Guess who came for dinner? Ah, spring! There’s nothing better than the smell of leaves bursting, birds sing- ing and all kinds of critters - racoons, skunks and bears, making their way out of hibernation to enjoy the warm spring sun beating down. At least that was the experience of the Compton family in late March when their Utica home was visited by a large, black bear. According to Nancy Compton, the first sighting of the bear was about 8 p.m. one night when she went to put some recycling into their bin. “I heard something run across the front porch and thought it sounded a bit too heavy footed for a raccoon,” she recalled. After hearing her husband Ron yell out, “bear,” she ran into the house, unaware that the large predator had been right around the cor- ner from where she was standing. The bear, estimated to weigh about 300 lbs, took off, but returned about 10 minutes later, and continued to lick sunflower seeds off the deck. Two nights later, while Nancy was talking on the phone to her sister the bear returned. This time he licked the remains of any bird seed it could find off the deck and foraged around on the ground for awhile before leaving. Since then the bear has returned a couple of times, scav- enging through the office dumpster. Since the sightings, the Comptons have contacted animal control and reported the sightings to the Ministry of Natural Resources and are taking necessary precautions to keep the bear from hanging around. The MNR has a ‘bear wise program’ which teaches people about black bears as well as things they must do to keep bears away from ur- ban and semi-urban areas. Some of these include learning what attracts bears and keeping your property clear of garbage and things that will attract them. FULL SERVICE MARINA * Covered & Open Boat Slips Your hosts Frank & Connie available. Water and Hydro + Boat Repair + Fishing Boat Rentals * Mechanic on site for Boat & Motor Repairs + Boat Launch * Snack Bar BREE Es BOA OATES * Fishing Equipment Le ENCE! FOR «Boaters Operator licences NSW SET? SIZES) * Minnows & Worms 20 FOCUS - MAY 2010 + Open & Covered Boat Storage Number of leaf and yard waste picku increased to 24 The Region of Durham has developed a transition strategy for 2010 to stand- ardize the leaf and yard waste collection service for the northern townships of Scugog, Uxbridge and Brock. Please note - use only Kraft paper bags or open top reusable containers for curbside collection. Under the new service schedule, resi- dents will be provided with 24 seasonal collection weeks for leaf and yard waste, which is Durham Region's standard. Leaf and yard waste will be increasing from 10 to 24 collection weeks this year. The 14 new collections will be scheduled during the weeks of: + May 10 and 24 + June 1 + July 26 + August 9 + September 6 * October 4, 11 and 25 + November 8 and 22 + First week of December Leaf and yard waste will be collected on regular collection days, (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday) during the above new scheduled weeks. 30 minutes to Lindsay via the Trent Canal Scugog | gland Marina} 495 Carnegie Beach Road Port Pes 905-985-8200 ww.scugogislandmarina.ca