This week headlines primarily consisted of good news from different charitable foundations and programs in the Bowmanville area. Here’s a look back at this week’s news headlines.

Big Brothers and Sisters of Clarington announced this week that they’ll be kicking off the annual “Bowl for Kid’s Sake,” a fundraising event to take place at Liberty Bowl in Bowmanville. The annual event raises funds for children’s programs under their foundation.

Another fundraising event took place last Saturday and proved to be very successful in spite of the bitter weather. The Polar Chili Golf Classic, a unique game of golf in the snow, drew in over 120 golfers to the makeshift links behind Bowmanville High School. The annual event raises funds for The Clarington Project.

The Memorial Hospital Foundation-Bowmanville was pleased to announce that their 2009 Smile Cookie Campaign was a smashing success, amassing a record-number of donations in the Durham region. Furthermore, coffee giant Tim Horton’s wrote the foundation a check worth $96,040.

Moving on to more serious matters, officials said that they can’t put a timeline as of yet on the move to construct more nuclear reactors near the Darlington Nuclear Station. They’re still deliberating the matter as of now.

Members from the Memorial Hospital Foundation-Bowmanville are off to a great start this year and have a something to really smile about, after they received a hefty donation from coffee shop company Tim Hortons.

The coffee and donut giant recently gave $96,040 to the non-profit group. The foundation will be using the money to acquire a new transport defibrillator and cardiac monitor. Part of the donation will also be used to pay for a treatment room as part of the Lakeridge Health Bowmanville’s emergency room redevelopment project.

The foundation was able to raise the money from their Smile Cookie Campaign in 2009, a fundraiser that collected an astounding amount of money in the Durham Region.

Gerry Johnston, head of the foundation’s board, commented that he and his team of workers and volunteers have been all smiles since they heard the news. It’s not just about the large donation for Tim Hortons he said, but also about how the Durham community came together for their cause. He added that the money will really go a long way in helping the foundation’s mission.

The Smile Cookie program first started in 1996 in Hamilton. Every year since then, the fundraiser has collected money for Hamilton’s Children’s Hospital.

According to Minister Brad Duguid of the Energy and Infrastructure Ministry, he can’t quite give a timeline as to when officials will reach a decision on whether or not to build new nuclear reactors near the existing Darlington Nuclear station in Bowmanville.

A few days ago, reports surfaced about Ontario Power Generation’s plan to keep the Pickering nuclear plant up and running for another ten years and spruce up the Darlington plant, effectively making it safe and capable of operating efficiently for another 40 years or so. Miniser Duguid pointed out that the matter is currently awaiting the approval of Ontario Power Generation’s board of directors.

Duguid however, didn’t disclose the effects of such a plan on the decision to put up new nuclear reactors at Darlington. He said that he’s only waiting to have recommendations on his desk. Only then can he discuss the impact of the proposed plan.

The construction of new nuclear reactors required environmental, which was immediately done thereafter. But in June of last year, bidding for the project hit a snag with the provincial government. According to Minister Duguid, building new nuclear reactors is a very serious matter, something that needs to be considered slowly and carefully.

Saturday would have been a perfect day for golf had it not been for the cold temperatures that forced golfers to wear double layers of clothing. But the 12 degree cold didn’t stop the 120 players from braving the makeshift golf links situated at the back of Bowmanville High School for the Polar Chili Golf Classic.

The yearly event is a fundraiser that collects donations for The Clarington Project, an effort of Community Living Oshawa Clarington.

While the golfers weren’t in their usual golfing attire—ditching it for layers upon layers of winter clothing—that didn’t keep them from playing all of 9 of the Hula Hoop holes with the use of three different clubs and tennis balls. “Why tennis balls” you might ask? It’s due to the fact that their color is essential for easy spotting in the snow.

According to Cheri Smith, event representative from Community Living Oshawa Clarington, this year’s Polar Chili Golf Classic was by far the coldest, and the first without any snowfall.

And as the event’s name suggests, Chili was served to the golfers to warm them up. Food was prepared by Zante Restaurant, King’s Court Catering, Maddy’s Pub, Chantrelle, and A Stone’s Throw pub. Without a doubt, this year’s Polar Chili Golf Classic was a successful one.

If you’re the type who likes to bowl for fun, then here’s a bowling event you definitely should not miss.

Big Brothers and Sisters of Clarington will be kicking off their annual fundraising event, “Bowl for Kids’ Sake,” later this month at Liberty Bowl, which is situated along Baseline Road in Bowmanville.

The yearly bowling event raises money for a variety of children’s programs under the umbrella of Big Brothers and Sisters of Clarington. Some of these programs and services include student mentoring and counseling, Big Bunch gatherings, as well as one-to-one pairings.

With over $35,000 raised in 2009, organizers from Big Brothers and Sisters Clarington want to set the goal a bit higher this year – at $40,000. According to Darlene Brown, executive director of the group, $35,000 was a good amount, especially with the recession making its effects fully felt during the time. With things looking a bit better today, she hopes to meet the higher goal.

