The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PAGE 4, WITBY FREPRESS, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 4, 1989 '88 REVIEW '88 REVIEW '88 REVIEW '88 REVIEW '88 REVIEW CRANBERRY The Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority learned in Janua that the Cranberry marsh in Witby is dying, threa- tening the trumpeter swan pro- gram there. CLOCA launched an investigation of the problem. DIRECT DIAL Whitby residents signed peti- tions to get the Canadian Radio- television and Telecommunica- tions Commission (CRTC) to con- sider a direct dial service bet- ween Whitby and Toronto in January and February. There was overwhelming support from most residents. INQUEST, Three recommendations for in- creased safety procedures were made by a coroner's jury after an inquest in May imto the Septem- ber, 1987, death of Robert Baxter J.dring construction of tlbe non-profit housing prject on Nichol Ave. in Whitby., SUPERMAILBOXES Supermailboxes took on a new meaning for Whitby councillors in 1988 when a Pickering couple were successful in getting.a five per cent reduction in taxes beca- sue their home was adjacent to a supermailbox. In April council asked Canada Post to reimburse the Town for the loss in revenue estimated to be approximatley $9,400 in 1988 and higher in 1989. When council's request was denied, it decided not to enter into an agreement with Canada Post over the upkeep and loca- tions of new supermailboxes to be installed. The Town and Canada Post are still attempting to work out a satisfartory aareement. SENIORS' CENTRE A report in June indicated that a new building is needed to carry out activities of the Whitby Seniors Activity Centre. The report stated that the existing 12-year-old building on Brock St. S. is operating at capacity. Fun- draising later began for a new building. YOUTHBAND The Whitby Youth Concert Band, directed by Bruce Court, disbanded after their final con- cert tour through England in Tuly. As Toronto adopted a code of conduct for its councillors, Mayor Bob Attersley seized the idea and introduced the concept to Whitby council in September. The code, which calls for all councillors to reveal assets and financial interests, was first in- troduced in September, shortly after the Toronto council's adop- tion of the code. It was suggested that Whitby councillors disclose their finan- cial dealings and assets 60 days following the municipal election. Town clerk Don McKay drafted a tentative code of conduct, modeled on the Toronto code, and presented it to operations committee at the beginning of October. Operations committee declared it too vague, and decided to hold a special council meeting to dis- cuss the code. At the Oct. 11 council meeting, AN 80-YEAR-OLD hip roof barn, one of the last of its kind in this area, was removed last April from its Dundas St. E. location (Don and Erma Wood property) to make way for commercial develop- ment. It was reconstructed in Newtonville. Frec Press photo GO STATION OPENS On schedule and with full parking lots, GO train service egan in Whitby on Dec. 5 after opening ceremonies on Dec. 4 attracted a large crowd. Whitby council asked for a study to determine how Whitb Transit will interact with GO Transit. In December, since the opening, it was found that 200 more riders each day use Whitby Transit, most from west Whitby. 25THANNIVERSARY The Whitby branch of St. John Ambulance celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1988. A branch that was formed in 1955 by Whitby businessmen and Terry Moore and Charles Stafford was granted recognition by the St. John Priory in Ottawa as a chapterin April, 1963 UNITED WAY The fall United Way campaign for Whitby, Oshawa and Newcas- tle raised $2,710,331, or 99 per cent of the goal of $2.75 million. HERITAGE GROUP With Lynda Buffett as pre- sident, the Whitby Heritage Advisory Group was formed to encourage preservation of Whitby's heritage and to help estabhsh a permanent museum. CENTENNIAL BUILDING One of Whitby's most historic structures, the Centennial build- ing required a $1.2-million reno- vation, according to a June study conducted by Jean Monteith and Associates. Renovations include the need to construct an elevator; expand the washrooms; improve the access ramp; and expand the theatre. Council followed up on the recommendations and in Decem- ber requested $400,000 from the Province, part of which would be used for restoration of the Cen- tennial building. Also in December, Mayor Bob Attersley announced his inten- tion to have a museum and the Whitby Courthouse Theatre as the only two occupants of the building. ELECTION Whitby voters were busy in November as both municipal and federal elections were held. Pro- gressive Conservative Rene