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Crossley students join province-wide walkout Column Six Thousands in Ontario protest Ford government's proposed changes to education
The Fonthill of my mind Reconciling the town I grew up in with the one I have returned to
BY KATHRYN HRYCUSKO
Special to the VOICE
Students at E. L. Crossley Secondary School joined thousands of students across Ontario last Wednesday afternoon who walked out of class to protest the Ontario provincial government’s proposed changes to education. Wearing all black in solidarity with others protesting, and sporting signs that criticized the proposed increase to class sizes, implementation of e-learning, and more, dozens of students made their way to the edge of the school’s property. One of the students, armed with a megaphone, led the others in a rousing cheer of, “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Doug Ford must go!” This province-wide walkout, which was participated in by hundreds schools, both secondary and elementary, came in the wake of the provincial government’s, “Education that Works for You” plan. It was also a precursor to a rally that was held in Toronto on Saturday. Teacher associations, including OSSTF, were involved with planning the rally, which saw numerous teachers and See WALK-OUT Page 18
BY KATHRYN HRYCUSKO
Special to the VOICE
W
HEN I FIRST moved away from Fonthill I was fresh out of high school, and like the stereotypical teens of country songs and movies, I was eager to leave my small town and not look back. It wasn’t that I didn’t like growing up here— in fact, I have wonderful memories of running around the neighbourhood barefoot, playing capture the flag and road hockey (at least until the streetlights turned on). It was just that I knew there was much more to the world beyond my little hometown, and I wanted to experience it all. So I headed to Europe for a year, then Ottawa for four. As a result, my contact with Fonthill has been minimal over the last several years. I am aware of the changes that have oc-
Grade 12 students and organizers of the walkout, from left, Erica Carter, Pooja Senthil, and Briana Allen.
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The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
PUBLISHER’S CORNER by Dave Burket
Corrections at the top: With tongue firmly in cheek, reader Ken Hubley wrote in a couple of weeks back regarding our mention of increased Pelham water rates. We said it was 42% over five years. Ken says, “Your comment on the rising water and wastewater rates needs a bit of tweaking. Your answer of 42% at year five (5) would be correct if the increases were simple interest, but we all know how the CPAs love their compound interest. So the compound effect of an 8.4% increase each year for the next five (5) years represents 49.7% in year five (5). The calc is (1 + 0.84)^5 = 1.4967402.” Ken adds that since he lives in Thorold and has a cistern, this is entirely an academic point for him. Duly noted! In last week’s piece about Project Linus, the handmade-blankets-for-kids initiative, the wrong contact number appeared for organizer Betty Oliver. The correct number is (289) 321-0817. And finally, in our piece a couple of issues back about travellers detained at Pearson airport on their return to Canada, a helpful proofreader emailed in to note that the phrase should have been, “bawling their eyes out,” not, “balling their eyes out,” and shall we quickly move on?...Kind words: Renewing their Voice membership last week, reader Irene Wolfson included a nice note, reading in part, “We moved to Fenwick nearly four years ago. We absolutely love the area and feel extraordinarily fortunate to have such great neighbours. We’re also happy to see that the local voters are well informed and feisty when it comes to issues that greatly concern them.” Thanks, folks!...Tracking Anastasia: As Anastasia April continues (Voice on Vacation, below), we find our traveller this week in the UAE. Over the weekend I was curious, so I emailed Anastasia, who is now home, to ask whether she had deliberately taken the particular issue of the Voice that we see in each photo. Nope, she said. It was just that week’s paper when she departed on her around-the-world adventure. So far, she and Pelham’s former CAO have also hit Addis Ababa, Rio de Janeiro, and Johannesburg, with two more stops to come...On the weekend: Find some bargains, enjoy a cupcake, at Fenwick United Church’s Spring Flea Market, on Saturday (ad on p. 5). MPP Sam Oosterhoff is holding two Open Houses on Saturday to solicit opinion on the small matter of regional amalgamation (ad on p. 17). Then more cake can be had at Paul’s Garden Centre, as they celebrate turning 13 on Saturday
and Sunday (ad on p. 14)...Speaking of puberty past: Memories of our teen years are about the most indestructible we have, and this week our freelance writer Kathryn Hrycuscko considers, in her thoughtful Column Six piece, the Fonthill in which she grew up compared to the Fonthill of today...It’s two bronzes and a silver, plus a mention: We learned over the weekend which specific awards we’d won in this year’s provincial newspaper competition (story this page). Once again, as we did last year, we snagged an award for Best Investigative News Story (silver then, bronze now), and once again we did not attend the awards dinner, preferring to save our cash for, as it turned out, computer guru Steve Cunningham to come by and resuscitate a comatose office computer. All these recent power outages may have fried the power supply, he thought, recommending a new battery backup, called a UPS, now on sale at Costco for $175. And...done! Anyway, because it is often human nature to want ever more and more, I was initially a little miffed that our investigative piece didn’t take second or even first place. Then, in the awards booklet, I saw the stories that did win these spots were arguably a little more heavy duty, including revealing that 61% of all gun homicides in Toronto go unsolved. So we content ourselves with appropriate recognition, and are grateful for it. Incidentally, as you’ll see in the story above, one of our awards was for an editorial we ran on the hypocrisy of the Town (well, the former mayor) condemning one form of public fundraising while blessing another. Believe it or not, a week or so after it ran, the newspaper was served with legal papers threatening action for defamation—not by the ex-mayor, but by someone not even named in the editorial. This was a first, literally being threatened for having an opinion. The claim went nowhere, of course, being quickly and decisively dispatched on advice of our counsel, who was equally baffled—though entertained...No, you aren’t seeing triple: Well, you are, sort of. There are indeed three separate Piccolos in this week’s edition—dad John, telling us not to be bamboozled by golf equipment marketing (p. 8), daughter and Crossley student Tessa, protesting the Ford government’s proposed education cuts (p. 1), and son Sam, former Voice staff writer, back this week, and on this page, to talk journalism shop. It’s all excellent. Viva la famiglia Piccolo, e grazie. ♦
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Voice wins three awards and an Honourable Mention at annual news association gala The Voice has won an Honourable Mention, two Third Place awards, and one Second Place award in the Ontario Community Newspaper Association’s annual Better Newspaper Competition. The awards were announced at the OCNA’s gala award dinner in Vaughan last Friday evening. The province-wide competition solicited entries from issues published between October 2017 and September 2018. The Honourable Mention was for Best Photo Layout, awarded for the paper’s special July 18, 2018 pull-out section headlined, “Amazing, Fabulous, Remarkable,” covering the opening of the new community centre, in East Fonthill. The editorial, “No matter who pays for it, do the audit right,” which ran on October 4, 2017, won Third Place for Best Editorial in the under-10,000 circulation class. The editorial called out the hypocrisy in the former mayor of Pelham’s call to reject the private financing
BY VOICE STAFF of an audit of Town finances, while at the same time the Town was actively seeking private financing, often through very large donations, of the new community centre. Our feature layout on the legendary pilot and first female town councillor, Dorothy Rungeling, published on February 28, 2018, 11 days after her death, won Second Place for Best Feature Writing, in the under-10,000 circulation class. Finally, for the second year running, the Voice won for Best Investigative News Story, taking Third Place for our April 25, 2018 article, “Pelham Seniors Apartments tenants allege mistreatment,” which detailed a litany of complaints regarding management of the Fonthill apartment building. A follow-up story was also awarded. In his comments, the OCNA judge wrote, “Since the pieces ran, there has been a change of tenant association lead-
ership, and various tenants are pursuing separate legal avenues of recourse. Great investigating reporting....” (The article’s author, Sam Piccolo, reflects on what the piece did, and didn’t, achieve, starting below.) Voice publisher Dave Burket expressed his appreciation to the newspaper association, and to the paper’s staff. “It’s certainly rewarding to be recognized for the work that goes into the paper, week-in and weekout,” said Burket. “We had a tough patch with the previous mayor and council early last year, and the OCNA and other newspaper associations had our back. I should also point out that these awards are heavy on the Piccolo—our man Sam played a role in almost all of them. Of course, it’s down to our readers and members’ support, our shareholders, our advertisers, and the great work of a small team, that keeps the Voice going. I thank them all.”
COMMENTARY By Samuel Piccolo
Justice, the public good, and journalism's limits Last weekend’s announcement that the Voice has been awarded Third Place for Best Investigative News Story in this year’s Ontario Community News-
paper Association’s Better Newspaper Competition fell almost exactly a year after the story for which it won was published. I speak of the newspaper’s
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Column Six The Comfort Maple myth
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Paws with Piper Meetings with therapy dog offers chance to relax BY KATHRYN HRYCUSKO
Special to the VOICE
Cries of “There’s Piper!” could be heard from staff and visitors alike at the Pelham Library, Fonthill branch, this past Friday as Piper and her owner Pam Young arrived. Piper, a grey terrier-mix, made a beeline for the group of ladies who sat with their knitting projects in front of them. “We always make a stop in the knitting room there,” Young said, “Everybody loves to pet her.” It is part of their weekly routine on the way to their regular library session, Paws with Piper. The program runs every Friday from 3:30 PM to 4:15 PM, and visitors are encouraged to stop by the library to visit with Piper to relax and relieve stress. The library also offers a sixweek program in the summer that gives children the opportunity to read stories to Piper. Piper and Young are affiliated with Therapy Tails Ontario, a non-profit charity that certifies therapy dogs and arranges for them to visit various locations, with the goal of improving the lives of those they encounter. “We’re so well received in nursing homes, hospitals, schools, libraries, there are actually more requests for Therapy Tails than we can keep up with,” said Young. “People are acknowledging the benefits of having animals around.”
