THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 1998 THE NEW TANNER 7 By MAGGIE PETRUSHEVSKY The New Tanner Regardless of whether the maple syrup season is over, producers have had a bumper year. Halton Hills resident John deJong tapped his first trees the beginning of March. "And we should have been at it before that," he says. Rick Collins of the Halton Region Conservation Au- thority (HRCA) says staff there began tapping in late February but there were days in January when the sap was running. The normal season can go three to seven weeks, he says, so this has been a long, but not extraordinary, year for syrup producers. deJong, who only made 58 litres of sap in 1997, al- ready has 70 to 75 litres done and another batch nearing completion. The HRCA like- wise, has far exceeded last year's production. "We were hearing how the ice storm did all this damage and the maple syrup crop would be down as a result," Collins says, "but that was Just hype. Most of the heavy tree damage was along the Ottawa Valley and that's not big maple syrup country. De- pending on who you talk to, up to 80 per cent of the world's syrup production is in Quebec, notably north to Quebec City. That area wasn't hit all that hard. But watch out. What do you bet there' be a big price hike as Raffle winners Joe Hickey won four To- ronto Raptor tickets and Aaron Smelsky won two To- ronto Maple Leaf tickets in the Ist Acton Boy Scouts ticket draw held on March 4. All the Scouts worked hard selling basketball and hockey tickets and Rylan Parker also received Raptor tickets for selling the most tickets in the Ww. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to those who supported the Ist Acton Boy Scouts. John deJong poses in the middle of his syrup they try to capitalize on the storm?" deJong is strictly produc- ing as a hobby. He does not have syrup for sale although the occasional friend gets a bit as a gift. Nor does he be- long to the syrup producers' association. "We just do it for the fun," he says. With only 80 to 100 trees tapped, he couldn't be- gin to collect enough sap for commercial production. Nor does he need or want to get sophisticated. "The terrain here is just too hilly to use pipelines," he says. "Besides, if I did that, I'd need to get jie other equipment too, like a pay to transfer sap from the col- lection tank to the holding tank." As an amateur, deJong says he "begged, borrowed or built" all the equipment he uses. Sap pails came from a friend who quit production. The holding tank is a milk cooler from a retiring dairy farmer. He built his own evaporator. While most of the early boiling down is done over wood culled from their production equipment. He borrowed equipment, traded syrup for other pieces, and even built some portions of the operation himself. Maggie Petrushevsy photo It's been a good year for making maple syrup own bush, deJong uses pro- pane for the final phase. "You want to have a fire you can shut off immediately the syrup comes to the right consistency," he says. "Wood won't do that for you so we use propane for that last part of the process." Pelitis on scholar list Achilles Pelitis Jr. has been appointed to the Presi- dent's list of Scholars by Dr. David D. Fry of Northwood University of Midland, Achilles achieved a Grade Point Average of 4.0 for the winter term to become a member of the select group. "I am extraordinarily pleased to recognize your worthy accomplishment. Northwood University is proud of you," the president wrote. Mazda Canada also rec- ognized the achievement of the prestigious award with a congratulatory letter. Adams RENT-ALL entered each month f STIHL ee APR 874-0529 GEORGETOWN _ proudly presents the ApaAM Great Give-A-Way ConrTEST * Any paid rental, sale or service gets you ° 334 Guelph St. location only * Draw to be held on last business day of * Winner's name will appear in local paper April's Great Give-A-Way Prize: in conjunction with Stihl Ltd. A New Stihl 017 Chain Saw ADAWM'S RENTAL * see store for detalls * iene NORTH PACIFIC Sockeye Salmon 213 q se aan Triple Fruits Jam assorted varieties 500 wi BROWNBERRY Croutons Seasoned or Caesar - 170g i VIVERE Fruit Cocktail in Syrup Product of California 796 wl & SUCCESS or CHATEAU Mushroom Pieces & Stems 234 wi GY RICH & MOIST * Cake Mix { ayy assorted flavours - 510 q | OUR BEST | Evaporated Milk regular or 2% 385 wil GLAD Cling Wrap 60m Qam.-9pm. --__ Price Check reserves the rit fo lik queties -6pm. {Normal Family Requirements 8 Shop Price Cheek Firsit! lActon (gte9 Check Foods 140 Mill Street (519) 853-0400 Prices Valid Until April 4, 1998