- [Stephfond] Tonight on WPBS Weekly Inside the Stories.

- There would be damage to riverbeds, to water recharge, to wells, to wildlife.

- [Narrator] A group of grassroots environmentalist are opposing a controversial highway project that could affect environmental lands in Ontario.

We'll tell you about the project.

Also, hit the trail this winter by tube, or by ski.

We'll take it to Dry Hill in Watertown for an adventure.

All this, and much, much more coming up right now on WPBS Weekly Inside the Story.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] WPBS Weekly Inside the Stories is brought to you by the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation, The Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center, Carthage Savings, CSX, The Oswego County Community Foundation at the Central New York Community Foundation, and by the Richard S. Shineman Foundation.

- Good Tuesday evening, everyone.

Thanks for tuning in to WPBS Weekly Inside the Stories.

I'm Stephfond Brunson.

We begin tonight with the future of Highway 413 in Canada, a new roadway that would cut through part of the Oak Ridges Moraine, an expanse of Ontario's so-called greenbelt, northeast of Toronto.

The highway is expected to ease traffic, yet comes at the direct expense of farmland, forest, and the wildlife of the region.

Niki Anastasakis of Inside the Story CHCH has the details.

(musical whoosh) (water flowing) (bird squawking) - [Niki] It's easy to get lost in the sights and sounds of nature found in and around Brooklin, Ontario.

The small, but rapidly growing town, located just north of Whitby is home to Ontario's natural wonder, the Oak Ridges Moraine.

- Oak Ridges Moraine is an extremely environmentally sensitive area.

It runs 160 kilometers all the way from Caldedon over to Rice Lake.

This area within Durham has approximately 18,350 wells that depend on the Oak Ridges Moraine for water recharge, and all in all, there's 65 rivers that have their headwaters in the Oak Ridges Moraine.

- [Niki] However, the home to fresh water vegetation and wildlife species within Ontario's greenbelts is now facing an existential threat if the region of Durham proceeds with its plan to build a roughly $215 million highway through the region to quote, "support the traffic infrastructure needs of the community, and accommodate future growth."

- The main issues regarding going through the Oak Ridges Moraine laterally would be first and foremost, it's extremely sensitive from a water perspective.

There would be damage to riverbeds, to water recharge, to wells, to wildlife.

There are endangered species that we have in our river.

For example, red side geese could lose their final habitats.

- If this quarter of a billion dollar project were to be built through the Oak Ridges Moraine, it would be the width of a football field, and approximately seven kilometers long.

Climate change right now is a huge crisis, a huge problem we're trying to solve, and this sounds like it would add fuel to the fire.

- Absolutely.

We're taking away carbon absorbing for us in the middle of a climate change crisis.

That's a disaster.

- [Niki] Brooklin resident, Wendy Evans, who lives on the family farm just south of the Oak Ridges Moraine is worried this would cause serious and irreparable environmental damage to one of southern Ontario's remaining ecological landscapes, and could degrade the environment for future generations.

She says she wouldn't change her upbringing for the world, and hopes to keep the farming traditions alive for years to come.

- It's become very difficult, and would be almost impossible to be able to work the land if the only access and egress is on Lake Ridge Road.

With traffic going at a hundred or 120 kilometers per hour.

you can't get farm machinery in, so that's a really big issue.

One of the other issues was, would be our well.

The well would likely dry up.

- Evans, together with another 180 concerned citizens who have become signatories have hired legal assistance from Aird & Berlis Law Firm to represent them in their battle for climate change, farming, and fresh water.

What is your legal position in this project?

- So my legal position is that the preferred alternatives that are being advanced through this EA process do not satisfy the requirements of the Oak Ridges marine conservation plan, which is not a set of guidelines or policy documents, it's actual law enshrined in Ontario regulation, and that conservation plan requires two things when you propose infrastructure through the Oak Ridges Moraine.

First, it needs to be demonstrated that there's a need for the project, and second, that there has been an examination, and that there's no reasonable alternative for replacing this infrastructure in the Oak Ridges Morraine.

- [Niki] In fact, as Evan suggests, other reasonable alternative routes exist, which were dismissed from the environmental assessment study team, due to technical considerations.

Evan says the environmental damage could be minimized significantly if council looks at Fixen Road, since the highway would only go north-south, rather than laterally through the Moraine.

Plus, local businesses would only be one kilometer away, drawing more crowds to downtown Brooklin.

Inside the Story reached out to the town of Whitby for comment on this project.

Whitby's chief administration officer Matt Gaskell said in a statement, "As a town, we are committed to finding an alternate route for Provincial Highway 7/12 that not only supports a safe and vibrant downtown, but also protects and minimizes any impact to the environment and existing homes in our community.

