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6, Orodo Weekly Times, Wednesday, January 12,1983 What about an Ontario tree? Woods, Water and Wildlife By: Ron Reid - Federation of Ontario Naturalists Quick now, what's Ontario's Ontario's official flower? Almofst çveryone must recognize the trillium as our floral emblem, since its three white petals so often serve as a symbol for the provincial government. Not so many are aware that Ontario also has an official mineral, amethyst. How the Ontario Forestry Association has proposed that we become the first province province to designate an official tree, following the practice of most states south of the border. The choosing of a hew Symbol is a sensitive matter, so the OFA undertook its selection with the appropriate degree of pomp and cir cumstance. An Ontario Tree Council was formed, representing more that thirty organizations from industry groups to the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. The sole i purpose of this body was to choose one species of tree from among the 22 previously previously nominated for recommendation recommendation to the Minister of Natural Resources. On the second second ballot, after a complex series of weighted votes, the winner was decided - the White Pine. No other tree is so tied to the heritage of Ontario as the White Pine, even though the species is not hardy enough to grow in the northern reaches of the province. It was the pine that first attracted lumbermen to southern Ontario Ontario - tall straight pine for masts in the Queen's Navy, squared pine timbers floated downriver in great rafts, Dancing - Plus at Clarke High This Saturday, January 15th, an evening of dancing and entertainment will hold forth in the auditorium of Clarke High School. Every effort is being made to ensure a great success by the sponsors, sponsors, the Clarke High School Band and Choir Parents' Association and Ed. Morton. The evening is being billed as "Dancing Plus" and will feature Ed Morton's "Motif" band with music of the 30s and 40s, country, 50s rock and specialty numbers. Also in the music department department providing dance music will be the "Dixieland Debonaires' providing some swinging jazz. Shirley Campbell, Oshawa, a member of the Oshawa Little Little Theatre, Oshawa Choral Society and Sweet Charity will be presenting songs from various broadway perfor- SHOtLEY CAMPBELL > mances. Shirley has. played many star roles in musicals and Ed. Morton states they are most fortunate in being able to have Shirley perform at the Dancing Plus evening. It sounds like a great evening, evening, you better be there. The other day I heard about a scientist who is developing developing a process to convert sewage -of all things- into oil and coal. l-fis name is Trevor Bridle and he works out of what's called the Wastewater Technology Centre in Burlington. Right next door to his laboratory is Burlington,'s sewage treatment plant. So he has lots to work with. Trevor and his team of technicians use a relatively simple simple system to convert the filthy stuff into valuable filthy stuff. They heat sewage sludge to a temperature of 3Q0 Celsius in a small oxygen-free furnace. After about an hour, oil begins to flow out from a tube across to a beaker. What remains in the furnace is coal. It sounds too good to be true. But it's as simple as that. A concoction that looks worse than a witches' brew goes in and energy-giving oil and coal come out. Bridle and his associates are pretty excited about it all. And that's understandable when you consider that it costs Canadians about $ 100 million a year to dispose of sewage. "Basically," says Trevor, "we're just imitating Nature. Oil and coal were formed over centuries in the Earth's crust under great pressure with no oxygen around." The commercial application is obvious. Coal would be used to heat the sludge in a merry-go-round operation. The next step is' to get a pilot project going. Meanwhile, Bridle and.his associates are savoring the first flush of success. 1 locally sawn pine* for cabins and for early furniture, ft is this White Pine too that forms the focus of so many Group of Seven Paintings, and that shades many a rustic cabin in cottage country. Although the favoured habitat of white pine is dry sandy ridges, it can survive as well even in the water-sodden peat of a sphagnum bog. If the White Pine is endorsed endorsed as the Ontario tree, the OFA has suggested a series of activities to promote its status. Antique pine furniture, furniture, for example, might boast a special provincial tag, or schools might plant White Pines on Arbor Day to celebrate our natural heritage. If all goes well, bicentennial of Ontario's fW' major imniigration of settlers in 1984 may be the occassion for the unveiling of our new official tree. NEW POSTAGE RATES IN EFFECT AS OF... For your convenience, clip out this rate table Q for future reference. ■mil MAIL FOR DELIVERY WITHIN CANADA The following is a. selection of postage rates whiqh will apply, as of January 15th. 1983. for the delivery of Canadian and International mail. Complete information on all postage rates is available at your local post office. Special Services Certified Mail*.... Registered Mail* .. Special Delivery*. . $1.06 $1.96 $1.06 'Plus applicable postage Parcels (to 30 kg) Local Delivery (2'kg) Vancouver to Winnipeg (2 kg) Halifax to Montreal (2 kg) Ottawa to Toronto (2 kg) 1st Class . Parcel Post 1st Class , Parcel Post 1sf Class . Parcel Post 1st Class . Parcel Post $2.60 $1.38 $4.77 $1.91 $3.60 $1.70 $2.97 $1.59 Non-standard letter rate (0 - 30 g) 37$ Thüs rate applies only on metered and permit mail that does not include postal code,or meet postal standards (eg. size). All letters bearing postage stamps and all standard letters remain at 30$ until the 15th of February, when the rate will be 32$. MAIL FOR DELIVERY TO THE U.S.A. Letters, postcards and greeting cards (0-30 g) 37$ MAIL FOR DELIVERY OVERSEAS Airmail letters, aerograms and postcard^ (0 - 20 g) 64$ Unsealed greeting cards -- airmail (0 - 20 g) 48$ Unsealed.greeting cards -- surface (0 - 20 g) 37$ The following postage rat© will apply as of ' February 15th, 1983. Standard letter rate 6 . 1 st Class Letters (0-30 g) 32$ j A variety 6f rates apply to different types of mail. You can Haye complete information by contacting your local Postmaster or Sales Representative. CANADA POST CORPORATION! Canada