All the latest happenings in the world of Jack & Carey!
Where to Find Fireworks this Weekend
If you are looking for fireworks this Victoria Day weekend, the pickings are a little slim…
You can see them Saturday and Sunday night at the Village in Blue Mountain…
Saturday only at Patterson Park in Port McNicoll…
and Sunday at Canada’s Wonderland….
If you plan on holding your own display – the Lions and Springwater Firefighters will set up on Bayfield Street, across from Curries Truck Centre…
They are there promoting fire safety, selling burning permits, and answering any questions the public might have concerning fireworks and fire safety. All proceeds are re-invested in local events and activities….
TSWS Fee Freeze Worrisome for this Boater
As a Georgian Bay boater, I am very interested in the goings on at Canada Parks as it relates to the operation of both Georgian Bay Islands National Park and the Trent-Severn Waterway.
This story appeared this week in the Orillia Packet and Times:
I know that Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton worked diligently with local boaters, tourism operators and others impacted by the proposed outrageous fee hikes to convince Environment Minister Peter Kent to freeze the lockage rates until 2017.
You might think that boaters like myself would be overjoyed, but I have a concern.
Part of the reason why the proposed fee hikes were so enormous is that these fees have been frozen since 2008, and I’m not really sure why.
For arguments sake, let’s say Parks Canada implemented 1.5 per cent increases per year, across the board (Trent Severn, and the parks). The annual increases would have been a drop in the bucket when it comes to all the expenses associated with boat ownership – including storage, boat launch or marina dockage fees, maintenance, repairs, and fuel.
As well, it would have been nice to see some of that lost revenue re-invested in facilities at Beasoleil Island for boaters who buy seasonal passes. While there have been some upgrades to docks and washroom facilities at Georgian Bay Islands National Park, the bulk of the investments since 2008 have been put towards efforts to attract non-traditional campers to the Island. Boater docks are opening later in the season, and closing sooner; and several sites are now off limits to boaters at certain times of the year.
Now that the Parks Canada budget was chopped by $3-million dollars last year, that extra revenue that was lost over the years, gains an additional importance.
What the fee freeze means now, will be less service; including shorter operating hours and fewer staff at the locks.
Boaters who normally buy seasonal mooring passes, should do so as soon as possible.
In the article, Stanton indicates that mooring fees will be going up; from 90 cents a foot overnight to $1.25 per foot (reasonable).
But the season pass will be quite a bit more. It will increase from $9.90 a foot to $25 (unreasonable). I think an increase more in keeping with the overnight fee would make more sense. Not many people would argue if it went up to $12.50 per foot.
The Trent-Severn Waterway opens Friday, and a limited number of campsites and docks will also open at Georgian Bay Islands National Park.
Captain Chris at the helm as we make the trip back over the Big Chute Marine Railway last summer.
Chicken Dance Day!
May 14th is Chicken Dance Day.
The Chicken Dance is a tradition at weddings, but I’ve decided when it falls on the day following the Toronto Maple Leafs being put out of the playoffs, Leaf fans should be entertained by friends doing the Chicken Dance to help add some cheer to a blue and white heart.
Therefore, I’m requesting Carey to add some cheer to my day by doing the Chicken Dance for me. After all, she just competed in Dancing With The Easter Seals Stars so this should be easy.
Carey, thanks for taking one for the (morning) team.
I feel so much better!
Perch Festival Grand Prize Winners
It’s a wrap for the 2013 Orillia Perch Festival. Doug Bunker talked with Jack and Carey about how the weather effected the fishing and the grand prize winner names from this years event. ( click link below for the update)
may 13 bunker – perch festival wrap up
Happy Mothers Day to my Moms!
I wrote this in 2011 – but it still rings true today. Happy Mothers Day to my Moms:
As we approach Mothers Day - I have been thinking of how fortunate I was to have been blessed with three exceptional mothers. Each woman has given me different gifts, and I am lucky to have had them, or have them, in my life.
Nancy is the one who gave me life, and loved me enough to give me up. She also loves me enough to take me back and work to establish a new relationship with the grownup me.
Isabel is the one who nurtured me as a child, gave me the stable foundation I needed and set the example in terms of integrity and strength that I strive to achieve each and every day.
Louise is the step mom who taught me many important life lessons and got me safely through the hazards of those difficult teen years. I really only appreciated that after having teen girls of my own. Not an easy task.
I just want you all to know that I love each one of you, and would like to thank each one of you for making me the person I am today.
Happy Mothers Day.
The Power of Mom
Mother’s Day is this Sunday. Just the the word mother has power in it.