It's common for projects like this to create anxiety, especially if there is any misinformation floating around.

This EA is a very complex process with many moving parts, which involves the consideration of all potential impacts, regardless of what route ends up being selected in the future."

This project is one of many other controversial highway projects promising to save commuters time.

The announcement of the new highway 413 is aimed at alleviating traffic, and would run from highway 401-407 interchange in Halton to highway 400 and Vaughn, costing taxpayers anywhere from 6 billion to $10 billion.

- It's gonna be an environmental disaster.

- [Niki] But the 413 is too facing significant opposition, a ministry of transportation expert panel recommending against it in 2017, saying it would only save commuters about 30 seconds a trip.

Halton Hills mayor and town council voted to oppose the project.

- Estimated $6 to 8 billion would be better used for mass transit.

- [Niki] As Ontario residents continue to demonstrate against highway 413, it's still just the beginning for the Brooklin bypass highway 712 project.

Evans and Neligan say the town of Whitby still has time to do the right thing to eliminate options that impact the Moraine.

To voice your opinion, visit connect whitby.ca.

- We're seeking to speak to counsel, and suggest to counsel that they look at other alternatives now, rather than wait until this is complete, because you know, further down the road it gets, the harder it is to change tracks.

- [Niki] For Inside the Story, I'm Niki Anastasakis.

- Pop culture is big, and in order to stay on top of it, you need a unique place to visit.

Leisure Park Entertainment in Ottawa has you covered.

(cash register dings) - Everyone's got their own little dreams.

I wanna write the next novel.

I wanna write a screenplay, which I still want to do.

(chuckles) So owning my own business is something I've always, in the back of your mind, "Oh yeah, that'd be really cool to try and do."

I ended up, lost my job that I had for 20 years, and I found myself with nothing.

(chuckles) I was trying to figure out what am I gonna do now?

I'm mid 40s, and you know, I got a lot of different experience, mainly in retail.

So I figured, you know what?

Let's try to give this a go.

I didn't really have any money.

I started up with a little website.

We went with that, and then just kind of, it's kind of just grown from there.

You know, I have such a passion for this.

It's not even work for me.

This is a hobby that I get to, you know, thankfully make a living off of.

When you walk in, you're gonna be overwhelmed, I think, with all the amount of licensed product that we have.

I only sell licensed product.

I don't sell anything no-name or anything.

Everything is a hundred percent officially licensed, depending on the franchise.

So I like to support a lot of different franchises, a lot of pop culture.

So I do have a little bit of music, vinyl, Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones.

You know, you name it, there's probably something around, or if I don't have it, you let me know, and I'll do whatever I can to try and find it for you.

I do some comic books.

A lot of the interesting things that I do are items that you just don't find anywhere else.

I probably have the best selection of pop culture cookbooks, so it cookbooks from Walking Dead, and Downton Abbey, and Orange is the New Black, Hannibal, Marvel, Wonder Woman.

I've got the best selection of Star Trek ships in the city.

Actually, I've got the best selection in the country.

I'm the only retailer in Canada that deals directly with the company Eaglemoss.

I've got the best variety of Pop Funko figures within the city.

I got the best prices, hands down.

Even some of my action figures that I sell that are available at Walmart and Toys R Us, I'm cheaper than them, (chuckles) which is a lot of thing, a lot of times you don't realize it, so even that small business can offer you a great value.

The pandemic was actually around for a few months before really the stay at home, the closed years all happened, right?

So it was kind of happening.

I saw it with the sales, with the stores, less and less people starting to go out.

People getting a little bit more afraid, concerned with what was going on, but once the lockdown orders hit, and then, you know, I had to close the doors, it was really difficult for me.

I haven't actually been in a physical storefront for too long.

I was only here, I only had this physical store for about a year before the lockdown hit, so I was still actually growing, trying to grow the store, the traffic, and stuff like that.

But being inside a mall, that makes it very, very difficult, because the mall's closed, and you know, how can I, you know, they were saying you can offer curbside pickup for retailers.

Well, I can't offer a curbside pickup, because I can't get in to the mall, because the mall is closed.

There was, there's no curb for me.

(chuckles) For the management of Maryville Mall here, they've been really good.

I can say they've been a top-notch, 'cause with the lockdowns and everything like that, well, I'm not open.

(chuckles) I have no income, no cashflow going, so they've been very flexible.

They've been very workable to partner with me, and I believe partner with the other tenants within the mall.

They haven't pushed to say, "Hey, you gotta pay that rent on the first," you know?

They've been very understanding.

I know there's been a few support programs out there, which they've been, you know, generous enough to take part in, and pass on the savings, which has helped.

