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"WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2001 - 7 Car seat safety clinic Ak RBS Aer Kathy Higgins, left, and Laura Bamsey were among the volunteers who donated their time last Sunday (Aug. 26) afternoon to help out at the Taylor Ford dealership in Port Perry where the Durham Regional Police Service and Durham's Car Sent Safety Commitice held a free seat inspec- tion clinic. BROOKLIN PROFILE - BY ROXANNE REVELER Brooklin Library will soon offer its fall programs Library News Brooklin Branch Library will be start- ing its new fall programs mid-September with pre-school offerings during the week and matinee movies on Saturday afternoons. We'll have all the particulars in next week's column. Until next month, the staff at the library are taking a little hiatus and there will be no programs and movies this week. Calling All Kids Brooklin Village Kids' Choir will soon be starting rehearsals for its Christmas (yes, you're seeing correctly, Christmas) presentation. To that effect, registration will be held on Tuesday, Sept. II between 6:30 and 7:45 p.m. at Brooklin Community Centre on Cassels Road East. Any local kids between the age of five and 12 are invited to strut their stuff. Practices commence Sept. 18 and are every Tuesday night thereafter from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. at the Community Centre. ~The "choir" is sponsored by Brooklin Village Church but you don't have to be a member of that church, or any church for that matter, to join in the fun. The goal is a Christmas musical pageant, a great story interspersed with song run- ning 45 minutes to an hour long and is presented to the community at large. Everything is free so join up. If you have questions call Ruth at 905-655-8320 or Cheryl at 905-655-9111. 'Legion Stuff The Brooklin Legion Branch 152 will be holding an open house on holiday Monday, Sept. 3 from 3 to 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend. On Sept. 8 live entertainment will be provided by Tom Mark, a local musician, from 3 to 7-p.m. on the patio, weather permitting. No cover, no admission, but you must be of legal age. 'The Countdown Begins The second Annual Brooklin Harvest Festival is coming to Grass Park on Saturday, Sept. 15 beginning at 10 a.m. Group '74 is looking for more vendors, community groups and displays to par- ticipate. Please call 905-655-7850 if inter- ested. There are a lot of exciting things planned for everyone. Bring the whole family. It's free and a lot of fun, so mark Sept. 15 on your calendar. CHRIS HALL/WEEKEND STAR Rural Ontario gets a $200 million economic boost Ontario Invests $200 Million in Rural Economies Rural Ontario will get a $200 million economic boost from the provincial government with the launching of phase one of the Rural Economic Development (RED) Program. This five year initiative is offered by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs as part of the Ontario Small Town and Rural (OSTAR) Initiative. It promotes and strengthens the economics of rural Ontario through: a diversified business climate; explor- ing new products and new markets; creating a climate for long-term job growth; and investing in technologies and sectors that contribute to economic development in rural Ontario. Applicants must form partnerships or alliances among individuals, busihesses, community organizations (including not-for-profit groups) and municipalities. The program will be cost shared with the provincial government. ; The following are examples of projects that could be eligible for funding from RED: no internet terminals at major tourism destinations to market local or regional tourism attractions/accommo- dations to visitors; 0 new technologies and processes for non-tradition- al uses of agricultural commodities or new ways of man- aging waste products while sustaining our environment; a new food products that promote human health and the prevention of disease; a the development of a rural region as a telecom- muting centre; a studies for business attraction and retention. | would be pleased to provide more information on this new initiative for any community group, individual, or business that is interested. Applications are also available at the OMAFRA website: www.gov.on.ca/omafra. ST. 4 Million for Durham College in Touch 010) 0010 0 BI HOL0) PD 117053 58 0108345 V2N\Y 0 DV CH A Durham College will receive $1,447,840 from the Ontario government to modernize and upgrade existing facilities. We are pleased to provide this funding to help Durham, College meet the needs of students, faculty and staff by renewing and adapting its academic facili- ties. As you may recall, last May Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced the allocation of $60 million for the .Ontario Institute of Technology, a new university at Durham College. The latest funds are to assist in the upgrading of existing buildings and facilities. The addi- tional support for Durham College comes from this year's $140 million SuperBuild Renewal initiative. Insurance Helps Farmers Facing Drought Losses The full impact of drought and heat on Ontario's crops will be determined at harvest. Howevet, disease insects, hail and lack of rain have been taking their toll on Ontario's farms this summers. AGRICORP is insuring more than 4.0 million acres for production losses. That is a 27 per cent increase since AGRICORP was founded in 1997. Crop Insurance customers can rest assured that full insurance coverage remains in effect until harvest. Customers are asked to call to report damage toll free at AGRICORP"s Customer Action Centre 1-888-247-4999 - 7am. to 7 p.m. Province to Refund Assessment Review Board Fees Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has announced that the province will refund Assessment Review Board (ARB) fees to property taxpayers who paid them, but found they did not need to follow through on the appeal process. In some cases, taxpayers filed an appeal of their assessment with the ARB in order to ensure that they met the deadline. Even if they were able to resolve their dispute with the local assessors through a "request for reconsideration," and didn't need a hearing before the board, they were still charged fees. ($50 for residential properties and $125 for commercial/industrial property). Avoiding an ARB appeal actually saves Ontario money. I'm pleased to see that the finance minister has responded decisively to ensure that taxpayers are treated fairly in this process. Owners of Historic Vehicles Can Use Old Plates Owners of vintage vehicles can now register and install licence plates issued the same year in which their vehicle was built. This completes the work that began with the passage of my Private Member's Bill (Bill 99) last last year. | expect we'll be seeing the first old plates in use on some of Ontario's historic vehicles this fall. Essentially, the owner is asked to send the plates (along with the vehicle registration permit) to -the Ministry of Transportation for authentication. Once the ministry has approved the plates, it will issue a letter that the owner must bring to the Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Office to apply for plate attachment to the specified vehicle. We would be pleased to provide more information. Please feel free to call our con- stituency office at 905-697-1501 or 1-800-661-2433.