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* :Oo&wee I ines, Wednesday .J. ......7......9.8... istyear Bowmnanville BPW Club y \celebrates end of 1997 Brett Stevenson of Oshawa and Nick Haass of Solina were on skis for the first timne in their lives and were loving every minute of it. Many skiers took advan- tage of the snow and the nice weather before Christmas, to get in some holiday skiing. The second weekend in December is usually the start of the new ski season at Kirby. The Oshawa Ski Club is now in their 6lst year of operation. The club draws from Oshawa, Whitby, Peterboroughi and surround- ing area for their member- slip. A family atmosphere is promoted at the club, as well as bemng an alcohol free zone. "Parents don't have to worry about their kids here," said past president Ric Donald. Once again we have survived the rlggers of the Christmas season, a New Years and another birthday. As usual It wlll take a couple of days or possibly a couple of weeks to reduce the size of the bulge. Even six days after the festivities it Is a little tlght around the belt. We wlll survive for another celebration in 359 days. It bas been so in the past and, we hope, will be so in the future. 1 was watching a Cardinal, two days after New Years, fly up to the bird feeder. He looked at the tempting Black Sun-flower seeds and with less energy than usually just nibbled. 1 knew how it felt when you have already h-ad one too many servings of deliclous food. That Is ail in the past and we must now bound ahead into this new young 1998 year building up energy and stanilna for the big one, the year 2000. What does it hold other than a refittIng of most computers? Lets just walt and roll with the knocks and The newest craze to hit the ski siopes is sniow-boarding. A snow-board park has been developed at the club with pipes and table top jumps. Just a few finishing touches are needed, before this park will be opened to miembers. Thougli visitors are invited to ski at the club, snow-board- ing is restricted to memnbers on ly. Membership at the club is capped at 6,200, for safety reasons. Two ski schools help to keep a strong mcm- bership base. The "1 3-year- old and younger" weekend ski school lias 600 students enrolled. The Club employs close to 90 instructors, most of whom work part-time. The oldest instructor at the club is former town counicillor, Carson Elliott. Mr. Elliott punches. Enough for the above for it will come together with Uime. I have been somewhat tardy of late as far as birding is concemned but do intend to pick up tempo in the near future. One of those recent cold days - minus elghteen - 1 hiked into the bush behlnd the house to see if the birds were taklng shelter in the cedars whlch is somewhat protected from the wind. Sure enough there was a small flock of elght Chick- adees scurrylng about look- ing for natural food and lndeed out of the blast of fridged breezes. t passed through my mmid if you want to find birds you have to think like a bird. Now 1 don't need to be called a bird brain but llkely will hear the comment. Belng a stay-at-home birder of recent weeks 1 can pass along my reading of the success of the Durham Christmas Bird Count. The diehards are up shortly after 4 a.m. and continue throughout the day from the Lakefront up the lias been a ski instructor at the club for mnany vears. Two years ago, Mr Elliott took up snow-boarding and now is teaching that sport to students less than half his age. Since this picture was taken on December 24th, snow conditions have deterio- rated rapidly. As a result the ski club has been closed to preserve what snow is lefi on the hilîs. "Anything under -5 C is a good temperature for ski resorts," said current pres- ident Norm Short. "A few years ago we skied till April 19," stated Short. Interest in skiing lias dropped in recent years, but with the development of the new "carved ski" phenomena last year, Mr. Short sees a resurgence of the sport. Columbus area. The report notes a total of 91 specles which is two short of the ail-time record of 93 set in 1995. It is a concerted effort of many who are xnost famillar wlth the hotspDots for birds at this lime of season. How they differentiate between snow buntings, horned larks, Lapland longspurs and pippits is more than 1 can imagine. These birds neyer sit still that long, Hope ail had a joyous holiday season. Clarington Fire Cails The Clarington Fire Department responded to the following calîs during the period of December 15 to December 29, 1997: 1 vehicle fire; 1 chimney fire; 1 grass fire; 4 fires; 14 motor vehicles accidents; 20 medical caîls; 1 - 911 caîl; 1 assist cal: 3 alarms activations and 5 check out calîs. ITOPIAYS TO ADVERTISE The guest speaker for December was a fltting cholce for the end of the 1997 year for the Bowmanville Business and Professional Women's Club. Andrea Shaw is the Executive Director of Hearth Place, a privately funded can- cer support centre which is located at 86 Colborne St. West Oshawa. The seven let- ters in Hearth represent Hope, Encouragement, Acceptance, Reassurance, Trust, Help. Hearth Place's mission is to care for each other as we live with cancer, celebratinig the distanice from death, thus helping to alleviate the dread and fear associated with can- cer. To do this, Hearth Place focuses in three criticai areas: 1. Support is provided from one to four afternoons per week for survivors (survivors are defined as bemng cancer- free for two years). Groups for breast cancer support and caregiver and educational support (for support givers) is also avallable. 2. Wellness is provided through strategles to increase knowledge and relieve fear mncluding activities for coping with stress such as yoga, relaxation, journal writing, singing, and healing toucli. Spouses can come to Hearth Place while treatment for their spouse Is going on. 3. Resource and Education are provided about whomn to caîl, what to say, and where to go for speclfic services through staff counselling. There is also a library avail- able on the site. Hearth Place operate inde- pendently from Cancer Society, but is linked to Hospice Durhamn with coop- eration from Durhamr Access to Care. Fundraislng Is an ongoing issue at Hearth Place because the agency is pri- vately funded. Donations are always needed to continue programs and to upgrade the facilities at Hearth Place. One plan on the drawlng board is to finish the basement of the house as a private room. Building supplies and a mas- sage table are two current needs. The next meeting of the BPW Club will feature Sue Valentine, Wellness Counsellor and Renee Bos, Reflexologist and Massage Therapist, both members- of BPW in a shared presentation entitled How to Perk Up Without Golng Away. We welcome guests at our dinner meetings and invite you to j oin us on Thursday 15 January 1998 at Silks Cafe, 73 King Street West, Bowmnanville. A social time begins at 6:00 p.m. and is fol- lowed by dimner at 6:.30 p.m. The cost for a full course meal including appetizer, entree, dessert and beverage Is $20.00. For dinner reserva-, tions, please call Helen Devitt at 623-5670 by Monday 12 January. Pat Adams Choose From Our Book By Rainbow Invitations Or Have Us Design One Unique For You! Drop In Today! FROM AROUND HOME Favoudite e'Pastime Woodcrafts èý FOIX ART CLASS REGISTRATION ( Thuýrsdlay, Januiary 8* 10 a.mn. - 9 p.m. Friday, January 9* 9 a.m. - 6 p.r.( q Saturday January 10-* 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. N pN Something for everyone! ,j 5324 Main Street, Orono, Ontario j>o (905) 983-9089 P' WWL Il