Ontario Community Newspapers

Whitby Free Press, 12 Nov 1975, p. 4

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PAGE 4. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1975, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby Voice of the County Town Tribute to Des - a dedicated leader A dedicated leader of Whitby for the past 10 years was suitably honored by his town for his contributions to its development last week. Desmond G. Newman, whose personality has represented Whitby for so many years, was often fond of quoting Abraham Lincoln, who said, "I like to see a man proud of the town in which he lives, and so live that the town will be proud of him" Mr. Newman was proud of Whitby, and Whitby showed its pride in him last Wednesday by present- ing him with the Freedom of the Town, an award which is reserved only for. the most special of people. Mayor Newman was a dynamic, well-spoken leader, who not only spîaped the destiny of his own community, but acted as a spokesman for munici- pal government across Canada. As president of the Canadian Federation of Mayors and Municipalities, and co-chairman of two national tri-level govemment conferences, he set out the needs and desires of the nation's munici- palities before the leaders of the federal and pro- vincial governments, and sought to establish a constitutional position for municipal government in Canada. His contributions in this field will be long remembered. In his home town, he ranks with Peter Perry, James Rowe and Ezra Annes as one of the chief builders of his community. As these men estab- lished the original Town of Whitby in 1855 Desmond Newman became known as the "archi- tect of amalgamation" for his work in bringing Whitby Town and Township together as a new town, and a viable entity in the new Regional Municipality of Durham. As these pioneers founded Ontario County more than 120 years ago, Mayor Newman was one of the founders of the new regional government, and sought to strenghten the position of the area east of Metropolitan Toronto as Peter Perry did in another era. As a politician, Mayor Newman was often immersed in the heat of political controversy, but iis leadership, although not always'fully under- stood. or appreciated by some, was based on a vision of the future and the critical needs he fore- saw, often long before many other political leaders in the area. His vision saw the potential of an Iroquois Park sports complex and a province-wide lottery to raise funds for it, long before the Ontario government saw ready to accept such projects as Wintario. In six years he turned an empty tract of grass- land on Hopkins Street into a prestigious industrial park which is the envy of surrounding municipali- ties and in his own mind, one of his greatest accomplishments. He saw an international airport as a stimulus for the region east of Toronto to create a balance with development to the west, but many people were not yet ready to acceptthis type of proposal. In a sense, Desmond Newman is a man far ahead of his time. His controversial Rossland Road town centre concept met with opposition from existing residents when first proposed, but'in 25 years or less it could easily become a vital part of the structure of the new town of Whitby be set out to create with amalgamation in 1 968. Desmond Newman's years as mayor of Whitby are over, but that is not the end of the story. As one of bis colleagues said in a telegram for bis dinner Wednesday "No doubt the testimonial will be more of a launching pad than a swan song". For Desmond Newman, the future is sure to be bright, for the future is very much on his mind. "In many of his speeches to municipal groups across the country, he closed with this quotation fromi the British author' John Ruskin, "When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it~ not be for present delight or for present use alone, but let it be such work as our descendants will than k us for." SERVING OVER 26,000 READERS. o ver y W!dnesdaVy by M.B.M. Publishing and Pho'tography Inc. The Free Press Building Mike Burgess, Publisher-Managing Editor. y°ob Sre'North, OURe The election will come and you shall cast your vote Upon the candidate for Mayor most worthy of your note For it is to his hands you will delegate your trust So knowing hin well, to you, has to be a must. The time is short and the voters are so numerous But I must reach you before the election reaches it's terminus So please accept that we both have an obligation to each other To be involved and intelligent rather than not to bother It is self government to which we set our task Meeting eye-ball to eye-ball and not from behind our mask For it is the truth that wemust face with the belief That a better tomorrow follows this day of minor grief. GRAYDON COLVILLE: 'Idon't need the Dear Sir; $10,000 back to the Town of Whitby: The offer still stands. I pro- pose to 'return $10,000 back into the Town of Whitby. I don't need the mayor's salary of $27,000 plus expenses. It just isn't my style to accept full pay when I have a considerable amount of knowledge to abs.rb, and of course it would be against my moral ethics to accept full salary. Wasteful Spending - Financial Responsibility: The December I election for the mayoralty of Whitby should never be. The council could have appointed a mayor until next year's election pro- per. I realize council does not possess the ex- pertise of finances, but surely basic economics should have been consi- dered, also known as common sense. If they weren't so stubborn & could have put aside their petty jealousies, we wouldn't be wasting thousands of dollars on this election. Too many white ele- 'rg'ISnt Edlitor - alake ruray Community Editor - Brin Wnter Contrlbutflg Editor-irQui- Production Manager - Marje Burgess Display Advertising Manager - Robin Lyon Classified Ad Manager - Marlene Byrom Box 206, Whitby. Mailing Permit No. 2941 Phone 668-6111: Toronto Line 282-1004 FOWN We must stand straight and tall and confron the real For . only then with our problems can w sucessfully deal From hopelessness to hope and from dark to light We will awakpn this day from our slumber night With clear mind and spirit we will conquer all No river too wide or mountain too tall The problem so deep with our love shall we cure And the opportunities of tomorrow shall continu( to endure Let us exhalt our creator with our open eyes And from our knees of prayer make the pledge to rise To do our share in making this a better town So that people world wide will follow our example with renown. - by Gord Hanna Mayoralty candidate mayor 's phants: Elmer the s.ifety elephant has quite a home on Rossland Road. l'Il bet he's up there on the hill looking down at us before he retires for the night, and, chuckles to himself "boy! did you people ever get taken". The new town hall is costing us thousands of unnecessary dollars just on design. It is not prac- tical for the times. I was on the job site and I wore a safety hat. Take a look see for yourself. What is going to happen to all these empty buildings we salary' are convalescing? I statedlI'l give ba k the town of Whitby $10,000. • Can council really justify their salary? If I d'on't prove myself during this term,, throw me out of office bodily, and I promise no charges will be laid. Graydon Colville P.S. What more dama- ges can I do to the town in one year? Before me it was run by so called competent people. RUSS WILDE: 'Scouts need additional Facilities' Dear Sir; Re: a story in Novem- ber 5th - Free Press 'Port Whitby Boy Scouts need meeting facilities' Mr. A. Mondria's letter to the Whitby Town Council October 27, 1975 does not, as some thought mean that 1st Port Whitby Boy Scouts a fullcycle scouting group, Cubs, Scouts and Venturers, is defunct. Mr. Mondria's intent, as stated in his original letter (edited for the Council's agenda) was to show the need of a com- munity centre. "However; the growth has stopped through lack of meeting facilities. The Venturers had to move to Oshawa because Whitby cannot accomodate them. The Girl Guides had to move too, and integrate with the 12th Whitby group who has no meeting place at the 'Port com- munity'. The Port Whitby recreation group cannot function because it has no meeting place..." Mr. Mondria suggested, as many other have, that the Brock St. School be opened as a Port Whitby Community Centre for the use of Port Whitby groups including Scouting and Guiding. The headline should read 'Port Whitby Boy Scouts need additional meeting facilities'. -The Wolf cub pack ,meets as it bas for the past I1 years at St. John's Angli- can church, lower audi- torium Wednesday at 7 p.m. under leadership of Mrs. Libby Kyle. The lst Port Whitby Scouts meet at the Scout Hall Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Their leader is Mr. John Ward. The Venturers, with no place in Port Whitby, are holding monthly meetings at their leaders home in Oshawa. On September 12th 1975 I requested the Dur- ham Board of Education to examine our request to find accomodation for the 1st Port Whitby Boy Scouts, namely the Ven- turers. In the Brock St. School, as this building is the only building in Port Whitby with areas big enough to hold meet- ings, etc., for twenty to thirty boys. Durham Bo.ard of Edu- cation replied: "I regret that this building is being used as a maintenance building for the Durham Board of Education and therefore has no facilities for groups from this coin- munity". We regret this also. The Durhan Board of Educa- tion is lot only using the complete Brock Street School, but also the com- plete old school at Brook- lin. What a waste of public building. The Port Whitby Boy Scouts need more accon- odation in Port Whitby. We would appreciate your support and your influ- encial power to help put Brock St. School Build- ing back into public uses. Russ Wilde, Chairman, Ist Port Whitby Boy Scouts

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