Pulse vr I .edy MuiePfe W 6729OnaiIIc Eio VRI~ P~IILIVV 13 BroSne:tNrh VOUCE ~ uni ~.uun, TOWN P.O. Box 6,7611 n.1ndCas osa S~4p., Te ony Whtby ewspper ndepndenly oned ndToeratdtbyLiN 5S Whitby rePdents frlWhanbraesidents It was an apparently uncomfortable relationship bet- ween the Reglon of Durham and the Durham Recycling Centre as they trled to work together to carry out recycllng programs. The Intent was neyer in doubt.- Reoycling would divert much waste from landfill sites; the concepts of recycle and reuse wçuld, ln time, becorne normal household practices -- in many households, they have been for years --and we would educate ourselves as to the enormous costs of pairtlclpating In a throwaway society. The intent was clear, and public reaction to recycling was favorable as the blue, boxes f irst appeared on streets only a few years ago in Durham- Region municipalities. But -despite new equipment (is it ade- Keep the, boxes movin-g quate?) and a new building (is it large enough?>, it would appear that there was too much disagreement between the recycling centre board and the Region over certain matters, including what would happen to centre workers once the facility-was closed. Earlier this month, the board decided to close the f acility. Fortunately, for the sake of the program, the Region has decided to continue the blue box processing operations, ce ntre - staff rnay stay on, while local municipalities will each handle their own blue-box collection.1 That would appear to, ensure there will be littIe, If any, Interruption In a pattem of service. to whlch resîdents have bypen accustomed. We would also expect that the Region wlll corne Up wlth a solution to ensure the long-term vlablfy- of the program -- residents expeot it. The recycllng centre board members, some who orlglnated recycllng pro- grams in this area long before the Region becamne involved, should be commended for their efforts ln establishing reglon-wide recycling and guidinga more extensive program through the'lnfancy stages. Now the program must go on, and grow to bedome bigger and better to meet long-term waste diversion targets. lt's in the best lnterests of al of us. IReader disaed W rani elbrations To the editor I attended the Whitby coancil meeting on Oct. 9 and was dismayed with council li dliberations regarding -,the tenders for the operation of Whitby lTransit. While most councillors were obsesSed with the tender 'proces and keeping the current driversd representatives from addressing council, it seemned that councillor Tom Edwards bit the nail on the head when he suggested tbat the Town should. take over direct operation of the transit system, using the current drivers, who hve done a tremendous job of building ridersbip despite council's constant interference. Permanent municipal service should be operated by municipal employees. Nobody suggeqts that we contract; out the fire departinent the planning departinent, or the police force. Sure there are times when contracting is necessary, sucb as snow removal after a mnajor snowfall or for road works which require special equipinent. But the transit system is a* permanent service, and the buses are owned by the Town. The five private companies which'tendered did not do so out of a sense' of civic duty, since none of them are based in Wbitby. They did it te malce a profit. It seems logical that, if Trentway-Wagar could secure premises to store and maintain the Town's buses, supply drivers and maintenance staff and make Keep our workers on the job To the editor. A letter to fellow taxpayers of Wbitby. Gas prices up, population up,' pollution and traffic up, and guess what? Councillore Drumm reonends cutting beck on transit. I was very interested in -dtzicing my first council Representatives are unrepresentative To theeditor ae 'i, oaec in usifiable' Iby Rei Sotena Ontarlo ridfing MP, Whitby FePýr Pssa,0d24 Once again -our lected representatives demonstrate just bow unrepresentative they are of the people. George- S. Itideout (MP for Moncton, N.B.), Herb Gray (MW Windsor West), Howard McCurdy (WI Windsor-Lake, St. Clair) and Steve Langdon (WI Essex- Windsor) ail received petitions by registered mail, raised by the people of their constituencies. They refused to present thein in tbe House of Gommons. The representative from Ontario ridiqg now teils us that he will prove te us that initiatives and consensus are not te corne from the people but rather, from the party. Hie implies that it is not bis job te, represent us in the House of Commons, but it is bhis job te represent the Party and Ottawa, te us. Perbaps, we should consider a referendum in lieu of a petition and ask the people of Ontario riding if the Senate should be cbanged te, one tbat is equal, elected and effective, thus acbieving the regional balance that is now lacing?1 Canadians wbo thought tlhey lived ini a democracY ane now asking tbemselves, -Just wbat the beck is going on bhere." TheY, are sayig, "No, we do not think the P s actions are justifiable." The Senate petition ideaby our MI' is a sop and should be a flop. David Barber Whbitby tax dollars,, ou Skydome To the editor What a fine kettie of fisht Premier Rae' new governnxent bas just announced a b uge budget deficit of more than. $2.5 billion. The economy is in a recession. Bankruptcies are soaring. Toronto's police force can't respond to baif its emergency cails because of staff shortages. Ini the middle of ail tbis, Rae's government announces that it would use our tax dollars to help bail out the financially troubled Skydomxe! We dont tbink governinents should be in the business' oft owning a sports staTdium,, hotel and fitness centre. In fact, Rae govrnentba no more business subsiclzi h Skydome than Prime Minister Mulroney bas in banding out $88 million of our tax dollars te Toronto's ballet-opera bouse. SEE PAGE 23 meeting in Whitby Oct. 9, particularly with regard te, the tender for our public transportation systêin. Lynda Buffett was data-oriented, lacking concern for our current 25, fuli-time Charterways' bus drivers. Trentways submitted the lowest bid which will save us, upfront, about $900,000 over the next five years. Fm happy te, hear of this cost-saving, but Trentways did not guarantee in writing that they would hire the current drivers of WIdtby to drive the buses fuil-time. They "offered a job," which does not nean much. As I see it, this is an expansion for Trentways, and if their business bas found ways te give the saie service at significant savings te the taxpayer, they shoûld be awarded the contract for their superior business acumen. But, as the service is for the conimunity, paid by the commnunity of Whitby, should we not keep our workers doing the job. This is as much a concern, and sbould be specified and eniphasized as much as the tax dollars saved on the business deal. Lillian McKelvey Wbitby a profit based on the tendered amount, and if the profit motive were remnoved, the Town could do the same for lesa non!e. The Town of A.jax, wbich contracta its bus service to Charterways, bas bufit a brand new facility (75 per cent paid for by the Province of Ontario) to, store and mnaintain its buses, and next year, when the contract expires, the Town will bire the current Charterways. driveirÎ and operate the systein itself. Oabhawa bas operated ita bus service uince 1960. Whitby must decide -if it wanité a bus service or not. If it, dos, then council should stop tinkering every couple of months with the service. Having worked in .the transit industïy for 16 yeaLrsI know that you cannot build a system by constantly' cbanging ,the routes ,and' frequency of. i service since the public gets fed up. Council should decide on a level of service and leave it alone for at le"ast à arlÎ ore review. I dont know if any members of council are regular transit ridera, but, based on* the ý number of reserved parking paoes at the municipal building,I doubtit. ham Beattie Wldtby