The biggest thing for me and my business, it's getting the awareness, you know?

And when you have limited financing available, I can't do TV ads, I can't do radio ads, you know?

Where do I, you know, how do I let people know that, hey, I'm here.

Hey, my website's there.

I got some great stuff.

I think everybody's a fan of something.

There's a lot of collectors.

I think there's still a lot of collectors out there, and a lot of people that like this or that, that I think would enjoy the products that I can offer.

So I come into the store every single day, and it's like, (chuckles) you know?

It's like, when you're shut down, you don't get that passion anymore, right?

You're, I'm at home.

(laughing) It's like, no, I want to go up to my store.

(upbeat music) - If you live in northern New York, you're probably familiar with Dry Hill in Watertown.

If you're not, now's your chance to get acquainted.

This piece is also dedicated to the memory of Tim Wright, a long time friend of WPBS.

Take a look.

(car horn beeping) - [Raymond] Since Dry Hill makes their own snow, and as long as temperatures are below freezing, skiing is always available in the winter at Dry Hill.

Dry Hill is a family-oriented ski area, equipped with tubing and downhill courses.

From the novice to experienced skier, Dry Hill offers something for everyone.

- You are a native to the Watertown area, correct?

- Yes.

- So you've been up to Dry Hill before?

- Yep, I was on ski patrol here for 15 years.

- I'm impressed.

- Well, you don't really get paid.

You get a season pass for you and your family, but the nice thing is when you get older, it gives you a reason to be here, and it's nice to be helping people.

- Definitely feels worthwhile.

- Yep, get your kids up here.

That's an important thing.

Kids love it here.

- Tim's going to be skiing with us today, and since he knows this mountain, I think we're gonna take your advice on which, I guess, trail we should go down.

We're up for hitting some jumps, and see what we can do in the air, even though we might fall.

- I will watch you very closely, (laughing) and I will guide you there.

- All right, let me put on my skis.

- [Raymond] Since dry hill makes their own snow, and as long as temperatures are below freezing, skiing is always available in the winter at Dry Hill.

(upbeat music) There are jumps and rails at Dry Hill that boarders and skiers to use to do tricks, and test their skills.

(upbeat music) - [Boarder] Woo!

- [Boarder] Yeah.

(music continues) - [Chris] Having fun?

- I'm having fun.

- [Chris] These kids are doing some amazing tricks.

- The kids have a ball, don't they?

- [Chris] Yeah!

All right!

This is fun.

Okay, here they come.

Oh!

She landed.

(upbeat music) - [Raymond] Staff at Dry Hill are very friendly, and offer lessons for first-time skiers like Tresea.

- [Chris] So how did the skiing go?

- It went good.

- [Chris] Can you say you're an avid skier now?

- Yep, I'll be doing it again.

Chris, not gonna lie.

I was really surprised and impressed with your skiing abilities.

First time out this season, you weren't rusty a bit.

- [Chris] It comes back.

It's like riding a bike.

What's he got up his sleeve for us today?

(laughing) I knew you were the right person to bring along to this shoot, because you pretty much bombed the hill, went down, and took a big chance, and got some big air.

You fell a few times, but I did too, and it was a great day here at Dry Hill.

You are the owner here at Dry Hill?

- Yes, I am.

I've been doing this 31 years now.

The tubing's huge for us.

It's the only tubing park in Jefferson County.

You have to go, you know, quite a way south or north to find another tubing park, and it, again, it's a great thing for the families, or any group that comes here.

We have skiing and snowboarding, but not everybody, of course, does that.

But when you throw in tubing, you've got something for everyone to do.

So Mom and Dad can come ski, Junior can tube, you know?

So it offers, you know, something for everybody.

- And the lodge, if the parents don't feel like being out in the element.

They can sit in, have a hot cocoa, read a book.

It seems like a great atmosphere in there as well.

- Between the fireside lounge, and the fire roaring, and there's always something good at the snack counter, you know?

- [Alaina] The hot chocolate was delicious.

- We try to offer, you know, the, you know, because of our size, we can't get any bigger, but one of the things we can do is be very friendly, very helpful, and we're very family-oriented.

- I think it's safe to say we both had an extremely, extremely fun time.

- Yeah, I had an incredible day, thank you.

- Oh, great.

Well, thanks for showing up, and definitely nice to meet you, okay?

Nice to meet you.

Thanks for coming, okay?

(upbeat music) - Finally tonight, a musician from Fort Drum who will stop you in your tracks with a voice that delivers a southern blues rock flavor like a smooth glass of wine.

He is Jay P., and he shares one of his original tunes with us tonight.

Enjoy.

