The Voice, December 7 2022

BY SUSAN PRUYN Special to the Voice

After the birth of my daughter Sarah, I never regained the energy that I had before her birth. I thought it was a new mother problem. In my mind, my energy would return in time and I just had to tough it out.

When I returned to work my energy levels worsened. My husband and I had a cleaning lady to make my life easier. I couldn’t wait for her to finish so I could spend the rest of the day in bed.

I read an article in Canadian Living that talked of a “Yuppie Flu.” The symptoms described what I was experiencing.

At my husband’s urging I went to my doctor, a well-known diagnostician. He listened carefully to my symptoms and wrote a request form for a titre for Epstein-Barr virus. He told me there were too many viruses going around.

The results came back with an abnormally high reading. The test was repeated in six months with the same results.

Then my husband made me make the best decision for my health in my married life. He told me that the way I was deteriorating was no good for my health and no

MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH Chris Alexander, left, owner of Alexander's Fudge, in Smithville, and his brother Stephen offered samples of their handcrafted fudge last weekend at the second annual DeVries Fruit Farm Christmas Market. More photos, p.8 DON RICKERS

the season to be tipsy: Wait, no, not tipsy. Tippy! Should you happen to find yourself with an extra crisp bill or two and feel the season’s generous spirit descend, we

have a squad

IN THE NEWS NOW IN OUR 26TH YEAR If your message to Pelham isn’t in our pages, Then it isn’t being seen. The Voice The paper that Pelham reads. (905) 892-8690 advertising@thevoiceofpelham.ca

First Climate Change Network meeting

The Niagara Climate Change Action Network held its inaugural meeting on Thursday, Dec. 1, putting action to the call to action that was signed at the Niagara Climate Change Summit in June 2022 and launching a “commitment to form partnerships, share critical data and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Niagara,” according to a Niagara Region statement. Four local organizations —Niagara Region, Brock University, Niagara College, and the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority — worked together to establish the Niagara Climate Change Action Network. Some 50 individuals from educational institutions, environmental groups, Indigenous organizations, municipalities, and businesses from sectors including energy, agriculture, development, and engineering attended the kick-off meeting as members of the network. The meeting provided an opportunity for participants to collaborate on the vi-

POETRY

NRPS impaired driving charges

~

In an effort to bring further at-

Many years ago, when I was but a child

The “spirit” as we called it Would drive us all quite wild.

Enticing and inviting, bewitching, yet beguiling It came upon us early in November, And invaded every waking moment, yes, indeed, So clearly I remember.

Chores and school and shopping Were all approached with joy For we would welcome in December, A saviour, Mary's boy.

Carols, cakes and cookies Coal if you were bad A little crèche and wise men three Placed gently on your small front porch By grandpa and your dad.

It was a time you learned ‘bout giving Traditions, faith and prayer Not a time we spent in worrying Kids didn't have a care.

There was little hustle bustle Just family, school and fun ‘Cause Christmas Day was coming soon Celebrations had begun Tall green trees and tinsel Lights and shining star To honour Him. a special child From a land so very far. Those days are oh, so long ago Simple pleasures now seem gone Yet still anticipation lives in me My Christmas Spirit carries on. So I will decorate this Christmas. As I have always done, I will celebrate His birthday For a new day has begun.

S.M. Lazareth

Olivia, Emilie and Layla Walker volunteered at Potcake Place K9 Rescue, in Turks and Caicos, with 4-month-old Sweet-Pea who was up for adoption!

tention

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.

Jeffrey F. HAMLYN, 41, St. John’s, Newfoundland

Cheryl L. BARRY, 66, Niagara Falls

Kristin R. SMITH, 44, West Lincoln

Denis P. DESJARDINS, 31, Welland

Brandon KEENAN, 39, St. Catharines

Yousef N. ALI, 24, St. Catharines

The Niagara Regional Police Service is committed to reducing impaired driving offences through education and the apprehension of offenders through enforcement programs like RIDE. Impaired driving is still the leading cause of criminal deaths in Canada and destroys thousands of lives every year.

Voice on vacation! WHETHER ACROSS TOWN OR ACROSS THE GLOBE! Email your photo holding the Voice to: office@thevoiceofpelham.ca SPONSORED BY FREE Delivery or curbside pick-up of all items

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What's That SIREN Pelham Fire Department Weekly Calls The Pelham Fire Department responded to nine calls for assistance from Friday, November 25 to Friday, December 2. Saturday, November 26 Detector activation, Acacia Rd., Station 1 Sunday, November 27 Medical assistance, Station 1 Carbon monoxide alarm, Twenty Mile Rd., Station 3 Monday, November 28 Motor vehicle collision, Webber Rd., Station 2 Medical assistance, Station 1 Thursday, December 1 Chimney fi re, Foss Rd., Stations 2 and 1 Remote alarm, Effi ngham, Station 1 Friday, December 2 Medical assistance, Station 1 Medical assistance, Station 1

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Fenwick Pie Company McDonald’s

Duffin Appleworks Fonthill Legion

Semenuk’s Gas Bar

Shoppers Drug Mart

Tim Horton’s Giant Tiger Fonthill LCBO

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New lift for Pelham Cares

Old equipment deemed unsafe a year ago

BY DON RICKERS Contributing News Editor

Jennifer Dubé, Office Manager of Pelham Cares, said that the past 11 months have not been easy without a small freight elevator, or lift (sometimes referred to as a dumb waiter) to transport food items between the upper and lower floors at the organization’s office at 191 Highway 20 East, in Fonthill.

“This time last year, the provincial Technological Standards and Safety As-

sociation (TSSA) shut down our old lift, telling us it was unsafe,” she said. “This was days after our food drive last November. Without a lifting device to manage our inventory from basement to main level, it has been extremely challenging.”

Thanks to the Niagara Community Foundation’s $20,000 gift in the way of a David S. Howes Grant, Pelham Cares now has a new, operational lift with a

300-pound capacity, which will be well-utilized during this year’s food drive, currently underway. TSSA approved the lift on October 31.

“I’ve got to give a big shout-out to our high school student volunteers, who we called our ‘muscle crew,’ who came in during their spare periods and after school, working up a sweat, walking full boxes up and down our staircase,” said Dubé.

10 | 1:00pm | Fenwick The Fabulous Fenwick Lions present the 25th annual parade! The parade begins at Bethany Christian Reformed Church and ends at Centennial Park in Fenwick, with festivities to follow.

Greg Lewis, President of the Pelham Cares board of directors, receives a $20,000 cheque from Bryan Rose, Executive Director of the Niagara Community Foundation SUPPLIED

TYREE'S TYRADES

Danny Tyree

I

t has been years since my family last dealt with the “pictures with Santa” pageantry, but Saint Nick impersonators remain an integral part of Christmas for Americans.

I wish I hadn’t sold my Child Psychology textbook back to the college bookstore, or I would explain why kids who think nothing of sticking a fork in an electrical outlet or inviting a rabid wolverine into the house are suddenly in fight-or-flight-or-wetyour-pants mode over a jovial old man who surrounds himself with elves and candy canes.

Yes, shrieking and bawling are the immediate result of encounters with Kris Kringle, but the traumatizing life event also creates repressed memories that pop up unexpectedly in adulthood. (“The ocean — it’s shaking like a bowlful of jelly! I can’t help it — I’m going A.W.O.L. from the Navy!”)

Some Santa impersonators (motto: “I’m not a morbidly obese peeping Tom, but I play one at the local mall”) volunteer for

the pure joy of seeing children’s faces light up. Other Santa surrogates don the iconic red suit to earn extra money. I’m glad there are still job opportunities for Santa Clauses, considering retailers’ self-checkout mentality.

Parents feel compelled to honor the tradition of dumping tiny tots in Santa’s lap, even if they’re not emotionally ready for the experience.Physical disabilities are no roadblock to those truly committed to serving as a mall Santa. The agencies that book Santas do, however, frown on applicants with dyslexia. Being upfront about that cuts down on posting a “Santa wanted” sign and having guys with cloven hooves and pitchforks showing up for auditions.

A newspaper article recommended Santa role-playing as a side hustle for college students, but I think the job is more suited for seasoned individuals with experience as fathers or grandfathers. Eight hours of putting up with snotty noses, sticky hands, beard-tugging, mile-long lists, mystery smells and awkward questions (“If you can visit every home in the world in one night, how come it has taken my dad more than three years to go to the corner store for a pack of cigarettes?”) would make young guys’ repro-

ductive systems implode.

Yes, some spoiled brats issue totally unreasonable demands, so it’s heartwarming when one is well-grounded in reality. Like the little girl who was patient enough to put off a pony until next Christmas. (“I know that THIS year I need to prioritize having Santa make my 10th-story apartment pony-accessible.”)

Santa impersonators have to do an amazing job of hemming and hawing when presented with a budget-busting wish list. “I’ll check into that.” “Let me see what I can do.” “I would hate to disappoint a good little boy or girl.” Toss in the occasional, “I’ll have to circle back,” “infrastructure,” and “democracy,” and Santa would qualify for Secret Service protection.

