Friday, February 17, 2017 7 Brooklin Town Crier New Hires Settling In Our Councillor's Report by Rhonda Mulcahy North Ward Councillor, Town of Whitby • mulcahyr@whitby.ca After my last article, I received a fair bit of feedback, which I was expecting since the topic was the budget. So thank you for your insight. I also received a request for a report about the fire department. As we've been told, the budget was given an injection of 1.5% for each of last year and this year to fund fire services at the Town. Recently at Town Hall, Deputy Fire Chief Scott Siersma provided us some numbers about operations at the Fire Department. In 2015, we had a call volume of 5400 calls, the highest in Whitby's history. Motor Vehicle Collisions (MVCs) were up 10% to 693 from our previous highest call volume in 2013 of 632. Fire calls were up 12% with 370 responses, 40 more than the previous year. Fire and MVCs represent 20% of the Fire Department's call volume. Both types require multiple apparatuses and take a great deal of time, which can make multiple calls at the same time a challenge. In 2016, these calls increased an additional 133 times. Concurrent calls are on the rise with the growth in our community. And, given our need to respond to MVCs on the 400 series highways that we now service (with not one, but two trucks per call), we are bound to see those numbers increase again this year. So what are we doing to help our fire services? We have a new truck coming this spring, which has already been approved by council. We also know that down the road a new hall will need to be built close to the 400 series highways. We've hired 20 new firefighters. (See above photo). I had the pleasure of welcoming them at a ceremony at the fire hall recently. These men and women are the cream of the crop. Selected from over 600 applications, the new recruits are both qualified and and professional. As the next budget looms large, I feel confident in the continued support for the fire department. While I wasn't on council last year for this initial decision, I followed this closely. This is not a desire but rather a need at the Town, a need that ensures the community's safety. It's not really been much of a debate, and for good reason. I would also like to thank those who came out to my drop-in last weekend at The Goodberry. I plan to host another soon. If you would like to be part of my community advisory group, please connect with me. The Magic of Seeding Blooming in Brooklin By Ken Brown Pick a cold, nasty day to go to the garden centre then spend an hour or two wandering among the flowering and foliage houseplants that are brightening up those greenhouses. It's a very therapeutic experience - and much cheaper than a trip south. On the way out, pick up a bag of soilless mix and a few interesting seed packages before heading home to give your seeds the best start. Once they have absorbed enough water, the seeds look for a signal it's the correct season. That's indicated by the temperature of the planting media. Find some way to warm it up. When the soil temperature is above 24o C, then the seeds will know it's time and they'll germinate quickly. There are little heat mats available just for this purpose and they're available from seed catalogue people such as Vesey's. Once heat and moisture have done their job, then light becomes the all important factor. Regular cool white fluorescent tubes do a great job, but the secret is to get them as close as possible to those plants. Mine hang on chains so I can move them up and down, keeping them about 5 cm from the top of the seedlings. Tending to these seeds and seedlings keeps gardeners sane in the last few weeks of winter and they eventually feed our bodies as well as our gardener's souls. Cleanliness important Meanwhile, the little begonia seeds I sowed early in January are growing well and in another week or three they may be big enough to attempt transplanting. All the seedling trays and equipment have been in the laundry tub with hot water, soap and bleach. When growing your own plants from seed, cleanliness is paramount. There are fungus diseases that can't wait to destroy your little seedlings, so sterilizing all the containers, etc. is the best way to fight back. There are several more seeds, such as onions and oriental vegetables like pak choi and guy lan that are finding their way into my germination space. These are wonderful cool season crops and I want to have good sized transplants ready for the garden as soon as the soil has dried enough to work in it. In a good year, that's about the middle of April. I have a clear plastic tunnel that I may put out 3-4 weeks earlier to dry a bit of soil so that I can plant under it by early April. I'm already tired of supermarket produce or frozen corn. We sit in the sun of the solarium and anticipate that first fresh head of pak choi. If I still haven't convinced you to rip out the front yard and plant vegetables then you might want to start a few annual flowers now. Marigolds, cosmos and several others are quite easy to start from seed under a few lights. Almost all the seeds, which we might start under those lights, have a couple of basic needs. They want to be warm and moist. No seed will germinate until it has been able to absorb enough moisture to break its dormancy. Holding that water and making it available to the seeds is the primary function of the material in seedling trays. I avoid calling it soil because any outdoor garden soil is the worst possible material to use for indoor seed starting. As to the garden centre visit, if they only served pina coladas! WDP Theme: Have I Been Unfair to You? by Donna Shaddick Special to the Brooklin Town Crier Photo by Colin Williamson This is the theme for the upcoming World Day of Prayer Service on March 3 at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church, 130 Watford St. in Brooklin starting at 1:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend. Each year, Brooklin United Church, St. Thomas Anglican and St. Leo the Great meet to plan the service's details. The parishes take turns hosting the event with all three groups participating in the readings, refreshments, etc. Through the World Day of Prayer service, Christian women from one country share their concerns and hopes with their sisters and brothers in 170 countries, uniting us in prayer and solidarity. This year, women of the Philippines have prepared the service. Offerings received through the World Day of Prayer collection transform prayers into action in the form of grants for projects benefiting women and children in Canada and throughout the world. All regions share in the grants, with consideration given to areas where needs are greatest. World Day of Prayer Grants for 2016 are listed in this year's prayer service booklet. To apply for a grant, visit www. wicc.org. For information about this year's WDP service at St. Leo's, call 905-620- 0724. To find services in other areas of Durham region, you can go to the above website and look under World Day of Prayer Event locations for services registered through the Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada.