Issuu

NEWS |

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

St. Jacobs’ Riverworks building to become ofﬁce space............................»13 Pair of gymnasts prepare for provincials

»15 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 51

SATURDAY, December 26, 2009

www.ObserverXtra.com

UnDer sAnTA’s sPeLL St. Boniface Catholic School students Maria Kanellis, Mitchell Hartman, grace Baillargeon and jenny Schaefer take to the stage during the school’s annual Christmas pageant Dec. 17 in Maryhill. For more pictures for school performances, see pages 5 and 8.

JONI MILTENBURG A month ago, Mary Detweiler was dreading the start of winter. Winter means ice and snow and treacherous footing when she lifts her eight-year-old daughter Julianna into the family van. Julianna has a rare genetic disease called Aicardi syndrome, which causes seizures, brain cysts and developmental delays. She’s also a growing girl, making the need for a wheelchair lift for their van – a lift the Detweilers couldn’t afford – more pressing. These days, when Mary lifts Julianna, there’s a weight off

her shoulders. A lift will be installed on their van next month, thanks to a number of people in the community who pitched in to help. “We were blown away by what they did,” an emotional Mary said Monday. “Strangers, friends and family, Julianna’s school … it’s more than we ever thought.” Mary and her husband Harold received two offers of lifts after Julianna’s story appeared in the Observer, but they had to decline as the lifts were incompatible with their van. Other people pitched in with the funds to help the Detweilers pay for the right lift. Almost $2,000 was contributed to the

“Lift Up Julianna” trust account they set up at the Royal Bank by early December. On top of those contributions, the Grade 3 class at Julianna’s school, St. Mary in Elora, made chocolate lollipops and donated candy canes for a fundraiser that raised $1,100. At the same time that the Detweilers were presented with a cheque from the school, they received a cheque from Marj’s Village Kitchen in Alma, where the owners and staff donated their Christmas bonuses. The family also received a major donation from Shoppers Drug Mart through its Working In Support of Hope See GIVING page »07

PHOTO | jONI MIlTENBURg

Family experiences the season of giving

GeTTinG A LiFT Mary Detweiler will soon have an easier time helping daughter julianna into the family van, after the community pitched in to raise money for a wheelchair lift.

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2 | NEWS

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

Last stop before Christmas

One MOre TiMe THrOUGH THe AreA Alanna Brearly and her pup ginger (top right) take in the action at the annual Santa Claus Parade in St. Clements Dec. 19. The parade lineup included marching bands, Wellesley Fall Fair ambassador Kate lindner and, of course, St. Nick himself.

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» NEWS |

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

“ Last night I looked out my window and it reminded me of the very first Christmas I can remember.” Grace Scott

TALes OF CHrisTMAs PAsT Elmira’s Chateau gardens Assisted living Centre residents grace Scott, Isabel Campbell and Erma gingrich share a laugh and some Christmas memories as they prepare for the holiday season. PHOTOS | KATIE EDMONDS

Christmas’ feeling endures

Holidays have changed over the years, but seniors’ memories show a link between the past and present

KATIE EDMONDS Grace Scott, 10 years old, could not wipe the smile from her face that day. It was Christmas Eve and she was just headed home after a very important day. Earlier that morning her father had announced to her family that he was heading into Elmira to run some errands, and she had been invited to go with him, something which didn’t happen too often. As she rode along, she could see her warm breath form little clouds in the cold air in front of her as she clutched the new book in her hands, clean and crisp and treasured; her father had given her some money to buy herself a Christmas present during their day in town. Now, in the early evening, the lights of the main

street were fading away and Grace sat quietly as their wheels tracked through the fresh snow towards her family’s farm, eight miles from Drayton and nine miles from Elmira. She began to think that this cold night must have been like the very first Christmas – it was so beautiful. “That day was really something because when you were a little girl out in the country like that, you didn’t get to go into town.” Although it’s been some eight decades since that day, Scott recalls it vividly from her current home at Chateau Gardens Assisted Living Centre in Elmira. “Last night I looked out my window and it reminded me of the very first Christmas I can remember. The snow was just the same.”

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For some of the other residents there, Christmas evokes memories just as vivid, each proving that the holiday holds a special place in each of their hearts to this day. Sitting next to Scott in the activity room at Chateau Gardens is Isabel Campbell, who just recently celebrated the “third anniversary of her 25th birthday” and who has a very different tale of the first Christmas she can remember. Years ago, in Campbell’s Georgetown home, her parents brought their Christmas tree into the house, stood it up in the living room, but did not decorate their tree at all until Christmas Eve. Her parents had told her six-year-old sister, who was a decade younger than she, not to worry about putting up the decorations before going to bed, that Santa

Claus would do the decorating overnight when he came to deliver the presents. Each year, a little while after her sister had gone to bed, Campbell would sneak into the living room and hang the ornaments one by one, very quietly. “That year I was wearing a red sweater with a white collar – a big heavy sweater as it was always cold in our old farmhouse. So here I am, lit only by the light of the Christmas tree, and I am putting on the decorations. [My sister] was in her bed, with the door open just a trifle and she could see this big red sweater going around the tree. She was sure – until then she didn’t believe in Santa Claus anymore – that she had seen him decorating the tree that night. I didn’t tell her anything otherwise,” she says with a smile. Years later,

Campbell told her own children that Santa was really the spirit of Christmas, how you felt about each other, rather than the man who brings presents to their house each year. Fellow resident Erma Gingrich’s family of Old Order Mennonites did not include Santa Claus in their celebrations, and she explained that they knew that their gifts were from their parents. “Christmas was never really about Santa, or the gifts for us, although we did get a stocking.” Scott however, maintains that she believed in St. Nick and had no doubts about it. “There was one boy in my public school who didn’t believe in Santa. He used to make fun of me for believing, but the more he did that, the See REMINISCING page »06

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4 | NEWS

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

» FROM THE EDITOR | STEVE KANNON

Small wonder that youth are disenchanted with politics tive of all young people in this country, let alone the developing world. But that shouldn’t automatically negate what they’re saying. That politicians so seldom respond to their input, however, only fuels the sense of disengagement. That translates into few young people voting, and a cynicism later in life, when many of those youthful ideals fall by the wayside. I’ve seen some of that firsthand. Having been through the student movements, I’m aware of how the long hours – fueled by idealism and a big helping of party atmosphere – can only be sustained for so long. All the work for the cause eventually seems fruitless to many of those students as they go on to work, families and a host of other demands that put the old causes on the backburner. We know politicians are liars. Of course they are. Of course they are corrupt. Of course they are beholden to special interests, including the business lobby. Of course they are selfserving, looking only for re-election and the spoils that go with it. We know, but we just stop trying to change the system. According to a study by the Canadian Policy Research Networks, young people are increasingly disengaged from formal political institutions and practices largely because they don’t believe the system serves their needs. Most care very deeply about issues that affect broader society – from the local to the global level – and many of them are engaged in various ways. How young people think and talk about their civic and political engagement is different

from previous generations. “It is also clear that disaffection with formal politics is not unique to the younger generation, but rather part of a broader challenge facing democracies today – at home and abroad. We have to be careful not to blame young people for their own marginalization from politics. Youth feel disconnected and are alienated from the political process partly because their issues don’t seem to be on the political agenda. Perhaps parties’ agendas don’t emphasize youth relevant policy in their platforms because young adults are less likely to vote. It is a vicious cycle.” This disenchantment with politics is backed up by the statistics. Numbers from Elections Canada show fewer than one in four eligible voters under the age of 25 bother to cast a vote in federal elections. While voter participation is down overall, the youth numbers pale in comparison to the 80-per-cent turnout for Canadians in the 58 to 67 age bracket. Elections Canada states in a recent pronouncement on youth electoral participation that “today’s young people are not showing signs

» ABOUT FACE

of becoming more likely to vote as they age,” which doesn’t bode well for the future participation rates. Because young Canadians seem more under-engaged than apathetic, there is reason for optimism. In a recent examination of declining electoral turnout among Canada’s youth, Prof. Brenda O’Neill of the University of Manitoba, found that 18- to 27-year-olds were much less likely than their older counterparts to agree to statements such as: “people like me do not have much say over what the government does.” Her conclusion is cautiously optimistic: “Although younger Canadians appear to be less politically engaged, this disengagement appears less a conscious decision to turn away from politics than a failure to see the importance of political participation.” And therein lies an ugly truth in Canadian politics: Young people are largely ignored. Political parties, by necessity, are calculating creatures. As such, they don’t waste time trying to court them, and feel they can ignore the demographic with impunity, thus entrenching the cycle of disengagement.

PHOTO | joni miltenburg

There’s a saying, misattributed to Winston Churchill among others, that goes, “If you are not a socialist by the time you are 25, you have no heart. If you are still a socialist by the time you are 35, you have no brains.” I can’t help but think about how that line is used to negate the young protesters we saw at the recent climate change talks in Copenhagen, and at every other globalization forum in recent years. The youths are labeled as idealists with pipedreams detached from the real world. The assembled politicians and bureaucrats ignore them for the most part, save for the occasional police action. The clashes with riot police are typically the sole media images of protesters, in turn reinforcing conservative viewpoints that youth groups are troublemakers. Young people like those who showed up in Denmark are also dismissed as unrepresentative of the world’s youth: they’re often painted as the children of privileged middle- and upper-class families politicized at university, removed from the real priorities of the poor and oppressed. The underclass, after all, can’t jet off to Copenhagen or Seattle or Rio or wherever a global summit takes place. It’s true universities are a hotbed of anti-globalization, environmental and a host of other movements. And, yes, university students in Canada, for instance, aren’t necessarily representa-

Leslie Irvine Owner, Reichard’s

How long have you been quilting? I have been quilting for probably 22 or 23 years. What do you like about it? It’s creative and relaxing. Most complicated quilt you’ve ever made? Probably a Star of Bethlehem, because the pattern was wrong. It was supposed to be a wall hanging, and it ended up a king-sized quilt.

