The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

t 1 l The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, October 22,1997 Page 12 BIA President Says: Historic Downtown Remains The Heart of Bowmanville by Lorraine Manfredo Staff Writer With commercial development sprouting up in the cast, and simply booming in the west, the merchants whose businesses businesses arc located in the middle arc wondering where they fit in. Will historic downtown Bowmanville still be considered considered the town centre in years ahead? That's a question the Bowmanville Downtown Business Improvement Area President, Ron Hooper, is asking. He outlined his concerns concerns to the Bowmanville Rotary Club on Thursday, October 16. Shopkeepers in the downtown have watched recently as shops and services services have moved to the west end of town. The fire hall, the Canadian Tire, and the new cinemas have all set up west of Regional Road 57. Soon the LCBO, now located on Church Street, BOWMANVILLE'S THE BIG APPLE -- Ron Hooper, president of the Bowmanville Business Improvement Area, (at right) gives a fresh apple to Bowmanville Rotary Club President Val Gardiner, after promoting the. October 18th Apple Festival during a speech to club members earlier this month. The annual Apple Festival is one of four major festivals staged every year by the BIA and one of the reasons Hooper believes the downtown will continue to thrive despite an "onslaught of added commercial retail space" in the west end. . will vacate its downtown location for a spot at the new west end plaza, where construction is now underway underway on a Zellers and Loblaws. Add to this, street names such as Uptown Avc. and Clarington Blvd., plus distinctive "downtown "downtown flavor" lighting, and Hooper wonders if it all contributes to a perception that the town centre has shifted. "All this may send a message to the new residents residents of Clarington as to where the centre of downtown downtown Bowmanville is," he said. Despite his concerns, Hooper still expects the four corners at Temperance and King to remain . the hub of Bowmanville. "We have been told-' (and we hope what thçÿ say is true) that by having malls located at each'end of the downtown,' and located on the same neutral neutral corridor being King Street, then the historic downtown will benefit from the flow of traffic between the two anchors." There are other reasons for his optimism.. After negotiations with the Municipality of Clarington, the west-end developers agreed to provide provide the BIA with $250,000 for benches, garbage receptacles and strcctscape improvements, as well as funding for market market impact studies, and $10,000 per year for promotions. promotions. Since 1983, the BIA has created four major festivals festivals which draw thousands . of people to the core. They are: the Maple Festival, the Fabulous Fifties Festival, the Apple Festival, and the Christmas Moonlight Magic event which includes a tree-lighting ceremony. The BIA is also involved in many more downtown events -- from sponsoring a Concert in the Park performance this past summer to putting a float together for the Santa Claus Parade in November and co-ordinating the clean-up afterwards. The group's current focus is working with the municipality regarding a possible purchase of the old Petro Canada lot on King Street for additional customer parking, a small parkette, and perhaps an open air farmers' market, Hooper told Rotarians. Another BIA initiative has been a series of studies including a recent marketing marketing poll conducted in new subdivisions in Courticc, Wilrnof Creek and Bowmanville, on customer shopping patterns and attitudes attitudes toward the downtown, downtown, "The BIA has never opposed commercial development," Hooper stresses, so long as it was staged to population growth, so that when population population grew, then development development would proceed. Hooper said either the downtown or the new. plazas would pay the price of increased bankruptcies if they were not supported by enough residential shoppers. "In conclusion, I feel we (the DBIA) are well- positioned geographically. We are well-funded, organized organized ■ and well-established. well-established. And we are very aware of what we need to do to improve ourselves in the marketplace." AVID VOLUNTEER -- One of Bowmanville's most enthusiastic volunteers was recognized last week as "Senior of the Year!" The certificate wàs presented to Greta Brown as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations for Community Care. Greta Brown is pictured above as she receives the award from Clarington Mayor Diane Hamre and Sally Barrie, Administrator of Community Care. The awards are presented by the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture. In addition to serving as a volunteer with Community Care, Clarington's Senior of the Year also finds time to volunteer at Memorial Hospital and with the Meals on Wheels program. Her other interests include the Eastern Star, Lions Club projects, church, and bowling. Commenting on how she can find the time for so many interests, she said last week: "I guess it's because I've learned to live one day at a time and let tomorrow take care of itself." The "Senior of the Year" Award was presented last Thursday, October 16, to Greta Brown. A certificate recognizing her accomplishments was given to Greta Brown by Clarington Mayor Diane Hamre and Community Care Administrator Sally Barrie during the Community Care 20th anniversary celebrations celebrations held in the Bowmanville Lions Centre. This provincial award was presented by the Municipality of Clarington after a nomination by Clarington Community Care. Greta Brown has given her time and; efforts generously to our'community all of her life. Upon retirement at 75 years of age, she began to devote full time volunteer hours to Clarington Community Care Home Support program as an office volunteer doing reception duties. She also delivers Meals on Wheels . once a week, works at a regular monthly monthly foot clinic and finds time to visit by phone with several seniors living on their own. When not at Community Care, she can be found at Bowmanville Memorial Hospital helping out with Nevada ticket sales, regular Diabetic Clinics,, school tours, the Auxiliary viGift Shop or knitting for ihc baby : bootie project. Other Interests Her other interests include Eastern Star, Lions Club projects, church, bowling and she is: an avid Blue Jays fan. " , ' . 'Greta just recently celebrated her 85 birthday and her special day consisted of regular Meals on Wheels delivery and volunteering at the hospital. Her favourite saying is "Oh sure, I can do that". "She is truly an inspiration to all and wc are very pleased to award to her the Municipality of Clarington SENIOR OF THE YEAR award", said Community Care Administrator Sally Barrie. Check your shot on the spot! Kodak DC25 Digital Camera Point and shoot ease with a focus free lens and automatic flash. Save or delete images right in the camera. Stores up to 29 standard resoltuion photos. Bonus software included; c@pture displ@y Capture dazzling detail! Kodak DC120 Zoom Digital Camera Brilliant resolution and vibrant, living color with over one million pixel resolution 1280 x 960. Stores up to 20 shots. Review and delete shots as you take them.- j---- 3x zœm lens [dyn@mic Award-winning performance! Kodak DC50 zoom camera Advanced sensor technology delivers ultra-high resolution images 756 x 504 pixels. Built- in 5:1 zoom lens and built-in flash. Autofocus technology. Removable PCMCIA storage cards for unlimited pictures. qu@lity Produce vivid color photos Kodak inkjet Photographic quality paper Works with most popular color printers. Choice of photo weight or letter weight. Convenient, 56 count packs of 4" x 6" sheets, Kodak m digital science foto source 1 resmeiaani mesa tsmzmm mm