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Vol. 12 No. 26 905-727-3300 FREE Week of May 8, 2012

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Aurora’s official Town Crier, John Webster, heralded the official opening of the 2012 AuroraFarmers’ Market season on Saturday. The annual tradition once again filled Wells Street andpart of Town Park as vendors from Aurora and further afield came to sell their produce, bakedgoods, meat, and crafts. Inset: “Alice” (Rachel) stepped back through the looking glass for the occasion to promote an all-youth production of Alice in Wonderland at the Newmarket Theatrenext Sunday. Auroran photos by David Falconer

By Brock Weir

Lieutenant-Governor David Onleywill be in Aurora this Wednesday forthe Second Annual Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe's Levee for theQueen's York Rangers.

The second annual fundraiser forthe Queen's York Rangers BenevolentFund will be held at the AuroraCultural Centre Wednesday, May 9, at6 p.m. Money raised from the $250-a-head benefit will go towards the fundto support members of the Queen'sYork Rangers' regimental familyreturning from the frontlines.

The Regimental Assistance Planearmarks dollars for citizen soldiersonce they have done their duty andhave gone back to being part-timereservists, who no longer qualify forcounselling or other support pro-grams. The plan was formed by theRangers' Regimental Association andthe Regimental Council to fill that gap"to make sure the citizen soldiers of

the Queen's York Rangers have all thesupport they need when they returnfrom rather traumatic postings oversees," event chair CouncillorChris Ballard recently told TheAuroran.

"That's frankly the main reasonmany of us are involved to make surethe Regimental Assistance Plan orprogram is well funded in the comingyears."

Last year's Levee raised $16,000for the fund and organizers this yearhave set a goal of $25,000. In additionto the funds raised by ticket sales,these numbers could be bolsteredfrom the sale of specially commis-sioned heritage helmets, which havebeen decorated by local artists -including Aurora's own Herbert Pryke- which will be auctioned off beginningat Wednesday's levee with the finalbids taken on eBay until May 27, at theopening of the new Aurora Armouryon Industrial Parkway.

Lt. Gov’s visit signals "bittersweet" transition

for Regiment

By Brock Weir

Countless Aurorans pass theVictorian gothic building every day.

It has been immortalized inequally countless publications andeven further still pieces of art.

But now the Aurora's venerableHillary House is celebrating its150th anniversary this year and itsowners, the Aurora HistoricalSociety, are throwing a party onSaturday afternoon to mark theauspicious occasion.

Events get underway on theHillary House grounds at 1372Yonge Street on Saturday, May 12,at 1 p.m. rain or shine. It will be thefirst time members of the public willget a chance to view the extensiverevitalization and facelift Hillary

House has undergone over the lastfive years, and organizers with theHistorical Society (AHS) hope thisevent, and what they have beentirelessly working on for the past 12months, gives residents a new per-spective on the heritage building.

"I am just so excited," said AHScurator Catherine Richards onSaturday's festivities. "This is acommunity building, this is a com-munity event, and I am just reallylooking forward to seeing peoplewho maybe haven't experiencedthe house before and they're inter-ested and curious."

Part of this will be achieved, shesaid, with their new exhibition 150Artefacts for 150 Years, whichincludes a number of never-before-

Hillary House turns 150 onSaturday with public party

Continued on page 12


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2 - THE AURORAN, Week of May 8, 2012

COMING EVENTS

MAY 10 - 12The Aurora Performing Arts Group presents

Sweeney Todd at Newmarket Theatre. This musicalthriller by legendary composer Stephen Sondheimis unmissable. Laced with dark humour, dazzling witand an infectious score, don't miss this productionwhen it comes to Newmarket Theatre. A dark andmesmerizing journey through Victorian London, theplay is the story of Benjamin Barker, a barber whoescapes prison after 15 years to seek revenge onJudge Turpin, the man who unjustly imprisoned himand stole away his wife and child. When he returnsto London, the deranged Barker changes his nameto Sweeney Todd and joins forces with diabolicalbaker Mrs. Lovett. Tickets are available throughwww.newtix.ca or 905-953-5122.

THURSDAY, MAY 10York Regional Police will host its seventh annu-

al York Regional Police Memorial. This event willinclude a full memorial service to honour the offi-cers from York Regional Police and pre-regionpolice serices that made the ultimate sacrifice, giv-ing their lives in the line of duty. Family members ofthe fallen officers will attend the ceremony and lay awreath at the memorial wall. The service will takeplace at #2 District Headquarters, located at 171Major Mackenzie Drive West in Richmond Hill at 9a.m.

MAY 12 - MAY 18York Regional Police marks National Police

Week with a number of events throughout theRegion. The week kicks off today with an openhouse at the Community Safety Village at Bruce'sMill Conservation Area at 3291 Stouffville Road inWhitchurch-Stouffville. The day will include exhibitsand demonstrations and kids will even have thechance to ride miniature cars and have a bike work-shop. For more information on this and other eventsthrough the week, visit www.yrp.ca.

SATURDAY, MAY 12The Aurora Historical Society launches their

2012 season with a special celebration of the 150thanniversary of Hillary House National Historic Site.Everyone is welcome at this free rain or shineevent. House and grounds open for exploration bythe community. New exhibit opening: 150 Artefactsfor 150 Years, featuring never before displayed arte-facts. Also opening is Art at the Manor, showcasingworks by artists who have had exclusive access toHillary House artefacts for their inspiration. Bring apicnic, meet local dignitaries, hear the proclamationof Hillary House Day in Aurora by the Town Crierand participate in free tours and children's activi-ties. 1.00 p.m. - 4.00 p.m.; visitwww.aurorahistoricalsociety.ca or call 905-727-8991 for more information.

* * * * Aurora Senior Public School and George Street

Public School host their annual fair today from 11a.m. to 3 p.m. at 125 Wellington Street West.Activities include a book sale, a chess competition,face painting, a basketball skills competition, hairwraps, a raffle basket draw, races, inflatables, and anail salon. Fun for the whole family!

* * * * David and Diedre Tomlinson will once again

open their garden, Merlin's Hollow, up to the public.Today is the first of four public days the garden willbe open and today's event will feature spring bulbs,wildflowers, and alpine scree. Designed by land-scape architect David, this is the 31st year theTomlinsons have opened up Merlin's Hollow toAurorans and garden enthusiasts from furtherafield. For more information, contact 905-727-8979.Admission is free and the garden is open from 10a.m. to 5 p.m.

SUNDAY, MAY 13Looking for a great way to get outdoors with

your mom on Mother's Day? Join Windfall and YorkRegion's Water for Tomorrow, for an interactiveafternoon of garden fun with our new sunken gar-den. Participate in hands-on learning from gardenexperts on how to build your own sunken garden ordry riverbed that will capture and channel rain watermore efficiently while adding a lovely design dimen-sion to your landscape. The afternoon will also fea-ture a look at some of the fabulous native speciesthat will spice up your garden, while providing a nicemix for any mother, even Mother Nature! The eventwill also have a Native Plant swap. All participantsare welcome to bring plants to add to our garden(only native species) and can swap with other moth-ers! Snacks will be provided, and all mothers willreceive a special Mother's Day gift! To register, call905-727-0491 ext. 118 or [email protected]

WEDNESDAY, MAY 16The Baha'is of Aurora and Newmarket present

“Action in Defence of the Baha’is In Aran” tonight at7 p.m. in the Magna Room of the Aurora PublicLibrary. The evening is intended to generate publicawareness on the persecution of the Baha’is of Iran.Refreshments will be served.

SATURDAY, MAY 19The Yoga Nest opens in Oak Ridges this morn-

ing with a Grand Opening Ceremony at 11 a.m. Theevent, which will include demonstrations of karateand yoga, is hosted by Shoshinkan Martial Arts,which is a not-for-profit organization "whose solepurpose is to perpetuate the spirit of Budo by thepractice of traditional martial arts. It offers classesfor both kids and adults." The Yoga Nest is OakRidges' first full-time yoga studio, offering classesfor men and women, kids, and seniors. The Director,Rebekah Murdoch, has been studying and practic-ing yoga for more than 20 years.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23The Aurora Garden Club invites you to hear

Jack Kent from The Potting Shed speak on "MoreGrasses Than You Think". Start time is 8.00 p.m. atthe Royal Canadian Legion, 105 Industrial ParkwayNorth. Its Youth Group will meet at 6.30 p.m. to cre-ate a Miniature Garden. For those of you that saw

In this week’s issue:4 Columns and letters

14 Restaurant Features 16 Arts and Culture 18 Sports 22 Classifieds 23 At Your Service 24 Camp Guide

APRIL 11 - MAY 30A Bereavement Support Group for adults experi-

encing the death of a loved one is again beingoffered at the Aurora United Church for an eight weeksession, from 7 to 9 p.m. beginning Wednesday, April11 and ending May 30. There is no fee for this pro-gram. It is non-denominational and is open to all inthe community. For info call Paula at 905-727-2584 oremail [email protected].

MAY 5 - JUNE 5Eating Disorders of York Region present the sup-

port group Life Without an Eating Disorder at its cen-tral office at 15213 Yonge Street, Suite 15, Auroraevery Tuesday until June 5. The group is based onthe Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques,specifically developed for eating disorders (CBT-E).During this group participants will learn about variousfactors that contributed to the development of disor-dered eating and later serve as maintaining mecha-nisms. EDOYR will construct a model of your eatingdisorder, identifying and targeting the processes thatare maintaining the disordered eating. We will dis-cuss how perfectionism, self-esteem and interper-sonal problems connected with your eating habits.You will learn how to challenge and change unhelp-ful thoughts and behaviours. Fee: $60. Group meetsfrom 5 - 6 p.m.

MAY 15 - JUNE 5Eating Disorders of York Region (EDOYR) will

host a support group with Stephanie Griver eachTuesday beginning today until June 5. Support forfamily and friends is vital in the recovery of a lovedone. A family member or a friend needs to be astrong, safe and consistent source of support andneeds to take care of themselves in order to do so. Itis good to know that you are not alone when youexperience stress, frustration or anger: an eating dis-order affects the whole family. Fee: $40.

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FRIDAY, MAY 25Aurora's Trinity Anglican Church hosts a concert

featuring soprano Irene Ilic and pianist Barry Peterstonight at 7.30 p.m. at the Church, 79 VictoriaStreet. Tickets are $20 with a reception to follow. Formore information, call 905-830-6932.

SATURDAY, MAY 26The Aurora Cultural Centre is pleased to pres-

ent an elegant Afternoon Tea and Tea talk this after-noon from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Brevik Hall, 22 ChurchStreet. The event includes a heritage lecture on thehistory of tea hosted by Ingrid Folkers, certified teasommelier, speaker, and chef, plus a guided tour ofthe Centre featuring the exhibit Partners: InCollaboration, door prizes courtesy of Aurora busi-nesses and more. Tickets to the event are now onsale for $40 and can be purchased by calling theAurora Cultural Centre at 905-713-1818. Proceedswill help support educational projects, cultural pro-

grams, free public exhibitions and events year-round at the Aurora Cultural Centre.

* * * * The Aurora Garden Club will be hosting its

annual Plant Sale at the Aurora Public Library onYonge Street from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. This not-to-be-missed event will feature hardy perennials frommembers' gardens as well as a variety of unusualnursery plants. Cash or cheque and come early forthe best selection. Visit www.gardenaurora.com orcall 905-713-6660 for further information.

SATURDAY, MAY 26The Georgina Military Museum will hold its 2012

Military Day/Georgina Salutes III today at theGeorgina Military Museum at 26061 WoodbineAvenue in Keswick. Events run from 10 a.m. to 4p.m. The event will feature five live bands perform-ing throughout the day, a chance to get up closeand personal with a Coyote Tactical Support Vehiclefrom the Royal Canadian Dragoons, military re-enactors, face painting, food, face painting, and


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flat grass, a gravel road, andfactories, and the WellingtonStreet."

That flat grass is nowanything but. Progressingfrom a colourful garden atthe foot of the property, onecan progress in two options -one to a fragrant garden ofexotic plants and a thymelawn - and to a much lessordered place (it is, ofcourse, designed that way)with various species poppingup in seemingly randomlocations, occasionally bor-dering around a pond com-plete with goldfish well intoretirement age, and analpine garden dedicated totheir daughter Melinda.

For David, the creation ofthese gardens was the cul-mination of a life's ambition.David left school in GreatBritain at the age of 14 -

probably one of the lastwave of kids to do so, hethinks - and started work at15. Already an avid birdwatcher, he was looking for aline of work where he prac-tice his passion and actuallyget paid for it! He started offas a "garden boy" and thatkept his interest.

"I started going to nightschool and then they mademe a gardener apprenticeand I kept rolling up the lad-der until I became a land-scape architect," he said."That's really sad becausetoday you could never dothat. You have to go to uni-versity [and] that's great formost people, but some of thepeople who've come up in adifferent way have a muchdifferent view.

"If you go through univer-

THE AURORAN, Week of May 8, 2012 - 3


CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT NEXT WEDNESDAY

The Youth Advisory Council of the Philip Aziz Centre,founded by Aurora students including Brooke Harrison,will host the fifth annual Charity Golf Tournament for theToronto-based hospice on Wednesday, May 16. Theyouth group has set a $50,000 goal in this, their finalyear as event organizers, to raise funds for theHospice's children and family programs. With a 12.45shotgun start at the Richmond Hill Golf Club, entrance is$190 per person ($60 tax deductable), and includes 18holes of golf, a power cart, and a bucket of balls for thedriving range, lunch and a gourmet dinner, prizes andcontests, use of shower and locker facilities, and tipsfrom golf pros. For more information on how to register,attend, or follow the tournament and its associatedevents, contact Val Ashfield at 416-363-9196 (x 206) [email protected].

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Dierdre and David Tomlinson take a moment to relax on the bridge going over their goldfish pond with-in their woodland garden at Merlin’s Hollow. Made up of gardens within gardens, Merlin’s Hollow hasopened its gates to Aurora residents for the past 30 years. It’s 31st open season begins this Saturday.

Auroran photo by Brock Weir

Merlin’s Hollow is a labourof love for local gardeners

By Brock Weir

When Dierdre Tomlinsoncame up with the idea 30years ago to open the gardenshe created with her hus-band David, he was not par-ticularly keen on the idea.

But Mrs. Tomlinson gother way, and for the followingthree decades, Merlin'sHollow has opened up itsdoors to the wonderment ofmany Aurorans and gardenenthusiasts beyond Town lim-its.

