Page 26, Whitby Free Press, Wodnesday, March 24, 1993 Firm chosen to build college's Whitby campus By Mike Kowalski A Toronto firm has won the contract to build Durham Col- lege's skills training centre in Whitby. y The colle e's board of gover- nors recently accepted a $5.8- million bid from Milne & Nicholls to construct the facility in the former Cadbury chocolate plant on Champlain Avenue. The winning bid was the lowest of nine tenders submitted for the project, announced last summer bv college and Ontario government officials. Scheduled to open this Sep- tember, the 150,000 sq. ft. centre will house pre-apprenticeship and apprentice prorams now offered at the school.s Oshawa and Ajax campuses. Courses will include metal trades, industrial maintenance mechanic, machine shop, pre- cision metal fabrication, tool and die maker, amon gothers. A section of the building will also be used for the Ontario Skills Development Ofice and the college's management and development centres. About 3,000.part-time students are expected initially and 5,000 over the next fiveyears. The Cadbury plant's refurbish- ing is part of an overaîl $20- mi lion expenditure. Remainingmones will be used to purchase equipment for the Whitby site and to "reformat» classrooms in Oshawa and Ajax, colege publicOrelations officer Cheryl Bird explained. "We'l have to change the classroom size here and in Ajax into usable space and equip the new place," said Bird. Work has already begun on the Whitby site, she said. In addition to classrooms and offices, workers will construct a library, laboratories, cafeteria, and replace the building's heat- ing system. Whitby architects Barry Bryan Associates Ltd. and Toronto architects Carruthers Shaw are desning the trainin g centre. William oeison Lt d. bought the factory from Cadbury in 1987 and closed it a year Iater, moving the equipment to a plant in Toronto. More than 400 jobs were lost as a result of Neilson's decision to streamline operations. In 1989, Rowntree Canada purchased the plant with the intention of moving production from its factory in west Toronto. But Rowntree, itself, was sub- sequently bou b Nestle's and the move to was aban- doned. Board prepares for construction of JK facilities By Mike Kowalski Although formally opposed by Board of ducation trustees, pre- parations are underway for junior kindergarten in purham on ublic schools. espite the board's objection last year to providing junior kin- dergarten for financial re sons, steps are being taken r its implementation in Du ham schools by September, 1994L The initial sites to house junior kindergartenare expected tobe announced this spring, said school board communications officer Mary Brown. Once the sites are identified and approved by trustees, ten- ders for construction of the new facilities will be called by the summer, Brown said. But first, trustees must decide how junior kindergarten will be offered in Durham. Brown explained that a board task force has spent the past two years examinin gthe issue. "We've looked at where it's at in other boards and how we can implement it in Durham," said Brown. "We've looked at whether it should be in every school or just certain ones serving the com- munity," she said. WEST L YNDE Although trustces have yet to decide if all schools will offer junior kindergarten, Brown said ail schools must be inspected. "We have to look at what's required to offer junior kinder- garten," she said. Since junior kindergarten stu- dents would not be allowed to take classes in a portable, Brown said older students might have to give up their classrooms for the younger children. Board staff would have to determine how many extra por- tables might be needed to acco- modate the influx of new chil- dren, Brown said. Students beautify school grounds Even though trustees are against junior kindergarten, Brown noted that they agreed to plan for it in the event Ontario government thinkin on the mat- ter cannot be swayed. "We're waiting for the bill to be passed. The board motion is we would prepare for it and wait and see," said Brown. The government's proposed Bill 20 requires junior kindergar- ten in all school boards by next year. The Durham board is waiting for the legislation to pass before deciding whether to challenge its legality. A spokesman for Education Minister David Cooke said the government hopes the bill will be passed this spring. According to board vice-chair Patti Bowman, the issue is sim ply a matter of.cost. (The - board estimates it will cost $12.2 million.in construction costs and $7.2 million a year to operate junior kindergarten.) "The issue is not whether it warrants it on merit but can we afford it? asked howman, a Whitby trustee. «We understand we have to deliver legislated programs, but give us sorhe relief," she said. Bowman said the board's request that implementation of junior kindergarten be delayed was raised during a meeting between former education minis- ter Tony Silipo and board chair Louise Farr. The board has not yet received a response to Farr's plea from Cooke, Bowman said. By Lucie Rochette West Lynde Public School hopes to attract some visitors to the next school year -- some wildlife visitors, that is. Twenty-five students and some teaching and custodial staff are working to beautify the school grounds in hopes of attracting various types of birds, insects and butterflies to be stu- died and admired. Last year some students got together with Linda McCallum, the school's head custodian. They made a rock garden and planted 110 trees and bushes on the grounds. This year the students wanted to know what more they could do to beautify the grounds, and this project was born. McCallum and 25 students from gades 2 to6 and from the special education classes as well as some of the teachers are involved in the project. The plan is to plant some bushes that attract wildlife add some birdhouses and a birdbath and create a path. The group would like to put up a pergola and add some trumpet The Brooklin Kinsmen major atom hockey team was runner-up in the 27th annual Newmarket house league tournament. The Whitby team, coached by Terry Witruk and Dave Walton and assisted by John Juitema, first played Lindsay. An early goal by Lindsay woke up the Whitby team that stormed back with unanswered goals to