PAGE 4, WHITBY FREEPRESS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1987 whitby VOICE OF THE COUNTY T( Published every Wednesday By 677209 Ontario Inc. Phone: 668.6111 The Free Press Building 131 Brock Street North )WN P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. DOUG AN DERSON, Publisher MAURICE PIFHER Editor - -. uîu*.i m hi,. hW -bl e-li The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operatea by w niy residenut ior w "uy .. Settling ownership On Wednesday morning this week, Durham regionaicouncillors were to hear proposais for a new regional headquarters building, with plans to be outlined by IBI for downtown Oshawa and by Greywood developments for Whitby. It's then up to regional staff, coordinated by chief administrative officer Don Evans, to make a report on the proposais as well as other alter- natives. part of that study should include some comment on Oshawa's claim, amounting to $3 million, in the existing regional headquarters headquarters. Not much has been said publicly, although apparently much privately, about the claim which could be a factor in the eventual decision made by council as to a new headquar- ters. Some regional counicil lors managed to extract a bit of information on the ownership claim, at least on the legal manoeuvrings behind it;-at the Jan. 28 council session. Mr. Evans has a written legal opinion on just how valid is Oshawa's daim, a surprise revelation to councillors who pressed for more disclosure. Newcastle councillor Marie Hubbard quite rightly termed the ownership squabble asan em- barrassment that should be dealt with as a separate issue and handled by Oshawa and region staff, not by lawyers hired by the region (Jim Car- thy and David Sims). Legal action which had been threatened by the region was deferred, at least until council heard this week's bids.Soon we, as well as regional councillors expect the full facts on ownership of the existing regional building and why it should or shouldn't be included In Oshawa's bld for a new headquarters. It's only fair. Please sign your letter! The Free Press received an interesting letter this week from a 15-year-old who questioned whether a downtown area ban on strip parlors, as., proposed by Whitby council, would really "clean up" the community. Unfortunately readers won't be able to view that opinion since the letter was un signed, with no address and phone number..Th,1 Free Press will withhold a name for valid reasons this was not such a case. We welcome letters for publication but ask that they be signed. Please attach a name to your opinions. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Promise of school expansion was unfulfilled To the Editor: Copy of letter to the Durham Board of Education. Our eight-year-old son is in Grade 3 at Palmerston Avenue Public School. One of the main reasons for moving to this area six years ago was that our children could walk to school. We also heard at that time of an expan- sion to the school. Just prior to the fall elections in 1985, our trustees met with parents and made great promises. We were delighted when we realized we were third on the list for expansion arid our hopes rose even further when the board purchased the property along the west boun- dary. Quickly the bot- tom fell out when other priorities took place and we sunk back down the ladder. With the announ- cement of more funding for new schools we once more regained faith that our expansion again was in site. Before Christmas 1986, our parent group heard Sidewalk service hasn't improved To the Editor: As a 15-year resident and taxpayer of the Town of Whitby, I have walked hundreds of miles along its sidewalks, in all kinds of weather. For our family .walking is both a way to travel and a pleasure. My husband and I en- courage our two children to walk instead of ride whenever possible, and we all walk a couple of miles a day. Today, for instan- ce, we walked several miles to do errands around the town, en- joying the fresh air, exercise and the freedom from parking hassles. A couple of years ago the Town of Whitby passed a bylaw whereby it would assume the responsibility for clearing snow on all sidewalks in the town, thereby increasing each homeowner's taxes. Each morning this win- ter as I walk from our home in the "General's Place" subdivision to Palmerston School with my seven-year-old daughter, we encounter .sidewalks that are an obstacle course and far from clear. The recent slush was not cleared in time and has frozen into an uneven, icy layer, making the journey hazardous even with heavy-duty boots on. The only really clear sidewalks in residential areas seem to be where caring home- owners have taken the trouble to do the job themselves and I thank them for their efforts. This situation prom- pts me to make the following observations: - The new bylaw has not resulted in better service at all, quite the contrary. The only people who seem - to benefit are those residents who refused to clear their sidewalks before, and who no longer face fines, and the Town itself who do not have to chase them up. What about the elderly for whom winter is particularly hard? Our sidewalks have been provided with ramps to enable the disabled and those with baby carriages to use them more easily. This is not possible when the sidewalks are snow- covered. - With our ever- burgeoning community, and, therefore, the growing number of sidewalks, it is simply an unrealistic expec- tation that the Town be responsible for every sidewalk, and do an adequate job. It is ob- viously too big an under- taking with the equip- ment and manpower at hand. - The sidewalks were in better shape when each homeowner LETTERS The Whitby Free Press welcomes letters to the Editor on any subject of concern to our readers. Letters should be brief and to the point - rarely more than 300 words. All letters must be accompanied by the name, address and phone number of the writer; however, on request, your name may be withheld from publication if we agree that there is a valid reason. The paper reserves the right to reject or edit all letters. Send to: The Editor, Whitby Free Press, Box 206, Whitby, Ontario LiN 551 or drop through our mailslot at 131 Brock St. N. cleared his own sidewalk, and the Town maintained only its own property. Let's revert to the pre-bylaw situation! Of course those who are unable to clear snow should bé exempt and given assistance as before. Jail inmates, students and volunteers are just some sources of help. I'm interested to know what other residents think about this. Yours truly, Mrs. Jacky Bramma plans of an eight-roomn edition. However, only two weeks later. We were informed of a four- room, not an eight room addition. Our hopes died again. Now we learn of a probable decline in enrolment. With so much overcrowding in our schools I find this totally unbelievable and unacceptable. I am now past anger. I feel as parents we have been lied to over and over again. Promises were made without good intent and in bad faith. As parents we swallowed everything handed out to us. The bottom line now is we have lost total faith in our politicians and -our school board. I cannot believe "rezoning" will eliminate over- crowding. Why is Palmerston School being overlooked when there is growth and development all around us? Why not utilize Palmerston better and with less expense by ad- ding an addition rather than revising some existing schools and proposing more lies to new homeowners as to future building of new schools? What happened to all those promises? Our existing school lacks a proper library, good gym, etc. etc. etc. It definitely lacks the ad- vantages of a larger school and our children are suffering for this. What happened to the concept of "K to 8". I fully support the impor- tance of this theory. I believe Palmerston has been made the only ex- ception due .tqpolitics and a money factor. Are our children not more important than this? We pay a high education tax and we are watching others reap the benefits. I feel we have not only been lied to but that our children are being cheated of the education they were promised and deserve. If you are a parent, I hope you can put your- self in our place. For over four years we have had high expectations of Palmerston being "K to 8" to maintain high quality "continuing" education for all our children. Today we have the realization that this is no longer even a dream. Our children deserve much more!!! Yours truly, Lynda Kuchma Whitby, Ontario ly KEN HATHAWAY Advertising Manager Mr ww mil