May 17, 2014 by Woolwich Observer

Michael HARRIS

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05 | 17 | 2014 VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 20

LINEUP EVOLVES WITH HILLSIDE TICKETS ON SALE ARTS PAGE 17

COMMENT PAGE 8

FRAMEWORK NEEDED TO DEAL WITH PUBLIC CONCERNS

Woolwich’s $430K surplus to fund reserves

Local candidates stake their positions as election heats up

Huge deficit in winter control budget offset by unexpected revenue, leaving money available for future shortfalls

Liberals and Conservatives in neckand-neck battle despite current government’s many scandals

STEVE KANNON Ending 2013 with a surplus, Woolwich will funnel most of the $430,000 into its reserve funds. Reporting to councillors Tuesday night, director of finance Richard Petherick said unexpected revenues covered off a huge shortfall in the snow-clearing budget, the result of some heavy winter conditions in 2013. That in turn allowed for a surplus at year’s end. Of the $430,000 surplus, about $223,000 came from the operating budget, while $207,000 was left over from the capital side. The latter represents scheduled work such as road repairs that wasn’t done in 2013, with the money and projects carried over for this year. Coun. Mark Bauman argued whether carrying over unspent capital dollars really amounted to a surplus at all, noting that may be the case only for accounting purposes. “That skews the numbers for me,” he said of the capital figure, adding the goal is to complete much-needed capital projects. Director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley noted a new engiSURPLUS | 7

WILL SLOAN

After a soggy start to spring, the Elmira District Secondary School slo-pitch teams made their belated debuts at Lions Park this week. On May 13, the boys lost 13-9 to Preston High School. [WILL SLOAN / THE OBSERVER]

A I R O T C I V E L A S Y A D

It’s no accident that the provincial election feels like a race between Dalton McGuinty, Mike Harris and Bob Rae. Almost two weeks into what pundits are calling the closest race in a generation, all three major parties are coming with serious baggage, and want you to remember their rivals’ predecessors. Can voters trust the 11-year-old Liberal government to learn from the gas plant, eHealth and ORNGE spending scandals that dogged McGuinty’s waning days? Kitchener-Conestoga Liberal candidate Wayne Wright says yes. “We learned from our mistakes, and the only way we learn is by making mistakes,” said Wright. “The next government, no problem with it comes to trust.” He continued, “I kind of

like to say, ‘You’ll never see where you’re going if you spend all your time looking in the rearview mirror.’ We’ve openly admitted that there have been mistakes made, and legislation, rules and policy have been put into place to make sure that those mistakes never happen again.” Incumbent Conservative MPP Michael Harris doesn’t think sorry is good enough, but with PC leader Tim Hudak promising heavy cuts to public services, can voters expect a return to the maligned Mike Harris era? “We’re clearly in different times – this is 2014, it’s not 1995,” responded Harris. “However, Ontario’s fiscal position is bleak – a $12.5 billion deficit, half a million people out of work, $10 billion in interest payments annually. We can’t sustain that.

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NEWS | 3

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

Harris targets College of Trades at Elmira shop PCs would kill new program the party says endangers jobs; Liberal candidate defends government position WILL SLOAN

Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris called for the abolishment of the College of Trades in an appearance at Elmira’s Tri-Mach Group during his re-election campaign Wednesday. The College of Trades was introduced in 2013 to regulate skilled trades,

and enforces training and certification of employees. Harris slams the program as “another government bureaucracy introduced by the Liberal government,” and vowed that a Conservative government in Ontario would remove it. The PCs argue that the present regulations limit the number of job opportunities in the trades: if

carpentry becomes a compulsory trade, there will need to be four journeymen for every apprentice as a carpentry company, thus limiting the number who can become apprentices. Currently, 90 per cent of carpentry work is done by workers without certification. “Once carpentry becomes a compulsory trade,

hardworking men and women will have to obtain a licence to continue doing the job they’ve been doing for decades and thousands of young people will be shut out,” said Harris. Harris also criticized the membership fee which is $60 for apprentices, tradespersons, and journeyperson candidates, $120 for journeypersons and em-

ployers/sponsors. Michael Hahn, president of Tri-Mach, told reporters that he threatened legal action against College of Trades rulings. “Tri-Mach has been in business for 29 years, and in 29 years have installed tens of millions of dollars worth of food processing equipment, and we’ve done so legally. … It was okay

and perfectly legal to perform these job site actions for 29 years.” Kitchener-Conestoga Liberal candidate Wayne Wright, however, says that stopping the program after just over a year would be acting before its value came into focus. “A lot of professional TRADES | 7

In Africa, with an eye on home back in Elmira WILL SLOAN When you’re leaving for an 18-month trip, it’s hard to predict what you’ll miss from home. Somewhere in the Congo, Elmira native Derek Wiens is in the middle of his second extended charity mission to help some of Africa’s poorest residents, and while he tries to keep sentimentality at bay, there are some things about home that cross his mind. “I miss individuals, and I miss the seasons,” said Wiens from the Congo. “In Central Africa, it’s always summertime, and the Sun comes up and goes down pretty much the same time every day. I miss being with friends and experiencing springtime right now.” Wiens is a carpenter

and electrician for Mercy Ships, a global charity that provides free medical care, community support, and relief aid to impoverished countries. Wiens first joined the Africa Mercy (the world’s largest charity hospital ship) as a carpenter in 2012, where he was one of 450 volunteers. Last year, he told the Observer, “I wanted to go out and do something, go to Africa and have a bit of an adventure and be able to make a little impact.” Over his two trips, he’s done everything from build walkers for kids and man the rehab tent to fixing doorknobs. Looking back, he recalls, “To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. "I didn’t know anyone who had joined a Mercy

Ship before, so I didn’t really have an idea of what I was getting into. I found it very welcoming.” Currently, he’s focused on repairing and rebuilding equipment on the threedecade-old ship. A pleasant surprise has been how his life in Canada has informed his work in the Congo. “I spent a couple of years at home working for local electrical companies, and then I came here,” said Wiens. “While there’s a lot to learn, it’s kind of cool how you can share what someone back in Elmira has taught me too. “Learning something back home, and then coming here, finding a problem, and remembering how a person taught me to do this – that’s part of what we do.”

Elmira's Derek Wiens has been working aboard the Africa Mercy, the word's largest charity hospital ship, since 2012. [SUBMITTED]

Woolwich fears an increase in illegal dumping Waterloo Region’s decision to close rural transfer stations likely to cause more headaches for townships STEVE KANNON More roadside dumping will be the norm in the township as Waterloo Region scales back and eventually closes the Elmira transfer station, Woolwich officials predict. In fact, there’s already some anecdotal evidence that’s the case, as the Elmi-

ra drop-off point has been reduced to opening just two days a month, down from five days a week. As Woolwich council discussed the issue May 13, Coun. Mark Bauman noted many residents accustomed to bringing loads of waste to the Howard Avenue location will arrive only to find the place

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closed. Faced with the option of taking the load home or over to the landfill site on Erb Street in Waterloo, some people may just take advantage of the many small, quiet roads along the way. Looking to save $300,000 in the 2014 budget, regional council first reduced the Elmira

transfer station to a twiceweekly schedule, opting to close operations in the other three rural townships. The region then decided to keep all of the stations open two Saturdays a month until next March. Mayor Todd Cowan said that decision forced some scrambling, as the region had already laid off

employees at the transfer stations. The move is especially inconvenient in Woolwich, where the 29,000 visits to the site last year far exceeded the 12,000 at the other three combined. He predicted Woolwich will see more illegal dumping, recommending the township keep track of

such incidents. “It’s only going to get worse.” Chief administrative officer David Brenneman said staff would develop a system for tracking the dumping in order to compile numbers for the region. The township will continue DUMPING | 7

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4 | NEWS

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

Clare & Linda Weber would like to thank everyone who attended our 40th Anniversary Open House and making it such a success.

The Hunsberger Gravel Pit has been DENIED at the Ontario Municipal Board.

A special thanks to our children Heather, Scott and Kathy for all their hard work in planning and organizing this event. THANK YOU TO OUR DEDICATED EMPLOYEES FOR MAKING US WHAT WE ARE TODAY.

The CWRA Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all those community members that not only contributed financially but also donated their time to such a worthy cause. On behalf of the community, the CWRA would like to express its appreciation to the Township of Woolwich Council and Staff for their commitment to the residents and their involvement at the OMB hearing.

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NEWS | 5

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

Residents have noise concerns Reflecting residents’ unhappiness with another annoying disturbance in an already noisy neighbourhood, Ward 3 Coun. Bonnie Bryant made one last attempt to block the licensing of a boarding kennel on Beitz Road. She was joined by Coun. Mark Bauman, but the on-again, off-again application passed 3-2 at a Woolwich council meeting May 13. “Residents are very unhappy about this kennel. Noise is a large issue for the residents surrounding this

property,” said Bryant. She warned of the cumulative impact if the operation joins an existing kennel, the Bridgeport Rod & Gun Club and a nearby ball diamond. After vacillating for months over Robert Varga’s bid to operate a 50-dog boarding kennel at 1183 Bietz Rd., and despite staff objections, council made the approval formal this week. Mayor Todd Cowan, the most vocal supporter of the application, stressed that proposed changes to the township’s kennel bylaw will give it more ongoing control over noise issues, tying licence renewals to appropriate noise abatement.

“We do have an out here.” In a related matter, Woolwich plans to investigate the gun club’s practices to see if it’s in violation of noise provisions, particularly prohibitions on shooting in the evenings, Sundays and holidays.

Woolwich extends VIC lease The “yellow house” in St. Jacobs will be the face of tourism services in Woolwich again in 2013, as council this week agreed to another one-year lease on the building, home to the visitor information centre.

The St. Jacobs VIC was opened on a trial basis in 2005 and expanded in 2006. The new deal with Mercedes Corp. continues the dollar-a-year arrangement for the refurbished farmhouse at 844 Weber St. N. adjacent to the farmers’ market. The VIC is open seven days a week from mid-May to mid-October, but staffed only on market days: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with the occasional Sunday as warranted. The VIC re-opened for the season May 15.

New equipment on order

A new fire truck and a grader will make their way to Woolwich, as council last week awarded a pair of tenders. The township will fork over $325,000 plus another $31,000 for add-ons to Nortrax Canada for a John Deere articulate motor grader. The company has agreed to give the township $65,000 as a trade in for its 2005 Volvo grader. Dependable Emergency Vehicle in Brampton, meanwhile, can expect $366,000 to cover the cost of a new tanker truck for the St. Jacobs fire station. The truck will replace a 20-year-old unit, which will be sent

to auction. Township fire chief Rick Pedersen estimated the old truck would fetch $10,000 to $15,000.

Trainer of the Year for Schaefer Gary Schaefer, longtime trainer for the Elmira Sugar Kings, was named the Ontario Hockey Associations’ Trainer of the Year for 2013-14. This marks the second time that Schaefer, who is retiring this year, has received the trophy during 37 years with the Junior B team. Schaefer will receive the award at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on June 6.

POLICE BLOTTER

Police step up enforcement for national Road Safety Week Heading into this long weekend and the summer driving season, Waterloo Regional Police have been marking Canada Road Safety Week, May 13-19. Endorsed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Canada Road Safety Week is a coordinated effort of vigorous enforcement and education of traffic laws, with a focus on identifying road users whose actions and risk-taking can bring harm to themselves and others. Police will be conducting enforcement and public awareness strategies for driving offences that include: impairment by alcohol and drugs; driving while suspended; distracted driving including careless driving, failing to yield and driving while using handheld devices; aggressive driving including speeding and racing; and seatbelt offences. Police remind drivers

that impaired driving is the leading cause of criminal death and most alcoholrelated collisions occur in summer months; numerous illicit and prescription drugs can impair driving skills and have been found in drivers involved in serious crashes; seatbelts worn properly can reduce the chance of death in a collision by 47 per cent and proper use of child restraints can reduce likelihood of death by 71 per cent; a driver who is texting is 23 times more likely to crash; and 27 per cent of fatalities involved speeding.

M AY 6

8:00 AM |Police responded to a break-in at the 6500 block of Line 86 in Woolwich Township after a business owner found the lock smashed and a shed on the property entered. Nothing was taken. 8:50 AM |A collision brought police to the scene where a Toyota

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Yaris had been rear-ended by a second vehicle. There were minor injuries to all involved, drivers and passengers. The driver of the second vehicle was charged with ‘careless driving.’ 7:05 PM | Police responded to a collision where a male driver from Kitchener had been southbound on Fountain Street near Breslau and collided with a vehicle driven by another Kitchener man who was stopped on Fountain Street waiting to make a left turn. No injuries were reported. The driver of the second vehicle was charged with ‘careless driving.’ 7:42 PM | A two-vehicle collision brought police to Breslau. A grey Chrysler travelling northbound on Fountain Street was struck by a blue Toyota that proceeded eastbound into the intersection from Menno Street. Both drivers suffered minor injuries. The driver of the Toyota was charged with ‘fail to yield to through traffic.’ 8:00 PM | Sometime between May 5 and 6, unknown suspects stole a bed-liner from a Mazda pickup truck in Woolwich

Some 35 firefighters from three stations responded to a barn fire at 5710 Arthur St. N. on May 12. Crews found light smoke from the barn upon arrival, after the owner extinguished some visible flames. The suspected cause was deteriorated wiring; damage was estimated at $1,000. [JOE MERLIHAN / THE OBSERVER]

Township. Anyone with information is asked to call Waterloo Regional Police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

be located. Residents are asked to contact police if they see suspicious activity in the neighbourhood.

8:00 PM | An unknown male was seen rifling through a vehicle on First Street in Elmira. When police arrived, the subject could not

10:33 PM | Police were called to Charles Street in Baden after two youths were seen going through cars. The subjects are described as

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both being white males wearing backpacks, one approximately 5’10” and one 5’6”, the shorter of the two wearing a blue nylon jacket. The caller yelled at them and they were last seen on Foundry Road. Anyone with information is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

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6 | NEWS

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

First candidate steps up in Wellesley’s Ward 3 WILL SLOAN The Wellesley municipal election has its first candidate for Ward 3. Retired teacher and Wellesley Village resident Peter van der Maas will try to fill the council seat left open by Jim Olender, who is running for mayor against Paul Hergott. “The most important thing is an ability to be fair and objective,” said van der Maas. “Just display some good judgment in getting things done so that the most people are benefitted.”

He describes himself as “a good facilitator,” and notes, “I’m pretty calm – I like to think things through. And I’ve got a lot of experience working with different people in the community on different types of projects. I think that experience will help.” A 25-year Wellesley resident, van der Maas’ track record includes a tenure as president of the Wellesley and District Lions, service on the athletic board, and coaching hockey, soccer, and T-ball. “There’s a togetherness,”

he said of Wellesley. “Not that we get along all the time – good neighbours should be honest neighbours too, so there will be disagreements. But everything has been resolvable – people are willing to accept other points of view. It’s easy to work with people around here.” When asked his major concerns, van der Maas offers, “The biggest thing that we have to deal with over the next little while is the further development of the residential area, and ensuring that there

are enough recreational facilities. We don’t have any land left in the village proper for recreation, so our ability to provide services has been restricted.” He calls the proposed skate pad, which has drawn controversy for allegedly overcrowding the Wellesley Community Centre, an important idea. “I think we’ve made some mistakes in dealing with it. It’s a new thing – it’s not like a soccer field or a ball diamond where everyone knows exactly what you’ve got. This is something new that

Bauman

Peter van der Maas we’re doing, and it’s not clear what the right decisions are. But I think we’ll have one – I think it’s necessary.” He adds that he is concerned that new residents

may regard Wellesley as a bedroom community. “I think that’s a little naïve or self-serving, because they’re going to have kids, and these kids are going to want to play sports and want to get involved in clubs, and they’ll be on the skate park. We need those people to step up and contribute to the resources we’ll be using. “If I’ve got an agenda, that’s it – getting those people out.” Wellesley Township voters will go to the polls October 27.