The entrance to Merlin'sHollow off Centre Crescent,perhaps one of Aurora's mostobscure thoroughfares offCentre Street, just west ofIndustrial Parkway North, isdeceptively sedate from theoutside, but once inside thefront gate, visitors are wel-comed into gardens within gar-dens, each with unique fea-tures, and with something todelight just about everybody.

"I thought it was too goodnot to share," said Dierdre ofthe early days of openingMerlin's Hollow to the public."We put postcards up in laun-drettes and supermarketsbecause Aurora was a verysmall Town then and we havebeen doing that since 1981."

While it was her idea toopen up their grounds onselect dates throughout thesummer, the garden itselfwas David's brainchild whoput his many years progress-ing from an apprentice gar-dener in his teens in GreatBritain, eventually becominga landscape architect, togood use.

"It was basically a typicalCanadian lot that swept upfrom the road," said David ofwhen he first had the idea todo something unique withwhat was a very un-uniquepiece of property. "You couldactually stand here and youcould see Wellington Street.There was nothing. It was a

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Letters to the Editor

Brock’s BanterBy BROCK WEIR

"I'm doing anybody I can," said my grandmother, RuthParr, late last month to the wonderful nursing staff at herretirement home, as they made her more comfortable in bed.

Leave it to her to go out with a bang - so to speak - as herlife began to draw to a close.

I take comfort in the fact that it was one of the last thingsshe said before she decided to pack it in.

I wrote last week's column from her bedside on April 28spending her final hours with her and our family. As sad aswe were, the silence in the room allowed some time forreflection, which became ever more poignant as shereceived constant visits from the wonderful staff atBurlington's Village of Tansley Woods RetirementCommunity.

It made me think of what she was just about to leavebehind.

The first thing I thought of was her unique sense ofhumour, which is why it was so comforting that her partingwords were one of her patented quips. As long as sheresponded with "I'm doing anybody I can", we knew as a fam-ily that all was right in the world. This was a favourite phrase,among "titty up" as a synonym for death - whether a bestfriend or a broken-down coffee maker - "gall" and "dewey"whenever a more appropriate word escaped her, and break-

ing into whisper mid-sentence whenever she felt a derogato-ry term (even if it wasn't) about to pass her lips.

She leaves behind a rich treasury of family folklore, that Ijust know is going to be completely unbelievable for futuregenerations. Who, after all, is going to believe she once pipedup to the waitress at an outdoor eatery, "Where's my f------pickle?!" when her western sandwich arrived unsuitably gar-nished?

Are any children I have going to believe that she snaggedmy grandfather by heading up to Muskoka shortly after theSecond World War, squeezing into a new two-piece, andarranging herself provocatively on the dock of Cleveland'sHouse with the expressed purpose of snagging a returningveteran? (Success!)

Are they going to question me, when I tell them she oncegave us a tour of her golf club by car. What's so strange aboutthat, you might ask. Well, how would you feel if you foundyourself in the backseat of a Ford Focus driving straight upthe 18th fairway with no recourse but to keep going, roundthe gazebo, and head back again, while stunned club mem-bers flocked to the clubhouse windows to watch the specta-cle?

I'm certain, however, future generations are going to callme an outright liar when I tell them about the time she decid-ed "to put her face on" without wearing her glasses, andpromptly hit the town with emerald green eyebrows, havingmistaken her eyeliner for an eyebrow pencil. To have heardher tell it, with all the stares she was getting, she figured shelooked "pretty hawt" that day until I pointed out she had awhole Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz thing going on.

Today, May 8, would have been her 87th birthday and indeath, as in life, she remain a bit of an enigma. She wasequally loving and difficult, occasionally a hard nut to crack,but nothing if not encouraging. Although my father has abackground in journalism, it was my grandmother who reallyencouraged me to press on. Straight out of Carleton, I did adetour from journalism, but as an avid news junkie, she want-ed nothing more than my bylines to cut out and take to theclub to show off to all the "girls." It was a constant push,almost a nag, but here I am today!

She is also the one I have to thank (although othersblame) for my interest in the Canadian Monarchy. The inter-est stemmed from a coffee table book on the Queen's SilverJubilee she kept in her bedroom. I vividly remember leafingthrough the well worn book not knowing the history behind

“How are you doing, Ruth?”

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“Aurora’s Community Newspaper”The Auroran Newspaper Company Ltd.

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E d i t o r i a l p o l i c y

Opinions expressed by columnists, contributors and letter writers are not necessar-ily those of The Auroran. Letters must include name and phone number, althoughnumber will not be published, and be limited to 700 words. Letters may be edited orrefused. All contents protected by copyright.

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Mayor thanks residents for clean-upTo the editor:

I would like to thank themany residents who volun-teered their time on April 28to help with the Mayor'sAnnual Anti-Litter Clean-upDay.

More than 400 peoplejoined Deputy Mayor JohnAbel, Councillor Paul Pirri,Councillor Sandra Humfryes

and me in a great teameffort to tidy up Aurora. Withyour dedication we collected1.64 tonnes of litter!

Special thanks to TimHortons for providing coffee,snacks, T-shirts and gloves,Pitch-in Canada for donatingbags, GFL EnvironmentalCorporation for collectingthe trash, the AuroraCommunity Band for provid-

This certificate from theCanadian Red CrossSociety in October 1924names Miss HelenPearson’s Class atAurora Public school fortheir work organizingunder the Junior RedCross as the “Healthand Happiness Society.”According to the cita-tion, the Health andHappiness Society, nowrecognized by Societywas to help the RedCross in their peace-time mission of “theimprovement of health,the prevention of dis-ease, and the mitigationof suffering throughoutthe world. If you recog-nize any of the names inMiss Pearson’s class,please send an emailwith your memories [email protected].

Document courtesy of theAurora Historical Society


Reader enjoyed TA’s“Harvey” production

To the editor:

I want to thank TheAuroran for featuring an arti-cle about "Harvey", playingat Theatre Aurora. Withoutthis article I might havemissed the opportunity to beuplifted by the heartwarmingand humourous perform-ance of this classic.

Congratulations to thedirectors, cast and crew for a

wonderful show. I broughtfriends along to see theshow not once but twice!

It is my humble opinionthat warmth is what theworld needs more of and theworld is a better place afterthis heart warming perform-ance.

I will not soon forget it.

Janice MorganteAurora

My grandparents, Ruth andBill Parr, on their weddingday in October 1946.

Photos by Robert McMichael

(of art gallery fame. That was important to her.)

Reader remembersDutch losses

To the editor:

As the Dutch celebrateMay 5 as the Day ofLiberation from theGermans, pr incipallythrough the sacrifices ofthe Canada Army, did youknow, as we are privi-leged to love our children

and grandchildren, thatnearly 18,000 Dutch chil-dren, younger than 18,were murdered by theGermans, between June1942 and September1944?

Alex Vander VeenAurora

ing musical entertainmentand volunteers from theTown and Info Aurora. Iwould also like to acknowl-edge M&M Meats for run-ning our barbecue.

Thanks for providing aday of great service to ourcommunity!

Mayor Geoffrey DaweAurora

Machell’s Corners by Scott JohnstonTHE AURORAN, Week of May 8, 2012 - 5

Inside AuroraLottery Winner

By FRANK KLEES MPP Newmarket-Aurora

By SCOTT JOHNSTON

Frankly Speaking

So why couldn't you vote for the most powerful politician in York Region?

Is it because you don't live within the bound-aries of the electoral district he represents?

No. In fact, if you live anywhere within York Region,this politician presides over deliberations on servicesthat affect every aspect of your life. Those servicesinclude urban planning and economic development,oversight of residential and commercial development,infrastructure including regional transit and roads,waste management, water and wastewater treatment,public health and social services and policing.

And what's the budget for all these services?For 2012, York Region residents and business will

pay $2.8 Billion for these services. That's a biggerbudget than many provincial Cabinet Ministers over-see and, unless they get elected first, they don't getappointed as a minister.

How many people are affected by this politi-cian's decisions?

The latest number posted puts York Region's popu-lation at 1,044,313. And as we know all too well, thatnumber is expected to reach 1.5 million by 2030.

If not elected by the residents, how does thisperson get to hold this office?

Of the more than one million residents in YorkRegion, only twenty people have a say in who will holdthat office. The nine Mayors of the Region and elevenRegional Councillors make that decision at their inau-

gural meeting following every municipal election. So what position is this?

The Chairman and CEO of York Region... Surprisingly few people know that the man wearing

the Chains of Office as he presides over deliberationsat York Regional Council as the Chairman and CEO isnot directly elected by the voters.

How did this come to be? Here's a bit of history: In 1970, the provincial government created six

regional governments in Ontario. The objective was toensure that these regional governments would havethe financial and administrative strength to managethe impending growth.

On January 1, 1971, the Regional Municipality ofYork was created and the former Warden of theCounty, Garfield Wright was appointed the RegionalChair by the Government of Ontario through a CabinetOrder.

The position of Chair was appointed by the provin-cial Cabinet as a matter of necessity. The Region hadjust been created by the province, and it was impracti-cal to require an election to fill this inaugural position.It was imperative however, that competent leadershipwas put in place to oversee the implementation of thisnew structure of government. It was never intendedthat subsequent Chairs would be perpetually appoint-ed and that they would become progressively moreinsulated from electoral accountability.

Time to insert some democracy into thisprocess? I think so.

This is not a discussion about the current Chair orhis record. In fact, I have always enjoyed a good work-ing relationship with Bill Fisch and consider him afriend. This is about whether the time has come tomake the office of the Regional Chair an elected posi-tion rather than leaving it to be played out in a backroom.

A great deal has changed since that first appoint-ment in 1971, when York Region had a population169,000 and a budget of $18.7 million. I believe thatmore than ever, residents and taxpayers want to knowthat they can hold decision-makers accountable.That's why we need...

Legislation to make the Regional Chair anelected position.

A Private Member's Bill was recently tabled byRichmond Hill MPP Reza Moridi that would require theRegional Chair to be elected by general vote effectivewith the next municipal election. I intend to supportthat legislation.

Halton and Waterloo Regions already directly electtheir Regional Chairs, and Durham Region is poised todo so. I believe it's time that we do the same andinfuse a good dose of democracy into our regional pol-itics.

As always, I look forward to hearing your views onthis and any other issue you may want to discuss. Ican be reached through my website atwww.frankklees.com or by calling 905-750-0019.

Pretend you won the lottery.Stop drooling. We're just imagining, here.Millions of dollars to do with as you wish...vacations, cars,

electronics, splurging on your family and friends, telling off theboss.

The possibilities are endless.Well, Aurora Council in effect won the lottery in March 2005,

when it sold Aurora Hydro for $34.5 million. That's a lot of money.With that sort of cash, the Town could have paid off debts, ini-

tiated new capital projects, filled in the odd pot hole, or (and I knowthis will be hard to believe) reduced the annual tax increase.

Again, the possibilities were endless.But with a world of options at their fingertips, you know what

council did with the money? They put it in the bank.There's excitement.But to be fair, this gave the $34.5 million the opportunity to sit

untouched and grow, and today, over seven years later, we appar-ently now have…$33 million.

The moral of the story; don't let the town invest your life's sav-ings for you if you ever plan to retire.

And if the Town does come into any money in future, they

should just stick it in a mattress, which obviously results in betterinterest.

In any case, before through continued shrewd investment thismoney disappears completely, the current Council has decidedthat if there's $33 million dollars to be spent in this Town, who bet-ter to spend it than them.

Fortunately, it sounds as if they won't be doing this alone, butwill be asking residents for ideas.

I'm sure we'll see the usual suspects: re-paving roads, build-ing a youth centre, adding an ice sheet or two, or commissioninganother study on what to do with Petch House.

All very practical thoughts, but hardly inspiring. Fortunately, the money was originally set aside to be used not

for projects like these, but for ones that the Town wouldn't normal-ly fund through taxes.

So with $33 million dollars available, why not have some fun?For example, the mural at Yonge and Wellington is wonderful,

but it's been many years since it was updated. Want a regularsupply of new images? Then installing a 1,257 inch wideflatscreen TV on that wall would do the trick.

And how about putting some hydro dollars into the Concertsin the Park? Just think how much more popular they'd be if we

kicked the talent up a notch?Imagine sitting in your lawn chair in Town Park, and listening

to the Rolling Stones, Placido Domingo, The London SymphonyOrchestra, and Justin Bieber. Maybe even all in the same concert.

On the sports scene, there's an indoor driving range in thesoccer bubble. Let's take it a step further. With loads of cash atour disposal, we could just "bubble over" entire golf courses. Whowouldn't want to tee off at Westview or St Andrew's in January?

Summer water ban? No problem. Let's just truck in bottledwater to solve all our water woes. Think how envious yourNewmarket neighbours would be watching you use Perrier towash the Town's construction dust off of your patio furniture.

And speaking of construction, how about spending somehydro funding on buying up a bunch of the building lots beingcarved out of the 2C lands west of Leslie and…not building anything on them?

Just leave a little untamed green space for the town's rabbitsand frogs and butterflies and kids.

Now that would be money well spent.

Feel free to e-mail Scott at: [email protected]

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Well, it can finally be told. TheAurora bookstore, known asAurora Used Books and onceupon a time, R & R Books, isclosed.

And it will remain that wayuntil we can find something wecan afford.

It wasn't easy to come to thatconclusion, but owners RonWallace and his wife, Patricia,made the decision last week.

It brought together severalthoughts about how R & R gotstarted nearly 28 years ago.

I remember the Saturdaynight when the fire alarm sound-ed at my home. I was a volunteerfirefighter for the Aurora FireDepartment.

Ablaze was the unit acrossthe street from the TrioRestaurant, on Yonge Street, justsouth of Tyler that housed thebookstore, Tallyman, AuroraRadio Hospital, and a coin shopowned by Bill, the father of ArtBellar. Bill fought the fire that nightand I remember him bringing tome a group of coins, melted intoa clump by the heat. Eight apart-ments were also destroyed bythe flames.

The fire was going prettygood when we got there and Iknew I was in for an all-nighter.

Eric Eveleigh was one of thecaptains on duty that night, andhe swore that no book wouldburn in the fire.

He managed to pour thou-sands of gallons of water on thefire, and true to his word, not abook burned that night, but theywere all so water-damaged thatthe owner decided not to re-open.

