January 31, 2015

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01 | 31 | 2015 VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 05

Making her way to BC with Ont. ringette squad SPORTS PAGE 9

COMMENT PAGE 6

Council should do right by the residents

Council stands firm on 0% tax hike for Woolwich

Township, Catholic board propose joint project for new school in Breslau

Latest proposal would keep 1.6% levy for infrastructure, force a 2% cut in spending across entire 2015 budget

STEVE KANNON Breslau residents will get their first look next month at a project that will add a new school and a host of changes to the park and community centre. As well as a JK-to-Grade 8 building that will replace St. Boniface Catholic Elementary School in Maryhill, the plan calls for a public library and improvements to existing township facilities, which will be shared with the new neighbour.

Among the changes proposed are improvements to Breslau Memorial Park as the township and Waterloo Catholic District School Board work on a shared-use agreement for the community centre, gym and playing fields. The Region of Waterloo Library is also involved, as plans call for a 5,000-square-foot shared-use library.

Plans, including preliminary designs, will be unveiled to the public at a meeting February 26.

Having voted in 2013 to close St. Boniface school, the board has been looking for a site in Breslau. Unused land adjacent to the park allows for the collaboration. John Shewchuk, the WCDSB’s chief managing officer, notes this is not a new formula for the board.

“In the past we have successfully partnered with the School | 4

STEVE KANNON

Ethan Skinner helped pace the Elmira Sugar Kings in their 9-0 defeat of the Brampton Bombers on Jan. 25 with one goal and two assists. See page 11 for a report on the game. [whitney neilson / the observer]

s e t a b e R r e t n i W t Ho

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Woolwich residents will see no general tax increase this year, as council this week rolled back an expected two per cent tax hike, calling instead for expenditures to be reduced by that amount.

A special levy of 1.6 per cent to fund future infrastructure projects will stand, however.

Advocating for the public, councillors stuck to their goal despite resistance from staff, voting to can or put off a variety of spending requests.

Councillors also balked at adding any new debt, altering a capital works budget that included $725,000 (plus $117,000 for wider cycling lanes) for repaving a portion of Benjamin Road.

Tuesday night’s debate made for an unusually lively budget meeting that got testy at times, mostly from staff not accustomed to councillors challenging

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them to justify spending plans.

That was in full view as reservations about a number of studies, expressed at previous meetings, came to a head, notably over a proposed review of township services – a study of what could be added, reduced or done better, for instance.

Chief administrative officer David Brenneman made a pitch to spend $60,000 for the services review, but failed to convince anyone but Coun.

Mark Bauman that it would serve any purpose.

He argued that growth – 28 per cent growth in the last decade, 18 per cent in the last five years alone – meant changing expectations about services, especially from those new to the township. While established residents want to stick with the status quo or see cuts, new residents want new and expanded services, he said.

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2 | NEWS

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

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Catholic Elementary Schools: Saint Agatha 519.747.1801 Saint Boniface (Maryhill) 519.648.2832 Saint Clement 519.699.5271 Saint Teresa (Elmira) 519.669.8843

Catholic Secondary School: Saint David Catholic Secondary 519.885.1340

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Province announces pay increase for child care workers Whitney Neilson Registered early childhood educators across the province will have a little more cash in their wallets soon, as the Ontario government last week announced plans to increase wages for eligible workers by $1 an hour.

The increase is intended to help close the wage gap between registered early childhood educators working in full-day kindergarten programs and child care professionals in licensed child care settings. Another wage increase is planned for next year.

St. Jacobs Daycare supervisor and registered early childhood educator Denise Fretz says it’s a positive and welcome change.

“From my perspective it goes far beyond St. Jacobs Daycare,” Fretz said. “It really impacts all registered early childhood educators working in child care centres in Ontario. It certainly would begin to bridge the gap of wages between registered early childhood educators working in child care centres and for the school board.”

The province’s aim is to close the wage gap between RECEs in the public educa-

tion system and those working for licensed child care providers.

Fretz said at this point they don’t have any more details about how and when the funds will be allocated.

“It’s a career that we want people to start hearing about and knowing it’s really important in early learning.”

Nancy Dickieson, director of children’s services and community services at the Region of Waterloo, said they’re also waiting on word from the province on how to go about the wage increase.

“The Region of Waterloo, as the system manager for licensed early learning and child care, will be responsible for administering and flowing the funding to our community operators for 2015. This will be done through an application process which will be developed in the coming months,” Dickieson said.

The wage enhancement funding will be available to all frontline child care staff, including RECEs, program staff, supervisors, private home day care visitors, and private home day care providers.

Premier Kathleen Wynne made the announcement

last week. It’s part of the Child Care Modernization Act which was passed in December to “strengthen oversight of the province’s unlicensed child care sector and increase access to licensed child care options.”

“Parents deserve the peace of mind of knowing their children are in good hands,” Wynne said. “By investing in early childhood educators, we are supporting nurturing child care environments where children can thrive.”

To be eligible for the wage enhancement, centrebased staff must earn no more than $26.27 per hour.

An equivalent daily rate has been set for private home daycare providers.

For Fretz, the wage increase is all about keeping the good quality educators they already have.

“It’s showing that the field is being respected and it’s about the equality of the registered early childhood educators within the school boards being equal to a registered early childhood educator in a daycare,” Fretz said. “It’s bridging that gap. It’s knowing that the government is seeing the importance of that and the importance of what we’re doing in early learning.”

Taxes: Looking for a review of staffing levels from | Cover

new services that are being demanded, Brenneman pointed to greater bylaw enforcement, more tickets for parking issues in downtown Elmira and faster response to complaints about potholes and the like.

Coun. Patrick Merlihan countered that he hadn’t heard from anyone wanting new services, and certainly not the kind involving more enforcement.

“Going out and issuing more parking tickets is not the Elmira I want to live in,” he said.

Coun. Larry Shantz added that the only calls he’s getting from the public are questions about why the township has to keep increasing its spending.

Nobody is asking for more, he said.

Noting that Brenneman spoke of the possibility a study would suggest dropping or reducing some services, Coun. Murray Martin asked if he could provide an example where that might happen.

“Not off the top of my

head,” Brenneman admitted.

Continuing in that vein, Merlihan said he shares the public perception that the review would serve only to bolster future requests for more spending and an increase in staff levels.

“That’s what the report is going to lead to. It will be justification next for new staff,” he said.

Picking up that thread, Martin raised the issue of a review of the township’s payroll, suggesting a hiring freeze, which drew support from other councillors but was not immediately pursued. Expect the issue to be raised again, however.

“I think we need a review of staff levels,” said Martin.

Ironically, Brenneman had suggested an organization study for next year, following the services review. Councillors, however, already appear reluctant to take on more studies and consultants.

This year, there are three larger studies already underway: the Breslau secondary plan ($90,000),

a fire master plan update ($20,000), and a water/ sewer rate study ($20,000).

Under provincial legislation, the township is obliged to carry out a study of its bridges this year, at a cost of $55,000.

This week, council approved a roads need study to update a 2009 inventory ($49,000) and a planning review of the stockyards area south of St. Jacobs ($97,800).

Council was not sold on the service delivery review ($60,000) or recreation master plan ($60,000), While director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley had a much easier time with his study proposals, council opted to put off a public works facilities review and its $50,000 price tag. That study would look at expanding or moving the existing works yard on Union Street in Elmira, perhaps closing the yard in Conestogo, and the possible construction of another yard in Breslau to service the growing population base in the south end of the township.

NEWS | 3

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

Woolwich eyes capital projects worth $9.8 million in 2015 budget STEVE KANNON Woolwich is looking to spend $9.8 million on capital projects this year, the bulk of it on roads, bridges and sewers. The engineering and planning department’s cut of that would be $8.1 million.

Among the pricier projects, the township is looking to spend $2.6 million on reconstructing portions of Woolwich and Dolman streets in Breslau, $1.7 million for various paving projects and $1.2 million for bridge repairs.

Parks and recreation projects, including $300,000 to replace the fieldhouse in Heidelberg, would take up much of the remaining capital budget, ringing in at $1.4 million.

Those figures may change, however, as councillors balked at borrowing money to pay for projects – the budget currently calls for some $725,000 in debt financing. As well, council this week instructed staff to cut two per cent from overall expenditures in the 2015 budget, meaning there may be some cuts on

Elmira drummer sees his musical contributions up for a pair of Juno Awards

the capital side.

Concerns about taking on additional debt first surfaced at a budget meeting January 22, followed by a consensus Tuesday night to avoid the financing of projects.

Director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley noted the township had hoped to pay for a planned repaving of a portion of Benjamin Road through debt financing.

That project amounts to $725,000, plus an additional $117,000 for wider paved shoulders to accommodate cyclists, as approved by council last week.

“We have spent out all other sources of funding,” he said of other projects in this year’s capital budget.

Chief administrative officer David Brenneman said borrowing may have to become more prevalent as funding from senior governments dries up.

The township used to be successful at obtaining grants – a stretch of cost-sharing arrangements whereby the municipality Projects | 4

SCOTT BARBER Over the last decade, Elmira native Adam Bowman has made his mark on the Canadian music scene.

An accomplished session drummer/percussionist, Bowman’s reach extends across a wide spectrum of genres, from jazz and world music though rock, folk and electronic styles.

Now, Bowman has a chance to add two Juno Awards to his résumé as the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gave the nod January 27 to a pair of projects he helped create in 2014: Alysha Brilla’s “Womyn” was nominated for adult contemporary album of the year, and Eccodek’s “Singing in Tongues” is up for world music album of the year.

Adam Bowman’s drumming is featured on two 2015 Juno Award nominated albums: Womyn, by Alysha Brilla and Singing in Tongues by Eccodek. [Submitted]

Juno | 28

Group focused on farm safety seeking volunteers to join the cause Whitney Neilson Farmers in Wellington County had the chance to learn about some essential safety tips, and enjoy some free pizza to boot, at the Wellington County Farm Safety annual general neeting on January 27.

Walter Grose said the focus was on sharing new farm safety advice, which changes over the years as technology advances.

“Number one we’re going to be talking about is four wheelers, insurance on four wheelers,” Grose said. “The important thing about that is that they need to make sure they carry an insurance policy on their four wheelers from their automotive policy. Most farmers believe they can own a four wheeler and not insure it and it’s part of their farm business.”

But that’s not the case.

HOW TO REACH US

Four wheelers need to be insured, otherwise you’re not covered if there’s an accident on the road or even on your own property.

Another issue looked at was wood cutting.

“If they’re doing wood cutting for commercial purposes they need to carry different insurance or workman compensation, than if they’re just cutting wood for themselves,” Grose said.

They’re also looking for new members to become directors and a vice-president. They would be for two year terms. They’ll be welcoming newly elected councillors to the group.

“We’re looking for people from some of the commodity groups,” Grose said. “So we’d like to see if there’s anybody out there from the pork industry and we’re looking for someone for the membership from that because those people

need safety just as much as anyone else. We should probably look for someone from soil and crop.”

A director’s role is to come to about eight meetings per year he said. The goal is to ensure the farm safety message is getting out. They visit with people also to gather information and bring that back to the meetings. From this they decide if need to talk about safety with migrant workers or tractors on the road,

for example. They’ve been giving out free slow moving vehicle signs to anyone who brings in an old one as part of a two-year initiative.

Grose explained they visited 1,670 people last year to teach them about farm safety. Those visits were possible through less than 300 volunteer hours.

He said they try to do farm safety days and they’ll Safety | 5

Phone 519.669.5790 | toll free 1.888.966.5942 | fax 519.669.5753 | online www.observerxtra.com

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4 | NEWS

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

Fundraiser set for victims of Martin Grove fire SCOTT BARBER As fires ravaged a threehome stretch of Jessie Lee Lane during the wee hours of January 16, many in St. Jacobs’ Martin Grove Village slept soundly in their beds, unaware of the turmoil just down the street.

But when they awoke, alerted to the destruction by a flurry of phone calls – plenty from worried family – or even by the morning news, they knew they had to do something to help their neighbours.

“Right off the bat, we started hearing from people who were wondering what they could do to help,” Dora Robertson, a member of the Martin Grove resident’s association said. “We all felt that we really needed to do something; these people

A space heater is believed to be at fault, but no cause can be determined for the Jan. 16 fire. have basically lost everything. It’s heart-wrenching.”

The association, flooded with calls from within the community and throughout the region, decided to host an open house fun-

draiser February 3 at the Waterloo North Mennonite Church from 6-8 p.m.

Donations will be accepted to support the residents of 103 and 105 Jessie Lee Ln. whose homes were destroyed by the blaze. Light

[File Photo]

refreshments will be served and the resident’s association is hoping a musical performance will be an offer as well.

Currently, the residents affected by the fire are either staying with relatives

School: Still

or at a hotel provided by their insurance company.

While one of the residents, a 72-year-old woman, was treated for smoke inhalation the night of the fire, no one was seriously injured.

“It was a miracle,” Robertson said. “The fact that a man happened to be driving by, saw the flames and called 911, and took it upon himself to knock on doors and get the people out of the cold and into his vehicle, that is truly remarkable.”

Waterloo North Mennonite Church is located at 100 Benjamin Rd. in Waterloo. Cheques can be made payable to the Martin Grove Village Residents Association. Donations can also be dropped off at the Libro Credit Union, 53 Northfield Dr. E., Waterloo.

working out the details

from | COVER

City of Kitchener on two community centres and one public library, and with the City of Cambridge on another public library,” he said in an email.

The province has provided the board with $5.3 million for the new project.

The school will be built for 250 students, with a target of opening in 2018.

The proposed joint development is contingent on final approval from all three organizations, Shewchuk said, noting plans are still in the preliminary stage.

A public consultation and information night is scheduled for February 26, 7 p.m. at the Breslau Community Centre on Andover Drive.

Projects: Council intent on avoiding more debt may make changes to this year’s program from | 3

paid a third, with the provincial and federal governments each contributing a third –but the federal government has scaled back such grants, and the province has changed the funding process. Now, Queen’s Park tends to provide funding to those municipalities deemed more in need, he said. In effect, the township is being penalized for being too prosperous by comparison, and for its prudence in building up reserve funds.

Coun. Mark Bauman was not convinced to go that route, however.

“We’re tackling our infrastructure deficit with our children’s dollars,” he argued.

His reluctance was shared by his colleagues, including Coun. Larry Shantz. “We should look at our own house and see if we can finance it properly.”

In a later discussion about the recreation departments capital spending list, Coun. Scott Hahn questioned the price tag, seeing it as rather high for a relatively small building.

Recreation and facilities director Karen Makela noted the cost fell in the middle of estimates gath-

An artistic rendering of the proposed new fieldhouse for Heidelberg, where the current facility has been condemned. Woolwich is budgeting $300,000. ered for the job, adding the plan is to essentially double the size of the existing structure, which has been condemned. A new

facility is needed, as there’s no alternative community space in the village.

To fund the project, the township is hoping to get a

grant of $150,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The Heidelberg rec. association has raised its $50,000 share. And Wool-

[Submitted]

wich is pushing Wellesley Township, which is responsible for half of the village, to contribute $50,000 – so far without much luck.

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BINGE LISTENING POSES HEARING THREAT

If you know what “binge drinking” is, you might have a good idea what “binge listening” is. Just as many younger people stay sober all week and then drink to excess on weekends, binge listeners expose themselves to blaring nightclub music and bar noise on Friday and Saturday nights. Consequently, they often wake up on Sunday morning with loud buzzing sounds in their ears, which is a symptom of hearing damage sustained by prolonged exposure to loud noise.

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NEWS | 5

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

Parkland latest fee increase Fees developers pay in lieu of providing of parkland are on the rise in Wellesley.

Councillors meeting Tuesday voted to increase rates for residential severances of up to five lots to $3,000 from $1,750 and for residential subdivisions from a minimum of $1,750 to $2,000, or five per cent of the appraised value of the lands, whichever is greater.

The rate hike comes on the heels of significant increases to development service charges and a proposal to

increase building permit fees.

The additional funding from the increases will help the township reduce its parkland shortfall, outlined in the 2014 parks and recreation master plan, the staff report said.

Wellesley does not collect parkland fees from commercial or industrial developments.

Smart meters to be replaced

The Electrical Safety Authority has directed Ontario’s power distributors, including Waterloo North Hydro, to recall all iConA Generation 3.2 remote

disconnect meters manufactured by Sensus (typically referred to as the Sensus 3.2 with remote disconnect) due to safety concerns.

According to the Ontario Energy Board, about 5,400 meters will be affected in Ontario, with approximately 600 in Waterloo Region.

While there have been no incidents related to the meters in Ontario, concerns arose in Saskatchewan after the ESA “determined that these meters can be susceptible to arcing when water or other contaminants get into the meter.”

Waterloo North Hydro personnel will be removing and replacing recalled

meters – about one per cent of all meters in the region – by the end of March. A spokesperson for the utility urged the public to refrain from attempting to remove or alter any meters themselves.

Building up the cost of building

The Township of Wellesley will be holding a public meeting on February 17 to discuss an increase in building permit fees. After going through the draft budget, staff believes an adjustment is necessary to keep up with the costs of the building department.

Jigs Hollow pit back in play Just as Winterbourne residents feared, the operator of the Jigs Hollow gravel pit is moving forward with plans to extract aggregate below the water table. Preston Sand and Gravel has requested a meeting with Woolwich Township to get the process started.

In an Ontario Municipal Board settlement, Woolwich agreed to allow for a pit on an 89-acre site at 125 Peel St. Work started on the site in 2013, but then quickly stopped when higher-than-expected groundwater

levels were found, severely reducing the amount of accessible aggregate material.

The quantity of recoverable gravel was based on a 2011 measurement of the water table. New studies, however, show water levels are higher than initially measured, meaning there’s less gravel accessible than the 850,000 tonnes expected, as extraction would have to remain at least 1.5 metres above the water table under the existing licence.

