The Voice of Pelham, December 20 2017

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Vol.21 No.38

CELEBRATING OUR 20TH YEAR

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

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Column Six Songs of triumph

BY MARY DAURIO

Special to the VOICE

L

cillor, has responded to requests for comment as to why such a credit extension is required, or how the Town’s projected expenditures and revenues for 2018 differ from previous years in such a way that requires an infusion of cash.

“I anticipate those questions about this matter will be asked and answered as

EAN TIMES ON the farm, hard times all over, it was the Great Depression. Why we call it the Great Depression is beyond me, there was nothing great about it, vast perhaps. Still, from each tribulation some good can come.

Dad had the farm and there was shelter from the storms in its plenty. Vagrants used to travel about looking for a day’s work, happy to have a meal in payment. Two such gentlemen arrived at the farm having fallen on hard times through no fault of their own.

A day’s work was given and they just stayed on. Jim was strong and robust of body like the trees he would later hew. Jasper was a musician, gentle and refined.

They worked on the farm as if it belonged to them and for that time it did. My father could offer no pay, just room and board, clothes and shoes as needed. Socks mended by my mother’s hand.

Jim helped Dad build the fences on our farm, splitting the cedar trees into rails with simple tools. All the rail fences across the country had to be split manually. Men split the cedars into rails and then constructed the fences. Most of those fences are now in disarray

See $7 MILLION back page

See COLUMN SIX Page 12

MERRY MELODIES Tuba player Drew Scherle and Baritonist Colby Gaines focus on their music at E. L. Crossley last Wednesday. Story, page 3.

VOICE PHOTO

Town to seek up to $7 million dollar bank loan Former Ward 1 Councillor Marv Junkin says Town Council heard financing recommendation on September 5

BY VOICE STAFF A motion to more than double the Town’s $3 million dollar CIBC line of credit was on Council’s agenda for its Monday night meeting, the last scheduled of 2017.

The motion would authorize the Town Treasurer to borrow up to $7 million dollars as “may be necessary to meet, until taxes are

collected and other revenues are received, the current expenditures of the Municipality for the Current year.”

The by-law would be effective on January 1, 2018.

Upon resigning on November 6, former Councillor Marvin Junkin alleged that Council decided on September 5, following the recommendation of Treasurer Teresa Quinlin, to seek an immediate $8 million bank

loan to cover urgent budget shortfalls.

After seeing this motion, Junkin said, “It is obvious to me that this is the loan that the Treasurer recommended that Council take out at the September 5 in camera meeting. As I have said from the beginning, time will prove my ‘garbled, confused, and inaccurate allegations’ to be true. The question remains the same

today as it was back in September. When is this Council going to hold appropriate members of senior staff accountable for this train wreck?”

Town Clerk Nancy Bozzato did not respond to a request to confirm whether a similar motion was discussed during the September 5 closed-door meeting.

Neither Treasurer Quinlin, nor any Pelham coun-

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The Old Man is here: Tomorrow keeping the snowblower sprightly. on page 3. I have a soft spot for Charsees the official start of winter (tell Second mistake: Because I generallie. He looks a lot like the first dog I $50 gift certificate had, Sam, picked up at a huthat to your already-tired snowblowly do what I’m told by liter!) and about a week after that sees tle instructive messages, mane society when I was 16. $50 gift certifi the start of 2018. I will sorry threecate times (or Sam stayed with $50not gift be certifi cate I pushed to see the back of 2017. Between pre“3X”) on the little gasmy parents when varicators near and far, it was an oline primer bulb I left for univerexhausting year to before attempting sity. Four years cover the news. to start the malater my father And while I’d chine. Five minutes died, and then like to offer some later, shoulder it was just $40 gift certifi cate $25 gift certificate holiday-t hemed nea r-d islo cated Sam and my e tificat the starter mother. The faithful $25 gift cer hope for a better from pulling New Year, realiscord, I gave up. Well, lo and guy lived to 14, plenty long tically we’re bet- Email your entry to: behold, later that day, at enough to welcome another beau for ter off hunkering Beamer’s Hardware, I was telling my mom, and spend long days at the end down and saving our stored tale of woe to that nice fellow Doug, doing little more than watching the nuts, because it’s clear we’re going to who shook his head in a knowing world go by, curled up on the porch, need them. For one thing, Town Hall way and said, “You have to press that or sofa. Hang a stocking for your is presently setting about changing a good fifteen times, not just three.” pup, and fill it with treats… Winthe English language, specificalNow, descended as I am of carburetter walks: You might also take your ly the meaning of “cash reserves.” ed stock, in which the worst faithful friend on a walk as you deYou would think sin is to flood the enliver the Voice. There’s a route that “cash” gine, I had my doubts. available! Suitable for would be an inBut Doug’s sage advice young or old, details tegral part of the saved the day, or evein the Classifieds… The idea, as in spare ning, and after some gift of knowledge: On cash reserved, but unpleasant belching the topic of Pelham’s best it appears that the little machine read newspaper, a volunwhat you and I fired right up. The tary subscription makes a would call asmotor sounded great gift—better yet, until sets (roads, say) are now to be a little rough too. I was January 1 (or until we run called cash reserves. More on this Beamering with pleaout), each new subscription linguistic tinkering to come… All sure…Why not buy two? You are comes with a gift of its own! fired up: Speaking of snowblowers, not seeing double. There are indeed That’s right. the fine folks at Ben Berg serviced two truck ads in this week’s paper.

Act fast to take your ours at the end of last season. Last Have I mentioned lately how much choice of the followweek I went to start it, we like Chevy and GMC? Go ing bonuses for subhaving left it to sit in out and grab yourself a new set scribing to the Voice: the garage for the last of wheels…He’s worth every A $50 Minor Brotheight months, which non-circulating penny: On ers gift card; a $50 was the first mistake. the eve of Ontario’s minimum Shoppers Drugs gift In previous years I’d wage going up, guess who gets card; a $50 PetValu given it a short run a raise? Our own man Sam gift card; a $40 Bloomin’ Crazy gift about every 30 days.

Piccolo, and that pretty much certificate; a $25 Lazy Loon gift cerBut this year, between sums up the big bucks to be tificate; a $25 Moku’s gift card; and, financial scandals and audits and firhad in journalism. No wonder he has drum roll, one of ten $10 Sobeys gift ings and resignations, well, there was his sight set on grad school. Oh woe!… cards generously donated by Fontbarely time to barbecue some chicken Four-footed season’s greetings: hill Sobeys owner, Ron Kore. In fact, wings (once), much less think about Charlie the Dog brings us best wishes we’re matching his ten with ten of our

own, making that twenty $10 Sobeys gift cards. Now, you don’t need to be a municipal finances wizard to figure out that spending $39.95 to get a $50 gift card is a no-brainer. But even if you miss the big card, a $10 Sobeys card is pretty good, too, and you’re helping keep Pelham’s only independent news source in business. We have to pay Sam that new minimum wage somehow, after all…

RULES: To give everyone an equal opportunity to learn about this offer, the gift card bonuses will be available for new subscriptions taken out anytime after 8:00 PM Wednesday, December 20. See the ad on page 17 for how to subscribe.

(Important note for rural readers: If you live on a rural postal route and do not currently receive delivery by a Voice carrier, in order to receive delivery you must choose the $49.95 Canada Post option.

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After you have subscribed, you will receive a thank-you email. Reply to this email, stating which gift card you would like. First come, first served! You also agree to be thanked in print for supporting your local newspaper. Once we run out of the single gift cards, each new subscriber will receive a $10 Sobeys gift card until we run out of those...and it’s possible that Santa Kore may just keep that stocking stuffed anyway!

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From all of us at the Voice, we wish you the Merriest Christmas, and the Happiest of New Years. We’re taking a week off now. See you in 2018.

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DEBBIE PINE

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Vol.20 No.48

CELEBRATING OUR 20TH YEAR

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DSBN wants portion of Town park

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The Comfort Maple myth

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Column Six

Growing up British

Vol.20 No.32

Wednesday October 12, 2016

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Apple Day comes to Fonthill

BY JULIE MANNELL

Special to the VOICE

W

BALLOONING INTEREST Grade 6 student Jinja Shepherd explains her experiment on static electricity at the Glynn A. Green Public School's annual science fair last Friday. See story, page 3.

NATE SMELLE PHOTO

Public meeting tonight on school issues

BY VOICE STAFF As questions continue to mount regarding an email that Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn quietly sent to a District School Board of Niagara trustee last summer, Augustyn has agreed to address the issue at a public meeting scheduled for this evening, Wednesday, Feb. 8, in Fenwick.

Nancy Beamer, speaking for “Names Matter,” a Pelham citizens group lobbying the DSBN to reverse its decision to rename a local public school, confirms that the meeting will be held at Fire Station #2, known locally as the Fenwick Fire Hall, starting at 7:00 PM. While the Mayor has agreed to ap-

Under pressure, Mayor to address email revelation, other E. W. Farr matters pear, says Beamer, DSBN officials associated with the school-naming process have either declined to attend or have not yet responded to the group’s invitation.

DSBN Chair, Dale Robinson, to whom Augustyn’s email was addressed last June, has declined to appear, says Beamer, asserting that she would be

“on holidays.” The Voice was unable to independently confirm Robinsion’s intentions. She did not respond to repeated requests for comment on E.W. Farr-related matters before presstime.

Beamer, whose group maintains an email list of some 580 residents, says that all members of the public are invited and encouraged to attend the meeting.

“We would especially welcome parents and children who are unhappy with the name change,” she says, referring to the contentious decision by the DSBN to consolidate two Pelham See MEETING back page

HEN I WAS young, my father and I would go for long drives along the rural routes of Pelham. We’d blast George Thurgood and roll down the windows because we loved the smell of the breeze, the sensation of crisp Niagara wind beating our cheeks and tangling our hair against our summer-kissed skin.

My father was not a sentimental man. He worked in factories and had a Gordon Lightfoot mustache and never shed tears over injuries.

Yet something about the Pelham landscape, the hilly backdrop to his childhood and the childhoods of our ancestors, drew him in. He’d stop by a farm or a gathering of woods and, surrendering his manly veneer, tell me a story about the town.

This place is precious. This is the earth that granted us life. Here is the place where we happened upon love or here is a site of devastation.

