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HomeMy WebLinkAboutX2023-035-012i. FJAff I Z__nfRVijAY �- West Rouge Community Association Z. ASSESSMENT APPEAL LAUNCHED 207o Reduction in Taxes is Aim of Association An all-out battle to relieve the `:lest Roue homeowner from the crusiiinf; tax -rate is beinc, under- taken by the Community Association. Relievinr; that the burden of main- taining* Township services and ed- ucation is unfairly apportioned be- tween the ovinnr.s of vacant land and the homeowner, we have appealed the ridiculously low assessment on 10,000 acres of vacant land in southern Pickering Township. Rais- ing the assessment on this land to Aiat we consider a reasonable figure would raise the total assessment of the township by about 20' and hence reduce the mill rate proportionately. All W-st, ii>11^e I1,)7no'l!n('r , Hre -rta v%►:('d t , ; artici»attP in this czmpnirn by contributinm toi-,ard the "rear chest". Dill details will be found on paj7es 6 a.nd 7. COUNTY APP'.EALS LA 1D ASSLSST. iIT The fight against low land assess- ments grained further impetus last week wlhen the County Assessor lodged an appeal on ALL land in Pickering Township south of the 3rd Concession. Although the County's motives are undoubtedly quite different from those of the 4'.R.C.A. it would appear that this development will strengthen the cause of the Community Association and improve its chances for success. It is interesting (and ironical) to note that about 1500 'lest Rouge dollars are being used by Council to contest the County actionl NLII YEAR'S EVE DANCE Tickets for the big annual party will go on sale at the Chesterhill Variety Store on I;ec. 1. All main floor table locations are reserved seats, so get yours early if you want to be in your favourite corner. Accommodation is limited, so ('on't delay. 11J2 per couple includes Andy Dand's famous turkey dinner, a live band, noisemakers etc. etc. VOTE . . . . T)EC . 3 . . . . VOTE Let VVF5 " POUG6 be heard froml VOL. 29 flo. 3 Nov. 15, 1960. �LI CTIOJ.I h°LI;TI JJ - NOV. 28 Candidates in the forthcoming; mun- icipal election are being invited to present their platforms and answer questions at an Open 1,1eeting, sponsored by the Community Assn. on Monday, November 28. It is hoped that all candidates both for Council and School Board will be able to attend. ---- Time 800 ';fe have booked the Rainbow Room again, but plan to arrange the chairs differently to assure that the speak- ers can be heard. Free coffee will be served. PAP,KETTE PLANNED A c.J . —fir --lay-area and parkette at corner of t;ast Ave. r1('. ',.LT'`; ,�:t;f. sitoul(' beconE; a i al3.ty next. srr. _. _o,.incillor Laycox. has announces: that the Recreation Connission is contributin- `,`150 toward the initial cost. JThe Kiwanis Chib plans to ,join .forces with the Convlunity Assn. in this project. It is hoped that the grading of the land and the planting of trees may be accomplished this fall. Stan Frost is drawing up plans for a fenced play area for small children and the installation of swings, slides etc. PU1,1IPKIN REMAINS TILL SPRING Our water tower will remain unpainted until next spring. Although it is now ready for use it is considered unwise to paint it t2•ris late in the season. Furthermore, permission to paint "','JEST ROUGE" (or any lettering) on it has not stet been received from. the Dept. of Hi; ; aways I T.70-Y;'� ,U; TL ,T.', ON BALLOT At the municipal elections on Dec. 3 you will be asked to vote on whether or not you favour a two-year term for our township council. If the vote . is fin favour the new system would go Into effect one year from now. Candidates this year are running for a one-year term only. Bt�IiSHIP REACHES 383 New memberships are still coming in, and Treasurer Gord Shaver reports that vie no,yr have 383 paid -up member families. This represents about 705 of the h*es in !,rest Rouge - 2 - AROUND TOWN with Pierre Tumpane The way I figure it, the Freddy Gardener Expressway will cut into Kingston Road somewhere between the Highland Creek Bridge and the Port Union Road. After all it is a Metro Toronto project and they should keep there roads within their own bound- aries. Don't hold your breath wait- ing for it to arrive as it will be a few years yet before it reaches the Don River. A word of advice. When shovelling your snow