The process will be subject to the full zoning amendment process, including a new $25,000 application fee approved by council last fall.

POLICE BLOTTER

Search warrant leads to arrest of Minto man, multiple charges A 29-year-old Town of Minto man faces numerous charges following the execution of a search warrant in an OPP investigation into stolen property.

The man was not at home when police searched his 5th Line residence on January 22, armed with Criminal Code and a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act search warrants. The suspect was subsequently located in Harriston and arrested later in the day.

Seized during the search were suspected marijuana (approximately two ki-

los), a small amount of methamphetamine, stolen tools worth approximately $4,000, six replica handguns, brass knuckles, a stolen dirt bike, and a stolen motorized snow machine.

The suspect was on a probation order and breaching a recognizance order.

Robert Doupe was charged with ‘possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000,’ ‘possession for the purpose of trafficking marijuana under 3 kg,’ and ‘unauthorized possession of weapon,’ among other charges.

JANUARY 1 8

1:22 PM | A resident of Oriole Parkway West in Elmira reported the theft of a vehicle license plate.

9:34 AM | A collision occurred at Killdeer Road and Brookmead Street in Elmira when one vehicle entered the intersection and was struck from the right by another vehicle, and then pushed into a vehicle stopped in the opposing direction. There were minor injuries, and the investigation continues.

2:48 PM | A vehicle slid off the road while braking and struck at stop sign at Hutchison Road and Ament Line in Wellesley Township.

4:21 PM | A driver backing out of driveway on Woolwich Street in Breslau struck a tree. No charges were lad.

JANUARY 1 9

8:29 AM | A vehicle slid into a ditch due to poor weather conditions at Listowel and Steffler roads in Wellesley Township. No one was injured.

Vehicles collide near bloomingdale

Group seeking volunteers

from | 3

JANUARY 2 4

4:37 AM | Wellington County OPP received a report of vehicle in the ditch at Wellington Road 12 near Wellington Road 7 in Mapleton Township, and that the driver was possibly impaired.

Police arrived on scene and observed a 2015 semi-tractor in the east ditch with the motor running and a tow truck on scene as well.

Officers spoke with the driver and detected the odour of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. A Roadside Screening Device test was conducted which resulted in a fail.

The 28-year-old Etobicoke man was arrested and transported to a local OPP operations centre for further testing. The driver’s licence was suspended for 90

Safety:

A 17-year-old Waterloo man driving a 2008 BMW was charged with ‘failing to yield’ after colliding with a 2013 Chevrolet driven by a 55-yearold Elora woman at the intersection of Bloomingdale Road and Kraft Drive on Wednesday afternoon.

[Scott Barber / The Observer]

days and vehicle impounded for seven days. He is scheduled to appear in Guelph Criminal Court on February 10.

8:20 AM | Police located a man trying to remove his vehicle from a ditch on Arthur Street south of Oriole Parkway in Elmira.

Officers noted fresh damage on the vehicle and detected the odour of alcohol on the driver’s breath, though the man denied

consuming any alcohol. Officers arrested the man for impaired driving and he blew twice the legal limit in the station. The 23-year-old Hanover man was charged with ‘impaired driving’ and ‘over 80.’

JANUARY 2 5

7:00 AM | A Conestogo resident reported to police that an intoxicated man who had come to the door of his Sawmill

Road residence and then driven off. The resident was unable to keep the man from driving away, despite the offering of a taxi and trying to remove the driver’s keys. The driver was stopped a short time later at Sawmill Road and Glasgow Street. A 37-yearold man from Grand Bend was arrested for ‘impaired driving,’ taken to North division and found to have blood alcohol readings more than twice the legal limit.

have exhibits set up during their upcoming pancake breakfast. The breakfast will be February 28 at the Alma Community Hall from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and it’s free of charge for everyone.

“The children can come and look at the exhibits and talk about farm safety,” Grose said. “We’re also doing a farm safety tractor course for women in April.

Our annual meeting is to get people excited, and get people involved and try to bring new people out to our group.”

These meetings and safety initiatives are all about trying to save lives he said. They’re taking the message to children while they’re young, so they learn early about how to be safe on the farm.

“The reason is too many children and too many adults are dying because of an accident on the farm that is preventable,” Grose said. “We have this saying that all accidents are preventable. If we can just save one life I think meeting all year long is worth it. Wellington County has been especially hard hit with people who’ve passed away, maybe being driven over by a tractor or caught in a combine or hurt in an accident and been injured for the rest of their life.”

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6 | COMMENT

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

JOE MERLIHAN PUBLISHER STEVE KANNON EDITOR

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Our view / editorial

The VIEW from here

Making council work for those who really matter Woolwich council took a step in the right direction Tuesday night, opting to reduce to zero per cent a planned tax hike for 2015, down from two per cent.

This council, featuring the three newcomers, seem much more inclined to advocate on the public’s behalf.

This week, staff’s consternation with that reality was very much apparent. It seems they, like township residents, aren’t familiar with the inklings of good governance.

The previous council made a cursory attempt at reform early in its term, but was rebuffed by staff and quickly changed gears (insert Kool-Aid reference here). They, too, were very much aware of the dangers of rapidly increasing taxes, far outstripping inflation and the little, if any, growth in people’s incomes. This council appears ready to do something about an affliction in many municipalities that, unchecked, would see property taxes double and double again in the time many homeowners paid down their mortgages. Residents would be paying much more and receiving no more for their money.

Directing staff to cut two per cent from the budget rather than simply going back to the tax well sets a good precedence, forcing them to look at needless spending.

Likewise, Woolwich needs to reel in its increasing expenditures – up 6.3 per cent on the operating side in the original budget – which have continued to climb as staff helped themselves to the assessment growth and other financial windfalls, taking and not giving anything back to the residents who suffer from the many negatives of growth.

Woolwich councillors, in suggesting a hiring freeze and review of staffing levels, touched on a key component to bringing expenses and taxes under control: stop doling out increases in wages and salaries, all the while adding new staff. Woolwich has certainly been suffering from bureaucratic bloat, particularly in the last five years, with most of the new positions adding no value to the residents of the township.

It’s telling that in discussing the ramifications of a lowered tax hike, there was talk of service cuts, not reductions in staff numbers at the management level, where several positions could easily be eliminated to save $300,000 to $400,000 a year, far in excess of the extra revenues that would be raised by the proposed tax hikes.

Not surprisingly, this year’s budget recommends the hiring of more staff.

In budget talks last month, there were hints staff will be looking to increase those numbers next year.

There were some long faces on the staff side of the council chambers as councillors discussed wage and hiring freezes as a way to taming expenditures en route to lowering tax increases.

As noted, however, easy cuts with no impact on residents will provide plenty of extra revenue that can be applied to the township’s infrastructure deficit. Reduced spending on the operating side will allow the municipality to focus on the priorities, hard services essential to the community, while stripping away the bureaucratic bloat and runaway salaries that steal away money from the productive part of the local economy.

Councillors have struck the right tone. Now, they need to continue down that path, meeting the pushback that will come from staff with their own resolve, perhaps cutting deeper until resistance fades away and managers come to the realization – better late than never – that they work for the public, not the other way around.

Churning through the documents prepared for them, councillors appear to be cottoning on to the fact that there’s a different take on a “balanced” budget.

WORLD view / GWYNNE DYER

Muddle in the Middle East: with allies like these ...

WORLD AFFAIRS Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was in London last week, telling the Western media how helpful Ankara was being in the struggle against the terrorist “Islamic State” that has emerged in northern Syria and Iraq. Turkey is doing everything it can, he said – although, of course, “We cannot put troops everywhere on the border.”

Turkey’s open border has become a sore point with its Western allies, who suspect that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is deliberately allowing a steady flow of recruits and supplies to “Islamic State” because he still wants the Sunni rebels, most of whom are jihadi extremists, to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s Shia ruler.

(Erdogan is no jihadi, but he is a devout and militant Sunni Islamist.)

But Erdogan’s motives are irrelevant, because Turkey simply cannot put troops everywhere on its

820-km. border with Syria.

Or so says Ahmet Davutoglu, and only an enemy of Turkey (or somebody with a grasp of basic mathematics) would say otherwise.

I am no enemy of Turkey, but I can do basic arithmetic. If you stationed Turkish troops along the entire length of the Syrian border at ten-metre intervals – that’s enough for a machine-gun nest every 50 metres – it would take about 82,000 soldiers to cover the entire 820 km.

The strength of the Turkish army (never mind the navy and air force) is 315,000 soldiers.

Maybe Turkey doesn’t have that many machineguns, but it’s not a poor country, and machineguns are quite cheap on the international market.

Or maybe it would prefer to use some other equipment instead: a good fence and some motion-detectors would help. But the main requirement is manpower, and not very highly skilled manpower at that. The Turkish army has a few other jobs, but not any high-priority ones.

Even if you allow for frequent rotation of the

soldiers manning the border, it would take much less than half the strength of the Turkish army to shut the border to foreign fighters. Maybe a few jihadis would still get through, but the vast majority wouldn’t.

The only reason Ankara doesn’t shut the border is that it doesn’t really want to.

Cutting off the flow of jihadi volunteers to Syria would not greatly change the local military balance: IS uses them mostly as mere cannon-fodder.

The point is that Turkey is not fully committed to the destruction of Islamic State, and indeed will give IS deniable help in order to further the goal of a Sunni victory in Syria, despite being part a “coalition of the willing” that is nominally dedicated to destroying IS. The same goes for Saudi Arabia, although it has sent some token aircraft to bomb IS. Riyadh tries to prevent any Saudi citizens from going to fight for IS, and it certainly does not want the IS brand of radicalism to come to the kingdom. Indeed, Saudi Arabia has already started building a 900-km. high-tech

wall along its border with Iraq to stop IS activists from entering the country.

But it is not a long way from the Wahhabi brand of Sunni Islam that is promoted by Saudi Arabia to the “takfiri-salafist” doctrines espoused by the IS militants. Saudi private individuals have been a major source of financing for IS, and until recently Riyadh just turned a blind eye to it. Even now Saudi Arabia doesn’t want Islamic State destroyed if that means Assad gets to stay in power in Syria.

Then there’s Iran. In Iraq, where Islamic State controls half the country’s territory and threatens a Shia-dominated regime, Iran and the United States are fighting almost sideby-side to defend Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s government. (They don’t actually talk to each other, but they each tell the Iraqis where they are planning to bomb so there are no collisions over the target areas.)

But next-door, in Syria, it’s different. Iran has sent troops, weapons and money to defend Bashar DYER | 8

COMMENT | 7

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

Their view / question OF THE WEEK

What are you doing for Superbowl Sunday?

»»Jason Hill

»»Ron McTavish

»»Carie Stroszka

“You’d be crazy not to root for the Patriots. I’ll “Having a big party at my house.” be gone down to Mexico.”

»»Ivan Burkhart

»»Lewis Brubacher

“Going to my cousin’s for chili and to watch it.” “Going to the Central Tavern to watch it and for “Probably have a Superbowl party. Go pre-lunch.”

Seahawks!”

“Not one of the major outside powers that is opposed to Islamic State in principle has a clear strategy for fighting it.” Gwynne Dyer | 8 HIS view / STEVE KANNON

Greek election a lesson in what happens when you ignore the public good EDITOR'S NOTES You’d be forgiven for thinking that the long absence of Greece’s economic woes from the headlines meant the crisis was over.

As with many issues, we simply moved on. The Greeks? Not so much.

That’s why Greece – once an idyllic dream vacation spot that became synonymous with financial turmoil – is back in the news.

Fed up – and, in some cases, unfed – Greeks this week voted in droves for Alexis Tsipras’ radical-left Syriza party, which campaigned on an end to austerity measures imposed in the wake of bailout deals with its EU partners, as well as the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Tsipras wants to renegotiate the debt that tops some $485 billion, pointing to the crippling effect it’s had on the Greek economy and, more importantly, the people.

What the “experts” said

would be a brief hit of austerity – short-term pain for long-term gain – turned out to be nothing of the sort. The country has yet to recover from the impact of the 2008 financial crisis.

As economist Paul Krugman points out this week, the devastating impact on Greece’s economy should have been apparent to those predicting a quick turnaround.

“What actually transpired was an economic and human nightmare. Far from ending in 2011, the Greek recession gathered momentum. Greece didn’t hit the bottom until 2014, and by that point it had experienced a full-fledged depression, with overall unemployment rising to 28 per cent and youth unemployment rising to almost 60 per cent. And the recovery now underway, such as it is, is barely visible, offering no prospect of returning to pre-crisis living standards for the foreseeable future,” he writes in his popular NY Times blog.

“What went wrong? I fairly often encounter assertions to the effect that Greece didn’t carry

HOW TO REACH US

pornographers.

During the crisis, there was much talk of becoming the next Greece, whether in discussing the other so-called PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain), or right here in Ontario, where the profligacy and indebtedness of the government continues to be an issue. Now, the worry is the election could set off similar moves to the extremes in other Eurozone countries, from left-wing parties in Spain modeled on Syriza to the far-right party of Marine Le Pen in France, where, you may recall, tensions are running high of late.

Syriza’s success is giving many established parties, some more moribund and corrupt than others, pause to think. Once a fringe party – its share of the vote a decade ago was four per cent – it went on to capture more than a 36 per cent of the vote in last weekend’s election. Given the horrendous state of affairs in the country, it’s perhaps not surprising that people were up for change. But the party’s success can be traced to something politicians,

here especially, only pay lip service to: actual public engagement. In this case, that meant doing things like creating food banks and rallying to the needs of those badly hurt by the austerity measures. Doing.

Not just saying. And when saying it, actually following through.

Of course, these are early days, so it remains to be seen just how much of its agenda Syriza can deliver. The top priority is the boosting of wages, return of social programs and the promise of 300,000 jobs.

To do that, the debt issue must be dealt with; Tsipras is proposing a mix of debt forgiveness and tying of repayments to real growth in the economy.

Moreover, he’s looking to raise taxes on the rich, and also to reverse a culture of tax avoidance and evasion, one that extends to all classes.

Contrary to public perception, the Greeks weren’t (overly) profligate spenders. The problem, however, was a basic one: they spent more than they brought in.

The spending wasn’t exorbitant, but tax revenues

were so low that deficits were a given.

Officially, Greek tax rates are fairly high, even by European standards. But Greeks routinely find ways of avoiding taxes, enforcement is spotty and bribery is reported as rampant.

Those Greeks in the top 20 per cent of earners pay virtually nothing in the way of taxes, the result of old deals extending back to the country’s days as a military junta and the widespread tax evasion in place today.

So even though Greece falls into the middle of the Eurozone pack with it comes to government spending, its tax collection rates rank near the bottom.

And despite what we would view as generous social programs and retirement provisions, Greeks have one of the lower per capita incomes in Europe.

During the debt crisis, the solution to the deficits created by the shortfall between revenues and expenditures, the cure to Greece’s faltering economy, apparently, was deep cuts to spending, support prokannon | 8

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through on its promises, that it failed to deliver the promised spending cuts.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, Greece imposed savage cuts in public services, wages of government workers and social benefits.

Thanks to repeated further waves of austerity, public spending was cut much more than the original program envisaged, and it’s currently about 20 per cent lower than it was in 2010.”

An avowed Keynesian, Krugman supports government spending during downturns – priming the pump – and argued extensively against the kind of posturing of the Republican party in his country, and their counterparts elsewhere.

As with the debt crisis, the election of a left-wing government has some of the same people who got it all wrong predicting more doom and gloom – thus the country’s return to the headlines.

In that, Greece has become a convenient shorthand in the debate over government spending. And a bogeyman right up there with terrorists and online

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8 | COMMENT

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

The MONITOR

VERBATIM

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Some 20% of Canadians will suffer from a mental health related problem at some point in their lives. Almost 40% of Canadians suffer from workplace stress. Inflexibility of schedule, long hours, constant connectivity, tight deadlines, and lack of vacation time are cited as the main instigators of workplace stress.

“Greece leaves behinds catastrophic austerity, it leaves behind fear and authoritarianism, it leaves behind five years of humiliation and anguish.”

A long-time community volunteer who was a familiar sight at the Elmira Arena will have his name affixed to a new arena when the Woolwich Memorial Centre opens its doors in the fall of 2009, council decided Jan. 29. The Jim McLeod Memorial Arena will sit beside the other ice pad, already designated as the Dan Snyder Memorial Arena.

»»Coalition of Ontario Psychiatrists

»»Alexis Tsipras maintains the popular tone that saw him ride a radical wave to

»»From the Feb. 2, 2008 edition of The Observer

become the prime minister of Greece

Dyer: In all this jockeying,

National view

recall that IS is not unstoppable

FROM | 6

al-Assad’s regime, while the United States is still pledged to overthrow it.

They both see Islamic State (which controls about a third of Syria’s territory) as an enemy, but Washington still believes that it can create some other, more “moderate” army of Sunni rebels that will eventually take Assad down.

And Russia, of course, still supplies Assad with weapons, money and diplomatic support – but despite its own difficulties with jihadi rebels back home in the North Caucasus, Moscow is not participating in the military

campaign against Islamic State. Its quarrel with the United States over Ukraine is too fierce to permit that degree of cooperation elsewhere.

And so on, and so forth.

Not one of the major outside powers that is opposed to Islamic State in principle has a clear strategy for fighting it, nor are they willing to cooperate with one another.

So IS will survive, at least for some years to come, despite the horrors it inflicts on the innocent people under its control. It may even expand a bit more, though the end of the siege of Kobane shows that it is far from unstoppable.

kannon: Take note of what

focusing on people can mean FROM | 7

grams and employment.

Seemed counterintuitive at the time, and the years have borne that out.

