Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Ontario Trails News - support your local winter trail business - help beat the late onset on winter!

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Ontario’s snow businesses hit hard by December’s warm weather

Slow start to winter weather, a stark contrast to last year’s stormy holiday season, hurting many businesses, from snowmobiling to snow removal

OurWindsor.Ca
At J.T.’s Snowmobile Repair, around 30 kilometres west of Barrie, they’ve sold only two snowmobiling permits since Dec. 1.
“Normally this time of year, we’d sell 40 by now,” says general manager Trevor Bronee.
The Saturday after Christmas is typically one of the shop’s busiest days of the year, yet this year, amid a near absence of snow, only a dozen or so customers came in.
The snow-free landscape throughout much of Ontario is affecting all sorts of winter businesses, from snowmobiling to snow removal. It’s a stark contrast from last year’s holiday weather, when ahistoric ice storm paralyzed southern Ontario just before Christmas. This holiday season, there has barely been a dusting.
“We call the snow ‘pennies from heaven,’ ” says Larry Richards, president of East-West Snow Services, a Toronto-based family business that’s been around since 1958.
Last December, the company salted city streets around 15 to 20 times. This year they’ve only been out four or five times.
The lack of snow has a trickle-down effect throughout the economy, Richard says, and it’s affecting a whole slew of businesses.
“No one’s buying salt now, no one’s buying shovels,” he explains. “Snow plows aren’t being used, and if they’re not breaking, guys aren’t selling parts.”
There are also snow plow drivers on standby, making only 30 to 40 per cent of the income they could rake in during a snowfall, he says.
One winter business near Barrie had to close down entirely.
Hardwood Ski and Bike, which has a popular network of cross-country ski trails, was only open until Dec. 22 owing to the area’s lack of snow. Indeed, the company missed the entire Christmas season.
“We would normally have 400-plus visitors each day and didn’t have any over (the holidays,)” says Jack Saffeville, president and general manager.
Saffeville is hoping for snow over the next few days because the first weekend in January typically brings in Hardwood’s biggest numbers, with two $30,000 days in a row. For a $2-million business, losing those few days would mean a huge financial hit.
“I’ve had a few sleepless nights,” says Saffeville. “But there’s really not a heck of a lot we can do about it — we don’t make snow.”
The expense of making powder for the area’s cross-country trails would be too great, he explains.
For alpine ski resorts, snow-making is a blessing. Ashley Amis, public relations manager at Blue Mountain Resort near Collingwood, Ont., says the resort is tracking on budget for December.
“We have a range of snow guns that can help us combat mild temperatures,” she explains, adding 19 of the resort’s 42 trails are open.
It’s a similar scene at Horseshoe Resort in Barrie, where snow-making teams are going full tilt. Jonathan Reid, director of partnerships and events, says the resort’s hotel has been at 95-per-cent occupancy since Dec. 20, and 15 of their 27 ski runs are currently open.
The biggest hit, he says, has been on cross-country skiing. Like Hardwood, they’ve had to shut down their trails.
And it’s not just Ontario businesses that have been hit. The Associated Press reported Monday that New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his entourage called off a trip to popular snowmobiling destination Ridge View Lodge because there was no snow.
But with snowfall in the forecast throughout Ontario later this week, winter businesses are hoping for a boost — and in the meantime, they’re making the best of the warm weather.
“The snow plow guys are happy. They got to spend Christmas with their families,” Richards says.
Toronto Star

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Ontario Trails News - join a local bird count, to be found just off an Ontario Trail.