On the other hand, do you know who is the most powerful person in the world? Elon Musk? China’s Xi Jinping? Wrong. It’s a readyto-retire Santa who gives parents that reindeer-inthe-headlights look by rubber-stamping everything on the little darlings’ wish list.

I wouldn’t call them evil masterminds, but their “Ho ho ho” sure sounds more like “Bwahahaha.” 4

Letters

They paved Paradise and put up a mega-mansion

The Ford Government’s rushed and rammed-through Bill 23 is predicted by housing experts to do next to nothing for alleviating Ontario’s housing affordability crisis, but it will make a lot of Mr. Ford’s rich developer friends a whole lot richer.

If implemented, this bill will breed even more urban sprawl. Niagara will end up looking like Phoenix—it just goes on, and on, and on, bereft of nature.

Bill 23 can force our Conservation Authority to give up conservation lands for housing, these being some of our most environmentally sensitive and pristine lands, also important in providing wildlife habitat,

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS

for flood control, etc. This makes absolutely no sense. In fact, it’s non-sense!

Another egregious part of Mr. Ford’s plan is to amputate large sections off the Greenbelt. Despite his (and Housing Minister Clark’s) promise to not develop the Greenbelt, reportedly some 18 times over the last several years, these 18 promises have now been broken! Evidently they never learned what most of us did in kindergarten, that being a promise made is a promise to be kept.

Once the slicing and dicing of the Green-

7 See SPRAWL next page

Member of Federal Parliament Electoral District: Niagara West Dean Allison, MP 4994 King Street Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0 Dean.Allison@parl.gc.ca 877-563-7900

Member of Provincial Parliament Electoral District: Niagara West Sam Oosterhoff, MPP 4961 King St. East, Unit M1 Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0 sam.oosterhoffco@pc.ola.org 905-563-1755

Members of Niagara Regional Council Councillor Marvin Junkin mjunkin@pelham.ca 905-658-2986

Councillor Diana Huson diana.huson@niagararegion.ca 905-324-3094

Town of Pelham 20 Pelham Town Square P.O. Box 400  Fonthill, ON L0S 1E0 905-892-2607

Mayor of Pelham Marvin Junkin mjunkin@pelham.ca 905-658-2986

Members of Pelham Town Council

Ward 1 Councillor Kevin Ker kker@pelham.ca 905-931-9571

Councillor Wayne Olson wolson@pelham.ca 905-931-9573

Ward 2 Councillor Brian Eckhardt beckhardt@pelham.ca 905-931-9574

Councillor John Wink jwink@pelham.ca 905-931-9576

Ward 3 Councillor Bob Hildebrandt bhildebrandt@pelham.ca 905-892-5647

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A few years ago, upon discovering that there was Indigenous treaty protected deer hunting at Short Hills Provincial Park, where I had intended on going hiking, I had conflicted feelings. Is something acceptable just because it is a cultural tradition or if it is legally protected?

Last year I expressed my thoughts about this issue in this newspaper. Through contemplation and research I came to the conclusion that I believe it is morally unacceptable to look to tradition and treaty rights to determine the morality of the hunts at this park and any provincial park.

Beyond last year’s discussion I also feel it is immoral for a number of other reasons.

Although established protocol states that hunters are suppose to clean up after the deer are killed and gutted, dead deer and deer remains are regularly found after the hunt in the park, by the public using the park. Even more disturbing is the disrespect shown for the deer. Hunters have skinned deer bellies, nipples and all, and nailed them to trees. In one case, two dead deer fetuses were also left at the base of the tree.

Hunters have disrespected the deer by hanging their heads over the sides of their trucks with the deer’s tongue pulled out as if to taunt demonstrators as they leave the park.

According to safety protocols established for the hunts, hunters should “use care and discipline to kill deer effectively and humanely” and they should only shoot stationary deer when they have a clean shot.

SPRAWL

continued from previous page

belt begins, it will not end! Greed will win! Why else, just a few weeks before this announcement, would a developer pay some $80 million dollars for a piece of Greenbelt land, and take on a mortgage with an interest rate of 21 percent, if they knew that land could not be developed but was protected for eternity. Such behaviour would fit with a definition of insanity! Yet, these developers aren’t insane! Thus, this beg the question; What did that developer know that the rest of us didn’t?

However, there is video evidence of hunters using formations where one group of hunters “drives” the deer towards other hunters waiting to shoot them. Drones are also used to locate deer in the park. There is video evidence of this. This hardly meets the criteria of a traditional and cultural practice.

The safety protocol also states that “all deer that are wounded should be tracked and dispatched as soon as possible.” Unfortunately, though, wounded animals have been left to suffer and die. Multiple dead deer have been found on private property and in the park after hunt days even though there were no wounded deer reported. Further, home owners must dispose of the killed or wounded deer themselves or allow the hunter onto their property.

Even though the safety protocol states that hunters should “conduct hunting activities in the designated central portion of the park; away from homes and in areas with the least development and fewer public trails; and not in the buffer zones around the hunting zone” — hunters have been seen, photographed, videoed, and reported to officials hunting in the buffer zones and on private property, metres from people’s homes. Hunters have even stolen the security cameras upon realizing that they were being recorded.

For some Indigenous hunters these hunts are sporting events with trophies being rewarded. They are doing more than hunt-

See MORALITY next page

We need to tell Mr. Ford and local MPP Mr. Oosterhoff in no uncertain terms: Get back to the drawing board on Bill 23 and KEEP YOUR PROMISES.

Stop the attacks on the Greenbelt. And to our Town Councillors and Mayor, you need to send a clear message to Mr. Ford that this is bad policy, that Pelham is not with him, and that Pelham will not be part of the gang that pillages the Greenbelt and endlessly sprawls.

Graham Pett Pelham Advocates for Trees and Habitat (PATH)

Idon’t usually write book reviews in this space but in this case I simply couldn’t resist. Because “Our Daily Bread, From Argos to the Altar –A Priest’s Story” by Alex Frost, a Church of England priest, is a quite wonderful and essential volume. I should explain immediately, by the way, that Argos is a British store where people buy all sorts of items from a catalogue. It’s relatively cheap, and a constant of British life.

Alex Frost is probably best known, in Canada as well as the United Kingdom, for his excellent series of podcast interviews with various religious, political, and cultural figures. The appeal of those conversations — and the online competition is vast of course — is based largely around the fact that unlike some in the trade, Frost understands the importance of listening. And it’s that gift of listening, in this case to people of his beloved hometown and parish of Burnley, in the northwest of England, that makes this book so compelling.

Part autobiography, part anecdote, part reflection, Frost recounts his life from soccer referee, Argos store manager, and stand-up comic to a priest in an often desperately poor inner-city parish in Lancashire. Not a typical preparation perhaps

but the experience is vital. He was punched unconscious as a ref, and threatened with death as a shop manager. They don’t teach that in seminary, at least not in the one that I attended!

The book gives us stories of poverty, prostitution, housing and hospital

it. He’s not party political, he emphasizes, he just wants people to know and to do something. Frost lives that out every day, and it’s something we can learn from here in Canada, where love should always be more powerful than hate.

The book is also genuinely funny, because people facing cement-like hardship often use humour as an escape mechanism. My Jewish taxi-driving dad used to tell the best Jewish jokes one could hear. Because they were good jokes, because they were ironic, but largely because they provided release. Frost, for example, on his Christian formation: “It made gentle introductions, it left subtle deposits, just as my puppy does sometimes.”

waiting lists, addiction, violence, mental illness, self-harm, crime, shattered families, and, in a nation as wealthy as Britain, genuine hunger. All of this inevitably magnified by the pandemic, lockdown, and economic and social consequences.

Yet while Frost is understandably and righteously angry at it all, he is never “self-righteously” nasty or blaming. That’s a rare and, I’d suggest, poignantly Christian response. When he speaks of being “inclusive” he actually means

I rather like that. Religious is serious but that doesn’t mean that religious people should be humourless. God forbid, as it were.

At heart and soul this is an account of street theology, which is by no means supposed to be a criticism.

The daily living of the deepest teachings of the Christian Gospels applied to people in conditions of brokenness and challenge, the like of which many of us would consider foreign or of “the other.” And such an approach should never, must never, be confined to Christianity. If we’re go-

See COREN next page

Flag-raising marks World AIDS Day

BY DON RICKERS Contributing News Editor

A fl ag raising in recognition of AIDS Awareness Week, World AIDS Day, and Indigenous AIDS Awareness Week took place at Pelham Town Hall last Wednesday.

Positive Living Niagara, a community-based organization that provides support, education, and advocacy for HIV-positive individuals and their families, was represented by Womens’ Community Development Coordinator Sarah Burtch, who spoke to those in attendance about the importance of “remembering, honouring, and celebrating those we have been lost to HIV and AIDS.” Burtch also addressed the systemic barriers that create inequities facing Indigenous people and Black Canadians, putting them at greater risk of infection and poorer health outcomes.