On one particular drive sometime in the late ‘90s we stopped at a tree with a plaque.

“This tree looks dead,” I said to my father.

“It sure is getting there, Julie.”

The Comfort Maple is supposedly Canada’s oldest See COLUMN SIX Page 14

Part 2 of 2: Coronation to embarkation

BY VOICE STAFF

A construction error was discovered following the opening of a traffic calming chicane on Haist Street north of Hwy 20 last Monday that prevented large vehicles from passing through.

One resident living in the neighbourhood said he contacted the Town after seeing a small schoolbus get stuck as it tried to get through the new traffic calming measure. Later that day while driving behind a cement truck, he said that he became concerned for the public’s safety when the truck had to turn around because it couldn’t get through.

“If a small school bus and a cement truck can’t make it through what about a fire

BY HEATHER McLAREN ROHRER

Special to the VOICE

A

Repair measures underway last week to correct a construction error in the chicane. truck or an ambulance?” he said.

While waiting for the contractor to return to fix

the mistake, the Town has taken measures to temporarily allow passage for vehicles through the neigh-

VOICE PHOTO

bourhood in the short-term.

Manager of Public Works Ryan Cook said that after discovering the issue with

the chicane the morning it first opened, the Town See CHICANE Page 5

Petition-inspired changes coming to 2017 Summerfest

BY NATE SMELLE

The VOICE

Representatives from the Pelham Summerfest committee Candy Ashbee and Bill Gibson presented council with a final report on the 2016 Summerfest at the Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 21.

Prompted by a story in the Voice in August about a merchant petition to move Summerfest from Pelham Street, in September Town staff met with various stakeholders to hear their complaints, promising at the time that changes in the way Summerfest was mounted would be con-

sidered.

The main concerns identified during the community engagement process were security, parking, ensuring customer can access all businesses in town, and liability for damages. How to get all Pelham Street businesses to participate and finding ways to make it beneficial for them to set up a booth were also determined to be of high priority for the committee as they plan for next year’s event.

Gibson told Council that the committee is addressing these concerns in a variety of ways. To improve parking, they intend to create bet-

ter signage for out-of-town visitors to designated parking areas and shuttle services. To make participation in Summerfest more enticing to local businesses, they plan to implement a tiered-charge for booths. Under the new system, Pelham Street business owners will be charged the least, other local businesses will pay a slightly higher fee, and vendors from outside Pelham will pay the most. In response to more specific issues for individual businesses, they will also slightly alter the footprint of the event and make adjustments to security.

Another way the committee plans

Debbie

Get

to improve the 2017 Summerfest is by sponsoring and working with the organizers of the Thursday Night Bandshell Concert series to select the artist performing on the first night of Summefest. They also intend to make more use of the smartphone app they launched in 2016.

"We are really going to push it this year," Ashbee said.

“It really helps to get people to see what events there are so they can plan out where they are going.

We will be able to actually help the merchants and local businesses adSee CHANGES Page 5

FTER LUNCH ON Saturday, Mum and Dad had my afternoon cut out for me. Mum had more brass than anyone I knew, and it had to be cleaned. In addition there was the set of silver fish-knives and forks which were never used, but which had to be cleaned and put back in their velvetlined box.

Next was a walk to the newsagents to pay for the daily delivery of the Daily Mirror. As I said, Dad was a printer, but when he was 37 he had been rejected for a job, as being too old, by the printers of the Beano.

For that reason, my favourite comic was not allowed in the house, but while I was paying the papers, the newsagent let me have a 'shoofty' at the Beano. I'd explained my predicament and he understood completely.

Sundays were different again. Dad would play golf on summer mornings and billiards in winter. Then he'd stop for a 'refresher' at the local and would pick up the prawns, cockles, winkles or whelks we'd be having for tea later. Meanwhile, Mum was roasting the 'joint' and potatoes. I got to make the Yorkshire pud, and mint

See COLUMN SIX Page 14

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Your Fonthill real estate connection.

BY VOICE STAFF

While shopping in Fonthill between Friday and Sunday, keep an eye out for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts in front of local stores with bushels of apples.

As part of the annual Apple Day campaign, Scouting youth of all ages will be trading apples for donations.

The yearly fundraising drive is an important way for young Scouts to connect with the communities they are serving, says Leah Marie of Scouts Canada.

“The Apple Day campaign holds a great tradition of being able to have youth interacting within the communities they live in,” she says. “All of the Apple Day donations stay directly within the group that re-

The goal is to have these youth develop into confident and well-rounded individuals

ceives them, enabling youth to have experiences that build character, challenge them, and allow them to try new things. The goal is to have these youth develop into confident and wellrounded individuals, better prepared for success. Apple Day helps to achieve that.”

“Any money raised during Apple Day goes towards improving the Scouting program by providing more outdoor adventures for youth, camping equipment, canoes and paddles, training and many other endeavours that the youth want to experience,” says Marie.

Scouts Canada has some 100,000 members across Canada, and carries out programs for boys, girls

Joining their principal, Karen Simpson, at the Sept.

19 Council meeting as part of a delegation from EL Crossley Secondary School, students Abby Loewen and Neenah Williams presented Council with a list of reasons that they should immediately approve the construction of the new sidewalk proposed along Hwy. 20. The asphalt side-

walk/trail is slated to be built between the south side of the road from Timmsdale Crescent to the high school.

Because of the large volume of motor vehicle traffic travelling at high speeds through this area, and because of the necessity for students to tread this path on a daily basis, many residents would like to see the sidewalk go in sooner than later.

After delivering to Council a petition containing

Many residents would like to see the sidewalk go in sooner than later the names of 450 students calling for a safer walk to school, Simpson handed the

podium over to Loewen and Williams to plead their case.

Loewen told Council that because there are a lot of students who have work placements and coop placements during the school year, this is the only route for many of them to travel.

As one of the students facing this predicament, Williams said she has had no other option but to walk along the dangerous highway.

www.pennylanesold.com

H EATHER AND P ENNY L ANE S ALES R EPRESENTATIVES

BY JOHN SWART

VOICE Correspondent

and youth ages 5-25. This year the 3rd Fonthill Group, which includes Beavers to Ventures (youth ages 5- 25) will be hitting the streets to drum-up support.

Over the weekend, Scouts will be set up in Fonthill outside Sobeys, Tim Hortons, Target Gas station, Fonthill Shopping Plaza and the Pioneer Gas station at the corner of Hwys 20 and 24.

Town Council approves sidewalk to serve E. L. Crossley

BY NATE SMELLE

The VOICE

Cell 905.933.3049

T

Second year Beaver with the 3rd Fonthill Group, Russell Letford offers a fresh apple to shoppers in Pelham during the 2015 Apple Day campaign.

SUPPLIED PHOTO A longtime Canadian tradition, Apple Day began in 1932 in Saint John, New Brunswick, when Scouts handed out 21,000 apples as a way to say thank you to the community. In return for their generosity, many people offered them donations. From then on Scouts have reached out through Apple Day to raise funds for their programs.

Office 905.892.1702

Column Six It doesn’t get better than Autumn

Longtime Scouting tradition dates to 1932

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Request made of community still peeved at name change

See DSBN Page 9

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Column Six

BY VOICE STAFF The District School Board of Niagara is requesting that the Town of Pelham cede a portion of Cherry Ridge Park for use as a soccer field to serve the students of the new Wellington Heights Public School, formerly the E. W. Farr Memorial Public School, in Fenwick.

Currently under renovation and expansion, the new school will combine students and staff from the previous school and Pelham Centre, where classes are being held while construction continues.

Two letters, containing virtually identical text but signed by different authorities, were sent last week to nearby residents of the park, as well as to parents of Pelham Centre students.

“The DSBN is currently building onto Wellington Heights Public School on Alsop Drive,” states the letter. “The size of the school's addition means the existing small soccer field will be eliminated.

The Town and the Board have been discussing the possibility of working together to create a field for both the school and the

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Pined -Sol Pelham’sPelham’s Health Food Store

In an effort to bring further attention and deterrence to driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs, the Niagara Regional Police Service reports the names of those people who are charged with an alleged criminal impaired driving offence in the Region.

None of the following charges have been proved in court.

In addition to being charged, these individuals are also bound by a Ministry of Transportation 90-Day Administrative Driver’s License Suspension and are prohibited from operating a motor vehicle on a roadway. The public is encouraged to contact the Niagara Regional Police Service Traffic Safety Hotline or Crime Stoppers to report those who are driving in contravention of the suspension.

The following individuals have been charged criminally with impaired driving by alcohol or drugs, driving with a blood alcohol concentration above 80 mgs of alcohol in 100 ml of blood, or refusing to provide a breath / blood sample.

Thomas F. SCHMIDLIN, 48, York Steven D. TAYLOR, 54, Grimsby Gerald A. BAUGH, 34, Buffalo NY Monica HEPBURN, 51, St. Catharines Michael RAMUNNO, 46, Welland Simranjeet K. MORE, 21, Brampton Austin A. STAATS, 19, Ohsweken Michael J. SHELVOCK, 51, Lincoln Jennifer GOSSELIN, 44, Thorold Robert WALSH, 58, St. Catharines Patrick T. CAMPBELL, 34, St. Catharines Ryan, H. N. MONTGOMERY, 32, Niagara Falls

“I start work at 2:30 PM and school lets out at 2:15 PM so I can’t take any other route,” Williams explained.

“I have had friends, family, teachers and other community members reach out to me in the past about how this is unsafe and how there should be another alternative for us.”

Looking ahead to winter, when she will need to walk this path three or four times See SIDEWALK Page 2

HERE IS NO BETTER time to cycle than Fall. It matters not whether you’re new to the sport, a seasoned recreational cyclist, racer, touring rider or mountain biker; we all have reason to look forward to autumn.

Summer’s heat has faded, and the streams of sweat that ran from soggy helmets into our eyes are now just slight perspiration. Fitness is peaking from lots of saddle time, making those tough climbs of Spring a breeze in Autumn.

It’s hard to beat the feeling of beginning a crisp, cool Fall ride with a slight shiver, knowing your efforts will soon warm you perfectly.

The hues of Autumn are outstanding.

