2 Friday, December 16, 2016 brooklintowncrier.com Less than Half the Picture By Richard Bercuson Preparing for the Invasion The formal preparations will be in full swing by next week, the planning already done. Baby gates. Check. We're in a bungalow. A lower floor means stairs. My son-in-law took his penchant for all things tool-related and proudly installed two gates. They're white, so the colour scheme goes with everything. However, with a toy bin, Fisher-Price push car and high chair upstairs, the decor has morphed into more daycare-ish than cozy grandparent-y. It's temporary, I keep telling myself. What a temporary it'll be. With son and family descending on us (geographically, ascending) from the U.S., we will have a few days of five additional bodies in the house. Three of them are under the age of four. When my daughter brings over her two, that'll be five - five! - kids here under four. I'm already planning naps. Twice daily, I hope. Next, a photo op of the five grandkids. One can't yet sit up. One crawls over anything and is destined to become a world-class rock climber. One sings (sort of) the hits from Frozen. Over and over and over. Another sees the world's objects as one big truck, thus putting the TV remotes in grave danger. One, the most placid, loves to hit the red button on facetime calls. The pic may wind up being her selfie. My brother and his crew will fly in from Richmond Hill at least once so we can get the entire brood in one of those charming family shots we'll look at in a few years and wonder how we managed to keep eight adults and six children still for two seconds. Perhaps adult beverages will play a role. The grainy quality will be blamed on me because I couldn't control five munchkins. Back to the house preparations. Son, wife and kiddies will occupy the lower floor. Guest room has a mattress with no box spring. It didn't survive the move. They'll have to be okay with it. Crib is stocked with cuddly little stuffed beasts. Air mattress awaits. Portable crib for le bébé has passed inspection. My functioning record player and classic albums reside in that room. Son will like them. The truck grand- kid will, too, but for the wrong reason. I'm worried for the future of the original Mr. Nobel Laureate Dylan album. Less so for the K-Tel International Hits record. The floor includes my office. Memorabilia will be stacked high on shelves. Even the most intrepid child, armed with a lasso, will have difficulty yanking down my miniature Arc de Triomphe. A bookshelf though is within easy reach. Hockey manuals and my box of BTC business cards are at risk. Guitar will be moved. Seems thin wires and toddlers aren't a good combo. Here's a question: Can one stock up on naps before a family visit, sort of like carbohydrate loading for a marathon? My best to you, dear readers and your families, for a wonderful, joyous and even restful holiday time. "Proud to be a Brooklinite" Founded in 2000 and published 24 times per year. Editor, Richard Bercuson 613-769-8629 editorofbtc@gmail.com The Brooklin Town Crier is locally owned and operated and is a publication of Appletree Graphic Design Inc. We accept advertising in good faith but do not endorse advertisers nor advertisements. All editorial submissions are subject to editing. For advertising information, contact: Marissa Campbell at 905-243-3655 Email: yeswomanbrooklin@gmail.com Next Issue: Friday, January 6, 2017 Deadline: Friday, December 30, 2016 Festive RIDE Results - Week Four DRPS completed its fourth week of the Festive R.I.D.E program, stopping more than 2,700 vehicles and charging 16 drivers with drinking and driving offences. Durham Regional Officers conducted RIDE checks in Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa, Port Perry, Uxbridge and Clarington with the following totals (the numbers in brackets reflect 2015 fourth week totals for comparison): 2,726 (1542) Vehicles stopped by R.I.D.E. 114 (132) People given Roadside Breath Tests 18 (19) People received "3 Day Suspensions" for registering a "WARN" 0 (2) Novice Driver received a 24hr Licence Suspension 16 (28) People were charged with Drinking and Driving Offences 25 (38) Criminal Code Charges 5 (6) G1 G2 / Young Driver Licence Holder Breaches of No Alcohol Condition 46 (56) Charged with various Highway Traffic Act offences 2 (2) Drug Offences After the fourth week, the Festive RIDE team has charged a total of 75 motorists for drinking and driving offences. Last year at the same time, 77 had been charged. Another 79 motorists have registered a WARN on a roadside screening device and had their driver's licence suspended for 3 days. Last year at the same time, 79 driver's had their licence suspended for registering a WARN. A complete list of those charged with Impaired/Exceed is posted on our website at www.drps.ca under Hot Topics. Note: Under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, anyone charged with a drinking and driving criminal offence will have his or her driver's licence suspended for 90 days and their vehicle impounded automatically for seven days. "Keep Everyone Safe: Don't Drink and Drive" Highway 407 Will Soon Toll for Thee The highway 407 Phase 1 eastern extension from Brock Road in Pickering to Harmony Road will cease being free as of Jan. 1, 2017. This includes highway 412 that connects the 401 to the new 407. You can see 407 toll charges by visiting the web site: https://www.407etr.com/ en/tolls/tolls/toll-calculator.html (the toll calculator currently shows $0.00 for trips east of Brock Road) The Highway 407 East Phase 2 Project will : Extend Highway 407 as a four-lane highway about 22 kilometres, from Harmony Road in Oshawa to Highway 35/115 in Clarington; Connect Highway 401 and Highway 407 with a 10-kilometre north-south, four-lane freeway numbered as Highway 418; Include freeway-to-freeway interchanges at Highway 401/Highway 418 and Highway 407/Highway 418; Include a freeway-to-freeway interchange at Highway 407/Highway 35/115; Include interchanges at: Highway 407 at Enfield Road; Highway 407 at Regional Road 57; Highway 407 at Darlington Clarke Town Line; Highway 418 at Highway 2; Highway 418 at Taunton Road (partial interchange); and Establish a supporting maintenance facility By late 2017, Highway 407 from Harmony Road to Taunton Road/Highway 418 will be open to traffic (Phase 2A). By late 2019, Highway 407 and Highway 418 will be open to traffic (Phase 2B). This Project will cost approximately $1.2 billion, which will include design, construction and Operations, Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Highway 407 and Highway 418 for 30 years after Phase 2A of the Project is open to traffic. This project is proceeding under Infrastructure Ontario's Design, Build Finance and Maintain model. Highway 407 and Highway 418 will be owned by the Government of Ontario. (http://www.407eastphase2.ca/project-overview/)