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Elmira, Ontario, Canada | observerxtra.com | Volume 27 | Issue 37

170

Business | 11

Kings focus on where young roster is headed Steve Kannon Observer Staff

IT WAS A QUIETER WEEKEND than expected, and quieter than Elmira Sugar Kings head coach Rob Collins would have liked.

Problems with the ice caused the postpone-

ment of the team’s game in Listowel last Friday, leaving the new squad idle for a couple of days before a rematch with the Stratford Warriors Sunday at the WMC, a 2-1 win for the visitors.

That was an improvement over the 4-1 margin a week earlier, but not

the ideal outcome. Still, Collins sees plenty of upside in the play of what is a very young Elmira team.

“It was a better game. I think we had every bit as much opportunity to win that as they did – they just came out on the upper end. There’s nothing to

be disappointed about, it was a competitive game.

We look forward to facing them again,” he said.

The Kings led Sunday’s game for a while, scoring the lone goal of the first period. That was a power-play marker from Madden MacDougall at 15:17, assisted by Jayden

would have been nice, but at this point in the season he’s still looking to get a full roster in place. There were a few more in the lineup than was the case the previous weekend.

“We had more of our guys, that’s for sure. Not quite a full lineup, but

Lammel and Brock Reinhart.

The 1-0 lead was relatively short-lived, however, at the Warriors tied it at 2:11 of the second period, the 1-1 score standing until a Stratford power-play goal at 4:18 of the third.

For Collins, the win

→ KINGS 6

Region reducing school-zone speeds, rolling out more cameras Leah Gerber

not be further reduced.

The adjusted speed limits will be in effect Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. from September to June.

By the end of September, the region will have 16 automated speed enforcement (ASE) sites up and running. These sites feature automatic cameras that take pictures of drivers’ license plates if they are driving over the posted speed limit in school zones. Fines issued are the same as those given out by police, says Bob Henderson, the region’s manager of transportation engineering.

The ASE program was

Observer Staff

The new school year at Conestogo PS included a new playground, the culmination of some $50,000 in fundraising by the parent council, which is holding a fun fair this evening (Thursday) at the school. Checking out the fruits of their labour are Sara MacNeill (principal), Karen Forsyth, Julianna Oitment, Meredith Misener (student), Katie Misener, Josie Hofbauer (student), Colleen Heinrichs, Ian Howlett, Denise Witmer (Woolwich Community Lions), Christine Sanchez, Agnes Lehtonen, Steph Forte (Optimist Club) and Addison Heinrichs Steve Kannon (student). Find the full story on page 6.

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Page Three

If it matters to you.

It matters to us.

News tips are always welcome.

Email: newsroom@woolwichobserver.com Online: observerxtra.com/tips

Cold case arrests

From the archives

Police this week made arrests linked to the death almost 14 years ago of 18-year-old Lucas Shortreed, who was struck by a car Oct. 10, 2008 while walking on Wellington Road 17 near Alma. On Sept. 21, OPP executed a search at an address on Mapleton Sideroad 21. David Halliburton, 55, and Anastasia Halliburton, 53, now face charges in connection to the incident.

Conestoga Meat Packers expects to add 170 new jobs at its Breslau plant thanks in part to $5.3 million from the province. The investment, which is expected to bring an increase in jobs over a seven-year term, is coming through Ontario’s Food and Beverage Growth Fund, a subsection of the Jobs and Prosperity Fund.

From the Sept. 21, 2017 edition of The Observer

Warmer weather expected to continue as fall gets underway Bill Atwood Observer Staff

AS AUTUMN MAKES ITS OFFICIAL arrival in Waterloo Region there is still plenty of summer left in the air, according to Environment Canada.

“One of the advantages of having a warmer-than-normal summer, and particularly in September ... September has been almost three degrees warmer than normal, and probably the most anomalously warm month of the entire summer,” said senior climatologist David Phillips.

“So it certainly was warmer but the dryness continues and I’m sure that is a concern to farmers. Although they’re into obviously finishing up the harvest season, but they want some moisture for planting winter wheat and some of the stuff they do around the farm.”

Although fall will be warmer than usual, it will not be overly hot, Phillips noted.

“We can’t expect July temperatures to come back in October. We can sometimes see temperatures above 30 degrees in September. We can sometimes see it before Thanksgiving but it is very rare. I think because the summer was warmer than normal and things haven’t cooled off dramatically, the ground still has a lot of heat, the rivers and the lakes have residual heat.

And so sometimes when you get those cool air

masses arriving in the fall, they’re tempered somewhat, they’re moderated because of the summer warmth that you’ve had that kind of stored heat,” he explained.

It won’t be “muscle shirts and tank tops,” weather but “comfortable weather,” Phillips added.

“It’s energy-free time: you don’t have to have your air conditioning on.

It’s really my favourite time of the year, and I think a lot of Ontarians like the fall. It’s just that you’d like it to go on until the end of December, but that’s not often the case,” he said.

Precipitation is expected to be near normal throughout the season.

“We need precipitation.

We always hope it doesn’t fall on weekends, and that it’s more 2 in the morning rather than 2 in the afternoon, but we can’t control that. However, we think precipitation will be kind of near normal.

The Americans are saying something similar; they’re calling it for a warmer and maybe a little drier than normal, but getting near normal as we move along into the fall,” Phillips said.

His take is shared by the forecast released last week by The Weather Network. For Ontario, it says warmer-than-normal temperatures are expected to dominate most of the fall season with extended periods of pleasant weather through October. However, the milder pattern could break down → WEATHER 28

The Wellesley Horticultural Society handed out junior gardener awards Monday evening.

Bill Atwood

Wellesley Horticultural Society fetes award winners Bill Atwood Observer Staff

KIDS IN WELLESLEY REAPED THE rewards of their hard work over the summer as the Wellesley Horticultural Society handed out its junior gardener awards this week.

“We had 20 junior gardeners this year, and for a year where we hadn’t had it for a few years, that’s great,” said society member Anne Koch.

“To be interested in gardening from a young age is beneficial because, first of all, they can assist their parents. To go from garden to table and to see where our food actually

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“And for the horticulture society to have junior gardeners is a bonus because it grows our membership too, because we have an aging population amongst the horticulture society.”

Winners for each age group included Atticus McCormick, (Grades 1-4,) Georgina McKormic (Grades 5-6) and Tamara Nenadov (Grades 7-10).

The junior gardeners have become more creative over the years the program has been running, Koch said.

“We had keen gardeners that were in higher grades that were planting things that they wanted for their

parents, like they would do pickled beets with their dad or something like that. That’s why [we didn’t] put parameters on what kind of garden they can have,” she said.

Having a garden teaches kids that their efforts pays off with results, Koch added.

“If you weed from when the plants are young, if you take the weeds away when they’re little then, you can keep the weeds away better. And then a year like this if you didn’t water, some of the things didn’t happen,” she said by way of example.

At the same meeting Monday night in Wellesley, society member Suzanne Culp was named

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“I’m very honoured that people nominated me to be the gardener of the year. I’ve gardened for a long time. Well, I’ve been gardening most of my adult life,” Culp said.

“We start early in the spring with growing little seeds, and we’re at it until November usually.”

Culp said she loved the enthusiasm of the kids who grew their own gardens “The best part is going to different homes like country homes and town homes seeing the families work together and creating this garden. It just makes you love living in Wellesley.”

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THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022

4 | COMMUNITY NEWS

A community under construction on the west side of Elmira is the kind of issue the Nith Valley EcoBoosters will discuss in a free webinar Oct. 4. It looks to equip people with the tools they need to engage in public decision-making to help shape their communities, say the organizers. Leah Gerber

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 | THE OBSERVER

COMMUNITY NEWS | 5

SPEED CAMERAS: Safety is the main goal of program, region maintains → FROM 1

introduced to the region this year.

“Based on our data collection and observations, we’ve seen an overall average reduction in driver speeds,” he said of the difference ASE has made in the region. “We’re anticipating sustained reductions going forward as drivers get more used to speed enforcement in school zones.”

According to the Highway Traffic Act, Automated Speed Enforcement is only permitted in community safety zones and school zones. Henderson says the region municipalities have opted to only allow them in school zones.

Henderson says his department is looking to expand ASE to eight more locations in 2023 and another eight in 2024, pending funding and council approval.

To people who think ASE represents too much surveillance, Henderson has a response.

“We’ve tried a number of avenues to get people to decrease their speed in school zones for the safety of kids, our most vulnerable citizens. We’ve tried

police enforcement, we’ve tried other traffic-calming measures, and there continues to be a number of people that feel it’s OK to speed through school zones and other places.

“I get calls and complaints from a number of people, parents of school children, people that live on these streets near schools, there continues to be speeding problems in these areas. Automated speed enforcement has been the most effective piece of technology, or the most effective countermeasure and reducing speed of drivers in these areas. So, this initiative is simply all about safety.”

To illustrate that speeding is still a problem in school zones, Henderson shared a data set from Katherine Street in Winterbourne near Foundation Christian School with a posted speed limit of 50 km/hour from Tuesday, May 14, 2019.

Throughout the day, 457 vehicles travelled 60 km per hour and over. This included one vehicle travelling over 120 km/h per hour at 8:30 that morning.

Another example from Thursday May 14, 2015

on Westmount Road near Laurentian Public School with a 50 km per hour posted speed limit showed 2,867 vehicles traveling 60 km per hour and over throughout the day.

According to a May report to the regional planning and works committee from the transportation and environmental services department, the automated speed enforcement program has reduced speed between two and 15 per cent depending on location, with an overall average in speed reduction of nine per cent, or 5 km/h.

“Rural school zones have in general seen more speed reductions,” the report stated.

Paula Pizarro is the principal of St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Elementary School, located on First Street in Elmira.

“The safety, security and wellbeing of our students, staff and visitors is always our top priority, and so we are always concerned about speeding, distracted driving (people on cell phones, etc.) and even incidences of road rage near

schools, and any efforts to reduce both are certainly welcome,” she said to The Observer via email.

When asked if speeding near her school is a problem, she said, “I have observed most drivers respect the posted speed limit,” and that, “I have not been approached by staff or parents regarding a concern with speeding near our school.”

The net fines collected from the automated speed enforcement program go to the region, says Henderson.

So far in 2022, the ASE program generated $100,000, said Henderson. He said that ASE cost $700,000 to install, and costs $150,000 a year to operate, he said. “So if someone wants to make the argument that this is a cash grab, it’s not, based on those numbers.”

The same May report to the planning and works committee stated that staff anticipate that ASE will generate about $200,000 in net revenue per year.

Henderson said the operating dollars go toward paying the vendor, called Redflex, that operates the machines, and

An automated speed enforcement site on Three Bridges Road outside Clearview parochial school. Leah Gerber

also paying into the operation of a ticket processing centre in Toronto that is jointly paid for by multiple municipalities, where provincial offences officers review and issue the tickets, among other costs.

In this year’s pilot

program with the adjusted speed limits during school hours, people will be ticketed in person via police officers. A list of the locations can be found online at the region’s website, www.regionofwaterloo. ca/en/resources/schoolzone-speed-limits.pdf.

My name is Eric Schwindt. Over the next few weeks I would like to introduce myself, and talk about our community and why I am running for Ward 2 Councillor in our Township.

We all appreciate living in our Township. I see the benefits of small community life but easy access to larger centres. As our community continues to grow, Council will be making decisions on issues that are important to us:

Planning proactively for balanced growth.

Protecting farmland.

Being financially responsible.

Providing key services and infrastructure that we value.

Woolwich is transitioning from being a relatively small, rural municipality to a mid-size, more urbanized community. Council needs to understand this transition and manage growth whilekeeping our small town community feel.

My commitment is to be engaged on the issues that matter to you. I will ask questions of staff, of delegations, and fellow councillors. I commit to being prepared on the issues at each meeting. I commit to attending St Jacobs BIA meetings and bringing the message back.

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THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022

6 | COMMUNITY NEWS

KINGS: Taking on the Golden Horseshoe → FROM 1

The new equipment adds to the playground offerings at Conestogo PS, with options for some of the older students.

that’s OK – there’s many games we’ll play this year without a full lineup, so they have to get used to that,” he said. “That was still an inexperienced group trying to find our footing, but we’re confident that we will. We might just need a little bit longer of a runway to get the plane off the ground.

“We’re confident. We like what we’ve got, so we get to take it one game at a time.”

The Kings are hoping to have returning player Liam Eveleigh, who’s been out with a broken wrist, back in the lineup as soon as this weekend.

The team is heading south for some out-of-conference action this weekend, taking on a pair of Golden Horseshoe Conference squads. First up are the defending Sutherland Cup champs, the St. Catharines Falcons, on Friday, followed by the Caledonia Corvairs on Sunday.

Both are strong teams, says Collins, noting they’ll be a challenge for a young team still looking for its first win of the season. It’s about getting some experience.

“I’m not putting too much weight on our record right now – it’s the inputs. Our staff’s just excited about what we’re seeing and about what we’ve got as far as a full team, because we haven’t seen our whole team play together yet.”

Steve Kannon

Conestogo PS hosts fun fair Thursday, celebrates new playground equipment Steve Kannon Observer Staff

THE FUN FAIR ON TONIGHT at Conestogo Public School will be raising money for something other than a new playground, $50,000 worth of equipment having just been installed after a fiveyear fundraising push.

Residents attending the Thursday night event will in fact have a chance to check out the fruits of that fundraising effort.

The playground was installed last month, just prior to the start of the school year, thanks in large part to some big-time support from the Optimist Club of Conestogo-Winter-

bourne and the Woolwich Community Lions that pushed the campaign over the top, said parent council member Colleen Heinrichs.

“Both those donations helped us get it (the playground) in this summer rather than having to wait another year,” she said.

The Optimists will be

out at the fun fair, firing up the barbecue in support of the fundraising event.

Along with the food offerings, the event provides the likes of minigolf, Plinko and other games, as well as a chance to check out the fire trucks thanks to an onsite visit by Conestogo firefighters.

The event gets under-

way at 5:45 p.m., marking its return after the pandemic-led interlude.

“We always seem to have a good turnout,” said Heinrichs, noting the fun fair helps raise money that allows the parents’ council to “meet the needs of the school” for supplies and projects not covered by the school board.

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ↆ P O L I C E

COMMUNITY NEWS | 7

R E P O R T

Waterloo Regional Police issue used car sale scam warning Police have issued a warning to the public to be wary of an emerging used car sale scam.

The scam involves fraudsters advertising vehicles for sale online.

The victim then meets with the fraudster and arrangements are made for the sale of the vehicle.

