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3The Uxbridge CosmosUxbridge at a Glance continuedThursday, June 16, 2022Tornado researchers want local storiesMunicipal Storm UpdateWhat are key resources for Residents? For urgent needs regarding housing, food or personal services, please contact Durham SocialServices at 905-666-6239 ext. 1751 or email ess@durham.ca Durham Region Social Services office is open two days a week at 2 Campbell Dr., Uxbridgefrom 8:30-4:30pm. Drop-in appointments are welcome. Team Rubicon Canada is volunteer-based disaster response organization providing assistancein Uxbridge to residents at no cost. Teams will help with minor repairs and tree and debrisclean-up. Residents can call 647-469-8659 or email request assistance@teamrubicon.ca tospeak to a team member. For more information on Team Rubicon Canada visit www.TeamRubicon.ca Residents who have been displaced from their apartment must work with the landlord/propertymanager to arrange to remove their personal belongings. If you wish to have a building inspected for safety please call the Chief Building Official at 905852-9181 ext 403 or email inspections@uxbridge.caWaste Disposal The Township is no longer removing large branches and tree trunks from the curb. Responsibilityfor disposal of tree debris has reverted back to the property owner. Please note that DurhamRegion Waste transfer facilities are no longer accepting yard waste at their facilities. The Region of Durham will accept bundled tree branches and bagged tree debris as part of theirregular yard waste pick-up. The Arena is no longer accepting chipped wood drop-off.Fire Permits The Fire ban has been lifted and residents can now apply for fire permits online permits.aspx. Permits are required forall open air burns.How Can You Help? Those wishing to make financial donations towards a Relief Fund can do so via the Rotary Clubof Uxbridge Charitable Foundation or can contact uxbridgerotaryfoundation@gmail.com.Donations can also be made to the Uxbridge Loaves and Fishes Foodbank or the UxbridgeSalvation Army.Street Sweeping SchedulePlease rake sand into gutter for removal.Missed areas will be revisited once all zones are complete.Investigating Public Experiences with Tornadoes Speaking with us means a 10-15 minute phone call(IPET) in Ontario is a research program comprised or Zoom call with the students on our team,of a small group of social scientists from York Jonathan or Aparna.University. We are committed to learning howpeople experience severe and extreme winds in To give you an idea, we are asking questions suchorder to enhance how weather and safety as:communication, and to assisting the Northern Did you know that severe winds/high windsTornadoes Project (NTP) as they work towardwere forecasted?better detecting tornado occurrence throughout When did you learn about the possibility of aCanada,improvingbad storm?severe and extreme What did you expectThe IPET Ontario researchweather understanding,might happen?and reducing harm to Haveyoueverteam is currently investigatingpeople and property.experienced a bad windhow people experienced thestorm before?May 21 storm in Uxbridge,IPET is led by Dr. How did you respondJenniferSpinney,during the situation?Ontario.Assistant Professor in What kinds of impactsDisaster & Emergencydid you experience?Management at York U. IPET is financially Is there anything you think could be done tosupported by the Northern Tornadoes Project atprepare better for the next storm, by you orWestern University and has received ethicsothers?clearance through a York University ResearchEthics Committee (Certificate #: 2022-194).After speaking with us, our team will begin tocompile perspectives. We will then produce aThe IPET Ontario research team is currently report for NTP based on the experiences shared byinvestigating how people experienced the May 21 Uxbridge residents. This report will also be sharedstorm in Uxbridge, Ontario. Uxbridge was with project participants who wish to receive aidentified by NTP as one of the hardest hit copy.communities and for this reason NTP requestedthat IPET reach out to Uxbridge residents to learn We are hopeful that more residents will be willingmore about their experiences. Our research team to share their experiences with our team and workwas in the community last Friday, June 10th and with us toward improving weather preparednessare very grateful for the willingness of people who and communication for the safety of Uxbridgeshared their perspectives with us so far.residents and others across the province.Over the next two (2) weeks, we are hoping tospeak with about 35 more Uxbridge residents(18 ) who were home during the storm andexperienced impactsWe are particularly interested in learning fromresidents: with differing needs and abilities (visuallyimpaired, hearing-impaired, mobility-impairedor neurodivergent); and people who are displaced as a result of the stormIf you would like to get involved, please reach outto us at ipetontario@gmail.comIf you would like to follow IPET and stay apprisedof project updates, follow our research team onTwitter at @ipetontarioSandford CemeteryDecoration DaySunday, June 26, 2022Service to be held at Sandford United Churchat 2:00 p.m.Guest Pastor: Jim Hackner