The country’s new government is looking for a better balance. Other European countries will be watching closely, especially those experiencing similar financial difficulties. But Tsipras’ public engagement and focus on

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SPORTS | 9

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

SPORTS Ringette / Representing ontario

Competition on the national stage a family affair Sydney Nosal the latest of the clan to take her ringette skills to a larger venue, joining Team Ontario at the Canada Winter Games Whitney Neilson The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Nosal household. Youngest daughter, 17-year-old Sydney Nosal, is busy preparing to head off to Prince George, British Columbia in a couple weeks to play on Ontario’s ringette team in the Canada Winter Games.

Older sisters Sam and Paige have competed internationally and now play for the Cambridge Turbos in the National Ringette League.

Sydney plays on Team Ontario, and her U19 AA club team in St. Clements, and is an affiliate player (AP) for the Turbos. She says she only gets seven games with the Turbos right now and the plan is to hopefully get drafted to them.

“I started at around age six,” she said. “Really young, I was into skating.

My mom played growing up and then my sisters were involved in it, and my brother even. They put him in it just to get him skating and then he eventually went to hockey.”

To make it onto Team Ontario, she was scouted at the Ontario Winter Games.

She’s also been to nationals twice, once in Cambridge.

“And then one year I got

to play with my sisters and that was my club St. Clements team and that was the first year we got to play together,” she said. “We also went to Nationals, that was 2012 and we ended up winning so that was sweet.”

She leaves for Prince George on February 12 and the games run from Feb. 13 to March 1. Naturally, there’s been a lot of physical and mental preparation. She was training four times a week before tryouts in December. Once she made the team she was given a training program to follow with upper and lower body workouts along with cardio almost every day.

“I need to be ahead in school because I know I’m going to be missing it for training camps and everything,” she said. “Also keeping in touch with my teammates is a big thing.

Since we don’t get together a lot it’s important that we’re all still talking because we have to be able to perform as a team once we’re there.”

She’s hoping to study nursing in the fall and is also being scouted for Canada’s Junior Team during the Winter Games.

She said switching between three teams means learning to adapt to different teams and styles of

play. When she plays with the Turbos the players are older and a lot more physical. But she gets lots of ice time with her club team and says the Turbos and Team Ontario have helped her become a better player all around.

“For me, now one of the hardest things is being able to make a smart shot,” she said. “The defensive play’s getting so much better as you get older so you can’t anymore just run in and try to draw the triangle and get a shot off. You have to really work and pass the ring more. You have to use your teammates; you can’t rely on one person.”

Sydney says despite the lack of media attention around the sport, it’s on the rise. In the past three years she’s worked at the National Ringette School the number of people coming out has grown.

“Since hockey’s such a big thing and so advertised around here people would just overpass rinringette | 10

not so great outdoorsman / STEVE GALEA

Indoor warmth comes with downsides OPEN COUNTRY

Following her family’s tradition, Sydney Nosal is heading off to the Canada Winter Games in British Columbia as part of Ontario’s ringette team. [whitney neilson / the observer]

There are ice anglers who love to spend time in ice huts, but I am not one of them. I’d rather fish outside.

When I tell this to some people they simply say “Uh-huh” and then write it down in the notepad that contains the evidence they are gathering about my sanity.

The truth is there are many reasons not to spend time in an ice hut, not the least of which is the problem of air supply.

I know most anglers are very good about maintaining ventilation in their huts but all that changes when you get a visit from “Big Louie” or a guy just like him.

I’m pretty sure every ice angler has had experiences with a guy like him, too.

He’s the guy you don’t really know who knocks on your ice hut door just after you’ve finally got the place warmed up.

He then introduces himself, stands in the doorway for a while so you can’t Galea | 11

A big fat chance to cycle through winter Inaugural Sugar Shack Hustle Fat Bike Scramble set for Sunday at farm near Breslau Scott barber Does your bike hibernate during winter’s deep freeze, tucked away in the garage, protected from the hazardous snow, slush and ice?

Do you wish there was a way to stay in the saddle all-year-round?

You should try fat biking, an innovative riding

style designed to keep you on the trails 365 days a year.

This Sunday, cycling enthusiasts are heading to Shady Grove Maple Farms in Breslau for the inaugural Sugar Shack Hustle Fat Bike Scramble.

Andy Cox of King Street Cycles in Waterloo spearheaded the event, which will offer up demo bikes

to allow participants to try out winter’s newest sport.

“We’ve all been mountain bikers for a long time at the store, and over the last five years we have seen fat biking really taking off,” he said. “There are all sorts of events during the spring and summer for regular mountain bikes, so we thought it was high time to put together

an event for all the people in the region that have been buying fat bikes.”

A fat bike is similar to a regular mountain bike except for their oversized tires (up to three times wider than standard tires), big rims, and wide forks and stays.

The key to the large tires, Cox explained, is that they can be inflated

to a much lower pressure than their standard counterparts.

“Because there is so much volume in the tire you can run them at much lower pressures. Where a normal bike you would run the tires at about 40 psi (pounds per square inch), you can run the fat bike tires at about five or eight psi. So they are very,

very soft and have a huge footprint, which allows them to stay on top of the snow; that way, they can roll through snowy terrain that a regular bike can’t.”

While the unique setup will allow you to get out on your favourite trails during the winter months, there are a few differences cycling | 10

10 | SPORTS

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

ringette: There’s plenty to keep her busy FROM | 9

cycling: Breslau event will offer a chance to

try out bikes specially designed for winter riding FROM | 9

gette,” she said. “There are only two teams in St. Clements so people are like ‘oh it’s going out.’ But they don’t know what’s beyond that. The exposure just isn’t there. It’s broadcasted live but that’s about it.”

She’d like to see ringette make it into the Olympics one day. The problem is it’s seen as primarily a women’s sport and while there are plenty of ringette enthusiasts in Canada and Finland, the sport will have to gain stronger worldwide popularity to be recognized on the elite level of the Olympics.

“I want to see more young girls getting involved in it,” she said. “As older athletes I think that’s our job to promote the sport and be running an

Sydney Nosal keeps busy with her St. Clements ringette team, Team Ontario, and the Cambridge Turbos. [whitney neilson / the observer] ice time or a camp so that as much as I can so people people know it’s available. younger than me get the I need to keep the sport chance because it’s amazgoing and be advertising it ing.”

Join the Woolwich Community Health Centre (WCHC) Board of Directors Are you interested in the health of our rural community? Do you have knowledge or skills that you would like to contribute to building a healthier Woolwich, Wellesley and north Wilmot Townships? If so, then consider joining the Board of the Woolwich Community Health Centre!

between fat biking and regular mountain biking you should keep in mind, Cox said.

“You’ve got to be prepared to go a little slower; that’s just the way it is.

If you get on a fat bike and try to start ripping it around just like your regular mountain bike, you’re going to get frustrated fast.

You’ve got to understand that it’s more about the kind of terrain you are going to be able to cover than the speed at which you are going to be covering it.

That being said, it’s also really important to keep a smooth pedaling stroke, what we call a smooth pedaling cadence, because your main goal is to keep traction. If you start pedaling with a choppy cadence you’re going to break traction and you’re going to be slipping all over the place.”

Dressing properly is another key to enjoying fat biking, he added.

“When you first head outside, you’re going to

Event organizer Andy Cox of King Street Cycles in Waterloo with his fat bike and dog “Duke.” [submitted] feel like you want a whole bunch of clothes on to stay warm, but as soon as you start riding you’re going to heat right up. So many rides have ended early because somebody wore too many clothes and started to sweat and ended up really cold.”

The Sugar Shack Hustle Fat Bike Scramble starts

at 10 a.m. February 1 at Shady Grove Maple Farms, 6640 Fife Rd in Breslau.

Registration is $45 at the event or $35 for pre-registration online at http:// kingstreetcycles.com.

The festivities will include a bonfire, a pancake and sausage cookout (with plenty of maple syrup) and a fleet of demo bikes.

Lancers earn bye to quarter-finals

Ontario’s health system is in the midst of exciting changes and challenges. As a significant local health agency, WCHC has a solid history of working with many multi-sector partners in shaping the future health and wellbeing of citizens, families and communities in rural Waterloo Region. Our strong, dedicated, skills-based Board of Directors plays a critical role in decision-making that impacts the current and future health of our rural community.

WCHC’s Nominating Committee is recruiting Board nominees for 2015-16.

Board members reflect the community that WCHC serves: • Residents from across the WCHC catchment area:  All of Woolwich Township and Wellesley Township  Parts of Perth County: area bordered to the north by Perth Line 72, to the east by Perth Road 116, to the south by Perth Road 119, and to the west by Perth Road 121, and the area bordered to the north by Perth Line 56, to the east by Perth Road 103, to the south by Perth Line 43, and to the west by Perth Road 107  Part of Wilmot Township: the area bordered to the north by Gerber Road (12), to the east by Wilmot Line, to the south by Snyder’s Road/Christner Road, including all Baden and Petersburg addresses, and to the west by Wilmot-Easthope Road.

• Catchment-area residents with work or volunteer experiences in areas such as health and community services, business, farming, financial management, facilities management, organization and board development, patient safety, or quality of healthcare.

• Catchment-area residents who are representative of, or work with, the priority populations that WCHC serves at its St. Jacobs, Wellesley and Linwood sites: Families with young children (0-6), Seniors (60+) and their caregivers, Rural and farming families, and Youth (14-19 years of age).

Board members do not have to be clients of the health centre. However, for 2015-16, the Board has a specific interest in recruiting new directors who have a background in farming/agriculture; are registered clients; have young children or expertise with young families; or are young adults with an interest in health care governance. The following areas of knowledge or experience would be considered an asset: patient safety, quality improvement, and farming issues.

All Board members must be able to attend regular Board meetings on the 4th Monday evening of every month from September to June, and take part in one other Board committee.

Please call Heather at (519) 664-3534, ext. 239 to receive a Board application package. Applications are due by Friday, March 27, 2015. All interested applicants will be required to attend a pre-orientation session which will be set for early April. For further information, please contact Denise Squire, Executive Director, at (519) 664-3794.

The EDSS girls’ hockey team blanked Waterloo Oxford District Secondary School 3-0 at the Dan Snyder Arena Jan. 14, with goals by Megan Chapman, Kacie Martin and Taylor Rempel. The lady Lancers finished first in WCSSAA regular season action, earning a bye through to the quarter-finals, set for 2:30 p.m. Feb. 9 on home ice. [scott barber / the observer]

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SPORTS | 11

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

galea: Sure, ice fishing in a hut seems like a good idea ... until the reasons it’s not start to add up from | 11

close it and asks silly questions like, “Any luck?”

While all this is happening, arctic winds and snow are gusting through the doorway, knocking over things, messing up lines and wreaking havoc with your body temperature.

Eventually, after much small talk Louie will note how warm it is and say, “Mind if I step in for a mo-

ment?”

Before you can respond, he steps in.

It is at this point you will realize that Louie is sort of like an iceberg.

When he stuck in his head and shoulders, you only saw the tip of it. When he wedges himself through the door of the hut, suddenly there’s not even room for daylight.

That is to say the formerly spacious hut is no longer

spacious at all.

In fact, if someone were to look at the hut from through one of the windows, it might look like one of those jars packed with jube-jubes – two small and one immense.

It’s at this point you also realize that Louie believes that bathing isn’t a necessity but rather an option utilized by those who don’t care about the high price of soap.

Better still, while he’s in the hut, “getting to know you” he’s clumsily knocking over things, helping himself to coffee and your venison jerky.

Oh and he’s giving out fishing advice.

At this point you find religion again and begin praying like you’ve never prayed before. Mostly that Louie’s baited line, set up outside, gets a bite.

Whether it does or not is

beside the point.

Someone, anyone actually, needs to yell out, “Hey! You’ve got a fish on!”

This is the only thing that will cause Louie to pop out through the door and run his way back to line he left.

This is your chance.

So you pull up lines, get out of the hut and lock the door. Then you rig it up to the snow machine and tow it to a place just out of

sight.

All this is why I’d rather fish in the open air.

When you fish in the open air you never run into guys like Louie. And if you do you can always get on the upwind side.

Or better still, point out a hut in the distance and say something like, “The guys who own that hut are great.

They always have a hot coffee and venison jerky for visitors.”

Kings go full tilt in 9-0 win over Brampton Home-and-home series this weekend vs. Cambridge, with WMC match in honour of Richard Rank Whitney Neilson The Elmira Sugar Kings showed no mercy on home ice last Sunday as they demolished the Brampton Bombers 9-0, strengthening their position at the top of the Midwestern Conference.

Head coach Jeff Flanagan said they may have been slow to score in the first period, but they were quick to defend and shut down odd-man rushes.

“One of our key points before the game was to make sure their top three players didn’t get on the score sheet,” Flanagan said.

“We thought we did a really good job of that. Of course as the game went on we started to see some more offensive output.”

Steven Jakiela opened the scoring at 5:27 in the first, with an assist from Eric Palazzolo. Despite a slow scoring start, the Kings racked up the goals in the second. Ten minutes into the middle frame, Chad Herron scored his first as a King, helped by Rob Kohli and Adam Brubacher.

It didn’t get any better for the Bombers, as less than a minute later Brendan Schneider (Ethan

Skinner, Jakiela) buried the puck. Keeping it rolling, 30 seconds later Skinner snatched up a loose puck to make it 4-0 to end the second.

They kept the puck flying, with 57 shots on Bomber goalie Shane Dietl, to just 23 against King netminder Andrew Lefebvre.

This marked Lefebvre’s first shutout since joining the Kings.

“We planned to play Andrew this coming weekend against Cambridge, and Jon Reinhart injured his finger in practice last week, so we decided he could have played but to put him in when he’s not 100 per cent isn’t a wise move for him or our team,” Flanagan said. “[Andrew] played really well. Early on he made some really nice saves to keep it rolling.”

Jakiela started the final period the same way as the first with his second goal of the night, helped by Mitch Wright and Kohli. The team’s leading scorer, Zac Coulter, notched two goals back to back to bring the score to 7-0. Assists came from Brubacher, Skinner, Wright and Mac Clutsam.

Coulter is also fourth in the conference for goals scored this season, with 24.

we’re back to back with Waterloo, so it’s something we’re really preparing for and preparing our guys, so hopefully we can continue to play well,” Flanagan said.

He said they do video with the players to show them how their opponents have been playing. They pre-scout the team, where one of the coaches or a scout will go to a game and learn their systems.

They also do video of their own games to document what they do well.

“That’s really the main focus and it just comes down to who makes the least mistakes,” Flanagan said. “Everyday we’re always talking about it and talking about the positives we need to focus on to make that happen.”

The Kings and the Winter Hawks haven’t played each other since November 16 when Elmira won 2-1 in overtime. Cambridge sits sixth in the league.

Brendan Schneider goes for the goal with some help from Steve Jakiela. Inset: Zac Coulter and Rob Kohli celebrate. Coulter scored twice against Brampton, and leads the team with 24 goals. [whitney neilson / the observer] The beating continued with a goal from Mitch Klie (Coulter, Cash Seraphim).

And with less than a minute to go Kevin Gergely sped down the ice on a breakaway to net his first goal as a King.

With just 10 games left in the regular season the Kings will play the Cambridge Winter Hawks in a home-and-home series this weekend, travelling to Cambridge on Saturday and returning home on

Northfield

Sunday.

Flanagan says their track record against them this season has been decent, but they can always do better.