After everything returned tonormal, Rosemary Schumaker(she died from cancer aboutseven years ago) and I went toFlorida for a week, and whilewalking along one of the beach-es, decided we should open abookstore and it should be calledR & R Book Bar. The two "R's"represented our names

It would house a bar, but therewas so much red tape involvedthat we elected to go with a coffee shop instead. Good thing,too, since the rules were almostas bad as a liquor license. Weneeded to have two sinks if wewere going to serve coffee inthrow-away cups, three if weplanned to reuse the cups. I maynever understand that.

Interestingly enough, weattended a liquor-licensed book-store later on and I watchedsome "customer" as he stole oneof the books. Needless to say,that outfit is no longer in business.

I had no idea that Tallymanhad moved from their downtownlocation, where they had operat-ed for years. When the owner toldme he had no intention ofreopening, opening a new book-store sounded like a good idea.

I started negotiations with thelate David Merkur at the AuroraShopping Centre, worrying that Ineeded an out if this idea didn'twork. He gave me three of themover the five-year lease. R & Rstayed at the plaza for 18 years,utilizing three locations.

Our final location in the plazawas the former Aurora Hobbiessite, now being used by a RadioShack, better known as TheSource. We moved there on NewYear's Eve.

It was in the basement of thatlocation that I learned of 9/11,after receiving the only phone callof my life from Ron Willerton, whocelebrated a birthday on thatdate.

"Are you watching television?" he asked.

Of course I wasn't, so I drovehome to see what all the commotion was about.

It was during the first openingwhen we decided to get into usedbooks. Distributors throughoutthe land have kept us there whenwe learned it was less expensiveto be in used books than in newbooks.

But I digress. This started outto be a column of why we're notopening another store and whatwe plan to do about it.

On May 26 and 27, we plan tohold a final clearance sale, whichwill include thousands of books,bookshelves and other sundriesin our driveway at 119 AllenvaleDrive in the Town's south end.Google it if you don't know wherewe're located.

The sale will happen over twodays, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. eachday.

In two weeks, I'll tell you allabout my knee operation which Iunderwent earlier this week atSouthlake.

Another reason why we're notopening another bookstore.

Please feel free to e-mail Ron at [email protected]

Closing the book on R & R

Don’t let the truth “get in the way” of a good letterTo the editor:

Once again, not surpris-ingly, Mr. Kean does not letthe truth or the facts get inthe way of one of histirades.

He mentioned my nameseveral times in his letter ofMay 1, 2012 clearly sug-gesting that as I cam-paigned for Mr. Dawe in thelast election and that as Iam also a friend I came tothe Mayor's defence.

Even a cursory enquiryby Mr. Kean would revealthat I did not in any way,shape or form campaign forMr. Dawe nor did I supporthim at any time. As tobeing a friend I had notheard of Mr. Dawe prior to

the election and in fact methim for the first time sever-al months after the electionat a council meeting.

The reason I wrote myletter in response to Mr.Kean's was because I felthis comments were a per-fect example of politicalcorrectness run amok andan obvious attempt tobesmirch the name of anindividual, no matter who itwas, and I find that justwrong.

Mr. Kean makes a pointseveral times that he was adirector of the Women'sCentre of York region andthat is quite commendable;however, what the Mayorsaid and in the context hesaid it has nothing whatso-

ever, zero, to do withspousal abuse. Fortunatelyit appears that Council andthe majority of Aurora citi-zens recognize this.

I sincerely hope that Mr.Kean's reaction to theMayor's comment was as aresult of his ignorance con-cerning this saying ratherthan for any personal orpolitical reasons.

I believe Mr. Kean'sfailed efforts to try and mis-

construe the Mayor's com-ment and the Council'sreaction or lack of same assomehow condoning andjoking about spousal abusedoes a disservice not onlyto our elected representa-tives, citizens in general butmore particularly to thevery victims of spousalabuse.

Graham WrideAurora

Leaders have to “set examples”To the editor:

It is quite clear, MayorDawe made a mistake saying"I have also stopped beatingmy wife" as a short temperedquip during a debate withCouncillor Chris Ballard.

Today, leaders have to setexamples since they are sym-bols of good citizenship.Dawe's comment illustratesthat sexism has not gone awayin our society. It is not right forpeople to try to cover up thisverbal blight up by saying thatit is a just case of rogue criticsseeking to discredit our Mayor.

It is 2012 and women havefought hard for decades forsocial and economic equality

and to change old stereo-types. Kean is right to pointout that "abuse is up 16% inour society in the past year"and that violence againstwomen is not a laughing mat-ter anymore!

So, finally Mayor Dawemade a public apology (May 1,2012, Page 7) and maybenow, we can get over theseries of letter writing and wecan indeed learn from our pastmistakes.

Nellie McClung would beglad to see that Aurora is agood place for women to live intoday.

Jim JacksonAurora



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If you suffer from Arthritisyou need to be aware of excit-ing new discoveries that canprevent years of pain, suffer-ing, immobility and frustration.

You may have told yourdoctor you suffer with one ormore of the following: sore,stiff knees, painful achy hips,low back pain, mid back pain,neck stiffness or pain, hand orfinger stiffness and soreness,shoulder pain or elbow pain.

You may find that yourpain or stiffness affects yourwork, housekeeping, leisureactivities, exercise, sports orother activities.

You go to the drug store orto your doctor and get pills tohelp relieve your pain. But youfind the pain keeps comingback. So you go back, againand again, and get the sameor different drugs to makeyou feel better. Your doctormay eventually say... “I’vedone all I can do - use thedrugs to cope with the pain”Alternatively, the doctor mayrefer you to a specialist whomay tell you that surgery isneeded or is an option for you.

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Although the pain killing oranti-inflammatory drugs aredesigned to numb the painthey do not correct the under-lying root causes of the pain.The most common underlyingcauses include nutritionalproblems, postural problems,infections, chemicals andimmune system problems.

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cases of arthritis that areeffective, modern, natural andsafe. These approaches havehelped many suffererschange their life forever.

To help sufferers anupcoming workshop is beingprovided on Arthritis relief.This eye opening informationhas helped countless suffer-ers to feel better, have moremobility, increased flexibilityand vastly improved function.

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Advertorial

Badminton. Do you like it? When was the last time youplayed? Perhaps you've never played. It can be a lot of fun.

The great thing about badminton is that you don't need to beincredibly fit and agile to play. In fact, you only need to move atyour own speed and level of fitness.

We played it a lot growing up. I'd love to get into the gameagain for old time's sake, but my large dog ran into my kneeonce too often. Recovery is very slow. Moving and twisting theleg could be a problem.

I'm envious. Last week, I watched some of the seniors play-ing in the Aurora Seniors' Centre's beautiful, bright gymnasium.Surprised? So was I when I found such a great facility right inthe building.

As the game proceeded, I observed some players onlystepping and walking to get to the bird. Yes, the bird can be thatslow. I figure even I, with my bum knee, could do that for onegame at least. We'll see.

Although playing wasn't an option that day, I did enjoy meet-ing a few of the players and sharing some friendly chit-chat.When the first game ended, someone immediately offered methe chance to play. That's how welcoming these people are.They won't leave you sitting for long, so you don't have to worryabout being left on the sidelines.

It appears that Mondays are the best day to play becausemore people show up then. This gives you more opportunitiesto find someone who matches your skill level. Some players arequite agile and quickly dart back and forth to make the shot,

while others seem content to stick with the side step.Badminton has many benefits besides the joy of participat-

ing and interacting with the other players. Reaching, bendingdown to pick up a fallen bird, and moving around the court keepyour joints and muscles limber, and lungs and heart exercised.

This is one room that comes alive three times a week withlaughter, banter and happy faces. I hope I can join them soon.

Badminton is only one option.Choose from 45+ Activities

There are more than 45 activities from which to choose.Where else can you enjoy so much fun for $1 a day? Pay yourdaily dues, try an activity, and if you don't like it, try somethingelse.

Perhaps you play a game of badminton or table tennis (yes,they have that too), but decide you want to do something lessstrenuous. You can head over to the bingo, "parlor games" orcreative crafts, to name a few. Bingo does cost you a bit for thecards, but otherwise, it's included in your $1 daily activity fee.

How do you like to end your week? How about a movie or adance? Each week, you can enjoy these activities, too.

Volunteers AboundIf you enjoy volunteering, there are many opportunities

here. They tell me the volunteers at the Centre are a great lot.Last weekend, I had the privilege of experiencing what "they"meant.

More than 40 volunteers participated in the annual SpringSale last weekend. During the five hour event, the anxious

shoppers eyed everything from handmade goods and whiteelephant to baked items. Needless to say, the bake table soldout in the first hour. According to organizers, this event raisedmore money than last year. All proceeds go towards theCentre's costs.

Don't forget to voteSpeaking of volunteers, the Centre is holding its elections

May 7 through May 18 to name three new directors. Voting isby ballot and in person at the front reception desk during oper-ating hours.

To be eligible to vote, you must be a paid up member as ofMay 1, 2012. You will need to show your membership card priorto voting. You can vote for 1, 2 or 3 candidates.

The elected directors will hold office for a three year term,which takes effect at the June Annual General Meeting.Subsequently, they can run for two consecutive terms only.

Get your ticketsIf you enjoy listening to live music, you'll want to get your

tickets soon for the upcoming spring concert, "Sing, Smile, BeHappy" by the Evergreen Choir. The seniors will be performingSunday, May 27 at 2.30 p.m. at the Aurora Seniors' Centre.Price is $10 adults, children free.

For more information on the Aurora Seniors' Centre and allit has to offer, drop by 90 John West Way, visit the web sitewww.auroraseniors.ca, email [email protected] orcall 905-726-4767 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday toFriday.

Queen’s York Rangers needed now more than everTo the editor:

After 138 years the AuroraArmoury will soon cease tobe the Aurora home of theQueen’s York Rangers (1stAmerican).

One wonders whatbecame of the thousands ofmen, and later, women, whodrilled in the shed andmarched in Town Park. Many

went off to war, many did notreturn.

The closing of the AuroraArmoury is a sad day insome respects, but it’s alsoan exciting one because,with the opening of the newfacility, the Lieutenant-Governor the HonourableJohn Graves SimcoeArmoury, both the Queen’sYork Rangers and

Department of NationalDefence signal a growingcommitment to Aurora andYork Region.

As the number of recruitsfrom York Region continuesto grow within the ranks ofthe Rangers, so too does theimportance of York Regiontowns like Aurora.

In the past few years,almost one-third of the regi-

ment has done one or moretours of Afghanistan. Inrecent years, members havealso served in Bosnia, Serbiaand Croatia. With the recentfederal budget, the govern-ment is asking its reserveunits to provide at least 20per cent of Canada's militaryoverseas forces. This is asignificant increase fromrecent years.

The citizen-soldiers of theQueen’s York Rangers will becalled upon to help fill thatnumber, hence the need for the recently-establishedRegimental Assistance Planto help our men and women,and their families, cope withthis increased call to service.

The Queen’s YorkRangers has a history thatpre-dates the AmericanRevolution. The Rangersplayed a major role in defeat-ing American invaders dur-ing the War of 1812. Locally,the Rangers were instrumen-tal in opening York Region tosettlement and trade. Theybuilt Yonge Street fromToronto to Lake Simcoe, andmany within the ranksaccepted land grants fromthe King to settle and farm.

The public is invited to theopening of the new Armouryon Sunday, May 27 at 3 p.m.

Following a brief ceremo-ny, you are invited to intro-duce yourselves to our

Rangers, share in a freeBBQ, and visit exhibits.

The new Armoury islocated at 215 IndustrialParkway South. Before theopening ceremonies, troopswill march from the AuroraArmoury on Larmont Street,along Wellington St. andsouth on Industrial ParkwaySouth to their new Aurorahome.

Please come and join thisfamily event. This is youropportunity to show yoursupport of our citizen-sol-diers and give them a warmwelcome at their new home.

Councillor Chris BallardAurora

Protection needed from indoor tanningTo the editor:

The Canadian CancerSociety applauds BritishColumbia for its plans tointroduce regulations pre-venting young people fromusing indoor tanning and weurge the Ontario govern-ment to follow suit to protectthe health of youth in thisprovince.

The Society has beenadvocating for more than sixyears for provincial legisla-tion to prohibit youth under18 years of age fromaccessing indoor tanningequipment.

This important healthissue needs to beaddressed at the provinciallevel so that all youth acrossOntario are protected fromthe dangers of indoor tan-ning.

Society volunteers andstaff have been workinghard at the municipal levelmaking deputations to coun-cils across Ontario. As aresult, there have been res-olutions in support of provin-cial legislation passed inPrince Edward County,Sarnia, Belleville, Brightonand Petrolia.

The Society is sendingmore than 12,000 letters toMPPs across the provinceand the three main partyleaders currently in a letter-writing campaign calling foraction on provincial indoortanning legislation.

We know Ontarians sup-port us. An Ipsos Reid poll

conducted in June 2011and commissioned by theSociety showed that:

• 83% of Ontarians sup-port a ban on indoor tan-ning by youth under 18years

• 77% said youth shouldbe prevented from usingtanning beds

• 73% of Ontarianspolled said the tanningindustry cannot be trustedto regulate itself and gov-ernment legislation is need-ed

• 80% of Ontarians sup-port legislation to regulate

the tanning industryResearch has concluded

that using indoor tanningequipment before the age of35 increases a person's riskof developing melanomaskin cancer by 75%.

With such strong evi-dence as well as public sup-port, why is the Ontario gov-ernment holding back onlegislation that can poten-tially save lives?

Janice Hodgson,VolunteerCanadian Cancer SocietyNewmarket

Senior ScapeBy SYLVIA DICKENS

Badminton is one of 45 activities

motion from Councillor JohnAbel who said such educationmeasures could be carried outin a similar way to the previousCouncil's anti-idling campaign

which saw signs installed out-side facilities like the AuroraFamily Leisure Complex.

The Councillor said it was a



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• Are all downspouts andswales directed away fromthe retaining wall?• Finally and most importantly, are you dealingwith a landscape contractorwith credentials and experience in buildingretaining walls?

Aurora LandscapeContractors has been building beautiful land-scapes in this area for 35years. The company constructs retaining wallsfrom armourstone, cutstone, precast concrete,poured in place concrete,stone and brick veneer overconcrete block and even timber.

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Advertorial

Solution found for tattered flags (for now)

By Brock Weir

MP Lois Brown and Aurora's bylawdepartment are teaming up to make sureCanadian flags flown in Aurora are kept intip top shape, at least temporarily.

