PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1980, WHITBY FREE PRESS w h ifb y C Pn».i-hedevery wednesd. -by M.B.M. Publishing wt y and Photography Inc. Phone 668-61 Il The Free Press Building Voice of the County Town Michael lan Burgess, Publisher- Managing Editor 131 Brock Street North' lhe only Whitby newspaper independently owned andoperated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. P.O. Box 206. Whitby, O i I Michael J. Knell Commun tyEditor Marjorie A. Burgess Production Manager Karen Thompson Advertising Manager Maiiing Permit No. 460 Member of the WhItby Chamber of Commerce Corridor association has missed the point on the Whitby bus issue We are, indeed, sorry to say this, but the Corridor Area Ratepayers Association has missed the point. At their public meeting held last Wednesday views were expressed on the newly established Whitby Transit Service. Unfortunately, most of their views were negative ln nature. However, there are a few points that we would like to comment on. One lady made the following remark: "But, who goes to downtown Whitby, anyway?" We are also sorry to report that that comment was received by the audience not only with ap- plause, but with laughter as well. One of the reasons why the transit service was introduced into the Town of Whitby was to support the downtown area and to encourage people to shop and make use of their own downtown area. The fact of the matter is, whether they like it or not, the people-who live in the Corridor area are citizens and taxpayers of the Town of Whitby and they should be supporting the town and the mer- chants who Ilve and work here. May we remind the Corridor Area Ratepayers Association that the business of this town pay the biggest chunk of the municipal tax bill. There are over 600 different types of businesses in this town, both commercial and Industrial and they carry the financial load of the town. Without them, residential taxes would be certainly much higher than they are. The suggestion was also made that the Whitby Transit Service should provide a means of getting to the Oshawa Shopping Centre. Let us ask this question: le it fair and Just for the business peopla of this community to pay the majority of the bill for the service to transport passengers to the Oshawa Shopping Centre? The Oshawa Shopping Centre does not pay taxes in Whitby and hence the Oshawa Shopping Centre makes no financial contribution to the life of this community. If the buses went to the Oshawa Shopping Cen- tre, the business community of the Town of Whitby may as well give the money directly to their com- petition there. The Whitby bus service ls for the people of the town, it should serve the people of the town and should enable them to take advantage of the com- mercial activity present in the town. Another point was made at the meeting by association vice-president, Vlc Sheffieid. He said that he was disappointed that there was not going to be an election in the east ward and that present councillor Joe Drumm would be returned by ac- clamation. If Mr. Sheffield and the association are so con- cerned about the fate of the Town of Whitby and of the bus service in particular, we would most hum- bly suggest that they find a candidate that they can support and get Involved in the election process. The association should not be criticizing the councIl or any particular councilors unless they are willing to give the voters an alternative come polling day. Thirdly, and finally, why should the high school bus transportation be re-introduced? Education taxpayers in Ajax and Oshawa do not get this ser- vice because a public system already exists. Why should they subsidize the children of Corridor area parents when they themselves will never receive that service? Most of the complaints that have been heard from the students themselves are that they have to walk to catch the bus and that they have to leave earlier than they are used to. We do not believe that these arguments have any great merit because high school students throughout the reglon are faced with the same problem. Their parents complained that it would cost them $90 a year to send .them to school on the public system. Oshawa parents pay $126 a year to send their high school age children to school, so all-in all, Whitby parents are not getting too bad a deal. Besides which, why do these parents want to be subsidized for sending their children to school. Their children are their responsibility and the community at large should not have to subsidize them further. Public transportation should be considered in the same way as water and sewer services. It should be a user pay service, but as no transit system runs in the block, it is subsidized. The average homeowner is lnot subsidized for the water and sewer services that he uses, so why should he be subsidized more for the public tran- sportation services that he uses? The point ls not that the Durham Board of Education withdrew its service because the town introduced their own and that Corridor ratepayers were not compensated for it in the form of a tax reduction. The point ls not that they don't feel that the service is adequate. What the point should be le how do we make the Whitby Transit Service better. The association should stop criticizing the ser- vice and come up with constructive ways of making it better. Brandon celebrates birthday Dear Sir: Brandon, Manitoba will mark it's 100th an- nIversary in 1982 and preparations for the celebration of this historic occasion are well underway. One of the major functions of the year will be "Homecominlg", designated for the period July 3rd to 11th inclusive, and the Cen- tennial Committee ls now in the process of estabiishing a register of persons who for- merly resided in the city of Brandon. Through the courtesy of your newspaper, we would ask any ex- Brandonites in your area to send their names and addresses to us so they may be placed on our Homecoming mailing list. Such correspon- dence should be ad- dressed to the Brandon Centennial Committee, P.O. Box 1982, Bran- don, Manitoba, R7A 6A3. Thank you. Yours truly, Eva M. Campbell Chairman, 1882 Brandon Centennial Committee g. nt. m j- im