Brown admits that the organization is primarily run by donations. Without events like Bowl for Kids’ Sake, she thinks they’d have to stop offering some of their services to the public for lack of funding.

If you want to know more about the event and organization, logon to http://www.bigbrothersandsisters.ca.

Authorities in Bowmanville are urging the public to be vigilant as the search goes on for the copper thieves. According to police, reports of thieves getting away with copper wire from commercial buildings, work yards, cell phone towers, as well as hospitals are on the rise these past few months.

More recently, a similar incident took place in Bowmanville. Fortunately, security footage recorded the whole act, providing local police with the facial profiles of the three suspects, as well as a good look at their escape vehicle.

Police described the three suspects as Caucasian men in their early 20’s. One of the suspects is described as tall and lanky, recorded wearing a plaid coat and a black toque. The second thief is described as having average height, wearing a red hoodie along with a black toque. The final suspect is said to be short, with a small build. He was recorded wearing a red toque, plaid coat, and dark running pants with white sneakers.

The escape vehicle on the other hand is described as a black GMC Sierra pick-up.

All images can be found online at www.drps.ca.

If you have information of the whereabouts of these three men, please call the authorities at 1-888-579-1520.

According to Durham officials, it’s only a matter of time before Clarington gets a new police station.

The municipality currently has a police force working from a small building located in Bowmanville, along Highway 2 on Regional Road 57. But since the municipality’s populations is steadily increasing, officials think that constructing a new building to serve as a police station would be the smart thing to do.

Chief Mike Ewles commented that the current building is terribly inadequate.

In a move to construct a new station, Clarington’s police force will be submitting a proposal to the Durham Region’s finance and administration committee a week from now. Officials hope that the request for funding will be granted, especially after how the idea of building a new detachment for Clarington has been mentioned time and again in past discussions.

According to Clarington Regional Councillor Charlie Trim, it would be very surprising if the request will not be included in the budget for 2010.

Efforts to acquire land for the new building are currently underway, but police have yet to disclose where it will be. They did however say that the new detachment will be on a large plot since officials plan on constructing a campus-like facility similar to a compound.

The Durham region may be made up of all sorts of people, but during crunch time, its residents have a habit of coming together.

Such was the case when Haiti was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on the 12^th of January, roughly 3 weeks ago. The killer earthquake took thousands upon thousands of lives and devastated the nation’s capital, Port Au Prince. Officials estimate the damage to be worth billions, and over 180,000 deaths have been confirmed by relief workers.

Despite being thousands of miles away, residents from Durham have opened their hearts and wallets to help the victims start their lives all over again. But aside from making donations, some Durham residents have packed their bags to join relief efforts in the Caribbean country.

For one paramedic based in Bowmanville, collecting medical supplies is of the utmost importance. He has promised to offer whatever assistance he can give, and plans on doing it until the next year. His mother, a longtime volunteer in Haiti, will also be flying back to the country to join in on the relief effort.

Other areas in Durham have their own stories to tell, but one thing’s for sure – in spite of this tragedy, it’s inspiring to have complete strangers come together for a common cause.

Less than a year after being appointed to one of Lakeridge Health Corporation’s top positions, Dr. Mark Taylor has left the Lakeridge hospital in Bowmanville.

Executives from the health corporation have so far kept silent on Dr. Taylor’s sudden departure and no details or statements have been released by any of the hospital’s representatives. It’s unknown if the doctor is working for another hospital at this time.

But according to Lakeridge Health Corporation’s CEO Kevin Empey, patients have nothing to worry about as the doctor’s leaving of his post won’t affect any of the hospital’s services. Patient care will remain as it is, he said.

Working for Lakeridge Corporation since 2007, Dr. Taylor rose through the ranks and was assigned as the vice president of medical affairs in the middle of efforts to cut costs aimed at saving money and replacing people who held administrative positions with those who are healthcare practitioners.

Replacing him will be Lisa Shiozaki, former VP of Lakeridge’s patient care department. She is expected to move to Bowmanville any time soon, Epney said. Shiozaki is a registered nurse who holds a master’s degree in public administration.

Attempts to reach Dr. Taylor have so far been unsuccessful.

Two men from Clarington who attempted to boost a donation box full of change and bills were recently slapped with charges for the heist. The box of change was for a local charity based in the Bowmanville vicinity.

According to police reports, two men entered a Mac’s Milk branch located on Mearns Avenue at around 10 in the morning on January 17. Apparently they had the whole “operation” planned out before the attempt. One of the two men was reported to have distracted the clerk working the cash register, while the other hid the donation in his clothing.

The two Clarington men then discreetly made their way out of the store without making a purchase, but employees from the store noticed that the donation box was missing and immediately called the police for help.

The two thieves were tracked down by Bowmanville police and brought to the station after being apprehended.

Fortunately, the donation box only contained $20 in donations as the coins and bills were only recently collected. The donation box belongs to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The suspects, namely 34-year old Andrew Benson, and 37-year old Jeffrey Watson, are currently charged with theft.