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“We’ve driven jobs out of the province through a variety of things: high hydro, regulatory burden, red tape getting in the way of the job creators, taxation for businesses – these are all aspects that companies, our investors, look at jurisdictions like Ontario if they’re going to bring jobs here. I talked to a guy the other day who said, ‘I can move south and pay a third of what I pay per kilowatt in Ontario.’” Hudak’s pledges to eliminate 100,000 public sector jobs and cut corporate tax by 30 per cent have somewhat overshadow his promise to create one million private sector jobs, Wright argues. “The first role of government is not to cause harm to people. You lay off 100,000 people and target teachers first, you’re intentionally hurting people. You’re essentially saying, ‘One in six of you is going to be without a job.’ “We do have a deficit, and that deficit needs to be reduced, and we put forth a very ambitious plan in a budget, and we showed exactly how we were going to reduce that deficit and balance everything by 2014 by investing in people, not hurting people. One hundred thousand layoffs – that hurts people.” Harris has a different take. “We’ve lost 300,000 good manufacturing jobs over the last 10 years while at the same time we’ve grown the public sector by 300,000 people. That’s not sustainable. We’re saying we’re going to bring staffing levels in the public services back to 2009 levels. “When we’ve got half a million people out of work now, and agencies, boards and commissions like the

Wayne Wright, Liberal candidate board of trades running around the province on the taxpayer’s dime that don’t bring value to people or businesses, we’re going to eliminate those.” Still, the cuts that have dominated Hudak’s campaign could be why the Liberals have remained neck-and-neck with the Conservatives in the polls, despite the scandals. Harris dismisses these results. “Does anybody believe polls anymore? Look at polling over the last two or three provincial campaigns – B.C., Alberta, Quebec… have any of them got it right? You’ve heard us before, but the only poll that matters is election day.” Wright counters that his party’s respectable standing in the polls has to do with the Liberals’ economic plan. “I believe very strongly in investing in people – this whole Liberal movement we’re making right now is about investing in people through healthcare, education and infrastructure. We can reduce our deficit in a positive way, as opposed to hacking and slashing and harming people.” The Kitchener-Conestoga NDP nominated James Villeneuve as its official candidate on Monday evening. Villeneuve could not be reached for an interview at press time. Ontario heads to the polls on June 12.

NEWS | 7

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

WCS building fund gets boost from St. Jacobs Lions Club SCOTT BARBER Just weeks before the scheduled June 3 ground breaking for Woolwich Community Service’s (WCS) new building, the St. Jacobs Lions Club added another $5,000 to the pot. WCS executive director Don Harloff joined the Lions at their meeting on May 1 to accept the donation, which will help fund the construction of a 7,500-square-foot building on the corner of Memorial Avenue and Church Street in Elmira. “We are happy to have

the support from the St. Jacobs Lions Club,” Harloff said. “They have long been a big contributor, providing volunteers for many of our services, helping fund the back pack program, and now, with the building campaign.” The Lions raised the money through the charity bingo they host twice each month at the KW Gaming Centre in Kitchener. Member Carolyn Parks says the club is proud to support the great work done by WCS. “It’s just a drop in the bucket, but that’s how

these things get done, with the whole community pitching in where they can,” she said. WCS began the capital campaign to build a new centre in July 2013, with a target of $1 million. Less then a year later, the organization has exceeded that goal by nearly $250,000. “We are still seeking funds of course because the cost of the building is beyond the $1.25 million,” Harloff said. “So we’re always interested in continued donations coming forward so that we can be in

a better position in the long term to give back and to have our programs continue to develop and grow as needed by the community.” The new building will house all of the services currently provided at their 73 Arthur St. location including the used clothing store, which will “give us a lot more room to operate our programs for the foreseeable future,” Harloff said. The property will also include a three-storey rentgeared-to-income apartment building, developed by Menno Homes.

Woolwich Community Services executive director Don Harloff (right) accepts a $5,000 donation from St. Jacobs Lion Mike Leacy at the group’s May 1 meeting. [SUBMITTED]

TRADES: Leave the decision

to the employers, Harris argues FROM | 3

Michael Harris argued against the regulatory office at Elmira’s Tri-Mach Group on Wednesday. [WILL SLOAN / THE OBSERVER]

bodies have a regulating authority: gas trades of the Technical Standards and Safety Authority; pharmacists have the Ontario College of Pharmacists. For a very long time, trades were completely self-regulated. The College of Trades was created to say, ‘We need somebody who is going to set standards, and it’s not going to just be set by the municipality,’” said Wright. “The building that

you’re standing in right now hasn’t fallen down right now because professional tradesmen built it, and we need to keep that regulation going so that our building standards and practices remain where they area.” Harris says that such concern is without merit. “Mike’s been doing quality work for 29 years in this business; I think his customers will say to you that they are the best measure of ensuring quality work happens.”

DUMPING: Township continues to urge region to reconsider FROM | 3

to press for the transfer station to remain in operation. Savings at the region could end up as increased costs to the townships as works crews are required to clean up illegally dumped trash. In that light, Bauman suggested the township find a way to keep it open

every Saturday, noting that would be less confusing for residents. “What does it cost to keep that open on a Saturday?” he asked. The township could foot the bill for other Saturdays, perhaps looking at higher tipping fees to cover the cost, he added. Brenneman said the re-

gion’s rationale for closing the transfer stations extended beyond the operating costs, as it fears having to spend millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades at the facilities. The township has asked Jon Arsenault, the region’s director of waste management, to provide more information at a future

public meeting to discuss the situation. In the meantime, Woolwich is braced for more dumping. Last year, reacting to more roadside garbage linked to higher fees at the transfer station, Woolwich opted to increase the fine for illegal dumping to $1,000 from $325.

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SURPLUS: Staff worried about cost of another rough winter FROM | COVER

neering position approved in this year’s budget will provide more staff resources to carry out capital projects – “We’ll be able to get more done.” Delving deeper into the numbers, Petherick showed the winter control budget ran a deficit of $365,000, with bills topping $1.032 million on a budget of $647,000. That would have gobbled up the operating surplus if not for larger-than-expected supplemental revenues: budgeted at $230,000, the actual amount topped $638,000. More than half of the additional revenue came from taxes associated with the new Waterloo North Hydro building dating back to 2011. In allocating the surplus

funds, Petherick recommended the $223,000 extra on the operating side be placed into the township’s operating contingency reserve to help cover another shortfall in the winter control budget expected this year. Due to the wintry conditions that extended well into April, the township has already exhausted this year’s road-clearing budget. “If we don’t build up the operating contingency reserve, we will have insufficient funds,” said chief administrative officer David Brenneman of this year’s snow budget, adding the deficit could then roll into the following year. “We could start 2015 without money for the winter control budget.” Bauman, however, argued that $100,000

should be allotted to the infrastructure reserve fund, which the township has been trying to build up in order to help with a backlog of infrastructure projects. Other councillors agreed, though they were split on a minor expenditure of $5,000 to cover a grant request from Community Justice Initiatives, which is producing a documentary about the first official instance of restorative justice known as the Elmira case. Councillors Bonnie Bryant, Julie-Anne Herteis and Allan Poffenroth questioned the use of the money given the deficit in the winter control budget, preferring the money go to the contingency fund. Eventually, councillors supported the surplus allocation, including support

for the film, in a 3-1 vote, with Bryant the lone dissenter. In addition to numbers on the tax-levy side, the township saw a $255,000 surplus in water funds that will go into the water reserve fund, while Woolwich will dip into the applicable reserve fund to cover a $365,000 deficit on the wastewater side. The water surplus came from lower expenditures on the costs controlled by the township as well as higher demand, said Petherick. The wastewater deficit can be tied to the wet year, which saw large volumes of water leach into the sewage system – what’s known as inflow and infiltration (I&I) problems – and subsequently added to the bill from the Region of Waterloo’s treatment plants.

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8 | COMMENT

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

JOE MERLIHAN PUBLISHER STEVE KANNON EDITOR

COMMENT

DONNA RUDY SALES MANAGER

WILL SLOAN REPORTER

SCOTT BARBER

PAT MERLIHAN PRODUCTION MANAGER

JAKE STALLARD GRAPHIC DESIGN

REPORTER PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT NUMBER 1004840 | ISSN 12039578

OUR VIEW / EDITORIAL

THE VIEW FROM HERE

There must be a recourse when decisions go bad HAVING PROMISED TO KEEP a proposed new kennel on a short leash, Woolwich council will have to do just that. In this case, that means the township must establish clear noise regulations ... then enforce them, closing the operation down, permanently, if necessary. Residents near the Beitz Road operation shouldn’t hold their breath. This is not to single out the kennel in question. In reality, there are longstanding issues when it comes to dealing with complaints from the public, no matter how valid. Take, for instance, the odour problems associated with what is now the Chemtura plant in Elmira. There was little action and even fewer penalties over the years it took for the complaints to be addressed. Gravel pits are another problem child Woolwich residents are now well versed on: across Ontario, provincial officials have routinely failed to protect the public interest, let alone shut down offenders, even in cases where the pits should never have been allowed in the first place. Once a business is in operation, officials seem loath to levy fines – even the inconsequential ones laid out in toothless regulations – when there are ongoing disturbances. In that climate, residents are right to be sceptical government officials will be there to help them. In cases where the municipality imposes a (potential) problem on a neighbourhood, there must be provisions to remedy the decision. For municipalities, that differs from often meddlesome bylaws covering parking and property standards, for instance. Few people would take issue with the municipality taking action in the case, for instance, of an incessantly barking dog. Everyone within earshot would welcome the intervention. The same goes for other noise-related complaints – loud parties, stereos routinely cranked to 10, homeowners often eager to use power tools early in the day or late at night, to name a few. These instances are universally disruptive, and are precisely why enforcement is necessary: some people just aren’t considerate of their neighbours. But many of the actions have far less visible benefit to the community, which, after all, is the sole reason for rules to exist. Everyone, it seems, has a story about overzealous enforcement. That’s especially true in larger cities, where parking is enforced largely as a cash grab to, among other things, pay for expensive enforcement regimes. To be sure, busy cities do require some kind of order, otherwise people would park inappropriately with abandon, and there would be little turnover in available parking spots. But horror stories abound, as do altercations between municipal employees and the people they’re supposed to serve. While parking is nowhere near that kind of problem in Woolwich, there are issues. Ideally, enforcement in those circumstances would come with a light touch – education rather than punitive action, for instance – in keeping with the township’s rural lifestyle. That extends to neighbours being more, well, neighbourly in settling disputes. A much heavier hand should be applied to ongoing problems that can’t be solved by changes. People have a right to expect their quality of life to be undiminished by government decisions. Failure to ensure that demands a way for officials to change course. Barring that, a way to remove the failing parties from their jobs on the public payroll.

While construction and mosquitoes are a sure sign of summer, we're usually spared the biggest annoyance, with politicians on another holiday instead of in our faces. WORLD VIEW / GWYNNE DYER

Our impact on the planet hails the Anthropocene epoch WORLD AFFAIRS There is no doubt that human beings are the dominant species on Earth. The seven billion of us account for about one-third of the total body mass of large animals on the planet, with our domestic animals accounting for most of the rest. (Wild animals only amount to three to five per cent.) But are we really central to the scheme of things? That is a different question. Almost all the scientific discoveries of the past few centuries have moved human beings away from the centre of things towards the periphery. In the 16th century we learned that Earth went around the Sun, not the other way round. Then we realized that the Sun was just one more yellow star among a hundred billion others “far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy,” as Douglas Adams put it. And this is just one galaxy among hun-

dreds of billions. Then the geologists learned that our planet is four and a half billion years old, whereas we primates have only been around for the past seven million years, and modern human being for a mere 100,000 years. And so on and so forth, until we felt very small and insignificant. But now the story is heading back in the other direction; they’re going to name an entire geological epoch after us. The Anthropocene. Don’t get too excited: an epoch is not that big a deal in geology. Just as there is an ascending hierarchy of days, weeks, months and years in present time, there is a hierarchy of epochs, periods, eras and aeons in geological time. Until recently, everybody agreed that we live in the Holocene epoch of the Quaternary period, which in turn is part of the 65-millionyear old Cenozoic era, the most recent phase of the 540-million-year Phanerozoic aeon. Holocene means “entirely recent,” and is reckoned to have begun at the end of the last major glacia-

tion less than 12,000 years ago. That’s not a very long time even for a mere epoch – but geologists are now considering the possibility that we have already entered a different epoch, the Anthropocene (from the Greek roots for “man” and “recent”). That is, an epoch defined by the impact of human beings on the entire planetary environment. Geologists want to see evidence in the rocks before they define an epoch, and it’s early days for that yet, but it’s clear that the fossil records for the present time will show a massive loss of forests, a very high rate of extinctions, and a preponderance of fossils of only a few species: us and our domesticated animals. The acidification of the oceans is destroying the coral reefs, which will produce a “reef gap” similar to the ones that marked the five great extinctions of the past. The changes in the atmosphere caused by the burning of massive amounts of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – will show up in the form of rising sea levels due to

warming, and in the decline of carbonate rocks like limestone and chalk in the deep-ocean sediments. If this is really a new epoch, then geologists (human or otherwise) millions of years from now should be able to work out what happened just from the rocks, without any direct knowledge of the past. However, if the current global civilization collapses as a result of these changes, they will have only a very thin band of rock to work with. The idea of declaring the Anthropocene as a new epoch is being taken seriously by geologists: the International Union of Geological Sciences has set up a working group of the International Commission on Stratigraphy to report by 2016 on whether the Holocene must give way to the Anthropocene. They will also have to decide when the Anthropocene began. In 1950, at the start of the “Great Acceleration” that saw the human population and its greenhouse gas emissions DYER | 10

COMMENT | 9

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

THEIR VIEW / QUESTION OF THE WEEK

How will you mark the first long weekend of the summer season?

»»Sage Welch

»»Bette Cummings

»»Shanie Serkssoon

»»Carolyn Park

»»Wynter Pouw

Stuck in town for work.

We’re going to go to the cottage and do some gardening.

Watching the fireworks.

I’m going to the All-Ontario Youth Convention in Waterloo.

Getting organized around the house.

