Page 2, Thursday, August 10, 1972, WHITOY FREE PRESS - d'ito,ia', USIi ii[UIU - IROQUOIS Cheers for Councillor Doctor Ken- neth Hobbs who cut through thick poli- tical jargon Tuesday night in trying to get a spec if ic answer from his col- leagues for T o m Farquharson of the Whi tby Sailing School ! Af ter two y e a r s of the merry-go- round-business of being tossed be tween the Planning 3oard and Harbour Com- mission, with still noth ing that re- sembled a definite yes, no, or maybe to their question, the Farquharsons had a blunt Dr. Hobbs to go to bat for them. After they were told by the mayor they would be dealt with after council hada reportof an overall study before them, Hobbs made his bid for specifics. "He (Farquharson) wants the oppor- tunity to negotiate the lease with us for thesailing school. AIl he wants to know is that when the time comes, Jim Jones from Timbuctoo won't be given the lease. He's just saying, 'give me the oppor- tunity to invest some money in Whitby andthe right to know l'il be the number one man you'll talk to! And afterall the PARK original p I ans for Iroquois Park did show amarinaand sailing school," said Hobbs. Until recently the Federal Govern- ment owned the land on the east end of Wh itby Harbour where the sail ing school is located. The Town of Whitby now owns the land, and the Farquharsons are nego- tiating with council for a lease. They were told they could lease on a year to year basis, which is no solution for an enterprise willing to invest half a mil- lion dollars in Whitby. For years the location of the school was n o t h i n g but swamp land. Thirty-five years ago the precise spot was a bustling centre and a favourite call for Toronto pleasure craft. It is also interesting to note that the W!hitby Sailing School, at its own ex- pense, runs a 24-foot, radio controlled safety boat and has pol iced Whi tby Har- bour and environs for the pas t four years w i th a record of saving twenty-four Iives to date. The Whitby Sailing School is also rated the top sailing school in Ontario by the Canadian Yacht Association. In the battleof Farquharson and town one gets the s t r on g impression that Whitby's Harbour land will be deliber- ately ltied up until funds are available to develop Iroquois Park. If Newman is ignoring a half-million dollar investment in lieu of the still to be government approved Iroquois Park scheme, he is showing wilfulness and poor business sense. With that kind of inves tment the W h i t b y Sail ing School is the closest thing to Iroquois Park seen to date. The Farquharsons are to be com- mended for the sheer gamble they took to keep this service available in Whi tby. For their patience they appear to have the people of Whitby behind them; AIlI we need now are a few of our more business m i n d e d council1 lors to come forward and support Ken Hobbs in 1laud- ing the welcome service. THE WHITBY FREE PRESS (Voice ot the Coun ty Town) Hometown paper of Whitby, Brooklin, Myrtle and Ashburn. Published every Thursday in and for the people of Whitby. Offices - 301Byron St. S. Whitby - Box 206. Whitby - 668-6111 er - W. Bill'Durkee - Judy Durkee - J. Quail - Ron Winstanley Ra das>wît Dear Sir: I should I i k e to m ak e a couple of comments on your edi torial of J u 1ly 20, "A Rabid Train of Thought". I agree that it is certainly in c um - bent on the Humane Society to release to the public ail that i t Possesses in the way of fact- ual information on the incidence of rabies in the o- cality, whileatthe same time taking c a r e not to push the panic button nor accept as fact e v e r y rumour or inference w h i c h may arise. If there was a cat "howl ing day and night and acting strangely ", i t w a s NOT re- ported to the So- ciety. Let us hope that the poor thing was merely utter- inglovecalls, and thatnocat actually fe Il victim to the rabid fox. And let us certainly warn children and oth- ers to keep away from strange cats, dogs, and animals in general. (Inci- dentally the cat turned in for ob- servation has gone back to its happy home; its owners say it was not even out of the house on t he day in ques- t ion.) CONTINUES ON PAGE 10 ON A PLATTER Pulush, Edior Editofia suff Advertis il sing -Mmzmm@ý