The Voice of Pelham, March 29 2017

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Tabled motion slams Town's finances Regional Councillor cites potential for Region-wide fallout from Pelham's inability to service debt

BY DAVID BURKET

The VOICE

A motion has been tabled for the next Niagara Regional Council meeting, to be held this Thursday, calling for greater transparency of the Town of Pelham’s finances, particularly with regard to its financing of the new Community Centre project.

Regional Councillor David Barrick, of Port Colborne, submitted the motion, which he wrote in consultation with staff.

In a lengthy preamble, the motion sets forth Pelham budget data that paints the Town’s recent financial decisions as outside the norm for Ontario municipalities.

(The entire motion appears at the end of this article.)

It calls into question whether funding for the

Community Centre can be acquired as forecasted by the Town, and notes that the Region is on the hook for a portion of Pelham debt in the form of debentures.

Should funding not materialize as predicted by the Town, the knock-on consequences for the Region could be significant, leading to a lowering of its credit rating and an increase in borrowing costs eventually affecting all Niagara municipalities.

Other Regional Council members, speaking on condition of anonymity, support Barrick’s motion.

“Councillors are concerned that Pelham's debt load could impact our AAplus rating and end up costing all the citizens of Niagara higher interest costs,” said one. “And if Pelham was engaged in a plan to

Special to the VOICE

A Fenwick family is turning to the Pelham community for support as their son undergoes costly Lyme disease treatments in the United States.

Heather Eliopoulos explained the situation on a GoFundMe page that has been set up for her son, James.

“James has been struggling with symptoms of the disease without diagnosis for 4 years,” she wrote.

“He had light sensitivity, chronic dizziness, chronic tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and headaches 24/7.

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Column Six Tips you may not have thought of

BY JOHN SWART

VOICE Correspondent

W

health care system was not able to come up with any answers for James and his family.

“We did not ever get an official diagnosis in Canada. The pediatric unit told him they thought he had depression and they gave him Benadryl,” said George.

Eventually, as more and more possibilities were eliminated, the family began to suspect James was suffering from Lyme disease. But the problem, says James’ mother, was that there are no reliable treatment plans for the illness in this

HEN IT COMES to getting home in one piece on my bicycle from a training ride, tour, or open-road event, "Whatever it takes" works for me.

If you're willing to wrap fragile flesh and bones in the thinnest of lycra and share three metres of asphalt with cars and trucks travelling five times your speed, you’re already a pretty confident cyclist.

That's good, because some of these tips are pretty unconventional.

If you're relatively new to cycling, use them only if they match your riding style and philosophy. And above all, the Voice and I are not responsible, no matter what happens.

To be safe in town, a little bike messenger DNA in your genes helps. Remember that car turn signals are about as trustworthy as Kim Jong-un or The Donald. At intersections watch the eyes of motorists around you, where they’re looking and if their vehicle's front wheels are pointed even

See LYME FIGHT Page 14

See TIPS back page

Pelham's new Community Centre takes shape. keep debt off their books in the form of deferred Development Charges or Development Charges credits, that would be problematic for everyone in the Region.”

In fact, in seeking comment for this article, the

NATE SMELLE PHOTO

Voice learned that such Development Charges credits have, in fact, been issued by Pelham. What’s more, these credits have been improperly “resold” at a discount by at least one developer to other developers.

In a scheme to acquire land for credits, rather than cash, in September 2015 the Town of Pelham entered into an agreement with the Allen Group, developer of See MOTION Page 10

These are just some of the symptoms he faces every single day.”

The 15-year-old James first started experiencing issues when he was 11. As time went on, his condition deteriorated.

“For the last three or four years my son has been developing symptoms, and over the last couple of years they have progressively gotten worse,” said James’ father, George, a teacher at A.K. Wigg Public School. “We went from doctor to doctor trying to figure out what was going on.”

While in medical limbo, the pain of his condition forced James to

There are no doctors in Canada who treat for chronic Lyme disease leave school, quit his job at Mossimo’s, and to stop playing hockey.

“James had to give up all the things he loved,” said his mother.

Unfortunately, the Canadian

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Page 2

The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

IN THE NEWS

PUBLISHER’S CORNER

by Dave Burket

Nameless he remains...

We asked last week whether anyone could identify a young lad standing in front of a car, the photo probably taken in the early ‘50s.

No luck with the lad, but we apparently have an ID on the car. It’s a 1951 Chevy.

CSI Fonthill we aren’t, but we try. The stars align...

It’s been quite a week for Niagara lottery winners. $77,777 for a Fonthill resident, $1 million in Dunnville, $130,000 in Ft. Erie, and a guaranteed $1 million dollar 6/49 ticket was sold in Welland. Beware of Greeks bearing Puzzlers...Out of the blue there’s been a flurry of Puzzler answers coming in.

Maybe it’s the start of spring or the end of winter or a slight shift in the earth’s gravitational field. Whatever it is, Puzzlemeister Bob Loblaw promises that we’re in the homestretch. Either the current Puzzler will be solved within the next couple of weeks, or a new one will take its place (and apparently is already germinating).

I, for one, will be sitting off to the side, observing the action while enjoying a healthy Greek salad, which is the sort of thing that Greek people eat. In Greece.

Invisible and vulnerable...

John Swart’s bike-riding tips are a good read, both for riders and drivers. One head-scratcher we’ve seen in Pelham is the amazing disregard many children and teens have when dressing for nighttime bike riding. A corollary question is: How do their parents let them

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out of the house minus any reflective items whatsoever.

Many a time we’ve driven narrow Pelham streets after dark only to be startled by the sudden appearance of a tater-tot, dressed in vampire black, wheeling-in out of nowhere. Please, kids, parents, dress for the dark.

Lives are literally at risk.

No quiet time for you...We were about to call it a day on Sunday evening (part of the Voice is assembled over the weekend), when our phones and email software starting dinging. We needed to check the Niagara Region’s website, came the advisory.

There’s an important motion tabled for the coming Council meeting on Thursday. Well, that was an understatement.

We spent much of the following 24 hours reaching out to Niagara councillors, Pelham councillors, the Mayor, and various other sources for comment. In what seems to be an unprecedented move, Regional Council is calling on a municipality to clarify its accounting practices, and to increase public confidence in its financial transparency. The sources we spoke to raised almost as many questions as they answered.

Look for follow-ups to come on this issue, including the result of Regional Council’s vote on Thursday evening.

Last chance…If you’ve still not had your fill of maple syrup, you have one last chance to get out to Agape for a wagon ride and pancakes this Saturday. Mmm. Pancakes.

Break, enter and theft

Police report that during the week of March 13, there was a break and enter onLuffman Drive near Orchard Hill Drive. Persons unknown entered a barn and stole a 1992 Yamaha 200 2-wheel ATV, Stihl 261 chainsaw, 15 gallons of fuel, and small sized camo hunting clothing.

Home break-in

Police say that last Tuesday entry was made through a basement door to a home on Saddler St. near Mason Dr., possibly occurring during the day when residents were not home. Stolen were an iPad Air 2 and a Sony Playstation 4. Police are following a lead.

Two vehicles entered

Last Friday two residents on Damude Dr. near Haist St. had their vehicles rummaged through overnight.

Some property taken was found nearby.

Stolen vehicle

Also last Friday overnight a vehicle was stolen on Sumbler Rd. near Centre St. It was later recovered on King St. in Welland. Police say that thieves are prowling for opportunities such as unlocked cars, sheds, barns, and homes, and that residents should take care not to leave things unlocked.

Downtown building gets big grant money

At the regular meeting of Council on Monday, March 20, the Town approved a by-

$75,000, and a Revitalization Grant for the amount of $199,496.

Region refers NPCA issue to province

Pelham Councillors were not pleased with the Niagara Region’s response to a Town of Pelham request for changes to the NPCA appointment process. While the Town had recently asked the Region to change the process and allow municipalities to appoint their own members, the Region informed Council via a letter that it would only refer the matter to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

“We had hopes that the Region would take the recommendation of this council,” said Mayor Augustyn at Monday’s meeting. “This is essentially saying, in a very short letter, that they are just going to refer it to the province.”