Do you have other hobbies? No, quilting takes up most of my time – either here at work or at home. Is there anything you’re looking forward to right now? I’m looking forward to spending Christmas with my family because my sons are in university and they’ll be home for Christmas. Are you a fan of winter? No, I don’t like the cold, I don’t do any winter sports. It’s good quilting time though.

NEWS |

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

» SCHOOLS SHINE AT CHRISTMAS

Christmas for the kids PHOTOS BY KATIE EDMONDS & JONI MILTENBURG

IT’S SHOWTIME The holiday season provides students at area schools the chance to put their Christmas spirit on display, as pageants abound. Top, Erynne Rowe from Breslau Public School plays the violin with her class during her school’s Christmas concert Dec. 16. Left, Grade 2 students from Foundation Christian School perform at Waterloo Mennonite Bretheren Church Dec. 15. Center, Juanita Sauder of Floradale Public School jingles bells at her school’s show. Right, John Mahood students Carlie Gabel, Rachel Martin, Kayla McDougall and Dianna Brubacher put a little skip in their step.

SEASONAL FARE Left, the primary choir at St. John’s Kilmarnock performs the Christmas Peace Canon during the lower school carol service Dec. 11. Center, Haley Phillips played a reindeer in the Grade 6 performance of “A Literal Santa” at Conestogo PS. Right, Lauryn Guest looks for familiar faces in the audience during her performance at the Breslau Public School show.

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6 | NEWS

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

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more I believed in Santa Claus,” she explains with a smile. “He and I used to fight about everything so I figured he must be wrong.” And for some, alongside the food, eggnog and mistletoe, the holiday season brings back memories that are bittersweet for one reason or another. Gingrich recalls one holiday season several years back when her husband passed away on New Year’s Day, shortly after her family had left their home following a big meal. “It sure is the time of year for a lot of thinking and recalling good times and then there are the times that aren’t so good,” says Gingrich. “I am sure it is that way for many people around this time.” And for others, Christmas as it is celebrated

today by their grandchildren and great grandchildren, has changed significantly since the days of their own childhood traditions. Far from the commercialized ideals of today, the crowded shopping malls with frenzied last-minute shoppers and the Griswold-style lighting arrangements, Scott remembers a time when Christmas was a much simpler affair, an uncomplicated day of celebration with her family. Even the gifts reflected the times. “Every year, each one of us got an orange in our stocking and a bit of candy which were something wonderful,” says Gingrich of Christmas morning with her six other siblings. “Oranges were hard to come by in that time, so that was the only orange I got all year, just that one at Christmastime.” Each recalled their stock-

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ings being full on Christmas morning, by Santa or otherwise, and each had their own orange. “I would eat the whole orange, peel and all,” said Scott. “Oranges were expensive and scarce and so to get one in your stocking was a real treat.” Another common thread running through the stories of the season is what the ladies consider to be the very best and most important part about Christmas to this day. “It’s simply the part about ‘Goodwill towards all men,’” says Campbell. “You meet people on the street and you can say ‘Merry Christmas!’” “People seem to put aside what is bugging them, and they treat each other nicely,” notes Gingrich. “That means a whole lot when you can walk up to someone who might not normally be so friendly and say hello, because it’s Christmas! It makes a difference.” Scott mentions now that she, like many others she has talked to, tends to get frustrated when she is required to say ‘Season’s Greetings’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas’ and is concerned that Christmas is not quite “what it used to be.” “It seems as though we are all so afraid of offending people that we lose part of what makes the holidays so special, for everyone in their own individual way,” she explains. “I don’t want to stop celebrating Christmas just because someone else does not, and I don’t want them to stop celebrating on account of me and what I believe” – a sentiment echoed by the others. “I think it’s a bit like that song. ‘You go to your church, and I go to mine, but let’s all walk along together,” adds Gingrich. Visiting with people who have a long list of Christmas memories, it’s easy to see just how the holidays have changed with time, and which parts – kindness, fellowship, generosity and love – have stayed just the same. In recognition of Christmas’ enduring appeal, Campbell smiles and recites a line from a song residents sang recently at a holiday party at the centre, “It would be nice if it could be Christmas all year round.”

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

» EMBRACING CHRISTMAS

(WISH) campaign which supports employees and their families. Mary’s brother-in-law Alan McLeod, a property manager with Shoppers, raised the Detweilers’ need with the WISH committee, which donated $5,000 toward the installation of the lift. As well, Sparrowhawk Industries in Waterloo, a division of Shoppers Home Health, has discounted the installation quote from to $7,000 from $8,785. And another donation is still coming from employees at Harold’s workplace, Toyota Boshoku in Elmira and the Toyota plant in Woodstock. On Dec. 15, employees signed up to work for an hour

or two and donate their wages to Julianna, raising more than $10,000. “One guy put 20 hours on the sheet,” said Mary, amazed. With all the funds contributed, the Detweilers have been able to order the wheelchair lift. It’s currently on back order, but will be installed sometime next month. Any funds left over will be put in trust for Julianna until the day when they can add an extra bedroom with an overhead lift and give her siblings, Jessica and Devin, their own rooms. “We don’t mind waiting,” Mary said. “We’re just speechless. People have gone out of their way to give us a hand.”

photo | katie edmonds

Giving: Christmas spirit comes early » From cover

NEWS |

WINTER WONDERLAND Gloria Lillico’s Elmira home is an ode to Christmas, decorated throughout with ornaments and figurines, including more than 50 snowmen displayed on the mantelpiece.

Hockey jerseys destined for troops in Afghanistan JONI MILTENBURG A pair of Waterloo Wolves jerseys will see action on a very different kind of hockey rink soon: one with no ice and sweltering temperatures that reach 50 de-

grees Celsius. The Wolves are sending the jerseys to Afghanistan, where Canadian soldiers spend their free moments playing ball hockey on the Kandahar airfield. The Wolves AAA Midget team is teaming up

with Hero to Hero, a program that matches emergency services personnel and sports teams with Canadian troops serving overseas. The program started in the United States with emergency workers, who collected shirts with their

city or platoon logo and sent them overseas. The Wolves got on board after Sandi Henning met Canadian coordinator Kevin McHarg at a fundraiser. Henning said the players were enthusiastic when she broached the idea to them.

“They were totally on board with it. It was really nice to get such a positive response.” The Wolves are sending a pair of team jerseys autographed by the team and 20 Wolves T-shirts donated by RH Imprint, each signed by a player.

They’re also contributing 20 tennis balls for ball hockey games and a banner signed by players, coaches and the public. The City of Waterloo is contributing pins, and Piller’s is donating 20 cases of its popular Pepstix.

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8 | NEWS

Christmas greetings from the kids

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

Breslau firm gets $2.3 million KATIE EDMONDS

THE LITTLEST SINGERS The kindergarten class at Riverside PS performed a pair of songs at their annual Christmas concert, held Dec. 16 at EDSS.

Their take on where it all started

WISE GUYS St. Clement Catholic School took a novel look at the nativity story through their staging of “Three wise men and a baby” Dec. 17.

The Christmas celebration will be extra merry at Conestoga Meat Packers in Breslau following a $2.3-million investment from the federal government. The money will help the company open new markets for Ontario pork. The investment, announced this week by Kitchener-Conesto g a MP Harold Albrecht, comes from Canada’s Economic Action Plan’s $50-million Slaughter Improvement Program. The goal is to help the beleaguered pork industry reduce costs, increasing revenues and improving operations of meat packing and processing operations in Canada. This investment will help Conestoga Meat Packers renovate its facility, allowing it to process value-added products, capture new markets and generate new revenue, said company president Arnold Drung. “We have just recently

undergone a significant expansion, so this funding came at the right time and will be a partial funding for that project.” Agri-Food Canada and the government are hoping that this investment will further boost productivity, job creation and the bottom line of local producers. “This loan enables the processors here in the area to process more of the hogs that are grown here. It’s a win for the company obviously in terms of expansion – being more efficient and hiring more employees” said Albrecht. “If packers are profitable and competitive, our farmers will benefit through stronger markets, and our economy will benefit through new jobs.” Owned by 150 hog farmers, all located in southwestern Ontario, Conestoga Meat Packers has increased its capacity to 14,000 from 3,000 head per week in the past eight years, resulting in an increase in a tenfold increase in employment to 350

PHOTO | SUBMITTED

Funds to help Conestoga Meat Packers deal with downturn in market

SUPPORT FOR INDUSTRY Employees at Conestoga Meat Packers celebrate the recent investment by the federal government in the company, alongside Harold Albrecht, MP for Kitchener-Conestoga, Bob Hunsberger, chairman of company’s board of directors and CEO Arnold Drung.

staff. And it doesn’t look as though they will be slowing down any time soon. “We are looking to hire between 20 and 30 staff in the new year,” said Drung. And this expansion comes at a time when it is very much needed, noted Albrecht. “Local hog producers have struggled over the past few years – especially since the incorrectly labeled ‘swine flu.’ To have to deal with a hit to their market like that, when they were already going through

a difficult time is like hitting someone when they’re down. I think anything we can do to help is a good thing.” He was also quick to note that local farmers are not asking for handouts from the government, simply a chance to remain competitive in a difficult market. “All they want is the opportunity to compete on an equal playing field. If we can provide the processing facilities locally, then we will help to cut down on trucking costs and other hidden affiliated costs.”