advance to the next round. Scoring for Whitby were Ryan Bayliss, Marc Higgins, Ryan Keay, Brian Witruk and Nick Cowan with twe goais each, with a solo going to Jason Turkington. AssistR went to(Mat Walton (four), J.R. O'Neil (tbree), Jason Turkington (three), Marc Higgins (two), Ryrin Bryliss (two), Danny Arts (two), Ronnie Fomaldo (two) vines. It has also been proposed to put up a cedar fence and to add some more flowerbeds. McCallum says that the total cost of this project is $2,500. The group is requesting funds from the Friends of the Environment Foundation, which is associated with Canada Trust. According to McCallum, the group members have started to raise money on their own. Collecting reusable bottles, holding a penny drive and using the prize nioney the school recei- ved for last year's rock garden have raised some funds but the group still needs about $2,000 to accomplish their task -- and McCallum welcomes any dona- tions. The school's science and art classes will use the wildlife habi- tat as a placeto study the plants, birds and insects. Students were recruited to form the group in January. To join, the students had to write a story, complete with pictures on why they wanted to be involved with the project. The group also has to build a and Ryan Keay. Game two was against Richmond HilI. Whitby goaltender Steve Pigram had te, withdraw due to illness and his duties were taken over by all-star soccer goalkeeper Andy Fountain, who traded his defensive duties and played the game of his life, leading his team to a 3-1 victory. Scoring for Whitby were Turkington with two and Scott Moore with the single. Assists went to Walton (two), Fornaldo and Turkington with one each. Solid performances were put in by Craig Connell, Jeff Dollo and Mike Huitema. Whitby advrinced te the championship game against Markham. Pigram resumed his goaltending duties, much to the three-dimensional model of the project using mostly recycled items such as newspaper and old ceiling tiles. The students can't use the project as an excuse to get out of class. Grades must be kept up to remain part of the group. McCallum says that a few stu- dents left when they discovered that they couldn't fit the amount of work into their schedules. The rest of the kids don't mind the amount of work. "The kids are eager to start," says McCallum. She says that they keep asking her if they can start digging soon. The group wants to start work- ing on the area right after March Break in hopes of having the pr'ect completed by mid-May. McCallum and the students are hoping that the most recent snowfall won't force them to change their plans. The students are responsible for the upkeep of the area until June. Over the summer the custodial staff will take care of the main- tenance of the grounds. Atoms runner-up in Newmarket relief of Fountain. The strong Markham tearn came roaring out to a two-goal lead. Whitby fought back and late in the game attacked with six skaters and finally got a goal. But time ran out and Whitby had to settle for the runner-up medals. Scoring for Whitby was Walton, who wrs set up by Witruk and O'Neil. Whitby MVP for the championshi game was Danny Arts. tby's overall tournament MVP was Turkington. The Whitby organization enterecu four teams i n the tournament and was voted as the most sportsmanlike town, with less than three penalties per game. Coach Witruk accepted the b l elnt an D adeen.s co- I I .. VERMICOMPOSTLNG For those who live in apartments, you, tee, can compost year-round. Vermicom postin gis the use of 'red wiggler' worms kýept, in a box of 'earthy'1beddi ng. The reward is a supply of rich, nutrient soil con diioner called wormn castings that is beneficial to houseplants and gardons. The container, similar in size to the blue box, has a lid with vents for aeration and a bottom with holes for drainage. The design is clean and odourless. As long as you follow the instructions, you can keep it anywhere in your apartment or office. You can make your own box and obtain several worms from someone who has a bin (try your local public school) or purchase a commercial unit that comes with bedding, tray, screen to be placed on the inside bottom of the unit, instructions with diaams and 3/4 lb. of worms. The bedding can be made with any mixture of shredded newspaper potted soil, dead plants, straw, topsoil orpeat moss. It should permit the worms to burrow freely, allow oxygen flow, be lightweight, retain moisture, non-toxic and easil digested. FI the bin three-quarters full with this mixture, having an overall moisture level similar to that of a wrung-out sponge. The bedding is placed on top of a fine screen to keep the worms contained. The food offered must be any kind of biodegradable matter except for materials containing an excess of'oils or chemicals. Feeding kitchen scraps such as vegetable/fruit peelings, bread, oats, coffee grounds, etc. once or twice a week is sufficient. Always bury food in bedding to avoid fruit flies. By sprinkling a pulverized egg shell on top of the soil every several weeks you help control acidity in the bedding. Do not add meats, fish, bones, pasta in large amounts, dairy products or corn cobs. To harvest, in about three months time, the compost texture should allow you to whisk off top layers of castings that look like minuscule black pellets. If it is too damp, leave for a few days without feeding the worms. You can open the lid during the daytime to allow more ventilation and lift the bedding gently to create air spaces. When ready to harvest, trowel out half the worms and bedding onto a newspaper. Separate into several separate mounds and place a light over the piles so that the worms, who are sensitive to light, will burrow into the mound. Gently whisk off the top layers of castings until most have been gathered. Place the worms and non-composted matenal back n the box with fresh bedding. The next time you add food, always bury it in the half with the fresh bedding as all the worms will be attracted to it. In a few days, the other side can be harvested or, if time permits, the entire box can be harvested. Vermicomposting and literature are displayed at the Earthdance environmental store located at 8 Midtown Dr. in Oshawa. For more information, contact the Recycling Council of Ontario at 1-800-263-2849.