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bh die ddiib Ae. J Jd. al add. SR he Ah. oadihidih. alia. adi gi di shh adh pd db oak dis ibid db Sh dh sid adh 4h. Sosibbtadhh a NF = TSA CONF NE NUE CEE OE TERE TERE TYE NYE TT YES TE: SA 8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, June 6, 1989 Letters i. Hastily made garbage decision was a serious error An Open Letter to Durham Regional Council Members Ladies and Gentlemen: The May 17th Regional Council decision to join with the Greater plan is, in my opinion, a serious error with very negative ramifications on both the short and long term interests of the Region of Durham. The decision, a rather muscular exercise in democracy, was made in unseem- ly haste and you the councillors have been insufficiently inform- ed, misled and even duped into believing that G.T.A. represents the best, if not the only alternative for waste management. It is the best alternative for Metro and its Toronto Area waste management SKYDOME OPENS I'm not sure how many people in Scugog Township give a hoot about Toronto's half billion dollar Skydome, but I've been following its progress with great interest recently. In fact, my interest peaked a few months back, when | learned my daughter Sherri Lee would be taking part in the opening ceremonies as one of the volunteer performers. See separate story elsewhere in this issue. Well, Skydome was officially opened last Saturday night, and many of those attending found themselves being drenched by a down- pour while a crowd of about 45,000 spectators cheered as the retractable roof began to open. It was a magnificent sight! With the push of a hand-held switch by Premier David Peterson, a laser-beam danced towards the top of the Skydome and the huge roof began to slowly part, revealing that ihe heavens were not playing ball. Inch by inch, and foot by foot, a visible patch of water began forming on the concrete floor, and a rainbow of coloured umbrellas be- gan to appear throughout the stands. After the roof had retracted about 50 feet, an announce- ment came over the speaker system saying that because of the weather the Dome would be closed. That never happened! The domed roof continued to slide silently and smoothing along its tracks for the next four- ty minutes, and the downpour soaked the floor, the volunteer performers and the patrons who had paid wir bo from $55 to $122 per person to be a part of the opening. You can bet they won't forget it quickly! With the Dome completely opened, the show continued with six sky-divers jumping from an airplane somewhere above the dome, into the pitch-black night. Through the rain they dropped, swooping past the Dome's open roof and then sailing over the enthusiastic, cheering crowd. It was indeed a magnificent spectacle and one that | will not quickly forget. I'm not going to devote this entire column to Skydome, because I'm sure if you were interest- ed, by now you will have read numerous ac- counts of the opening in the Toronto newspa- pers, or have watched the gala opening on CBC on Sunday night. But, should the Dome have opened as scheduled on June 3, 19897? Personally, after having had the opportunity of attending the Dome opening, | don't think so. Many areas of Skydome were not complet- ed. The halls along the corridor leading to the Jottings by ). Peter Hvidsten "high priced" box seats were littered with gar- bage. Exit areas were strewn with construction debris, and the men's washroom in the press boxes looked like a disaster. The roof leaked, (even when it was closed) wires dangled from ceilings and walls, and in general the building was untidy. In my opinion Skydome was not ready to greet some 50,000 people last Saturday night for a gala opening. It was rather ironic, that the tuxedoed men and gowned ladies ( who arrived by chauffeur driven limo's) had to pass piles of garbage and rubble as they made their way along the corri- dors to their private boxes on the third level of the Dome. But the opening did take place, and to say that it was less than fantastic would be a lie. On the surface, the part that most people saw, the Dome was ready, and | guess that's all that really matters. THANKS FOR LETTERS Every so often we get letters here at the Star that are not really meant for publication, but are the kind that give the staff a moral boost. Such was the case last week, when two sep- arate letters arrived from subscribers after they had received their renewal notices. The first one, from Mary Kershaw of Toronto says "| willingly renew! How can one belong in the area and pot subscribe to the Port Perry Star? Informative, enjoyable and well produced, it is excellent value." The second letter comes from former resi- dent Ivy Rahm who now lives in Victoria B.C. Mrs. Rahm writes "| got my expiry card to- day. Can | Jot a ng to you in time for my next Star? Woe is me if | don't. You say the paper often stays in the home for a week or more. When you are miles from Scugog it stays longer than that. After | finish with mine, my daughter across the street goes through it item by item. Then my other daughter, across town, takes it home. After she finishes it goes to be made into newspaper and starts over again. So please accept my cheque and renew my paper, pronto. All the best to you and a wonder- ful paper." Our Thanks to both Mrs. Kershaw and Mrs. Rahm for taking the time out to drop us a line. We appreciate your comments and promise that we will keep the paper coming. IN CLOSING Thanks to