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2 - Orono Weekly Times 1937 - 2012 · Celebrating 75 Year Subscriptions $42.86 + $2.14 GST = $45.00 per year. No Refunds. Publishing 48 issues annually at the office of publication. "We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund for our publishing activities." Wednesday, October 31, 2012 ORONO WEEKLY TIMES - 5310 Main St., P.O. Box 209, Orono, ON L0B 1M0 E-mail: oronotimes@rogers.com or Phone/Fax: 905-983-5301 www.oronoweeklytimes.com Publisher/Editor Margaret Zwart Production and Display Advertising - Roxanne Johnston Classified/Sports - Christopher W. Brown The Orono Weekly Times welcomes letters to the editor on subjects of interest to our readers. Opinions expressed to the editor and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Orono Weekly Times. Letters must be signed and contain the address and phone number of the writer. Any letter considered unsuitable will not be acknowledged or returned. We reserve the right to edit for length, libel and slander. If your retail or classified ad appears for the first time, please check carefully. Notice of an error must be given before the next issue goes to print. The Orono Weekly Times will not be responsible for the loss or damage of such items. Starting a new era The Orono Times has been celebrating its 75th anniversary all this year and as part of a new way of bringing you all the news that's fit to print, as well as looking for an opportunity to bring the Newcastle edition to you right from the heart of Newcastle, the staff has been working hard. When the storm knocked out power to Orono and the surrounding area this week the staff at the Times had to find a new home quickly to continue its unbroken record of getting the news out on time. Thanks to the generosity of Ann Harley at A Gift of Art the Times staff was able to do both. It isn't until Mother Nature reminds us of the labour saving devices we have by taking them away that we realize what life must have been like before we had them. The most modern computer in the world becomes an expensive paperweight if the 80 year old maple on the next street over is toppled by a storm and takes the power lines with it. That's bad news for the oldest newspaper in Clarington as writing out the whole paper with pen and ink went out with the Gutenberg Bible. It isn't just computers that are lost to a power outage. Anyone who relies on an electric pump to keep their basement dry or a reliable power supply to run a life saving device, knows uninterruptable power is invaluable. Durham Region is not short of power options. The newest form of power being sold to Durham Region is Covanta's EFW plant, due to open its furnace doors in 2014 and supported by Larry O'Connor, the Durham Riding NDP candidate for Bev Oda's job. Along with Ontario Power Generation's nuclear power plants and the wind and solar options laid before the tax payers of Durham Region the future should look bright, if somewhat expensive. Each big storm that comes, makes the evidence of global warming more compelling. Stakeholders are running faster towards renewable energy sources, but here is the problem; as long as overhead cable is used to transmit power from whatever source it originates to the power grid outages are always a threat As Newcastle has grown and the new build has crept inexorably through the community a new strategy for power would have been a bonus. In 50 years, even with the technologies available today, new homes could be built that are totally energy self reliant, taking them off the grid and alleviating the danger of being left sitting in the dark . This may seem like a daydream, but with technologies like geothermal heating, solar panels that are lighter, cheaper and more efficient and windmills that can fit in an average back yard rather than the industrial wind turbines that loom over the landscape, the sources of energy are there to be used. Tied to energy efficient materials for dry wall, roofing, insulation, windows and doors, to name just a few, there could be enough energy savings to keep an average home running even through a blackout. The cost of these kinds of forward thinking policies is no doubt too much for most politicians to contemplate while oil, gas, nuclear and coal sources are still readily available and easier to make pay than the newer, greener technologies, but if you lived through the blackout of 2003, and sat in darkness again this week you might feel it is time to start to examine the real cost of such power interruptions more closely. It can't be more financially punishing than the outgoing Ontario Liberals' $13 million dollar and counting tab for the cancellation of not one but two gas fired power plants in Oakville and Mississauga after the complaints from the Liberal voting "not in my back yard" residents of both cities. Perhaps a less expensive and more down to earth solution for the problem of vulnerable power transmission lines is to find a way to engineer underground pipelines through which the cables can be laid, with inspection hatches that prevent the need for hydro workers to risk life and limb in a cherry picker every time a transformer fails. Of course following through on any of these options would mean a new era in energy planning and would need major buy-in from government, land developers and the public, something that in the past has been fraught with political in-fighting, greed and Nimbyism, but if an old lady like the Orono Times can shake things up and make a change after 75 years it should not be beyond Canadians to create a world where we all have access to our own power grid. `No Treat' Way to go Wendy! To The Editor: May, 2011 I was diagnsosed with breast cancer. Treatment is just now completed. I visited our library frequently to obtain chewing gum for my mind in the form of movies. I live just down the street from the library but more often than not I would drive to the library for health reasons. Getting out of the car, the parking lot muck was lost from my shoes on the lawn or if I was ambitious on the sidewalk. On my way back to the car the muck came off my shoes on my car mats. I didn't like it and mumbled to myself most of those occasions. I was encouraged by Councillor Wendy Partner's push to see the parking lot paved for those of us using the parking lot. Thank you Wendy. Cheryl Reid Orono Resident Opinion I want to tell you about Saturday, October 27th when I along with 60 other special needs kids became athletes for a day. We participated in the Durham Regional Police Children's Games held at the Pickering Recreation Complex. When I got there I signed in and got my shirt for my team. I was on the navy blue "Patrol" team. The Pickering Concert Band played music for the opening ceremonies (my Aunt Cindy is a flute player in the band,) and important people ­ police, politicians and actor Neil Crone spoke to us and welcomed us to the Games. They lit the flames and the games began. We played wheelchair rugby, curling, bowling, golfing, basketball, parachute games, obstacle courses and my favourite -- Moon Ball. My police friend Bernie Kirck who I know from Orono hockey was helping me with the Moon Ball. My cousins Leona and Christina and my friend Linda P. came to cheer me on! The people on my team were Margaret, Henna, Emma, Julia, Daniella, Maddie and Andrew. We had Keith Qualtrough a great time! I felt happy and proud. When the games were over we had a delicious pizza lunch. The cupcakes were yummy too. Police band "Heat" played loud, good music. Hockey players from the Pickering Panthers were helping out too. I got a medal for being such a good athlete. The last things that happened were; we all blew out the flame for the Games and then I won a Toronto Maple Leafs Jersey! What a great day! Thanks Durham Regional Police!