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Oroo Weky'is. Wedneday February 25. 1998 -7 )mm Regional tax Ievy going Up, but by' how much? Well there Is now no doubt that spring is on ils way and perhaps. as could be recorded by the calendar, a couple of weeks early. And how do I tell this. 0f course by the birds and a well organlzed frlend back Leskard way. A phone caîl Monday from Royal Lee informns us that two male Redwings have appeared aI mheir place and according to records kept by bis wlfe, Ihey are two weeks earller from thal. of other years. Indeed Redwlngs are one of the first 10 return in mhe early spding along wth such as the Horned Larks passlng througb the area. The female Redwlngs arrive much later in the spring but when they arrive Itis in-mass'. Now that I have the opening of spring cleared Up 1 could move on to reports of Wild Turkeys appearlng on the west side of the Town LUne north of Taunton Road and just north of Dixon Road. They have been in Ibis area for over a couple of years and our last report was a count over thirty by Robbie Robinson. Indeed they are quite a slzed bird and fasî-of-foot. 5h11l a number of reports of Common Redpoles comlng 10 feeders of which ours could be included. Like the hosî of American Goldflncb they do appear at irregular intervals. Being in Niagara Falls over the past week-end I did take the opportunity of doing some birding. The emphasis was bo be above the falîs where often large rafts of ducks can be sighted. There were no rafts of ducks but a fellow birder directed that I try further west along the Niagara Parkway. Sure enougli ducks were present and with roadside drive-offs' from the Parkway there were good opportunities for sightings. Common Goldeneves were in abundance along witb the 11111e Bufflehead. They are stili playing their bead antUcs during the mating season. These ducks can been seen offshore along Lake Ontario. There were also Lesser and Greater Scaup along with the colourful Red- Breasted Merganser and Common Mergansers. One small raft contained a goodly number of Canvasbacks and Redheads that are only seen in this a rea durlng migration. A pair of Gadwalls and a pair of Mallards were also found along the shoreline., There silîl are a lot of ducks tb add 10 ithe list but that's later in the spring with a couple of trips Int Presquile Provincial Park. As far as nature, is concerned I could add a white Black Squirrel, no doubt an Abino, seen whlle drivlng along the Parkway. And speakdng of squlrrels I dld report last fal that a Red Squirrel or Squlrrels bad packed away -a bountiful, abundance of Scotch Pine cones in every crack and cranny of a brush pile back of the house. Walking through the plantation earlier Ibis week I readily noticed that the larder bas been greatly reduced with bucks of scallings remaining. 5h11l some cones left. Il really was unbellevable the number of cones packed away in the brush pile. Someone was certainly a good provider. Pressure mounits for Environmeftlti Town Council beard from two delegations at Monday night's meeting calling for among other things, a ful Environment Impact Study (EIS) in regards t0 the Lisbman, Proposai. Dave Lawson said be was speaking on behaîf of anglers and bad several questions he wanted answers 10. He wanted to know bow many counicillors have taken the time t0 contact the Ministry of Natural Resources 10 receive their com- ments on the proposal? Lawson, imself a member of the Wihinot Creek Nature Area Committee, asked, "As a resi- dent of Ibis municipality, 1 must ask myself is Ibis nature area go ing 10 be a w,,aste of tax- payers mnoney and lime if developmients sucli as this are allowed 10 take place upstream. mpact Study I strongly feel Ihat before any- more decisions are made regarding Ibis application an EIS should be undertaken." Lawson also had a copy of letter from. a Mr. Tim Rance, Area Biologist witb the Ministry of Natural Resources. Mr. Rance states in that letter Ibat information from surveys done on the Wilmot Creek from Taunton Rd. 10 the next concession north indicate that a very large number of juvenile salmonids are inbabiting Ibis section of stream, s0 il would be considered nursery habitat. As sucb, the letter states, il is a very critical component of the fish habitat required 10 main- tain the productivity of Ibis watersbed. This habitat depends on good water quality. Any degradation of eithier sur- face or grownd water quality As chair of the Municipal