Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

9
C M Y Newmarket Plaza 130 Davis Drive 2 stop lights east of Yonge 905-898-7133 www.liptons.ca @liptonsavu THE PLACE FOR turntables! FULL SELECTION OF RECORD CARE ACCESSORIES. The world’s largest turntable company. Featuring: Best selection of turntables in town 240 Industrial Pkwy S 905.726.4349 Windows Doors Enclosures WHY IS HARPER INVENTING ISSUES? PAGE A7 OUR VIEW HAVE GROUP PICNIC IN MIND? WE’VE FOUND THE PLACE FOR YOU PAGE A3 TRAIL MIX Three Aurora youths will take part in the 2015 Canadian National Exhibition Rising Star Talent Competition. Louise Barbosa will be singing, while Allison Lee and Daniel Tamburro will dance. For more, see page A4. CYCLOSPORA OUTBREAK HITS 16 YORK RESIDENTS BY LISA QUEEN [email protected] ixteen York Region resi- dents are among dozens of Canadians who have been infected by an outbreak of an intestinal illness called cyclospora since May, accord- ing to the region’s director of infectious disease control. “We don’t know yet what the source is,” Marjolyn Pritchard said. The microscopic parasite passed through people’s feces causes stomach cramps, diarrhea and loss of appetite and is usually contracted through infected water or food, particularly fruits and vegetables. Eleven York residents who picked up the illness had travelled outside of Canada. Five of the cases are not related to travel. Of the one case in May and four cases in June, one person had travelled to another province and the rest had not left Ontario. In a normal year, York would have no more than two domestic cases of cyclospora in the same time frame, Pritchard said. “It is certainly more than we have had reported in the past and the province is see- ing the same thing. So, in Ontario, we’re see HOEDOWN SHOWDOWN COMMUNITY HEALTH COUNCIL Town thaws hiring freeze to ensure water standards BY TERESA LATCHFORD [email protected] urora has waived its hiring policy to ensure the safety of residents when it comes to drinking water standards, council decided Tuesday. During the 2015 budget process, council made the decision to implement a four-month gap between a position becoming vacant and hiring a replace- ment in an effort to reduce the town’s bottom line. However, a request that town staff be immediately authorized to fill a vacant water operator position had some councillors asking questions. “We made a clear decision to have this four-month hiring gap,” Councillor Paul Pirri said. “It was a good decision, so why are these reports coming now?” Ilmar Simanovskis, director of infra- structure and environmental servic- es, said he brought the report forward because there is limited staff in the department and the town has regulatory Judges get tough to select 20 semi-finalists BY TERESA LATCHFORD [email protected] orty singers stood on stage but only 20 of the strongest will survive. Theatre Aurora has gone country this week as Hoedown Showdown competitors took to the microphone hoping to make it into the top 20 for a chance to win a performance spot on the Magna Hoe- down stage. “The talent just gets better every year and they seem to be getting younger,” Showdown judge and singer Beverley Mahood said. “It’s just blowing me away.” The judges didn’t have it easy, as they were there to take the 40 performers, who had been selected from 72 applicants, and cut the con- testant list in half. Of the 40 taking the stage Tuesday, 16 were representing York Region. At times, it seemed the showdown was happening at the judge’s table as Mahood and her manager, Tom Cross, fought for who they believed should continue to compete while Magna’s Steve Hinder tried his hardest to keep the peace. 2 teacher unions resume talks BY LISA QUEEN [email protected] ith most of the summer behind us and only 3-1/2 weeks before school starts, there is a suddenly a glimmer of hope on the education labour front. Both the Ontario Elementary Catholic Teachers Association and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation are heading back to the bargaining table. Negotiations for the Catholic elemen- tary teachers are taking place this week, on Wednesday and Thursday. They are in a legal strike position next Monday. Union representatives for the public high school teachers agreed on Tuesday Suddenly glimmer of hope on education labour front EDUCATION FILE IMAGE Judge Beverley Mahood enjoys auditions during the Magna Hoedown Showdown talent contest preliminary rounds at Theatre Aurora Tuesday. STAFF PHOTO/NICK IWANYSHYN See page A4. A See page A6. GET CONNECTED TELL US what you think about this issue. Email [email protected]. TALENTED TRIO See page A6. S F i To find out who the 20 semi-finalists are or for more on this year’s Hoedown, check out yorkregion.com W See page A2. yorkregion.com Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015 905-853-8888 $1 store sales / 40 pages Publicationmail agreement #40051189 STAFF PHOTO/MIKE BARRETT

description

Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

Transcript of Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

Page 1: Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

C M Y

Newmarket Plaza 130DavisDrive2 stop lights east of Yonge

905-898-7133www.liptons.ca

@liptonsavu

THE PLACE FOR turntables!

FULL SELECTION OF RECORDCARE ACCESSORIES.The world’s largest turntable company.

Featuring:

Best selection of turntables in town

240 Industrial Pkwy S905.726.4349

✓Windows✓Doors✓Enclosures

WHY IS HARPER INVENTING ISSUES? PAGE A7

OUR VIEWHAVE GROUP PICNIC IN MIND? WE’VE

FOUND THE PLACE FOR YOU PAGE A3

TRAIL MIX

Three Aurora youths will take part in the 2015 Canadian National Exhibition Rising Star Talent Competition. Louise Barbosa will be singing, while Allison Lee and Daniel Tamburro will dance. For more, see page A4.

CYCLOSPORA OUTBREAK HITS 16 YORK RESIDENTSBY LISA QUEEN

[email protected]

ixteen York Region resi-dents are among dozens of Canadians who have

been infected by an outbreak of an intestinal illness called cyclospora since May, accord-ing to the region’s director of infectious disease control.

“We don’t know yet what the source is,” Marjolyn Pritchard said.

The microscopic parasite passed through people’s feces causes stomach cramps, diarrhea and loss of appetite and is usually contracted through infected water or food, particularly fruits and vegetables.

Eleven York residents who picked up the illness had travelled outside of Canada.

Five of the cases are not related to travel. Of the one case in May and four cases in June, one person had travelled to another province and the rest had not left Ontario.

In a normal year, York would have no more than two domestic cases of cyclospora in the same time frame, Pritchard said.

“It is certainly more than we have had reported in the past and the province is see-ing the same thing. So, in Ontario, we’re see

HOEDOWN SHOWDOWN

COMMUNITY HEALTH

COUNCIL

Town thaws hiring freeze to ensure water standards

BY TERESA [email protected]

urora has waived its hiring policy to ensure the safety of residents when it comes to drinking water standards, council decided Tuesday.

During the 2015 budget process, council made the decision to implement a four-month gap between a position becoming vacant and hiring a replace-ment in an effort to reduce the town’s bottom line. However, a request that town staff be immediately authorized to fill a vacant water operator position had some councillors asking questions.

“We made a clear decision to have this four-month hiring gap,” Councillor Paul Pirri said. “It was a good decision, so why are these reports coming now?”

Ilmar Simanovskis, director of infra-structure and environmental servic-es, said he brought the report forward because there is limited staff in the department and the town has regulatory

Judges get tough to select 20 semi-finalistsBY TERESA LATCHFORD

[email protected]

orty singers stood on stage but only 20 of the strongest will survive.

Theatre Aurora has gone country this week as Hoedown Showdown competitors took to the microphone

hoping to make it into the top 20 for a chance to win a performance spot on the Magna Hoe-down stage.

“The talent just gets better every year and they seem to be getting younger,” Showdown judge and singer Beverley Mahood said.

“It’s just blowing me away.”The judges didn’t have it easy, as they were

there to take the 40 performers, who had been

selected from 72 applicants, and cut the con-testant list in half. Of the 40 taking the stage Tuesday, 16 were representing York Region.

At times, it seemed the showdown was happening at the judge’s table as Mahood and her manager, Tom Cross, fought for who they believed should continue to compete while Magna’s Steve Hinder tried his hardest to keep the peace.

2 teacher unions resume talksBY LISA QUEEN

[email protected]

ith most of the summer behind us and only 3-1/2 weeks before school starts, there is a suddenly a glimmer

of hope on the education labour front.Both the Ontario Elementary Catholic

Teachers Association and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation

are heading back to the bargaining table.Negotiations for the Catholic elemen-

tary teachers are taking place this week, on Wednesday and Thursday. They are in a legal strike position next Monday.

Union representatives for the public high school teachers agreed on Tuesday

Suddenly glimmer of hope on education labour front

EDUCATION

FILE IMAGE

Judge Beverley Mahood enjoys auditions during the Magna Hoedown Showdown talent contest preliminary rounds at Theatre Aurora Tuesday.

STAFF PHOTO/NICK IWANYSHYN

See page A4.