Pelham Marvin Junkin underscored Burtch’s message, saying that “over 40 years ago, the ongoing AIDS epidemic began. During

MORALITY

continued from previous page

ing for “subsistence” as they claim. These sporting events are videoed and posted on a YouTube channel.

These hunts are supposed

that time, HIV-related stigmas, discrimination, myths and misinformation have affected so many people.”

Jackie Barrett-Greene, the Director of Education, Support, and Volunteer Services at Positive Living, told the Voice that between

to be for Indigenous persons. There is no hunting permitted in the park at any time by other hunters yet non-Indigenous hunters are invited and attend the hunts without question.

The deer in Short Hills Park are very tame, used to

400 and 500 residents of Niagara are living with HIV, and that across Canada, 14 percent of those currently living with HIV are undiagnosed.

“I think that the biggest thing we need to remember is that in this country, we are not immune

humans walking through the park and therefore easy game. It is unacceptable to terrorize and kill them.

It is quite apparent that some of these hunters have no respect for tradition, for the deer, for the impact this hunt has on others, for

to the variables that create increased risk for contracting HIV,” she said. “We've seen it throughout the Covid pandemic, how it's highlighted the vulnerability of marginalized communities.”

For more information, see positivelivingniagara.com

the park, or for the hunting protocols that were established for these hunts.

All of the above issues are disturbing and cannot be ignored when considering the validity and morality of this hunt. Why the Minister of Environment, Conserva-

tion and Parks David Piccini, and Ontario Parks Manager Greg Wilson, continue to allow these hunts and the flagrant violations of established safety protocols is a whole other issue.

ing to deal properly with racism, poverty, climate change, and injustice we have to find new and different responses.

What we often refer to as the “other” was propelled into British homes when the BBC aired an award-winning documentary entitled “The Cost of Covid: A Year on the Front Line.” Frost was one of the featured clerics, and millions watched, and were shocked, at what they saw. This, surely, was the stuff of drama or foreign reporting rather than local news? But it wasn’t. The same applies to Canada, where misunderstanding of the daily life for the poor is steadily increasing.

Not so for Alex Frost, who seems now not to be shocked by very much. But that certainly doesn’t mean he’s complacent. Far from it. He emphasizes that change and solidarity are essential.

This book and its message will remain with me for, I hope, a very long time indeed. There are rough and tough times ahead, and we need to engage with and listen to people who have firsthand experience of the real world, the frontlines, and all this involves.

One point, however. Frost is a diehard fan of Burnley soccer club, and no matter what he says or does he’ll never convert me. Tottenham Hotspur born-andbred, and nothing’s going to change that! I’m so glad I read this book, and so glad Alex Frost wrote it. 4

Linda Chenoweth Hamilton

Members of Positive Living Niagara joined Mayor Marvin Junkin and Councillor Brian Eckhardt at Town Hall SUPPLIED

Let’s be honest with ourselves — Fonthill has been a fairytale community for NIMBYISM (not-inmy-backyard) for decades. Single detached housing on large lots have dominated the landscape. Herein lies the issue — the world around us has significantly changed. Land supply has changed. Population is increasing. Reality has now caught up with the consequences of this unsustainable approach. People don’t know how to react to this sudden change of higher-density development.

At a high level, this country is in a severe housing crisis, make no mistake about it. Fonthill is not immune to this issue. A recent article in the Niagara dailies outlined how Niagara Falls and St. Catharines alone are tasked with building 19,000 housing units by 2031. Canada itself needs to build two million housing units just to meet current demand. Housing supply isn’t going to be solved by sprawling, single detached houses, no less helping bring down the cost of housing. What we are seeing, strictly from a land use, planning, and town-building perspective, is exactly what is needed — a mix of housing typology (townhouses to five-plus storey mid-rises) to accommodate both a growing and aging population.

Let’s dig into the nitty-gritty details. The Town has set growth targets, as mandated by the Niagara Region Official Plan, which stems from the Ontario Growth Plan, or as it is now referred to, “A Place To Grow.” These growth targets are established in every municipality, specifically within a town/city’s urban boundary. These bodies identify potential intensification sites within urban boundaries as they have met

criteria for residential intensification — namey they can easily be serviced by existing municipal infrastructure such as water main, sanitary, and yes, even traffic.

Inside the urban boundary is where we should see and have been seeing new proposals for higher density residential development. This may come off as controversial for some, but I will stand by it — this is responsible, long-term, sustainable planning. What’s the alternative? Continue paving over prime agricultural lands as we have been for the past 70 years for low-density housing? Many of us are aware of the provincial government’s plan to develop lands within the Greenbelt. This approach could not be farther away from good, responsible planning, and should not be up for consideration.

Now consider — when you’re actively opposing every development within arm’s reach, this only adds to the growing deficit of housing supply, meaning that housing costs will only continue to skyrocket. Every online petition made is a couple hundred signatures against young professionals and young families trying to buy their first home in the town where they grew up. This is why we have public engagement with each proposal. Work with the Town and the applicant. Outline your concerns constructively and request the studies on these specific issues such as parking/traffic/noise and height.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about you, and this isn’t about me. This is about everyone — homes for your children, homes for your friends, for today and for our future.

G. Lipinksi Fonthill

Share your talents with the community! Applications are open to join a Town of Pelham committee.

The Committee of Adjustment (“CofA”) is a statutory tribunal under the provisions of the Planning Act, to hold public hearings for the purpose of making decisions with respect to applications for: Minor Variances to the Town’s Zoning Bylaw; Consents and Legal NonConforming Uses (enlargement/ extension/ similar use). The Committee operates independently from Council and its decisions may be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (“OLT”).

The committee ensures that the municipality promotes and facilitates a barrier-free and universally accessible environment for citizens of all abilities. Members will ensure a timely review and development of municipal policies, programs and services with an aim toward identifying, removing and preventing barriers faced by persons with disabilities. Members will provide further advice and recommendations to Council on matters relating to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.

Learn more about these and other positions and how to apply at www.pelham.ca/careers | hr@pelham.ca | 905-980-6684

The Lincoln Pelham Union Library Board is responsible for the overall governance of the Library. The Board’s purpose is to set a strategic framework within which it can manage the provision of comprehensive and efficient public library services. The Board’s approach to undertaking this purpose will be in accordance with the Public Libraries Act and as further defined by the municipal By-laws / Resolutions, all applicable legislation and Board policies.

Joint Accessibility Committee

Lincoln Pelham Union Library Board Committee of Adjustment

The Town of Pelham is accepting applications for committees of council for the 2022-2026 term.

Learn more about all open volunteer positions and how to apply at www.pelham.ca/careers

TOY DRIVE IS ON From now through Dec. 11, toy donations for kids and pets of all ages may be made at the Fonthill Fire Hall, Highway 20, during regular office hours, as well as in the evening, 6 to 8 PM Monday through Friday, and 12 noon to 4 PM on weekends. Collection hampers are also located at CIBC Bank, Meridian Credit Union, Pelham Town Hall, the Pelham Library, Meridian Community Centre, and Enviro-Niagara Group. From left, Jason Longhurst, Callie, and Yvon Audette.

CHRISTMAS MARKET UNDER THE ARCHES The Town of Pelham’s Outdoor Christmas Market returned to Fonthill last Friday night under the newly rebuilt arches above Pelham Town Square. Some 20 local food and artisan vendors, plus musical entertainers, were present for the evening, along with Santa and Mrs. Claus (speaking above with Juliet). The Joymaker Truck, and Fonthill Firefighters were also on hand, raising funds and accepting food and toy donations for Pelham Cares. DON RICKERS

Celebrate the Season in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara-on-the-Lake

THE SHAW FESTIVALWHITE CHRISTMAS

November 18 - December 23

If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas, you won’t want to miss this classic holiday fa vourite. Two soldiers, returning home from a USO song-anddance team, fall for two sisters in another act. Together, they put on a show to save a Ver mont inn. This musical never fails to please: you can’t help falling in love with the charac ters, the dancing and, of course, the singing, especially since the title song is Berlin’s most fa mous and most beloved. www.shawfest.com

THE SHAW FESTIVALA CHRISTMAS CAROL

November 18 - December 23

Ebenezer Scrooge is back! Nes tled in the heart of the ultimate Christmas village, the charming holiday favourite A Christmas Carol returns to the Shaw Festi val’s Royal George Theatre. It’s the perfect annual reminder of what Christmas is all about. Ar rive feeling “Bah, humbug!” and leave full of warm, fuzzy Christ mas spirit. www.shawfest.com

TASTE THE SEASON

4 weekends in November Join us this November for our Taste the Season touring pass

program! We are excited to be able to invite you to visit and taste at 15+ winery properties over four weekends in November. wineriesofniagaraonthelake.com

CANDLELIGHT STROLL Friday, December 2, 6:30 pm In front of the Old Courthouse on Queen Street. Join us as we celebrate the beginning of a magical holiday season. Stroll through Niagara-on-the-Lake with your candle in hand and feel transported to a Victorian Christmas Village. Enjoy car ollers, lights, and decorations during this much-loved annual tradition. niagaraonthelake.com

Grab your family and friends, put on a Santa suit and run an IN-PERSON 5KM race in the very scenic Niagara-on-the-Lake! Santa Suit and chipped timed re

JAZZ & BLUES SERIES

The

Niagara

Festival

an intimate live jazz experience in the heart of wine country. This series features high-caliber jazz artists per forming on an acoustic grand piano at the Hare Wine Co. The Mark Eisenman Trio (Nov 21), Genevieve Marentette Quartet

Join us in Niagara-on-the-Lake for the Candlelight Stroll, Santa Claus Parade, Rotary Holiday House Tour, and Christmas Tractor Parade. Shop for Christmas presents, see a Shaw Christmas play, relax in a winter spa experience, and take in our beautiful winter gardens. Stroll through the heritage district with extended shopping hours and enjoy the decorated store windows and Christmas trees. Enjoy barrel-room wine tastings in one of our 40 wineries. Celebrate the season’s bounty with exceptional VQA wines and holiday-inspired food pairing experiences during our signature Taste the Season event. Spend a few nights at one of our elegant hotels or charming bed and breakfasts to take in the magic of this holiday season in beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake. Visit niagaraonthelake.com for more information.

