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Page 2, Thursday, July 27, 1972, WHITBY FREE PRESS EditorialCommeInt AN ISSUE OF INTRIGUE With the sand to election time fast running out , council chose the no- going-back decision Tuesday night to tear down the Whitby arena. Thearena, a public convenience for 18 years, willbe closed to the citizenry of Whitby immediately because of the h a z a r d o u s structural capacity of i ts timber frame, and what was an 18-year public convenience is now a decided in- convenience to s o m e 1, 200 di spl aced young hockey players, ringetteenthusi- asts and skaters. Undoubtedly the.arena was a vibrant and solid part of this community. Like a parent's farewell to a son's growing u p y e a r s, the demise of the town's sports landmark - despite its tawdry condition - is a little difficult to take. Already the closing of the arena is an issue of intrigue. If the arena was known to be faul ty, why was it let to slowly deteriorate be- fore plans for its replacement were discussed? ' If the arena was so blatantly hazar- dous to the public - as can be seen in the photo reports turned in by Consul- tantsTotten, Sims and Hubicki, - why was it used as recently as this past w i n t e r ? W h y was Totten, Sims & Hubicki asked to do a report by coun- cil in mid-June of this year instead of last year or the year before that? Why in fact was the arena closed June 26, 72. Most mysterious of ail, the soon-to- be-demolished W h i t b y Arena is even now, too far gone for repairs. Perhaps the municipal council should be admired for their courage in the face of a not too distant election in 1laying ail1 the cards on the table by not intimating p l an s for discussion of a new arena while no discussions existed. Sti I1l , it will be interesting if the proposed Rossiand Road Municipal Building is defeated by plebiscite, to see who gets the tender for construc- tion of the new WA/hitby Arena. . . Our Colours The staff of the Whitby Free Press has chosen the colour purple to repre- sent the paper's colours. Most newspapers have a colour sy- nonomous with their names and since t h e F r e e Press is now entering i ts second year, we thought the establish- ment of a permanent colour, timely. Wi th so many newspapersin the area and still another about to emerge, our establ ished colour should also serve as an identification key. Along with our banner, purple will also be used on the new WP.hitby Free Press boxes now being painted to be s trategi call1 y placed around town; on our new letterhead; and will decor- ate our new office headquarters to be established in downtown Wxhitby. Sir, Yes, we do have a cat at the Ontar- io Humane Society Shel ter on Thick- son Road North in Whitby, one that was pickedup in the Wal ton Blvd. area in Whitby. This catis here because of the possibility that it may be the "un- knowncatl", which isbeleived to have corme in contact w i th a f ox diag- nosed by the Health of Animais Divis- ion of the Depart- ment of Agricul- ture as being rab- i d. We are pre- pared to b r i n g in for quarantine, Phone. Publish Editor Editorii staff DispUay Adverti si ising -Radr w-r[3 ~I~Iite any animal which is suspected of of h a v i ng contact with this fox. W e do not bel- ieve for one mom- ent that rabies is "none o f the pub- I i c 's bus iness". W h a t w e do bel- ieve is that when the publ ic becomes aware of its res- ponsibilities as pet owners, there will be increasingly less to fear from "oneof the earth's most dreaded dis- eases". We are painfully aware of the fact that rab- les is a serious business. We "In our chos- en roles" do not cons ider our- sel ves "poverty- s t ri cken Society work ers." What we do consider, however, is the fact that the Soc- iety is desperately in need of funds to carry on provid- ing care, shelter and 1 i fe for the thousands of ani- mals entrusted each year to our care. Animal life is indeed precious and we who work for the Ontario Humane Society believe we are privileged and blessed to have the opportunity to speak for those w ho cannot speak for themselves. To i n d i c a t e that anyone could con- clude that our philosophy is that animal life is val- ued above human I ife is to create a fa 1 a c y . sometimes unpred- ictable public" with whom w e are repeatedly in con- tact, is our cross and crown. We are c o n s tantly aware of our respons ibil- ity to them. With- out the construct- ive cri ticism of our fellow man we could not pro- gress. Withouthu- man love no living thing could exist. We are the local society. W e offer our help on an ar- ound- the-clock basis. VVe are here t o do the job to the bestofour abil1 i ty. We need public support, morallIy and fin- ancially. Sincerely, Helen Allan, Whitby Shelter, Ontario Humane Society. LETTERS continue, Page 4. - J. Quail - Ron Winstanley THE WHITBY FREE PRESS 1 (Voice or the County Town) Hometown paper of Whitby, Brooklin, Myrtie and Ashburn. Published every Thursday in and for the people of Whitby. Offices - 301iByron St. S. Whitby - Box 206. Whitby - 668-6111 er - W. Bill"Durkee - Judy Durkee letters to the editor box 20.6, whitby "T he