The partnership came as Town Councilconsidered ways to provide incentives forAurora business and homeowners toreplace faded and tattered Canadian flagswith pristine and vibrant new pennants.

Late last year, Councillor Evelyn Buckput forward a notice of motion calling onTown Staff to look at implementing a newbylaw which would compel business own-ers to replace flags when they are worn andotherwise ragged.

"A Canadian flag flying in disrepair isdisrespectful and offensive to communitystandards and such negligence is unac-ceptable," said Councillor Buck in hermotion, inspired by one local plaza whichwas flying tattered flags.

"The purpose of my motion is not torequire anybody who doesn't want a flag tofly a flag. If the property owners take it uponthemselves to fly the country's flag then thevery least they could do is keep it in goodrepair. If they get ragged very quickly, takeit down. Don't let it fly in shreds."

The Councillor wondered whether some-thing could be put in Aurora's property stan-dards bylaw or elsewhere to legislate flagconditions, but a report from Town SolicitorWarren Mar a few weeks later threw coldwater on the idea. In his memo to Council,he warned Council to be cautious aboutproceeding with such a plan becausethings related to flags could be hot buttonissues.

To legislate what one can do with theflag, could leave the Town open to criti-cisms that Aurora was trying to limit free-dom of expression, he said.

"Given that the regulation would specifi-cally target a very political symbol, it wouldbe difficult to justify a by-law that has theaffect of limiting certain political views andhas a small impact on municipal interests,"said Mr. Mar.

"Flags could fall into the category of asign and are specifically included in the def-inition of signs in the case of the Town ofNewmarket and the City of Vaughan.However, it's application to the Canadianflag could be problematic."

In March, however, Town Council passeda resolution calling on staff to look into aimplementing a flag exchange programwhere flags would be provided at cost toresidents and business owners. If the Towncannot incorporate flags into their bylaws,argued Councillor Buck, then providingincentives could be the next best thing.

Although Councillor Chris Ballard saidhe was "nervous" this could lead to flagsubsidies, the department and Ms. Brownare now teaming up to provide free flagsthrough a "Proud to Be Canadian" cam-paign. This, said Techa van Leeuwen,Aurora's director of Bylaw Services, wouldprovide residents "a means to voice theirpride by offering free flags to display."

Ms. Brown has provided 10 large flags tothe Town, with the promise of 10 more, andstaff will now keep a watchful eye on condi-tions.

"Bylaw services is committed to activelypatrol the Town prior to Canada Day andprior to Remembrance Day, visuallyinspecting Canadian flags in Town for signsof wear," said Ms. van Leeuwen. "IfCanadian flags are observed to be in poorcondition, Bylaw Services staff willapproach the property owner and offer afree replacement flag. Bylaw services isalso committed to promoting the program if[during] their travels through Town theynotice a Canadian flag in disrepair.

"When and if the flags are no longerfree, staff will consider options for flagreplacement including offering the flags atcost to property owners."

The measures found favour at theCouncil table, particularly from CouncillorBuck who got the ball rolling.

"This solves the problem of flyingdishevelled flags," she said. "I would like toexpress my appreciation to Ms. vanLeeuwen and MP Lois Brown and weshould thank her for her support in thatmatter."

Councillor John Abel added he was gladAurora was being proactive when it came tothe Canadian flag.

"I read of someone walking on CollegeStreet complaining about a business withtwo flags in disrepair and bringing it to theattention of Toronto Council," he said. "Iwas pleased to know we had already dealtwith it and would have had a replacementflag for them at no cost."

Celebrity chef AnnaOlsen (above right)dropped by Aurora’sReal CanadianSuperstore on Thursdayto teach a sold-out classof 40 people. The cook-ing school is run byMaria Marotta (left) andthe two led a timelyclass on Mother’s Daybaking.

Auroran photo by David Falconer

Park users will be asked to butt outBy Brock Weir

Aurorans could soon beasked to butt out if smoking inTown parks, when anti-smok-ing programs, which havebeen nearly a year in the mak-ing, are installed in parks andrecreation facilities.

According to IlmarSimanovskis, Aurora's Directorof Infrastructure, programs toencourage local smokers to layoff the cigarettes when in thevicinity of parks and recreationareas will be implemented.Signs have been developedand the parks department iscurrently evaluating the Town'sparks inventory to identifyappropriate locations for anti-smoking signs.

"Our department will provide the signs and [AlDowney's] parks departmentwill install the signs," said Mr.Simanovskis.

Measures to combat smok-ing in Town parks began totake root last August afterCouncil approved going for-ward with a public educationplan to make smoking in Townparks a thing of the past. Theplan stemmed from a notice of


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Sidewalks -- too much of a good thing?By Brock Weir

Aurora has been pushing forall sidewalks in Town to be con-nected to improve pedestriantraffic and to get people up ontheir feet and get to where theywant to go.

But how connected is tooconnected?

That's a question Councilcould be considering in upcom-ing weeks as they deal with theissues of sidewalks on bothsides of the road.

Over the last few months,many residents and businessowners - and indeed someCouncillors during the last budg-et process - raised questionsover the requirements to havesidewalks on both sides of newstreets, and streets being recon-structed. A majority of these dis-cussions have taken place overthe installation of two sidewalksbordering Industrial Parkwaywhere there is relatively littlepedestrian traffic, except onIndustrial Parkway North nearthe two schools on either end ofthat stretch.

According to the existingmunicipal sidewalk policy, side-walks will be constructed on bothsides of the road for arterial andcollector roads, on industrial col-lector roads when developmentsoccur, and on one side of theroad generally for local roads.

For arterial roads in existingareas, sidewalks will be built onboth sides of the street whendevelopment and reconstruc-tions occur, and when certain cri-teria are met with collector roads.

"I take [Industrial ParkwaySouth] a lot," said CouncillorGaertner at last week's GeneralCommittee meeting. "I knowthere are businesses on thatroad, but I rarely see anyonewalking. I have walked itmyself...but I don't think theamount of foot traffic it gets war-rants sidewalks on both sides ofthe street."

While the policy states thatsidewalks on both sides arerequired only if certain conditionsexist, such as if there is actuallyroom to accommodate them,the policies were only approvedlast year.

Another Councillor speakingagainst sidewalks on both sides

was Councillor Evelyn Buck whosaid she disagreed with theprospect "on principle."

"I can't tell you how many cit-izens have driven [the IndustrialParkway] route and can't under-stand where the sidewalk isgoing, particularly around theShepherd's Bush area betweenthe railway and the road," saidCouncillor Buck. "Whoever seesanyone walking? I don't considerthis to be a reasonable policy atall.

"We went ahead andapproved all that spending ondesigns and now we discoverthere is a policy. We can change[the policy]. Bylaws aren't chis-eled into stone. We can amendbylaws and I think it is time for usto give some serious considera-tion to these blanket statementsof where they will be. It is onething when you are building newroads and you're making adetermination whether or notthere will be sidewalks...it is quiteanother thing when you're tryingto fit them into an old road. Iagree with Councillor Gartnerthat we're not going about this ina sensible, practical, economi-cally efficient way."

Some members of the table,however, were more cautious inmoving forward and asked thatthe sidewalk policy be referredback to staff for comment onconcerns before Council votedto change anything.

"There are businesses andthere are people who access[them] so I think we need to keepthat in mind," said MayorGeoffrey Dawe.

Councillor Paul Pirri addedthat he didn't think Councilshould legislate for an exception,such as changing the policy justfor Industrial Parkway, and saidwhen streets such as this arefound where only one sidewalkis needed, it is "incumbent onCouncil to say so." In addition toIndustrial Parkway in particular,there was also some concernthat the policies as they existwere put in place for the ease ofpedestrians and any changesmight see them shortchanged.

"We talked about this policythat was established in 2009 andthe fact we wanted to have acommunity where sidewalkswould connect and walking

would become a normal, every-day way of life for all residents,"said Councillor SandraHumfryes. "Because this policyhas that initiative behind it, tochange it now because we aredisappointed in the approvalprocess or what we have doneto Industrial Parkway doesn'tmake sense to me. It's not that Ithink this policy doesn't work, weneed to look carefully when sidewalk construction comesbefore us."

Ilmar Simanovskis, Aurora'sDirector of Infrastructure, saidbefore the policy in question wasput in place, for any street thatwas being reconstructed, resi-dents and tenants would havethe opportunity to have their sayon whether or not they wantedsidewalks on both sides of theirroad.

"That was creating all kindsof disconnects across the Town,"said Mr. Simanovskis. "This poli-cy was brought in to supportboth the Parks and the Trail Planas well as a contiguous pedestri-an trail structure. That's why thispolicy was brought forward, thatis the intent. If Council choosesto change direction we will adjustour program going forward.

"We selected these criteriafor the new developments basedon how we would expect devel-opers to build out their subdivi-sions. We tried to match thosecriteria for redevelopment so theTown has consistent look andfeel. If we select or change ourcriteria for the design of theroads it just creates inconsisten-cies between redeveloped areasand new areas. That is my over-arching desire with the policy."

Councillor Buck supportedreferring the policy back to Townstaff for a re-write. She saidsomething was found that wasincorrect and it simply needs tobe corrected properly.

"When you're writing a policyyou try to think of everything andthen when you come to deal withsomething specific you discoverthat you didn't deal with every-thing.

"Something like this may notcome before a council again untilwe're all gone...and then a newCouncil will raise their eyebrowsmaybe and say, on both sidesand there we will be again."

Chris Williams of theCentral York FireServices, and KristinMacCrae tried theirhands at filling ordersduring McHappy Daylast week at the AuroraMcDonalds location atAllaura Boulevard andYonge. They were two ofmany local dignitariesand business people –including a healthy rep-resentation from TheAuroran – who took time

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Auroran photoby David Falconer

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Building on the success oflast year's event, Wednesday'sfundraising evening will alsoinclude a number of new fea-tures in the program, includingan "old guard salute" of musketfire on the steps of the ChurchStreet School by the Queen'sYork Rangers RegimentalAssociation, and the dedicationat the Church Street School ofthe restored bell, which wasrecently put back in its rightful place in the landmark'sbelfry.

According to Jane Taylor ofthe Cultural Centre, theLieutenant-Governor, accom-panied by his wife Ruth AnnOnley, will officially "re-voice" thebell, pulling the bell pull restoredto the front lobby. Chimes areexpected to ring out around 6p.m.

Indeed, the Levee is one of aseries of events scheduled toculminate with the opening ofthe new armoury at the end ofthe month. The programs kickedoff last week at the AuroraCultural Centre with a heritagelecture on the York Volunteers -one of the two Regiments thatwere amalgamated in theQueen's York Rangers in the1930s - and their efforts duringthe War of 1812.

The discussion was lead byLt. Col. Diane Kruger, curator ofthe Regiment's historical collec-tions based out of Fort York.

Just prior to her discussion,she told The Auroran that whileshe was "excited" about thisweek's Levee, the weeks aheadwould be significant for theRegimental family.

"I went to the first Levee lastyear and it was a tremendoussuccess in this beautiful her-itage building," said Lt. Col.Kruger of the Aurora CulturalCentre. "It is really the perfect

venue for such an event andone thing that really delighted uswas the full participation ofmembers of the local communi-ty. For the Rangers with theirstrong footprint both in Auroraand Toronto it really is York's reg-iment and to have the support ofthe local community is just soimportant.

"Later this month we're cele-brating the opening of the newArmoury, but the old armoury is,in fact, Canada's oldest continu-ous use armoury. Althoughwe're excited about the newarmoury, if you have an interestin history, it is a little bittersweet."

Lt. Col. Kruger said theRegimental Archives at FortYork has an extensive file on theAurora Armoury on LarmontStreet, including plans for whenit was originally built in the1840s. That will, she said, con-tinue to be well preserved, andthese documents, includingassociated correspondence,could form an exhibition at theCultural Centre at a later date.

Although reluctant to giveThe Auroran her thoughts onany items from the soon-to-be-former armoury she would liketo see removed from the build-ing from a curatorial perspectiveand installed at their new digs("That's going to have to be acommand decision," she said)she noted historical memorabil-ia will be installed in the formerHydro building, but there ismore on the horizon.

"I have been applying forgrants through the Ministry ofHeritage for our new museumand we have been successful inobtaining grants both last yearand this year towards incorpo-rating historical displays into thenew armoury," she said. "Ofcourse, we have to wait until weget into the building to start to dothat and certainly the funds

have been raised and plans areunderway to incorporate somehistorical displays into the newbuilding."

While the Regiment andorganizers of the Levee arelooking ahead to the future -however bittersweet - they arealso looking towards the past.Wednesday evening's event willbe the first opportunityLieutenant-Governor Onley, theQueen's representative inOntario, will have to show off hisnew uniform as newly mintedColonel of the Regiment inAurora. The appointment of theLieutenant-Governor asColonel of the Regiment (HRHPrince Andrew, Duke of York isits Colonel in Chief) and the factthat it will now be a part of theLieutenant-Governor's office inperpetuity brings old traditionsup-to-date.

"It goes back to the firstLieutenant-Governor of Ontario,John Graves Simcoe, who wasa commanding officer of theQueen's York Rangers," said Lt.Col. Kruger. "With that, the cur-rent Lieutenant-Governor is atremendous history aficionadoand is extremely knowledge-able about his history and hefully embraced the concept ofrestoring the historic linkbetween the family.

"It really is to recognize thefirst Lieutenant-Governor of theProvince being a Queen'sRanger and now the currentLieutenant-Governor is, ofcourse, the Colonel of theRegiment."

The new Aurora Armourywill open May 27 in a public cel-ebration, which includes a num-ber of activities for the wholefamily, and a community bar-beque.

For more information onSimcoe's Levee, visit sim-coeslevee.ca.

Wednesday's levee links the past to the presentFrom page 1

Lt. Col. Diane Kruger of theQueen’s York Rangers,standing before a portraitof John Graves Simcoe,first Lieutenant-Governorof what is now Ontario,gave a heritage lecture atthe Aurora Cultural Centreon Wednesday. Lt. Col.Kruger spoke about theYork Volunteers, one of thetwo regiments founded bySimcoe, which merged toform the Queen’s YorkRangers, and theVolunteers’ role in the Warof 1812. A focal point of theHeritage event included thedisplay of an original landdeed for land in this areasigned by Sir Issac Brock.

Auroran photo

by Brock Weir

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Residents could ask town to save their ashBy Brock Weir

How much is the Town-owned ash tree infront of your house worth to you?