"I have watched since before regional government came to this area how it was and continues to be an oversold commodity ..." R.A. Rickard | 10 HIS VIEW / STEVE KANNON

We'd be ill advised to equate what government does to doing what's right EDITOR'S NOTES If not for Rob Ford, Kathleen Wynne might well be the campaigning politician with the least credibility. Like Ford, nobody’s really buying the rehab story – foregoing crack in the case of the mayor, becoming a reformed wastrel in the case of the premier. Both cases add to the seemingly endless list of examples of why we don’t trust politicians. Or government in general, come to think of it. Recent polls show as many as 95 per cent of us don’t trust government to be competent, let alone to do what’s right. Summing up poll numbers through the end of 2013, EKOS Research traces a decades-long decline in our faith in government, with a notable decrease in recent years. “The pattern here is both clear and troubling,” reports president Frank Graves in a synopsis earlier this year. “While we

were leaning toward seeing Canadian democracy as somewhat healthy in early 2009, that optimism has steadily eroded to the rather dismal reading we got at year’s end. Just over one quarter of Canadians now see our democracy as healthy — and for the first time, a clear majority say our democracy is sick.” Corruption, scandal, lies: from the daily occurrences of each in Ottawa and Queen’s Park, sprinkled with the incompetence of municipal governments, there’s every reason to distrust politicians and bureaucrats. Perhaps there’s something to the musings of Nick Clegg, head of the UK’s Liberal Democrats and deputy prime minister in that country’s coalition government– and now an example of the risks of getting into bed with Tories. “I need to say this – you shouldn’t trust any government, actually including this one. You should not trust government – full stop,” he says candidly. “The natural inclination of government is to hoard

HOW TO REACH US

is a public good, even if you’re past benefiting from it. That doesn’t mean we have to lavish money on the system’s employees. The same goes for health care, and a host of other program spending we actually want. While people grumble about paying taxes and get especially annoyed with unnecessary increases, what we’re mostly concerned about it seeing value for our money. All too often that’s not the case, at every level of government. When, for instance, the bulk of the increase in your property taxes is earmarked for wage increases, it’s hard to see the value. That’s especially so when many of us aren’t seeing increases in our paycheques. Beyond being annoyed with government waste – see just about every bit of news coming out of Ottawa and Queen’s Park these days – what’s really at stake is the legitimacy of government itself. That may sound dramatic, but if the bureaucracies are seen as bloated and self-serving, it becomes

easier to write off all of the good things that governments do. There is already a strong contingent that would downsize and eventually neuter government, which is essentially our way of working together for common goals. Every wasted tax dollar, every politician focused only on keeping his or her job, every entitled civil servant, every incident of corruption erodes the credibility of government. Any hope of regaining even a modicum of public trust starts with each level of government getting its fiscal house in order. The long list of waste and corruption has been reported widely. Partisans turn a blind eye to all of the negatives, whether that’s in support of a particular party or a pet project. The rest of us look on apathetically, often resigned to the fact graft and corruption abound. A few note that incompetence is commonplace, from municipal bureaucracies through to the boardrooms of multinationals. The only way that’s go-

ing to change is through the political will to push for true accountability. The politicians won’t do it, however, unless we force them to: they’re happy with a self-serving system that allows unfettered access to the cookie jar for themselves and their financial backers. Quite simply, politicians have no interest in tightening up the rules to eliminate self-interest as a motivation for decision making among elected officials and bureaucrats. They’ll talk a good game, especially in opposition, but really want to keep their options open – they won’t even entertain rules to keep politicians from lying, on the hustings or otherwise. Politicians write the rules for themselves. They prefer no rules, but failing that they draft vague rules with no enforcement. If there must be enforcement, then there are no penalties for breaking the rules. EKOS’ Graves sees what impact this has on our trust in governments. “Increasingly, voters KANNON | 10

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power and information; to accrue power to itself in the name of the public good.” That bit about the public good is key. Almost everything floated to the public – there’s plenty of backroom dealing they don’t want us to know about – is sold on the premise of serving the public. Those who buy that must be a shrinking minority, though too many of us are willing accomplices to the fiction. We must be, as we elect those who routinely act contrary to the public good. We want to believe they’ll do what’s right, evidence to the contrary. Oh, sure, we’ll whine about things occasionally, but won’t take real steps to eliminate those whose follies diminish our lives and our wallets – that is to say, just about every politician and mandarin. Government is necessary. Indeed, it is a public good, allowing us to do much more collectively than we could ever do individually. Saying it’s a public good does not justify or excuse everything that government does. Education, for instance,

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10 | COMMENT

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

THE MONITOR

VERBATIM

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Between October 2008 and January 2014, there was an increase of 100,000 unemployed young workers (15-29), so that there are now 540,000 unemployed young workers. One-third of young workers are employed part-time, and many are in low wage, temporary, and otherwise insecure employment, with underemployment around 23%.

"Normally, conservatives extol the magic of markets and the adaptability of the private sector, which is supposedly able to transcend with ease any constraints posed by, say, limited supplies of natural resources. But as soon as anyone proposes adding a few limits to reflect environmental issues — such as a cap on carbon emissions — those all-capable corporations supposedly lose any ability to cope with change."

Massive cost overruns saw Woolwich officials scrambling to find a way to finance new facilities. Most of the projects remain on paper, but every new estimate sees costs growing well beyond original budgets – in some cases, 100 per cent or more. The township finds itself looking for another $3.9 million. Altogether, Woolwich is facing $30.7 million in spending on seven construction projects; it has budgeted financing in place for $26.8 million of that.

»»Progressive Economics Forum

»»Economist Paul Krugman says conservatives are seeing Marxism in every aspect of

»»From the May 19, 2007 edition of the Observer

attempts to control greenhouse gas emissions, a state he calls crazy climate economics

DYER: Given how we treat the

NATIONAL VIEW

planet, the odds are against us

FROM | 8

both triple in only six decades? At the start of the Industrial Revolution twoand-a-half centuries ago? Or eight thousand years ago, when the first farmers began to clear forests and emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases? Take your pick, because it doesn’t matter. The real purpose of declaring the Anthropocene period is to focus human attention on the scale of our impacts on the planetary environment. As biologist E.O. Wilson wrote: “The pattern of human population growth in the twentieth century was more bacterial than primate.” He calculated that human biomass is already a hundred times larger than that of any other large animal species present or past except for our own domesticated

animals. That phase of runaway population growth is over now, but the global rise in living standards is having further environmental impacts of the same order. Climate change is the headline threat, but the loss of biodiversity, ozone depletion, ocean acidification and half a dozen other negative trends are also driven by our numbers and our lifestyle. Being responsible for keeping so many interlocking systems within their permissible limits may be more than our civilization can manage, but it’s already too late to reject that job. All we can do now is try to stay within the planetary boundaries (which in some cases requires discovering exactly where they are), and restore as many natural systems as we can. The odds are not in our favour.

KANNON: There's a long way

to go before trust is restored FROM | 9

seem to think that all choices lead to the same outcome: governments run by parties which place their own interests and the interests of the powerful ahead of those of the public. In fact, if we were to isolate the one factor

YOUR VIEW / LETTER

Transfer station issue indicative of poor governance To the Editor, The Observer’s editorial cartoon in last week’s paper linking the expensive GRT bus service to Elmira to the closure of the garbage transfer station in Elmira is apt. Also interesting was Woolwich Mayor

driving declining trust in government it would be just that: the corrosive belief that the public interest has been subordinated to other interests in modern politics.” Government is not necessarily synonymous with the public good. On the contrary ...

Cowan’s opinion column for The Record (May 3) in which he refers to his ‘lonely’ fight at the regional level to retain Woolwich Township’s transfer station. He understandably points to the initial absence of political support from the other township mayors to keep the rural township transfer stations open on even a severely reduced basis. He might also have wondered in

print (but did not) about the role of the current regional chair who is more than casually familiar with the services provided (or not) to the residents of Woolwich Township. I have watched since before regional government came to this area how it was and continues to be an oversold commodity especially for the residents of the townships dragooned into being part of it. An excellent recent illustration is the reduction to two days a month of garbage transfer station service until March next year when it will be eliminated altogether. Long before that date perhaps Mayor Cowan and his township colleagues might raise publicly and at council some serious questions about regional government’s waste management system and record. For example: 1. The $1-billion-plus cost of the LRT system be-

ing built for Waterloo and Kitchener and its annual operating costs (and deficits) dwarf to comparative insignificance the cost of maintaining a minimal level of service for a Woolwich transfer station. In fact the whole process involving the LRT reminds me more than a little of the imposition of regional government on the local municipalities. 2. The regional government’s overall waste management system itself wastes hundreds of thousands of dollars on ineffective and incomplete recycling programs and contracts. So, let us – the wiser regional minds – consider how to reduce the region’s waste management budget to offset this mismanagement. Of course! We’ll close the transfer stations in the ‘rural’ townships. After all, nobody in Kitchener and Waterloo will object – and that’s what’s politically im-

portant. The sad tale Mayor Cowan told in The Record about lack of support from his colleagues on the transfer station issue suggests to me that better political planning and action was and still is needed. Waterloo regional politicians and the regional government bureaucrats supposedly being directed by them illustrate – via this issue as well as any – that a feature of their regime is that the majority are people who would rather be wrong as a group than right on their own; that facing reelection, alas, is no prophylactic against the allure of terrible ideas. Indeed, like some other self-evidently poor council decisions, this reduction and elimination of a service useful to the residents of the townships was apparently made after reaching a consensus in an echo chamber. In the broader context

rather than the narrow one obviously preferred by the searchers for minor budget reductions, the case for closing the township transfer stations, especially the one most used in Elmira, is neither convincing nor coherent. While Woolwich taxpayers may with reason doubt the efficacy of letters on this or other issues of concern to their elected municipal politicians and even the use of the municipal ballot, they should not ignore the potential benefit of using both. Those on regional council need to be encouraged to divert their attention occasionally from their grand galaxy in which the stars each represent millions of dollars to the infinitely humbler world of the rural/ small town areas in which reside we the far less grand but still voting taxpayers.

R.A. RICKARD | ELMIRA

SPORTS | 11

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

SPORTS CYCLING / A GOOD FIT

NOT SO GREAT OUTDOORSMAN / STEVE GALEA

The bike ride continues for Kate’s Kause playground

Romance flourishes while out peenting the town

Boot camp in Elmira to help participants get ready for their latest fundraising effort WILL SLOAN Now entering its third year, the Kate’s Kause cycling team has always managed to round up a small but consistent group to bike for the cause. What is it that keeps these sportsmen coming out year after year? “It’s hard to say if you’re not a cyclist,” laughed organizer Joe Meissner. “Once you get that bug, it’s hard to let it go. It’s easy to go on an hour-long bike ride, or three hour-long bike ride. “A lot of people ride bikes, and they’ll go out and ride for a little bit, and they ride by themselves. Everything changes when you start riding with a group of people. You have people for encouragement. Some people who never ride at 25 kilometres per hour, if they hang out with a group of eight other riders, they have no problem.” In 2013, the team of 15 Sunday riders raised nearly $6,000 for bike racks and other additions to Kate’s Place for Everyone, the accessible playground launched by local charity Kate’s Kause. This year’s money will go to repair the sandbox and make additions yet to be announced. The team hopes to raise funds at the Centurion Canada event in Blue Mountain this September, but they’ll be doing some training first. This year, the

OPEN COUNTRY

Melanie Beisel and Joe Meissner promise that aspiring cyclists will “sweat, work hard, and have fun” and their all-ages boot camp. Money raised will support the accessible playground Kate’s Place for Everyone. [WILL SLOAN / THE OBSERVER] team has partnered with the Woolwich area,” said The training camp is work hard, but you’re going Elmira’s Pinacle Health Meissner. “The reason we open to all ages, and the to have fun,” said Pinacle’s and Fitness for a four-week try to stay close is we want riding team will take a Melanie Beisel. “That’s the training “boot camp” in to be able to cater to all similar one-size-fits-all main purpose of this: to Gibson Park. “You’re going approach. “We ride just have fun, and raise money KATE’S KAUSE | 12 to sweat, you’re going to the rural roads around for Kate’s Kause.”

I think last night’s events proved, once and for all, this outdoorsman knows, more than most, how to show a woman a good time. That’s right – I took Jenn along on the annual woodcock Singing Ground Survey route that I volunteer to do for Bird Studies Canada. I really had no choice after our conversation earlier that day. “So you know I’ll be driving along a deserted country road to count woodcock ‘peents’ tonight right?” says I, dangling the carrot. “That’s nice,” she said. “By the way, why are you eating a carrot; it’s almost dinner.” Unless, I have absolutely no understanding of women, it seemed fairly clear that she was practically begging to tag along. “OK! OK! I give!” I said. “You can come along!” “But…” “It’s not a big deal,” I interrupted. Actually, it was, but a gentleman doesn’t point out these things – until much later, when she says, GALEA | 12

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12 | SPORTS

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

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Public Notice THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF WELLESLEY

TAKE NOTICE that the Council of the Corporation of the Township of Wellesley will hold a Public Meeting on the 2nd day of June, 2014 at 6:45 p.m. at the Council Chambers at 4805 William Hastings Line, Crosshill, Ontario, to consider amendments to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law 28/2006 of the Township of Wellesley. The Township of Wellesley has received an application for the consideration of an Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendment to amend the permitted uses for the property known as 7998 Line 86. The property at 7998 Line 86 is designated and zoned ‘Settlement Residential - SR’. The applicants are proposing to establish a business described as “retail and repair of non-motorized vehicles (bicycles)” to be located within the existing detached garage. The proposed use is not a permitted use within the Settlement Residential designation and zone. Therefore it is necessary for the applicants to apply for site-specific amendments to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law. Key Map: 7998 Line 86, Wellesley Township

Any persons may attend the public Additional information relating to the meeting and make written and/or verbal proposed application is available for representation either in support of or in inspection during regular business opposition to the proposed amendment. hours at the Municipal Offices of the Township of Wellesley. i. If a person or public body does not make Information requests may also be oral submissions at a public meeting or submitted to make written submissions to the TownGeoff VanderBaaren, Planner: ship of Wellesley before the by-law is gvanderbaaren@wellesley.ca passed, the person or public body is not 4639 Lobsinger Line, entitled to appeal the decision of the St. Clements, ON N0B 2M0 Council of The Corporation of the Township of Wellesley to the Ontario MuniciPH: 519.699.4611 FX: 519.699.4540 pal Board. Dated at the Township of Wellesley this ii. If a person or public body does not make 12th day of May, 2014 oral submissions at a public meeting, or make written submissions to the Township of Wellesley before the by-law is passed, the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Municipal Board unless, in the opinion of the Board, there are reasonable grounds to do so.

GALEA: Getting to know just what women want FROM | 11

“You never take me out anywhere.” As most outdoorsmen know, woodcock Singing Ground Surveys are the kind of thing most women only dream about; right after duck banding and an evening of watching fly tying videos. Even now, on the glorious morning after, I imagine Jenn is reliving romantic memories of our date. After all, what woman wouldn’t want to drive down a bumpy, deserted country road, just after dusk, and stopping every 0.6 kilometres for exactly 2 minutes to listen to the nasally call of a lovesick woodcock? I’ve never actually read a romance novel but I’m pretty sure that this is the stuff they are made of. The air was full of romance actually – and mosquitoes. Everywhere we stopped we heard a deafening chorus of spring peepers too – and just name me one woman who hasn’t dreamed of being

surrounded by a multitude of frogs? Sometime between our second and third stop, Jenn looked me deep in the eyes, pursed her lips and said, “Are we finished yet?” “No,” I replied tenderly, “you still get to enjoy seven more stops.” “I’m not sure I can take it!” she answered. Which was understandable – the “peent” of the male woodcock is how he begs desperately for a partner. And name me one woman who is not enamored by begging. I believe it was at the next stop that the magic really happened. Some time, between the buzzing of mosquitoes, the shrill calls of spring peepers and the sound of roosting songbirds, we heard the nasally “peent” of a lonely male woodcock. Immediately afterwards, I turned to speak to Jenn and when I looked over, I realized words could not express how this experience brought us even

closer together as a couple – unless she rolled down the car window – which she did not. Now, I’m not normally the romantic type, but when I got back in the car to record, we had heard a peenting woodcock, even I could see that we were having one of those special moments that couples never want to forget. I looked at her and brushed the moth from her hair. Then, I said, “I hope you don’t brag too much about this to the women at work…” “I don’t think I’ll share this with anyone,” she whispered. “Ever.” I was so touched I got down on one knee and popped the question I’m pretty sure every woman wants to hear. “Jenn will you survey the singing grounds with me next year?” She said “I don’t think so.” Surprised, I did what any woodcock surveyor without a partner would do. “Peent,” I replied.

KATE’S KAUSE: Getting set to go the distance FROM | 11

those skill levels. The people who are just getting into road cycling, they may not be able to do a 50km ride, but they may be able to do a 25km ride.” He added, “It’s always possible to say, ‘Okay, I’m going to cut off here,’ and you can ride straight back to Elmira. If people want to ride for the full route, they can go for the full route.” The training camp takes place every Monday in June at 7 p.m. in Gibson Park. To join the Kate’s Kause Sunday cycling group, go to kateskausecycling.weebly. com.