The Paws with Piper program, which has been going on for three years, started when Young approached the library with the idea. She had seen how well those in her apartment building had responded to visits with Piper and wanted to share Piper’s “wonderful gifts” with others. Young went through the steps to get Piper certified as a therapy dog and arranged to start taking her to the library. Since then, the program has attracted some 5-20 participants each week. Adult Program Coordinator Melanie Taylor-Ridgway stopped by briefly to check in on the group and mentioned that Piper’s visits usually attract a “wide variety of ages.” Everyone from kids to seniors stop by to see the dog. Last Friday, attendance was on the lower end, with only a handful of guests stopping by. Young met each guest by name, and kept up friendly conversations with everyone, catching up on their week, and asking the children how school was treating them. Among last week’s visitors was Lydia, age 11, who has been coming every Friday for a year. “My brother is allergic to dogs so I’m not able to have a dog in my house,” she said. “So after a whole week of school I just like to come here and relax.”
Lukas, 9, Marissa, 5, Paityn, 5, and Lydia,11, visit with Piper at the library. “Lydia even asked her mum one day if they could trade her brother Samuel in for a dog,” said Young, laughing, “That’s been a longstanding joke.” Though Lydia was Piper’s primary visitor, others stopped by throughout the hour to have a quick chat with Young and to pet Piper quickly before they headed out again. The librarians themselves are included in those who enjoy Piper’s visits. “The girls here refer to Piper as their resident therapy dog,” said Young.
In addition to the regulars, other children approached Piper for the first time on Friday, some with exclamations of “Wow!” and “Pretty dog!” A laid back character whose movements were mostly paw raises to get people to continue petting, Piper is also acknowledged by the librarians as an approachable dog for people who have not been around animals before. Many visitors are local, but every now and then folks show up from father afield than Pelham. “Last week we met a lovely
KATHRYN HRYCUSKO PHOTO
gentleman, and his daughter, who had come over from England,” Young said. The group split-up slowly after their hour had passed, with promises to see one another again the following week. Although the duo have a scheduled time each Friday, it is likely that they will stop by before then. Young and Piper often drop in to say hello and to attempt to improve everyone’s day. “Piper will often pull me to the door,” said Pam Young. “This is her happy place.”
TOWN COUNCIL NEWS Budget passes after MCC report scrutinized BY JOHN CHICK
Special to the VOICE
The Town of Pelham finally passed its 2019 operating budget at the April 1 council meeting, but it
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Ward 2 Councilor Ron Kore took aim at the fact that no money from Toffolo has been seen yet, despite the fact that the hockey season is over. “This gentleman has got our money and we don’t see any of it,” Kore said. Interim CAO Teresa Quin-
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lin clarified that the agreement with Toffolo was reached last June, meaning that payment to the Town is due by June 15 of this year. However, compounding matters is an apparent problem with the contract between the Town and Toffolo. “There’s an issue we
are dealing with one of the pledge agreements, it’s a sensitive issue,” Quinlin said. Ward 1 Councilor Mike Ciolfi pointed out that the contract council had was not signed, and believed See COUNCIL Page 12
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OPINION
The opinions expressed in submitted commentary and letters to the editor are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Voice of Pelham.
The Voice of Pelham is a 1211858 Ontario Limited publication David Burket, Publisher 2-1428 Pelham St., P.O. Box 1489, Fonthill, ON L0S1E0
COMMENTARY / OP-ED Larry Coté The stink about the new grow-ops
T
OWN COUNCIL recently enacted a temporary moratorium on the building of more cannabis growing operations that would add to the number of marijuana producers in Pelham. Apparently, the councillors listened to the complaints of some residents about the nuisances such facilities inflict on those who live near these installations. There appears to be two main complaints levied by residents about these facilities. Those who live downwind claim to be irritated by the wafting of skunk-like odours continuously emitted by these pot growing operations. Also, residents near and far complain about the night skies being lit up by the grow lights, like it was noon hour on a sunny day in July. Clearly, such unnatural illuminations would disturb the sleep routines for those who live in the area. Residents fear that beyond the prospect that such annoyances might devalue the worth of their properties there could be other, as yet undetermined, issues associated with residing close to these mammoth cannabis grow-ops. Likely, those who man-
age, or advocate for, these grow-ops don’t live near their operations. After a day of work they can return to the comforts of their patios and enjoy the aromas from their carafe of wine and vase of fresh cut flowers.
Likely, those who manage, or advocate for, these grow-ops don't live near their operations There may also be an underlying, unspoken, attitudinal resistance among the residents of this once sleepy village to the presence of these cannabis growing greenhouses. Prior to the legalization of marijuana, the users were thought to be living somewhere on the edge of societal norms. Disapproving whispers and disdainful glances were directed at those suspected to
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be smoking pot. It may be there was a notion that the covert usage of marijuana provoked a feeling of unease among some people. In spite of legalization, there may be some residual discomfiture in living close to the cultivation of this substance. It is difficult to predict what the outcomes might be of Town Council’s deliberations. It will be a momentous ordeal to attempt to satisfy the demands of both the residents and the investors in these large hi-tech greenhouses. Beyond that contentious issue there is also the matter of public perception. Do the residents look forward to Pelham owning the image as the Cannabis Capital of Ontario? Such a cognition would displace the current image perceived to be as the centre for the growing of precious fruits and a cornucopia of nutritious vegetables. The sight of orchards of blossoming cherry trees replaced by large windowless steel clad buildings wrapped in sheets of plastic and enclosed behind barbed wire fences may make some lament such a potential change in scenery.
Letters A curious company name explained In response to the Publisher's Corner in the April 3 edition of the voice, we are pleased to have the opportunity to further inform the public about Landscape 95. Landscape 95 is a “millennial company,” as both of us were born in the year of 1995, and both grew up in Fonthill—Adam as a student at A. K. Wigg, and Zach at Glynn A. Green. We worked for the Town of Pelham as summer students, both being mentored by Mr. Mark Lovel. Now together, we offer a landscaping service to the Fonthill and Welland community. Landscape 95 was created in November of 2018. After a successful winter season, we look forward to the summer season. Landscape 95 is not quite like Microsoft. However, we are a millennial company that utilizes the internet as well as traditional avenues to communicate our message. Connecting with others has never been so easy! Adam & Zach Landscape 95
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CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS Member of Federal Parliament
Electoral District: Niagara West
Dean Allison, MP 4994 King Street Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0 Dean.Allison@parl.gc.ca 877-563-7900
Mayor of Pelham Marvin Junkin mjunkin@pelham.ca 289-929-2681 Members of Pelham Town Council
Member of Provincial Parliament
Ward 1 Councillor Mike Ciolfi mciolfi@pelham.ca 905-892-0077
Sam Oosterhoff, MPP 4961 King St. East, Unit M1 Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0 sam.oosterhoffco@pc.ola.org 905-563-1755
Councillor Marianne Stewart mstewart@pelham.ca 289-821-0840
Electoral District: Niagara West
Members of Niagara Regional Council Councillor Marvin Junkin mjunkin@pelham.ca 289-929-2681 Councillor Diana Huson diana.huson@niagararegion.ca 905-324-3094 Town of Pelham 20 Pelham Town Square P.O. Box 400 Fonthill, ON L0S 1E0 905-892-2607
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The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
Page 5
OPINION Get with the times, Luddites—resistance is futile! Last week, the Voice carried a letter decrying “job-sucking” self-checkout machines [“Not thrilled with self-checkout machines,” Letters, April 3, p. 5]. The central theme of the opinion was that we should forego improving technology in order to save jobs. I understand this opinion, and I understand that this opinion comes from a place of compassion and empathy for people. But this opinion is, frankly, shortsighted and wrong. In the mid-19th century, approximately 70% of the entire North American labor force was dedicated to agriculture. In large part, most tasks such as sowing of seeds and the harvesting and processing of crops were done by hand. But, as technology improved, we created tools to reduce the amount of work required to perform those tasks. We created tractors to plow fields, specialized machines that handle sowing of seeds and harvesting of crops, and tools to process and transport the goods produced. By 1921, employment due to agriculture had dropped to one third of all Canadian jobs. In 2016, according to Stats Canada, only 1.7% of the Canadian labour force was dedicated to agriculture. Using advancements in technology, a small fraction of our population is able to farm enough land for Canada to still be the fifth largest
