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THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2011 THE NEW TANNER 7 GRAPEVINE Medal replacement So far, the "no questions asked" for the return of 75 Irish dancing medals stolen from an Acton residence last month has not produced any results, so the family is now trying to replace them. The medals, and other valuables worth $5,000, were taken during a daylight break-in, and although there is sentimental value to jewellery and WWII memorabilia that were stolen, the victims just want the medals back. In an unusual move, Halton police agree to the no questions asked request from the victims, allowing the thief/thieves to return the medals by dropping them in a Canada Post box. After almost a month with no action, the dancer's mother is contacting dance event officials to order probably expensive replacement medals from competitions across North America. Breakfast invite For food and fellowship, local men should check out Bethel Church on the second Saturday morning of the month for the Men's Toonie Breakfast. For just $2, men can enjoy bacon, eggs, toast, coffee, and more. For more information visit www.actoncrc.com. Grinch-like behaviour The Grinch didn't steal Christmas, but for one downtown merchant it sure felt like when someone swiped a very special Christmas tree from outside of Blue Springs Spa. Sometime over Christmas weekend, a fake evergreen tree ­ a gift to owner Darlene Saunders from her late business partner's mother ­ was taken from outside the front door. "I hope they really needed that tree," Saunders said on Friday, adding it was a senseless theft that caused a lot of unnecessary hurt. After school fun Kids are invited to a Friday after-school program at the Nassagaweya Presbyterian Church, on 15 Side Road, east of Guelph Line. The programming, designed for kids four to eight and nine to 12, runs from 3:30 to 5:15 p.m. The program is also scheduled for January 14 and 21, and February 11, 18, 25. For more information call 905-854-1055 or visit www.nassagaweya. com. Town Dance The Town's popular, fully chaperoned youth dances resume on Friday, January 14 at the Acton arena/community centre. Aimed at kids in Grades six through eight, the dance runs from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Tickets, $8 each, are available at the arena. Donation milestones There could be one, and possibly two, people make their 100th blood donations at the Canadian Blood Services clinic at the Acton arena/community centre on Monday. Clinic officials said appointments for the milestone donations have been booked. The clinic runs from 4 to 8 p.m. The next clinic in Acton is at the Legion on February 10 from 2 to 7:30 p.m. To book an appointment to give blood call 1-888-236-6283. Rally fast Congrats to Acton's Peter Kocandrie, 26, who recently drove to a ninth place finish in a 48-car field at an open class, all-wheel drive car rally in Bancroft. He raced his 2004 VW Gold R32 through four stages of the 189-kilometre off-road race in two hours, three minutes and eight seconds, about 15 minutes off the checkered flag. Successful skates Approximately 280 skaters enjoyed the four-day, afterChristmas free skate at Acton arena, courtesy of the Rotary Club of Acton and the Optimist Club. From 2 to 3:20 p.m., an average of 75 people daily tried out new skates on the leisure pad, turned clean single jumps in the centre and skated around and around with various levels of skill ­ all to dance club tunes. Merrier Christmas Thanks to staff and customers of Leathertown Lumber, Christmas was much nicer than it would have been without the 62 gifts that they donated to the disadvantaged. Staff turned an in-house Christmas tradition of giving into a community event when a customer asked if they could make a donation. The gifts were distributed by the Kinette Club of Acton. Fair Board AGM The success of the last fair and challenges for this year's edition of the Acton Fall fair are on the agenda at Acton Agricultural Society's annual general meeting on Saturday, January 15 at Knox Presbyterian Church. The morning portion, beginning at 10 a.m. is open to the public and potential new members. Financial statements and the election of officers and directors will take place behind closed doors with current members after lunch. HAPPY MXII: Acton's Citizen of the Year, Ivan Kilby, ushered in the New Year by ringing the bell, with help from Pauline Barlow, at midnight during the festivities at the Acton Town Hall Centre. ­ Submitted photo Rediscovering the sacred balance By David Suzuki with Faisal Moola We've come through the first decade of the 21st century, and it seemed appropriate to revisit a chapter marking the new millennium in my book, The Sacred Balance. The following is from the final chapter. Humanity is an infant species, newly evolved from life's web. And what a magnificent species we are; we can look out and feel spiritually uplifted by the beauty of a forested valley or an icecoated Arctic mountain, we are overwhelmed with awe at the sight of the star-filled heavens, and we are filled with reverence when we enter a sacred place. In the beauty, mystery and wonder that our brain perceives and expresses, we add a special gift to the planet. But our brash exuberance over our incredible inventiveness and productivity in this century has made us forget where we belong. If we are to balance and direct our remarkable technological muscle power, we need to regain some ancient virtues: the humility to acknowledge how much we have yet to learn, the respect that will allow us to protect and restore nature, and the love that can lift our eyes to distant horizons, far beyond the next election, paycheque or stock dividend. Above all we need to reclaim our faith in ourselves as creatures of the Earth, living in harmony with all other forms of life. What a sign of maturity it would be for our species to acknowledge the profound limitations inherent in human knowledge and the destructive By David Suzuki consequences of our crude but powerful technologies. It would mark the beginning of wisdom to pay attention to ecosystems delineated by nature ­ mountain ranges, watersheds, valley bottoms, river and lake systems, wetlands ­ rather than regions determined by politics or economics. The ebb and flow of organisms ­ fish, birds, mammals, forests ­ across the Earth's expanses reflect built-in territorial rhythms that are worthy of respect. The elements that have sparked life onto this planet and continue to fuel it ­ air, water, soil, energy, biodiversity ­ are sacrosanct and should be treated as such. There is no ignominy in admitting ignorance or in confessing our inability to manage wild things, to control the forces of nature or even to grasp the cosmic forces that shape our lives. Recognizing and accepting these limitations with humility is the birth of wisdom and the beginning of hope that we will finally rediscover our place in the natural order. When we acknowledge our dependence on the same biophysical factors that support all other life-forms, believing that we have the responsibility for "managing" all of it becomes a terrible burden. But if we look at the world through the lenses of all of life together, we may recognize the origins of our destructive path and realize that we are not the "managers"; there is wisdom enough for self-man- Science Matters agement in the web of living creatures that has survived for more than 3.6 billion years. Instead of trying and failing to manage the life-support systems of the planet, we ­ each one of us ­ can manage the effect we have on those systems. Knowing how to act is the first big problem. Many people who are eager to work towards personal and public change feel increasingly baffled by the often contradictory messages from experts, as well as the mantras repeated over and over by the media. We no longer trust our innate common sense or the wisdom of our elders. At this critical juncture in our history on Earth, we are asking the wrong questions. Instead of "How do we reduce the deficit?" or "How do we carve out a niche in the global economy?" we should be asking "What is an economy for?" and "How much is enough?" What are the things in life that provide joy and happiness, peace of mind and satisfaction? Does the plethora of goods that our highproduction economy delivers so effectively provide the route to happiness and satisfaction, or do the relationships between human and nonhuman beings still form the core of the important things in life? Is the uniformity of food and other products that we now encounter everywhere on the globe an adequate substitute for the different and unexpected? We seem to have forgotten the real things that matter and must establish the real bottom line of non-negotiable needs in order to regain a balance with our surroundings.