The Uxbridge CosmosThursday, June 16, 20224Our two centsWhat’s in a name?By the time you read this, we could well be into the first official heatwaveof the summer. And from the sounds of it, it certainly won’t be the last, oreven one of a few - this summer is supposed to be peppered with themquite liberally.On Tuesday morning, we heard on the radio that some consideration isbeing given to naming heatwaves, much like hurricanes and such are now.The reasoning - so that more people take proper heed of the seriousness ofsuch heatwaves.Hm. Let’s have a little think on this for a second. Does naming somethingautomatically give it weight? Seriousness? Gravity? Meaning? We may notknow the name of the eccentrically dressed, obviously joy-filled womanwho passes our office window every day around 11 a.m., but her presenceaffects us - it makes us smile and enjoy life through her eyes for a moment.We may not know the name of the homeless man whom we pass on thestreet on the way to our downtown amusements, but his presence affectsus, provokes an emotion in us. A name is not needed to be noticed.If we start naming heatwaves, should we name snowstorms too? Heavenknows they should be taken seriously - we may suppose even more seriously than heatwaves. “Snowstorm Sonny is bearing down on us, folks,better stay home and batten down those hatches!” We don’t know aboutyou, but that doesn’t inspire us to stock up on candles and fresh water anyfaster than we would have otherwise.If heatwaves and snowstorms and every other major weather event thatcomes along start getting names, it’s going get crazy. We know there aremany, many parents out there who have trouble keeping the names of theirvarious children straight - “Peter! I mean Karen! I mean Piper! Oh, youknow - you! With the face!” You know who you are. Start popping in Heatwave Heather and Rainstorm Rocky and it’ll be a world of confusion. Finally, there exists the possibility that, due to climate change and thefrequency of extreme weather events, we’ll blow through a baby name bookin a year. Let’s keep it simple, pay attention to the weather, and leave thename game to new parents.Letters to the EditorCrows are very intelligent birdsand have a great memory.While driving down YoungStreet, I noticed that many residents do not use the green bins,and I’m sure this is not the onlystreet. The crows are having a fieldday pecking at the garbage bagsand making a mess.Don’t get me wrong, I love birds,but I find that not using a greenbin is very irresponsible. TheTownship have them available at avery low cost.So do your part and keep ourbeautiful town clean.Christiana CarterUxbridgeIt’s great to see the full page adsthat occasionally grace the back ofthe Cosmos from the federal Dept.of Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada extolling the inclusive community of Durham:“We all belong in Durham - Joinus in building an inclusive community where everyone feels welcomed and that they belong.”I’m fully aware that while positive campaigns by levels of government make great strides inraising awareness of the need forpromoting inclusivity and combatting racism in our communities, this campaign only reallyworks when it’s addressed in open,public forums and discussions.Unfortunately, confronting racismdirectly on the street can be unpredictable and can lead to violence.When making my way alongBrock St. to do some shopping recently, I heard a commotion between what I initially thought wasa disagreement between construction workers. As I got closer, I realized that one of the workers washaving a conversation on theircellphone in Spanish. Anotherperson had just gotten out of histruck and heard the constructionworker’s Spanish conversation andimmediately became incensed. Heshouted at the Spanish speaker to“shut-up and stop your gibberish!”When he had passed the Spanishspeaker he shouted - “Show somerespect!”It took me a moment to processwhat exactly was going on as Istood there in shock with mymouth open, staring in disbelief atthis blatant display of racism. Theperpetrator glanced at me as hestepped onto the threshold he wasentering, caught my vibe andtripped on the step as he hurriedinside.A younger self may have followed him inside to confront him,but being 40 years older andabout 100 lbs. lighter, I decided itwas perhaps not a wise decisionbut I still don’t feel good about it.My point is, besides the good intentions of government programsand advertising promoting inclusivity and combatting racism,racism, is, sadly still endemic inour society.It takes direct community actionand workplace education to combat this insidious and pernicioussocietal corrosion.No amount of logic or reasonedargument will convince peoplewho so resent the expression ofother languages and cultures in ashared public space that they areunable to make any distinctionbetween public and private space.A racist’s operating ethos is basedon a purely emotional sense of exclusive ownership and entitlementthat denigrates the other and disallows them from any form ofmembership or shared communityof values.The problem, of course, stemsfrom a profound lack of empathyand total ignorance of shared values and human experience. This iswhere the crucial need for education and discussion of these valuescome in - whether at the watercooler, classroom, bar or playingfield, clearly we have a lot of workto do to combat the online racistecho chambers.The event I witnessed is notunique. Someone needs to educate this person on the dynamicsof “respect”. You certainly don’tearn it by being disrespectful toone of the largest native speakingcultures on the planet. If you feelso incensed about sharing spacewith foreign language speakers, it’slong overdue that you move outside your bubble and realize youdo not have a personal, exclusiveright to control the cultural expression of others, but you dohave the right to celebrate theirdiversity and richness.Kevin HarperUxbridge

