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Teacher of the week MR. ESSEX By., Wendy Procher Mr. Essex after being born and raised in Peterborough didn't want to become anything cise in the future but - older. When he was old enough, he attended McMaster University. Aftcr Teachers Coilege, Mr. Essex appiied at Clarke High School through an ad in the paper and was not hired. He then spent three yeas in Australia and Asia, teaching 11/2 years in the State of Victoria, Australia, and 1 year on Grocte Eylan- dle, Northern Terrîtory in Australia. After the three years he rturned and notîced another ad for a teacher placement at Clarke Hîgh School. Once again he applied, this time with better resuits, for he presentiy has been tcaching Math at Clarke for seven ycars.1 Mr. Essex enjoys teaching Mathematics and looking in- to the future hc would like to teach Computer Programnm- ing which perhapsmay iead him into getting a job in Pro- granuming. There arc many reasons on the positive side of the benefits of. the Semester System. Mr. Essex finds that the students have more time to discuss the subject and there is ýexcess time -for in- dividual help. The concern on the negative side is for any student whomn is absent, their studies suffer because of the amount of notes mîssed. He finds a sense of achiev- ment working with students as he neyer gets bored because there are, so many different types of problems encountered each and every- day. Now that Mr. Essex is "grown up" he loves observ- ing how a student changes from grade nine tili when they graduate. He feels it gives a person an insight into how adult personaîtties- emferge, which makes it s0 much casier to understand people., Outside Interests? He has a love for Art, Books,- Movies and Oh Yes, Photography. 1 guess l'Il _neyer understand why he likes photography, for i always thought that "Clicks were for Kids." Funding announced for local area hospitals Toronto, April 14--Capital assistance towards the expan- sion of the Cottage Hospital in Uxbridge and the Comn- munity Memnorial H-ospitai in Port Pcrry was announced by Heaith Minister Larry Grossmnan and Ross Steven- son, MPP Durham-York. Both hospitai projects were supported by the Durham Region District Health Coun- Cil. "My Ministry wili fund up to $200,000 or two-thirds, whichever is less, of the ap- proved capital cost for each hospital, - said Mr. Gyrossman. "The expanded facilities wiil enable each hospitai to cope with increas- A Most unusual bird By: Ron Reid- Federation of Ontario Naturalists A few of our birds seem to combine an unusuai assort- ment of ïharacteristics. For exampie, what Canadian Bird ~ imed for the offspring of ing, out-patients workloads and reduce the waiting times for out-patients and emergen- cy services." "This means both Ux- bridge and Port Pcrry soon will be gettîng improved heaith care facilities to serve the people of our area," said Mr. Stevenson. Mr. Grossman praised Mr. Stevenson for his active in- terest and support for these hospitai projects. Following the deveopment of plans and the tendering process by each hospital, it is expected that construction will begin later this year. the Greck god of the winds, has a femaie more brightiy colourcd than the maie, finds its food under water, and makes its nest underground? If you guessed the belted kingfisher, you are right.' The solitary kingfisher is a commron sight perched on a bran.ch above a woodland streamn, or chattering like a machine gun as it swoops to a new resting spot. Its steel- grey back is matched by a broad band around the Oroxio Weekly Times, Wednesday, April 21, 1982, 5 A Truly Different Garden At Whitby By: Giaude R. Lemklux A visit to any gardcn is a leisurely, relaxing- experience but is this possible with* young children in tow? Their botanical interest consists of suddcn. wide- eyed admiration, a sniff or two and maybe the odd pull, the whole exercise. lasting no more than a fcw minutes. The designers - of Cullen Gardens at Whitby, Ontario, must have loved children for thcy have turned their floral paradise into an unforget- table dclight that is truiy for both young and old. As visitors enter the grounds, they stand at a high point overlooking the pond and 20 ha<50 acres) of rolling knoils and fiower beds with a backdrop of talt trees. The Gardens map directs them to their left and down, past innumberable flowers, to the pond where swans, geese and ducks frolie and feed. A first treat for children is the miniature county fair grounds at the northern end of the property. Tiny boys and girls ride the ferris wheel, cable car, merry-go-round and other rides in this Lillipu- tian playground. Then, there is the first of two covered bridges and