Soe- tens easily captured Ontario rid- ing (which includes south Whitby) while Progressive Con- servative Ross Stevenson also was a comfortable winner in Durham riding (includes north Whitby) in the, federal election dominated by the free trade debate. Bob Attersley defeated Gerry Emm by 1,001 votes to gain his fourth term as mayor; arcel Brunelle, Joe Drumm and Tom Edwards were elected as regional councillors, defeating Edie Gomille; incumbent Joe Bugelli won the west ward over Dave Wall; Linda Buffett defea- ted five other candidates for the centre ward seat once held by Brunelle; Dennis Fox won a close contest in the east ward over Geoff Rison, Cathy Rowell, Bob White and Pat Dooley for the seat once held by Drumm; Ross Batten easily won a fourth term in the north ward, defeating Brian Wick; incumbents Cathy Rowell, Ian Brown and John Buchanan easily won as trustees on the Durham Board of Educa- tion; similariy, incumbents Ed Finan, Tom Oldman and Cath- erine Tunney easily regained their trustee seats on the Dur- ham separate school board; and hydro commission incumbents Gerald Cox, Bob Cawker, Bill Lawler and John Hughes were also easily returned. IERREMA RE-ELECTED In December, Gary Herrema was elected to his fourth term as Durham regional chairman as he was unchallenged in his bid for the position at the first meeting of the newly elected councii. Newly elected Joe Drumm of Whitby is on planning commit- tee, newly elected Marcel Brunelle of Whitby is on works committee, re-elected Whitby mayor Bob Attersley is on finance and administration com- mittee and police commission, and re-elected Tom Edwards of Whitby is on health and social services committee. In the fall, a full service postal outiet was opened in Checkers Variety in the Towne Plaza off Dundas St. W. councillor Gerry Emm proposed that any councillor who had been on council more than six years reveal his finances by Nov. 1. His motion was highly critic- ized by councillors, and was soundly defeated. Many council- lors were concerned that the code was implying that councillors are corrupt. Council decided to ask a lawyer and an accountant for written comments on the code for council's consideration. David Greenspan, a lawyer, and Gord Sedgewick, an accoun- tant, were consulted and they felt that the code was too vague and would not serve the purpose that council wanted the code to fill. In short, by the Nov. 28 mieet- ing, council had decided that there was no legal need for the code as the professionals did not feel it was adequate nor necess- ary. BARN In March, an 80-year-old hip roof barn was removed from a pro erty beside Glen Hill Dr. to make room for development. The barn was reconstructed and used by its new owners in Newtonville TOWN TAXES Whitby council approved tax increases of 7.5 per cent for urban ratepayers and 7.4 per cent for rural following two ses- sions of budget discussions in February. The average taxpayer paid $509 in taxes for general municipal purposes. -lhere was a 7.9 per cent tax increase in 1988 for the average Whitby ratepayer ($5,500 assess- ment) who supported the public schoôl system, and a slightly lower increase for the separate school supporter. The increase was determined by the Town treasurer's department in June after the Town, Region and school boards' budgets had been Passed. HOUSING STUDY A motion by regional councillor Gerry Emm to have developers provide low- to moderate-priced residential' development was rejectedby administrative com- mittee in April. Instead, commit- tee decided to ask the planning department to investigate meth- ods to provide low and affordable housing. He's giving a LONGUEUIL EXCHANGE The 20th twinning exchange between Whitby and Longueuil, Quebec took place in June when three WIhitby councillors and many Whitbyresidents visited the city in Quebec. FIRE TRUCKS In May, Whitby council appro- ved the purchase of two new trucks for the Whitby fire depart- ment at a total cost of $477,383. The cost was $165,383 beyond what was budgeted for the vehi- cles when estimates were obtained in 1987. SURCHARGE Durham Region took no· action on a request in June by Whitby council to waive the sewer sur- charge after residents used extra water to keep their lawns green during the heat wave. Côuncillor Joe Bugelli who introduced the motion at Whitby council, said only a fraction of the water used by residents went into Region sewers during the hot spell. In March, Durham Region approved an increase in its lot levy by $610. Following the in- crease, a developer who in 1987 had to contribute $2,345 to the Region for water, sewers and roads, now had to contribute $2,995. lot , but they may be empty packages !" Oc. 2698s Aug. . 24188 "They prefer a code of misconduct"