A

See page A6.

GET CONNECTEDTELL US what you think about this issue. Email [email protected].

TALENTED TRIO

See page A6.

S

Fi To find out who the 20 semi-finalists are or for more on this

year’s Hoedown, check out yorkregion.com

WSee page A2.

yorkregion.com

Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015 905-853-8888 $1 store sales / 40 pagesPublicationmail agreement #40051189

STAFF PHOTO/MIKE BARRETT

Page 2: Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

C M Y

A2 The Aurora Banner, Thursday, August 13, 2015

DATE: Thursday,August 13th 2015

THURSDAY FLYER LIST

Please note: Not all flyers are booked for all areas.

For information on flyer distribution,call us at 905-853-8888

Visit for more Deals!

2001 Audio VideoAlexanian Carpet& FlooringBath FitterBeautiful BrandsBedroomAndFuton ShopBest BuyBouclairBrick MattressBulk BarnCanadian TireCarrier MemoCarrot FestCentennial Windows

Clera Windows& DoorsDellDixie Plus Dry CleanersEast Side Mario’sFood BasicsFoodlandFortino’sFreshcoGiant TigerHenry’s CamerasHome DepotHome HardwareKingsley DentalLastmans Bad BoyLee Valley Tools Ltd.

Leon’sLowesM & MMeat ShopsMetroNational SportsNo FrillsOriental Food MartPharma PlusPharmasave DrugsReal CanadianSuperstoreReno DepotRexallRonaSearsShoppers Drug Mart

ShowcaseSobeysSport ChekStaplesThe BrickThe SourceToday’s HomesTown Of GeorginaTSC StoresUnited FurnitureWalmartWater Depot AuroraWheelsYour IndependentGrocerZehrs

heTBannerAurora

Where every life isworth saving!125 Edward St. Aurora

905.727.6802 1.866.220.6151www.addictioncanada.ca

PETER E. REISSB.A., LL.B

BUSINESS LAW

SERVICES INCLUDE:• Incorporation• Partnerships• Contracts• Real Estate• Commercial Leases• Sale or Purchase of Business

Ph: 905.727.2500email: [email protected]: www.reisslaw.ca

NOW BOOKINGEXHIBITOR SPACEEarly Bird Deadlineis September 30th

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 20159AM - 8PM

LIST WITHAND BUY THROUGHLENARD LIND and the

L.H. LIND TEAM!

www.hallmarklindrealty.com416-410-8223 • [email protected]

Sport Aurora pitches plan for former Hallmark building to town council

By Teresa [email protected]

Sport Aurora has a grand vision to build a multi-use, one-stop recreation shop and is asking council to commit to the plan.

An unoccupied building at 100 Vandorf Sdrd. — known to residents as the former Hallmark building — has the potential to become a multi-sport use facility, according to Stephen Kimmerer and Bruce Stafford, who presented their plan to council on behalf of the organization earlier this week.

“We think it could serve the sport-ing community who are in need of more space,” Kimmerer said. “It’s only limited by any engineering solutions and financial boundaries.”

A portion of the building has 42-foot-high ceilings and existing rows, defined by metal columns, measuring nine feet by nine feet. The building already has an existing cafeteria. The high ceilings alone would be ideal for vertical sports such as volleyball.

With a digital mock-up created by Stafford, council could see what could be included in the building. The virtual floor plan showed a 50-foot swimming pool, baseball space, volleyball and tennis courts and a gymnastics area all under one roof.

“Any combination of multiuse space this building could host,” Kimmerer said.

The fact that the building is adjacent to land already owned by the town means there would be potential to add outdoor facilities, including lights, running track, soccer pitch, baseball diamond and extend-ed parking all the way through, making it a complete sport centre.

He also pointed out there is little to no residential neighbourhoods in the area, so

lighting and noise from outdoor facilities wouldn’t be an imposition on residents.

“We ask that this council direct staff...to investigate the possibility and feasibil-ity of the town partnering with sport and recreation providers by either purchasing, leasing or leasing-to-own this property providing customized specialty training and competition space for the betterment of athletes in Aurora,” Kimmerer said as he wrapped up his presentation.

While the delegates couldn’t comment on what the full cost to retrofit the build-ing would be nor comment on a funding source, Stafford pointed out the building would be locked up during the exploration and Sport Aurora would be better able to gauge who would be interested in leasing space and signing on the dotted line.

He also pointed out leasing the space would be preferred over a permit system as it would allow the sport and recreation pro-viders to use their own funds to make the needed changes within the space.

Councillor Paul Pirri asked if a public-private partnership had been considered for the project to which Stafford replied, “Not yet”.

Council accepted the presentation and directed staff to explore further, specifically under the umbrella of the sport and recre-ation master plan and report back to coun-cil with the findings.

GET CONNECTEDTELL US what you think about this issue. Email [email protected].

q

AurorA Lions tAmed by brAdford WoLves

STAFF PHOTO/STEVE SOMERVILLE

Bradford Wolves’ Helder Cordeiro (left) battles Aurora Lions’ Nicholas Gutta during Huronia & District Soccer League Cup semifinal action Sunday at the Aurora Soccer Club grounds. Bradford won 4-1. 4

Unions at table next Tuesday

to resume negotiations. They will get back to the bargaining table next Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario will hold its annual meeting next Monday and expects information about next moves to come from that, York Region union president David Clegg said.

The new talks for the Catholic elemen-tary and public high school teachers are the first movement in many weeks in the tense standoff between unions and the provincial

From Front Page government.The new round of bargaining comes as

the Catholic elementary union launches a new website called Teachers Matter, which it said will inform parents about issues that could impact Ontario classrooms.

“Parents deserve to know what’s at stake in these negotiations,” union president, Ann Hawkins, said in a statement.

“We hope that teachersmatter.ca will help parents understand that there’s more at stake here than a labour disruption. We all want to reach a deal but not at any cost to public education.”

Planning a trip across theCanadianborderwith the kids this summer without theother parent? You need a notarized travelconsent! If youare separated, tripswithouttheotherparentare thenewnormal.Thereis nothing worse than being stopped atthe border with your kids in tow becauseyou don’t have the right paper work. Yourholiday could end before it starts. Here’swhat to include:

1. Full names and birth dates of each parentand each child.

2. Specific dates for travel and mode oftransportation.

3. The destination address and contact details.4. A statement authorizing the travelling

parent to make emergency medical decisionswhile the children are in their care.

5. The letter should be in the form of astatutory declaration and must be notarized.

We can help prepare and notarize the letterfor you so you can travel worry free.Bon voyage!

www.GalbraithFamilyLaw.comAlexander Beadie Mervyn White

Newmarket:P: (289) 319-0634 • F: (705) 727-42404 - 1195 Stellar Drive Newmarket, ON L3Y 7B8

Orillia: 705-418-0901 | Barrie: 705-727-4242

Our Services:• Separation

Agreements• Divorce• Collaborative

Practice• Family Court• Child Custody &

Access• Spousal Support• Property Division &

Equalization• Marriage Contracts• Mediation• Common Law

Separations• Step-Parent

Adoptions• Same Sex & LGBTQFamily Law Matters

We help our clients obtain realistic and long-lastingsolutions to their difficult and emotional situations.

Travelling with the kids?Get consent!

Page 3: Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

C M Y

A3The Aurora Banner, Thursday, August 13, 2015

SOFAS SOFA BEDS RECLINERS SECTIONALS CHAIRS THEATRE SEATING

www.thechesterfieldshop.com

Like us On Follow us On

NEWMARKET 17940 YONGE ST. (N. OF HWY 9/DAVIS DR.)•NORTHYORK • SCARBOROUGH • DOWNTOWN • MISSISSAUGA

HOURS:MONTOWED: 10 TO 9 (DOWNTOWN 10 TO 6) • THURS& FRI: 10 TO 9 SAT: 10 TO 6• SUN: 11 TO 5 (416) 667-1150 • TOLL-FREE 1-800-721-0081

SUMMER SEATING SALESUMMER SEATING SALEThings ThaT make This sofa greaT (and us Too)!1. Arms and backs can be easily removed for access into any space2. Available in multiple sofa, sofabed and sectional configurations

to fit any room shape and size3. Quality constructed and expertly tailored in a Canadian factory

from our exclusive “Contemporary Concepts” collection4. Order for quick delivery in a vast colour assortment of beautiful

fabrics and comfortable, durable leathers5. ONLY At The Chesterfield Shop…since 1948…always the best

value and warranty

In leathers from $2398 In fabrics from $1398 Made in Canada

PaYno

hsT!!

WEDNESDAY,AUGUST19TH FROM2PM-4PM

Join us for an exciting afternoon of Caribbean culture withthe sounds of an upbeat Steel Drum band followed by an

energetic limbo performance.