That could be the question you couldsoon be considering if plans to go aheadwith a strategy to combat the emerald ashborer - an invasive species set to kill justabout every ash tree in Town over the nexttwo decades or so - are approved at Councilthis week.

Councillors have already approved a planto let the bug have its way with Aurora's ashstocks and replace them with different treesonce the infected trees die off, but moremeasures to combat the bug on individualspecimens could be in the works if residentsask for it.

"It is likely that many residents willrequest the Town intervene with treatment ofthese trees or alternatively permit them toretain their own services to provide preven-tative treatment for the municipal ash treefronting their property," said Al Downey,Aurora's Director of Parks and Recreation ina report to Council.

"While in principle, allowing residents toemploy their own treatment may appear tobe a positive step in saving trees, it couldprove to be somewhat complicated and con-flicting with our current strategy as well asother residents who do not have theresources to engage these same activities."

So, what does the Town propose? WhileMr. Downey said Council's current directionto cut its losses on the trees and replace asneeded is a "Reasonable approach" finan-cially and practically, it would result in theloss of nearly 3,000 trees. Oakville, he said,has developed a treatment plan for treeswhich met certain criteria and one of thealternatives he proposed, would see theestablishment of a Town nursery on rentedland to grow its own replacement trees, andalso provide a way for residents "to provideand pay for preventative treatment of candi-

date trees."While going forward with this plan would

cost the Town more in the long run than themoney already approved for the 2012 budg-et, the proposal found favour with CouncillorJohn Abel, who has long been a proponentof doing more to come up with a plan to com-bat the beetle.

"The [tree] canopy is incredibly importantto our quality of life," he said. "The money wespend now could save us a lot of moneydown the road and improve the quality of lifein our canopy."

Although the recommendation was ulti-mately approved by General Committee inadvance of Tuesday's Council meeting, otherCouncillors weren't quite as convinced thiswas the way to go, with one going as far asto brand the scheme "lunacy".

Councillor Wendy Gaertner, for instance,said she was concerned about the expenseof individual chemical treatment for trees.She also expressed concern over the lack ofland available for a tree nursery. Mr. Downeysaid discussions had been ongoing to find asuitable plot of land for the tree nursery, andone had been found which would set thetown back $5,000 per year for the 10 yearsestimated to get the job done.

"We have been very successful with thetree nursery we had on Leslie Street, theJack Woods Property," said Town TreasurerDan Elliott. "It has saved a significantamount of money and, more importantly, ithas provided us with a diversity of trees wehad difficulty getting from other nurseries."

Getting stock to raise in a nursery wouldcost around $10 per tree which, combinedwith the cost of some TLC from Town Staff,would amount to roughly $50 per specimen.Buying 10-year-old trees ready to replacefrom another tree nursery could be as muchas three times that amount, he added.

"I think this is sheer lunacy," saidCouncillor Evelyn Buck, however, to Mr.Downey's plan. "It is absolutely insane to

suggest such a thing with all due respect.You were asked to come up with somethingand you came up with something and I thinkit is madness.

"We go and hang something [on theirdoor] because there is an ash tree infestedin front of that house, we're encouragingthose homeowners to believe that it is a sen-sible thing to do to spend their money ontreating our tree. I don't think that is a sensi-ble thing for us to be doing and I don't thinkit is the least bit reasonable to encouragepeople to believe - when we are not treatingthe trees ourselves - to spend money treat-ing these trees and we're going to create anoasis here in Aurora on boulevards when allaround us people are doing the sensiblething of not trying to fight it because every-

thing indicates you can't fight it."While Councillors Michael Thompson and

John Gallo also had concerns over thiscourse of action - the latter of whom sug-gested it was not appropriate for somethinglike this to come into action mid-stream inthe 2012 budget - the plan was ultimatelyapproved and will likely be a source of dis-cussion this week before final approval.

"[This] is a good program," said MayorGeoffrey Dawe. "Mr. Downey's answer wasvery clear - we're going to tell [residents] thattheir tree is non-recoverable, but if you wouldlike to try [to save it] you're most welcome towith your own money. We're not encouragingresidents to spend money on our trees willy-nilly. They will be explained that it is theirmoney."

By Brock Weir

It's a comedy, it's astory of unrequited love,and it is a story of unfor-tunate individuals whoend up as the filling inmeat pies.

That last detail, how-ever, might just be inci-dental to Aurora-basedactress Justine Turl.

Ms. Turl is set to playthe iconic role of Mrs.Lovett when the equallyiconic Stephen Sondheimmusical is mounted bythe Aurora PerformingArts group this week. Thegroup, comprised mostlyof Aurora actors, is stag-ing the play atNewmarket Theatrebetween May 10 and May12, and director SarahKyle promises a "thrilling"musical evening "lacedwith dark humour, daz-zling wit and an infec-tious score."

"A dark and mesmeris-ing journey throughVictorian London, theplay is the story ofBenjamin Barker, a bar-ber who escapes prisonafter 15 years to seekrevenge on Judge Turpin,the man who unjustlyimprisoned him and stoleaway his wife and child,"said Ms. Kyle.

"When he returns toLondon, the derangedBarker changes his nameto Sweeney Todd andjoins forces with the dia-

bolical baker Mrs.Lovett."

In a role that has beenmost recently brought toscreen by HelenaBonham Car ter in TimBur ton's adaptation ofthe musical - and inhabit-ed by such stage heavy-weights as AngelaLansbury and PattiLuPone on Broadway -rather than being daunt-ed by the role, Ms. Turl

said she is taking inspira-tion from all the actress-es to build her own inter-pretation.

"I am thrilled I am ableto do it," Ms. Turl told TheAuroran. "I have done alot of research and stud-ied Helena, Patti, andAngela and all of their dif-ferent por trayals. Theyare all very different, alldo an amazing job, so Ihope to be able to takeinspiration from all ofthem."

A registered nurseworking out ofWoodbridge professional-ly, Ms. Turl said she start-ed dancing as a youngchild, and it was throughdancing she first cameinto contact with Ms. Kyleand the AuroraPerforming Ar ts Group.The rest, as they say, ishistory.

"I couldn't stop beinginvolved with the group,"she said. "It is just some-thing I had to do. Eventhough I don't do it pro-fessionally, singing andbeing on stage is my pas-sion. It keeps me saneand it is something Icouldn't live without. Thepeople I have been work-ing with through the com-pany have got methrough school and thebig exams, and withoutthem I wouldn't havebeen able to get throughit.

Ms. Turl's leading man


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THE AURORAN’S

NHLHOCKEY

POOLUNOFFICIAL FINAL RESULTSUNOFFICIAL F STLLTFINAL RESU

1. Dave Carruthers 86.00 2. Trystan LeBrun-Nagle 81.00 3. Judy Sherin 79.004. C. Wiederhold 78.00 5. Chris Wiederhold 78.00 6. Kevin Ramsay 77.00 7. Deb Carpenter 76.00 8. Hayden Trask 76.00 9. Neil Hastie 76.00 10. Wells Karabin 76.00 11. Brigette Carpenter 75.00 12. M. Wilkins 75.00 13. Matt Wilkins 75.00

14. Chris Doner 74.00 15. Gianluca DiTullio 74.00 16. Jeff Doner 74.00 17. Andrew Nych 73.00 18. Bob Swanton 73.00 19. Jeremy Gonsalves 73.00 20. Joe DiTullio 73.00 21. John Cacchione 73.00 22. Michael Hanoun 73.00 23. Yosif Kakush 73.00 24. David Stasila 72.00 25. E Mulhern 72.00 26. Jacob Glogauer 72.00

27. John Wiederhold 72.00 28. Jonah Byrne 72.00 29. L. Willent 72.00 30. Larry Willent 72.00 31. Theresa Holden 72.00 32. Kelly Keilty 71.00 33. Louis Goulet 71.00 34. Nadine Trask 71.00 35. Peter Billings 71.00 36. Shaun Piper 71.00 37. T. White 71.00 38. Tess White 71.00 39. Vickie Foster 71.00

40. Brandon Schad 70.00 41. Lesley Byrne 70.00 42. Lorie Caruthers 70.00 43. Vanessa Martin 70.00 44. Andy Weddell 69.00 45. Caitlin Willert 69.00 46. James Butler 69.00 47. Malcolm Irvine 69.00 48. Mitchell Weatherall 69.00 49. Pat Garland 69.00 50. Paul Neil 69.00

Thank you for your participation

As of May 7, 2012

UNOFFICIAL STANDINGS

Aurora residents ChrisRoberts and Justine Turltake on the iconic rolesof Sweeney Todd andMrs. Lovett in the AuroraPerforming Arts Group’sproduction of SweeneyTodd: The DemonBarber of Fleet Street.The production opensThursday at NewmarketTheatre.

Photo supplied by C. Kyle

Sweeney Todd: more than a shave and a pie- taking on the title role ofSweeney Todd - will bepor trayed by Aurora'sChris Roberts.

Tickets are availablefrom the NewmarketTheatre atwww.newtix.com or 905-953-5122.

Tea is steeped in traditionBy Brock Weir

Whether you drink it torelax, get a quick buzz, orjust have an odd sip whilehaving great conversa-tion, tea has been a partof our collective culturefor centuries and, in someparts of the world, millen-nia.

It has been an impor-tant commodity over theyears and traditions

related to its pouring arerevered, and it is this artthat the Aurora CulturalCentre and certified teasommelier Ingrid Folkershope to bring to Aurorathis month.

Ms. Folkers, a native ofAustria where coffee isking, began her journeywith tea about five yearsago, interested in tea'shealthful properties aswell as the sheer variety.

After enrolling with theTea Appreciation program- an initiative of GeorgeBrown College with theTea Association ofCanada - she graduatedas certified tea sommeli-er. Her work in the pro-gram has left her with vastknowledge of the leaf, aknowledge she will impartto ticket holders at The Artof Tea, which the Cultural


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the ART of TEASaturday, May 26 1– 4 pm Saturday, May 26 1– 4 pm Enjoy a guided tasting by certified Tea Sommelier Ingrid Folkers

Indulge in a sumptuous menu of sweets, finger sandwiches, scones & cream while you discover the origins & traditions of tea

Your gift – a special hand-crafted pottery dessert plate courtesy of Heather Smit, Pine Tree Potters’ Guild

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Arts & Culture

By Brock Weir

Last month, the AuroraFestival of the Arts wasunsuccessful in gettingthe Town of Aurora towaive $1,300 in park feesfor the use of Town Parkfor the upcoming AuroraJazz+ Festival, but organ-izers recently received aboost anyway.

The Jazz+ Festreceived a $13,600 grantfrom the Department ofCanadian Heritage lastweek through theMinistry's "BuildingCommunities ThroughArts & Heritage" program.

"Congratulations to theAurora Festival of theArts who will once againshowcase local artists ina celebration of our com-munity," said Newmarket-Aurora MP Lois Brown ina statement.

"We are for tunate tohave so many talentedmusicians, ar tists, andperformers to inspire andenrich our lives and ourgovernment is proud tosuppor t this wonderfulfestival of r ich anddiverse talent."

The Aurora Jazz+Festival will take placestarting on Friday, August3 from 6 - 10 p.m., onSaturday, August 4 from 2p.m. to 10 p.m., andSunday, August 5 from 1p.m. to 10 p.m. The eventwill feature two stagesfeaturing "85 per centlocal talent", as well asbooths of visual artists,silent auctions, food ven-dors, a beer and winegarden, and special activ-ities for kids.

It is slated to includerepresentation from mostgenres of music "fromreggae to rock."

In addition to themusic, ar tist and foodvendor booths will dot theTown Park landscapeoffer ing live paintingdemonstrations and inter-national cuisine.

The Aurora Jazz+Festival was recentlynamed a "Top 100Festival" by Festivals andEvents Ontario, whichincludes festivals andevents from the largerscale Canadian NationalExhibition, CanadaBlooms, Canada Day

Jazz+ Fest gets a boost from the fedsCelebrations in Ottawaand Toronto Pride Week,to the smaller Streetsville

Founders' Bread andHoney Festival andBradford's Carrotfest.

displayed pieces from theextensive Hillary House col-lection, which will now be ondisplay in the building -including in newly installedexhibition spaces in twoupstairs bedrooms - in newglass showcases.

"Even though HillaryHouse is predominantlyassociated with one family, Ithink people can identifywith the contents of thebuilding because it is some-thing that maybe theirgrandmother had worn, orsomething they grew up withas a child, or you read aboutit in a book," said Ms.Richards of the museum,which also houses theKoffler Museum of Medicine."It is a building that can res-onate with you whether youknow the family or not.

"I want people to experi-ence it as seeing a bit of areflection of themselves andmaybe learning somethingnew. Not all of us are savvywith medicine and this is anopportunity to understand adimension of history and thesocial context of Aurorathrough health and wellbe-ing. I think we're a prettyunique site in that aspectbecause we offer these dif-ferent dimensions."

The 150th AnniversaryCelebrations on Saturdaywill include something forthe entire family. As theTown is set to nameSaturday "Hillary HouseDay" in Aurora, the eventwill, of course, include rep-resentation from all levels of

government, including MPLois Brown, MPP FrankKlees, and Mayor GeoffreyDawe - and Aurora's officialTown Crier John Webster onhand to bellow out the cita-tion - but kids will have anopportunity to get theirhands dirty decoratingVictorian lace lead by localartist Deborah Campo, cre-ating a work which will thenbe hung in Hillary House aspart of their Art At TheManor exhibition.

Works featuring in the Artat the Manor Exhibition willalso make their public debutat Saturday's event. Six areaartists were selected from awide range of applicants tocome to Hillary House tofind inspiration in the build-ing and its grounds to influ-ence an art piece which willbe on display and for sale.Whether they were inspiredby something in the garden,interior or exterior architec-tural features, or even ahumble recipe card in thehouse's culinary collection,the artists have worked dili-gently to get things ready forthe big day.

Featured artists includeKatie Argyle, LauraBydlowska, Lisa Cristinzo,Catherine Fairs, KarinFoulds, and KristieMacDonald. Four will be onhand on Saturday to talkabout their work. If it's liveentertainment you're after,however, organizers havethat covered, too. GuitaristPaul Jones will be there aswell to do a set around 3p.m. of "historic blues

music.""It might be a little bit dif-

ferent than what one wouldexpect at Hillary house, butit is another dimension thatthis building has livedthrough so many differenttime periods and has beenaround for such a long time,"said Ms. Richards.