Council felt this was an unnecessary step, as it is within the Region’s power to alter the process.

“It is something that is within the Region’s purview to change,” said Augustyn.

“I felt that our discussion here was very much about the fact that we were not happy for Pelham’s sake about the way in which our NPCA representative had been chosen, and that the suggestion we had made to Regional Council was for them to consider their process, and for the coming term to make the change that we suggested,” noted Councillor Rybiak.

law to form an agreement with Barber Family Holding Company that would see the revitalization project at 1423 Pelham St. receive over $300,000 in grants, tax breaks, and waived fees.

In a report to Council, Town staff wrote that “planning staff is of the opinion that the proposed improvements align with the Town’s Downtown Master Plan.”

“The proposed improvements will enhance the appearance and structure of the property,” the report added.

The development will include five new residential rental units above architect Todd Barber’s Forestgreen Creations, and the construction of a new two-storey tank room in the basement of a microbrewery also located in the building.

“The proposed work will have a positive impact on the revitalization efforts along Pelham Street and Pelham Town Square,” reads the report.

In total, Barber Family Holding Company will receive a Commercial Building Façade Improvement Grant agreement in the amount of $20,000, a Planning Fees Grant of $5,955, a Residential Intensification Grant of

See IN THE NEWS Page 12

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.

Joseph T. LEWIS-THERIAULT, 30, Pelham Darryl J. MURRAY, 44, St. Catharines Kimberly J. MCPHERSON, 48, Welland Joseph O. DOAK, 50, Niagara Falls Andrew J. EWIN, 29, Niagara Falls Charles R. DONNELLY, 64, Niagara on the Lake Patricia A. MACMILLAN, 46, St. Catharines Francisco J. CASTRO-BARRIOS, 42, Churchill Billie-Jo B. SEMARK, 40, Niagara Falls Kyle A. WHALEN, 20, Niagara Falls Sapphire R. MARTINEZ, 21, Buffalo NY Keith A. STANTON, 65, Lincoln Martin SEVIC, 35, Thorold Ricardo A. RAMOS CHINGA, 24, Brampton John Z. BREEDEN, 38, Derby NY 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.

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The Bernard family in the Dominican Republic, March Break 2016.

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2016 Graduate Jillian Rose Young

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Parents, Jason and Laurie Young, and brothers, Tyler and Thomas are proud to announce, the April 2016 graduation of Jillian from the University of Alabama at Huntsville, with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education.

Jillian is presently, on contract in Florida and

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Vol.20 No.48

DSBN wants portion of Town park

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The Comfort Maple myth

Request made of community still peeved at name change

See DSBN Page 9

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Pined -Sol Pelham’sPelham’s Health Food Store

BY JULIE MANNELL

Special to the VOICE

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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-

The Voice PUBLISHED INDEPENDENTLY IN PELHAM

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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

Vol.20 No.39

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

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Oops: No fire trucks for you

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

CELEBRATING OUR 20TH YEAR

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Haist Street traffic-calming measure a little too effective

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Column Six

Growing up British

BY HEATHER McLAREN ROHRER

Special to the VOICE

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

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

See CHICANE Page 5

Debbie

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Pine

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

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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

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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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Vol.20 No.32

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Apple Day comes to Fonthill

BY VOICE STAFF

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.

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

www.pennylanesold.com

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.

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Column Six It doesn’t get better than Autumn

Longtime Scouting tradition dates to 1932

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-

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“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

enjoying teaching her Kindergarten class.

Family and friends wish Jillian a successful career in teaching, for the future.

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The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

Page 3

E.L. Crossley's chess renaissance

BY ZACH JUNKIN

Special to the VOICE

An old game has been gaining new popularity this year at E.L. Crossley as the school has seen a major jump in the number of kids joining the chess club.

“Our chess club has exploded this year,” explained Robert Hughes, the math teacher who runs the club. “I would say we have 60 active members, with a core group of 25 who play every day.”

Club members get chess homework, work on chess puzzles, and practice on their own at home.

John Hansler, who Hughes describes as the most knowledgeable player in the DSBN, owns dozens of chess books, and practices for hours on end.

“I used to play for six hours a day,” Hansler said. “Now I’m trying to concentrate on school, so I play only an hour a night.”

There appear to be a number of factors contributing to the increased interest in the club, including aggressive in-school advertising and a new policy that has every student eating on the same lunch break.

“It’s gotten pretty crowded at lunch,” said Jake Sung, a new member who went 5-1 at a recent tournament. “We used to have a split lunch last year, but now we all eat on the same lunch, so I thought I would come up here and try chess.”

“Mr. Hughes has been really pushing it this year,” he added. “Last year I didn’t even know there was a chess club, but this year they are trying to recruit as many people as possible. It’s a good game to play, it really gets you thinking, plus you get out of

Why do girls drop out of chess?

You could do an entire article on that.

school for the tournaments, so there’s that, too.”

There is also another factor that may be playing a role in the rising numbers: Girl’s chess.

Though traditionally dominated by boys, Crossley’s team has 16 girls who show consistent involvement with the club.

“This is my second year,” said Kira Tarasuk. “It was kind of small last year, but it’s gotten bigger this year. I think it’s been advertised a lot more this year, and we’re trying to get more girls involved in it, so we’ve been advertising especially for that.”

Grace Palmer is one such student who got involved after her friends started playing.

“I joined because a lot of my friends are here, and it’s good for your IQ level, so it’s a good thing to get involved in. I don’t even own a chess board at home, I literally started playing here.”

This is exactly the response DSBN chess organizers were hoping for when they originally made the decision to create girl’s chess divisions at their tournaments four years ago.

Though somewhat controversial at the time, the hope was that separate divisions would keep ex-

perienced girls involved with the game, while also drawing in new ones.

“Why do girls drop out of chess?” asked Robert Hughes.

“When you look at grades 2 or 3, the chess players are half girls.

So why have they dropped out by grade 8? Isn’t that a good question? You could do an entire article on that.”

Today, the girl’s divisions appear to have paid off, as the board is seeing more and more strong female players, and a drastic increase in the total numbers of girls competing.

“Our numbers just keep going up,” said Hughes.

And, as an unintended consequence, the increased number of girls may also be encouraging other boys to come out as well.

“It seems like more boys are playing chess because more girls are playing chess, and more girls are playing chess because girls are playing chess,” said Hughes.

An ever-growing number of institutions are using girls- only events to try and attract more females to educational pursuits traditionally dominated by men.

In 2014, for example, the University of Waterloo hosted sev-

Top: Larisa Plakhuta plays a game of chess against fellow student Matt Roszell during lunch hour chess club, an increasingly popular past time at E.L. Crossley. Above: Kira Tarasuk, Larisa Plakhuta, and Anna Plakhuta are just three of the many strong female competitors being developed in Crossley's chess program. ZACH JUNKIN PHOTOS

eral women’s seminars designed to encourage high school girls to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses at university.

Those efforts are already paying off, according to an article in the University of Waterloo Magazine.

“Waterloo Engineering outreach programs attracted nearly 18,000 youth in 2014,” states the article.

“In September … the Faculty celebrated the highest percentage of females ever in an incoming class: 28 per cent.”

Crossley’s Hughes is also seeing signs that involvement with chess will also promote interest in STEM fields for the girls he coaches.

“Many of the girls in that room have told me they want to take computer science next year and learn what it’s all about,” he said.

While no one knows what the future holds for the club, for now the students are learning to love an old classic, and expand their minds in the process. The experience was summed up simply by 9th grade student Emily Brueske: “The chess club is great.”

Page 4

The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 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 Misbehaviour in high places

T

HE INAPPROPRIATE behavior of yet another politician has undoubtedly shaken the electorate and fortified the cabal who hold a jaundiced opinion of politics and politicians. At times, it seems there is almost too much grist for the mill for even the most avid purveyors of negativism.

This recent allegation of disgraceful misbehavior involves a sitting Senator, with whose name I choose not to grace this commentary. It is a tad more serious than most run-of-the-mill scandals that have soiled the Hill in Ottawa. This scandal is more grievous on the decadence scale because it involves a sexual relationship with a young girl by a Senator who also presents himself as a Pentecostal pastor. This extramarital tryst with the girl began only days into her being legally defined as an adult, and continued to escalate in intensity over subsequent years. Regardless of her age, in his dishonorable deviousness he held a position of power over this naive young girl.