“It’s going to be a really tough weekend back to back with Cambridge and next weekend

KINGS | 13

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12 | SPORTS

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

scoreboard

woolwich midget ae win gold

WOOLWICH NOVICE #4 UNDEFEATED

The Woolwich Midget AE team came out on top at the Hespeler Olympics in tournament play Dec. 27-30. Front row: Evan Courtis, Carson Kyte. Second row: Connor Bauman, Brant McLaughlin, Alex Taylor, Tyler Martin, Jake Bruder. Third row: assistant coach Kadison Hipel, Dan Rennie, manager Ross Courtis, Riley Brick, Adam Jokic, Eddie Huber, Connor Goss, Brett Henry, Jake Lewis, Gareth Rowland, Kyle Brohman, Jordan Shantz, assistant coach Arnie Bauman, assistant trainer Rob Henry, head coach Chim Hipel. Missing from photo: Alex Metzger, Benton Weber, Troy Nechanicky, Nick Langer, and trainer Patty Schopp. The MVP from gold medal game was Evan Courtis. [submitted] Assists: Brienne Brezynskie (2), Brandon Fishman (2), Dawson Brubacher

Tyke Select

Novice: LL #1

Jan. 24 vs Dundas Home: 2 Visitor: 2 Goals: Michell Roemer, Josh Carson Assists: Bryson Rozema, Matthew Darrigan Player of the Game: Jacob Noot

Jan. 25 vs Twin Centre Home: 3 Visitor: 1 Goals: Tyson Roth (2), Jamie Ferretti

Home: 5 Visitor: 3 Goals: Nolan Williamson (2), Lucas Radler, Haiden Idzik, Tristan Kraemer Assists: Haiden Idzik, Will McDougall, Mitch Hartman, Seb Garrett, James McCormick, Lucas Radler, Logan Beard

Atom: Minor A

Atom: AE Blue

WOOLWICH WILDCATS

Tyke Select Jan. 25 vs Dundas Home: 1 Visitor: 0 Goals: Danny Schaefer Assists: Josh Carson, Jordan Machlachlan Player of Game: Aiden Schaap

Novice: AE Jan. 21vs Flamborough Home: 1 Visitor: 2 Goals: Tyson Roth Assists: Cale Waechter

Novice: LL #1 Jan. 24 vs Paris LL #3 Home: 3 Visitor: 8 Goals: Joshua Uhrig (2), Dawson Brubacher

Jan. 24 vs Guelph Home: 10 Visitor: 2 Goals: Joey Martin (5), Jordan Chang, Evan Lucier, Ethan Bickerton, Isaiah Reitzel, Denver Martin Assists: Eric Hutton, Denver Martin (2), Joey Martin, Parker Collingwood, Isaiah Reitzel (2), Drew Birmingham, Cade Beacom

Atom: AE Red

Jan. 24 vs Milton Home: 0 Visitor: 1

Atom: AE Blue Jan. 25 vs Hespeler Home: 1 Visitor: 7 Goals: Coleton Benham Assists: Ryan Curtis, Mason Spark

Atom: AE Blue Jan. 26 vs Guelph Home: 0 Visitor: 6

Jan. 22 vs New Hamburg Home: 6 Visitor: 1 Goals: Tristan Kraemer (2), Seb Garrett, Lucas Radler, Mitch Hartman (2) Assists: Jonathan Enns, James McCormick, Mitch Hartman, Ethan Murr, Oscar Fitch, Lucas Radler (2)

Atom: LL #1

Atom: AE Red

Atom: LL #1

Jan. 25 vs New Hamburg

Jan. 24 vs Plattsville

Jan. 21 vs St. George Home: 2 Visitor: 1 Goals: Thomas Hill-Ring, Owen Hackert Assists: Gabe Hicknell, Justin Burrill, Thomas Hill-Ring

Home: 2 Visitor: 2 Goals: Thomas Hill-Ring, Michael MacDonald Assists: Owen Hackert

PeeWee: AE Blue Jan. 24 vs Hespeler Home: 1 Visitor: 0 Goals: Matthew Brubacher Shutout: Ryan Martin

PeeWee: Major A Jan. 26 vs Guelph Home: 4 Visitor: 3 Goals: Brett Allen (3), Matt Fleischmann Assists: Jake Clemmer (2), Jarrett Anderson, Trevor Ferretti, Matt Fleischmann, Nathan Curtis, Blake Roemer, Brett Allen

PeeWee: LL #1 Jan. 24 vs Ayr LL #1 Home: 3 Visitor: 0 Goals: Matthew Yorke (2), Connor Kroetsch Assists: Braxten Breen (2), Matthew Henry, Tyson Mifflin Shutout: John Kilgour

PeeWee: LL #1 Jan. 25 vs Embro LL #1 Home: 3 Visitor: 3 Goals: Connor Kroetsch,

The Woolwich Novice #4 went undefeated and were Novice champions at the Jayden Elmore Tournament Champions in London Jan. 9-11.

Novice #4 team members are: Reid Deyell, Carter Lipp, Cruz Renon, Alex Hiller, Kelly Grant, Connor Airdrie, Max Schwartzentruber, Hunter Lance, Jack Mayne, Ben Lipp, Evan McDowell, Joshua Frey, Karsten Smith, Thomas Ferguson, Ryan Lashbrook.

Matthew Henry, Liam Moyer Assists: Samuel Nitsche, Jackson Dumart, Zackery Downs

hericanes bantam squad is golden

Bantam: Major A Jan. 15 vs Burlington Home: 3 Visitor: 2 Goals: Evan Gowing (2), Nolan McLaughlin Assists: Matthew MacDonald, Cole Altman, Zach Cribbin

Bantam: Major A Jan. 21 vs Halton Hills Home: 7 Visitor: 1 Goals: Evan Gowing (2), Devin Williams (3), Tim Mayberry, Jesse Sterling Assists: Nolan McLaughlin, Cade Schaus (3), Matthew MacDonald, Cole Altman, Jesse Sterling, Riley Runstedler (2), Austin Flaherty, Tim Mayberry

Bantam: Major A Jan. 23 vs Burlington Home: 4 Visitor: 3 Goals: Evan Gowing, Jesse Sterling (2), Brad Hale Assists: Austin Flaherty, Daniel Carr, Riley Runstedler (3), Kyle Bruder

Peewees take silver stick, head to michigan

The Twin Centre Hericanes Bantam Local League squad won gold against Waterloo, winning 2-1 in a shoot out at the Kyla Kowalik Memorial Tournament that was held Jan. 9-11 in New Hamburg. Back row, coaching staff: Nicole Hendershot, Amanda Hendershot, Jody MacDonald, Michelle Martin, Jeremy Szabo. Middle row: Emily Bishop, Janessa Pretorius, Jayna MacDonald, Marissa Lebold, Grace Kalbfleisch. Front row: Charlotte Birrell, Laura Martin, Desiree Catunto, Kira Schneider, Olivia Bolender, absent Nikki Beam. [submitted]

Bantam: Major A Jan. 24 vs Halton Hills Home: 7 Visitor: 0 Goals: Nolan McLaughin (2), Jesse Sterling, Riley Runstedler, Evan Gowing, Chase Mooder, Cole Altman Assists: Austin Flaherty (2), Riley Runstedler, Matthew MacDonald (2), Cade Schaus (2), Jesse Sterling (2), Cole Altman Shutout: Mathew Turkalj

Midget: Minor A Jan. 24 vs Hespeler Home: 2 Visitor: 4 Goals: Mitch Waters, Jordan Gamble Assists: Jonah Boehm, Tyson Bender

Midget: Minor A The Woolwich Wildcats PeeWee Major A team went undefeated to win their Silver Stick Tournament in Brampton. They went on to the finals in Port Huron, Michigan, from Jan. 22-25. Back row: Keaton McLaughlin, Jesse Martin, Zack Barriage (head coach),Cole Chipman, Eric Martin, Jake Radcliffe, Cameron Martin, Blake Roemer, Jarrett Anderson, Trevor Ferretti, Brendan DaSilva. Middle row: Brett Allen, Jake Clemmer, Nathan Taylor, Nathan Curtis, Matt Fleischmann. Goalies: Simon Huber, Zach Verwey.

Jan. 25 vs Hespeler Home: 3 Visitor: 2 Goals: Tyson Bender, Cameron Brown, Noah Zeller

Assists: Matt Uhrig, Noah Zeller, Jonah Boehm, Cameron Brown

HOCKEY TOURNEYS

Atom LL #1

Woolwich Jan. 17-18 Game 1 vs Waterloo Home: 0 Visitor: 7 Jan. 17 vs Dresden Home: 2 Visitor: 5 Goals: Teagan Cadeau, Griffin Boerner Assists: Michael MacDonald Jan. 18 vs Hanover Home: 5 Visitor: 1 Goals: Griffin Boerner (2), Owen Hackert, Michael MacDonald Assists: Michael MacDonald (2), Adrian Kocan, Teagan Cadeau, Tucker Armstrong, John Berti Jan. 18 vs Georgian Shores Home: 4 Visitor: 2 Goals: Michael MacDonald, Griffin Boerner (2), Thomas Hill-Ring

Assists: Griffin Boerner, Teagan Cadeau, Michael MacDonald, Adrian Kocan, Owen Hackert

Assists: Julia Doerbecker, Delaney Jacklin (2), Charlise Roth

Bantam: LL Midget: LL #1

Minto Mad Dogs Midget LL Tournament Palmerston, ON Jan. 17-18 Game 1 vs Mt. Forest Home: 3 Visitor: 2 Goals: Dylan Arndt (2), Isaac Fishbein Assists: Isaac Fishbein (2) Jan. 17 vs Minto Home: 0 Visitor: 4 Jan. 18 vs Beverly #2 Home: 1 Visitor: 0 Goals: Dylan Arndt Assists: Troy Nechanicky Shutout: Kyle Ropp

WOOLWICH WILD

PeeWee: C Jan. 25 vs Kitchener Home: 2 Visitor: 2 Goals: Avery Durrer, Lexi Runstedler

Jan. 24 vs Waterloo 3 Home: 2 Visitor: 2 Goals: Mary MacKenzie, Jade Lipczynski Assists: Jade Lipczynski

TWIN CENTRE

PeeWee: C Jan. 21 vs Milverton Home: 3 Visitor: 6 Goals: Evaleena Adam, Blythe Bender, Hannah Kieswetter Assists: Nicole Hehn, Emily Whitney, Kara Dietrich (2), Blythe Bender

PeeWee: C Jan. 25 vs Woolwich Home: 2 Visitor: 2 Goals: Valerie Wolf, Blythe Bender Assists: Abby Wolf

SPORTS | 13

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

Jacks fall short in pair of games this week The wheels came off in third period against Burford Wednesday, second loss after dropping match to Paris Whitney Neilson For two periods the Wellesley Applejacks were able to fight off the visiting Burford Bulldogs, but they couldn’t stretch it into the final frame, ultimately falling 5-1 on Wednesday night.

Burford’s Kyle Walker was the first to get on the scoreboard at 2:18 in the first period, assisted by Jesse Brooks and Alex Hall. Applejack Matt Schieck gave hometown fans some hope with one of his own, helped by Alex Uttley and Justin Plant to end the first.

“We’re starting to show some emotion as a team, which was nice,” head coach Tim Robb said.

“I was kind of hoping to get some more lift out of it than we did, but we didn’t.

It’s sometimes the way the cookie crumbles in the game of hockey.”

Both teams fought fervently for the puck in the second but weren’t able to make any offence happen. Despite a solid effort, the Jacks broke apart in the third as Burford found the back of the net four more times. Goal scorers were Brooks (Anthony Van

Looyen, Walker), Chris Grand (Brooks, Adam Harris), Mark McGregor, and Brooks (Matt Kliewer, Matt Dipaolo) on an empty net.

“All in all it was a good effort; again, just a little short on the goal scoring,” Robb said. “We know that.

We’ve been focusing on

that, getting pucks, trying to get bodies to the net, following pucks to the net.

It’s an area of focus for us.

Their goalie made some big saves. Timmy made some good saves for us. It was a very exciting game.”

Penalties abounded for each team, as Wellesley had 12 infractions to Burford’s 10. Burford’s Blaise Burtnick and Wellesley’s Justin Plant were both ejected from the game in the third period for fighting.

The Jacks fell 4-2 to the Paris Mounties on home

Despite keeping it tight for two periods, the Applejacks lost 5-1 to the Burford Bombers on Wednesday. Cal Jefferies winds up for a shot.

Inset: Alex Uttley gets tangled up with Burford goalie Michael Black during a rush on goal. [whitney neilson / the observer] ice last Sunday, despite a scoreless first period and a tight second period.

Junior boys fall to KCI

Uttley scored less than two minutes into the second frame, assisted by Tyler Seguin and Taylor Doering. Paris’ Ryan Stephenson (Austin Sine, Merrit

Crumback) evened things out on a power play opportunity late in the second.

Despite the loss, Robb said they played well.

“When we compete for

the entire 60 minutes of the game, we’re never going to be out of any game,” Robb said. “These guys can play with anybody when we compete for 60 minutes. Whether we win or not, we’ll compete for 60 minutes. Hopefully we can do that all the time, that’s the goal.”

Wellesley wasn’t able to recover as Paris made three successful goals before Doering managed to get their second of the night, with just 10 seconds left. Paris goals came from Tyler Arsenault (Sine, Andrew Heibein), Sine (Brady Wheelans, Brett Wilson), and Scott Sippel on an empty net.

“We are working on some different strategies to play against Ayr knowing we are going to play them in the first round, and hopefully we can slow them down offensively and hopefully then create some offensive from it,” Robb said. “That’s our focus and it’s been our focus for a couple weeks.

Some of it’s showing, some of it’s not. Sometimes you get the bounce, sometimes you don’t.”

The Jacks headed to Burford on Friday for a rematch and are back home for their last regular season game on Saturday against the Norwich Merchants at 7:30 p.m.

kings: Sweater auction will follow the game FROM | 11

All proceeds from the Sunday game will go to Woolwich’s Friends of Hockey organization, which helps children play minor hockey who couldn’t otherwise afford it. The charity game is in honour of minor sports booster and referee Richard Rank, who passed away after a heart attack last year.

“We have special jerseys so that’s pretty exciting and Keith Stewart has done a great job designing them,” Flanagan said. “The logo is very similar to the old logo when the Sugar Kings first started. They’ll be auctioning the jerseys off at the end of the game.”

The players will sport their sweaters in the front room where an auctioneer will sell them to the highest bidder.

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Rank’s wife and kids will be at the game to drop the puck.

“We hope that people will come out in droves to fill the arena on Sunday to support the function,” Flanagan said. “The more people the better and the more support we can get, the better it’s going to be for Elmira, and Woolwich and the surrounding community.”

The puck drops at the WMC at 2 p.m.

14 | VENTURE

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

Venture Food for thought/ Owen Roberts

public input / cutting red tape

Wellesley looking to act on feedback from local businesses

What lies ahead for family farms?

Speeding up the development process is in township’s control, while Internet and gas will take coaxing Scott Barber A streamlined development process, access to high speed Internet and more natural gas feeds top the wish list of Wellesley’s business community, a township survey reveals.

“Generally I think the businesses in the township are reasonably happy with the services and their ability to own and run a business here,” planner Geoff VanderBaaren said.

“However, businesses that have had to go through some kind of approval process, whether it’s a zoning amendment or a building permit, identified timelines as being a big concern. People always want things done quicker than we can often do it for them.”

Township staff sent out 394 surveys early in 2014 and received 35 responses.

It’s a valuable process, VanderBaaren said.

“It gives the township the ability to look at its own processes to see if there are steps we can take to improve. It also gives us the opportunity to see what issues businesses might be having. For instance, getting Union Gas to come out to more parts of the municipality is a big thing for some businesses. While that is not something that we directly control, we might be able to influence it.”

In response to the timeliness concerns regarding the

FIELD NOTES

Wellesley Township planner Geoff VanderBaaren quickly took action in response to the business survey, proposing changes to the development application process to speed things up.

[Scott Barber / The Observer]

development process, the township was quick to take action, passing a motion at its January 27 meeting to eliminate the need for staff to report to council before arranging a public meeting for official plan or zoning bylaw amendments, or plans for subdivisions and condominiums.

But other issues remain, including objections to restrictions related to on-farm shops made by numerous survey respondents.

Specifically, some question the need to limit the number of employees at onfarm businesses to two and

the need for a minimum property size of 20 acres to be eligible to operate such ventures.

“I would greatly recommend you to reconsider the number of employees an on-farm shop can have,” one respondent wrote. “Being that we are limited to 6,000 square feet of shop building space, then maybe there shouldn’t be a limit to employees. There will only be so many employees in that space, and I think that the 6,000 sq. ft. allowed is a nice sized shop. But with only two workers, then if one is sick then the work-

force is cut in half. I know you don’t want big factories out here in the country but I don’t think adding a few more workers to a workforce would chance that dramatically.”

Said another, “In Ontario or even Canada we are having a very high rate of unemployment; by allowing only two employees that come in off the road my thinking is that the Township of Wellesley is contributing to the high rate by limiting the number of employees on an on-farm shop.”

These policies are go-

ing to be reviewed by staff, VanderBaaren said, and could be brought to council within the next few months.

The issue of access to high speed Internet and natural gas is a tougher challenge, he added, since both services are run by the private sector.

There is, however, some reason to believe access to upgraded Internet service will increase in the near future, VanderBaaren said, since the federal government launched a program last summer to help fund high speed Internet access for rural communities.

Agriculture’s global profile got a boost last year thanks to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization deeming 2014 the International Year of Family Farming. Journalists wrote enlightening stories about the fact that nearly all Canadian farms are family owned.

Politicians spoke in glowing terms about the economic, social and cultural contributions made by family farms.

And at least some farmers and farm groups embraced it, recognizing international designations and the spotlight that accompanies them are few and far between. But now what? That year is over.

What lies ahead for family farms? This week in Ontario, the agriculture, food and rural affairs ministry continued its quest to strengthen family farms by bringing them closer to consumers. It’s emphasizing their role in local food production, and the estimated $34 billion contribution farming makes to the province’s economy. To its credit, the ministry has made support for local food part of the government’s economic plan for Ontario.

Granted, there’s much Roberts | 15

GET IN ON THE

ACTION Get in on the Action! Place an ad in the Observer today: 519-669-5790 | info@woolwichobserver.com

7 in 10 adults took action (became aware of sale/product/service, bought, visited a store/site, etc.)

as a result of a newspaper ad.

VENTURE | 15

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

ROBERTS: Looking out for the family farm from | 14

more to Ontario agriculture than local food – most notably, exports. But this close tie to the economy gives farming another seat at the big table, another opportunity to be heard when decisions that affect it are being made at a high level.

That’s vital. Agriculture can and does pound the table about its importance.

It has a great case to make, and the province realizes it. But unless consumers understand agriculture and support it, the political will won’t be there to back it up.

So the ministry is trying to reach those consumers by appealing to their fondness for local food.

More specifically, the ministry wants Ontarians to have a closer relationship with local food. On Tuesday, it announced it had set goals to encourage and increase what’s being called food literacy, an understanding of food. That drive includes boosting the number of Ontarians who know what local foods are available, know how and where to obtain local foods, and know how to prepare them. And taking it a step further, the effort also aims to support more local

food being made available through food services.

That has the potential to further bring local food to consumers, through restaurants, processors and manufacturers. All this could certainly have a positive effect on family farms, particularly the growing number of small farms that are flourishing thanks to consumer interest in the food supply.

Farm owners should make an effort to turn out for an annual day-long local food summit initiative called Source It Here, on February 9 at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre in Guelph.

Waterloo’s Foodlink and Guelph-Wellington’s Taste Real local food programs have teamed up this year to jointly present the summit.

That’s a good move, considering how local food is so regional in our area, and given the organizations’ commitment to making the region a food tourism destination. Among the speakers at the event will be University of Guelph chef Gordon Cooledge, who’ll talk about how to preserve and increase the value of local food through processing. The university, which dubs itself Canada’s Food

It’s Our

University, has rightly taken a leadership position in the local food movement.