Ms. Richards spoke toThe Auroran on Saturday inthe midst of the final push tohave everything finished byFriday afternoon for thatevening's preview for AHSmembers. There was stillmuch to do. While all theresearch has been done,written, and printed for dis-play, curators and volun-teers were getting ready tospend this week installingthe fruits of their labour.

"We're going to be doinga lot of mount making andthere is going to be a bigclean-up," she said. "Wehaven't made a big messwhile we've been closed, butwhen you're doing a biginstallation we're going tohave to do a big clean of thehouse. The landscapingcrew has been active andthey're coming back to do alot of the grounds.

"There will be a lot ofpreparation for that day, butthe installation is the bigpart this week. We're gettingout our drills and our glueguns and all the tools youneed to do a big installation.It will be a pretty full weekfor that.

"The preview is at 5 p.m.,so maybe [we'll be done] at4.59?"

Catherine Richards(right), Curator of the Aurora HistoricalSociety, was hard atwork with volunteers IanRichards (left) and JohnHallberg-Campbell (cen-tre) over the weekendgetting Hillary Houseready for its 150thanniversary celebra-tions on Saturday.

Auroran photo by David Falconer

Curator wants visitors to “seethemselves” in Hillary HouseFrom page 1

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Ribbon cut on new SAC fields

By Kevin Michie

The Auroran's Athlete of the Week is Sarah Reynolds.The grade 12 Aurora High School student is headed to the

University of Oakland next year on a soccer scholarship andwill try and help the senior girls' soccer team at AHS to a YorkRegion Athletic Association Championship this year.

Reynolds will be counted on as a key contributor to theAHS soccer team, both for her skills and big game experience.

Earlier this year, Reynolds helped lead the school's volley-ball and basketball teams to the YRAA championship and to

the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association tournament.

Reynolds will also be playing for the AHS ultimate frisbeeteam this year.

Outside of school, Reynolds played for the NewmarketUnited Soccer Club for nine years; however this year she willbe making the transition to the U21 Markham soccer team inorder to get better accustomed to the older and higher level ofcompetition.

Reynolds will be playing with her older sister at Oaklandnext year, who just finished her second year there.

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New season opens for Stinger StarsBy Brock Weir

Aurora's Stinger Stars hit the field forthe second year in a row on Saturday infree clinics for aspiring soccer stars withspecial needs.

Starting on May 5, and continuing onSaturdays through July 28 (with theexceptions of May 19, June 9, and June30) the Aurora Stinger Stars, which wasfounded by the Aurora Youth Soccer Club,will host games taking place on the artifi-cial turf field of Sheppard's BushConservation Area.

The program, which is now entering itssixth outdoor season, is open to "anyonewith a physical or intellectual disabilitybetween the ages of six and 16 years ofage," according to organizers.

"The Aurora Youth Soccer Club willensure that all program players with dis-abilities have fun in a learning environ-ment with the opportunity to reach theirlevel of soccer."

According to the Aurora Youth SoccerClub, their overarching aim is to provide,fun and free soccer and coaching experi-

ence in a structured, safe, and equallyfun environment to York Region kids withdisabilities. They strive to develop a train-ing program that involves competitions inregional games, and raise the standard ofcoaching for players with disabilities.

They also hope to develop training pro-grams that are physically and mentallyappropriate for specific needs while rais-ing "awareness for the coaching andcompetition needs of players with disabil-ities, and the need for inclusion locallyand nationally, [and] expose both coaches and players to some of theworld's best special needs coaches andmethods of development."

Registration is being accepted in theprogram which has limited space. Ifyou're interested in coming out for agame, the Sheppard's Bush fields arelocated off Industrial Parkway andinstructors will be on hand to take it fromthere.

For more information on the StingersStars Special Needs program or theAurora Youth Soccer Club, visitwww.aysc.ca.

Players, trainers, and volun-teers took to the artificial turffield at Sheppard’s Bush onSaturday to welcome the startof the Stinger Stars’ new season. The Stingers Stars’ focus on budding soccer players with special needs and kids who came out to play were (inset)certainly put through their paces! Auroran photos by David Falconer

Auroran Athlete of the Week - Sarah Reynolds

By Kevin Michie

The St. Andrews CollegeSaints will have a new homenext year.

On Saturday, the Auroraprivate school held an officialgrand opening for the newYuill Family AthleticComplex.

The athletic complex con-sists of a synthetic turf fieldfor football, soccer andlacrosse, an 800-seat grand-stand, collegiate-level trackand facilities, a baseball dia-mond with spectator seating,batting cages for baseballand cricket and two outdoormulti-sport courts.

The new facilities carrieda price tag of $6.5 millionwith them.

"I've always believed thatgreat schools need greatfacilities for the interest ofthe students," main-contribu-tor Bill Yuill told a capacitycrowd at the new complex."We think this facility willcomplement the academicfocus of the school it lends tohelp develop the completeman."

The redevelopment of theupper fields is part of the2011-2016 strategic plan atSt. Andrews, which is alsopart of the, "Not an OrdinaryPlace," campaign, aimed togive students an exceptionalathletic experience at theschool.

The SAC football teamwill get one of the first cracksat using the field next fall as

the school will begin its goalto repeat as Conference of Independent SchoolsAthletic Association

Champions, although differ-ent events are also sched-uled to be held before theirseason begins.

Bill Yuill (second left) cuts the ceremonial ribbon ofthe new fields accompanied by (left to right) LizYuill, SAC headmaster Kevin McHenry, and DanStock, chair of SAC’s Not An Ordinary Place campaign. Auroran photo by Kevin Michie


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Aurora Olympic hopefulfocuses on World Cup

before LondonBy Kevin Michie

One year can make a big difference.A year ago at this time, Aurora native, and

Canadian Men's National rower, PeterMcClelland was getting set to travel to Lucerne,Switzerland to compete in the World RowingCup.

In a cruel twist of fate, though, McClellandwas suddenly unable to compete after sufferinga broken rib during a training run.

His season was over, just before the WorldRowing Cup and the World Championships.

This year is different.McClelland has been training for six days a

week, eleven-and-a-half months a year, inVictoria, B.C. getting ready for this years WorldRowing Cup and, perhaps most importantly, theOlympics.

"A lot of the time it's a grind, it's really hard,"said McClelland from his training centre inVictoria. "Throughout the winter, it's tough beingup all the time. You're amongst people that arevery competitive.

"With this many competitive people in oneplace it certainly enables really good trainingbecause you're forced to continually be at yourbest."

After losing his spot on the team last yeardue to the injury McClelland has battled back toforce his way onto the World Cup squad, whichdeparts for Italy this week for early trainingbefore the World Cup later this month.

Should McClelland give a strong perform-ance at the World Cup, he will most likely bepart of the four man rowing team that will repre-sent Canada at the Olympics this summer inLondon.

Despite his dream being just a few shortmonths away, McClelland is still just focusing onthe World Cup.

"I haven't even really fully processed it," saidMcClelland, referring to the approachingOlympics. "It's almost a conscience choice. I'mtrying to stay (on the team), doing the littlethings I have to do every day, and that's some-thing that I learnt a little bit last year."

After the injury, McClelland focused a lot ofhis time on physiotherapy and chiropractic workto get his body back into shape.

His rapid ascent back from injury, and backonto the national team, shouldn't really come asa surprise as McClelland has continuallyexcelled when faced with adversity.

When the 28-year-old rower was about toenter grade 12 at St. Andrews College, hisdream was to stay on dry land, and gain a track-and-field scholarship to a university. The dreamwas quickly washed away after suffering a bro-ken leg thanks to a car crashing into a pole,which subsequently fell on him.

McClelland rehabbed in his grade 12 yearand then decided to go to school at theUniversity of Western Ontario for kinesiology.While there, his father and a family friend sug-

gested McClelland try rowing.That suggestion has now proven

life-changing.While inexperienced, McClelland was

indentified by UWO coach, and former nationalcoach, Volker Nolte as being an exceptionalrower.

Under Nolte's guidance, McClelland went onto be named the 2006 Canadian UniversityRower of the Year, the 2008 University ofWestern Ontario Athlete of the Year, and alsohelped the UWO team to their first everCanadian University Rowing Championship.

"He's been great, just so knowledgeable andjust a really good person to learn from in sport,and in life in general," said McClelland, referringto his coach.

While excelling in his athletic pursuits,McClelland was also an excellent student. Afterobtaining his B.A. in kinesiology, McClellandstudied for his masters in kinesiology, also atUWO.

After completing his education in Ontario,and still training to move his way up the ranks inthe men's national rowing system in Canada,McClelland accepted an opportunity to study atthe University of Cambridge in Oxford, to earnhis Masters in Business Management.

While there, the six-foot-three-inch rowercompeted in the famous Boat Race, betweenCambridge and the University of Oxford. In that2010 race, McClelland competed against theWinklevoss twins, now famously known fromtheir depictions in the movie “The SocialNetwork.”

After completing his education in England,McClelland focused all his time on getting aspot on the men's national team.

McClelland is one of ten rowers competingfor six spots available heading into theOlympics, but due to his aforementioned ascentback up the rowing ladder, and continued sup-port from Bäckerhaus Veit in Woodbridge,McClelland seems like a pretty sure bet.

Still though, the former Western Mustangisn't counting his stars just yet.

"Nothing is guaranteed," said McClelland."We've got to assume that [the coaches] aregoing to try and put he best boat together.Coaches could make changes if they see fit."

McClelland noted that if his boat finisheswith a medal, or least in the top six, then thereis a good chance that he will be part of theOlympic team.

With or without success in the World Cupand Olympics, McClelland is still planning onretiring from rowing at the end of this year. Therower can do so because he is genuinely happywith what rowing has brought to his life.

"Being able to achieve success in anythingis great and it drives you to strive for more," saidMcClelland. "That's been a big part of my life.I'm almost reaching the pinnacle of the sportand have definitely enjoyed rowing and what'sits brought to my life."

AURORA ROWER PETER MCCLELLANDPhoto by Kevin Light


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NOTICE OF PUBL IC INFORMATION CENTRE

NORTHEAST QUADRANT TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES RESIDENT SURVEY FINDINGS

The Town of Aurora recently completed a Town-wide survey regarding the traffic calming measures installed in the northeast quadrant of Wellington Street and Yonge Street. The survey allowed residents to provide input and identify concerns regarding the traffic calming measures. Interested residents are invited to attend a public information centre to review and discuss the survey findings with Town staff.

The public information centre will be held on Tuesday, May 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Holland Room on the first floor of Aurora Town Hall located at 100 John West Way. There are no formal presentations scheduled.

For more information, contact: Jamal Massadeh, Traffic/Transportation Analyst Town of Aurora Infrastructure & Environmental Services department Phone: 905-727-3123 ext. 4374 Email: [email protected]

Town of Aurora 100 John West Way, Aurora, ON L4G 6J1 www.aurora.ca/publicnotices | 905-727-3123 ext. 4374 www.tholiver.com 905.727.4258

Service You Can Trust. Since1924

By Jane TaylorProgram Coordinator

Aurora Cultural Centre

The Aurora Cultural Centre ispleased to present a day full ofofferings for Doors Open onSaturday, July 14. Free familyevents will run from 10 am - 4pm that day spanning the arts,culture and heritage.

The Centre is pleased tobe the host venue of theOntario Society of ArtistsCelebrates 140 Years: AGroup Exhibition. This land-mark art show will be located in all gallery spacesthroughout the venue, with contemporary painting, pho-tography, printmaking and sculpture featuring the workof professional artists from across Ontario. To celebratethis important anniversary, Alex Tavares, a member ofthe OSA and exhibiting artist in the show, will set up inthe centre of the Red Gallery to create a new piece inhis Drape Series of paintings. Using a blank 4 X 6 ftcanvas, Tavares will create a painting from 10.30 am -1 pm in a spontaneous process using mixed mediamaterials including acrylics and charcoal. Members ofthe public are welcome to come and watch his workunfold.

Downstairs in the Lower Level Gallery, early careerartist T. Reilly Hodgson, originally from Aurora, will cre-ate a unique art piece from 1.30 - 3 pm. Hodgson iscurrently studying at OCAD University, and is co-founder of "Blood of the Young" Zine. His art piece willtake inspiration from his teen years growing up inAurora along with the element of creating in a spacewhich was formerly a school. This will be a unique artexperience that doesn't often happen under the public'seye.

While down on the Lower Level, the public will be

invited into the Activity Room to leave their own cre-ative mark. Guests are invited to work on a collabora-tive art painting project depicting the Centre; once fin-ished, this piece will hang in the Reception Hall Galleryalongside other Doors Open Aurora pieces from previ-ous years.

The Activity Room will also be the host site of aCollage Party, where people are invited to make their

own unique collage to take home, using a rainbow ofmaterials.

The Library Room on the main floor will welcomevisitors with the vibrant heritage slide show "Postcardsof Old Aurora: The McRoberts Collection", a fascinatingtour through Aurora's history in picture postcards. BobMcRoberts' substantial collection of postcards will befeatured in this looping power point presentation, withinformative subtitles to help guide the tour. Bob will beon hand from 10 am - 2 pm to answer any questionsmembers of the public may have about these fascinat-ing early views; the slide presentation will continuethroughout the opening hours that day.

Brevik Hall, the beautiful performance space locatedon the second floor, will host several musical perform-ers throughout the day. Included in the offerings are twoconcert pianists who invite guests to drop in to enjoybeautiful classical music - the perfect break in a busytouring day. Pianist Oleg Samokhin will perform worksby Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Rachmaninoff from 11.45am - 12.30pm; pianist Valentin Bogolubov will presentworks by Chopin, Schubert and Liszt from 1.30 - 2.30pm. Stay tuned - more performers will be announced!

Plan to drop by and take in your community culturalcentre as you tour all of Aurora's sites that day. TheAurora Cultural Centre is fully accessible, with an elevator entrance at the north glass doors.

Check the Centre's website at www.auroraculturalcentre.ca closer to the date for a final itineraryof the day. The Centre is located at 22 Church Street,Aurora and can be reached over the phone at 905-713-1818.

For more information about Doors Open Aurora, orto volunteer for the event, please visitwww.aurora.ca/doorsopen2012 or call Mai Al Nabhanat 905-727-3123 ext. 4351.

Doors Open is an activity of the Town of Aurora andits Heritage Advisory Committee; we hope you enjoythis year's event!

Art of Tea comes to Church Street May 26Centre will host onSaturday, May 26.