For Carey the memory line is still “This is going to hurt me more than it is you” and for Jack it’s the memory of how dad used the thought of mom to make a point. That line was “do you realize your mother was up all night waiting for you to come home?” He could have said he was up all night waiting, but know he knew the power of mom within a line and went for it.
What’s your memory about mom. Let’s celebrate Mother’s Day by sharing memories of mom. Leave a reply below and with that here’s a few thoughts funny thoughts about mom.
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Some Motherly Advice for Kathleen, Tim and Andrea
Sunday is Mothers’ Day, and I’d like to give our provincial leaders a little motherly advice.
Enough with the demands Andrea! And Tim, shouldn’t you at least look at something before you make a decision about it? And Kathleen, grow a backbone.
Kathleen Wynne’s minority Liberal government are coming under fire on a couple of fronts, and will likely face at least two confidence votes in the Legislature in the coming weeks.
First there is the new budget that was tabled last week. If it is approved, the minority government will survive. If it is defeated, the minority government will fall and we will be forced into a spring or summer election.
The Tories clearly want an election – the sooner the better. Leader Tim Hudak didn’t even have the budget in his hot little hands before he made his decision that the Liberals wouldn’t get his party’s support. How surprising.
Meanwhile, over on the NDP benches – leader Andrea Horwath’s demands keep rolling in. There was an announcement this morning that she plans to unveil yet another demand today in exchange for her party’s support.
At this point, I think Wynne needs to tell Horwath that enough is enough. If the Liberals give in to any more demands, it’ll be essentially an NDP budget, and Horwath might as well be premier.
Let’s face it – a confidence vote on the gas plant issue is going to sink the Liberals anyways. They might as well let the chips fall where they may sooner, rather than later.
Pondering Life Before Death
In my job, I’m sent a lot of press releases and event notices – but never before has one intrigued me as much as one I saw recently from Autism Ontario.
The fundraiser is being held Thursday night at the Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto. Ten people – all prominent members of the community with diverse backgrounds and careers – have been asked to speak for 10 minutes each on a specific topic.
The Topic – What’s the one thing you need to know before you die?
MP Olivia Chow is one of the speakers – and while she wouldn’t say what her “one thing” is, she said she lives her life in the here and now, and it’s a topic she hasn’t given much thought to before.
I may not have really given it serious consideration before, but it is renting space in my head now.
Would you want to know your place in the universe, or something more personal like is the love you experienced true love? Would you want to know if Jesus was a real person? Or the source of talent and creative energy? The questions are mind boggling to me.
I think I would want to know how I made other people feel. Hopefully the knowledge would give me a sense of achievement, rather than distress.
So, what is the one thing YOU think people should know before they die? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Other speakers at the event include:
- Greenpeace Canada Executive Director Bruce Cox
- soldier, senator and author Lieutenant-General the Honorable Roméo A. Dallaire
- designer and co-host of Love it or List it, Hilary Farr
- comedian Ron James
- fashion designer Linda Lundstrom
- director and screenwriter Deepa Mehta
- health and wellness expert and author Rose Reisman
- CBC journalist Alison Smith
- Canadian rapper, record producer Wes Williams, aka Maestro Fresh Wes.
A $3.2 million walk
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More than 13,000 people laced up for the annual Mandarin MS Walk on Sunday, May 5 in communities across Ontario to raise more than $3.2 million for individuals living with multiple sclerosis – with select Mandarin MS Walk events still to take place on Sunday, May 26 in the province. Individuals and teams, made up of friends, family and coworkers, raised funds to support programs and services for local people with MS and their families as well as support research into the cause, treatment and cure of MS. |
| A big salute goes out to the hundreds of people who enjoyed a beautiful sun filled day to help others.
Location – Amount – Participants Barrie – $98,648 – 363 Orillia – $36,466 – 220 Midland – $19,235 – 111 Newmarket – $95,727 – 412 Collingwood – $56,868 – 144
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Onside With Cherry
I agree with Don Cherry. Girls should not be allowed in pro sports dressing rooms.
Cherry tried to clarify his position last night on Coach’s Corner on Hockey Night in Canada. He didn’t do a great job, but what I got from him is that there are goings on in the dressing room that women shouldn’t be subjected to. I choose to believe Cherry was trying to be chivalrous, not chauvinistic.
But I also believe that allowing sports reporters into dressing rooms is a different story. A reporter is a job, not a gender.
Reporters don’t necessarily need access to the athletes while the athletes are in their gitch – but they do need access to the athletes before and after the game.
So you either allow reporters or you don’t allow reporters – regardless of whether they are boys or girls.
That way the guys don’t have an unfair advantage over their female counterparts.
Pretty simple really.