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NEWS |

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

» LAW & ORDER

Vandals make like Grinch with theft of ornaments DECEMBER 17

»»

DECEMBER 18

6:50 AM | A 21-year-old Palmerston man’s body was found on the trail near Union Street in Elmira. Police received a call from a local business earlier that morning regarding a vehicle that had been parked outside their building overnight. The vehicle was that of the young man who had

An Elmira resident contacted police Tuesday morning after waking up and noticing a large pile of Christmas ornaments on the front lawn of her Cedar Waxwing Drive home. The ornaments were not hers and she did not recognize them. Police believe the ornaments to be stolen, and they are keeping the decorations at the detachment for pickup by their rightful owner(s). in the past been considered a suicide risk. Officers attended the scene, performed a canine search and found the man’s

body in the wooded area before calling the coroner, who took the body to Grand River Hospital for further investigation.

»»

DECEMBER 19

6:55 AM | A car was deemed ‘undriveable’ after a twovehicle collision on Northfield Drive at Sawmill Road in Conestogo. Two Waterloo residents walked away from the collision uninjured when one vehicle, trying to pass the other on the left hand side at the intersection, was struck as the lead vehicle made a turn to the left. 12:10 PM | A passerby called police to report a two-vehicle collision on Benjamin Road near Kressler Road in Woolwich Township. One of the vehicles was found in the ditch

Jerseys: Bound for warzone » From page 08

Henning said the players, ages 16 and 17, were behind the initiative from the start. “They’re such community minded-kids,” she said. “It didn’t totally shock me that they wanted to do this, but their enthusiasm was nice to see.”

A large part of the Wolves’ roster is made up of players from Waterloo but the team has players from Wellesley, Hawkesville, Heidelberg, Drayton, Fergus and Elora. The items will be handed over to representatives of the armed forces and Hero to Hero at the

Wolves’ home game Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at RIM Park. The banner will be on display at Wolves’ home games between now and Jan. 25 for people to sign. “We want as many people out on the 25th as we can, from Timbits to seniors, to sign the banner,” Henning said.

truck was found on Zuber Road just south of Line 86 in Woolwich Township. The incident was reported by local OPP officers. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the vehicle was one that had

and there was moderate damage to both vehicles. One of the drivers involved was charged with ‘careless driving.’

»»

DECEMBER 20

10:39 AM | A burnt-out pickup

previously been reported as stolen. The truck was towed from the scene and is under investigation by the forensics unit. There are no suspects in the issue, but the investigation is continuing.

Still no cause for fire that destroyed Wellesley home KATIE EDMONDS The owner of the home that burnt down on Greenwood Hill Road in Wellesley Dec. 17 is left with many unanswered questions after the blaze. Delbert Tschirhart drove out to Wellesley from his Cambridge home after the police notified him about the blaze; he was at the scene within an hour of the fire starting, alongside one of the three tenants, Chris DeHaan, who rented the old farmhouse at 1572 Greenwood Hill Rd. The building was completely destroyed, with damage estimated at $250,000. Firefighters from all three Wellesley stations were called

PHOTO | JOE MERLIHAN

»»

7:25 AM | A Fergus woman driving a green Ford Contour lost control of her vehicle and landed the car on its side in the ditch on Northfield Drive East at Reid Woods Drive. Before stopping, the car crossed the road into the lane of oncoming traffic and struck a sign. There was moderate damage to the vehicle. The accident was attributed to whiteout conditions on the roadway.

UP IN SMOKE Although the cause remains undetermined, the Wellesley Fire Department has closed the file on last week’s blaze on Greenwood Hill Road.

in, but could do little but contain the fire, as flames engulfed the structure even as they arrived on scene. Tschirhart doesn’t know many details about the cause of the fire or where the tenants will go from here, adding he hasn’t yet

begun the long process of dealing with the followup from it. “We just need to get some things straightened out now,” he said this week. “I suppose later on we will have to go up there and rebuild the place, but that’s a ways off yet.”

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10 | COMMENT & OPINION

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

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» EDITORIAL

Politicians need to resolve to change

Here we are on the brink of a new year. And a new decade (the 10s?), to boot. Do you have any resolutions? What is it about a new calendar year that makes us eager to reinvent ourselves, if only a little bit? The coming of a new year is seen as a fresh start and a time for deciding what needs to be changed and where to go next. It’s for these reasons that so many people make New Year’s resolutions to accomplish things such as to exercise more, quit smoking, pay off debt, save more money, complete projects, get organized, further education, lose weight, and the like. Perhaps there’s an endless optimism that we can change, that we can be better – which, of course, recognizes that we all have something in our lives that we wish to alter. Psychologists tell us this is normal human behaviour, adding that the tough part is actually following through on the impulse for self improvement. In other words, fantasizing about a better you, about an idealized version of you – most of us can actually picture ourselves that way – will remain just that: a fantasy. Unless, that is, we are willing to work hard to make the dream a reality.

As individuals, we’ve been performing this ritual for centuries – for some of us, resolving to do the same thing, such as exercise more, is indeed a yearly ritual, but that’s another story. Can this sense of renewal be extended to a wider venue – say, to a community as a whole? We go into 2010 with a feeling that the worst of the recession is behind us. And, as has been the case for most of the past few years, with the chance we’ll face another federal election, a daunting prospect for Stephen Harper who went from soaring in the polls to mishandling the Afghan detainee issue, tarnishing Canada’s image in Copenhagen and continuing to misread the economy. Perhaps a new government will provide more optimism, which is at the root of the decision every time we elect a new government, a chance that something will actually change. That politicians seldom make a difference doesn’t seem to completely eliminate that sense of “maybe this time” when we go to the polls. This is the same hopefulness that gets us to buy lottery tickets: we can dream of what we’ll do with the riches – a onein-a-million chance – until the results

» VERBATIM “We are feeling optimistic about our auto business looking into 2010, noting of course [that] risks relating to this economic recovery do remain.” Linamar CEO Linda Hasenfratz sees a manufacturing upswing, even in auto parts

come in and dash those hopes … but there’s always the next draw. Unlike the winning lottery numbers, however, we have control over our resolutions and whether we stick to them. To a lesser extent, especially given the decreasing voter turnout, we have some control over our politicians – at least enough to throw the bums out. (That they are replaced by a new group of bums is another story.) Many of us make resolutions casually only to just as easily break them. We then rationalize our actions. In our jaded age, we’re equally blasé about the same lack of follow-through from our elected officials – in fact, we’ve come to expect them to lie, cheat, break their promises and to otherwise act in a self-serving manner. That doesn’t mean, however, that we just accept the status quo. In that light, the politicians are the ones who really need the resolutions, actually changing the way they govern. Leaving behind the deceit and actually doing what’s right instead of trying to convince us that down is up, the harm they do is advantageous and that changes to benefit the few are good public policy. Now that would be a Christmas miracle.

» THE MONITOR Even with a new Consumer Product Safety Act on tap, Canada continues to lag on rules to ensure toys are safe for kids. There are more than 18,000 annual emergency room visits for children as a result of product-related injuries. Toxic substances such as lead and phthalates continue to be found in products available on Canadian shelves. Environmental Defence

COMMENT & OPINION |

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

» HARD TALK | RAFE MAIR

Now may be the time to take another look at nuclear Batten down the hatches! Hide the good booze! Prepare for the worst! Rafe is going to talk about nuclear power, First a bit of background as to why I would discuss this matter now, having done almost nothing on the subject since the early ‘80s. We are facing several crises in Canada just as elsewhere. Fossil fuels are about as welcome as a cow at a christening. The thought of burning a litre of gas or oil, or a sack of coal, brings exclamations of horror, yet 30 years ago coal was the darling of fuels. Coal was all the rage as scientists worked on ways to cheaply convert it into gasoline while other scientists worked on making coal clean enough to burn for power. Those theories would be considered madness now. Or would they, considering that in their stead we have the Alberta tar sands, which make coal and oil smell like lavender perfume by comparison? When I was a teenager after the war (no, dammit, not that war, World

War II!), atomic energy was seen by everyone as the answer to our power problems. I remember a teacher telling us that there was enough energy in a streetcar (yes, we had those then in addition to the coach and four and the surrey with the fringe on top) to power an entire city. Many countries went into nuclear, as did the province of Ontario, but many others did not – by an amazing coincidence those that didn’t had no need to. Why did nuclear become so pilloried, especially by the left? Many reasons, not the least of which was the sense of horror when we sat back and evaluated the use of atomic bomb in Japan. We had revisited Hiroshima and Nagasaki and related that to atomic energy. We started to see and read what radiation had done to the survivors and were easily led to the conclusion that if a nuclear power plant blew up, it would be like an atom bomb. I was easily frightened because, you see, I’m one of those who stands back from the photocopy machine because I’m sure it’s going to nuke me! I’ve not come easily to asking this question. In fact there have been two triggering mechanisms, first the provincial government out here selling

out our rivers to private interests and second the huge constitutional question that’s emerging. Let’s deal with the latter. The tar sands are the world’s biggest polluter and are seen by the government of Alberta to be its economic salvation, taking them back to the balmier days of Peter Lougheed. “Resources” come under provincial jurisdiction, though the taxing authority and export power rests with Ottawa. British Columbia, evidently slobbering to have the pipeline from the tar sands traverse the province and the product shipped from our coast, would, under the present government, stand with Alberta. Flash your mind back to the late ‘70s when the Trudeau government passed the National Energy Plan to take control of energy through their ability to tax and power over exports. The crisis was a real one. Alberta bumper stickers said “let those eastern bastards freeze in the dark.” No one really took them seriously except Brian Mulroney, who got rid of the policy shortly after taking office. The question we must all consider is what the impact would be of Alberta in revolt and an aroused separatism in Quebec. We must remember that

in 1979, though a Quebec separation referendum was to come shortly, there was no Bloc Quebecois and the Liberal party was truly national. It’s not my purpose to deal with the legitimacy of the NEP nor to get into constitutional nitpicking – we’ll have time for that later – but to say emphatically that Ottawa playing with Alberta’s oil could be dangerous to more than just relations between Ottawa and Edmonton and that the unity of this country will be an issue. Now, enough politics -- let’s look at the merits. In 1979, the Three Mile Island disaster occurred. It involved failures in the non-nuclear secondary system, followed by a stuck-open pilot-operated relief valve in the primary system, which allowed large amounts of reactor coolant to escape. The mechanical failures were compounded by the initial failure of plant operators, due to inadequate training and ambiguous control room indicators, to recognize the cause of the problem. It’s well to remember, as the bumper sticker of the day proclaimed, “More people were killed in the front seat of Ted Kennedy’s car See MAIR page »12

» INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS | GWYNNE DYER

No surprise at lack of agreement in Copenhagen “The city of Copenhagen is a crime scene tonight, with the guilty men and women fleeing to the airport,” said John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, on Friday night. “There are no targets for carbon cuts and no agreement on a legally binding treaty.” The guilty men included U.S. President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva, who took the first planes out. Xie Zhenhua, the head of China’s delegation, lingered behind to declare that “The meeting has had a positive result, everyone should be happy.” But many people are unhappy, including most of the 130 presidents and prime ministers who showed up for the Copenhagen conference. Their countries spent two weeks struggling unsuccessfully to bridge the gulf between the rich and the poor nations over who pays to fix the eminently fixable problem of global warming, but at least they were clear on the goal. They wanted a treaty that would hold the warming to a safe level (although they could not agree on what that level was). Most of them even wanted to make it legally enforceable. The “Copenhagen Accord,” by contrast, was a drive-by shooting, agreed in a few hours between the U.S., China, Brazil, India and South Africa. It contains no hard numbers for emissions cuts and no deadlines. Yet Barack Obama insisted that it was a “meaningful result,” because they had “agreed to set a mitigation

target to limit warming to no more than two C and, importantly, to take action to meet this objective.” It’s easy to make fun of this stuff. Those wise and powerful men set a target of no more than two degrees C of warming – which is exactly the same target they declared at the G8/ G20 summit last July. “Importantly,” they also agreed “to take action to meet this objective” – though they could not agree on what the action would be, or when they would decide on it. For this, 192 countries spent two weeks negotiating at Copenhagen? Why bother? It was an utter waste of time. But why is anybody surprised ? Even I knew that it was bound to end up like that. Two weeks ago, I wrote: “The Copenhagen summit will certainly fail to deliver the right deal. The danger is that it will lock us into the wrong deal, and leave no political space for countries to go back and try to get it right later. Public opinion is climbing a steep learning curve, and the asymmetrical deal that cannot be sold politically today might be quite saleable in as little as a year or two.” Well, Copenhagen certainly didn’t lock us into the wrong deal. The reason no deal was possible is that public opinion in the developed countries is still in denial about the fact that the final climate deal must be asymmetrical. Until the general public grasps that, especially in the United States, there will be no real progress. Most Western leaders understand the history. For two centuries, the countries that are now “developed” got rich by burning fossil fuels. In the process they filled the atmosphere with their greenhouse gas

emissions, to the point where it now has little remaining capacity to absorb carbon dioxide without tipping us into disastrous heating. This means that the rapidly developing countries like China, India and Brazil will push the whole world into runaway warming if they follow the same historical path in growing their economies. Since they are relatively poor, however, they have been investing mainly in fossil fuels, just as the West did when it was starting to industrialize. A wide variety of alternatives is now available, but only at a higher price. So how do we deal with this unfair history? The developed countries must cut their emissions deeply and fast, and give the developing countries enough money to cover the extra cost of growing their economies with the clean sources of energy that they must use instead of fossil fuels. That’s the deal, but most voters in the United States don’t understand it yet. That’s why Barack Obama couldn’t promise to cut American emissions to 20 or 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, as most other industrial

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countries were offering to do. Instead, he could only offer a paltry four per cent – and he couldn’t even guarantee that. His most visible problem is the U.S. Senate, a body whose constitutional role is to delay change. The Senate has become more corrupt in recent decades because of the almost unlimited spending power of special interest groups, but an uncorrupted Senate would not pass drastic climate legislation either. Like Obama himself, it cannot risk getting too far ahead of the American public. Until Americans start to take climate change seriously, Obama will not be able to move. It is politically impossible for the Chinese to make concrete commitments until the Americans do. We will just have to wait until they get there. Each year in which we don’t reach an adequate global climate deal is probably costing on the order of 50 million extra premature deaths between now and the end of the century, but that’s just the current tariff. By 2015 the annual cost in lives of further delay will be going up steeply. Time is not on our side.

We’re looking for a few good letter writers. Do you have what it takes? Any opinion on a current event will do.

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12 | COMMENT & OPINION

Mair: We would be foolish not to look at all the options » From page 11

than died at Three Mile Island.” But, said opponents, look what might have been! A thought I shared, incidentally. The Chernobyl disaster in Russia in 1986 made the “antis’” case almost irrefutable. Here an atomic power plant blew up and sent a nuclear haze across much of Europe. That it was an old plant subject to the economic and safety ineptitude of the Soviet Union was passed over as we all reacted with horror. It’s wise to look at what damage was done. A 2005 study prepared by the Chernobyl Forum, led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and World Health Organization (WHO), concluded there were 56 direct deaths (47 accident workers, and nine children with thyroid cancer), and estimated that there may be 4,000 extra cancer deaths among the approximately 600,000 most highly exposed people.” Those aren’t trifling figures and as Hiroshima and Nagasaki demonstrated, health consequences may not show up for decades. But it isn’t Hiroshima either. The combined effect of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island was to stultify any consideration

of nuclear power thereafter. But not so everywhere; it’s worth noting that in Europe there are now 186 nuclear power plants in operation, including 19 in the U.K., and 17 being built. I do not, repeat not, say we should adopt a nuclear power program, only that we stand back and look at nuclear – with a jaundiced eye, certainly, but still give it consideration. There are, as I see it, these concerns to be dealt with, any one of which would negate the arguments for nuclear energy: 1. Is it, under 2009 conditions and knowledge, safe? Even if it’s safe under everyday circumstances, could terrorists use it to create an atom bomb-like disaster? 2. How do we dispose of the waste? It’s been this problem that has for many people made the issue a nonstarter. 3. Is it cost effective? We know that they haven’t been, but are the numbers better now? 4. Is it really green, considering what it takes to build and maintain a facility? We would be damned fools to rush into a pronuclear policy but also damned fools not to consider it.

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

» OBSERVER Q&A Have you made any resolutions for the New Year?

“I am going into my first year of university and my goal is to put in my best effort in all my classes.”

“I am going to try to bring some happiness into the lives of everyone I meet in 2010.”

“I don’t make resolutions because I don’t want to break them and feel guilty about it.”

“My resolution is to take better care of myself and my health. I don’t often put myself first and I would like to do that more this year.”

» Kelsey Kaster

» Brian McHugh

» Wil Lichty

» Rosie Clement

» THE VIEW FROM HERE | SCOTT ARNOLD

ALL OF SANTA’S LITTLE HELPERS AT THE OBSERVER WISH YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND THE HAPPIEST OF NEW YEARS.

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BUSINESS |

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

BUSINESS

» MANY FUNCTIONS OVER MANY YEARS

St. Jacobs to add some office space into the mix JONI MILTENBURG After stretches as a woolen goods mill, a felt factory and the first Olympia ice resurfacer factory, the Riverworks building in St. Jacobs is going through another transformation. The Shops at Riverworks is set to become the new offices of Quarry Integrated Communications, an advertising and public relations firm currently based in Waterloo. Quarry is taking over 24,000 square feet of space on the main floor and part of the second, moving 90 employees from their office building at Allen and King Streets in Waterloo. Riverworks, owned by Mercedes Corp., currently houses 11 retailers, with a number of spaces in the building having been empty for a year or more. Quarry president Ken Whyte said this week the company was looking for a location downtown, where employees could walk to restaurants or stores on their lunch breaks. He narrowed 13 possible sites down to a final two: Riverworks and the company’s current building. It was Riverworks’ location on the

bank of Conestoga River and the historic feel of the reclaimed bricks and wooden beams that won out. Whyte had been in the Riverworks building before but as a shopper, not a potential tenant. Looking at it through new eyes, he was impressed with the possibilities it offered. “The moment I walked in that building … it was like ‘wow, this building already has so much great character.’ “It gives you some character to build a culture and environment around,” Whyte said. “I didn’t see any other building that came close to the feel that we want to create.” It’s not a new concept, Whyte said; there are plenty of other examples of creative firms taking over converted factories, from Toronto’s distillery district to the redevelopment of the Lang Tannery in Kitchener. “It’s the dream of a lot of creative agencies.” Jenny Shantz of Mercedes Corp. said there has been a growth in the number of retailers in downtown St. Jacobs over the past 15 years, and leasing the building to Quarry returns some more office space to the core.

PHOTO | JONI MILTENBURG

Riverworks building to be converted from current retail use to house Quarry Integrated Communications

THE NEW SPOT Quarry Integrated Communications president Ken Whyte is excited by the opportunities provided by the Riverworks building. The company, which currently has offices in Waterloo, will be moving its 90 employees to the site next May.

“It’s a tiny little town with a lot of retail,” she said. “We see it as a rebalancing of the commercial use in the village.” Most of the displaced retailers are relocating to other spots in the village. A few retailers will remain on the second floor until Mercedes Corp. can find tenants to convert the rest of the building to office space. Quarry will move into its new office space May 1. Before that happens, there is some work to be done on the building, including adding more windows overlooking the river and dividing it into offices. The offices will be kept to a minimum, Whyte said, to preserve open space and keep the feel of the 1850s factory the same. Quarry has had its office in Allen Square since the company was founded 20 years ago, gradually expanding over three floors. Moving to St. Jacobs will allow the company to bring most of its team back on one floor. “When I announced it, our team was just thrilled to come out and be part of this community,” Whyte said. “There’s so many great benefits to it; everyone’s looking forward to it.”