Please RSVP as space is limited.

WEDNESDAY,AUGUST19TH FROM2PM-4PM

Music from the islands

Those are just some of the things you might spot during a trek along the trails in Vaughan’s Boyd Conservation Area, nestled in the East Humber River valley, just south of Rutherford Road, at 8739 Islington Ave.

Three main trails and several side trails snake through the sprawling park, owned and maintained by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).

With its myriad amenities – washrooms, soccer pitches, bocce courts, picnic tables – Boyd park is a popular spot for large group picnics, corporate and non-profit functions, cross-country running events and summer camps, among other things.

In the last few years, it has also become a bit of a hotspot for locally shot television shows, especially in the winter.

Given all that activity, you’re unlikely to find yourself alone, at least not in the open areas, but once you hit the trails, it becomes much more serene and, depend-ing on the time of day, you might not encounter a single soul.

PIERRE AND JANET BERTON TRAIL

Of the three main trails running through the park, the Pierre and Janet Ber-ton is arguably the most publicized.

Getting there requires driving about 1.5 kilometres into the park from the main entrance off Islington Avenue, but there are ample signs to help you find your way.

There’s a large stone marker at the trail-head bearing the honorees’ names.

The 1km loop trail existed for decades, but underwent improvements several years ago and was officially dedicated in May 2011 to recognize the prolific Cana-dian author and journalist and his family for supporting the Friends of Boyd Park, a local group that successfully stopped the proposed extension of Pine Valley Drive through the conservation area.

The hard-packed dirt trail runs through a forested area of the park, which has been deemed environmentally sensitive, according to Grant Moravek, assistant supervisor at Boyd.

“There are things that grow here that don’t grow anywhere else – some special lilies, a natural spring that never freezes (and)… Jefferson salamanders, which is an endangered species,” said Moravek, a seasoned outdoorsman who has worked in the park for more than a decade, during a recent morning hike.

You’ll also find a wide variety of hardwood trees including cherry, some very old elms, birch, wal-nut and a few of the endan-gered butternut tree, “but they’re hard to find”, he said.

A mostly flat, hard-packed trail with a single boardwalk through a wet area, it’s ideal for beginners, Moravek said.

There used to be a stone bridge along the seepage area, but it was washed away by the fre-quent floods that occur here, he said.

The bridge was built by Dr. Edmund Boyd, an ardent conservationist who owned the prop-erty until 1954, when he

sold it to the local conservation authority. At the point where it loops back toward

the park, the Berton trail joins up with the William Granger Greenway, a wide, crushed-gravel trail popular with hik-ers and cyclists that runs alongside the branches of the Humber River, all the way up to Bindertwine Park in Kleinburg.

Those looking for a longer hike can head north along the Granger trail. Others can head south, back into Boyd Park.

WILLIAM GRANGER GREENWAY

The William Granger Greenway, which is part of the Humber River Trail, is named after a former TRCA chairman.

It meanders alongside, and occasionally crosses, the East Humber River with a con-nection to the grounds of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

Though largely flat, there are a few steep inclines along the route.

The section that passes through Boyd Park is mostly through open meadows.

At points, it affords some up close view-ing of the East Humber River, which is a feeder stream for the main Humber.

“We get a good run of salmon in the fall and rainbow trout in the spring,” Moravek said. “Depending on the water level, sometimes you can see them running up and down through the culverts, under the bridges. There’s some natural speckled trout in here, too.”

The river is also home to the redside dace, an endangered species of minnow with a character-istic red

stripe along the front half of the body. They can be seen leaping out of the

water to catch insects.Also noteworthy about this route is that

it lies along the historic Toronto Carrying Place Trail, an aboriginal trade route link-ing Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and the northern Great Lakes.

As such, artifacts have been found along the trail from time to time, Moravek said.

Within Boyd Park, the Granger passes by an old quarry that was left to re-gener-ate naturally.

Homes from the Islington Woods sub-division that abuts the park sit at the top of the ridge. Down below, out of sight from the trail, are a couple of wetlands that serve as home to an array of animal and plant species.

RED TRAIL

Those seeking a slightly more challenging hike –

though still not terribly difficult — should consider the Red Trail, which runs along the top of the river valley through the densely forested part of Boyd park.

“It’s a good cross-country trail,” Moravek said.

There are three entry points to the trail, none of which are very well marked at the moment due to the devastating ice storm in December 2013.

One can be found at the rear of the Pop-lar Hill picnic site, located just inside the main gate off Islington Avenue.

For those wishing to drive further into the park, there are access points at the Valleyview picnic site, which provides for a shorter hike, and at the Cliffside 1 site, though, the latter trailhead is fairly steep.

Much like the Berton Trail, the Red Trail is packed dirt with lots of tree roots.

The terrain is undulating and the trail is quite narrow in some sections.

From the Poplar Hill trailhead, it runs alongside Islington Avenue for a fair dis-tance, so depending on the time of day, the din of traffic can overwhelm the sounds of nature.

It then cuts a swath behind the Isling-ton Woods subdivision before plunging into the forest at the park’s north end.

As you travel east along the trail, there are a couple of side trails with wonderful vistas of the East Humber.

It also affords you a view of the wet-lands that have formed in the former quarry; the same ones you pass by, but can’t see, on the Granger trail.

All-in-all the Boyd Park trails are perfect for novice hikers looking to work up to more challenging treks or for those seek-ing respite from the sights, sounds and

stresses of the urban jungle, says Moravek,

“You’re right in nature and if you’re into it enough

to pay attention – to watch and

listen – it’s a great place to

be.”

Boyd Conservation Area offers easy escape from urban jungleAn occasional series where we take a closer look at the many beautiful, diverse trail systems in York RegionTRAIL MIX

hite-tailed deer, rainbow trout, centuries-old

hemlock trees and theoccasional TV crew.

WBy Adam Martin-Robbins

Photography by Nick IwanyshynToronto and Region Conservation Authority supervisor Grant Moravek said BoydConservation Area features several rarespecies, such as the Jefferson salamander.

Boyd Conservation Area is open weekdays and weekends from the end of April until the end of August, then weekends only from September through to Thanksgiving.It’s closed the rest of the year.Pets are allowed on the trails, but they must be on a leash. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the trailsAdmission costs $6.50 for adults (15 and older) and $5.50 for seniors (60 and older). Children 14 and younger are admitted for free with their families.For more information, call 905-851-0575 or visit trca.on.ca.

Page 4: Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

C M Y

A4 The Aurora Banner, Thursday, August 13, 2015

Join the largest cyclingseries in North America!

25 tours across Canada

25 tours across Canada

msbike.ca1-800-268-7582

Message brought to you by

Trio of Aurora youths competing in CNE talent contest

BY TERESA [email protected]

Three Aurora youths are reaching for the stars.

Now in its 29th year, the Canadian National Exhibition Rising Star Talent Com-petition came long before the popular undis-covered talent TV shows such as American Idol and The Voice.

The Rising Star competition has found a number of talents throughout the years, including crooner Matt Dusk and famed cho-reographer and dancer Blake McGrath.

Having submitted audition videos and earned spots to compete, singer Louisa Barbosa, 12, and dance pair Allison Lee and Daniel Tamburro, both seven, could join the ranks of those who have been discovered in the past.

This won’t be the first time Louisa has taken part in the competition, but it will be her final chance to win at the junior level.

“It was a great learning experience for me,” she said, adding she made it to the semifinals last year.

Her love of music comes from being in a musical household at an early age and, when

she turned six, she started to really enjoy per-forming. Her idol is singer Adele because, no matter what society tells her, she stays true to herself, Barbosa said.

“Music is such a diverse art form and it’s a great way for me to express myself and that’s why I keep singing,” she said.

She hopes her talent proves as powerful as it did when she took home the Aurora Idol competition earlier this year.

Dancing duo Allison and Daniel are excited and admittedly a little nervous as this will be the first time they have taken to such a big stage.

“I really hope we win,” Daniel said.“People say we are very good,” Allison

added.The pair will perform an open duet, which

incorporates acro and jazz, choreographed by their dance teacher, Natalie Cultraro, from Evolution Dance Studio in Maple, where they train.

Both began dancing at an early age after being influenced by their older sisters.

Each year, hundreds of applications from hopefuls six to 25 are received from across the province, but only the top candidates from the youth and junior divisions earn a spot to perform and compete at the CNE where they will be judged on their natural ability, audience appeal, stage presence and quality of performance.

The competition runs from Aug. 21 to 24.

Rising Star Talent Competition’s previous discoveries include crooner Matt Dusk and choreographer, dancer Blake McGrath

Singer Louise Barbosa and dance pair Allison Lee and Daniel Tamburro, all of Aurora, will participate in this year’s Canadian National Exhibition Rising Star Talent Competition.

