The voice of North Durham
NEWS & OPINION
Thursday, May 22, 2014 • 9
The Magic Box by Maleeha Aslam Staying in touch... Editors Note: Recently, The Standard held its First Annual Youth Creative Writing Extravaganza, and received an outstanding response from aspiring writers in the community. After a great deal of deliberation, our winning entry came from Maleeha Aslam, a Grade 3 student at Uxbridge Montessori School. For her winning entry, Ms. Aslam will receive a Sony e-Reader courtesy of The Standard.
Once there was a girl named Farah. She was a bright 10 and a half year old girl when her grandfather died. After her grandfather’s funeral, she found out that in his will, he left for her only a stick and stone. Everyone laughed at her for getting that instead of money. Farah ran all the way home and investigated the stone; it had a map carved on it! It showed the woods, a lighthouse, the cemetery, the workshop, and the old house of her grandfather. It also had a symbol that her grandfather had shown her, it was in the woods. She asked her mom if she could go and find out more about it. Her mom said she could go as long as she is back before it gets dark. In the woods, she there was a slot in the stump and Farah found a card. It showed the place where one of the greatest soldiers was buried. The next day, she went to the cemetery. There was a man at the age of 85 and chased her out of the cemetery, so she decided that she would sneak in, and it worked. There were two pictures and a camera. Both pictures looked like a farm but when Farah saw the pictures together in the camera, it looked like the lighthouse. The day after, Farah went to the lighthouse then the next clue showed the workshop. She saw a button and said, “press me if you dare”, so she pressed it and it said, “duck!”. Farah saw then the picture of her grandfather’s house. You probably guessed that she was going to her grandfather’s house, but she wasn’t; Farah went to investigate the stone more. She saw the map had shown a picture of her great grandfather holding the stone and the stick! Farah realized that she was the one chosen to protect a secret. She became braver than ever. Farah went to her grandfather’s house and found a magic box. It had five things, a metal stamp engraved with a feather, a sapphire, an emerald, a ruby, and a citrine. When the gems encircled the metal stamp magic happened! It would do whatever you wished. It also had a note that was all wrinkly brown, brittle and ancient that said, “ protect us from evil”. Suddenly a gang that was led by the man who Farah first saw at the cemetery leaped out and said, “Hand the box over! I want to possess the magic from the items in the box!”. Farah was smart and strong and she knew Taekwondo! She jumped from the stool, kicked them and tied them up, and called the police and Farah lived happily ever after. She protected the magic box’s secret. As for the gang they were sentenced in jail for 20 years. The End
JOHN O’TOOLE MPP
Greenbelt creation anniversary is an opportunity for review Next year is the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Greenbelt. The Greenbelt’s first mandatory 10-year policy review is a good opportunity for all stakeholders to take closer look at land use in the Greenbelt. The hills, streams, forests and lakes of the Oak Ridges Moraine/Greenbelt are important natural features within easy reach of the Greater Toronto area. Therefore, we must strike a balance between the use of the Greenbelt by property owners and the stewardship of this important natural resource and source of groundwater for a quarter of a million people. The Oak Ridges Moraine, in the heart of the Greenbelt, extends approximately 60 kilometers are Ontario’s most populated area. Unlike large, remote provincial parks, the Oak Ridges Moraine is 90 per cent in the hands of private property owners. In my view, future policies need to have greater flexibility on land use, especially with regard to agricultural production and activities related to agriculture, such as farm markets and other farm-based agri-businesses. A review of the Greenbelt would be a good opportunity to recognize more local and regional input from the community through their elected municipal councils. For example, local councils could be given the power to approve or deny energy projects such as industrial wind turbines and solar power developments. Given the Greenbelt’s proximity to the GTA, we need to resolve the role of transmission corridors, and highways. Modest expansion of areas designated as hamlets and villages is also part of the review process. The proper balance of prop-
