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Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, April 3, 2002 7 Seat sale Jack Gordon's pre 1879 Massey mower seat is the featured seat at this year's annual Cast Iron Seat Collector's Spring Meet. The Annual Spring Meet will be held at the Garnet Rickard Centre in Bowmanville this Saturday, and is open to the public. About 80-90 vendors will be participating in this year's meet, which features a show and sale of seats and farm related tools in the morning followed by an afternoon auction sale. From Around Home V I was going to start this column off with something like, the weeks just seem to keep coming up and I'm back at the computer typing out "From Around Home" once more. I had second thoughts about that approach for I want the weeks to continue on and that the fingers keep finding the keys In. a somewhat somewhat unorthodox manner for typing; It has been somewhat difficult lately to decide whether it's winter or spring but hopefully spring has now come. The spring-like weather greeted some eighteen hikers hikers out to a Oak Ridges hike last Saturday being guided by Esther Allin and Don Lycett. It was a very successful successful hike held at Steven's Gulch Conservation Area off Bethesda Road south of Taunton Road. Some came from as far away as the Richmond Hill area and from north of us. All were quite pleased with the outing, tripping through the bush and some open lands. It is an interesting area. The Clarlngton Chapter has a number of hikes planned for the coming months. You are welcome to by Roy Forrestery take part. Over the past week a recheck recheck has been made of our trail of Bluebird houses and all are now ready for summer summer tenants. In total the number rests at 36 made of former boxes of Royal Lee and the some 20 along the ORTA Bluebird trail north of Concession Road 9, a kilometre kilometre west of Highway 35. On Saturday, with the help of Doug Ferguson some boxes along the Bluebird trail were relocated to a more accepted area, we hope for Bluebirds. Monday I received a call from Murray Yeo that he and his wife had visited the Bluebird trail and found a pair of Bluebirds Inspecting one of the relocated boxes. A lot has to do with the measurements of the box, the entry hole and the surrounding surrounding environment. I understand the bird likes to perch and view the surroundings surroundings before entering the box. This is true of many wildlife creatures. They don't want to openly broadcast their nesting site. A pair of crows are building a nest in the tall Scotch Pine behind the house. It seems to me they come in the back door every time. It's all a matter of sur vival. There has been some time spent on birding over the past week, the highlight being a solo trip into the Bluebird trail after the relocation relocation of some boxes and the word from Murray Yeo that he and his wife had seen Bluebirds at one of the boxes. Being alone and having just hiked over a small knoll it was a surprise to me to see a Red-Tailed Hawk who was likely feeding in some long grass. I have never been as close to a Redtail as I was to this bird. Flying off it was large and I was most taken with the red colour of the tail. In fact I checked the books when I arrived home to see if the red on a Redtail was so vivid. Two out of three books showed the colour I saw. That was enough in itself to warrant the trip. It was compounded by a Kestrel taking flight followed followed by a Sharp Shined Hawk. All came from the same area off the ground. Yes, I should have climbed the fence to see if there was reason for all three Hawks being in the same area at the same time. I suppose I do shy away from trespassing. trespassing. I'll be around again next week. A Fair and Reasonable Offer The Government of Ontario has offered OPSEU members a fair and reasonable wage offer over three years. This offer is similar to those already accepted by other Ontario public service unions. OPSEU has rejected this offer and is now on strike. The Government remains available to return to the table at any time. The Government's offer includes: An up to 10 per cent raise for all staff over a three-year contract made up of: • a 5.96 per cent raise for all staff over a three-year contract; • a one per cent raise in the first year in exchange for productivity productivity and efficiency gains; and • an overall raise of three per cent over three years for staff who are at the maximum of their salary ranges, based on performance. Some 70 per cent of OPSEU staff are currently at the maximum of their salary grid and would be eligible for this increase. In addition: • an immediate 10 per cent raise for nurses; • an immediate eight per cent raise for ambulance dispatchers; • an immediate eight per cent raise for scientists; • additional compensation to Waste and Water Treatment Operators and mechanics employed by the Ontario Clean Water Agency to recognize credentials upgrading; • an increase in shift premiums for non-correctional employees employees to 78 cents per hour for hours worked between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. to better reflect market rates; and • a one per cent pay-for-performance pool for employees who are at the maximum of their salary ranges. In addition, the Government also offers a competitive benefit and pension package. Our offer puts real money in our employees' pockets. Visit the web calculator to see what it means at www.ontarioscrvicesupdate.com and follow the links under "Employer's Offer to OPSEU". ® Ontario