STAFF PHOTO/MIKE BARRETT

To see Allison and Daniel’s duet they will be performing at the CNE, visit http://bit.ly/1KhHTJSTo see Louisa’s performance at Aurora Teen Idol, visit http://bit.ly/1DN6U2I

To see Allison and Daniel’s duet they will be performing at the CNE, visit http://bit.ly/1KhHTJSTo see Louisa’s performance at Aurora Teen Idol, visit http://bit.ly/1DN6U2I

i

Council waives hiring gap policy to fill water operation position

requirements to meet when it comes to town water.

“What I’m hearing is it would be difficult to move forward without the operator but not impossible?” Councillor Tom Mrakas said.

When asked outright if having only five staff in water operations instead of six would put residents or the town at risk, Simanovskis replied the operations are currently working with a reduced staff but he wouldn’t com-mit to saying there isn’t a risk if the position remained unfilled.

However, the staff report states water oper-ation positions require regulated certifications and there will be insufficient operators in the department to allow for guaranteed safe and compliant operations come Aug. 14.

“I’m not willing to take this risk to save

From Front Page $10,000,” Councillor Michael Thompson said. “We need six (employees), we are down to five and if operations loses one more (due to ill-ness), then it will have a significant impact.”

Mayor Geoff Dawe pointed out that because the hiring bylaw states any change must be reviewed by council, Simanovskis was well within his rights to bring forward his request.

Councillor Sandra Humfryes suggested the town think about training existing staff on water operations, so a situation such as this can be avoided in the future.

Councillor Wendy Gaertner said a four-month hiring gap likely wouldn’t even save money in this situation. She reminded coun-cil that, in the past, when it denied a request to fill a parks and recreation department posi-tion, cost savings were eaten up by the over-time needed to complete work.

A majority of council voted to waive the hiring gap policy to allow staff to hire a replacement.

Mrakas and Councillor Harold Kim voted against the motion.

‘I’m not willing to take this risk to save $10,000.’

Cross-Canada ride supporting veterans stops in AuroraBY LAURA [email protected]

group of riders raising awareness about veterans’ issues received a warm welcome at the Col. Fred Tilston V.C. Branch 385 Legion Hall in Aurora Sunday.

Paul Nichols, 46, left his home in Victoria, B.C. in April with his wife, Terry, their daughter and a team of supporters.

They are riding horses coast-to-coast to bring attention to veterans, especially those who served in conflicts after the Second World War, and the supports needed when they return home to civilian life.

Nichols served in the infantry and was deployed to the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. He fought in the Battle of Medak Pocket in Croatia.

When he returned and had children, his family moved to Terry’s hometown, which did not have a strong connection with the military.

“We made the choice for me to leave the military and transition out of the core brotherhood, that full support network, out of that family into a community… that had very little ties with the military,” said Nichols. “I moved to a community that doesn’t recog-nize a veteran as a young man.”

Many people think of veterans as older people, he said, and while those older vet-erans did very important work, it is also important to recognize veterans who are coming back from recent conflicts and mak-ing the transition from the military to a com-munity.

He spoke of a time when he was in a store in Vancouver and a woman recognized his military crest.

She had lived in Sarajevo and told him about the horrible conditions she had lived in during the war.

“Her making the time to share that moment with me was a breaking point,” he said. “I was tearing up, she was tearing up. Here I have this complete stranger hugging me.”

And, he noticed, others in the store were also tearing up.

“I realized then, right then, there is great power in a shared story,” he said.

That is one of the ideas behind this ride – to share these stories.

“Paul and I have our own story and our own personal pieces of this, but so does every other veteran that has served and tran-sitioned, and that creates the louder voice that people need to get a greater under-standing,” said Terry.

They are also recording stories while on the journey and will compile them into a book.

The ride also helps recognize the work the veterans have done and helps communi-

ties connect with them, Terry said.“We are seeing the power in that recogni-

tion and we are joining our veterans not only to each other, but to community, and that community is the place where they need our support,” Terry said.

Local legionnaire Ken White agreed.“At the legion, we have to remember our

vets – not just the past ones; we have to remember the present ones and unfortu-nately the ones in the future coming as well,” he said, noting how important it is for vet-erans to tell their stories. “The Legion is not a bingo hall and beer parlor; it’s a sanctuary for veterans to come and just unwind and talk with their own.”

Horses have been important to both Nichols and Terry on their journeys – not

only their journey across the country, but their personal healing journeys.

Terry is a therapeutic riding instructor and they teach a military basic horseman-ship course.

She said she has seen the benefits of the animals for the veterans.

“Horses are more than just a technical piece; they are powerful,” she said.

While they were in Aurora, the riders were joined by Legion’s colour party, other official riders and dignitaries, including Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell.

“I think through sharing their experience, their strength and hope, a new generation of soldier is taking the lead in healing their physical and mental wounds,” she said. “Our military men and women are reaching out

to each other and to civilians in an effort to raise awareness of the increasing post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health incidents,” she said.

“Often veterans who return home from conflict… are too often sidelined, their sacrifices honoured only on special occa-sions, because as civilians, we often don’t understand who our soldiers really are as husbands, wives, parents and community members,” she continued.

The riders left B.C. April 13 and hope to arrive in St. John’s, Nfld. Nov. 9.

Veterans are invited to join them on the ride. So far, more than 180 have done so.

They are hoping to ride with 700 before the end of their journey, Terry said.

— with files from Teresa Latchford

A

For more information, visit communitiesforveterans.caFor more information, visit communitiesforveterans.cai

Paul Nichols (blue shirt) and his fel-low riders are joined by a welcoming party as they arrive at the Col. Fred Tilston V.C. Branch 385 Legion Hall in Aurora. Nichols is riding across Canada to raise awareness of veterans’ issues.

STAFF PHOTOS/LAURA FINNEY

Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell among dignitaries to welcome riders to the Royal Canadian Legion’s Aurora branch Sunday

Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell speaks at the event to welcome Paul Nich-ols and his team to Col. Fred Tilston V.C. Branch 385 Legion Hall in Aurora. Nichols is riding across Canada to raise awareness of veterans’ issues.

A5The Aurora Banner, Thursday, August 13, 2015

Page 5: Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

C M Y

A6 The Aurora Banner, Thursday, August 13, 2015

• Monthly payment schedule• Safe and easy access withwell lit parking• Lessons eligible for ChildFitness Tax Credit

16700 Bayview Avenue, #17, Newmarket (Corner of Bayview & Mulock)

• JAZZ • TAP • BALLET • ACROBATICS • LYRICAL• HIP HOP • MUSICAL THEATRE • CONTEMPORARY• Qualified instructors with BATD, CDTA, DMA, RAD• Fun, Recreational classes• Exam and Competitive Programs• Personal Attention• Evening & Saturday Classes• Monthly payments with Family Plans

Register By Phone or Email

Dance Classes forAges 3&UpDance Classes forAges 3&Up

REGISTERATTHE STUDIOAUG 25& 26 4-8 pm • SEPT 1& 2 4-8 pm

Sue’s Dance CentreBringing Dance to the Community since 1990

905-895-7469(Corner of Bayvie

www.suesdancecentre.com(Corner of Bayview & Mulock)(Corner of Bayvie

[email protected]• •

Summer Camp!

With this ad.

Register before August 30

th

10% OFF10% OFFA FULL WEEK OF 2015 REGISTRATIO

N

482 Ontario Street, Newmarket • 905-895-7625 www.rockandchalk.com

TIONA FULL WEEK OF 2015 REGISTRA

Sign up forthe Week orJuSt a day!

• Rock Climbing • Laser Tag • Martial Arts• Trampoline • Reptile Zoo • Bowling • Movies • Swimming • and much More!

Our camp offers multiple activitieseach week including:

We also offer birthday parties, school elective programs,corporate groups, camps and much more!

Our parties are suitable for those aged 4 to 104, so don’t be shy!

10%Our camp offers multiple activities

regiSter NOw

RegistrationTo be a part of this great feature call 905.853.8888

RegistrationRegistrationFall

• Recreational & Competitive classes from3 years to adult in: Acro, Classical Ballet,Pointe, Hip Hop, Jazz, Latin/Salsa,Musical Theatre, Tap and more...

• Members of I.S.T.D., C.D.T.A., P.A.E.C.

• Spacious studios with sprung floors andparent viewing areas

• Fully certified faculty

3 Locations in York Region

Aurora - (905) 726-1241305 Industrial Parkway S., Unit 19

Newmarket - (905) 836-493917665 Leslie Street, Unit 28 (Color Town Plaza)

Ask about our DanceBirthday Parties!

