Oshawa library has plenty of prizes for teen readers this summer

Summer may be all about getting out and enjoying the outdoors to some, but the Oshawa Public Library has different plans – kicking off the season with a summer teen reading program which officially begins on the 5th of July.

To join the program, teens in the City of Oshawa have to drop by at any of the library’s four branches to get a game card, which allows them to score points by reading books, magazines, even check out other forms of media like CDs, DVDs, and video games. The contest runs until the 29^th of August, with extra points still up for grabs by joining library activities and writing reviews on books and other media from the Oshawa Public Library.

Teens can then trade their filled up game cards to a bunch of neat prizes, including tickets to Wonderland and an iPod Touch.

But that’s not all. The library is also holding a YouTube video contest that’s open to kids ages 13 to 19. The contest, which runs from the 2^nd of July until the 31^st of August, invites local youths to create and upload videos of them reading and mentioning “Oshawa Public Libraries.”

While the Winter Olympics in Vancouver showcase the very best winter athletes in the world today, the event is also giving the Ontario House pavilion an opportunity to draw in crowds.

With the Olympics in full gear, Bright Ideas provides visitors and tourists the “power” to actually control light displays scattered across the country. But they’re not using switches or whatnot to control the lights – instead, they’re using their thoughts.

Equipped with a state-of-the art headset that analyzes brain waves and signals, visitors have the ability to control light displays in three different landmarks in Ontario, namely the CN Tower, Parliament Hill, and Niagara Falls. In addition, users get to turn the lights on and off in real time.

According to Jackie Simkin, an Oshawa native and Bright Ideas’ project manager, everybody who has paid them a visit to try the headsets out have loved the experience. The lineups have been amazing she said.

Indeed, Ontario House has been this jam packed only a handful of times.

Simkin is currently at the Games, and she’s been working on the project since September of 2009. With her experience in advanced technology—she spent 25 years with Nortel and presently works a teacher to gaming students at UOIT—she was more than a good candidate for the position.

While unemployment rates for the whole of Canada and the Province of Ontario remained stable and stagnant throughout the months of November and December last year, things in Oshawa were a bit different to say the least.

Records show that unemployment increased in the city during these months.

According to a report by Statistics Canada, the numbers indicate that the Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area’s unemployment rate for December rose by as much as 9.8 percent, that’s more than 500 percent from last year’s low rate of 0.6 percent. The Metropolitan Area includes the town of Whitby and the municipality of Clarington Clarington.

That 9.3 percent translates to over 19,400 residents who are out of jobs in the region.

Canada’s national employment rate hovered at 8.5 percent in November and December, while Ontario’s was at 9.3 percent on both months.

All in all, 2009 was a bad year for employment in Canada, with over 22,000 Canadians losing their jobs last year

Yes, it’s a grim picture indeed. But with signs of the economy getting back on its feet and plans of numerous projects in the Oshawa vicinity which are sure to generate jobs and revenue for the city, things look to a bit brighter in the future.
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This 2010, why not put your singing skills to the test?

The Durham Region’s Philharmonic Choir is currently looking for new voices to join their roster of tenured talents. Folks from Oshawa and other surrounding areas are encouraged to kick off the year by joining the choir for some good and clean fun.

Of course, it goes without saying that it’s not all fun and games. The Durham Philharmonic Choir did not get to where it is now without hard work and determination. The choral group has won various prestigious awards, and each of its 70 male and female members have put in some serious hours for practice and performances.

They are currently in search for some voices to fill up their alto, soprano, tenor, and bass sections. This is in preparation for performances spread throughout the remainder of the winter season and upcoming spring.

Individuals who have been part of choirs and those who have undergone music and vocal training through high school, church, and college can check out the choir group’s official website at www.durhamphilharmonic.ca. Audition are set to take place early this month, so check the website every now and then for updates.

So go ahead, give it a try. Who knows, you just might be part of this talented group of singers.

2010’s looks to be a promising year for Oshawa’s Robert McLaughlin Gallery, as it kicks things off with a new CEO at the helm.

Jan Lean, who leads the RMG board of directors, has recently appointed Gabrielle Peacock to hold the gallery’s top position. According to Lean, the appointment of Peacock finally ends the extensive and tiring national 4-month search for a new CEO.

Peacock will officially head the gallery on the 18th of January, 2 Mondays from now.
In a statement released to the press, Lean states that Miss Peacock’s 20 years of experience in the world of arts and culture make her an excellent choice as the gallery’s CEO. Lean adds that Peacock’s tried-and-tested management skills will be crucial in improving and taking the gallery in a new and better direction.

Peacock has worked for Ritchies Auctioneers for 20 years, recently stepping down as its senior vice president to move her new job. She has largely been responsible for keeping an eye on the production and marketing of the firm’s fine art sales annually, giving her unparalleled insight into Canada’s art scene.

Even before working at Ritchies, Peacock had a successful stint at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, serving as its public relations coordinator.

