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OAKVILLE BEAVER www.brantflorist.com/ob 905.639.7001 Kazdan, Solomon & D'Angelo d www.dentistoakville.com 905-842-6030 " U S I N G C O M M U N I C AT I O N TO B U I L D B E T T E R C O M M U N I T I E S " A Metroland Publication Vol. 52 No. 50 SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2009 40 Pages $1.00 (plus GST) Inside Students moonstruck by Canadian astronaut Oakville mom wins Pie-in-the-Sky Contest By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF 3 Beaver Trails Around the World 14 Partial Delivery: Lively Lawn, The Gardener, Goodlife, Dr. Green Lawn, Sears Canada HOME DELIVERY For home delivery & customer service call (905) 845-9742 Mon., Tues., & Thurs. 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., Wed. & Fri. 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. or Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. FOR NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS call (905) 845-9742 or subscribe online @ www.oakvillebeaver.com See subscription offer inside. Conditions Apply. Expires 05/1/2009 The next time someone says your suggestion is a pie-in-the-sky idea, thank them. Thinking outside of the box is not necessarily a bad thing, as demonstrated by Oakville stay-at-home mom Vicky Schutte, who has taken the top prize in an international competition hosted by the ETC Group. The first-ever Pie-in-the-Sky Contest asked for the wackiest proposals for intentionally manipulating the earth, oceans or atmosphere to help combat environmental problems like climate change. The competition attracted entries from 13 countries, but it was the Oakville woman's idea that came out on top. She proposed that climate change could be combated by re-engineering the earth's orbit. This would be accomplished by nudging the planet further from the sun and closer to Mars. By expanding the earth's orbit, Schutte suggested this would increase the distance between the earth and sun, thereby cooling the planet, as well as result in birthdays taking longer to come around. She said it is climate salvation and a fountain of youth all in one. Schutte said she is still flabbergasted by the victory, despite what the judges clearly saw as an innovative and witty proposal. "I was very surprised because I figured with it being an international contest, I had no chance at all of my silly entry winning," she said. "During my research of the solar system, I found out that the outside of the sun is hotter than the inside of the sun, which I found amazing... and the sun continues to get hotter and LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER OUT OF THIS WORLD: Vicky Schutte and her children Rick and Alexandria demonstrate her award-winning idea for the Pie-in-the-Sky Contest that would involve moving the earth farther from the sun to combat climate change. DORVAL DRIVE I See Winning page 4 $ MOPAR® ACCESSORIES 2000 IN $ OR EXTENDED SERVICE PLAN 1500 IN YOUR CHOICE OR UP TO WYECROFT RD. SPEERS RD. $ NO CHARGE OPTIONS 1250 IN OR UP TO $ BONUS CASH REBATE 1000 IN BETWEEN KERR & DOR AL TWEEN ORVAL YOUR FRIEND IN THE BUSINESS! · www.lockwoodchrysler.com Celebrating 25 years in Oakville KERR ST. TRAFALGAR R 175 WYECROFT RD. OAKVILLE 905.845.6653 QEW