[getsmart-l] Fw: Saturday, 9 February 2008 - Community Rally to Save the Dunlopo Observatory

[John O'Gorman]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Vice-President Thornhill Ward One 
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 12:35 PM
Subject: Saturday, 9 February 2008 - Community Rally to Save the Dunlopo Observatory




Feb 9th Community Rally for David Dunlap Observatory
On Saturday, February 9th at noon, members of the Richmond Hill Naturalists, will join fellow citizens in a march to David Dunlap Observatory. With signs and singing and a symbolic march to the Dome, the group will ask the University to cancel or postpone the sale of the Observatory lands so that the Town of Richmond Hill, York Region, and the Ontario and Federal governments can work together to preserve the Observatory and the property upon which it sits.

In November 2007, the University of Toronto put the 190-acre Dunlap property, including the observatory and administration buildings, up for sale through a bidding process. The University is accepting bids until February 15th, 2008. Due to the high price of land in Richmond Hill and the speed of the sale, there has not been enough time for the Town and other levels of government to work together to purchase the property for the public.

In addition to being an internationally respected research facility, the DDO is home to one of Canada's longest-running public astronomy education programs. For over 70 years, thousands of students have been inspired by DDO lectures and views of planets and stars with the 74-inch telescope. More than 2000 people (mostly current and former Richmond Hill residents) have registered memories and comments on the DDO through an Online Petition.

The February 9th rally is an opportunity for all Richmond Hill residents to show their support for the continued operation and preservation of the David Dunlap Observatory and Park.

  Date: Saturday February 9, 2008
  Time: Noon
  Meeting place: Hillsview Drive and Bayview Avenue
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