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pe wp 8 --~Scugog Citizen -- Tuesday, July 30, 1991 Homer has made himself (yes) completely at home "By Marlene Russell Our Prince Albert home has. . been the resting place for many friends (of the fing and feathered: variety) over the years. We think it's because the neighborhood cats direct the birds to our door, some- times in a state of frenzy. Our latest drop-in was a pigeon that landed late on hot, mid-July afternoon. We beliéved it to be a racer, a very tired racer. After a 24-hour respite and refreshment we tried sending the bird on the next leg of his journey but he still appeared weak and tired. 'Homer, that's our name for him, is obviously quite used to being handled and allowed those members of the family who do such things, to pick him up for inspection of the. bands on his legs. He sported two, one on each leg; one number i¢ 14534 and the other CU 90. We had no idea how to find his home and thought it would be a good 'birdie interest" item for the paper. We envisioned one tired bird united Scugog,'in a fun way, to help Homer get home. The bird hasn't exactly co-operated. The Citizen was contacted and out came John toting his camera and notepad. I'm not one of the family 'members, mentioned above, who haridles animals. well so 1 made jokes about which newspaper to line Homer's cage with when John suggested a shot of me holding the beautiful crea- ture, * A little of my fear must have rubbed off on Homer. I reached my unsteady hands into the cage, the bird flew past me and headed for a window sill. When he couldn't:get a grip, he, dropped to the ground. Quite frankly, I was losing my grip too as I trotted around the garden after Homer, not really wanting to catch him, while John followed me, his cam- era ready to shoot. What a relief when the bird flew to the roof. When I suggested getting a ladder so that John could get bis photo I think perhaps it was his turn to feel ill at ease, Did 1 hear a nervous quives in your voice, John, when you said, "We don't want to send anyone up a ladder for a photo," or was I pro- jecting my condition onto you? It was seven hours before Homer left the roof to return to his cage for food. That's when John returned to take his hard earned shot. Earlieg, this week we opened the cage to see if Homer would complete his trip. Within 10 min- utes he left, and, thank goodness, left no signs of a cat attack. We'd love to know. if he made it and where he started. If anyone out there knows how to track pigeons please write to me, ¢/o the Scugog Citizen, 36 Water St., Port Perry, LIL 1J2. Editor's Note: Early Friday morming, as this story was being completed, Marlene told the Citizen Homer had returned home: Mike Russell of Prince Albert with "Homer', the homing pigeon who doesn't want t6 go home. The bird showed up at the Prince Albert , home of Mike and Marlene and he's still there (see story for " Marlene's account of this strange visit). 7 You can buy a big, noisy dog, but... The simple instruction is easy...don't make if look easy...or buy a big, noisy dog. But that has other draw- backs. The basic premise is when a potential burglar is 'casing the jojnt'! Don't make it look easy or. quiet for them to get into your home. If-a noisy break-in is required, the ner- vous: burglar will usually go'down the street to a house that'§ easier, Juieter and faster. © _ *Side or vertical sliders by their very nature are harder to lock up tight but there are several good add-on hard- ware offerings to help do the job. This can be as easy as carefully grilling and installing a slide-in nail or bolt for when you want it 'locked'. *Basement windows are usually The Building Code is in the process of being upgraded so that all windows and doors in the future will be graded by their resistance to forced entry. Ask about this if buying new products. Remember, when making your home harder to get into, don't make it harder:to get out of in an emergency. This easy to get in through but there are| With windows and doors (the main focal points to ventry) there aré a lot of inexpensive things you can do| to make things a little more difficult for the would be intruder. *Deadbolt locks on doors are not expensive and are| time consuming to get past. If the upper portion of the renovat6r's notepad john lucyk door has glass, use a double keyed deadbolt (key operated from the 'inside as well as the outside) or the would-be burglar will just break the glass, turn the latch and walk in. *A piece of hockey stick cut to length (painted even) and laid in he track of a sliding patio door will foil most attempts except literally 'busting in through the glass...very noisy. window bar kits (removable) that are easy 10 install is very important as it can often involve the kids and older folks too. Lastly, once you tighten up your house, hide a key in an unlikely and inconvenient place gomewhere outside as you won't be able ta get in anymore if you forget your key. Just a short note here af I close. I had a dear friend tell me a story the other day of the wonderful job her husband did fixing up her laundry room. He studded up the walls very carefully, added insulation, put up the drywall and marked where the electrical box was in the *Outside, trim back bushes away from windows and doors so that it is easier to see a person standing there and install movement actuated floodlights that come on during the night if someone moves into that area. This is also a hice idea for the driveway when you come home at night. wall. A job very carefully thought out and well done. So proud of his weik, that he even painted the newly installed drywall...right over his mark for the electrical | box. Better luck next time, Larry! + Skateboarders want to use the old bowling green A group of young skate- boarders has suggested that the old bowling green on Queen Street would be a good place for the Township to build them a proper: skateboarding ONE HOUR PHOTO FINISHING _ FRAMING & CAMERA SALES Drop Off 2 Rolls of 35 mm Film PHOTOGRAPHY 4 for developing and get a 985-1415 FREE 5x7 COLOUR PRINT! a NOW OPEN Located at Perry St. betwedn the Royal Bank & L.C.B,0. -------- facility. About a dozen teen-agers trooped into the council cham- rs with boards under their arms Monday afternoon to express their concern about a proposed by-law that 'would ban the boards in the down- town. core of Port Perry. Josh Short, acting 'as spokesman. for the' group told council that if a facility were available for skateboarding, it gi : ' i LONG WEEKEND from Mon. July 29 to Saturday, August 3/91 ECIAL 12 Pack PEPSI Regular or Diet 12 -350'ml. cans plus taxes $3.99 E] would help stop their use on from the boards. streets and sidewalks. "We haven't run over any- And he said the skateboard- one yet," said Josh! ers would be willing to help police and patrol such a facili- ty, ' He said that at the moment they are forced to use the streets and sidewalks because there is no place else and they have been banned from private parking lots. The proposed by-law is a request from the Business éImprovement Area (BIA) whose members fear there "could be a serious accident on a sidewalk, and also there has been vardalism to benches , "Skateboards are easier 10 stop ° that a bicycle." - Ward 2 councillor Marilyn Pearce noted that skateboards are already banned in Township parks (fine of $100) But that hasn't stopped them and she wondered how a"ban on sidewalks and streets could be enforced. "I'm not sure if just making more rules will help," she said. Mayor Howard Hall said many other municipalities have officially banned skateboards from certain areds, Grading & Excavating Septic Sand 985-0481