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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2007 THE NEW TANNER 7 GRAPEVINE with Mike OLeary The Way I See It Drivers needed If the Red Cross doesnt re- cruit more volunteer drivers, it may have to turn down requests from people who need rides to appointments. They especially need driv- ers able to help on Monday and Friday afternoons and on Wednesday and Thursday morn- ings. Peewee power The Acton House League Hockey Associations 37th an- nual Peewee tournament billed as the oldest Peewee tourney in Ontario takes place at Acton arena this weekend. Over 250 players on 18 house and select teams will compete in three divisions be- ginning tomorrow (Friday) at 6 p.m. when the Toronto Marl- ies mascot will drop the puck in the opening game. There will be Toonie tosses at the end of each game, but no barbecue this year as new health regs require two sinks, one for hot and one for cold water. Valentine service Singer/guitarist Angela Ramsey will entertain at Bethel Christian Reformed Churchs special Val- entine service on February 4 at 6:30 p.m. Ramsey has led groups on music missions all over the world and has recorded several CDs. Admission is free, although a free offering will be accepted. Tutors needed Literacy North Halton is re- cruiting volunteer tutors for its adult literacy program. Training will be provided ideal volunteers are patient, with a good sense of humour who have several hours a week to help someone learn to read or write. Call 905-873-2200 for more information. Aesthetician coming No word who owns the new aesthetics business that will take possession of the former Inside Edge sports shop in the Sobeys plaza on February first. Gerald Asa, spokesman for plaza owner Effort Trust said he was constrained by privacy laws and could not identity the new tenant who signed a five- year lease. Asa said he presumed nail care would be part of the new business. Cord warning If you bought a six, 9 or 12-foot extension cord at a discount or dollar store, check to see if its safe. The Electrical Safety Authority is warning consumers not to use white cords that are wrapped in a green paper sleeve marked with ratings of 10A-125V-1625W 16/2 SPT-2. The cords have not been tested and there is no certification mark. The load capacity of the cords is incorrect and they could over- heat causing a fire; the cords are reverse wired and are a shock hazard. If you have one of the cords, stop using it, and call 905-712- 5364. Hometown Heroes Nominations will be accepted until April 20 for the Hometown Heroes Award that recognizes someone in the community who leads others towards a more sus- tainable future. Potential candidates include people of all ages, schools, community and service groups and non-profit organizations anyone who shares in Earth Day Canadas vision of promot- ing constructive and sustainable environmental values, actions and solutions. JUMPSTART Applications will be accepted until March 31 from families of Halton Hills children who need financial help to pay for recre- ation and sports activities. Last year, with the help of Canadian Tires Foundation for Families, the local JUMPSTART program, with partners includ- ing the Town, Region, Optimist Club and Links2Care, provided over $5,000 to help 90 children take part in programs like soc- cer, baseball, hockey, out-door programs and martial arts. Applications are available at local schools, on-line at www. haltonhills.ca and at the Cana- dian Tire store in Georgetown. Province underfunding... services in the GTA/905 regions. 2. Revise the way the Province allocates funding for health and social services across Ontario to distribute on the basis of a populations size, growth and characteristics that is, funda- mentally population-based. 3. Develop a health and social services strategy for Ontarios high-growth regions to com- plement Places to Grow, the provincial growth plan, and de- velop this strategy in consultation with the GTA/905 stakeholders, including members of the Strong Communities Coalition. To view the report Grow- i n g P a i n s : A n U r g e n t Message from the Strong Com- munities Coalition, please visit: http://www.unitedwaypeel.org/ pics/ssa/growing_pains.pdf. HAPPY NEW YEAR: Vida Winegarden and Doug Sanderson really got into the spirit of things with colourful Oriental clothes and managing to eat with chopsticks at the Acton Seniors Chinese dinner last week celebrating the Chinese New Year. Vida and Doug are both from Erin. Julie Conroy photo Something old, something new I read where the new terminal at Pearson (Toronto) Airport will be issuing biometric security passes to more than 100,000 staff. The airport authority has named the new building Terminal II, Pier F. That seems like an odd name but I was happy to see the name Terminal 1 resurrected. I remember the original Termi- nal 1 and, like its new namesake, it was considered