There is no used vehicle information packages (UVIP) provided by the purported seller, usually only a make-shift bill of

SEPTEMBER 10 3:00 AM | Officers with

the Wellington County OPP were conducting a Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) program on Sideroad 15, Mapleton Township.

Approximately 50 vehicles were checked and one driver, a 23-year-old Woolwich Township resident, received a threeday suspension after registering an “alert” on an approved screening device.

sale. The vehicle is sold “as-is” and the buyer is told they will need to have a safety inspection completed by a mechanic before registering the vehicle with the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), police say.

Once the victim has a safety inspection completed (and pays for required repairs), they attend the MTO to obtain license plates and a permit and discover that

the vehicle is stolen.

In one instance, a Kitchener resident arranged to purchase a used vehicle from a seller in the Greater Toronto Area.

After paying $5,000 for the vehicle, the victim received a bill of sale and a signed ownership slip.

The victim then further paid $1,500 to complete the repairs required to obtain a Safety Standards Certificate. When the victim attended the MTO

‘driving while under suspension.’ The defendant is scheduled to appear in the provincial offences court at a later date.

tigation. OPP are assisting the Office of the Chief Coroner with the investigation.

Regional Police received a report of a collision at the intersection of Hessen Strasse and Moser Young Road in Wellesley Township. The first vehicle was travelling west on Moser Young Road when the second motor vehicle, travelling south on Hessen Strassse, failed to yield to traffic from the stop sign. As a result of the investigation, a 60-year-old Waterloo woman was charged with ‘fail to yield to traffic on through highway.’

10:05 PM | Waterloo

Regional Police received a report that a vehicle had struck a deer while travelling on Katherine Street North in Woolwich Township.

SEPTEMBER 15 2:40 PM | Wellington

County OPP received a report that a person was lying along the Irvine River in the Elora Gorge. Emergency crews responded to the scene, where the male victim was pronounced dead. Police later identified the victim as a 67-year-old Waterloo resident. The cause of the death is still under inves-

ton County OPP were conducting a RIDE program on Marden Road, Guelph-Eramosa when officers determined that the driver of operating one of the stopped vehicle had a suspended license, and as a result of the investigation, a 24-year-old from Milton has been charged with

7:00 PM | Perth County

OPP are urging motorists not to veer for wildlife after a collision on Line 52 in the Township of Perth East. The investigation found that a vehi-

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mation Package (UVIP).

In Ontario, sellers must legally provide this package to a buyer when selling a pre-owned vehicle.

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SEPTEMBER 14

10:30 PM | Welling-

to transfer the vehicle into their name, the victim was informed that the vehicle was stolen. The victim contacted police who confirmed that the vehicle had previously been reported stolen from York Region.

To protect yourself and others from this scam, consider the following when purchasing a used vehicle: • Carefully review the Used Vehicle Infor-

Emergency crews responded to Conestogo Tuesday morning Bill Atwood after a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle.

cle was travelling on Line 52 when the 17-year-old driver swerved to avoid a collision with an animal.

The vehicle left the road, entered the ditch, and struck a tree. The driver did not suffer any injuries.

SEPTEMBER 17 10:20 AM | Waterloo

Regional Police received a report of a break and enter at a business in the area of Fountain Street North and Kossuth Road

in Woolwich Township.

The suspect(s) gained entry into a building and stole property. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 519-5709777, ext. 8255 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-2228477.

SEPTEMBER 19 1:00 AM | An 18-year-

old Wallenstein man is facing charges after his vehicle collided with two parked cars. A Perth

who want to close the sale as quickly as possible. Take time to think the purchase through, ask questions and consult with a professional.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about the used car sale scam to contact police by calling 519-570-9777 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477. Anonymous tips can also be submitted at www.waterloocrimestoppers.com.

County OPP officer was conducting stationary radar on Line 86 and Road 140 observed the vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed and driving dangerously. The officer also observed the vehicle lose control in a turn colliding with two stationary vehicles. No injuries were reported.

The driver was subsequently charged with ‘dangerous operation’ and ‘mischief - destroys or damaged property.’

The accused is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Stratford at a later date to answer to the charges.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or online at www.opp.ca/reporting.

Should you wish to remain anonymous you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477 (TIPS) or leave an anonymous online message at www.P3tips.

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THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022 | 8

Opinion

Verbatim

The Monitor

... it matters where you get your local news.

“Our present travails are just the beginning.

Putin, noting the success of his hybrid warfare strategy, will seek to destabilize the West further, perhaps by attempting to influence the outcome of the next US presidential election and/or strengthening ties with China, Iran, Belarus, Myanmar and other totalitarian states.”

Though foodservice remains one of Canada’s top employers, challenges filling labour vacancies leave the industry lagging behind other national industries when it comes to job recovery. In June 2022, there were 171,715 job vacancies in the foodservice industry, a threefold increase from pre-pandemic levels.

Connect: observerxtra.com/staff

Dr. Simon Bennett of the University of Leicester says Putin's war is the root cause of the cost-of-living crisis.

Restaurants Canada report

When local news matters ...

OBSERVER EDITORIAL

Region rolls out photo radar with little consideration

T

he region’s plan to expand its use of photo radar is symbolic of what ails government and society in general.

An overstatement for something that proponents will say protects children? Not at all.

Essentially, the introduction photo radar in school zones is a cash grab masquerading as a public relations exercise.

We know that by asking a simple question: what problem does this solve? There haven’t been scores of deaths, injuries and collisions in school zones, so that’s not the problem in question, despite what will be repeated appeals to safety.

Speeding? Sure, that occurs, though the region itself will acknowledge the calls it receives from the public are often due to perceptions of speeding, not the reality of the situation, as actual traffic monitoring typically reveals.

The region’s existing red-light cameras have been shown to cause collisions, though whether they deter drivers from running red lights – as opposed to beating yellows – is another matter. Certainly, other jurisdictions have shown the cameras to be flawed, open to corruption and, yes, simply money grabs.

The cameras are put in place because they exist. Once installed, the revenue they generate becomes part of the budgeting process, and must be maintained and increased to pour money into municipal coffers – hardly a reason to support them, unless you’re a bureaucrat looking for alternatives to extract more from the already overburdened public.

More widely, photo radar being deployed because the technology exists is symptomatic of a wider trend in which we’re sliding into a surveillance state because the tools are available, there are profits to be made, officials don’t care to protect civil rights and, frankly, many people are their own worst enemies.

The latter group will include those members of the public who’ll argue that there’s nothing to worry about if you don’t speed in school zones, for instance.

As with each effort to strip away privacy rights, there are those who will argue they’re fine with each new measure because they’ve got nothing to hide. Only those with something to hide – only criminals, for those of this misguided mindset – would argue against more surveillance.

Governments care not about the unethical drive to boost the state’s ability to collect, track, store, aggregate and use information that represents a huge power imbalance. A lack of control on what happens to the growing amount of information collected poses future risks as technology evolves, while today it threatens to circumvent laws that protect our rights in traditional encounters with authorities.

Despite regular government failures, nobody’s watching the watchers. With photo radar and red-light cameras, government joins the rank of the voyeurs.

It’s into that environment that red light cameras and schoolzone photo radar needs to be debated. We’re already suffering death by a thousand cuts, so we need to prevent one more, rolling each back until we’ve got a freer society. There is thus far no talk of such privacy and civil rights concerns, of course.

What reports thus far do talk about is increasing the size of the bureaucracy, which is always the primary concern of bureaucrats. No worries, though, as the costs will be covered by revenues from fines. Those rising staff costs will mean the fines have to worked into the budget – a quota system, as it were. And if people stop cooperating by slowing down in the school zones – the purported rationale for the invasive technology – the region can always add more cameras or make the radar more sensitive or simply boost taxes to pay for increased administrative costs that add no value to the public.

Simply axing the program and the associated staff aren’t on the, well, radar.

Well beyond the pale is the simplest solution of all: drop the idea before it becomes another burden on the wallets and rights of the public.

ANALYSIS OF CURRENT WORLD EVENTS

The hard right nears power in Italy

T

here’s an election in Italy next Sunday, almost exactly 100 years after Benito Mussolini’s ‘blackshirts’ marched on Rome and brought the first fascist dictator to power.

Giorgia Meloni, the hard-right populist politician who is likely to win that election, rejects any comparison with that ugly past.

The party she leads, Brothers of Italy, has some ‘nostalgic’ neo-fascists in its ranks, but she prefers to compare it to Britain’s post-Brexit Conservative Party or the US Republican Party as rebranded by Donald Trump.

She shares her hostility to the European Union with Britain’s Conservatives, her hatred of immigrants, gays and Muslims with the US Republicans, and her truculent nationalism with both those parties. She is also militantly Christian, and she dabbles in ‘Great Replacement’ paranoia. And just like them, she wages a non-stop culture war.

“There is no middle ground possible,” Meloni told a rally last June. “Today, the secular left and radical Islam are menacing our roots...Either say yes, or say no. Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobbies. Yes to the universality of the Cross, no to Islamist violence. Yes to secure borders, no to mass immigration.”

GWYNNE DYER

Global Outlook on World Affairs

The brutal simplicity of these slogans works just as well with lower-income, poorly educated Italians as it does with the same sort of people in ‘heartland’ America or ‘red wall’ Britain.

The goal is to distract them from the fact that their populist heroes really govern in favour of the rich (which explains why those leaders must be shameless liars).

Giorgia Meloni lies too, but when you compare her to populist peers like Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, and Donald Trump in the United States, she actually doesn’t seem that bad.

Like them, she has no permanent political principles, just a bundle of cynical techniques for attracting distressed and desperate voters. But she needed to shift towards the centre ground to build her Brothers of Italy party up from four per cent of the vote in the 2018 election to a predicted 25 per cent this time – so that’s what she did.

She now claims to support both the European Union and the NATO alliance. Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she avoided the pro-Putin

stance that was common on the radical right in both Europe and the United States. With the fragile Italian economy teetering on the brink of recession, she is promising good behaviour to Brussels.

So not a complete disaster, then. Continued access to the EU’s COVID recovery fund, which has promised Italy 191 billion euros over the next six years, should keep Meloni from straying too far from orthodox economics. If the EU withholds those funds, her prospects of remaining in power would be slim.

Brothers of Italy will probably be the largest Italian party after this election, but with only 25-30 per cent of the vote she will not be able to govern alone.

The problem is that the two parties she will need to make a coalition with, Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia! (Go Italy!) and Matteo Salvini’s Lega (The League), are direct rivals of her own party.

Berlusconi at 85 is still a big political player thanks to his huge media empire. Salvini is willing to bring any coalition down if it improves his chances of being prime minister in a different one. Both men will be trying to claw back the popular support that Meloni’s Brothers of Italy has stolen from them, so →DYER 10

Thursday, September 22, 2022 | THE OBSERVER

OPINION | 9

State of beer industry reflects pandemic woes, inflation and nanny-state taxes

T

he summer of 2022 is now in the books. It was in some ways a return to normal after two years of pandemic-led reductions in the likes of festivals, concerts and the like.

The tourism and hospitality industries aren’t celebrating just yet, as shifts in our behaviour continue to dog their sectors. The impact can be seen among the country’s brewers, for instance.

Beer Canada, which represents the makers of some 90 per cent of domestic beer sold in the country, report sales were down 7.3 per cent from last year, which wasn’t exactly a benchmark period. The downward trend that started with the pandemic in 2020 marched on.

During that first year of COVID-19 response, draught beer sales declined by 55 per cent, with total overall beer sales declining by 1.4 per cent, in large part because of the shutdowns of restaurants and bars.

Beer industry sales volume declines accelerated in 2021, with overall sales falling a further 1.9 per cent.

Now, inflation is hitting the sector particularly hard, driving up the cost of production while prompting consumers to make different choices.

It’s a phenomenon addressed in a recent opinion piece by Dalhousie University food policy professor Sylvain Charlebois, who notes sales of beer for home consumption have returned to pre-pandemic levels, but beer consumed at restaurants and events remains 35 to 40 per cent lower than before the COVID-19 crisis.

“Over the last three years or so, many of us turned instead to wine, spirits and other products. Seltzer and ready-to-drink alternatives are also becoming more

STEVE KANNON

Editor's Point of View

popular. And Canada went from being an on-premises beer-drinking country to a more at-home wine-andspirits-drinking market,” he writes.

“Many of us have tried new products and experimented with new tastes and brands. These experiences have drawn many away from beer.

“The other key factor is inflation. Alcohol is discretionary; many consumers are cutting expenses to cope with skyrocketing food prices. Beer prices have also risen by 10 to 15 per cent in the last 12 months and will likely rise more next year.”

Government taxes only add to the cost burdens.

Automatic annual tax

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DONNA RUDY

Sales Manager 519-669-5790 x104

LEAH GERBER

Reporter 519-669-5790 x101

PATRICK MERLIHAN

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sal since the pandemic began. To no avail.

The automatic escalator that kicks in every April is another policy that fills government coffers without regard for the impact on the economy, people’s jobs or other detrimental effects.

In Ontario, where beer sales are down 3.3 per cent in the past year, there’s little relief in sight.

Beer pricing, like that of wine and spirits, is part of the ongoing effort to separate Ontarians from their money.

That’s the reason there’s ongoing contempt for the government in general and, specifically, with a longstanding dissatisfaction with the handling of alcohol sales in the province, from absurd pricing to rigged sales restrictions.

Much of the ire is simply a reflection of our inherent

dissatisfaction with taxes and paternalistic liquor laws, coupled with our distrust of pretty much anything overseen by bureaucrats and politicians. Tax increases are seen as another reason to privatize the operation, stripping government of its outdated controls of alcohol.

Yes, the LCBO stores themselves have come a long way over the years.

They’re much nicer places to shop, especially compared with the Beer Store, that even more antiquated government-sanctioned cartel selling us our suds. The hours have been extended, but there’s nothing like the convenience found in other jurisdictions. Nor the selection. And, most gallingly given that the LCBO is the world’s largest buyer of spirits, nothing like the

With the change of season comes a reminder that we're not back to normal just yet.

Founded in 1996.

JOE MERLIHAN

increases such as the one Ottawa tacked on five years ago make matters worse. Annual automatic increases in federal excise duty is making things tougher for brewers and the hospitality industry in general, with more than $100 million in estimated additional costs for industry and consumers since the escalator was added in 2017.

“With this year’s CPI, the deferral portion of taxes on beer could rise by up to seven per cent in April 2023, which would be a record. Some provinces have expressed sympathy by not raising their tax portion on alcohol products, but not the federal government – at least not yet,” Charlebois writes.