It’s time to pause, reflect and refresh on the happenings of 2009 and work hard to ensure that 2010 will be even better. We’ll be back in your mailbox January 9th, 2010. The Observer office will be closed December 24 at Noon and will reopen on Monday January 4th.

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14 | BUSINESS

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

» FOOD FOR THOUGHT | OWEN ROBERTS

To others, Canada’s dairy system looks good Critics around the globe have been hushed lately about Canada’s dairy system, which they’ve long blamed for unfair and closed competition. They’ve said the way Canada controls prices, imposes an expensive production quota and limits imports contradicts the global movement towards open markets. Canadian trade officials disagree, saying the closed system is a unique part of our heritage. In trade talks, ministers and other negotiators bang

the table over what they claim is Canada’s entitlement. Unfortunately, that’s a weak argument on the world stage. Every country could claim entitlements. At the global bargaining table, when trade tariffs are under the microscope, all nations are expected to be on the same team – or at least wear the same jersey. Even domestically, the system sometimes takes a beating. The latest naysayer is the organization representing many Canadian restaurateurs, the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association. It’s been trying to attract headlines by declaring cheese overpriced, and calling Canadian mozzarella “white gold.” Says the organiza-

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tion: “Our members are forced to pay among the highest prices in the world for cheese to make fresh pizzas.” This criticism fails to consider the fact that perhaps Canadian mozzarella is expensive because it’s among the best in the world. And no one wants Chinese mozzarella on their pizza, thanks anyway. But quality doesn’t seem to be the issue with the association. It says it’s “reprehensible” for Ottawa to support a system that “grossly overcharges consumers, stifles innovation and prevents Canada from negotiating a free trade deal that would benefit the vast majority of farmers in this country.” Ouch! Now, that’s not exactly the idyllic value-chain vision that some industry participants have for the food system. According to that vision, everyone gets a fair share. But what’s fair? Opinions vary, depending on who thinks they’re getting shafted. Right now, dairy farmers in almost every country except Canada think they’re the victims. The open-market dairy system foreigners and the restaurateurs’ association have been advocating for our country has come back to bite them. Less restrictive production policies in Europe and the U.S. has them awash in milk that no one wants. Suddenly, our monopolistic milk sector doesn’t look so bad. Earlier this month in the U.S., the federal government stepped in with a $300-million dairy sector bailout

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called the Dairy Economic Loss Assistance Payment program. It’s meant for small and medium farmers, which the Americans define as those with a farm income of $500,000 or less. One Midwest U.S. farm organization representative, from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, defended the payment. The domestic dairy industry had to be supported, he told a Milwaukee daily newspaper, or Americans would be exposed to imports from those other nations that practice inferior production methods. “It’s about protecting the source of food grown in this country,” he said. “We don’t want to see something like the dairy industry go to another country where they don’t have as tight of food-safety controls.” Given the historic movement of livestock between the U.S. and Canada, there’s little doubt he was talking about us, which is laughable. If there’s one thing the Canadian system supports, it’s exemplary production. Because farmers get a fair dollar for their milk (and chicken and eggs, the other controlled commodities) they can afford the highest production standards. That means healthier animals that are safer for human consumption. It boils down to this: Do we pay Canadian farmers what it costs them to produce food and make a reasonable profit, or do we support farmers somewhere else? That’s what the Americans are asking. Shouldn’t we, too?

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SPORTS |

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

SPORTS

» WOOLWICH GYMNASTICS CLUB

Pair of Woolwich gymnasts eyeing provincials Coach’s goal is to keep the girls relaxed going into next competition

BALANCING ACT Robin Porter, left, and Jennifer Brubacher are vying for a spot at the provincial gymnastics championships next spring. The two girls have one qualifying meet under their belts and two more to go.

The Woolwich Gymnastics Club is making a bid to send gymnasts to the provincial championships for the first time this year. Jennifer Brubacher and Robin Porter, both 12, are busy training for the provincial qualifiers. The two girls competed in their first qualifying meet in Georgetown earlier this month, finishing in the middle of the pack of 17 gymnasts. Brubacher placed eighth overall, while Porter finished 13th, with a first-place finish in vault. There are two more qualifying meets to go: Jan. 30 in Guelph, and Feb. 12 at Base Borden. The provincial meet will be held in late March or early April. Both girls, students at Park Manor School in Elmira, have been doing gymnastics since they were two years old. “When we were younger it was just to get us out of the house because we had a lot of energy,” Porter said. They had to be coaxed into doing the qualifiers and training for the provincials. “At first it was like, oh no, we’re not ready,” Brubacher said. “As we start-

PHOTO | JONI MILTENBURG

JONI MILTENBURG

ed to train, it was like, ‘yeah, we can do this.’” They spend about eight or nine hours each week at the gym, working on the four events for the qualifiers: beam, vault, uneven bars and floor. Porter’s preferred event is vault,

while Brubacher likes floor. The qualifiers offer some stiff competition, because many of the other girls train 15 to 20 hours a week. “They train at least double what we train,” Porter said. Coach Charlotte Foell said co-coach

David Schilling has done a “tremendous job” preparing them and keeping things relaxed. “There’s no pressure on them,” Foell said. “We just want them to go out, gain the experience and see how well they can do.”

Early lead slips away from Sugar Kings in 5-3 loss Coach is optimistic about team’s chances following the break

PHOTO | JONI MILTENBURG

JONI MILTENBURG

THE RACE IS ON Zach Salomon rushes the puck toward the London Nationals’ net Dec. 20. The Kings got off to a fast start but couldn’t maintain the lead over three periods.

The Elmira Sugar Kings saw a 3-1 lead slip through their fingers last Sunday when the London Nationals scored a trio of power play goals in the second period en route to a 5-3 win over the local squad. The Kings struggled to convert with the man advantage, scoring once in eight chances while the Nationals went three for six. “That was the difference,” head coach Geoff Haddaway

If we took your picture this weekend you can find it online at: REPRINT PRICING

said after the game. “Their special teams beat our special teams. That’s why they’re leaving here with two points.” The Kings got off to an uncharacteristically fast start on Sunday, outshooting the Nationals 15 to 11 in the first period and notching the first goal of the game three and a half minutes in. London keeper Taylor Edwards gave up rebounds on shots from Brennon Pearce and Jake Jefferies before Lukas Balshta put it away for the point.

The Nationals evened the score at one apiece at 16:24 with a goal from Jim Campbell. The Kings reclaimed the lead with a power play goal by Tyson LeBlanc (Baleshta, Jon Jutzi) to make it 2-1 as the teams headed to the dressing rooms. Haddaway was happy to see a fast start from a team that tends to get up to speed more slowly. “That isn’t a trademark of ours, but we challenged the guys to come out with a greater sense of urgency. We

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18 | SPORTS

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

» THE NOT-SO-GREAT OUTDOORSMAN | STEVE GALEA

It’s important to make resolutions worth keeping hole where I caught that big brook trout a couple of years ago. Then, in due time, I’ll drift dry flies by the shady pool where that dead moose once was and watch trout rise eagerly in the current seams as swallows take ascending mayflies. I’ll make sure I drag my ice fishing gear and toboggan to a lake I don’t visit nearly enough too. There, I’ll drill a few holes, set down my two lines, and hope that the lake trout bite is on. But if it’s not, I’ll still take the time to enjoy the tall pines against the blue sky and the chickadee’s song carried on the breeze. My snowshoes will carry me places this winter that I’ve not been to either. I’ll stray a lot more from the beaten path and break new trails into those isolated groves of cedars and balsam where hare tracks meander and pellets are scattered on the virgin snow. I’ll have a .22 in hand, just in case, but the odds are better that I’ll just walk away with a feeling of contentment and awe for the wild things that call these places home. And when spring finally erodes away the white of winter, I’ll hike the woods more, not just to hunt turkeys, but also to take heed of the warblers, notice the emerging wildflowers and see how our deer fared over the course of a long, hard winter. I’ll take the time to walk the forest edges PM Page 1 and fence lines looking at last year’s shed antlers this year too – I’ll keep

that promise to myself this year. I’ll visit lakes that have been on my mind for a while; I’ll finally set up a tree stand at the crossing; I’ll run my springer spaniel more, knowing full well that our time together is shortening. And, mostly, I’ll hunt, fish, and spend time in camp more with

those I hold dear. These things will make 2010 a year to remember – just as 2009 surely was. Every outdoorsman should have a similar list because time is slipping away and there’s nothing we can do about it – nothing, of course, but this.

Novices claim second gold in Harriston

PHOTO | SUBMITTED

A new decade is just around the corner. You can reflect upon what has passed or think about what’s in store but, one thing is for certain, time is slowly slipping away and there’s nothing you can do about it. Time is an outdoorsman’s most precious commodity. Without it, there are no fishing, hunting or camping trips, your snowshoes sit idle in the woodshed, your firearms gather dust in the gun safe and your kids grow up without ever getting to know you. These days, it seems, our time is robbed. Blame work, honey-do lists and a host of other distractions. I have at least half a dozen friends who, every year, promise they’ll come fishing with me “one day soon.” I know others who pick up a deer rifle but one or two days a year and spend the rest of the time dreaming about hunts gone by. One acquaintance has bought just about everything he needs for fly fishing – and yet he hasn’t ever found the time to wet a line. That’s why, in 2010, I will visit that big, burly river that I somehow missed out on last year. As soon as I get there, I’ll wade out to my favouOH9168 MHFlu10-S2:. 12/18/09 12:45 rite casting position and swing my never-fail white streamer over that

NUMBER-ONE, TWICE The Twin Centre Novice Rep team brought home their second gold medal of the year from the Harriston tournament held Dec. 13, winning the A division championship. Back row: coaches Jamie Hislop, Jim Solomon, Paul Schnarr and Rick Roes. Middle row: Ben Hayden, Jacob Voisin, Parker Solomon, Gabe Leis and Griffin Hergott. Front row: Brett Springer, Brandon Parnell, Joshua Hubert, Nolan Hislop, Daniel Rudy, Eric Roes and Jack Weber.

