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PAGE 4 WLITBY FREE PRESS, TUESDAY, DEC. 30, 1986 Publlshod svary Wednesday DOUG ANDERSON w hitby By 67720à Ontarlo Inc. Publilher ~ ~ Phono 668.6111 74 r r n MAURICE PIPHER ~Th. Edior UIà lqiL ~ ~ Th Free Pross Building KNHTAA 11 Brock Street North XNHTAA VOICE 0F THfE C0UNTY TOWN P.O.-Box 206, Whltby, Ont. Jdstan aae The onIy Whitby newsp'pcr inlependentli owiîed and operaied by Witly ret3idenits for Whiby residenis With the New Year just around the corner, the agalnst the wlshes of the Historical Society which same councilors need to be reminded thatti is WhtyFree Press has. devoted this Issue to a had operated it as a museum for 14 years, decided «a democracy and that the same public, that they review of the past year. The major Issues of the to move It to Cullen Gardens wlthout conslderlng are avolding are the people they are supposed to year unfortunately ail have a com mon element. any other options. Having got lt there they be representing. Whether the issue was Bluegrass Meadows, dlscovered (what the Historical Society had been The Public perception of government at ail Decom or Lynde House, the very existence of the telllng It ail along> - that operation at Cullen Gar- levelsthese days-is "we vs. them" and It Is traglc Issue was due to the watchfulness of groups of dens would be very expenslve2- rather than accept that communication has dropped to such -depths citizens. In every case, they were hlghly crIticai of responsibllty for what they had done, they hid at the local level, the level that Is supposed to bei the manner that Town Council had handled these behlnd the cloak of saving the taxpayers' money closest to the people. When last dld one of our Issues. (in fact, the move had cost the taxpayers a bundie) councillors ask you what you thought about an In the case'0f Bluegrass Meadows, the Town and gave the house to Cullen no strings at- 'Issue? If they're flot going to ask, then the public apparently reneged on agreements signed bet- tached. needs to volunteer the answers - but wIll they ween the developer andi the residents. The Throughout discussion 0f these Issues, council listen? residents knew this and the planning department maintalned an aloofness -"We'll do what's best During the fali, there was the announcement of should have known t, yet acting on Insufficient ln-- for you whether you like It or not." If council were the formation of a Citlzen's Research Coalition to formation, council plowed ahead. They were only more open In dealing with Its citizens, If It act as a public watchdog for our Town Councl t saved from possible embarrassment ln court genuinely sought public input as Issues These private citizens are to.be commended, but when Markborough Properties refused to seil the developed, and if it showed a willingness to very littie has been heard from them since and we property to the 1Durham Reglon Non-Profit cooperate with community groups, much of the wonder if they are stIli active or can act effec- Housing Corporation on a technicality. acrimony of the past year could have been tively. Certalnly our present council has,.demon- The Decom affaîr Is even stranger - apparently avolded. strated over the last year that somebody needs to i the Town secretly approved the proposai but It Is ail too evident to people who have attended watch them closely. when public opposition developed thçy switched council and commlttee meetings that public horses. That Issue is StI unresolved and the deputations are regarded by councillors as a for- Confrontational government Is very cdstly: itl* <s decision rests with the Minlstry of the Environ- mality that, by law, they have to endure. The emotionally drainilng as wellas inefficiet iney ment. nature of many debates (or more accurately lack fectîve and expensîve. However, wthout a com- The movîng of Lynde House to Culien Gardens of debate) Indicates clearly that counciliors have mitment from councîl towards cooperation, .we i was another case of rash decisions based on ln- thoroughly discussed the Issues previously well are probably doomed to another year of f lreworks. sufficlent Information. Council convînced itself beyond the glare of the public eye. Our councillors need. the Imagination, to realize that Lynde House was ln danger of belng This is nothlng new of course: it has been going that the cîtizens who elected them also have tliç demollshed (when In fact the owners - the only on for several years. Some councillors would intelligence to know when they've been people wlth the right to do It - said It wasn't) and describe it as efficient government but those inadequately represented. 1'986-A reporter's view BMIXE JOHNSTON building permits that appear in TheFePes councillors. There are some who will- tell youllI Looking back on 1986, it was not just a every month. have done an adequate job and others. - well, I,,d busy time for those involved in the political As of last month the town had issued over $100 rather not say. process, but also for those who attempt to cover million in permits and Mayor Bob Attersley ex- Coming out of college, into the world of jour- it. peets that figure to top $115 million by the end of nalism, I have learned that we were neyer taught I began at The Free Press in March of this the year. enough about municipal politics. I learned more year, and since that time, much of what I repor- Compare that with figures for the town, of on my first week of the job than I learned in tv,>'o ted involves the town's growth. Woodstock, which has a population of about years at college, From attempting to read Recreational 1facilities, subsidized housing, 22,000. Woodstock expects to issue $17 million in through the lines of the agendas, to following' traffic - ail are due to growth in the town in one permits, a figure they are very proud of. them, to the reports from staff to attèmpting to fashionor another. My main area of coverage since I began has SEAE An example of the growth is these reports on been to keep a watchful eye on our council and SEPG Christmas bulbis Lettelr: stolenfrom home To the Editor: I have lived in this community for 15 years where previously van- dalism bas not been a problem. .However, it started at my house on Halloween. now, during the nigbt of Dec. 26-27 my outside Christmas light display was decimated with the stealing of some 200 bulbs. not only that, two painted plaster "guar- dian" dogs glued to my front porch were wren- ched frorn their positions and one of them was reduced to shards, only possible by deliberate destruction. Furhtermore, two other plaster ceramnic dogs, in alcoves close to the front door, had their ears chopped off discar- ded somewhere (I found two ears in my privet hedge). As a senior citizen I arn finding it more dif- ficult each year to put up mny Christmas display. However, I hoped it "'ould bèing cheer to other residents of Whitby. Since my loss, 1 have discovered that many friends who live6 in up- town Wbtby (Walnut; Beech; Cochrane area) abandoned outside displays several years ago for the same reasoi. presumably, these SEE PAGE 10 "Good luck kid"l ;, 16-1-