The beer industry has taken issue with that tax from the start, but has been especially keen for a rever-

STEVE KANNON

Editor 519-669-5790 x103

CASSANDRA MERLIHAN

Production Manager 519-669-5790 x109

BILL ATWOOD

Reporter 519-669-5790 x102

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much better prices found elsewhere.

If the LCBO really wants to be accepted, cut the prices significantly, offer a much better selection and offer more convenience.

The province, of course, has no interest in any of that.

With alcohol, as with cigarettes, governments suffer from multiple personality disorder. On the one hand, they’re addicted to the revenues, on the other they want to discourage consumption.

The nanny state prevails, but they do love the money.

(There’s a similar issue with gasoline, electricity and water, where government preach conservation, but decry the losses when we actually cut back.)

The nanny state is never more apparent when it comes to booze. Ontarians apparently would become hardened alcoholics without minimum pricing and fettered access. All we have to do is look at the problems in nearby provinces and states to see that. Oh, wait, that’s not what you’ll find. And the government doesn’t want you to look elsewhere, lest you become even more upset about the poor state of things here.

Premier Doug Ford tapped into that ire with his buck-a-beer push and populist booze-related stances before first coming to power in 2018.

He followed up with some tweaks to the archaic beer-selling rules, but the system has remained largely unchanged.

Rolling back the taxes – and commensurate spending, part of muchneeded overall – would help the brewing industry and, more widely, hospitality and tourism sectors that have been among the hardest hit since the pandemic befell us all.

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THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022

10 | O P I N I O N

It’s buyer beware ... but only if you’re caught

W The Nintendo Company responsible for Super Mario Bros and gaming systems originally produced playing cards.

A New York professional baseball team inspired the name for an NBA team.

“American Flag,” “Yankee Spruce”, “White Mountain”, “Biggest and Best” are scents of candles produced by a famous candle company. ↆ LAST WEEK: Truth: She was the longest reigning monarch, ever. Queen Elizabeth’s reign ended September 8, 2022, when she passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle, Scotland.

Truth: Her actual birthday was April 21 and her official birthday was held on a Saturday in June when the weather is better.

Lie: She loved corgis, not Scottish Terriers. Her corgi mated with a dachshund belonging to her sister, Princess Margaret, creating the “dorgi."

You can play online by reading any online post at www.observerxtra. com. Vote for the lie and be notified if you are correct immediately.

Write a letter to the editor and submit it online today. observerxtra.com/letters

Crosswalk issue an easy decision To the Editor, How absurd in this day and age to not want to allow a rainbow crosswalk in Elmira, never mind the remarks made against the LGBTQ society by a local politician.

I am sure his remarks have made a lot of people think twice about investing in a bigoted society where all individuals are not welcome.

The Mennonites were also a group that was persecuted for their religious beliefs, and had to flee Europe to escape the hatred. Should this not have been enough to have made the politician welcome all groups, including LGBTQ. Let us choose not go down the road that the United States has chosen for themselves.

Elze Bredenkamp ELMIRA

We could use more attention to the Golden Rule To the Editor, I heard Patrick Merlihan again on CBC radio and I was really disappointed that his proposition for the rainbow crosswalk was rejected.

It’s sad that leaders could present that negative point of view, but I am not surprised. None of my friends have such white-supremacist ideas, not narrow-minded, as are people who think that anyone unlike the norm (them) is to be excluded.

If we don’t do something, people are going to leave it as is and start thinking about Poilievre, and the federal election. More of the same obsolete self-righteousness.

This subject should not be dropped. If so, the federal election candidates will be likely to attack the LGBTQ2S people who will

hen I started hunting, there was a commonly held belief that was often repeated. It said, “Beware the hunter with one gun. For he knows how to use it.”

The phrase was meant to suggest that if you had only one firearm, you would be very familiar with its idiosyncrasies, operation, how it shot and handled. And since you only used that gun, you would grow to be very fast and more accurate with it in the field.

On the flipside, that theory also indicated that if you had more than one firearm, your brain would be bogged down with all the complexities of each, and you wouldn’t be as good as you could be with any of them.

In hindsight, I suspect this phrase was invented by spouses who thought that the money spent on one gun was enough. I also believe the archery industry was in on it.

STEVE GALEA

Not-So-Great Outdoorsman

Regardless, for the longest time, this phrase worked on the most gullible members of the hunting community. Or at least that was my excuse.

My first hunting gun was a pump shotgun that I used for everything from snipe to bear hunting. And, yes, that was my only gun. For years in fact.

But whether any game animal thought they needed to beware of me is questionable. I can say with certainty, however, that the clay pigeons of the day certainly did not. And many ducks flew over me with more confidence than I would have preferred.

Luckily, a good friend gave me a good reason to buy a second hunting firearm.

For he owned just one gun too and was argu-

ably the worst shot in the world. His shooting led me to believe the phrase was actually meant to be, “Beware the hunter with one gun, unless you are standing right in front of his intended target. “ Time with him convinced me to forget about limiting myself to one gun.

And, for this, the gun industry owes him a huge debt of gratitude.

Soon after, I purchased a bolt-action .22. This was followed by a deer rifle for heavy cover and then a long-range deer rifle for use across open fields and then a bear and moose rifle followed by an overand-under 20 gauge and lever-action and semi-auto .22, a .222, a 5 mm, a semiauto 12 gauge, a couple of very expensive air rifles and so on.

It turned out none of these things diminished my level of competency in the least. None of them

increased it either.

But they did make me a better hunter in unexpected ways.

For instance, I got very good at sneaking firearms into my house. And this sort of stealth also comes in handy in the field. Heck, I’m pretty sure I could tip-toe through a herd of skittish deer, if I pretended I was carrying a new and expensive shotgun in the house.

I’d also like to say that the freedom to buy more firearms allowed me to contribute to the economy on a scale I never dreamed of before. You’re welcome. Because of me, several firearms industry salespeople’s kids went to university.

There are other advantages of owning several firearms too. The more firearms you have, the less you use each, which makes easier to sell as almost new, when your spouse finds out about them.

DYER: Far right politicians unlikely to rock too many boats off the hop →FROM 8

there will be tears before bedtime.

In normal times, their chosen tactic would be to undermine Meloni’s party by pushing for harsher policies on immigration and bigger conflicts with the EU. With the Russian energy blockade promising a hard time for Europe

economically this winter, however, the obvious strategy for far-right parties is to advocate a softer line on Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Both men have been Putin fanboys in the past. Berlusconi sees the Russian dictator as a personal friend, and Salvini called him “the best statesman on Earth” three

years ago. Now Salvini soft-pedals his admiration for Putin, but he demands an end to the sanctions against Russia because they are allegedly hurting Italy more than Russia.

Meloni can’t afford to play that game, and the expected post-election coalition of far-right parties is unlikely to last

very long. She has sufficiently detoxified herself that she could lead a coalition with other parties instead, and that may well happen.

Post-fascist parties in power in Italy are still bad news, but the damage to the European Union and the NATO alliance can probably be contained.

and provided the opportunity to grow into the person they were born to be.

It takes a community to raise a child, and I ask Woolwich this: “What type of team do you want to be when you grow up?”

If you’re not on a diverse and inclusive team, you are going to lose. If you are going to continue having religious signs around the country-side promoting one group while marginalizing others, you are going to lose.

Show you care: paint the rainbow crosswalk ...and feel free to send me the bill.

I’ll happily pay for it.

Residents pay for the construction of these roads, the maintenance of the roads, the snowplowing, the repair, the painting of traffic lines, the painting of crosswalk lines from one side of the road to another, and so forth.

We, the people, pay our taxes every year for these services.

This is an inclusive act of the residents for the common good of creating a safe road to drive on and a safe area to cross the road.

This is a community working together, Public property that is cared for by the public must only be used for the public as a whole. To use any part of this property for group messages or private messages will be a divisive situation for our community.

Let’s allow the roads to be roads and the crosswalks to be crosswalks, to serve us as they have for many years

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

suffer more for doing no harm. It needs to be said that Elmira is too small to fear people who are different. Gay people don’t murder or get murdered here, nor do they get young people to change gender.

I have many friends who are what those letters mean, and they are kind, gentle, very intelligent, and talented. They sometimes come to my house and stay overnight. We laugh and laugh.

This is 2022, not the Middle Ages. Some of us are not what was expected.

We don’t get a choice of gender when we are born.

People with deficiencies have to live with something that can’t be remedied. Be it blindness or missing legs, neither should be laughed at, hurt, or shunned.

No one wants to live with the hate of others. I think a little more Golden Rule should be remembered in Elmira.

Shannon Purves-Smith ELMIRA

Diversity is part of a winning team To the Editor, I learned in Woolwich Minor Hockey from some truly amazing coaches, teammates and competitors what it meant to be part of a team – how we all had different skills, attitudes, but most importantly, how much better we were working together uniting our strengths.

As I’ve grown – and I was no saint – I’ve come to realize how important these lessons are in my life, and how important it is to recognize our different members, including 2SLGBQTI+, for their strengths and their incredible gifts that they can offer the rest of the community.

We only need to recognize and learn from them.

I am a proud parent of a transgender child. All our children deserve to be treated respectfully, recognized, appreciated

Miles Schwindt.

WATERLOO

Keep roads and crosswalks as they’ve been To the Editor, The roads and streets in Woolwich Township are public property.

Judith Martin ST. JACOBS

THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022 | 11

Business

Leading the way.

Shining a light on local enterprise, stoking the economic engines.

Email: newsroom@woolwichobserver.com New Business: observerxtra.com/enterprise

Investing in housing

Oktoberfest tweaks

Kindred Credit Union and Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) have announced the upcoming launch of the Affordable Housing Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC). The deposits contribute to support lending for long-term, owned or rented permanent affordable housing for residents of Waterloo Region.

For the first time in the 53-year history of Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest, the search for the next Oktoberfest ambassador will take place during the festival and be announced after the it has ended. Along with the shift in application deadlines, the program has expanded to persons of any gender identity between the ages of 19-29 in the Region of Waterloo (within 40km).

New school year, but bus companies face familiar problem Industry often sees higher turnover rates; a tight job market has made the issue more pressing Leah Gerber Observer Staff

Staff in the bus driving industry are continuing to deal with a chronic shortage of school bus drivers this year due to a combination of boomers retiring, higher turnover rates, and an ongoing general worker shortage. Staff with the Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region say across the region, there are over 25 routes needing drivers, plus more Leah Gerber drivers are needed to function as spares.

STAFF IN THE SCHOOL BUS industry are continuing to deal with a chronic shortage of drivers.

Benoit Bourgault is the general manager of the Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region, which organizes the bus driving needs for the two English-speaking school boards in the region.

Across the region, Bourgault says there are some 25 routes in need of drivers. That’s about five per cent of the 470 routes.

And besides needing to have all the routes covered, the organization also aims to have an additional 10 per cent capacity of spare drivers to cover absences when others get sick or need to take time off.

Les Cross, regional manager of Student Transportation Canada, the parent company of Elliott Coach Lines, says the industry has faced driver shortages for a few years now. He doesn’t see the situation getting better any time soon due to the number of baby boomers who are leaving the job market

altogether.

“It has been a struggle. Not just here, everywhere – pretty much across North America.

You can find stories about driver shortages pretty much everywhere. And, really, employee shortages in every industry,” he said.

“The school bus industry is one where it’s a part-time job. For two months in the summer, drivers are laid off and either collecting EI or looking for other jobs. It’s a permanent part-time job that most returned to, but with the changes in cost of living, some people are needing full-time work, so they’re leaving the part-time jobs to take full-time jobs as they come available.”

Cross says the company could use 20 or 25 more drivers to position the operation where he’d like it to be in terms of staff numbers. That includes covering five or six open routes, and having spare drivers to cover absences.

To tackle the problem, Cross says efforts to recruit drivers have been massive. “We’ve never trained as many people as → BUS DRIVERS 12

Keep a watchful eye on Thanksgiving turkey supplies Avian flu has reappeared in Canada, and poultry producers on edge. If you’re counting on serving turkey for Thanksgiving, you should be OK, but it’s probably wise to get a bird sooner than later, given the possibility of pricing rising further and supplies get scarce.

Avian flu is typically spread by migrating birds and flock-

OWEN ROBERTS

Food For Thought

to-flock contact. It pummelled the poultry industry a few years ago, and seeing rising cases again worldwide, in February the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) restricted poultry

product imports from troubled regions.

Once it takes hold in closely confined flocks, avian flu spreads rapidly. As of Monday, it had infected more than 2.3 million birds in Canada, mostly in Alberta (one million).

Ontario, with 560,000 cases, is the second most-infected province with avian flu.

Infected birds can get as sick as people with a bad case of human flu. Whole flocks are taken out of production and destroyed. That sounds extreme, but it’s a necessary measure to try to keep the disease in check.

The CFIA says there’s no evidence that avian flu can be transmitted to humans through cooked poultry or eggs. That’s

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good, but on the farm it’s a different story. The United States Department of Agriculture says the virus has infected humans who inhale it – typically, producers or handlers – and it can make them very sick.

In the US, the problem is much worse. There, some 44 million birds. Including 4.5 → ROBERTS 12

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S OS Phy si othe rapy ( E lmi ra ) 3 Wy a t t S t . E. , S u ite 2 El mira , O N N 3 B 2 H 4 Tel ( 5 1 9 ) 6 6 9 - 1 2 1 2

THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022

12 | B U S I N E S S

ROBERTS: Avian flu is making life more difficult for producers, but impact on consumers remains to be seen → FROM 11

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million turkeys, have been destroyed.

Worse, officials have seen it jump species – this spring, the avian flu virus was found in a dead bottlenose dolphin in Florida. A similar finding had occurred earlier in Sweden. Previously, avian flu was not suspected of affecting anything other than birds.

So, what to do? First off, know that regulatory officials are on top of this.

Meat or meat by-products from infected birds doesn’t enter the food chain… which is a bless-

Canagagigue Creek Bridge Improvements on Church Street East, Elmira We want your feedback Share your comments with us as we plan bridge improvements on Church Street East in Elmira.

This virtual public consultation opportunity is open from September 12–30, 2022 at: Engagewr.ca/church-street-east

Canagagigue Creek Bridge wall designs We are making improvements to the Canagagigue Creek Bridge as part of the Church Street East reconstruction Scheduled for 2023.

We have developed two design concepts for the replacement of the parapet wall and barrier systems (the walls along the sides of the bridge) for the Canagagigue Creek Bridge on Church Street East.

We’d like you to share your thoughts on these two design concepts through the survey on the Engage project page.

