Page 6 Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, August 17, 1994 The only Newspaper oWned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents! MEMBER 0F: <~'ONTARIO CANADIAN E~1COMMUNITY I*iKA COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER C N NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION ~I~ICANADIAN ONA DIVISION AUDIT BOARD ISSN#Of44-398X j26,500 COPIES D>ELIVERE[D WEEKLY Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Imc. Box 206, 131 Brock St. N., Whitby,'Ontarlo Li N 5S1 Phone: 668-6111 Out of town: 1-800-668-0322 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson- Publisher Maurice Pither - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 20%/ recycled content using vegetabte ae ins .. C) Ail written material, illustrations and advertising contained herein i8 protected by copyright. Any reproduction by any means for comnmercial purposes without the express permission of the newspaper is prohibited and is a violation of Canadien copyiht Iaw. Reproduction for non-commercial distribution shouid bear a credit fine Iti e Whetby Fre Press. Long live 'ridiculous', tradition moth ksureMnhhr,. MPP responds To the editor: Re: Letter, 'MPP under attack,' Free Press, Aug. 10 I was shocked at the implications, in the* Liberal candidates (Allan Furlong) letter of last week. He suggests that 1 should not have taken public action ta represent my . constituency regarding GO train services. f would have been politicalîy safer AMO trip 'wastefu ' To the edîtor: f could be the last hurrah for same of the councillors attending the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference Aug. 21-23 at the Royal York. Anyone- who would go there Wasting taxpayers' money knowing f ull weIl that weeks later they are running again in a municipal electiori has ta realize that they are open for controversy. *Some counicillors who will attend are rurining against each other in the election. I shake my head in disbelief that these blatant wasteful practices happen so close ta the time when they want ta get re-elected, as some of them wiII not bo back ater Nov. 14. Herman van der Veen Oshawa A win for smokers To the edîtor: There was a short article in the Aug. 10 issue about the Windsor Place Tenants Association's victory in the battle with the Durham Region Non-Profit Housing board ta get a smoking room. Lightlng up cigarettes in their partrayal of victary, they sure do Iok like winners. Don Smith WhItby and more saleable to have allowed the issue to have died and ta hope that voters would torget. In this as in many other areas, I have put the interests of my constituency ahead of partisan political points. Knowing f ull welI that I would be shot at from the sides, I have publicly pressed for botter GO train services for our region. Along with my colleagues, I have tought for a fair-share of provincial resources for Durham Region and across the board we have boan successf ul. Kf he were ta k00k across Simncoe Street tram his home in Oshawa, he could see some of the construction work that we have brought to our region. In Whitby, we can see the new campus of Durham Colege and the massive investment at the psychiatric hospital. These were the largest such investments by the respective ministries of Education* and Training, and Eeafth, in the whole province. The GO train is being extended ta Oshawa and-the new station will bo opening at the end of this year. In tact, the brand new bridge over the newly enhanced baseline road wiIl be opened this week. Perhaps Mr. Furlong can remembor that his former leader and the then premier made a commitment ta bring regular GO train service ta Oshawa. That commitmirent was made rght flere in Whitby and was a centre point of his election. During an economic boom, his goverriment failed ta deliver upon its commitments ta' Durham. As MPP, he neyer expressed his concern that his governiment and his premier were fadling ta hanour their commitments ta our region. Even as the present goverrimrit is delivering an extension, I arn continuing ta press for mare services for my constituents. I won't defend actions that I disagree with in order ta gain politîcal favour. Rather, I wiII continue ta take a lead on issues that matter ta the people of Whitby and Oshawa. Especially during such difficult times, an MVPP needs ta work full time in order ta, ensure that our area is weII.served. Drummond Whlte, MPP Durham Centre To the editor: I would like ta repîy ta Mr. Priest's letter of last week in which he writes of the ridiculaus twinning of Longueuil and Whitby. In 1Ã"67, Expo year,*lFather Lea Austin, the pastor of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholo