PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 22, 1982, WHITBY FREE PRESS w hitby Voice of the County Town Michael Ian Burgess, P The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby jPubllshed every Wednesday, by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Inc. Phone 668-6111 The Free Press Building, n Editor131 Brock Street North, <P.O. Box 206, Whitby, ont. PO. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. residents for Whitby residents. LES LIE BUTLER Community Editor ELIZABETH NOZDRYN Advertising Manager Second class Mail Registratioh No. 5351 A sincere thank-youfrom the WhitbyFreePress Christmas holidays give many people a chancè to reflect on the importance of friends and farnly, and newspapers are no exception. The Whitby Free Press is very fortunate to have a rather large "family" of dedicated people who actively support their community newspaper. Without them, the quality of the paper that unites our fine town would undoubtedly suffer. They are the people, who keep you informed of neighbourhood news - Roxanne Reveler in Brook- lin, Mary McEachern in the corridor, and Ruth Coles in the downtown, area. All are long-time residents of Whitby who have made it their busi- ness to help ail residents understand whai is going on, why and when. They are also the politicians, MPP George Ashe, MP Scott Fennell and the Whitby town council- lors. The important political events that might otherwise be misunderstood, are given special emphasis and discussion by these political veterans. They are also the church officiais who carry on lively discussions of religious, moral and personal issues. Ail these people donate freely of their time to make sure Whitby residents are Informed of Im- portant community'developments. We would surely be remiss if we did not take this opportunity to thank them, and to make the public once agin aware of the fine contribution they make each week. It is quite safe to say that few communities in the country enjoy such-active participation from concerned citizens. In Whitby, our contributing "editors" represent a variety of political, religious and social philoso- phies. As lay journalists, they help the Free Press reflect the vitality and diversity of the town and its people. Newspapers of any size would not exist without the support of the business community through their advertising. Again, the Free Press is no ex- ception. Because we are truly a "free" press, the support of local merchants is vital to our survival. Whitby businesses, like our editorial contributors, have shown continued support to the Free Press. We hope Whitby residents share this commu- nity spirit in patronizing local businesses. Every- one in town benefits when the economic fortunes of Whitby are shared. It has been noted lately by scholars of the news- paper industry that community newspapers are the wave of the future. As society becomes more complex and diverse, mass media outlets become less effective, and people need to understand everits from a local perspective. With the continued support of the town, its businesses and its people, the Free Press will ride on the crest of that wave. We truly appreciate and thank you for your sup- port, and extend our sincerest wishes for a Merry Christmas'and a Happy New Year. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR... Dear Sir: In your issue of Dec. 8, a tenant from 200 White Oaks Court writes to complain about Joe Drumm's com- ments re: liegal parking at White Oaks, and wants to know where her visitors should park. This tenant goes on to complain about the owners providing only nine visitor parking spaces at 200, and says the other buildings are just as bad. I am sorry to say that this tenant is il informed. Further to her statement about someone telling her 'husband that the owners were trying to put in more park- ing, but that this takes ages to get approval from the Town, again the ten- ant is getting her in- formation from the wrong source. I would like to take this opportu- nity to inform the writer that many of the problems re: parking at the com- plex are created by the tenants, who cannot always be bothered to go to their own spots in the parking garage and park in visitor parking, thus creat- Ing a visitor parking problem. Further to her comments "the owner should sup- ply sufficient park- Ing so no one would have to park illegal- ly," I wonder if she has stopped to fig- ure out if she could afford the cost of this additional park- Ing ie: extra proper- ty, cost of paving, etc. which would have to be absorbed by the tenants in their rent. Yours truly, From a complex that has 65 visitor parking spots, Jutta Fruhnen, Manager, White Oaks Apartment Complex. We had a group of students here at Global recently, and as always, I got more out of them than they got out of me. Students have a knack of asking fundamental questions that make you think. About things like the Canadian identity ... Is there one and what is it? About the virtues of the American melting pot theory versus multiculturalism. Only a Canadian would feel obliged to ask questions about his national identity, and the ques- tion itself is part of it. But we are different. We're not Americans, despite the tidal wave of American television, and we're not French or British either. We cannot be divorced entirely from the Canadian climate and the Cana- dian geography, which continue to shape us. One of the students asked if the policy of multiculturalism, as op- posed to the melting pot approach, didn't perpetuate divi- sions. I don't think so. The major divisions are between Francophone and Anglophone, east and west. I know of no Greek Canadian or Chinese Canadian movement to separate. Ethnic identification has never created problerns in this country in my view. Third and fourth generafion Scots, and third and fourth generation Irish, for example, tend to be proud of their backgrounds, and indulge them from time to time, but they're Canadians first. The same will be true of the more recent arrivals in another few generations. They'll recaill their backgrounds fondly on na- tional or religious holidays and the rest of the year, they'll be Canadian. In the meantime, the newer arrivals - their shops and restaurants and associations, their language, their music, and their beliefs - give our urban centres colour and diversity, lend some angularity to the bland outlines of our suburban society. Canadians do have an identity, and multiculturalism is one of the reasons why. That's not news but that too is reality.