The spring issue has a “Worth the Visit” feature with a good photograph of part of Young’s Pharmacy’s Renaissance Woman boutique, which specializes in cancer-care products. Here is some more information provided by Young’s about this special new department in their store.

Young’s Pharmacy & Homecare, located at 47 Main St. S. in downtown Georgetown, has officially opened the new “Renaissance Woman” boutique. This elegant boutique specializes in post-mastectomy apparel which includes bras, camisoles, breast forms, swimwear, compression sleeves & giftware. We also carry the “Sunveil” line of sun protective clothing. We provide a discreet, private and comfortable location within our store to assist you with your individual needs. For those suffering from Alopecia or hair loss due to cancer treatments, we carry lovely scarves, designer hats, and wigs. Providing comfort, style and grace are our goals at Renaissance Woman. We’re open weekdays and available for consultations 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. or by appointment.

     For more information or to set up your private consultation, please call Lilian at 905 877-2711 or 905 873-4021 extension 133.  Here’s more information about Young’s Pharmacy.

     Due to the wealth of great information we’re getting about public events happening up and down the Escarpment, we’ve just added a new Calendar of Events! These listings are FREE for anyone who sends us the information. If there’s a webpage with complete details about the event, make sure you give us the link so we can easily point people to it.
     If you want the public to know about your event, this free calendar listing will help spread the word. Make sure you tell your contacts to check the calendar for your details.
     Send us your info and give us a few days to post it. We love to spread the news about things that are on, all along the Niagara Escarpment.

     Do you know of anyone who is interested in buying a suite in The Gallery at Bennett Village, Georgetown’s new seniors’ retirement living community?
     We have a FREE certificate for $5,000 to give away to the first person who contacts us!
     There are only nine suites left at The Gallery. The $5,000 discount offer expires March 31, 2010. Email us now!

     Here’s some interesting news about Mount Nemo, the area of the Niagara Escarpment that songwriter and musician Sarah Harmer has been helping to work to protect for years. Harmer’s community group Protecting Escarpment Rural Land (PERL) sent us this report.

Niagara Escarpment Commission votes 13 to 1 to send Nelson Quarry re-designation request to Provincial Cabinet

     Commissioners of the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) voted nearly unanimously on Feb. 18 to support “the protection of the Mount Nemo Plateau,” an environmentally-sensitive area located on the Niagara Escarpment in Burlington, Ontario.  Speaking in favour of the motion were PERL, Burlington Mayor Cam Jackson, and Burlington Ward 3 Councillor John Taylor.
     Mayor Jackson had previously moved a Halton Region amendment calling on the McGuinty government to stop a proposed Joint Board hearing and put the rightful designations on this ecological area.  That motion carried 18 to1, and was approved by all four of Halton’s Mayors (Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills). The Joint Board hearing, so called because it includes both the Ontario Municipal Board and the Environmental Review Tribunal, is scheduled to start in September 2010.
     “For over 100 years, Mount Nemo has served as a primary source of aggregate for the Greater Toronto Area; it’s time to let Mother Nature heal herself,” said Mayor Jackson, speaking to the NEC.
     “This decision from the Commission is the latest in a long line of support to protect Mount Nemo from future quarries. Now, the Ontario Cabinet should follow suit,” said Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director of Environmental Defence.
     Mount Nemo is under threat from a proposed quarry. The Nelson Aggregates quarry license application falls squarely within one of the most sensitive parts of the Greenbelt, in a headwaters area that contains Provincially Significant Wetlands, Regionally Significant Woodlands and the habitat of the provincially and nationally threatened Jefferson salamander. There are only 27 known locations of this critical indicator species left in all of Canada.
     In supporting the motion, Councillor Taylor recited the NEC Staff Report that states, “some lands on the Mount Nemo Plateau do contain Escarpment slopes and related landforms, either existing or proposed to be designated as environmentally sensitive by the municipalities in their official plans which may, after further review, fit the Escarpment Natural Area or Escarpment Protection area designations in the Niagara Escarpment Plan (NEP).” Both the “Natural” and “Protection” area designations prohibit quarries.
     PERL legal counsel David Donnelly presented the case for re-designation to the Commissioners.
     “Nelson pleaded guilty to the serious offence of altering a watercourse without permit on November 26, 2007 thereby waiving any expectation it may have had to have its new quarry application assessed against a decades old land use designation,” Donnelly told the Commission. “There is precedence for Cabinet to re-designate the proposed quarry site, for example the Milton Outlier, and other areas like North Leslie, Boyd Park and the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve.  Mount Nemo should be added to this protected list.”
     Conservation Halton, Region of Halton, the City of Burlington and the Niagara Escarpment Commission have all voted against the quarry application, citing serious concerns relating to the loss of provincially significant wetlands and significant woodlands, species at risk (the Jefferson salamander and the Butternut), and changes in flow contribution to downstream watercourses.
     “The serious fear is that the millions of dollars that are needed to restore Mount Nemo will be spent on a hearing that should not take place,” said Sarah Harmer, Co-Founder of PERL.  “After Mount Nemo’s 100 years of service to the aggregate industry, Premier McGuinty and the Ontario Cabinet must stand with PERL, Burlington, Halton, the Niagara Escarpment Commission, the Conservation Authority, and dozens of local and national environmental groups to act, so that nature can reclaim this exceptional area.”