STINK
continued from previous page To many people in and around Pelham, it has been sad to observe the decline in the number of family farms in the past few
Keep the spray away
exporter of agricultural and agri-food products in the world. The removal of outdated, and unnecessary labour allowed us to specialize in things besides creating food. It created opportunities for us to pursue math, science, business, and the arts. It allowed us to build up our society into what it is today. Disallowing technological advancement does not save jobs—it condemns people to performing menial, pointless tasks, and it hinders our ability to move forward. The fact of the matter is: automation is happening. Artificial Intelligence is growing more capable each day, and we are finding ways to perform tasks more efficiently and produce better things with less cost and time. Fewer people will be required to spend their lives on tedious work for corporate interests. Fewer people will be required to sustain a happy and healthy living for the entire population. This is only a bad thing when viewed with the current notion of how society runs, and what it means for a human life to have worth. But with time, this will evolve too. There may be short-term job loss, but anger towards the installation of these machines is misplaced and futile. I implore you to instead direct your energy towards the government, which needs to better prepare the
years. Even sadder for some might be the prospect that these remaining vestiges of a wholesome rural landscape are obscured by large scale investor-owned pot growing greenhouses. It could be that such a change might be written-off as one
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the growing of nutritious plants appears to be a contentious modification in the use of Pelham’s rich farmland. The council deciding in favour of family farms rather than large corporately owned greenhouses
I was distraught to read of a pending plan to spray insecticides from helicopters over our town . Apparently this is in response to concerns about the dreaded "gypsy moth/tent caterpillar.” Such a response can only be characterized as a vast overreaction. Like everything in nature, insects run in cycles, and nature takes these cycles in stride. The lifecycle of the gypsy moth is a normal reflection of a healthy ecosystem, not some sort of alien threat that must be thwarted at all costs. The residents of this town have already voted to ban "cosmetic" sprays due to their misuse and unintended consequences. Why the Town staff believe this situation to be exempt from that ban is beyond me, but it surely smacks of hypocrisy and simply flies in the face of modern sensibilities. Obviously the proponents of pesticides will say they are "safe.” What else would they say? We heard this about "Round Up," which
has recently been linked to cancer, and before that we heard it about "Cygon,” and before that it was DDT, and
would also be an interesting scenario. Those types of new grow-ops are typically protected with motion sensing cameras and barbed wire fences. On the other hand, the open fields of some local family farms switching to the growing
of marijuana might invite a return to the age-old prank of robbing gardens. ♦
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Editor’s note: How much economic benefit cannabis grow-ops bring directly to Pelham is an open question. On the issue of jobs, the largest of Pelham’s cannabis grow-operations, CannTrust, had previously not responded when asked by at least one Town councillor to confirm how many full-time employees work at their Fenwick plant, and, more importantly, how many of these employees live in Pelham. Last week, in answer to a Voice request for comment, a public relations spokesperson asserted that CannTrust’s Pelham staff consists of 270 full-time employees and “more than” 60 part-time. “Apologies I wasn't able to get the location breakdown,” said the spokesperson, “but will work on it for the future.”
of the costs of progress. The implications of converting greenhouses from growing cucumbers to cultivating marijuana is an interesting agricultural revolution. The craving for a recreational mood-altering weed to displace
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population and upcoming generations for the changing economic and labour landscape, and will need to more heavily tax mega-corporations and the ultra-wealthy to ensure better redistribution of the results of our technological capabilities. As a final note, to anyone who is upset by both the “job-sucking” self-checkout machines and the cannabis greenhouses in the area, I’d like to ask: how many jobs do you think are being prevented by the interim control bylaw? B. Reynolds Fonthill
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Page 6
The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
Letters
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
continued
How's that CAO search coming? Is the Town any closer to filling its CAO position? Pelham needs an experienced and skilled individual with the ability to move Pelham out of this financial quagmire. A vision of strategic planning is required, with so many changes in the
town’s future. Fiscal responsibility will go a long way to earning the confidence of Pelham’s taxpayers. Louise Morgan Fonthill Editor’s note: In mid March, the Town posted a 634-word
“employment opportunity” notice for the CAO position on its website, and in Municipal World Magazine, the bible for those on Canadian municipal career paths. The application deadline is this coming Friday, April 12, 4 PM. No salary range is specified.
Had higher hopes for Oosterhoff On a recent Saturday, some local newspapers published an editorial cartoon depicting Doug Ford in the legislature saying, "All in favor," and in the benches were trained seals clapping
their flippers in approval. If one watches question period, one can see our MPP Sam Oosterhoff pounding his desk and clapping his hands over anything Doug Ford says, much like the po-
litical cartoon. When Sam was elected, I thought he, as a young man, might be different from the typical political hack that
SPRAY
might be on board with this helicopter nonsense. But the proposal at hand is not even in that ballpark. The concern is essential-
ly aesthetic and the methods heavy-handed to say the least. They come from a desire to force nature to conform to some particular, narrow perspective which is at best futile, and at worst simply toxic. To the town residents who fear caterpillars in their yards so much as to support the application of pesticides from helicopters, why not choose a less natural setting for your home and leave nature to those of us who are not afraid of it? David Love Fonthill
continued from previous page about a threat to our ability to feed the population, I
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The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
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Page 8
The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca SPECIAL THANK YOU Pelham Cares recently held its 2018 Annual General Meeting, which was attended by many of their volunteers. Mayor Junkin brought greetings from the Town of Pelham. A special presentation was made to Tracy and Matt Holmwood, of Miller Restoration DKI, for their contribution to Pelham Cares and the community. Keith Moore, Vice-President of Pelham Cares, presents a plaque to Tracy Holmwood, with the organization’s heartfelt thanks. SUPPLIED PHOTO
ANOTHER ROUND
by JOHN PICCOLO
Don't fall for the revolutionary con
N
O E QU IPM E N T reviews this year. Nothing new of note has happened, so my old advice to get clubs that fit your game from someone you trust and then find the time to learn how to use them, or quit, or keep your expectations low until you have the time, still holds. The equipment companies go through phases in their attempts to convince you if you just buy this one club all of your worries will be washed away with a swipe of your credit card. Ten years ago it was materials. Drivers were just starting to be made of titanium and if yours wasn't you were a loser. The heads got bigger and that was supposed to be the answer and then the heads were made with two or more types of material. You had the hump shaft and the bubble shaft. Companies were fighting about who had the narrowest fairway woods for awhile. There was the tri-metal and bi-metal and the inverted head. Irons made totally of titanium and others made totally of carbon. Prices grew with the size of the heads with some drivers approaching $1,000 and sets of irons going for over $2,000. A few years back, size was once again "the" answer. The driver went from 300 cubic centimeters to 350, then to 400, 425. One company had one out at 500cc, and then golf's governing body said enough already, and set a limit on size of 460 cubic centimeters. The equipment companies next tried to obfuscate the issue with an argument of who had the higher co-efficient of restitution reading. They even started testing for this at PGA tour events. (What is it? Don't worry about it. If it was that meaningful it wouldn't have been dropped from their advertising patterns after its six months in the spotlight.)