this year, don't fill in the open ditch with the snow from your driveway. Next spring when it is mud time again the surface water will have better chance of draining off if the ditches are relatively free of obstructions. I'd hate to have to pay for the anti- freeze needed to protect the water in our water tank from freezing. Actual- ly, I am told that the continuous cir- culation of water prevents it from freezing. I bet it still gets plenty cold just the same. If the sparsely settled areas of Scarboro can have door-to-door mail delivery, why can't we? Isn't our five cent stamp just as good as theirs? Besides that, everyone in .Vest Rouge keeps their dogs securely tied up so the mail man doesn't have to worry about that occupational hazard. Has Pickering Township a Civil Defence Organization and if so, why doesn't it make its presence known??? Did you read in the _.paper how the Windsor Civil Defence stepped in and helped at that recent Vindsor explosion. A properly trained Civil Defence Crew plus an Auxilary Police force would be a worth- while Community project. NOW ONLY $2 95 NE FNew EIGIN PORTSMAN Completely shock -resistant and waterproof•... such a low, low price,tool A New ELGIN STAR LITE The lady's watch that's right in design... Shock -resistant, unbreakable mainspring,tool Next time you are gassing up the family chariot, at the local petrol station, have the attendant check your stop lights. One of my pet peeves while driving is the car in front of me whose brake lights don't work. There ought to be a law against service station attendants who wipe your wind- shield with an oily rag. The results are fine in dry weather, but those oily smears sure show up when it rains. A word of warning to any drivers who take the family for drives through Metro Parks. The speed limit is 15 MPH and the men in blue just love to set up their Radar Traps. It is just like shooting fish in a barrel. Speaking of Radar Traps, has anyone seen the Pickering police using theirs in our area? They sure could pick up a few speeders on my street. Believe it or Not, 90 per cent of the offenders are local residents. Just in case you haven't noticed them, the local gendarmes have two favourite hiding spots where they park just wait- ing to pounce on unsuspecting motor- ists. One is on the Port Union Road south of Island Road where they nab you if you don't come to a dead stop before turning north or south on Port Union Road from the western end of Island Road. The other is at the other extreme of Island Road where they nab you if you don't stop cold before swinging on or off Rouge Hills Drive. Drive Safely, The money you save in traffic fines can be put to- wards paying your property taxes... Rouge Hill B A R 9 E R S H 0 Y Hours - 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Closed Mondays ROUGE G1k'T St1UY WEST ROUGE HILL PLAZA CHINA JEWELLERY CARDS WATCH? JEWELLERY REPAIRS IMAGINfe _ JEWELRY Fisher " F Table Lig • New, functional action — easy to operate. • Striking designs and colors. Retail $5.00 BRING THIS AD FOR 10%discount Good until November 95th Reserve now on our convenient LAYAWAY PLAN THE OR 161NAL UM It, F16UF m.aw GIFTS ... DECORATIVE AND USEFUL 5000p M06 by A. H. ;Test T,oii� e is buzzinc- with activities to kr--ep the folic busy Almost-, ever ni!;ht of tkle vieek. The Coi,imuni ty T3owling League howl every T.Ton. at 7.30 p.m* and Is in need of some bowlers so if you are interested call At 2-15Wi- or At 2-59111 and ask for Tony Buck. There are Scouts on Fon. at 7.30 Cubs meet on ',led. at 7 p.rl., ''rov,nies are Tue. 7 p.m. and The ,.irl Guides hold their meetings Their. 7.30 p.m. all in St. Edwards Ilall. The Athletic and Recreation Association sponsor bingos in the Ra in`lwow ''oo„i Thur. at 6 p.m. to rai^e fLln's for recreation and sporLt in the coi=unity. die Indies ALrxi.liary of Cubs and cicouts hold their meetings the : fccon,i 'led. evening of the month In Lh.e homes of the members and any n theis with hoys in either of r-roups are cordially invited to come. The Iiome and School Assn. meet the First Fled. of the month at 8 p.m. anO their aim is for better relation ship between parents and teachers. The Ladies Club get together the, second and fourth Thurs. of the month meeting in the school at 8.30 P.m... and would lice new members. ,very Sat. at 11.30 a.m. the