Interviews with Centre Ward, and Regional Council candidates, pages 14- 17 PCwBl splt LASCO Steel In remembrance WHITBY LEGION members raised a flag at the Town hall recently to recognize Poppy Week. Remembranoe Day services wiIl be held at the oenotaph on Frxiday, Nov. 11. FrS Pime photo Emm, Attersley debate taxes Mayoral candidate Gerry Emm is rnisleading the public when he says he will provide a zero tax increase in the next two years, according te bis opponent Mayor Bob Attersley. At an ail-candidates forum in Ashburn last week, Attersley told the crowd of about 50 that Whitby taxpayers will be facing an li-per cent tax increase as a resuit of Durham Region breakc- ing its ties with Metropolitian Toronto on a garbage dump. "And now Emm wants te, freeze taxes. I challenge you, Mr. Emm, to tell us how you cari freeze taxes," said Attersley. It comes down, te how the developer approaches the Town," responded Emm. It is costing us a lot of dollars to accommodate large developers. If it is handiled properiy we cari hold the tax uine by using developer funds above lot ievy coslta."1 A report from Whitby treas- urer AI Claringbold, who met ,1with Region officiais, notes that "...the picture that the Region is- painting at- present will have severe impacts on the Town and itsratepayers." Ciaringbold noted that the Region has indicated tipping fees will "in ail probability"' rise in 19)89 to between $75 per tonne' and $100 per tonne from the present $50 per tonne. Ciaringbold aiso indicated that Region staff wili recommend .te ragionaI council that the $28 rpbate per tonne the Region now rýeives from Metro (which is f4inneled back te each munici- pa'llty) should be retained by the Igion for the purchase of land "nd setting up its own iandfil site. According te Ciaringboid, those factors will increase Whit- by's disposai fees to $1.5 milllion ie 1989 from $413,000 in 1988. "The oniy source of revenue for this purpose is taxation. It is possible that this pressure wil uincrease the regional miii rate by ut ieast 15 per cent before any other programs are taken inte, consideration," wrote Ciaringbold. Rather than respond to Attersley's charges, Emm himseif went on the attack, criticizing Attersley for bis lack of support when recycling was introduced. 'W. saved $1 million there and we are now inte leaf composting and the niayor want- ed te, delay that until it snowed and buried the leaves," contended Emm. But Attersley said he favors -ecyclixig and noted that recYciing had went over budget by $252,000. Emm contended that develo- pers often want te see the inayor of a municipality first, and that is when dveiopers can be ap- proached for extra funds. "That is pie in the sky," replied Attersley. "Developers don't march inte my office.« They see councilior Emm, as chairman of planning, a lot more than they se. me." Attersiey produoed a pie chart and, using a pointer, indicated that Whitby's portion of the tax bill is only 28.4 per cent. The chart aiso showed that the Region gets 18.7 per cent of eaeh tax dollar colected and the schooi boards receive 52.9 per cent. 'Mgjority (at council) ruies. On. man cannot freeze anything," said Attersley. H. said Emm's dlaim that he could freeze taxes is an Insuit tp each taxpayer. On. SEE PAGE 8 13y Mike Johnston The Ministry of Environment is investigating a PCB spili at Lake Ontario Steel Co. (LASCO) that has resulted in testing of 26 firemen, police officers and LASCO employees for PCB contamination. Pire officiais noticed a fiuid leaking from a steel container while battling a fire involving two contractor trailers on Sunday, Oct. 31, at 11:10 p.m. The drum was 10 feet from the fire site. Ministry officiais where noti- fied by the Whitby fire depart- ment, and after tests of the area, confirmed that the steel drum had contained PCBs. The fluid contained a PCB level of .08 per cent or 800 parts per million. Anything above 50 parts per million is considered unsafe by the ministry. The spili was announced at a press conference in Mayor Bob Attersley's office Monday after- noon, eight days after the spili occured. A spili had been denied by LASCO officiais early that morning after a cali by Free Press staff who had received an anonymous phone cail about the spili. A police report on the fire also contained no news of the spili. WVhitby councillors were toid of the spili Friday, Nov. 4. "They were asked to keep it in confidence until we found out exactly how serious the spili was," said Attersley at the press conference. Dave Bird, a ministry officiai, said sampies were taken on the Monday (the day after) following the fire with the resuits not being known until Thursday, Nov. 3. Whiie LASCO bas two iicensed storage PCB areas, Wihitby fire chief Ed Crouch said the department was not aware of the severity of the spili. "At the time we didn't know of the problem. There were two oxygen tanks in the area and we kept them cool," said Crouch, who said he knew LASCO had PCBs stored in two bu ildings. LASCO officiais at the press conference gave no indication why the drum was sitting outside the PCB storage area and are unsure how much fluid leaked from the drum. The leak was described by LASCO' public relations mani Brian King as similar te water ieaking fromn a tap. He said LASCO has begun checking its records te se. how much fluid INSD "DURHAM MpulOVES was stored in the drum, as a way of determining how much leaked onto the ground. Ten firemen, 10 police officers and six employees of LASCO were tested for contamination at Whitby General Hospital. Those resuits wiil not be known until the end of the week, according to officiais. Bird says tests have aiso been conducted on soul within the LASCO premises. Those tests, according te Bird, will be one way of indicating whether PCBs got into the smoke generated by the fire. The resuits will not be known until later this week. "W. want to confirm first if this was a PCB fire. That is our high priority," said Bird. If they are positive, Bird says the ministry will begin testing in a 360-degree circle outside LASCO to determine how far the PCBs travelled. The enforcement branch of the ministry bas also begun an investigation to find out why the drum was not within the designated PCB storage area. Charges are pending following the resuits of that investigation. Durham Regional Police Chief Dave Edwards said 10 officers were used throughout the night te seal off the area foilowing the SEE PAGE 8 ELECTION '88 More on the sehool board candidates Pages 81, 32, 33 ELECTION c'88 Whitby's hydro commission candidates ýPages 4, 9, 10, 12