PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY. JUNF 18. 1986 WHITBY FREE PRESS Published every Wednesday whitbyBILL MCOUAT by M.B.M. Publishing BCommunity EdItor and lhotography lne. Phione <iiOx-fil Il VALERIE COWEN Advertising Manager The Free Pre.ss Buildinig, Voice of the County Town Michael Ian Burgess, Publisher - Managing Editor 1:11 l110k Street North. Second Class Mail P1.O. Box 206. Whitby. Ont. Registralion No 5351 The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. Council secrecy Last week we ran a story on the front page of the Free Press which raised the hackles of at least one council member, regional councillor Tom Ed- wards. In that story (Decom Approved in Secret Meeting) It was disclosed that the town approved "in principle" Decom's application to build a pathological waste transfer station in Whitby two months before the matter was ever brought to the public's attention. The story notes that the only indication of that motion in the minutes of the March 25 council meeting when it was passed was a resolution number under the heading "Report of a Meeting of Council in Committee of the Whole" and that it was moved by Edwards and seconded by Gerry Emm. In short, no mention of Decom. What the story did not mention was that the motion was a standard procedural motion which would normally be moved by the regional councillors (Emm and Edwards) and deals with all matters dealt with ln committee of the whole - not just Decom. Edwards and Emm were identified in the story as the mover and seconder of that motion not because we felt it was significant that they did so but rather to show our readers that they would have learned nothing about the Decom ap- plication, or that an application had even been made, from a reading of the minutes. All they would have learned was that Edwards and Emm moved and seconded a numbered resolution. Un- fortunately, as Edwards points out In his letter to the editor of this page, there are those who may infer from last week's coverage that he approved of Decom In private and only chose to oppose it once the matter hit the newspapers. As anyone who has followed Decom from the beginnning will realize, Tom Edwards has been one of its most vocal opponents. Had the matter been dealt with In the open from day one this confusion would never have arisen. This is just one more example of the kind of problems that can crop up as a result of Whitby council's presumptuous and misguided use of ln camera sessions as a means of discharging the affairs of the municipality. Lynde House The Free Press would like to applaud the town's operations committee for its decisive move Mon- day evening recommending Whitby takeover ownership of the Lynde House upon the offer of Wittington Investnents. The company is, ap- parently, no longer prepared to walt upon the whims of the Whitby Historical Society and its ef- forts to move the historic home from Wittington's Dundas West property. Should the takeover be approved at next week's council meeting (it already has the approval of at least four of seven council members) we can ail, at long last, heave a sFgh of relief in the knowledge that the home will indeed be saved and an important corner of the town's heritage preserved. The motion approved at Monday's operations committee calls for the house to be moved to Cullen Gardens, a move that will no doubt prove unpopular with many at the Historical Society. Cullen Gardens may not be the most traditional of settings for the Lynde House but thousands of people will visit the attraction over the course of this summer and this is surely a consideration that must carry some weight. A historic monument, after ail, is meant to be seen. At its present location, on any given day you can count the number of visitors to the Whitby Museum on one hand. Although the historical society may not be thrilled with this latest development, they would have to agree that the most important con- sideration was saving the home and that has now been accomplished. Edwards says... To The Editor: The most recent issue . of your newspaper carried a lengthy letter which accused the Council of Whitby of duplicity in the Decom issue and implied that I was mover of a motion, approving the matter in principle. There are ad- ditional inferences that the Council was' aware of the matter as long ago as March 18, 1985 and no public hearing took place until June 3, 1985. For the record as a member of the operations committee at the tifiie I deny any knowledge of the matter on March 18, 1985. The motion referred to in the letter Resolution 981-85 is a procedural motion, normally moved and seconded by the two Regional Councillors, and deals with any mat- ters of legal, personal or similar involvement, in the same way you would move the minutes of a meeting. The author of the let- ter despite its length made no mention of the frequent appeals I made to the press to ensure maximum coverage, so that the people of Whit- by would realize the significance of this mat- ter on our community. He made no mention of the motion which I seconded which brought about the public meetings. Neither did he make any reference to my attempts at the Regional level to deprive the applicant of any assistance inadver- tant or otherwise from the regional staff. If the author of the let- ter desires to bring about more open discussion I have no problem with that. But I will not be bullied or otherwise intirhidated by him, or the newspapers, or any other party in to remaining silent. I have spent too much time over the last 26 years establishing a record of openess and honesty for it to be undermined by inference. If the author of the letter' believes that I am guilty of saying one thing publicly, and voting the other way out of public scrutiny. then let him say so. and I will take the appropriate action For the record, after having this matter brought to my attention by highly motivated. completely scrupulous members of our com- munity, who know far more about the matter than most of the named players. I have been its most vociferous critic. Reg. Councillor Tom jEdwards. Health council To The lEditor: In response to your editorial "No place for Parochialism" in the Whitby Free Press, I would like your readers to be aware of the com- position of the Durham Region District Health Council and the selec- tion process for mem- bership. Our present members reside in Whitby (2) Oshawa (4) Ajax (4) Pickering (2) Port Perry (1) Nestleton (1) Beaverton (1) Sun- derland (1). Since the primary role of a district health council is to involve the community in health care planning, it is vital that consumers of health care are included in the make-up of coun- cil. Providers of health care are also represen- ted on council as are local governments. Consumers are in- terested citizens who may be involved in con- sumer groups, labour, business or- industry. Providers are. those whose income is derived directly from health care delivery. Durham Region District Health Council bas equal representation from the two groups in addition to three Regional Council appointees. Council's Membership Search Committee solicits nominations in the press annually and is careful to maintain geographical represen- tation as well as a con- sumer/provider balan- ce. All adult residents of Durham Region are eligible to be nominated to serve on the District Health Council. Council members are volunteers who devote a minimum of ten hours each month to Council business and ail are ap- pointed by the Minister of Health by Order in Council. Each member is appointed for a three year term and may be reappointed for an ad- ditional three year term. The maximum term to be served by any one Council mem- ber is six years. t hope this infor- mation will.be useful to your readers and will help to clarify some of the misconceptions about Council's mem- bership. Yours sincerely, Jean Achmatowicz Chairman Durham Region District Health Council Lioness To The Editor: The building itself is impressive. The old Knox Building of the University of Toronto, was built over 100 years ago. It holds court at 1 Spadina Cres., Toronto. Inside. you would ex- pect to find dustry historians surrounded by equally dusty books. However, this an- tiquated edificé is the home of up to date equipment used by the Ontario Eye Bank and the research arm of the Ophthalmology Depar- tment of the University of Toronto. The Whithv Lioness SFl PG. 31 -Letters to the Editor-