youn-sters in the district enjoy two names of bowling under the able supervision of the Kiwanians. There is The lest Rouge Kiwanians If the men are looking for a club to join and Grace Prestbyterian Church has several very active ladies' groups in the district. Last but not least vie have The Community Assn. who try to do their bit to keep thinrrs interesting in your district and you .,111 find their Open I.'eetings are very lively. Here is where you are free to,discuss any problem from dog catchers to septic tanks or taxes. ,,VEST ROUGE POST OFFICE "Stamps and 1.1oney Orders" now open in CHi;STERHILI, VARIETY & HARTXIARE Pay your 'phone bill here (no service charge) "visit our pastry section" (Daw's Famous home Baking) AL & RUBY HART "Your Community Store" -3- `.i'elc3coon T-Tows Cont' d. IIcre's a little tribute to the E''xecutive. The Just Twelve hlus.ives Stan Frost, the President, is as crisp as frosty snow and he is well supported by Fred Beaucage, as the "Vice". Fuss Holder is a capable secretary with his good wife to help, and when it comes to money the treas- urer Gord Shaver is "the most" with Ken Jones, Norm Gainer, Alex Green, Kevin 1,"cCullough and Bab Waddell to keep things livened up. Leta MacLean has charm and poise to add the woman's touch and of course there is Dick Jolliffe, editor -in -chief who gets the paper out and keeps the people happy when the Fairway rolls around. Almost forgot Ann Iienson who annoys them to no end because she always wants to know what its all about. But don't feel too badly if we aren't up to all expectations for vie can only hold our office till next summer rolls around. There have been many stories of boys leaving home but returning with the setting sun, but have you ever heard of a cat named Sam be- longing to Rae and Doug Chaddock, Rouge Hills Dr. who dissappeared for three months and then came hov✓lin-r back to their door. Must have tied one on or met a real doll on his way. The Ladies Club Bazaar and Dance is reported to have been a huge suc- cess and they would like to apologize to Walker's Bakery and to George Smith for overlooking their names on the list of donors in the hall Saturday. HOT,TIi; & SCHOOL BAKE SALE The Home ek School Association is holding a "Bake Sale" at Steinberg's Supermarket on Friday, Nov. 25th. Proceeds from the sale will be used to purchase additional books for the School Library. CARDS OF THANKS Mrs. Bergenstein of Taylor Rd. wh.o was one of the prize -winners in our recent'garden competitions, would like to thank the neighbour (unknown to her) who nominated her garden in the contest. Mr. & Mrs. Fred Hunt of Island ?load wish to express their appreciation to friends, neighbours and the Community Association for their expressions of sympathy at the time of their recent bereavement. _4 RECREATION ASSOCIATION The executive have reason to feel proud of their coaches, managers and other people who are helping, them to promote sporting; activities in the !Test Rouge. In the last Fairway, we reported that the ."Jest Rouge baseball team had won the Township league, and we are now happy to report similar successes In volleyball and soccer. The ladies who worked hard teach- ing the girls the rudiments of volley- ball, can feel they did an excellent job, because there is no doubt that the coaching they gave our girls last summer was partly responsible for the ':'lest Rouge School volleyball team winning the pennant, when they played a7,ai.nst four other local schools this f,,la. Many of these girls had never played volleyball before, but by August they dare all playing well, with great enthusiasm. The same can be said about the men who coached the Associationts soccer teams, because the FJest Rouge School Senior team won the Pickering; school series, and the Junior team put up a good showing, only being eliminated by a 1-0 score. Hockey is now getting into shape, and a meeting was held on Sunday, November 6th.1 between the executives, coaches and managers to discuss the rules, ice time and assignments for the coming; season. The league games will be played at Heron Park .Arena every Saturday afternoon From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and ice tirie has also been arranged for practice every Friday nir,ht between �3 p.m. and 9 P.M. The coaches and managers have been allotted their teams, as below; AM z 6-9 CLEVELAND - Coach, 1'ob T:"iller. Iv;anager, Jack Burr. ROCH! STrR - Coach, ,Toe La?