The Uxbridge CosmosThursday, June 16, 20225Am I Wrong?The Barris Beatcolumn by Roger Varleycolumn by Ted BarrisThe privatization of policing?Only as strong as the weakest linkOn Monday, Uxbridge council passed a bylaw which, in my opinion, does nothing tobenefit the residents of the township but certainly does enhance the bottom line of a private security company.The by-law appointed four employees ofSynergy Protection Group as "Municipal LawEnforcement Officers for Enforcement of Private Property Parking." As such, these four security guards are now empowered to issuemunicipal parking tickets to errant motoristsin a small condominium development at thesouth end of Cemetery Road. Without thatpower, the private security company wouldhave no purpose other than to drive throughthe enclave once in a while. By being giventhe authority to issue tickets, it justifies theirexistence and, by extension, the contract thecompany has with the condominium board.The argument given by council and township staff is that the township's regular by-lawofficers can't patrol the enclave 24 hours aday to check for illegal parking and it is notunusual for such arrangements to be made tocover private property. But it leads to a paradox: regular township by-law officers can enforce some municipal by-laws on suchproperty, but not others. For example, theycan go onto this condominium property togive tickets to cars contravening a municipalby-law by blocking the fire route, but theywould need permission to enter the propertyto give out tickets to people contravening amunicipal by-law by illegally parking in thevisitors' spaces.Clerk Debbie Leroux says all township employees must adhere to the township's employee code of conduct. Yet, although theynow have municipal authorization, the foursecurity guards are not considered employeesof the township. So, if someone has a problem with one of these security guards, can onecomplain to the township?Chief bylaw officer Kristina Bergeron saysthe four security guards will not be requiredto take an "oath of office," but they are required to sign a declaration stating that theyunderstand the authority that has been givento them.Now that this by-law has passed despite myprotestations - (I had long talks with bothMayor Dave Barton and Councillor BruceGarrod about my concerns with the by-law) council will have no option but to pass similar by-laws when security companies come aknocking for the same authority at five othercondominium developments which are currently under construction in the town. Thatmeans there could be at least six special littleenclaves with their own little police forces offering residents nothing more than an occasional drive-through and the ability to writeparking tickets, all while enhancing the security company's bottom line.No other neighbourhoods receive this special treatment. If residents in Barton Farms orCoral Creek or Quaker Village have problemswith illegal parking, they either have to waitfor a by-law officer to come by or call in acomplaint. But those residents would not beallowed to hire a security company to handlethe job, even though our own by-law department, by its own admission, cannot provide24-hour patrols.So, what does the fact that these small enclaves have their own separate layer of enforcement say to the township's commitmentto the idea of inclusiveness. As was stated inGeorge Orwell's Animal Farm, "all animalsare equal, but some are more equal than others."I talked to a homeowner in the developmentMonday morning. He told me that, in the 18months he has lived there, he has never yetseen the security company patrol the property, but he pays around 150 for the "service."We now have squads of security guards atMarkham Stouffville Hospital and we evenhave security guards at the Uxbridge Hospital. When the vaccination clinics were held atthe arena, private security guards were onhand. When attendance at the Uxbridge Bruins games was strictly limited, private securityguards were at the entrance to check IDs andvaccination proofs. We see security guards atthe Fall Fair and other events in Elgin Park.And on Monday morning, during a deputation about the upcoming Springtide Festival,Tania Joy told council security guards will beon hand.It seems to me we're racing downhill to theprivatization of policing.Tell me, am I wrong?In our quest for some normalcy around thehouse, my wife and I are still trying to sortand reorganize stuff after the windstorm onMay 21. As a consequence, our back porch(whose screened-in space we normally enjoyon summer evenings) has become a repositoryfor salvage from the garage, tool shed and dishevelled yard. The other day, for example, Icame across a bunch of short 2X4s with toolholders attached. They’d bounced loose whenthe garage was crushed. So, I began pryingthe holders from the wood.