7 -,ý7- PAGE 6, WEITBY FME PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH- 2,1988 e I~AJ VOICE 0F THE COUNTI Published every Wednesday BR y 677209 On tario Imc. Ph one: 668-6111 f OW The only Whltby newspaper.Independently owned and operated b>' Whltby residents for Whltby residents.q Doug Anderson Publisher Maurice Plfher Editor Peter Irviîne Advertising ýManager Alexandra Simon Production Manager Mîke Carroll Cirçulation Manager Whitby Fire Chief Ed Crou~ch has sensibly suggested that area f ire departments take part in a joint exercise as preparation in the eventof an emergencyat the Darlington nuclear plant'.' That exercise seemed like a good idea for the Pickering nuclear generating station, especially with regard to the large numberof people living in proximity to the station. And a. quick, organized and efficient approach by the, f ire department as well as by other necessary departments, such as the police, who would be involved in emergency action was deemed essentialiIn an area of high Goo'd idea population. That same preparat ion'may not seem so urgent for the Darlington facility, regarded as perhaps farther removed f rom our sphere of concern. But fewer numbers in the Darlington area doesn't im- ply that the emergency preparation should be less. We may or may not believe that adequate safeguards are in place at nuclear facilities to prevent disasters. Accidents have.occurred Inh the' U'S. and Soviet Union, h'owever, when the preven- tative measures elther aren't taken or do n't work,' and assurances about s afety'shou-ldn't sto»p emergency action. When disaster does occur, as we have seen, its scope is also not restricted to immediate areas as if impenetrable walls have been establi!shed. A joint f ire- department response pla 'n is a welcome suggest ion, and not just forDarlington, but as- a useful cooperative effort in the event of other major incidents. LETTERS FROM ý-,OUR READERS,. Town tax increase "unacceptable" for Whitby resident To the editor: Re: the new Town of Whitby budget. .Year after year, Whitby council approves budgets that speli crip- pling increases for the residential axae.This time, they're not going to get away with it so easily! Let's look at the Tacts. The in- flation rate is about 4.5 per cent. Yet each Whitby homeowner will pay a shopping 7.5 per cent more tax than iast year. With my average income, I'm going to to have a hard time Dump site opposed, To the editor: 1Iwouldlike to express my concern about a proposed land disposai site 500 feet from the shore of Lake On- tario. The Lake Ontario Steel Com- pany (LASCO Steel) has submitted an application to the Region of Durham's planning department (File No. 88-001-D-WW) to allow them to dump non-metallic waste from wrecked cars. This is apparen- tly already going on as a testing procedure. The dump has no protec- tive liner and apparently LASCO feels that it is sufficient to use only dlay soil to slow the leaching effect to the lake. Non-metallic parts (in my opinion) include battery acid, residuai gasoiine and oiis and PCB's from the capacitors in the electrical circuits. This is totaiiy unsatisfactory sin- ce the dump is only 500 feet from the shore. It is also one-quarter to a haîf- mile to the intake of Durham Region's water supply, which I find intolerabie. I hereby ask ail residents of Durham to take note of this potential threat to their heaith and welfare and immediately noptify their regional and town councillors to voice their objections. Yours truly, Ralph Blank Secretary, Corridor Area Ratepayers Association Whitby Furlong defends action To the editor: Recent'letters from Stephanie Bail questioned the method I used to present the Whitby General Hospital petition to the legisiature. I am disappointed that she questions- my motives*without checkfrng the facts. The seif-proclaimed expert on parliamentary procedure should have known, if she had read the petition she signed, that it was ad- dressed to the Minister of Health and that it proposed an expenditure of money. To present a petition during the time set aside for petitions, it must be addressed to the Lieutenant Governor and the Legisiative Assembiy and must not caîl for an expenditure of public funds. Had I attempted to, present the petition during the proceedings set.asîcie for petitions, it wôuld have been ruled out of order with no record in Hansard. To ensure that the efforts of the Hospital Board and the Citizens of Whitby were recorded in Hansard I issued a Members Statement in the legisiature (af ter delivering the petîtion to the Minister) quoting the petition requests. (I am enclosing a copy of the stan- ding order re: petitions, for your in- formation: I have aiso sent a copy to Ms.,Bail. I am sure she wili, upon, receipt, immediateiy want you to publish a letter of apology.)' I can assure you my actions now and in the future are guided only by my commitment to my constituents. Yours very truiy, Alian W. Furlong, M.P.P. Durham Centre balancing my budget. But what about the pensioner and other fixed-income residents? Many will have littie choice but to move out. (I know some former Whitby residents who have done just that.) And what does our Mayor have to say? "I tlfink it's a well-rounded budget, that is in the best interests of the town. " I'm sorry, Mr. Attersley, but that's just not good enough! Exactiy whose "best interests" are you referring to? The many housing' developers constantly working in Whitby? Or complacent politicans like yourseif and most of the Whitby counciliors? (From my attendance at recent council meetings I have heard very few new or innovative ideas.) You seem to hope that this budget will pass by Whitby voters un-* challenged, like the last few, and you'll get re-elected on the "wave" of Whitby's tremendous growth. It's no secret that our residential growth is far'outpac iné our in- dustrial groWth. But when coun- cillor Joe Drumm raised a voice of reason rarely heard and suggested. that council "perhaps slow down the home construction so they could get a handie on things," lie was un,- ceremonidusly ruled out of order. Please stop kidding yourself and the people of Whitby, Mr. Mayor! Any growth is NOT always better than no growth at ail! Besides the unacceptable residential tax hike you'ré trying to sneak on us, we've started to see other symptoms of "city-sickness" including overr. crowding; increased crime; poor road conditions; traffie congestion and irretrievable loss of productive farndand. As I see it, you have three choices: 1) You may decide to take positive steps to attract the industry needed s0 badly fo r* a fair tax.balance; 2) Failing this, you could simply take steps to slow down residentiai growth. The.third choice may pot be yours to make, but the voters ' in Novem- ber: step aside. The possibility of three more years of this kind of non-leadership disgusts me. Remember this in November -"New broo-ms sweep dlean!1 Sincerely, MartinDoleweerd Whitby How about tax dollars towards hospital? To the editor: A letter to our Mayor Attersley and illustrious coundil members. Regarding the 7.5 per cent tax ini- crease just recenty announced. You have made a point of specifying the amounts for public works, road construction, etc., as weli as a large portion allocated towards the Rossland Road recreation complex. t is our money you are using*to accommodate Whitby, I think you gentlemen have about one-third of the population on made your mark on Whitby. a sports complex which we really I yoiini' iefrala don'tneed.inm imni' iefreca' With the Whitby General Hospital sweepcome the next election.' crying for new facilities, why don't I think what annoys me most, is you put our tax dollars where they that we the public seem to have no are needed most? say in these matters. Get your priorities straiglit. With. Yours truly, the amount of expansion you have Margaret Hamilton allowed over the past few years in Brooklin 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. Ail letters must be accompanied by thie name, address and phone number of the writer; however, on request, your name may be wîthheld from publication if we agree that there is a valid reason. The paper reserves the riglit to rejeet or edit ail letters. Send to: The- Eç.ttoy, -Whjt4yç,,ree. Press, Box 2062- Whitby, ,Ontario LiN ~t r d!Ã"pthrôugh ôtzrmailsotatI31BiockSt. - The Free Press Building 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby,-Ont.