TWILIGHT

TD

Jazz

presents

Local author shortlisted for Hamilton Literary Award

BY VOICE STAFF

That is the question that pub lisher Tidewater Press asks of the reader on the book jacket of Three Funerals for My Father: Love, Loss and Escape from Vietnam.

Written by Fonthill-based au thor Jolie Phuong Hoang, the book is described on the Tidewa ter Press website as a “poignant story of love, grief, and resilience that spans three countries and 50 years....a testament to the collec tive experience of the ‘boat people’ who escaped communist Vietnam, and a plea on behalf of millions of refugees currently seeking asylum across the globe.”

The story, which details the life and death of Hoang’s father and his role in orchestrating her fam ily’s escape from Vietnam, is her second published work.

Recently the book has been shortlisted for the Hamilton Lit erary Awards in the Non-Fiction Category, among four other works by Ontario-based authors.

“It’s a dream come true, and I am honoured,” said Hoang, fresh from an author event at the Ham ilton Public Library, where an an nouncement of the shortlisting had also taken place.

The event, organized by Com munity Youth Librarian Patrick Fazari, was titled, “In Conversa tion with Jolie Phuong Hoang.” Attended by friends, family, and journalists, the event also includ ed an interview with Hoang con ducted by motivational speaker Thanh Campbell, author of the book Orphan 32.

As a teenager, Hoang escaped

from post-war communist Viet nam with her siblings, then lived in a refugee camp before arriving in Canada in 1984. In 1987, she took a job at the Hamilton Public Library to help pay for university. There, she nurtured her love for words and made a secret promise to herself that one day she would return to the library as a published author.

Hoang would eventually become a mathematics professor and set tle in Fonthill. Eventually she pub lished her first memoir, Anchorless, in 2019. The book was meant to help her process the grief of los ing her father and youngest sister during the family’s final attempt

at escaping Vietnam.

“I also wrote Anchorless for the next generation of the family to hear the voice of their grandfa ther, to experience his story,” she said.

The book would go on to become a surprise success, winning in ternational awards, including the North Street Book Prize for liter ary fiction.

Soon after its publication, Ho ang received what she described as a “writer’s dream”: a phone call from traditional publisher Tide water Press, with the offer of a for mal writing contract to write Three Funerals for my Father, an expanded version of Anchorless that includes

more historical detail, and more scenes about the family’s expe rience in the refugee camp before coming to Canada.

Living in Canada, specifically Fonthill, has given Hoang “a sense of stability. It is a town where I nurtured my family and raised my children. Life here gives me a sense of peace. It reminds me that I can slow down, and concentrate on both my career and writing.”

Hoang describes a feeling of “disbelief, and impostor syn drome” in regards to being short listed for Three Funerals for my Fa ther, but also a sense of pride.

“I think my father’s spirit is within the book,” she said. “He

is alive in it. While living, he was ambitious man. The writer has the power to bring loved ones to live among us again, for us to feel as if they are alive and sharing the joy in the story.”

Two readers, Deb and Jan, drove to the author event from Kitchener to have their books signed person ally.

They read Three Funerals for my Father as part of their personal book club, and had chosen the ti tle because they wanted to “read a Vietnamese perspective on the war, having only seen the Amer ican perspective.”

They described the book as en lightening and expressed interest in visiting Vietnam in person.

When asked about how she felt about being approached by fans, Hoang said she was grateful.

“It touches my heart knowing that readers felt the connection to the book. Perhaps, the book relat ed to their own life experiences, or stories of grief, of loved ones. To be heard and felt by readers, that is truly the greatest award for an author.”

The ceremony for the 29th Hamilton Literary Awards will be held on December 12, at 7:00 PM, in Theatre Aquarius, 190 King Wil liam St., Hamilton.

Jolie Phuong Hoang, seated, being interviewed by Thanh Campbell

LUIS URENA

"I think my father's spirit is within the book"

Man wanted in Welland stabbing incident

At 3 AM on Sunday, December 4, 3 District –Welland uniform officers from the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) responded to a 911 report of a stabbing in Welland. Officers attended a residence in the area of Margery Road and McMaster Avenue where police say a male victim in his 30s was located with serious stab wounds. The victim was

treated and transported by Niagara Emergency Medical Services paramedics.  Detectives identified a suspect: Alexander Dwight Beverly Sr., a 50-year-old male from Buffalo, New York is wanted for the Criminal Code offences of aggravated assault and uttering threats (death/harm). Beverly’s current location is unknown. Police say his current method of transportation is unknown. Beverly has ties to the downtown areas of Welland and Niagara

COLUMN SIX

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good for the marriage. He told me I should quit my job and we would live on his salary.

Eventually I was referred to Dr. Walsh at McMaster hospital. Dr. Walsh had seen hundreds of patients suffering from the same ailments as mine. He wrote up my papers for a CPP disability. I had kept telling myself that somehow I could get better and go back to work. I hadn’t want to apply for disability but again my husband told me that I should.

Dr. Walsh told me that I hadn’t realized yet the wisdom of walking away from the job. In time I was told I would figure it out. He also told me that despite something not right in my body that I had managed to keep my spirits up. Anti-depressants were not recommended. He told me that I was a tiger but didn’t know it yet.

I kept telling myself that something had my body but it didn’t have my soul.

At this point if time I was heading-up the local support group for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). We heard of a Dr. Byron Hyde,

IN THE NEWS

Falls. It is believed he may also be trying to get back to Buffalo New York. Beverly is described as a Black male, 5’11” ft. tall, approximately 180lbs., glasses, short black hair, brown eyes. Beverly’s clothing at the time of this incident was described as black and white striped running shoes, green fitted pants, fitted workout top, or-

chair of the Nightingale Research Foundation, who was to chair a symposium in the United Kingdom. He was a recognized international authority of the disease.

I called Dr. Hyde’s office and asked if he would come down to speak in the Niagara Region after the symposium. Unfortunately, we had no money to offer him for speaking.

Dr. Hyde called me at home that evening to query when I wanted him to come.

I was supported for the cost of the venue by the local Kinette group in St. Catharines that also had my sisters Linda Burak and Jane Lindsay as members. With this support, our group was able to arrange a forum at Brock University at Pond Inlet.

The press was empathetic to this forum. Many stories appeared in publications on CFS about individuals in high public contact for example teachers, nurses, airline individuals, that were on sick leave, who could no longer carry on working.

The night of the forum every chair was full. We actually had to turn people away. This forum did a great deal of good in educating the

ange sherpa/fuzzy vest, blue hooded rain jacket, Blue Jays baseball cap under a beige toque with ear flaps, large green camping style backpack, black satchel. Police says the suspect has in the past used the aliases “Victor VENT” and “Victor FENCE.” Police caution that members of the public who may see him or know his location are

public. It helped individuals come to terms with what they were experiencing healthwise.

Although ill, I managed to head the support group for four years. I don’t know how I did it but I had help from many individuals.

I have now lived with this autoimmune illness for thirty-six years. I have spent excessive hours in bed than is normal for an adult. I’ve had repeated lung infections, asthma and sore throats. For a tenyear period I had a continuous sore throat.

Enter Covid-19, the pandemic. This is it, I thought. I’m finished. I spent the first three months isolated at home. Others did what was necessary, the groceries, the banking.

My husband asked me if I was going to spend the rest of my life at home Actually, I had thought about it.

I’m very social. If I could spare some energy for community work, I was happy to do it. I was always upfront about my illness. To stay at home forever would not be good.

So I ventured out with my mask to do groceries, banking. I listened to all the best medical advice. I decided I had no choice but to take

not to confront him but call their local police. He should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at 905-688-4111, option 3, extension 1003306. Members of the public who wish to provide information anonymously can contact Crime Stoppers of Niagara by calling 1-800-222-8477. Crime Stoppers offers rewards to persons with information which leads to an arrest.

the vaccine to return to society. I was sick for a day and a half with the first one. The next shots were easier.