Public consultation Visit our Church Street East Reconstruction project page at Engagewr.ca/church-street-east and complete the online survey by September 30, 2022. Project documents, including frequently asked questions and project background information are also available.

Please email or call us if you have any additional questions about the project: Boris Latkovic, P.Eng, PMP Region Project Manager Region of Waterloo 150 Frederick Street, 6th Floor Kitchener, ON N2G 4J3 Telephone: 226-750-8328 blatkovic@regionofwaterloo.ca All comments and information received from individuals, stakeholder groups, and agencies regarding this project are collected to assist the Region of Waterloo in making a decision. Under the “Municipal Act”, personal information such as name, address, telephone number and property location that may be included in a submission becomes part of the public record.

ters. Producers didn’t need any more stress this fall, on top of skyrocketing feed and energy costs and chronic labour shortages they’re experiencing.

So while you’re shopping for your Thanksgiving turkey, consider getting your Christmas turkey at the same time and freezing it. A commodity tracker in the US says because of avian flu, turkeys in cold storage are at “alarmingly low” levels. Don’t be surprised if the same thing happens in Canada, considering the disease is running amok.

BUS DRIVERS: Filling vacancies is an extra challenge given the part-time nature of the job, say employers → FROM 11

Public Consultation

ing, considering the virus can stay alive even when frozen.

As well, it’s killed by cooking at more than 165 degrees F. I’m not sure anyone cooks poultry at that low of an oven temperature. So even in just-in-case scenarios, you and your family should be fine if you handle and cook poultry like you usually do.

Finally, spare a thought for the birds, and for the producers, and for the professionals like veterinarians and mental health workers who help them through potential disas-

we have this summer.”

He says his company covers the cost of training and offers signing bonuses to the drivers.

He also recognizes that bus driving is a stepping-stone job for many new Canadians, so he tries to get more people in the door to be trained, increase the number of trainers available and accept a higher turnover rate that comes with bus driving being seen as a temporary job.

Even with the extra effort to recruit and train more drivers, it’s still not enough. There are still routes without drivers, and they don’t have any extra drivers to cover absences, he said.

Cross and his team cover the cost of training, and provide a sign-on bonus after three months’ work. Cross says the bonus is arranged like this to deter people from gaining their B license and then quickly leaving to take a truck-driving job. “Which, unfortunately, does happen.”

Training takes about 50 hours. That includes the training people need to earn their B-class driver’s license to be able to drive a bus. Drivers also need to pass medical and vulnerable-sector screenings.

Elliot Coach Lines is paid by the Ministry of Education through the school boards, said Cross.

“So we’re a bit of a captive group on the way our ability to increase wages.

Certainly school boards have stepped up and helped in the last couple of years – they recognize that this is an industry problem and we’re working together to find ways

to attract people into the industry,” he said.

But the bigger problem is the nature of bus driving. It’s not full-time work, or year-round and it includes early mornings.

“It’s a difficult job. It’s high responsibility. It’s not long hours. It’s not full-time. It’s not around through the year, it’s only 187 days of the year. So it is that much more difficult to recruit and retain drivers.

“It fits in at one part of your life. Whether it’s early retirement, whether it’s when you have young children, whether it’s you have other employment or projects going on. So it has always been difficult to recruit and retain school bus drivers. In a tight labour market that we face right now, it just compounds the challenge.”

Cross says the turnover rate at Elliot Coach Lines used to be about 10 pe rcent each year, “and that’s now approaching 20, 25 per cent.”

Will changes need to be made to how bus driving is organized?

“Well, we are seeing that already in some areas where they are changing bell times, so that it becomes a bit more of a full-time job. Right now we pay a minimum of four hours a day in wages, it doesn’t matter how long the route is. If it’s three hours, they still get paid for four. And if it’s more than four, they get paid for all the time they work,” he explained.

“There has been discussion around the industry of moving it to a six-hour day, something like that, where there’s just more wages avail-

Labour market has made filling vacancies more difficult.

able. But again, it’s got to be funded somehow.

Through the Ministry of Education, they obviously are the sole provider of the revenue that is available for drivers and bus companies. So there is work going on behind the scenes to try and get that kind of acknowledgement and support, but it’s tough.

“The one thing about school bus driving, it is a job with real purpose – it’s fulfilling to be part of the education system, to meet these kids every day, and be a part of their lives. The families depend on them.”

Finally, Cross wants parents and other drivers on the road to know that they also play a role in this. “[Bus driving] is a tough job. The drivers that are out there need their support, patience, and kindness. So if you have a regular driver, you should be very grateful and appreciative and supportive of those folks, especially at the beginning of school. The routes are all new to a lot of people and they run a little late and having a parent angry with a driver for road construction issues is not helpful.”

Thursday, September 22, 2022 | THE OBSERVER

B U S I N E S S | 13

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THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022 | 14

Rural Connections

A harvest of local farming innovation.

Connect to the land.

Phone: 519-669-5790 ext 103 Tips: observerxtra.com/tips

CASA meets in Hamilton

Telehealth line goes live

The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) will hold its 27th annual conference “Safety is our Promise” and annual general meeting in Hamilton from Oct. 3- 6. Attendees will hear from experts in sustainability in two sessions, one focusing on how health and safety impacts sustainability at the industry level and the other, on how sustainability on individual farms often starts with the self.

A telehealth line that makes mental wellness support available to all Ontario farmers is now live. It is part of the Farmer Wellness Initiative, which addresses growing mental health concerns in the agricultural sector by offering more accessible mental health and wellness support to farm families across the province. The mental health helpline for farmers can be reached at 1-866-267-6255.

Proteins politicized in the fight to “save the planet” D uring the current campaign in Quebec, one political party recently proposed a protein shift in the public cafeterias and institutions by offering a menu made up of 50 per cent plant-based protein meals.

In the same vein, the party also suggested that 70 per cent of food products served in public institutions be local. Local is certainly a desirable policy for most, if access and affordability aren’t compromised of course, as it is one of the best ways for a government to stimulate the local economy.

But politicizing proteins is certainly another story.

Whether we like it or not, animal proteins play a very important role in our food culture, especially in Canada. Just think of turkey at Christmas or barbecues with a piece of meat or two. Animal proteins have always brought us together, building communities along the way. Beef, pork, chicken,

seafood, cheeses and other dairy products – these products are part of our country’s food heritage.

With the massive arrival of vegetable proteinbased products in recent years, veganism and vegetarianism continue to fuel debate. As a result, consumers have really emerged as winners in some ways.

First, we have more choice. Before the Beyond Meat ‘invasion,’ the trifecta of meats, beef, chicken, and pork, had gotten boring. Our protein literacy has improved over the past few years with more excitement, more debates, and more options. We have a better appreciation of the nutritional values of each of the available sources. The vegan movement that was completely marginalized a few years ago is now socially normalized. This is an important gain for our society.

But for some time now, proteins have been

Currently, more than 90 per cent of Canadians eat meat regularly.

politicized and pushed by certain political and non-political groups to encourage citizens to adopt a diet with less or no meat to save the planet.

Some groups are even sanctioning research to support a certain anti-animal protein narrative.

Some studies even blame men for climate change because they tend to eat more meat. It’s just getting silly. In short, protein is increasingly being used as a political weapon to fight climate change, not just for nutrition.

Case in point: the Climate Institute of Canada, a centre that received $20 million from Ottawa to conduct research on climate change, released a report this past August on protein. The report suggested a shift from a

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meat-heavy diet to a more plant-based diet to help Canada meet its 2030 and 2050 climate goals. This partially or fully federally funded study is one of many others of late.

That said, one must admit that the science is clear. The production of animal protein generally emits far more greenhouse gases. Milk, beef, pork, chicken – the findings in recent years are abundantly obvious. But these sectors are also adjusting and expect to reach ambitious emission reduction targets by 2030 or 2040.

Some even plan to become carbon neutral. Maple Leaf Foods, the country’s largest pork processor, is already operating as a carbon-neutral enterprise.

The industry recognizes that there is work to be done. But it’s a safe bet that our animal choices will be more ecological in 10 or 20 years. We must give them time to adjust.

Eating involves very

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 | THE OBSERVER

R U R A L C O N N E C T I O N S | 15

Environmental practices a long-term commitment on Ontario farms

F

armers more than most people have a very close relationship with the environment. We depend on air, soil, and water to grow our crops and raise our livestock, so we know first-hand how important it is to care for and nurture our natural ecosystems as best as we can.

In fact, farmers are sometimes called the original environmentalists because of the many things we have long been doing to look after the land that is in our care – and the new practices we’re adopting on an ongoing basis as part of a long-term approach of continual improvement.

My husband and I farm in Dundas County, south of Ottawa, where we grow crops and have a small beef herd. The environment has always been important on our farm, where we’ve planted cover crops to build soil health and minimize erosion and built fences to keep cattle out of our creeks and streams to protect water quality.

We also actively participate in environmental research projects with universities, government, and industry partners to help in the search for sustainability and climate change solutions for farmers.

I’m also involved with our local conservation area, supporting farmers and landowners in environmental practices that benefit soil and water quality, and helping to build awareness of the many stewardship activities happening on our farms.

In agriculture, these environmental steward-

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ship activities are called Best Management Practices (BMPs) and began as an initiative of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in 1992.

BMPs are developed by government and industry experts using ongoing research and best available science, and help guide farmers on the best ways to approach everything from managing pests, controlling soil erosion and proper land drainage to nutrient management planning, no-till crop production and managing irrigation.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) works in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and AAFC on BMP development and to produce detailed guidebooks for farmers on how to implement those BMPs on farms across Ontario.

Many BMPs have also been incorporated into the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP), a voluntary program launched by farm organizations with support from government in 1993 to help farmers assess where and how they can make environmental improvements on their farms. More than 40,000 people have participated in the EFP since its launch, which further highlights the strong commitment our sector has long had to continuous environmental improvement.

BMP information is updated on a regular

basis as science and environmental priorities evolve. The most recent change has been digitizing all the BMP resources to make them available online. Working with OMAFRA and AAFC, OFA led the development of a new website called BMPbooks.com, an online library of how-to guides for sustainable agriculture and rural living.

With resources for environment, habitat, soils and water, the site is also searchable by the type of problem you’re wanting to solve on-farm and by crop or farm type or what to do in specialty situations, such as if you’re working with land that you’re renting from another landowner.

BMPs are going to be of even greater importance for farmers as government policies designed to mitigate climate change impacts become more prominent. We’ve already seen the announcement earlier this year by the federal government of a 30 per cent nitrous oxide emissions reduction target for agriculture, for example.

More and better use of on-farm best management practices that focus on improving fertilizer use is an excellent way for farmers to continue the environmental stewardship work they’ve already been doing voluntarily for decades.

Reducing tillage, adopting precision technologies or planting cover crops are all examples of best management practice that can help manage and reduce synthetic fertilizer use on farm. Another example is an approach also recog-

PROTEINS: Food choices remain with the individual → FROM 14

personal and cultural choices. To see a political party or other organizations using protein – in short, food – as a tool to fight against climate change creates unease among many. Currently, more than 90 per cent of Canadians eat meat regularly. Humans have been eating meat for millennia.

Over the last few decades, we have adopted new diets with less of this or more of that, bringing more variety and dietary inclusiveness through immigration and our

collective curiosity. It’s been wonderful to watch Canadians explore new culinary frontiers. But as a society, we have never pushed public institutions to ban the consumption of any food, especially meat. The approach has always been quite inclusive. Playing with our culinary mores is an extremely dangerous game.

Food remains an inherently personal choice.

In 1967, Pierre Trudeau declared that there was no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.

History would give some merit to his claim, but his words should also apply to our nation’s kitchens. The state has the right to guide us in our food choices through education and awareness campaigns.

Nevertheless, food must be prioritized and not politicized. Imposing choices, regardless of motives, goes beyond the limits of a democracy that respects its people. ↆ Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is senior director of the agri-food analytics lab and a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University.

nized in source water protection called the 4Rs: applying the right fertilizer in the right amount to the right place at the right time.

I encourage all farmers to visit bmpbooks. com and take a look at the wide range of digital resources that are now available. Additionally, most county and regional federation of agriculture offices also have printed copies available.

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THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022 | 16

Arts

Matilda goes musical

New album from Page

Local stories that inspire.

Royal City Musical Productions will be presenting Matilda the Musical on the main stage at the River Run Centre in Guelph.

The show, which runs from Nov. 23-27, is a musical based on the 1988 children’s novel of the same name by Roald Dahl.

Email: newsroom@woolwichobserver.com

www.rcmpi.ca

Steven Page will release the album Excelsior digitally on Sept. 30. It’s his first solo album since 2018. The album on Page’s Fresh Baked Goods imprint will be available on CD Nov. 11, with a 2-LP vinyl version out early in 2023. The album’s 11 tracks were composed and produced entirely by Page, who co-founded Barenaked Ladies before departing on a solo career in 2009.

Read a local best seller every week.

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Drayton’s summer season saw an easing back into theatre Audiences have been returning, with upcoming shows such as We’ll Meet Again providing more opportunities Bill Atwood Observer Staff

HAVING COMPLETED THE MAJORITY OF its productions this season, Drayton Entertainment has a better handle on the pace of the post-pandemic recovery, colouring it as easing back into things.

“People that are coming out are loving the experience,” said artistic director Alex Mustakas.

“They’re enjoying being back, having a communal experience in a theatre.

That’s been very refreshing because, as you know, it’s been very difficult in the theatre industry, and arts and culture, during the last two and a half years, so it’s nice to be recovering and gathering again. I think it’s just going to get better and better.

“We still have a number for productions. We’re about to open Driving Miss Daisy [St. Jacobs Country Playhouse Theatre] and Good Ol’ Country Gospel in Cambridge. And then our two holiday shows are The Sound of Music in Cambridge and our annual panto this year, Wizard of Oz at Playhouse, which is always very popular with families,” Mustakas added.

The musical We’ll Meet Again is a Drayton original production and the brainchild of Mustakas.

It features songs from the wars years spanning the First World War and the second.

“We’ve subtitled it Music

We’ll Meet Again, the brainchild of artistic director Alex Mustakas, is the next production from Drayton Entertainment. It stars Laura Mae Nason, Keely Hutton, Michael Submitted Cox, Andrew Scanlon and Malinda Carroll.

Mirth and Memories of the Wars. It’s a nostalgic look back and it will bring back a lot of memories for a lot of people. It features some of the greatest music in history but also some of the trickiest music in history….but I think audiences will love it,” he explained.

The title song has both history and recent significance attached to it.

