PAGE 12, WH-ITBY FRE E PRES, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13 1988 Wh t is it about living in Btooklin that makes. us so specièl? And don't for one minute think I mean this in the positive sense. At least not this time. Recently I have had a few experienc.es with various businesses and services that have made me wonder if I am living in lower Slobovia rather than in the northern ward of Whitby. Everyone is more than willing to comply to your request until-you say the magic word...Brooklin. Then the eyes bulge, the voice stamngers, and the in- credulous look says it all..."you've got to be kidding.Î' I am sick and tired of hearing "we only go to Brooklin on such and such a day." I am sick of being told "we don't go to Brooklin," period. And I am sick and tired of paying ex- tra just to have someone come to Brooklin. A few for instances. Pizza-Pizza won't deliver to the Brooklin area at all. Almost all Chinese food restaurants will deliver to this area, but it is for a minimum charge. At the one I happen to patronize this minimum is $40. Anyorie getting a taxi from the Whitby GO station to Oshawa, Ajax, or any other part of Whitby pays the metered cost. I have been told on severà l occasions by taxi drivers upon learning of thedestination that a flat charge applied. For some·time it was $10. The last time it cost $15 for my son and two friends to make the hundred-mile trip northward. What is it about Brooklin? The most recent squirmish involved Rogers Cable in Oshawa. They are located in the Wilson Rd./Farewell area in south Oshawa. As a Christ- 'V IEWPONT by Roxanne Reveler Brooklin Boonies ? ? ? mas present for my daughter, we had a second cable system installedon the television in her room. This was done on December 24 and was a big surprise for her. Well, it worked for less than two weeks and then went blank. After explanation after explanation to the cable repair department, and after several little tests were done by them "from within," t was deemed we had a faulty "box" and arrangements were made to have it replaced "tomorrow." We complied with their wishes to make sure someone was home ail lay and no-one showed up. To cut a long story short, tomorrow became tomorrow and that turned into three tomorrows. Someone finally did show up Ashburn wins right to keep post office It was a long, hard battle, but the war was finally won at Ashburn Post Office...the mail will stay. Canada Post has changed its in- tial stand that mail delivered to rural Ashburn residents would have to be sorted at the Brooklin Post Office, prior to being forwar- ded the three miles north to Ash- burn; a decision made when the general store, in which thd post of- fice is located, was sold on Decem- ber 24. Previously, Canada Post had stated the postal station in Ashburn would be completely closed at such time as the former postmistress Moyra Griffin either retired or sold the business. After a hue and cry from local residents, Canada Post said they would keep the postal station open, but with reduced ser- vices. On Monday, January 4, the rural route contractor for the area, Dianne Batten, had to travel to Brooklin post office to sort the mail under supervision of a Canada Post employee prior to transferring the heavy boxes of mail to Ashburn. But later that day, she received a cail from Canada Post indicating her mail boxes would be tran- sferred back to Ashburn the following weekend, in order that the sorting would revert back to its partnership agreement that will ensure "a continuation of postal old way. The boxes were moved back to the Ashburn location last Sunday, a move heralded by Batten who has been thé contractor for the area for the past six-and-a-half years. "Those boxes (of mail) were ex- tremely heavy, and I was having one heck of a time getting them from Brooklin to here (Ashburn), said Batten. "A week of that was plenty." Ron Smith, general manager of the York Division of Canada Post said the corporation and new owners of Ashburn General Store, Barb and Paul Allen have signed a' services to residents of Ashburn, with increased accessibility for The historic Ashburn General Store, built around 1850, is now in the hands of new owners. Barb and Paul Allen purchased the business on December 24. The Allens were previously residing in Columbus, the hamlet where Barb was born and raised. Although neither has previously been engaged in the operation of a general store, or the distribution of their customers." According to Smith, under the new agreement, customers will continue to be serviced at Ashburn General Store and the hours for the postal counter will increase, with customers able to pick up personal contact items (registered mail, parcels, priority post) and postal products from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Smith indicated that for the next few months, mail for Ashburn area residents would continue to be available on a general delivery basis and that early in the new year, lock boxes will be installed to replace the general delivery mail through the postal station housed at the location, they are en- thusiastic about their new adven- ture. The Allens have extended the hours of the business to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. They also have introduced the rental of VCR tapes and say they will make any other changes on the request of patrons. -x Up to 50% off Fantastic Savings On Our First Quality Merchandise Shop Early for Best Selection BROOKLIN VILLAGE SHOPPE Fine Ladys'Wear Iv~I Highway #12, Brookln 655-3474 Mon. - Wed. 9:30 - 5:30 Thurs. &,Fr1. 9:30 - 800 Saturday 9:30 - 5:00 pickup. This, he said, would give residents access to the boxes seven days a week. Batten said she was unaware of any lock boxes being installed but added the boxes would not have any effect on her rural mail delivery. The Allens told The Free Press that Canada Post had said they would be constructing a special mail room at the general store early this year and installing lock-* boxes. Allen said he was notified of Canada Post's change of heart con- cerning the rural mail delivery last Wednesday evening, CORPORATION OF THE \# TOWN OF WHITBY PLANNING DEPARTIMENT NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING Monday, January 18, 1988, 7:30p.m. Meeting Hall, Whitby Municipal Building Whitby, Ontario A Public Meeting will be held by the Administrative Committee of the Corporation of the Town of Whitby to consider a proposed application to amend the.Whitby Official Plan as submitted by Mr. Angelo Sacco. The purpose of the amendment is to designate the subject property shown below as Major Commercial for development on piped water and a septic system. SU8L/E-CT1 PROPERrY The applicant intends to the subject property. construct a phased, shopping plaza on The purpose of this meeting is to provide adequate information to. the public and to permit interested persons the opportunity. to make representation in respect of the Official Plan Amendment application. If you are unable to attend the meeting, your representation can be filed in writing by mail or personai deivery to reach the Planning Department not later than regular working hours on January 25, 1988. Interested persons may inspect additional iriformation relating -t the above application in the Planning Department, Level 7, 575'. Rossland Road East during regular working hours, Monday to Friday or may contact the Planning Department by telephoning (416) 668-5803. ROBERT B. SHORT- Director of Planning Corporationof the Town of Whitby New owners of Ashburn store extending hours four dayq later. But thé clincher was that Rogers implied to me that they would put me on the back burner until they had another call in the Brooklin area, and that is possibly what they did, in fact, do. I question whether I would have had to wait if Ihad lived in West Lynde. I am no expert, but from my own ex- perience in driving, although mileage wise West Lynde and Brooklin might vary minutely, if at all, from where Rogers is located, it is sure a lot faster to get fromthere to here than to the West Lynde area due to traffic conditions. It is the same from Simpsons, Cherneys, or any other place, but there is a great distinction made. It would ap- pear Brooklin is in no-man's land. We pay the same prices for consumer goods, telephone and services such as cable television, but we don't get the same consideration as people living south of Taunton Road, be they from Whitby, Oshawa, Pickering or Ajax. I don't have any answer as to what can be done to im- prove the situation. No one seems to care, or be willing to change the systefn. It will more than likely stay as it is un- til years from now when Brookliri is gobbled up in Whit- by's urban sprawl. By that time I protably will have moved to some other country-like setting. In the mean- time, I will have to grin and bear it, even though it ticks me off. At least that's the way it looks to me. jj 4 wt i'l üa 6