Marketing got really shallow for a couple of cycles, when all they were really pushing was colours. Yellow shafts, and then red, orange, and eventually the last word went to the pink one. Anyway the reason I'm revisiting all these past "breakthroughs" is that there is a new buzz phrase, "moment of inertia," in the air. Moment of inertia (m.o.i. for short) is a term used to describe a golf club's resistance to twisting on shots not hit in the center of the club.(hereafter known as the sweet spot) It is real. There definitely is a measurement you can take to determine this. (I've done the reading. Look it up on the internet if you're having trouble sleeping some night.) The problem is the difference from one company’s club to another is so small it that renders the measurement useless. It has been a few years since I recalled some learnings of the great Dennis Tuff, the Television Arts teacher at West Park secondary school. He taught us about the language of advertising. If Ping claims to have the "highest m.o.i." in its irons, just what does that mean? It sounds impressive at first but it would be the same as saying they have the "biggest headed" driver. It is not a lie but everyone else can also make the same claim. If a club company goes further and says their irons have a higher moment of inertia than anything else on the market, this sounds even more impressive, but again does it mean anything? Not when it comes down to playing the game. It's not higher enough to make a difference. Every reputable company makes quality golf clubs and I have no problem with them trying to sell their product. What I don't like is the fact the companies know they have reached the point where any improvements in technology are
minuscule and if they happen to come up with something revolutionary which makes the game drastically easier the USGA will outlaw it anyway. Instead of spending hundreds of millions cannibalizing each other’s customers, why not spend this money to make the game more affordable for the masses. There have been studies and focus groups by the dozens in the last few years trying to figure out if golf was growing or contracting. All kinds of handwringing about who was starting up in the greatest numbers and who was quitting and why. All this concern and uncertainty and the economy was humming along on an all-time roll. Now that the Wizard of Idiots down south has started the ball rolling on a funky little recession, what do you think the prospects for golf are now? When people have a hard time paying their mortgage, putting food on the table, and filling their vehicle up with fuel, it probably isn't the time to be telling them the problem with their golf game all these years was their sweet spot wasn't big enough and they should really have two shafts for their driver so they can switch depending on how high they want to hit it on a particular day. Have a marketing truce and lower the cost of the game, for crying out loud. Mr. Tuff taught me to be skeptical and why. When I went into the golf business, I made a pledge to never tell a customer I could do something I knew I was incapable of achieving. I lose business to others willing to make claims, but so what? Hold us accountable for our claims. It is in all our best interests in the long run. ♦ John Piccolo is the golf instructor and runs Piccolo's Custom Club Shop at Eagle Valley Golf Club, in Niagara Falls. Email him with comments and questions at picgolf@vaxxine.com
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JUSTICE
continued from Page 2 gations included bullying, illegal apartment entries, illegal fees, and other violations of landlord-tenant legislation, many of which focused on the conduct of board members, the building’s manager (also a Pelham Town Councillor at the time), and the building’s maintenance superintendent. The tenants provided hundreds of pages of supporting evidence, as well as audio and video recordings. That this story has been recognized is, as the cliché goes, humbling, if only because it’s an opportunity to reflect on the publication, its aftermath, and what journalism can do, and often can’t. I was reasonably hopeful that the appearance of these facts in the paper would lead to at least some sort of reckoning at the building. Sadly, I was wrong. The board, led by its chair, cancelled its one meeting of the year open to tenants, because some tenants had invited their concerned families—and us at the paper—to sit in at witnesses. This cancelled meeting got ugly. The chair and the board refused to read the bylaw that allegedly gave them authority to cancel the meeting in such a manner. Tenants angry with those who came to the Voice with their stories began hurling insults across the room. One man called Voice publisher Dave Burket and me “bastards.” A board member growled that he would call the police, to which the publisher shrugged and responded with a “Go ahead.” The whole affair was terribly tawdry, what with so many petty tyrants sitting around one table, high off the fumes of their own power. The board’s response to our investigation—by this I mean the concerns of their tenants—was pathetic. Clearly they should have said, “Yes, these things happened, and they shouldn’t have. We’re sorry that they did. Let’s have an open meeting and work out how we’re going to build trust again between management and those of you who are upset.” Of course if they had been reasonable from the start then tenants wouldn’t have had to come to the Voice in the first place. I gather little has changed at Pelham Seniors Apartments in the past year. The tenants who contributed to the story have not
OOSTERHOFF
continued from Page 6 bows to their leader's command and follows all agenda to the letter. Outside of
made any new allegations against the building’s management, so at least it would seem as though the incidents that propelled them to speak out are no longer occurring. But I fear that they’ve become pariahs in their own homes for having “rocked the boat” and brought notoriety to the building in the eyes of those who didn’t have the same complaints. For me and the Voice the story is an unreserved success. We are being recognized for the work we put into it. I have to guess I spent in the neighbourhood of a hundred hours on it—meeting with tenants, sorting and reading documents, making calls, following leads, writing the thing, going over drafts back and forth with the publisher. Dave had a dozen or more hours into it, too, adjusting the puzzle pieces for a cleaner fit, attempting to get comment from the board and staff, and dealing with the paper’s legal firm, line-by-line. This is one of four awards this year that the Voice can put up on its office wall. I can add a line to my resume. But for the tenants whom the article was meant to serve, the outcome is literally a different story. When I was working on the piece I thought there was a reasonable chance that it would be good for them, but I knew it might not be too. I knew that things could end up staying more or less as they were, as they have. As a journalist you must think about this. Janet Malcolm, a staff writer for The New Yorker, is one of my favourite writers. In 1990, she wrote a memoir of sorts called “The Journalist and the Murderer.” It is largely devoted to this very problem: how reporters are to relate to subjects without exploiting them for their story. Malcolm concludes by saying that there is an infinite number of ways that journalists may deal with this moral impasse. “The wisest know that the best they can do is still not good enough. The not so wise, in their accustomed manner, choose to believe that there is no problem and that they have solved it.” I thank the brave tenants of 45 Pelham Town Square who trusted Voice journalists to be among the wisest a year ago. I honour their trust—and this award—by refusing to believe that there is no problem, and that I have solved it. ♦
gay rights and abortion issues, he fervently supports failed conservative autism policy and larger classroom sizes, two issues he personally knows nothing
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about, nor has any experience with, which brings me back to the cartoon, “All in favor.” John Deliman Fenwick
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
Page 9
Sacked CAO tops local Sunshine List of salaries Eleven current or former Town employees took home $100,000-plus in earnings last year Dismissed Town of Pelham Chief Administrative Officer Darren Ottaway was paid almost $174,000 last year, according to Ontario’s annual Sunshine List, which reports municipal salaries of $100,000 and up. Ottaway was terminated by the Town in January after close to seven years on the job. The former CAO’s salary was far and away the highest of any local bureaucrat in 2018, according to the list, which included ten current Town of Pelham employees. ■ Darren Ottaway, Former CAO: $173,495 ■ Bob Lymburner, Fire Chief: $142,340 ■ Barb Wiens, Director of Planning and Development: $138,552 ■ Teresa Quinlin, Director of Corporate Services (now Interim CAO): $137,422 ■ Nancy Bozzato, Town Clerk: $127,078 ■ Vickie vanRavenswaay,
BY JOHN CHICK
Special to the VOICE
Director of Recreation, Culture and Wellness: $121,410 ■ Mike Zimmer, Chief Building Official and Drainage Superintendent: $113,934 ■ Kim Holland, Manager of Facilities: $105,566 ■ Mike Guglielmi, IT Manager: $104,957 ■ Ryan Cook, Director of Public Works: $101,373 In addition, former Treasurer Cari Pupo, dismissed back in May 2017, continued to be paid, earning $101,355 though 2018—this in addition to the $118,723 she earned in 2017. Highly-paid bureaucrats leaving their jobs during controversy has become something of a trend in Niagara. The Region’s own CAO, Carmen D’Angelo, who quit in February amid an Ontario Ombudsman investigation, was paid $251,936
last year, according to the Sunshine List. Niagara Regional Police chief Bryan MacCulloch topped the list of Regional employee salaries, at just under $282,000. Deputy chief Bill Fordy placed fifth at $223,000. For the third year in a row, Ontario Power Generation CEO Jeffrey Lyash led the way provincially with more than $1.7 million in salary in 2018. Four of the top 10 earners worked for OPG. Premier Doug Ford made $112,770 in 2018, although he was elected almost midway through the year. Former Premier Kathleen Wynne made $208,000 in 2017. Critics have noted that no women or people of colour appear in the list’s top 10. The highest-paid woman is Maureen Jensen, CEO of the Ontario Securities Commission. She clocked in at No. 12, with $710,000 in remuneration.
KETO IN THE HOUSE At their dinner meeting on March 20, the Fenwick Lions welcomed Kelly Russell, of the Lions Foundation of Canada, and Autistic Assistance Guide Dog Keto, who were presented with the club’s annual $6,000 donation, made possible this year in part by the Lions’ car raffle last September. This was the first Autistic Assistance Guide Dog that the club has sponsored, a type of service animal for which there is a long waiting list. From left, Lion Jeff Pickup, Kelly Russell from Lions Foundation of Canada, Lion Ron Acaster. Keto keeps a watchful eye from down front. SUPPLIED PHOTO
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Page 10
The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
Pelham's largest ever Home 24th annual Kinsmen event
ACCIPITER ARENA WELCOMES HOME SHOW VISITORS A record crowd turned out to see a record number of vendors last weekend. Inset, top left, "How are you at building giant arches?" Mayor Marv Junkin with Steworks' Charlie Stewart; bottom left, firefighter Frank Lehmann with
I
VENDORS GALORE From left, Nicolle Lalonde, ready to tell you to save more, a lot more; cheery movers Brittany MacLean and Erin Pasma; Kinsmen Dave Ripley, Len Doyle, Brendan Young, Bert Leferink; showing off their classic JBL speaker remakes, Kaitlin and Tyler Thomas; always a crowd fav
T WAS JUST ABOUT A capacity crowd that filled the new community centre this past weekend to attend the 24th annual Pelham Home and Garden Show. Hosted by the Kinsmen Club of Fonthill & District, the event brought together 81 vendors this year, an all-time high, many of them Pelhambased companies, to show off their wares and services.