Meissner’s cycling team previously raised money for the sensory wall and bike racks. [WILL SLOAN / THE OBSERVER]

2014 Season

See our website www.woolwichbaseball.com for INFORMATION, SCHEDULES, DIAMOND LOCATIONS and more

SPORTS | 13

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

Weather puts a damper on field sports High schools forced to do a lot of juggling, soccer faces delays due to soggy conditions so prevalent this spring “The only areas where we had issues were with the township-owned facilities, and they were unable to get them maintained sufficiently for us to be able to get out and start. We did have cancellations early in the program on the township-owned facilities,” said Lillico. “They were blaming the weather, but it really wasn’t the weather, it was more to do with their inability to get the job done.” Woolwich Youth Soccer has had better luck with privately owned fields from church groups. “Our maintenance people were able to get out and do the maintenance that was required on them, and they were sufficiently dry enough for us to start the season as it should have been.” He added of the township, “Even when the weather’s dry, they can’t get the fields ready for the dates when we require them to start. It’s an ongoing issue with the township about being able to get our facilities ready when we need them. That’s not weather-related, that’s township-related. It’s how they perceive our soccer program. … It’s a hockey town.” While the closure of school facilities has made scheduling practices a challenge, Lillico notes that the regular season is moving on schedule.

WILL SLOAN It’s been a late and rainy start to spring, and if you need proof, just ask a sportsman. With wet and soggy fields across the region, schools and clubs are doing some creative scheduling to keep the sports season on track. “We’re just trying to fit in what we can as things open,” said Brian Henry of the Waterloo Region District School Board. We’ve had to do a lot of rescheduling. Where they’ll be rescheduled to, we’re not sure. Some may have to be cancelled, we’re not sure of that either – hopefully we don’t have to actually cancel anything, but if we can’t find places to fit them in, we may have to cancel some games, especially in the slo-pitch area.” Slo-pitch has been hardest hit by the dreary weather, with ball diamonds (including at Elmira’s Lions Park) closed until last week. To avoid game cancellations, “schools are going to have to play double-headers with slo-pitch, or play three games in a week rather than two,” said Henry. Soccer and rugby, which are nearing the end of their seasons, have not seen cancellations. Woolwich Youth Soccer has also had to adapt to the weather, but president Steve Lillico puts the blame on something other than Mother Nature.

EDSS slo-pitch teams played their first home games this week, with the diamonds at Elmira Lions Park opening late in a wet spring.

[WILL SLOAN / THE OBSERVER]

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THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

SPRING GETS ‘EM OUT ON THE TRAIL

TRYING THEIR HANDS AT LAWN BOWLING

Walkers, hikers and bikers celebrated the belated warm weather at Spring on the Trail, the annual fundraiser for the Grand River Trailway on May 10. Top: Matthew, Michael and Jonathan Wulff visit the kissing bridge. Bottom: Debbie Fishbein and Connie Maier let the dog out. [WILL SLOAN / THE OBSERVER]

Proving that gutters, lanes, and tight shoes are overrated, the Elmira Lawn Bowling Club took the game outside for their annual open house May 1011. Jean Adamson and Kathryn Stickney were among the bowlers. [WILL SLOAN / THE OBSERVER]

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VENTURE | 15

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

VENTURE FOOD FOR THOUGHT/ OWEN ROBERTS

FOOD STUFF / PUTTING FARMERS ON THE MAP

Plotting a course for local food Foodlink launches the latest version of the popular map, kicking off a new growing season STEVE KANNON Locally grown asparagus is making its way to roadside stands, grocery stores and, perhaps, your plate. That means it’s also time for another favourite of local foodies: the latest Buy Local! Buy Fresh! map. “We try to time the publishing date with the asparagus crop,” explained Anna Contini, manager of Foodlink Waterloo Region, which produces the map. Asparagus is the first crop of the area’s outdoor growing season. Now available, the map gets its official launch May 24 at the Cambridge Market, where there’ll be a display set up outside and free copies of the new map will be available from representatives of Foodlink. The Cambridge location is a first for the organization, with the map now in its 13th year, the first version having been printed in 2002. While the map and much about local food is tied to spring and the upcoming growing season, Contini is quick to note local food can be sourced through all four seasons. “There’s local food available year-round. It’s not only produce, but meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, maple syrup, preserves ...,” she said. Add to the list the likes of root vegetables and fruits such as apples and “it’s possible to eat local all year.” On the produce side, asparagus is available now, to be followed by rhubarb, spinach and other greens. Next month, fresh strawberries will be widely anticipated.

FIELD NOTES

Foodlink manager Anna Contini with the 2014 map that’s now available to those looking to include more local food in their diets. What’s in season and where to get it is part of the information package. “That’s right on the map this year.” Foodlink is a non-profit collaboration between farms, food processors, distributors, retailers, restaurants and other community stakeholders in Waterloo Region. The organization distributes some 40,000 copies. Along with the map of their locations, each farm has a listing with its contact info, hours, items for sale and any additional features, such as u-pick, certified organic, farm tours or community shared

SPRING

FORECAST

Animal welfare and shock video has farmers’ attention

shopping experience. “It’s exciting to see that kind of thing in the local food movement.” Such moves only enhance the local food experience, which she’s seen a growing enthusiasm for. Foodlink is part of that, its map a model for similar efforts in Ontario and in other provinces. Beyond the map, the website – www. foodlink.ca – provides other resources for local foodies. “There’s how to find it ... and what to do with local food once you have it,” said Contini. “We like to think of our-

selves as frontrunners of the local food movement.” The launch of the 2014 Buy Local! Buy Fresh! map takes place at Cambridge Farmers’ Market, 40 Ainslie Street, from 10 a.m. to noon May 24. The market has been in operation circa 1830 making it one of the oldest in the country. It’s been in the same location since it began. Copies of the new map are free and are available at all public libraries across the region, as well as selected food retailers, restaurants, markets and other local businesses. Locations can be found on the website.

ROBERTS | 16

THE FORECAST CALLS FOR SUBARU

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[STEVE KANNON / THE OBSERVER]

When it comes to animal welfare, farmers are treading water in the deep end of the pool. Not long ago, they thought their main opponents were environmentalists, bent on preventing them from implementing modern techniques and technology. Some considered it a battle against corporatism. But new research suggests that thinking’s changed. In Ontario, a poll last winter of 400 farmers by Farm and Food Care, a group that represents farmers and businesses, shows that these days, animal welfare is what’s really keeping farmers awake at night … even though the welfare of their livestock does not rate highly among their personal concerns (food safety is first). That’s because they believe they treat their animals well. They do not think animal welfare is a problem on their particular farm. And neither do most rural people who live near farms, people who are closest to animal agriculture, even though most of it

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THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

ROBERTS: Though rare, the kind of abuses that go viral have producers improving vigilance FROM | 15

takes place in barns. In another recent survey, this one by the Rural Ontario Institute, those with a stake in rural Ontario cited job opportunities, accessibility to health services and the cost of electrical power as among their top interests. The results, released late last week, show animal welfare was not among their priorities … although I’m certain if people were asked specifically if they care about it, they’d say yes. Even consumers don’t think animal welfare is a high-priority pillar of sus-

tainable agriculture. Yet another Farm and Food Care survey bore that out – almost half of the 1,230 people who responded said animal welfare was the least important pillar, by a long shot. Only four per cent said it was the most important. Instead, once again, food safety was a top issue. But still, livestock producers are reeling. What has them on edge is the spate of high-profile ambush videos and campaigns about animal welfare on farms and the very public pressure on some of their biggest customers, Can-

ada’s grocery stores and restaurants. They know barbarian acts are highly limited and three minutes of edited video is not representative of real farm practices. But they also know that despite the infrequency of abuse, irreparable damage can be caused by such a video going viral. It prompts negative media attention, and brand pressure on food companies. It tarnishes the whole sector, and farmers need people to understand they take measures to prevent it. In Canada, that’s where research-based codes of

practice come in. They’re mostly voluntary measures, informed by studies conducted by experts at the University of Guelph and elsewhere. But in Ontario and some other provinces, they’re also used as legal standards and market requirements. A group called the National Farm Animal Care Council gets support from the federal government to create these animal welfare guidelines for livestock producers. The group prides itself in being, in its words, “the only organization in the

world that brings together animal welfare groups, enforcement, government and farmers under a collective decision-making model for advancing farm animal welfare.” Codes of practice are in place for 14 livestock commodities (including dairy, beef and poultry); seven have been updated since 2009 and the rest are under review now. They cover many of the hot animal welfare topics – pig housing like gestation stalls, tail docking and castration, among them. Farmers like the opportu-

nity to contribute their wisdom to the codes. Nothing troubles agriculture more than the distinct possibility of decision makers, customers or legislators with little to no background in farming imposing regulations or market demands on them, without any practical grounding or help with funding the changes. It’s much better for farmers to be proactive, clean up their own affairs and let the public know they’re taking action, to prevent inexcusable abuse and continue to improve farm animal care.

EDSS students demonstrate medal-worthy Skills SCOTT BARBER Students from Elmira District Secondary School (EDSS) cut, crafted and hammered their way to awards at the 25th annual Ontario Technological Skills Competition. On May 5 and 6 at RIM Park in Waterloo, EDSS took on nearly 2,000 high school and college students in a variety of challenges including automotive diagnostics, carpentry and electrical installation. The event, run by Skills Canada, marks a stepping stone for young people pursuing careers in skilled trades. “We’ve been involved with Skills Canada for 23 years and since its inception the intent has been to build partnerships between schools and industries,” said Randy Dyck, technol-

ogy teacher at EDSS. “It provides a link to see some of the job possibilities that are out there.” Students Luke Konig, Zach Horst, Noah Reitzel and Jayden Weber won bronze in the home building competition, by constructing a shed to code. “We started from scratch with a pile of materials including floor joists and boards that we hammered together, and we made sure it was 16 on centre,” said Konig, a Grade 12 student with aspirations of becoming an elevator mechanic. With carpentry experience from wood shop and construction technology courses, the students deciphered 13 pages of instructions to place third out of 32 teams and create a structure solid enough that Skills Canada was able to

sell the finished product to raise proceeds for charity. In the heating systems event, Brady Erb took the top prize, a feather in his cap that will help the Grade 12 student achieve his goal of working as an HVAC technician. “Employers recognize the Skills Canada participation certificate because it is such a well known name in the community and there are many employers who get involved by judging and providing materials for the event,” Dyck said. Other competitors from EDSS were Carl Horst in electrical installations, Mike Martin in automotive controls, and Andrew Stoltz, Travis Martin, Evan Kreutzkamp and Sheldon Bender in automotive service. The Skills Canada competition represents just one

EDSS students show off their medals following their performance at the annual Skills Canada competition on May 5 and 6. Back row: Luke Konig, Noah Reitzel, Jayden Weber, and Brady Erb. Front: Carl Horst and Sheldon Bender. [SCOTT BARBER / THE OBSERVER] ing students in technology ous fields taking students of the ways EDSS provides courses at EDSS, it has students with opportunities on each semester,” he come full circle for Dyck, explained. “Many young in the trades, said Dyck. who now gets calls from people are able to move “We have an incredalumni looking to hire from their co-op into an ible community for co-op skilled trades students at apprenticeship.” placements, with about 30 After decades of support- businesses they own. different employers in vari-

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THE ARTS | 17

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

THE ARTS ON STAGE / LIVE MUSIC

Hillside remains true to its roots

Despite growth over three decades, Guelph music festival still an intimate experience for audience and performers alike WILL SLOAN A music festival that makes it to its 31st installment is never the same as it was on day-one. But while the Hillside Festival has evolved in its three decades of existence, its organizers strive to point out that it has stuck close to its roots. “Fundamentally, it started as a grassroots festival and has remained as a grassroots festival,” says executive director Marie Zimmerman. “It emphasizes community involvement and community awareness about issues, and in its emphasis on the land. “Care of land, care of people, care of animals – it’s all part of the ideology of Hillside, but it’s also part of the ideological imperative of so many people in Wellington County.” If that sounds fairly far removed from the jurisdiction of a music/arts festival, that’s because Zimmerman says it’s as much about the community as the art. “Care of the land has been probably one of the easiest things that we implemented over the years at Hillside. We were the first outdoor event in the region to have a water tanker come in to supply water for everyone. Over 20 years ago we started washing dishes on site. At first, some members of the public who weren’t in our area

The Hillside Festival has always been as much about the community as the music, its organizers say. The 31st installment will include performances by (clockwise from top left) Danny Michel, Young Galaxy, Hollerado, Light Fires, Tegan and Sara, and Sam Cash & The Romantic Dogs ... among a long list of others. [SUBMITTED] questioned that, and said, ‘Are you sure it hygienic? Why wouldn’t you just give us disposable?’ The same with the water: some people thought it would be more hygienic to have bottled water.” She adds, however, “Certainly times have changed

and people’s perspectives have changed, and happily for us, they have dovetailed more with our vision.” As for the festival itself, how does it play into the larger mission of environmental wellbeing? “People want to make sure that they have good food that’s

not full of chemicals; they want to make sure that we have clean water and all have good access to it; they want to be sure that people feel engaged with their lives and happy and not isolated. So we have events like music festivals to bring people together.”

And of course, there’s the music. This year’s major acts include the four-time Juno winners Tegan & Sara, along with Four Tet, Young Galaxy, Kevin Drew, Born Ruffians, Sam Cash, and Elephant Revival (“A huge hit a couple of years ago at Hillside – they out-

sold every other artist”). Zimmerman particularly recommends the Irish singer-songwriter Imelda May: “She’s backed by some pretty incredible performers with a rich heritage, like Jeff Beck, who has been one of her champions. She has an amazing voice.” Zimmerman adds, “We try to incorporate all different kinds of music – we’re not just an indie festival, we’re not just a folk festival, we offer blues and jazz and pop and rock.” On top of the music, the 2014 festival will include the usual assortment of spoken word (including – count ’em – four poetry slam teams), workshops, craft vendors, and dance. In 2013, the festival celebrated its 30th anniversary. A milestone like that tends to have organizers looking both backwards and forwards.“We’re going to continue what we started last year, with our 30th anniversary,” said Zimmerman. “We began the festival with youth, tipping our hats to the next 30 years; we’re going to continue that effort this year by beginning with local young people.” The 31st Hillside Festival takes place July 25-27 at Guelph Lake Island. Tickets went on sale this week at TicketBreak.com, and can be ordered by phone at 1-866-943-8849.

Save an additional

$1,000

until June 2

on our most popular models, including the TDI Clean Diesel. **

Own the 2014 Jetta from

$84

bi-weekly for 84 months*

2.9%

* Limited time finance purchase offer available through Volkswagen Finance, on approved credit. Base MSRP of $16,385 for a new and unregistered 2014 Jetta 2.0L base model with 5-speed manual transmission, including $1,395 freight and PDI. Financed at 2.9% APR for 84 months equals 182 bi-weekly payments of $84. $1,764 down payment, including $29 EHF (tires), $5 OMVIC fee, $58 PPSA fee and up to $499 dealer administrative fee, due at signing. Cost of borrowing is $1,525 for a total obligation of $17,643. License, insurance, registration, options, and other applicable taxes are extra. Model shown: 2014 Jetta 1.8L Highline, $27,518. **$1,000 available on cash purchase, finance or lease (through Volkswagen Finance, on approved credit) of a new and unregistered 2014 Jetta, Tiguan, Passat and certain TDI Clean Diesel models. Dealer may sell for less. Dealer order/trade may be necessary. Offers end June 2, 2014 and are subject to change or cancellation without notice. Vehicle may not be exactly as shown. Visit your Volkswagen dealer for details. “Volkswagen”, the Volkswagen logo, “Autobahn for All” and “Jetta” are registered trademarks of Volkswagen AG. © 2014 Volkswagen Canada.

APR

$2,355 down payment

VWWATERLOO.COM | 519.884.7470 | 550 WEBER ST. N.