     It’s a case of good news, bad news. The good news: our spring issue has been mailed out to our subscribers, giving them first crack at it as always, and we’re hearing good things about it. One of my nephews particularly likes one of the ads on page 15, so you’ll have to check that out. It may not be to everyone’s taste! Let me know what you think of it.
     We’ve also done something different with our centre spread, but early responses to it are either approving or unconcerned. If our audience doesn’t mind, we may do more of this.
     The bad news is that even in the rural countryside close to the Niagara Escarpment, where it has been safe for decades, thieves are at work. In the middle of the night recently, our cars were opened and an electronic device was stolen. Our border collie security system was off duty, although she clocks in at the slightest sound of a racoon on the verandah. The theft might not have happened had the cars been locked, although there’s the chance that a window could have been smashed during the theft. I would rather have the thief steal without damaging the car. Motion detector lights could have been a deterrent, but they are annoying because they go off even when a racoon, deer or coyote strolls by. I don’t want to scare off wildlife, I choose to live close to them.  
     The police were happy to take my report, even coming by to dust my car for fingerprints, a private, interesting CSI episode in my own driveway! We may not lock our cars, but we no longer leave anything of value in them, either. Beware and be advised: even on the Escarpment, there are some unkind people taking advantage of our easy lifestyle.

Here’s an update from Georgetown’s Healing Hands for Haiti:

It has been more than two weeks since the devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti and damaged our medical, rehabilitation and prosthetic fabrication facilities in Port-au-Prince. We are very relieved to report that all of our 45 local staff have been accounted for, although many lost family members and most lost their homes. Healing Hands for Haiti International has established an emergency relief fund to support them. Unfortunately, it has been confirmed that 80 per cent of our facilities have been destroyed or damaged. Only the guesthouse, which needs structural repairs, remains as a hopeful starting point for a temporary headquarters. Our plans to build Haiti’s first Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Institute in line with national strategic priorities, have been accelerated.
     The Handicap International emergency response team which includes members of Healing Hands for Haiti International and Team Canada Healing Hands, arrived within the first week and has since worked tirelessly assessing and treating victims at hospitals throughout the city, even transporting spinal cord injured to hospitals in the U.S. Several of our Haitian board members who are orthopaedic surgeons operate continuously from their hospitals. In the first two weeks after the earthquake more than 2000 amputations were performed in Port-au-Prince and many more are inevitable. Post-surgical care, rehabilitation and prosthetic fabricating and fitting for these victims are part of our mandate.
     By the end of week two, we had landed a second group of 12 senior Healing Hands for Haiti medical volunteers in Port-au-Prince. They are part of a group of 130 medical and construction personnel with a plane load of equipment and supplies, organized and donated by the Salt Lake City Utah Hospital Task Force. A make-shift clinic with power and water was immediately set up on our property and opened to the public the next day; 175 patients were treated. Our team will continue to add medical staff from the Utah County Hospital group and expand services of this clinic as numbers are expected to grow daily and will include patients with many disabilities. The main Utah Hospital Task Force construction team will help clean up, ensure site safety and start guesthouse and perimeter wall repairs.
     Our organization is integrating with a larger consortium including Handicap International to help provide acute rehabilitation facilities and services at the major hospital initiative near the airport. A number of Healing Hands for Haiti physical therapists and prosthetists will be temporarily hired by Handicap International for this purpose. This will provide part of our staff and families with immediate security. Healing Hands for Haiti will be joining a collaborative group to include Physicians for Peace, Handicap International, US–ISPO, Medishare and others to address the rehabilitation and prosthetic/orthotic needs of the Haitian disabled population including coordination of human resources, equipment and materials from outside the country to equip physical therapy and prosthetic fabrication facilities.
     Healing Hands for Haiti was launched 10 years ago to deliver physical medicine and rehabilitation services to Haitians with disabilities.  The scope of our mandate is one of the widest in public health because there are so many forms of mental and physical disability. Prior to the earthquake, January 12, there were more than 800,000 adults and children living with a wide variety of disabilities in Haiti, according to Pan Pan American Health Organization. That’s a very high seven or eight per cent of the population. The next day the number was much greater and in the weeks and months to come it will grow substantially, and so will the need for our services.

     Here’s more news about efforts to benefit Haiti, this time from Collingwood:

     On Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010, Cranberry Resort opened their doors to help World Vision and Salvation Army with their quests to help the thousands of the misfortunate from the country of Haiti.
     With only a few days, preparation (originally a dance was planned for Valentine’s Day, but the Government matching program ends on February 12, 2010), staff and volunteers from Cranberry Resort were able to organize 10 bands to play during the evening and many fabulous silent and live auction gifts. 