• Half of those in hospital with

• At least 1 in 3 people

• Flu season continues

H1N1 have been under 24 years old.

could still get H1N1.

• 1 in 5 people hospitalized

with H1N1 have ended up in intensive care and/or on ventilators.

You call the shot.

until April.

• More people have been sick this

year from the flu compared to the past 5 flu seasons.

Only you can make the decision to get the H1N1 flu shot. Shots are available at health care provider oﬃces, workplace clinics and many other locations. Visit: ontario.ca/flu

SPORTS |

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

» MAKING A SPLASH

Heidelberg swimmer finds herself in sync Sarah Adams keeps busy while enjoying success with Waterloo Regional Synchronized Swim Club

As a new season gets off to a great start for the Waterloo Regional Synchronized Swim Club, a Heidelberg resident is among the team’s bright lights. Sarah Adams, a Grade 9 student at Elmira District Secondary School, recently finished fourth overall in the ‘under 13’ category, scoring the top spot for her duet routine with teammate Emily McKenzie at the Lisa Alexander Competitive Figures Meet, a provincial competition. Adams’ success is welcomed by the other members of her squad as teams are marked based on both their performance together as a group, and the cumulative scores of their individual swimmers during their solo performances. Overall, the club had 12 podium placings across seven events at the meet, giving the club a great start to another season. This is only Adam’s third year swimming competitively, but already she and her older sister Grace, who also swims at the club, find themselves swimming more than 20 hours per week in order to train for upcoming competitions

PHOTO | KATIE EDMONDS

KATIE EDMONDS

KEEPING IT TOGETHER Synchronized swimmer Sarah Adams rests poolside between practices Saturday along with her 14-and-under teammates Sarah Bainwohl, Deanna Holt-Schmitt, Raelyn Judge, Lauren Lindner and Emily McKenzie at the Waterloo Regional Synchronized Swim Club, where they practice several times per week. and meets, three in January alone. And it is not only in the pool that the girls are seeing success. Synchro club president Erika Lindner, whose daughter swims on the same team as Adams, said instructors at her swimmers’ schools have commented that the

girls on synchro teams seem to be able to maintain focus on their schoolwork exceptionally well. “They only have so much time for homework and everything else in their lives, and when they train so many hours, they have to be on top of their other work. I

find that they may have to give up some of the other extracurriculars in order to swim, but academically, they do very well overall.” Adams’ mother Linda, who accompanies her daughter to practices every day of the week, said that since the age of

three, Adams has been comfortable and confident in the water. “This is just something that has always come easily to her. She is a very athletic young lady.” In addition to their successes in the pool, the girls have also developed a strong friendship out of

the water. “Sarah has just thrived in this environment,” said her mother. “It takes athleticism and endurance, but the team aspect is also incredibly important. It’s a real sisterhood in this group.” Brittany Orton, one of Adams’ coaches, notes that it takes more than just athletic ability to succeed in synchronized swimming, and that Adams has the winning combination of skill and determination that it takes to go far in the sport. She “is very talented, she works hard and she is dedicated,” noted Orton. “She is always the first one to get going during practices and she helps to keep the team motivated too.” And dedicated, she most certainly is. “She swims 15 hours per week, and then joins the school swim team for fun,” said Adams’ mother with a laugh. “When they have a birthday party, they want to go to the swimplex with their friends. When we go to a hotel, the first thing they want to do is go for a swim in the pool.” “Chlorine is our perfume,” says Adams of the team. “Even after we take showers, we still smell like the pool.”

FUN ON ICE After a hard-fought game against the London Nationals, the Elmira Sugar Kings hit the ice to skate with fans Dec. 20. At left, Brennon Pearce takes stepsister Taylor for a spin around the ice; above, goaltender Brandon Gorecki signs autographs for some minor hockey players; right, a very young fan tests out his skates.

PHOTOS | JONI MILTENBURG

Fans get a chance to skate with the Kings

18 | SPORTS

» THE NOT-SO-GREAT OUTDOORSMAN | STEVE GALEA

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

It’s important to make resolutions worth keeping hole where I caught that big brook trout a couple of years ago. Then, in due time, I’ll drift dry flies by the shady pool where that dead moose once was and watch trout rise eagerly in the current seams as swallows take ascending mayflies. I’ll make sure I drag my ice fishing gear and toboggan to a lake I don’t visit nearly enough too. There, I’ll drill a few holes, set down my two lines, and hope that the lake trout bite is on. But if it’s not, I’ll still take the time to enjoy the tall pines against the blue sky and the chickadee’s song carried on the breeze. My snowshoes will carry me places this winter that I’ve not been to either. I’ll stray a lot more from the beaten path and break new trails into those isolated groves of cedars and balsam where hare tracks meander and pellets are scattered on the virgin snow. I’ll have a .22 in hand, just in case, but the odds are better that I’ll just walk away with a feeling of contentment and awe for the wild things that call these places home. And when spring finally erodes away the white of winter, I’ll hike the woods more, not just to hunt turkeys, but also to take heed of the warblers, notice the emerging wildflowers and see how our deer fared over the course of a long, hard winter. I’ll take the time to walk the forest edges and fence lines looking at last year’s shed antlers this year too – I’ll keep

Novices claim second gold in Harriston

PHOTO | SUBMITTED

A new decade is just around the corner. You can reflect upon what has passed or think about what’s in store but, one thing is for certain, time is slowly slipping away and there’s nothing you can do about it. Time is an outdoorsman’s most precious commodity. Without it, there are no fishing, hunting or camping trips, your snowshoes sit idle in the woodshed, your firearms gather dust in the gun safe and your kids grow up without ever getting to know you. These days, it seems, our time is robbed. Blame work, honey-do lists and a host of other distractions. I have at least half a dozen friends who, every year, promise they’ll come fishing with me “one day soon.” I know others who pick up a deer rifle but one or two days a year and spend the rest of the time dreaming about hunts gone by. One acquaintance has bought just about everything he needs for fly fishing – and yet he hasn’t ever found the time to wet a line. That’s why, in 2010, I will visit that big, burly river that I somehow missed out on last year. As soon as I get there, I’ll wade out to my favourite casting position and swing my never-fail white streamer over that

20 | SPORTS

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

Break finds Jacks at a low spot Coach dispirited, but hoping Santa has a few wins in his sack KATIE EDMONDS The puck he took to the face last Saturday wasn’t the worst thing that happened to Apple Jacks coach Kevin Fitzpatrick. Instead, he had trouble coming to grips with to lopsided losses suffered by his Wellesley squad. Wellesley dropped a

6-2 decision to Tavistock Dec. 18 then fell 7-1 against Exeter the following night. “Everything went wrong. I got knocked out by a hockey puck. I thought our team was ready for these games and ultimately we just weren’t. I was the most disappointed I have ever been in a team, af-

ter all the years I have coached,” he explained. The Dec. 18 game in Tavistock was the biggest disappointment for Fitzpatrick, leaving him unable to explain what happened. “Friday we played the worst game we have played all year, during the biggest game of the season. We laid an egg.”

And sadly for the Jacks, Saturday didn’t get much better. “We got blown away on Saturday,” noted Fitzpatrick. “I think we outplayed them for most of the game but in the end we had nothing to show for it except for a tired goalie.” It was apparent even at the outset of the game

PUBLIC NOTICE

2010 MUNICIPAL ELECTION NOMINATIONS AND CANDIDATE CAMPAIGNS

The Municipal Elections Act further provides that a candidate’s election campaign period for any of the following offices begins on the day he/she files a nomination for the office. No contributions shall be made to or accepted by or on behalf of the candidate and no expenses may be incurred by or on behalf of a candidate prior to filing the prescribed Nomination Paper with the Clerk. Money, goods and services given to and accepted by or on behalf of a person for his/her election campaign are contributions. TAKE NOTICE that nominations will be received by the Clerk for the municipal election to be held on October 25, 2010 for the Offices of: • • • • • •

REGIONAL CHAIR REGIONAL COUNCILLOR MAYOR WARD COUNCILLOR WATERLOO REGION DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD WATERLOO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

BACK THE OTHER WAY Apple Jack Justin Milne closes in on the play during a game against the Exeter Hawks at the Wellesley Arena Dec. 19. The Jacks lost 7-1.

Nominations for the Office of REGIONAL CHAIR or REGIONAL COUNCILLOR, REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF WATERLOO must be filed in the Office of the Regional Clerk, 150 Frederick Street, Kitchener, Ontario. We are unable to provide candidates with information concerning FRENCH LANGUAGE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS at this time. A further notice will be published when such information is available. Nomination Procedure: 1.

The prescribed Nomination Paper may be obtained and filed in the Office of the Clerk: (a) (b)

on any day from January 4, 2010 to September 9, 2010 when the Clerk’s Office is open (see business hours listed below for each location); no later than Nomination Day, Friday, September 10, 2010, during the hours 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The Nomination Paper shall be accompanied by a filing fee in cash, certified cheque or money order payable to the municipality in the amount of: (a) (b)

$200.00 for the office of Mayor, $100.00 for any other office,

The onus is on the candidate for election to an office to file a bona fide Nomination Paper.

