The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2010 19 SPECIAL Tel: 519-853-8530 12865, Hwy 25 www.besttiredeals.ca Acton, ON. Quality/Service/Price with 24 years experience Snow Tire Change Over - $10 per tire Includes balance and new valve Knox Presbyterian Church 44 Main St. N P.O. Box 342 Acton, Ontario L7J 2M4 (519)853-2360 In a world of change, come and worship the unchanging God. Apr 01: MAUNDY THURSDAY (Mark 14:26-31, Luke 22:39-54 Apr 04: EASTER SUNDAY 8:30 Sunrise Service 10:30 Why Do You Weep? (John 20:1-18) Apr 11: Where Are You? (John 20:19-31) Apr 18 Waiting in Galilee (John 21:1-19) Apr 24 MISSION SATURDAY 5:30 Have/Have Not Dinner 7:00 Glen Soderholm Concert Apr 25 MISSION AWARENESS SUNDAY Rev. Ian Shaw Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Everyone is invited to join us for two inspirational ecumenical events Procession of the Cross Good Friday The procession begins at Churchill Community Church at 5:30pm, winds through the downtown area and ends with a service at St. Joseph Patron of Canada. Light refreshments will follow. At each stop along the way, there will be a short scripture reading, a prayer and a verse of a hymn. Easter Sunday Sunrise Service 7:00am Churchill Community Church After the outdoor service, breakfast will be available (Free-will offering) These ecumenical events are sponsored by Acton Ministerial Association. April is Earth Month in Can- ada. It doesnt matter if the car youre driving is new or old, big or small. There are preventa- tive maintenance steps every vehicle owner can take to make sure their car is green, clean and lean this spring, summer and all year long. By following some simple preventive maintenance steps, you can help protect the environment by improving fuel consumption, which in turn saves money at the pump. Step One: Keep it Clean The products that you use to clean and care for your car should be environmentally friendly. Check the labels of items such as polishing com- pounds, engine fluids and cleaners to make sure they are recognized as truly green. Do not pour antifreeze or other engine fluids into sew- ers, on the ground or into floor drains. Bring used engine fluids to a certified recycling location for disposal. If you change your own oil, be sure to properly dispose of it as well. One litre of oil can make a slick larger than a foot- ball field! One drop of oil can pollute 25 litres of water! Never pour used oil down the drain or into the ground. Not only is it illegal, its also harmful to the environment. Changing the oil and the oil filter as recommended in the owners manual is one of the best ways to keep the engine running trouble free. Oils carrying the label Energy Conserving can reduce fuel consumption by up to 2.7 per cent compared to those without the label. Step Two: Keep your car properly tuned for optimum performance. A well-tuned engine delivers the best balance of power and fuel consumption and produces the lowest level of emissions. A 21st Century tune-up for modern vehicles includes the following system checks: battery, charging and starting; engine mechanical; powertrain control (including onboard diagnostic checks); fuel; ignition; and emissions. A proper tune-up can improve fuel consumption by an average of four per cent. Step Three: Have the spark plugs checked. A vehicle can have four, six or eight spark plugs, which fire as many as 2 million times every 1,000 kilometres. This results in a lot of heat, electrical, and chemical erosion. A dirty spark plug also causes misfiring, which wastes fuel. Step Four: Maintain the cool- ing system of your vehicle. A cooling system thermostat that causes the engine to run too cold will lower the fuel ef- ficiency of a car by as much as one or two mpg. There also are improved radiator caps on the market today that allow the cool- ing system to operate at a higher temperature before boiling over, increasing the systems effi- ciency and reducing emissions. Step Five: Watch your Tires. Improper tire maintenance causes 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 to be released into the environment annually and is estimated to cost Canadian light- duty vehicle owners almost 643 million litres of fuel per year. At 99 cents per litre for regular unleaded gasoline, that amounts to $637 million a year in wasted fuel! Tires that are not properly in- flated add rolling resistance that makes the engine work harder to move the vehicle. Tire pres- sure should be checked at least monthly, including the spare. (Operating a vehicle with tires under-inflated by 20 per cent (8psi) can reduce their life by 15,000 kms and can increase fuel consumption by up to 4 per cent.) Step Six: Green Driving Tips. Aside from maintenance, your driving plays a big role as well. Jerky and aggressive driving can increase fuel con- sumption by as much as 37 per cent and also increases wear and tear on your vehicle. Avoid sud- den starts and stops and go the speed limit. Thinking ahead, getting direc- tions and planning your errands in one trip will minimize un- necessary kilometers and will also make driving less frustrat- ing and more relaxing. 