As from so many previous political miscreants, the mea culpas, alibis and excuses come tumbling from the lips of these pro-

fessional talkers like offal falling from a farmer’s honey-wagon. Such slop assaults more than the olfactory nerve. Often to compound the gravity of their misdeeds many of these wrongdoers believe it to be more calamitous that they have been found out rather than the harm they have committed.

Seemingly, these people are hell-bent on proving the adage that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Once getting into political office some incumbents get light-headed, become wrong-headed or lose their heads entirely regarding morals, ethics, entitlements, and who it is they are there to serve.

Sad to say, even an abbreviated list of recent misbehavior and reprobates would make a lengthy tome. If one Googles “government scandals” the list of instances is extensive. Such a search also reveals that scandals, sordid and otherwise, are far from being recent phenomena. The tragic reality is that such offensive behaviors are, or have been, almost a characteristic of some government officials recently and in days gone by.

In facing such an abundance of corruption we na-

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ively hope for a decline in the incidences of impropriety at all levels of governance by all manner of politicians.

However, the truth is that frailty is a long-standing and irresolute characteristic of humankind. Remember the story of a snake offering a forbidden fruit to a naive resident of a paradise?

However discouraging these frailties may be in frequency and gravity there is, thankfully, a more positive side to the chronicles of politics. The truth is that the vast majority of past and current politicians are above reproach ethically and morally and possess a multitude of revered qualities. Every historical and current directory of politicians is replete with a near endless list of names of distinguished figures who served or are serving the people with great honour, humility and honesty.

It is hoped this majority of honorable politicians can muster the will, the means and grassroots support to rid their ranks of those the electorate have innocently, but misguidedly, placed their trust. In kindness we wish that those who abuse this sacred trust find a fix for their frailty — while practicing a different profession.

Letters Such a generous Council and Mayor I was reading the Welland Tribune the other day and ran across a story about our town that puzzled me. It seems Pelham is in the business of spending tax dollars to improve local private businesses in certain identified areas of the town.

One of these areas is downtown Fonthill on Pelham Street.

The old Variety Store is being reborn as a craft brewery and apartment building, with a two-story brewery and five apartment units, four of which will be regular apartments and one will be a penthouse.

The owner of this private business applied for monies under the Town’s CIP, or “Community Improvement Program.” A portion of the money granted also comes from

matching grants from the Region. These monies are given in the form of grants and property tax reductions. Town Council passed a bylaw to give these monies. The program has definite limits and the grants may or may not be allowed. The amounts are also determined by Council. The thing that puzzled me was the amount that the Town approved.

It seems that the grants allowed were the same as the maximum amount allowed. For facade, front and rear improvements, the amount allowed was $37,500. That’s how much was granted.

See GENEROUS next page

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Members of Niagara Regional Council Councillor David Augustyn mayordave@pelham.ca 905-892-2607 Ext 317 Councillor Brian Baty 742 Memorial Dr. Fenwick, ON L0S 1C0 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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Letters

The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

Page 5

continued

Big thank you from Ron Kore

Calls on residents to attend Regional Council motion on Pelham finances

What an incredible month! I am honoured to have been named Pelham’s Citizen of the Year 2016.

Thank you to everyone from this great community who nominated me and to the Fonthill and District Kinsmen for selecting me.

I’m positive that there were many other deserving individuals nominated, which makes this award extra special. Thank you also to the Kinsmen for hosting a fantastic awards dinner on March 7th. To see the hall full and to hear such wonderful words was humbling to say the least. As I have said before, without the

Over the weekend I became aware of a motion being tabled at Regional Council headquarters this upcoming Thursday at 6:30 pm.

Shocked at the factual data, but not surprised. Last June, representing a large contingent of Pelham residents, I did speak to the Region’s Corporate Service Committee with grave concerns over Mayor Augustyn’s request for the Region to back the financing of the new $34 million dollar Community Centre project.

We also expressed our concerns that during the process of seeking approval for the project, the Mayor and staff did everything possible to manipulate the process to achieve their desired outcome.

During this meeting, the Mayor could be seen texting fellow Regional councillors in the room lobbying to deny our requests to defer and allow time to better understand a business plan that had many important facts missing.

One example of the Mayor’s manipulation was seen during the public meeting held at Old Town Hall last April.

At the last moment I was called away on business. However, my request to speak clearly stated that either myself or a representative speaking on my behalf would attend, and this application was accepted.

Indeed, my representative arrived at Old Town Hall 30 minutes prior to the meeting, reported to the Town Clerk, was instructed on how to present, and assigned a seat.

With today’s technology, video is used as an official record and posted to the Town website. In the original video, Mayor Augustyn can be seen to manipulate the clerk and a Councilor to remove my representative from the

support of my co-workers, customers, friends, family, and the people of this great community, none of this would be possible.

I have always believed in the importance of helping others. Success is not measured by what you accumulate, but by what you are able to give back to society.

I will continue to volunteer my time, energy, and resources to help benefit the people, groups and organizations of this wonderful community. Again, a big thank you, one and all.

Ron Kore Fonthill

GENEROUS continued from previous page For planning fees, the amount the owner paid was $5,955. Again, that’s how much was granted.

For residential intensification the amount allowed was $75,000 and, yes, that's how much was granted.

The whopper was the revitalization grant. It allows for property tax relief of 70% of increases for 10 years. That amount was $199,496. The total adds up to $300,500.

According the Tribune article the project is going to cost $2,000,000 to complete.

Apparently the grant money is paid out upon completion of the project and inspection by the Town.

The Town will then cut a check to this private business for $101,004 and for the next ten years forgo $199,496 in property taxes from this private business.

The thing that puzzled me was the amount that the Town approved The Town's contribution will be 15% of the total cost of this private business.

I don’t have a problem with Town Hall encouraging private businesses to improve their buildings and make the downtown more inviting. However, this particular private business seems to have hit the jackpot. When it comes to spending public taxpayers dollars, we truly have a generous Council and Mayor.

Jim Pitt Pelham

agenda and not allow him to speak.

Of special interest, weeks after the meeting, when we went back to retrieve the “Official” record copy of the video, we found it had been edited. Fortunately, we found the original unedited version elsewhere.

Ask yourself, why would the Town edit an official video record?

Original version: h t t p s :// w w w.y o u t u b e . c o m / watch?v=YY2CUQrTbK0 Edited version now on Town website: h t t p s :// w w w.y o u t u b e . c o m / watch?v=8s024wq9RVk This in part added to the residents’ mistrust of the Mayor and his staff.

Residents knew that full and factual information was not being provided. We feel strongly that the Town and the Mayor mislead residents, especially in the area of how the Community Centre would be funded.

As the Mayor rushed the project to groundbreaking it was again done by manipulating the RFP process to discourage any bidders other than the Mayor’s select contractor.

A public capital project of this size should be openly tendered and this one was not.

I have 50 years’ experience in design and construction, including acting as senior manager on the new Niagara Regional Police headquarters. The NRP project was publicly tendered, and saw my firm deliver a winning bid $10 million dollars less than the next bidder.

No tricks, no cheating, just experience and availability of construction resources others may not have had at the time.

Pelham was not allowed the opportunity of a public process open tender to receive competitive bids and subse-

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We also believe that the Town did issue an RFP for a cost consultant and one was selected, Rider Levett Bucknall, and retained by contract to provide full financial review from beginning to end of project, to review all changes and costs, provide payment reviews and certification. This professional consultant we understand was later dropped, and an ad hoc three-member team of local residents was picked to oversee the finances.

This is a very unorthodox and risky way to manage a construction project.

Pelham residents do not trust this Mayor, some Councillors, and staff.

This is evident in the words of the Region’s motion, referring to lack of transparency and a loss of public trust.

I urge all my fellow residents to go to Regional Council this Thursday at 6:30 pm to show by attendance your deep concern about the manner in which our elected officials are mismanaging our public trust and finances.