"Once I had the oppor-tunity to taste the thou-sands of different teas outthere I absolutely fell inlove with the China teas,"Ms. Folkers told TheAuroran. "I am very muchinto the white teas andgreen teas, and I love theoolongs and the darkerteas from China."

Over the last five yearsor so, there has been anincreased public interestin tea and tea traditions,and in this spirit, she willbe holding a full afternoontea which she promiseswill be "on the elegant

side.""We will have a cold

drink ahead of time and Iwill be offering about fouror five savoury tea sand-wiches and petit fours."

Accompanying thesandwiches will be EarlGrey tea and non-caf-feinated rooibos, discus-sion about the tea itself,and delving into tastingmore adventurous teas.

"The teas I choose willblend very well with thecourses that are beingoffered," she said. "Therewill probably be a type ofgreen tea which will blendvery well with the savourydishes and then an alter-native, very unusual, very

rare tea, fully laid on withthe sweets.

"Many people think teacomes from India or SriLanka, but few peopleknow there are manyplaces on this globe thatproduce tea. One of whichis Malawi, a small countrybordered by Tanzania andMozambique. They pro-duce a very rare andunusual tea that people at

the Cultural Centre will beable to taste."

Tickets for The Art ofTea fundraiser are $45and are available from theCultural Centre atwww.auroraculturalcentre.ca or 905-713-1818.

Watch next week's edi-tion of The Auroran formore with Ms. Folkers andthe art of brewing the per-fect cup.

Doors Open at the Aurora Cultural Centre

From page 13


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Cutting through the red tape

the photos but being utterlytransfixed by what was behindthem. Her memories and expla-nations set me on a path thateventually became a significantpart of my life.

She died around 7.30 p.m. onApril 28, just a little while after wehad left for the day. We had aninkling she was waiting for us toleave before letting go. She didn'twant to have an audience andshe did things on her ownterms...as she always did in life.She leaves behind a rich legacyof love and laughter and I amvery grateful.

If Heaven exists, it certainlyhas its hands full now.

As I sit writing this column afew days after her departure, Ican't help but chuckle thinkingwhat she would have written asa tribute to herself:

Parr, Ruth Eleanor (neeRainie) - Had the gall to go titty-up in her 29th year at the Villageof Tansley Woods, surroundedby her loving family to whom, asshe always reminded, was a"burden". She is survived by herdaughters Judi and Jan, sonRob, and grandsons Brock,Jamie, and Justin, leaving spe-cific instructions to serve GOODsandwiches at the funeral -unlike that crap they servedonce at St. George's-on-the-Hill -and mashed potatoes specifical-ly to any Tansley staff in atten-dance. God knows she com-plained about them longenough, but they did nothing. It'spayback time.

From page 4

By Wendy Soloduik

Owners of small to medi-um sized businesses in Auroracan now get the answers theyneed from Revenue Canada -in writing.

On April 17, the Harpergovernment revealed theresults of its year-long "RedTape Reduction" plan, whichmakes communicating withRevenue Canada easier andmore efficient.

The Red Tape ReductionCommission, comprised ofboth elected and non-electedmembers from acrossCanada, includingNewmarket-Aurora MP LoisBrown and Catherine Swift,Canadian Federation ofIndependent Businesses (aresident of Aurora), spoke withmore than 2,300 Canadianbusiness owners betweenMarch 2011 and March 2012to find out how to reduce thered tape.

"We were looking for waysto streamline things for smallbusiness owners to make theirlives easier and more effi-cient," Ms. Brown told TheAuroran. "Canadian businesshas told us that red tape is abig problem. Red tape restrictsinnovation, productivity andcompetitiveness."

Feedback from theinvolved businesses revealedthat Canadian taxpayers weremost stressed about remittingtaxes and the inconsistentanswers provided by CRA(Canada Revenue Agency)agents.

The recommendationsreport contains 15 systemicchanges and 90 department-specific recommended solu-tions to eliminate or alleviate

these irritants.The report also revealed

that more than 70 per cent ofparticipating businesses felt"that red tape added signifi-cant stress to their (personal)lives, with two thirds also say-ing that it significantly reducestheir productivity".

By implementing the rec-ommended changes to remit-tance policies, the Harper gov-ernment is hoping to stimulatebusinesses competition andcreate jobs for Canadians. "Itrepresents a low-cost way tostimulate the economy andboost productivity as Canadaemerges from the globalrecession," reads a pressrelease.

"(The new recommenda-tions) will eliminate duplicitousanswers by assigning anemployee account manager toevery small business," saidMs. Brown. "This will allowbusinesses to do what busi-nesses need to do. If answersare clear, it allows more timeto focus on generating activi-ty."

A 2010 study by theCanadian Federation ofIndependent Businesses,revealed "red tape from all lev-els of government costs thebusiness sector in Canadaabout $30.5 billion or 1.9 percent of Canada's GrossDomestic Product each year".

Industry Canada estimatedthat small business ownersspend approximately $1.1 bil-lion a year to comply with 12 ofthe key federal, provincial andmunicipal information obliga-tions.

Also, according to theCanadian Federation ofIndependent Businesses, theprivate sector "spends up to

$20 for every dollar spent inGovernment administrationcosts for regulatory programs."

Studies by IndustryCanada show "that the small-er the business, the greaterthe impact of red tape. It costssmall business over 30 millionhours a year to comply withsome or all of 12 of the feder-al, provincial and municipalinformation obligations; andfirms with less than fiveemployees about seven timesmore per worker than busi-nesses with 20 or moreemployees. These numbersare especially important in acountry like Canada, where 98per cent of firms have lessthan 100 employees".

By reducing the compli-ance burden, the governmentis streamlining regulatoryrequirements and reducingcosts for Canadian business.

"By reducing red tape, weare enabling better regulationsto create a more predictablebusiness environment; protectthe health, safety, security andenvironment of Canadians;strengthen international trade;free up capital to invest in busi-ness, not in process; allowsmall businesses to competeand grow; and give Canada acompetitive edge in the globalmarket," said the committee.

"I want to see the hands ofbusinesses in my riding andacross Canada untied to dowhat they do best," added Ms.Brown. "The Red TapeReduction plan will allow anew found freedom for smallbusiness owners."

For more information onthe Red Tape Reduction plan visit www.reduceredtape.gc.ca

local dignitaries will speak to recognize the service of Georgina vet-erans and late WWII veteran Bud Legett. Tickets are $5 and proceedswill be divided up between a number of charities, including theQueen’s York Rangers Association Fund.

SUNDAY, MAY 27The 2012 Upper Canada Mall Easter Seals 10k Run and 5k Run

& Walk will take place today in a new location - the NewmarketRiverwalk Commons in Downtown Newmarket and is expected todraw nearly 1,000 participants. The new venue located on DougDuncan Drive offers a beautiful, flat and scenic run course throughFairy Lake Park and the Tom Taylor Trail System. For more informa-tion visit www.eastersealsrun.com.

* * * *The Aurora Seniors Association's Evergreen Choir, under the

direction of Dr. Richard Heinzle, warmly invite you to attend theirannual Spring Concert, Sing, Smile, Be Happy, to take place at theAurora Seniors’ Centre, 90 John West Way, Aurora, at 2.30 p.m.Tickets are available at the Centre Reception Desk. $10 for adults,children are welcome and are free of charge. Refreshments will beserved during the break.

* * * *Grade 11 Students at Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School will

hold an electronic waste collection drive today. For more information,email GayleAnn Ball at [email protected].

MAY 28 - JUNE 2Carcone's Auto Recycling & Wheel Refinishing will be collecting

tires at their 130 Bloomington Road location from May 28 - June 2.Drop off as many tires as you want for free and all monies made fromrecycling your tires will be donated to Sunshine Foundation dreamsfor kids. The Town that collects the most tires will be awarded$15,000 worth of tire derived products for their town parks, courtesyof Ontario Tire Stewardship. Visit www.carcone.com for more infor-mation.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 30Triple P Parenting Workshop Series "Positive Parenting Program:

Small changes, big differences" at the Aurora Public Library. Thelibrary, in partnership with community agencies hosts monthly workshops on a variety of topics that will help answer your parentingquestions. All meetings, 7:00 p.m. Magna Room. Wednesday May30: Whining and Tantrums (3-8 years). Pre-register at the AdultInformation Desk, 905-727-9494 ext. 275.*

THURSDAY, MAY 31Attention experienced shutterbugs and novice photographers!

Aurora Public Library hosts a Camera Club, the last Thursday of eachmonth. Swap tips with other photographers and videographers; top-ics will include choosing the right camera, lighting, publishing your

photos online. Free. Tonight at 7 pm in the Lebovic Room. Pre-regis-ter at the Adult Information Desk, 905-727-9494, ext. 275

SATURDAY, JUNE 2Wesley United Church will be participating in Doors Open -

Whitchurch/Stouffville. The presentation will focus on the rich histo-ry of the church including former ministers as well as some past andpresent veterans who were/are members of Wesley Church. Therewill be displays of old photographs, uniforms, artifacts, militarymedals, pins, hats/berets, brief write-ups about the veterans, & etc.There will be tours of the sanctuary and of the Pioneer Cemeterywhere the founding families and some veterans are buried. Veteranswho still attend Wesley Church will be around to talk to & greet visi-tors. Some families of the veterans will serve as guides. Lightrefreshments will be served. For more information, email [email protected].

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6June is Seniors Month! Join the Aurora Public Library for tea and

meet author Bernice Copson Bell as she presents A Man of Vision:Henry William Copson. She will recount her experience in research-ing, and writing this narrative of her great grandfather's life in KingTownship with his wife and children in the mid 19th century. Discoverthis piece of local history. This afternoon from 1 - 3 p.m. in theLebovic Room. Pre-register at the Adult Information Desk, 905-727-9494 ext. 275.

* * * * The Aurora Public Library presents Money Talk$ -- A free, infor-

mal discussion group to share ideas and exchange unbiased finan-cial planning information. 7 - 8. 30 p.m. Magna Room, Aurora PublicLibrary. Moderator Roger Strong is not affiliated with any financialinstitution. There is nothing to be bought or sold. Wednesday June6: Qualities of a Trusted Advisor. Pre-register at the Adult InformationDesk, 905-727-9494 ext. 275.

THURSDAY, JUNE 7Chess in the Library Aurora Public Library hosts a monthly drop-

in Chess Club. Experienced Chess player or beginner, come andenjoy playing the game with like-minded players. Chess sets provid-ed or bring your own! Space is limited. 18+ Tonight, 6 - 9 p.m. in theLebovic Room.

SUNDAY, JUNE 10The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada will hold its 17th

Annual Gutsy Walk (formerly the Heel 'n' Wheel-a-thon) today inRichmond Hill. The Richmond Hill/Vaughan event will raise funds forIrritable Bowel Disease research by participants obtaining pledgesfrom their families, friends, and co-workers. CCFC invests thesefunds into research into the causes, cures and treatments for Crohn'sdisease and ulcerative colitis. For more information, visitwww.gutsywalk.ca, or to find out more information about CCFC visitwww.ccfc.ca.

FRIDAY, JUNE 15Classical Pianist Oleg Samokhin will hold a piano recital tonight at

7.30 p.m. at the Aurora Cultural Centre (22 Church Street). The programwill include music by Liszt, Ravel, Skryabin, and Prokofiev. Tickets foradults are $30 and $25 for seniors and students. For more information,call 905-604-6292 or email [email protected].

SATURDAY, JUNE 16The Aurora Historical Society hosts Then and Now: Fashion Show &

Strawberry Tea - an intimate fashion show with a fresh twist: Victorian erafashions will be presented alongside their modern counterparts. It willbe held this afternoon from 1 - 4 p.m. With an outdoor runway situated inthe beautiful grounds at Hillary House, elegant tablescapes with a vin-tage feel and a strawberry tea sure to delight the senses, guests areguaranteed a relaxing afternoon filled with fashion and beauty. Silentauction and unique raffle. Tickets $40 for AHS members or $45 per per-son; groups of 6 may book a table. Limited seating. Please phone 905-727-8991 or visit www.aurorahistoricalsociety.ca for more information.

TUESDAY, JUNE 26The Aurora Public Library presents Freedom from the Fire: Healing

Inflammation with Food. Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, depression,celiac disease and Alzheimer's have one thing in common - inflamma-tion. Join Nutritionist Carol Fazari and learn her practical step-by-stepapproach to reclaiming your health and reducing the inflammation thatplagues you. Tonight at 7 p.m. in the Magna Room. Free. Pre-registerat the Adult Information Desk, 905-727-9494, ext. 275.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27Meet National Bestselling author Derek Foster, Canada's youngest

retiree! Derek's investing approach allowed him to become a millionairein his 30's-but is simple enough for any 6-year old to understand -. Take this rare opportunity to learn these strategies and ask any questions. Also learn some little-known tips for securing yourretirement from his newest book, The Worried Boomer. Wednesday June27, 7:00 p.m. at the Aurora Public Library. Free. Pre-register at the AdultInformation Desk, 905-727-9494, ext. 275.

SATURDAY, JULY 14The Humber River Shakespeare Company presents Macbeth tonight

at Town Park. The performance gets under way at 7 p.m. Suggesteddonation is $15, but admission is pay what you can at the park. Bringyour friends, your family, a picnic, and a blanket and witness swordsclashing, witches enchanting, madness and mystery entwining, and wardrums pulsing! For more information visit humberrivershakespeare.ca orcall 416-209-2026.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18The Doane House Hospice will hold its third annual Unique Craft and

Gift Show today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Newmarket CommunityCentre (200 Doug Duncan Drive, Newmarket). For more information,call 905-967-0259.


Special rates: non-commercial word ads: $20.00 (+g.s.t.) four weeks or, $15.95 (+g.s.t.) two weeks minimum 15 words (Applies to word ads only).Got something to sell or advertise?

Give us a call - 905-727-7128, fax - 905-727-2620 The deadline for all classified advertising copy is Friday at 3 p.m. each week.

THE AURORAN CLASSIFIEDS

CAREER

HELP WANTED

O N E O F N O R T HAMERICA’S largest financialservices companies is rapidlyexpanding in this area. If youdesire a dynamic career withexcellent income potential, callRuth Greaves at 1-888-240-4767.

Our Town

THEAURORAN.COM

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WEEKLY SHOWwith Alison

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Alison Collins-Mrakas –THURSDAY nights at 7 p.m.

theauroran.comPOLL-VOTE

Please participate in our POLL –go to www.theauroran.com, scroll down and look to the bottom right of the home page to VOTE.