Learn more about Ontario's trails

GreenView

GreenView: Join a local Christmas Bird Count

Contributed by admin on Dec 08, 2014 - 10:53 AM
Picture 0 for Join a local Christmas Bird Count
Toronto, December 8, 2014 – Throughout the holiday season, many Ontarians enjoy one decadent feast after another. Why not use those newly-acquired calories to help our feathered friends?
The Christmas Bird Count, initiated by American ornithologist Frank Chapman in 1900, is a one-day bird census conducted by volunteers. Counts are organized locally by birding and nature clubs. They are free and open to everyone – no matter skill or age.
This year, counts run from December 14th to January 5th. Visit the Ontario Nature (www.ontarionature.org/cbc) and Bird Studies Canada (www.bsc-eoc.org/volunteer/cbc) websites to find your local count. Ontario Nature member groups are coordinating more than 70 counts.
The Christmas Bird Count is the longest-running wildlife census and a crucial part of Canada’s biodiversity monitoring database. Each citizen scientist who braves the snow, wind and cold to take part in a count contributes to the study and conservation of birds. Data collected are used to monitor the status of resident and migratory birds across the Western Hemisphere.
“The Christmas Bird Count is a fun tradition with an important goal – bird study and conservation,” says Anne Bell, director of conservation and education at Ontario Nature. “It’s great to see expert and novice birders working together to spot as many species as possible, regardless of the weather.”
Last year in Ontario, more than 4,000 people participated in 110 Christmas Bird Counts. A whopping 178 species and 1,094,937 individual birds were recorded. Here are some highlights:
  • A record number of trumpeter swans (160) were spotted at LaSalle Marina in Burlington.
  • Snow bunting was the sixth most abundant bird reported, reaching a record tally of 101,541 individuals.
  • Participants of 58 counts recorded 284 snowy owls. By comparison, participants of 29 counts recorded 52 snowy owls the year before.
  • Common redpoll, pine siskin, crossbill and grosbeaks were absent or present in smaller-than-usual numbers in counts across southern Ontario.
  • Linwood count participants recorded a near record number of rough-legged hawks (119).
  • Peel count participants spotted a Ross’s goose.
  • Parkenham-Arnprior count participants spotted 350 dark-eyed juncos, a new high for this species.
  • Participants of the Blenheim and Hamilton counts spotted 98 species, the greatest number among all Ontario counts last year.
What avian rarities and trends will we uncover this year? Join a Christmas Bird Count to find out. And if you’re still not convinced that participating in a count is for you, many are followed by a pot-luck.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Ontario Trails News - our trails include rides for ATV owners

Learn about Ontario's ATV Trails - join our ATV trails page

Sports

Local ATV racer crowned provincial champion

November 4, 2014   ·   0 Comments
atv national champ cody-290-37
By Darren Lum
You wouldn’t know it by hearing him, but Minden’s Cody Withey is a provincial champion, having accumulated the most points to win the seven-round CMRC (Canadian Motorsport Racing Corporation) Ontario Provincial Championships ATV Pro.
It’s not that he doesn’t smile or isn’t ever excited, but that he possesses an even-keeled demeanor, which is an apparent key to his success this season.
True to his character, the word “we” comes up a lot, demonstrating how much he appreciates everyone’s help in his success.
Withey, who races for the Canadian ATV MX Race Team, said he couldn’t have done it without with his parents, Bill and Kristin, who he can’t thank enough.
“They did just about everything for me, driving me everywhere and helping me with my bike, helping me afford everything and what not. Obviously, I couldn’t do it without them,” he said.
The list of supporters includes his girlfriend Jenna Vollmer, motorbuilder Mark Baldwin of Baldwin Motorsports in Ohio, who has been there since the beginning with technical and morale support, teammate Sean Mitchell and his Canadian ATV MX Race Team, SSI Decals and K&N Airfilters. He said this championship is for them.
“It’s nice just having everybody there for me, helping me and kind of pushing me to do better,” he said.
Another aspect of this year’s success, he said, was to treat every race like just another race.
“We just tried to focus on doing well each race instead of worrying about the overall year. If you worry about the overall year you start making mistakes. Things go downhill real quick,” he said.
The 18-year-old finished with four overall round wins out of seven rounds, which included one missed round for a one-point win overall second place Tyler Summers, who was last year’s CMRC title holder. This is the first ever overall title for the Minden teen.
Coming into the last round at Gopher Dunes last month, Withey was only nine points ahead of Summers with two races left. That morning, he felt confident, having raced well at the same course at the beginning of the season. Withey said he tried not to think about the narrow lead over Summers, treating the race like any other.
After finishing second in the first race of the last round, Withey and his team discovered an engine problem just before the last race. His team resolved the problem, but in the haste to put the engine together it led to an additional issue where the timing of the engine was off, leaving Withey with a weakened engine.
“It took everything I had just to make for third,” he said. “I knew I had to get top three at least just to clinch the championship.”
Summers led wire to wire in the race, keeping the pressure on. Although Withey stayed composed, he saw how well Summers was racing, increasing his lead over him and the field and started counting the points in his head, hating how his closest competitor was so far away down the track.
“Of course it bothers me not to be chasing him down and passing him just to win the race [and the overall title outright]. I still knew I had enough of a points lead that I would still take it,” he said.
In the first few rounds he said things went rather smoothly. However, the last few rounds proved to be far more challenging for a variety of reasons whether on the track or in the pits. Overcoming this adversity gives him perspective and an awareness he can grow with.
“I’m more knowledgeable after this season because of things happening. I kind of understand how to prevent them more and just have my bike and myself ready for each race,” he said. “It was a training thing for me. AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) will be the time to shine. I get all the bugs worked out in CMRC and then figure things out for when I head [back] to the States. That was the goal of it.”
The provincial title is one step to his ultimate goal of success in the ATV American race series organized by the AMA.
“It’s just kind of a stepping stone in the direction that I want to go leading towards doing better in AMA because that’s the ultimate goal, but it’s pretty cool knowing that just having the people support you throughout the whole season being able to pull it off not for yourself but for everybody else too because they’re kind of expecting it,” he said.
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Monday, November 10, 2014