We are being hit with huge tax increases to finance this project, more will come unless you show this Mayor we are watching.

Our message and request to Regional Council should be unified and conveyed Thursday night. The following amendment should be made to the motion: "We the residents request the Region put in place an auditor to monitor all aspects of the finances surrounding the Community Centre capital project, monitor the business plan, the fundraising, the donations, the sale of committed lands and the construction costs.”

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The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

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Guards Diane Vacheff and Connie Peart help students cross at the intersection of Pelham Street and Port Robinson Rd. in front of Glynn A Green School. SUPPLIED PHOTOS

Wait for the light—the Town seeks two crossing guards

BY NATE SMELLE

The VOICE

There are certain occupations that are essential to the well-being of citizens in every municipality. One such role crucial to public safety in all communities is that of the crossing guard. As the Town’s bylaw enforcement officer, Craig Genesse understands how valuable these individuals are to the people of Pelham.

“There is nothing more important than the safety and security of our children,” he said.

“This is an absolutely vital role in our community and in any community.”

Genesse said the Town of Pelham is currently looking for two part-time crossing guards to be placed on reserve. Applicants need

to have adequate vision and hearing levels and the agility to react to potential hazards, he said. Candidates should also possess the ability to communicate effectively and walk with children.

Reserve guards also must be available to work limited hours and with short notice, and be able to arrive at point of duty for specified duty time.

“We are in very urgent need of reserve guards to fill in for full-time guards when they get sick or go away on vacation,” said Genesse.

“The guards that are working for the Town are very dedicated individuals, and they feel very strongly about giving back to the community.”

According to Genesse,

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full-time crossing guards earn an average annual salary of $3,000 to $4,000 and reserve guards often move up the ranks once the full-timers retire or move from the area.

“It’s not what you would consider a large income, so the majority of our guards don’t do it for the money.

They do it to help fulfill the need in the community,” he said.

“Crossing guards serve an important purpose, while having the unique opportunity to engage with members of the public of all ages.”

For nearly 18 years, Violet Steingart has worked as a crossing guard on Haist Street in front of A.K. Wigg Public School. Spending time with the kids is always rewarding, she said. Every

The bonding you have with the kids and the parents is just amazing

day Violet said she comes home with a new story about something nice the kids or their parents have done for her or for others.

“The bonding you have with the kids and the parents is just amazing,” said Steingart.

“A lot of the kids will

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come by to visit even after they go off to high school or university. It’s so fulfilling. How can you go wrong having fun with kids for an hour a day and getting paid for it?”

Though being a crossing guard comes with a great deal of responsibility, Steingart said there is no reason for people who are interested in applying for the position to be intimidated, because they are given full training, both in class and in the field. The Town also provides them with all the necessary equipment, including protective clothing and footwear.

“The Town of Pelham is great,” she said.

“If there is ever a problem, all I do is call Craig and he looks after it right away.

They are always checking

in on us to make sure we are okay, and that our shoes or boots are in good condition. We are definitely well looked after.”

The two crossing guard positions with the Town are available on a casual on-call basis, paying an hourly wage of $16.40. Reserve guards tend to have advanced notice for their shifts, making the role an easy fit for most schedules.

Resumes must be submitted directly through the Town of Pelham website at www.pelham.ca, and be addressed to Pelham’s director of human resources, Paula Gilbert. For more information on the position contact bylaw enforcement officer Craig Genesse at cgenesse@pelham.ca, or by phone at 905-892-2607, ext. 204.

Places of Worship and Events Bethany Christian Reformed Church 1040 Balfour St., Fenwick Concordia Lutheran Church 105 Welland Rd., Fonthill

Glad Tidings Church of God 1 Pancake Lane, Fonthill Holy Trinity Anglican Church 1557 Pelham Street, Fonthill

Fenwick Church of Christ 765 Welland Rd., Fenwick

Kirk on the Hill Presbyterian Church 1344 Haist St., Fonthill

Fenwick United Church 1050 Church St., Fenwick

Pelham Community Church 461 Canboro Rd., Fenwick

First Presbyterian Church 602 Metler Rd., Fenwick

Pelham Evangelical Friends Church 940 Haist St., Fonthill

Fonthill Baptist Church 1414 Pelham St., Fonthill

Ridgeville Bible Chapel 418 Canboro Rd., Ridgeville

Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses 1369 Rice Rd., Fonthill

St. Alexander’s Roman Catholic Church 50 Pelham Town Sq., Fonthill

Fonthill United Church 42 Church Hill, Fonthill

St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church 834 Canboro Rd., Fenwick

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Did you conquer Everest or kick a bad habit?

Did you meet your spouse-to-be in jail or on an African safari?

Do you know where Hoffa’s buried?

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

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The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

Page 7

The history of the oldest building in Fonthill

BY CAROLYN BOTARI

Special to the VOICE

H

IDDEN BEHIN D the unassuming building located at 1 Canboro Road (directly west of the present day Keith’s Restaurant) is the oldest building in Fonthill.

Early records show that by 1830 Jacob Osman (Osborne) had built and was operating a tavern and inn to service traffic along Canboro.

Farmers from Fort Erie and Hamilton would often overnight at the inn while waiting for their grains to be grist at the mills down in St. Johns. The inn also proved to be a convenient resting stop, providing food and lodgings for travellers and horses from Niagara Falls and Hamilton.

In 1836 Osman was granted a licence for a tavern, although the inn would continue to serve as more than a drinking place for the settlement that soon grew up around it. Public meetings were held here, and as the local innkeeper was a person of some status, the community was soon named Osborne’s Corners for Mr. Osman. By the mid-1840s the name Fonthill was officially chosen for the growing community.

Over the next few years, the inn/hotel changed hands several times. It was first sold to Thomas Canby, who then sold it to Thomas Smith. Smith made a very good living running the Fonthill Hotel until January 1874, when the Dunkin Act, prohibiting the sale of alcohol, came into effect and Smith was forced to close the hotel.

Fonthill was without a

The village has everything to be desired, fresh air, scenery, unsurpassed sunset

hotel until 1885 when Mr. H. P. Savigny refitted the building into a temperance hotel where food and lodgings were available, but not “strong drink.”

The new building boasted a clean white clapboard exterior with a two-storied covered veranda running the full length of the building. As the main road through town was still Canborough Road (now Church Hill), there was also ample land in front of the hotel for the village bandshell.

The hotel had various owners in the early 1900s including Mr. and Mrs. Ben Gould, who were reportedly

to have used the grand piano in the front living quarters of the building to store liquor. During this time H. C. Brown also ran a livery stable from this location.

By the 1920s the hotel had closed. It wasn’t until 1923, when H. Russell and Company of Owen Sound arrived, when the “Fonthill Inn” was reopened to much fanfare.

At the opening night celebration, George Pettit of Welland spoke of Fonthill, stating, “The village has everything to be desired, fresh air, scenery, unsurpassed sunset…” And taking it altogether he thought

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Fonthill was the Garden of Eden. Mr. Pettit also asked those present not to encourage industries to come to the village, just to keep it for cosy little homes.

Unfortunately success for the Fonthill Inn was shortlived.

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The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

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Front row: Jackson Falardeau, Ethan Doherty, Jack Obdeyn, Alex Loscavo, Drew Colangelo, Kyle Ottley, Noah Sloan. 2nd row: Tony Colangelo, Len Stolk, Colton Morrison, George Martinson, Tommy Levens, Ethan Hawkins, Miles Stolk, Joshua Blouin, Will Guitard, Mike Kuhn, Austin Wassink. Back row: Zach Kuhn, Owen Darling, Owen Warren.

JEFF MARTINSON PHOTO

Pelham Panthers Bantam AE wins OMHA championship

BY NESHANTHI SLOAN

Special to the VOICE

In his first year as head coach in Pelham, Len Stolk set high expectations for his team. “Our goal is to win an OMHA Championship,” he told each player as they signed their contract, the first step in an unforgettable journey that concluded with a gritty 4-2 victory in Muskoka on Sunday, March 19th .

