HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-04-30, Page 1A Happy Baker
Erin Bolger, former Blyth resident, now a makeup artist in Toronto, who has worked on
Breakfast Television and So You Think You Can Dance Canada, has turned her creative side
to a new venture. Bolger has published her first book, The Healthy Baker, a mix of witty stories
about dating and delectable dessert recipes. The launch is this Saturday afternoon in Blyth.
(Bonnie Gropp photo)
Time may be tough but taxpayers
in Morris-Turnberry can look
forward to a saving on their tax bill
in 2009.
Under the budgets adopted by
councillors at their April 21 meeting,
taxes on a property assessed at
$100,000 would decline by $60.15
from last year. The municipal
portion of the farm and residential
tax rate will be reduced 3.7 per cent.
When county and education levies
are factored in, the tax rate will be
reduced 3.8 per cent.
Overall spending will actually
increase by 1.5 per cent but a 3.04
per cent increase in assessment will
help offset that. As well, $448,850
will be taken from reserves to
finance some of the new spending.
The biggest item in the budget is a
78 per cent increase in spending on
road construction. Helena Street
reconstruction in Lower Town
Wingham will make up $750,000 of
the $1.7 million budget. Also budgeted
are work on Brandon Road, $280,000;
Clyde Line reconstruction, $289,000;
tar and chipping of Glennanon Rd. at
$150,000, and Salem Rd. at 140,000.
Other expenditures include a
$59,000 municipal contribution to the
history of Morris-Turnberry (with a
further $32,000 expected from grants)
and an additional $38,000 in capital
and operational costs for recreation.
Despite the decrease, Morris-
Turnberry will continue to have the
third highest tax rate in the county,
following only Goderich and the East
Wawanosh ward of North Huron.
M-T budget shows
3.8% tax decrease
This Saturday, folks will have the
chance to see what a moment of
inspiration can do.
Blyth native, Erin Bolger, a
successful Toronto make-up artist,
said she was sitting on her balcony
one day a year ago, when the idea of
her new book The Happy Baker, “hit
me like a ton of bricks.”
Part Betty Crocker, part Bridget
Jones, this “Dater’s Guide to
Emotional Baking” combines
Bolger’s honest, wry take on being
single today, with enticing, but
simple, family favourite dessert
recipes. While the sub-title indicates
a focus on single life, however, the
stories and recipes will appeal to any
age and status. There are four
chapters, each containing
entertainingly-named stories and
recipes.
“And if any are low fat it was
unintentional,” smiles Bolger.
“Dating and low fat don’t go
together.”
Once inspiration hit, Bolger said
she began writing and couldn’t stop.
She took about two weeks to get the
basics down in print, then met with
an editor.
The idea was a good fit. “People
who hear my dating stories have said
I should write a book. And I’ve
always been a baker, I do it for stress
relief, so it all just came together.”
Describing herself as independent,
Bolger said she made the decision to
self-publish, in part because looking
for a publisher slowed the
momentum she had established right
from the start.
But as a creative person she also
had a clear vision of what she
wanted in her work. And as she did
with every aspect of the book, she
did her research. “The biggest
advantage was that I could get it
printed when I wanted, rather than
years down the road.”
She admits, too, that her decision
has meant taking a chance. After So
You Think You Can Dance Canada,
on which she’d been working,
wrapped up in December, Bolger
made the decision to take time off
from her career to focus on the book.
“I have taken a bit of a risk here, but
there has been great response. I have
a good vibe about this.”
Bolger recognizes that she has
another advantage over some would-
be authors. Working in Toronto has
put her, she said, in contact with
people who could help her put
together a quality product. “In my
industry I have a lot of good
connections.”
She again did her research too, e-
mailing “everybody” who might be
interested in the project.
But when it came to what actually
went into the book, Bolger left
nothing to chance or to anyone else.
She baked every item twice, once to
ensure she hadn’t left any
ingredients out, by following the
recipe from what she had written
out, and the second time for the
photography.
“I am very happy with the finished
product. You have to hire
professionals to get a quality
product. Working in my industry
I’ve come to understand that. You
need all the elements to make
something look good.”
While The Happy Baker will only
be launched officially this Saturday
at Heather Dietz Photography in
Blyth, it has garnered a lot of
commercial interest already. Bolger
has been contacted by a distributor
and will be appearing on Breakfast
Television and the all-news CP24
with Anne Rohmer.
Anyone who can’t be present at
the launch this Saturday at 2 p.m.
can obtain a copy of the book from
Bolger’s mother, Faye at 519-523-
4784, at The Gift Cupboard or at
www.thehappybakerchick.com
CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, April 30, 2009
Volume 25 No. 17COMMUNITY- Pg. 7Callander crewtogether again SPORTS - Pg. 8Brussels native plays onchampionship teamRECOGNITION- Pg. 6Blyth man receives prestigiousLions Club honourPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 PAP Registration No. 09244 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Book a ‘Dater’s Guide’ to baking
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
A study of 46 years of records
from the Blyth weather station
shows temperatures have been
rising.
The statistics were included in
information prepared for a
conference in Wingham, April 23
and 24 called Climate Change
Action: Rural Perspectives from the
Maitland Valley Watershed.
Statistics accumulated from 1960
to 2006 showed that the annual mean
temperature at the Blyth station
steadily increased to a final count of
1.4 degrees celsius higher over the
period. The mean median minimum
temperature increased by 2.1
degrees while the median maximum
increased .6 degrees.
The increase was greater in the
winter period. The winter season
maximum temperature increased by
3 degrees while the minimum
temperature increased by 3.8
degrees.
The summer mean temperature
increased by 1.5 degrees over the
period, with maximum temperatures
increasing .6 degrees but minimum
temperatures increasing 2.2 degrees.
Precipitation records showed
annual precipitation (with snow
records converted to the equivalent
in rainfall) had increased by 400 mm
over the 46-year period. Winter
precipitation increased by an
average of 160 mm (if the snowfall
is converted to the rainfall
equivalent).
The increases may seem small, but
in his presentation Dr. David
Pearson, a Laurentian University
professor, who is co-chair of the
Premier’s expert panel on climate
change, reminded those attending
the Wingham meeting that the
difference in air temperature during
the last ice age, was only 5-7 degrees
celsius from modern temperatures.
That range was enough to cover
most of Canada in a gigantic glacier.
If temperatures continue to increase
it’s hard to predict just how much
life on earth will change, he said.
While the change in temperature
recorded at Blyth was very
significant, a study of all the weather
stations across the Maitland Valley
Conservation Authority region
showed more moderate temperature
changes, according to Brian Luinstra
of Luinstra Earth Sciences. Luinstra
studied data assembled from the
nine stations in the area between
1950 and 2006 and judged the
change in climate as to whether
there were more heat units (the
average day temperature during the
growing season). The Wroxeter
station, for instance, showed no
dramatic increase in heath units.
Luinstra’s study showed a slight
increase in the winter median
temperature across the region and
showed an increase in the number of
summer days when the temperature
exceeded 30 degree celsius. There
are also more days in winter when
the temperature stays above
freezing.
Weather stations closer to Lake
Huron (Blyth westward) showed a
definite increase in precipitation,
Luinstra said, with the December-
February period a major part of that.
There seems to be an increasing
effect from Lake Huron. Looking at
the date of the first ship to arrive in
Goderich each spring it seems that
Lake Huron is not freezing over as
much as it previously did, meaning
more open water to add moisture
Climate change
already showing
Continued on page 7
By Keith Roulston
The Citizen