Now, the good news. All my lung issues, asthma and sore throats have gone away. I thought, if this is all it takes to help my lungs and sore throat, I’m going to wear my mask in public forever. Lung medication was especially hard on my body. Not having to take the medicine and hear my lungs gurgling is a great thing to put in my past.

During my observations on how people treated this autoimmune illness, there was often derision, condescending comments such as, I get tired at times too; you’re a fake; you’re not really sick. If it was a teenager who had CFS, I’d hear that some were accused of being on drugs. If it was a man, most did not even want to talk about it. It was just an added burden to hear in addition to being constantly ill.

While arranging for a flu shot I listed chronic fatigue syndrome as an autoimmune illness. The pharmacist asked if I was on antiviral medication which I wasn’t.

What struck me after all this time, the medical community had come up with something antiviral

to combat CFS/ME. ME, myalgic encephalomyelitis, is just one of the many other names this disease has. I hope news of antiviral medication helping those with this complex disease is of consolation to those who have suffered, those who had been made fun of, those who have supported love ones trying to figure out what was causing this bewildering barrage of symptoms.

My quality of life has improved. I’m forever grateful to the people who supported me and understood that what happened to me was not something that I wanted. I did my best to incrementally get better. I enjoy mild exercise, good food, chocolate, movies, plays, bridge, people that make me laugh, community causes and extended family. I’m the oldest of nine siblings and my husband John is third in a family that has nine brothers and two sisters.

When someone is ill and the medical community can identify the problem and come up with solutions to make them better; this is a healthy society.

The Nightingale Research Foundation is still in operation in Ottawa. 4

Alexander Dwight Beverly Sr

NIAGARA REGIONAL POLICE SERVICE

Fonthill resident in tax ti with Welland Walmart

Dorothy Klimowicz charged HST on groceries, then "rudely" rebuffed

BY DON RICKERS Contributing News Editor

Fonthill resident Dorothy Klimowicz won’t be shopping at the Welland Walmart again anytime soon, due to a bad experience at the store on November 23. She alleges that she was charged tax on grocery items which are exempt from HST, and has the receipt to prove it. She contacted the Voice in an effort to warn others.

Klimowicz purchased a container of plain yogurt and four bags of avocados at the Welland location. Upon checking her receipt, she discovered that she had been charged HST on the items. She pleaded her case to the Walmart employees staffing the customer service desk, but says she was “rudely dismissed.”

“The floor manager told me ‘there is tax on the bagged items as well as on the yogurt,’ and added that ‘it wasn't a lot of money anyway,’” she said.

The same day, Klimowicz drove to the Niagara Falls Walmart and purchased the same items. She was not charged HST.

“Aside from the horrendous treatment I received from the staff at Walmart in Welland, I am confused why other customers have not noticed this happening,” she said. “If this is going on at other Walmart locations across Canada, a lot of money is being wrongfully collected. Are big corporations allowed to go unchecked and make their own

rules?”

The Welland Walmart did not answer the phone after 20 rings on the Voice’s fi rst two attempts to contact the store for comment.

On the third effort, a customer service representative eventually responded, but put the Voice on hold when the request was made to speak with a manager. After more than five minutes, no manager had answered the phone.

The Voice had better success calling the Niagara Falls Walmart. A customer service representative promptly passed the call on to a floor manager, who indicated that no HST was charged on basic groceries. (HST is charged on processed items as snack food, soda pop, and candy, however.)

The store manager of the Niagara Falls Walmart, Ian Williams, declined to comment, and directed the Voice to Walmart’s corporate offices for an explanation.

“The avocados were on special, that's why I grabbed four bags,” said Klimowicz. “The customer service lady at Walmart said she would return my money, but I told her that I just wanted the tax removed. She told me that there was a long line of people waiting, and dismissed me with a, ‘Goodbye, lady, have a nice day.’ And she just walked away. It's not about the money, it’s about the principle.”

Dorothy Klimowicz displays her receipts for identical food items, one from the Niagara Falls Walmart, which charged no HST on the grocery items, and another from the Welland Walmart, which did.

DON RICKERS

as well. And so, Herod sends the wise (but naïve) men on their way telling them to report back with the child’s identity and location so he too can worship him. The king, of course, is lying through his teeth and really intends to kill the child.

So, the star led the wise men to Jerusalem but Scripture led them to Bethlehem. Similarly, for us. When a person opens their heart to believe in God’s existence, they are usually also open to the truth of God’s Word (the Bible) which explains in more detail who this God is and what He has done for us. In theology, this is God’s “special revelation.”

The Spirit

Finally, the wise men fi nd the Christ child, worship Him, and offer the holy family their gifts. But before they travel the few miles back to Jerusalem, God reveals to them in a dream Herod’s true intent which causes them to return home “by another route.”

There is no mention of angels in this dream so we can assume that God’s Spirit was at work making

BALANCED LIFE

continued from Page 18

a warm-up. Five minutes later the rest of us rounded a corner to see Bill and his bike both lying on the gravel road, with Bob nervously attempting to comfort him. Bill had felt the lack-of-oxygen induced dizziness coming on, slowed his bike, and almost dismounted before he keeled over. A few minutes rest and some extra hydration later, all was good, and we rode on, chastened but safe.

God’s will clear to them.

Again, this is exactly what happens to us (and happened to me) when an open heart believes in God’s existence and in the truth of Scripture. The fi nal step of spiritual conversion (or regeneration) is the moving of the Holy Spirit in that person’s life. The Spirit convicts us of our sinfulness, convinces us that Jesus’ death on the cross is able to pay for all those sins, and wonderfully converts us to become sincere followers of Jesus. In theology, this is salvation.

After we’re saved, God continues to lead us. He continues to bless us with nature’s beauty and continues to use His Holy Scriptures and His Holy Spirit to direct us. He can also use other things like circumstances, prayer, wise counsel and even the supernatural to guide our steps. But the fi rst step — coming to faith — is the most important.

There you have it. The amazing story of how God led the wise men to Christ. I hope you will follow their example… and become truly wise as well. 4

Had this incident happened while Bill, or your Jill, was alone, a fall detector would have sensed that their bike was no longer upright. The detector would have screamed a 113 db alarm to anyone within earshot, dialled the first of three preprogrammed phone numbers to notify someone that Jill was in trouble, and then provided the GPS coordinates of her location.

If the woman you’re shopping for is a mountain biker, a newly designed dropper seat post will dramatically improve her riding

experience. Droppers allow a seat post’s height to be adjusted onthe-fly via a handlebar-mounted lever and cable or an electronic switch. A tall seat position improves climbing ability, dropping the seat allows one to quickly shift their weight lower, rearward, right or left, for safer descending on steep and bumpy single-track.

If she’s a gravel rider, the same principal applies while coasting down a washboarded gravel hill.

Even aggressive road riders can benefit from the extra ability droppers afford for shifting weight

to change one’s centre of gravity as necessary.

Is throwing a leg over your bike’s seat making getting on and off more difficult as you both age?

Recreational and touring riders are using droppers now for no other reason than to lower seat height while mounting and dismounting.

Most importantly, I’ll 99 percent guarantee that Sally doesn’t have a dropper on her road or hybrid bike yet.

If you’re really stumped on the appropriate cycling gift, ask her to accompany you to her favour-

ite bicycle dealer under the pretext that you need to pick up a couple spare tubes or water bottles. Stall for time with the clerk, and watch where she lingers as she drifts around the store.

This might give you a clue as to what you can pick up for her later —or she may decide to buy a new bike while she’s there, like my wife did.

Knowing she’s all-in with a new bike and fresh enthusiasm for another season turned out to be a great Christmas present for both of us. Happy shopping. 4

Rob Weatherby is a retired pastor.