It was a fitting end, given that nothing had come easy to these Bantam AE Panthers. In late January, they faced a do-or-die Game 3 against Lincoln, narrowly edging the Blades to advance past the regional round of the OMHA Playdowns. They then squeaked

by Caledonia in a tightly contested series, only to discover an even more closely matched opponent in the Dorchester Dragons. The back-and-forth semi-final battle culminated in a winner-take-all Game 6 thriller, with the Panthers prevailing by the slimmest of margins, 4-3, to set up a date in the championship round with the South Muskoka Bears.

In game 1 of the finals it was the Panthers who applied the early pressure on South Muskoka but were unable to find the back of the net. Finally at 6 minutes into the first period Alex Loscavo ripped a one-timer past the South Muskoka goalie eliciting thunderous roars from the capacity crowd at the Pelham Arena. The home team kept the heat on the Bears resulting in a goal by Jack Obdeyn in the dying seconds of the first period to make it 2-0. The intensity was carried into the 2nd period with goals by Pelham forwards Drew Colangelo assisted by Colton Morrison and Zach Kuhn for a 4 to 1 lead at the end of the period. The Panthers employed a more defensive style in the 3rd period all but shutting down the South Muskoka forwards. A late goal by Owen Darling sealed the 5-1 victory for Pelham.

Game 2 saw the Panthers take advantage of another home game, entertaining the fans with a dominant offensive display. Jack Obdeyn started things off with a hard slapshot goal to give Pelham a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period.

In the 2nd period South Muskoka began to crumble under the Panthers relentless forecheck resulting in goals from Owen Warren, Myles Stolk and Owen Darling for a 4 goal lead after two periods.

Pelham kept their foot on the accelerator in the 3rd period with a goal by Josh Blouin and a natural hat trick for Myles Stolk. The line of Owen Darling, Myles Stolk and Jack Obdeyn would combine for 6 goals and 9 assists for an 8-0 shellacking by the Panthers.

When they finally returned to action after eight long, restless nights for Game 3, the Panthers were greeted by a much different South Muskoka team. The Bears had finally come out of hibernation and were looking to re-establish the game that got them to the finals.

South Muskoka came out hard and very physical, generating multiple high quality scoring chances in the opening minutes. With the help of some solid defense and key stops by goaltender Noah Sloan, the Panthers eventually settled down.

Tommy Leavens jammed in a rebound on a power play to open the

scoring for Pelham with under 5 minutes to play in the 1st period. However, South Muskoka answered back quickly with a goal less than one minute later to tie the game 1-1 to end the period.

Both teams continued to battle hard in the 2nd period and South Muskoka took their first lead of the series with a slapshot from the point.

But Pelham wasted little time in regaining the momentum, with some familiar sources of offence supplying the spark. Less than three minutes had elapsed before Myles Stolk buried a centering pass, tying the game at two apiece. A few shifts later, Jack Obdeyn redirected a puck past the South Muskoka tender to put the Panthers up 3-2 and the OMHA title within sight.

Zach Kuhn provided some insurance early in the third, jamming home Pelham’s fourth goal with an assist by Ethan Doherty.

The game was then put into the hands of the D-men and goalie as Pelham transitioned into their defensive system shutting down any attempts at a comeback for

the Bears. South Muskoka had no answer for the solid play of Ethan Hawkins, George Martinson, Owen Warren, William Guitard, Jackson Falardeau, Kyle Ottley and the reliable net-minding of Noah Sloan. The Bears rang a post with about seven minutes left but would come no closer to finding twine and avoiding elimination. The game ended 4-2 with the Pelham Panthers sweeping the series in three games.

The Bantam AE parents would like to express their deep gratitude to Head Coach Len Stolk, Assistant Coach Austin Wassink, Trainer Tony Colangelo and Team Manager Mike Kuhn for all their time, effort and dedication to the team. They would also like to acknowledge Jeff Martinson for his great photographs throughout the season.

In the words of Head Coach Len Stolk, “Capturing the Provincial Championship would not have been possible without all of the players committing to hard work, personal sacrifice and a dedication to team play. We had total buy-in from everyone."

Minor Midget Panthers down Red Wings On Saturday, March 25th the Pelham Minor Midget Panthers, sponsored

by Fonthill Dental, defeated the Schomberg Red Wings to capture the 2017 OMHA Championship. The Panthers found themselves down two games to one in the best of five series but came away with an impressive 6-2 victory in Pelham to even the series. In the deciding game and in front of packed home town arena in Schomberg, the Panthers came up with a total team effort and skated away with a hard fought 2-1 victory earning the championship trophy and the red hats. The OMHA championship caps off a great year for the team that also included tournament wins in Tillsonburg and Pittsburgh, PA. Team members include; Michael Rossi, Liam Sodtke, Joey Natale, Lucas Fast, Tyler D’Angelo, Garrett Jackson, Blake Zurbrigg, Campbell Veld, Brenden D’Angelo, Jacob DiRaddo, Quentin Annunziata, Ethan Mergl, Trent Glenney, Mitchell Carmichael, Alex Repar, Matthew DiRaddo , Josh Powell and Preston Galvin.

The team is proudly coached by John Carmichael, Jay Glenney, Brent Mergl and Mike Repar.

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The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

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Page 10

The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

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Motion raises concerns over Pelham finances continued from Page 1 Fonthill Marketplace. In exchange for land that the Town wanted to use for a park, the Allen Group agreed to be paid in Development Charges credits rather than cash.

The Allen group was later discovered to be selling these credits at a discount, a practice that Mayor Augustyn says has since been ended.

“When the Town learned of this, we put a stop to it. Eventually, we set up a receivable account and paid out the balance of the credits at a lesser value, i.e., to the Town’s benefit,” said Augustyn late Monday afternoon. (By press time, the Mayor had not clarified when the Town stopped the practice, or whether Council was informed of what had occurred, then or later.)

The prospect that such credits are effectively hidden in the books when it comes to determining the Town’s actual debt load is part Barrick’s motivation to bring forth his motion.

“As Budget Chair and Chair of Corporate Services I receive calls from residents all across the Region,” said Barrick. “I get more calls from people living in Pelham than anywhere else. The fact that Pelham's debt could mean a lower Regional credit rating means higher interest rates and higher property taxes for everyone else in Niagara. This is meant to protect all taxpayers in Niagara.”

Barrick asserts that Pelham's tax increases and debt trajectory are “off the charts.”

He said that the resolution asks Pelham to have a plan to deal with its debt so as not to impact the Region's credit rating, “and if

they have one already then make it public. That was the rationale behind the staff management response being published.”

Barrick stops short of calling for an independent auditor to step in to examine the Town’s books.

“Other municipalities by the Region's own figures are in a much better financial situation. I will note that the Corporate Services Committee last year had significant discussion over issuing another debenture on Pelham's behalf.”

No Regional Councillor reached by the Voice could remember Council ever needing to take such a stance in response to an individual municipality’s fiscal practices.

Mayor Augustyn dismissed the motion as baseless.

“The motion is clearly a politically motivated attack on the Town of Pelham because of Council’s strong stand with other Niagara Municipalities over significant financial and governance concerns with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, where Mr. Barrick has worked since being hired from that Board in 2013,” said Augustyn. “Further, the motion attempts to distract from the community’s legitimate concerns about the Burgoyne Bridge and the recently revealed $2.8 million Niagara Regional Police deficit for 2016, where Councillor Barrick is a member of the Board.”

Augustyn also disputes the budget figures used in the motion’s preamble. In response, Barrick cites as his source the Town’s own data.

“Information is taken from page four of Pelham's financial statements. 2015 debt level, $9.2 million. 2013 debt level, $2.3 mil-

lion,” said Barrick.

“It's unfortunate that Augustyn's hallmark has become personal attacks rather than focusing on the issues. It's disappointing and does not serve his community well. My concern, as Budget Chair for the Region, remains that Pelham’s fiscal situation risks everyone in the Region paying higher interest rates and taxes. He has an opportunity to mitigate this from happening and to also be transparent on Pelham's true debt by clarifying the questionable land acquisition using a Development Charge credit scheme.”

Another Regional Councillor, speaking not for attribution, said that the Development Charges scheme raised eyebrows. “I know there will need to be a greater look at the D.C. scheme to determine if it was allowable under the Development Charges Act. It also looks like the debt would not have shown up on Pelham's books.

