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COTTAGE ROOFSCOULDCAVE IN if weather turns mild snow could cause problems by Doug Reed Midland OPP will advise the media when it feels snow loads on cottage roofs are such the weight will cause roofs to cave in so this in- formation can be shared with the general public. That was the word yesterday from Midland detachment of the OPP's Community Ser- vices Office Const. Murray Cooper Although there have been no reports this winter so far of cottage roofs and walls caving in because of heavy snow loads this could all change, says Const. Cooper, if the weather "turns mild or we have rain which would add to the weight."' It has been estimated one square foot of snow weighs about 50 pounds. __ ' Snow one or two feet deep on cottage roots ee SKS PS, *s oy <6 ' GC. ey e, awe op can weigh as much as 10 tons or more, it has been reported. So far this winter a total of 87.75 inches of snow has fallen on Midland and district. In the Balm Beach area of Tiny Township snow measures well in excess two feet on some cottage roofs. Cottages in open areas, where the wind sweeps in over the bay, are less covered with tend to.have more than their fair share of snow on their roofs. Forecasters are calling for more snow this weekend as a low pressure system starts working its way down from Hudson Bay. In recent weeks arctic air has made frequent visits to this part of the province bringing record lows as well as an abundan supply of snow. 5 have been plagued with frozen pipes and on several occasions have had to shovel off their roofs because of melting snow seeping through seams in their roofs. Meanwhile the frigid weather was blamed this week for at least 44 deaths in the U.S., not ° counting those killed in traffic accidents. And Florida's billion-dollar citrus industry has taken a beating as a result of the bitter cold which caused the mercury in some southern cities in the Sunshine State to tumble to record low readings. A state of emergency was declared Wed- nesday by Governor Robert Graham of Florida after freezing temperatures damaged not only the state's major citrus industry but bit into Florida's lucrative sugar cane and tomato crops. San y Be on 3 : * + df RE rs % ae is: f : Te snow while those in confined, wooded areas Mobile home owners in some instances too Estimate of ' school's cost ' We he ye to county upto $891,920 Snow can be expensive It has been estimated that during any given winter as much as 50 tons of snow can pile up on a cottage or about 50 pounds per square feet. Midland OPP says so far this winter no cottage roof has collapsed because of the heavy snow loads here in cottage country although that could all change if the weather turned mild or we had rain. Some cottages like this one have between one and two feet of snow already on their roofs in the Balm Beach area. Field naturalists delighted Wye Marsh based project gets healthy shot inarm by Shirley Whittington Our environment and our youngsters--they will be the prime beneficiaries of a Wye Marsh based project made possible by a $23,000 grant to the Midland Penetang Field Naturalists' Club. The 60 member volunteer' group made application to the employment develop- ment branch of Canada Manpower and Immigration, under a program called Canada Community Develop- ment Projects. For the past two summers, the club has organized children's nature programs at the Wye Marsh Wildlife interpretation centre, in conjunction with a summer youth em- ployment program. "We decided we wanted to do more. We wanted to do something to further enhance the environment, and also to provide jobs for young professionals trained in the natural sciences,' explained club spokesman Bob Whittam. Proposal Last September the group submitted a proposal outlining projects which would improve and conserve the natural environment within the North Simcoe Peninsula. Specific goals include surveys of the Hog Sturgeon and other streams in our area, along with the organization of necessary stream improvement progr- ams. In addition nature appreciation and wildlife conservation education programs for elementary and secondary schools will be carried out. A third aim involves' the building and placing of nesting boxes which it is hoped will attract rarely spotted species like bluebirds, osprey and wood ducks. Working under the grant now is David Hawke, a_ wildlife technician graduate from Sir Sandford Fleming College. He is the project manager, and on January 26 he'll be joined by biologist Brenda Brobst. Two more young professionals are ex- pected in early March. Program David has worked at the Wye Marsh for the last two summers in the children's nature program. '"'But this is a whole new ball game for me,"' he says. "It's a great opportunity to gain experience as a project manager. We are in the planning stages now, and we will soon be working meeting with people in the schools and other organizations. We will also be working closely with the ministry of natural resources and with Environment Canada."' David is enthusiastic about his eight month association with the Marsh and the naturalists' club. He indicated that the survey will be related to former studies and programs. 'What we'll be doing," he says, "'is taking samples up and down the streams to see what is living there. | This will give us a good indication of the oxygen level. We look at ways that can be improved, and such improvement will encourage desirable species to live in the stream." David also explained why the nesting box program was im- portant. '"'So many of our wetlands have been dried up that the osprey (a hawklike bird which 'lives on coarse fish) has been discouraged. We plan on building and erecting twenty foot high nesting platforms. If we put these in the marsh, and they attract osprey, that will be something really in-- teresting for people to watch." Bluebirds which David describes as extremely beautiful thrush-like birds, are rarely seen because the rotting fence posts which they prefer for nesting are disap- pearing from the land- scape. Objective But David Hawke insists that his prime objective is educational. "We are hoping to produce a little booklet about enjoying the woods in the winter time, We are going out to some schools and we hope some schools will come here."' The first school contacts will be made early in February. MSSchess team makes move Midland Secondary School's chess team placed third in the third County chess _ tour- nament of the season as hosted by MSS Tuesday. Each member: of the regular team won two out of three games, giving them their respectable placing in the field of six teams. Members of _ the Midland teams were Glenn McFarland, Dave Prenna, Doug Rowley, Pete Montgomery, Art Perreault, Glenn Smith, Rick Kruf, Bill Black and Joanne Marchand. by Murray Moore Estimates presented to the Simcoe County Board of Education show that a French high school with an enrolment of 71 students in 1980 and 75 students through to 1983 might cost the county $891,920. This figure takes into account presently available grants. Without any grants the cost to the county might be $1,211,455. Another estimate says, based on 71 students in 1980 and increasing to 150 students in 1983, that the cost to the county might be $511,163. As of Sept. 30, 1980 71 students were registered as attending the temporary French high school opened in Lafontaine. Ecole Secondaire Penetanguishene Secondary School by the same date had 786 registered students. Alvin Gravelle, Penetanguishene and Tiny Township trustee, a member of the committee which produced the report, cautioned the board that the figures were based on enrolment figures that are subject to change, and that inflation and other factors in the real world could change the projection. Last summer the regional office of the Ministry of Education was sent a copy of a similar report on the cost of a French high school, and a listing of the grants available because of such a school to the county, following a board instruction in June last year that such a report be prepared. The report that the board received Wednesday night was an updated edition. Personnel On Sept. 24, 1980 the Ministry's regional superintendent of business met with SCBE ad- ministration personnel to review the original report. The regional superintendent was sent the up- dated version presented to the board this week, along with a letter saving the board wanted to meet with the Minister of Education, if no further meetings with the regional superintendent were needed. No response was made to the board's letter. On Jan. 8 another letter requesting a meeting with Education Minister Bette Stephenson was sent to the Ministry's regional director. Midland trustee John McCullough said, with "some reluctance" on his part, that he had come to the conclusion the board should demand a meeting with the Minister, to occur as soon as possible. The board, he said, had offered its co-operation. The least the Minister could do in return would be to offer her co-operation in return. Cost McCullough pointed out that the cost of running Ecole Secondaire Le Caron to date has fallen entirely on the board. The board has received no indication from the ministry that it will pay any part of the new ex- pense. The report committee, with trustee represen- tation of McCullough, Gravelle and board vice- chairman William Straughan, wants the province to pay 100 per cent of the uncovered expense, McCullough indicated. Friday, January 16, 1981, Page3