�ioine. Fanager, Ron McIntyre. "PRIidrtFIl�'LD Coach, Henry I:ayers. I:'1ana-er•, `'ob Urquhart R 0 U G E H A R D W A R E Paints - - Housewares Appliance Repairs VISIT OUR TOY LAND Ive make keye AT 2-40'r-,2 Coach, Cliff Brandt. I,tanager, - 0,1.,S 10-13 MAY Li; LEAli'S - Coach, Clay Betts. CAUAIDT,LUS - Coach, Vie Ibbotson. ',DINGS - Eric Hatfield. BRUINS - Lloyd I1IcDonnell There are five managers and a number of other jobs still to be gliocated, and though we have names on file of people who have stated their willingness to help, any further volunteers will be welcomed. Vie are trying to contact the people we already know about, and will al- locate their job, as soon as we know In which direction their interest lies. There is still time for boys who have not already registered, to do so, and the deadline will now be the Friday after the first practice night. SCARBORO YMCA - If there are any children in '.Vest Rouge interested in joining; the Y, please contact Ron I.'cIntyre - AT 2-5605. Separate classes are held for boys and girls each Saturday at the David & Diary Thompson High School, Lawrence & Brinley lid. They have gym classes, trampoline, arts and crafts, etc. On Saturday evenings, swimming lessons are ,:iven at the 'sl.H. Porter High School. Membership Fees are 7.50 for the first child and :>5.00 each for subsequent children. Time for boys and. r;irls classes is 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. Saturdays. @ I,RNTH MARTIN STIELL SGIZVICi- OML SERVICE SHELLUBRICATION minor repairs ... tune-up LICENSED P,iECHATJIC Corner Island Rd. & East Ave. AT 2 - 3311 t ARTHUIZ MITCHELL LTD. Station Rd. Pickering Fire Place Fuel & Coal Fuel Oil - 17.1 X per gal. Building Supplies For Every Need. OUR TRUCKS PASS YOUR 71AY EVERY DAY TE 9 - 2431 Sherman Scott OW AYCOX X ep&tt3 - 5 ,9HO I S RUNNING? Alr,lost a full year has elapsed since I decided to toss my hat into Municipal Fol_it:ics as The �.Vard Representative on your hehalf. It has been an interest- int, an,' fruitful year from many points of view. Municipal Politics was an entirely new venture for me, I am the first to admit that I was somewhat green as to the inner workings of a Municipal Council. 'with help and assis- tance fron the senior members of the Council It was not too long before I fount solid footing;. It has been said that once in polM ics, at any level, that you are then fast on the road to makinm many enemies and that ultimately the law of diminishing; returns will oust you. I am happy to report that I do riot, feel that I have made a single enemy in my year as your Councillor; of course there may be a difference of opinion that I an, not aware of. Let me bring you up to date on how an elected member of Council spends his time. He attends approximately 70 Council meet- ings in the year, he is a member of at least !I committees and attends another '-"0 to 60 meetings in Committee. All Council members are a part of the Road Committee and they make about �. tours of the roads yearly. The averaj .,e incoming telephone calls per day are five or an approximate total of 1800 per year. It is sonetimes necessary to make several calls in order to clear up the diffi- culty, hence several hundred outgoing calls per year. It is necessary to attend many functions apart from those outlined above. A Councillor must be dedicated to his work in order to do a job for the taxpayer, I have dedicated myself to this work, I have done every- thinp• in my limited power to assist the people of `"lest ilouge to obtain the things that their tax dollar should give them. I have taken a great interest in this work and by the same token I have learn- ed much. I have made some mistakes, but If I do not make the occasional mistake, then this is an indication that I am not doing; anything. I have made many friends, which I probably would not have made had I sat on the sidelines. I have declared my intention of running; for office again for the year 1961. IF I have done the job that you ,vanted me to do.. I will appreciate your vote; IF I have not done that job, then my opposition should beat me handily. The selection of your 1961 representative is in your hands on December 3rd. SELECT YOUR IPAVOUIME AWM VOTE ---BUT BY