     “We’d like to thank Nancy Ludlow (sketch portrait), Chef Ron Lumsden from Black Opal Catering (Chef for a Day), 4 men 4 Hire (McIntyre Brothers, Gas King and CMC Contracting), and Interval International (1 week world wide), for their generous donations to our live auction,” stated Susan McIntyre, director of sales.  “Also to all the companies in the Georgian Triangle who helped support our fundraiser with a donation for our Silent Auction.”

     Through the generosity of the community Cranberry Resort was able to raise over $5800.00! Owner of Cranberry Resort, Larry Law, has agreed to match this figure, which will bring the total to $11,600.00. With government matching funds, a grand total of $23,200.00 will be split between World Vision and Salvation Army.

     “I am so pleased that Cranberry Resort is able to help the people of Haiti.  We here at Cranberry support many worthwhile causes locally, and it was wonderful to see everyone come together so quickly to put this fundraiser together.  I am very proud to be able to match the monies raised from Saturday’s event,” states Law.

Here’s some interesting art news from a former colleague with Halton-Peel Communications Association, Eleanor Brownridge, herself an accomplished artist:

     The work of five new, local artists, sculptor Paul Vodak, photographer MK Lynde, stained glass artist Paul Corfield, and painters Peter Dillman and Peter Taylor, will be featured during February at the Mad & Noisy Gallery in Creemore. Their stories reflect a growing trend, artists relocating to this area because it provides an environment conducive to their creative processes. 
     “I find inspiration in the natural world along the shores of Georgian Bay,” says Peter Dillman, who moved to Collingwood 18 months ago. Dillman is currently converting a backyard garage into a painting studio. “It is not quite finished; the roof is still covered with a tarp to prevent leaks. I like it when the wind is howling, the tarp bellows and I am cocooned in my space.” Here he creates acrylic landscapes with layer upon layer of saturated colour, using techniques he developed when originally working with oils.
     Paul Corfield built his stained glass studio as a separate building perched 800 feet up the western side of the Niagara Escarpment when he relocated to the Beaver Valley in 2004. “We designed it with much thought and care to fit in with the existing landscape. Visitors to the studio walk in the doors and stop in an attempt to take in, not only all of the glass pieces hung in the windows, but also the design and look of the building itself.” In keeping with his minimalism direction, Corfield uses lots of clear textured glass, with only small areas of colour and few lead lines, in his geometric style. 
     Disenchanted while working as a commercial illustrator, Peter Taylor moved to Dunedin two and a half years ago to be closer to nature. Here the Bruce Trail in his backyard provides constant inspiration for his paintings. “I’m focused on capturing the personality of the landscape I’m working on. If I can bring all my senses together, plus something else I can’t explain, then I’ve got something.”
     Another ex-Torontonian, MK Lynde used to wander, travel and shoot with her camera. But after having children, she focused on shooting in and around her new home in Creemore. “About two years ago I began shooting panoramas and have since become obsessed with Equirectangular Projection Panorama. This is 180 by 360 degree photography mapped onto a rectangle that shows every possible view of a given scene.”  MK takes between 10 and 38 or more images of a scene and then stitches them together digitally. “I love looking at a scene and imagining it unwrapped onto a rectangle.”
     The longest area resident, Paul Vodak has been living in Nottawa for about 18 years where his workspace, “Rainmaker Art Studio” is a school portable which he eventually hopes to expand with a sculpture garden. Although his final sculptures are usually bronze, Paul begins with wax or clay. “I start with a figure and then place it in an environment - a stage, a landscape or a mythological context. I like to incorporate textures from natural objects such as rocks and plants in my sculpture.”
     The feature show of the new artists’ work will open on Sat. February 6 with a reception from 2 to 5 pm and will continue throughout the month. The Mad & Noisy Gallery, at 154 Mill St. in Creemore, is open Monday, Thursday and Friday from 11 am to 5 pm, Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday noon to 4 pm. For more information contact the gallery at 705-466-5555 or www.madandnoisy.com.

     Here’s another Escarpment-area group that is raising funds to help Haiti:

     Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club has more than 200 young people in their swim club who practise at swimming pools around the city of Hamilton. Head Coach Grey Fairley and his coaches have put together a last-minute fundraiser to help the people of Haiti. This recreational swim meet will be held for anyone in the club, their families and friends. The children are very excited about being able to help Haiti while doing something they love. There could be 200 or more people swimming and each swimmer will donate a minimum of $10 to the St. Joseph’s Hospital Health System Haiti Relief Fund. The viewing area at the McMaster Pool is open to the public. 
Date: Sunday, Jan. 31
Location: McMaster University Swimming, Ivor Wynne Centre
Time: 12 pm to 2 pm

     What are the kids that you know doing for Haiti?