RAIN DOESN'T DAMPEN THE CARE Pelham Cares’ annual Christmas food drive was in full swing last Saturday, as Mayor Marvin Junkin and Councillor Wayne Olson were at the MCC to shuttle food donations from the curb to the sorting room. They were assisted for part of the day by the Under 13 B Pelham Panthers hockey team DON RICKERS

Out walking her beagle Milo, Emma Brennan comes across a crime scene—a dead body at a construction site in East Lofthill. At home, she tells her husband Matt that it’s the same man who came to their house the day before, selling insulation. Matt remembers the man acting oddly in their basement with a metal detector. On a hunch, Matt takes a sledgehammer to the basement floor and discovers a buried toolbox filled with slender gold bars worth about a million dollars. Detective Sergeant Janice Cleary and Detective Constable Trent Frayne, of the Niagara Constabulary Service, are assigned to investigate the homicide. They determine the victim’s identity: Leonard Bouchard, an ex-con with a history of thefts from construction sites. Cleary and Frayne soon determine that Bouchard had targeted only certain new homes in East Lofthill. They head out to interview Emma and Matt’s next door neighbour, Kim Stephenson, a realtor, who seems to know more than she’s saying. Likewise, when the detectives speak to Emma and Matt, they too appear to be hiding something. On a hunch, Cleary and Frayne drive west into the country to speak with another ex-con, who reveals that shortly before a planned construction site heist a few years back, one of the thieves— Carmine Rizzolo—went missing and hasn’t been seen since. Cleary and Frayne talk to detective who remembers Rizzolo going missing, a presumed suicide. But oddly, his abandoned car was found near where he worked at the time—at an East Lofthill construction site, pouring concrete foundations. Meanwhile, bored at home, realtor Kim Stephenson goes out for a drive and ends up parked near the lake in Port Robinson. On the radio she hears the new hit song by a singer that she used to date. Then her phone dings with a message from the singer—the one-time Queen of Country, Belinda Boone—urgently asking if they could meet that evening. They do, and Belinda says she’s ready to go public with their relationship. Across the border, Emma and Matt take a chance on selling some of their gold at a Buffalo pawn shop—but Matt angrily balks at being lowballed just $200 when the bars are worth closer to $2000 each. Back in Niagara, Detectives Cleary and Frayne go speak to an inmate and longtime friend of the missing Carmine Rizzolo, and learn that shortly before he disappeared he seemed to have come by quite a bit of money. Cleary and Frayne increasingly suspect that Rizzolo’s body may have been dumped in the foundation of an East Fonthill home as it was being built, where he worked. Then another former associate of Rizzolo’s comes to their attention—Steven Rossi, also a construction worker. Rossi has a lot of attitude but not much to say. Matt and Emma, meanwhile, are still looking to sell the gold they found, and decide to take a chance on a local buyer they find on the dark web. They meet Bao “Five” Nguyen in a Niagara Falls parking lot, where he agrees to buy one gold bar and says he’ll buy as many as they want to sell him. After Matt and Emma drive off, Five calls an associate to tell him that their old gang pal Carmine Rizzolo maybe really did find gold bars before he disappeared. Five tells his associate that Matt and Emma won’t be hard to rob, and asks for their home address based on their license plate number.

Detective-Sergeant Janice Cleary watched the skeletal giants pass in the distance, barren branches of so many maples and locusts, interrupted occasionally by dark green Norway spruces, big and bushy against the cold, seeming to call out for some of the shiny ornaments that were being

By John McFetridge

for and thinking about taking another look at the former paper mill being turned into “luxury condos,” near the old canal. Both her kids were out of school and working, so it was unlikely either one would be moving back, but these days no one could ever be sure. There were no guarantees of anything anymore.

She said, “Did you read the report from Dr. Geffen?”

“The one he emailed at eleven last night? The man works some hours. Yeah, I did.”

“What did you think?”

“It’s what we expected, isn’t it?”

Cleary raised an eyebrow. “Pretty much. Except for Bouchard’s broken neck. Why break his neck and then smash in his head?”

“Could the neck have been broken at the same time?”

“Did you read that separate section, about the blood flow in the brain?”

“It went into a lot of detail,” Frayne said, “but I couldn’t really tell where he was going with it.”

“Neither could I, so I called him.”

“You called the coroner at eleven at night?”

Cleary laughed a little. “Might have been midnight. And then it took me a while to get it out of him because he can’t be completely certain—but he thinks the neck was broken before the skull was smashed in. Maybe by a couple of hours.”

“But he didn’t put that in the report?”

“He says it’s his interpretation of the data and others may not agree.”

Frayne nodded. “So he’s saying we can’t use it in court, it could get challenged.”

“That’s right,” Cleary said. “But I believe him. He’s been doing this forever. The neck was broken first, so why the blunt force trauma after?”

Frayne turned off Highway 20 and headed south on Royce Road, then took a right into a residential area. “It’s right up here.”

“Tell me again why we didn’t find this when we did the initial canvas?”

Frayne shrugged. “I think we’re going to have to put it down to human error and how common the Civic is.”

hung in living rooms all over the peninsula, Christmas now on the near horizon. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d specifically gone Christmas shopping—for real, not just for the department’s Secret Santa, which obligation she usually fulfilled at the closest Avondale.

“Even dead for the winter those trees are beautiful,” she said. “How can anyone not want to live in Niagara once they’ve seen this.”

Detective-Constable Trent Frayne pushed the visor down against the morning sun. “It’s a little early for my beauty appreciation to kick-in.” He flicked the turn signal and eased into the left lane.

“It’s almost seven,” Cleary said, “the morning’s practically gone.” She looked back out the window, enjoying being chauffeured around. Frayne had picked her up at her house and she’d apologized for the uneven pavers that made up her front walk, before catching herself and saying, “Concentrate on keeping your balance. It’s characterbuilding.” Now she was sipping the coffee they’d stopped

At the end of the road it was as if civilization ended. On one side of the street ran a line of houses heavily decorated for the season, cars parked out front. On the other side, nothing, a vast, muddy flatness, the once-heavy bush stripped clear for yet another East Lofthill housing development. The obligatory planning department billboard presented a dense map of orange, red, and blue lots, each their own housing type, all of them more nails in rural Niagara’s coffin.

A police flatbed and two NCS cruisers bookended a white Honda Civic.

Frayne pulled to the side and parked. “It looks like whoever ran the plate entered a wrong digit—they thought the car was registered to a company in the Falls, so it didn’t seem odd for it to be parked out here.”

“Still, should have followed up,” Cleary said.

“When the constable asked about it, a couple of neighbours said they saw it here a lot.” Frayne tapped the steering wheel. “Turns out they see different Civics, not this one.”

Cleary sighed. “And when they finally ran the right plate number it turned up stolen.”

“Right.”

“He wants the gold.”

“Do you trust him?”

“Of course not, we have to plan it.”

“I don’t know,” Emma said, “I got a bad feeling from him.”

Matt barked a humourless laugh. “What? You were flirting with him. I saw that smile.”

“Shut up!”

“No, you shut up, I’ve had it with you. You are such a pain in the ass, you know that?”

She walked out of the kitchen and Matt followed.

“Don’t walk away, do not walk away, I’m so tired of you just doing whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want? I can’t even. What are you talking about?”

Milo followed them into the living room, whining.

“This whole move was your idea, Emma. You’re the one who wanted to get out of Toronto.”

“We both wanted to get out.”

“No, just you, I went along with it, like I always do.”

“You sure fooled me.”

“No, you fooled me.” Matt was glaring at her, red in the face, swallowing. “I do everything for you and you do nothing. I work, I make the money, I’m stuck out here in the middle of nowhere.”

“You like it here. You like the house.”

“I don’t, I never did—that was you.” He paced a few steps, almost stomping his feet, his hands were balled into fists. “Now we’ve got some money, we can sell this dump and get out of this shithole and get back to where we want to be.”

“We don’t have the money yet.”

He took a step and Emma didn’t budge. Milo howled. “Do not do anything to screw this up.”

“Me? What about you, you’re the one losing it.”

He yelled inches from her face, “I am not losing it!”

“Stop it!”

Milo barked sharply and started growling.

Emma moved quickly down the hall, jamming her hat back on. She grabbed Milo’s leash from the hook and opened the door. “I’m going.”

“Good, take him for a walk,” Matt said. “Calm down, you’ll see I’m right.”

Emma walked out and didn’t close the door. She was halfway across the street when she heard it slam.

Good, she thought, be mad. Be as mad as you want. Milo yelped and she realized she was pulling the leash too hard and let it slack.

She could feel herself calming down, the tension easing. It was the street, the neighbourhood. She always felt better when she walked here. And now, with the holiday lights on so many houses, the big inflated Santa Clauses and snowmen, the crisp air, it all felt right.

Milo stopped and raised his leg on the stop sign post and Emma smiled. Better than on one of the tiny trees on the tiny front lawns. Someday those trees would be taller than the houses.

Dammit, Emma liked the neighbourhood.

Most of the houses had kids in them. This will be the neighbourhood they grow up in, they’ll be attached to it for

the rest of their lives. It’ll be home forever.

It could be her home, too.

But maybe not Matt’s. He wants to go back to Toronto so bad maybe let him.

She didn’t think she was flirting with the Asian guy. But she could if she wanted to.

FOUR YEARS EARLIER

Leonard Bouchard stomped on the gas and fishtailed out of the parking lot, screaming curses.

He dropped his phone on the passenger seat of his BMW and swerved into oncoming traffic then back into his lane.

He spotted it. The Audi was a dozen cars up, stuck behind a slow municipal bus.

Bouchard was pissed. How could he let this guy get away. Such an easy job.

The whole construction site gig was going great. From the GTA they’d already sold almost two million dollars-worth of heavy equipment to a Chinese middleman who shipped it all to Africa. “Ports, highways, whole cities they’re building,” he’d said. Always wanting more—even the old stuff, bulldozers that belched blue and leaked any fluid put in them. Everyone getting rich.