Green thumbs and sidewalk chalk The most telling sign is when piping hot double-doubles turn into extra-large iced coffees. With the winter dead and buried (for now) I am proud to announce my first foray into gardening! Armed with a dozen pots, good soil, and a starting crop of edible herbs and veggies - Jordie and I are attempting to earn our green thumbs this summer. Truth be told, I have a long history of quickly dispatching anything I plant. I’ve even managed to kill a cactus in a pot. This time, I’ve decided to stick with the simple recipe of dirt and water. There will be no karaoke, chemicals or manure for these guys. So far, our cayenne peppers have grown little buds, and the chives taste great mixed in with eggs - now it’s time to play the waiting game. We love cooking, so we started out with a crop of basil, lavender, parsley, basil, rosemary and chives. Since fresh spices seem incredibly enticing, hopefully this farmer’s market on our back deck will thrive. I had the pleasure of dropping by the Pine Ridge Garden Club’s plant sale in Nestleton this past weekend for a photo - when I explained our budding project, the ladies were nice enough to send me home with photos and a box full of
leeks, tomatoes, spanish onions and cucumbers. Here’s my shout out to the PRGC, and plans to make them proud! With the late arrival of spring, it has dipped below freezing for three nights now - we’ve been hauling all of the planters inside to keep them growing. The indoors have proven to be more dangerous to our little green buddies. Specifically, my cat has decided that our garden is a midnight snack specially prepared for her. I wanted to launch this project because I remembered my dad’s garden growing up, handfuls of fresh cherry tomatoes and bundles of chives were always fun to grab in a pinch from the yard before dinner time. It may seem strange that a couple of twenty-year-olds want to play god with shruberry - but I see it as time for meditating with nature, and a practice in patience. As depressing as waiting for a fall harvest may be, if we’re patient then most of our plants should weather the winter and come back stronger next year. In other news, the true sign of summer nearing was spending most of the long weekend barefoot and outdoors - using the barbeque for nearly every meal. As a photographer and reporter, warm weather is both a blessing and a curse. It promises an abundance of content
erty rights and land use is very important. In my opinion, the Province should convene a select committee of all three parties in the Ontario Legislature to gather input from all stakeholders. The year 2015 will be a key milestone in the Greenbelt’s history. I would encourage Greenbelt residents and indeed all stakeholders to have their say. 25th Anniversary of Wild Turkeys Returning to Ontario This year is the 25th anniversary the reintroduction of wild turkeys in Ontario. The birds had been extirpated from the province for almost a century because of habitat loss and unregulated market hunting. Hunters and conservationists had lobbied for the restoration of the wild turkey population in the 1980s. By 2007, the population of the flocks in Ontario was estimated at 70,000. A Wild Turkey Hunter Education Course is part of the requirements for anyone intending to hunt wild turkeys. With the beginning of the 2014 wild turkey hunt, Ontario’s Conservation Officers remind hunters to hunt safely and to follow the rules. Hunters are reminded that permission is required to hunt on private land, where most turkey hunting occurs. It is illegal in most of southern Ontario to hunt on or from public road rights-of-way between tracts of private land. In addition, it is illegal to hunt turkeys within 400 metres of where bait has been deposited. For more information about natural resources regulations and enforcement, please visit the Ontario Conservation Officers Association (OCOA) web site at www.ocoa.ca.
Up All Knight Shoot First, Ask Later DARRYL KNIGHT The Standard BENJAMIN PRIEBE The Standard @darrylknight
and events to cover, but at the same time, it means a constant struggle to be in four places at once. We worry less about blank pages, but wish for more blank spots in our calendars. That being said, myself and my niece Leah made a hopscotch guantlet that stretched from one end of the block to the other, and with a rare Monday off of work I managed to crack a book I’d been planning on reading since Christmas (which, oddly enough, was about being indoors hooked up to virtual reality). The true solstice is still a month away (June 20) but I’m ready to get an early start. It’s all down hill from here - the family camping trip is getting closer and closer, I’ve begun dressing like Eddie Vedder in boots and shorts, and I can’t wait to jump in the murky and warm waters of Lake Scugog. Here’s to well-deserved cottage time, a summer playlist on the stereo, and dreams of tickets for Riotfest 2014, Boots and Hearts, or whatever your personal poison may be.