everyone for their kind comments about the twins. And in answer to our most asked question...YES, Jamie and Katie are pro- gressing favourably. For Better or For Worse® validity begins and ends there. I realize any decision may have been difficult and that you cannot please everyone, but this was not a decision in the true sense of responsible government. This was a hit-and-run. This was an escape from the task of thoroughly exploring alter- natives. This was putting the pro- blem under the bed - like a chamber pot - under-Pickering's bed. It is now out of gight and therefore out of mind for the next decade or so, and the need for our society to come to grips with our irresponsible habits will be postponed accordingly. You have, as a consequence of this capitula- tion, done a disservice to the pre- sent and future population of Durham. I shall endeavour to outline, with considerable substance, the rational behind my opinion. I trust you will bear with me, although I appreciate that in the frenzied state of our society, most stop reading before the end of the second paragraph. The fact that the decision has already been made does not justify dismissal of my opinion. Decisions can be changed and this one certainly should. The public meeting held on May 9th at the Pickering Recreation Centre could hardly be described as "reasoning together," however well intended. The spokesman for council told us what they were go- ing to do and those assembled told them they didn't like it. The rest was just noise. As an effort to hear and consider argument the meeting was a sham. It was clear to me that a decision had been made, even before the recom- mendation was put to Council and that a majority of Council sup- ported it. The Council represen- tatives stated, in essence, that: (1) Durham would have no place to put its garbage; (2) P-1is an in- terim site to be replaced by the Durham Master Plan; (3) Durham would be able to enforce its standards. Taken in order, it is Metro that will have no place to put its gar- bage. Public reaction to a landfill site designed to accommodate our own garbage, which represents approximately one-twelfth the volume currently entering Brock West would be much less intens If you haven't already visit @ Brock West, by that I mean up where the stuff is really going, you should enlighten yourself. You will come away appalled. Durham can establish sites within our boundaries and develop them in time to meet our needs just as capably as Metro. That Metro will pay for the cost of developing P-1 and pay Durham rebates and royalties may be true, but street- walkers have a similar mentali- ty. Our autonomy should not be sold at any price. The population growth of Durham according to the McLaren Report projections (table 2.5), a factor that seems to have been overlooked, would in- dicate that our numbers will dou- ble over the next decade or two. One can expect Metro and the other regions to experience similar growth. Even if we are successful in reducing the volume of solid waste by 25 percent - 50 percent, the waste generated by twice as many people will still produce the current 4,000,000 ton- nes. To suggest that P-1 will not be used beyond a six year period is ludicrous at best and possibly a misrepresentation to allay con- cern: It is a pledge that will be waived with the same impunity that charactacterizes the entire P-1 proposal. The notion that Durham can in- sist on the standards for P-1 is ab- solute rubbish if you'll pardon the pun. The volume of garbage dumped into Brock West makes standards a nuisance or a joke. Anything and everything goes in there and the employees are too busy avoiding being run down by a truck to have time for supervi- sion. We can only hope that unscrupulous operators have not taken advantage of the situation. Just imagine the cost of removing toxic waste from a landfill site of such magnitude. - We were told that after the six year interim period, the grand panacea, the Durham Master Plan, will be in place. Here is where realism stops and naivete and gullibility prevail. Here is where facts are absent and dreams emerge. Here is where hope enters the con-artist's tent. What is the Master Plan other than an expansion of recycling and composting initiatives already underway or being studied? Even the most optimistic targets fall short of what will be necessary to cease the.use of P-1. Given the population growth, Metro will still need a gigantic landfill site. This means they will either: (1) continue to use P-1 un- til all 150 hectares are full; (2) look for another site in Durham (McLaren Report p6-7 and 6-12), ibly the Heber Down Conver- sation Area (see McLaren Report); (3) locate in some other region or some unsuspecting municipality up north. In this case Durham will lose the only advantage G.T.A. offers and subsequently face major in- creases in dumping and transpor- tation costs or be forced to develop our own site. Why not do it now? Figures presented by PACT seem to indicate it will be financially viable. If you read again the pros and cons listed in the McLaren Report, p6-3 to p6-13, respecting (Turn to page 10) WHY DoesNT ANYBoDY WANNA PLAY BADMINTON WTHMe? I'LL PLAY WITH LIZZIE. ) by Lynn Johnston ALLYOL HAFTRA * DO 1S GET ; He BIRDIE.OFF WHY DOESNT AN = PLAY ey WITHME? Tr Te MM ER SON 4 INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED 193 QUEEN ST., PORT PERRY, ONT. LOB 1NO (416) 985-7306 ) ALL LINES OF GENERAL INSURANCE HOMEOWNERS '- FARM - AUTO COMMERCIAL * * Aen