A Pelham route as simple as following our southern boundary is one that would make most Toronto cyclists jealous, especially when our forests and fields are ablaze with colour.

Begin from Harold Black Park, and zig-zag south along Effingham Rd toward the Welland River.

If you’re new to cycling, it’s important to know south is the direction away from any hills.

If you avoid the morning and evening weekday rush hours caused by those travelling through Pelham between Wainfleet See AUTUMN Page 3

Indulgence Bakery Mossimo’s Pelham Street Grille Sobeys Fonthill Peter Piper’s Pubhouse DeVries Fruit Farm Beamer’s Hardware & TV Fonthill Library Black Pearl Fish & Chips Bob’s Boys Antiques Moku’s Family Health Pharmacy Fonthill Fitness Fenwick Pie Company McDonald’s Fonthill Legion Semenuk’s Gas Bar Target Store Tim Horton’s Giant Tiger Pelham Town Hall Pub on the Hill Zee Lube Express Care Lazy Loon Minor Bros Stores Avondale Stores A-1 Market Sobeys South Pelham Grill on Canboro Pelham Library Ridge Berry Farm Circle-K

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

Page 3

Seasonal concert delights at E. L. Crossley Music Department holds winter performance

BY VOICE STAFF E.L Crossley Secondary School’s music department held its annual winter concert on Wednesday night, transforming the school’s main gymnasium into a veritable concert hall. Music teachers Janine Barber and David Gaines led the school’s groups—from the full concert band to small vocal ensembles—through the nearly two-hour performance, playing classic Christmas songs and contemporary pop alike, in front of a sizeable crowd.

Barber’s vocal class began the evening with O Canada, which Barber said that the group would soon perform at a Niagara Icedogs game.

“It’s great to have some gentlemen in the class this year,” Barber said, looking to the back row of singers at the boys standing there. She explained

that at the beginning of the year, many of the students had been too shy to sing in front of the class.

“Now they’re performing in front of you,” she said.

When the choir had finished their first set, a few of the singers quickly rushed to get their instruments to join the whole band as it took their seats and prepared to play.

Gaines directed the group in their first song—flicking his baton with sharp, precise movements while keeping a pinky extended—a medley of Christmas songs in which the familiar melodies were woven in and around each other.

He and Barber took to the front to explain the concert band, which consists of students from different grades and different levels of experience. One of the more experiences musicians playing through See CONCERT back page

E.L Crossley's concert band plays at the school's winter concert last Wednesday evening.

Charlie is wishing all his friends, two-legged and four-legged, a very good Christmas.

Town Council wishes everyone a very happy, joyous, and safe holiday season.

VOICE PHOTO

Page 4

The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

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 Don't be a Grinch

W

ELL, IT’S TH AT time of year again.

The titans of commerce are demanding that we be happy while extending our spending to the limits of our bank balances.

The shopping centres and stores have been decked out to remind shoppers to unzip their wallets and buy everyone they know some bauble as a token of their love.

The larger the item and the higher the cost are to equate to the depth of the ardor.

Pity the poor soul who expects a Corvette and gets a cravat.

Truth be told, this gift-giving racket has gotten out of hand. It started out as a family thing where the exchange of cheerful mementos was limited to within the close-knit family circle. But the magi of commerce suggested we expand our demonstrations of affection to include almost all in our universe of daily living. Now, every which way you turn there is a smiling somebody with a hand stretched out not in greeting but in the expectancy of receiving.

The real meaning of Christmas has long since been lost by some in our society. So much so that the very spelling of the word

has been changed. Somehow, saying “Merry Xmas” to someone doesn’t seem to be quite...genuine. It’s as authentic as the store clerk who is required to say “Have a good day” without

Pity the pour soul who expects a Corvette and gets a cravat

ever making eye contact with anything except your credit card. Don’t ever ask the clerk if they meant it.

They will hit the store security button and you’ll be accosted by a chubby person clad in a counterfeit police uniform shirt, a glimpse of the worn-out Nike running shoes beneath the frayed hem of the trousers giving away the guise.

One of the art forms that accompanied the former tradition and now lost is gift wrapping. In days of

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The Voice

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www.thevoiceofpelham.ca PUBLISHER & EDITOR Dave Burket publisher@thevoiceofpelham.ca NEWS WRITER Samuel Piccolo ADMINISTRATION Lori Gretsinger office@thevoiceofpelham.ca CONTRIBUTORS Larry Coté, Nick Saltarelli, Carolyn Botari, John Swart, Kirk Weaver

yore much of the attention to detail at the foot of Martha Stewart was part of the glamour, glitz and glitter.

It was almost a shame to unwrap such artfully enshrouded packets. But this skill has given way to what used to be craft paper shopping bags with corded handles.

Some inventive artisans have upgraded the appearance of these gift carriers with elaborate scenes and colorful artwork. These are secretly saved by the recipients and soon thereafter re-gifted to someone else.

It’s a form of recycling.

Well, the day of gift exchanging is almost upon us. A check of the to- do list indicates that little has been done, there is much to do and little time left to do it.

However, do not let such hurley-burly prevent you from keeping one of the most cherished traditions of all and wish everyone you meet a fervent and genuine Happy, Healthy and Safe Christmas.

A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all Voice readers.

Your support has been much appreciated throughout 2017, and we look forward to continuing to serve you in 2018.

Letters Hats off to our Kinsmen To me there are hundreds of acceptable ways to show appreciation: a smile; a pat on the back (well, maybe not in today’s ethical society); a note; a card; an email; hand-clapping; gifts and letters to the editor.

I have chosen the last as my thank you once again, to my choice for kind and caring community support, especially to us, Pelham’s Senior Citizens.

Another noteworthy dinner, compliments of the Kinsmen took place December 12, and once again we, lucky enough to share a seat at the tables, were treated like royalty.

The song used to say, “Forget your troubles, come on get happy,” and that is what

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS Member of Federal Parliament

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Dean Allison, MP 4994 King Street Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0 Dean.Allison@parl.gc.ca 877-563-7900

Mayor of Pelham David Augustyn mayordave@pelham.ca 905-892-2607 Ext 317 Members of Pelham Town Council

Member of Provincial Parliament

Ward 1 Councillor Richard Rybiak rrybiak@pelham.ca 905-892-2105

Sam Oosterhoff, MPP 4961 King St. East, Unit M1 Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0 sam.oosterhoffco@pc.ola.org 905-563-1755

Councillor James Lane jlane@pelham.ca 905-892-2607

Electoral District: Niagara West-Glanbrook

Members of Niagara Regional Council Councillor David Augustyn mayordave@pelham.ca 905-892-2607 Ext 317 Councillor Brian Baty brian.baty@niagararegion.ca 905-892-5317 Town of Pelham 20 Pelham Town Square P.O. Box 400 Fonthill, ON L0S 1E0 905-892-2607

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Ward 2 Councillor Catherine King cking@pelham.ca 905-658-8599 Councillor Gary Accursi gaccursi@pelham.ca 905-892-5528 Ward 3 Councillor John Durley jdurley@pelham.ca 905-892-5388

Richard

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are welcome. Letter submissions should contain the writer’s full name, address and telephone number. Names only will be published.

Names may be withheld if compelling reasons are provided. The newspaper reserves the right to change, condense or reject any contribution for brevity or legal reasons. All material in this publication is protected by copyright. Reproduction is prohibited without express, written permission of the publisher. ADVERTISING: The Voice of Pelham regrets any errors or omissions that appear in advertisements in this newspaper, however, we will not be held responsible for more than one absent or incorrect insertion or for any damages beyond the cost of space containing the error. The Voice is an independent, locally owned and operated publication.

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we did!

What a marvellous way to enter this blessed time of the year.

In any, and every way—thank you to our loyal Kinsmen and their supportive sponsors: Kinsmen of Fonthill & District, Kinettes of Fonthill & District, Doyle Financial Solutions, White Meadows Farms, Duliban Insurance, Michael’s Floorcoverings, Edward Jones, Pen Financial, Boggio Pharmacy, Seniors on the Move, Shopper’s Drug Mart, and South Niagara Hearing Clinic.

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The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

Page 5

OPINION Letters

FOLLOW THE MONEY (Ho-Ho-Ho Holiday Edition) By Jim Pitt

continued

Politicking is no substitute for fact-checking

In harmonious agreement I would like to thank you for coming out to one of Choralis Camerata’s practices and writing such an entertaining article [Glory, Glory, Nov. 29, p.15]. I enjoyed an “outsider” version of what we do. Thank you for the exposure in the Voice.

Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year.

Frieda Peckham Choralis Camerata

Popping the champagne prematurely Vindication, exonerated—words that some media used to describe the feelings of Pelham’s Mayor Augustyn and Council after the presentation by KPMG accounting firm on November 29.

Mayor Augustyn has led some in the press and others to believe that the KPMG presentation answered all questions, that all is rosy and fine with the finances in our Town of Pelham, and that the Region should back off and rescind the motions they passed on November 16.

The DEBT group of Pelham disagrees with this assessment.

Our group represents a substantial number of concerned Pelham residents. When we found a lack of transparency and accountability regarding financial matters and land sale transactions in our town, and when we could not get credible answers to our inquiries, we asked the Region to step in and help us find the truth.

Mayor Augustyn keeps saying that the audit presentation on Nov. 29 cleared up everything. DEBT members and many residents perceived the meeting differently.

That evening the cafeteria at E. L. Crossley was full reasonable residents who had hopes that their concerns would be addressed. Unfortunately, what we got was a regurgitation of a lot of old facts that we already knew.

To be fair, we did learn exactly how the amount of $950,000 an acre was arrived at. Not clear why this reasoning was used, but at least it was an explanation.

However, what many people in the audience were particularly interested in finding out about was the $17 million in supposed unreported debt brought to light by former Councillor Marv Junkin. With the great amount of concern this has caused in our community with words like legal implications, breach of trust, breach of confidence, possible lawsuits, being bandied about since the See QUESTIONS next page

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might be wise to wait, listen, and make a judgment when all of the information is out there.

HERE HAS BEEN a lot of politics around the Region lately. This phenomenon is relatively new to most around town.

Sides have been chosen, accusations are flying, propaganda is filling the local newspapers and the truth has taken a back seat to politicking.