For further information, contact: Kris Fletcher Rodger Mordue Clerk Chief Administrative Officer/Clerk Returning Officer Returning Officer wleeann@region.waterloo.on.ca rmordue@township.northdumfries.on.ca Region of Waterloo Township of North Dumfries 150 Frederick Street, Kitchener 1171 Greenfield Road, Cambridge 519-575-4410 (519) 621-0340 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Barbara McLeod Clerk Returning Officer barb.mcleod@wilmot.ca Township of Wilmot 60 Snyder’s Rd. W., Baden (519) 634-8444 Ext 228 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Christine Broughton Clerk Returning Officer cbroughton@woolwich.ca Township of Woolwich 24 Church St. W., Elmira (519) 669-1647 Ext 238 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Dated this 21st day of December, 2009

PHOTO | KATIE EDMONDS

The Municipal Elections Act, 1996, as amended, provides that every person who proposes to be a candidate in the 2010 Municipal Election to be held on Monday, October 25, 2010 shall file a Nomination Paper with the Clerk.

Susan Duke CAO/Clerk Returning Officer sduke@township.wellesley.on.ca Township of Wellesley 4639 Lobsinger Line, St. Clements (519) 699-4611 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

that the Exeter Hawks had come to play, netting a fast one only 67 seconds after the puck dropped. This was the first of three goals scored on the night by the Hawks’ new sniper Justin Reid, who now has 17 points in only nine games this season. From there, the first frame didn’t get any easier for the Jacks, with Exeter putting in two more within the final two minutes. Although the shot count was even at 12 for the period, most of the play was in the Wellesley zone. When the Jacks came out of the dressing room for the second period, they seemed to have the energy of a new team. They were much more spirited and were playing with a lot of heart. And that enthusiasm made its way onto the scoreboard, with a goal from Ben Jefferies, assisted by Eric Parr and Nathan Reiger, some seven minutes in. The team matched the Hawks shot for shot for the first half of the period until the skilled opponents came soaring back, taking the momentum with two more goals to send the deflated Jacks back to the dressing room down 5-1 and scratching their heads as to how to gain an edge in this one-sided battle. For the 100 or so Wellesley fans in the stands, the third period proved to be the least exciting

of the three, with the Hawks quickly shifting into cruise control with their comfortable four-goal lead out of the dressing room. They practiced their neutral zone passing for most of the 10 minutes before sealing the deal during the second half with another two goals. Not only did Exeter, which currently holds the third place spot in the Yeck Conference, put up seven markers to the Jacks’ one, but the Hawks outshot Wellesley 45-33. Many of their shots on goal were topquality scoring opportunities whereas the Jacks seemed to lack a similar focus. Neither team fared well with the man-advantage with the Jacks converting only once out of six opportunities. “I feel bad for our guys because even with everything they try, it just doesn’t work,” concluded Fitzpatrick. “The guys work hard but we get no breaks and no bounces.” The Jacks host the Delhi Travellers on Wednesday for ‘Hockey Night in Wellesley,’ including a game for the participants of Kids and Cops as well as a teddy bear toss fundraiser for Sick Kids Hospital. Following the New Year’s break, the Thamesford Trojans come to town Jan. 2. Game time for both is 7:30 p.m.

SPORTS |

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

Some pre-Olympic festivities in Elmira

PHOTO | JONI MILTENBURG

STARTING THINGS OFF Elmira’s Laurel Martin drops the puck for a ceremonial faceoff with Jeff Zippel, captain of the Sugar Kings, and London Nationals captain Adam McKee before the Kings’ home game Dec. 20. Martin is one of the torch bearers for the relay leading up to the Vancouver Olympics.

SCORECARD WOOLWICH WESTERN REGION RINGETTE U10

Dec. 19 Woolwich 4, Kitchener 3 Goals: Alison Schultz, Mackenzie Beacom, Aristana Paleczny, Madison Waters (Alison Schultz, Aristana Paleczny, Meagan Scheuring, Meagan Langer)

WOOLWICH NOVICE BOYS LL#1 Dec. 19 Woolwich 3, Grand River 3 Goals: Zac Pickard x3 (Seth Horst)

WOOLWICH NOVICE LL#2 Dec. 13 Woolwich 10, Plattsville 1 Goals: Noah Bauman, Ryan Belanger x2, Shae-Lynn Martin x2, Tyler Horst x2, Jake Good, Cal Schell, Cameron Maillette (Jake Good x2, Mathew Thaler, Andrew Kieswetter) Dec. 19 LL#3 7, LL#2 2 Goals: Cal Schell, Ryan Belanger (Nicholas Lee, Jacob McDonald) Dec. 20 Woolwich 4, Ayr 1 Goals: Noah Bauman, Ben Weigel, Ryan Belanger, Jacob McDonald (Ryan Belanger, Shae-Lynn Martin x2, Jake Good, Ben Weigel)

WOOLWICH NOVICE BOYS LL#3

Dec. 19 LL#3 7, LL#2 2 Goals: CJ Sider, Jackson Hale x3, Travis Weber, Matthew Dunn, Brendan Gilles, (Jackson Hale, Brendan Grant, CJ Sider, Simon Zenker, Corbin Kaufman)

WOOLWICH NOVICE BOYS LL#4 Dec. 19 Woolwich 5, Beverly 3 Goals: Eli Baldin x 3, Kieffer Beard, Colton Schmitt (Kieffer Beard, Colton Schmitt, Matthew Radler, Jesse Martin)

TWIN CENTRE NOVICE BOYS LL#1 Dec. 13 LL#3 4, LL#1 1 Goal: Nathan Brideau (Jade Lipczynski, Quinn Mrowka)

Dec. 18 Twin Centre 2, Tavistock 0 Goals: Jade Lipczynski, Ben Bauer (Hayden Martin, Quinn Mrowka) Shutout: Nathan Brideau

WOOLWICH TYKE SELECT A BOYS Dec. 13 Woolwich 5, Flamborough 0 Goals: Isiah Katsube x3, Jacob Clemmer, Brett Allen (Brett Allen x3, Isiah Katsube x2, Brady Brezynskie)

WOOLWICH MAJOR NOVICE A BOYS Dec. 19 Woolwich 9, Guelph 2 Goals: Brody Waters x3, Jacob Code x2, Austin Cousineau x2, Sam Davidson, Griffen Rollins (Sam Davidson x2, Lukas Shantz, Mitch Lee, Seth Morrison, Griffen Rollins, Ethan Young, Brody Waters) Dec. 22 Woolwich 5, Burlington 1 Goals: Austin Cousineau x3, Ethan Young, Justin Taylor (Austin Cousineau, Griffen Rollins, Josh Martin, Brody Waters, Justin Taylor)

WOOLWICH ATOM B GIRLS Dec. 18 Woolwich 1, Cambridge 1 Goal: Jaimee MacDonald Dec. 1 Belmont 1, Woolwich 0

WOOLWICH ATOM BOYS LL#1 Dec. 19 Woolwich 6, Plattsville 2 Goals: Walker Schott x3, Johnny Wang, Ryan Diemert, Owen Lucier (Hayden Fretz, Kyle Martin x2, Owen Lucier, Johnny Wang)

WOOLWICH ATOM BOYS LL#2

Stayner tournament Dec. 12 – Game 1 Woolwich 5, Barrie 2 Goals: Riley Shantz, Luke Haugerud, Quinn Young, Kyle Gingrich x2 (Noah Scurry, Bruce Martin x2, Quinn Young, Sam Sabean) Game 2 Woolwich 3, Meaford 0

Goals: Kyle Gingrich, Noah Scurry, Devin Williams (Quinn Young, Chad Hoffer, Riley Shantz) Game 3 Collingwood #1 4, Woolwich 1 Goal: Quinn Young Game 4 Collingwood #3 5, Woolwich 1 Goal: Chad Hoffer Dec. 19 Woolwich 1, Embro 1 Goal: Bryce Sellars (Noah Scurry) Dec. 20 Woolwich 8, Paris 1 Goals: Bruce Martin, Mathew MacDonald, Devin Williams x2, Quinn Young x2, Kyle Gingrich, Riley Shantz (Bryce Sellars x3, Noah Scurry, Luke Haugerud x2, Riley Shantz x2, Sam Sabean, Mathew MacDonald, Chad Hoffer, Devin Williams)

WOOLWICH ATOM AE BOYS Dec. 12 Woolwich 1, Centre Wellington 1 Goal: Nick Campagnolo (Zachary Pogue) Dec. 19 Hespeler 2, Woolwich 1 Goal: Cameron Brown (Zachary Pogue)

WOOLWICH PEEWEE B GIRLS Dec. 19 Woolwich 6, Tillsonburg 1 Goals: Claire Hanley x3, Cora Keiswetter, Gillian Olsthoorn (Amber McPherson, Michelle Bauman, Cassandra Tuffnail, Marlee Kernick, Landis Saunders, Kendra Harold, Gillian Olsthoorn)

WOOLWICH PEEWEE BOYS LL#2 Dec. 19 Woolwich 5, Tavistock 2 Goals: Luke Charter, Jake Bruder, Isaac Fishbein x3 (Kyle Conrad x2, Dylan Arndt, Matt Green)

WOOLWICH PEEWEE BOYS LL#1 Dec. 19 Woolwich 5 Ayr, 0 Goals: Matthew Lalonde x3, Joseph Hanley, Alex Taylor (Nick Berlet x2, Kyle Ropp, Matthew Lalonde, Austin Horst, Jacob Cornwall) Shutout: Chace McCallum

Submit your sports scores to: jmiltenburg@woolwichobserver.com WOOLWICH RUSSELL PEEWEE AE BOYS Silver Stick Qualifying Tournament Dec. 11 – Game 1 Flamborough 5, Woolwich 1 Goal: Jordan Shantz Game 2 Whitby 8, Woolwich 1 Goal: Troy Nechanicky (Aaron Weigel, Tyler Martin) Dec. 12 – Game 3 Stouffville 7, Woolwich 1 Goal: Bradley Mathieson (Connor Peirson) Dec. 16 Woolwich 3, Hespeler 2 Goals: Bradley Mathieson, Eddie Huber, Jake Lewis (Jordan Shantz) Dec. 19 Woolwich 4, Acton 2 Goals: Alex Taylor, Nathan Schwarz, Bradley Mathieson, Gareth Rowland (Nick Keiswetter, Connor Peirson, Bradley Mathieson, Jordan Shantz, Nathan Schwarz, Mason Buehler) Dec. 20 Dundas 4, Woolwich 1 Goal: Troy Nechanicky (Aaron Weigel) Dec. 22 Arthur 2, Woolwich 0