the peacocks' den 'plus,1 as ex- pected, more flowers. The se- cond covercd bridge is a favourite of photographers. There is a good view of the pond and its aquatic birds from it. Just past the bridge, to the left, are the open-air stage and semi-circular seating ar- rangement built into the hiliside. -Music programs, fashion shows and' other forms of entertainment are breast. The crested head seems large in comparison to the body, gîving the kingfisher a top-heavy look. But it is the femnale which also sports a tan-colout-ed watst- band, making this one of the few birds where the maie shows less colouration. The species name for the- belted kingfisher is alcyon, derived from the Greek mythîcal figure'Alcyone. who was transformed into a kingfisher. One of a worid- wide family of kingfishers, the belted variety ranges over most of North America, always in close proximity to watcr. The kîngfisher's diet is mainly small fish, which it captures underwater with a magnificent splash. Kingfishcrs often hunt from their perch, diving obliquely into the stream when they catch sîght of prey. They can aiso hover in the air 20-40 feet above water, spiralling downwards to spear a fish or tadpoie with their heavy bill. A kingfisher chooses a stecpiy sloping bank for its nest site. A smail burrow from 3-7 feet long is cx- cavatcd, using the heaving bill for a shovel and the feet to move the, soul. Depending on the type of soil, this pro- cess can take from three days to three weeks. Six or seven young are hatched in this horizonall burrow, com- pleting the life cycle of this mnost unusual bird. offered periodically. On top of the hfli, the lookout- is a good resting place and more pictures are often taken from here. By -this time, most young childrcn try to tear their parents away fromn an en- joyable visit in order to go home but--and this is where, the planners showed their astuteness--the miniature village just begs to bc en- joyed. Suddenly, no one is tired any longer. The 100 miniature buildings (1/12 scale), tiny cars and iittle peo- ple just fascinate children.ý Parents will appreciate iearnî ng ail the models are ex- act replicas of exisiting buildings. Alil the fuil-scale originals are in southern On- tario and most of them tin the immediate area of Whitby, Cobourg and Toronto. There are two churches, two farmas with animais, a school, a moving anid tooting train, a residential section, a business district and even a burning house. The firemen and their equipmcent -have cverything under control andi the chiidren may rest assureti: there are no casualties. After a wh;ie, it is the parents who are hoping for an occasion to cali it a day, but what a day! 1The Gardens are a year- round attraction: 50,000) bulbs in the spring-, 10,000 roses in summer, Ontario's largest mium display i the fait and a chance to cross- country ski in winter. The dining room with a view specializes in roast beef and there is a snack bar for those in a hurry. The gift shop offers the usual, souvenirs plus plants, garden tools and an extensive selec- tion of miniature, furniture. Cuilen Gardens is a mere haîf-hour drive from Toron- to. Just drive east on Highway 401 till you'reach Highway 12. Drive north on 12 for 5 km (3 miles)- then turn lieft at the Taunton Road traffie ights. The Gardens are right there on your right. Keep your eyes open for the tourist information office as you drive on Highway 12. It is on your left. Whiie in the area, why flot sec Parkwood, the estate of the late Colonel R.S. MIcLaughlin, former presi- dent of General Motors- of Canada and vice-president of General Mortors Corp. Whcn he died in 1972, in his IOlst. year, his estate was opened to the public. The beautiful 40-roomn mansion is filled with priceless antiques and pain- tings. It was planned by the same architects who designed Canada's Parliaments Buildings in Ott awa. Park-wood Gardens, give hectares (l2acres) of groom- cd lawns, manictured shrubs and remnarkable flower dispiay, is a restful oasis in a busy city of nearly 140,000, 'Oshawa, adjacent to, Whitby. The mansion is open to visitors year round while the gardens are open during the biooming season except for the anniual chrysýanthcumum show in mid-November. For more information on Canadian vacations, contact the Caniadian Governmcnt Office of Tourisxn, Ottawa KIA 0H6, Canada. N' wo c A L M. ENIQUT eM ÎJ. . ........ . ejýd Efid ff u SAVE $11 M Kemn Law LustreLae REG.$28mgai,. sale $[<u SAVE $13PIA. E4TrO emG (Alkýyd Semi-GloesMLam Enamel) I BEG. S3299gaRi sale$199 SAVE $13GAEne) FB ! Kem-Velve-t f(A]yd -Fa nml PZI. $ 329'giSaeE)1 "9How to paint imteror surfaoesbookiet WVe're close to yrAur home>- ROLPH HARDWARE (Dominion) ~gPhono 983-5207 -_ - -