The local paper next door, in Welland, has been running up to four stories a day concerning the finances and the arenas of Pelham. All of these stories have been an attempt to show our Town’s leadership and decision making in a positive light.

These stories contain lots of glowing praise and it all sounds good.

These stories also contain no real facts, no mention of opposition and no questions about any of the finances that are swirling around our little town.

It’s all very political. I suppose you might decide to choose sides and either agree with the detractors or agree with the boosters, but as I said, the facts are firmly in the back seat, and until the facts are made public, it

It might be wise to wait, listen, and make a judgment when all of the information is out there

ognized that markets can change, as they did in the past. “I went through that in 1983 when I moved here,” he said.

I don’t remember 1983 being particularly bad for housing but the 1990s were not good years. Housing was stagnant after a correction in 1989-90 and prices did not recover until the mid 2000s. Many housing developments were put on hold and the fields remained empty.

On the arenas, Papp recognized that the operating costs are an unknown. He suggested that, “If you can’t

operate two arenas, then you operate one.”

Lost in these admissions: what the Town’s contingency plans are if any or all of these setbacks occur, and, how will it pay for all of these fiscal landmines if they explode in our faces.

A clue as to how it can all be paid for was mentioned in the Mayor’s blog on October 2, 2017. In it the Mayor examined the latest Statistics Canada income findings for the year 2015.

Pelham, it seems, has the highest median income in See FOLLOW THE MONEY Page 6

The information that is out there, waiting to move to the front seat, is considerable.

Councillor Papp alluded to some of the unanswered questions in interviews with local media on November 29. On the sale of the disputed land, he admitted that, “That one was not well handled.” On booking development charges in advance of the actual construction of a home, he rec-

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Write it down, send it in: publisher@thevoiceofpelham.ca (You won’t get rich, but you will get paid.)

Page 6

The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

QUESTIONS continued from previous page revelation, people wanted a clear explanation. Instead, The KPMG person simply said that this $17 million was not considered debt because even though the projects had been approved, the money had never been borrowed. And

by the way that figure was now $9.9 million.

This statement and the short time spent on the $17 million dollar figure was not proportional to the controversy Mr. Junkin's statements caused. If it was really so simple, why did Mayor Augustyn not say just that?

Remember, at the meeting, we, the people were

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not allowed to ask questions, and as a result we did not receive a clear explanation.

When pressed for answers after the meeting, Ms Grogan of KPMG said that the answers could be found in the report. That was acceptable, except it has been nearly three weeks and this report has still not been released.

One would have thought that when the council gave KPMG a time limit of Nov. 29 that the report would have been ready. Also, if the answers are in the report, how can the Mayor say that everything has been explained satisfactorily when we have had no access to said report?

Many people who sent questions into KPMG did not feel that their concerns were adequately addressed.

We still have no answer as to why the lawyers were called in and why they supposedly asked for an audit/special report.

We have no answer as to why in October the Mayor asked for an audit with narrow terms of reference (land purchase

and development credits), when there already was a complete finished audit/ report given to council in September. We have never been given access to that document.

We have no explanation as to why our reserve funds are non- existent now and how exactly they were spent, other than to indicate they were spent on infrastructure.

What happened to other areas of town that needed repairs, such as Poth Street? These are just a few of the many questions that are still unanswered.

Because of this, we feel that the Region has every right to be asking questions of the Town of Pelham. We feel that the Region must stay the course and not rescind their motions of November 16, 2017.

One person said it was time for the Region and the municipalities to work together. We, at DEBT, feel the Region is working for, and looking out for the best interests of, the residents of our town of Pelham.

Nancy Beamer Pelham DEBT

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Letters

continued

Happily going to the dogs I have owned many dogs in my life. Currently I possess an adorable Bichon Friese and he brings layers of joy and frustration to our family; often these mixed reviews are concurrent.

Recently we were walking in St. John’s along the road leading up to the trails.

Down the way a couple were heading toward us with a pair of shorthaired muscular looking dogs and my husband suggested I shorten the leash so that we could pass without encouraging canine socializing. Just as I did so one of the approaching dogs charged at our benign pooch with an aggressive growl. Unsuspecting Walter had just begun to wag his tail when the dog’s teeth made contact and a terrifying few moments ensued.

Fortunately, the owners of the angry dog were able to grab him and actually protected Walter until their

dog was under control. I immediately said, “Your dog should be on a leash!”

The embarrassed owner quickly held up a broken collar and assured me they were complying to rules.

He was able to reattach the collar successfully. He apologized, and so did I. Dogs can frighten and embarrass their owners. I think the four adults in this scenario were equally affected.

I had a similar incident years ago with my tiny black Brussel Griffon while walking in Chippawa park in Welland. It was a cool evening close to sundown. I was lost in pleasant thoughts of summer winding down and fall on its way when suddenly I heard a piercing scream.

I turned toward the sound and saw a large black dog charging across the open area just beyond the bar-

FOLLOW THE MONEY

in the Town’s portion of the property tax bill we all have to pay. After a considerable amount of effort

continued from previous page

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Have a warm and wonderful holiday!

And have a Happy Year 2018!

Now we gather together in celebration of the meaning of His birth and the beauty of His love, in the true meaning of Christmas.

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Niagara Region, at $95,052, a full $30,000 more than the median income for the entire Niagara Region. I read this entry and immediately got a sinking feeling in my gut.

Taxes.

Just look at how wealthy this town is. The taxpayers can afford to pay more and, if we really did make terrible decisions, well then they will have to pay for our mistakes.

In the spring I wrote a column about the steady, above-inflation-rate rise

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In 2019 they can go back to upsetting the taxpayers

and with the aid of a former Chief Financial Officer from a large city in the GTA, I got the numbers. The numbers were accurate and alarming.

The Town will only give us the blended rate of increase, not the Town increase on its own. This time we should all expect a full breakdown, not the blended rate the Mayor prefers to use to mitigate the large percentage increases of past years.

Since 2014 the Regional increase was relatively small, averaging 0.67% per year. The educational portion has decreased an average of 2.17%, but the Town’s portion has climbed to an average 5.12% per year.

These are facts, not politicking.

Around the Region, municipalities are in the process of finalizing their tax increases for 2018. It’s a municipal election year, so it can be assumed that these increases will be small, to avoid upsetting the voters.

In 2019 they can go back to upsetting the taxpayers, if you get my meaning.

All of the politicking, propaganda and advertorials will become a moot point if we, the taxpayers of Pelham, are faced with yet another large increase in the Town portion of our property tax bill. This tax increase will serve as all the facts we need to know.

Once armed with the facts, you can decide which side you believe.

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

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DOGS continued from Page 6 beque pit. The owner was in hot pursuit, yelling the dog’s name and waiving a leash. Not fast enough.

I jerked little Yoda up and held him to my chest just as the dog attacked.

I later learned that this was totally the wrong reaction. The attacker was now aiming for my throat. Luckily the owner got to me and saved the day. He was hor-

The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017 rified, as was I, and showed me the broken leash.

I shook for several minutes afterwards and actually had to sit in my car for a few moments to collect myself.

No one was injured beyond a few scratches on my hand that had covered my throat.

I later learned I should have kept my dog between my feet and used his lead to defend us both.

Obviously, dogs can be unpredictable.

We had a charming miniature

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schnauzer when the children were still small. One Friday evening we here headed out to dinner and had just introduced a new baby sitter to the children, house, and dog. All was good. After their favourite TV show, they were put to bed and I told the young girl she should expect a quiet evening.

When we returned home we were amazed to discover that our lazy, friendly, lovable Fritz had gone for the sitter’s ankles when she attempted to check on the children upstairs after they had been in bed for an hour.

To our astonishment he did not allow her upstairs the whole evening. Never before that incident or any time after did he behave in such a manner. Thankfully the children slept and the sitter, bless her heart, had a sense of humor. All dog owners must have a sense of humor too.

Now Walter, the Bichon, also has a very stubborn streak. In what seemed like a good idea at the time, my husband and I took him to the Burgoyne Dog Park in St. Catharines, as he was in dire need of exercise. When we arrived, the park was filled with many lovely small and medium sized dogs and we noted the grass was in good condition with a nice treed area in the center. There was plenty of room for Walter to run freely and several owners for us to chat with.

Off Walter went, tail wagging and running at full speed. He literally flew around the field. Then he disappeared. It turned out

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the treed area was really a swamp of filthy water and black mud. We found Walter up to his neck in muck and having the time of his life.

Obviously, it was time to go.

But Walter, who finally left the swamp, felt no need to get hosed down or even to come near us. In fact, he pretended not to know us at all. After 45 minutes of chasing coaxing, demanding and cursing, he finally walked over to a complete stranger who thankfully grabbed his collar and thus ended our humiliation. We were delighted to learn of the new dog park in Fonthill and that it was swamp free.

It was some time before we had the nerve to take him there, but he now comes when called about fifty percent of the time and always leaves the park when we walk toward the exit gate.

Success!

I guess it is safe to say that I am a dog lover. I even feel a special place in my heart for dog owners. I kind of know where they are coming from. In the aftermath of the hurricanes in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico I saw so many people in the television coverage drenched, homeless, and weary carrying their beloved dogs of all shapes and sizes on canoes and row boats. Many had their dogs on roofs, tops of flooded cars and with them on cots in arenas.

I tend to think that dogs fill a space among humans that is priceless. They spread infectious joy, lower blood pressure on good days, greet you like a longlost friend every day and, if you are lucky, look to you for everything. They are so worth the effort.

Mary Ann O’Donnell Fonthill

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Letters

continued

Appreciates the coverage I want to thank the Voice for having continued to report on the subject of Pelham's financial chaos. Like many residents I am still confused with respect to the Mayor's comment that Pelham is in good financial condition.

Wow. At last census, this community had only around 17,000 residents, yet this Mayor and Council have put over a $60 million dollar debt on us—and he thinks this is good.

Also, who owns this debt? If it is the Allen Group, what interest are we paying this company? Just think, our children and their children will not even be able to pay this off, and this is “good.”

KPMG stated that the Town didn't misplace $17 million of taxpayer money, just $9 million. If those who attended the farce called a public meeting would have been able to ask questions, maybe this problem could have been answered, but as usual it appears this Mayor and Council are still hiding something.

