Page 6, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, March 17,1993 The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents! MEMBER OF: i- ONTARIO COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION CNA DIVISION CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION CANADIAN CIRCULATIGIS AUDIT BOARD 25,500_COPIES DELIVERED WEEKLY Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario InC. Box 206, 131 Brock St. N., Whitby, Ontario L1N 5S1 Phone: 668-6111 Toronto Line: 427-1834 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pifher - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 20% O recycled content using vegetable based inks. Support for Bell To the Editor: Alexander Graham Bell's rodi y, of which he was so proud, as een for years a favourite kicking post for all and sundry. And their new request for rate increases and changes in calling areas is bringing in the usual diatribes. In response to Mr. Wycks' column (The Free Press, March 10), I believe that some elucidation is necessary. First. All telephone companies involved in the recent action before the CRTC informed one and all that, unless the new long distance carriers paid an equitable share of the subsidies to maintain the historically low telephone casts for local service, then rates would have to rise. Experience over the last few years in the U.S.A. has borne out that prediction. Second. Some years ago, Bell asked the people of this area if they wanted extended area service to Toronto and area and all were given the opportunity to vote on it. Pickering said yes. Whitby, I believe, said no. Third. I do not believe that Bell is a 'scared monopoly.' They have been preparing for this for years. Fourth. How would you like to be in business and have to spend millions of dollars to permit your competitors to use vour facilities ta take away your b competitors who h granted the right t reduced rates, while E regulated. And Bell must cc provide service tc requesting it in their ter their competitors can provide their services, if only in high-usage area Fifth. To some peo would appear that Mr one of them, profit is a Well, unless things hay greatly, profit ta Bell me they have to borrow les millions of dollars the spend every year to network up ta snuff, F services requested and their customers and eo jobs for those customei Lastly. I am ,-v.îg business users who says are going ta be this increase. If I remer the volume communic were the ones that crie till there was competit Maybe this increase w little of the big savingE ta get from the new o carriers. P.S. I retired from B ago. They are s one. business -- ave been to charge Bell is still ontinue to D anyone rritory while decide to f they wish, s. pIW, and it Wycks is dirty word. ve changed erely means s to get the ey have to keep their nrovide the To the Editor: A letter to Whitby council With regards to the Town's effort to remove snow from sidewalks, I feel that this program is useless and should be stopped. Or, hire someone who knows the difference between clearing the walkway and cruising the walkway. Doing this three or four days after a snow storm (if we're lucky) is ridiculous. The sidewalk plow went by on March 8. My sidewalk was clear but my neighbour's wasn't -- and still isn't -- as the driver went out of my driveway and into the next one down, bypassing the one in need of plowing. Also, in front of another driveway, he left his load of snow on the sidewalk. Please, council, remove this menace from our sidewalks and Iet's get back to cleanng our own with a shovel and 'participation.' I know some won't like Snowjob To the Editor: It's hard not to envision the thought of 15-tonne trucks with large, blue warning lights flashing en route to Durham Region headquarters to dig out residents who were dumped on with the largest snowjob the region has ever seen. Yes, Wednesday, Feb. 3 at approximately 11:52 a.m., (some 18) regional councillors granted approval of the Ministry of Transportation's most unintel- ligent, inaccurate piece of political bamboozle the region has ever seen -- route DMZ, the 401/407 link located in the west Whitby corridor. Our regional chair Gary Herrema just one week before had preached to the media, "Hurting taxpayers deserve more from politicians" and that "We have to stop talking and start listeningu as he made his opening address for 1993. Right, Gary, you forgot so soon? The residents of the west Whitby corridor really wonder if that 4-1/2-minute, caustic, brow-beating, politically- weighted, disdained speech you gave your council on the "decision-making process" had any empowerment prior to the council voting. 