ALL I:?EANS------- •VOTE Your Obedient servant Cliff Laycox TTF11n_:RSHIP CARDS COTIING Temporary receipts were Issued to mem- bers at the time of the canvass. Gord Shaver (assisted by his good lady) has had? a big jolt in preparing the member- ship cards, but reports that they are now almost ready to be sent out. We hear that all present members of Council are likely to stand for re-election. No competitors have yet declared themselves, but there are likely to be some before nominations on Nov. 25. Two of the five -man Board of Trustees are completing their term of Office. Our own Ted Ryan is one of these, and it is unlikely that he will stand again. Since the Board spends the bigger half of your tax dollar there will no doubt be a rush of public-spirited citizens offering themselves for this position. 'V4E0­T ROUGE VULLEYBALL LEAGUE JUNIOR TEMS GkaBS POINTS w.r7y. Larks 7 4 1 45 Canaries 8 3 1 44 Doves 6 6 38 Robins 2 10 17 SENIOR TEAMS GAME$ POINTS W. L. T. Rubies 6 5 1 39 Diamonds 6 5 1 38 Pearls 6 5 1 37 Emeralds 4 7 1 30 '.TTITI� ROSr SEWTCE Terveld Brothers WHITE ROSE 2 LIB,1,1MED GRAVE "A" MIL''CITANICS (Diplomas on display) Raceoligner OteerinfT Correction valve grinding on premises Automatic transmission sei-vice AT 4 - 4381 Open 7 a.t7. - 10 P.M. ROUGE BILL CA1.11MA CI,NTRE SpPc.tal I I - Movie Film 7'03.39 CAMERAS ...... Rxons ...... IiI - FI .. AT 2 - 2412 - 6 - ASSESSMENT APPEAL LAUNCHED Are Taxis too high? Count the number of houses for sale in .lest Rouge. Try to sell your house to someone who knows the taxes. Compare your taxes with those of anyone with a similar house in any neighbouring municipality. 101le know the situation has reached the crit- ical stage with many Vlest Rouge couples. What should we do? - reduce present services? - cut back on education standards? - seek provincial & federal aid? - distribute the burden more fairly within the township? We think that the last is the only one that we.as a Community Association can consider. :'That Vacant Lands? Vast areas of southern Pickering Twp. are being held by speculators, indus- tries and absentee landlords for ex- ploitation when the time is ripe. Some is owned outright, and some is under option. The very low assess- ment combined with high prospective value has made this land very attrac- tive to speculators - at our expense. Comparable lands in Scarboro are assessed at 5 to 10 times as much. Land Assessment vs. House Assessment 007at your own assessment notice. Your lot is assessed at a tiny frac- tion of its value. Your house is assessed at a much higher percentage of mar'.cet value. You will see that the dice are loaded in favour of the landowner. What about Farms? Golf Courses? 1e are not gunning for the bona fide farmer. The Assessment Act permits special consideration in the assess- ment of farm lands and Golf Courses. �,Iith this we have no quarrel. (continued next column) TOWNSHIP LIBRARY PROPOSED One of the questions on the -ballot at the coming elections will be: "Are you in favour of a Township of Pickering Public Library?" The Pickering and District Home and School Council which sponsored the petition leading to this vote has estimated that the cost would be 1, 50 per capita annually. :'Nest Rouge residents will want to know whether the plan includes library facilities for this corner of the township. The report of the delegation's proposal to Council makes no mention of a "Bookmobile", but we would think this wo,ild be a better means of meeting the needs of the township. Mould my lot assessment coo u ? If we are successful It is ikely that the assessment on all residential and industrial land would be revised upward. But the tremendous increase in the total assessment could only result in a substantial decrease in the mill rate. Unless you measure your property in acres or own several lots the net result could only be favourable. How do we go about it? Through our solicitors, Fleury & Comery, we have already lodged the assessment appeal on the said. lands. The case will come up before the Court of Revision at Brougham shortly. We do not anticipate a favourable outcome there, and must be prepared to carry our appeal before the County Judge. This will take time, works research and money. How much will it cost? P:iessrs. Fleury and Comery estimate the probable total cost at between :1200 and 1500. This would include the fees for the expert witnesses required, research and legal fees. ';ale are confident that at least 300 homeowners will invest ��5 each to support this action which can save them many times that amount annually. (Continued — Page 7 ) Shyrl s Beauty Lounge For Appointment call AT 4 - 5471 217 Morrish Rd. HIGHLAND CREEK IMPERTAL ESSO SERVICE Island Rd. & Fast Ave. At 4-4281 Night Calls: AT Li.