Sennett celebrates PROCLAIMING their two first-place. finishes in the recent Kiwanis Music Festival with a mobile sign beside the school were R.A. Sennett junior choir members, directed by Elene Aspden. Representing the 55 choir members were (from left) Carolyn Soper, Steven Cormack, Andrew Langdon, Tara Stolk, Elaine Vickers and Brooke Misasi. Brooke's mother Terry, a for- mer music teacher, helped the choir take top spot out of seven entries in folk song and a first out of 15 entries for Gr. 6 and under. OMB approves gas bar The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has approved the rezoning of the northwest corner of Bow- man Ave. and Dundas St. E. to permit a Canadian Tire gas sta- tion. The OMB decision overturns a Whitby council decision to reject the application. The board also gave approval in principle to a site plan by Canadian Tire Corp., Ltd. to build a'gas bar and lubritorium at the site. The decision came after two days of hearings last week on Canadian Tire's appeal of the Whitby council decision in October last year. Canadian Tire lawyer M.V. MacLean called two planners, including Paul Rycroft of the Whitby planning department, and a traffic engineer to testify during the hearing. Representing the Town was lawyer William Irwin, who called no witnesses. The OMB also heard testimony from three area residents. According to the board decision, the two main concerns expressed by residents living in the area were the gas bar's effect on nearby homes and traffic impact. Blake Clarke, who has lived at 118 Bowman Ave. for five years and was one of three residents to testify, had stated that the gas bar would increase traffic and "make a bad sitution even worse." Another resident Ken MacDonald, of Stewart St., stated that the gas bar would affect "quality of life" in the area. The OMB found that Canadian Tire's proposed site plan has sufficient buffering with trees and a fence on the north and west areas of the lot to minimize impact. The board also found that if cars are discouraged from making trips northbound on Bowman Ave., onto which would be located the gas bar exit, concerns of residents of the street will be resolved. However, the OMB ruled that the Town. and Canadian Tire must discuss a final site plan for the gas bar and that the plan must get OMB approval. Items to be discussed include signage, a mechanism to prohibit SEE PAGE 12 Funding for three new Whitby sehools Three new Whitby schools, including a separate high 'shool complex for both French and English-speaking students, were part of a $50-million capital funding announcement for Dur- ham's two school .boards yester- day (Tuesday). The announcement was made by Allan Furlong, MPP for Durham Centre,' on behalf of Education Minister Chris Ward. Also attending the announcement at regional headquarters were Durham West MPP Norah Stoner and Durham-York MPP Bill Ballinger. The three schools for Whitby include a public elementary school in the Costain subdivision north of Rossland R<|.; a separate elementary school off Michael Blvd., beside the existing West Lynde public school; and the $20- million high school, with separate facilities for French and English, just north of Dryden Blvd., between Garden St. and Ander- son St. Each of the new schools will include child care centres, according to provincial guidelines. In all, the Durham public board received $14.7 million for three projects while the Durham separate school board received $35.5 million for eight projects. Besides the Costain school, the public school board received funding for two elementary schools, one in Pickering and the other in Port Perry. The separate school board received grants for elementary Public school tax up 9.19% i Whitby In what was described as one of the "most difficult" budgets ever struck, Durham Board of Education trustees on Monday approved an average increase of 9.83 per cent in education taxes for 1988. The budget will mean a 9.19 per cent increase (or $14.52 for each $1,000 of assessment) for Whitby ratepayers, the second lowest increase among munici- palities in the region. The budget means a public school tax of $172.55 per $1,000 of assessment for a Whitby taxpayer in 1988. An attempt by Pickering trustee Lorna Murphy to include $496,000 to meet the cost of the revised transportation policy, which would include busing for French immersion students, was defeated by a vote of 10-7. Also rejected was a last minute motion by Whitby trustee Patty Bowman to add more than $1 million for spending on a general purpose room and library for Dr. Robert Thornton public school in Whitby. With an accompanying refrain by almost all trustees that blamed increased provincial government programs and declining provincial funding share, trustees half-heartedly voted 13-4 for the budget which will represent total spending of almost $235 million this year, 11 per cent more than was spent last year. "This year I feel we're all going to be beat up on the street corner over something which we have no control over," said Pickering trustee Louise Farr of the budget increase. Whitby trustee Ian Brown, finance committee chairman who presented the budget, said "Education must simply be assigned a higher priority at Queen's Park. The future of this province may well depend on it." Brown mentioned several mandatory programs introduced by the Ministry of Education which contribute to increased costs in the budget. He added that ministry initiatives such as Gr. 13 textbooks, reduction of primary class sizes and provision of day care facilities in new schools, as having a direct financial cost to the board. Oshawa trustee Ruth Lafarga said Ontario government statements that education is a priority are "just words," -since the provincial share of education costs continues to dwindle. She said education is a "small concern" to MPPs, and that the decisions are being made in the Province's board rooms "a long way from here. 'We don't have the major say in what decisions are being made," she said. -SEE PAGE 15 schools in Ajax and Uxbridge as well as West Lynde. It also received grants for additions to Father J. Venini in Oshawa and St. Athony Daniel in Ajax. "This is a significant, longterm capital investment in education," said Furlong as he made the announcement. - A total of $900 million will be allocated to Ontario school boards over the next three years, said Furlong, with $381 million granted in 1988. Furlong said four school boards York, Durham, Peel and Ottawa/Carleton, all which have growing student numbers - will receive about 60 per cent of the $381 million. There was confusion at the press conference however, over when the schools will be able to open. Furlong said it was his understanding that the schools would be ready to open in September, 1989. Public school board chairman Sandra Lawson said she was disappointed the board did not receive all of the $30 million in capital funding requested by the board. The board had also asked for grants for two other new schools, one in Oshawa and the other in Pickering, as well as for additions SEE PAGE 19 New town directory published Town debate on Sunday shopping in May See page 11 1 Free Press photo