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THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2006 THE NEW TANNER 19 ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE!! Energize your life with a liquid boost of essential green nutrients VITAL GREENS Nothing feels better than living life to the max! Keeping your body active and in shape by participating in our favourite sport is a vital part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Whether your sport of choice is jogging, playing soccer, shooting hoops, swinging for a home run on the baseball field or a hole-in-one on the golf course, life is better when we exercise and have fun doing it. Vital Greens contains over 40 herbs and superfoods with vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants and more. Vital Greens can help prevent food cravings and aid in maintaining a healthy pH balance of the blood. Chlorophyll has been added in Vital Greens to help soothe inflammation, plus detoxify and deodorize the body. Aloe Vera in the formula promotes a healthy digestive system. Come in and have a look at our Vital Greens and check all the ingredients and try it for yourself. Visit us every last Wednesday of the month for our customer appreciation day. A 10% discount applies to all in-store, regular priced items! Willow Lane Natural Foods 15 Willow St. S. Acton, ON L7J 1Z9 853-3051 Vitamins, Herbs, Spices and Cosmetics ????? ???????? ???????????????? ???????? ?????? Close to 300 people at- tended the Chairmans Roundtable on June 15 of this year with the dis- cussion on non-profit and voluntary agencies chal- lenges and opportunities. We are very pleased by the exceptional attendance at the forum, said Halton Regional Chairman Joyce Savoline. This turnout is indicative of the im- portance of the voluntary sector to the social health of our community. Attendees participated in 70 strategy development sessions, which addressed the funding of Haltons community agencies, the infrastructure needed to support the sector, and opportunities to create awareness of the sectors contribution to Haltons economy and quality of life. Suggested strategies in- cluded: the establishment of a central body/umbrella group; the creation of a cen- tralized resource/database for information sharing around financial and non- financial resources, training and development oppor- tunities, best practices and volunteer opportunities; raising awareness through marketing, the use of me- dia and advocacy; and achieving efficiencies via enhanced communication and collaboration amongst agencies, funders and the business community. A highlight of the forum was the keynote address by motivational speaker Ian Hill of The Chang- ing Point, who invited attendees to engage others around the work they do and emphasized the impor- tance of seeking innovative solutions to the issues con- fronting the sector. Hill, who was once an at-risk youth, issued a heartfelt thank you to the crowd, stressing the sectors cru- cial role in helping him overcome early life chal- lenges on a path to business and community success. The Roundtables work was based on consultations that included dialogues with volunteers, agencies and funders. While a plan has not been finalized, the strate- gies arising from the forum provide a solid basis for future community direc- tions. A report to Halton Council will be released in September 2006, at which time next steps and further opportunities for commu- nity involvement will be announced. Additional information about the Community Fo- rum and the work of the Roundtable is available at www.halton.ca/Volunteer- Roundtable. Roundtable creates strategy for Haltons voluntary sector I cant believe its almost the end of August, and the children, students (and par- ents) start thinking about their return to school. The children looking forward to seeing friends they havent seen over the summer. The same thing happens at the Seniors Centre, as people who go to the cottage, baby- sit grandchildren, or just enjoy being at home during the summer, start to reappear at the Centre again, ready to enjoy the activities, and renew friendships. The evening euchre on Wednesday, August 16 was well attended, and high man was Marie, high lady Pat, 2nd man Robert, 2nd lady May, low man Andy and low lady Lydia. I am sorry I didnt receive any surnames, so I think it must have been a very friendly group. I pre- sume that the next one will be the third Wednesday in September. The Centre will be closed on September 4 for Labour Day, but many of the usual events will happen during the rest of the week. The Fit and Fun class will start again on Wednesday, September 6 with gentle exercise at 9:15 a.m. and regular class at 10:15 a.m. Card players will be out in full force on Thursday, (although some avid players never stopped playing during the sum- mer). The Happy Hikers will resume (after a break during the hot months) on Friday, September 8, meet- ing at 10a.m. at the Centre and car pooling to their hike destination. We are hoping to restart Line Dancing and Yoga if there is enough interest, so come in and sign up, or call Eileen