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PAGE 4. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1980, WHITBY FREE PRESS h i b y C ublished every Wednesday by Ml.B.M. Publishing gS ~and Photography nc Phone 668-61 Il The Free Press Building. Voice of the County Town Michael Ian Burgess, Publisher - Managing Editor 131 Brock Street North, The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. MikeKeeli Community Editor communIty EdItor Production Manager Print & Promotional Manager Classifled Ad Advertiaing Manager An open letter to Mayor J.C. Gartshore.... Council hasfailed to recognize the problems of Whitby's senior citizens Dear Sir: In the Town of Whitby are a large number of retired people on relatively fixed in- comes. (and their numbers are growing very fast) I am In this group of senior citizens'and i am sorry to have to say so but some members of council find it hard to recognize this group. I am not speaking about those In the senior citizens apartments, (they are in receipt of some benefit) I am speaking about those who worked hard, built a home, raised a family, pald off the morigage, ail to enjoy ln retirement, only to fInd it more and more difficult to meet their committments. I like others am very thankful for the provincial tax credits. Mr. Mayor you are to be commended for your in- testinal fortitude in making some of the recommen- dations contained in your speech at the first council meeting; such as developing existing parks, better use of school facilities (after ail they do belong to the taxpayer). I think it only natural that ail fire companies should con- sider the location of fire halls so that there is satisfactory coverage. I reserve my com- ments on Regional Gover- nment but I can't help thinking that if we have Regional Police, shouldn't Regional Fire Protection be a matter for consideration. It would seem that some people want to move the fire hall in the center of whitby to the 3rd concession and build a new one on Burns St. Does this mean that the larger In- dustries in Whitby such as Firestone, DuPont, Mc- Namara, The Hospital and many other smaller Industrial will be further away from fire protection? The people of Port Whitby also derserve better treatment. The Fire Hall should not be moved at this time, the reason is not very real. (stop lights could be installed). Regarding the proposed bus service:-l hope the Mayor and councillors will not be governing the use of a survey carried out by a newspaper that has already declared its views. We cannot afford this ser- vice, I don't think that anyone riding the bus, whether it be to their job, to the curling rink, to shop, to play bridge or any other reason, would like to feel they are riding at the expense of retired people. The people living ln the senior citizens apartment could very well be given an opportunity to shop in Whit- by by a convenient schedule set up using the mini type bus or the same bus that is used for conveying the han- dicapped. We cannot afford a bus service and for a member of council to say it wIll only cost a case of beer is in very poor taste and shows contempt of the tax payers money. i gave up that same case of beer some time ago and dropped from an 8 cylinder car to a 6 to save money. The increase in gasoline quickly absorbed the savings. The fact that Whitby is one of a few municipalities without a bus service is to Whitby's better judgement. That case of beer will become a barrel very soon. Another council member is promoting a fitness center - can't we think of any other way of spending the tax money? is this to provide exercise for those that might ride the bus. If people need to exercise, putting one foot in front of the other a few hun- dred times Is about the best, riding a bicycle and swim- ming are also recommended. We have enough monuments n Whitby already. Let's stop this empire building. It was a black day for downtown Whitby when the town administration moved out to Rossland Road. A past mayor of Whitby once said "the farther you are away from the people affec- ted the less effective you become." i am not so sure it would not be a shot in the arm for downtown Whitby and the merchants, if the architects monument was sold and municipal offices move back to Whitby. With regard to the development of Brooklin, I am not yet ready to accept the fact that it will not cost the residents of Whitby anything. I wonder why the public utilities commission has to be a separate body. Could they not be contained as a part of this council's ad- ministration as the water ser- vice used to be? This would save a lot of duplication. As a last recommendation Mr. Mayor, the Whitby Humane Society should be self supporting, I am getting tired of paying for dogs to use my lawn as tollets and scratching mats. The dog lovers would not mind paying to keep the animal shelter going. L.H. Inkpen 315 Frances St. Whitby i I .Mike Knell . Mari Burgess . Robin Lyon Karen ThOmPsOi tMLi?.' !Toot i I Letters to the Editor Whitby Free Press P.O. Box 206, Whitby à 40 f