Its involvement shows the breadth of local food’s impact, which is everywhere you look.

“There is an abundance of farm, fresh and local food that is grown and prepared throughout Wellington County and Waterloo Region,” says Christina Mann, project coordinator for Taste Real. “The key is making connections with the right people who have the knowledge and expertise in getting the food to local tables.”

That imperative sounds to me like the local food sector and the province are on the same page. And that in itself is vital for the future of family farms.

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16 | THE ARTS

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

THE ARTS on Stage / live theatre

Medium Rare is fresh off the grill Elmira Theatre Company to stage first play written by Tracy Biggar, no stranger to the local scene SCOTT BARBER The Elmira Theatre Company has long provided opportunities for local actors, directors and writers to express their artistic ideas, both on and offstage.

Next month, the spotlight will shine on ETC member Tracy Biggar with the world premiere of Medium Rare, her first playwriting credit.

“We are thrilled to get the chance to put this show together,” director Steve Robinson said. “It features the work of a new author who has never had anything presented on stage before, which is always very exciting. Tracy has a wealth of theatre experience, but this is a new experience for her, and she is just tickled pink to see it coming together.”

He continued, “That’s the beauty of community theatre: it allows talented people the chance to try new things.”

Biggar, a veteran with the Cambridge Community Players – where Robinson has acted and directed for many years – performed with the ETC as a member of the cast in last fall’s rousing production of Menopositive: The Musical.

As a published author of short stories and accomplished sketch comedy writer, Biggar enjoys the creativity in developing rich characters in deep stories.

Nancy Movrin, Dale Kustra, Corie Kelly, Martin Glassford, Desaree da Cruz and Tracy Leighton star in Medium Rare, the Elmira Theatre Company’s latest production set to open Feb. 6.

With Medium Rare, her first full-length play, she has penned a “dramedy” about a group of struggling actors holed up at a cottage while on the road for a gig.

Once a psychic joins the fray, things start to take some unexpected turns.

“It’s about a group of people who have been working as an improv troupe and one of the members has a new girlfriend,” Robinson explained. “They get a gig that’s close to where her

cottage is and decide to stay the night. As it turns out, the girlfriend is a psychic and while they are staying with her she accidentally, and sometimes on purpose, does some readings for the group; the things she finds out reveal a lot about their pasts, and also some secrets that maybe they didn’t want the other members of the troupe to know. And so by the end of the play, each member of the troupe has been changed in some way

PUTTING ON

A SHOW? The show must go on! Place an ad in the Observer today: 519-669-5790 | info@woolwichobserver.com

by the revelations that she has come out with.”

There are comedic elements as well as some more serious topics, hence the descriptor “dramedy,” which denotes a blend of drama and comedy.

And it features a strong cast that includes a mix of newcomers and veterans: Nancy Movrin as Vanessa; Corie Kelly as Joyce; Dale Kustra as Tony; Martin Glassford as Carl; Desaree da Cruz as Lucy and Tracy Leighton as Nadine.

“Steve has cast a group of people who are perfect for each role,” Biggar said. “He really has a feel for where I was going with this play.

He also has a great comedic sense which is so important for this play because it isn’t all slap-stick comedy; there are a number of serious moments in there as well as the relationships develop and are affected by the psychic’s predictions.

Steve has a great feeling for how to balance the comedy and the seriousness.”

[Scott Barber / The Observer]

The Elmira Theatre Company production of Medium Rare runs February 6-8 and February 12-15 at 76 Howard Ave. Show times are 8 p.m., except Sundays (2:30 p.m.) and one-nightonly dinner theatre showing on Valentine’s Day (7 p.m.). Tickets are $20 ($56 for the February 14 show), available at the Centre in the Square box office in Kitchener by calling 519578-1570 or 1-800-265-8977, online at www.centreinthesquare.com.

Concerts, theatre productions, art tours and more …

Showcase your creative events here!

Advertise it with a banner in the Observer Arts section.

CLASSIFIED | 17

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, january 31, 2015

CLASSIFIED HELP WANTED

Cabinet Maker Custom design/build company looking for a highly skilled cabinet maker able to produce exceptional quality work.

Requirements: • Minimum 5 years experience • Able to read & understand sketches & drawings produced on Cabinet Vision • Able to take job from drawings to completion • Works well independently and with a team • Attention to detail • Positive attitude • Excellent communication skills • Able to install cabinets • Heavy lifting required • Finishing experience an asset • Experience with CNC an asset Starting at $24 – $26 per hour plus, dependent on experience Please email resume to cb@danielbisch.com or call 519-656-2062 DeďŹ nitive Kitchen & Bath Solutions Daniel Bisch General Contractor

thursdays by 10am

HELP WANTED

Help Wanted Ayr Coach Lines seeks professional drivers with desire to travel Canada and the United States. Candidates must be safety focused with strong customer service skills, a love of driving and a love for people. We are recognized leaders in the North American motorcoach industry and proud members of the International Motorcoach Group. We have a modern, attractive fleet of coaches and offer a competitive compensation package. Please reply via email to: willis@ayrcoach.com

JOB OPENING:

WOODWORKING CRAFTSMAN Chervin Custom Woodworks Inc. is a leading manufacturer of high quality hotel furniture and custom kitchen cabinets located on the edge of Waterloo in the town of Hawkesville. They are in need of qualified woodworking machinist, assemblers and finishers. We are looking for individuals that have a keen interest in woodworking and craftsmanship skill and a strong desire to increase this skill.The successful candidate will also need to exhibit excellent interpersonal and team-building skills.

To apply for this position please respond with your resume and references to humanresources@chervin.ca or call 519-699-5661

HELP WANTED

Our St. Jacobs Distribution Centre currently has the following opportunities...

Material Handlers Afternoon Shift Positions & Night Shift Positions Responsible to the Shift Foreman for helping to maintain service levels to Home Hardware Dealers, you will contribute to the smooth flow of merchandise through the Distribution Centre by picking, packing, shipping, and receiving. You will also operate material handling equipment, comply with all health and safety regulations, and perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Able to perform strenuous physical activities including: walking, standing, bending and lifting, you demonstrate high-quality accuracy and attention to detail and have excellent reading, writing and number skills. A reliable team player with a great attitude, you are willing to be trained on powered lift equipment. Good attendance and punctuality are important; high school graduation or equivalent preferred.

hr@homehardware.ca

HELP WANTED

classified deadline:

We offer a competitive salary and great working conditions. If you are interested in becoming part of Home Hardware, please forward your resume, quoting Material Handler (#966), by Monday, February 9th, 2015 to: Beth White, Recruitment, Human Resources Department, Home Hardware Stores Limited, 34 Henry St. W., St. Jacobs, ON N0B 2N0 E-mail: hr@homehardware.ca (Microsoft Products Only) Fax: 519-664-4711

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

Inside Sales JM Lahman is in need of an individual to fill an inside sales position. Our company produces Diamond Bar Gates, and distributes them to Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and the United States. The position also includes production and shipping scheduling, inventory management, and some purchasing. If you are a person that enjoys interacting with people, pays attention to detail and accuracy, and is a good team player, we would love to hear from you. The position is Monday to Friday, and offers a competitive wage. An agricultural background is an asset, but not mandatory.

NOW HIRING DRIVERS P/T and F/T POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Full Time position for general labour duties in hatchery/poultry farm, must be able to work flexible hours. Also, part time and seasonal work available in St. Jacobs and Wallenstein areas. Mornings approximately 7 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays but not necessarily every day required.

Duties involve handling live poultry. Fax resume/ application to 519-664-3491, email to ken@freyshatchery.com or call 519-664-2291 and leave a message for a return call.

Help Wanted - Part Time.

We are looking for a friendly applicant with retailing, communication and customer service skills. Must be available 9-5:30, some Saturdays 9:00 - 3:00. Job description includes sales, service, stock, pricing, displays, orders and minor repairs. Interested applicants may apply in person with Resume to: Elmira Vacuum & Electrical, 9 Church St. E. Elmira, On.

AZ & DZ Driver’s experience with LTL Freight is preferred but we are willing to train.

Grain Roasting / Dehulling Plant Operator

HOW TO REACH US

Auctions

Al’s Trash to Treasure, Elmira We’re gearing up for our next ONLINE AUCTION!

GUNS, WAR ITEMS, OLD TOYS, ADVERTISING SIGNS, ETC. WANTED Email: toaljones@hotmail.com to consign your items now!

Al’s got 40 years experience in antiques! www.AlsTrashtoTreasure.ca

Company paid beneďŹ ts.

Please apply in person at 7201 Line 86, Wallenstein, ON. or send your resume and drivers abstract to Email: info@enviro-eze.com Fax: 519-669-8301

CONTINUED NEXT PAGE

OBSERVER PUZZLE SOLUTIONS 1 2 ( / 6 2 & 7 ( 7 1 $ + 8 $ 7 % ( , ' ( $ / 6 & 2 0 3 ( 7 < ( $ + $ 1 , 3 0 5 2 $ ' 6 2 2 8 7 ( 5 ( + 2 ' ( 1 6 7 2 2 ' + $ 1 * 2 % , * / 0 $ 5 2 & 7 : 7 2 (

$ 0 2 5 2 % ( & $ 8 7 , 7 / < $ / ( ( 9 ( 5 , 7 2 5 6 + % / 2 % 8 $ 6 2 1 5 1 $ < ( ' / $ * 5 2 8 0 8 2 1 $ 1 $ ( 2 0 6 ' 5 $ 7 + , , 1 6 ( 7

8 6 6 ( $ 1

9 $ 5 < * 1 2 0 (

1 , 6 7 ( 3 2 , ( 7 1 & 1 + & 2 : $ 5 5 $ ' 3 / 5 , ( 8 ' 8 & * 5 $ ( / %

$ ' 2 5 1

0 2 8 1 7

2 3 ( 5 5 ( 7 $ $ 1 1 7 ( ' ' ( 2 :

Sudoku challenge

For a more detailed job description feel free to contact craig@cribit.com or by phone 519-664-3701 ext. 25

Email your resume to gates@jmlahman.com, or fax to 519-698-9808.

At Enviro-

CROSSWORD PUZZLER

Wintermar Farms/Cribit Seeds is seeking a candidate to operate our grain roasting and dehulling facility. Responsibilities include plant monitoring, product packaging, plant cleanup, shipping receiving and daily record keeping on shift activities. Grain/ feed processing experience would be an asset but we would be willing to train the right candidate. Candidates must be able to handle the physical requirements of climbing stairs and able to lift 25kg packages.

Candidates should have an understanding of equipment operation and mechanical aptitude. Candidates must be able to adapt to changing production schedules and work with other staff members.

All applicants must possess a clean CVOR & driver abstract.

Phone 519.669.5790 | toll free 1.888.966.5942 | fax 519.669.5753 | online www.observerxtra.com

ADDRESS 20-b ARTHUR ST. N., ELMIRA, ON n3b 1Z9

CLASSIFIED ADS

Display ads

519.669.5790 EXT 0

519.669.5790 EXT 104

ads@woolwichobserver.com

sales@woolwichobserver.com

Residential cost $7.50 /20 WORDS EXTRA WORDS 20¢ PER WORD

COMMERCIAL COST $12.00 /20 WORDS EXTRA WORDS 30¢ PER WORD

Placing a classified WORD ad In person, email, phone or fax submissions are accepted during regular business hours. Deadline for Saturday publication is Wednesday by 5 p.m. All Classified ads are prepaid by cash, debit, Visa or MasterCard. Ask about Observer policies in regard to Display, Service Directory and Family Album advertising.

18 | CLASSIFIED

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, january 31, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PG. 17 HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

RECEPTIONIST Stoltz Sales & Service focuses on providing our customers with a positive memorable customer service experience. As a member of the Elmira team, the Receptionist plays a critical role in defining the customer’s first impression of the organization.

Job Responsibilities • Greet customers • Manage a multi-line telephone system • Manage correspondence • Respond to general requests • Enter Accounts Payable as required • Assist with Whole goods inventory • Process Account Receivable payments as required • Maintain accounting system • Provide administrative support to the dealership • Other duties as assigned Our ideal candidate will possess • Excellent customer service skills • A pleasant telephone manner • The ability to provide customers with a positive first impression • Computer skills • Attention to detail • Organizational skills • An understanding of the agriculture sector • The ability to work flexible hours and Saturdays during busy season • A valid driver's licence and a clean driver’s abstract

BOWEN THERAPY Your choice for effective treatment of specific health conditions or wellness maintenance.

KEVIN BARTLEY, Professional Bowenwork Practitioner, Clock Tower Wellness Centre, 69 Arthur St. S., Elmira.

519-669-0112. Every Body is Better with Bowen!

ADVERTISING

If you are interested in the opportunity to join a growing organization, forward your cover letter and resume to one of the following points of contact:

Listowel - Elmira - Mildmay www.StoltzSales.com

HELP WANTED

Kraemer Woodcraft Ltd.

11 Henry Street West, St. Jacobs, Ontario N0B 2N0

519-664-2221

CABINET MAKER/INSTALLER

Required for a local established custom millwork company. Full-time positions available. Experience with custom millwork and installations required.

We offer a very competitive wage and benefit package.

Email Resume to terry@kraemerwoodcraft.com

MILL OPERATOR

PFI farms require a self-motivated individual for a full-time position making livestock feed. This position includes mixing and pelleting of feed with accurate record keeping. Some experience would be an asset but we are willing to train. Must be flexible for shiftwork, with some overtime and weekends if required.

Competitive wages and benefits are provided.

Forward resumé to: Attention: Godfrey Steinke PFI Farms 1580 Listowel Road Elmira, Ontario N3B 2Z3 Email: godfreys@pfi-farms.com Fax: 519-669-4363

HELP WANTED

Health Care

Stoltz Sales & Service will offer you • A family first work environment • Competitive wage and benefit plan • Ability to provide outstanding service to members of our agricultural community • The opportunity of life-long learning

Email: krichardson@stoltzsales.com In Person: 6805 Line 86, Elmira, Ontario

St. Jacobs Country Garden Centre is a full service garden centre with an award winning landscape division that includes hardscaping, softscaping and waterscaping. LANDSCAPE FOREPERSON: stellar people, communication and organization skills ; self-motivated individual capable of leading an installation crew of 3 to 5 workers. Experienced with job material scheduling and project management. Good penmanship and computer skills ; 3 to 5 years experience an asset.

LANDSCAPE CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEE: stellar people and communication skills ; capable of physical work ; high moral and work ethics ; able to follow instruction.

Must have own transportation. PLEASE REPLY to st.jacobscountrygardens@ rogers.com. Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted.

HELP WANTED

REACH MORE EYEBALLS everytime you advertise with the Observer. No other publication has the community talking like your favourite weekly read. Delivered to homes in Woolwich and Wellesley Townships, The Observer is an anticipated, and must-read newspaper to know what’s going in the communities. Call 519.669.5790 for more info.

SAVE THE DATE: The Community Big Garage Sale will be on: Saturday, May 16, 2015 Read the Observer for more details starting in April. www.OBSERVERXTRA.com

DZ / AZ DRIVERS WANTED

FOR OPTIMUM ADVERTISING RESULTS… THE OBSERVER. Place an ad in our classified section today!

Call: 519-669-5790 or Visit: www.observerxtra.com

• Will train on our specialized equipment • Home every night • Southwestern and Central Ontario • Excellent industry compensation package • Must be insurable and bondable • Must be 25 or older, with Commercial driving experience

Please email resumés to lori@jfm.ca

Public Notice

2015 GRAVEL RESURFACING CONTRACT TOWNSHIP OF WELLESLEY CONTRACT NO. 315-001

Sealed Tenders, clearly marked as to contents, will be received at the Township office until 2:30 p.m., Local Time, on: Thursday, February 19, 2015 for the supply, hauling and placement of approximately 25,000 tonnes of Granular ‘M’ on several gravel roads within the Township of Wellesley.

Tender opening will follow at 2:35 p.m. Please direct any inquiries to the Township office listed below.

Tender forms and specifications may be obtained at the address below, after 10:00am on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, for a non-refundable fee of $10.00 (including HST) per set, made payable to the Township of Wellesley.

The lowest or any tender will not necessarily be accepted. Acceptance is also contingent on budget approval, and the Township will not be liable for costs should it not be. A tender deposit in the amount of $10,000 shall accompany all tenders, in the form of a Bid Bond or Certified Cheque.

The tender deposits of all Tenderers, except the low and second low Tenderer, will be returned within ten (10) days after opening.

Upon Council approval, commencement of work shall be coordinated with the Township of Wellesley and may not commence until authorization is received from the Township. It is anticipated that construction commences by no later than May 4, 2015 and shall be totally completed by May 29, 2015.

OWNER Kevin Beggs, CRS The Corporation of the Township of Wellesley 4639 Lobsinger Line, RR 1 St. Clements, ON N0B 2M0 Tel. 519-699-4611 Fax. 519-699-4540 Email. kbeggs@wellesley.ca

CLASSIFIED | 19

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, january 31, 2015

Public Notice

Family Album in memoriam

Congratulations

Gar Westlake

Congratulations to Paulette

1934 – 2005

of St. Clements For setting goals, realizing them and marching forward like our hero.

Our family is proud!

Granny and Boo Boo

Public Input Meetings on the 2015 Regional Budget A Public Input meeting is scheduled to gather input on the 2015 Regional Budget. The meeting will be held on:

Thank you for the wonderful memories.

Father image to many.

A rhyme and a reason for all things large and small That was Gar. Never to be forgotten Ron, Colleen, Dennis, Marlene, Paul & Nancy

Death Notices VROOMAN, Barbara Jean (nee Schneider) | Passed away peacefully with her loving husband Ransom at her side, at Leisureworld, Elmira on January 22, 2015, at the age of 89.

go ahead, make their day.

