BOOK NOW * Lawn Cutting *Groundskeeping * Lawn Programs * Irrigation Systems
From
Al’s
519-436-6161
For ALL Your Real Estate Matters
LAWN & GARDEN
www.alslawnandgarden.ca
352-4955
YOUR Independent Community Newspaper THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021
Vol. 8 Edition 4
www.
FREE!
C-K’s Facebook spending habit
By Jenna Cocullo jenna@chathamvoice.com
Jenna Cocullo/The Chatham Voice
Chatham-Kent resident Murray Hebblethwaite, 71, earned an award recently from the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority for donating $1,000 to help clean up McGregor Creek, shown in the background.
Putting his money where his mouth is
By Jenna Cocullo jenna@chathamvoice.com
A Chatham-Kent man is using his green to help the environment.
Murray Hebblethwaite recently won one of the two Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority Awards for Volunteer Heroes after he person-
Why Have This?
ally donated $1,000 to be put toward the McGregor Creek clean up. “Once I heard about LTVCA wanting to do something with McGre-
When You Can Have This!
gor Creek, I thought, ‘Oh gosh I could donate some funds to it,’ because at my age, I am not going to be picking stuff up,” he said.
Continued on page 12
Which do you prefer?
excelrealty.ca
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is not putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to supporting local. A Freedom of Information Request revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, departments such as tourism spent a huge chunk of its ad dollars on tech titans that put zero tax dollars back into the local economy. From March 2020 to the end of the year, Chatham-Kent’s Community Attraction and Promotion division spent $11,756 on Facebook ads for its tourism department. Municipal departments in total spent more than $35,000. The tourism ads in particular were part of a campaign designed to encourage local residents to get out and experience Chatham-Kent in a safe manner, according to Audrey Ansell, director, Community Attraction and Promotion. Back in
September 2020, community attraction brought a report to council to support the local tourism sector through COVID. “When we were planning out the marketing activity and the expenditures, we were very much focused on ensuring that we could reach as wide an audience as possible, reach all age demographics, which is why we went with digital, print and radio. We sought to do everything,” said Ansell. Bruce Corcoran, general manager of The Chatham Voice, believes the municipality could have reached more by spending those Facebook dollars with local media. “The idea that local media is not able to reach all age groups is a bit of a stretch. Our online traffic numbers, for example, show that more than 60 per cent of our online readers are between the ages of 18 and 34,” he said. Continued on page 2
Chatham
Call Today for your Complimentary Consultation Conventional Upper Denture Covered Closed Plate
Secure Upper Denture Open Palate
519-352-1600
Denture and Implant Solutions
56 Grand Ave. E., Chatham
www.chathamdentures.com