“The singer Vera Lynn made it very famous and when Queen Elizabeth addressed the nation about the pandemic right at the end of it, she said

‘we will meet again’ and she was really quoting Vera Lynn and this song as well, because it tends to send a message that you we will all come together again – even in dark times, we will meet again,” Mustakas explained.

Music direct Jim Hodgkinson brings a lot of experience to production, he added.

“He’s arranged a lot of shows. And this is a period he’s very familiar with, he’s been able to make some great musical arrangements for this show.”

Hodgkinson has been able to strike a balance between putting his own spin on the songs and keeping close to the original.

“At the end of the day, anyone that is familiar with this music will want to hear it kind of the way they remember it, but we try to be a little clever with it sometimes just to keep it fresh. We add little twists in it that will keep fresh.”

The five performers (Malinda Carroll, Michael Cox, Keely Hutton, Laura Mae Nason and Andrew Scanlon) are “younger

performers who probably weren’t familiar with a lot of this music,” Mustakas said.

“So it’s been a great history lesson for them.”

As the projection has a five-part harmony, something that Mustakas said is rare for modern musicals, they have to not only perform at their best, but also perform well with the other cast members.

“So for them to be able to sing this music is a real learning experience for them as well.”

The production is also a tip of the cap to those Canadians who were

involved in the wars, Mustakas added.

“It’s not only a tribute to the music of the era, but in some respects, it is a tribute to the thousands of Canadians that were involved in the war years, so it’s a bit of remembrance too.”

We’ll Meet Again runs from September 28 to December 3 at St. Jacobs Schoolhouse, with tickets ranging from $32-$53, available at the box office (519-747-7788) or toll free at 1-855-drayton (372-9866), or online at www.draytonentertainment.com.

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THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022 | 17

Classifieds

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Email: ads@woolwichobserver.com Job Listings: jobs.observerxtra.com

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Placing a classified ad

Please call or email for display advertising quotes for Help Wanted, Auctions, Real Estate, Public Notices, Service Pro Directory and Obituaries.

All classified advertising is prepaid. Ads will be accepted in person, email, or phone during regular office hours. Deadline is Wednesdays by 10am. Order and pay online at: observerxtra.com/classifieds.

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Please indicate the role in the subject field.

Baker Tilly GWD is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building and maintaining an inclusive work environment. We recognize the strength of diversity and encourage applications from all qualified candidates.

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Baker Tilly GWD is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building and maintaining an inclusive work environment. We recognize the strength of diversity and encourage applications from all qualified candidates.

Accommodation is available to all applicants upon request through our recruitment and selection process.

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Prompt service.

Wanted WANTED - DIE CAST REPLICAS OF FARM equipment, industrial equipment and transport trucks. Any scale, any complete condition. Small or large lots. Call Dwayne 519-669-5500.

Trades & Services C U S TO M A P P L E PRESSING & JUICE sales by appointment only. Cedar Ridge Pressing, We s l e y M a r t i n , 3175 Northfield Dr. Elmira, On. N3B 2Z1.

519-669-3541.

EXPERIENCED C L E A N I N G L A DY available for homes or small offices in Elmira and surrounding area.

Reasonable rates.

Text or call Marie @ 519-498-0412.

Garage Sales MOVING SALE - SAT. SEPT. 24, 10 A.M. AT 7941 4th Line at Conestoga Lake.

S c h a r f f s p i n n e r, dishes, cookware, 10 small appliances, vacuum, some furniture, sewing machine and more.

Help Wanted Continues and Auctions Begin on page 18

Help Wanted

A local electrical contractor for 38 years

NOW HIRING Accounting Assistant • Post-secondary education with a diploma in the field of accounting • Full Cycle Bookkeeping: minimum 5 years • QuickBooks knowledge and experience required • Strong computer capabilities including MS Excel proficiency preferred

Office Assistant • Post-secondary education preferred • QuickBooks knowledge and experience preferred • Strong computer capabilities including MS Excel proficiency preferred Please send resume to: dave@spilekweisselectric.ca

THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022

18 | C L A S S I F I E D S

Help Wanted

Help Wanted

Auction

1.5 ACRE COUNTRY PROPERTY FOR SALE

NOW HIRING FULL TIME

Through our customized tender process, at 6678 Wellington County Rd. 12 Mapleton Twp. (5 km north of Macton, 12 km northwest of Elmira, 12 km southeast of Drayton), for Geraldine & The Late Cliff Schill

ROOF TRUSS ASSEMBLERS Must be team oriented, ambitious & responsible No experience required Mar-Span offers competitive wages, production bonuses and employee benefits.

WE ARE HIRING

Please apply with resume in person or email resume to marv@marspan.com

Cabinet Engineering

INITIAL OFFERS DUE MONDAY OCTOBER 31ST @ 6:00 P.M.

1.55 ACRES, MORE or less, surrounded

by farmland. Paved driveway, 14 X 20ft. vinyl sided shed. Beautifully landscaped.

HOUSE – Built in 1992. Approx. 2400 square ft. (main floor). Spacious brick bungalow, attached 2 car garage, deck and front porch, good steel roof, good flooring including hardwood, eat in kitchen with updated granite countertops, dining and sitting rooms, family room with stone fireplace (electric insert), 2 bedrooms including master with ensuite, laundry.

BASEMENT – Large finished rec-room, workshop, plus tons of space for potential bedrooms. Propane furnace, A/C, central vac, Generac generator, 200 amp hydro service. Drilled well. Septic system.

NOTE – A beautiful property with wellmanicured grounds, an attractive home with many upgrades. Country living 15 minutes from Elmira, 25 minutes to Waterloo & Listowel, 35 minutes to Guelph. Call Gerber Auctions Ltd. at 519-699-4451 with questions & to view. See photos at www. gerberauctions.net

Cabinet Sales & Design

We would like to thank all applicants, however only those selected for interview will be contacted.

Cabinet Finisher

7221 Side Rd. 16 Drayton, ON

Cabinet Install Cabinet Installer (Bracebridge Location)

If you are interested in joining a vibrant and growing company, please send your resume to laverne@woodlandhorizon.com or call 519.638.5961 ext 104

AUCTIONEERS:

Gerber Auctions Ltd. 519-699-4451

Only those receiving an interview will be contacted.

2827 Hutchison Rd., RR#1 Millbank (Crosshill)

ↆ LO CA L

P R O F E S S I O N A L

10 OFF REPLACEMENT

$

PATIO DOOR SCREEN Must bring coupon in or use code “repair22”

IN-STORE SERVICES • Window & Screen Repairs • Glass & Plexi Cutting • Key Cutting • Knife & Scissor Sharpening

The store for newspaper readers.

newsmart.ca

• Lawnmower Blade Sharpening • Paint Colour Matching • Interior Design Consultation • Bike Repair 22 Church St. W., Elmira Tel: 519-669-5537 or 1-844-866-5537 STORE HOURS: MON-SAT 8-6, SUN 11-4

S E RV I C E S

Reach local people at the right time every week.

15,000 Observers are delivered to homes in Woolwich, Wellesley and Waterloo.

Call Donna Rudy at 519-669-5790 ext104 to find out how your business can book this space.

Find and follow us on FB and Instagram

ↆ L I N WO O D

B LO O D

D O N O R

Your donation matters.

It matters to every patient across Canada. Because it’s something we can do today to help others wake up healthier tomorrow.

The Next Linwood Clinic: at Linwood Community Centre Friday, September 30, 2022 4 – 8 pm

VILLAGE Stratford

500 Wright Blvd 519-271-2111 or 1-877-699-0601

Listowel

515 Maitland Ave. S 519-291-3276

Visit southwestvets.ca

HOME HARDWARE

Linwood | Heidelberg | Wroxeter

www.homehardware.ca

Proud to support the community effort to donate blood.

519-698-2082 | 1-800-265-8735 | www.jfm.ca

3865 Manser Rd., Linwood • 519-698-7575

1010 Industrial Cr., St. Clements • 519-698-2610 linwoodvet@linwoodvet.ca

Thursday, September 22, 2022 | THE OBSERVER

ↆ LO CA L ↆ

C L A S S I F I E D S | 19

P R O F E S S I O N A L

GENERAL SERVICES

CALL TO BOOK! TODAY.

Martin’s Nursery

MarCrest Backhoe Septic Installations · Tile Repairs Small Footings · Silo Footings

VAN, MINIBUS & WHEELCHAIR LIFT BUS TRANSPORTATION “Specializing in small group charters”

Maynard Martin

519-669-5557 Visit our website! countrymilebl.com Elmira, ON ↆ

S E RV I C E S

2512 Kressler Road RR1 St. Clements, ON N0B 2M0

Hydrangea Shrubs & Trees Shade & Flowering Trees Large selection of fruit trees HONEY FOR SALE (fruit bearing age) BEE Supplies Etc. Hedging & Windbreaks We sell a complete line of Bee Supplies; including Spruce, Pine, Cedars Extracting Equipment, jars, Shrubs, Grasses pails, Varroa mite treatments & much and Bees, Nucs, Queens. more!

ORHBS Select Queens (Weekly) C/O EMANUEL E.M. MARTIN

42661 Orangehill Road, RR#1, Wroxeter, ON

Tel. 519-699-0507

1 Concession North of Wroxeter on Belmore Line Mon. – Sat. 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Call

trailviewmfg@gmail.com

226-584-0923

519-669-4964 ↆ

AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES

TIRE

WHERE TIRES ARE A

SPECIALTY, NOT A SIDE LINE.

Farm • Auto • Truck Industrial On-The-Farm Service 35 Howard Ave., Elmira

519-669-3232

519-669-0524 www.woolwichrentals.ca 100 Union St, Elmira, Ontario

100 SOUTH FIELD DRIVE, ELMIRA

(ELMIRA)

THOMPSON’S

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

519-669-4400

HOME IMPROVEMENT

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

519-503-6033 (CELL) 519-669-2251

30 ORIOLE PKWY. E., ELMIRA

36 Hampton St., Elmira

- Design and build -

AGRICULTURAL | RESIDENTIAL FRAMING • ROOFING RENOVATIONS • EAVESTROUGHS

Driveways • Sidewalks • Curbs Patios • Finished Floors • Retaining Walls • Steps • Decorative/Stamped and Coloured Concrete www.marwilconcrete.ca

Wayne Martin | 519-504-2016

519-577-0370

darwayconstruction@icloud.com | Alma, ON

HOME IMPROVEMENT COMMERCIAL • RESIDENTIAL

ST. JACOBS

GLASS SYSTEMS INC.

INC

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

Randy Weber

ECRA/ESA Licence # 7000605

www.rwelectricltd.com TEL:

18 Kingfisher Dr., Elmira | 519.669.1462

AMOS R O O F I N G

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

• Residential • Commercial • Industrial

ↆ

Irvin Martin

Visit us online to see our entire rental lineup.

CLEAN • DRY • SECURE

ↆ

▪ Bale covers in stock ▪ Patio canopy repairs

GENERAL SERVICES

Various sizes & rates

ↆ

Contact us for all your

Custom or Replacement Tarps & Covers!

• 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.

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

519.501.2405 | 519.698.2114 In Business since 1973 • Fully Insured

HOME IMPROVEMENT Since 1998

•Final grading •Lawn repair & complete seeding well equipped for large stoney areas •Spike Aerator/Overseeding •Natural & Interlocking Stone •Retaining Walls, Walks & Patios •Help for Top Water & Drainage issue

Murray & Daniel Shantz

ALMA, ONTARIO | PHONE: 519.846.5427

DESIGN CENTRE

• FLOORING • Custom KITCHENS • BATHROOM VANITIES • SICO Paint • Custom WINDOW BLINDS

KITCHEN, BATH & WINDOW FASHIONS

Many In-Stock or Custom Bathroom Vanities, Kitchen Cabinetry, Flooring and Tiles, Blinds, Shades, Fashion Plumbing • Our experienced personell and designer will help you work within your personal taste and budget

Call someone you can trust - your local Home Hardware Popular Brands Available

BLANCO, MAAX, MIROLAN, STEEL QUEEN www.LetUsFloorYou.ca

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

Evenings By Appointment

1011 Industrial Cres. Unit #2 | TEL: 519.699.5411

22 Church St. W., Elmira Tel: 519-669-5537 or 1-844-866-5537 STORE HOURS: MON-SAT 8-6, SUN 11-4 Find and follow us on FB and Instagram

THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022

20 | C L A S S I F I E D S

ↆ R E A L

E SAT E

SELLING? CALL US FOR A FREE MARKET EVALUATION. Sue From

Alli Bauman

226-750-9332

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

SALES REPRESENTATIVE

519-669-5426

suefrom17@gmail.com

Emily Minielly

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

SALES REPRESENTATIVE

519-504-6247

emilyminiellyrealestate@gmail.com

OPEN HOUSE

NEW PRICE

Saturday, September 24 th 1-3pm 6998 Freeborn Street, Millbank NEW PRICE

$1,100,000

$624,900

MOOREFIELD - This private 50 acre property is located on a quiet street near Teviotdale. Follow along the winding laneway through a picturesque cedar rail fence surrounded by greenery to acres of open space including a spring fed pond. You will be greeted by a bungalow and a small barn to house any animals you have or may wish to have. This property so much more to offer a with green house/shed and a detached 30 x 40 heated and insulated shop (built in 2009) surrounded by fruit trees. The 1459 square foot bungalow has a retreat like master bedroom (added in 2008) with vaulted ceilings, in suite laundry, a propane fireplace and walk-out to the deck and hot tub! The kitchen is open to the dining room and living room, with a fireplace and loads of natural light with sliding glass doors to the front and back deck. The walk out basement has a 3 piece bathroom, rec room and office space which could be easily transformed into an in-law suite. The deck wraps around the house to the master bedroom and connects the outdoor bar with bar fridge, hot tub (2017) and on ground pool (2019). Be prepared for all of your friends and family longing to hang out here! Hop on your off road vehicle and explore the back 40 acres of your own private bush where you will find wildlife and a mix of trees. This serine setting could be just what you have been dreaming of!