PLACE A FAMILY ALBUM NOTICE! Call: 519-669-5790 or Visit: www.observerxtra.com

Public Notice

2015 ASPHALT PAVING CONTRACT TOWNSHIP OF WELLESLEY CONTRACT NO. 315-002

Sealed Tenders, clearly marked as to contents, will be received at the Township office until 2:00 p.m., Local Time, on: Thursday, February 19, 2015 for the placement of HL3 and HL4 asphalt at various locations throughout the Township of Wellesley, along with bridge repairs, curb and gutter, and sidewalk on Herrgott Road in St. Clements. Tender opening will follow at 2:05 p.m. Please direct any inquiries to the Township office listed below.

ESTIMATED MAJOR ITEM QUANTITIES: • HL3 Asphalt 4,800 tonnes • HL4 Asphalt 810 tonnes • Concrete curb & gutter (OPSD 600.060) 830 metres • Concrete sidewalk (1.5 metres wide) 610 square metres Tender forms and specifications may be obtained at the Owner’s address below, after 10:00am on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, for a non-refundable fee of $84.75 (including HST) per set, made payable to the Township of Wellesley.

The successful bidder will be required to furnish a 100% Performance Bond and a 100% Materials Payment Bond. The lowest or any tender will not necessarily be accepted. Acceptance is also contingent on budget approval, and the Township will not be liable for costs should it not be. A tender deposit in the amount of $50,000 shall accompany all tenders, in the form of a Bid Bond or Certified Cheque.

The tender deposits of all Tenderers, except the low and second low Tenderer, will be returned within ten (10) days after opening.

Upon Council approval, commencement of work shall be coordinated with the Township of Wellesley and may not commence until authorization is received from the Township. It is anticipated that construction may commence by no later than July 1, 2015 and shall be totally completed by September 25, 2015.

OWNER The Corporation of the Township of Wellesley 4639 Lobsinger Line, RR 1 St. Clements, ON N0B 2M0 Kevin Beggs, C.R.S. Tel. 519-699-4611 Fax. 519-699-4540 Email. kbeggs@wellesley.ca

CONSULTING ENGINEER GM BluePlan Engineering Limited 975 Wallace Avenue North Listowel, ON N4W 1M6 Zoltan L. Tako, C.E.T. Tel. 519-291-9339 Fax. 519-291-5172 Email. zoltan.tako@gmblueplan.ca

Wednesday, February 11, 2015 6:00 p.m.

The Meeting will be held at: Regional Council Chamber 150 Frederick Street, 2nd Floor, Kitchener If you are interested in Regional services you may wish to attend.

Final budget approval for water and wastewater user rates is scheduled for Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. and final budget approval for all other Regional services is scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.

Notice of this meeting is being given in accordance with the “Municipal Act” as amended and the Region’s Notice Policy.

Please visit our website for more information on the Regional Budget: http://www. regionofwaterloo.ca/regionalgovernment/budget.asp or view a budget package after February 8, 2015 at the Council & Administrative Services Office, 150 Frederick Street, 2nd Floor, Kitchener.

To speak to a Finance Department staff person regarding the budget, please call Cheryl Braan at 519-575-4705 or email CBraan@regionofwaterloo.ca.

You are welcome to attend any of the scheduled budget meetings or the Council meetings. For a copy of the budget schedule please visit our website, as above. Please call the Council & Administrative Services Office, 519-575-4400 to register to speak at the public meeting by 4:30 p.m. Monday, February 9th (for the February 11th meeting).

If you require accessible services to participate in these meetings, please contact the Council and Administrative Services office by the Friday prior to the meeting.

Kris Fletcher Regional Clerk All comments and information received from individuals, stakeholder groups and agencies regarding the budget are being collected to assist the Region of Waterloo in making a decision. Under the “Municipal Act”, personal information such as name, address, telephone number, and property location that may be included in a submission becomes part of the public record. Questions regarding the collection of this information should be referred to Cheryl Braan, as above.

+ YOU

=

OBSERVER

A WINNING COMBINATION

When you need to get the word out to friends and family, nothing works better than the Family Album.

CALL US OR STOP BY FOR DETAILS. 519-669-5790 EXT104 www.OBSERVERXTRA.com

20 | CLASSIFIED

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, january 31, 2015

OBSERVER SERVICE DIRECTORY AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES

TIRE

THOMPSON’S

Complete Collision Service

WHERE TIRES

general SERVICES

AUTO CLINIC

Auto Tech Inc.

ARE A

SPECIALTY, NOT A SIDE LINE.

Providing the latest technology to repair your vehicle with accuracy and confidence.

101 Bonnie Crescent, Elmira, ON N3B 3G2

519.669.8330

Farm • Auto • Truck Industrial On-The-Farm Service

FAX: 519.669.3210

35 Howard Ave., Elmira

AFTER HOURS

SHELLY & SCOTT TAYLOR 28 Pintail Drive, Elmira, ON, N3B 3G9

519-669-0003

taylortax@rogers.com

Accredited Test & Repair Facility

519-669-4400

519-669-7652

30 ORIOLE PKWY. E., ELMIRA www.thompsonsauto.ca

519.669.8917

519-669-3232

21 Industrial Dr. Elmira

...& SMALL BUSINESS ACCOUNTING

gENERAL SERVICES

MUSIC-LOVER GIFT ALERT!

Various sizes & rates

’s 60’s / 70

HIGH SCHOOSL BAND

GOSPEL

ROCK

MUSIC TRANSFERS FROM LPs, 45s, 78s, CASSETTES TO CD

CLEAN • DRY • SECURE Call

COUNTR Y

•Ratches, Hooks, Straps, Webbing etc.

•Canvas, Vinyl, Polyester, Acrylic Fabrics

Your favourite albums get a whole new life on CD after we clean up the clicks, pops and surface noise.

519-669-4964

Boat Covers | Air Conditioner Covers | Small Tarps Storage Covers | BBQ Covers | Awnings & Canopies Replacement Gazebo Tops | Golf Cart Enclosures & Covers

 WOOD  GAS  PELLET

519.595.4830

MORE INFO | 519.669.0541

100 SOUTH FIELD DRIVE, ELMIRA

General Repairs

6376 Perth Rd. 121 Poole, ON

EMAIL: vinylp2cd@gmail.com

CONESTOGO

FERGUS

1871 Sawmill Road

180 St. Andrew St. W.

519-664-3800

519-843-4845

877-664-3802

888-871-4592

www.fergusfireplace.com

general SERVICES “25 years in Business”

While you wait!

Sharpening M

$275.00/

$4.99 per pair

519-648-3004

22 Church St. W., Elmira

general SERVICES

WE FIX SLIPPERY WHEN WET

Propellant 49 The best ice and snow melter on the Planet.

Safe for trees and plants, will not rust, corrode or stain.

No residue. Continues past -50°C and keeps melting 36 hours after being applied.

Craftsman Member O.G.P.T. Inc

519-880-9165

800-232-6396

CONSTRUCTION INC. (519) 569-0772 • Commercial & Industrial General Contracting • Specializing in Concrete Work & Excavation • Retaining Walls

info@trappconstruction.ca www.trappconstruction.ca

• • • •

Stamped Coloured Concrete Demolition Bin Service Machine Bases

Concrete Breaking & Removal

TROPHIES | CUPS | PLAQUES | MEDALLIONS RIBBONS | NAME TAGS | NAME PLATES DOOR PLATES | CUSTOM ENGRAVING

QUICK LOCAL SERVICE | 245 Labrador Dr., Waterloo

www.UniTwin.com | 519.886.2102

HOME IMPROVEMENTS SERVICES

BATHTUBS, CERAMIC AND PORCELAIN TILE BRICK, TERRAZZO AND OTHER SURFACES GUARANTEED, INVISIBLE, AND COST EFFECTIVE

JAMES BAUMAN NEW PHONE NUMBER

or

www.biobobs.com

STORE HOURS: M-F: 8-8, SAT 8-6, SUN 12-5

TUNING & REPAIRS

+H.S.T.

Not valid with any other special offers or coupons.

Tel: 519-669-5537

SERVICES

OUT

(1800 Gallon Residential)

5th pair FREE.

BAUMAN PIANO

pump

For more info email noslipperyfloors@gmail.com or call 519-588-7413 | theredwolfcompany.com

WEICKERT& MEIROWSKI Concrete Foundations Limited

YES... WE DO RESIDENTIAL WORK!

6982 Millbank Main St., Millbank 519-595-2053 • 519-664-2914

space for rent

State of the acAhinrte

RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING EFFORT!

Ltd.

RESIDENTIAL & AGRICULTURAL

Driveways • Sidewalks • Curbs • Barn Renovations Finished Floors • Retaining Walls • Short Walls Decorative/Stamped and coloured concrete www.marwilconcrete.ca

519-577-0370

HOME IMPROVEMENTS SERVICES

The Right Window Treatment Can

Save you

Blinds

by Elite or Mera

In home consultations Wide selection of styles & fabrics 1011 Industrial Crescent St. Clements | 519-699-5411 www.LetUsFloorYou.ca

FREE INSTALL

ATION When you buy 3 or more

Hours: M-F 8:30 - 5:30 Sat 9:00 - 3:00

Evenings By Appointment

at your service.

We specialize in getting the word out!

Advertise your business services in our directory.

Weekly exposure with fantastic results!

Call Donna at 519.669.5790 Ext 104.

CLASSIFIED | 21

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, january 31, 2015

OBSERVER SERVICE DIRECTORY Home improvement SERVICES COMMERCIAL • RESIDENTIAL

ST. JACOBS

GLASS SYSTEMS INC.

APPLIANCES – FURNACES – FIREPLACES AIR CONDITIONERS – WATER HEATERS SPRING SPECIAL ON AIR CONDITIONING TUNE UP $99, INSTALLED FROM $1999 FURNACES INSTALLED FROM $2499 FRIDGES $499, STOVES $399, WASHERS $399, DRYERS $369, FREEZERS $199 Come visit our show room FREE QUOTES

1553 King St. N., St. Jacobs, ON N0B 2N0

• Store Fronts • Thermopanes • Mirrors • Screen Repair • Replacement Windows • Shower Enclosures • Sash Repair

1 Union Street, Elmira

TEL:

ehc@hotmail.ca (519)-669-4600

519-664-1202 / 519-778-6104 FAX: 519 664-2759 • 24 Hour Emergency Service

Steve Co.

Plumbing and Maintenance Inc.

John Schaefer Painting Interior/exterior Painting, Wallpapering & Plaster | drywall Repairs

For all your Plumbing Needs.

24 HOUR SERVICE Steve Jacobi

ELMIRA

519-669-3652

R O O F I N G

FREE ESTIMATES

RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL

AMOS INC

IRA HOME COMFORT M L E (519) 669-4600

• Specializing in residential re-roofs • Repairs • Churches A Family owned and operated business serving KW, Elmira and surrounding area for over 35 years.

WORKMANSHIP GUARANTEED

NOW ACCEPTING VISA OR MASTERCARD

CALL JAYME FOR YOUR FREE ESTIMATE.

519-669-2251

519.501.2405 | 519.698.2114

36 Hampton St., Elmira

In Business since 1973 • Fully Insured

Home improvement SERVICES

Sew Special

100% SUPERIOR QUALITY CUSTOM WOODWORKING

KENJI ORITA • Custom Kitchens • Custom Furniture • Domestic & Exotic Woods

226-868-8131 oritakenji@gmail.com 20B ARTHUR ST. N., ELMIRA

• Residential • Commercial • Industrial

Randy Weber ECRA/ESA Licence # 7000605

519.669.1462 Fax: 519.669.9970 Tel:

18 Kingfisher Dr., Elmira

WINDOW FASHIONS

Custom Window Coverings

Free in-home Consultations.

Call someone you can trust.

Call Cindy.

Latest Styles of Window Blinds and Custom Drapery At competitive pricing

A Brand You Can Trust

Lois Weber 519-669-3985

22 Church St. W., Elmira

Tel: 519-669-5537

Elmira

STORE HOURS: M-F: 8-8, SAT 8-6, SUN 12-5

Serving the community for 25 years

Outdoor services

COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL SERVICES

YOUR SOURCE FOR YEAR-ROUND PROPERTY MAINTENANCE • Lawn Mowing Packages • Lawn Maintenance & Landscaping • Top Dressing/Overseeding • Mulch Delivery & Installation • Commercial & Residential Full Flower Bed Maintenance • Snow Plowing & Ice Control • Tractor Snowblowing

Call Jeff Basler, Owner/Operator, today 519.669.9081 mobile: 519.505.0985 | fax: 519.669.9819 | ever-green@sympatico.ca

Outdoor

Services

> Commercial & Residential > Fully Insured > WSIB Clearance > Senior Discount

INTRODUCING OUR PIC BUCKET

Lawn Maintenance Programs | Spring Clean-up Flower Bed Maintenance Programs Leaf Clean-up and Removal | Soil & Mulch Delivery & Installation | Snow Clearing & Removal | Ice Control 27 Brookemead, St, Elmira P: 519-669-1188 | F: 519-669-9369

kdetweiler@rogers.com

For digging through frozen ground!

• • • •

KEVIN DETWEILER

Trenching Excavating Back fill compaction plate Laneway sanding available

Murray & Daniel Shantz

ALMA, ONTARIO | PHONE: 519.846.5427

OWNER-OPERATOR

PRINTING | MAILING | SIGNAGE SERVICES

is an authorized

CANADA POST EXPERT! Contact us for your

Mail House

• Mail preparation • Sorting • Product Fulfillment • List Cleansing • Inserting • Stamping • Tracking M&T Printing Group will:

4”x6”

POSTCARDS PRINTED

FREE

*

YOUR POSTCA RD PRINTER

Because we’re excited with our role as a CANADA POST EXPERT, we are offering you an AMAZING DEAL!

16

**

¢ each

4”x6” full colour 2 sided postcard Unaddressed Admail Minimum order of 1,000 pieces **Plus 1¢ extra for transportation to designated RVU *All you need to do is pay M&T’s Unaddressed Admail rate of 16¢ per piece. PRINTING IS FREE!

www.mtprint.com 907 Frederick St. KITCHENER T 519-571-0101 265 Weber St. N. WATERLOO T 519-886-6800 21 Malcolm Rd.

GUELPH

125 Sheldon Dr.

CAMBRIDGE T 519-621-6611

T 519-836-4441

Offices also in London and Brantford

22 | CLASSIFIED

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, january 31, 2015

REAL ESTATE LISTINGS

BUYING OR SELLING? CALL NOW! A DONATION will be made with every home bought or sold by Alli, Paul or Sue.

$499,900 THREE SEPARATE UNITS

Elmira - Live in and/or rent out this very well maintained triplex. All 3 units are equipped with separate hydro and water meters and come with fridge, stove, washer and dryer. Unit #1: 2 bedrooms with baseboard electrical heat. Unit #2: 1 bedroom with separate gas meter. Unit #3: 3 bedrooms with a 26 x 16 garage, separate gas meter and dishwasher. This is a must see for investors and home owners alike. MLS 1441079 & 1441072.

Alli Bauman Paul Martin Sue Wideman SALES REPRESENTATIVE CALL DIRECT

519-577-6248 allibauman@rogers.com

SALES REPRESENTATIVE CALL DIRECT

519-503-9533 paul@remaxsolidgold.biz

SALES REPRESENTATIVE CALL DIRECT

226-750-9332

suewidemanhomes@gmail.com

$309,900

$519,000 HOBBYISTS DREAM

Enjoy the space of this large lot including gardens, chicken coop, 12 x 8 shed and 1200 sq. foot insulated heated shop with 600 volt 3 phase. Shop is equipped with a dust collector and crane. Get cozy next to the 2 wood pellet fireplaces in this 4 bedroom home with a large eat in kitchen. MLS 1441860.

$329,900 PREPARE TO BE IMPRESSED!

Elmira - This extremely well cared for property shows triple AAA. Sunken living room, carpet free main floor, and you will love the island in the kitchen with built in sink and dishwasher. Newer wrap around deck and roof replaced in 2013. MLS 1447476.

BUNGALOW, GREAT YARD

IN THE HEART OF TOWN

Elmira - This 3 bedroom bungalow is situated on a quiet street close to the park and public school. Cozy up to the wood burning fireplace in the rec room or BBQ with friends on the patio in the large back yard.

This home includes an updated kitchen, central air, central vac, fridge, stove, dishwasher, microwave, washer and dryer.

Ready for you to move in and relax. MLS 1444078.

St. Jacobs - This 2 bedroom home is right in the heart of town, close to down town shopping. Large kitchen featuring pine ceiling, oak cupboards & walk out to patio, perfect for entertaining.

Beautiful main bath is equipped w/skylight & water jet tub. Call today to book a viewing. MLS 1437697.

$289,000

Call today and book a

FREE

HOME EVALUATION.

$649,000 PRIVATE HAVEN!

Drayton - Located on 6 acres this extraordinary home is nestled in picturesque scenery. Featuring: Private lane, 1500 sqft, (30ft x 50ft) workshop with 60amp service, and 1600sqft home. Finished top to bottom with an open layout this rare find is extremely well kept. MLS 1442024.

SO LD

Thinking About Selling? $389,900 BUNGALOW ON LARGE LOT

St. Clements - Gaze out over your large back yard to the park beyond from the sunroom with cement pad for a hot tub. the large eat in kitchen is open to the living room with bay window. Enjoy family time in the huge open basement rec room with a gas fireplace. MLS 1444614

$549,000 STORE FRONT IN ELMIRA

Elmira - With a 2000 sq foot office space, a 1 bedroom unit, and 2 bedroom unit, this downtown property could be your ideal investment! MLS 1442236.