WOOLWICH MINOR PEEWEE BOYS Dec. 13 Hespeler 3, Woolwich 2 Goals: Kelby Martin, Danyal Rennie (Tyler Moser, Mathieu Fife, Brant McLaughlin) Dec. 14 Caledon 5, Woolwich 4 Goals: Connor Bauman, Jayden Hipel, Mathieu Fife, Danyal Rennie (Connor Bauman, Connor Runstedler, Liam Dickson)

WOOLWICH MAJOR PEEWEE A BOYS Dec. 19 Woolwich 2, Oakville 0 Goals: Greg Huber, Jason Gamble (Evan Martin) Shutout: Jayden Weber Dec. 22 Woolwich 4, Brampton 0 Goals: Jason Gamble, Nicholas Pavanel, Adam Jokic, Cole Conlin (Bailey Nickel,

Evan Martin, Scott Martin) Shutout: Carson Kyte

WOOLWICH BANTAM BOYS LL#1 Dec. 12 Woolwich 8, New Hamburg 5 Goals: Jordan Aivaliotis x3, Bradley Thomas x2, Lucas Nosal x2, Cole Burkhart (Bradley Thomas x2, Lucas Nosal, Kyle Arsenault, Andrew Stoltz) Dec. 22 Woolwich 2, Plattsville 1 Goals: Nigel Baldin, Lucas Nosal (Bradley Thomas x2, Duncan MacDonald)

WOOLWICH BANTAM BOYS LL#2 Dec. 12 Woolwich 5, Ayr 0 Goals: Cole Martin x2, Sam Maier, Grady Keen, Ryan DeVries (Sam Maier, Jeremy Hanley) Dec. 13 LL#2 7, LL#3 4 LL#2 goals: Jordan Arndt x3, Sam Maier, Grady Keen, Zeke Schneider, Dylan Arndt (Sam Maier, Zeke Schneider, Jordan Arndt, Dylan Arndt, Ryan DeVries, Connor Vanier, Kyle Brubacher, Thomas Bromberg) LL#3 goals: Jacon Hahn x2, Lucas Bauman, Zach Goetz (Jacob Hahn x2, Lucas Bauman, Devin Decorte)

WOOLWICH BANTAM AE BOYS Dec. 12 Erin Hills 3, Woolwich 2 Goals: William Frank x2 (AJ Priester x2, Blake Cabeldu, Tyler Fulcher) Dec. 16 Centre Wellington 3, Woolwich 1 Goal: Charlie Pavanel (Ryan Schinker, Matthew Halter) Dec. 19 Arthur 4, Woolwich 3 Goals: James Robertson, Blake Cabeldu, Brad Thomas (Blake Cabeldu, Adam Cook, James Robertson, Tyler Fulcher) Dec. 20 Woolwich 5, Dundas 2 Goals: William Frank, Blake Cabeldu, Quinten Hunter-Rhodes, Ryan Schinker, AJ Preister (Blake Cabeldu, AJ Preister, Ryan Robertson, Tyler Fulcher, William Frank, Adam Cook)

WOOLWICH MINOR BANTAM A BOYS

Dec. 18 Woolwich 4, Caledon 3 Goals: Owen Griffiths, Timmy Shuh, Johnny Clifford, Alex White (Matthew Lair, Alex White, Alex MacLean, Adrian Gilles, Owen Griffiths, Mike Martin, Bo Uridil, Johnny Clifford) Dec. 20 Woolwich 6, Guelph 3 Goals: Owen Griffiths x2, Grant Kernick x2, Johnny Clifford, Harrison Clifford (Johnny Clifford x2, Alex White, Harrison Clifford, Matthew Lair x2, Owen Griffiths, Adrian Gilles)

WOOLWICH MINOR MIDGET A BOYS Dec. 18 Woolwich 2, Hespeler 1 Goals: Alex David, Clinton Dechert (Brayden Stevens, Ryan Ament, Nathan Playford) Dec. 19 Woolwich 6, Centre Wellington 0 Goals: Clinton Dechert, Ryan Ament, Justin Schlupp x2, Stephen Kardasz, Jake Kernick (Ryan Ament, Shane Young, Dalton Taylor x2, Alex David x2, Brayden Stevens, Shane Young) Shutout: Blake Ziegler Dec. 20 Woolwich 6, Acton 3 Goals: Ryan Ament x2, Alex David x2, Clinton Dechert, Stephen Kardasz (Jake Kernick, Justin Neeb, Nathan Playford x2, Ryan Ament, Dalton Taylor, Mitch Kernick, Clinton Dechert)

WOOLWICH MAJOR MIDGET A Dec. 15 Centre Wellington 2, Woolwich 1 Goal: Justin Van Elswyk (Jake Radcliffe, Andrew Brubacher) Dec. 16 Owen Sound 4, Woolwich 3 Goals: Josh Wade, Jake Radcliffe, Ryan Ament (Ted Sebben x2, Andrew Brubacher, Kyle Uttley, Justin Van Elswyk, Taylor Doering) Dec. 19 Woolwich 3, Caledon 3 Goals: Josh Wade, Andrew Moore, Andrew Brubacher (Alex Albrecht, Ben Mitchell, Ted Sebben x2, Andrew Moore)

22 | ENTERTAINMENT

THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

ENTERTAINMENT » AT THE CENTRE IN THE SQUARE

Art by the Group of Seven inspired Ballet Jörgen’s new version of the seasonal story of the Nutcracker The combination of an enduring Christmastime story and legendary Canadian artistry has got legs. Introduced last year, the Group of Seven Nutcracker struck a chord, and has undergone some refinements for this season’s tour, which comes to Kitchener Monday at the Centre In The Square. Set against the worldfamous images of the rural north, Ballet Jörgen’s Group of Seven Nutcracker puts a distinctly Canadian twist on the traditional Christmas favourite. “It’s the traditional Nutcracker story, but set in a Canadian context,” said Bengt Jörgen, artistic director of the Toronto-based company, noting the tale is versatile enough to be adapted, in this case moving from its German setting to the lakefront areas that inspired the artists who became the Group of Seven. Klara and the Nutcracker Prince are still front and center, but inhabit a world that includes a wintry schoolhouse in Bisset, Ontario (a locale used by the artists) and the wetlands of Algonquin Park. It’s a Canadian

landscape filled with snowflakes, Mounties, and charming woodland creatures. For Jörgen, the production localizes the story but also makes it more compelling to audiences, especially to the children for whom the Nutcracker is their first exposure to ballet. With more action and

HAVING VISIONS Cristina Tucciarone, Preston McBain and young dancer Colleen McGuckin in a scene from Ballet Jörgen’s Group of Seven Nutcracker, which will be on stage Dec. 28 at the Centre In The Square.

more creatures, this version holds those youngsters’ attention. And the renowned imagery of the Group of Seven serves to captivate the adults, he explained. Choreographed by Jörgen to Tchaikovsky’s familiar score, this Canuck adaptation evolved from a col-

laboration with the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, which has allowed three of the great 20th century Canadian landscape artists to be featured: Franklin Carmichael (Church and Houses at Bisset, 1931), Tom Thomson (Snow in the Woods, 1916) and L.L. FitzGerald (Trees and

PHOTO | SUBMITTED

STEVE KANNON

PHOTO | SUBMITTED

A Christmas classic enjoys Canadian makeover

WOODLAND CREATURES Katharine Garrett and Jean-Daniel Bouchard are raccoons in the second act modified by choreographer Bengt Jörgen.

Wildflowers, 1922). In addition to the traditional Nutcracker characters, this version has added loons, birches, dragonflies, beavers and squirrels, among others. “We filled out the story to make it more engaging, but the fundamentals remain. With this, I wanted to make sure dramatically it was a great story to tell,” said Jörgen, adding the goal was to create a ballet that, though tied to Christmas, could be performed anytime and retain its appeal. Taking place in Northern Ontario rather than Germany, and featuring several new characters and associated dances, the Group of Seven Nutcracker retains the familiar storyline and, of course, the timeless musical score. Klara, an orphan, has come to Canada and is attending her first party here, set in a school rather than a home, as in the original. The ballet’s second act is noted for its celebration of dances (various nationalities in the original); the Group of Seven Nutcracker follows this tradition, but places the second act in a Canadian summer setting with trillium flowers, raccoons, loons, drag-

THE REAL DEAL

onflies, bears, Mother Spruce, and a grand pas de deux danced by the King and Queen Birch. This arrangement seems to be going over well – “We’re really happy with response – people love it. “I wanted to make it more engaging throughout for the kids – they enjoy the animals. At the same time, it’s more interesting for the adults, who enjoy the [artistic imagery] of the Group of Seven.” Jörgen sees it as a more cohesive story that carries through the entire performance. As with past years, Ballet Jörgen also offers young dancers a chance to take part in the presentation, recognizing how the story appeals to kids. Students from dance schools in the region have been selected join the professional cast for the local performances or to tour with the company. The Group of Seven Nutcracker dances on stage for two performances Dec. 28 (2 and 7:30 p.m.) at the Centre in the Square. Tickets are $33-$53 for adults, $21-$53 for children, available from the box office by calling 5781570 or online at www. centre-square.com.

IN PRINT. ONLINE. 519.669.5790 | 519.669.5790 1.888.966.5942 || 1.888.966.5942 www.woolwichobserver.com | www.woolwichobserver.co IN DEPTH.

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THE OBSERVER | Saturday, December 26, 2009

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