Even though the event was called a home and garden show, vendors offered a wide range of services, including insurance, financial advice, hearing aids, barbecues, lawn equipment, hot tubs, flowers, home decor, and services including garage door installation, construction, and even funerary services. Previous years have seen as many as 1,200-1,300 come through the doors over the course of the event. Despite being held over two days this year, rather than the traditional three, Kinsman Doug Freeland said that the group expected attendance would be “in the 2000s this year.” By 1:30 Saturday afternoon, Kinsman Brian Iggulden said attendance had already matched the usual Friday and Saturday numbers com-
bined from previous years. Freeland suspected the number of visitors could be even higher because the community centre also offers benefits that the old Pelham Arena on Haist Street, the venue for the show in the past, did not. “We could be even higher only because there is another event upstairs here tomorrow,” said Freeland. “The Kinette’s ‘Pamper Me Sweet’ is on and there is a significant basketball tournament going on here as well. So we're expecting in the building to have between three and four thousand.” Even first thing Saturday morning people had started to wander in from elsewhere in the building. Girls dressed in basketball uniforms clutched free bags and water bottles
from various vendors. Since it was the first year that the show has been held in the new centre, vendors were eager to see the venue, many of them expressing their admiration of the facilities, particularly in comparison to the old arena. “Last year we were having buckets everywhere because the roof was leaking,” said Moe Beaudoin, of Foundation Waterproofing. “Everyone wants to come and see the new arena. So I’m hoping that it's going to bring out a lot of people.” Fonthill scout leader Kent Ratcliffe also remembered the leaky roof of the old arena, and said that the new arena looked “fantastic.” He said that the show demonstrated that the new centre had many uses,
BY KATHRYN
Special to
and that it “could be used for more than just hockey.” Matthew Jansen, a Pelham resident and employee of Ben Berg, a Wainfleet based company that sells farm and industrial equipment, said the change in venue was part of what prompted them to return to the show after an absence of a few years. He was also there to promote new equipment, including an automatic lawn mower that drew crowds of older citizens who stared in disbelief, jumping a little when it drove onto their toes. For the vendors it is a good opportunity to promote their business and make connections with the local
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
Page 11
e and Garden Show moves to new community centre
h Town staff Teresa Quinlin, Mara Bray, and Jodi Legros. Inset, top right: Fenwick Lions Ken Angle and Paul Slattery, with their shiny Chevelle; centre: Karen Arthur, Dave Ripley, Ryan McKay and his son Hudson, Joseph and Cheryl Anne Vaccaro; above, Michael Lewis, ready to crack some joints.
vourite, Alaina Hillier with her giant ear; Scout leader Kent Ratcliffe, with Brady McKendrick, Linden McLaren, and Ethan Rogers; watch yer toes—Ben Berg's Matthew Jansen and their new robot lawnmower; and Lookout Ridge's Melissa Stewart.
N HRYCUSKO
o the VOICE
community as well as other business owners. First time attendant Chris McCartney, of 9 Round, a new gym in Fonthill, said that they had seen the signs for the show around town and decided to attend to “try and boost business.” Although Kinsman Dave Ripley estimated that about 20 of the vendors were new to the show this year, many of the have been coming to the event for the past several years. Moe Beaudoin of Foundation Waterproofing said he has been coming for eight years. “This is the only home show I do, because it’s non-profit,” he said.
“You start knowing all the vendors. It’s kind of like you're going to hang out with them and it's very friendly.” Just inside the entrance to the show, some members of the Pelham Garden Club could be heard laughing and joking, exchanging their favourite gardening quotes at their colourful booth. The Kinsmen asked them several years ago to be a part of the show. “They wanted to put the ‘garden’ back in it,” said member Trish Rybski. Jason Longhurst, Fire Prevention Officer for the Pelham Fire Department, said that they have been attending the event for a number of years as well. It is an ideal place for the department to promote fire
safety. “It gets a lot of people... for the two days it's a good venue for us to get out and promote fire safety with the people there,” said Longhurst. “Older people, children, you have all ages stopping by.” In addition to businesses, local community groups were at the event as well. The Fenwick Lions were selling tickets to win a 1971 Chevelle, whose bright red finish attracted many stares. They plan to donate the proceeds from their ticket sales to local charities, including those for therapy dogs. Elsewhere, Linden McLaren, a Beaver with the 3rd Fonthill Scouting, chatted with visitors and showed them how Beavers do
a beaver slap, while handing out pamphlets for the Scouts’ mulch sales. “It's great local community stuff,” said Mike Konderka of Enviro Niagara, this year’s title sponsor of the show. Overall, this is the Kinsmen’s goal for the event. “The home show came about because we were looking, truthfully, for an event that would help us to bond with the business community and the community at large,” said Kinsmen Doug Freeland. “What could we do to bring people together in a social environment, a bonding environment, a relationship that brought as many people together in one place, and at the same time show some form of
KATHRYN HRYCUSKO, GLORIA J KATCH and BOB LOBLAW PHOTOS
financial benefit where we can take it a step further and do some really wonderful things in the community.” For the first time the show had no admission fee, with the Kinsmen instead asking visitors to donate to Pelham Cares. “There are many, many other groups that benefit from the show,” said Freeland. “Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, seniors groups, Pelham Library, Welland Hospital.” Kinsmen Dave Ridley said he thought many attend because they know that the event benefits the community. “I think that also the fact that proceeds are going to Pelham Cares makes a difference, especially in the community for the locals.”
Page 12
The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
COUNCIL
continued from Page 3 that should give the Town a chance to get out of the deal. “I don’t care what the RFP says, the contract’s not signed, it should be null and void,” Ciolfi said. Quinlin said, however, that the Town and Toffolo
had agreed to a three-year deal. “We had an RFP, so it was awarded, and we’re just finalizing the wording of the contract,” she said. “There were just issues with the restrictions of the contract. It is a three-year contract.” The report said the facility earned $63,500 in advertising revenue last year, but
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because of the “sensitive issue” at hand, Quinlin said the Town’s cut this June will actually be lower than the agreed upon $30,000. Ciolfi continued to urge the Town to revisit the deal. Quinlin suggested that would be an issue for the Town’s lawyers to look at. Similar to professional sports venues, as the naming-rights holder for the community centre, Meridian bars other banks and insurance companies from advertising in the building. Council also heard that the community centre is granted a cut of gate receipts from the Panthers if attendance goes above 500 a game. However, none of the games at the MCC topped 500, with the highest attendance given being 410. The community centre paid $87,000 in janitorial fees in 2018, even though the facility opened midway through the year. Kore also took issue with the fact that the Town is still on the hook for paying for certain cleaning supplies. Nearly 15 months ago, in January 2018, then-Treasurer Quinlin presented an expected financial picture (pro forma) of the community centre, which forecast that it would operate at a nearly $50,000 surplus in its first six months, before losing about $100,000 annually in subsequent years. Last week, council was informed that in 2019 the community centre is projected to run a deficit, before interest, of $608,000. An accounting expert consulted by the Voice last
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The Pelham Public Library made a last-minute plea for more money in the budget, something that seemed to fall on deaf ears. Library board Finance Committee Chair Donald Brown told council that the operation needed another $44,000. “It’s actually less than third of one percent of the tax revenue of the Town,” Brown said. “If we are dealing with another zero percent increase, we’ll have to have another cut to [opening] hours.” While Brown conceded that the library currently has “slightly too many hours” at the Maple Acre
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penses, gain our revenue,” Ciolfi said. “It’s a beautiful place, and if we can just manage it right, that’s all we’ve got to do.” Kore was the only councilor to vote against receiving the report. Regarding the old arena lands, Ward 3 Councilor Bob Hildebrandt presented a motion for staff to report on a long-term plan for the 1120 Haist Street property, in the wake of the controversial decision March 18 not to sell it. Some 85% of residents responded in the affirmative to a Town survey asking whether the arena lands should be sold to help pay for ongoing Town operating expenses. The report is also set to include components of how proceeds from a future sale of the land would be used.
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would have used these projections if I had known. My approach to budgeting is to be conservative in my estimates. We have prepared the 2019 budget based on actual consumption numbers from the first six months of operations with an average utility rate.” Pressed to explain why the Treasurer—the Town’s senior financial guardian— was not aware of the higher utility cost estimates for the Town’s largest asset, Quinlin declined to point fingers, saying only, “They were not shared with me until this December, during the 2019 budget preparation. I can’t answer why they weren’t shared beforehand.” Ciolfi said that council has established a Utility Sustainability Advisory Committee to, “help find solutions and reduce the cost” of community centre energy use. Ward 2 Councilor John Wink said that the most glaring shortfall with the facility is the revenue from the use of the double gymnasium. “Where we fell off was the gymnasium rentals,” said Wink, pointing out that one basketball or volleyball court costs just $20 an hour to use —proportionately lower than the ice fees. “We have to do a lot of work on boosting the revenues of the gyms … we may have given away the farm.” Ciolfi reminded council again that the community centre is the Town’s biggest asset and must be managed better. “We’ve got to cut our ex-
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The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
Page 13 PELHAM PANTHERS OMHA WIN The Midget Pelham AE Panthers won the OMHA Cup in an exciting Game 5 overtime performance over the Huntsville Otters, 1-0, last week. According to his dad, James, 15-year-old Tyler Britton was running on fumes with just a minute and a half to go in the scoreless match when he shot the puck from the blue line and wasn’t sure whether it went in—until the crowd let him know exactly what happened. The win capped two wins and two losses, both home and away, to cinch the cup. “The kids on our team have a tremendous bond,” says James, adding that it was his son’s favorite season of his eight-years-plus of hockey.
