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4- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday September 6, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Live your dream. Your RRIF to a LP UNLOCK your RRSP to your Dollars or RRIFpocket, Homemade solution could cut harbour dredging costs By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Andrew Blanchard of IPC Securities Corporation invites you to join us for this insightful breakfast event. 30 Date: Thursday, September 25th at 9:3 AM Location: Harbour Lighthouse Banquet and Conference Centre, Bronte RSVP: Space is limited. Call today to reserve your seating! This informative seminar will only be of interest to people with total portfolios of $500,000 or more. HEAR ANDREW'S TOP TEN BOTTOM PICKS FOR 2009! THE PRODUCERS OF ABBAMANIA, STAYIN' ALIVE, SOLITARY MAN AND ELVIS, THE WAY IT WAS It's part boat, part crane and it just might be the thing to save the Town of Oakville millions on harbour dredging. Town councillors were treated to a demonstration of the AquaRake at Bronte Harbour on Thursday. The device, designed and built by the Oakville company Erectoweld, essentially works like a steam shovel that can pick up debris on the harbour bottom. "This one will reach 12-feet down," said Frank Bollinger, president of Erectoweld, who was present for the demonstration. "They would use a small barge, that would be custom built for this, and they would dump the material that they dig out into the barge. The barge would be bottom unloading, so when it's full, they would take it over to the travel-lift, lift it with the travel-lift, a dump truck would go underneath and the barge would be unloaded." The build up of silt at the bottom of Oakville's harbours is a major problem that must be dealt with every seven or eight years. To not remove the silt means the harbour runs the risk of becoming too shallow to be used, however, as Bronte Harbour Master Robert MacKay points out the current process is not cheap. "We bring in a big dredger and they basically work all winter," he said. "The last time was at a cost of $1.3 million." Bollinger noted the AquaRake demonstrated on Thursday could be purchased for less that $200,000,s although the Town is also exploring the possibility of renting or contracting the device when needed. "It sure works," said Ward 1 Councillor Ralph Robinson, as he watched the AquaRake in action. Besides dredging the harbour, Robinson also sees potential for the AquaRake to be used to com- LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER HANDS-ON TEST: Oakville Habour Master Robert MacKay, behind operator) gets a bird's-eye view of Erectoweld's AquaRake at Bronte Harbour on Thursday. Besides dredging up silt settlement from the harbour bottom, it can also remove debris, such as the log and shopping cart pictured here. bat Oakville's coastline algae problem. "We did try the mechanical equipment a few years ago, but it was expensive and it didn't work too well. We're taking it out by hand now with pitchforks and such, but it comes back in," he said. "Now we have this new potential piece of equipment that might very well be the answer, I don't know. I am interested and it seems to work well." As the councillor watched the device pulled shovelful after shovelful of dark muddy silt from the depths of the harbour. At one point it accidentally grabbed hold of a submerged shopping cart and log, which it lifted into the air in a display of its power. While the demonstration was impressive Robinson voiced concerns about the small size of the AquaRake's shovel, which he feared would take too long to dredge the entire harbour. Bollinger pointed out that larger versions of the AquaRake can be built. Having seen what the AquaRake can do, councillors will continue to mull over whether it is right for use in Oakville and if it is, in what capacity the Town will use it. Erectoweld has been making devices such as the AquaRake since 1982 and has shipped them to 32 countries around the world. Bollinger noted that the device demonstrated in Oakville on Thursday has already been sold to Singapore, with a similar model sold to Mexico only months earlier. Deadline nears for Sport Recognition Awards Do you know someone who deserves recognition for their contributions within the Oakville sports community? Nominations are now being accepted for the 2008 Sport Recognition Awards hosted by the Oakville Sports Council in partnership with the Town of Oakville. The 2008 Sport Recognition Awards recognize and celebrate excellence, perseverance and dedication of Oakville athletes, teams, coaches and volunteers in the areas of sport development, performance and contribution to the community from the May 1, 2007 through to April 30, 2008 sports cycle. Member organizations or associations of the Oakville Sports Council are invited to submit nominations by Friday, Sept. 12. A complete listing of the award categories, criteria and nomination forms are available on the Oakville Sports Council website at www.oakvillesportscouncil.ca. The Sport Recognition Awards will be presented at reception at Town Hall on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 2-4 p.m. For more information, visit www.oakvillesportscouncil.ca or contact Cathy Watt at cwatt5@cogeco.ca or Louise Veres at 905-8456601, ext. 3154. OAKVILLE CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS FRIDAY, OCT 3/08 - 8:00PM · BOX OFFICE 905-815-2021