The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

WIIITBY FELE PRESS, WEDNESDAY. JANU:\RY QI. lQ81, PAGE 23 By REGIONAL COUNCILLOR TOM EDWARDS Deputy Mayor In accepting this graciously offered opportunity to com- municate with the people of Whitby, made available by the Whitby Free Press, I want on this first occasion at least, to avoid "political" issues. I get the impression on occasions, when some inane, or fatuous remark is made by a person elected to public office, that the public would like the oppor- tunity to delete the written copy, rather like you can switch off an undesired television program. Bearing this in mind, and recalling my own irritation at yet another picture.of some local politician first in line at some unremarkable event or other, I resovled on this occasion, at least, not to ride my own hobby horse on any one of the numerous issues which face us. I was appalled in reading in another newspaper, comments by a member of another council in this region, that were totally negative. There was a litany of beefs and complaints about a number of things, each one prefaced by the words, "I am Fed with....".Surely, most of us, when you put aside the irritations of daily living, have so much to be thankful for. If for instance, the weather, or taxes, or Pierre Trudeau "run- ning shoes" gives us cause for complaint, how fortunate we are compared with those confined to wheelchairs, as so graphically illustrated by our mayor on January 5th last. A tribute to Vern Rowe I was reminded of this in a conversation with a local businessman whom I had not seen for some time. In reply to the normal enquiry as to his health he replied, "I thank God for every blessed additional day he sends me." He reminded me, that almost 10 years to the date of my enquiry, he had suffered a cardiac arrest in his car, and had the presence of mind to roll himself out into the snow before losing con- sciousness. He hovered between life and death for the next 9 days. My aquaintance tells me, that the decade since then has been the most fullfilling of his entire life. That the need to have concern about the underpriviledged, and the handicap- ped, and the need to do something for those unable to enjoy the normal priviledges of life, has been so rewarding for those unable to enjoy the normal priviledges of life, has been so rewarding that it was almost worth the trquma of his heart attack. I watched a television program recently, during which Jer- sey Joe.Walcott, told his companions Rocky Graziano, Joey WTC chalenged by upcoming play CONT'D FROM PG. 20 deep affection between these two men; dynamic, intellec- tual, emotional interaction, as between two men of equal stature. The play has all the ingredients for the varying tastes of theatre audiences; humour, food for thought, romance, a touch of sex, and loads of action. The play is done in flash- backs, with the scenes varying from the courts of Henry Il and Louis, King of France, to a battlefied. And from a cathedral to a bed chamber. Director Gail Cheyne and her production staff face up to some real challenges to pull this play with it'sa 40 characters together on a 24 by 24 foot stage, added to which are an incredible number of scene and costume changes. The final rehearsals show that Cheyne and her cast and crew have pulled it off. Jim Cheyne plays the part of Henry II, and Dennis Em- pson is Thomas Becket. Curtain time for "Becket" is 8 p.m. There will be a free per- formance for all Senior Citizens January 28, curtain time 7:30 p.m. Tickets available at Mid- dletons Bookstore, 113 Dun- das Street West Whitby, or at theatre door. Price $4 and $4.50 Giambra, and Willie Pep, "how grateful he was for each day the good Lord sent him." Now readers of the Whitby Free Press will have to be both boxing enthusiasts, and a little long in the tooth to recognize those names, but Jersy Joe won the Worid Heavyweight Title, in his 38th year, after years of being passed over. He had experiences which could have made him warped and bitter, instead he has dedicated his remaining time to assist ex-f ighters like those who were with him on the panel. All of this preamble brings me to the point of this column, which is how fortunate we are in the Town of Whitby, by being served by hundreds of volunteers, in all manner of organizations. There are those who look after the elderly. Those who volunteer to care for people of all ages suffereing from any one of a number of maladie. Then there are those by whose dedication various sports activities in our com- munity are permitted to flourish. There are men and women in Whitby, who year after year put in countless hours either in Church sponsored activities or any one of the organized leagues that exist. They put out this effort with no reward, and sometimes very little recognition, with only the satisfac- tion of the result, and the motivation of being of service to your community as their mentor. The ranks of these dedicated people was diminished recen- tly. As a result of his passing the Town of Whitby is the poorer. I refer to the loss of a stalwart, who gave years of ser -vice in lacrosse and hockey and other organized sports, to the youth of our community, Vern Rowe. It was fitting and proper that there should have been so many in attendance at the Church in which he served so well, to note his passing. For me at least it was most appropriate, that the organ prelude contained in addition to the normally inspirational music, a tender rendering of, "Ar Hyd a Nos," (All Through The Night). This made reference to the Welsh heritage of Vern, and of course of his wife, the late Kathleen Rowe. So we are the poorer for his passing. I am confident that yern Rowe in his long and useful existence wasted little time on complaining about being "fed up." I suspect he couldn't wait for the day to start to get out there and help somebody. I hope this brief and all too inadequate account of his efforts, might stimulate some person to emulate him. We shall miss Vern Rowe all the more if somebody is not prompted to pick up the torch he has handed to us. W I 1bu.1I)c( r( lîit « )s al I'îildiiîy .u %all cars' l.\11MN 11 iellt.i%.vou have. a cho ic,:. Biweeii cars Iihai arc frcsh i fi Ill Iltartis. ( r ttite ih i~ bo.cil IiieI u iakiîîc for 1-Sc a1rs. ,l I l 1)81 ICs bcî t.i e'iit.tl over.uui Ille vçus uit a 'lcc <kautombilei jîcit i iiuui\ ! auit lut titi!,: auii slia 1 1)1~~~~Il it sft'iihcpasi tii iliauks il a car for Ilis, it il icrclv iuic i lzi uîc.sucm liautliîi .îiiiitt l.îiît.t t 'uugfin.s tt. tl, , titi c r Coi- Ol 1,(i l I <u tc. .ht\Vltvo bîu~sttur ît.si ...intî a il,! t'i 1 tii ttv XF"O1JO7 TAUNTON MOTORS LTD. Taunton Road East (at Wilson) Oshawa "Durham Region's Volvo Dealer" 723-0209 Toronto 686-1525 THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF WHITBY ATTENTION SNOWMOBILERS Everyone who operates a snowmobile in the Town of Whitby should know the regulations which apply to the operation of these machines. Ail enthusiastic snowmobilers should abide by these rules to promote this winter recreation sport. Snowmobiles cannot be operated: - on any Town road south of Rossland Road, except to cross - on any serviced portion of a Regional or Provincial high- way except to cross. - in Town parks. - on private property without the owner's written per- mission. All snowmobiles must be registered. All operators of snowmobiles must be licenced. An approved helmet must be worn by every person driving or riding on a snowmobile. Respect the property and privacy of others. PROMOTE SPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT BECAUSE PEOPLE JUDGE ALL SNOWMOBILERS BY YOUR AC- TIONS. (The foregoing in intended only as a guide to the complete information contained in The Ontario Motorized Snow Vehicles Act, Regional and Town by-laws.) Joseph E. Haney By-law Enforcernent Officer The Corporation of the Town of Whitby 575 Rossland Road East Whitby, Ontario L1N 2M8 IM1:UWAKUS