2 Friday, October 7, 2016brooklintowncrier.com Less than Half the Picture By Richard Bercuson The Minnow Tour A three hour tour - on a school bus. It redefines dread. The last time I travelled on one of those beasts was when I coached high school sports and it was the only affordable mode of transportation. Naturally, I sat at the front as far from the nonsense as I could get without being duct-taped to the hood and completely out of earshot. So then it came as a pleasant surprise that my SS Minnow tour of Whitby, courtesy of the town, wasn't three hours long anyway; it was barely two. The weather wasn't getting rough nor did the bus get tossed. The co-skippers, Whitby's Recreation Manager Sarah Klein and the Whitby Library's Rhonda Jessup, didn't need to muster courage after all, just loud voices. The portable PA system was wonky. Coffee and snacks I joined 30 other Whitby newbies for a pleasant Saturday morning. It began with coffee and terrific snacks, some of which could drag me from my nutrition plan (see also, "Chocolate chip cookie addiction"). At the end, when we returned to the central library, we were each given a goodie bag. Here's my view of treat bags for adults: I love 'em. I've organized a few coaching seminars and the secret to success was always providing folks toys when they left. Pens, pads, it didn't matter. So you can imagine my thrill at receiving: a tin of mints, two pencils, a portable charging device for, well, portable devices, a ticket for one free public skating session, an LED light keychain (perfect for finding late night backyard doggie-do), assorted pamphlets, and a 2017 Seniors Safety Calendar. I didn't take that last one personally because everybody got one. I learned some new things about our town. For instance, there's a 3D printer at the main library branch and you can take courses in how to use it. We stopped at the Station Gallery, an art gallery on the same lot as the Iroquois Park Sports Centre. On display that day were beautiful carvings by local artists. I'd always thought the building was a poorly attended snack stand. In fact, part of it was the Grand Funk Railway Station that was moved from its previous location at the site of the GO station across the road. Last stops We drove by the marina (420 boat slips, if you need a trivia question). We even spent some time at the Brooklin library, our last stop. I had a passing notion to invite the whole gang to my lower east side hovel for lunch. Alas, the leftover cookies beckoned instead. The most fun was watching our co-skippers do head counts, walking up the bus aisle and asking, "Is anyone missing a buddy?" Ah yes, those halcyon days of team trips… I was the only Brooklinite on board. When Sarah announced I was also the newspaper editor up here, no one seemed impressed. They'll take notice when BTC is the flagship publication of a global media empire. Oops - and Uh-oh In our Sept. 23 issue story about local dance kids going to the Dance Olympics, we erred. Braydon Tokarski trains at Katie's Dance Connection in Oshawa, not at Elite Dance Works. His choreographers Jerome Bobb and An- drew Insanally also happen to be Team Canada's choreographers. We learned after publication that a third Brooklin dancer, Melanie Stelatos, will also be dancing at the Dance Olympics, competing in the jazz, ballet and modern dance competitions. See the front page photo and short article, including the link to her gofundme web site. "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: Crystal at 416-839-0248 crystal@maudeinteriors.ca Next Issue: Friday, October 21 , 2016 Deadline: Friday, October 14, 2016 Getting kids in the game - Scotiabank Backyard Rink is back! Whitby families can once again teach their young children hockey and ringette skills thanks to the Scotiabank Backyard Rink program. This program gives parents and their children aged seven and under a safe place to practice stickhandling and skating. Nets and ice time are provided by Scotiabank's Community Hockey Sponsorship Program, patrons provide sticks, pucks and protective equipment. The program, which started in 2009, continues as a joint effort between the Town of Whitby, Scotiabank and Whitby Minor Hockey Association. From September through March, the program runs Mondays (1:30- 3:00 p.m.), Wednesdays (11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) and Fridays (11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) on Scotiabank Arena 1 at Iroquois Park Sports Centre, 500 Victoria Street West, Whitby, and on also on Wednesdays (1:00-2:30 p.m.) at Luther Vipond Memorial Arena, 67 Winchester Road East, Brooklin. September Traffic Blitz Nabbed 1,000+ A four-day traffic safety blitz in early September around Durham Region schools resulted in more than 1,000 traffic tickets being issued. The Durham Regional Police Traffic Services Branch, in conjunction with officers from all divisions, initiated a zero-tolerance traffic enforcement campaign targeting school and community safety zones during the week of September 6 to September 9, 2016. During that week, officers issued 1,071 tickets for various driving offences in and around schools, which included 600 tickets for speeding, 47 for stop sign violations, and 20 for distracted driving. The goal of the annual "In the Zone" enforcement campaign is to ensure high officer visibility and proactive enforcement in and around school zones during the first week back to school.