Stouffville - (905) 640-608230 Innovator Avenue, Unit 1

Award winning studio celebrating 30 years of dance excellence • [email protected] • www.yorkdance.com

Artistic Director - Angela Tucker

Register online at www.iembasketball.com • 905-836-6195 | [email protected] registration formalso available onlineRep1, Rep2 & All-StarTeam Try-Out Schedule

available online

Open Registration at IEM Office169 Charlotte Street South, Newmarket• Saturdays from 9am–12noon

Sir William Mulock Secondary School:705 Columbus Way, Newmarket• Tuesday, September 8th from 6–9pm• Wednesday, September 9th from 6–9pm• Monday, September 14th from 6–9pm• Wednesday, September 16th from 6–9pm

WEEKLY Practices & Games from September–April. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdayor SATURDAY! $185 for 25+ weeks, uniform, competitions, tournament & more!

IEMBASKETBALLYork Region’s largest basketball organization for girls & boys. Over 1400+ players & over 150 coaches.

www.iembasketball.com 905-836-6195 [email protected]

Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Acrobatics,Modern, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre

www.northernlightsdance.com5 Vata Crt. Unit 1 & 2, Aurora, ON. | (905) 713-0555

August 13 & 14, 10am-4pmAugust 17-21, 12pm-4pm

August 26, 27 & Sept 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 3pm-8pm

REGISTRATION DATESCompetitive & Recreational ClassesAnnual Recital & Summer CampsSpring & Summer 8 Week SessionsAward Winning Studio

Adapt Certified StudioOpen since 2001

New 5800 sq. ft.Facility, 3 Studios withLarge Viewing Windows,

Kitchen, SpaciousChange Room& Playroom

Our award winninginstructors can teachyour child to develop

these outstanding BlackBelt Principles:

Call now to bookyour first class! $199

Quick StartProgram!

ONEMONTH OFCLASSES includesFREE UNIFORM

3 spots available for ourafter school program

Do these kids look confident?The secret is out.Karate!

905-830-12451131 Gorham St.Unit 2 - 4, Newmarket

• INTEGRITY • COMPASSION• COURTESY • SELF CONTROL• MODESTY • PERSEVERANCE

• GRATITUDE• INDOMITABLE SPIRIT

2 FAMILY MEMBERS CAN TRAINFOR ThE PRICE OF 1.

SOME CONDITIONS APPLY

FallFallR e g i s t r a t i o n

“We have heard a few naturals who were born to do this and a lot of old souls,” Mahood added. “It is very hard to whittle down but we have had to be tough.”

But not all of the contestants made the choice difficult.

Cameron von Creigern from Peter-borough was asked by judges what it’s like being 17 while he was waiting for his equipment to be set up.

“Not as good as you would think,” he said, causing the judges to break out in laughter.

All joking aside, he took to the mic and filled the room his smooth voice and subtle country twang that would make any teenage girl’s heart swoon.

In case his performance of Luke Bryan’s Country Girl (Shake it For Me) wasn’t enough to convince the judges he belonged in the top 20, he sang a song he wrote himself that sealed the deal.

Mahood remembers the Hoedown

being one of her first gigs 17 years ago after she released a single and has been involved ever since.

“It is such a tough business and this is a phenomenal opportunity for these singers to get studio time and mentor-ship,” she said. “I’m really looking for-ward to working with the top 10.”

The top 10 will be determined dur-ing the semi-finals to be held Sept. 13 at Aurora Ribfest. Those who make it, will be mentored and coached heading into the finals Sept. 18 during the first night of the Hoedown.

Contestants are competing for a grand prize valued at $20,000, including cash, guitar and case, recording studio package and a performance in front of 5,000 country fans during the Hoedown.

The runner up will take home $500 and third place will receive $250.

Proceeds from the Magna Hoedown will benefit 15 local York Region charities.

To learn more, visit hoedown.ca Check yorkregion.com next week for the names of the 20 semi-finalists.

From Front Page

Contestants compete for $20K

STAFF PHOTO/NICK IWANYSHYN

Jayme Lynn Reed of Keswick performs during the Magna Hoedown Showdown talent contest preliminary rounds at Theatre Aurora Tuesday.

ing an overall increase,” she said.The source of the illness is not known, so it

isn’t possible to say whether the domestic cases were contracted within the region, Pritchard said.

“Whenever we get any of these cases, we do the normal follow up of finding out what people have consumed prior to the period in which they would have become ill or the incubation period,” she said.

“So, we do try and understand where people pick up these infections because it’s not nor-mally something Ontarians should be picking up or York Region residents should be picking up because it’s not transmitted person to person and you’re not going to find it here as a normal thing in York Region.”

With 83 cases of cyclospora being investi-gated across Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada issued a statement Aug. 8 saying the illness has sent two people to hospital but no deaths have been reported.

At 74, Ontario has the vast majority of the

cases of people who became sick between May 9 and July 18, the agency said.

Three cases are from British Columbia, one is from Alberta and five are from Quebec.

“The risk to Canadians is low but people with weakened immune systems, young children and older adults are at increased risk for devel-oping complications if they get sick,” the agency said.

It is investigating the outbreak with officials from provincial public health departments, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada.

While the cause of the outbreak is not known, past outbreaks have been linked to imported produce such as pre-packaged salad mix, basil, cilantro, berries, mesclun lettuce and snow peas, the agency said.

You are advised to wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly, not to ingest water from lakes and rivers, wash your hands regularly and clean food preparation and cooking surfaces thoroughly.

If you have questions or for more informa-tion, call the region’s Health Connection line at 1-800-361-5653.

From Front Page

MARJOLYN PRITCHARD: York Region’s director of infectious dis-ease control says the source of cyclospora outbreak unknown.

JUPITERIMAGES

Infection not ‘normal thing’ in York: expert

Page 6: Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

C M Y

A7The Aurora Banner, Thursday, August 13, 2015

The BANNeR www.yorkregion.com

580 Steven Crt., Newmarket, ON L3Y 6Z2Publisher Ian Proudfoot

General ManagerShaun Sauve

Director, Business Administration Robert Lazurko

Director

Creative Services Katherine Porcheron

Director CirculationCarol LambOOPINION

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

Not fair to slam university students

Re: Young families need ben-efit for medication, letter to the editor by Chris Gray, July 30 and Child ‘benefit’ has me seeing red, opinion by Tracy Kibble, July 23: bit.ly/1IjePAy

If you wanted to raise three children, then you should have been prepared for the financial burden that comes with raising three children and not rely on the taxpayers to do it for you. That would be called responsible parenting.

You should know that, since you’re a university graduate.

As for your opinion on univer-sity students, Gray should then know they can’t afford to hang out at the bar and get drunk.

If that is your mentality, then I wonder how many parents will actually use the child ‘benefit’ money for the child.

G. SilvaNewmarket

Pedestrian, cyclist safety needs improvement

There is a lot to love about Newmarket, but one of those things is not the safety of pedes-trians or cyclists.

In cities such as Toronto and Montreal, the behaviour of pedestrians and motorists is quite different. This is prob-ably due to the fact there are so many more people walking and biking during all seasons, so people in cars become a lot more accustomed to actually stopping behind the line at intersections and looking both ways before starting to slowly cross that line.

Farther north, it is necessary for more of us to own cars and we are more spread out, therefore, we have less foot and bike traf-fic. Whatever the reason, I find it very troubling that approach-ing and crossing an intersection on my bike (especially on Davis Drive) feels like rolling dice.

Cars roll rapidly toward stop signs and intersections with lights, stopping well past the line (if they stop at all) and look-ing only left for oncoming cars. This is dangerous in two ways: if there is a car already stopped in the lane to your left, you cannot necessarily see someone already crossing the road until you’ve hit them.

Secondly, looking only to your left while coming up on a crosswalk means you’ll com-pletely miss someone crossing the intersection from your right. Maybe you glanced at the corner before reaching the intersection, but what’s to say someone might not be there by the time you do reach it? Were they behind some-thing that could have obstructed your view?

Pedestrians and cyclists, of course, have a responsibility to

E D I T O R I A L

Why is Harper inventing issues?

help keep everyone safe as well, but this lack of awareness on the part of drivers has many of us scared when we really shouldn’t have to be. We should take the time to make eye contact with motorists before crossing to ensure they have seen us, but I’ve had extremely close calls with both of the above scenarios where I had no opportunity to see the driver at all before the danger presented itself.

I’m asking drivers to take time to re-evaluate your driving hab-its. Be very honest with your-self and if you are guilty of this, relearn what we are all taught in driving schools. You don’t want to be responsible for Newmarket’s next vehicle-related tragedy.

