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The five and one-half ton "cookie cutter' which is opening channels in the solid mat of cattails in the Wye Marsh is the beginn- ing of a management pro- gram for the marsh. Less than 1,000 acres of the Wye Marsh wetland is open water. Cookie cutter is the name given the floating machine owned by Ducks Unlimited which is chewing its way through the vegetation. Ducks Unlimited, a conservation group, is footing the bill. Next summer Ducks Unlimited will be draining the marsh, at a cost of $50,000 to $60,000. Vegeta- tion, especially grass, that depends on water, will die. The marshland isn't the responsibility of the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre but the marsh's health is of primary importance te the Centre. Director Bob Whit- tam last Friday said the Centre is very supportive of Ducks Unlimited's in- terest. '"'We're glad that Ducks Unlimited is help- ing." People walking to the end of the boardwalk, which enters the marsh at its closest point to the Cen- tre, can see water, and then can only glimpse it, only by ascending the viewing plat- form at the boardwalk's end. From the level board- walk, the marsh is covered with cattails as far as the eye can see. The cookie cutter is cut- ting a pattern of channels through the mat, linking small open ponds and opening the mat to the flow of the Wye River. Results have come quick- ly. Don Foxall, Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre facilities manager, has seen Great Blue herons, bitterns, and more ducks. He expects that the muskrat popula- tion will "explode."' The benefit of the cutting should last for five years. The cookie cutter creates a ledge between the edge of the mat and the edge of the cattails. This edge becomes a nesting area and a highway for birds and animals. 'The edge effect is a key factor," Whittam said. Ducks Unlimited employee Glenn Rogers has been cutting the curv- ing channels for a week. He will continue until ice becomes a problem. He will be back in the spring for a month. The channels he cuts are 150 to 200 feet apart. Performers in 10th and best year ever Huronia Performing Arts for Children, which is celebrating its 10th year of bringing quality program- ming for young people in- to the area, is looking at its most successful season yet. The 'A' Series (for 3-7 year olds) is already sold out, much to the pleasure of the series organizers but to the disappointment of those who still hoped to purchase tickets. "It is very difficult to say no to people who want to buy tickets," said Karen Jurmain, HPAC president, "but if the audience gets too large, the children lose contact with the per- former. In one of this year's productions where it is important for the children to participate in the action of the play, we even split the 'A' group in- to two time slots so that everyone can be involved." For those that missed getting tickets, the good news is that planning is already underway for the 88/89 season: with tickets going on sale in April '88. The first 'A' Series per- formance for this year, on Oct. 24, will be The Red Ball a multi-media puppet show by Mermaid Theatre. It will be followed later in the season with music by Sandra Beech, a play entitl- ed Not Like Us by the Carousel Players and an adaptation of Robert Munsch's stories by the Touring Players' Theatre. Monica Gaylord opens the 'B'Series (for 7 - 12 year olds) with her program en- titled A Handful of Keys. Although a concert pianist sounds a little difficult for young peole to appreciate she soon has the audience clapping, dancing, and even trying their hand at conducting. Monica shows that music is part of our everyday life, reflecting our moods and activities, and then gives us a glimp- se into the 'not so every- day' world of the concert pianist. Despite an all-time high in ticket sales for the 'B' Series, there are still some left. Other presentations in- clude the music of Tanglefoot, a participation play by the Carousel Players celebrating the 1988 Olympics, and The Fitness Show by Theatre on the Move. Tickets are $12 per person for all four performances and can be purchased at the Monica Gaylord concert or by phoning 526-3585. Single tickets are not available. A reminder to ll subscribers - Both perfor- mances are on October 24th at Ecole Secondaire Penetang Secondary School. The Red Ball begins at 11 a.m. and Monica Gaylord will per- form at 3 p.m. Dinner for 100 The approximate 100 volunteers in Victoria Har- © bour who help their com- munity are invited to a dinner. Each year the village council holds a dinner for the people who sit on village boards and commit- tees, the firefighters and baseball coaches, and all of the other people who donate time in some manner. This year the dinner will be held on Nov. 13 at the Hianiexs and Anglers Club. The twin six and one-half foot blades on the front of the boat-cut a channel six feet wide and as deep as seven feet. The blades com- plete 350 revolutions a minute when cutting. Each of the hydraulically-driven, independently operated blades are driven by 85 horsepower. One hundred and fifty feet to 200 feet an hour is normal progress. The machine at the Wye Marsh is one of two in Canada. The _ other machine is in Amherst, N.S. Normal depth of water in the marsh is six inches to eight inches. The water has been raised to two feet so that the cookie cutter can move. The blades propel the boat as well as cut. Cattails are being cut around the boardwalk to create open water around it. Management of Wye begins Cookie cutter driver Glenn Rogers is the operator of one of the two marsh half tons and on average cuts a channel seven feet wide and up to seven feet deep at the rate of 150 to 200 feet an hour. vegetation, or "cookie," cutters in Canada owned by Ducks Unlimited. The machine weighs five and one- VISIT OUR NEW MIDLAND SHOWROOM AT 299 KING STREET Draperies & Verticals At Shades you are guarranteed quality and service. Our everyday low prices are eben and for a limited time you will receive on all Verticals, Horizontals & Pleated Shades . 30"=40 oft Also when you book an appointment for a free shop-at-home consultation, at any one of our three locations, you will be entered in a draw for $500 cash There will be 4 draws of $500 over the next 6 weeks. 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