WHITI3Y FREE PRESS, Thursday, March 16> 1972, Page FROM A BIRD'S EVE VIEW J/M QO/AIl The Sad Face of Downtown A sh o rt w alk in downtown Whitby wilI uncover ail kinds of closed stores a nd e i ther "For Sale" or "For Rent"' signs. The dawntown faceof Whi tby is chan- ging, but i think the face is indeed a sad one. There are too many shops closed, same af them i think for good. Is there an answer ? Some people think sa. Mayor Newman and Joe Ottenbri te have fai th in the down- town area and have spurred on the Down- tawn Action Committee. The committee is b og g ed down. for the present whil1e awaiting plans for a downtown facelift, b ut wes h oul1d see some action came Spring. The Town of Whitby lost a lot of his- t o ry when the olId post off ice was tomn down. i'm not one to leave every build- ing standing but we should not have been s o hasty to tear down the oid past off- i c e. The oi d Town Hall1 had ta be tomn down before it feil down. That was no loss. The old Town Hallwasan old dump and had about as much style as a bent shoe box. The 11ibrary, of course, must be res- t o red and left standing. lt's much toa smail for a library, but we couid use it f or a n art gal lery or even a museum. It could aiso be used for acharmilg t h e a tre for some of the amateur thea- tre groups in the area. The job of giving the downtown area a f acelift will be difficuit. Most of the buildings have out of date wiring, plumn- b i ng a nd heating, a nd the glass and c h r ome fronts that h-ave been stuck on the ol1d brick would have to go to re- t u rn t he buil1dings the way they were when they were new. At present the downtown area has no i n cent ive for a new proprietar to even c on s id er s tarting a business. If the w> " Hourly Bus/Train Seriet Exhibition Station. "Free Parking at mostGO Stations. " Children under 12 haif the adult fare. For further bus and train information phorie: Metro Toronto 248-3112 Pickering-Ajax 192-00 Clarkson-Oakvîlle 845-6694 W942-2000aw B urI ington-Hamni Itonl 527-8187WityOaw G4 ÀNSIF Operated by ON.and Gray Coach Lines For the Province of Ontario area is gaing ta campete with the plaz- a s,- i t is going ta have ta offer some- th ing thé plazas cannat affer. ln Tor- ont ta, Honest Ed bought al1 the stores on both sides of the street of one block and turned the area into a smal I vill1age. The shaps are al1 ald buiîIdings, but they have that quaint look the plazas cannat off er. This type af village also offers handmade goods and arts and craf ts that you usuaîly can't buy at a plaza. Of course arestoration effort of thi s k in d w ould need lots of pl anning. But most of aîl, it would need the support of the citizens of Whitby. When you walk downtown these days the sad face is infectious. Waîking past al 1l those closed stores makes you feel very depressed and that i s usual ly rea- son enough ta want to get out. i think i t1s time webraught back some of the oîdwarlId charm and beauty ta our downtawnarea. ltwouldbe a refreshing chainge from the chrome and bright I ights and the hurried bustie of the plazas. Waîking and shopping in a smalî, aid world village atmosphere aîways seems to make peopl e friendiier, and who knows, we might even get to know some of our fellow citizens a little better! 1Ihave my old straw skimmer and cane dusted off just waiting. . Ob1t's ni ce to know there isstil somebody who wou d come out of a warm house on acold night to help out a motor- ist. My thanks to Mr. Weir for helping megetmy truck out of the ditch on Val- ley Court iast night. Volkswagens '72's FROM $2245.00 A GOOD SELECTION 0P CONPLETELY FRCONDITIONED AND]) UARANTEED VoW.'s INi STOCK. Pickering Car Centre Ltd. Baseline Rd., 942-l1 _ Ajax 942-181 TIIADE IN SPEClALS Ail certlfled 67 Parisienne HDT, VS, P. B. Radio $995 67 Polara VS Auto. P. qt. Radio $1#,025 66 Fury HDT, Auto. P. B. Radio $895 65 Bolaîr VS Auto. Radio $595 AS 15 SPECIALS NO PLATES 64 Chovelle $195 65 Strato Chief $195 65 Mustang $595 For That personal Touch Corne To PICKERING CAR CENTRE 4e- date fQr fil1 ing comments wi th the Secretary-Trea- surer of the Pl anning Board wil11 be 5:00 p. m. on March 20th, 1972. In addltion there wil11 be a Publ ic Meeting on March 21, 1972 at 7:30p.m. in the C ou nc i I Chambers of the Municipal SuilIding, at which the proposed amendment will be discussed. AIl material filed concerning the amendment is on file and open ta public inspection at the office of the S ecretary-Treasurer of the Planning Board in the Municipal Building, 405 Dundas Street West, Whitby, Ontario. DR. K. C. HOBBS, CHAI RMAN DR. M. MICHAEL, SECRETARY-TREASURER.1 RADIO & APPLIANGES "Your Eloctrohoine, R.C.AU &Panasonic Dealer"? 668-3707 118 BROCK STOS., WHIBY m r- 15 WORD S FR 1 INADVANCE SEND Il IN OR BRING IT INTO OUR OFFICE AT 301 BYRON Sir.S AND WE WILL RU N VOUR WANT-AD *UNTIL SOLE) or maximum of' 5 weeks. PLEASE PRINT WORD r'.> 2 (. r <e.>te.) MAILITO; WHUTBY FREE PRESS BOX 206, WHUTBY Ad<nowledgements or receipta aieaflot sent an respe« t0 cheque or money orders. CaMso snt through the mail as at thse advertisei"s ri*l. NAME .............................. ADDRESS........................... P.0O ............................... .PHONE NO........................... TOWN 0F WHITBY PLANNING BOARD Public Notice of a Proposed amendment to the officiai plan of the TOWN 0F WHITBY PLANNING AREA (Covering those lands formerly.knowvn as the Town of WNhitby) IThe publishing of this Notice is for the purpose of obtaining the participation and co-operation of the inhabitants of the Planning Area in deter- mining the solution of problemns or matters affect- ing the development of the Planning Area. PURPOSE 0F THE AMENDMENT A