18 | CLASSIFIED

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED DEADLINE:

THURSDAYS BY 10AM HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

NOW HIRING DRIVERS AZ Driver - We are currently seeking a Hardworking, Energetic and Professional AZ Company driver to join our team. The individual will run Flatbed, Van and Roll tight Trailers. Some experience with Flatbed is preferred but we are willing to train. G Class - We are also seeking a young, Hardworking motivated individual to run our Furniture truck. Duties will include loading and unloading of solid wood furniture to and from Mfg shops, ﬁnishing shoips and retail stores. Some experience with moving furniture is necessary. All applicants must posses a clean driver abstract and CVOR At EnviroCompany paid beneﬁts. Please apply in person or send your resume and drivers abstract to info@enviro-eze.com

Bast Tire is seeking an

AUTOMOBILE MECHANIC CLASS A We offer: Competitive Rate, Productivity Bonus, Benefits, and Pension Program. Send resume to: hr@basttire.com or Fax: 519-664-3406

HELP WANTED EVENING RECEPTIONIST NEEDED - Sandelli Massage Therapy. Mon & Tues 4:00 8:30 p.m. Required: friendly, great interpersonal skills, self motivated, basic computer skills. $11.50 to start. Email resume to: krista@kristasandellimassagetherapy.com

PUBLIC NOTICE

HELP WANTED FULL-TIME. ELMIRA BASED furniture company now excepting resumes for a mature general labourer. Please fax resume to 519-669-8820. NOW HIRING: BOBCAT/FORKLIFT Operator. Full time days, previous experience operating a Bobcat or Forklift. Valid Forklift licence is an asset. If you are a reliable individual able to work in fast paced environment, please apply with Resume to info@willowbraepallets.com or call 519-664-3688.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

NOTICE OF WATERMAIN FLUSHING/ HYDRANT MAINTENANCE OPERATION The Township of Woolwich will be engaging in a watermain flushing/hydrant maintenance program as follows:

Tuesday May 20, 2014 – Conestogo, Maryhill Heights & West Montrose Wednesday May 21, 2014 – Heidelberg & Maryhill Isley Between the hours of 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (unless otherwise noted) **These dates are subject to change and will be communicated on the Township website Watermain flushing is performed at this time of low water usage to minimize its impact on water service. Please refrain from using excessive amounts of water during this time period (i.e. doing laundry, using the dishwasher, etc.) The flushing process may cause discoloured water and a reduction in pressure. It should be noted that both of these conditions are temporary and not harmful. If discolouration occurs, open a cold, hard water tap in the basement until it runs clear before resuming regular consumption. In some situations this may take 5 to 10 minutes. If, however, either of these conditions persist, please contact Cynthia Lean at 519-669-6041 or 519-664-2613 ext. 6041 The Township of Woolwich appreciates your patience as we continually work to improve the quality of drinking water throughout the Township.

HOW TO REACH US

INVESTORS WANTED FOR Secured Loan opportunities. 1 - 3 year terms available. Interest paid monthly, principal also if required at a rate of 12%. $2500.00 minimum. 519-589-7547.

FOR SALE CHEST FREEZER FOR sale. Good working condition. 23 cu. ft. Asking $175 + tax. Call 519-698-2120. MAPLE SYRUP 4 litre price $39, available in light, medium or amber. 7387 3rd Line, RR2 Wallenstein, 1 mile west of Yatton. SUNSET GREENHOUSES AT Mervin and Louisa Gingrich is open for business even with construction here. 7279 4th Line, Mapleton. 519-669-2043. WOODS 12 CU. ft. freezer. Works great! Asking $225. Call 519-669-5983.

AUCTIONS WED. MAY 21 at 5:00 PM Farm toy auction of approx. 400 toys; farm toys; precision; tractor trailers; banks; Nascar; farming literature; and other collectables to be held at the St. Jacob’s Community Centre for Brian Derbyshire with additions. Jantzi Auctions Ltd. 519-656-3555. www.Jantziauctions.com

Card of Thanks Thank you to the many friends and family who supported us during our Mother’s illness and passing. The flowers, cards, prayers, gifts of food, donations and your presence were all greatly appreciated. A special thanks to Dr. Onuska who cared for Mom’s health for many years and to the staff and residents at Chartwell who embraced her in her golden years. To Dr. Ward at St. Mary’s Hospital, a special thanks for your guidance and compassion and to the 5th floor nursing staff who cared for her in her final two weeks. Words cannot express our gratitude.

The Family of Lydia Martin AUCTIONS SAT. MAY 24 at 10:00 AM - Clearing auction sale of lawn and garden equipment; hand and power tools; household effects; antiques; collectables; and miscellaneous items to be held at 54 Grey Abbey Trail in Cambridge (Hespler) for Linda Gillick. Jantzi Auctions Ltd. 519-656-3555 www.Jantziauctions.com SAT. MAY 24 at 10:00 AM - Clearing auction sale of snowmobile; lawn and garden equipment; wood working equipment and tools; horse drawn wagons and cutters; furniture; antiques; collectables; and miscellaneous items to be held at 1087 West River Road Cambridge (south end of Cambridge) for Harry Bergsma. Jantzi Auctions Ltd. 519-6563555. www.Jantziauctions.com FRI MAY 30 at 7:00 PM - Charity auction of brand new donated furniture and miscellaneous items to be held at the old New Hamburg arena on Jacob street in New Hamburg for the Mennonite Relief Sale. Jantzi Auctions Ltd. 519-656-3555 www. Jantziauctions.com FRI MAY 30 at 7:00 PM - Charity auction of brand new donated furniture and miscellaneous items to be held at the old New Hamburg arena on Jacob street in New Hamburg for the Mennonite Relief Sale. Jantzi Auctions Ltd. 519-656-3555. www. Jantziauctions.com

AUTOMOTIVE 2008 SMART CAR/PASSION: $6,900, 54,000 kms, gas, rwd, auto, burnt orange/ silver - Fun and economical. Much roomier then it appears. Elmira. 519-669-4172.

AUCTIONS

AUCTION SALE

Of Custom built brick bungalow, Honda Accord, household effects, and miscellaneous items, to be held at

608 Maple Forest Place in Waterloo

(off Beechwood Dr. near Erb in “Beechwood West”),

for the Larry Carter Estate, on

SATURDAY, MAY 24TH @ 10:00 A.M HOUSE: CONSISTING of a 16 year old, custom built (by Jim Kuntz) brick & frame bungalow, with attached 2 car garage and spacious multitiered, 2 storey deck, situated on a professionally landscaped 50 X 155ft. lot. House has open concept main floor, custom kitchen with island (quartz countertops), hardwood & ceramic flooring, large sitting room with gas fireplace, 2 bedrooms (master has ensuite), bathroom, main floor laundry, central air & vac, gas furnace and finished walkout basement with large rec-room (gas fireplace), additional bedroom, bathroom & built-in cabinetry. Approx. 3500 square feet of living space. NOTE – Plan to view this beautiful home with many upgrades. A quiet street in a good neighbourhood. A “must see” deck & backyard with rock garden and mature evergreens. See www.auctionsfind. com/gerber for photos & terms. TO VIEW – Call 519-766-9893 HOUSEHOLD: KITCHEN Aid & Amona fridges (freezer below) – good. Jenn-Air gas stove – good. Maytag Epic Z stacking washer & dryer – excellent. Maytag washer with sud saver. Chest freezer. Roxton 5pc. bedroom suite (2 singles) – good. 3pc. double bedroom suite. Peppler 5pc. queen bedroom suite. Cedar chest. Desk. Office chairs. Coffee & end tables. 3pc. green & beige chesterfield suite – excellent. Beige leather sectional. Wall unit. Pedestal table & chairs. Glider rocker. Selection of good patio furniture. White electric sewing machine. Crib. Sharp “Aquos” 46in. LED TV (2 years old). Sony Bravia 42in. LCD TV. HP Deskjet F4100. HP Photosmart 7960. HP Laserjet Pro CP1525nw. DVD recorder plus other electronics. Bedding & linen. Area rugs. Small appliances. Sealers. China, glass & other household goods. CAR & MISC. ITEMS: 2004 Honda Accord, V6, 4 door, red, automatic, sunroof, tan leather interior, loaded, 235,000km – selling safetied & e-tested. Alum step ladder. Garden tools, etc. NOTE – A clean & tidy offering! See www. auctionsfind.com/gerber for photos. Proprietors and auctioneers not responsible for accidents day of sale. Lunch booth. Terms – Cash or cheque with I.D.

AUCTIONEERS:

CONTINUED ON PG. 23

Gerber Auctions Ltd.

519-699-4451 or 698-0138 2827 Hutchison Rd., RR#1 Millbank (Crosshill)

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.

CLASSIFIED | 19

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

FAMILY ALBUM ANNIVERSARY

ANNIVERSARY

THANK YOU

Happy 50th Anniversary

50th Wedding Anniversary

Thank you

Betty and Myril Howlett

Mac and Roxanne Kuhns

OBITUARY

to everyone who came out to our Stag and Doe!

Cumming, Alexandra

were married on May 23, 1964 and will be having a family celebration on May 25, 2014

Married June 25, 1964 Bellingham, Washington Open House 2-4pm Saturday, June 07, 2014 Woodside bible Fellowship Elmira, On Best Wishes only Please

PUBLIC NOTICE

We really appreciated all the support through donations and ticket sales as well. From Jennifer Snyder and Calvin Shantz

OBITUARY

Brown, Audrey (Schmidt)

Notice of Public Meeting Regional Development Charges Review The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is currently in the process of reviewing its development charge by-law under the terms of the Development Charges Act, 1997. A development charge by-law expires five years after it is enacted by a municipality and the municipality is required to complete a background study, hold public meetings and enact a new by-law. The purpose of the Regional Development Charge is the recovery of growth-related capital costs from residential and non-residential development which requires additional capital works. Regional Development Charges fund significant portions of the capital costs associated with transportation, water and wastewater. Public input to this review process is encouraged. You are invited to attend the public meeting which is scheduled to hear representations regarding this matter. This meeting will be held at: Wednesday, June 4, 2014, 6:00pm Regional Council Chambers, Region of Waterloo 150 Frederick Street, 2nd Floor Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4J3 Background Study The draft Regional Development Charges Background Study was tabled at the Administration and Finance Committee of Council on April 1, 2014. A copy of the Background Study is available on the Region of Waterloo’s website (www.regionofwaterloo.ca). Public Meeting Regional Council will hold the public meeting to hear representations regarding development charges as required under the Act on Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. in the Regional Council Chambers. To register as a delegation for the June 4, 2014 public meeting, please contact the Regional Clerks’ Office at 519-575-4420 not later than 4:30 p.m. on Monday, May 26, 2014. If you require further information about the Development Charge By-law please contact Shane Fedy, Financial Analyst, Transportation/RDC at 519-575-4757 x 3197 or by e-mail at sfedy@regionofwaterloo.ca. Everyone with an interest is urged to review the draft background study recommendations and attend this meeting. The study recommendations will be finalized, taking into consideration comments from the public and the final recommendations. The Regional Development Charge By-Law will be presented for approval to Regional Council on June 25, 2014. The new Regional Development Charges By-Law will take effect August 1, 2014. Kris Fletcher Regional Clerk All comments and information received from individuals, stakeholder groups and agencies regarding this project 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 that becomes part of the public record. Questions regarding the collection of this information should be referred to the people indicated above. Accessibility: This event is accessible for people with disabilities. Accessible parking is available. If you require accessible services to attend or participate in this meeting, or to access information in alternative formats, please contact the above noted person at least five days prior to the meeting.

Peacefully passed away on Friday, May 9, 2014 at St. Mary’s General Hospital, Kitchener, at the age of 83 years. Audrey, of Elmira, was the loved wife of Jerry for 61 years. Dear mother of Barb and Bruce Finn of Elmira, Mark of Cambridge, Grant Brown and Rochelle Marshall of Stratford, Bruce and Angela of New Hamburg, Nancy and Keith McGlone of Elmira, Evelyn and Don Vezina of Waterloo, Beverly and Steve Bugarsky of Elmira. Also lovingly remembered by her grandchildren Heather Finn (Eric Oh), Rob (Lynea) Finn; Hilary and Emily Brown; Derek and Daniel (Emilie) Brown; Heather, Garrett, and Jacklyn Weatherup; Colin, Allan, and Meghan McGlone; Jenifer and Hailey Vezina; Alyssa and Nichole Bugarsky; and by her great-grandchildren Finn and Nellie Oh; Ben and Kaitlyn Finn. Sister of Helene Herbst of Waterloo, Kathleen Koebel of St. Catharines, and sister-inlaw of Shirlene Stephens of Florida. She was predeceased by her parents Norman and Bertha (Holst) Schmidt, and her brother Arthur Schmidt. The family received their relatives and friends at the Dreisinger Funeral Home, Elmira on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Funeral service was held at St. James Lutheran Church, Elmira on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 11 a.m. Interment in St. James Lutheran Cemetery, Elmira. In Audrey’s memory, donations to St. James Lutheran Church, Elmira would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy. The family would like to give special thanks to Audrey’s family doctors, Dr. Gower and Dr. Kapasi, as well as the staff of St. Mary’s ICU, for their compassionate care.

Peacefully passed away with her family by her side, at her residence in Elmira, on Friday, May 9, 2014, at the age of 70 years. Alexandra Cumming was the beloved wife of Andrew Cumming. Loved mother of Karen (Kacy) Weiler and her husband Paul, Lorna Cumming, and Frazer and his wife Jennifer. Loving grandmother of Katelyn, Kearstyn, Madisyn, and Caleb Cumming, and Makayla Weiler. Dear sister of May Marston of the U.K. She was predeceased by her sister Sheila MacGregor. Alexandra worked for the Township of Woolwich in the finance department for 17 years and was also an active and enthusiastic member of Gale Presbyterian Church, Elmira. The family received their relatives and friends at the Dreisinger Funeral Home, Elmira on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. A funeral service was held at Gale Presbyterian Church, 10 Barnswallow Drive, Elmira on Thursday, May 15, 2014 at 11 a.m. Interment in Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo. In Alexandra’s memory, donations to the Regional Cancer Centre or the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.

www.dreisingerfuneralhome.com

Winfield, Marlene Peacefully passed away on Monday, May 12, 2014 at St. Mary’s General Hospital. Marlene (Weber), at the age of 74 years, was the beloved wife of George Winfield of West Montrose. Dear mother of Reg of Waterloo, Rick and Julie of West Montrose, Deb and John Benham of Damascus. Also lovingly remembered by her grandchildren Jacob and Zack Benham and Parker Winfield. Loved sister of Shirley and John Weltz of Waterloo, Sandra and Doug Scott of Ayton. Marlene will be sadly missed by her nieces and nephews and their families. Predeceased by her parents Conrad and Alvina Weber and by her brother Gerald. The family received their relatives and friends at the Dreisinger Funeral Home, Elmira on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. A funeral service was held at St. James Lutheran Church, Elmira on Thursday, May 15, 2014 at 11 a.m. Interment in St. James Lutheran Cemetery. In her memory, donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario or St. James Lutheran Church would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.

www.dreisingerfuneralhome.com DEATH NOTICES

www.dreisingerfuneralhome.com DEATH NOTICES JANTZI, MARY M. (NEE ROTH) | Peacefully at Nithview Home in New Hamburg on Thursday, May 8, 2014, Mary, formerly of Wellesley, in her 88th year. MERKLINGER, P. ROSS JUNE 4, 1918 | May 5, 2014 Passed away

at Leisureworld Caregiving Centre in Elmira, Ontario, on Monday, May 5, 2014, at the age of 95.

REIST, DORIS MARJORIE (NEE BLACKWELL) | Of Moorefield, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, at the Grand River Hospital, Kitchener, in her 75th year. Local relatives are her sister Mary Beuerman of Elmira and her brother Harold and Myra Blackwell of St. Jacobs.

CELEBRATE FAMILY IN THE OBSERVER

20 | CLASSIFIED

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

OBSERVER SERVICE DIRECTORY AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES

TIRE

WHERE TIRES

Complete Collision Service

THOMPSON’S

Auto Tech Inc.