Office: 519-669-2772 Brad Direct: 519-741-6231 Jenna Direct: 519-760-2265 45 Arthur St. S., Elmira www.thurrealestate.com

$849,000

MILLBANK - Looking to escape the big city for small town living? This charming recently updated, 3-bedroom 2-bathroom bungalow is exactly that and more. Located in the quaint town of Millbank, only 30 minutes from all the big city amenities that Waterloo or Stratford have to offer. You are welcomed through the front door into a bright living room that flows into the dining and kitchen area. From the dining area, slip out through the large sliding doors to your back deck, (complete with propane hook-up), relax and enjoy your large .3 acre corner lot with mature trees, ideal for family gatherings and summer BBQ’s. Or head out to the covered front porch, perfect for enjoying morning coffee or an evening beverage. Upstairs you will find three updated bedrooms and a newly refinished bathroom. The basement with a double door walkout and large windows provides an abundance of natural light, giving a main floor feel. The basement offers just as much as the main floor, rec room, workshop, 2 piece bathroom, laundry room, large cold room, bonus (play) room, loads of space for your family and guests to enjoy. You could easily convert this space into an in-law suite. Updates include, new LVT flooring , drywall, potlights, bathrooms, most windows, all trim and interior doors all done in 2022 as well as Furnace & A/C (2021), this house is move in ready! With an insulated garage, (new door on order), oversized shed, and ample parking, you will have tons of space to store your “toys” or entertain.

BROKERAGE

ELMIRA - Check out this 5 Bedroom Bungalow in Birdland! This unique opportunity gives you the option of multi-generational living or a single-family dwelling...you choose! The main floor has 3 bedrooms, a fair-sized kitchen, a dining room, a living room with big bright windows overlooking the covered front porch, 4 piece bathroom, and a main floor laundry room. Walk out from the dining room to a shaded deck and relax in the yard with the view of mature trees. The open concept basement has 2 bedrooms, its own kitchen and laundry room, 4-piece bathroom, dinette area, 2 living room spaces, and lots of storage. You will be impressed with the overall open feel of this home. The doublewide, concrete driveway provides parking for 2 and the oversized single garage is perfect for the car enthusiast and is equipped with a hoist. Come and see this nicely finished and well-kept home that is sure to impress!

BRAD MARTIN

R.W. THUR REAL ESTATE LTD.

$500,000

Broker of Record, MVA Residential

JENNA MARTIN Sales Representative

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

35 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE YOU CAN RELY ON! CALL FOR YOUR FREE MARKET EVALUATION 40 Bristow Creek Dr., Elmira $689,900.00 MLS Spotless semi-detached dwelling – joined only at the garage wall. Stunning private rear yard, very well landscaped, backing onto a park! 1480 sq. ft. 3 bdrms. Master bedroom offers a 3 piece ensuite & walk-in closet. Cathedral ceiling – open to the upper hall, in the “Great” room. Walkout to deck. Mn flr mud room & 2 piece washroom. Huge “country” kitchen with appliances incl.

Finished basement with a rec room & hobby room. Roughed-in bathroom.

Attached garage – double driveway. You won’t be disappointed! New MLS

NEW LISTING

SOLD

LISTOWEL - Welcome to 255 Elm Ave N, Listowel! This well maintained, 3 Bedroom, all brick bungalow is located on a beautiful tree lined street, walking distance from downtown and all that Listowel has to offer! The main floor with its large windows, offers plenty of natural light with a floorplan that flows easily from room to room -- living room, dinette, and open kitchen. You will also find three bedrooms plus a full bathroom on the main floor. The large basement offers a finished recreation room with fireplace and plenty of storage! The separate access to the basement from the attached garage is a bonus if you are thinking of adding an in-law suite. Step out back and enjoy the large backyard with plenty of green space and a garden. This quaint bungalow has so much to offer – move right in and call it home or add your own personal touches! Listowel is a growing community offering all the big city amenities including a movie theatre, grocery stores and shopping centres! Only a short 30-minute drive to Elmira and 45 minutes to Waterloo! Don’t wait to call this beautiful place home!

5 Thrush Court, Elmira

$899,900.00 MLS

12 Park Ave. W., Elmira

$849,900.00 MLS

17 Maple St., Drayton

$774,900.00 MLS

22 Meadowlark Rd., Elmira

$874,900.00 MLS

$395,000

234 Elma Street E., Listowel

This is your opportunity to break into the housing market.. This cute well maintained, 2 bedroom, one bathroom Semi is the perfect first home. Eat in kitchen with Stainless steel Fridge and Stove, walk out to your deep private backyard! The basement has room for you to finish with your own personal style ... Located in the small town of Listowel MLS 40314499

$1,120,000.00

Lot 66 Middlebrook Road, West Monrose 10 beau�ful acres backing onto the Grand River!!!!

10 beau�ful acres, with gentle rolling hills backing onto the Grand River, (approximately 1214 � of shoreline) prefect place to build your dream home. Wishing to escape the city, and own your own piece of paradise? 2 acres clear with 2 acres of bush and 6 workable. Ideal spot for a hobby farm! Book your appointment today! MLS# 40301824

ADDRESS: 3 Arthur St. S., ELMIRA | DIRECT: 519-503-2753 EMAIL: leonmartin@remax.net

ↆ P U Z Z L E E

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Thursday, September 22, 2022 | THE OBSERVER

C L A S S I F I E D S | 21

“PROUDLY REMEMBERING OUR PAS T; CONFIDENTLY EMBRACING OUR FUTURE.”

Community Information Page

P.O. Box 158

24 Church St. W. Elmira, Ontario N3B 2Z6

Notice of Public Meeting Township of Woolwich

Remedial Advisory Committee (RAC) Meeting Phone: 519-669-1647 or 877-969-0094 Fax: 519-669-1820 After Hours Emergency: 519-575-4400 www.woolwich.ca Thursday, September 29, 2022 5:30 p.m. Public Meeting Please note this will be a virtual meeting only. Below is information on how you can participate in the meeting.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE You can view the meeting by REGISTERING with the Support Specialist on or before 12 noon on Tuesday, September 27th. To register please email lschaefer@woolwich.ca or phone 519-669-1647, ext. 6112. Once you are registered the Support Specialist will forward information on how to connect to the Zoom meeting (i.e. zoom Wi-Fi login or toll-free conference call number).

LEAF DISPOSAL Please do not rake your leaves onto the road. This practice has been prohibited by bylaw in the Township of Woolwich since 1994. There is a fine of $125 for depositing any debris or refuse, which includes leaves, on Township Roads. These piles of leaves are a safety hazard as they encourage children to play on the road. They can also result in flooding issues when the leaves block storm drains.

ↆ FA M I LY

A L B U M

Obituary

Continues on page 22 Celebration of Life

A Celebration of life for:

Lorelee Ann Sanders

Jonas, Franklin Lloyd Died suddenly on Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at the age of 84. Franklin was the beloved husband of Marlene with whom he celebrated 63 years of marriage on August 29th. Much loved father of Christine and Jack, Jennifer and Neset, and Julie. Adored by his eight grandchildren Jesse, Jordan, Noah, Jonah, Madison, Kyle, Emma, and Ethan in heaven. Predeceased by his parents, Vernon and Catherine, and his sisters, Nancy (Larry) and Carol. Brother to Jo-Anne and Gloria (Jim). Franklin will be missed by his sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, many nieces, nephews, friends, neighbours and his church family. Visitation took place on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the Dreisinger Funeral Home, 62 Arthur St. S., Elmira.

A funeral service was held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 131 Flax Mill Dr., Conestogo followed by a luncheon. As expressions of sympathy, donations to St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church would be appreciated and can be made through the funeral home.

Saturday October 2, 2022 1-4pm Elmira Legion Everyone welcome.

Announce it in the Observer.

Family Announcement Advertising: Ads will be accepted in person, email, or phone during regular office hours.

Deadline is Wednesdays by 10am. Order online at: observerxtra.com/order-family-album Single:

$28 per insertion

Double:

$38 per insertion

Triple:

$48 per insertion

❖ www.dreisingerfuneralhome.com

LEAF DISPOSAL ALTERNATIVES NATURAL CHOICES Mulching and composting are the most economical and environmentally beneficial ways to deal with your leaves.

• Instead of disposing of your leaves, save them, mulch them with your lawnmower and gradually add them to your home composter. They will break down into a useful organic material that can be added to flower and vegetable gardens.

• Rather than raking your leaves, why not mulch them on your lawn or into your garden? When the leaves are dry, mow your lawn more frequently.

The mulched leaves will soon disappear into your lawn or garden as fertilizer.

CURBSIDE LEAF COLLECTION PROGRAM Bagged Leaf Collection • Bag leaves using only paper yard waste bags or returnable containers marked with a Region of Waterloo Yard Waste sticker.

• Place out with yard waste materials on yard waste collection days separately from your garbage containers.

• For more information call the Region of Waterloo at 519-575-4400.

Tip: Mulching your leaves with a lawn mower or other mulching device prior to bagging can reduce leaf volumes. (10 bags of loose leaves = 1 bag of mulched leaves) If you have too many leaves for your composter to handle, you may bring your leaves to the Regional Landfill Site located at: 925 Erb Street West, Waterloo, Gate 2.

Fees apply, check the website for dates and hours of operation, visit: www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/living-here/yard-waste.aspx Hayes Kuepfer, Atticus McCormick, Tamara Nenadov, Philip Nenadov and Georgina McCormick were Submitted honoured for their gardens by the Wellesley Horticulture society on Monday evening.

THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022

22 | C L A S S I F I E D S

ↆ FA M I LY

A L B U M

Obituary

Obituary

Obituary

Obituary

Douglas, Faye Ruth

Mundt, Marlene Helen Passed away peacefully on Saturday September 17, 2022 at Waterloo Hospice after a courageous battle with cancer, at the age of 75 years. Loving wife of James ( Jim ) Mundt of Heidelberg.

Dear mother of Tammy Sargent and her husband Trevor of Elmira, John Mundt of Oakville and Jeff Mundt and his wife Alison of Waterloo. Proud and devoted grandmother of Maggie & Annie Sargent and Ava & Audrey Mundt. Dear sister of Roy Eicher (Betty), Shirley Lorentz, Walter Eicher (Dianne), Jack Eicher (Gail), Robert Eicher, Don Eicher (Judy) and Bill Eicher (Eleanor). Marlene will also be missed by many nieces and nephews.

Knarr, Paul L.

Relatives and friends are invited to call at the Graham Giddy Funeral Home 617 King Street N Waterloo (519-888-7700) on Friday September 23, 2022 from 10-11:30 a.m. A memorial service will take place at 11:30 in the chapel. Cremation has already taken place. Condolences for the family and donations to the Hospice of Waterloo Region or Grand River Regional Cancer Center may be arranged by contacting the funeral home at www.grahamgiddyfh.com.

With family at his side, Paul Knarr, 78, of Kitchener, passed away after a brief illness on Saturday, September 17, 2022 at Grand River Hospital.

Paul was born in St. Jacobs to Norman and Susannah Knarr. He later met the love of his life, Sandra Knarr (neé Schnarr), and the couple wed and moved to Elmira where Paul began working as a truck driver.

After retiring over 50 years later, Paul was honoured by Challenger Motor Freight as a Million Mile driver for his exceptional work in driving over one million miles without a preventable collision - something he took pride in, even in his final days. Paul will be deeply remembered by his loving wife of 56 years, Sandra; his three sons Barry, Darrell (Petrina), and Steven; his grandchildren Cora (Jakeb), Cylie, Cassi, Stephanie, Mercedes, Tabatha, Samantha, Bailey; and his greatgrandchildren Violet and Lucas. Will be missed by brothers Allen (Janet) and Irvin (Darlene). Predeceased by his parents and sister Vera Bowman.

Visitation will be held on Friday, September 23, 2022 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the Dreisinger Funeral Home, 62 Arthur St. S., Elmira. A funeral service will take place on Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 1 p.m. in the funeral home chapel, followed by interment in Elmira Union Cemetery.

The service will be livestreamed and can be viewed on Paul’s tribute page of the funeral home website. Donations in Paul’s memory to MCC would be appreciated, and may be made through the funeral home. A special thank you to the staff at Grand River Hospital for their excellent care.

❖ www.grahamgiddyfh.com

❖ www.dreisingerfuneralhome.com

She was predeceased by her parents Helen and David Eicher and brotherin-law Robert Lorentz.

The family wishes to thank Sheila Brooks and Nurse Terry for all their compassionate care and support during Marlene’s final days. As well, they would also like to recognize the hard work of the amazing people who are the nurses and support staff at Hospice Waterloo Region and Grand River Hospital.

Family Album continued from page 21

Faye passed away peacefully with her family present on Saturday, September 17, 2022 at Hospice Wellington, Guelph at the age of 70. Faye is now reunited with her husband of 50 years, Ken Douglas. She leaves behind her beloved children Lisa and Dirk Molenaar of Yatton and Paul and Betty Douglas of Drayton. Also lovingly remembered by her grandchildren Anika and Eduard, Adrianna, Payton and Parker. Survived by sisters and brothers Catherine and Bill Dickison of Walkerton, Dennis and Barb Foerster of Hanover, Sheila and Paul Karl of St. Jacobs, Carol and Bill Scott of Harriston, Debbie and Brad Richardson of Clifford, Steven and Connie Foerster of Clifford, Heather Roth and her friend Brent of Harriston.

Remembered by Ken’s brothers Bill and Joy, Bob and Jean, Mike and Christine, Don and Lorie, and by sister-in-law Louise Douglas. Also remembered fondly by Aunt Barb and Uncle Paul Foerster, many nieces and nephews and their families, and by many special friends. Predeceased by her parents Milton and Marie Foerster, Ken’s parents William and Dorothea Douglas, brother-in-law John Douglas, niece Darlene Douglas, her aunts and uncles, and godparents Carl and Ruth Herbst. At Faye’s request, cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 1 p.m. at the Dreisinger Funeral Home, 62 Arthur St. S., Elmira, followed by a private interment in Elmira Mennonite Cemetery. The service will be livestreamed and may be viewed on Faye’s tribute page of the funeral home website. Donations in Faye’s memory to Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Kurtzville or Ho spice Wellington would b e appreciated by the family, and may be made through the funeral home.

A special thank you to Dr. Lund and Hospice staff, Bayshore nursing staff and to Jodi for her compassionate care and support.

“If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, Keep me in your heart – I’ll stay there forever.”

-Love, Faye ❖ www.dreisingerfuneralhome.com

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Book job listing: 519-669-5790 ext104

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SHILLINGTON, John Berney Peacefully, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener on Tuesday, September 13, 2022 in his 92nd year. Predeceased by his loving wife Dorothy in September 2016. John will be missed by his son Tom and wife Stephanie of Gananoque, his daughter and caregiver Nancy and husband Peter of Waterloo, and son Dan and his wife Shannon of Elmira.

He also leaves a long-lasting legacy with grandchildren Leigh, Erin, Brian, Leah and James along with four great-grandchildren Archer, Jude, Olivia and Clara. He loved to hear how the grandchildren and greatgrandchildren were doing with video calls, paintings and pictures being a favourite part of his day. Much loved brother of Barb Amos of Waterloo and sister-in-law Maggie. Predeceased by brother Bill and parents Jack and Mayme (Horan) Shillington.