3 Arthur St. S., Elmira | 519-669-5426

Solid Gold Realty (II) Ltd., Brokerage Independently Owned and Operated

FROM PAPER TO PRINT QUALITY COLOUR PHOTO REPRINTS That photograph in The Observer can be yours.

Visit our website and order any photo in paper or online.

Order your print today! 519-669-5790 | www.observerxtra.com/forms/order-a-photo-reprint

4x6 $9

(2nd Print only $4.50)

5x7 $11

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8x10 $15

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CLASSIFIED | 23

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, january 31, 2015

REAL ESTATE LISTINGS www.YourFamilyTeam.ca

® REALTY LTD., BROKERAGE

Elmira Real Estate Services

INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

519.500.1865 (Direct)

Dale R. Keller

17 Church St. W., Elmira • 519.669.1544 (Business)

Sales Representative

www.KellerSellsRealEstate.com | dale@kellersellsrealestate.com

Opportunity Elmira | $350,000 Commercial building, great exposure from 2 main streets, Arthur and Church, retail on main floor and large 2 bdrm upstairs. Upgraded and renovated 2011.

Both up and down currently rented. MLS Call Dale.

Take A Look Drayton | $319,000 Spacious open concept raised bungalow with cathedral ceiling, bright newer windows, a bright wide open rec. room, and many recent updates. Steps to school, medical centre, library, groceries, fitness gym. Fully fenced yard and walkout to deck. MLS. Call Dale.

Shanna

Bonnie

Rozema

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BROKER

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Bus: 519-669-3192 Fax: 519-669-3322

Drayton Ridge | Open House | 168 Ridgeview Dr., Drayton | Jan. 31st & Feb. 1st, 1-3pm Furnished Model!

UPSCALE BUNGALOW TOWNHOMES

Priced From $322,900 − This 2nd phase is well underway, 3 bungalows and 2 bungalow lofts available, beautifully appointed, double car garage, hardwood/ceramic, gas FP, main floor master & laundry. EXCLUSIVE

COUNTRY | $432,000

BONUS $10,000 in FREE UPGRADES! until January 31, 2015

IMPRESSIVE 1985 SQ.FT TWO STOREY $354,900 ELMIRA Located

Almost 3 acres with a bush and fully fenced pond. On a paved road central to Harriston, Mount Forest, Kenilworth, Drayton. Custom built bungalow with impressive front entrance, high ceilings, fireplace, loads of windows, 2 walk outs to huge back deck, walk up from basement and more. A great place to raise a family. MLS Call Dale.

SOLID BRICK BUNGALOW $304,900 DRAYTON Spacious

3 bdrm, 2 bathroom bungalow, all season sunroom addition with gas fireplace, eat in kitchen, large living room plus main floor fam/dining area, master ensuite, double garage, c/air, roof/13 detached shop with hydro. MLS.

across from a park! Well maintained, inviting foyer into the 2 storey living room, gas fireplace hardwood floors, main floor family rm & separate dining room, spacious kitchen & dinette, master ensuite, walkout to fenced yd, deck, shed. MLS.

Compare | $419,000 Custom built bungalow on a large lot. Covered deck, 3 gas fireplaces, vaulted and coffered ceilings, wired for sound, hard wood and ceramic flooring, granite counters, arches, pillars, and much more. MLS Call Dale.

STUNNING FIELDSTONE HOME $899,000 DRAYTON One of a

BEAUTIFUL BUNGALOW $604,900 LINWOOD 5 years

Worth a Look | Drayton | $489,000

old, 1 ACRE LOT with picturesque view. Convenient inlaw suite with separate entrance on the lower level, main floor offers 9' ceilings, custom design, spacious Cherry kitchen, great room, separate dining room, master ensuite, triple car garage! MLS.

For her - large 1/2 acre in town property with renovated 4 bdrm, 3 bth home, large front porch and rear deck, attached dble garage. For him - a detached dream workshop 2400 sq ft, chain hoist, hydraulic lift, air compressor and lines, insulated and heated, room for ALL your toys. MLS Call Dale.

Drayton Ridge | $364,900 The Brighton lll model, by Verdone Homes is one of many exciting models to be built. This two storey home boasts 1730 sq ft of open concept with main floor great room and 3 generous bedrooms upstairs with custom features. Various prices and options available. MLS Call Dale, to have the best selection.

kind for sure, situated on 2 acres with Spring fed pond, 20x16 barn surrounded by countryside.

Gorgeous wraparound porch, oversized double car garage with walkdown. 3800 SQ.FT two storey, 5 bdrms, 4 baths, unique extras & upgrades throughout, fieldstone fireplace. MLS

CALL FOR YOUR FREE MARKET EVALUATION

New Price | Milverton | $245,000 Great location for this spacious and bright bungalow with walkout on lower level, upper deck, attached garage. MLS Call Dale.

R.W. ThuR Real esTaTe lTd.

Drayton | $359,000

45 Arthur St. S., Elmira

A lot of house for the money. Large 4+1 bedroom, with walk-out finished basement, huge master and ensuite, separate detached insulated and wired workshop, above ground pool, large fenced yard and more. MLS Call Dale.

For info on these or any other real estate enquiries, Call Dale

Brokerage LET OUR 50+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WORK FOR YOU!

BRad MaRTIN

JulIe

TRaCeY

WIllIaMs Broker of record, heCKeNdORN Broker Sales rep.

MVa residential res: 519.669.1068 res: 519.669.8629 Cell: 519.505.0627

519-669-2772 www.thurrealestate.com

TEAM

TWIN CITY REALTY INC. BROKERAGE

519-579-4110 OFFICE

sold@clickthathouse.com

$399,000

$289,900

Warren McNeil - Sales Rep. | Melanie McNeil - Sales Rep.

SPOTLESS 4 level backsplit offers an eat-in kitchen open to spacious lower level family room w/large windows, gas fireplace & bar. Formal LR/DR. 3 bdrms. 2 baths. Mature trees in deep back yard. Well maintained. Concrete driveway. MLS REDUCED.

UPDATED home on a large lot, close to schools and downtown. Large master bdrm. w/walkin closet. Newer kitchen, flooring, central air, TWO bathrooms and most windows. Main floor laundry. DBLE. detached garage (HEATED) and lots of parking! Move-in ready! MLS.

OPEN HOUSE | Sunday 2-4pm | 31 Oakcliffe Street Elmira

$4

4

5 4,

00

CALL FOR YOUR FREE MARKET EVALUATION

NEW LISTING Better than new! Immaculate, 3 b/r, 3 bath, Elmira Home. Open concept layout, great room w/gas firplace, gleaming hardwood floors & vaulted ceiling. Spacious kitchen w/ceramic tile, black appliances (included), abundance of cabinets, blanco sink and dinette with walkout to incredible, new deck and fenced yard. Upstairs features new flooring, 3 good sized bedrooms, huge master suite w/ walk-in closet and updated ensuite with glass shower and corner tub. Shows A+++!

SELLING YOUR HOME? ADVERTISE IT IN CANADA’S BEST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER Call: 519-669-5790 or Visit: www.observerxtra.com

Building in Drayton where homes are affordable

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226-818-5311 | verdonehomes.com

24 | LIVING HERE

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

LIVING HERE Chef’s table/ dierre Acheson

changes / seizing an opportunity

Serendipity in trying things in the kitchen RECIPE NOTES

It’s expected to be mostly complete by Easter.

“This one was built by professional tradespeople back in those days so they would have paid a fortune to have it built back then,” LaRonde said. “We want to honour those people that built that building and take the heritage of what they’ve done and take it forward into the next generation to come.”

Renting space from the community centre meant LaRonde and his congregation had to get creative.

The space would get rented out for other functions a few times a year, so they’d end up setting up a tent outside. They also couldn’t keep all their equipment there, which meant trucking it all there and back each week.

What a fabulous month January has been.

I used to say, ‘let’s wait until January to do that project – it’s slower and we will have more time.’ We are now headed into February and there definitely hasn’t been more time. We’ve been extremely busy The work of late has involved a big investment of time and energy, but when you see breakfast pastries and desserts for 450 people go out the door, you can’t help but smile. All that food makes for a lot to keep up with.

When caught up in all of this, you can’t sweat the little things: Stuff happens, and we have to move on quickly and enjoy the moment for what it is.

Don’t worry about things and people that aren’t in your control. If you see a recipe and you aren’t sure which way to turn, trust yourself. If the recipe calls for cranberries throw a few in and look at the batter, does it look like enough?

Do you like the tartness of cranberries? Put a few more in there, write a note beside the recipe for next time and before you know it you will create a recipe that suits you.

Church | 27

chef’s table | 27

Formerly AppleTree Community Church, Generations Community Church under Pastor Mark LaRonde will be taking up residence in Westhills Mennonite Fellowship Church’s former property in Lisbon.

A new place to call their own

[Whitney Neilson / The Observer]

From in-home to community centre, Wellesley church group ready for a traditional building Whitney Neilson It’s hard to say no to a $10 price tag, especially when it comes attached to a church worth nearly a quarter-million dollars with 125 years of history.

Generations Community Church in Wellesley, formally AppleTree Community Church, paid just that for the Westhills Mennonite Fellowship Church’s former property in Lisbon.

Westhills was given the church by the United Church of Canada years ago when their church in Baden burned down and the United Church was closing. Now, they’re returning the favour.

Pastor Mark LaRonde said their generosity is something they’ll always be grateful for, as they’ve been running their church service out of the Wellesley

Community Centre.

“We really connected with the generations of Christians that built that place,” LaRonde said. “We just felt that they prayed that this would be a place of worship for generations to come. Instead of Westhills selling it off for someone to build a house or something it will continue to be a Christian place of worship.”

Generations Community Church began as a house church with a handful of people two years ago. The group started from families in Wellesley who wanted a modern worship service that was intimate and close to home.

“We’re a contemporary Christian church service, probably the only one in the area, surrounded by more traditional churches.

We were different in our

contemporariness,” LaRonde said.

The church they’re making their new home is on the corner of Road 104 and Line 45, which may seem like the middle of nowhere, but it’s really only four minutes out of Lisbon. For some of the congregation, it’s actually closer than travelling to the community centre.

Generations church members had been searching for a permanent location for months when LaRonde heard that Westhills had bought the Emporium in Baden.

“I would drive around the community looking for a possible building, and as I’m driving through Wellesley it’s so small that you run out of opportunities,” LaRonde said. “I started driving a little bit further out into the countryside.

And I remember coming across this little 125-yearold church just on the edge of Wellesley. That was where Westhills Fellowship Church was. A light came on.”

The outside of the building will remain much the same. The only real change planned as of yet is to refinish the doors. But the inside will look nothing like its former self. LaRonde says they’ve envisioned it to be like walking into a Starbucks coffee shop.

Where there were once pews, will be tables. Members of Westhills are taking some of the pews as keepsakes and selling the rest. They’ll be ripping up the carpet and refinishing the floors. Panelling will be torn down and new drywall put up in the foyer, with bright colours replacing the beige walls.

Tip of the Week At Leroy’s, your washer fluid is topped up on every service, however on snowy days you can use up to 2 liters. This is why it is important to always keep an extra container in your vehicle to top up as needed.

It is important to use a fluid that can withstand temperatures up to -40 degrees C to ensure the fluid doesn’t freeze. If you ever need a hand topping up your fluid, please feel free to stop by and we will show you how! – Maynard

Tel: (519) 669-1082 Fax: (519) 669-3084

20 Oriole Parkway E., Elmira, ON

info@leroysautocare.net

www.leroysautocare.net

LIVING HERE | 25

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015 “A GOOD JOB DONE EVERY TIME”

Skilled craftsmanship. Quality materials.

CONSTRUCTION STARTS HERE.

Kleensweep Carpet Care

3435 Broadway St. Hawkesville 519-699-4641

Rugs and Upholstery

•Mattress Cleaning •Residential •Commercial •Personalized Service •Free Estimates

COMMUNITY EVENTS CALENDAR

West Montrose, ON

T. 519.669.2033

COLLEEN

KIN KORNER

Check Us Out Online!

www.freybc.com

Cell: 519.581.7868

Truck & Trailer Maintenance Cardlock Fuel Management

COMMERCIAL 24 CARDLOCK FUEL DEPOT HOUR

JANUARY 31

FEBRUARY 5

FEBRUARY 11

Spaghetti Dinner & Salad Bar. Royal Canadian Legion, 11 First St. E., Elmira. Two sittings: 5 and 7 p.m. Tickets purchased in advance at the Legion call 519-669-2932. Adults $10; children 5-10 yrs $4; under 5 yrs $2.

The Lions Club of Elmira Bingo – 7 p.m. at Elmira Lions Hall, 40 South St., Elmira. All proceeds go to support the many projects of the Lions Club of Elmira.

For more information call 519-572-2669.

Seniors Community Dining at noon (doors open at 11:30 a.m.). Calvary United Church, 48 Hawkesville Rd. St. Jacobs. Cost $11. Community Care Concepts invites you to join us for a hot noonday meal, fellowship and entertainment. Call 519-664-1900 for more information.

Visit the WTHHS Historical Room at the Old School, 1137 Henry St., Wellesley between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Free admission. Your visit will be most welcome. Come and learn about or add to the history of Wellesley Township. We are open on the last Saturday of every month, except December.

Elmira Legion 6 p.m. Hot Hamburger Sandwiches w/ potatoes and vegetables and bread; $8/person.

Everyone welcome.

FEBRUARY 3 Bingo - Every Tuesday, upstairs at the St. Clements Community Centre, 7 p.m. Sponsored by the Paradise & District Lions Club. All Welcome. For more information contact Joe Brick at 519-699-4022.

FEBRUARY 4

M&G MILLWRIGHTS LTD.

Among Friends is a new group developed by Woolwich Community Health Centre for women who have experienced the death of a partner. Supports and friendships will be developed over coffee, tea and dessert at Schmidtsville Restaurant, 3685 Nafziger Rd., Wellesley at 2 p.m.. Lorraine Weber, hospice coordinator at Woolwich Community Health Centre will be the facilitator of this group. Please call Lorraine at 519-664-3794, ext. 229 for more information. This group plans to meet monthly on the first Wednesday of every month, September to June at Schmidtsville Restaurant.

• Design • Installation • Custom Fabrication

MATERIAL HANDLING & PROCESSING SYSTEMS

519.669.5105 1540 FLORDALE ROAD

E-MAIL: ads@woolwichobserver.com

FEBRUARY 6

FEBRUARY 7 Woolwich Community Lions Club’s Second Annual Trivia Challenge at Lions Hall, Elmira. Doors open 6:30; trivia 7 p.m. Prizes, snacks - advanced registration only, $20 per person/$160 team of 8. Deadline to register is Feb. 1. Participants can register as individuals or as groups of 8. Complete a registration form and email wclctriva@gmail.com or call Marnie 519-210-0250. Funds raised by this event will be put towards the EDCL van project, the Lions resource centre and community betterment.

FEBRUARY 10 Bingo - Every Tuesday, upstairs at the St. Clements Community Centre, 7 p.m. Sponsored by the Paradise & District Lions Club. All Welcome. For more information contact Joe Brick at 519-699-4022.

woolwichkin.com

FEBRUARY 12 New Horizons welcomes all zoomers, boomers and seniors. Enjoy coffee or tea and a delicious snack.

Speaker: Steve Martin from Martin’s Family Fruit Farm - Apples to Apples. Be inspired and socialize; $2 per person, 10-11:30 a.m. at the Maryhill Community Centre. For more information call Joan Haid at 519648-2742 or email at jehaid@explorenet.ca.

21 INDUSTRIAL DR. ELMIRA

519-669-2884

The Lions Club of Elmira Bingo – 7 p.m. at Elmira Lions Hall, 40 South St., Elmira. All proceeds go to support the many projects of the Lions Club of Elmira.

For more information call 519-572-2669.

Woodside Evergreen Fellowship 200 Barnswallow Dr. Elmira, 10:30 a.m. Speaker: Doraine Ross “Faith’s Orphans in Zambia.” Music: Serrin & Marissa Gingrich, Skit: The Amish Ambassador. Suggested donation $7/ person - includes hot lunch. For more information contact Reta Malloy 519-669-8752.

CORPORATE WEAR PROMOTIONAL APPAREL WORK & SAFETY WEAR | BAGS T-SHIRTS | JACKETS | HATS

Seniors Lunch Club combined with Seniors Information and Active Living Fair; 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Breslau Community Centre, 100 Andover Dr., Breslau.

No cost for event, lunch included. Call 519-648-9524 or toll free 1-855-664-1900 for more information.

245 Labrador Drive | Waterloo

519.886.2102

P.O. BOX 247, ELMIRA

www.mgmill.com

www.UniTwin.com

Submit an event The Events Calendar is reserved for Non-profit local community events that are offered free to the

public. Placement is not guaranteed. Registrations, corporate events, open houses and the like do not qualify in this section.

24-HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE

TOTAL

NANCY KOEBEL

Bus: 519.744.5433 Home: 519.747.4388

Individual life insurance, mortgage insurance, business insurance, employee benefits programs, critical illness insurance, disability coverage,

HOME ENERGY SYSTEMS

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL

YOUR OIL, PROPANE, NATURAL GAS AND AIR CONDITIONING EXPERTS

RRSPs, RESPs, RRIFs, LIFs and Annuities.

New to the Community?

Do you have a new Baby?

652 Waterbury Lane, Waterloo

Elmira & Surrounding Area

psgingrich@hotmail.ca

226-266-2432 pmerlihan@woolwich.ca @PatMerlihan www.merlihan.com Wheelchair Accessible

places of faith | a directory of local houses of worship

building relationships with God, one another and the world

SUNDAYS - 9:00 & 11:00AM WEDNESDAYS - 7:00PM

St. James Lutheran Church

MACHINE WORKS INCORPORATED

COUNCILLOR | WARD 1 WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP

SHARON GINGRICH 519.291.6763

519.664.2008

SANYO CANADIAN

PATRICK MERLIHAN

It’s time to call your Welcome Wagon Hostess.

