I BELIEVE - DO YOU? GO CANADA GO! TEAM CANADA ALL THE WAY! LET THE VANCOUVER OLYMPIC GAMES BEGIN!!

As I craft this column, I have the abundant hope that our Canadian athletes will not only outshine themselves but go even further and haul in the medals - and do Canada proud on the international stage.

As will the warm and friendly residents of Vancouver, Richmond, Whistler and the other communities hosting one or more of the Olympic venues. Having visited many of the sites just last June while attending a Canadian Municipal conference in Whistler, I can personally attest to the friendliness of these people; and these same people will be greeting visitors from around the world. The global media will be filling spare time during their coverage of the Games with the impressions gleaned since their arrival. They will show and tell this to their audiences back in their home countries; and for years to come, these audiences will have Canada high on their "must visit" list.

As a Canadian, I am proud of what the Canadian Olympic Organizing Committee has accomplished; I am proud of what I know will be the finest moments of our home-grown young men and women - who will represent us all, who will push their bodies and their minds to the utmost; I am proud of the Canadians living in British Columbia who will soon embrace citizens from around the globe and will be representative of what Canadians are and what we're made of.

We can all be proud citizens - proud of our country, proud of our flag, and proud of our young athletes competing in a global scale!

BELIEVE AND LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!

New Year's Levee
One of the events I neglected to mention in last month's issue of Retail Pages was being a part in hosting the Mayor & Councillors New Year's Day Levee in the foyer of the Civic Complex (City Hall), January 1st. The event featured a town crier, bagpiper, mayor and councillors. Music, sweets, coffee and tea rounded out an afternoon for the many residents in attendance while they mixed n mingled with their Councillors, wished their friends a Happy New Year, and became part of a time honoured tradition - the medieval Lord Mayor welcoming his many serfs into his home where a levee & feast awaited.

MORE SIRENS?
A 'dead issue' that seems to have found new life and is in danger of coming back to haunt us, especially in Bay Ridges and West Shore, is the Region's insistence on placing even more sirens on more poles as an emergency warning system. Two of the proposed locations are unbelievable - one at the corner of Liverpool Rd. and Krosno Blvd. (so now welcome to our nautical village); and another towards the south end of West Shore Blvd. - with virtually zero regard for their intrusion into the neighbourhood. Now this is an issue that is actually real that the Pickering East Shore Community Assoc. could focus on, along with the Fairport Community Assoc. Allow me to outline the problem:

Durham Region (with a $1 million grant from Ontario Power Generation) spent over $200,000 on a consulting firm which recommended the Region must purchase 29 sirens to sit atop 29 concrete poles sticking 50 ft into the sky. And they must be capable of emitting a tone equal to 120 decibels (db) to cover a three kilometre zone.

See a nice picture yet? Put blades on 'em and disguise 'em as windmills?

Upon returning to public office in 2004, Pickering Council agreed to my request for a 'peer' review of the Region's report - a second opinion. We did it; the cost was only $20,000; concluded that only 4 sirens, each emitting 120 db, would be adequate. The Province agreed and the four have been installed.

The Region followed up installation with a testing of the system and utilized another noise consulting firm to monitor and analyze the results. The conclusion reached in that report stated that the sirens were performing below Regional purchasing specifications of 120 db. Their study revealed a tone equal to 110 db; therefore, additional sirens will be necessary.

But wait - before sticking more of these in the sky, how about the Region going back after the manufacturer and sue for a delivered product which does not meet specifications; and also find out why the appropriate Regional staff failed to undertake noise level testing when the sirens were delivered originally. The poles and sirens have not only been bought and paid for, but have been sitting in storage for years and have cost Durham Region taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in storage fees. Makes you wonder who's running the asylum?

I would expect our Regional Councillors and Mayor to insist, at the Region, that they own up to their mistakes and ensure the City of Pickering that to rectify the perceived problem, the only acceptable solution is to replace the four existing sirens with new sirens which will reach, or exceed, the 120 db level - not compound the problem by erecting even more. And charge it back to the manufacturer, which I understand is in Texas. Stop More Sirens!

Haiti
When news of the terrible earthquake in Haiti reached us here at home, reaction was immediate.

First off was Pastor Sam Martin through his Arms of Jesus Mission network. Pastor Martin's Safe Haven Worship Centre congregation has a number of local residents working as missionaries in needy nations such as Haiti. At the time of this writing, Pastor Martin is unsure as to the safety of those people owing largely to a communication system which has virtually shut down. Our prayers go with Pastor Martin and his congregation at Safe Haven for the safety and well-being of those serving in Haiti and for those in Haiti being served.

Within hours of the breaking news, next off the ground was the same group, plus one, that organized the Tsunami Relief Fund in aid of Tamils and the Red Cross' international aid team.

Councillors Doug Dickerson, Bill McLean, Maurice Brenner (former) plus newcomer, Councillor Jennifer O'Connell were trading e-mails and phone calls to set a financial relief fund in motion. That's when the owners Keith Whiteway & Corrado Tomarchio of Al Dente Restaurant spoke to the councillors about wanting to help. To make their restaurant and services available for a community fund-raiser.

"At the present time, we are more centred on financial donations since we do not have the transportation network necessary to get needed goods into the interior of Haiti", said Dickerson. Brenner added that with the Arms of Jesus Mission already active on the ground in Cap Rouge and Jacmel, Haiti, they are best able to assess their local needs which assures us that the dollars raised will see the most good come from them".