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COUNCIL
continued from previous page branch in Fenwick, acting CEO Amy Guilmette said she and her staff are overworked. When Mayor Marvin Junkin asked if this could be offset with more volunteers, Guilmette said the library already uses 2,900 hours a year in volunteer work, and some of the requirements go above that scale. “It would be the same as having the Town Hall having volunteers working the front desk,” she said. With the Town effectively passing the operating budget later in the meeting, it appeared that the library’s request for additional fund-
ing was denied. Former library CEO Kirk Weaver, who resigned last October, was paid over $106,000 in 2018, according to the Ontario Sunshine List. Council is expected to pass the bylaw confirming the 2019 operating budget at its next regular meeting.
Revised committee will shut out producers, experts
Two weeks after killing the original proposal for a “Cannabis Advisory Committee,” council’s Committee of the Whole made significant changes to the plan in a move that could effectively stack the deck with anti-cannabis activists. The original proposal called for
a mix of Pelham residents, representatives from licensed cannabis producers, an academic, a councilor and a Town staff member. First up last Monday was a name change, to the perhaps more adversarial “Cannabis Control Committee.” That committee will now be made up of seven residents, one councilor and one staff member. Representatives of pot producers and experts in the field will be shut out, something Mayor Junkin was not happy about. “I’m against this,” Junkin said, citing his time on past agricultural boards that tried to bring all sides together. “I think it’s a huge mistake not having representatives at the table. It’s
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going to pass anyways, but I’m against it.” Ward 1 Councilor Mike Ciolfi said that academics and representatives from cannabis producers could still be brought in as consultants on an as-needed basis. Councilors then passed a motion to begin recruiting members for the committee. When Junkin mistakenly still referred to it as the cannabis advisory committee, resident Bill Heska—a vocal critical of cannabis producers —piped up from the audience, “I think you should say control committee, not advisory committee.” Town Clerk Nancy Bozzato noted the error and amended it.
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The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
Tech is STEAMing hot BY GLORIA J. KATCH
Special to the VOICE
Robots? Coding? Green Screen? Engineering? Contrary to one’s initial reaction, these aren't topics and technology taught to super-human students of the world of Marvel comics and film. They are all a part of an interactive learning program, called STEAM, taught to regular students, and at A. K. Wigg School. The acronym stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, and it's a hot topic in educational strategy. "Have you ever seen a kid do anything for an hour and twenty minutes?" asked Lee Martin, consultant from the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN), and a former recipient of a Canadian STEAM award. The new way of involving technology and innovation in schools makes children "excited," about learning he said. Martin, along with Kyle Kitchen, also a DSBN consultant, were the guest speakers at A. K. Wigg's STEAM night last Tuesday, which attracted some 200 parents and students. The STEAM event is a result of a Parents Reaching Out grant of $2,000 that the school received from the Ministry of Education. About two years ago, Principal Mary Zwolak, and Allison Nykolaychuk, chairperson of the school council, held a math night with parents that received a great deal of positive feedback, so with this grant they planned on expanding the idea. The school also held fundraising events and an author’s night, where a former law enforcement officer talked
about internet safety. "There are a lot of parents that like to come out for activities and fundraising events that we wouldn't be able to do without them," said Zwolak. Similarly, the Parents Reaching Out grant supports parents who want to be able to assist their children better with their homework, and be involved in their children's education. Zwolak cites interactive learning as one of the best ways to do this. Especially using today's technology, there are numerous ways to keep children engaged by teaching them to problem-solve, explore and use innovation and creativity to develop solutions. Zwolak said that interactive learning allows the 338 students at A.K. Wigg to improve their communication and interpersonal skills, as they are asked to work in groups and collaborate as a team. If a particular problem doesn't work out, they learn to "persevere," especially when it comes to completing math problems, puzzles and games. In retrospect, kindergarten used to be about learning how to tie your shoes, sharing Lego blocks, Tonka toys and complying with nap time. By comparison, today’s kindergarten students are learning a program called "Scratch Robot," which explores the basics of coding. This program helps children with "different math-thinking, such as problem-solving, map-reading procedures, and it helps to build spacial reasoning and geometry," noted Zwolak. The interactive learning and technology is also a learning curve
Karl Fiddes and daughter Reese try out the green screen. GLORIA J KATCH PHOTO for the parents, who develop different methods of relating to, and teaching, their children. The school also has various books and resources in the library for parents to improve their remedial helping skills, so doing homework doesn't become a dreadful experience. Kyle Kitchen concurs that using technology is, "very different to parents and the way they learned." These days, teachers want to challenge their children to apply critical thinking concepts in more complex ways. "The kids are not just solving the problems, but learning how to explore the problem," said Kitchen. When children are allowed to tinker with various games and programs, they become more "tactile," and the imaginativeness instills a sense of invention and innovation. He also believes children who learn through technology are more "open-minded." "Kids are less afraid to try something, and they like to dive-in and
explore," noted Kitchen. Clearly, he admires this no-fear quality, because it allows children to "take ownership of their learning.” As a former Grade 5 and 6 teacher, Kitchen didn't know anything about JavaScript or coding. However, he said anyone can quickly learn Scratch Robot, which involves moving blocks. "They do it like building puzzles," he pointed out. For parents taught to refrain from touching anything they aren't familiar with, today's educational theories are a far contrast from the past. "It's the opposite mentality. I tell them to touch and teach and learn," said Kitchen. During the presentation, Lee Martin reiterated that teaching was about using children's passions and interests, and apply those qualities to teaching. He said he believed in building "a love for learning,” and a sense of "empowerment" in children. He later showed vi-
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sual projections outlining how the imagination drove the discovery of robots and various applications for automation and modern progress. At the end of the speaker's presentations in the auditorium, parents and students moved to different classrooms to participate in other games and examples of interactive learning. While many students don't meet today's literacy standards, Kitchen suggested that coding can be utilized in storytelling or digital displays, and the end game is that it encourages children to read. For example: in one of the classrooms, Grades 3 teacher Jaime Young was having the students and children get involved in green-screening, which is a technology used in film special effects. "It's not as easy as it looks," said Young. Young offered three fun thematic scenarios: I'm A Star on America's Got Talent, The Ultimate Superhero Battle, or My Teacher's Gone Nuts, the last being a surprising option, but definitely one with a widerange of three-dimensional acting possibilities. Clearly, the parents were just as delighted as the children with this demonstration, and a few of them had souvenir pictures to take home with them on their iPads. Other classrooms had both students and parents playing games, solving puzzles and exploring their inner child, while trying to concentrate on the task. Add in the pizza and snacks, and STEAM is likely to get rave reviews. Since schools and report cards are nearly synonymous, Zwolak asked parents to fill out the survey and score the event, so that they can improve and make the next event better next time around.
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Page 15
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The Voice of Pelham ad size Service Directory ad w:2.5” x h: 1.75” Color Info black only Due Date Friday, March 18 at noon Rundate(s) Mar. 23, Apr. 6, 20, May 4, 18, June 1, 15 and 29.
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Places of Worship and Events Bethany Christian Reformed Church 1040 Balfour St., Fenwick
First Presbyterian Church 602 Metler Rd., Fenwick
Glad Tidings Church of God 1 Pancake Lane, Fonthill
Pelham Evangelical Friends Church 940 Haist St., Fonthill
Concordia Lutheran Church 105 Welland Rd., Fonthill
Fonthill Baptist Church 1414 Pelham St., Fonthill
Holy Trinity Anglican Church 1557 Pelham Street, Fonthill
Ridgeville Bible Chapel 418 Canboro Rd., Ridgeville
Fenwick Church of Christ 765 Welland Rd., Fenwick
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses 1369 Rice Rd., Fonthill
Kirk on the Hill Presbyterian Church 1344 Haist St., Fonthill
St. Alexander’s Roman Catholic Church 50 Pelham Town Sq., Fonthill
Fenwick United Church 1050 Church St., Fenwick
Fonthill United Church 42 Church Hill, Fonthill
Pelham Community Church (United Church of Canada) 461 Canboro Rd., Fenwick
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church 834 Canboro Rd., Fenwick
Page 16
The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
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905-892-8690 CUSTOM MILL
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NURSERY HELP MECHANIC Wholesale nursery growing container operation grown perennials, Wholesale nursery, greenhouse has a position vines,open flowering shrubs, & dwarfdepartment. trees seeking in their shop evergreens and maintenance Person individuals who desire a career in horticulture. We are in with must have 310S/310T Mechanics license. Experience need repair of general labourers as ofwell asequipment those skilled the and maintenance farm andinautomotive growing, management and shipping of nursery stock. equipment required. Electrical and welding skills would Plant knowledge and experience is an asset. If you are also be an asset. Candidate mustskills haveand good organizational an individual who has organizational dedication and habits. Excellent as well as communication a willingness toskills workand as agood teamwork player, we look compensation and benefit package commensurate forward to hearing from you. Wages will commensurate with qualifications. Resume withbesalary history can bethe emailed with experience. Resumes may dropped of between hours to of hr@willowbrooknurseries.com, 8:00a.m.-4:30p.m. Monday to Thursday dropped or off8:00a.m or mailed to: -12:00 noon on Fridays at:
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Attention: Tim Otten 935Victoria Victoria Ave., Fenwick, ON ON L0S1C0 935 Ave., R.R.#4, Fenwick, Attention: Human Resources Email: hr@willowbrooknurseries.com No phone calls please. Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8AM-4PM (We thank you for your application, however No phone calls please. We thank you for your application, only those considered will be notified.) however only those considered will be notified.