ARE A

SPECIALTY, NOT A SIDE LINE. 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

519.669.8917

519-669-3232

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

RUDOW’S

CARSTAR COLLISION CENTRE

AUTO CLINIC

519-669-4400 30 ORIOLE PKWY. E., ELMIRA www.thompsonsauto.ca

RUDOW’S

21 Industrial Dr. Elmira

24 Hour Accident Assistance Accredited Test & Repair Facility

BODY MAINTENANCE AT:

1-800-CARSTAR 519-669-3373

CARSTAR COLLISION CENTRE

Call Us At 519-669-3373

519-669-7652

33 First Street, East Elmira, ON

GENERAL SERVICES “25 years in Business”

• Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning on Location

• Janitorial

• Area Rug Cleaning Drop-off / Pick up Service • Carpet Repair & Re-Installation • Bleached out Carpet Spot Repair

•Ratches, Hooks, Straps, Webbing etc. •Canvas, Vinyl, Polyester, Acrylic Fabrics

General Repairs

• Pet deodorization • Floor Stripping

519.595.4830

www.completecarpetcare.ca

6376 Perth Rd. 121 Poole, ON

ROB McNALL 519-669-7607 LONG DISTANCE? CALL 1-866-669-7607

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

GENERAL SERVICES

MUSIC-LOVER GIFT ALERT!

Various sizes & rates

CLEAN • DRY • SECURE Call

519-669-4964

100 SOUTH FIELD DRIVE, ELMIRA

COUNTR Y

’s 60’s / 70

HIGH SCHOOSL BAND

GOSPEL

ROCK

BAUMAN PIANO

SERVICES TUNING & REPAIRS

MORE INFO | 519.669.0541 EMAIL: vinylp2cd@gmail.com

ORTLIEB CRANE & Equipment Ltd. • 14 ton BoomTruck • 40 ton Mobile Crane

MUSIC TRANSFERS FROM LPs, 45s, 78s, CASSETTES TO CD Your favourite albums get a whole new life on CD after we clean up the clicks, pops and surface noise.

RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING EFFORT!

JAMES BAUMAN Craftsman Member O.G.P.T. Inc NEW PHONE NUMBER

519-880-9165

519-664-9999

QUICK LOCAL SERVICE | 245 Labrador Dr., Waterloo

24 Hour Service (Emergencies only) 7 Days A Week

www.UniTwin.com | 519.886.2102

ST. JACOBS

GENERAL SERVICES

BIKE SALES & REPAIRS

PROFESSIONAL BIKE MECHANIC ON STAFF

Buy your bike from us and get a FREE annual inspection!

Hardtop and Travel Trailer Rentals 7011 Wellington Rd. 11 RR#2 Drayton ON, N0G 1P0

PARTS EXTRA

22 Church St. W., Elmira

Tel:519-669-5537

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

(519) 638-3075 (Phone) (519) 505-3076 (Cell) Email:info@riversiderentals.ca www.riversiderentals.ca

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.

SPACE FOR RENT

AT YOUR SERVICE.

HOME IMPROVEMENTS SERVICES 100% SUPERIOR QUALITY CUSTOM WOODWORKING

and Insulation

• New & Existing Roofs • Roof Repairs • Cellulose Attic Insulation 519-778-7730

Toll Free: 1-800-668-4695 • Fax: 519-291-9789

KENJI ORITA • Custom Kitchens • Custom Furniture • Libraries • Exotic Woods

TEL: +1 (519) 574-6734 oritakenji@gmail.com 20B ARTHUR ST. N., ELMIRA

CLASSIFIED | 21

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

OBSERVER SERVICE DIRECTORY HOME IMPROVEMENT SERVICES

www.RobertBrown.com

Sew Special Custom Sewing for Your Home

 Table and shelf glass  Ask for a quote… we install

 WOOD  GAS  PELLET

CONESTOGO

FERGUS

1871 Sawmill Road

180 St. Andrew St. W.

519-664-3800

519-664-1435

519-843-4845

877-664-3802

888-871-4592

1411 King Street, St. Jacobs

www.RobertBrown.com info@robertbrown.com

www.fergusfireplace.com

AMOS R O O F I N G

INC

Frameless Showers & Railings

• Residential • Commercial • Industrial

Custom Drapery Custom Blinds

Randy Weber

Free Estimates

ECRA/ESA Licence # 7000605

In Home Consultations

519.669.1462 Fax: 519.669.9970

Over 20 Years Experience

18 Kingﬁsher Dr., Elmira

Elmira

Tel:

Lois Weber 519-669-3985

• 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

CALL JAYME FOR YOUR FREE ESTIMATE.

519.501.2405 | 519.698.2114 In Business since 1973 • Fully Insured

HOME IMPROVEMENT SERVICES

RA HOME COMF ELMI (519) 669-4600 ORT

COMMERCIAL • RESIDENTIAL

Steve Co.

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 1 Union Street, Elmira

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

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

Home Improvements

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

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

John Schaefer Painting

Plumbing and Maintenance Inc.

FREE ESTIMATES Interior/exterior Painting, Wallpapering & Plaster | drywall Repairs

RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL

WINDOWS & DOORS

ROOFING | SIDING | SOFFIT & FACIA DRYWALL INSTALLATION

MURRAY MARTIN | 519.638.0772

7302 Sideroad 19 RR#2., Alma, ON, N0B 1A0

For all your Plumbing Needs. 24 HOUR SERVICE Steve Jacobi

NOW ACCEPTING VISA OR MASTERCARD

519-669-2251

ELMIRA

519-669-3652

36 Hampton St., Elmira

READ’S DECORATING

WEICKERT& MEIROWSKI Concrete Foundations Limited

YES... WE DO RESIDENTIAL WORK!

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

SINCE 1961

Specializing in Paint & Wall coverings

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

FOR ALL YOUR HOME DECORATING NEEDS. 27 ARTHUR ST. S., ELMIRA

519.669.3658

SPACE FOR RENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT SERVICES

$250.00/

pump

OUT

+H.S.T.

(1800 Gallon Residential) Not valid with any other special offers or coupons.

519-648-3004

800-232-6396

www.biobobs.com

OUTDOOR SERVICES

AT YOUR SERVICE.

Spring Landscape Maintenance info@apmcontracting.ca

• Lawn Rolling • Fertilizer & Weed Control • Spring Clean Up • Top Soil • River Rock • Fences & Decks • Interlock

Outdoor

• Aeration • Dethatching • Sod & Seeding • Mulch • Garden Creations • Flagstone • Retaining Walls • Concrete Work

Services

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

Lawn Maintenance Programs | Spring Clean-up Flower Bed Maintenance Programs Leaf Clean-up and Removal | Soil & Mulch Delivery & Installation | Snow Clearing & Removal | Ice Control

Full Lawn Maintenance Programs

Call for a FREE Quote 519-669-4161

27 Brookemead, St, Elmira P: 519-669-1188 | F: 519-669-9369

kdetweiler@rogers.com

KEVIN DETWEILER

OWNER-OPERATOR

COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL SERVICES

T S D ISA Arborculture Certified

Storm damaged fallen trees/branches Cutting/removal

Shrub & Branch Removal & Chipping

Technical Tree Falling/Cutting/ Removal

Stumping and Grinding

Preventative Maintenance Limbing and tree pruning

Shrub & Small Tree Replacement

Call: Jeff Basler, Owner | Office: 519-669-9081 | Fax: 519-669-9819 Email: ever-green@sympatico.ca

OUTDOOR SERVICES COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL SERVICES

YOUR SOURCE FOR YEAR-ROUND PROPERTY MAINTENANCE SPECIALIZED SKIDSTEER SERVICE

LAWN MOWING PACKAGES

· weekly, biweekly services

FULL FLOWER BED MAINTENANCE · weeding, pruning, dead heading, planting, flowerbed edging, mulch delivery & installation

TOP DRESSING & OVERSEEDING · Triple Mix topsoil & sure start overseed grass seed

SNOW PLOWING & ICE CONTROL · Trucks, Tractors, Skidsteer

Call: Jeff Basler, Owner Office: 519-669-9081 | Fax: 519-669-9819 Email: ever-green@sympatico.ca

· Offering a quick and easy way to reclaim unused land · Our tracked skid steer equipped with a forestry brush mower can handle any long grass/brush · Trail maintenance and development · Wooded lot Thinning · Pasture Reclaimation · Orchard Maintenance · Industrial Lots · Real Estate Lots · Cottages

Just Gardens Complete Garden and Lawn Maintenance

Anita Soehner Clean Up | Mulch

Planting | Garden Design Lawn Maintenance All Your Gardening Needs

226.476.2039

Cell | 519.504.5934

rozell_soehner@yahoo.ca

Since

1998 •Final grading •Lawn repair & complete seeding •Well equipped for large stoney areas •Spike Aerator/Overseeding •Site prep for Garden sheds, sidewalks etc. •Natural & Interlocking Stone •Retaining Walls, Walks & Patios •Help for Top Water & Drainage issues •Rain Water collection systems

Murray & Daniel Shantz

ALMA, ONTARIO | PHONE: 519.846.5427

22 | CLASSIFIED

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

REAL ESTATE LISTINGS

SPRING MARKET HAS ARRIVED! CALL US TO LIST NOW! NEW LISTING

D L O S

$272,900 BACKING ONTO PARK

Alli Bauman

Marcia Thompson

Paul Martin

519-577-6248

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

519-503-9533

SALES REPRESENTATIVE CALL DIRECT

www.elmiraandareahomes.com

$389,000 PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP!

$374,900 RENOVATED EXTENSIVELY!

Elmira - Located in mature area this home features open concept living room with hardwood floors and second floor addition 2009. Main floor full bath, Bright kitchen with new cupboards & counter top. Separate dining room with French door walk out to large concrete patio & yard overlooking park! Main floor laundry with skylight, 3 bedrooms including large master bedroom with huge walk in closet. MLS 1424631. Call Paul or Alli Direct.

Elmira - Fabulous open concept, 4 bedroom home with large yard. Kitchen with concrete counter tops open to dining room and living room. Side door walk out to large yard. Huge open upstairs family room featuring vaulted ceiling and gas fireplace. Upper floor laundry. Carpet free throughout. Single garage. MLS 1422320. Call Alli or Paul direct.

Elmira - This Elmira Beauty has been updated but still has the Character and charm of an older home. Attractive oak wood work and pocket doors throughout this 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with finished basement. Complete with eat-in kitchen, Separate dining room, living room and recroom! Located on nice sized lot with concrete driveway leading you up to huge 20ft x 35ft detached garage/ workshop with hydro. MLS 1424232. Call Alli or Paul direct.

SALES REPRESENTATIVE CALL DIRECT

www.homeswithpaul.ca

D L O S

$307,000 BEAUTIFUL HOME WITH MODERN DÉCOR

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

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

$598,500 BEAUTIFUL BACKYARD

Breslau – Approx 2700sqft house located on 3.15 acres. Enjoy sunsets from your bckyrd haven. Tree lined private drive. Complete w/main flr LR, FR w/wood fp, eat in kit & sep DR. Main flr bdrm w/kitchenette & 3pc ens. Side entrance ideal for home office/business. Master bdrm w/8ftx8ft walk in closet & 3pc ens. Fin'd basement featuring lg bar & location for wood stove. Bsmnt bath incl sauna, whirlpool. 648sqft unfinished bonus room above garage. TLC Required. MLS 1414121. Call Alli or Paul direct.

Waterloo - Prepare to be impressed with this 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom home. Interlock driveway/walkway and landscaped yard. Fabulous finishes around every corner. Bright living room open to kitchen with centre island and walk out to deck. Finished basement featuring gas fireplace a perfect place for family time. Fenced backyard with interlock patio and deck, an entertaining dream and still room for kids to play. MLS 1424233. Call Alli or Paul direct.

$329,900 OVER LOOKING GREENSPACE!

Winterbourne - Located on a quiet street this 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home is equipped with large concrete driveway, double garage and additional storage area. Separate dining room and main floor laundry with walk out to patio. Huge upper floor family room with gas fireplace, lots of windows, sliders to deck and amazing view. Large fenced back yard with pool. MLS 1424241. Call Alli or Paul direct.

NEW PRICE

Call today and book a FREE

NO-OBLIGATION HOME EVALUATION. $181,000 LUXURIOUS CONDO!

YET TO BE BUILT! Drayton - Beautiful Mansfield III Home. Various Prices and Plans available. Model Home is at 46 Bedell Open: Mon, Tues, Wed 1-7pm and Sat, Sun 1-4:30pm. MLS 1418101. Call Paul or Alli direct.

Kitchener – Featuring controlled entry in welcoming lobby. Casual Elegance in this updated 2 bdrm, 2 bath, condo complete w/sep DR & in-suite laundry. Excellent location w/easy access to 401, shopping, Conestoga College & close to trails. Well maintained building w/indoor pool, exercise rm, party rm, sauna & underground parking! Recent updates: Laminate flooring, Baths 2013, Kit cabinets 2009. All appliances incl’d. Just move in & enjoy! MLS 1424165. Call Paul or Alli Direct.

$338,900

Bert Martin OFFICE: 519-669-5426

3 Arthur St. S. Elmira www.remaxsolidgold.biz

EMAIL: bert@remaxsolidgold.biz

FREE Market Evaluation NEW LISTING ELMIRA! Great 2 1/2 story on large mature lot (85’ x 143’) in prime location offers wrap around front porch, 4 bedrooms, two bathrooms (main bath 2008), finished attic (2011), formal living/dining rooms, family room/dinette w/gas fireplace, kitchen, main floor laundry, large double garage w/loft, new chimney (2009). Roof on House (2006) on garage (1012). MLS $424,900. Call Bert to view.

D L O S

$424,900

Your referrals are appreciated!

REALTY LTD., BROKERAGE INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

519.500.1865 (Direct)

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

$379,900 CORNER LOT

Elora – Freehold townhouse w/double garage situated on corner lot backing onto Elora Cataract Trailway. Large eat-in kitchen w/ceramic tile & abundant w/maple cupboards. Bright Living room w/hardwood floors, corner gas fireplace, 2 storey ceiling open to stairs & 2nd floor hallway. Fantastic master bedroom complete w/ensuite & lg walk in closet. Second floor laundry. Bright Finished basement w/recroom, bedroom & bathroom. 2300sqft + finished space. A must see home. Prepare to be impressed. MLS 1414406. Call Alli or Paul direct.

YOUR DREAM HOME IS HERE!

BROKER

Independently Owned and Operated

Drayton - This Verdone Model Home has elegant and luxurious features including skylights, tray ceilings and 2 french door walkouts from master and dinette. Ceramic and hardwood throughout the main floor. Kitchen with granite countertops and glass backsplash overlooking dinette and open to great room. 2 walk in closets in the Master Suite and 4 piece ensuite. This home is complete with den, 2nd bedroom, mudroom/main floor laundry and huge finished basement with fireplace. MLS1418095. Call Paul or Alli Direct.

dale@kellersellsrealestate.com

Remax Solid Gold Realty (II) Ltd., Brokerage

DIRECT: 519-572-2669

$425,900 STUNNING BUNGALOW

Dale R. Keller Sales Representative

Building in Drayton where homes are affordable

www.KellerSellsRealEstate.com | dale@kellersellsrealestate.com Palmerston | $169,000 NEW LISTING Charming updated century home in a quiet neighbourhood, with a large

CUSTOM QUALITY

fenced yard and stamped concrete patio to enjoy the outdoors. Inside is an eat in kitchen, a large open great room, office or den, gas fireplace, wood floors, and 3 bedrooms up. Loaded with character. MLS Call Dale

Single Family

Drayton Ridge | $359,900 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. For info on these or any other real estate enquiries, Call Dale

Starting from

$338,900

Visit our Model Home at 46 Bedell Drive, Drayton

Mon., Tues. & Wed. 1-7pm | Sat. & Sun. 1-4:30pm | or by appointment

226-818-5311 | verdonehomes.com

CLASSIFIED | 23

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

REAL ESTATE LISTINGS

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS We support Woolwich Community Services through

YEARS

SINCE 1913

Elmira Real Estate Services Independently Owned & Operated, Brokerage

2013

HAPPY VICTORIA DAY!