“If I salvage the tool holders now, I won’thave to track them down when we restore thegarage at some point,” I thought. “Whoknows whether they’ll even be available downthe road?”As I detached the hooks and holders fromthe wood, I worried maybe I was showingsigns of becoming a hoarder. In truth, I couldprobably buy replacement hooks later, butagain what if I eventually go to a hardwarestore and they just don’t have them in stockwhen I want them? I began thinking aboutthe implications of my reaction. It’s prettyclear that a combination of the pandemic andthe storm (not to mention the regular ebband flow of supply and demand in inflationary times) has further damaged what businessexperts refer to as “the supply chain.”I guess the first indications of trouble go allthe way back to March 2020 when NorthAmericans raced to buy bottled water and toilet tissue. A lot of us wondered what thatmeant. Then, I read what economists had tosay about such a response. Panic buying, theysaid, is fairly normal in times of crisis. But inthe case of the COVID pandemic, in fact,people did not spend the way they normallydid. Consumers suddenly had savings theyhadn’t spent, and businesses had inventorythey hadn’t sold, which wholesalers and retailers promptly dumped. Then, when authorities began to reopen the marketplace, therewas all this buying power and no stock. Andthat drove up appetite and prices.Thus, for example, car sales – if a buyer canactually find one either used or new – haverisen to their highest level in 15 years. Highdemand and limited supply have createdshortages and widespread supply-chain disruptions. In the U.S., for example, in February 2020 retailers had about 43 days ofinventory on hand; two years into the pan-demic they have just 33 days. Meanwhile,new-home sales are at their highest level in 14years. As a result, contractors are reporting incredible shortages of vital building materials –drywall, roofing and framing lumber.It’s just a microcosm of the problem, butlike many amateur gardeners in town, beforethe tornado I’d purchased some lumber – ahandful of 2X6s and 4X4s – to build raisedbeds in our backyard; they cost nearly 200.Apparently, in the housebuilding game,higher-priced materials have contractors delaying new construction, which reduces thesupply, which increases the price. Presto. Inflation is now at a 31-year high of 6.8 percent. And in turn, the Bank of Canada hasraised interest rates to 1.5 per cent, and mayagain. Rising interest rates are supposed toencourage saving and curb borrowing. But ifrates rise again, Manulife Bank of Canadasays, as many as one in four homeownerswould have to sell their home. Mortgage payments would be that prohibitive.“Some Canadians made decisions to taketheir mortgages out based on what they couldbe approved for,” Manulife said. “They didn’tget the advice to say, ‘I know I can get approved for a mortgage at this level, but can Iactually afford it?’”Did I fail to mention the alleged reducedsupply and rising price of fuel? WhetherRussian President Vladimir Putin is to blamefor this delivery-system mess or not, his warin Ukraine at least psychologically has disrupted the supply certainly for Europeancountries, and North American oil corporations have taken full advantage of the fearmongering. If the thought of filling up yourcar or pickup for 100 or 200 keeps youawake at night, imagine the sleepless nightsfarmers with large implements endure. Afriend from southwestern Saskatchewan toldme this week that on average his farm neighbours consume about 900 litres of diesel fuelper farm implement per day. That’s about 1,800 per fill-up every day.Talk about a dysfunctional supply chain fortoilet paper and 2X6s. But wait a minute. Ifthe practice of bartering returns, maybe I canexchange my vast collection of garage toolhooks for a full tank of gas.For more Barris Beat columns,go to www.tedbarris.com

The Uxbridge CosmosTwo Uxbridge teens pass away in accident on weekendTOO MUCHHOUSE?Downsizing can seem like alarge task. Let me help.ComplimentaryCleaning & StagingPacking & DeclutteringAssistancePainters & Trades on callfor repairsI specialize in helping my clientsprepare their home for market andhelp find the perfect home forthe next phase of life.Call or text to see how I can help.Thursday, June 16, 20226LEAH SPROTTSales Representative(647) 994-1272Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd.9 Main Street S., UxbridgeTwo Uxbridge teens are deceased as a result of a collisioninvolving an off-road motorcycle and car, which occurred onHighway 47, west of ofUxbridge.According a Durham Regional Police Services (DRPS)on Saturday, June 11, just after11:00 pm, officers from theNorth Division were called toa serious collision that occurred on Highway 47 nearParratt Road. e DRPS release asid that an off-road motorcycle was travelling east onHighway 47 when it struck awestbound silver Acura sedanin a head-on collision. Boththe rider and passenger weredeceased at the collision scene. e driver and lone occupantin the Acura sedan was transported to a local hospital withnon-life threatening injuries.Members of the DRPS - Collision Investigation Unit, attended the scene to conduct aninvestigation. e area of theroadway was closed for severalhours while evidence was collected.Anyone with informationabout this incident or witnessed this collision is asked tocall Detective Constable BillPlaygound, from page 1Landscape Planning replied that "nothing is cast in stone," adding thatthey tried to incorporate as much as they could of the original design concept, which was created by Adrian Giacca.Other improvements planned for the park include winterizing the washroom, extending lighting along the pathways, adding ad

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