Dorothy Christie Fonthill

Audit report doesn't go far enough I didn’t attend the dog and pony show at E.L. Crossley conducted by Ringmaster Dave Augustyn with the Comedy Troupe, Darren Ottaway and the Five Councillors, augmented by the Theatric Players, KPMG and Staff.

I did read all the reviews and it appears that to eliminate the debt from the summer audit, staff cancelled the loan. This “balanced” the books to December 2017, but the Treasurer said the loan could be taken out in 2018.

So, it appears the next year will be more of the same with the Region Finance Committee and Pelham Debt asking for another review of Town finances and possible an audit. For a true picture of Town finances, I encourage everyone to read accountant Bill Karner’s comments in the Voice, "The road to $59 million," Nov. 29, p. 1.

The only way for Council to restore faith in taxpayers’ minds is to release the summer audit, or “report,” as the taxpayers funded it—we pay the Town lawyers.

This Mayor and Council have now saddled us with debt that will take at minimum another generation to pay off.

This debt could remain on Town books till mid-century. No amount of new development will eliminate this debt quickly as the Town only receives a small amount of property tax on new homes and commercial buildings.

The greater portion goes to the Region for water, sewage, hard service, and social programs that the Town doesn’t supply its residents.

The Town’s future development charge revenue will go to pay off the Community Centre and Wellness Centre See FAR ENOUGH Page 10

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The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

Page 9

The Great College Street Christmas Scavenger Hunt That Saturday night bar-singing thing explained

BY SAMUEL PICCOLO

The VOICE

Just after seven o'clock on Saturday evening, Paul Witterick's friends started to arrive at his house for the inagural Great College Street Christmas Scavenger Hunt.

"We were suposed to have closer to fifteen people," said Witterick. "But we had a few people cancel last-minute—Lynne's husband has to get up early to get to his bakery, and Henry's a volunteer firefighter and is on call tonight."

The remaining members of the group, sitting on couches in Witterick's living room, were still in high spirits. Witterick still lives on College Street, though many of his friends in attendance have since moved to other parts of town.

"We started getting together at Christmastime years and years ago," said Witterick. "We'd go out for dinner sometime before Christmas, and then on Christmas Eve we'd all gather together again. But this year I thought we'd do something different, so I came up with the scavenger hunt."

Witterick said that he'd done something similar in

the ski village in Collingwood, and also drew ideas from the car rallies organized by an old slo-pitch team.

"I have a different package for each team," said Witterick. "They'll have to sing a Christmas carol, take some pictures, and answer some other questions."

"We don't even live on College anymore, and we still are part of this group," said one attendee, Steve, looking to his wife. "I've never lived in a place with more community cohesiveness than College Street."

Steve offered up a theory as to why this is.

"It's going to sound silly.

But there are no garages on College Street. Everywhere else—where we live now on Stella—people drive into their garages and close the door, and go right into the house. But here they can't do that," he said. The rest of the room listen to him thoughtfully and nodded along.

"Is there going to be drinking on this hunt?" asked one woman, once the conversation had turned.

"Because I signed up for a pub crawl."

Great College Street Christmas Scavenger Hunt participants in organizer Paul Witterick's dining room before the hunt.

Witterick laughed.

"Oh yes," he said. "There are four pub stops along the way—and you have to buy a drink at all of them. That's how I convinced the bartenders at each place to play along with our game."

Witterick wrote the names of the participants on small slips of paper and put them in a beer stein.

"We'll draw out two at a time," he said.

When he'd drawn the names, the group finished their drinks and put on their

coats.

"Be careful going down my back deck," said Witterick. "You could go down there really fast, and that wouldn't be good."

"We might end up seeing Henry tonight after all, if he's the firefighter who comes to the call," said one woman.

"My lawyers will have to talk to your lawyers tomorrow," joked another.

"The men in black suits will knock on your door tomorrow, with briefcases in

hand. 'Paul, you better pack a bag, because when we're finished with you, you won't own this house anymore.'"

Witterick laughed.

"All right, all right. Just be careful out there, walking around," he said, handing them their hunt packages.

"I've tried to arrange it so that two groups aren't at the same place at the same time."

The groups plodded off into the night, clutching their hunt papers between mittens. One pair, Lynne

VOICE PHOTO

and Louise, turned the corner from College on to Station Street and walked south towards Emmett.

"We're supposed to find the Christmas decorations at the house on the corner of Station and Emmett. It says here that it looks like it's on Station but that it's actually on Emmett," said Louise, once they'd arrived at the corner.

"I think that it's this house, because it looks like See HUNTING Page 14

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The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

FAR ENOUGH continued from Page 8 land purchase. The local hard services, sidewalks, roads, and drainage will be neglected as they are now.

After 2018 we will have one new beautiful part of Pelham, East Fonthill, while the rest of Pelham crumbles away. Look at the current condition of roads.

I haven’t touched on the amount of tax dollars needed to staff the new Community Centre. So, it appears the Treasurer will need to take out the loan in 2018 and more loans will come.

The Town’s spending habits need to change as only so much can be done with taxes alone.

Asa Hansler Fenwick

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Fenwick RBC branch to close Merger with Fonthill planned for April

BY SAMUEL PICCOLO

The VOICE

After 112 years, Fenwick’s RBC branch will be closing its doors and merging with its Fonthill Branch.

The closure, which will be effective April 28, was announced to branch staff in November, and clients have been notified of the planned shuttering. RBC is holding a public meeting on January 3 from 6-8 PM at the Fonthill branch.

In a statement, RBC’s Niagara Regional Vice President Manon Johanns attributes the closure to the branch’s close proximity (seven kilometres) to that in Fonthill, and “because technology is changing people’s banking habits.”

According to Johanns, traffic has “declined considerably in our Fenwick branch,” adding that the branch’s hours had already been substantially reduced as a result of this diminishment. Johanns emphasizes that the merger “does not

mean we are leaving this community,” and said that RBC has offered to meet with each client and build a personalized plan for them for the shift. RBC will be keeping a full-service ATM in Fenwick, but did not respond to inquiries as to what will become of the rest of the building.

Despite the bank’s efforts, many Fenwick residents are displeased with the proposed merger.

“They told me that this does not mean that they’re leaving the community,” says Sherry Rusin, who has lived in Fenwick and banked at the RBC branch there for nearly 30 years. “Yes it does.

RBC is moving, and that is not supporting the community.”

Rusin quickly wrote a letter to RBC outlining her opposition to the planned clo-

sure, and says that “those who have issues with the closure should to attend the public meeting on January 3 to protest.”

According to Rusin, RBC does not calculate as foot traffic visits to the bank from clients who registered their accounts elsewhere.

“My accounts are registered in St. Catharines, since that’s where the agricultural division is,” says Rusin. “So all the times that I go into the Fenwick branch, I’m not being counted. And it’s the same for everyone else who registered elsewhere.”

RBC did not respond to request for comment on the method of counting branch visits.

Rusin says that she is not simply advocating on her own behalf. “I talked to a lot of my elderly neighbours, who don’t want to bank on-

line or on the telephone,” she says. “They want to talk to a real person.”

Rusin says that there are over one hundred migrant workers, typically travelling by bike, who use the RBC bank during the summer.

She points also to the effect that the bank has in drawing people to Fenwick’s downtown.

“It’s taking away a vital part of the town,” she says. “People come to the bank, and then they go to the Avondale, or to one of the restaurants. And with the rise in minimum wage, things are going to be tough for the restaurants. We don't want to lose them.”

Rusin suspects that many of RBC’s current Fenwick client won’t go to Fonthill.

“It will be much harder See RBC Page 13

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The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

Page 11

Cliff Travis' one-man sawmill The saws may be stopped for the winter, but there's still plenty to do

BY SAMUEL PICCOLO

The VOICE

slivers that hurt more. But it took the tip right off and sent it into the sawdust, where the dog went after it. We took the piece and put it on ice and brought it to the hospital, but they said it was too late to save it.”

Such missing digits are unsurprisingly common among saw

have the shield, and everything else.”

Travis nodded. His pants and coat were of a thick canvas, and he looked to be wearing a shirt that could have been one left over from his Stelco days, where he worked as a crane operator for some 30 years.

“I don’t even mill much anymore,” he said. “I’m seventy-one now and I’ve had heart trouble. I only cut logs for family. Today will be the last time that the saw runs until the spring.”

Outside the shop, which was warmed by a stove, the air was

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filled with snow, and a biting wind blew across 10 acres of soy beans planted on Travis’ property.

The sawmill barn is open- ended, and while it was protected from the wind, both Tucker and Travis looked cold as they stood inside.

Ahough Tucker had visited before, he still had a look around. The walls of Travis’ barn are lined with old equipment hanging on nails, and up against the walls are stacks of boards, some as wide as two feet.

Travis built the barn out of logs

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On August 23, 1980, Cliff Travis lost the tip of his finger. Travis, who has a hobby sawmill at his farm in West Lincoln, was working on the machine when his finger got caught in the chain.

“I thought that it just nicked me,” he said last week, sitting by a wood stove in his shop. “I’ve had

millers. Travis, who is tall and thin and has a shortly trimmed grey moustache, recalled once visiting a mill in Pritchard, British Columbia.

“There were six guys there. And when they all put their hands on the table, they were missing thirteen fingers among them.”

He chuckled at the memory.

Travis’ friend Mike Tucker, who owns a horse farm in Pelham and was visiting Travis to pick up some sawdust, laughed too.

“But you’ve got all the safety stuff in your mill, Cliff,” he said.

“You wear your glasses, and you

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www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Christmas Kids Helping Kids Glynn A. Green students help organize support for families in need

BY VOICE STAFF

Kids Helping Kids with some of the items collected for their sponsored Christmas families.

COLUMN SIX continued from Page 1 or repurposed, the rails live on, a testament to man’s in-

dustry.

Jasper fed the stock, tended to the garden, whistling or singing songs he wrote himself, spreading cheer and hope in their sweet re-

frain.

Two men definitely not gentleman heard of Jasper’s ability and visited the farm, offering to put his songs on the radio. They left with his

VOICE PHOTO

songs and gifted him a broken- down violin.