(drum riff) - My name is Jay P. I'm a singer-songwriter.

(playing guitar) The way I would describe my music would be Americana.

I know that's a little bit of a cop-out when it comes to the music genres, but I don't like one genre enough to frame my music just into that one, that one spectrum, so I would say Americana, because it has elements of rock.

It has elements of folk.

It has elements of country.

It has elements of blues.

So when you look at the Americana genre, I believe that would probably be the best frame to put that in.

I decided that I wanted to be a musician when I was elementary school.

I was eight, and they had a music day of pick your instrument, and go from there, and it was just like, I wanted to pick the biggest instrument I could find.

I was eight, and I chose the standup bass, so that went well.

(laughing) And then later, when I was 12, I got my first guitar, or when I was 11, I got my first guitar, and I did that, because my brother at the time, his name is Johnny, picked up all the girls with his guitar.

So it was just like, as a 11 year old, I was like, "I wanna do that."

So I started playing, and I realized, that's not what that happen, that's not what happens, but I loved it, so I kept doing it, and it started to be a creative outlet for me.

And through time, it's just one of those things that just never left.

The concept of Heart of an Outlaw came from a story that I decided to write about a character who had everything he possibly could wish for in his life, and in almost a week time, all of that fell apart, and he lost everything.

So he decided that he would become an outlaw biker, and sort of take his money, his life, everything about him into his own hands.

And he quickly realized that that was a bad idea, and Heart of an Outlaw is talking about his mental state as he's going through that journey.

So I think a lot of people take big situations that happen, and I tend to do this a lot as well, is they, they make it bigger than it really is, and the important lesson from that is to really stop, assess the situation, take the pros and the cons from it, and make an educated decision on what to do next.

My name is Jay P., and this is Heart of an Outlaw.

♪ I need some sleep, my eyes are heavy ♪ ♪ I'm coming off the road that keeps me sane ♪ ♪ Can you please tell me where I'm going ♪ ♪ 'Cause I don't know the way to life ♪ ♪ Can you tell me it's just the love ♪ ♪ Can you call me back to home ♪ ♪ 'Cause all my feelings constantly ♪ ♪ Are forcing me to breathe ♪ ♪ Is this what it feels to be alone ♪ ♪ I need to wake, been asleep for too long ♪ ♪ All of life is speeding past me ♪ ♪ Can you please tell me where I've gone ♪ ♪ 'Cause I don't know how I got here ♪ ♪ Can you tell me it's just the love ♪ ♪ Can you call me back to home ♪ ♪ 'Cause all my feelings constantly ♪ ♪ Are forcing me to breathe ♪ ♪ Is this what it feels to be alone ♪ ♪ Can you tell me it's just the love ♪ ♪ Can you call me back to home ♪ ♪ 'Cause all my feelings constantly ♪ ♪ Are forcing me to breathe ♪ ♪ Is this what it feels to be alone ♪ ♪ Can you tell me it's just the love ♪ ♪ Can you call me back to home ♪ ♪ 'Cause all my feelings constantly ♪ ♪ Are forcing me to breathe ♪ ♪ Is this what it feels to be alone ♪ ♪ What it feels to be alone ♪ ♪ Whoa ♪ ♪ What it feels to be alone ♪ - That does it for us this Tuesday evening.

Join us next week for a fresh look Inside the Stories.

How did COVID impact nature during the beginning of the lockdown?

A Canadian documentary shares the advantages that the environment and wildlife experienced.

And have you ever tried kite skiing?

You just might want to, after seeing this fun, combined sport.

Also, another local musician visits the WPBS studios.

You won't wanna miss the incredible storytelling style and vocals of Mike Powell.

Meantime, if you have a story idea you'd like to see us explore, or you're a poet, or a musician that would like to be featured, email us at wpbsweekly@wpbstv.org.

Until then, have a fantastic night, my friends.

- [Announcer] WPBS Weekly Inside the Stories is brought to you by the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation, dedicated to improving the wellbeing of communities by helping disadvantaged children and families, online at dmjf.org.

The Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center, a free resource offering confidential business advice for those interested in starting or expanding their small business, serving Jefferson, Lewis, and Oswego Counties since 1986, online at watertown.nysbdc.org.

Carthage Savings has been here for generations, donated time and resources to this community.

They're proud to support WPBSTV, online at carthagesavings.com Carthage Savings, mortgage solutions since 1888.

Additional funding provided by CSX, the Oswego County Community Foundation at the Central New York Community Foundation, and by the Richard S. Shineman Foundation.

♪ 'Cause all my feeling constantly forcing me to breathe ♪ ♪ Is this what it feels to be alone ♪ ♪ Can you tell me it's just the love ♪ (musical sting)