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Pa ge 3 4 T hu rs da y, Ju ne 4 , 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a Sign up now for Summer 15th Year!...Hundreds of Campers! Another full season of fun, friendships, wacky games and wild science! INDOOR AND OUTDOOR FUN! Low Camper to Mad Scientist Ratio BIRTHDAY PARTIES TOO! www.hamilton.madscience.org hamilton@madscience.on.ca 20th Year!…Hundreds of Campers! Fourth Year in Georgetown New Eureka St. Andrews United Church, Georgetown 1 WEEK ONLY - CALL TODAY July 20 - July 24 Swimming Lessons o 1 week of 30 minute lessons (Mon-Fri) o Associated with the Lifesaving Society o Swimming Instructor Certified o Lessons conducted in my backyard pool Semi / Private $60 per Swimmer Rebecca Sherk C. (647) 280-8598 rebeccasherk@icloud.com 905-702-1203 www.GeorgetownArtExpress.com Ages: 6 - 13 and 3 - 5 years old FUN FOR ALL AGES Acrylic Painting, Drawing, Watercolour, Clay Sculpture, Mixed Media, Printmaking and more... Summer CampsGeorgetown ART EXPRESS 77 Market Street Downtown Georgetown Develop your child with dance! /StrictlyDance10 /StrictlyDance10 Dance lessons offer a number of benefits which go far beyond learning to dance. It is fun, healthy for the body and mind and is a great way to learn teamwork. 211Armstrong Avenue, Georgetown, Ontario Phone: 905-702-9728 Email: strictlydance@hotmail.com Website: www.strictlydance.ca Space is limited! Register to secure your child's spot for the fall! Visit strictlydance.ca to learn more about our studio and dance programs. OPINION A Ted Bit By Ted Brown tedbit@hotmail.com Mr. Brown goes to war in the barn There was something of an invasion at the barn the past months. First, they slipped in and stole a little grain. Okay, not a big deal-- we can all share from time to time, right? Soon after the lambs were born, I caught them sneak- ing some lamb grower. I was annoyed, like, that's stealing food from babies. I cursed a bit (under my breath of course-- the barn was full of babies ya know.) Then the action became more aggressive. They brought in their engineers. Within weeks, there were holes in the concrete floor in the barn, all with a pile of gravel outside each hole. With that amount of dirt dug up, I was beginning to wonder how big a cavern there is under the floor. Every barn has rats, but this was becoming an epidemic. I considered hiring merce- naries, you know, one of the feline types. Poor Hamish the dog was trying his best, but just wasn't fast enough. Then last week, they es- calated the action, chewing the power cord on my battery charger. Last week, I entered the feed store. "I'm declaring war on the &%^^$% rats in the barn. What do you have that is downright ruthless on those little *&!$?!!!" I know, my eye was twitch- ing, my nostrils were most cer- tainly flaring, and I sensed my blood pressure was at an all- time high. At first, the store clerk showed me the typical rat poi- son, which takes days to kick in. The rats die from hemor- rhaging inside. I bought a bait station (okay, sounds high tech, but it just means it's a plastic box that holds the bait, at $16.95.) As she started to ring it in, I commented on how it takes a long time to kill rats-- the box suggested a couple weeks. "Geez, that sounds like a long time," I said. "I wish there was a poison that was more ef- fective." "Oh, you're on a farm, aren't you?" asked the clerk. "I have just the stuff for you." She went to the 'locked cabinet', and pulled out a box. I tried to contain my excite- ment. "This is the really high pow- ered stuff," she said, "It'll take 'em out with only ONE feed- ing." I felt like I was negotiating with an illicit arms dealer mak- ing a buy in a back alley. "One feeding, you say?" "Yup, it's the 'good' stuff," she almost whispered. "We can only sell it to farmers and exterminators," I felt so powerful as I walked out to the truck. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, er.., I mean barn, I scouted the best places to set up the bait. Having a deadly weapon in one's possession can be in- timidating. I had to be care- ful that the poison wasn't set out where the domesticated animals could come in contact with it. I set it out, and then be- gan the second stage of the planned attack-- cleaning out the sheep pens. Rats love a means of getting from one side of the barn to the other undetected, and the burrowing is pretty easy in the manure. I worked at the pens, and got them cleaned out-- and returned the sheep to their pens, all freshly bedded with straw. I even took the skid steer loader to the back passageway and drew out six bucket loads of gravel. Everything put away, I took a final walk back to the pas- sageway. A new pile of gravel pushed out from the burrowing hole greeted me. I have a gut feeling this could be a very long war…