did not take in- to account the large number of people who are opposed to Decom, nor did they recognize the valid arguments and concerns put forth by the many residents who participated in the hearings. This same provincial ministry admits that Decom was operating illegally in Ajax, and yet they give approval for this company to set up in Whitby. Our organization sin- cerely hopes that Whit- by Council will rebel against this obvious double standard and political manipulation which has been shown towards the people of this town. The Citizen's Research Coalition has committed itself to assist the public in local concerns and to positively offer suggestions to Council. Similarly, our organization is willing See Pg. 10 n\L/1 LL-/'j('jUA - il i - Policy The Whitby Free Press Us always looking for letters to the editor and welcomes letters on any issues that concern its readers. While the paper reserves the right to reject or edit any letters for publication, a letter that isshort and to the point Is most likely to appear on our editorial page in- tact. Aithough not all issues can be addressed in a short letter, the best is one of about 300 words or less. All letters to the editor must be signed and accompanied by a phone number for the editor's Information. Letters may be sent to: The Editor, Whitby Free Press, 131 Brock Street Nor- th, Whitby, Ont., LIN 5SI.