Bronwen DwyerNewmarket

Nease creates excellent satirical cartoons

Re: Cartoon disrespectful to prime minister, letter to the editor by Michael Seminsky, Aug. 6.

Steve Nease creates excellent political cartoons, which, often, poke fun at the human vices and follies of politicians. Cartoons have been doing this for hun-dreds of years.

It is ironic Seminsky claims the cartoon in question disrespects Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who, for more than a decade, has disrespected Canada, its people and its institutions.

Long may Nease continue to comment on the political issues of the day.

a. KinGSharoN

Majority of cyclists respectful of road rules

Re: Some Warden residents not happy with cyclists, letter to the editor by Ron Morgenstern, Aug. 6.

I ride my bicycle regularly dur-ing the summer months on War-den Avenue to Lake Simcoe and back. For the most part, motor-ists are respectful of cyclists and go out of their way to be extra safe around them.

The vast majority of cyclists are also respectful of cars and do their best to co-exist on the road with them.

If Morgenstern believes “a large percentage of cyclists are extremely ignorant and do what-ever they can to annoy driv-ers and residents”, perhaps he should try riding a bike to find out what it’s like to be honked at for no reason and have to deal with drivers like him who have no respect for the lives of people who happen to enjoy riding a bike outdoors.

You may also want to remind Morgenstern and your readers that it is now law in Ontario for drivers to maintain at least one

L E T T E R S P O L I C Y The BANNeR York Region Media Group community newspapers

The Era, The Banner and The Express, published every Thursday and Sunday, are divisions of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of 100 community publica-

tions across Ontario. The York Region Media Group includes The Liberal, serving Richmond Hill and Thornhill, Newmarket

Era, Aurora Banner, East Gwillimbury Express, King Connection, Vaughan Citizen, Markham Economist & Sun, Stouffville Sun-

Tribune, Georgina Advocate, Bradford Topic, GoodLife, beingwell and yorkregion.com

All submissions must be less than 400 words and include a daytime telephone number, name and address. The Era

reserves the right to publish or not publish and

to edit for clarity and space.SEND LETTERS

to editor Tracy Kibble at [email protected]

905-853-8888

250 Industrial Pkwy. N., Aurora, ON L4G 4C3

eDItorIaL

905-853-8888 / Fax: 905-853-4626aDVertISING

Editorial Managing Editor

Tracy [email protected]

News EditorSean Pearce

[email protected]

advErtising Sales Manager

Jennifer [email protected]

Community Sales& Marketing Manager

Neil [email protected]

ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL

Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member

Ontario Press Council

Delivery issues? For all your

delivery inquiries, please e-mail

[email protected]

or call 1-855-853-5613

hile it’s far too early to predict precisely what this nascent federal election will be “about”, it looks

increasingly likely, judging from the conduct of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, that the Conservative gov-ernment seeks to wage a campaign based around fear.

Harper wasted little time in the days following the election call cast-ing himself as the lone hero who could protect us from the horrors of a “Netflix tax”, which would, without a doubt, in the prime minister’s mind, be introduced by a new government helmed by either Liberal Leader Jus-tin Trudeau or NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair.

If there’s one thing that can tingle the spine of any Canadian, it’s the thought of paying yet another tax, but there was one problem with the narrative laid out by Harper: neither Trudeau nor Mulcair had proposed a tax on Netflix or said anything on the subject one way or another.

Social and mainstream media were quick to seize on to that fact and sati-rists swiftly lampooned the campaign.

Fear mongering was again the tac-tic earlier this week as Harper played the public safety card and vowed to crack down on “terror tourism”, which is, barring Canadians from travelling to certain parts of the world unless they had a government-approved rea-son for going there.

Without delving into the slippery slope such a law would create and the fact some Canadians could lose the ability to visit family who simply have the misfortune of living in a terrorism hotspot, it’s unclear how big a prob-lem this truly is — the Conservatives themselves said terror tourists could number as many as 210 in 2014 — and why such a law would be required when existing legislation already pro-hibits citizens from travelling abroad to take part in terrorist activities.

Harper was back at it Tuesday, this time warning that relaxed marijuana laws would harm the health of Cana-dians, encourage more people to start using drugs and make it easier for children to obtain weed.

While these are tired prohibition arguments, the prime minister also, curiously, made reference to Colorado, a state which, since legalizing mari-juana, has, indeed, seen an uptick in users, but has also experienced increases in revenue and tourism.

Its decision to legalize pot has largely been seen as a success.

Ultimately, it begs the question: don’t we have enough real problems to debate in this election campaign without the prime minister conjuring up imaginary ones?

In last week’s Maclean’s debate, Harper himself conceded, when pressed by Mulcair, that Canada was in a recession, although he attributed the lion’s share of the blame for the economic contraction on the energy sector and said the rest of the econ-omy is growing and will continue to do so.

Obviously, we can’t say if that pre-diction will prove true, but the fact remains there are some serious and very real concerns with the economy at the moment.

The loonie is hovering around an 11-year low of 76 cents — with slump-ing oil prices largely to blame — and, while the unemployment rate has held at 6.8 per cent over the past six months, recent reports point to a trou-bling trend where overall job creation is up, but with lower paying, part-time positions and self employment taking the place of decent-paying, full-time work.

We propose it’s more likely the economy keeping Canadians awake at night, rather than boogeymen such as alleged Netflix taxes, terror tourism and our kids buying marijuana at the local convenience store.

By all means, let’s have a campaign, but there are enough pressing issues to debate without inventing new ones.

W Re-purposing bedroom yields school supplies

or parents of school-age children, August is back-to-school season, that time of year when you are assaulted by a repeated barrage of ads

telling you to get out there quickly to buy all the latest gear so your kids can compete and learn.

Not to mention entreaties from your own children, who know that the only thing worse than heading back to school, is heading back to school with a battered knapsack, tattered binders and broken pens and pencils.

For parents of adult children, however, the end of summer and fall’s season of “new beginnings” may bring a different dilemma.

‘You can always return home any time,’ I reassured her. ‘You

are always our daughter’.

Thus, I found myself this past weekend, clearing through and trying to organize clutter and old textbooks and school “stuff” of adult children.

Some of you may recognize the controversial problem — how long do you leave a bedroom of a departed adult child intact before you re-pur-pose it to become a guest room, an office or an all-purpose storage room?

I hasten to report that my “depart-ed” daughter is alive and well, living with her boyfriend in nearby Peel Region. She only returns home occa-sionally to grab clothing items.

So, I asked her delicately and tact-fully (as much as possible conveyed via text messages), if I could make her bedroom into a guest bedroom over the next few weeks.

“You can always return home any time,” I reassured her, “you are always our daughter”.

“Sure, no problem” was the breezy response, nicely letting me know that a better option if they ever had to move was available through big-ger lodgings at her boyfriend’s family home in Guelph.

So I opened her closet and peered under the bed, to begin my room re-purpose project.

Yikes — I won’t describe too much of what I found under the bed, suffice to say that it entailed at least half a laundry load of clothes.

The closet yielded several pairs of shoes and sandals that I bet she’s completely forgotten about, along with numerous pretty dresses that had fallen in a tangle to the floor.

However, I did find numerous colourful folders, shiny new binders and colourful notepads, some with price tags still on them.

Rooting through several bags and boxes of my son’s college leftovers, which were gathering dust in a dif-ferent closet, I found similar unused school supplies.

I now have a collection of brand new and gently used school supplies to contribute to the Salvation Army school supplies drive in Richmond Hill and Vaughan.

If you’ve got a similar collection of items languishing in cupboards or closets at your home, you can also contribute to the regional 360 Kids school supply drive.

If you aren’t in my position and your younger children succeed in dragging you back-to-school shop-ping, every Staples store across York Region is running a Staples for Stu-dents School Supply Drive, collecting items required by needy children in your own community.

Staples partners with the United Way in York Region and Optimist clubs to ensure the supplies get to less fortunate families.

However stretched your school supply budget may be, it’s certain there are families in your community who are finding it tougher and who truly need a little back-to-school help.

— Marney Beck is editor of the Thornhill and Richmond Hill Liberal

newspapers

F

Follow us on Facebook facebook.com/ TheNewmarketEra/AuroraBanner/

EastGwillimburyExpress

GET CONNECTED

READ All our published letters at yorkregion.com or send your

letter to the editor to Tracy Kibble at [email protected]

ISSUE: Prime minister seems to be waging campaign

based on fear-mongering

BOTTOM LINE: Let’s focus on real issues that keep Canadians

awake at night.

metre distance from a person riding a bicycle. An added incen-tive for Morgenstern is a maxi-mum fine of $1,000 and three demerit points for anyone break-ing the law.