The finance people have to be involved.”

The Voice reached out to all Pelham Town Council members for comment, as well as CAO Darren Ottaway. Only Councillors Rybiak and Durley responded. Rybiak deferred to the Mayor. Durley stated, “I find it difficult to comprehend what would motivate a Councillor elected by the City of Port Colborne electorate to take such an interest in matters that do not touch Port Colborne in the least.”

CAO Ottaway, having initially said that he would respond, did not provide comment by press time.

The motion as tabled:

Other municipalities by the Region's own figures are in a much better financial situation

In accordance with the notice and submission deadline requirements of Sections 18.1 (b) and 11.3, respectively, of Niagara Region’s Procedural By-law, the Regional Clerk received from Councillor Barrick a motion to be brought forward for consideration at the March 30, 2017 Council meeting respecting Regional Taxpayer Affordability Guidelines.

Whereas the Town of Pelham’s operating levy increase since its 2015 budget is approximately 20% (2015 – 3.46%, 2016 – 9.69%, 2017 – 6.61% compounded) which is cause for concern; Whereas the Town of Pelham’s most recent three published financial statements from 2013 – 2015 outline annual budget shortfalls totalling almost $1.0 million which is cause for concern; Whereas the Town of Pelham’s most recent three published financial statements highlight a 402% increase in net debt from $2.3 million in 2013 to $9.2 million in 2015; Whereas the statutory annual repayment limit for municipalities is 25% of own source revenues;

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Whereas the Town of Pelham approved an additional $21.2 million in further debt in 2016 attributable to a single municipal project that increases Pelham’s annual repayable limit to 18.1% and represents a 1326% increase in debt since 2013 which is a cause for taxpayer concern; Whereas should the other funding sources fail to materialize for the aforementioned municipal project, $36.2 million would need to be borrowed placing Pelham’s annual debt repayment at 23.2% and will represent a 1980% increase in debt since 2013 which is cause for concern; Whereas the Town of Pelham conducted a land transaction using a development charge scheme that does not accurately reflect its true debt levels in a transparent manner; Whereas the current fiscal situation has resulted in a loss of public trust in the Town of Pelham's ability to manage taxpayers’ money; Whereas property taxes are a key consideration for first time home buyers and existing property owners when balancing household budgets; Whereas Niagara’s Local Area Municipalities are fiscally prudent with their annual repayment limit circumstance (as of Q2 2016) such as Lincoln (2.82%), Thorold (2.15%), Wainfleet (1.10%), West Lincoln (4.41%), Niagara on the Lake (3.96%), Grimsby (3.78%) and others; 727 Whereas a portion of Niagara Region’s debt load consists of debentures issued on behalf of the See MOTION Page 15

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Page 11

The virtual library

BY KIRK WEAVER

CEO Pelham Library

The library is an important gathering place in most communities – Pelham included. We have been making efforts to ensure that our facilities are more comfortable. These types of changes are much more noticeable to those who come into the buildings. Less noticeable perhaps, are the things we are doing to improve access to the library and our services for those who aren’t able to come into our facilities.

We recently revamped our web site. It was overdue for a refresh. Through consultation with users and engagement of professional resources, we have redesigned the site in a way that we hope will make it easier for everyone to find what they are looking for from the library. In addition to the new look, the new site allows us to offer the convenience of online registration and payment for programs. While we would love to see everyone in person, we understand that this is not always practical. The new website includes a secure payment area that will make it easy for you to view upcoming

program details and see how much space is available. Once you have selected the programs you want to join, you can proceed to book your spot and pay for it (if there is a fee) from the comfort of your home.

In addition to online registration, we have also added (some may say “finally”) the option to pay by debit and credit card at both branches. Whether it is paying a fine, signing up for a program, purchasing books from the book sale room, or making a donation to the library, there are now two additional ways to complete your transaction. While these services may not be core to library operations we offer them to make the experience of our patrons and future patrons as positive and convenient as possible. Of course, we still accept cash as well.

We are pleased to be able to offer additional payment and program registration options in response to patron requests for more convenience. These added choices reflect the realities of a society that is more and more connected. Nevertheless, we still hope to see you all visiting the library regularly. We value face to face contact with our users.

Effort to preserve Time Capsule

BY NATE SMELLE

The VOICE

In 1967, staff and students of Thorold-Fonthill High School (now known as Glynn A. Green) decided to pay homage to Canada’s Centennial by preserving remnants of the community’s local history in a Time Capsule on school property.

Intending for it to be opened 100 years later, in 2067, the capsule was constructed of

concrete and brick out front of the school. Nestled among the cedar trees which can be seen from Pelham Street, the inconspicuous monument has deteriorated over the past 50 years and is now in desperate need of repair.

Recognizing that Canadians across the country will be celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday on July 1st, 2017, a group of concerned citizens and local historians have been campaigning

to restore the time capsule.

Trish Rybski was one of the students present at the school on the day the time capsule was completed and sealed in 1967. As a member of the Pelham Historical Society, and one of the individuals who contributed items to the capsule, she has been working hard to make sure it is given the facelift it needs.

“We originally wanted to See CAPSULE Page 15

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IN THE NEWS

The Voice of Pelham ad size Advertiser ad pointed out that good decontinued from Page 2 Giles event of an accident by providing lic Ltd through the Fonthill Service Lions, Directory at Fonthill Rlectric Creative Director sign often goes unnoticed, but bad easily accessible and identifiable the Royal Canadian Legion Branch w:2.5” x h: 1.75” Contact Name Barton design is immediately apparent. kits that are stored in a partici613 hall, and at Lookout Ridge Re“It seems that someone Tarja at the Color Info Taryn Wilton “When design is done well you pants’ fridge. The kits can then be tirement Community. email Region has a hard time reading,” black only easily located and retrieved during Contact Phone Pelham’s Fire Chief said he would go into a community and it gives graphics@thevoiceofpelham.ca added Councillor Junkin. an emergency. the you a good impression of what that Due Date 905.401.5748promote the initiative among Council ultimately voted to reMarketing Director The program is free to use, with town’s firefighters.

Friday, March community 18 at noon if about,” he said. ceive the letter and send it along to Contact email Dave Burket THE asking that they Giles also praised Pelham’s ofkits being provided to participants the province inRundate(s) info@fonthillelectric.ca ficial plan, stating that the town by the Fonthill Lions club at no dicate to the Region that it email is the Pelham receives design Mar. 23, Apr. 6, 20, May 4, 18, was ahead of many other municcost. People of any age are welcome Region’s purview to appoint advertising@thevoiceofpelham.ca a repaward June 1, 15 andipalities 29. in that regard. to use the service if they feel it will

VOICE

905.892.8690 resentative.

Approvedbenefi By: t them.

Lions’ Message in a Bottle program

Fonthill Lions Cathy Berkhout-Bosse and Rick Gretsinger made a presentation to Council on Monday that shared details of a new Message in a Bottle initiative that has been launched by the Club in Pelham.

The program aims to provide a simple but effective way of providing first responders with essential personal and medical details in the

Gretsinger highlighted three points during his presentation: Firstly, that the program is completely free, secondly that it is available to anyone of any age, and finally information is kept private with participants filling out their own forms to whatever extent they desire.

The idea is now being promoted in Canada after successful launches

by Lions clubs in Ireland and Great Britain.

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“What these plans do is they acCost Date: Giles presented Pelham’s Mayor tually $42 per insertion plusinvolve HST. bringing people from Augustyn and CAO Ottaway with a

various professions together and Niagara Community Design Award Terms: Due onlaying publication out how an area is going for the East Fonthill Mixed-Use to be developed in the future,” he Centre. The facility won the award under the “policy and plans” cat- said. “This provides certainly for residents, landowners and future egory. developers.”

The community design awards Giles claims this takes the were established in 2011 and are guesswork out and allows commufacilitated by the Region to recognize and acknowledge good design nities to grow more smoothly. He says these types of plans are being and design practices, according to promoted by the Region.

Giles. They are sponsored by the According to Giles, this shows Niagara Society of Architects. that Pelham is “identifying what

their community is about and how their community is going to grow.”