Church, my husband, Andy, the district commissioner at the time, and myself stood on the shore of Lake Scugog outside Port Perry ta watch t ive camoes and 13 boy scouts, aged 14 to 16, under the capable supervision 0f scout master Benny La Haye, paddle off for a three-week break ta Longueuil, an the south shore of St. Lawrence across from Montreal. Mayor Marcel Robidas saw that boys were biîleted and entertained. Father Austin and one of the boy's Ta the edîtar: Re: Hospital sign remaval Vaur front page article of the Aug. 10 issue concerning a tiff between Elizabeth Barton, the chief executive off icer of Whitby General Hospital, and* councillor John Doîstra over the request ta remove the blue and white 'H' hospital signs from the municipal rpads, appears ta show a lack of coordination between the two groups. The issue is rather a minor one and shouîd have been resoîved without front page fathers drove downin a big truck to bring them home, met the mayor and *jumeîage.w French for 'twînning,' began. Last, year in Whitby we celebrated 25 years af continuous twinning with more than 130 ppef rom Longueuil and several otheè original people tram both cities including La Haye and Robidas. I don't appreciate the innuendo, tram Mr. Priest, about friends and relatives of politicians getting a free ride on this annual event. Each year every Whitby resident who goes to Quebec pays their own train tare, hotel, etc. A group of Longueuil residents, with the help of council, raises money through the year to heîp with the cost of entertaining us with sightseeing, trips, dinners, etc. In Whitby each person who wishes to coverage. The tact that the hospital emergency service is now closed at night between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. does nat warrant the removal of the 'Fr aigris simply because Whitby General Hospital is still open for service other than those newly clased hours. To remove those 'H' signs would indicate that the hospital no longer exists, which of course is nat true and cari be detrimental ta wauîd-bo patients who may lase valuable time looking for the hospital or may think that there are no hospitaîs in Whitby., Another kick To the edîtar: Re: Signs and whistîes Signs for haspitals, police, schools, you name Rt, they tell me I'm gaing in the right direction. None state they are open24 haurs a day but I do know the letter 11Hl means 'hospital,' 'help,' or the proper direction I wiII take when I find one. t's the same for police or sohools, none convey they are open 24 hours a day. I think ail this publicity on the letter H is just another kick in the butt that aur Whitby hospital has taken since the day it opened. As for train whistles, i's nat the whistle, it's the jerk who is blowing R. There's a lot of diff erence between a three-second whistle ta one that starts a quarter-mile from Hopkins and carmes on past the intersection and -ta the bridge at Highway 2. This has been happening since the whistles were abolished at the Garden Street crossing two years ago. G. Kerr Whitby attend any event pays a sum f ixed by. the Town ta do so, weII over $100., In these worrisome times of talk of separatism and i11 feeling between provinces, what could be better than ta hear aur mayar and many counicillors -- who an their f irst visit ta Quebso cauld not speak one word of French -- rise and make a speech in French. I arn proud of them. If you could be there after a Sunday brunch in bath tawns and see a huge room, full of people. stand and join hands and sng 'AuId Lang Syne' and 'Oh, Canada' and with hugs and tears say goodbye until next year, you would pay. Long live \this 'ridiculous' twinning, the Iongbst running in the world. Evellyn Mller Whltby To safisty the present situation of hospital in-service hours, why can't new signs bo pîaced under the present 'H' sigris, indicating the haùirs the Whitby General is open and which hasptajs the wouîd-be patients can go ta during the clased hours. It is hoped that a compromise can bo reached soan, if not already. Otherwise, peopîe's lives coulid bo in jeopardy. Lewis F. Chaw Whltby Cofused To the edîtor: I arn confused. Yaur page ane article (Free Press, Aug. 3) contains Whitby General Hospital vice-president Marc Kealey's canceen over Save Our General Hospital's apparently campetitive fund- raising activities.. Your page 3 photograph has the WGH board chair apparently supporting thosê-activities. Perhaps your paper could invite the left hand ta confirm what the right hand is doing and then try again ta help us more canfused citizens ta understand exactly wha is trying ta heîp wham. Dave Garland Whltby THE........ HOSiTlI Sign removal unwarranted