John served in the Canadian Army Militia with the Scots Fusiliers of Canada from 1949 to 1965 and attained the rank of Major. He instilled a sense of responsibility, organization and your “word is your bond – do what you say you are going to do and do it well” among his children in their upbringing.

He was a long-serving employee of Marsland Engineering and Leigh Instruments in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Upon moving to Port Dalhousie from K-W, he retired in 1996 after ten years of service with Kelsey-Hayes Canada in St. Catharines. He attended Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Port Dalhousie and was an ordinary member of the Royal Canadian Legion (Branch 350) in Port Dalhousie.

Thank you to the staff at University Gates (Egerton) Village and St. Mar y ’s Emergency and Acute Care teams. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Dreisinger Funeral Home in Elmira. Cremation has taken place. A celebration of life service will be planned later in October. As expressions of sympathy, donations to the Canadian Hear t and Stroke Foundation would be greatly appreciated.

Dad – you got your wish – to die peacefully and join mom. We’ve let her know you are coming and you can now watch the Toronto Blue Jays games together! ❖ www.dreisingerfuneralhome.com

Peace of mind in Wellesley Why travel to the Big City?

The Futher-Franklin Funeral Home in Wellesley can service all your needs in the beautiful surroundings of the country and at a cost less than the “Big City”.

A privately owned funeral home providing care and respect to you and your family!

Futher-Franklin Funeral Home, 1172 Henry Street, Wellesley. 519-656-2880

THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022 | 23

Living Here

It's about all of us.

Leading the way reporting about the people and places of home.

Email: newsroom@woolwichobserver.com Report it: observerxtra.com/tips

Woolwich on climate

River levels remain low

Woolwich Township’s climate action initiative will be launching a “Talk to an Owner” event series where interested parties can gain first-hand knowledge from electric car, electric bike, and cargo bike owners. The first event in the series will be held on Saturday, 12-3 p.m., at Canadian Tire in Elmira.

While recent rains may have helped lawns and gardens, they have done very little for river flows and reservoir levels in the Grand River watershed, the GRCA reports. Water users are being urged to continue reducing their consumption by 20% until conditions improve. An unusually dry summer has contributed to reduced stream flows across the watershed.

Home from the road with tales of Ontario Black diaspora Nicola Thomas recently completed a project she calls the “Sankofa 100 Miles to Freedom Tour” Leah Gerber Observer Staff

NICOLA THOMAS IS BACK HOME after her series of road trips to discover the lost history of Black diaspora in Ontario, of which Wellesley Township plays a part.

Thomas drove in her van all over Ontario looking for stories of Black settlers, especially women, who moved through Ontario as they sought freedom from slavery. Thomas calls the project the “Sankofa 100 Miles to Freedom Tour.” Sankofa is a word that means, “to go back and fetch what was left behind,” and here, Thomas is applying it to mean retracing and regaining the province’s largely forgotten Black history.

During her journeys, she went to Buxton, Oakville, Amherstberg, Port Burwell, Owen Sound and Bancroft, to name just a few of her stops. Her original goal was to find passed down oral stories of Black

female diaspora.

“I think I had a very wide, big wish list,” she said. “Firstly, starting to think that I could find oral stories from the 1840s, which is very difficult.

People have more sort of immediate memories and memories from great-grandparents and that kind of thing. The other thing was the Indigenous connection. I have had so little of that,” she said.

“The other part was that each of the places that I went, by the time I made the connection with the person that is a descendant, I was leaving. So now I have a number of connections in each of these sites that I’ve got to follow up with because they have the information. I didn’t actually necessarily get it while I was on the road, and I found the people to get it from.”

She says she plans to pursue these connections and continue with her work.

Throughout her trav-

Nicola Thomas is back home after her series of road trips to discover the lost history of Black diaspora in Ontario, of which Wellesley Township plays a part. Stops included Negro Creek Road in Chatsworth Township and Sandwich Baptist Church in Windsor, the oldest active Black church in Canada.

els, Thomas says she met a black woman who is a descendent of former slaves, and whose home church is Sandwich

Baptist Church in Windsor, the oldest active Black church in Canada. It was built by former slaves.

“That one was built with

the mud from the Detroit River. They made the clay to build it,” she said.

She also found that she is not the only one

going on a pilgrimage to retrace Black history in Ontario. Other people are on similar journeys, such as Zwena Gray, a Black woman from Detroit who walked the Bruce Trail to Owen Sound this summer to retrace the steps of people on the Underground Railroad. Owen Sound is known as the Railroad’s last stop.

Thomas also spoke about Negro Creek Road in Chatsworth Township.

Local descendents of Black settlers fought to keep the name of the road as is, because they felt renaming was a form of erasure of their history, she said.

Thomas has saved Wellesley Township until last. “There’s so much to get into here,” she said.

Black settlers escaping slavery cleared some land in the Queen’s Bush, which was the name given to the large area between Waterloo County and Lake Huron. Some of their notable settlements were along → BLACK HISTORY 28

Does CBD live up to its claims?

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: For years, I have been hearing about the advantages of taking CBD products for sleep, pain and just about anything that ails you. I now see these products everywhere being sold over the counter in drug stores. Is CBD beneficial, and does it live up to its claims?

ANSWER: CBD is one of the main cannabinoids found in the marijuana, or cannabis, plant.

Overall, more than 500

▢ Mayo Clinic

Professional Clinical Health Advice

compounds and more than 100 cannabinoids are in a marijuana plant.

CBD is available by prescription commercially alone or as an added ingredient in many overthe-counter products.

Although CBD claims to have many beneficial effects, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

classifies it under its orphan drug designation.

This is a special status designation that must meet criteria of therapy for a rare disease or is used so infrequently that it may not be a profitable product because of low use or demand.

CBD has primarily been marketed as an anti-convulsant agent for rare seizure disorders, though some newer indications are being investigated.

At this time, nonprescription CBD products

lack consistent oversight to ensure their purity and safety, or verify manufacturer claims. The CBD that you can buy over the counter is regulated more like herbal supplements than medications. This is because the FDA only enforces quality and safety standards if a safety issue arises once a product is on the market.

The standards for CBD products, like herbal supplements, are based on manufacturers making ethical and honest claims.

You cannot rely on the amount of CBD listed on labels, unless assessed by an independent party such as the United States Pharmacopeial Convention. In addition, you cannot be assured that CBD is free from contaminants such as THC, pesticides or heavy metals.

At this time, CBD cannot be rated for any condition other than epilepsy due to lack of evidence. This is true even though it is used for, or claimed to be effective for, many other

conditions.

CBD is a central nervous system depressant, so it can make you drowsy.

However, its long half-life in the body of 50-60 hours makes it undesirable as a sleep aid. Half-life is defined as how long half of the drug is eliminated after one dose. Sleep aids are best suited to medications with shorter half-lives, so fatigue and drowsiness are not experienced into the next day. Other common side → MAYO CLINIC 25

Did you know that Leroy’s Auto Care is qualified to be your New Vehicle Warranty Manager?

As your Warranty Manager, we will check for recalls and inspect for required warranty work on your vehicle. We will book it into the dealership on your behalf take it there to have the recall ADand SPOT - NON PRINTING or warranty work performed!

This allows you to have peace of mind, knowing your new vehicle warranty is being managed for you at every visit.

– Al Zettler

20 Oriole Parkway E., Elmira.

Tel: (519) 669-1082

www.leroysautocare.net

THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022

24 | L I V I N G H E R E

ↆ C O M M U N I T Y

“A GOOD JOB DONE EVERY TIME”

Kleensweep Carpet Care

Rugs and Upholstery

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Truck & Trailer Maintenance Cardlock Fuel Management

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MATERIAL HANDLING & PROCESSING SYSTEMS

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

www.mgmill.com

E V E N T S

CA L E N DA R

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 ▢ Elmira Legion Friday Food. Lasagna dinner, $12/

plate. Open at 4 p.m. with food served at 5:45 p.m.

All welcome. For more information call 519-669-2932.

▢ Elmira Blood Donor Event from 2-7pm at Lions Hall, 40 south St. W., Elmira. Book an appointment time at www.blood.ca or call 1-888-236-6283.

Vacuum Sales, Repairs Se Service All Makes & Models

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 ▢ Erick Traplin Show at the Elmira Legion starting at 2 p.m. Come and help us celbrate Legion Week 2022 with your children. Fun-filled, high energy, interactive musical show. $5 per child. Snacks, refreshments and slushies available for sale. Reserve by emailing Chris: bstark8717@rogers.com

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 ▢ Senior’s Community Dining. Community Care Concepts invites you to join us for lunch, fellowship and entertainment at Linwood Community Centre.

Cost: $12. Must pre-register by noon on Sept. 23 by calling 519-664-1900.

9 Church St. E., Elmira

519-669-8362 Email: elmiravacuum@gmail.com

Quality & Service you can trust.

▢ Read to a dog at the Elmira Library. Register for a 15

minute session between 4-5pm to read to a volunteer Story Dog. Must be old enough to read independently to the dog. Call 226-748-8030 to register

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4 ▢ Shaping Engaged, Resilient and Livable Communi-

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12 ▢Woolwich Candidate Debate for Mayor and Ward 3 candidates. Hosted by the Breslau Recreation Association and Woolwich Healthy Communities. Located at the Breslau Community Centre at 100 Andover Dr from 7-8:30pm. Debate moderated by Chris Fletcher

Education and Treatment

Your First Step to Better Hearing

519-669-9919 charlene@bauerhearing.com 25 Industrial Drive, Elmira

Bus: 519.744.5433

Freedom 55 Financial is a division of The Canada Life Assurance Company

Email: nancy.koebel@f55f.com Individual life insurance, mortgage insurance, business insurance, employee benefits programs, critical illness insurance, disability coverage,

RRSPs, RESPs, RRIFs, LIFs and Annuities.

652 Waterbury Lane, Waterloo

Woodside Church, Elmira. “Emotional and Mental Wellness for Seniors” Amanda Wood-Atkinson and Janessa Bauman, Woolwich Counselling Centre.

Devotional Message and Music- Pastor Gordon Wright. Registration required by noon October 7 at www.woodsidechurch.ca/evergreen or 519-6691296. Suggested $8 donation includes a hot lunch.

We are mask friendly.

SANYO CANADIAN

MACHINE WORKS INCORPORATED

33 Industrial Dr., Elmira 519.669.1591

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 10 ▢ Woodside Evergreen for Seniors, 10:30 a.m. at

24-HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE

TOTAL HOME ENERGY SYSTEMS

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL

Woodside, Elmira. “Highlights >From the Holy Land” Photos, Devotional Words and Music by Heather Bowman, Pastor Paul Fletcher and Lynette Weber.

Registration required by November 4 at noon at www.woodsidechrch.ca/evergreen or 519-669-1296.

Suggested Donation $8 includes hot lunch.

VERMONT Castings

11 HENRY ST. - UNIT 9, ST. JACOBS

519.664.2008

Woolwich

SPACE FOR RENT Advertise here for great weekly exposure in Woolwich & Wellesley townships.

YOUR OIL, PROPANE, NATURAL GAS AND AIR CONDITIONING EXPERTS ↆ The Community Events Calendar is reserved for non-profit local events that are offered free to the public. Placement is not guaranteed. Registrations, corporate events, open houses and similar events do not qualify for free advertising. See complete policy online. All submissions are to be made online at observerxtra.com/event-listing/.

Healthy Communities

The place to get involved.

• Volunteer Opportunities • Projects & News • Sub-Committee updates

▢ 3 tablespoons sugar ▢ 1 tablespoon baking powder

▢ 1⁄2 teaspoon salt 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Process mixture for 3 seconds.

▢ Woodside Evergreen for Seniors, 10:30 a.m. at

CALL Donna to book this space today!

519-669-5790 ext. 104

3. Sprinkle chilled butter over flour mixture. Pulse until mixture looks like coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds.

4. Transfer flour- butter mixture to a large bowl.

Add cream and use a rubber spatula to stir until just combined and no dry flour is visible.

Do not overmix.

5. Transfer mixture to a clean counter and use your hands to gather and press mixture

Rigorously tested recipes that work.

which help the scones turn out super flaky.

The cream is not for nothing: It makes the scones taste deliciously rich. We like to serve these scones with our favorite jam – and sometimes even more butter!

▢ 5 tablespoons

unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄4- inch pieces and chilled

▢ 1 cup (8 ounces) heavy cream

until dough forms and holds together, 5 to 10 seconds.

6. Use your hands to pat dough into an 8-inch circle, about 3⁄4-inch thick.

7. Use a bench scraper (or butter knife) to cut circle into 8 wedges.

Transfer scones to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

8. Bake until scones are light brown on top, 10 to 14 minutes.

9. Remove baking sheet from oven and place on a cooling rack. Let scones cool on baking sheet for 15 minutes.

10.

Transfer scones directly to a cooling rack. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

ↆ For 25 years, confident cooks in the know have relied on America's Test Kitchen for rigourously tested recipes developed by professional test cooks and vetted by 60,000 at-home recipe testers. See more online at www. amercastestkitchen.com

ↆ FA I T H

healthywoolwich.org

▢ America's Test Kitchen

Simple Cream Scone all- purpose flour

THURSDAY OCTOBER 13

NANCY KOEBEL

hey may be called cream scones, but a big part of the magic of this treat comes from the butter. Adding little pieces of cold butter to the flour mixture (with the help of the food processor) creates little pockets of butter in the dough. When the scones are baking, the water in that butter turns into steam. That steam creates little pockets of air,

▢ 2 cups (10 ounces)

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5 Calvary United church, St. Jacobs at noon. Community Care Concepts invites you to join us for lunch and fellowship. Cost: $12.00. Must pre-register by noon on September 30 by calling 519-664-1900.

T

21 Industrial Dr., Elmira 519.669.2884 | martinselmira.com

ties free webinar hosted by the Nith Valley EcoBoosters. Four knowledgeable speakers encourage engaging in shaping our communities. Register at https://bit.ly/shapingcommunity

▢Senior’s Community Dining. Join us for lunch at

Serve these buttery scones with your favourite jam

Elmira Mennonite Church

D I R E C TO RY 9:30am

Truth and Reconciliation Charleen Jongejan Harder Preaching

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

Thursday, September 22, 2022 | THE OBSERVER

L I V I N G H E R E | 25

Supporting your child during back-to-school

S

tarting a new school year can be both an exciting and anxious time for students and caregivers.