Council supports irrigation plan

Pelham Council has endorsed a Town of Lincoln request for the Niagara Region to build a region-wide plan for agricultural irrigation.

On March 6, the Town of Lincoln enacted a motion that requested “the Region of Niagara's Agricultural Policy Action Committee support the lrrigation Working Group's Action Plan and its efforts to build a region wide strategic plan for agricultural irrigation.”

The request comes after one of the Region’s driest summers in recent memory, one that saw many farmers’ crops struggle.

Councillor Marvin Junkin notSee IN THE NEWS Page 14

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The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

Page 13

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Page 14

The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Lyme fight: Fenwick family seeks community help continued from Page 1 country.

“There are no doctors in Canada who treat for chronic Lyme disease,” she said.

However, after a fortuitous meeting with another former Lyme sufferer in Niagara, the Eliopouloses learned of a clinic in the United States, the Sponaugle Wellness Institute, that specializes in diagnosing and treating Lyme Disease.

“We talked to a family in St. Catharines for about three hours about this clinic in Florida,” said George.

“They told us we had to try it. Their girl showed up in a wheelchair from the physical pain and ten weeks later she walked out.”

With such a ringing endorsement, and having run out of options north of the border, James and his family decided to give the clinic a shot. Unfortunately, the treatments are not cheap, and they are not covered by OHIP. “Every step of the way, every blood test costs money,” said his father, who put the treatment’s cost at about $5,000 per week. The treatments usually last about 12 weeks. “It’s a lot for one family to bear.”

James began his first treatments three weeks ago.

Several groups so far have taken up fundraisers, including A.K. Wigg and Mossimo’s. The family has also raised about $13,000 of the $60,000 needed on James’ GoFundMe page.

“The response has been over-

IN THE NEWS

whelming,” said his father. “The support from the community has been incredible.”

George says the family hopes to see James return home sometime in May, but until then they are just happy for the sense of progress, and, perhaps most importantly, of hope.

“I can hear it in his voice,” said George. “He is just the happiest he’s been.”

Anyone interested in donating to the Eliopoulos family can do so online at www.gofundme.com/treatments-for-james-eliopoulos, or in person at the Voice office in downtown Fonthill, opposite Beamer’s Hardware, in the Sawatzky Dental building, Monday-Thursday, 8AM to 2PM.

continued from page 12 ed that it was strange for farmers in the area to live between two massive bodies of water yet still struggle to have crops properly irrigated.

$77K Fonthill winner

Thomas Froese, of Fonthill, has has won $77,777 from an instant-scratch OLG lottery ticket, which he bought in Ft. Erie. Thomas was out with friends when he found out about his big win. “I scratched the ticket right away. I realized I won

$77,777 and stared at it for a moment. Then I asked my friends to check the ticket too. We kept checking the rules and re-checking the ticket a few times. Finally I said, ‘If this ticket is a winner, you are all getting new mountain bikes.’"

Thomas has more plans for his windfall. “Our daughter is getting married next year. Now the wedding will be paid for. I will also be paying off my sons student loans and treating my wife to a shopping trip. My sister will be getting a flight to Korea to see her daughter who is teaching there."

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OBITUARY

MALCOLM ALLAN MCGLASHAN (MAC) January 25, 1931 – March 20, 2017. Sadly, Peter and Edward Semenuk announce the death of their longtime friend, Malcolm Allan McGlashan, on March 20, 2017 at Douglas Memorial Hospital in Fort Erie. Mac was born at the family farm on Foss Road in Fenwick, the only surviving child of Charles (1977) and Stella (Rice) McGlashan (1936).

He was predeceased by his sisters and their husbands, Eleanor Guenther (Howard), Jean Lyons (William), Catherine McGlashan and Mary Haist (Clint), as well as his sister Rose (1936) and his brother Charles (1922). Mac also leaves several nieces, nephews and cousins. After many years of working with his father on the farm, Mac went to work at General Motors in St. Catharines in April of 1964, and retired at the end of 1995. He will be missed by Peter and Ann Semenuk, Eddie and Monique Semenuk and their daughters, Natalie and Stephanie. Also left to mourn him is his loyal friend, George Kosztyo, who continued to visit with him until the end. We thank his son, George Jr. for driving him to see Mac. Thank you to Dr. Dooler and the staff of the Royal Rose Place LTC facility where Mac lived for 8 months and to Dr. Scher and the staff at Douglas Memorial Hospital who cared for him during his final 11 days. At Mac’s request, there will be no visitation or service. Cremation has taken place. Private burial will be at North Pelham Cemetery where Mac will be interred with his mother. Memorial contributions to a charity of your choice would be appreciated. Please share your condolences, photo and memories at www. pleasantviewcemetery.ca

The Voice

The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

CAPSULE continued from Page 11 have it restored in time for Pelham’s Canada Day 2017 celebration, but unfortunately it doesn’t look like we will be able to have it completed by July 1,” she said.

“We are now aiming to have it done before the end of the year in recognition of Canada’s 150th anniversary.”

The detailed plan for the restored capsule was drafted by the committee’s resident heritage resource consultant, Jon Jouppien. Rybski said the campaign to beautify this tribute to the Town’s origins has been a communal effort driven by a relatively small team of passionate volunteers who understand what makes Pelham such a special

place to call home.

“If we don’t acknowledge our history, we lose a part of who we are and where we came from,” she said.

“It’s also about having a sense of pride in our community. I have a vested interest as well, since I wrote a Letter to the Citizens of the Future and sealed it in the capsule.”

Having taught at E.L. Crossley Secondary School and throughout Niagara, Rybski said restoring the time capsule is important to her personally as a teacher who appreciates local history.

“We want it to be seen as a beautiful piece of landscape art for the town,” she said.

“It’s going to look a lot different than the first cap-

MOTION continued from Page 10 Town of Pelham and thus has an interest in their corporate financial wellbeing; Whereas the 2017 Standard & Poor’s report highlights a potential for the Niagara Region to receive a negative credit rating action if debt levels reach an identified threshold; Whereas the Niagara Region recognizes and supports prudent fiscal planning, strong financial management, and fairness with respect to taxpayer affordability;

OLDEST continued from Page 7 and bandshell both gone, but for old photos. At this time the building was called the Hillside Inn, known for its restaurant, dancing and lunches.

In 1944 the inn was purchased by the Gagno fami-

sule but it is still going to have its original Centennial leaf shape. It will also have a copper lined lead coating and a plaque to identify it.

Those who support its restoration will also have their names on a plaque recognizing their contributions.”

In keeping with the spirit of TFHS, donors who contribute at various levels will be recognized by having their names engraved on a plaque at various levels: Gamma, $100; Beta, $500 and Alpha, $1,000 or more.

Finally, donors who contribute $2,500 or more will be recognized on a special plaque titled Nova Level Supporters. She also pointed out that all contributions of $25 or more will be eligible for a tax receipt.

Whereas a key performance indicator of the 2015-2018 Niagara Regional Strategic Plan measures taxation in Niagara; Whereas the Town of Pelham’s taxpayers are also Niagara Regional taxpayers; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Niagara Region REAFFIRM its support for the current Regional Taxpayer Affordability Guidelines requiring operating levy increases to be at or below the rate of inflation; That the Niagara Region REQUESTS the Town of Pelham to

ly, who recounted living in such a large building with many rooms and 12- foot ceilings.

The family built and operated a gas station on the site and during construction found a wooden beam marked “1870.” Mrs. Gagno later opened a restaurant in the building. She continued

living there until her death in 1997.

In the mid- 1950s, Keith Crick rented the east portion of the building and ran the Drift Inn Restaurant before moving to the building just

Total prize value now:

Rybski said the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) and the Pelham Historical Society have both supported the initiative by providing generous donations and support for their drive by helping to raise awareness. The total cost of the project is estimated to be roughly $15,000. “To date we have collected close to

That this motion BE CIRCULATED to Niagara’s local area municipalities, the MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Standard & Poor's Ratings Agency, the Auditor General of Ontario, the Premier of Ontario, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, all local Chambers’ of Commerce in Niagara, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Pelham Business Association, the Niagara Industrial Association and the Niagara Homebuilder’s Association.

east and opening Keith’s Restaurant.

