6 P: 905.430.4300 E: info@whitby.ca whitby.ca What You Need To Know This Week: Share Your Feedback on Whitby's Proposed 2022 Budget The Town's proposed 2022 Budget is now available online at connectwhitby.ca/Budget. Residents can share their feedback on the budget through a variety of ways: 2022 Virtual Budget Forum | Open now through February 9 connectwhitby.ca/Budget Virtual Budget Public Meeting | February 7 at 7 p.m. whitby.ca/LiveStream Virtual Special Council Meeting for final approval of the proposed 2022 Budget | February 17 at 7 p.m. whitby.ca/LiveStream Residents who wish to speak virtually at either meeting must register with the Town Clerk by noon the day of the meeting. Forms are available at whitby.ca/Delegation. For comments or questions about the budget, contact the Financial Services Department at treasury@whitby.ca or by phone at 905.430.4300 x1952 What's New on Connect Whitby Chelsea Hill Park - the Town is getting a new local park in West Whitby on the east side of Marcel Brunelle Drive. View the proposed conceptual park design and complete a survey by February 6 to share your feedback on the playground design. Climate Change Master Plan - complete new poll questions every two weeks to let us know how changing weather and climate change is affecting you. Your feedback will help shape the Whitby Climate Change Master Plan to help the Town prepare for future climate-related events. Have your say on these topics and more at connectwhitby.ca What To Expect After A Snowfall Wondering what type of street you live on and when it will be plowed after a snowfall? Use the "Find My Street" tool to learn more at whitby.ca/Snow Creating A More Accessible Community What accessibility improvements would you make to better serve the community if you had extra funding available? Businesses, community groups and non-profits are encouraged to submit an application to receive up to $10,000 in matching funding from the Town under its Accessibility Grant. For more information or to apply, visit whitby.ca/AccessibilityGrant Most Whitby residents who know of Greg Frankson know him as an outspoken opponent of anti-Black racism and local businessperson. But there's another, perhaps, less well-known side to the Whitby father of three. Frankson is also the editor of upcoming book titled, AfriCANthology: Perspectives of Black Canadian Poets, which contains essays, poems and commentaries from a collection of some of Canada's most renowned Black Canadian writers. It's due to be published on Feb. 1, the kickoff to Black History Month in Canada. "There is work that is representative of both official languages. The poets, both in their poetry and in their essays, are talking about the issues they have confronted while navigating the Canadian context as Black people and as Black artists," Frankson said. "The stories touch on a number of different themes: issues around cultural topics, the names we still carry around, stories of upbringing, analysis, different feelings and emotions that come up along the way." Included in the collection is George Elliott Clarke, who has won several Gov.-General Literary Awards, is a former Poet Laureate of Toronto; Rodney St. Eloi, who has won two Gov.-General Literary Awards for French-lan-guage poetry and Olive Senior, who has won numerous literary awards and is current Poet Laureate of Jamaica. Frankson said he had been thinking about doing the book for about a decade but said the events of the last couple of years "convinced me the book needed to happen and the book needed to come out as soon as possible." "The twin issues of the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, people were focusing on the Black community in ways they hadn't been before," he said. "So, I felt it was important that we get as many voices involved in the conversation as possible to speak to the experiences that animate the Black community," he said. He said it's essential to grow the dialogue in society more broadly and strengthen the narrative of Black people "who are living those experiences today." "We must share stories, teach them, archive them so that current and future generations will understand what Black folks in the third decade of the 21st century were living through," Frankson said. He believes academics and historians have not told Black stories "in ways that serve the community best." LOCAL EDITOR'S BOOK FOCUSES ON THE BLACK CANADIAN EXPERIENCE TIM KELLY tkelly@durhamregion.com BOOKS GREG FRANKSON SAYS BOOK: 'TALKS ABOUT ISSUES THEY (WRITERS) HAVE CONFRONTED' Whitby resident Greg Frankson is the editor of the new book, 'AfriCANthology: Perspectives of Black Canadian Poets', which is due to come out on Feb. 1. Jason Liebregts/Metroland