-4282 or v1H 2-4822 CLASS "A" 14ECTIANIC Tune-up and Brake Specialists """ �S�O 24 HOUR TO'.1ING V.ODUCi. DON '9FARN ROGER HARRISON 11" FRYPANS w9.92 COMPLETE WITH ALUMINU16 LID (50 only) KENCLAIR PLAZA (Kennedy IId. & St. Clair Ave.) Bob Stewart's Erin T.V. €s Appliance Co. ocMNi, AM 1 - 7221 ASSESSMENT APPEAL I }, 1,,T TTZI': FALL :JHi'll ; T'L��"r: 1;iAY (an editorial) 7.1ho are Flei.zry nnr: Corieix ? Mr. Ed Fleury and T,'r. ,J. F. Comery are law partners practising in Highland Creek. Both are residents of ';Vest Roui7e and are members of our Association. They have strong feelins about the injustice of the present assessment policies in Pickering, and have had successful assessment appeal experience in a number of Scarboro cases, a1at; if enoii­1i money isn't raised? Your ''xecut:ive rv-ribers have subscribed enoi.i,YYi out of i;h.eir nrm pockets to take the first step in the appeal. If it, is appnrcnt in two weeks time that the Community will not support us we will simply let the case drop and refund all moneys that have been contributed. If we proceed, and the cost is less than the ariount collect- ed, the balance will be refunded on a pro rata basis. At the recent Open Meeting attend- ed by over loO residents almost every- ,�ne present raised his hand when ask- ed "are you willinjr, to contribute $5 towards carryin" this appeal forward?" How will it be collected? Your executive members are already giving; one or two evenings each week to Community business. life simply haven't time to make personal calls again, and are as'cin^- that you mail in your `k5, This is not an appeal for charity. It is an investment in the security of your home. DO IT NOW I I Make your cheque payable to: APP':AL FUI1D And mail it to: Yr. Gordon Shaver, Treasurer, 360 King Arthur's Court, V,rest Rouge, S.S. 1, West Hill. The J.R.C.A. is undoubtedly stepping on a number of toes in its Assessment Appeal action. 'u'e may be offending a few of our own members who own larger parcels of land. '7e do not wish to work a hardship on anyone; nor is our attack directed. personally at any in- dividual or group of individuals. Municipal taxation is traditionally based on the value of the ratepayer's real estate holdings - whether land or buildings. Local assessment officials have permitted this principle to be- come grossly distorted until land is assessed in pennies while buildings are assessed in dollars. During the inflationary years since the 1,7ar land assessments have almost stood still while house assessments (particularly new buildings) have risen in proportion to their increased market value. The result is that many '"Jest Rouge homeowners are being taxed out of their homes and now propose to do something about it. "Ve have instructed our solicitors to appeal the assessment of approximately 100 larger properties in the southern part of Pickering Twp. 'Ne don't even knows the names of the owners, and don't want to. Our aim is simply to bring this issue out into the open and to right an injustice. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR '.'Je have a fancy new heading, but - alas - no letters this month. Here's your chance to break into print - and :get your pet peeve off your chest at the same time. Address correspondence to Dick Jolliffe, 135 Rid- ewood Rd.; news items to Ann Henson; advertisements to Shirley french. BLOOD DONOR CLINIC Plans to hold a blood donor clinic in ''Jest Rouge have not yet material - Post -date your cheque, if we catch ized. However, donors will be you at a bad time. welcomed at the clinic being held Can you afford to sit back and at the Legion Hall, Lawson Rd., "let George do it?" Highland Creek on 1,Ved., Nov. 16, Use our counter cheque below, or both afternoon and evening. your own, if you prefer. r3 t DO IT NObV I 1 1 1 1 NAME OF BANK 1 BRANCH W.R,_C.A. ASSESSME.NT__.APPEAL._Fly I1iD coexdexp 5.00.___.._. 1 FIVF. t Address _ 1