Ontario Trails News - MPP's given mandates, some includes trails, roads and cycling

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Nov 04, 2014 | Vote0   0


McGarry’s mandate: Working on road safety, advising on provincial cycling strategy

Cambridge Times
QUEEN'S PARK – Among MPP Kathryn McGarry’s chief duties are working to “help maintain” Ontario as a leader in North American road safety, and advising on the implementation of the province’s first cycling strategy.
Those are the first two bullet items in a letter to McGarry, made public this week, from Minister of Transport Steven Del Duca. McGarry, who is in her first term of office representing Cambridge and North Dumfries, serves as his parliamentary assistant.
"I am very excited with the mandate letter the minister of transportation has given to me,” McGarry said in a statement prepared for the Times.
“During the June election, transportation was one of the biggest issues not only across Ontario, but also in our community.”
Additional items in her mandate with the ministry include assisting with the establishment of a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles and stretcher transportation services, as well as the development of recommendations on modernizing and regulating the intercity bus regime.
“Parliamentary assistants play a key role in delivering these priorities and have a responsibility to put our government’s plan into action,” Del Duca wrote in his letter.
Previously, mandate letters have not been made public, but the government has done so in an effort to be more transparent with residents.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Ontario Trails - The best in Outdoors in Ontario happens on an Ontario Trail

View Map of Trail Locations
Sled Dog Race Needs Snow, Of Course
Ottawa Citizen
Sure, they have holiday spirit, too, but what organizers of the Rideau Cup sled dog race would really like for Christmas is a blanket of snow that would ...


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Duo bring War of 1812 to life with new book
Brantford Expositor
With vibrant photographs of period conflict re-enactors and an accessible text, 1812 Pictorial Trails by Martin Love and Casandra Bellefeuille brings to the ...

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American Trails
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2013 Manulife Walk for Memories - City of Toronto
Walking/Hiking. Links. Tourism Toronto. Visitor services. Historic sites. Attraction highlights. Public transit. Green P Parking. Road restrictions. Event planning ...
wx.toronto.ca/...nsf/.../41457c13e088e14a85257ad8007ab1d8... 

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Reflections on the Outdoors
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More information at OFSC


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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Ontario Trails - Ski, Sled, Hike, Bike or Paddle Ontario's Trails


Event-ful winter at Ontario Parks » Parks Blog
... to a ski loppet. There's always something to do at Ontario Parks in winter. ... Organized by the Arrowhead Nordic Ski Club, the Full Moon Ski begins at 7pm. ...
www.parkreports.com/parksblog/?p=2372


Writing about running
Brantford Expositor
... fitness has been on a steady rise in past years as proven by the number of health and fitness centres, fitness trainers and number of running events throughout Ontario, including Brantford's New 2012 Tournament of Races, Road and Trail Series. ...
See all stories on this topic »


Walking With A Camera: Toronto Photo Walks: Christmas Market
Toronto Photo Walks: Christmas Market. Thanks everyone for the well wishes yesterday. Just in case I missed a few. Since Christmas day is almost here I will be ...
walkingwithcamera.blogspot.com/.../toronto-photo-walks-chri...


Cook's Bay Fishing Board - Walking for peace Toronto to Huntsville ...
Author, Topic: Walking for peace Toronto to Huntsville for the G8 (Read 62 times). admin. Global Moderator * Canadian member is offline ...
www.cooksbayfishingboard.com/index.cgi?board=walk...


June 17-19, 2012 Oxford County Ontario
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