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Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, January 31st, 1979-5 Would grant time ) , to outside schools The executive of the Gan- araska Region Conservation Authority passed a resolution last Thursday recommending ■ to the full authority membership membership that the co-ordinator at the Forest Centre be allowed to take block bookings for the residential program at the Centre by schools outside of. the area of the Authority, These block bookings would be for a one year period but would be renewable on the condition that the program continued. A total of 18 weeks out of the 36 weeks were set aside for these bookings. This still left 18 weeks open for local area schools. Prior to making any decision decision the executive gave audience to Mr. Wm. Hubbs of Port Hope who contended it would be grossly unfair to use local tax money or government government grants to subsidize any group from outside the Ganaraska Ganaraska area who did not contribute to the authority. He said he felt outside schools Should pay the local cost of the oepration and that through this arrangement local schools could use the service free of charge. He said if this could not be tnged the program should v . closed and the funds directed to other phases of conservation.- In completing his presentation presentation Mr. Hubbs said he would like assurance that he would not read in the paper the next day that permission had been granted to book half the time to schools outside the area. Chairman Forrester said he would not want to be bound by such a'commitment.. It "was pointed out during the discussion that 18 weeks seemed feasible for use by the Northumberland and Newcastle Newcastle students and the Victoria, Victoria, Peterborough, Northumberland Northumberland and Newcastle Separate School children. Under the present volunteer basis- these schools in the present school term are using 13.5 weeks, Roy Forrester felt that if outside schools would book the .remaining 18 weeks it. then was feasible to keep the program operating. He also pointed out that the $56,000 operating cost for the Forest Centre was not totally related to the student residential program. He said $14,000 of that total went to keep the camp operating for weekend programs and having the facilities available for the winter cross country skiing arid snowmobiling programs. The chairman also said there would be problems with charging outside groups one price and those within the authorities area another price. The boundaries, he said, of the Northumberland and Newcastle and Separate School areas are not coterminous coterminous with that of the authority. This would place a school in Bowmanville or Grafton outside the Authority area, It was an agreement of all members that the Authority could not continue to operate the residential program if more use of the program was not made in the near future. The executive also agreed that the program could not be maintained solely for the outside groups. On the same evening a committee of the Northumberland Northumberland and Newcastle Board of Education were meeting to consider their possible use of the ca'mp. A sounding of the schools is to be made within. the next couple of weeks to determine interest by teachers teachers of the facilities at the Forest Centre. A further meeting of the committee is to be held. . Under present charges the centre included services of staff is rented out at an average $900.00 a week depending depending on the number of students enrolled. Food costs and the services of a cook amount to an average $20.00 per student depending on the menu. Arrangements can be made for parents Jo do the cooking reducing cost by $8.00 The winter storm of wet snow and freezing rain last Wednesday and Thursday has devastated some portions of the Ganaraska Forest northeast northeast of Orono. The greatest damage has been done in the semi-mature red pine plantations plantations where the weight of snow on the branches have broken the trees off. Many of the pine were almost to the point that they could have been harvested for poles. The forest floor in some areas is covered with debris of branches and half trees. The damage w°uld run into the tens of thousands of dollars. All the trails in the forest are strewn with fallen trees impeding snowmobiling and, cross-country skiing. A crew from the Ganaraska Forest Centre worked Saturday to clear the yellow and blue ski. trail and during this week will have the orange trail cleared "for cross-country skiing by the weekend. ,lri speaking.'with Mr. Bob Beecher ap Lindsay on Tuesday Tuesday morning he said a crew had just left to cruise the forest • and : investigate the damage in the forest. He said •they were aware of considerable considerable dama'ge but did not know the exact extent of the damage. Mr. Beecher referred to the damage in the Northumberland Northumberland Forest in 1977 where the Ministry let gome, sixteen salvage contracts to clean up the fallen trees. Ip some cases the fallen trees could be used for lumber while in other areas the fallen trees were sold for pulp. Beecher said of the sixteen contracts thirteen had been completed in 1978. Thé remaining remaining three contracts are to be retendered this year. In the areas where damage was done beyond salvage for lumber in-mate crews were used to cut the fallen trees for pulp and piled alongside the roadways. Beecher said the Ministry received 'considerable thousands thousands of dollars due to the salvage operation. He felt the same procedure would be undertaken in the Gteewska Forest and definitely, the mess would be cleaned up over the next year.