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PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY 0 CTOBER 12, 1983, WHITBY F REE PR ESS whitby Voice of the County Town Michael lan Burgess, Publisher . Managing Edito The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. [ u rU AIshe<l every Wednesday by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Inc. Phone 668-6111 The Free Press Building, 131 Brock Street North,, 'O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. Regîsîration No 5351 TIMOTHY BAINES Community Editor ANDY THOMSON Advertising Manager Second Class Mail ~eus go an The Whitby Iroquois Soccer Club has proposed that a 10-field soccer complex be constructed south of Rossland Rd. W., on the old Holiday Farm. Town Council should take a look at this proposai and pass it through without the beaurocratic hassie that holds up many projects. The time is ripe and we need these soccer flelds. Registrations in the Whitby Iroquois Soccer Club have increased an amazing 65 per cent in the past five years. There are now 1,100 players on 73 teams vieing for a place to play soccer in Whitby. There are young people being turned away at registrations because there is not enough time aval lable at the present fieids. y 1' ad with soccer complex Maybe it was the arrivai of professional soccer to Toronto that spurred this tremendous growth. Whatever the reason, the sport wiil certainly only increase in popularity in the future. Soccer facilities in Whitby now are not only few in number, they are Incapable of handling the mass number of games that are played each day. Extensive use of the fields is not allowing enough recovery time for good grass growth. Because severai soccer players are often battling for possession of the bail in a given area, turf stress is caused. The result is highly trodden areas which turn to mud and kill the growth. In simple terms the fields are just not playable. Fields at St. Leo's in Brooklin have been sold and will not be available for soccer. Blair St. Park and Hutchison are two smali. Willow Park is not regulation size and can only be used for the young age group. Iroquois and Peel Parks both receive a beating because of overuse. The solution - build a massive area where 10 soccer fields can be grouped together. The advantages are numerous. Maintenance costs would be cut. Scheduling of games would be simpler. Tournaments could be much more smoothly run with central facilities. Most impor- tant Whitby could fInally be recognized, as it should, as a major soccer centre in Ontario. What we have now is bush league facilities and the local soccer organization certainly deserves better. A septic tank is probably the solution to lavoratory problems. Best of all, the taxpayers will not be footing the bill for this massive soccer complex. The Soccer Club has promised it will contribute an immediate $20,000 while the Optimist Club has agreed to add $15,000. The Soccer Club will add $20,000 more while an unnamed service club could kick in $20,000. A provincial grant of $25,000 would'complete the $100,000 tab. Council should throw away the red tape and immediately accept this proposai. The sooner we get thiS soccer compleX the better. Horseback Rideathon for Handicapped is successful A funny thing happened around here the other day, during the newscast as a matter of fact. The Reverend Ian Paisley, the shrill Protestant conscience of Northern Ireland, and Austin Currie, a member of Ulster's large- ly Roman Catholic, Social Democratic and Labour Par- ty, sat down in our studio with Andy Barrie to make common cause for the country they share so uncom- fortably. The two men are part of a truly ecumenical Ulster delegation which has come to North America in an attempt to attract investment. The two men didn't say very much that was shattering in the two or three minutes they were on the air. They didn't have to. It was the fact that they had joined forces, no matter how tentatively, and the fact that they kept their voices down that makes one dare to hope. Northern Ireland is in a bad way, not just politically, but economically. I suppose the cynics among us will simply see this unholy alliance as proof, if it were needed, that money talks. Earlier, at a Toronto luncheon for journalists, Mr. Paisley put it this way: "Constitutionally," he said, "there is a profound difference between us, and it would be wrong for me, or any member of our team to paper over that. But on the issue of the economy, we can join together and demonstrate that there is a united front." Great oaks have grown from smaller acorns than that - even in the poisonous atmosphere in Northern Ireland. I remember reading a book a year or two ago by a woman from the Irish Republic whose roots were in the Irish Republican Army. Not an entire- ly unbiased observer perhaps, but an honest one, and as objective as she knew how to be. She made two points that remain firmly in my mind. The first one was that few people in the Irish Republic any more serious- ly support the idea of Union with Northern Ireland. Her second point was really part of the reason for the first one. She said that the bloody-minded environment and the recent political history of Northern Ireland had created a national identity, and that the Northern Irish, Catholic and Protestant alike, had become a distinctive national type. She suggested that despite their sear- ing differences, the Catholics and the Protestants of Ulster had a great deal more in common with each other than they did with the citizens of the south, or of any other country. After watching lan Paisley and Austin Currie in our studios together, i began to unders- tand what the Republican lady was talking about, and dared to hope that she was right. The solution that sug- gests itself - that is a sovereign Northern Ireland - seems an impossible one now. One side wants union with the south; the other wants to continue as an in- tegral part of the United Kingdom. Independence may not yet be acceptable in Belfast but it certainly could be sold in Dublin and London. Dear Editor, As you are aware, our association (Durham Region Horseback Riding for the Han- dicapped) held it's fifth annual Rideathon on Saturday, September 24 from Hoskin Stables at Blackstock. We were blessed with beautiful weather. There were 44 horses and riders who took part in our Ride, and they were generously sponsored in the approximate amount of $5,800. Our association would like to thank the following for their assistance in making our event such a suc- cess: Hoskin Stables at Blackstock for the use of their Stables for the day, the St. Johns Am- bulance of Bowmanville for their attendance in case of medical emergency, the North Shore Radio Club for their invaluable assistance in keeping track of our riders, Durham Region Police, Sunderland Detachment for their assistance by patrolling the route, Uxbridge Beverages for donating Coca Cola products for our riders, Linton Vegetable Farm, Raglan, for donating vegetables for lunch, all the riders who so generously donated their time to us, and to all their sponsors who were so very generous to us, and especially to the Whitby Free Press for your help in adver- tising our event. If any of your readers would be interested in supporting our Association, donations may be sent to Durham Region Horseback Riding for the Han- dicapped Association, P.O. Box 2215, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 7V5. Thank you for your in- terest in our association. Sandra A. Morton Association President 1