Father doubted the Violin was a Stradivarius, fearing Jasper had been a swindler’s dupe. Jasper got the violin in working condition. Just as he rosined the bow for its first

Glynn A. Green Elementary School’s Kids Helping Kids group, which organizes charity events throughout the school year, finished up the school’s Christmas efforts last week. This year, the school collected gifts for 10 local families in need of assistance, with each class chipping in to sponsor one of the families. Aryana Gardner, a Grade Seven student who has been involved with the club for four years, said that of all Kids Helping Kids initiatives, the Christmas one “is the best because we’re directly helping families in need.”

Grade Eight student Carly Elcich echoed Gardner’s words, saying that the group alternates Christmas initiatives, sometimes having a hat-and-mitten tree, but that Christmastime is always her favourite time to help out.

“It’s exciting because we know we’re helping kids have the same Christmases that we have,” she said.

This year, Elcich’s class had a family with three young girls, and Elcich said that her class enjoyed the range of gifts requested. “The younger ones want stuffed anSee KIDS Page 16

draw across the Stradivarius he heard from the little kitchen radio his song followed by another’s name.

The bow traveled and the note was sour.

Jasper broke the violin into kindling. As it burned in

Merry Christmas and Best for 2018

the cook-stove he took out his beggar’s harp and played plaintive and sweet. No one said a word to him nor did he speak. They could take from him his song but they could never steal his music.

The tide of times improved and Jasper and Jim moved on. Jasper made music for pay and Jim became one of the many indigenous people to serve his country with honour and pride, but for that time they were family, loved and loving.

As William Wordsworth said, "The best portion of a good man’s life is his little nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love."

May we all aspire to live on so in harmony and love. 

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www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

SAWMILL continued from Page 11 that he himself milled, and some of the floorboards are impressive in width.

As Tucker looked around, Travis went into the engine room and started up the John Deere motor. It began to grind away, and in the cutting room the 54-inch saw blade began spinning.

“This sawmill was built in 1880,” shouted Travis over the noise. “Woodland Machine Co built it in Smithville. The blade’s only twenty years old though. I just filed the teeth this morning—sometimes you have to do that twice a day if you’re sawing a lot.”

Travis put on his safety goggles and climbed on to the platform where the control levers are located. He pulled on a metal stick and behind him a thick log of oak was pushed onto a rolling cart and secured in place.

He pulled another lever and the cart rolled forward on its tracks toward the spinning blade. A board of the outside bark was carved off in one fluid motion.

Travis pulled the cart back, and then pulled another lever that flipped the log over, exposing another barked side. Again and again he repeated the process, flipping the log to cut off boards of diminishing width as the log’s girth was reduced.

“I’m getting close to the heart of the log now,” shouted Travis, pointing to the dark knots visible amid the wood’s red flesh.

“I keep flipping it over to box that bad wood in. We’ll end up with just a four by four of it.”

Once the log had grown too small for the mechanical arms to rotate it, Travis picked up a metal pole and maneuvered it to spin the wood over.

“Before the machine was here, we used to have to flip all the logs by hand. Unbelievable. Now it only takes ten minutes to do a log— then it could take an hour.”

As the blade spat out the boards onto the rollers below, Tucker pulled the wood forward and stacked it at the

end of the barn.

“Even that can be dangerous,” said Travis. “Guys have lost fingers that way. The ends of the boards are sharp, and if the blade pushes one up against another, and your fingers are in between, they’ll take them off.”

Once the entire log had been cut up, Travis went into the engine room and switched off the motor, and it was quiet again.

“Isn’t that beautiful red oak?” he said, looking at the stacked boards. “Those are going to be for my grandson, for the floor in his house.

They’ll have to dry for two years, and then be planed and cut so that they’ll interlock.”

All of the wood that Travis mills comes from a 90acre lot that he owns near his farm, 20 acres of which is bush.

“I don’t like to mill logs that people bring to me,” he said. “They’ll usually cut the trees down from a field where a wire fence used to be nailed to them. I’ll be cutting through the tree, and then the blade will hit the wire and really mess it up. One time, I hit an axe head. It tore teeth right off the saw.”

The axe head was surely bad for the blade, but it was an interesting find. Travis collects old axe heads, and has some three dozen of them lined up nearby his wood stove in the shop.

When he and Tucker were sitting by the fire, Travis rose to pick one up. “This is a Confederate axe-head from the Civil War,” he said. “It was found in a field in Virginia in 1937, and I picked it up in Florida.”

“Are you going to Florida this winter?” asked Tucker, looking at Travis’ hat, which said “Daytona Beach” on it. “Are you going to bring home a full truck of junk?”

“I’m going to Florida,” replied Travis. “But no junk.

I’ve got a lot of junk that I’m still working on. Mostly parts for that steam engine.”

The two got up and went through a door to an adjacent room, which was unheated and smelled of gasoline. In the middle sat the frame of a steam engine with a cow-catcher on the

The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017 front. The body was made oil drums welded together, and while it looked rickety, the effect was nonetheless impressive.

One time I hit an axe head.

It tore teeth right off the saw.

“I still have a lot work to do on it,” said Travis, grabbing hold of one end and rocking it gently back and forth. “But it’ll move.”

“Can I take a look at the cars?” asked Tucker.

“Sure,” said Travis. “The ’34 Ford is over here.”

He went through another doorway, to where something car-shaped was hidden under a blanket. Tucker and Travis worked together to pull the cover off, revealing a car that gleamed even in the gloom.

“This is the same kind of car that Bonnie and Clyde were shot in,” said Travis.

“Wasn’t Bonnie and Clyde’s a four door?” said Tucker.

“Oh, that’s right,” said Travis. “Theirs was the four-door version. And they had a soft-top, too. I had a hard-top welded on to mine.

But I’ve still got the suicide doors.”

He opened one of the doors, which are hinged at the back and open from the front.

“The door would jolt open when you’re going sixty miles an hour, and when you reach over to close it, you’d be pulled out off your seat and on to the road. So many people died that way that they only had the doors like this in ’33 and ’34.”

“Let’s take a look at the ’31,” said Tucker, and the two walked back into the room with the half-finished steam engine, and uncovered another old Ford.

“I’ll still have work to do on this, but I want to get the steam engine done,” said Travis. “I’m slow at things.”

Even if he is admittedly slow, Travis is still prolific.

On his property alone, he has built the house, the gazebo, the sawmill barn, the planing barn, and the workshop and its two adjoining rooms.

When his grandson announced his impending marriage, and his interest in having the nuptials at Travis’ farm, Travis said, “Then I’ll build you a church.”

Using his own boards— he paid only for the metal of the roof—Travis built a small, elegant chapel on his front lawn with angular, swooping gables. Travis and Tucker went outside to look at it. The floor was bare but strewn with tools and parts left over from construction.

“I built this for him, and then they changed their minds and decided to get married at the Grimsby pumphouse. But that's all right. I’ll put my axe-head collection inside. Now I just need to put windows in it.”

Tucker, who is an electrician and doesn’t do much carpentry work, looked admiringly at his friend’s craftsmanship.

Another gust of wind blew more snow into their faces as the two left the chapel.

Travis looked out across the fields to the wind turbines in the far distance.

“We fought and fought against those things,” he said. “I made a lot of friends, and I made a lot of enemies.

I still don’t like the look of them, but they don’t seem to be bothering anyone.”

Tucker laughed.

“I heard that some people have been shooting at them with rifles,” he said.

“Well, I’ve heard that too,” said Travis. “But they have so many cameras around them that they’ll catch you in a hurry. And you could lose your farm over that. It’s worth that. ” He and Tucker stared at the windmills a little longer, watching them turn against the grey sky.

“All right, Mike,” said Travis. “It’s cold. Let’s go and get that sawdust in your truck.” 

Page 13

RBC continued from Page 10 for them to get to the Fonthill branch—there’s very little parking, and the traffic is terrible. They’ll go to Welland instead. It’s the same distance, and the traffic isn’t as bad.”

Rusin speculates that RBC will be made painfully aware of the insufficient parking situation at the Fonthill branch when those attending the public meeting in Fonthill aren’t able to find parking spots for the event.

Rusin isn’t the only one to suggest that the Fenwick RBC’s clients won’t follow the merger to Fonthill.

“People from Fenwick will go to Welland before they go to Fonthill,” says Gary Chambers, another Fenwick resident.

“And when they go to Welland, they won’t be banking with RBC.” Chambers says that despite the Fonthill branch’s close proximity, its location on Highway 20—with traffic and limited parking—makes it an unattractive spot for many.

“They’ve reduced the hours so much in Fenwick, there’s nothing on Saturdays, and nothing in the evenings, so it’s no surprise the traffic is down. But there’s money there. People in Fenwick save. People in Fonthill spend,” says Chambers.

Chambers also points to the proposed developments in Fenwick, and says that in his meeting with an RBC representative from Toronto, she was unaware of the planned growth.

“There’s been all this talk of amenities in Fenwick for new growth, and the amenities we’ll get. Well, the hardware store has closed, and now the bank will be closed. I hope that another bank comes in to fill the spot. They’ll get a lot of business.”

John Klassen, another Fenwickian dismayed by the planned closure, echoes Chambers’ comments.

“They were going to close it down fifteen or twenty years ago,” he said. “But they decided not to, and I heard after that this branch had one of the biggest money flows through it.”

RBC did not respond to request for comment as to whether planned Fenwick development was factored into the decision to merge the two branches.

Blessings of the Season “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

Wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Staff of DeKorte’s Landscaping

DeKorte’s Landscaping Ltd. 905-892-6908

Candlelight Service Seeing Christ Through Prophecy and Fulfillment December 24 at 6:00PM

Church of Christ 765 Welland Road Fenwick

Refreshments following program

Page 14

The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Ombudsman to investigate Regional Council incident Only fifth-ever official municipal investigation by provincial office

BY VOICE STAFF According to a news release from the Ontario Ombudsman's office, Ombudsman Paul Dubé informed the Regional Municipality of Niagara late last week that he will conduct a formal investigation into an incident at a council meeting on December 7, when a journalist and a citizen blogger were reportedly asked to leave the premises and had their electronic devices, including a recorder and a laptop computer, seized.

“This matter has raised serious concerns about the actions and processes of the municipality, and has understandably drawn high public interest,” said Dubé, whose office received several complaints related to the incident, according the news release.