a marvel of engineering and ergonomic vi- sion when it opened for passenger travel. The original Terminal 1 re- placed a box-like terminal located to the north near where Terminal 3 is now. That original terminal had a revolving searchlight on the roof. An early night landing aid I assume. The original Terminal 1 was such a marvel we often went there on dates. The departure gates were all glass faced and we would go there to watch the planes come and go. That was years before security concerns isolated all but passen- gers in the main concourse. There was quite a good restau- rant on the upper floor that had a breathtaking view of the departure gates and runways with their dif- ferent coloured lights. Lest you think we were all dorks please remember this was in the days when only the rich and very suc- cessful businessmen could afford air travel. Going on an airplane was a romantic and formal affair. Most people wore their Sunday best. This was a time before the explo- sion in air travel. It was a time when air travel was exciting and somewhat luxurious. Modern air travel, by comparison, is as excit- ing and luxurious as a third world bus ride. The centerpiece of the original Terminal 1 was the circular park- ing garage. Again, this was unique in the Toronto of my boyhood. I cant think of a similar structure in the city at the time. My lady friends and I would often visit the airport garage to watch the planes, dream of far away destinations and enjoy the submarine races. (If you have to ask, youre not old enough to know). I also note that as of last Tuesday (Feb. 30) Terminal 2 will also close and will be torn down starting April. I used to travel extensively (60-80% for much of the 70s) and never liked Terminal 2. I used to muse that it must have been designed by participation. Invariably my plane would be as- signed to a gate at the far west end of the terminal. To get to the luggage carousel involved what seemed like a five mile hike. Not exactly the thing to put one in a good mood when returning hot and irritable late on a Friday night. Terminal 2 always seemed to have all the ambiance of a cattle holding pen. There were dozens of check-in stations, most of them unmanned, but very few security check-ins. The result was you queued-up to get past check-in and raced to get into the security line-up. Many times that was because I had allowed just enough time to get to the airport and the smallest fender- bender threw off my schedule. I still blamed lousy design of Terminal 2. I shed no tears for its demise. The new Terminal 1 will have all sorts of security measures for pas- sengers and employees alike. These are the days we live in. For instance, to enter security areas employees will have to have a retinal scan at each door. Where I used to arrive at the airport 20-30 mins. before flight time, these days Im cutting it short if I get there 90 mins. before departure. Im just as happy I only fly occasionally these days. All in all it was a gentler time when Yorkdale was new, the 401 had four lanes and the airport parking ga- rage submarine races were running regularly. As for the new Terminal 1, Ill call it Pier F when I see a 50ft. yacht tie up to one of the gates. *** A sure sign of the times, and a stark reminder of my own mor- tality, was the death last week of Denny Doherty. Doherty was a member of the 60s folk-pop group The Mamas and The Papas. Doherty joined Mama Cass El- liot and John and Michelle Phillips in New York to form the group. Their hits included California Dreamin, Monday, Monday, Dream a Little Dream of Me, I Saw Her Again Last Night and others. Mama Cass died in 1974 of a heart attack supposedly brought on by substantial drug use. John Phillips died in 2001 leaving just Michelle. But their music lives on. I was always surprised that our children knew so many words to the old tunes. That may have been because we listened to them in our house. By the same token the girls listened to their own music with friends in their rooms and on my car radio (when they thought they could get away with it.) I believe they like the tunes because they recognized superior music and lyrics when they heard them. Thats my story and Im sticking with it. *** On a serious note, I stopped two young girls from walking out on Fairy Lake near the Boathouse last week. The girls were polite and thanked me when I explained that the ice wasnt safe. Please tell your children that, even though weve had some cold weather lately, the ice on lakes and rivers may not be solid. Just because there is a layer of snow on top, the ice below may be too thin to support weight. These days of very cold fol- lowed by warmer weather can produce dangerous ice conditions. Kids are adventurous by nature but I believe its worth your time to repeat the warnings over and over and over. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; and a ton of heart- ache and regret. Continued from page 6