One of our favorite things to do during the first few days of the New Year is to try and look up the proud parents of the city’s first official baby of the year.

Yes, lucky is the child who is born on the 1st of January. At least that’s what some say. To us, it’s just plain cool.

For the City of Oshawa, and the entire Durham Region for that matter, little Bradley Bonneau was this year’s first newborn. The bouncing little boy, who came to the world a bit later than expected, was born at exactly 12:02 in the morning of January 1.

According to proud parents Holly Bonneau and Patrick Doussept, baby Bradley was supposed to be delivered by their obstetrician almost two weeks earlier on December 22. However, they opted to have him born closer to the New Year, so as to separate his birthday from Christmas.

Mom Holly Bonneau was beaming with excitement and pride for her first born to be a New Year’s baby. According to the couple, they weren’t really concerned about Bradley’s due date; they just wanted him to be healthy.

Indeed, little Bradley was a bundle of health delivered by the doctors and medical staff of Lakeridge Health Oshawa.

While 2009 was an especially tough year for the City of Oshawa, federal Finance Minister and local Member of Parliament Jim Flaherty is expecting things to look up next year.

Flaherty is particularly hopeful of Oshawa’s employment rate.

According to him, job numbers have begun to stabilize, and General Motors has even started to repay its loans from the Ontario government and the government of Canada ahead of schedule.

For GM to make such a move is an encouraging sign of good things to come, he adds.
He hopes that 2010’s economic situation is more solid compared to the past years since the global economic crisis began. With signs being positive and promising, he thinks Oshawa is currently on the road to recovery.

That means more jobs, leading to a good economic chain reaction in the city.

Analysts note however, that 2009 was a better economic year than 2008 was. Due to the Canadian and U.S. deal to use a multi-billion bailout fund to save auto-manufacturing giants like Chrysler and General Motors, thousands of workers all over North America were saved from being unemployed.

Flaherty adds that if Oshawa survived the last two years, then they’re pretty much prepared to weather any storm in the future.

Happy New Year!

2010 brings with it lot of new things, activities, goals, and responsibilities.

Like humans needing their annual flu-shots and the like, pets also need similar attention! And with the arrival of the New Year, residents in the City of Oshawa are reminded to update their pet and animal licenses for 2010.

So if you’ve got a kennel or simply a household pet, listen up.

Details on the license fees in the city are list below:

• $15 lifetime with proof of spaying or neutering, annual rabies vaccination and microchip
• $25 annually with spaying or neutering proof, as well as annual rabies vaccination record
• $25 lifetime unaltered annual rabies vaccination record and microchip
• $40 annual unaltered with proof of annual rabies vaccine.

Licenses are now available for purchase at Oshawa’s pet Licensing Services office located at the 1st floor of 50 Centre Street South, at Service Oshawa (same address), or at veterinary offices scattered throughout the City of Oshawa.

Oshawa law requires that animal and pets in the city must be license and wearing a tag. By providing your pet a license, animal services in the city will do what they can to locate your pet if he/she is lost.

2010 might be a problematic year for education officials in the Durham area, as around 300 teachers from Durham College might resign from their posts next year.

Due to failed negotiations between Ontario’s college and the union representing the province’s teachers, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, a strike vote has now been scheduled to take place on the 13th of January 2010. If the vote is supported by more than 50 percent, teachers and other educators could be leaving their jobs to protest soon afterwards. Furthermore, the strike vote will be affecting both full-time and part-time teachers.

In the past, teachers from Durham College have gone on strike at least three times – in 1984, 1988, and more recently, in 2006. According to one teacher, all three strikes have lasted about 3 weeks.

To ensure that things remain orderly and safe for the public, officials have drawn up strike contingency plans which include proper picket management and crowd control. The plan also calls for the staff of the University Of Ontario Institute Of Technology (which shares the school’s Oshawa campus) to be treated with respect at all times.

For up to date reports on the vote, students can log-on to the school’s official web site.

To be one of the first few to receive Canada’s new Sacrifice Medal is an honor. But to Oshawa native Rick Kurelo, being bestowed with the medal gives him a bittersweet feeling of pride and sadness.

A sense of pride in serving Canada during times of war, and sadness when reminded of his injury and thoughts of his fellow-soldiers who died in battle – men and women whom he believes deserve the honor much more.

The Sacrifice Medal is an award that honors soldiers who were injured or killed in the line of duty.

According to Kurelo, the award is something he’s not really keen on receiving. But he feels it’s a good move for the Canadian government to give back to those injured and killed while serving their country. The medal is a significant step forward in recognizing these heroes.

Due to military rules and restrictions, the nature of Kurelo’s injuries are unknown to the public. All the soldier had to say was that he was wounded in enemy action while deployed in Afghanistan. Today, Kurelo says his health is back to normal, and that “feels normal”.

The solider received the medal in a ceremony held 3 weeks ago on December 2.