Finance and Administration Committee, Councillor John Mutton reported that "we are stili dealing with a great deal of uncertainty" in regards to the budget. "We are looking at a late May budget", he stated. ln his Regional update, Monday niglit, Mutton told councillors that the Region's real tax levy will increase sig- nificantly due 10 funding changes to Welfare, Health Care, Day Care Assessment, could have serious impacts on this critical fish habitat, which is protected by the Federal Fisheries Act. Second, council heard from Mr. Michael Melling, counsel to Linda and Herb Gasser, and Frances and Bill Woods. In his addressto council, Melling spelled out some ques- tions bis clients had about the way the Lishman application is being handled. The concerns briefly are; the lack of an Environmental Impact Study (EIS), the need for peer review of the applicant's other studies, and the importance of requiring the applicant file a site plan control application. Melling continued by say- ing, "my clients have been con- sistent in asking Council to require the preparation of an EIS. Under s. 4.3.8 of the Officiai Plan and your own EIS implementation guidelines, an EIS is mandatory where devel- opment is proposed, 'within or adjacent 10 any natural fea- tures'. That is the very circum- stance here. The EIS is 10 be conducted by a qualified con- sultant chosen by the Municipality, and the cost is 10 be born by the applicant." Planning Director Frank Wu, had previously waived the, need for an EIS 10 be carried ouI for Ibis proposai. The fact that the Lishrnan teamn has not filed a site plan application bas Melling's clients miffed. In bis report Melling's stated, "having the site plan in front of you will give you an important tool. By giving you the power to lie down the location of buildings, septie beds, roads and parking surfaces, il will provide the means 10 ensure that develop- ment will not have an adverse impact on the natural environ- ment." In closing Melling asked that aIl the environmental and planning impacts be appropri- ately studied. "I implore you 10 ensure that Ibis happens," Melling's said, "for Ibeir sake (bis clients), for your sake, for this communitys sake and for the sake of the future genera- lions that will reap what we s0w." Council moved 10 refer the de legation's report to staff to be deait with in conjuniclion wilh the Lishman application. Social Housing, Go Transit, and other changes including the loss of revenue. The impact on the tax payer slated Mutton, "will be influ- enced by a number of facts such as the cost relating to the transfer of the download of the Who-Does-What responsibili- lies, and the metbodology used in sharing costs." The police budget and wage settlement will lalso impact the new assessment. Multon said, "we are still in the dark with respect 10 the provincial education rate, for commercial/industrial prop- erty."i "Unanswered questions such as provisions for a fund for successful assessment appeal and the amount of edu- cation tax, does not put us in a position 10 even hazard a guess about the tax rate." He went on to say "we can't even compare what Ibis years tax dollars pays for compared 10 last years. " In Mutton's opinion any guesstimate on wbIat the tax rate will be, ýoul1d be mislead- ing and premature. D urham salutes Witty Durhamn saluted one of ils own on Frlday night, February 20, and li the pro- cess raised more than $26,000. for charity. The sellout crowd of 500 including TV personalIties and local and visitlng digni- taries eacb arrived to pay tribute to retiring regional chairman Jlm Witty. Event chairman Joe Dlckson and co-chair Doug McKay handed over a $26,275. cheque bo the Jim Wltty Endowment Fund which'wll be adminlstered by the Community Foundation of Durham Region. Witîy's wife Anita and mheir 3 daugb- ters, Cheryl Loyst, Kim Richards and Andrea Cain were with mheir dad for mhe The endowment fund is yet another example of Jîm Wltty's dedication 10 improv- ing the quality of life. in Durham Reglon., Those who honoured Jlm included CFTO-TV anchor- mani Ken Shaw, local MP Dan McTeague and MPP Jlm Flaherty as well as former Metro Chairman Alan Tonks and numerous local digni- taries. The event was held aI the Pickering Recreation Complex Everyone recognizlng Witty's long and distin- guished record of service agreed that bis generous beart and engaging sense of humour is bis special gift. Cnsider a... 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