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[10 |, The South Marysburgh Mirror] Message from our Local Fire Chief (Due to inclement weather on Feb. 8th there a very small turnout at the Town Hall Meeting so we have posted District Fire Chief Glendon Walker’s remarks here) Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen. I am here to- night at Monica's invitation to give you some insight into the operation of the Prince Edward County Fire Department, specifically South Marysburgh District. We have ten Firefighters, a Training Officer, two Cap- tains, and a District Chief. Seven of us are qualified Medical First Responders. We have one pumper, one tanker and one emergency response van. The pumper is a relatively new Class A pumper tanker carrying approx 1500 gal., the tanker approx. 2000 gal., both units can pump on the move for grass fires. The van carries turn out gear, self contained breathing apparatus, automotive extrica- Continued on page 19 Travel - Continued from page 8 be hiring people to take care of anything messy. inally, Diane drove home from Syracuse though the dreaded “lake effect” corridor. I feel sympathy for those who live in the corridor stretching through Syracuse, Oswego, Parish, Mexico and Watertown. You can see the stacks of the power plant in Oswego from Long Point, so it isn’t very far away. Oswego had seven feet of snow, and as we drove fearfully through a thirty mile stretch of blinding, heavy snow following a bus, I again realized why travel doesn’t appear high on my list of favourite things. So the next cold day, when you see the billowing, cumulus-like clouds massing over the lake, have a thought to where they’re going. We arrived home, picked up Bob (who didn’t seem very glad to see me), blew out the walks and driveways, loaded up the fireplace with wood, and emptied the mouse traps. Life is back to normal. - George Underhill Ontario-Wide Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Overdue Toronto, Ont. - February 23, 2007 - The Ontario Liberals should immediately legislate a province-wide ban on synthetic lawn and garden pesticides, says Ontario Green Party Leader, Frank de Jong. “Pickering and Oakville are the latest Ontario com- munities to ban cosmetic pesticides. Why must each munici- pality fight the same battle?” asks de Jong. “Everyone knows the harmful side effects of pesticide use outweigh any per- ceived benefits. McGuinty should just do the right thing.” Across Canada, pesticide laws already protect 127 communities. Nineteen Ontario communities have banned pesticides, making life healthier for 4,377,584 people-35.77 percent of the provincial population. Other communities are working toward pesticide bans. The Quebec government has banned all cosmetic use in that province. The Green Party of Ontario is also calling on the pro- vincial government to ban the use of commercial pesticides on golf courses. On average, about 5kg of pesticides are applied per hectare to golf courses each year (compared to 1.5kg per hectare to agricultural lands). These pesticides include the herbicide 2,4-D, a possible carcinogen, the fungicide chloro- thalonil, a probable human carcinogen; and the insecticide chlorpyrifos (DursbanT), one of the leading causes of acute insecticidal poisoning incidents in the U.S. according to the US. Environmental Protection Agency. A new study by the City of Ottawa reveals pesticides from residential lawns and golf courses have contaminated the Rideau River. While public education campaigns can provide lawn and garden owners with valuable information on altematives to using pesticides, recent studies suggest that education alone does not result in reduced pesticide use. “We shouldn’t have to be spending our health care dollars on preventable illnesses,” says de Jong. “Ontario cur- rently spends about $45 billion per year on health care each year. A pesticide ban could help save millions in health budg- ets through reduced asthma, cancer, nervous system disorders and other health-related problems.” De Jong notes that natural lawn care is cost competi- tive with lawn care using pesticides. As well, natural lawn care is labour intensive, creating more jobs than pesticide- based lawn care. A Halifax study found that employment in the lawn care sector grew 40 percent after the pesticide ban. “There is no reason why the Ontario government should not begin planning now to stimulate the use of alternative lawn care methods so all of Ontario’s children can look for- ‘ward to a pesticide-free summer,” de Jong said. The Green ciel of Ontario advocates fiscally: responsible, socially prog! and 4