Rideau Heartland Realty Brokerage
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23 Beckwith Street North, Suite 203 Smiths Falls, ON K7A 2B2
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613-285-4781 613.283.7788 www.RIDEAUHEARTLAND.com
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Marcella Best
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SPECIALIZING IN UNIQUE GIFTS CRAFTED BY LOCAL ARTISANS 12 Beckwith Street North, Smiths Falls ÂŁÂ‡ĂˆÂŁĂŽÂ‡Ă“n·äxÇÇÊUÊ£‡nÇLJÓx£‡{ĂˆĂ¤ĂŽĂŠUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°ĂƒÂ“ÂˆĂŒÂ…ĂƒĂƒÂ…ÂœiĂƒÂ°V> Monday-Friday 9am-5:30pm; Saturday 9am-5pm; Sunday Closed
Davidson Courtyard 7 Russell St. W., Suite D Smiths Falls, ON K7A 1N8
www.theloftartisanconsignment.ca email: info@theloftartisanconsignment.ca Tel: 613-284-4200
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www.insideottawavalley.com
Community invited to tour medicinal marijuana facility By HOWAIDA SOROUR hsorour@perfprint.ca
Photo by HOWAIDA SOROUR
Jim Pevere and Jim Jenkins, in their office at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 95. Their goal is to track down every veteran in town who might be eligible for a pension.
Legion service officers determined to reach every veteran hsorour@perfprint.ca
Community - They’re probably the least celebrated people in our community and yet these volunteers put in more hours helping our veterans than they would at a full-time job. “I was just out at Willowdale this morning to meet with a veteran who had just been awarded his pension - he’s a (Second World War) veteran and is just getting his pension now,� said Jim Jenkins, one of two veterans service officers with the Smiths Falls Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 95. That veteran who had been
wounded during the war would never have received his pension were it not for Jenkins’ efforts. “I happened to talk to his daughter who goes to the same church as I and she told me her dad was a WWII vet, so I asked her if he was getting a pension and she said she didn’t think so,� said Jenkins. So Jenkins took the initiative to go and talk to the gentleman in question and found out that he was certainly entitled to apply for a pension. The application was sent out in April and the pension awarded by October. “In 10 months we’ve put in 47 claims to Veterans Affairs on be-
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half of veterans, of those 47 as of this week, we’ve been successful in six and we have three under appeal,� said Jim Pevere, the second veterans service officer of the Smiths Falls Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 95. The rest of those claims are pending according to Jenkins since it takes anywhere from three to five months for a claim to be processed. Until recently, just one service officer was handling the job. “It’s too big a job for one person,� said Pevere. “It’s already a full-time job plus for Jim, and I help out,� he continued. Jenkins and Pevere said they
are determined to help every veteran in this town who is eligible for a claim; the hard part is identifying them all. “A lot of veterans don’t know they’re eligible for a claim, or they may have put in a claim and been rejected over a technicality and don’t know that they can appeal or that there’s a good chance they could win their appeal,� said Jenkins. When the two former vets took on the service officer roles at the Legion they were told not to fill out any forms for veterans but to get them to do it themselves. See SERVICE page SF2
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By HOWAIDA SOROUR
News – Well it really is happening, and if anyone still has any doubts that the former Hershey plant is going to get a new lease on life, now is your chance to have a look. Tweed Inc. is holding an open house on Saturday, Nov. 16 between noon and 4 p.m. “We’re extending an invitation to the mayor, councillors and everyone in the community to drop in,� said Mark Zekulin, vice president, Tweed Inc. They will have information boards set up about medicinal marijuana and about the company, and the types of jobs they’ll eventually be looking to fill. They will be offering refreshments and the entire Tweed management team will be on hand to answer questions. “This is just an open house, it’s not a job fair,� clarified Zekulin. As of now, Tweed is in the process of construction at the former chocolate factory. They’ve staked out the area they will be using for their operations and are clearing the floors. “We’re taking the entire distribution centre which is about 168,000 square feet, as well as the office space to the left of the old visitor entrance and the mezzanine which brings the total up to 180,000 square feet, or one third of the facility,� said Chuck Rifici, president and CEO, Tweed. The first order of business has been to dismantle the endless rows of steel racks that were left behind, and crews are almost through that process. Then they will re-divide the space into the required sections for the operation. “We’ll be starting with the mother room, where the seeds will be planted and nurtured be-
fore being moved to the grow rooms, and there will be several grow rooms separated from one another,� explained Zekulin. Now about halfway through the Health Canada licensing process, the company has to demonstrate that the facility will meet all the Health Canada requirements from a technical and operational standpoint; that means everything from filtration, to security systems before they can be granted their licence to start operation. “It is an unusual process, but it’s a unique industry and I think it makes sense for this operation,� said Rifici. It is a huge investment to make prior to receiving the license. “The reassurance we have is that anyone who meets the criteria will be granted a licence,� said Zekulin. Currently Health Canada is assessing 200 licence applications and has granted two. “We’re well positioned, given the scale of this facility and our business plan,� said Rifici. While they may not be in operation or even licensed they are committed to achieving both those milestones and going beyond. Tweed also hopes to eventually contribute to the body of knowledge about medicinal marijuana. “There are hundreds of hybrids, all with different properties, and there isn’t yet any scientific research into the properties of different strains,� said Zekulin. “The information available right now is anecdotal.� While research is not the company’s first priority, it is something they foresee happening over time, according to Rifici. “Whether in collaboration with a university or other research entity we see a value in the marketplace to build that in,� said Zekulin.
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12 Beckwith Street North, Smiths Falls ÂŁÂ‡ĂˆÂŁĂŽÂ‡Ă“n·äxÇÇÊUÊ£‡nÇLJÓx£‡{ĂˆĂ¤ĂŽĂŠUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°ĂƒÂ“ÂˆĂŒÂ…ĂƒĂƒÂ…ÂœiĂƒÂ°V> Monday-Friday 9am-5:30pm; Saturday 9am-5pm; Sunday Closed