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Brick, Block, Stone and Chimey repairs. Did your fence blow down Wet and damagedCARD basement repairs. WORKSHOPduring the winter? Small PELHAM LIBRARY MAKING Phone Tom Deamude at 289-241-4767 or 905-892-1924. fence repairs can be done Make 35 sixyears cards fall themes, learning a variety of techniques.Please Materials of with construction experience. inexpensively. call 289-690-4208. are provided. At time of registration, please enquire about tools needed.
HOUSECLEANING Tues., Sept. 16 10 – 12:30. $10. Please register ahead. Visit www.pelhamProfessional Services. Residential Housecleaning – 18 library.on.ca or call 905-892-6443 for more details. YOUR AD HERE years' experience. Complete job done, weekly or bi-weekly
Reach thousands of FABULOUS FENWICK LIONS FISH FRYClassified Adsreaders with a OCNA Network Voice classified! SHORT HILLS 'N'straight FLEAback into the community. Tasty treats with fundsFARM heading (AD CENTRAL) Up to 30 words Haddock, for only: cleaning. Call Heather 905-321-3817.
Short Hills Farm'N'Flea Trunk Sale at Runs PelhamSept. Fire Station french fries and much more. 9 from 4-7 #3, May 4th 8am-1pm, 2355 Cream Week St., RAIN of OR SHINE. Local Crafts and Artisans! Antiques! April Garage 8 Sale Goodies! More info on facebook or shorthills@yahoo.com PELHAM MINOR HOCKEY EQUIPMENT SALE
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TAX INCL. If your message to Pelham Posted at the Pelham Arena. Aimed to provide isn’t inused our pages, Buy, sell or trade equipment HOUSECLEANER AVAILABLE OLD PAPERS
4 upcoming season. Runs Sept. 6 from cheaper options for playersApril in this House Cleaning available, weekly or bi-weekly. Do you have old issues of the 9-12 in the morning. Call 905-892-4906. Central Voice published from 1997 to
Then it isn’t being seen.
Region Ads included
2007? How about the Pelham Herald (any year). We'd love to add them to our archive. Contact: publisher@thevoiceofpelham.ca
The paper that Pelham reads.
Wanted to Buy NIAGARA REGIONAL EXHIBITION Antiques, tin toys, metal old event. photos, It Rodeo, games and live entertainment headline thissigns, yearscrocks, exciting records, advertising and runs from Sept. 11-14 at the Welland Fairgrounds. nostalgia items. Call 905-892-2377
(905) 892-8690 BIGadvertising@thevoiceofpelham.ca MOVE CANCER RIDE
Support your local WALKING CLUBservice clubs Interested in walking in Pelham? Join them Tuesdays at the Pelham Arena
HEALTH The Big Move Cancer Ride is a non-competitive rideMENTAL taking place on Sept. “WHAT CAN I DO?” – 7. Proceeds for the Big Move stay in Niagara and support the Walker FamSupporting Families ily Cancer Centre. Affected by Mental Health Wed., Apr. 24, 2019 @ 10am – 12pm Seaway Mall Library Branch Call Welland McMaster FHT to register @ 905-734-9699 Bandshell for 9-10:30 am. There Ext. 3. FREE
from 9-10 am and Thursdays at Fonthill is no fee for this program. For more information, please contact jcook@ pelham.ca or call 905 892-2607, ext 329.
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PELHAM MUDFEST Phone: 905-892-7898 Fax: 905-892-4811 Men and women will be back in the mud as the second run on the year is This ad is to be printed by all participating Ontario papersNo Sunday Calls, Please TF held at Bissil’s Hideaway. WANTED TO BUY
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GARDEN CLUB Pelham Garden Club April 15th 7:00 pm, Pelham Public Library Speaker: Pam Little, Nettlecreek Nursery, Fonthill Subject: Favourite Ornamentals for shade/ underused natives to attract Hummingbirds. Refreshments/Prizes All Welcome
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The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
Page 17
Brisk sales at Niagara's first legal cannabis shop BY JOHN CHICK
head towards the black market, according to Armstrong. “Because of this, provinces such as Alberta, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces,
Special to the VOICE
Concerns about demand outnumbering supply, potentially driving Ontario pot buyers back to their black market dealers hasn’t dampened the financial outlook — or real numbers —in the first two weeks of legalized cannabis stores. Michael Armstrong, associate professor at Brock University’s Goodman School of Business, says legal retail stores could each average more than $1.25 million a month in sales. “They should do pretty well,” Armstrong said in a brief. “The Quebec stores average nearly $900,000 a month in sales and they charge lower-than-average prices.” About half of the first 25 licensed dispensaries opened for business across Ontario last Monday, with the other portion still caught up in regulatory hurdles. One of the ones able to open on time was The Niagara Herbalist, in St. Catharines. Co-owner Max Bonilla said that much like the stores that opened elsewhere, his establishment saw people lining up right away. “We had about 80 people outside for the first day, and have had maybe 20 at times since,” Bonilla told the Voice. “It’s been very, very busy.” BNN Bloomberg reported last week that Ontario pot
with more stores per capita, tend to have more legal sales per capita, and have taken more market share from the black market,” Armstrong
said. “Product shortages, especially of dry cannabis, remain the biggest drag on legal sales nationwide.”
TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR YARD Niagara's first cannabis store. shops earned an average of $50,000 in sales on their first day of business. The private brick-andmortar pot retailers were awarded by lottery after the Ford government allowed them to enter the marketplace after it was elected last year. Previous Liberal plans for a government monopoly on pot sales were scrapped, although the province’s Ontario Cannabis Store remains the sole legal online retailer for cannabis products.