1. Only use air conditioning when necessary as it causes vehicles to burn more fuel. 2. Faster driving burns fuel more quickly. Increasing speeds from 100km/h to 120 km/h will cause a vehicle to consume about 20 per cent more fuel and contribute unnecessary CO2 to the environment. 3. Cruise control can improve fuel consumption for most driv- ers by allowing their vehicles to maintain a constant speed. 4. If you idle your car more than 10 seconds it burns more fuel than it takes to restart the engine. For the average vehicle with a 3-litre engine, every 10 minutes of idling costs over one quarter of a litre (over 1 cup) in wasted fuel. Step Seven: Go Green, Clean and Lean Visit http://www.carcare- canada.ca for a link to the free Family Road Trip Guide, which includes tips for saving gas and protecting the environment. Be Car Care and Planet Aware MSB teacher honoured for international work McKenzie-Smith Bennett (MSB) educational assist- ant Lidra Remacka visited Palestine last November to help improve the teaching system. In the process, she introduced her school to a whole new world and a bunch of new friends. Remacka travelled to the politically-fractious Mid- dle East with Sustainability Frontiers, an international alliance of sustainability and global educators dedicated to curriculum development and teaching innovation. Members of the alliance are concerned with formal and informal education, through a holistic approach, that transcends social, psycho- logical and spiritual levels. The alliance was invited by the Teacher Creativity Centre, a Palestinian, non- profit, non-governmental organization working to ensure a peaceful and se- cure environment within schools. During her 10- day visit, Remacka spoke on the need for things like environmental, peace and civics/human rights educa- tion. Everything is inter-de- pendent of each other, she said in explaining how so many issues relate to each other, creating a sort-of domino effect on society. Before she left for the West Bank city of Ram- allah, Remacka brought with her 80 student letters from her school. When she returned home, she brought with her 90 letters from stu- dents she met during her trip. Remacka helped start a penpal network that has strengthened over time and gained the support of MSB staff and, just as important- ly, the students. She hopes it broadens their global perspective and provides a bigger picture of their place in the world. One day these (students) can do something together, she said with a smile. You are global citizens. We share the same planet. Mai-Lynne, 13, said she has learned to appreciate Canada even more through the penpal network, having learned about Palestine. Im more thankful I live in Canada, the Grade 8 student said. The students have ex- changed correspondences three times so far. The letters resemble the kind of interests and subjects near and dear to students in Canada. One Palestine letter from outgoing Jihad Abed, who loves playing soc- cer and basketball, partly reads: My favourite sea- son is summer. I also like the summer vacation from school. Between October and November, its ol- ive picking season. This is where we get our olive oil. Another student, hip- hop-loving Fuhmi Zhour, wrote: the sports I enjoy are football and swimming. The subjects I take are his- tory, science, math, english and geography. MSB principal Sharon French said she loves the penpal network because it helps expose her school to the world around them and have her students connect with kids they might not normally connect with. It was an amazing ex- perience for her and its been good for our school, French explained. Were a small school and fairly isolated in our part of Hal- ton. For Lidra to bring the message of civics and re- sponsibility and character education and growth and the commitment of the en- vironment we focus on here is really important. Albania-born Remacka, a former research assistant at the International Institute for Global Education of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto, said she made the trek last November to impress upon the people the issue of inner peace and en- vironmental preservation. Im lucky I went there and saw what was going on, she said, adding she was humbled by the ex- perience. What I learned is freedom is the most im- portant thing in our life freedom in every aspect. Remackas background in education is impressive. Among her accomplish- ments is the development of a human rights education program for girls in Af- ghanistan funded by Right to Play, Toronto, in 2004. Remacka was also heavily involved as an international consultant with the Alban- ian Pedagogical Institute and Ministry of Education, particularly in the areas of integrated curriculum for Albanian students with spe- cial needs, helping prepare the integration of autistic students in the classroom. She facilitated conference and workshop sessions on civic, environmental and global education for various international organizations, government bodies and non-governmental organ- izations. Remacka, a nominee for the Ontario Premiers Award of Teaching Excel- lence in 2009-2010, said she hopes to visit Ramallah again this summer to con- tinue her work.