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8 + WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, August 29, 2007 Peter WINKLER PUBLISHER EDITORIAL Bob VRBANAC EDITOR ext. 229 editonial @ waterloochronmicle.ca sports@ waterloochromicle.ca Jennifer ORMSTON REPORTER ext. 203 jormston@ watesloochronicle.ca Gerry MATTICE ext. 230 RETAIL SALES MANAG Norma CYCA ext. 223 neyca@ waterloochronicle.ca Bill PIHURA ext. 228 bpihura@ waterloochronicle.ca Carly GIBBS ext, 222 cgiblhs@ waterloochromcle.ca Alicia DE BOER ext. 202 adeboer@ waterloochronicle.ca sales @ waterloochronicle.ca SALES REPRESENTATIVES ADVERTISING CLASSIFIED 519â€"495â€"5230 CIRCULATION 519â€"886â€"2830 ext. 213 Canadian Publications Mail Sales Publication Agreement Number 40050478 International Standard Serial Num ber ASSN 0832â€"3410 Audited Circulation: 31,292 The Waterloo Chronicle is published each Wednesday by Metroland Media Group Ltd. ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL The Waterloo Chronicle is a member of The Ontario Press Council, which considers complaints against memâ€" ber newspapers. Any complaint about news, opinions advertising or conduct should first be taken to the newspaper. Unresolved complaints can be brought to: Ontario Press Council, 2 Carlton Street, Suite 1706, Toronto, ON., MSB 1J3. COPYRIGHT The contents of this newspaper are protected by copyright and may be used only for personal nonâ€"commerâ€" cial purposes. All other rights are reserved and commercial use is proâ€" Iihited To make any use of this material you must first obtain the perimission of the owner of the copyâ€" right. For turther information conâ€" tact Bob Vrbanac. Editor, Waterloo Chronicle, 279 Weber St. N.. Suite 20), Waterloo. Ontario N2J 3H8 LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor must contain the writer‘s full name, signature, address and telephone number. Addresses and telephone numbers are used only for verification purposes and will not be published. Names will not be withâ€" held. We reserve the right to edit, conâ€" dense or reject any contribution for brevity or legal purposes. Letters may be submitted by fax to 519â€"886â€"9383 or by email to editorial@waterâ€" Joochronicle.ca or by mail or delivâ€" ered to Waterloo Chronicle, 279 Weber St. N.. Suire 20, Waterloo, Ontanio N2J 3H8 WATERLOO CHRONICLE 279 Weber St. N., Suite 20 Watertoo, Ontano N2J 3H8 $19â€"886â€"2830 Fax: 519â€"886â€"9383 www. waterloochronicle ca FAX 5$19â€"886â€"9383 EMAIL editonal @ waterloochromcle.ca stitre y JER ity council faced a tough decision in the final dispoâ€" sition of the Seagram lands Monday night, ard it made the right one. This is the end of a long process to develop the final 3.5 acres of the Seagram lands first purchased in the 1990s. It was purchased at the time because the city understood the importance of this piece of property and how it would shape the character of the uptown core for years to come. There have already been a number of positive developâ€" ments on the site, from the opening of Solé restaurant to the redevelopment of the Barrel Warehouses. _ in the last few years the Centre of International Goverâ€" nance Innovation has provided an education bent to the property and has been a nice complement to the Perimeâ€" ter Institute across the street. The addition of the Balsillie School of International Relations will only augment the type of educational develâ€" opment in the uptown core that other city‘s simply drool over. It didn‘t come cheaply though. There were past offers on the table to develop the property and some outstandâ€" ing commercial proposals still out there. Giving the property over to an educational use will be a blow to the city‘s treasury, something acknowledged by uptown Coun. lan McLean. Other options would have continued to bring in taxes to the city‘s diminishing propâ€" erty tax base. But this project is a transformational one that has the potential to turn the uptown core into another engine in the knowledgeâ€"based economy that is powering the region in this next millennium. McLean himself is not against the project â€" just the location. And he‘s correct in stating that Waterloo is facing a cash crunch that makes foregoing additional tax revâ€" enues difficult to stomach. But this is building Waterloo for the future. And like the University of Waterloo, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, this school might produce similar results for the uptown core. Council made right choice VIEWPOINT or the past couple of Fmonths I‘ve been busy working on a new Chronicle feature series called Things To Do In Waterloo, which informs residents about interesting piaces where they can spend those lazy, hazy summer days. It might surprise you to know that what began as an informative series for the public has turned into one of the high points of my summer. With other jobs, people spend their days toiling behind a desk, reading spreadsheets or, worse, making coffee for their bass. Not me. 1 get to go out into the world, well the community at least, meet new people, hear interesting tales, and then come back and write stories about what I‘ve learned that day. One of the highlights of this feature series for me was when Joleen Taylor, from the city‘s Visitor and Heritage Information Cenâ€" tre, took me on a historic walking tour of Waterloo‘s watering holes. Along this adventure she filled me in on historical tidâ€" bits I‘d never heard, along with stories of our sordid past, such as the possibility there were rumâ€"running tunnels under the Huether Hotel at one point, and that strange happenings at the neighbouring Fox and Fidâ€" dle pub have often been attributed to Hammer Jack, a blacksmith who is said to have died there under mysâ€" terious circumstances a cenâ€" tury ago. The Things To Do series also included several Waterâ€" loo hot spots, like Waterloo Park‘s Lions Lagoon. The look of sheer delight on the kids‘ faces as they ran around this tropicalâ€"themed wonderland, complete with water guns, palm trees with spray heads and a waterâ€" breathing dragon, made me yearn for my youth. A trip to the park can also include a jaunt on the nearâ€" by vintage tourist train, operated by the Waterloo Central Railway, which runs from the city‘s Visitor and Heritage Information Centre to the Farmers‘ Market and St. Jacobs. A commentator adds an educational element to this journey, but for the kids on my train trip, nothing topped the "toot toot" sound when the conductor blew the horn. Visiting Laurel Creek Conservation Area also stood out for me. I‘ve been there many times before â€" mainly to cover events for the Chronicleâ€" but I‘ve never taken the time to realâ€" ly appreciate the park‘s beauty. We‘re so lucky to have this haven in the city, a place where residents can swim, hike, camp and enjoy nature. Not only that, it‘s brimâ€" ming with wildlife. In my hour there I saw many types of birds â€" which I won‘t attempt to identify to avoid criticism from professional bird watchers â€" and a groundhog. Then there‘s Kidzone Family Fun Centre, an indoor playground I wish had existed when I was young. It‘s a centre where chilâ€" dren‘s princess and dragonâ€" slaying dreams can come true in a threeâ€"storey castle that‘s a maze of slides, ball pits, pendulum walks and more. The Waterloo public library was one of my most recent stories, and one I‘m partial to because of my love of books. With something for everyone, it‘s really a "craâ€" dleâ€"toâ€"grave" operation, as one library employee put it. To have a special holiday this summer, you don‘t have to pack your car and head out of the city. I‘ve learned everything you need is right here.