90 Earl Martin Dr., Unit 4, Elmira N3B 3L4

519-669-3192

Elmira@royallepage.ca

Bonnie Brubacher Monique Roes Shanna Rozema Robin Hansford-Currie

www.elmirahomes.ca

Broker of Record

Sales Representative

Broker

Sales Representative

â€œHelping you is what we doâ€?

Not open long weekend. Call for appt. | 168 Ridgeview Drive, Drayton

2046 sq.ft Executive Freehold Bungalow-Loft townhome $345,900 (group of 3 units), 60 days possession available, choose your interior decor, other plans & prices starting at $322,900, hardwood, ceramic, gas FP, gourmet kitchen. MLS

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING $629,900 NEAR DRAYTON 13 acres of privacy, large covered porch overlooks the spring fed pond, Custom Pioneer log home, cathedral ceiling to loft, 3 bdrms, main floor master, upgraded kitchen w/quartz counters, walkout finished basement. MLS

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CONTINUED FROM PG. 18 BACKYARD OASIS $999,000 ELMIRA Over 3/4 acres on edge of town,

NEW LISTING!

heated detached 43â€™x26â€™ shop, inground salt water pool, wrought iron fencing, hot tub & pergola! Muskoka rm w/gas fireplace & BBQ, stunning gourmet kitchen offers large island, granite & Viking appl.â€™s, 18 ceilings cathedral ceilings to upper loft. MLS

BEAUTIFULLY MAINTAINED $424,900 ELMIRA Move in and enjoy this 4 level backsplit, 3+ bdrms, 2 baths, newer

windows, hardwood flrs., open concept, walkout to deck & fenced yd., lower level fam rm w/gas FP, finished rec.rm. NEW MLS

RENTALS 36 MEMORIAL AVE. 2 BR. July 1st. Excellent for seniors, no pets. Non smoker. BBQ for tenants, Coin laundry. Only $850 + utilities and $25 for parking. Please call 519-744-3711. MOOREFIELD - ONE bedroom apartment, furnished, laundry facilities, parking, deck, electric heat, cable TV, no pets, adult building. References. $795.00 inclusive. First & Last. 519-638-3013.

GARAGE SALES

FINISHED TOP TO BOTTOM $409,900 ELMIRA Spotless 2 storey

with finished basement, double garage & driveway, open concept main floor includes large eat-in kitchen w/appliances, walkout to deck & fenced yd, gas FP, ensuite. MLS

60 ACRES BUSH & 40 ACRES WORKABLE $869,900 Only 15 mins from Harriston. Impressive Citadel Stone home, hardwood floors, master ensuite, stone fireplace, 9' ceilings in basement, detached shop, maple kitchen/island. MLS

PRIDE IN OWNERSHIP $327,000 DRAYTON Situated

on cul-de-sac, quiet neighbourhood, spacious eat-in kitchen w/island, walkout to deck & pergola, hardwood floors, rec rm. w/gas FP & wet bar, dbl garage & driveway, 3 bdrms, 3 baths incl. ensuite. MLS

Call for your FREE Market Evaluation.

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

R.W. THUR REAL ESTATE LTD.

519-669-2772

DOWNSIZED - TILLER, sewing machine, furniture, antiques and much more! Sat. May 24, 53 Snyder Ave. N. Elmira.

www.thurrealestate.com

LOCATION! Desirable Southwood Park. Close to walking trails and across from a park. Lovely oak kitchen with â€™bump outâ€™ dinette & walkout to concrete patio. Private asphalt driveway. Storage shed. Convenient side entry. 3 bedrooms. Spacious finished rec. room & washroom in lower level. MLS $279,900.

COURT LOCATION â€“ LOVELY WOODED AREA. Four bedroom home with updated bathrooms (3pc. ensuite). Main floor family room with fireplace and walkout to huge deck with 8 person spa. Spacious living room and formal dining room. Walkup from basement. Extra-long driveway. Fenced yard. A must see! MLS $449,900.

STUNNING CENTURY HOME â€“ loaded w/ character! Natural woodwork & staircase. Hdwd. floors. Pocket doors. Oak kitchen, formal D.R. Cozy L.R. w/gas fireplace. Main flr. fam. rm. w/custom built-ins. Two staircases to upper level. Private master suite w/ensuite bath & dressing area. Updated main bathrm. Floored attic. 200 amp. serv. Detached oversized garage. Private, professionally landscaped yard. Expect to be impressed! MLS $539,900.

LINWOOD â€“ custom built home is very â€˜uniqueâ€™. Backs to greenspace and overlooks farmland. Lovely â€˜Chervinâ€™ kitchen w/huge island. Cork floors on the main level. Nice views from every room w/oversized windows! Two master suites (one on the main level and one upstairs!) Separate mudroom. Main flr. laundry. Oversized dble. garage. ICF const. Partly fin. bsmt. w/in floor heating. MLS $639,900.

Productive Farmland 85 ACRES FOR SALE in Wellesley Township.

Workable land, recently tile-drained @ 30â€™ centres. Road frontage at front and back of farm. MLS Reduced to $1,400,000.

CALL FOR YOUR FREE MARKET EVALUATION

5 PHOEBE CRS. Sat. May 24. Antique Juice OMat and Ice OMat, dog crate, pet clippers etc., Hauser patio table & 2 chairs, lamps, childâ€™s rocker, small end tables, Hunter Douglas blinds, youth golf bag, misc. household items. ANTIQUES, COLLECTIBLES, CHURCH pew, bikes, window air conditioner, records, lamps, toys, lawn mowers +. 25 Duke St. Elmira. Fri. May 23 at noon, Sat. May 24, 8 a.m.

45 Arthur St. S., Elmira

BROKERAGE

21 NIGHTINGALE CRES. Elmira. May 24, 7:30 a.m. Queen boxspring & mattress. Kids/baby toys, clothes & books. Train table and a Whirlpool dryer.

DOWNSIZING SALE - Sat. May 24, 15 Maple St. access off of Riverside Dr, Elmira. 8 a.m. Variety of household items. FAMILY GARAGE SALE. Household items, furniture - livingroom, office, flooring, lamps, rocking chairs, buffet and various other items. Friday, May 16th 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, May 17th, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. regardless of bad weather. 3899 Manser Rd. Linwood.

& , / 2 1 , 2 ( 2 ) 2 1 5 , 6 7 : 6 , 2 3 $ ; (

, $ 2 1 1 ' ( $ 6 , 1 & ( ( ' '

GARAGE SALES FURNITURE, TOYS, BOOKS, NEW maternity and girls baby clothes. Sat. May 24, 7 a.m. 51 Poffenroth Path, Elmira. GARAGE SALE - Fri. May 16 & Sat. May 17, 8a.m. - 5 p.m. 3678 Manser Rd, Linwood. Something for everyone. GARAGE SALE - Sat. May 24, 117 Arthur St. S. Elmira, 9 a.m. Household & furniture. HOCKEY & BASEBALL Cards - Pages, hard covers. Some Canadian coins, etc. Sat. May 24, 8 a.m. 19 Snyder Ave. N. Elmira. 519-210-0282. MOVING SALE. FURNITURE, household items, games, toys, etc. 102 Kingfisher Dr., Elmira. Sat. May 24, 8 a.m. - 12. MULTI - FAMILY Garage Sale on May 15, 16, 17 at 5134 Ament Line, Linwood. Dishes, clothes, furniture etc. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. MULTI-FAMILY GARAGE SALE. 16 Kingfisher Dr., Elmira. May 17th, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. Rain date May 24th. Lots to choose from. MULTI- FAMILY GARAGE Sale. Sat. May 24, 2 Raising Mill Gate, Elmira. 7 am. - 1 p.m. Wii Gaming System, RO water system, Hockey equipment, Playbook, towels, Tupperware, Pub style table with 4+ chairs, dresser, home decor, girls clothes 7 - 16, ladies clothes medium 5x, games, housewares. MULTI-FAMILY GARAGE SALE - Sat. May 24, 1348 King St. N. St. Jacobs. 8 a.m. - 4. Furniture, tools, household, kids stuff and more. GARAGE SALE - Sat. May 24, 34 Duke St. Elmira. 7:30 a.m. - 12 noon. 2 Hoosier cupboards, secretary desk, riding lawn mower, other antiques and miscellaneous items.

FOR LEASE -

Small Business Location

$8.50/sq ft + CAM..Earl Martin Drive.1350+ sq ft main level w/ front office and back bay, 12' overhead door. M5 Industrial Zone, additional 2nd floor office space.Call for details. MLS. Bonnie Brubacher, Broker of Record, Royal LePage Elmira Real Estate Services, Independently Owned & Operated. 519-669-3192

SUDOKU SOLUTION

PERFECT FOR THE EMPTY NESTER OR YOUNG PROFESSIONAL

% + $ . 7 , 6

CROSSWORD PUZZLER

100

24 | LIVING HERE

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

LIVING HERE DOG TALES / GROOMED FOR BIGGER THINGS

Guiding a puppy’s foray into providing assistance to others Elmira’s Cheryl Bauman helps a Lab named Donut take her first steps toward becoming a dog guide WILL SLOAN My daughter’s 23, and surprisingly she didn’t want to be mothered anymore,” says Cheryl Bauman. “I wasn’t ready to stop being a mother … so I got a puppy.” The empty-nest parent who gets a dog is a story almost as old as parents and dogs, but Donut, Bauman’s eight-month-old Labrador, is no ordinary dog: she could soon become a guide for people with disabilities. Donut will hit the Kissing Bridge Trail on May 25 for the Purina Walk for Dog Guides, a Lions Foundation of Canada event to raise money for breeding and training. With one guide dog costing as much as $20,000 to train, the annual five-kilometre trek is a key fundraiser. Dog guides are used to support Canadians in six categories of disability: visually impaired, hard of hearing, children with autism, people with epilepsy, people with medical or physical disabilities, and people with type 1 diabetes. “It changes lives,” says

organizer Nancy Booth. “We have a woman at work who’s blind, and she had a dog guide, and it just makes her life so much easier. “We have a member of our club whose son is autistic,” she continues. “He got one of the first autistic dog guides, and it changed their whole family life. Husband and wife could not leave home and leave their son with a sitter. Now they have so much freedom and independence.” “They’ve found there’s more interaction,” adds Deb Cserhalmi, president of the Woolwich Community Lions. “People will come up and ask about the dog. The child opens up and starts talking to people.

Cheryl Bauman and Donut will hit the Kissing Bridge Trailway to support the Lions’ Purina Walk for Dog Guides on May 25. [WILL SLOAN / THE OBSERVER]

RYAN TERRY

CHEF’S TABLE/ RYAN TERRY, FLOW CATERING

Puttin’ a shrimp on the barbie to mark the summer season

The May long weekend is upon us and I think regardless of how the weather ends

You almost wouldn’t know he’s autistic.” This year, the Lions are introducing a parallel walk for children aged 4-13. The Children’s Walk for Dog Guides will include prizes for top fundraiser, largest and smallest dogs, best dressed, best trick, and oldest dogs. “It’s to make the kids aware of the program and how to approach a dog with the vest on,” says Cserhalmi. “We find that kids love to raise money for charities.” Donut is on track to be a diabetic detect dog, trained to spot a low blood pressure level in her owner. For now, she’s just another member of the Bauman household. “Basically, the first month was a little rough, just getting used to having no sleep because puppies wake up in the middle of the night,” laughs Bauman. “I have a job that allows dogs in the office, so Donut has her own little fan club at work. … Actually, she was better at work, because pretty much all she did was sleep under my desk all day. Then she’d come home up, we Canadians know that this weekend marks the start of summer. It’s time to take the cover off the BBQ, clean that ol’ thing up, and get cooking. Invite your friends over and have an old fashioned,

and be crazy-puppy.” Becoming involved in the dog guide charity was one of the reasons Bauman joined the Lions. “I was at a time in my life when I had time to do it,” says Bauman. “You have to go through a whole interview process, and you have to meet certain criteria, like a fenced backyard, a lifestyle that allows you to basically be with the dog all the time – they can’t be left more than three hours. “They came and interviewed me, and then they gave me this cute little puppy all bundled up in a white blanket and I got to take her home.” The dog guide program comes with high standards: approximately 65 per cent of dogs trained at the Breslau facility end up becoming guides; the others become breeding dogs, and can stay with their foster parents. Bauman admits she wouldn’t mind keeping Donut in the family. “We’re going to have to have a support group for Cheryl if she moves on,” laughs Cserhalmi. “I think my old dog would run away from home if I got a puppy right away,” says Bauman. The Purina Walk for Dog Guides starts Sunday, May 25, 9 a.m. at the Kissing Bridge Trail in Elmira (Arthur Street entrance). Registration begins at 8 a.m. (go to purinawalkfordogguides.com for more information). The Children’s Walk for Dog Guides is May 24, 1-3 p.m. at Gibson Park (to register, contact Cheryl at 519-669-0571). load-up-the-grill cookout. Whether you’re hosting or attending, this recipe is a winner and very easy to execute. It makes a great addition to any main CHEF’S TABLE | 26

Did You Know … Over time, particles accumulate in your power steering fluid? Old fluid can cause expensive damage to your power steering system. The fluid should be inspected and flushed when necessary. Talk to your service advisor to find out what is recommended for your vehicle. – Lewis

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, MAY 17, 2014 “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

Cell: 519.581.7868

Truck & Trailer Maintenance Cardlock Fuel Management

COMMERCIAL 24 CARDLOCK FUEL DEPOT HOUR M&G MILLWRIGHTS LTD. • Design • Installation • Custom Fabrication

MATERIAL HANDLING & PROCESSING SYSTEMS

519.669.5105 1540 FLORDALE ROAD P.O. BOX 247, ELMIRA

www.mgmill.com

MAY 20 ELECTRONIC BINGO UPSTAIRS AT the St. Clements Community Centre, 7 p.m. Sponsored by the Paradise & District Lions Club. For more information contact Lion Joe Brick at 519-699-4022.

MAY 21 SENIORS LUNCH CLUB AT noon (doors open at 11:30 a.m.). Wellesley Community Centre, 1000 Mapleleaf St., Wellesley. Cost $6. Join us for a noonday light lunch and fellowship. Call Community Care Concepts at 519-664-1900 or toll free: 1-855-664-1900 for more information.

MAY 22 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.

MAY 23 HUGS PROGRAM – 9:15-11:15 a.m. at Woolwich Community Health Centre, 10 Parkside Dr., St. Jacobs. Meet with other parents to discuss parenting and child health issues. Topic: Local library programs during the summer months. For more information, call Heidi at 519-664-3794, ext. 237.

E-MAIL: ads@woolwichobserver.com

back from Florida, when the unthinkable happened. They were struck by a tire which flew off on oncoming tanker. Tickets $10 for adults (13 yrs and over) $5 for 12 and under, under 2 yrs free. Each ticket includes hamburger/hot dog and dessert. For questions or to find out how you can help call Heather 519-669-5136. COME JOIN THE FUN at 1 p.m. at Gibson Park, First Street, Elmira. Woolwich Community Lions Club is hosting a Lions Foundation of Canada Purina Dog Guide walk just for the younger folk, their dogs (must be leashed) and a parent (each child needs to be accompanied by a parent responsible for the child and dog). All proceeds from this walk will help fund dog guide programs - canine vision, hearing ear, service dogs, seizure response, autism assistance and diabetic alert dog guides. Prizes, refreshments - more info 519 669-0571.

light lunch and fellowship. Call Community Care Concepts at 519-664-1900 for more information.

MAY 27 ELECTRONIC BINGO UPSTAIRS AT the St. Clements Community Centre, 7 p.m. Sponsored by the Paradise & District Lions Club. For more information contact Lion Joe Brick at 519-699-4022.

MAY 28 SENIORS COMMUNITY DINING AT noon (doors open at 11:30 a.m.). Linwood Community Centre, 5279 Ament Line, Linwood. Cost $11. Community Care Concepts invites you to join us for a hot noonday meal, fellowship and entertainment. Call 519-664-1900 or toll free: 1-855-664-1900 for more information.

