2 Friday, September 27, 2019 brooklintowncrier.com Faster! Faster! Less than half the picture: By Richard Bercuson I had another column ready to go to print till I received a fascinating press release from MPP Lorne Coe's office. And just like that, with my eyes rolling and head shaking, I was left aghast. Coe, the Ford government's chief whip, announced this week a pilot project on three Ontario highways to raise the speed limit from 100 to 110 km/h. The release included blather from Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney about putting people first and wanting to hear everyone's opinions through an online survey. "I look forward to seeing the results of this initiative and applaud the Minister of Transportation for taking bold initiatives to improve the lives of Ontarians," Coe wrote. Then, with a bizarre twist of logic, the release stated that Ontario has been lowest or second to lowest in North America highway fatality rates for 18 years. No sense being satisfied with success. Let's go faster and tempt fate. There was no mention of a recent study done by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which stated that a 5 mph (8 km/h) rise in speed can produce an 8 per cent increase in fatalities. Even when accounting for margins of error or data collection issues, any increase in fatalities is obviously unacceptable. Well, obvious to most. How about Canada? The University of British Columbia's faculties of medicine and applied science studied years of data. In 2014, BC raised its highway limits, too, by 10 per cent. UBC reported that, since then, crashes increased by 20 per cent and deaths by more than 100 per cent. Driver error was responsible in 96 percent of all crashes. Perhaps other factors came into play in that province, such as the nature and geography of its terrain. But again, we're back to tempting fate. "It really doesn't matter what speed you're driving at, it just means at higher speeds you've got less time to react if you've made a mistake or a deer is in front of you or a wheel falls off," the associate professor of sustainable transport safety said. "And the energy of the impact is greater, so the severity of the crash is greater at a higher speed." Brian Patterson, president of the Ontario Safety League, is quoted in the press release as saying, ""The Ontario Safety League traditionally bases their position on science, and the science tells us that although excessive speed is a factor in many crashes, under normal driving conditions and with reasonable driving attention it would have virtually no impact." Am I missing something? So, excessive speed is a factor but not when things are normal and everyone's attentive, which naturally happens all the time. My common sense anecdotal "research" tells me that 110 km/h will translate into 130 or more for the loons we share the road with. We were fine the way it was. Mister Coe and company have made us less safe. Shane Zander's Brooklin home, where he lives with his wife and son, is pretty much Halloween every day of the year. Four year old Gage has grown up with prosthetic body parts, alien heads and odd photos lying around. It's not unusual to see him playing with an arm or a leg. In fact, the boy's name is taken from Stephen King's Pet Sematary character Gage Creed. Moreover, Zander met his wife on a movie set where he was the makeup artist turning her into an alien. All of this is consistent with Zander's life for over 20 years as a special effects makeup artist for movies and television. When working on a production, most of which are filmed in the GTA, it's normal for him to leave in the morning and return home in the wee hours. On Mondays, for instance, he'd rise at 2:30 am to be at the studio by 4 and remain till well after midnight. As he notes, it makes for a short weekend. "My truck has a lot of kilometres on it," he says. "Last night (Thursday, Sept. 19), we finished at 1 am and I got home at 2. And that's usual. Today I'll work till 3 or 4 am from noon. That's a normal thing. We have an hour to get ready and actors come in half an hour after we do. Then at the end, we take their makeup off. They go, then we go. It's just a draining schedule." Great work anyway But the satisfaction comes when he sees his work on the screen. Most times, it's darn good, even when the show itself isn't. More on that later… Growing up in Squamish, B.C., he loved horror movies and found himself doodling drawings much of the time in high school where he took every art course available. The school was the only one in town, had no drama productions and not even a football team. What was left was for him to go to work at a steel factory, ever dreaming of doing something with his passion. That's when, in 1996, an opportunity came up to attend a pricey makeup school in Los Angeles. However, by the time the eight month stint was done, his girlfriend was due with their baby and he had to return to Squamish. Two weeks later, he be- came a dad and suddenly priorities shifted. Back to the factory he went though he worked nights in a Van- couver special effects shop. He recalls, "I'd leave my work at midnight, drive to Vancouver an hour away and work till 6 am. I was a zombie, which I guess is appropriate. But that's what I did to improve myself. It was hard. It was a long battle to get where I am today. Pretty much all of what I did when I started was self taught." Started with painting His landed his first job on the TV show "The Outer Limits," a remake of the 1960s version and filmed in Vancouver. "They needed a painter in the shop. I just went in and they said can you paint these for us and I did. Painting creature suits and stuff. I brought them home, painted them, they were impressed and hired me." Shortly after, he got a gig on what he says was a "cheesy Hallmark show" called Voyage of the Unicorn. "It was garbage but it was awesome to work on and then it got nominated for an Emmy award. I was, like holy cow, this is amazing! We went to LA A tree has been planted in Civic Park at Town Hall to honour the memory of former Mayor Jim Gartshore, who passed on June 19, 2019, at the age of 90. Family, friends and colleagues attended the ceremony. He began his municipal career as a Town Councillor from 1972 to 1975 and was Mayor from 1975 until 1980. Under Mayor Gartshore's leadership as mayor, a number of major facility and infrastructure projects were initiated and completed, including the opening of the Whitby Operations Centre, the Whitby Seniors' Activity Centre and Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village; the establishment of the Port Whitby Marina and Harbour; the relocation of the Whitby Public Library; the introduction of a new water plant in the Town; the creation of Rotary Centennial Park; and, the development of the Brock Street bridge. Mayor Gartshore also oversaw the opening of the new Town Hall building at 575 Rossland Road East in 1977, making him the first mayor to serve in the new building. Mayor Gartshore was not only a visionary for Whitby Council, he also championed local support for community projects and was made a lifetime member of the Whitby Kinsmen Club, formerly serving as club president and district governor. The Town of Whitby is grateful for his years of service and legacy of accomplishments. Whitby Honours Late Mayor Nominations are now being accepted for the Town of Whitby's 14th annual Celebrating Youth Awards, which recognize outstanding young leaders in Whitby who have made positive contributions to the community. The annual awards seek nominations for Whitby youths, ages 12 to 18. It's for those who, through their selfless actions, volunteerism, or involvement in school or community organizations, have demonstrated a commitment to making Whitby a better place to live, work and play. Nominations are due Friday, October 11, 2019, at 4 p.m. and can be submitted online at whitby. ca/youthevents. Nominees and award winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. Nominations Open For Youth Awards A Special BTC Feature Behind The Make-up By Richard Bercuson Continued on page 3