Dix if you would like more information at 519-853-0493. Fridays will see the usual sing-a-long or shuffle board in the morning followed by lunch, and then Bingo at 1:15p.m The week of September 11 to September 15 will be Open House at the Cen- tre, when we hope to meet people 55 years of age and over who are interested in seeing what we have to of- fer. Starting Monday with Tai Chi or Crafts followed in the afternoon by Carpet Bowling. If you would like more information on the Carpet Bowling call Peggy at 519-853-8691. Dont forget a new session of Watercolour Art classes begins on Wednesday at 9a.m. under the direction of well known local artist Maria Sallay. Also new this fall is an evening class on digital cameras. We have quite a few new members who joined the Centre so they can learn the art of pa- per tole picture making and scrap booking. We will have a new News- letter by then, so drop in and pick one up, and see what else is happening at the Centre during the next two months. Dont forget, on Tuesday, September 19 at 1:30p.m. Blair Lancaster will be here with an informative talk about breast cancer detec- tion, support, and treatments. This is open to everyone. We are still looking for ideas for a mascot; an entry box is sitting at the front desk. If your idea is selected you will receive a very nice gift basket. The fundraising commit- tee is very busy with the second annual Rock-a-thon which will be held at Sobeys again the year. The format is the same two rocking chairs so from Friday, September 29 at 9a.m. until 9p.m. on Saturday evening there will always be some- one rocking! If you would like to join us, or sponsor someone please get in touch with the Centre. There will be prizes and entertainment during the Rock-a-thon. If last year is anything to go by it should be lots of fun. Thinking of fun, I see the M.I.M. men are having an evening tour of Sleeman Brewery in Guelph on Mon- day, September 18. If any men are interested, there is a sign up sheet at the front desk Georgetown Seniors Cen- tre is starting an introduction to bridge and is inviting Acton members to join them. If you are interested in learning bridge, they will welcome you. More details in the new Newsletter. It starts on Thursday, Septem- ber 7 at 7p.m. Any members who cel- ebrate their birthdays in August or September are invited to the next birthday tea on Tuesday, September 12 at 2p.m. Tickets will be available shortly for the Friday, Sep- tember 15 dinner which will start at 6p.m. and feature chicken, local corn on the cob, and delicious Chudleigh Apple Blossoms. It will be restricted to members only and the entertainment will be an Italian Folk Dance group. There was no 50/50 winner this Friday. Mark Cullen, best selling author and one of Canadas most prolific garden writers, has been recruited to help broadcast information about the Canada- Ontario Environmental Farm Plan (EFP). Cullen wants gar- deners to learn about the EFP stewardship techniques used by farmers, and apply these to their own backyards. *** The Environmental Farm Plan program was created by farmers for farmers through the Ontario Farm Environ- mental Coalition (OFEC) in 1992, in partnership with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Ontario Ministry of Agricul- ture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). Since then, the program has evolved to the current Third Edition and is now offered, in various formats, throughout Canada as part of the Environment Chapter of the Agricultural Policy Framework. Since 1992, over 31,000 farmers in Ontario alone have participated in the EFP program. This represents ap- proximately two-thirds of the farmers in the province mak- ing significant investments in on-farm environmental improvements. The EFP program helps farmers adopt good steward- ship practices and many of these are applicable to the backyard gardener, says Mark Cullen. By under- standing and applying the same conservation methods many farmers use, we can all make a positive contribution to the environment. Participating farmers at- tend two full day workshops and work through up to 23 modules to evaluate the environmental risks and benefits of their individual farm operation. Based on this evaluation, they create an action plan to minimize any environmental risk and enhance the environmental benefits of their farm. A trained panel of local farm- ers peer review each action plan, and if deemed appro- priate, the farmer is eligible for cost-share funding from AAFC and OMAFRA for specific Beneficial Manage- ment Practices (BMPs). The EFP program is de- livered by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement As- sociation (OSCIA) on behalf of OFEC. Author Mark Cullen recruited to explain Farm Plan to gardeners GRACIOUS GIFT: Al Smith, left, site operations manager at Country Heritage Park, accepts the keys to a van from Carl Kennedy, who along with his wife Helen, donated it to the park, located south of Highway 401, on Tremaine Road west of Milton. Park staff will personalize the van with decal stickers and use it for the many tasks in the 80-acre park. Submitted photo