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Old arena may be revived for use as a community centre Thie old arena property, which lias been in a state of limbo since July of 1972, nay be revived for comuiiiity centre. Council was use as a recentlv presented with an operations coinmittee commendation tlh- at the property be renovated and assigned to the Recrea- tion Department. The recommendation carne about after Wayne De Veau, Director of the Recreation Department, reported that there were several develop- ments which had evolved which would make the revi- val of the old arena practical. The main developments are the purchase of the old works yard on the ninth con- cession and the possible sale of the annex building at 300 Dunlop Street. Mr. De Veau reported that, should the Region of Durham purchase the old works yard, then ail the 'dead' storage items, presently in the old arena, could be moved to this site. The recre- ation workshop, which is also currently in the old arena, is being provided for in the new works yard now under con- struction. le also reported that, should the annex building be sold, then several groups pre- sently using this building will w be displaced. Two regular groups are the Royal Canadi- an Sea Cadets Corps and the Malta Social Club. The Town is also using this building for storage of office supplies, so losing this building will also be 'an inconvenience' said Mr. De. Veau. Mr. De Veau wondered where the sea cadet corps and the Malta Social Club would bc facilitated. In addition, he reported that other program needs have developed in the Town which include a boxing club, weight training program and other various special interests. The Recreation Depart- ment feels that 'the old Whit- by Arena shoudl be used for the Town's own purposes and programming'. The de- partment feels that the old Whitby Arena could be used as a meeting place for existing in the annex, a meeting place for new programs to be de- veloped and a storage area for Town supplies. The department has made application for a Local Initia- tives Program grant for two maintenance men to work on renovating the old arena. A while back, the Kinsmen Club had approached the Town won' t apply for housing loan %Whitby Counicil hias de- cided not to apply for a S I -million loan under the National Ilousing Progran. Earlier this year council passed a resolution request- ing Central Mortgage and lousing Corporation to allocate $2.7-million in the way of a loan to the munici- pality as part of a Municipal Land Assembly Prograi. Initially. ie Town's application was for 'tie al- location of funds for certain lands in the vicinity of tie new municipal building. CMHC informed the Town that it could investi-, gate and make application for alternate projects in an amount not to exceed $1 -million. According to advice re- ceived from the Ontario Min- istry of Housing, which must approve of any application by the Town, one of the major criteria for land assem- bly loans is the possibility of 'quick starts' for housing, mainly in the low to moder- ate income range. The Town was also advi-. sed that, with regard to the financing of loans_ from CMHC at a preferred interest rate, repayment of the prin- ciple would be deferrable until disposition of the land- Repayment of the interest would be deferrable for up to three years or until disposi- tion of the land. Council decided to not take advantage of the $1-mil- lion loan because, as Council- lor Jim Gartshore said,~it is not capable of meeting the criteria of providing quick housing starts. Acting Mayor Councillor John Goodwin and Council- lqr Tom Edwards voted in favour of seeking the loan whie Councillors Gartshore, Joy Thompson and Don Lovelock voted against. DISCOUNT Childrens' oes & Runners &up Mens' 143 King St. E. (Next to Mr. Submarine) SHOE OUTLET Ladies' Odds & Ends 198 & up Oshawa 725-4011 There's a new Ontario Senior Citizens' Privilege Card, which has been sent to 750,000 Ontario residents aged 65 and older. It replaces the monthly drug benefit card issued by the Ministry of Health. In addition to free OHIP services, the card provides more than 1500 f ree pre- scription drugs to ail seniors receiving federal Old Age Security or Ontario Guaranteed AnnualIncome System (GAINS) cheques. The new Privilege Card offers identi- fication for: " Free admission to ail Ontario provincial parks. " Free or reduced admission to many historical, cultural and recreational sites, such as Ontario Place, the Ontario Science Centre, Upper Canada Village and the Royal Botanical Gardens. " Special senior citizens discounts at many business establishments. " Special senior citizens rates on certain public transit systems. (Check with your local transit system to see if it off ers these.) " Participation in community activities and centres for senior citizens. If you are presently receiving your monthly drug benefit card, you should receive your Senior Citizens' Privilege Card automatically. Sign it immediately. Without your signature, you cannot use the card. If you are 65 or older, and have lived in Ontario for 12 months or more but have not received your card by September 30, write to: Ontario Senior Citizens' Privilege Card (Drug Benefit) Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario M7A 2S3 If you are 65 or older, but have lived in Ontario for less than 12 months, you may apply for a temporary Privilege Card. It will entitle you to ail privileges except drug benefit. Write to: Ontario Senior Citizens' Privilege Card Box 21000 Station "A" Toronto, Ontario M5W 1 Y5 Ministry of Community and Social Services Rene Brunelle, Minister If you are 65 or older, you are probably entitled to Ontario's new Senior Citizens' Privilege Card. These are the privileges Ontario offers you. Government of Ontario William Davis, Premier Town and 'offered to buy the arena, make renovations to it and use it for themselves and offer it to other groups in the town. Councillor Jim Gartshore said of the Kinsmen move 'I think we have the oppor- tunity of doing something in that building'. He wondered if the Town or the Kinsmen Club should undertake the re- novations. 'After all, it will not cost them (Kinsmen) less to renovate it because they can get their labour free'. Councillor Joy Thompson moved that the Kinsmen should renovate the building and then be offered a lease on the building. She said that, by doing this, the taxpayers' money would be saved. She added that the club had said it would make the building available to other groups. Mrs. Thompson felt that 'the Kinsmen Club would do a better job (of renovating) if not faster than we (the Town) could. Council decided to turn the property over to the re- creation Department and meeting with the Kinsmen Club to discuss the poss- bility of them renovating the building.