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(11) (57)

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Aurora Council recently decided not to grant arequest from the Aurora Jazz+ Festival to waive

$1,300 in park fees for their four day use of TownPark during the annual summer festival.

Should the Town of Aurora reconsider theirdecision and waive the $1,300 park fees for the

Aurora Jazz+ Festival?1) Yes 2) No3) Don't Know

To share your reasons why, please send your thoughts to [email protected].

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NOTICE OF LIEN

Notice of Lien SaleThe personal property, household goods, and contents of thefollowing rental spaces will be sold for cash or otherwise dis-posed of to satisfy rental liens for unpaid rent in accordancewith Ontario Statutes Chapter R25 and our lease agreementon May 10, 2012 at 10am sharp, at Northern Self Storage,Aurora. Unit Number: E15, H22, A59, F01, D09, G06

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SUMMER CAMP 2012YOUR SUMMER ADVENTURE STARTS AT ACC SUMMER CAMP!YOUR SUMMER ADV

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ICAMP is fun and excitingsummer technology camp wherekids can do exciting activities inRobotics, Videogame Design,Movie Making and Animation! It'snot an ordinary summer camp!Kids use new and exciting tech-nology to create fun projects suchas movies, LEGO® robots,videogames and more.

ICAMP inspires creativity inchildren. On the first day of camp,each child selects an Adventurethat becomes a theme for theirweek. For example, on the firstday of ICAMP, a camper mightselect our Mission to Mars orGameMaker Guru adventure.From there, children create a sto-

ryboard of what their Adventure isgoing to be about. For example,is the Mission to Mars designedto find life on Mars, and if so, howwould the astronauts get toMars? By creating the story-board, children come up withproject ideas. For example, aLEGO® rover that can drivearound a rugged terrain and col-lect soil samples might be one ofthe projects! And that’s just oneAdventure – there are 10 moreAdventures to choose from!

"At ICAMP, children build awide array of skills – everythingfrom critical thinking, problemsolving, creating a storyboardand even geometry. All of the

skills they learn here can beapplied immediately to the real-world" says Nazar, who runsICAMPs across York Region.“The fact that the children are incharge of their Adventure givesthem a sense of ownership,which is very meaningful to them.”

“We want the kids to be really

creative users of technology –that’s the goal,” says Nazar. Thephilosophy is that the computershould be an enabler – a tool toachieve a creative objective. The

ICAMP environment is very fluidand collaborative – kids will walkaround, checking out one anoth-er’s projects and even offer tohelp. Physical activity and breaksare part of a regular day, wherekids will go outside and play ahealthy mix of camp games.“Time outdoors is just as impor-tant as the creative learning beingdone indoors – the last thing wewant to do is sit a child down forthe whole day,” says Nazar.

This summer marks the 9thyear that ICAMP will be operatingin Aurora for the summer (as wellas several other locations).ICAMP will be running in AuroraHigh School from July 3rd untilAugust 17th. You can contactICAMP by phone at 416-993-2503 or visit the website atwww.ctwyork.com.

ICAMP – An Exciting Technology Summer Camp!

Once a LEGO robot isbuilt, testing it is thenext challenge! Here ayoung camper is cali-brating his robot todetect the red ballusing a light sensor.

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NTR Newmarket 2012

Summer Camps

Programs

sity you follow what the pro-fessor says so you oftenbecome a cardboard cut out.If you don't do that, you endup being much more flexiblein the way you do things."

Flexibility seems to be akey to the success ofMerlin's Hollow. The fragrantgarden, for instance, startedoff life as the Tomlinson fam-ily vegetable patch but whenone of their daughters decid-ed to get married, the areawas quickly grassed over tothrow up a tent for a wed-ding reception. The rock gar-den with the pond was alsothe family's badminton court,but the gardening bug soonmade fast work of that plan.

Now that they're essen-tially maxed out of spacewhen it comes to gardens,the Tomlinsons are contentwith tending what they nowalready have and now thatDavid has essentially retiredfrom his own garden -remaining active in theAurora Arboretum and thedevelopment of the AuroraWildlife Park in the process -this is now Dierdre's gig.

"I find this is a fascinatingplace," she said. "You haveall these little plants growingin very different ways and Ifind the more I get to knowthe plants the more theyremind me of the personali-ties of the people. You getthe bullies, you get theexplorers...('the weak andthe timid', added David), andthere are some that endureand endure and comethrough without complaint."

When asked what hisfavourite plant currently ondisplay at Merlin's Hollow,David is more enigmatic withhis answer. His favourites,he said, are the ones yet toflower. It is his huntinginstinct of finding somethingnew.

"It's the challenge ofgrowing new plants, thatwas my drive," he said."Once I have grown them,they're there, but Dierdre is

much different. Herapproach is the aestheticquality of the flowers andmine is the challenge ofgrowing them. The aestheticquality I'm not really both-ered with one way or anoth-er."

Indeed, the annual open-ings of Merlin's Hollowattracts enthusiasts of floralbeauty and hunter-gatherertypes alike. They recall withfondles the "ardent fans"Merlin's Hollow has as wellas the new faces that turn upyear in and year out -whether it is a group of eld-erly women taking extra timeto scrutinize practicallyevery square inch of the gar-den as they are seeing forthe first time in decades theplants their florist fathergrew when they were chil-dren, to a group of "punk"kids who came up fromToronto to surprise a blind-folded girlfriend with a sur-prisingly green thumb withwhat Merlin's Hollow had instore.

In the back of the fragrantgarden is a gazebo with astained glass window of twonudes - one of a slight manand a much more robustwoman. It is labelled "Davidand Dierdre in the GardenParadiso." Indeed, it seemsDavid and Dierdre havecarved out their own littleplot of paradise on their for-mer desolate lot, and theycontinue to share this para-dise with the rest of us.

Merlin's Hollow has itsfirst open day this Saturday,May 12 from 10 a.m. to 5p.m. It is located at 181Centre Crescent. The wood-land beds, fern walk, alpinegardens with scree beds,bog beds, pond, and all theother features will also beopen on the secondSaturday in June, July 7,and July 15. As the gardensare layered, each visit prom-ises to be a unique experi-ence. Admission is free. Formore information, call 905-727-8979.


From page 3

David and Dierdre inthe Garden of Paradiso

Park users will beasked to butt out

These irises, refreshedafter a brief, gentle rainon Friday, are just one ofcountless specieswhich will be in fullbloom this weekend asMerlin’s Hollow opensits doors on its first visi-tors’ day of the year.

Auroran photo by Brock Weir

"common sense approach" totackling the problem of smok-ing in public and would be inline with the Province's SmokeFree Ontario legislation.

"As of yet, the municipali-ties have one by one startedamending their own compli-ance for playgrounds andrecreation areas that involvechildren," said Councillor Abelwhen he brought his notice ofmotion forward. "The benefitsare obvious. It doesn't cost ourTown or our taxpayersenforcement money. It is oneof those things that have highcompliance in self-regulation,just some signage in the areais a concern and I think that issomething that would onlybenefit awareness and educa-tion."

When the matter first cameforward, the motion received ahearty endorsement from the

Canadian Cancer Society,which made a delegation toCouncil to complement themotion.

"Children do not have achoice when it comes to expo-sure to second hand smoke inplay areas," said communityvolunteer Janice Hodgson."Children, especially infantsand toddlers, are not able tochoose to relocate themselveswhen faced with second handsmoke. Municipalities have theopportunity to implementbylaws and policies thatextend the requirements of thesmoke Free Ontario Act."

Over 50 municipalitiesacross Ontario have variousdegrees of outdoor smokingbans in place and educationprograms like this, she said isone of the most importantways of increasing compliance "without active enforcement."

Continued from page 8

By Brock Weir

While Council takes thenext few weeks to considerwhat to do with the old AuroraPublic Library and Seniors'Centre on Victoria Street,other groups are still makinggood use of the buildings.

Users of the old publiclibrary, however, could seenew fees for the rental of thebuilding if a whole raft of new and changed fees isapproved by Council.

The proposed changesare one of many proposed inseveral key departments inthe Town structure, includingCustomer Service and theParks and Recreation depart-ment.

Last month, Councilpassed a motion for TownStaff to prepare documentsand histories related to thetwo Victoria Street buildingsfor Council's consideration onwhat to do with them.Councillor Evelyn Buck hasargued that it is time forAurora to divest themselvesof the buildings, raze them,and build a new multi-usefacility on the site, one whichcould address the needs ofboth youth and the arts andculture communities.

Money for this project, ifCouncillor Buck gets her way,would come out of thereserve account made up ofmoney realised in the Town'ssale of Aurora Hydro in 2006.

While the old library is cur-rently home to the Aurora140 Squadron of air cadets,other users and servicegroups wanting to use themain floor meeting room andother facilities within the com-plex will now be charged $29per hour.

Questioned by CouncillorWendy Gaertner on whatimprovements had been

made to the building which,she said, was in "pretty badshape", Al Downey, Aurora'sDirector of Parks andRecreation, said improve-ments had been made to itsauditorium to make room forsports programming, result-ing in the creation of twomeeting rooms out of thatspace.

"We had to set equipmentup and take it down, and set itup and take it down in theauditorium so we decided tomove it to a dedicated spacein the old library, construct awall, and we could create twoother meeting space areaswithin that same floor," saidMr. Downey.

"Those are now per-mitable spaces that can bemoved. We continue to usethe old library as much as wepossibly can and so with thecreation of those two rooms

we want a rental rate associ-ated with that.

"We can use the auditori-um for other uses, so this is amuch more cost-effectiveway of using these pro-grams."

Additional fee changes upfor approval this week includenew $10 charges for back-yard composters and racoonlocks for your green bins, onemonth membership renewalsfor Club Aurora members,special club memberships forstudents, and increased userfees for squash players andpool lessons.

"[Taxpayers] are not onthe hook [for private swim les-sons]," said Mr. Downey,responding to a further ques-tion from Councillor Gaertner."We're charging full rent aswell as the cost recovery forthe staff associated with thatprogram."


Having the flu isn'tfun.

I had it last week, andin this office, I wasn'talone.

It always star ts thesame way - a scratchythroat, lethargy and ageneral sense of feelingunwell. Next thing youknow, you're freezing andboiling over at the sametime, coughing and mis-erable.

I 've always beenresistant to getting a flushot - fearing a secretconspiracy. Perhaps theCanadian government istrying to inject its citizenswith a "tracking device",or use the needles to cre-ate a DNA database.

You never know. However, as I get

older, and the flu hits meharder, I think I maychange my mind. Therecovery from the flu onlygets longer, the morecandles there are on yourcake, and for me, it trig-gers other worries aboutmy health in general.

Being a single parentis a nightmare when youare sick. It's a nightmareperiod, but when you'reunder the weather it 'seven worse. I really don'tknow how I accomplished

anything last week at all -getting my son, Logan,up for school and gettinghim on the bus, dressedand with a lunch; nowthat was a monumentaltask. Driving? Probablys h o u l d n ' t h a v e .Regardless, it all gotdone and I 'm on themend. Thank God.

Next year, when the flushot clinics open, I'm thefirst in line.

* * * * About eight years ago,

while working at the localtaxi, a co-worker askedme if I could watch hercat while she moved intoher new apartment.

Actually, it was twocats, Harley and her brother Davidson.Davidson, freaked out bythe transition, didn'tmake it one night at myplace, and was droppedoff at the taxi officebefore dawn where hecould "screech" to hishear t's delight and Icould get some sleep.Harley, an obese DSHtortoise shell with greeneyes, hid quietly undermy bed. She was neverpicked up by her previousowner, and I inherited her- along with the nine babycats that grew inside her,

unbeknownst to me.I found homes for the

kittens and kept the"she's so ugly, she'scute" Harley.

Last night, I camehome from work to dis-cover that Harley (whohas gone "dir ty" in recentdays), had peed all overmy dining room rug. I wasthankful that it wasn't mybed - this t ime - androlled the rug up and putit outside for garbage.

As I was tucking myson into bed, I told himabout what Harley haddone; preparing him forthe fact that she may notbe able to stay with us.Logan, who has beencleaning her l i tter boxfaithfully every day toavoid this consequence,was devastated and I wasleft feeling at a loss.

I don't know what myoptions are. I know myfather would have proba-bly dropped her off in thecountry a long time ago,but of course she's afamily pet, and I couldnever do that. If she wassick otherwise, there maybe other options, but taking her to a vet isn'taffordable for me.

Anyone want a cat thatpees on everything?

By WENDY SOLODUIK

Healthy Habits & Lifestyle Lessons

Having the flu and cats that pee

More space, more fees for old library, programs

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Town of Aurora will be considering the adoption of the new Fees and Charges By-law for 2012 (By-law Number 5426-12) at the Council meeting to be held on Tuesday, May 22 at 7 p.m. at Aurora Town Hall Council Chambers, located at 100 John West Way.

The report regarding the Fees and Charges By-law (Report No. LGL12-008) was presented to General Committee at its meeting on Tuesday, May 1 and can be found on The Town of Aurora’s website in the Agendas and Minutes section, located at www.aurora.ca/agendasminutes

The final version of the Fees and Charges By-law will be available on the Town of Aurora’s website on the Friday before the Council meeting.

For further information, please direct inquiries to Michael Kemp, Acting Manager of Corporate Communications at 905-727-3123 ext. 4238.

Town of Aurora 100 John West Way, Aurora, ON L4G 6J1 www.aurora.ca/publicnotices | 905-727-3123 ext. 4238

28 - TH

E A

UR

OR

AN

, Week of M

ay 8, 2012

14785 Yonge Street just north of Edward Street, Telephone: (905) 841-9500

www.edwardstreet.ca

Canadian Rock Icon Kim Mitchell,will air his radio show LIVE from the Market from2pm to 6pm, and give a short live acousticalperformance at 7pm!

John Derringer, from Q107s Derringerin the Morning, will serve as guest emcee forthe evening!

& another local family inneed of special assistance

Gourmet BBQ ChefTed Reader

Our ownChef Robert Lizotte

Chef Marc Thuetof Petite Thuet

FEATURING:

EVENT TICKETS AVAILABLE AT EDWARD STREET

with special guest chefs:PRESENTED BY:

PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT:

Date: Thursday May 31, 2012

Location: Edward Street Market & Bistro

Event Time: 6pm (VIP entry at 5pm) until 11pm

Price: $150 per person, $2000 per VIP table and includes all

food and beverages (must be legal drinking age)

EVENT INFO:

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