LIONS FOUNDATION OF CANADA Purina Walk for Dog Guides hosted by Woolwich Community Lions Club, Kissing Bridge Trail, Arthur Street entrance, Elmira - 9 a.m. (you may wish to register and start walking at 8 a.m.) All proceeds will help fund dog guide programs - canine vision, hearing ear, service dogs, seizure response, autism assistance and diabetic alert dog guides. All ages, fitness levels with or without a dog are welcome to participate. Prizes - refreshments - More info please call 519 669-3645 or redstrokes77@yahoo.com.

THE ELMIRA LIBRARY WILL be hosting a PD Day Movie program from 2-3:45 p.m. The movie, Frozen (rated PG), will be showing. Each person of any age must have a ticket. Children 5 and under must be with an adult. Admission includes popcorn and a drink. Contact Elmira Branch Library at 519-669-5477 for information.

MAY 26

FUNDRAISER FOR GRAHAM SCROGGIE & Family. Open House & BBQ, dance & silent auction; 2-10 p.m., Bridgeport Rod & Gun Club, 1229 Beitz Rd., Breslau (Maryhill). Graham and Brenda were on their way

SENIORS LUNCH CLUB AT noon (doors open at 11:30 a.m.). Wellesley Community Centre, Woolwich Memorial Centre, 24 Snyder Ave. S., Elmira (community room). Cost $6. Join us for a noonday

MAY 31 ELMIRA KIWANIS PRIME RIB & Lobster Dinner. Lions Hall Elmira. Dinner only $45; dinner & dance $55. Dinner includes 1-1/2 lb lobster, large serving of prime rib with potato, vegetable & dessert. For tickets call: daytime 519-669-3658, evenings 519-669-1281. Tickets also available in Elmira at Read’s Decorating & No Frills.

245 Labrador Drive | Waterloo

519.886.2102 www.UniTwin.com

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

TOTAL HOME ENERGY SYSTEMS

Bus: 519.744.5433 Home: 519.747.4388

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

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL

Joy! Health Naturally! New to the Community? Do you have a new Baby? It’s time to call your Welcome Wagon Hostess.

YOUR OIL, PROPANE, NATURAL GAS AND AIR CONDITIONING EXPERTS

RRSPs, RESPs, RRIFs, LIFs and Annuities.

Elmira & Surrounding Area

Improve Digestive Health with Great Fibre and Tasty Apple Cinnamon Flavour! 519-698-0300

11 HENRY ST. - UNIT 9, ST. JACOBS

SHARON GINGRICH 519.291.6763

519.664.2008

psgingrich@hotmail.ca

Darlene Vandermey RNPA, CLWC

building relationships with God, one another and the world

SUNDAYS - 9:00 & 11:00AM WEDNESDAYS - 7:00PM 850 Sawmill Rd, Bloomingdale, ON N0B 1K0 (519) 744-7447 | kcf@kcf.org | www.kcf.org

www.kcf.org/academy

St. James Lutheran Church

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

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

Sunday, May 18 Today’s Kids Need Today’s Parents - On Purpose Join us For

33 Industrial Dr., Elmira 519.669.1591

www.myaimstore.com/joyhealthnaturally

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE

PLACES OF FAITH | A DIRECTORY OF LOCAL HOUSES OF WORSHIP

NURSERY PROVIDED

SUNDAY SCHOOL

Finding The Way Together 47 Arthur St., S. Elmira • 519-669-3153 www.thejunctionelmira.com

Service at 10:30am Rev. Paul Snow REACH WITH LOVE. TEACH THE TRUTH. SEND IN POWER. 290 Arthur St. South, Elmira • 519-669-3973 www.ElmiraAssembly.com (Across from Tim Horton’s)

HEARING ASSISTED

Sun., May 18th

Zion Mennonite Fellowship -The JunctionSunday School 9:30am Worship Service 10:45 am

11:00am

To God Be The Glory Discovering God Together

Jeff Martin

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

St. Paul’s 9:15am Sunday School Lutheran 10:30am Worship Service Pastor: Richard A. Frey Church Sharing the Message of Christ and His Love 27 Mill St., Elmira • 519-669-2593 www.stpaulselmira.ca

Emmanuel

Worship: 9:30am

Non-resistance and Peacemaking May 25, 9:30 am Mountain Anthems Choir Christian Education for all ages: 11:00am

SUNDAYS @ 10:30AM Services at Park Manor School

Sunday, May 18, 2014 Single Service at 11:00 AM Series: Everyday Life With Jesus Guest Speaker: Bob Cottrill

18 Mockingbird Dr., Elmira • 519-669-1459 www.elmiracommunity.org

200 Barnswallow Dr., Elmira • 519-669-1296 www.woodsidechurch.ca

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

REACH OUT.

SANYO CANADIAN

MACHINE WORKS INCORPORATED

VERMONT Castings

Suite 102, 40 Weber St. E., Kitchener

www.OBSERVERXTRA.com

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

SUBMIT AN EVENT The Events Calendar is reserved for Non-profit local community events that are offered free to the

NANCY KOEBEL

KEEP FAITH ALIVE, ADVERTISE HERE.

21 INDUSTRIAL DR. ELMIRA

519-669-2884

MAY 30

MAY 24

Check Us Out Online! woolwichkin.com

MAY 25

24-HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE

Elmira Mennonite Church

KIN KORNER

www.freybc.com

at Elmira Community Church

EVANGELICAL MISSIONARY CHURCH Worship Service

Sundays 10:45am

makingfaithlive.com

519.669.5030

9:45am Sunday School 11:00am Worship Service Hopping Thursday’s 7-8:30pm Programs for all ages 22 Florapine Rd., Floradale • 519-669-2816 www.floramc.org

26 | LIVING HERE

THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2014

STRANGE BUT TRUE / BILL & RICH SONES PH.D.

Where the coffee pot is located can change the dynamics of the workplace WEIRD NOTES

Q. When M.I.T. doctoral

candidate Ben Weber outfitted 80 bank operators with palm-size sensors to wear around their necks as they worked, he was clearly up to something important. Such as what?

A. The sensors tracked

who talked with whom and for how long, giving Weber and company executives hard numbers on how important social interactions are in employeesâ€™ happiness and productivity, says Adam Piore in â€œDiscoverâ€? magazine. Monitored as well were

workersâ€™ location, tone of voice and other telling details. Weber found that bankers belonging to small tight-knit groups that interacted frequently were not only happier but got more work done, shared ideas faster, and divvied up tasks more efficiently. He also found he could predict changes in bankersâ€™ job satisfaction with up to 60% accuracy. One critical tweak Weber uncovered related to coffee in the workplace. Better group cohesion can be promoted by better cross-talk among groups. â€œFor example, changing the numbers and locations of communal coffee pots can have unexpectedly profound effects: To get two groups talking to each

other, the ideal location for a coffee pot is between them; putting the java in the middle of a group, on the other hand, can help build internal cohesiveness.â€? Q. Fourteen â€œNew Scientistâ€? magazine staffers recently decided to participate in a study on the effect of giving up drinking for a full month. Ten of them abstained from alcohol and the other four served as the control group, not changing their drinking habits at all. What happened?

A. Although there were no significant changes among the four â€œnormalâ€? drinkers, the â€œdry-monthâ€? group showed improved metabolic numbers linked to the liver and overall health, says the magazine.

sugar and helped them lose weight. If someone had a health product that did all of that in one month, they would be raking it in.â€? The only negative was that the dry-month folks reported less social contact, the magazine says. Q. How much can police investigators tell about a suspect from genetic material left at the crime scene?

They also reported that sleep quality improved 10% and wakefulness 9.5%, ratings of concentration soared 18%, and work performance increased 17%. According to medical researchers at University College London Medical School (UCLMS), for some of the ten, their brief period of abstinence tended to carry over beyond the test period. Yet study leader Rajiv Jalan cautioned about potential bias in self reports. Adds UCLMS consultant Kevin Moore: â€œWhat you have is a pretty average group of British people who would not consider themselves heavy drinkers, yet stopping drinking for a month altered liver fat, cholesterol and blood

A. Predicting appearance

from DNA is a powerful tool for researchers, says Manfred Kayser, forensic molecular biologist of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, as told to Rachel Feltman in â€œScientific Americanâ€? magazine. â€œOne of our latest studies focused on stature. From a suspectâ€™s DNA, we were

able to predict extreme height, or those in the upper 3%, within accuracy 0.75 where 0.5 is random and 1 is a perfect indicator.â€? Eye and hair color and age are more like 0.9. â€œBut everything else weâ€™ve looked at is actually much lower than our height accuracy.â€? Already, genetic material can reveal some degree of skin color, but face shape -â€œthe holy grailâ€? -- remains in the distant future. So far only the first five genes have been identified out of the hundreds that likely affect the face.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Bill is a journalist, Rich holds a doctorate in physics. Together the brothers bring you â€œStrange But True.â€? Send your questions to strangetrue@compuserve.com.

OBSERVER CROSSWORD PUZZLER ACROSS 1. Sucks 5. Shipbuilderâ€™s caulking 10. Eyelashes 15. Aloha State 16. Little helper 18. Lady of Lisbon 19. Whopper topper 20. Away from the bow 22. Balloon filler 24. Unconscious mind 25. Coif 26. Terminate 27. Mauna ___ 28. Shed item 30. â€œ___ momentâ€? 32. A reason or cause 33. Loyal 35. Bar selections 37. Computer symbol 39. Equally 40. Personifies 41. Egg holder 43. Myalgic encephalo-

myelitis 44. Gold braid 46. Eye affliction 47. â€œ__ girlâ€? 48. Near 49. Romulus or Remus 52. Delight 53. Astatine 54. Fruits of a rose plant 55. Crystal meth, in slang 56. â€œCold oneâ€? 57. â€œ__ vs. themâ€? 58. Boxing match 59. Kind of column 60. Barley brew 61. Mucus 62. Canned 63. Magnum 65. Kind of tax 66. Refuses to 67. Leave 68. Burgle 70. June 6, 1944 72. Utah lily

DOWN 1. Devotion to a deity constituting a way to salvation in Hinduism 2. Inmates 3. You and I 4. Bed board 6. Promotion 7. Colourful ornamental carp 8. CTRL + Z 9. Massachusetts 10. Cobalt monoxide 11. Linear measure 12. Willingly 13. Carbonium, e.g. 14. Chilean range 17. Passionate 21. ___ lepton (physics particle) 23. Sci-fi killer 25. Decode 29. Send, as payment 31. Atomic number 41

32. â€œDonâ€™t bet ___!â€? 34. Banana oil, e.g. 36. Undertake, with â€œoutâ€? 38. Introduces an alternative 42. Affirmative vote 45. Filch 46. Camp sight 50. Decorated, as a cake 51. â€œWaking ___ Devineâ€? (1998 film) 52. Come together 53. Baseball bat wood 54. Monopolize 56. Blackout 57. Higher position 58. Exist 59. Stubborn as an â€œ__â€? 64. â€œWhatâ€™s gotten ___ you?â€? 65. Therefore 66. Charges 69. Poem of praise 71. â€œ__ guyâ€?

CHEFâ€™S TABLE: Something fresh for the season FROM | 24

course or even serve up nicely as an appetizer. Wherever you end up, we wish you a happy long weekend filled with good food and good company.

Chili-Herb Shrimp Skewers 2 tbsp olive oil 3 cloves garlic, crushed 2 tbsp ginger, chopped 2 small pieces of lemongrass, finely chopped 1 small chili pepper, diced (optional) 1/2 tsp fish sauce Juice from 2 limes 1/4 cup chopped mixed fresh mint and Thai basil 3-4lb of the biggest raw shrimp you can find, peeled and deveined Salt and pepper to taste

In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix well; place shrimp and let marinate for 2-4 hours in the refrigerator; In the meantime, soak your skewers in a water bath to prevent burning while grilling; Place 2-3 shrimp on a pre-soaked skewer. Grill or cook in an oven until pink (2-3 minutes), garnish with fresh lime wedges.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chef Ryan Terry owns FLOW Cafe & Catering in Elmira. More information can be found at his website www.flowcatering.ca

OPEN 24 HOURS | 7 DAYS A WEEK

DELIV SER ERY AVAILVICE Call fo ABLE rD

etails

315 Arthur St. S., Elmira | 519-669-5403

SUDOKU CHALLENGE

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, MAY 17, 2014

COMMUNITY GARAGE SALES FLORADALE

SATURDAY MAY 24

5 1

ELMIRA

25 9 11

8 12

2 Raising Mill Gate

27 William St.

26 Roberta St.

34 Duke St.

53 Snyder Ave. N.

102 Kingfisher

25 Duke St.

46 Knapp

133 Park Ave. W.

10. 7 South St. W 11. 97 Park Ave. W.

12. 15 Knapp Rd 13. 37 Centre St. 14. 30 High St.

15. 157 Killdeer Rd

16. 21 Nightingale Cres.

17. 51 Poffenroth Path 18. 19 Snyder Ave. N.

19. 26 Meadowlark Rd. 20. 20 College St 21. 5 Phoebe Crs. 22. 117 Arthur St. S. 23. 3 Peregrine Cres. 24. 27 Oakcliffe St 25. 31 Riverside Dr. E 26. 48 Crane Cres. 27. 15 Maple St.

ST. JACOBS

28. 138 Water St. St. Jacobs 29. 16 Water St. St. Jacobs 30. 1348 King St. St. Jacobs

ST. JACOBS 28 29 30

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28 | BACK PAGE

THE OBSERVER | MAY 17, 2014

In Waterloo Region, some of our water comes from the Grand River but most comes from groundwater aquifers. The Region of Waterloo is committed to protecting the quality and quantity of our drinking water sources. Help keep it clean. • Return unused and expired medications to your pharmacy. • Allow more rain to soak into the ground. • Properly store and dispose of chemicals, oils and paints. • Keep your well and septic system in good working order.

Included models: YT4218, YT4220, YT4220 SE, YT4622 SE, GT5024 and GT5426

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To learn more, contact: Region of Waterloo, Water Services Telephone: 519-575-4400; TTY: 519-575-4608 Email: wrp@regionofwaterloo.ca Website: www.regionofwaterloo.ca/water

6805, Line 86 West, Elmira, ON N3B 2Z6

Phone: 519-669-1561 1-800-665-1561 Visit us at our website:

www.stoltzsales.com Taxes, freight and PDI extra. Deposit = taxes. The promotion of $100 cash back is applicable on the purchase of a Columbia rider (models YT4218, YT4220, YT4220 SE, YT4622 SE, GT5024 and GT5426). On select models only. The promotion is valid until July 31st, 2014. ** Financing on approved credit. Financing over 12 months is valid until December 31st, 2014. Financing over 24 and 36 months are valid until December 31st, 2014 less down payment on models with a retail value of $1,700 and higher. Administration fees may apply. At participating Columbia dealers. Images may not reflect dealer inventory and/or specifications. Models subject to limited availability. Some conditions may apply. See details at your participating Columbia dealer.

BOSTON FERNS

15 ea. or $ 2 for 25 $

CEDAR MULCH

3 cu.ft. bag, natural brown

$ .50

9 or more

/bag

Also available in Black or red

Come & enjoy the relaxed shopping experience! See our selection of annuals, compost, bagged mulches & more!

Tropicals!

Petunias, Marigolds, Impatiens & More

1 $ 13.00 $ .15

4 pack

BASKET STUFFERS

$ .25

• palm trees • passion ﬂower • bougainvillea • hibiscus • mandevilla • topiary • fuchia trees & MORE!

/pot

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WOODL AWN R OAD

Shady Lane Map

ANNUALS

WE ALSO CARRY MULCHES, SOILS, COMPOST & VARIETY OF GARDEN SUPPLIES Lorne & Wilma Bauman 519.846.2972

RR#1 WEST MONTROSE, 6158 WEISENBERG RD.

Open Holiday

Monday

Open Mon. to Fri. 9am to 7pm Sat. 9am to 6pm • Closed Sundays