'Uneasy' over plan To the Editor: required by Capturing steam from Atlantic damn good Packaging's stacks and converting rs. it ta energy sounds like a worthy for the big idea ("Atlantic Packaging could be Mr. Wycks site of generating station,' The stuck with Free Press, March 3). mber rightly, Icant help feel uneasy cation users whenever Whitby's paper- ed and wept recycling giant makes a move ion allowed. toward expansion, however. Their Vill use up a track record, environmentaliy, is s they hope anything but glowing. Dng distance Most visible is their encraachment on Corbett Creek W.J. Galger west where they gouged into the Whitby existing wildiife corridor and built truck-parking facilities directiy el 16 years over the stream bed, contravening till number the Fisheries Act, which prohibits any disturbance c>î a warm-water creek valey witin 45 f eet. (Concerne citizens had been assured by Atlantic that, except for bridgeconstruction, the valley would not be toched.) ct, but they The pulp miil discharges never do. Also, start from the four corners downtown and proceed east on Dundas Street, the south side, to Thickson Road after the road clearing has been done. When you get to Glenhill Dr., do not go north -- too much snow piled on the sidewalks. You must walk on the roads here. As you will see, both sides are usually blocked with piles of snow 10 to 15 feet deep. This has been left here by GM dealers (on both sides) in clearing their parking lots. You must allow this as it has been there all winter. After all, it is probably known as big business. Yours In snow removal Gord Kerr Whitby P.S. I retired on Jan. 1 this year. I try to do some walking on our walkways and, if I'm lucky, I don't have to use the road -- they're for cars. Support is appreciated To the Editor: The Alzheimer Society of Durham Region would like to thank the Whitby Free Press for continued support and coverage on our Whitby Mal display during Awareness Month January 1993. It is at times like this that the society recognizes special contributions made by the community and its volunteers. We certainly recognize that volunteers are special people and that, with their ongoing support, we are able to continue providing the services to families and caregivers of Alzheimer's Disease. Valerle Owen Chair, Public Relations stormwater runoff directly into the creek instead of making any attempt at catchment and filtration, contravening current provincial regulations. The outlets are only half a kilometre upsteam from Corbett Creek Marsh, a provincially significant wetland. Though they were taken to court by the Ministry of the Environment and fined last year, Atlantic still emits caustic hydrogen sulfide into the air from time to time. 've always wondered why Whitby council didn't ensure up- front that Atlantic install the most benign technology available in the brand new plant, instead of relying on a process using harmful bleaching chemicals. The facility was half-built before council even found out how much water and sewage capacity it would need -- as much as the whole Town together, putting tremendous strain on existing facilities and necessitating costly new ones. (Remember when Atlantic flooded the Corbett Creek sewage plant, forcing them to run raw sewage straight into Lake Ontario?) Although it performs a commendable function by recycling paper fibres, Atlantic Packaging has been one big headache for the local environment from day one. Letting them race ahead and build an energy plant without finding out what impact it wili have on the creek valley, the air and the neighbourhood seems like a foolhardy move. Couldn't we at least have a public meeting where ordinary citizens could pose some vital questions -- questions that seem to have been overlooked in the past? Margaret Carney Whitby Just who was pressured out of the 18 who actually voted 'yes' but felt 'no' was a great possibility? We didnt hear any councillors cast a vote as 'undecided.' At that point, all or any commorty sense was gone completely. The snow came fast and furious from the east, west and north in the form of a rushed political vote. The vote was totally uncalled for at this time, since the ministry was asking for technical comments only from the Region. But Mr. Herrema applied pressure to the council to "make a decision today." The Concerned Citizens of the West Whitby Corridor asked that the Region not conduct a vote, but instead view our documents (minutes from a meeting held at one of our executive's homes) for the first timè, to understand the promises'that have been made to us from t 14eministry but have not been kept. We are currently investigatng the EA Act for political interference on the Region's part, seeing as you have now publicly told Minister of Environment Bud Wildman Wildman that you and those 18 councillors endorse the plan to build the link in this portion of land in the west corridor. Could it be, Mr. Herrema, that us 'hurting taxpayers deserved more' or that 'you should have stopped talking and started listening' when council was approached that morning? The snow that we speak of, that has fallen at headquarters, is very dark and heavy. Shovels usually work, but because in this instance it is so thick, heavy and foul, may we suggest you call the Ministry of Transportation roads department. They will supply you with a snowplow to clear the snowjob they just sold you. G. Parkinson Concerned Citizens of the West Whitby Corrldor How about some lights? To the Editor: A letter to Whitby. There have been people not stopping when people walk across Anderson St. at the crosswalk. My family thinks we should have lights there, before someone gets hit by a car. Is there anyone else who would vote for lights? Daina Robinson (age 6) Whitby 'Useless' program the citizens of CCNA