But this guy, Carmine Rizzolo. He’s suddenly way too rich. Wads of cash on him, buying rounds at every dive in Scarborough. Then the OPP pulls a sting on a site where Rizzolo worked a few months back, multiple arrests. The bosses put two and two together and come up with informer. Only cops have that kind of money to throw around these days. The midget was squealing on them. They sent Rizzolo out to a big development going up in Niagara, place called East Lofthill, until they decided what to do.

The bus turned off and the Audi shot past it to a red light. Cross traffic stopped him from running it.

All Bouchard had to do was come down to Niagara and get rid of the guy, get rid of the body. Should have been easy. Back home for the Raptors-Pacers game, the end of it, anyway.

He set a meeting at a motel on Lundy’s Lane, texted Rizzolo that the bosses had a special thing going—something only Rizzolo could handle. So the guy shows up, straight from the job site, knocks on the door. Bouchard opens it and the guy’s face goes white. He knows. Somehow he knows.

He twists and shoots his foot up, bashing a steel-toed boot straight into Bouchard’s groin.

Rizzolo is back in his Audi and burning rubber before Bouchard can stumble up from the floor, slipping on his own vomit.

Light goes green. The Audi guns it.

Bouchard manages to pass two cars, then another. Now he’s only a few cars back.

No idea where they are. Bouchard barely ever gets down to Hamilton let alone Niagara. Only time he was in the Falls was on a Grade 8 field trip.

A long straight stretch. He knows they’re headed west, the sky already gone crimson to indigo. It’s March, still

cold. He careens around a pickup, the last vehicle between him and Rizzolo, but he can barely see the Audi’s taillights now. Around another curve. Through another light. There’s a bright intersection in the far distance, a bigger road. Bouchard floors it, hits 140 as he catches a glimpse of the Audi just making it through the yellow. Bouchard closes fast then slams the brakes at the red for a crossing semi, antilocks chattering, the scene lit crazy bright by the gas station on the corner. The tractor-trailer past, Bouchard guns it into the intersection and gets slammed by a motorcycle hidden by the truck. Glass explodes into the car from the passenger door, smashed inward by the collision, the rider propelled over the car’s roof to a thudding roll twenty feet down the road.

Bouchard shakes off the shards and stomps on the gas. Ten seconds later the banked left curve takes him by surprise and he almost loses it into the shoulder, screeching a recovery into the opposite lane—then sees the traffic cones, still rolling, and the Audi already across some sort of steel bridge. He doesn’t see the LIFT BRIDGE CLOSED FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE sign, and he barely sees the smashed boom gates on both sides. Hitting the bridge deck is like jumping a concrete curb, and by the time he’s halfway across he realizes the bridge is lifting—slowly, but lifting. Screw it. The Audi’s taillights are gone again and Bouchard smashes the accelerator. The deck has lifted only two feet but it’s still high enough to max out the Beemer’s suspension when the car flies onto the pavement again. About five warnings flash on the instrument panel but the only lights Bouchard cares about are just visible again. Railroad tracks. Signs, highway signs and on-ramps.

He figures Rizzolo will take one but he doesn’t.

A strip mall, traffic picks up. The Audi weaves in and out. An intersection with two gas stations opposite. Another straight stretch and Bouchard has almost caught up. At the next light Rizzolo slams the brakes and turns left. To the right sits an enormous building, maybe an arena, darker than the sky. And then it clicks, Bouchard realizes Rizzolo’s taken them back to his job site, back to East Lofthill.

A few seconds later the Audi brakes hard and makes a right. Is that even a road? No streetlights. It’s a vacant field. Not entirely vacant. Surveyor’s sticks glow in the Beemer’s headlights. Some foundations, a lot of dirt piles. He squints into the dark. Where did the damned Audi go?

There. Other side of that pile.

He guns it and pulls up to see Rizzolo bolting from the car. This still might be easy after all. Avoiding an open foundation but taking out several surveyor’s sticks, he slams into Rizzolo who goes up onto the hood.

Bouchard is out of the BMW and throwing the tiny bastard to the dirt, punching him a couple of times, drawing blood of his own from glass fragments embedded in his hands.

He stood back and pulled his .38, pointing it at Rizzolo.

“Okay, okay,” said Rizzolo, trying to get to his feet.

“Stay down.”

“Fine, all right. Don’t kill me.”

“It’s why I’m here.”

The woman in your life loves cycling, and you love that she’s a cyclist too.

Choosing her Christmas gift should be easy. Select a bike-related item, find someone capable of wrapping it perfectly, and it’s a fait accompli.

This is a cautionary tale, my male cycling friends. The road to successful gift buying for a female cyclist is littered with relationship-ravaging potholes, rabbit holes, and pitfalls.

Think about the hundreds of rules dictating what not to buy a non-cycling wife for Christmas. Those ill-conceived choices that

are certain to elicit an eyeroll, or worse, that pathetically disappointed look of a child whose popsicle falls off the stick after one bite. A kitchen appliance or utensil, cotton pyjamas, a diet book or gym membership, clothes (trust me— it’s inevitable you’ll get both the style and size wrong); you know the list.

It’s the same with bike stuff. Don’t even think about gifting her spare inner tubes, a new tire pump, or chain lube. I’m no psychologist, and don’t understand exactly why utilitarian items are a bad choice, which further proves the point, but experience and a

strong sense of self-preservation shouts, “Don’t do it.”

Instead, when you’re on your next ride together, follow her eyes as her friend Sally wheels up on a new bike, or with her usual bike freshly outfitted in the latest gear. Where is she looking, what does she comment on? That’s what to buy her for Christmas. Just ensure the thing you buy is a newer version or more technically advanced than Sally’s.

Listen to what she says as she rolls her bike out the front door to go for a ride. If she mutters under her breath, “I wish this bike had this or that,” she’s likely not talking to herself. Full marks if you pick up on the comment and that item finds its way under the tree on Christmas morning.

If she twists and turns in her sleep and mumbles anything about a bike accesso-

ry, I’ll leave that up to you to decipher.

Gifting her a new cycling jersey can be risky because it’s so personal. Would you dare post on her Instagram or Snapchat account? Is it about how you see her, or how she sees herself?

You think of her as strong and athletic, so you buy her a jersey that says, “Be the woman who decided to go for it.” She does enjoy that cycling makes her strong, but mostly she cycles because she knows in her heart that if she rides a hilly 100K on the road, or clears a double-jump on her mountain bike, she’s bad-ass. You should have gone with the jersey that had “Shouldn’t your eyes be on the road?” emblazoned across the back, or said, “My other ride had a headache.”

If you feel you absolutely must gift the woman in your

life a jersey, when you give it to her, suggest that either her kid(s) or her mother helped you pick it out. That way she’ll feel obligated to wear it.

No matter her level of cycling experience or expertise, nothing says I love you like a rear-facing bike radar unit. Seriously. She’s flying along a rural Pelham road, lost in thought, when a series of ragged potholes and broken pavement obstruct her lane. She grips the bars tightly, forced to react in a milli-second. Pivot into the traffic lane to avoid the holes, lift off the seat and ride them out, or hit the shoulder and hope for the best? Did she just hear a vehicle approaching from behind? Not the easiest time to glance over your shoulder for a look is it?

For approximately $250.00 a bike radar unit,

mounted to the back of your bike and paired with your phone, will immediately alert you to approaching vehicles. Pair it with your handlebar mounted GPS unit, and tiny flashing lights will advise how far back the vehicle is, and how fast it’s closing.

Does she ride alone? Whether it’s road riding in the wilds of Wainfleet, gravel riding in northern Ontario, or mountain-biking along Twelve Mile Creek, a fall detector can be a life-saving gift.

Six weeks ago in the Huntsville area our group of friends were just setting out to ride relatively remote gravel roads and trails. Testosterone got the better of a couple of the guys (let’s say “Bill” and “Bob”), and they took off at full tilt without

Voice HOROSCOPE

ARIES – Mar 21/Apr 20

Someone thinks you are up to a challenge this week, Aries. Dive right in and prove them correct. There’s much you’ll get done, but leave some time for leisure.

TAURUS – Apr 21/May 21

There’s not much you can’t accomplish these next several days, Taurus. The key will be knowing just where to pull back so that you can do each job well.

GEMINI – May 22/Jun 21

Think before committ ing to a project that is expected to take a long time, Gemini. While you may have a lot of free time right now, that may not be the case in a few weeks.

CANCER – Jun 22/Jul 22

Cancer, health concerns may come to the forefront this week, whether it pertains you or someone close to you. Empty your schedule so you can devote the utmost attention.

LEO – Jul 23/Aug 23

Leo, despite many looming deadlines, you are surprisingly relaxed about all the things you need to accomplish. Maybe that is because you have a lot of help.

VIRGO – Aug 24/Sept 22

Some unexpected time off has dropped into your lap, Virgo. Figure out if a small vacation or weekend getaway might be just what you need right now. Then make it happen.

LIBRA – Sept 23/Oct 23

A career change could be on the horizon, Libra. Do your research before you take the full plunge into new waters. Maybe test things out before making a firm commitment.

