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8 - Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, November v 7, 20»? )- """v The Kendal Play , Group c X meets Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. 1 For more information call Karen at 905-983-5720. The Kendal Community The next Youth Dance will ■ also having a Chili Supper this Centre is always looking for be held Friday, November 29, year. So mark it on your calen- volunteers to help with events Admission $5/person. We are dar. - or to join one of our commitlooking commitlooking for parent volunteers to With New Year's Eve just tees. The .Centre is for the entire help chaperone. Call and leave around the corner, it is time to community, so show your sup- your name if you can help. start planning. We will be hold- port and come out, volunteer We are presently planning ing aNew Year's Eve DJ Dance and enjoy our facility. For more our Annual Christmas Tree and potluck buffot. Tickets are information on upcoming lighting. It will be held Sat., $ 10/person. Call early to events or for rental information December 7, at 6 pm. We are reserve your tickets. call 905-983-5204. Moving Ahead Paid Advertisement Caring for the environment N ew air monitoring stations have been set up at a number of different sites in the Municipalities of Port Hope and Clarington by SENES Consultants Ltd., working with the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Management Office (LLRWMO). These additional air monitoring stations are part of the environmental assessment studies for the Port Hope Area Initiative Initiative for the long-term management of low- level radioactive waste in our communities. State-of-the-art equipment installed at each station is designed to measure atmospheric conditions within the boundaries of the Port Hope Area Initiative. Data gathered will supplement supplement existing LLRWMO atmospheric data in order to establish the current conditions. Subsequent data can be compared against these current values to determine any atmospheric ef- fect which may be due to clean-up activities. The atmospheric conditions to be assessed include particulates (dust), noise, radon and meteorological meteorological (weather and climate) conditions. Air quality, noise, climate To examine air conditions, particulates in the air are drawn into monitoring devicès for a mass analysis, metal scan and radiological analysis. analysis. Mass analysis determines how much dust is present in the air. The metal scan provides concentrations concentrations of constituents such as lead, antimony antimony and arsenic. The radiological analysis measures such radioisotopes as uranium, radium and thorium. Radon in air is measured with equipment called EPERMS. These devices may be familiar to local residents whose properties have undergone undergone LLRWMO radiological status surveys. "Radon occurs naturally in the earth's crust," says Dr. Doug Chambers, principal at SENES. SENES. "Wherever you live, there is a certain back ground level of radon. Studying the local baseline baseline levels will help us to measure any potential effects of the clean-up and transportation of waste. Steps will be taken to reduce any adverse effects." At the site of the former coal gasification plant on John Street in Port Hope, the concentrations concentrations of volatile organic compounds in the air will be measured. These are compounds that evaporate readily into the air, for example the way gasoline fumes arise when you fill up your vehicle. Meteorçlogical data, including weather and climate conditions, must be profiled over a long time. This data will help the LLRWMO plan and design clean-up activities activities and waste management management facilities. Sound level is another another factor that is being being measured at several locations in the area. This information, too, will be used to document the baseline levels before the projects begin. "Noise can be a nuisance, disrupting the lives of people and wildlife," Tabitha Poehnell, Environmental Analyst wjth the LLRWMO points out. "We need to gauge the current sound levels to plan mitigation measures for noise during during construction activities." The environmental assessment process requires requires that potential effects on the current environment, environment, including atmospheric aspects, are examined. examined. ^j3?fisîSr*" Moving Ahead This regular column is published by the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Office to inform local residents of progress on the clean-up and safe long-term storage of low-level radioactive waste in the area. For copies of this column or additional information call 905 885-0291, or visit the Project Information Exchange at 110 Walton Street in Port Hope. Bohdan Malyczewsky has installed atmospheric monitors at various locations in the Port Hope area. Visit the Project Information Exchange, 110 Walton Street, Port Hope 10:00-5:00 Thurs. to Sat. Call (905) 885-0291 Toll-free 1 866 255-2755 www.llrwmo.org Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Office Farming in the Prairies (Part 4) By Myno Van Dyke In October, my wife Judy and I made a driving trip out to the west coast. Thirty years ago, we were married in the small southeastern Saskatchewan town of Maryfield. It had been sixteen years since we had been to Saskatchewan and we thought that this would be a good opportunity to visit family and friends. When we pulled into Maryfield we were shocked. What was once a busy little prairie town was now almost deserted. Many of the small stores were closed, houses were boarded up and even the "Welcome to Maryfield" sign was no longer there as you drove into town. The old joke - "There is no bank in Maryfield - if anyone had any money they would leave" is no longer funny. A few years ago, the local municipality put an ad in the Toronto Star offering large serviced building lots for $1.00 with the stipulation that you had to build a house on it within a year. There were no takers. Farming has always been a tough occupation on the prairies but now it has become an enormous uphill struggle to keep the family farm going. This has been the third straight year of drought for much of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta, leaving farmers with the worst wheat harvest in forty years. A combination of hot and dry conditions, a lack of winter precipitation precipitation and a weak market have created a serious situation. The population of Saskatchewan has not grown since 1929. This means that the workforce is quickly getting older. The average age of a farmer there is fifty-five. Our good friends, Bob and Cora, farm about 900 acres near Kenaston, Saskatchewan. Even though it was the end of October, Bob still had about 700 acres of wheat to combine. The entire month of October had been cold and wet. The crop was dismal. That day, he combined for four hours and likely didn't harvest enough to pay for the fuel he had used. A few days later, he gave up on the rest of the harvest. "It's so frustrating," he told me. We have worked so hard to keep the farm going but nothing seems to work. Nine years ago, Bob and Cora decided to try something different. different. They began irrigating twenty acres near the house and planted Christmas trees. Finally, after constant irrigation and chasing off herds of deer (that like to munch on the trees) they have a small success. Soon Bob will haul trees to Moose Jaw and for six weeks he sells them in front of a Zellers store at one of the big malls. There isn't much competition in this market market and after watching the trees slowly grow they are finally reaping some benefits. Next year, they may just forget about the other 880 acres. We also spent some time with Andrew and Linda, who were in our wedding party. They farm near Melville Saskatchewan. Their crops were a bit better but in order to keep their two sections sections going, they must both work outside the farm. Andrew was leaving for two months to work in construction in Alberta. Linda cleans the bunkhouses that the railway employees live in. The agricultural work force in Saskatchewan has gone from 55,000 jobs to 14,000 jobs. It seems strange that grain farmers all across the prairies, both in Canada and the United States have had miserable crops and yet we can still purchase a loaf of bread for $1.00. Perhaps not for long,.. Clifford Francis gays: "Salt ami get your liar® «si MY lise Pointing done before the telMapi Calf 166883 5761 Pro Painting CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON public 1 Notice www.mmijcipality.clanngtbin.oii.ca APPOINTMENTS TO NEWCASTLE VILLAGE COMMUNITY HALL BOARD The Council of the Municipality of Clarington will be appointing three (3) members to the Newcastle Village Community Hall Board for. a'two-year term. If you area resident of the Village of Newcastle and interested in seeking appointment to this Board, please submit your application to the undersigned by December 4. 2002. Application forms are available at the Municipal Administrative. Centre. For further information regarding the Hall Board, please call Gabrieiie Worsley at 905-987-3856. ' Marie P. Knight Stanley, C.M.O., CMM II 40 Temperance Street Deputy Clerk Bowmanville, Ontario Municipality of Clarington LtC 3A6