PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, MARCII 19. 1986. WHITBY FREE P{S whitb ulilieId <'very Wcdfles(lSy BILMOA hitby~an Plhotography I ne. BLLMUA F riT..J .. lIhue I669-6111VALERIE COWEN w w uW Th'le F~ree lress Building. detsnMagr Voic ettheCouty ownMicaelIanBurgssPubishr* anaingEdior1:11 Brock Street North, Second Class Mail Voie f te ouny ow Mihal ln uress Pblihe -Mangig E iI .0. Box 206, Whitby, Onit. Rlegistration No. 5351 The only Whitby newspaper findepcndently owned and nperated by Whitby resi(lCnts for Whitby ru-sidents. Tirfne for councî'l to corne cean, A great deal of confusion and controversy have arisen in recent weeks as a result of Whitby's search for more recreational facilities and, despite a motion railroaded through council last week which was obviously designed to diffuse the situation, that confusion still remains. What sà In- teresting about the whole affair is the way it has graduated Into a full scale political war. The question of whether or not Whitby needs an ex- pansive and expensive, full service sports com- plex Is no longer the issue here. What is at issue, and is responsible for tearing a rift right through the heart of Whitby counicil, is the manner in which the Iroquois expansion has been handled since the very beginning. This much .-s clear. However, if the people of Whitby are à bit confused about why this issue is hot enough to send their elected officiais scurrying head-over-heels into opposing corners of the ring, lt is a small wonder. The people of Whitby are not privy to that information. lnstead, we have been baited with cute gestures and hints about some deep dark secret known only to coun- cil members and a few select town staffers. Wit- ness regional councillor Gerry Emm's cryptic remarks at this week's operations committee meeting (ie. "I wish 1 could truly give my reasons..."> and councillor Joe BugelIli's frequent references to the quantity of confidential reports on the Iroquois expansion spanning the last two years. Obviously what the councillors are trying to tell us is that there Is much more to this Iroquois business than meets the eye. Thanks. Perhaps the councillors have taken it upon themselves to shield us from things too horrible to know or maybe it's just that they feel we are too naive to understand the vast intricacies of municipal government. Whatever their motives, it ls time for the cou ncillors to corne forward and deal honestly with the people who elected them to office. Confidentiality has obviously been a much over- used tool ln the Whitby council chambers and, considering that the provision of recreational facilities wilI cost taxpayers in this town many millions of dollars over the next few years, It is grossly presumptuous of the councillors to thInk that wie will support any venture without knowIng ail the facts. Whitby council's little game has gone on long enough. Before another cent is spent on recreational facilities ln Whitby, we would suggest that the councillors lay ail the facts on the table, clear the air and restore our faith in the political process. Thanks to the proceedings of the past few weeks that faith is saddly flagging. Letters To the editor: To Tbe Editor: On Wednesday, Mar- cb 5, you publisbecl a let- ter from Mr. Walter Jones of Calais St., Whitby. Tbe same letter was publisbed in tbe Osbawa Tbis Week on Wednesday, Marcb 12. In is letter, Mr. Jones states "During tbe course of tbe evening a Dr. Steven Gold spoke of bis frustrations at seeing his cildren being for- ced to play itbe street due to tbe absence of adequate recreational faciîities." He goes on to state "Dr. Gold would be in support of a mnega- project located in tbe nortbern extremities of our community". The above statements were neyer made by myseif, nor do they represent the intent of my words. Mr. Jones bas chosen to misrepresent and twist my statements for bis own purposes. Just for fun, Ilin turn visited Mr. Jones' area and used mny odometer _to discover tbat in fact Mr. Jones lives 2.6 kilometers (reasonable walking distance) from Iroquois Park, 0.9 kfiometers from tbe Whitby Library and tbat is locality abounds in parks and public scbools. 1 presume, tberefore, tbat tbe "good"~ Mr. Jones would bave littie interest in contributing is tax recreational facilities througliout the town as was in actuality the thrust of mY state- ments. .I find it difficuit to un- derstand wby "Mr. Jones would be unaware" tbat tbe vast majority of Witby tax- pyers do not bave tbe proximity to indoor poos, ice pads, libraries that tbe "good" Mr. Jones enjoys; that, in fact, from east Whitby it can take a youngster well over one and a half bours by Witby Transit to reacb Iroquois Park. Rather than engaging in debate on the issue, Mr. Jones uses the tac- tic of using public sian- der to attack an in- dividual bearing viewpoints contrary to bis own. 1 appreciate that Mr. Jones bas strong feelings witb respect to tbis issue, bowever, I would respectfully suggest tbat be refrain from sucb low level tactics in expressing bis opinions. I arn confident that otber representatives of Mr. Jones' position are not of tbe same cbarac- ter. I find it unfortunate tbat as editor of a local newspaper you would not screen your letters more carefully to verify tbe veracity of statements made - this, especially s0 wben slan- der is tbe obvious tactic of the letter. I believe the issue bere is not "emotion ruling Iroquois" nor freedom of speecb but rather an editor's responsibility to bis readersbip and the public at large. A copy of 'tbis letter bas been sent to tbe Osbawa Tbis Week witb request for publication. Sincerely, S. Gold Witby. War Amps need your support To Tbe Editor: Dursng tbe upcoming montbs, your readers will receive tbe popular War Anips' key tags i the mail. Many Canadians rely on our key tags. Since the end of World War Il, we bave offered a valuable service to protect your keys and to provide employment for amputees and disabled people. Tbis year, we celebrate tbe 4tb an- niversary of tbe Key Tag Service. Wben a lost key set, identified by our con- fidentially coded tag, is dropped into any mailbox, it is sent to tbe War Amps. We return *more tban 30,000 lost keys to tbeir rightful owners every year. The tbeme of our 1986 Key Tag campaign is "Tbe War Amps ... Tbe Innovative Cbarity. " Donations to tbe Key Tag Service support tbe wide variety of services tbe War Amps bas developed over the years to meet the many needs of amputees and tbeir families. Tbere are so many Canadian familles that can benefit from our assistance including tbe provision of expensive artificial limbs. Our Cbild Amputee Program is increasing every month. There are now more tban 750 cbildren in CHAMP who are missing limbs from birth, from medical reasons or from ac- cidents. Tbe War Amputations of Canada is funded ex- clusively tbrough donations from tbe public. Sincerely, H. Clifford Chadderton, CM, CAE Chief Executive Officer Rlotary Toy Drive To The Editor: it would seemn more important to a few people I bave questioned to be sure children in our own city or country bave toys and Christmas dinners before we worry about foreign countries. Tbe focus lately seems to be feed, clothe and supply every where else first and tbat is not fair to our own Canadian citizens or residents wbicb should be more impor- tant as tbey keep our economy going wben they are able to work. Tbey are taxpayers too wben able so tbink about it. Have you not heard the old saying borne h. wbere the heart is. Wbere is yours? Mine is bere and any otber country will not get a red cent from me as long as tbere are cbildren ini my own city or wbere I work that bave very littie or notbing. Sincerely, Sharon Keats. IF YOU HAVE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR. PLEASE REMEMBER TO SIGN YOUR NAME 1