VERMONT Castings

11 HENRY ST. - UNIT 9, ST. JACOBS

HOW CAN I HELP?

9:00 am: Christian Education 10:15 am: Worship Pastor: Hans J.W. Borch Proclaiming Christ through Love and Service

60 Arthur St. S., Elmira 519-669-5591

Nursery Provided

Sunday School

Zion Mennonite Fellowship -The JunctionSunday School 9:30am Worship Service 10:45am Finding The Way Together 47 Arthur St., S. Elmira • 519-669-3153 www.thejunctionelmira.com

Sunday School at 9:30am

850 Sawmill Rd, Bloomingdale, ON N0B 1K0 (519) 744-7447 | kcf@kcf.org | www.kcf.org

33 Industrial Dr., Elmira 519.669.1591

Service at 10:30am Rev. Paul Snow

Hearing Assisted

Sun., Feb. 1st 11:00 am

Following From the Heart Ron Seabrooke

Discovering God Together

4522 Herrgott Rd., Wallenstein www.wbconline.ca • 519-669-2319

REACH OUT. KEEP FAITH ALIVE, ADVERTISE HERE.

REACH WITH LOVE. TEACH THE TRUTH. SEND IN POWER.

www.kcf.org/academy

290 Arthur St. South, Elmira • 519-669-3973 www.ElmiraAssembly.com (Across from Tim Horton’s)

Emmanuel

Elmira Worship: 9:30am Mennonite Church Guest: Sarah Freeman,

EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH

Assoc. Pastor of Outreach & Faith Formation

Sunday, February 1, 2015 9:15 & 11:00 AM

58 Church St. W., Elmira • 519-669-5123

Series:

REACH OUT. KEEP FAITH ALIVE, ADVERTISE HERE.

www.OBSERVERXTRA.com

www.OBSERVERXTRA.com

SUNDAYS @ 10:30AM @ Park Manor School 18 Mockingbird Dr., Elmira • 519-669-1459 www.elmiracommunity.org

Worship Service

Sundays 10:45am

makingfaithlive.com

519.669.5030

Live Fit

Sunday School 9:45am Worship Service 11:00am

Speaker: Len Neumeister

Hopping Thursdays 7-8:30pm

“Spiritual Fitness” 200 Barnswallow Dr., Elmira • 519-669-1296 www.woodsidechurch.ca

22 Florapine Rd., Floradale • 519-669-2861 www.floramc.org

26 | LIVING HERE

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

Strange but true / BILL & RICH SONES Ph.D.

Fifty words do make a book, as long as you know where to look WEIRD NOTES

Q. What do the following

50 words mean to lovers of Dr. Seuss? Clue: Scan down the list until something familiar comes to mind: â&#x20AC;&#x153;a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.â&#x20AC;?

A. Did you think of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Green

Eggs and Hamâ&#x20AC;?? American writer and cartoonist Theodor Seuss Geisel (19041991), better known as Dr.

Seuss, wrote it in 1960 after his editor Bennett Cerf challenged him â&#x20AC;&#x153;to produce a book using fewer than 50 different words,â&#x20AC;? say Harry Bright and Jakob Anser in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Fact, Jack!â&#x20AC;?

For your interest, the opening lines of this beloved childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book read as follows: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am Sam/ I am Sam/ Sam I am That Sam-I-am/ That Sam-I-am!/ I do not like/ that Sam-I-am Do you like/ green eggs and ham I do not like them,/ SamI-am,/ I do not like/ green eggs and ham.

Would you like them/ Here or there?

I would not like them/ here or there./ I would not like them anywhere,/ I do

not like/ green eggs and ham./ I do not like them/ Sam-I-amâ&#x20AC;? (From answers. yahoo.com) Q. If Santa ever has trouble finding his way back home, what fact of Claussian life should give him most solace?

A. There are no fewer than four North Poles for the finding, says Gemma Tarlach in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Discoverâ&#x20AC;? magazine.

Best known is the terrestrial North Pole that sits right at the top of our planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long axis of rotation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a fixed point diametrically opposite to the planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fixed South Pole.

Then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a magnetic North Pole, also called the North Dip Pole, where all compass needles point.

(Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a South Dip Pole

dreds of miles south of the other three North Poles.

Q. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Franklyâ&#x20AC;? put, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in that county fair favourite, the corn dog?

as well, but here North and South are not directly opposite.) This one isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stationary but in the last century alone has migrated northward from a point in Canada to the Arctic Ocean.

Third is the geomagnetic North Pole, stemming from an idealized approximation to Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s magnetic field. Over the last century, this one has migrated from Greenland to Canada and is of special interest to Aurora hunters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The most spectacular views of the Northern Lights occur in an oval ring centered around the geomagnetic North Pole.â&#x20AC;? Santaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fourth and final solace is simply the Fairbanks suburb of North Pole, Alaska, incorporated in 1953 and hun-

A. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;trimmingsâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; or skeletal meat left over after the prime cuts are made â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that comprise most of the dog, says Lucas Reilly in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mental Flossâ&#x20AC;? magazine. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Unless itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marked â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;all beef,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; it may contain a whole barnyard: cows, pigs, turkeys and chickens.â&#x20AC;? It may also include tongues, snouts and lips, not to exceed 15-20%, according to the UNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Food and Agriculture Organization, which further requires that the product be free of gristle sinews, bone and cartilage.

Ground up like hamburger meat, the pudding-like

batter is then pumped into casings.

For nearly 6,000 years, these casings were made of animal intestines but more likely your frank was â&#x20AC;&#x153;wrapped in trees,â&#x20AC;? that is, cellulose derived from wood pulp. Liquid smoke that flavours the cooked dog comes from burning wood chips whose vapor is condensed into a liquid.

For the coating, the eggs are mostly from leghorn hens, the corn in the corn syrup from bushels of corn soaked in seven-storey tanks of hot water for two days, then processed.

about the authors Bill is a journalist, Rich holds a doctorate in physics. Together the brothers bring you â&#x20AC;&#x153;Strange But True.â&#x20AC;? Send your questions to strangetrue@compuserve.com.

OBSERVER CROSSWORD PUZZLER Across 1. Christmas songs 6. In the mood 13. â&#x20AC;&#x153;China Beachâ&#x20AC;? setting 16. Santaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reindeer, e.g.

17. Beatles song inspired

by Beethovenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Moonlight Sonataâ&#x20AC;?

18. Altar avowal 19. Uto-Aztecan language 21. Hyperion, for one 22. Former French coin 23. Ottoman governor 24. A pint, maybe 25. Beach bird 26. High marks 30. â&#x20AC;&#x153;... happily ___ afterâ&#x20AC;?

31. Detail 32. Rival 34. Check for accuracy 35. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sureâ&#x20AC;?

36. Baseball bat wood 37. Blackout 38. Bluecoat 41. Barely beat 42. Court ploy 44. Ashes holder 45. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And I Love ___â&#x20AC;?

46. Course

48. Brickwork 50. Apple leftover 51. Away 52. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My boyâ&#x20AC;?

53. Affirmative vote 54. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This means ___!â&#x20AC;?

55. â&#x20AC;&#x153;... ___ he drove out of sightâ&#x20AC;?

56. Coal carrier 57. Delay 59. Pro follower 62. Cave 63. Ichnography 66. Endured 69. Atomic particle 70. Familiarize 71. Put up, as a picture 72. Alicia of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Falcon Crestâ&#x20AC;?

73. Cousin of an ostrich 74. Japanese sash 75. Snitches 77. Concluded 82. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Arabian Nightsâ&#x20AC;? menace 83. Sanskritic language 85. Mark 86. Boot part 87. Matching cardigan and pullover worn at the same time 88. Bend

Down 1. ___ compos mentis 2. Mozartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;___ del Cairoâ&#x20AC;?

3. Biblical suffix 4. Moldovan monetary unit 5. Horse barn 6. Well 7. Chronic fatigue syndrome 8. â&#x20AC;&#x153;in eighthâ&#x20AC;?

9. Bird of the Rallidae family 10. Exterior 11. Cable network 12. Clinton, e.g.: Abbr.

13. Japanese-American 14. Beautify 15. Build up 20. Seed coat 25. Crib sheet user 26. Frigid 27. ___-eyed 28. Come (from) 29. Greenfly, e.g.

30. Character 31. ___ Station 33. Cuba, e.g.

34. Be different 37. News office 38. Bach piece 39. â&#x20AC;&#x153;___ the fields we goâ&#x20AC;?

40. Opposite of post43. Constrictor 46. Future fish 47. â&#x20AC;&#x153;___ Gangâ&#x20AC;?

48. Phobos, to Mars 49. Hose material 50. Wrist joint 52. Abandon 58. Fairy tale figure 60. Beachgoerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal 61. Amazon, e.g.

62. Follow 63. Shooter 64. Wingdings 65. Work hard 66. Cheat, in a way 67. Ban 68. Chilled 69. Native New Zealander 73. Cut, maybe 75. Clock standard: Abbr.

76. Police, with â&#x20AC;&#x153;theâ&#x20AC;?

78. Dot-comâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s address 79. Hack 80. Tokyo, once 81. Drops on blades 84. Objective male pronoun

OBSERVER TRAVELS

Sudoku challenge Location

Morocco CAPTION Valerie and Brian Martin celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary traveling around Morocco for a couple of weeks last fall. They took their Observer everywhere from Marrakesh through the Sahara Desert and all the way back to Casablanca. In this photo they were having a fun day riding camels in the desert. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whenever we asked someone to take our photo we showed them the paper with the Observer travels photo and everyone got quite a kick out of this feature. They liked the small-town feel of the paper that recognized local folks traveling the world.â&#x20AC;?

HOW TO PLAY: Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 only once. Each 3x3 box is outlined with a darker line. We have got you started with a few numbers already placed in the boxes.

LIVING HERE | 27

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, January 31, 2015

Retirement just the latest change For 30 years at the BMO branch in Elmira, Trish Golding saw many shifts in banking, now it’s time for something new Whitney Neilson She’s spent half of her life working the same job, and on February 13 Trish Golding will close up her wicket at Elmira’s branch of the Bank of Montreal for good.

Golding fell into the banking industry the way many people do, without really planning to. Now 30 years later she says she has no regrets about her decision.

“I feel great about having worked here for all these years,” Golding said. “I think it’s time to donate more of my time to the other parts of my life. When the time comes you can say you did it all. I had a longtime career plus I could make my own life sweet as well.”

She’ll be starting her retirement right with a trip down south next month, something she hopes to continue. Golding has done her fair share of travelling, visiting Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, among others. Born in Germany, she spent her formative years in Chatham, New Brunswick. Her father, a member of the Air Force decided to move to Elmira in 1972 to be close to his parents in Kitchener.

And while she has the West Coast of Canada on her travel to-do list, she

Trish Golding’s three-decade career at the BMO branch in Elmira comes to an end on Feb. 13. doesn’t plan to fully quit the workforce just yet.

“I still want to get a parttime job, something to make sure that I don’t go stale,” Golding said. “But the other percentage of the time is going to be travelling or taking care of the house, doing the things I’ve always wanted. I always plan my day around the possibility of having a nap so that rings large in my world,” she says laughing.

Golding never aspired to move into the administra-

tion part of the banking business, fully content as a teller, or CSR as they’re now called. She originally went into banking because the hours seemed good.

There was a hiccup: she started when the Elmira BMO was a Canada Trust and they were open from 8-8, six days a week. She also did some other customer service jobs in town before finding her fit at BMO. “I worked at Canadian Tire when it was in town

[Whitney Neilson / The Observer]

and I worked at KFC when I first got here. I don’t want anyone worrying about BMO just because those two places are no longer,” Golding says with a laugh.

Golding was here to see the first ATM, or Johnny Cash machine as it was called in those days. In her 30 years, the industry has seen huge changes, from online banking to phone apps. She recalls when people would call weeks in advance to make an appointment at the bank and

they’d come in their best clothes. Now it’s much more casual, which she prefers.

“I started before people used debit cards,” Golding said. “I remember hearing the rumor everything was going to be on plastic and we were going to use them in stores and we all giggled and thought ‘yeah right, likely story.’”

She says the biggest challenge to banking is how quickly every changes. Staying current is

crucial, but it’s also helped her understand world situations more when you see how the stock markets changing can affect the modern world.

What she’ll miss most when she retires, as with many small-town workers, are the people.

“You see toddlers that came in with their parents when I first started that are now all grown up, married, and bringing their toddlers in,” Golding said. “You get to know the families, and the people you work with.

We didn’t have a lot of changeover in this branch for years and years. It becomes family more than just in the banking world.”

When thinking about the future, she says she sees the younger generation continuing to do the majority of their banking with phones and machines, but she also believes the bank will take a bigger role in being a one-stop shop for every customer’s needs.

“Each individual is different,” Golding said. “Just because they’re doing banking you can’t clump their needs to be the same as someone else’s. Never assume what a person needs because it could be totally different from what you see on paper.”

Anyone is welcome to pop in to BMO on February 13 for her retirement party.

Chef’s table: Bake it up

Church: Ready to put their own stamp on the building

From | 24

from | 24

That said, it’s hard to trust yourself in the kitchen sometimes. I understand. I have worked under some pretty demanding chefs in my time. The insecurity of making a mistake can be daunting. On the other hand, it may end up being the next great thing – you never know until you try. As for me, I missed the cranberries on my last recipe. That’s my mistake!

Not to worry, a cup will do.

Speaking of cranberries ...

Cranberry Apple Bread Pudding

5 large eggs 2 cups 10% cream 1/4 cup sugar 1/3 cup maple syrup 1 tbsp vanilla 1 pkg of cinnamon bread or cinnamon buns

1 Granny Smith apple, sliced 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries 1/2 cup of your favourite granola Butter to grease pan

Butter a 10” round cake pan. Slice cinnamon bread and layer in the pan.

Whisk eggs and sugar together, add the cream and maple syrup, whisk until combined. Pour the custard mix over the bread, allow to stand for half an hour. Top with apples, cranberries and, lastly, granola.

Bake in oven at 350 F until puffy and golden.

Let stand, serve warm with local maple syrup.

about the author Never Enough Thyme Catering Inc. was created with one thought in mind ... to create more thyme!

Enjoy our food shop, specialty cakes and catering. 83A Arthur St. S., Elmira. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

“It was a lot of work, and we’re not going to miss that,” LaRonde said. “It’s very stressful for everybody to come in on Sunday morning and set up the whole place.”

He says this extra time will free them up to do other work in the community, hold prayer groups and bible studies.

LaRonde previously had his own business in building supplies, which he sold in 2008 to become a pastor. He went to Heritage Seminary in his mid-40s.

He also served with the Mission Christian Alliance, is an ordained reverend with the Evangelical Christian Church of Canada and a credentialed Christian counsellor.

While some people have come through their church and said they’d consider joining the congregation if it was larger, LaRonde said he doesn’t think their

church will always be so small. As for Wellesley, he sees the township going through a transition from an agricultural rural community to a bedroom community.

“It’s in an in-between situation, so you’ve got all of these young families moving in and they’ve moved out to small town and some of them are Christians and they want to worship in their own town,” LaRonde said.

Both congregations will hold a joint service at 9:45 a.m. at the Lisbon property on February 8. Generations’ first worship in their new home is February 15 at 10:30 a.m. Everyone is invited for the service, a potluck lunch, and to work on renovations afterwards.

“We believe that we’re in that church to be that next generational tool of God to reach a community that is getting younger,” LaRonde said. “We feel a part of that.”

While the outside of the building will look much the same, the inside will be completely gutted and modernized. [Whitney Neilson / The Observer]

28 | BACK PAGE

THE OBSERVER | January 31, 2015

Juno: He’s involved in a range of musical styles

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“Playing on a Juno-nominated album is truly a dream come true,” Bowman said. “Playing on two is such an incredible, unbelievable honour.”

As a freelance musician, Bowman works with a variety of artists and groups from across the world. It’s a setup that fits his musical sensibilities.

“I’ve had the opportunity to perform and record with artists that are varied,” Bowman explained.

“I think that’s one of the reasons I have gravitated towards being a session musician rather than a member of one particular band. I really love all different styles of music and lessons that come with them; I enjoy really digging in to discover what makes each style tick.”

And it allows Bowman to learn from a deep pool of talented musicians.

“Every time I turn around there is another fantastic bassist that I get to play with,” Bowman said, noting the important connection drummers share with bassists. “It’s great to work with different singers and guitarists as well and to learn about different ideas and songwriting styles.”

And both the Alysha Brilla and Eccodek – led

by Andrew McPherson of Guelph – recording experiences fit that bill.

“I met Alysha about a year and a half ago through Chris Rouse, who is her keyboardist,” Bowman said. “Chris and I have been playing together for years so when Alysha needed a new drummer, he

put my name forward. And we all clicked really well after that with great musical chemistry and good personal chemistry as well.

And that was that, we recorded the record together at a beautiful studio in Toronto called Noble Street Studios.”

Bowman’s relationship with Eccodek stretches back even further.

“It’s called global-dubfusion,” Bowman said of the band’s style. “Andrew (McPherson) gets amazing singers from around the world to perform on the record and he builds these amazing tracks underneath them and then he brings in the band to

record our parts. The production is so lush and rich; working with him is like a master class in electronic music.”

The 2015 Juno Awards are set for March 15 at Hamilton’s First Ontario Centre.

Bowman’s looking forward to the lead up that will include a range of musical performances, parties and press junkets. And he remembers where his musical career got started.

“It’s all a product of the EDSS band,” he said. “It all started in Grade 9 band with Murray Showers.”

You can keep up with Bowman’s latest work at www.adambowman.com.

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