1 AWlVAIITRY FREE PRESS. WFT>NESfAY. DECElMBEft à .I1987 e 22J~MJ~2 r. Published every Wednesday By 677209 Ontario Inc Phone: 668-6111 , Doug Andei son Publisher VOICE 0F THE COUNTY TOWN Maurice Pifher MauricePilher Editor Peter Irvine Advertising yanage' Alexandra Simon Production Manager The Free Press Building 131 Brock Street North. P.O Box 206. Whitby. Ont. The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents A bylaw which is long overdue should come before Whitby council members early in the new year. The bylaw would make illegal permanent use of portable or mobile signs -the type that light, and now litter, the way along some streets in Whitby. And so often they seern, with their illumination and wheels, at odds with certain storefronts in the town. Businesses which use the signs are not going to be pleased with the bylaw. They can also argue, quite correctly that the signs are in good condition, well maintained and effective in ad- vertising. But their location, soi ?times in entrance areas which block the vision of motorists, and Bylaw overdue their proliferation have made them unsightly. Town planning department has already shown that some restrictions do apply on fixed signs, as difficult as it may seem to regulate what may be regarded as an appealing, eye-catching sign to some, yet is unattractive to others And planning arguments -traffic concerns and concerns over use of extension cords -may be the excuse for imposing the esthetic will of planners and politicians on a community struggling with the identity of a town becoming a city. Should council decide to go ahead with the bylaw, it must include conditions that will make it effective. To be determined is the length of time existing businesses will have have to remove portable signs -five days or five years? And what penalties should be laid for those who decide to ignore the bylaw? The penalties should be stiff enough so that businesses don't consider that the value of keeping the sign outweighs the fines to be paid. In fall of last year the sign bylaw was first proposed. Delays have since occurred and during the past year the number of new portable signs has increased as Whitby continues.to have commercial growth. We should expect that a decision will soon be made to stop mobile sign growth. LETTERS Support your local merchant? Check store policy first To the editor: Re: Support town merchants? We all hear the cry of supporting independent local merchants in- stead of the large department stores. But I know a prime example of why some independent merchan- ts receive a bad reputation and lose the support of local shoppers. My husband purchased an item in October from a local store and was told that if the item was not suitable an exchange would be possible. On the third wearing, a strap fell off the item so I returned, receipt in hand, to the store to exchange for a different item without the strap to avoid the same problem. The manager, in my opinion, was very rude and arrogant, implying it was my fault the strap broke. He refused to exchange but did offer to repair the item, and made certain to inform me it was not his respon- sibility to do so. When returning anything to Not forgotten To the editor: Re: Veterans are forgotten How wrong you are. They will never be forgotten even if it is only for two minutes a year on Nov. 11. They will never be forgotten. With great pride we all stood by the cenotaph this year, and an ap- plause rang out when the Padre told us we were honored to have in our midst a hero from Dieppe and another from El Alamein. They will never be forgotten. A few days ago, I saw a couple of kids playing hide-and-go-seek around the cenotaph. The kids can play in freedom because of those that are honored there. They will never be forgotten. If any thug country again rises up, Canada will once again give tne flower of her youth. We will always remain free. They will never be forgotten. Stuart Drew Whitby major department stores you are not made to feel like it was your fault or that you are trying to rip them off. We, the purchasers, usually leave with a new product or money refunded. Is it not retail store policy to always have a happy customer? That usually means a satisfied pur- chaser will return and tell others of the great service they received. If nothing else, I hope this letter forewarns any future buyers to check store policies before pur- chasing, and have them in writing. Remember the saying, "Caveat Emptor" (Buyer Beware). Dissatisfied customer D. Thompson, Brooklin More than $ 1,000 raised for charity To the editor: On behalf of the Whitby Down- town Business Improvement Area, I would like to extend our thanks to the citizens and charitable organizations who participated in the "Time for Giving" event held on Saturday, Nov. 28. On this day, participating fun- draising groups set up locations in the downtown to sell colored bulbs to replace the white bulbs found on the 'Tree of Hope.' The goal of this event was to completely change the lights on the tree to signify the fun- ds raised for charity. We are proud to announce that a total of $1,106.98 was donated to the following organizations: Durham Down Syndrome Association; Whitby Kinsmen (Cystic Fibrosis); Whitby Jaycettes (Whitby Seniors Cooperating); Whitby Lions and Lioness (Canine Vision of Canada); Whitby General Hospital Auxiliary; Optimist Club of Whitby (Muscular Dystrophy); Survival Guide Project; Canadian Arthritis Society; Alzheimer Society of Durham Region; Whitby Com- munity Care; and Canadian Mental health Association - Durham Bran- ch. Christmas is a special "Time for Giving" and our residents have definitely demonstrated that we are a community that cares and shares. Merry Christmas and best wishes for a Happy New year. Yours truly, Stuart Carig BIA Manager Thanks to volunteers, donors To the editor: The members of the Whitby branch of the Arthritis Society would like to thank the volunteers and donors of Whitby for their most valued gifts of time and money to our 1987 campaign. Although we have not reached our goal this year, donations can still be made at Lloyds Bank of Canada, 1200 Dundas St. E. Whitby. Valeri Hundert Campaign chairman I i We won't be back To the editor: My niece and I attended a bap- tism service at St. John's Anglican church on Sunday, Nov. 29 after which we went to her daughter's apartment at 100 White Oaks Crout for a short visit. When we went back to our car to go home, it was missing. As the few parking spots were taken, we had parked where we could find a vacant spot and it was pouring rain. We had to call the police station to find out where the car was then we had to get someone to drive us to Oshawa to get it. As it had been towed there. We also paid fifty dollars to get it back. We are both senior citizens and I think it is a shame that the apartment building has such few places to park. We certainly don't intend to go there again. Hope this letter will do some good to alert other people not to visit that apartment again. It was a very dear visit at this time of year as we are both living on fixed in- comes. Yours truly, Mrs. E. A Harris Scarborough 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 5S1 or drop through our mailslot at 131 Brock St. N.