Proudly serving the community of Essex and surrounding areas.
Vol. 136
A LOOK INSIDE Continued Council Notes PAGE 3 _______________ EDHS Student Council prepares for positivity PAGE 6 _______________ BIA Social a hit PAGE 7 _______________ Annual Migration Festival PAGE 12 _______________ Essex celebrates getting in motion PAGE 14 _______________
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Issue No. 41
Retired captain receives Quilt of Valour
2016 Car Care Feature PAGES 16-18 ________________ 73’s swamp new look Lakers PAGE 27 _______________
Looking For A Good Home Retired Captain Brian MacDonnell receives his quilt from creator Pauline Gaudette (right) and Jan Bergeron (left) with WETRA’s famous horse, Hector, nearby.
“BOOBOO” See Page 5 for adoption info.
by Fred Groves When Captain Brian MacDonnell was asked where he would like to have his presentation through the Quilts of Valour program held, he did not hesitate. Last Tuesday afternoon, the retired Royal Canadian Air Force Veteran was part of a special ceremony at one of his favourite
places, the Windsor-Essex Therapeutic Riding Association, located just outside McGregor. Captain MacDonnell was the recipient of a beautiful, Canadian-themed quilt that volunteer needle-crafter Pauline Gaudette made. She has created 76 quilts as part of the nationwide Quilts of Valour program. “I love sewing and my dad
told me that whenever you can give back, to give back,” Gaudette said. Along with Jan Bergeron, the Regional Representative of Quilts of Valour, they wrapped Captain MacDonnell in the specially-made quilt. Quilts through this program are presented to those military personnel, past and present, who
are coping with injuries both visible and non-visible. When Captain MacDonnell was recovering, he was part of the ‘Soldier On’ program in which he went to Ottawa, and for a week, worked and lived with officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Musical Ride. “We got up every morning with them and rode and trained with them,” Captain MacDonnell said, who now lives in Amherstburg. He retired in 2012 after severing in the Canadian forces for 25 years which included two NORAD postings, international postings, and being the project officer in the Canadian Arctic. While in Afghanistan, he directly coordinated over 500 missions. “The ‘Soldier On’ program is an opportunity to stay connected with the people you served with,” he noted. The reason he chose WETRA was because of his experience with the Musical Ride, which included being part of the ceremonies that were recently hosted at WETRA. Last Tuesday’s presentation included retired RCMP horse, Hector, who will be dressed up in costume on Friday and Saturday when WETRA hosts its Halloween Spooktactular on the Farm.