Michael Moriarityaurora

Someone’s bound to be injured on Davis

Re: Disabled people cannot walk Davis Drive, senior says, July 30.

I walk with a cane due to bal-ance problems and was help-ing my mom (who has macular degeneration and is legally blind) to the CNIB office after riding a Mount Albert bus to the Medical Arts building July 28.

It was dangerous. I cannot imagine my mom doing it alone. My teenage son has autism and all three of us battled heat, uneven pavement and poor (or missing) signage. If not for con-struction workers directing us around pylons, we might have walked into oncoming traffic by mistake. Why is there no clear signage to help? As Coffey point-ed out in the story, if you can’t see, “God help you”.

When we left the hospital, we found the previous walkway was now closed off and there’s no bus shelter there. To top it off, the Mount Albert bus driver forgot to pull in to the 404 plaza bus stop, even though it’s a bus trans-fer point, so we waited for more than one hour past the sched-uled time until York Region Tran-sit sent a replacement bus.

I called and YRT apologized, explaining the bus driver made an error. I called the hospital to complain about poor signage, but was told to call the Town of Newmarket, who directed me to someone at YRT, a long distance call from Mount Albert.

Thanks for focusing on an issue we’ve been dealing with for months.

SanDra MiSenermouNt aLbert

Marney Beck

GET CONNECTEDTELL US what you think about this issue. Email [email protected].

q

Page 7: Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

C M Y

A8 The Aurora Banner, Thursday, August 13, 2015

Georgina...LIVE. RELAX. ENJOY.Lakeside living year round starting from the $150’s to over $2 million with everything in between.

GEORGINA by Lake Simcoe, a place for you to call home and only 5 minutes from Newmarket. Closer than

ever to Toronto with the new Hwy 404 extension, Georgina has everything you need to LIVE, RELAX & ENJOY life.

Gorgeous lake views, lakefront properties, boating, golf, fishing, skiing, tubing, food, entertainment and the arts

– There is always something to do in Georgina!

OPEN HOUSE TOUR 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

REALTY CENTRES, BROKERAGEINDEPENDENTLY OWNED & OPERATED

OFFICE

905.476.5972277 THE QUEENSWAY S., KESWICK, ON L4P 2B4

The ROC. Photo:www.georginaroc.ca

17 Rushton Road - $579,000Classy brand new 3 bedroom, 2 bath raised bungalow with 9 ft ceilings, hardwoodflooring, custom kitchen, quartz counter tops. Walkout to huge covered deck. Entranceinto house from 2 car garage. Quiet dead end street with walking trails. Short walk to thebeach. Ten mins to the 404 extension.

KEVIN DIXON, sales representative 905-715-2654 / [email protected] / dixonprogroup.com

187 Hedge Road - $1,387,000Spectacular one acre estate on Lake Simcoe with architectural masterpiece home with3 bedrooms, 4 baths, gourmet chefs kitchen, hardwood floors, finished basement andcharming one bedroom guest cottage complete with kitchen, bath and outdoorshower. Seeded waterfront access in walking distance to the Briars Golf course & Resort.

JENNIFER JONES, sales representative 416-702-1146 / [email protected]

76 Lake Drive East - $1,399,000Breathtaking direct waterfront with 160 feet of shoreline with a permanent dock in avery desirable area of Lake Drive East. Cottage style 3 bedroom home with basementand enclosed 4 season sun porch. Separate Bunkie with bathroom, outdoor shower,sauna and hot tub. Incredible property with magnificent sunsets. Also listed separatelyare 2 separate lots across the road with 3 outbuildings.

NEIL MORRIS, sales representative 905-251-0740 / [email protected]

101 Maple Avenue - $569,000Quality built stone and brick 3 bedroom, 2 bath bungalow with full basement. Stunning openconcept with chefs kitchen boasting commercial gas range & hood fan with warning shelf,wine fridge, breakfast bar, etc. Multiple walk outs onto large deck. Private large lot. Walkingdistance to street beach access and private dock. In area of exclusive Hedge Rd. Wakingdistance to Briars Golf course & Resort.

GARY & GINA SEMENIUK, sales representatives 905-918-1233 / [email protected]

202 Hedge Road - $1,399,000100 feet of direct, prime sandy waterfront on Lake Simcoe within 25 mins of Newmarket.Year round living in this impressive 4 bedroom, 4 bath brick home with indoor sauna, hottub and two car garage. Hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, wet bar, wood burningfireplaces, dry dock boathouse, dock and walking distance to the Briars golf courseand resort on exclusive Hedge Road.

ANN ALDRED, sales representative 905-251-0754 / [email protected]

Painted Perch Challenge - Jackson’s Point12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

The painted perch will be displayed in theJackson’s Point Parkette during the event. Come helpdecide on the winners by judging your favourite fish!

Georgina Advocate July 9, 2015 Article Photo:www.yorkregioncommunity.com

Come for a visit this Saturday August 15th for the Painted Perch Challenge, then enjoy a drive through local

neighbourhoods and take part in our open house tour.

SATURDAY AUGUST 15, 2015PAINTED PERCH CHALLENGE 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM; JACKSON’S POINT PARKETTE

Page 8: Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

C M Y

A9The Aurora Banner, Thursday, August 13, 2015

MOVIES IN THE PARK - ANNIEAug. 14, 8:30 p.m. Ada Johnson Park, 60 Hartwell Way. Come out for a free movie. “Annie” is rated PG. A food pantry donation for the local food pantry is appreciated. Delicious food vendors will be on site selling food. For your seating comfort, please bring your own lawn chairs. The movie will start at dusk. Contact: Shelley Ware, [email protected], 905-726-4762.

what ’s onTo have your event included in what’s on, add it to our calendar at yorkregion.com

THE LANDINGAug. 13, 3:45 to 5:30 p.m.Newmarket Community Church, 145 Pony Dr.The Landing is a free, weekly program offered at Newmarket Community Church that aims to equip teens (ages 12 to 17) with the tools needed to overcome life’s struggles.Contact: [email protected], 905-836-7251, 905-967-4081, www.newmarketcommunitychurch.org.

PASSAGE BETWEEN TWO WORLDS EXHIBITION & SALE BY ERIKA TAKACS AND MARISSA SWEETOngoing to Sept. 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Aurora Cultural Centre, 22 Church St.The story of Canada’s immigrants is a shared journey of creating a sense of space & place in a new country. With the exhibition Passage Between Two Worlds, artists Erika Takacs and Marissa Sweet present courageous inter-pretations of their personal immigration experiences. Exhibition continues through until Sept. 12. Galleries open Tuesdays and Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Gallery admission is at no charge. Galleries are closed on Sundays and Mondays.Contact: Clare Bolton, [email protected], 905-713-1818.

MINO MIIKANA BIMAADIZIWIN: THE PATH OF LIFE: EXHIBITION OF WORKS BY DONALD CHRETIENOngoing to Sept. 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Aurora Cultural Centre, 22 Church St.Solo Exhibition of the works of local First Nations artist Donald Chretien from July 18 to Sept. 12. Large new works in the Great Hall Gallery and small works in Reception Gallery. Exhibition continues through until Sept. 12. Galleries open Tuesdays and Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Gallery admission is at no charge. Please note that the galleries are closed on Sundays and Mondays.Contact: Clare Bolton, [email protected], 905-713-1818.

LEGO & PLAYAug. 14, 10 a.m. to noon.Holland Landing Public Library, 19513 Yonge St.It’s time to build! Get creative with Lego. Ages 5+. Drop In.Contact: Heather Alblas, [email protected], 905-836-6492.

BUILDER’S CLUBAug. 14, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.Holland Landing Public Library, 19513 Yonge St.Build all kinds of structures from various materials. Ages 5+. Drop In.Contact: Heather Alblas, [email protected], 905-836-6492.

TWEEN SCENEAug. 14, 2 to 3 p.m.Holland Landing Public Library, 19513 Yonge St.Get creative with DIY projects for Tweens. Ages 8 - 11 years. Drop In.Contact: Heather Alblas, [email protected], 905-836-6492.

AT THE MOVIESAug. 14, 2 to 3:30 p.m.Holland Landing Public Library, 19513 Yonge St.Cool down this summer with a movie, popcorn and juice! All Ages. Dona-tions welcome. Please register. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.Contact: Heather Alblas, [email protected], 905-836-6492.

LEGO & PLAYAug. 14, 10 a.m. to noon.Mount Albert Branch, East Gwillimbury Public Library, 19300 Centre St.It’s time to build! Get creative with Lego Ages 5+ Drop In.