The investigation will be conducted by the Special Ombudsman Response Team (SORT). The team will begin its work — including

HUNTING continued from Page 9 it's Station. But it's not on the southeast corner," she said. "So is Paul just being an idiot and trying to trick us?"

"No," said Lynne. "It's got

interviewing the relevant parties and reviewing documentation — immediately, Dubé said. In addition to the general issues raised, the investigation will also consider whether the meeting violated the open meeting requirements of the Municipal Act, 2001.

The Voice sought reaction from all Regional councillors, including Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn, who was said to be insistent that police be called when the devices were discovered. Augustyn did not respond, nor did the majority of Council.

Backlash against Council and Region staff for their perceived heavy-handed response was considerable, with the incident receiving national attention and condemnation.

Pelham’s other Regional Councillor, Brian Baty, did respond.

“I look forward to the investigation by the Ombudsman,” Baty said. “The conclusion on the given epi-

sode should be obvious. I am more interested in how such issues could be prevented or dealt with in the future.”

“I personally spoke with the Ombudsman this afternoon,” said Council Chair Alan Caslin, “and indicated that the Niagara Region welcomes the investigation and looks forward to working with his office in identifying and implementing any recommendations to improve our policies and procedures. This investigation will complement the ongoing internal efforts to work with local media outlets to strengthen our policies to help ensure future incidents do not occur; and should an incident occur, there is an appropriate policy framework for Council and staff to follow."

Region CAO Carmen D’Angelo contacted various Niagara news-gathering operations, including the Voice, early last week to invite representatives to attend a roundtable meeting

to be this one. Let's go up to the porch and check the decorations."

The next tasks on the sheet brought them towards Town Square.

"We have to count the construction pylons , and then we have to count how many orange stripes are on

them," said Louise.

"But are they orange with black stripes, or black with orange stripes?" wondered Lynne. The two decided on black with orange, and hurried off to one of the pub stops. There they were instructed by the sheet to order a "shooter" drink.

sip, eat, chat, repeat!

at Region headquarters last Wednesday afternoon. The Voice arrived to learn that the meeting was postponed, according to Region staff, when not all organizations were able to attend on such short notice.

“The Ombudsman is investigating whether any of the discussion at Council warranted closed session,” responded Councillor Tony Quirk. “As it was legal advice about a matter that could involve litigation and a readily identifiable individual, I am confident the ombudsman will rule everything in order. We also suspended the meeting when the recording device was found so I am sure the ombudsman will find everything was above-board.”

Councillor Sandy Annunziata, whose discovery, by some accounts, of an audio recorder hidden under a hat triggered the incident, responded at length.

"I have full confidence in the Ombudsman's office,” said Annunziata. “Every councillor should welcome the scrutiny. Having a fresh set of eyes, an independent, third party that can help

identify gaps in policies and procedures, is a good thing. It will make the Region stronger. But I'm also hopeful Mr. Dube will investigate the attempted secret recording of a closed session meeting and the comment made recently by a reporter at the Standard that has troubled the majority of Council. Specifically, that he has contacts in Regional government that have been leaking information to him at great risk to themselves.

Why risk so greatly without an equal portion of reward? What's the quid pro quo? What gift or benefit are those leakers deriving?

I'm hopeful the Ombudsman will supply those answers. It would seem the same reporters who can't wait to write stories critical of councillors who violate the Code of Conduct and breach confidentially, are the same ones who relish in, enable and encourage the behaviour. I find that absolutely astounding."

The Ombudsman is an independent officer of the Ontario legislature who resolves and investigates some 20,000 public com-

plaints per year about provincial government bodies, municipalities, universities and school boards.

Most complaints are resolved without need for formal investigation. Of the more than 5,800 complaints received about municipalities since the Ombudsman’s mandate was extended to include them in 2016, this is only the fifth to become a formal investigation.

Anyone who has specific information related to the matter under investigation is invited to contact the Ombudsman’s Office via the confidential complaint form at www.ombudsman. on.ca, or by calling 1-800263-1830.

The investigation will be completed as quickly as possible, according to the news release.

Under the Ombudsman Act, Dubé may find the actions of a public sector body to be (among other things) contrary to law, unreasonable, unjust, oppressive, improperly discriminatory or wrong – and make recommendations for improvement.

"It's a good thing I had dinner," said Lynne.

"Yes," agreed Louise.

"Otherwise I'd be looped by the end of this."

The bar was only half full, but still the two received a number of odd looks as they scribbled away at their pages, answering a question that had them add up the street numbers of various homes on College. They also

tried to decide which drink to order.

"I don't drink 'shooters,'" said Lynne. "We'll just have to ask the bartender to make us whatever kind she wants." Lynne seemed to regret giving the bartender this power when they had been delivered with two "Porn Stars."

"I would not recommend those," she said, as she and

Louise trudged through the snow. "It was so sweet...but also sour."

They stopped at the bandshell to count the number of minature buildings with religious relevance. In front of the nativity scene, Lynne was reminded of a story.

"Did you see that YouTube video of the school production? A girl takes the baby Jesus from his crib, so the girl playing Mary puts her in a headlock." Louise and Lynne laughed all the way to the next pub.

Most of the other hunters were also gathered there, finishing their half-pints of craft beer. They spread out across several different tables, shielding their answer sheets from view.

Witterick sat in the middle of the room, smiling broadly as his charges went up to the bartender to ask for the information they needed. He pointed to Lynne and Louise.

"They have to find a doctor to take a picture with," he said to Steve, of the "Garage Theory" of neighbour relations and his partner, Jody. "You two got off easy: you just had to find someone walking their dog.

"They were looking for a doctor?" said Steve. "And they had a drink called a 'Porn Star'? That's risky."

Steve and his partner, Jody, were hunched over a sheet, trying to decipher the differences between two pictures.

"How many buttons are on that coat?" asked Jody.

"We need to keep working on our strategy," said Steve. "And work in all of our buzzwords: We have our 'Scavenger Hunt Ecosystem.' What's another good word?"

"How about leverage?" said Jody.

"Leverage, that's good," said Steve. "We're leveraging our existing knowledge to work within our 'Scavenger Hunt Ecosystem.' And we're going to win."

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The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

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options for players in this upcoming season. Runs Sept. 6 from office@thevoiceofpelham.ca 9-12 in the morning.

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Bethany Christian Reformed Church 1040 Balfour St., Fenwick Concordia Lutheran Church 105 Welland Rd., Fonthill

PELHAM MUDFEST Ladies ring at Fonthill OCNA Networkcome Classified Ads Office.

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WALKING CLUB Interested walking in Pelham?

JoinEvents them Tuesdays at the Pelham Arena Places of inWorship and from 9-10 am and Thursdays at Fonthill Bandshell for 9-10:30 am. There First Presbyterian Tidings Church of God please contact jcook@ Pelham Evangelical Friends Church is no Church fee for this program. For Glad more information, 602 Metler Rd., Fenwick 1 Pancake Lane, Fonthill 940 Haist St., Fonthill pelham.ca or call 905 892-2607, ext 329.

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HAMPER DAY FOR PELHAM CARES Kirk on the Hill Presbyterian Church St. Alexander’s Roman Catholic Church 1344 Fonthill or bring a non-perishable 50 Pelham Town Sq., Fonthill Purchase fresh fruit and vegetables atHaist theSt.,Market foodChurch item to fill the hampers at the Pelham Farmers Fonthill United Pelham Community Church Market on Sept. 4.

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Everyone who's anyone 7. Proceeds for the Big Move stay in Niagara and support the Walker FamINCL. This TAX ad is to be printed by all participating Ontario papers ilyreads Cancer Centre. the Voice

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The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

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continued from Page 12 imals and dolls, while the thirteen year old is more interested in things like make-up,” she said. Nine of the ten families are ones from the community, while the tenth sponsored by the school is a Syrian refugee family who just arrived in Canada in the fall. Earlier this year Kids Helping Kids gathered food and supplies for the new arrivals, who were sponsored by the Pelham Syrian Refugee Constituent Group.

Elcich said that the school tried to make the family’s first Christmas in Canada— and likely first ever Christmas, considering that they are Muslim—a special one.

She also emphasized the $100 gift cards included in each family’s hamper.

“The food is one of my favourite things at Christmas,” said Gardner. “Collecting canned food is good, but the gift cards will mean that they can have a Christmas dinner that’s fresh and will taste much better.”

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teacher supervisors, Todd L’Ecuyer, said much the

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same thing.

“You don’t want to have Christmas dinner out of can,” he said. L’Ecuyer was especially proud of the students’ efforts this year, saying that when the collected things were together, “it looked like a toy store.”

The school’s principal, Pam Voth, has been involved in many similar initiatives at other schools in years past, and said that she was impressed with Glynn A. Green’s collection efforts this Christmas. Voth

pointed to the group effort, and mentioned that staff had specifically requested that they not be given Christmas gifts this year.

“Not that we expect Christmas presents from students,” said Voth, “but it’s something that happens, and this year the teachers asked that those things be given to the families we’re sponsoring.”

Voth spoke to the fact that Kids Helping Kids is a student-driven group, something that Elcich also found important.

“The Grade Ones and Twos start helping with posters and advertisements,” said Elcich. “Then juniors can get into announcements. Once you get to being in the intermediate grades, you start really being hands-on, counting money and other things like that.”

Kids Helping Kids typically organizes several major events in the school year, and after the drive for the refugee family and sponsoring of families for Christmas, it plans to run a dance-a-thon in the spring.

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

Christmas Cheer at Crossley

BY VOICE STAFF Students at E.L Crossley Secondary School have collected hundreds of boxes of food and gifts for families in need this Christmas season. For several weeks, students brought in gifts and food for the family assigned to their homeroom class. Each class was given a list with information about members of their family—how old the kids were and what sort of gifts they were hoping to find under the tree.

Members of the school’s Interact Club, which organized the campaign, gathered in the cafeteria on Thursday morning to load the hundreds of boxes into a cube van.

The group was supervised by staff organizer Karen Chcoski, who has taught at the school for nine years and been involved in the program since her arrival. She said that it has been a Crossley tradition for at least 25 years. “We’ve sponsored twenty-seven families this year,” she said over the carols blasting through the cafeteria's sound system. “The Salvation Army tends to help around one hundred families, and Crossley always takes on about a third of them.”