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Page 18
The Voice of Pelham, April 10 2019
WALK-OUT
continued from front page students come together to protest the changes to the education plan. The government, under Premier Doug Ford, issued a statement March 15 that outlined the intended changes that were to be put in place to improve education across Ontario. The plan includes increasing class sizes, hiring teachers based on merit rather than seniority, requiring students to take a minimum of four e-learning (online) classes, banning cell phones in classes, and introducing new math curricula, among other changes. Also announced were the proposed changes to funding for autism. In an effort get 23,000 children off the wait list for funding, the provincial government is proposing to distribute funding directly to families. Following these releases, information and news articles soon circulated that outlined potential problems with the proposed changes. In particular, the changes to class size, the addition of mandatory e-learning classes, and the changes to funding for autism have been criticized. There is worry that the changes to class size and required e-learning will result in a decrease in teaching positions and the possible layoff of current teachers. Other articles focus on the changes to autism funding and suggest that the changes could mean that families currently receiving funding will receive less than before, and, because the funding is
not needs-based, some families may not receive what they need to support their child. E. L. Crossley student and co-organizer of the school’s walkout, Tessa Piccolo said, “When the changes were initially announced there was definitely confusion because if you're not following the issue closely, you're never going to get like the full story.” She and fellow organizer, Erica Carter, did their best to educate themselves on the topic. “We automatically wanted to learn more about it,” said Piccolo. “We heard that there were changes and then we looked into what the changes were. At that point the conversation had already started as to the negative impacts of the changes that the government decided on or was planning on deciding on. So then I think it was just kind of through individual research and through the whole ‘We say no’ movement that blossomed on social media. That's how we got educated about how they would negatively impact us.” Although DSBN Communications Officer Brett Sweeney stated that the walkout was “not a board-sanctioned event,” he said, “[The DSBN does] have some concerns over what was announced, but we would need to know further details of the government’s roll out plans.” Pelham’s school board Trustee, Nancy Beamer agreed. “I think in the educational sector it's a very stressful time with all the changes that are coming down and
until everyone understands all the implications there's always that feeling of uncertainty,” said Beamer. “I can understand how people in the community are worried about class size and teacher layoffs and stuff like this.” Former E. L. Crossley Principal and recently retired Student Achievement Leader for the DSBN, Ann Harrison, expressed her concerns. “I think the changes are a concern for the quality of education that schools offer,” said Harrison. “In the DSBN we have excellent programs that support the diversity of students who cross our doorstep, and I would hate to see them dropped due to lack of funding support from the Ministry. I don’t sense the current Ministry of Education has as a basic philosophy for the success of all students.” This worry has been repeated by students Tessa Piccolo and Erica Carter. “They're taking away people's individual ability to function in a classroom,” said Piccolo. “Whether it be through the changing of the class sizes or through the addition of the mandatory e-learning. It's not taking into consideration people's individual needs. I think the overall message that they're sending is that the individual student doesn't matter.” The two girls were not the only students to express concern over what these changes meant. In their search for information about the changes, they came across the Instagram page, “Students Say No,” a group composed of students from
Specializing in Residential Concrete
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
across Ontario who wanted to protest the changes. The group encouraged high schools to register to participate in the April 4 walkout, offering them a platform to sign up on. Once registered with the group, high schools received information packages that explained the goals of the walkout and their expectations for those participating, ensuring the same information and procedures for the walkout was disseminated to all participating schools. Piccolo and Carter registered E.L. Crossley for the walkout, and, in turn, passed the information on to their peers. “We have been posting [on Instagram] what we are protesting,” said Carter. “We have explained the changes and how they will negatively impact the students. We are trying our best to educate people. I do think a lot of students are genuinely passionate about this, especially after learning more about it. They research it themselves or they’ve heard about it through Tessa and I, as we've been taking a lead on that.” In addition to participating in the walkout, E. L. Crossley students also signed a petition outlining their concerns with the intention of passing it onto Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff, who is also Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education. By press time, Oosterhoff’s office had not responded to a request for comment. As of last Wednesday morning, some 800 schools across the province had registered to participate, according to published reports, including several schools in Niagara. The DSBN’s Sweeney said, “We do expect that there will be some participation from many of our high schools,
possibly all of them.” Both Sweeney, and DSBN Trustee Nancy Beamer said that students students would not be penalized for participating in the walkout beyond being marked absent for that period. “This is not a board-sanctioned event, but in a general sense I would say that the DSBN absolutely supports student’s rights to have their voices heard,” said Sweeney. “What we are encouraging, though, is that any student who is choosing to participate in this walkout do so respectfully and safely.” Crossley students also passed around a petition that they intend to present to MPP Oosterhoff, reflecting their position on the new education changes. For many of these students, the increased class sizes, mandatory online classes, and cuts to autism funding were of the most concern, and, for many, a cause of anger. Grade 11 student Andrew Rachar listed these issues among his reasons for protesting, saying that he felt that protesting “was the only right thing I could do.” Although the protesters consisted of students from every grade, the majority were from Grade 12. Nigel Casson, a Grade 12 who held a sign saying, “Things Doug Ford knows about education,” followed by a blank list, said that he intends to return for another year of school, Grade 12B, and therefore is protesting because these changes will affect him. Other students, who were not intending to return to high school next year, still felt it was important to participate in the protest. “Even though we’re Grade 12 and were not going back to school next year, it still affects all our students,”
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said Erica Carter. “It affects our teachers, and it even affects seniors even though we're leaving, because of OSAP cuts. I enjoyed high school and I know a lot of my friends and other students enjoy going to high school, but honestly it's just going to ruin it with increasing class sizes and more. It's a lot of cuts that are happening and they aren't things that I would want to be going through. So I just think it's very important for everyone else to enjoy education.” Tessa Piccolo said that the proposed changes would affect generations. “We have to realize that the decisions that are made in our government now will have huge impacts in the years to come,” she said. “I think that we really do have to accept responsibility and we can't just let it go.” Others were looking out for family or friends. Grade 12 student Emma Leavens was protesting because she knew that these changes would “deeply affect” her younger sister, who will soon enter high school. While many cited autism funding, class size, and mandatory e-learning as their reasons for protesting, an overwhelming number of students had also come out in support of their teachers, whose jobs they felt were threatened by the changes in education. Grade 11 student Kyle Glenney said that in addition to having many family and friends who were teachers, he has thought about being a teacher one day. For him, protesting was not simply a matter of looking out for his own immediate interests, but a matter of looking out for his future, and the well-being of others. Jenna Veerman, a Grade 12 student, said that “teachers have done so much for me personally,” and that it was only fair that she protest on behalf of them. Despite students’ worry about the jobs of their teachers, Nancy Beamer said of the DSBN, “We do not think that we are going to have any mass layoffs or anything like this. I think our teachers are safe at this point. Our projection is for ninety teachers over the next four years and that should be taken care of by attrition and retirement.” Despite this, Beamer also offered words in support of the Crossley students’ right to have their opinion heard, saying, “In our schools we do not just teach facts. We like to think we are teaching students to become independent thinkers, to develop their own moral standards and to stick up for what they think is right. These students will one day be the leaders of our country.”
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COLUMN SIX from Page 1
curred, and continue to occur. I listen to my parents lament the loss of fields and green space to houses and retail, and the brief visits I make to visit them have afforded me glimpses of that development. From visit to visit I notice that houses have appeared where there were once trees, two-story buildings have doubled in height, and stores have sprung up where there were none before. I continually marvel at the speed of the changes, and join my parents in lamenting the loss of the small town feel—feeling that it has been exchanged for fullon suburbia. However, even though I am aware of these changes, and even though I have been living in town again for the better part of the past year, Fonthill as it exists today is not the same place that I would think of when I answered the question that inevitably comes up when you travel— where are you from. I have realized that the place that I imagined whenever I answered this question did not match what I have seen on my most recent visit home. The Fonthill of my mind was something different. It still is. In the nearly six years that I have been away, including my year home—which has been punctuated by periods of travel—I have answered this question many times. I tend to describe Fonthill as a small town in Niagara. Whether it is or is not is often a matter of perspective. I, for one, am undecided, as I have been to larger and I have been to smaller. Regardless, in my mind Fonthill is a small town, its size and boundaries not defined by where it starts to meld with Welland, nor by its proximity to Niagara
Falls and St. Catharines, only a short drive away. Instead, in my mind its boundaries are defined by the distance my bike could take me when I was younger. Welland is a far off place in some ways, a place you only visit to go to the movies, and St Catharines and Niagara Falls farther still. Fonthill stands alone, isolated from other towns with very little but fields around it. This isn’t all that’s different from the Fonthill which exists in my mind. The town is less developed, and has fewer buildings in it. For me, the new developments of East Fonthill do not yet exist. The collection of houses, the new community centre, and the new shopping plaza have no place in my mind. Fields stand in their place, stretching into lines of forest that couch the Steve Bauer trail. At times this image even includes the tree nursery at the corner of Highway 20 and Rice Road. Venture further up Highway 20 to Pelham Street and one finds a
Nobody knows everyone in town, but you know a whole lot of people
cluster of small shops and cafes. The road is absent of buildings higher than two stories. Keith’s stands tall on the northwest corner, across from Klager’s Meats, which in turn is a door down from the bridal shop. These are images of Fonthill that seemed unchanging and immovable for such a long time. Closer to the town square the banks stand out in my mind, but specific shops do not make it into my image of the town. Instead, as the result of a seemingly re-
l e n tless turnover rate for many restaurants and stores, my mind has left those shops empty. While living elsewhere, I knew it was likely that those shops would be different each time I visited home. This is the Fonthill that I think of when I tell people where I am from. It is the image I keep in my mind when away and that I must overwrite again and again each time I return home and remind myself of the changes. I have to wonder though, if this Fonthill that I hold on to is really that different from the one I have returned to. Outwardly it would appear so. Underneath its appearance however, it seems much the same. The people here are still kind and say hello or smile in passing. Nobody knows everybody in town, but you know a whole lot of people, and if you don’t know the person then you probably know their kid, their cousin, or their friend. The sense of community seems to still be strong. In essence perhaps the two are the same. That begs the question then: why do I disassociate the Fonthill of my mind with that of today?
RENOVATE
Is my problem really just with development? Clearly the new construction stands out as a key difference between present-day Fonthill and the one I think of. Are these the changes that keep me from associating the two versions of the town? Or does my mind automatically think of a past version because it is what my mind is most familiar with? Have I not been here often enough to update my memories? I question whether the image and memories will update to match what the town looks like today if I live here long enough as an adult. Or is this the beginning of a lifetime of nostalgia, a “back in my day” outlook on life, where my memories of Fonthill are perpetually locked in the past? Have I already joined of the ranks of those who forever reminisce about the good old days? Perhaps it is possible that my childhood memories will forever colour my image of the town. It is difficult to know why my mind disassociates the present-day reality of my hometown from the image I form when thinking of it. I would be curious to know why this occurs and if this image will remain for years to come, or whether what comes to mind when I hear “Fonthill” will eventually match that which everyone else sees. Or perhaps this is normal. Maybe on some level everyone who grew up in Fonthill, or Fenwick, or any town anywhere, experiences this plurality of realities. It is possible we all move through life constantly balancing past and present— seeing today’s reality through yesterday’s filter. Perhaps we each maintain our own private Fonthill— constantly calibrating it against those of our fellow residents. It is in the assembly of this multitude of images that we can truly find our collective memory, our crowdsourced reality, our town. ♦
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