Getting the point PHILIP PIZAK (stabber) and Kevin White ('stabbee') rehearse tor the Whitby Court- house Theatre's mystery 'Catch Me If You Can' to be resented April 22-24, April 29-May 1 and May.6-8. The $8 tickets are available at Lafontaine Trading Post. Photo by Mark Reesor, Whitby Free Press By Mike Kowalski Durham Region elementary school teachers have a new con- tract. Both the teachers and Durham Board of Education trustees have ratified a one-year agreement which will give teachers a 0.3 per cent wage increase on May 1. Teachers registered their approval by a vote of 1,464 to 677 earlier this month, while at their meeting last week, trustees endorsed the package. Although the contract covers the period from Sept. 1, 1992, tc Aug. 31, 1993, it is not retroac. tive. Under the new agreement, tea- cher salaries will range froir $28,700 to $64,538 based onqua lifications and experience, wh i a principal can earn up tc $79,903. Currently, a teacher can earr from $28,614 to $64,345 and L principal up to $79,664. The contract also improves benefits in some areas and for the first time.makes provision for class size. All grades from kindergarten to Grade 8 will have limits pla- ced on the number of students permitted in one class. Desirable class sizes will range from 22 students in kindergarten to 33 in Grade 8, although the numbers may vary at each level. For example, a kindergarten class could have anywhere from 19 to 26 students. 'bsolutely unbelievable" Criticism of provrnce's response to plan By Mike Kowalski Provincial government con- cerns with Dur am Region's pro- posed official plan have been denounced by two Whitby offi- cials. Councillors Joe Drumm and Ross Batten are critical of recent suggestions from provincial plan- ners which are aimed at modify- ing the plan. Drumm termed the province's proposals "absolutely unbeliev- able" during last week's Town council meeting. During an interview with The Free Press, Batten said there is no planning rationale to support the Ministry of Municipal Affairs' "off the cuff'" response to the Durham plan. Both councillors warned of potential problems for future growth in urha-.n and Whitby if the ministry's recommendations are allowed to stand. According to ministry staff, Durham's proposed official plan -- a document which specifies preferred land use policies in a municipality -- is too ambitious. The plan, adopted by regional council in 1991 to replace the OMB to rule on McDonald's location By Mike Kowalski McDonald's Restaurants has an acceptable design for a new facility it plans to build in Whitby. The only prpblem is that the fast food giant still does not have an approved location for the restaurant. As a result, the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) may determine when and where Whitby's second McDonad's will be built. Town council's planning and development committee recommended Monday that a revised building design for a proposed restaurant on the southeast corner of rock Street South and Consumers Drive be approved. Committee members were unanimous in their agreement that McDonald's officials had heeded their concerns about the buildin's architecture when a site plan application or the site came before them last December. As a condition of approval, the committee had stipulated that a Victorian-style design be incorporated into the buildings exterior elevations. They told McDonald's representative John Kazmierowski at the time that the original proposal -- similar to other McDonald's outlets in the area - was not good enough given the location. But after reviewing revised site plan drawings submitted by Kazmierowski on SEE PAGE 21 existin 1976 plan, sets aside too muchl and for industrial and residential development and not enough for agriculture and green space, the ministry contends. A projected poulation growth of almost 1.1 mi ion by the year 2021 is too high and that 930,000 is a more realistic figure, minis- try staff believe. They add that future growth can be accommodated on residen- tial land now sitting vacant and through higher densities in exist- ing residential areas. These areas should be allowed to develop at 10 units per gross acre, a ministry report states. The current figure for Whitby, for example, is now between four and five units per acre. Of particular concern to Whitby, ministry staff want to eliminate residential areas plan- ned for Brooklin, east of Thick- son Road; west of the west branch of Lynde Creek, and west of the proposed freeway link bet- ween Hwy. 401 and the future Hwy.407. The ministry also wants a green belt area bordering Ilwy. 2 SEE PAGE 35 According to Bill But'cher, co- president of the Durham Ele- mentary .Teachers Association, this was the major concern of SEE PAGE 20 New contract for teachers FIN . . . . . . . . . . M U, A1cXý h .... . . . . . . Vol. 23, No. 16 Wednesday, April 21,1993 36 pages - ---------- - - - 03, er nnt increase 1