DEEP SOUNDSAug. 14, 9 p.m. until midnight.LaserLounge ,18075 Leslie St. in Newmarket. Featuring : APACHE-MIXX C-KUTZ-MADSIRENS and Mr GLOWSTICKS Doors open at 9 p.m. Cost: $5 Pre-Sale; $10 at Door.Contact: Mitchel Rell, [email protected], 905-235-7774.

BE-BOP & DANCEAug. 15, 10:30 to 11 a.m.East Gwillimbury Public Library - Mount Albert branch, 19300 Centre St.This action-packed program is filled with movement for little ones. Ages 2 - 5 Free Drop-In

NEWMARKET FARMERS MARKET - GARLIC IS GREAT FESTIVALAug. 15, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.Riverwalk Commons, Doug Duncan Drive.Fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, eggs, baked goods, food vendors, hand-crafted artifacts and products such as jewelry, furniture, soap, horse and wagon rides, musical entertainment, buskers, fresh flowers, etc.Contact: [email protected], 905-773-9751.

FREE ZUMBA CLASS AT RIVERWALK COMMONSAug. 15, 8 to 9 a.m.Newmarket Riverwalk Commons, 200 Doug Duncan Dr.Free Zumba class every Saturday morning in June, July, and August from 8 - 9 a.m. at the Fairy Lake Newmarket Farmers Market, along side the reflecting pool. Instruction will be by The Move fitness and dance studio and will take place weather permitting. Sponsored by Peter C. Geibel, bro-ker - Main Street Realty, and Jerry Montpetit of RBC Insurance. No signup required just come out and enjoy. Like the page if you plan on coming.Contact: Peter Geibel, [email protected], 416-804-5581.

PICNIC SUNDAYSAug. 16, 11:30 a.m.The Sharon Temple National Historic Site and Museum, 18974 Leslie St. BYOBlanket for a picnic on our lawn. The best set up wins a prize!Contact: [email protected], 905-715-0879.

ST. PAUL’S CAMP PANDAMANIAAug. 17 to 21 9 a.m. until noon.St. Paul’s Anglican Church, 227 Church St.Day Camp for children 5 to 12. Games, bible stories, crafts, snacks, fun! Cost $35. Contact Kelly at [email protected] or 905-853-7285.Contact: Joyce Millard, [email protected], 905-895-9102.

TIME TRAVEL WITH GREAT ARTISTS FOR AGES 4 -6 / MIXED MEDIA MASH-UP - TIME TRAVEL WITH GREAT ARTISTS AGES 7-12Aug. 17 to Aug. 21, 9 to 11 a.m. for ages 4-6 and 12:30 to 4 p.m. for 7-12.

Aurora Cultural Centre, 22 Church St.From Michelangeo and Van Gogh to Emily Carr and more, travel through time and create work based on these creative geniuses! Meet new friends, enjoy a week of fun - and show off your work at the end-of-week art show! Cost is $50 for ages 4-6 and $80 for ages 7-12. Materials includedContact: Jane Taylor, [email protected], 905-713-1818.

DISCOVERY CLUBAug. 18, 1:30 to 3 p.m.Holland Landing Public Library, 19513 Yonge St.This weekly club will get you busy with creative and hands-on projects, games and activities! Ages 6-10. Please register.Contact: Heather Alblas, [email protected], 905-836-6492.

FAMILY STORYTIMEAug. 18, 10 to 11 a.m.East Gwillimbury Public Library - Mount Albert branch, 19300 Centre St.This program features stories, crafts, and activities. Ages: 0-5 Drop In

MAKER MADNESS WORKSHOPSAug. 18, 2 to 3 p.m.East Gwillimbury Public Library - Mount Albert branch, 19300 Centre St.Unleash your creative side at these hands-on workshops. Free. Register.

BLOOD DONOR CLINICAug. 18, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.York Region Administrative Centre, 17250 Yonge St. in Newmarket.Canadian Blood Services needs about 170,000 additional donors per year to maintain the blood supply. We ask eligible donors to consider booking an appointment by downloading the GiveBlood app or visit blood.ca.Contact: [email protected], 1-888-236-6283.

EAST GWILLIMBURY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BREAKFASTAug. 18, 7 to 9 a.m.Silver Lakes Golf and Conference Centre, 21114 Yonge St. in EGBring lots of business cards for a jam packed networking event, introduce your business and connect with the East Gwillimbury business commu-nity. Reservations required. $20 for non-members, $15 for members.Contact: Suzanne, [email protected], 905-478-8447.

DISCOVERY CLUBAug. 19, 10:30 a.m. to noon.East Gwillimbury Public Library - Mount Albert branch, 19300 Centre St.This weekly club will get you busy with creative and hands-on projects, games and activities! Ages 6-10.

TD PRESENTS CONCERTS IN THE PARK: THE DIXIE CHICKLETSAug. 19, 7 p.m.Aurora Town Park, Wells StThis is a free show but a donation for the Aurora Food Pantry would be appreciated. Food vendors will be on site. For your comfort, bring a lawn chair.Contact: [email protected], 905-726-4762, aurora.ca/summerconcerts.

MAKER MADNESS WORKSHOPSAug. 19, 2 to 3 p.m.Holland Landing Public Library, 19513 Yonge St.Unleash your creative side at these hands-on workshops. Free. Register.Contact: Heather Alblas, [email protected], 905-836-6492.

FAMILY STORYTIMEAug. 20, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.Holland Landing Public Library, 19513 Yonge St.This program features stories, crafts, and activities. Ages 0 - 5. Drop In. Contact: Heather Alblas, [email protected], 905-836-6492.

SUMMER SPARKLE BOTTLESAug. 20, 2 to 3 p.m.Holland Landing Public Library, 19513 Yonge St.Create a bottle that gently swirls with glitter and color. Ages 6 - 9. Register.Contact: Heather Alblas, [email protected], 905-836-6492.

Today

Reader Winnie Robinson emailed us this Your Shot of a baby chipmunk. Send us Your Shot. The popular theme is Nature & Wildlife. Email your high-quality jpegs to editor Tracy Kibble at [email protected] for a chance have your photograph included in our online gallery and published in the newspaper.

To have your event included in what’s on, add it to our calendar at yorkregion.com

GOLF “FORE” MADDAug. 20, 8 a.m.Cardinal Golf Club (RedCrest Golf Course), 17700 Keele St. in King.Golf Fore Madd is a fundraiser run by MADD Canada’s York Region Chapter. Money raised goes directly toward Madd’s mission “To stop impaired driving and support victims of this violent crime”. Each hole sponsored by a different company with tons of prizes to be won. For an additional $25 golfers can participate in extra events to win extra prizes. Cost: $500 per foursome or $125 per individual.Contact: Karen Hodge, [email protected], 905-895-1221.

This weekend

Tomorrow

Next week

GET CONNECTED❑ TALK TO US: Have a story idea?

Email editor Tracy Kibble at [email protected] or reporter Teresa Latchford at [email protected].

❑ BE SOCIAL: Follow us on Facebook facebook.com/TheNewmarketEra facebook.com/AuroraBanner or Facebook.com/EastGwillimburyExpress

To have your event included in

add it to our calendar at

what ’s on

SUN, SEA & SANDYOUR RELAXATION PARADISE

NEXT EXIT

Only at

Hit the Road!Start planning your dream road trip

with travel deals on hotels, vacation rentals, tours, and more!

Page 9: Aurora Banner August 13, 2015

C M Y

A10 The Aurora Banner, Thursday, August 13, 2015

BARRIE SHOWROOM556 Bryne Dr. Unit 7

705.733.9600

NO PAYMENTS FOR 6 MONTHS* O.A.C.009009

www.northerncomfortwindows.comwww.northerncomfortwindows.com

• 10% off 2 to 8 Windows• 20% off 9 or More Windows• Our best series of windows in a

wide selection styles and shapes

Hurry and takeadvantage of thishot offer before

it ends.

ExpiresAug 31, 2015

ER-46energy rating

Call now for a Free, No-ObligationIn-Home Estimate

ON ALL OUR INSTALLEDREPLACEMENT WINDOWS

10-20%off

OurWindows & Doors are Energy Star Approved

1.888.220.2221

Triple GlassUpgradeFREE

NEWMARKET SHOWROOM16700 Bayview Ave., Unit 15

905.853.9400

Windows KV Entry DoorsGarage Doors Patio Doors

OFF!20%

RODS BY THE RIVER

Photography by Steve Somerville

A red and white 1957 Mercury sits among an assortment of other vintage automobiles during the Newmarket Car Club’s Rods by the River event held last weekend at Fairy Lake Park in Newmarket.

A classic 1931 Ford Model A lines up with other classic cars during the event.

Sam Boyce takes a picture of a rust-tone Ford pick up.

Car enthusiast Grace Aldworth sits in a sporty 1969 Volkswagen.