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12 THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2007 ROCKWOODThe Miller DANCE Proceeds to Breast Cancer Research Saturday May 26, 2007 8pm Curwins Pub Rockwood D.J. -Silent Auction - Door Prizes $10 Per person QUALIFIED TEACHERS Education Finance Plan Available from $120 per month READING WRITING MATH STUDY SKILLS HOMEWORK SUPPORT COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PREP 27 Woodlawn Rd. W. 160 Kortright Rd.W. (Hartsland Market Square) Tel: 823-5711 Fax: 823-5781 I tried everything to help my son with s chool. I wish wed tried Sylvan first. If your child is struggling in school or just not being challenged enough, call Sylvan today. Our personalized programmes and individual attention can help with reading, math, study skills and ACT or Provincial Test Prep. Why Wait? Call Today. START THE NEW YEAR OFF WITH GOOD GRADES If your child is struggling being challenged enough, FOR FALL BD RENTALS 105 Alma St. Rockwood Tel: 519-856-9571 Fax: 519-856-9657 CONST RUCTIO N & LAWN & GAR DEN EQUIPM ENT TILLERS DE-THATCHERS OVER SEEDERS and all GARDEN EQUIPMENT Looking to spruce up the yard? BD Rentals your one-stop rental shop! OPEN THIS SUND AY 9AM- 3PM In the market for a bicycle? How about a diamond ring? Wedding season, after all, is just around the corner and the County of Wellington holds its police auction at the Rockwood OPP offi ce this Saturday, May 26. The auction starts at 1 p.m. Viewing begins at 11 a.m. On the block are items seized or recovered in 2006, whose owners havent been found. If the bidding makes you hungry, theres also a bar- beque a fundraiser for the Crime Stoppers program. Items to be auctioned include: 60 Bicycles and miscel- laneous property including jewellry, tools and sporting goods. OPP Auction Saturday By Rebecca Ring Rockwoods Norm Arm- strong has a passion for pigeons. He has been raising and racing homing pigeons in Rockwood for 22 years. A member of the Guelph Rac- ing Pigeon Club, he races his flock every weekend from May to September. Amaz- ingly, the pigeons fi nd their way home to Armstrongs backyard from as far away as Grand Mere, Quebec, a 670 kilometre trip. The birds are taken to the starting point in a trailer, then released. The winners are determined using electronic clocks attached by bands to the birds legs. Coop location differences are factored in and a winner is declared. Armstrong says the birds fl y about 50 miles per hour. His birds have won several races over the years. His best year was 2002 when he won fi ve races. His proudest mo- ment was when 12 pigeons arrived at their coop over a two-minute period, which is very unusual. It all began for Armstrong in 1985. His friend Bill Wil- son, also of Rockwood, was into the hobby and Armstrong became interested. Wilson gave him some youngsters and he went home and built them a coop. He started with 20 birds and now has 130, some of which are descended from the Hogan Dynasty, which belong to Ozzie Van Harebeke, who has won the most awards in Canada. Armstrong loves his pi- geons. Its his whole life. He would set a cot up in the coop if he could, jokes wife Bev. He knows them all by number or name. He says the most important thing is to keep the coops dry and clean and maintain the heath of the fl ock. He provides one and a half as many perches as birds so nobody does without. He feeds them a mix of grains twice a day. His birds have different patterns such as blue bars or checkers, pied or white, but all are nice and shiny - with a beautiful green hue on their neck indicating a healthy condition. Armstrong keeps the gene pool varied by periodically introducing new hens. He breeds them in late February. A hen lays two eggs in three days. She and the male take turns sitting on the nest and they hatch in 18 days. Both parents produce crop milk secreted from the lining of the crop, where food is stored and digested. They feed the babies this highly nutritious milk for about five days. After that, both parents feed them regurgitated grains until the babies can eat on their own at about 25 days of age. Armstrong now has 45 babies which he will begin racing as yearlings. Nobody knows how the pigeons fi nd their way home. There are theories that they use the suns position, or have an internal compass, which follows magnetic fi elds. They also have incredible eyesight. Regardless, it is an intriguing instinct. People began racing them as a hobby in Belgium and now they race all over the world. It is a dying sport though, probably because of a lack of awareness, says Arm- strong. His own children were very interested when they were younger but, like most kids, have moved onto dif- ferent things as teenagers. He hopes they return to the hom- ing pigeons as adults. There are 21 members in the Guelph club, which meets at Marden Park every weekend. Homing Pigeons racing back to Rockwood FUTURE RACERS: These two baby pigeons will soon grow their beautiful feathers and fl y in races of up to 670kms. They are the pride and joy of Rockwoods Norm Armstrong. Rebecca Ring Photo KNOCKING OUT CANCER: A group of Rockwood women, known as the Knutty Knockers, are raising funds to end breast cancer by hosting a dance at Curwins Pub on May 26. Tickets are available at The Whistle Stop, Videoplex and Curwins. Nanci Chiassion, Jenifer Casarin, Marcia McClintock, Kimberly Rogers, and Carolyn Hill will walk in The Weekend to End Brest Cancer, benefi ting the Princess Margaret Hospital. Rebecca Ring Photo Under-12 CNC Machining 8 Band World 1 CNC goals: Jessie Keough, Patrick Scorcia, Marcus Miller, Ryan Elliott, Ryan Warrington (3). Band World goals: Matthew Grabauskas. Soccer Report To the editor; We moved to Rockwood 19 years ago from a large city. It took some getting used to. We did not have to worry about locking our doors, our six-year-old son could ride his bike up and down the streets with little worry and we tended to know each others business good and bad. This Victoria weekend, our beloved dog Jak was put outside to do his nighttime business and was spooked by fi reworks. My oldest son discovered that Jak was so scared he dug his way out of the gate leaving all his fur from his back on the gate. We were up at our trailer and got a call that he was missing all night and could not be found. We came home to discover that neighbours were out searching for him. My youngest sons friends were riding their bikes around the neighbourhood calling his name. Other neighbours were walking, riding their bikes and driving their cars around the subdivision looking for Jak. My mother had numer- ous phone calls from people saying that they saw Jak. When we came home and began searching people were stopping my husband who had his leash around his neck telling him that they saw a big brown dog and tried to catch him. Other people tried to chase him away from the highway. This story does have a happy ending. We found our dog Jak across Highway 7 exhausted and very scared, but safe and not hurt. We may have differences in this small community, but I have never felt more proud to live in Rockwood as I did today. Thank you to everyone who helped us fi nd Jak. There are only tears of happiness in this home. The Durski Family Lucky Lost Dog NOW ENROLLING FOR SUMMER