WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1987, PAGE 13 Jenkins to retire as Durham police chief After 15 years as chief of the Durham Regional Police Jon Jenkins will resign from the force effective Nov. 30, 1988. "We accepted with regrets his letter of resignation," said Bob At- tersley, chairman of the board of commissioners of police, at a press conference last Friday morning. Jenkins, 58, was chief of the Oshawa police force before iegionalization in 1972. Jenkins was responsible for the transition of eight forces into one which he openly admits was his greatest challenge. "T have given some thought to this the past year. I owe a debt to my wife and family. 1 will be with them a lot now, said Jenkins of his decision to retire. But.he admits he will not be able to sit back and relax during retirement. "I will have to do something like getting involved in the community in some way," he said. "I will miss the people I work with who are so important to me," said Jenkins when asked what he would most miss about the job. The Nov. 1, 1988 date gives the board time to find a replacement. Jenkins will also finalize projects the force has recently started. i They include computerization of the force, the introduction of a 911 system to Durham (which Jenkins called "extremely" important to the community) and the new $2- million police station in Pickering. "I won't be here when the station is finished but at least I can say I had my thumb in it," said Jenkins. Attersley said the board has not begun the job of finding a replacement. and he would not comment if the board will hire someone from inside or outside the force. "At the outset of regionalization, the force consisted of 250 em- ployees, policing a population of 188,000,' read Attersley at the press conference. "Today our total strength is 537 employees, policing a population of 350,000." During his 15 years in office, Jenkins servedas president of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police in 1976, president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in 1983 and chairman of Criminal Intelligence Services of Ontario [rom 1975 to 1981. He is now Canadian represen- tative to the International Association of Chiefs of Police. d~Ju N LETTER: Dundas commercial plan unnecessary To the editor t D Copy of letter to the Durham Region clerk. Dear Sir: It is to my dismay that regional planning committee has voted to recommend the change in zoning of the 2. 1-acre parcel on the south side of Dundas St. W. immediately west of Annes/Cochrane Streets. This is particularly disturblng since it con- travenes the Region of Durham and the Town of Whitby Official Plans and the recommendations of both the Town of Whitby planning depar- tment and regional planning depar- tment. It is unfortunate politicians lament the lack of rental accom- modation yet fail to act to ensure that this needed housing is developed by preserving the land zoned and designated for such usage. Continual downzoning or zoning changes remove the limited supply of medium-density land parcels and erode any opportunities for providing needed rental accom- modation in the Town of Whitby. In particular, this proposed commer- cial development contrasts the general existing developments. This area is almost exclusively residential and should remain so. Certainly an appropriate medium density development of a small apartment building or townhouses would be more appropriate. The traffic congestion involved in a commercial development of this nature would also disrupt a main artery (Dundas St.) which curren- tly seems to funetion quite well. The permitting of a commercial development in this area is totally unnecessary. There is ample local, available shopping at West Lynde Plaza, Otter Creek Plaza, Cloverlawn Plaza. Towne Plaza and the downtown core. Providing a precedent for future commercial development along Dundas St. W. could effectively change the residential atmosphere of this area and result in development that would resemble "the Dundas Street East Strip" -a hodge-podge of plazas at best. The assumption has been made that since particular proposed ap- plication for medium-density development at this site has been opposed by local residents, then any and all future proposed medium density resident develop- ments will-also be opposed. In other words, because local residents ob- jected to the 1985 DePalma ap- plication for rezoning, certain Town councillors assumed future use of this site could only be com- mercial. This is not logical. Hold the medium-density zoning for an ap- popriate proposal and one will corne forth, either a townhouse or small apartment building. Then council as decision makers will have to let the land be utilized for which it was originally zoned and designated. Resident opposition as to supposed "loss in property value," etc. can be explained to the Ontario Municipal Board which will support appropriate planning prac- tices. It is certainly time our elected of- Theft charges are laid An East York man has been charged with two counts of break and enter with intent and one count of break, enter and theft, after a policeman found him in Munns Press at 1501 Hopkins St. on the weekend. An officer was in the area when ficials stand up for good planning principles in development of the Town of Whitby and support the development of medium density housing or stop talking about sup- porting it. 1 arn unable to appear in person before regional council on Novem- ber 18, 1987 but would expect these concerns to be addressed. Yours truly. Bruce Langer, Whitby he responded to an alarm at Swish Maintenance which is next door to Munns. The man had entered Swish Maintenance, then entered Munns Press. Charged is Kenneth Drinkwater, 31 of East York. SPECA IF O Om Just an old-fashionedstrolli west of Broc IL JON JEFN KINS