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................ . ........ ........... ........... ......... .................. ............ ........... Record Breaking Trees by Bili Bunting Hew big is big? How old is old? When these questions are asked about some of our North American Coniferous Trees, big is the biggest and old is the oldest, living things on earth., Coniferous trees (trees which bear their seed in cones) include our familiar "White Pine" and the ever popular Christmas tree, "Scotch Pine." However, the record holding coniferous trees de net occur in our part of the country. The record for the biggest living tree and aise fer the tallest belongs te twe Sequoia (Redweod) species. Both of these species occur in North America and both are located in Califernia. The first species called simply "«Redweod" grows along the coastal region of California, while the second species called "Giant Redwood" grows in the interior of Califomnia, along the western, siepes of the Sierra Nevadas. One specimen of coastal Redwood, located in Redwood Creek Valley CA, is believed te be the tallest tree in the world. it bas a measured height of 117.3 m (385 ft). These trees are found only along the coast and occur fromn sea level te altitudes of 900 m (3000 ft). While these trees may be the tallest they do net have as much -bulk as -their interior cousins. An interier Giant Redwood bas been measured with a beight of 99 m (325 ft). It aise had a diameter of 9 m (30 ft). The weight of thi tree is estimated at 6,000 tons, and it is believed te bc the largest living specimen in the plant kingdom. This species is Spellbound! 1 bave a spelling Cheeker, It came with my PC; it plainly marks four my revue istakes I cannet sea. I've run this poem threw ih. rm sure yeur please te ne, Its letter perfect in itfs weigb, My checker tolled me sew. Quoted by Penny Harper. Deug Brown of Bewmanvile who started driving tretters and pacers.at the age of 18 years in 1973 set a record this past Year with over 400 wins at thse track in the twelve month period. Hle is the flrst driver te amass 400 wins in ene season. It was a mater of one win for every five starts at thse gate this past year. ln that Brown is approaching 6,000 wins in bis ime at the track he is among only ten such drivers te reach that mark. His total wins in dollars and cents is reaching near $50 million . Deug Brown bas deep rMots i harness racing with a grandfather and a father, Stan, being both trainers and drivers. It has been a family tradition for the Brown's nortis of Bowmanvile. found on the western siepes of the Sierra Nevadas in central California, occurring at altitudes from 1,500 te 2,560 ni (5,000 te 8400 ft). When trees are able te attain the size of the Redwoods it follows that they must live for long perioris of time. Some of the Giant Redwoods are estimated te be 3,500 years old. You might think that would make them candidates for the tidle of "oldest living things." While this seems a reasonable assumption there is one Pine species, Bristlecomb Pine, which is even older. This species grows in six south- western states of the U.S. They are found at elevations between 3,050 and 3,350 mi (10,000 and 11,000 ft). It is a dwarf tree, and wbile it may reach heights of 14 ni (45 ft) under ideal conditions, at the highest elevations and on exposed sites, it may only reach a height of 1 ni (3 ft). The Bristlecomb pine grews very slowly and may take up te 3,000 years to reach full height. IlMeasurements of the tree's age are made by using a hand operated drill (increment bore) te remove a core of wood frem the bole of the tre. A microscope is then used te examine the coe and determine the number of annual rings, and hence its age. The oldest living specimen found se far is 4,600 years old.-This really points eut the insignificance (time wise) of human endeaveurs and human civilizations when you realize that this tree was 2,600 years old when Christ was bern and was a seedling when the pyramids of Egypt were being buüLt Major employers object to interference Major employers in Durham Region object to the possible interference by the federal government in reducing the ameunt of overtime an employee can work. A federal advisory group has said that excessive overtime in theworkplace is keeping many of the unemployed from finding a job. General Motors, Co-Steel and St. Mary's Cernent have al voiced objections to such a move. Going to court over Brock West dump The Town of Pickering is expected te be in court this year seeking the closure of the Brock West dump whicb is located within their municipality but operated by Metro Toronto. The dump is used by most municipalities iDurham Region for the disposai of their garbage. Pickering is taking Metro Toronto and the province te court Fct s0 fNiu r e Dy WB u n ti àg Hope Township to reconsider Hope Township is te recon- sider a previeus decision in which they declined te enter into a financial agreement with Port Hepe, Cobourg and Hamilton Township relating te tourism promotion. 1The Township declined a payment-of $3500.00 te the Greenway Node Steering Cern- mittee. -Mrs. Gayle Wood, chairpersen of the cemrittee, teld Hope Townsbip that tourism was worth $60 million te the ceunty and was the second largest business in the county. Deug Brown attributes bis success in 1994 te a change brought about by thse standardbred authorities ruling eut experimental sulky designs and restoring the former and familiar two-shafted sulkies. 1Brewn said the two-shafted sulky is much more comfortable and is more consistent. H1e daims the experimentals caused him back problems that took their toil. seeking the closing of the dump and $3 million ini damages. Pickering is hoping to have a trial hearing at least by May l5th, 1995. Whitby shows it can cut waste Durham region residents bave done it again. Led by the Town of Whitby, the Region recorded a dramatic reduction in waste going to the landfill sites during waste reduction week, October 16th te 22nd. Leading the pack was the Town of Whitby with a 12 percent reduction landfill waste during the week The next closest rival was the Town of Ajax with a reduction of 5.7 percent.