In the present building, the store fronts are currently vacant, but the apartments are still being rented.

At this time, this build-

ing, the oldest in Fonthill with the deepest roots to our history and legacy, does not have a Heritage Designation and is not listed on the town’s Municipal Register of Heritage Properties.

If your message for Pelham isn’t in our pages,

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Then it isn’t being seen.

Complete the correspondence:

The Voice

...is to concrete, as:

The paper that Pelham reads.

Find the Voice at these locations: Indulgence Bakery Mossimo’s Pelham Street Grille Keith’s Restaurant Fenwick Pie Company Sobeys Fonthill DeVries Fruit Farm Beamer’s Hardware & TV Fonthill Library Black Pearl Fish & Chips Bob’s Boys Antiques Moku’s Fonthill Fitness Curves McDonald’s Fonthill Legion Semenuk’s Gas Bar Target Store Tim Horton’s Giant Tiger Shoppers Drug Mart Zee Lube Express Care Lazy Loon Minor Bros Stores Avondale Stores A-1 Market Sobeys South Pelham Broken Gavel Restaurant Picard’s Peanuts Petro Canada Mtvl. Hwy. Renewed Thrift & Vintage Ridge Berry Farm

$4,000,” Rybski said.

With the May 1 deadline for donations approaching, she said the committee has decided to go ahead with the restoration to whatever degree the funds they have raised by that time will allow.

Those interested in contributing are asked to make cheques payable to Glynn A. Green School referencing “Time Capsule” on the cheque. Supporters should also include their full name and address on the cheque to receive a tax receipt.

Cheques may be mailed to DSBN, 191 Carlton St., St. Catharines, ON, L2R 7P4, Attention Maira Berzins.

Donations can also be made online at www.dsbn.org/ donate.

If we don't acknowledge our history, we lose a part of who we are

publicly disclose its 2015 annual audited financial statement along with the corresponding management letter with staff responses as well as the same documents for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, once published; That the Niagara Region REQUESTS the Town of Pelham develop a taxpayer affordability guideline that includes an evening public meeting to ensure Pelham's operating levy remains below 25% compounded for the 2015-2018 term and its annual repayment limit does not increase above 20%; and

The

Pelham Puzzler

Page 15

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The Comfort Maple myth

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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

The Voice PUBLISHED INDEPENDENTLY IN PELHAM

Vol.20 No.39

NIAGARA’S BEST-READ WEEKLY SINCE 1997

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Part 2 of 2: Coronation to embarkation

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

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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 ad-

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Growing up British

BY VOICE STAFF

Debbie Pine

Mon-Wed 9:30-6:00pm ◆ Thur-Fri 9:30-7:00pm Sat 9:30-5:00pm

Column Six

Haist Street traffic-calming measure a little too effective 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

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Oops: No fire trucks for you

Column Six

Request made of community still peeved at name change 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

Get

Pineld -So Pelham’sPelham’s Health Food Store

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

See CHANGES Page 5

The Voice PUBLISHED INDEPENDENTLY IN PELHAM

Vol.20 No.32

NIAGARA’S BEST-READ WEEKLY SINCE 1997

Wednesday October 12, 2016

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Apple Day comes to Fonthill

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.”

The VOICE

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

www.pennylanesold.com

H EATHER AND P ENNY L ANE S ALES R EPRESENTATIVES

BY JOHN SWART

VOICE Correspondent

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.

“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

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

Cell 905.933.3049

Column Six It doesn’t get better than Autumn

Longtime Scouting tradition dates to 1932

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-

Office 905.892.1702

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.

“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

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 SIDEWALK Page 2

See AUTUMN Page 3

Full service. Full-time Realtor.

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Office: 905.892.0222 • Sell: 905.321.2261 • debbiepine@royallepage.ca

You’re Invited - Conversation Café Enjoy free coffee, treats & a conversation!

9:30 – 11:30 am at Sobeys Fonthill

Sponsored by:

Seniors’ Advisory Committee

• Wednesday, December 7th – Mental Wellbeing Sobeys Fonthill

For more details, contact 905-892-2607 ext. 320 or visit pelham.ca/psac.

Fonthill & District

Christmas shopping starts here!

Saturday, 15 & Sunday Sunday, Oct. Oct 16.

Saturday Oct. 17 18

10am - 4pm

Kinsmen Invite you to Come & Enjoy the Annual

FONTHILL

Centennial Secondary School, Thorold Road, Welland, Ontario

FONTHILL

Door proceeds in support of Special Olympics and Pathstone Mental Health

Page 16

The Voice of Pelham, March 29, 2017

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

The Voice of Pelham

REAL ESTATE To advertise here call (905) 892-8690

Tips: Unique ways to protect yourself on the road continued from Page 1

Dennis Munn, friend of the author, celebrates the safe completion of another bike tour.

JOHN SWART PHOTO

remotely in the same direction. Check parked cars, looking for motion (not that kind of motion!), and look between cars for pedestrians and big dopey dogs.

Be extremely visible, everywhere, all the time, case closed. I’m cool with little black dresses at parties and camouflage clothing for duck hunting, but if it ain’t neon or similar on a bike, you’re just stupid. And that goes for allowing your kids out at night dressed like Johnny Cash, too; small, dark, a heartbreaking tragedy waiting to happen.

Always know what’s behind you. Stopping on a dime when a motorist cranks a right in front of you isn’t the best choice when you’re being tailgated by a texting airhead.

Practice evasive maneuvers and sharp turns in advance, rather than experience onthe-scene training.

Lose your earbuds. Peripheral vision is 180 degrees, unobstructed hearing is 360. I consistently hear vehicles approaching from behind before I see them, and their sounds can convey speed, type of vehicle (think very wide tractor, or 14 wheeler), and maybe even driver IQ (reverberating bass, golden oldies cranked way up, squealing

Assume you're invisible, that in their heart of hearts no really gives a crap about sharing their road with you, and if someone can make a wrong decision behind the wheel, they will. tires, etc).

Assume you’re invisible, that in their heart of hearts no one really gives a crap about sharing their road with you, and if someone can make a wrong decision behind the wheel, they will. Assume all approaching drivers are on cell phones, just had a fight with their significant others, or are auditioning for the “World’s Worst Driver” TV show.

If you ride on the road at night, make sure your will is current. Your little $14.99 LED light is flashing in a world of zillion-watt burger-joint signs and oncoming Xenon headlights, and at night it’s way more probable the guy piloting the F-150 behind you has had a couple beers.

You're eating your carrots every day so you don't

lose your night vision, right? Ever see anyone with a bunch of carrots in their hand while they're driving at night? Think about it.

Maybe a florescent safety vest covered in Christmas lights would help, but there's a reason I'm not out there after dark.

Predictability on a bike is espoused as safe, but I prefer targeted unpredictability.

When you’re cycling along a country road daydreaming, chances are the driver barreling along behind is doing the same. Check over your shoulder, and if they’re within 100 metres and still in your lane, try briefly weaving around like a drunken soccer hooligan (stay in your lane), then get back to your position.

They’ll slam on the brakes because they’ve seen you for

the first time, give you the finger, or honk because they don’t know what the heck you might do next, but they saw you and slowed down.

Mission accomplished.

If you’re faced with traffic approaching from both directions, recognize that both vehicles will without a doubt meet exactly where you're riding. You might be the loser in their game of chicken if neither one will slow down or move over. If one’s a black Suburban with tinted windows, and the other’s a Grand Marquis, you’re dead meat. Choose the Plan B option, and prepare to hit the shoulder or ditch fast.

Forget about your “rights.” If your legal rights as a cyclist are being decided in a courtroom, it’s already too late. Take your lane where it’s safe and makes sense, but appreciate that cars and trucks can’t feel pain when you’re selecting your battles.

Hope these tips got you thinking, and please don’t be intimidated by the hyperbole.

Cycling is fun, healthy, and safer than most people think. The huge majority of Pelham drivers are extremely courteous and competent.

Just be prepared for the exceptions.

Happy Spring.