It is normal for both to experience several emotions, questions, and some concerns about heading back to school.

Having tools and strategies to address a potentially stressful situation can diffuse anxiety and lead to a calmer, more positive start to the new year.

Here are some tips that caregivers can use to support their children.

Before getting to using these with your family, allow yourself some time and space to check in with your own perspectives about back-to-school.

Think about the feelings you are experiencing right now and whether these are the feelings that you want to project in conversations about back-toschool with your children.

If not, this is the time to check in with others to manage these emotions.

For example, if you are feeling confused and have questions, seek out these answers from the school

▢ Your Mental Wellbeing Woolwich Counselling Centre

or other appropriate sources of information.

Additionally, check in with the other people who help care for your children, like your spouse, co-parent, or others, to get on the same page with your family’s expectations and goals for the new year.

Starting conversations with your children about what they are feeling and thinking about heading back to school is very valuable. As caregivers, it is important to make space to allow children to express themselves and share what is going on for them – they might surprise you! First, think about a good time to check in: Riding bikes past the school, around the table at dinner, winding down before bed, or maybe heading out together in the car. Ask them directly and specifically about what they are feeling.

Instead of “Can you tell me what you’re feeling about going back to school?,” which could be a

“no,” try, “What thoughts are coming up when you think about heading back to school?,” “What feelings have you noticed thinking about back to school?.”

Finally, make space for the unknown. As a family, consider discussing unknowns you are all thinking about. For example, “What questions do you have about back-toschool or what things are you unsure about heading into this school year?” You can talk about this or have everyone in your family write their uncertainties down and take turns reading them out. It is important to acknowledge the fear that underlies the unknown and allow time to sit with this before going into problem-solving mode. “Wow, I hear how worried you are about whether you’ll be able to keep up with work in class after being online this past year. Tell me more about that.” From there, focus on identifying and validating your child’s emotions.

You can check in with your child about what they need to manage their emotions: “Do you

want me to just listen? Do you want some help in planning to try to manage this?” This demonstrates that you are listening and understanding them, and sometimes providing them with some ideas about what to do next.

If they are unsure, try brainstorming ideas and exploring these together.

Remember, our children are not always looking to us as caregivers to fix the situation. It makes a world of difference to them to know we hear them when they share information and understand what they are experiencing.

Amid rising rates of childhood anxiety, you as a caregiver can be a valuable support system for your child. Don’t hesitate to talk to your doctor or mental health professional if you or your child could use additional support. ↆ This article is brought to you

by Woolwich Counselling Centre.

This nonprofit counselling agency creates awareness and provides education to promote emotional and mental wellness for individuals, families, businesses, and others in Woolwich and Wellesley. Check out their upcoming small group therapy sessions and workshops at www.woolwichcounselling. org.

CBD’s efficacy remains under review.

MAYO CLINIC: Effectiveness of CBD remains an ongoing research topic → FROM 23

effects are decreased appetite, fever, increased liver function tests, anemia, fatigue and gait disturbances.

The highly touted pain relief indication of CBD has not been shown by current research.

CBD is also metabolized in a complex way by many enzymes in the body, while it interferes with other enzymes that metabolize other drugs, making CBD a substance to use carefully if you take other over-the-counter or prescription medications.

Current research indicates that CBD is not as beneficial as claimed.

While research is ongoing into CBD as a treatment for a wide range of conditions, including cancer,

hepatitis, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, certain rare inherited disorders and some psychiatric disorders, future indications may result in CBD not being classified as an orphan drug. Until better evidence indicates that more common uses are safe and effective, CBD will continue to be a product that lacks evidence to support claims of efficacy for many conditions.

Before you try nonprescription CBD for any medical concern, you should speak with your health care provider or pharmacist about whether it would be safe and effective for you. Also, your health provider may be able to help you determine which product to purchase.

“Specialized Transit Service for Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich Townships”

30 Years

t i s n a r T s i n a w Ki e s u o H n e p O

“Specialized Transit Service for Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich Townships”

SUNDAY, OCTOBE R 2 1 PM TILL 4 PM

WOOLWICH MEMORIAL CENTRE �COMMUNITY CENTRE 24 SNYDER AVE S. ELMIRA

SUNDAY OCTOBER 2

REFRESHMENTS 1 PM TILL 4 PM ELMIRA LEGION-11 FIRST ST E. ELMIRA & CELEBRATION Further info 519-669-4533 or 1-800-461-1355 www.k-transit.com

REFRESHMENTS & CELEBRATATION

Further info 519-669-4533 or 1-800-461-1355

Playtime Word of the Week

Find-A-Word

VERDIGRIS A green or bluish deposit, usually of copper carbonates, that forms on copper, brass, or bronze surfaces.

Mini-Word

, 5 6 $ & 7 , 2 1

1 ( : 7 2 1 7 2 3

( $ ; 0 ( 0 8 2 1

5 & 3 & 2 5 % , 7

enlightenment 9. Slanted 10. Nonessential amino acid

Sudoku

DOWN 1. Orbital point 2. Batter's position 3. Golden Horde

member 4. Dangerous strain 5. Small finch 6. Instant

EASY

7 7 + , , 1 ( ( :

Sudoku

HARD

, 2 . $ 2 7 2 2 :

$ 5 : 0 5 1 ( $ %

2 * $ 6 0 0 9 ' 2

: / ( ' ( + * 6

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.

1 5 / 7 $ 8 1 1

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( $ < ' $ 7 ' 7 :

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7 9 ( 1 4 8 1 & 3

LED

PION

TOP

BARN

FLUX

LENS

REACTOR

WAVE

BASE

FORCE

MESON

SHEAR

WORK

BOSON

GAS

MONO

SOLID

CHARM

GLUON

MUON

STEREO

DIP

INERTIA

NEWTON

STRAIN

ENERGY

JFET

ORBIT

TAU

SOLUTION:

Figure out the mystery letters to complete this eight-letter word reading clockwise or counterclockwise.

Crossword ACROSS 1. Above 5. Hangout 8. It's definite 11. "The Open

12. Printing flourish 14. Bogus 15. State of being

8 Letters 1 Word

THEME: PHYSICS

Window" writer

20

EXCITED

ACTION

ACROSS 1. Best suited 7. Glacial deposit 8. Zen

THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022 | 26

If your company would like to sponsor this page, please contact The Observer at 519-669-5790 ext.104 Or email donna@woolwichobserver.com

impossible to retract 18. Book collector's suffix 19. Ages 20. Separately 21. Bless with oil 22. Crow's home 23. Alnus 25. Pro 26. Rudimentary seed 27. Victorian, for one 28. Biblical birthright seller 32. Rapid onset of confusion 36. Clobber 37. Bird ___ 38. Kind of ray 39. Astern 40. Choose 42. Needles 45. The New Yorker cartoonist Edward 46. Car dealer's offering 47. Bad marks

48. ___ Appia 51. Without purpose 54. Does some tailoring 55. 1545 council site 56. "___ Ha'i" 57. Driver's lic.

and others

58. N.Y.C. zone

59. Musical sign DOWN 1. ___ Minor 2. Mountain pool 3. Creole vegetable 4. Pandowdy, e.g.

5. Car window

component

14. Become unhinged 16. Plywood layer 17. Blunted blade 21. Go off script 23. Affirm 24. Corker 25. "A jealous mistress":

adornments

6. Clear, as a disk 7. Bird's beak 8. "So ___!"

9. Dispatch 10. Dash lengths 12. More tender 13. Freight train

AD SPOT - NON PRINTING

Emerson

26. "That's ___ ..."

27. Big bird 28. In-box contents 29. Fax, say 30. A chip, maybe 31. Cable network 33. Least certain 34. Final: Abbr.

35. Awards show hosts 39. "Not to mention ..."

40. Museum guide 41. Artist Max 42. Swung about 43. Standing 44. Blabs 45. Corporate

department 48. Butcher's offering 49. "Cast Away" setting 50. Like 51. ___ Beta Kappa 52. "... ___ he drove out of sight" 53. "ER" network

Thursday, September 22, 2022 | THE OBSERVER

L I V I N G H E R E | 27

Doors Open event remains strictly digital again this year Region of Waterloo has started releasing a series of videos featuring local people and landmarks Leah Gerber Observer Staff

LOCAL AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN MARION Roes has been featured in a docu-series from Waterloo Region to highlight her work telling the history of the funeral business in the region.

The series is Waterloo Region’s contribution to Doors Open Ontario, an event to celebrate heritage and architecture across the province. This year, the event is once again completely digital, as was the case over the last two years due to the pandemic.

To participate, the region staff have created a series of videos, about ten minutes each, that feature a less well-known story about the region. This includes the story about Roes, who was part of the Dreisinger Funeral Home legacy in Elmira.

“When I was interviewing the undertakers and realizing that their stories aren’t usually told, and people often say they don’t like going to a funeral home, which is understandable, and

yet, the funeral directors are involved with every person in a community and so they’re important to the community,” said Roes in the video.

Roes began writing the book, “Death as Life’s Work,” about the history of the funeral business in the region from about 1850 until 2020 while she was working on another research project in 2014.

Originally she was looking for more information about the local funeral business as background information about her great-grandfather’s funeral home business, Dreisinger Funeral Home.

She received so much information from local historians that she had enough to write an entire book on the subject.

Roe is interested in the funeral business because her family on her mother’s side owned and operated the funeral home in Elmira from 1904 until 2009. Her sister is still a funeral director today.

The episode featuring Roes was released this weekend and can be found on the Region of

Local historian Marion Roes is the author of Death as Life’s Work.

Waterloo’s website, www. regionofwaterloo.ca.

Other episodes include lesser-told stories about the region, including:  The tales of two Nessie-like creatures that surfaced in Waterloo Region's rivers 100 years apart. Sightings of the infamous ‘Nithy’ of the Nith River were reported in newspapers

throughout Ontario in the 1950s. The lesser-known Doon Monster of the Grand River bubbled up a century before.

Both of these river monsters generated a groundswell of interest that united and divided neighbours in a wave of debate about con vs. phenomenon.  A look at the finest

File photo





Cambridge architecture and its back-story through the lens of local photographer Michael Johnston; The Top 10 gems of The Grace Schmidt Room of Local History at the Kitchener Public Library’ An analog revival of the typewriter with Currie Russell, whose pandemic passion

project has evolved into a thriving side-hustle for the Waterloo collector;  A behind-the-scenes tour of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery vault;  A chat with Clarence Cachagee at Crow Shield Lodge, a place for reconciliation, Indigenous land-based teaching and healing;  The innovative history of Historic Blair Sheave Tower, Ontario's last remaining wooden water-powered hydro generator tower.

Built in 1876, it was a remarkable feat of engineering which harnessed waterpower, via pulley and cable, for the nearby gristmill. It was one of the world’s smallest hydro generating projects.  The heritage of Galt Arena Gardens, which turned 100 this year and remains the oldest continuously operating arena in the world.

FALL INTO

FITNESS

at the Woolwich Memorial Centre ↆ Mayo Clinic Q & A is an educational resource and doesn’t replace regular medical care. E-mail a question to MayoClinicQ&A@mayo.edu. For more information, visit www. mayoclinic.org.

Memberships Will be re-activated on Tuesday September 8th

WMC FALL MEMBERSHIP SPECIAL Get 1 month FREE with the purchase of an annual membership!

Memberships include: ▪ ▪

Full Fitness Centre access Admission to all drop-in aquatic, fitness & skating programs

$585.45 (taxes included) Payment plan available on request.

Special valid until September 30, 2022

For more information visit: woolwich.ca or call 519-514-7000

Community Care Concepts of Woolwich, Wellesley and Wilmot

Helping Seniors and Adults with Disabilities to Live Independently in Their Own Home Meals on Wheels • Transportation Day Programs • Homemakers • Maintenance Friendly Visitors • Community Meals • Social Programs Transportation from Hospital to Home FREE Community Exercise and Falls Prevention Classes FREE Short Term Home Support For information, services or support contact Community Care Concepts

519-664-1900

|

1-855-664-1900

THE OBSERVER | Thursday, September 22, 2022

28 | T H E B A C K PA G E

BLACK HISTORY: Finding the good stories to relate → FROM 23

the Peel and Wellesley township border, Glen Allen, Wallenstein and Hawkesville. The Canadian government later surveyed the land, and priced it too high for the Black settlers to afford.

By 1850 the Black settlers

began migrating out of the Queen’s Bush settlement.

Thomas says this fall she will be working with a local historian to retrace the plots originally cleared

by Black settlers and learn about who they were.

“It’s so enriching,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that

it’s crappy history, there’s also always good stories in there. And we just want our truth, so that we can recognize and honour the people that made it so that we can enjoy the part of our communities that we do now. And people want that.”

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Though there are some signs of change, the real fall colours lie ahead.

WEATHER: Milder conditions as harvest time rolls in → FROM 3

before we get to the end of the season.

“Most Canadians are enjoying an extended summer season with dry weather and mid-summer-like temperatures continuing deep into September,” said Chris Scott, chief meteorologist at The Weather Network, in a release. “Extended periods of pleasant fall weather are expected to last through much of October across most of the country.”

Warmer than normal temperatures are expected to dominate most of the fall season with extended periods of pleasant weather through October. However, the milder pattern could break down before we get to the end of the season. We also expect fewer fall storms than what we typically see, but a few storms could still pack quite a punch with heavy rain.

The colour-change season looks really positive this year, with the big changes happening after Thanksgiving, Phillips added.

“The trees love the summer that we had. They were a little stressed by the lack of precipitation but they can overcome that. And we think that with fine fall weather the viewing weather will be pretty good. The colourchange season is the gift from the atmosphere. It is that fifth season it is that one where particularly in Ontario, where the harvest comes in the colours changed magnificently.

The reds and the purples and the golds – I mean it’s just really magical,” said Phillips.

Often when people ask Phillips about fall, they really want to know what winter will be like.

However, one season does not give a clue about the next, he said.

“You wish you would have this thing all figured out, but the only carryover from summer to fall is the early arrival of fall or winter-like weather. And because we’ve had such a warm summer…a lot of that residual heat is that is the gift that keeps giving and so that we will be seeing that it will kind of temper some of those air masses that come from the west. The polar vortex will have not quite the strength that it has here as it went out west because of the residual heat and the lakes and the land and the rivers and things like that.”

However it is not quite time to worry about winter tires or putting away lawn furniture,” emphasized Phillips “I think there is still a lot of good weather to enjoy here in southern Ontario to enjoy the harvest, to enjoy the colour-change season and to worry about winter when it arrives.”

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