PAGE 6,WHITBYREE PRESS WEDNESDAYJANUARY25,19892 n Maurice Pifher Published every Wednesday Editor· By 677209 Ontario Inc. Phone: 668-6111 Peter Irvine Advertising Manager Doug Anderson wPublisher Alexandra Simon VOUCEOFTHECOUNTYTOWN The Free Press Building Production Manager 131 Brock Street North, Sue Blanchara The only Whitby newspaper îndependently owned and operated by P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. Circulation Manager Whitby residents for Whitby residents. Lynda Buffett and Dennis Fox say they aren't trying to cause waves among their fellow council members by introducing a motion to have council and committee agendas issued a day earlier, which would mean Fridays instead of Mondays. Instead, it would be a gesture that council is attempting to be more open since councillors might have more time to obtain comment and input )n matters before they come to committee. We don't suggest that council members are now doinq their homework in an insufficient manner, nor do we think that the current system is too restrictive of necessary public information. And perhaps the Earlier agendas reasons for originally changing the date of issue of agendas to Mondays were valid at that time. But an earlier agenda, we think, would improve community-council communication and permit fur- After 48 hours of negotiations without a break, the Durham Board of Education and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation prevented what could have been irreparable damage to the school year for secondary students. ther study of issues, leading to more informed dialogue. We hope these aims are not forgotten in future debate on an important item in the conduct of municipal affairs. It is commendable that both sides resolved their differences after only one day of strike action. Perhaps the fate of students, the innocent party caught between, stirred the union and the board alike to make greater compromises on wages, benefits and staffing levels. Letters From Our Readersi Elect a government that cares about people issues To the editor: What's happening to our health care system? Hospitals are facing deficits; nurses are overworked, underpaid, and have lousy working conditions; hospitals are understaffed; there are bed closures; OHIP premiums for working poor; Red Cross Homemakers are underpaid; low and fixed income individuals with disabilities still have to pay 25 per cent of their medically necessary assistive devices; diabetics have no coverage for their needles yet heroin drug users who do not want to get AIDS, want help from the government; people are dying on the operating tables because of countless number of delays and the long backlog of cardiac patients awaiting operations. Where is there justice and fairness in the system? Caplan is in favor of preventative medicine. That's fine. But the Health Minister ignores reality. Preventing illness rather than treating the sick is not going to save the government money. It will not prevent every citizen from smoking, taking drugs, drinking alcohol or indulging in overeating. People will be getting sick, or injured at the workplace - there is no human way of preventing these occurrences from happening in the past/present or future. Red Cross Homemakers deserve respect, better wages and benefits for their labor, caring and compassion - under no circumstances do they need chitzy, low paying wages. They definitely deserve a decent 1989 wage, benefits, paid travel time between clients and training allowances. They provide a valuable essential service for the eiaenly, the disabled and the chronically ill and their respective families. They also save millions of taxpayers' dollars from public health care institutions, for example, hospitals and senior nursing homes. So it is time for them to receive something that most citizenry believe is long overdue - a decent pay raise! English should come first As for the Whitby GO train .acility, GO has goofed! They haven t proviaea an accessible train station for the "ambulatory" disabled, the elderly and those suffering from heart or lung disorders. It is only the physically fit who benefit from this public transportation system. Escalators, like the TTC has its subway stations, will definitely make a big improvement. GO Transit has provided handicapped washroom facililties, lower curbs, seats, disabled parking spaces. But what use are they, if they cannot ever possibly get on the train? With a minority government, not a Liberal majority government as we now have, perhaps some of these serious health, social and labor problems would have been prevented, or at least, partially eliminated. I can't wait for the next provincial election! Ed Sawdon Whitby $6,741 raised for Toy Drive To the editor: Sunday, Dec. 18 was quite a night! The night we turned on 5,000 Christmas tree lights at the "flick of a switch" during the second annual CHOO Christmas Light and Sound Show .... and we feel great!! Not because we turned on some lights, but because we raised $6,741.91 for the Gift of Christmas Food and Toy Drive in aid of the less fortunate of the Durham Region. We couldn't have done it without you, the generous citizens of Durham Region, who gave from your hearts during our live broadcasts Saturday, Dec. 17 at the Oshawa Centre, and the Pickering Town Centre. We couldn't have done it without the support and co-operation of the management and. staff and the most generous donations of the employees of General Motors, LASCO Steel, Acustar, Darlington and Pickering Nuclear Generating Stations. We couldn't have done it without the generosity of "our good friends", the Durham Region McDonald Restaurants, the media of Durham Region for the publicity, and the Regional Municipality of Durham for the generous donation of all the electrical and technical needs and the use of the trees at the Regions headquarters. Thank you, Durham, for a heart-warming Gift of Christmas 1988. Sincerely, Dave Hughes General Manager Joe (Conrad) Frechette Program Director/ Promotions Manager To the English, Not French, Essential for Students: The single most important educational goal for almost any student in Canada, if he/she is to have a chance of achieving his/her goals in life, should be to master the Enalish laneuage. It seems a crime against English-speaking students in Canada that they are being coerced or forced to learn French in school rather than being able to concentrate on mastering the English language and grammar Just one reason that learning English and French at the same time is particularly difficult for these students is that many words in French are similar yet different in spelling, pronunciation, and/or meaning to English words. The danger of not mastering English first is that the student may well end up being incompetent in both languages. My advice to English-speaking parents is: Think long and bard before putting your child into a French immersion program; soon enough to learn French after English bas been mastered. To jeopardize your child's chance of mastering the number one language of the world in order to gain limited fluency in a much lower rated language makes no sense. Donald F. Deeprose Nepean, Ont. Commendable effort 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. ýo 4 , . ý. 1 ý ý a - ý - ý. >1 - ý ý ý . ý --. ý - . , -- ý - ý. 1. -1-1. ý, - - -,ý ý . 1. + ý - . ý , . .+ ý, ... . , , , < : ; ý7,:: .. . . : l :ý . ý ý j . ý . 7 - . : ., . ý ý , , ý , ý MI - . 9 r . ý'h .1 +ý l , l ý ý ý . ý + ý ! ; ý : ; ; : : ý,ý ; ; ; ; : ; ý : ; >ý : -1., ý ý ý+; 1 +ý ýý 1; i - , ;'; ; '1ýý,ý- ýý111-l'. 'l'- - l,