Chcoski watched proudly—and scrambled around helping—as her students slid the boxes along a makeshift conveyer belt, made up of ten or so tables arranged in an L-shape leading to the back door. There another small group of students wearing coats carried the boxes out to the van to be stacked, their hands red from the cold. The floor in front of the door was wet with melted snow and the students walked carefully to maintain their balance.

Chcoski said that the school’s enrolment is not as high as it once was, meaning that more families have been sponsored in some years past, but she emphasized that students are as passionate about the project as ever.

“Christmas Cheer really sets a tone for these kids for helping out in the community,” she said.

One of those students, Tessa Piccolo, said that for her, “Christmas Cheer is the epit-

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ome of the Christmas spirit. On Christmas morning, when we’re all opening presents and eating great food, it’s nice to know that we’ve helped some kids less fortunate to have exactly the same thing.”

Crossley resource teacher Don Lockhart, who was packing up boxes and re-taping those which had been weakly bound, said that since his classroom doesn’t have enough students to adopt a whole family, they instead join up with another class.

“This is my favourite thing,” said Lockhart, ripping of pieces of tape.

Once all of the boxes had been pushed along the table, an unwrapped bicycle rolled along the top on its training wheels, the group gathered by the cube van to see it off, admiring the lack of space left over.

“All right,” said Chcoski. “Those of you who are coming with me to help unload the van at the church, let’s get ready to go. The others, I’m sorry to say, it’s back to period two classes,” she said sadly. “Unless you like your period two class. In that case it’s, ‘Back to period two classes!’”

continued

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Last autumn we moved to 1428 Pelham Street, opposite Beamer's Hardware in Fonthill.

Our hours are 8AM to 2PM, Monday to Thursday, closed Fridays.

Town's snow clearing good, some residents not so much I would like to ask the Town to consider better informing its residents about clearing snow from their driveways.

Many homeowners are shovelling or blowing snow from their driveways directly onto the travelled portion of the roadway.

Besides being inconsiderate to their neighbours, as larger snow banks result at the ends of driveways of homes located to the left (when facing from the road), it creates an additional hazard to inexperienced drivers as well as pedestrians who use the roadway when sidewalks are not present or clear.

In the interest of safety, please educate

Page 17

the public about the legality of the issue.

“Depositing snow on the public roadway is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act.” This was copied from the Town website. Unfortunately, not everyone is aware of this law.

Increasing awareness about this could be done in our local newspaper as well as a supplemental notice in the tax bills, etc.

Further, I would like to mention that the sidewalk snow removal in Cherry Ridge has been very good so far this year. It is appreciated!

David Goodhue Fenwick

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Page 18

The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Recommendation to grant home of model railroad heritage status Councillor Rybiak wonders about alternate uses; railroaders skeptical

BY VOICE STAFF Subsequent to a request made by Pelham Town Council in October, on December 4 Town staff provided Council with a report on the proposed heritage designation for Fenwick’s Quaker Meeting House.

The building, constructed in the 1870s, is owned by the Town, but since 1974 has been leased to the Greater Niagara Model Railroad Engineers. In January, two Pelham residents petitioned the Town to provide heritage designation for the building.

Councillor Richard Rybiak reiterated his October interest in exploring other possibilities for the building's use, which is currently limited to the model railroad group.

"Though I personally might have not seen as much in the building as staff has, I'm certainly happy to support the recommendation that it be designated," said Rybiak. "I think the building and its location have a great deal of potential. Fenwick is a growing population hub, and meeting places of some size might be useful. I wonder if we can have staff prepare a report at some time about alternate uses and potential, if any, for revenue from the use of that building."

At an open house during the Fenwick Santa Claus Parade, model railroad club president James Whitaker

said that he didn’t see how the current configuration of the building could accommodate another group.

“It is what it is,” he said, acknowledging that the railroad installation takes up the entire main floor.

“There’s some room in the basement, where we have our meetings and our workshop, but I don’t know if there are any groups that would want to meet there.”

Whitaker said that though he thought the heritage designation was worth doing, it wouldn’t really affect the railroad club, since the Town owns the building and would have made any decisions about substantial alterations to the structure.

Discussion of heritage designation was initiated last year after the railroad club requested funds to be directed towards the building’s windows. Part of the usage agreement between the Town and the group stipulates that the club contribute to upkeep.

“When we presented to Council about the windows, we calculated that we’d spent thirteen thousand dollars over the past decade or so,” said Whitaker. “That includes a new furnace, plumbing, paint work—a whole number of things.”

Whitaker said that the club has just 16 members, and is thus limited in what it can do.

“We do what we can af-

Santa Claus Parade goers stop by the club's open house on December 9. ford,” he explained. “We’ve always really respected the privilege of using this space, and have tried to engage with the community. We have open houses in November and April, when we have hundreds of people come through, and we’re always open during parades, like today.”

There is a small model train club in Thorold, but Whitaker said the next closest one that's of similar size is in Hamilton.

“The hardest part about having a club is finding a location for the railroad,” he said.

Just after the parade ended, a whole swarm of departing attendees entered the building to look around.

The model railroad set is not, as Whitaker says, “your grandfather’s basement set.”

The tracks wind in and across vast model countryside of incredible detail. The items listed on the scavenger hunt sheets near the room’s entrance give an indication of how precise the model is, inviting visitors to hunt for “bath time in the woods, a barbecue on the rood, and a window washer having a bad day.”

The trains don’t simply roll around aimlessly either.

Whitaker stood by a miniature rail yard with a spreadsheet on his clipboard. A computer program creates schedules for all of the mock industries in the model, and calculates when the loads for each are to be put on the trains and shipped out.

Whitaker has been a member since 1985, when he was 14, and on Saturday both his father and his oldest son were at the open house.

“That used to be how it was—kids liked trains because their dads liked

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trains. Now the kids are distracted by video games, and trains aren’t as popular as they were in the seventies or eighties.”

Still, the dozens of kids who did make it in seemed as enraptured as ever by the little trains clicking around the bends in the tracks. Whitaker said that the group hopes to slowly update the tracks to a more sophisticated technology, with digital commands and added sound effects.

“The trains will whistle,” he said. “It’ll be even more like the real thing.”

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The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017

Page 19

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Page 20

$7 MILLION continued from Page 1 Council considers the Staff recommendation,” Mayor Augustyn said.

The Mayor has not responded to multiple requests to specify a date when KPMG’s audits will be presented to the public, or when a Town Hall, at which residents may ask questions, will be held.

The Town initially promised that the audit results would be released shortly after KPMG’s November 20 presentation at E. L. Crossley high school, and that a Town Hall date would be set within two weeks of the presentation.

In a response last week to a Freedom of Information request filed by the Voice in November, Town Clerk Nancy Bozzato asserted that no resolution concerning a bank loan was made by Council in their closed-door session on September 5.

Bozzato also declined to re-

The Voice of Pelham, December 20, 2017 lease the results of what has become known as KPMG’s “summer audit,” allegedly commissioned without Council’s knowledge.

The Voice also requested copies of all bank balances and investment account statements as of September 1, 2017. Bozzato replied that “consultations with a person outside the Town are necessary to comply with the request,” and stated that a further response was expected to be forthcoming by later this week.

The Town’s 2018 budget was initially planned for final approval on Monday.

Instead, Quinlin was to have presented a draft version, with final approval expected on January 15. (The Voice went to press before Monday’s Council meeting.)

Town Public Relations and Marketing Specialist Marc MacDonald attributed the budget’s delay to “the November 29 meeting and the time that was required to answer all of KPMG’s queries.”

CONCERT continued from Page 3 the night was Grade 11 student Rob Cretney, who accompanied the choir on piano, before switching to baritone saxophone to play with the concert and jazz bands.

“I started playing piano when I was in Grade Three,” said Cretney during the brief intermission.

(Gaines had introduced the break by saying, “When I say ten minutes folks, I mean ten minutes. There’s about six kids on a hockey team, and I promised the coach that I’d have them out of here by 9:30.)

Cretney said that he’d just started playing the saxophone three years ago, but really enjoyed the instrument, and plays with the Brock wind ensemble too. Cretney said that his favourite song to play of the evening was “Minor Swing from the Middle” with the jazz band.

“We only perform twice a year,” he said, “and it’s way scarier to play in front of people. But it’s a good adrenaline rush. Plus it’s jazz, so you’re allowed to play wrong notes.”

Cretney’s cousin, Abigail Shatford, also performed that evening, though much to her disappointment she is

only a member of the extra-curricular vocal ensemble.

“I’ve done all the vocal classes, which is pretty heartbreaking,” she said. “There’s no real choir, either,” she added, lamenting the fact that ever fewer students seem to be taking music classes.

“We’re always trying to get more students in the classes, because if not, they might not run and then one of the music teachers won’t be teaching music full time. The school tends to be all about athletics and rowing, and that’s okay. But music is another important part too.”

After the intermission, the jazz band returned and played a spirited rendition of the James Bond theme.

Perhaps the evening’s most poignant songs were performed by small groups from Barber’s vocal class.

“There are a lot of instrumentalists in the class, too, so they’ll be accompanying themselves on piano or guitar in all of the songs—this was an assignment for them,” said Barber. “They had to come up with a song in which they all had a solo, sang together, and have their own harmonies. I had nothing to do with the compositions.”

Barber indeed walked away from the stage as the small groups of

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca three or four stood alone, dressed in black amid the black stage and black curtains. Without microphones, the groups began singing quietly, just barely audible above the piano or guitar, but each group seemed to gain confidence as their songs progressed.

Gaines introduced the second-tolast song of the night as one written by a high-school music teacher.

“It’s called ‘Chasing Sunlight,’” he said. “It’s about driving west across the prairies in the evening. The sun sets slower when you’re driving towards it at one hundred kilometres an hour. Considering how close we are to the shortest day of the year, it’ll be good to think of any sunlight at all.”

Once the band had finished with another medley of carols, and the fathers had put away their video cameras and the grandmothers their iPads, Gaines thanked the crowd for coming.

"And now the hockey players can leave," he said, mostly to the parents in the audience. "But the others ones: not so fast. They all have to put away their instruments, and bring at least one chair and music stand back to the music room.”

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