SCORPIO – Oct 24/Nov 22

Home improvements could be coming soon, Scorpio. They’ll interfere with your daily schedule for a bit, but the results will be well worth any disruption.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov 23/Dec 21

Your hospitable nature is a perfect match for the entertaining you will be doing this week, Sagittarius. Expect a houseful of people on one or more days.

CAPRICORN – Dec 22/Jan 20

Spending certainly is up during the holiday season, but you may need to keep a closer eye on what is going on with your finances, Capricorn. Don’t lose sight of your budget.

AQUARIUS – Jan 21/Feb 18

A few interesting possibilities may come across your desk, Aquarius. Look at them with a critical eye and get a second opinion before moving forward.

PISCES – Feb 19/Mar 20

Too many things seem like a priority right now, Pisces. You need to weed through all of your responsibilities and tackle the most urgent.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS

DECEMBER 4

Tyra Banks, TV Host (49))

DECEMBER 5

Frankie Muniz, Actor (37)

DECEMBER 6

CoCo Vandeweghe, Athlete (31)

DECEMBER 7

Jon Moxley, Wrestler (37)

DECEMBER 8

Nicki Minaj, Rapper (40)

DECEMBER 9

Donny Osmond, Singer (65)

DECEMBER 10

Kenneth Branagh, Actor (62)

by John Swart

Christians believe that God has the desire (and ability) to lead or guide them. But how does He do it? Max Lucado shows us in his book “Because of Bethlehem” how God used three things to lead the wise men from Persia to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. I’ve read the passage in Matthew chapter 2 many times but I never saw so clearly how God was guiding them. The exciting (and relevant) part is that God uses the same three things to guide us today.

The star

The first (and most obvious) thing that God used was a magnificent star. Scholars and scientists have different theories about what this “star” exactly was. These are interesting to consider but the important thing to realize is that (whatever it was) God used it to capture the attention of these learned men. And their interpretation was accurate — something very significant like a royal birth was taking place in a distant land to the west.

Lucado points out that God often uses the beauty and complexity of His creation (nature) to lead people to faith. In his creative way of writing he concludes, “Earth and stars form the first missionary society.”

The psalmist writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” (Psalm 19:1)

And the apostle Paul agrees, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

In theology, this is called “general revelation,” meaning God reveals His existence

to everyone in a general way as they marvel at the wonders of His creation. But then God gets more specific.

The Scripture

The star led the wise men to travel a few thousand miles from Persia to Israel. Since it was a newborn king they were looking for, they logically went to the royal palace in the capital city of Jerusalem. King Herod lived there so they probably expected to hear that Herod and his wife had just welcomed a baby into the world.

“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2), they queried. Being international trav-

ellers, they did not know Herod’s reputation for cruelty. The king is secretly alarmed at the possible birth of a rival, so he calls in his top religious scholars. They inform him that the Scriptures (our Old Testament) name Bethlehem as the Messiah’s birthplace (see Micah 5:2,4).

The fact that Herod did not know this rather important detail reveals his disregard of spiritual matters. The fact that these Jerusalem “wise men” did not immediately accompany their Persian counterparts to Bethlehem reveals their spiritual apathy

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

FAITH LIFT by Pastor Rob Weatherby

“Whatever they told you, it isn’t true.”

“I don’t care,” Bouchard said. “It's orders.”

“They said I was talking to cops, said the cops were paying me right? That what they told you?”

“No one tells me anything.”

“Come on, please.” Rizzolo was sitting up, getting up on one knee.

Bouchard shook his head. “Don’t move.” He looked around. They might be in the middle of a construction site, but he could see the lights of older houses not that far away. He didn’t think he could kill the guy here, not by shooting him anyway.

“I didn’t,” Rizzolo said. “I didn’t talk to any cops, that’s not where I got the money.”

“Don’t care, nothing to do with me.”

“I can just disappear,” Rizzolo said, pleading now, holding up his hands. “You can tell them you killed me, no one has to know.”

“They’ll know.”

“I’m telling you, I didn’t rat nobody out.”

“I don’t care.”

“But I got money, lots of it. I can get it, you can have some, no one’s got to know.”

“You have money?”

“I can get it. I stole gold.” Rizzolo had his hands in front of his face like he thought they’d stop a bullet. “Not money, I didn’t steal money, I stole gold.”

“Gold?”

“A lot. I didn’t even know it was there. I was looking for jewelry.”

“You got gold chains? Big deal.”

“Not chains,” Rizzolo said. “Bars. I got gold bars, lots of them, hundreds. Filled a whole tool chest. They're buried.”

“Bullshit.”

“No lie, man. I didn’t tell anybody because it was so much. But take them. Let me go.”

“If they were real I’d just take them from you anyway. But no one’s going to believe any bullshit story about buried gold bars.”

Rizzolo inched forward. “I broke into a house. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. This place, it’s big, in town here. The guy’s some tech millionaire or something. His wife’s jewelry, that’s what I was going for but I found the gold. That’s where I got the money, I sold a couple.”

Bouchard shook his head. “The cops paid you. That’s where you got the cash.”

“It’s not, I swear.”

Bouchard thought the guy was going to start crying, his face was twisted and his eyes were closing, but then he jumped, clawing for the gun. He had a grip on it as Bouchard pulled the trigger, sending a round into the BMW. This time it was Bouchard who did the kicking. Rizzolo hit the dirt again.

Two rounds. He didn’t get back up.

Bouchard looked at the houses on the other side of the site. There’s no way they didn’t hear those three gunshots, weren’t on the phone right now calling the cops.

Bouchard looked at Rizzolo in the dirt and realized his own blood was there too. He might as well sign his autograph on the body.

Lucky the bastard was so short. Bouchard popped the trunk and dropped him in.

He drove slow and steady, through the maze of foundations, fi nally to pavement, and then toward a shopping plaza. He fought the urge to really take off. Sure, the passenger side was damaged, but it was just another BMW in a neighbourhood full of them. Plus it was stolen. Go ahead. Write down the plate. Won’t matter in an hour.

Like a good citizen he waited at the light as traffic passed, then turned right, headed east on the same roadway—the sign said Regional Road 20—back toward those highway on-ramps. He passed a big real estate sign with big letters. Yeah, he didn’t care what was coming soon to East Lofthill. He’d never be back.

Merging onto the 406, Bouchard shook his head. What a lame-ass move, claiming to fi nd gold bars. Was this 1885 or something?

Amonth later the OPP came down hard—the entire operation, eighteen arrests. And yeah, there was a rat, but it wasn’t Rizzolo. It was the bosses’ accountant. Most of them took plea deals. But not Bouchard.

He didn’t say a word, didn’t testify, didn’t cooperate.

He spent four years in Joyceville with nothing to do but think, and run through memories on a loop, parsing every detail. Like that night in East Lofthill, in the dirt.

Bouchard’s memory wasn’t photographic, but it was good, real good. He remembered that big arena building to the north, and the distance from the paved road to the east, and how far away those older houses were to the west. A little basic triangulation.

Every few months he paid a visit to the prison library, to the computer stations. He browsed Google Maps, checked every Street View update. He watched East Lofthill being built, foundations become houses, streets get paved.

What if Rizzolo really had been headed for his gold bars that night. What if they weren’t far from where he tried to run for it.

The day Bouchard was paroled he walked into Kingston’s biggest Walmart and bought a metal detector. Then he walked to the terminal, bought a ticket, and enjoyed a piece of rotisserie chicken while he waited for his Megabus direct to Toronto. He’d fi nd a ride from there.

Ten-year-old Civics were the easiest.

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RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Snacks

New Year’s Eve marks a time when people reflect on what they accomplished over the past year and make plans for the future. In addition to being a time for reflection, New Year’s Eve provides is one last opportunity to party during the holiday season. Whether one is dancing to upbeat tunes at a club, or hosting a cocktail party for a dozen or so close friends, there are plenty of ways to celebrate.

Finger foods are right at home at these festive events. To ensure that even people with digestive issues can get in on the fun, serve this recipe “Ground Chicken Meatballs” from “The Complete IBS Diet Plan: Step-by-Step Meal Plans and Low-FODMAP Recipes for Relief and Healing” (Rockridge Press), by Amanda Foote, R.D.

Ground Chicken Meatballs

Serves 4

Nonstick cooking spray

1⁄2 cup shredded zucchini

1 pound ground chicken

1 egg

1⁄2 cup gluten-free bread crumbs

1 teaspoon dried oregano Pinch sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper Fresh herbs, chopped, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray. Set aside. Spread the shredded zucchini across a paper towel and cover it with a second paper towel. Press down to squeeze out the extra liquid.

In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, ground chicken, egg, bread crumbs, oregano, salt, and pepper. Use clean hands to mix everything together until well combined.

Using your hands, roll the meat mixture into 2-inch-wide balls. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet, 2 inches apart.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Garnish with fresh herbs.

Tip: If preparing in advance, roll the meatballs and then freeze them. They can be kept frozen for up to 3 to 4 months in a zip-top bag. Thaw completely before baking.

Ground Chicken Meatball