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PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY. MARCH 26. 1986 WHITBY FREE PRESS m*à >Published every Wednesday hy M. B.M. Publishing, and Photography Inc. Phone i8-il I1VALERIECOWEN iThe Free Press uilding, Advertlslng Manager oT3 Brock Street North.Second lass mail P.O. Hox 20I, Whitby, Ont. Regstration No. 5351 The only Whitby newspaper independently nwned and operated bC Whitby resoylemEts for Whitby residents. Iroquois Park: Stili it continues The Iroquols Park expansion was back in the news this week and with each new page in the controversy's botched and muddled history Whit- by Council comes off looking more and more like a little club of backroom wheeler-dealers and less and less like the representatives of the people they were elected to be. Last week we came out in an editorial and con- demned the councillors for their presumptuous use of confidentlality in the Iroquois affair and suggested that the time had come for them to lay ail the facts on the table. After ail, the Town of Whitby has never seen itself embroiled in a more all-consumIng controversy, a controversy that has drawn into Its flame more deputations and representations of the general public than are likely to ever appear in the council chambers again. It Is an Issue that has proved to be very close to peopleS' hearts. And why not? What is at issue tere is an expenditure of millions of dollars, dollars which, If committed to recreation, could one of Cmnada outstanding news personafities m IA OR GLOBAL NEWS OTTAWA - It may be a small world but it is also a very busy one. So busy that many Canadians have forgotten about Rick Hansen, the wheelchair athlete from British Columbia who has now reached the half-way point in his courageous 25 thousand mile marathon around the world. If it has been a normal day, he has done 50 miles in his custom-made, bucket seat wheelchair, and once again he has endured pain and overcome it. What makes him fight on? One reason is to make or- dinary people aware of those who live in wheelchairs, and their needs, and another, equally important, is to send a message to disabled brothers and sisters - a message designed to stir hope, courage and self-esteem. He also hopes to raise money - eleven and a half million dollars for spinal cord research, rehabilitation, and wheelchair sport. When Rick Hansen was 15, on his way home from a fishing trip, he hltched a ride in the back of a pick- up truck. The truck overturned, pinning him and crushing his spine. He had been an outstanding athlete before the accident, and It took him two years to realize that his life had not ended. He became the first disabled person to graduate from the UBC Physical Education Program. He has won 19 international- wheelchair marathons. He took nine gold medals at the 1982 Pan Am Games, and in 1983 he shared with Wayne Gretsky the Lou March trophy for Canada's outstanding athlete of the year. It is astonishing that we have somehow been able to forget him, for weeks and weeks on end. Yet to come are China- Hong Kong to Peking, then Korea, Japan, and on to Hawaii. From Honolulu, he'll fly to Miami, and he'll be back on this continent after a year away. Then there will be the long slog from Florida to Maine, and in September, the beginning of the gruelling home stretch, Newfoundland to Britisb Columbia - from sea to sea, through summer heat, the rains of fall and the biting cold of a western win- ter. He will be ready for us, by then. But will we be readyfçr him? alter the future of Whitby's capital commitments and the character of the entire community. In the face of these considerations the coun- cillors have chosen to proceed with little or no regard for the real lnterests of the people. Cer- tainly we have heard much in recent weeks about how the councillors have our best interests at heart but this line is growing very thin. If the councillors have something to hide, and it is ob- vious they do, the time Is long past for them to make their dark secret known. As the situation now stands, they·are making a mockery of their constituents who have been asked to make a very important decision about their future without being apprized of all the facts. To make matters worse, the councillors keep throwing our ignoran- ce of the facts back in our face through repeated references to the confidential reports as if begging to be confronted while showing no in- clination to present the truth. Last week, when councillors chose to whine about the fact that they were weighed down with information we were not privy to, the exercise was at best degrading. This week, after two deputations complained to council about con- fidentiality and councillors again resorted to grumbling that there is more to the story than meets. the eye, the situation disintegrated into total farce. The longer the councillors prance around the issue, the more the story begins to seep to the surface. Unfortunately, without all the facts, we are left to ponder a lot of innuendo that appears to be circling in ever-diminishing circles around Mayor Bob Attersley which Is clearly unfair. If there is a case to be made, make It now and let the chips fall where they may. If anyone should have to defend their conduct as a representative of the people, they should at least be dealt the courtesy of being confronted out in the open where they can defend themselves.