The Voice, March 3 2021

Council unhappy with Regional transit plan

page 3

Another Integrity Commissioner bill

page 8

Pelham's cowboys

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Vol.25 No.8 

Scholarship for Crossley runner

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Column Six

The Abnormals

Tessa Jeffery signs with NCCA D2 Washburn University

BY IAN CUMMING Special to the Voice

I

I know how to handle situations better. If I’m behind, I don’t panic because I have the experience and I know how to run now,” she said.

“It’s no longer about how fast I am running but about strategy and knowing when you can beat another people.”

She studies races and finds runners similar to her who she can look up to.

“It’s helped me to realize racing is

started out in life in the old-fashioned traditional family. My father, my mother, two younger sisters and I lived together on the upper level of an old two-story house located in the short hills of a ghost village known as St. Johns West. My mother’s parents lived on the main floor and my other grandparents lived up the road on their farm beside Merrittville Speedway. Yes, these were the so -called traditional times of youth.

I went to church in Fonthill at the Kirk-on-the-Hill Presbyterian church. I went to the two-room school in St. Johns West and attended functions at the firehall.

The school Christmas plays were held at the firehall as well the weekly meetings for cubs and scouts, which I attended from age 8 to age 12. My father was a volunteer fireman and we always went to the yearly strawberry festivals. Little did I know I was soon to become one of the Abnormals.

It just crept up on me. Little things were getting me prepared to join that club.

At age 6 my grandfather on my father’s side died. The farm was sold and my widowed grandmother moved to a house in Fonthill. It was located beside the old

See JEFFERY back page

See COLUMN SIX Page 12

BY BERNIE PUCHALSKI bpsportsniagara.com Tessa Jeffery’s desire to follow her sister has landed her a fullride NCAA Division 2 cross country scholarship at Washburn University, in Topeka, Kansas.

“I started cross country in Grade 3,” the 17-year-old Fonthill resident said. “My older sister [Emma Kate] did it and I decided I was going to be just like her. I was going to follow what she did. I was just doing it for fun and I thought, whatever. Then I went to the first meet and realized I was actually pretty good.”

That year, competing against both Grade 3 and 4 students, she placed 12th at the District School Board of Niagara meet and her career was off and running.

“I kind of just trained on my own and at Glynn A. Green and that’s how it all started.”

She would end up winning DSBN titles in Grade 4, 6, 7 and 8 and started training with Athletics Niagara. Her success carried on to high school at E.L. Crossley where the now-Grade 12 student won multiple zone titles and Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association crowns in cross country and the 3000 metre event in the spring track and field season. At the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations level, top performances included sixth in cross country and fifth in the 3000 metres.

Wayne Rae, Athletics Niagara’s

page 11

Tessa Jeffery, at home in Fonthill. distance and head coach, has expected big things from Jeffery ever since he started training her in elementary school.

“She is a girl who once she puts her mind to something, she goes after it, that’s for sure,” he said. “It has been a pleasure coaching her, she has alway shown a lot of potential and I am so glad that she ended up getting a scholarship.”

Rae feels it’s determination that makes her an excellent distance runner.

BERNIE PUCHALSKI

“She always came to practices with the mindset of doing her workout and doing it the best that she could,” he said. “I knew this was going to end up in her getting some form of scholarship somewhere because of her ability to focus and be so determined.

“I am expecting good things from her as well once she gets to university.”

In the last few years, Jeffery feels she has made some excellent strides.

“I am stronger mentally and

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Page 2

The Voice

PUBLISHER’S CORNER

by Dave Burket

Hike at your own risk: We have a couple of letters to the editor this week wondering why Pelham doesn’t clear snow from the Steve Bauer Trail, given its recent paving and increased use during the pandemic. Seems like a reasonable question, so I put it to Pelham CAO David Cribbs, who replied that to his knowledge few municipalities clear snow from any recreational paths, paved or unpaved. That said, he added, there’s nothing stopping Pelham from doing so if resident demand is sufficiently communicated to Town Council, who, in their wisdom, would theoretically request a staff report outlining the added cost to the Town. For those inclined, council contact information is on page 4!...Connect the Flux Capacitor: As you may have noticed, we’ve been dipping into Voice on Vacation archives during the pandemic to relive the Before Times, when travel was a thing. This week I came across the shot below, taken at the old Fenwick Hardware, a business that was around seemingly forever until suddenly it wasn’t, closing, if my feeble memory is to be trusted, over the summer of 2017.

On the subject of businesses big and small may I recommend an excellent new documentary? “The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel” is on Netflix, co-directed by Jennifer Abbott, whose justifiably proud parents live in Fonthill. Debuting at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, the film takes up where her widely lauded 2003 original, “The Corporation,” left off. In the words of one reviewer, the documentary sums up “two decades of immoral, destructive conduct by businesses whose CEOs understand that any fines that might be levied against them for their actions are worth paying, given the massive profits those actions will create.

And yes, this furious anti-corporate documentary counts Rogers and Bell among its production partners. That’s 2020 for you.” On a different note, I likewise recommend, “A Secret Love,” also on Netflix. It’s the story of a Canadian gay female couple who met in 1947 and stayed together for some 70 years—almost the entire time keeping their families none the wiser. (It helped that they moved from the prairies to Chicago.) As a teenager, one partner, Theresa, joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, founded by Philip Wrigley of chewing gum and baseball field fame in 1943. (The league was well presented in the 1992 feature, A League of Their Own.) Keep a box of tissues handy since only the hardest of hearts will fail to shed a tear here and there…Speaking of fields of dreams: We welcomed the rain on Sunday, although it’s going to take quite a bit more to melt all the snow in the back, finally revealing the vast field of poops lurking in the grass. Not even the dog wants to go out there anymore, gingerly picking his way around...Open for business: Despite the variants lurking, Niagara is back to Red-Control. Let's avoid another lockdown. Keep those masks on and hands washed... the vaccines are on their way. ◆

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Voice is finalist for six news awards

NRPS impaired driving charges ~

BY VOICE STAFF

What's That

SIREN

The Voice has received six nominations in the Ontario Community Newspaper Association’s annual Better Newspaper Competition (BNC).

This is the fourth year running that the Voice has received multiple nominations in the competition, which seeks to identify the best of Ontario local journalism.

All six nominations are in “Premier” categories, namely Best Editorial, Best Environment Story, Best Feature or News Series, Best COVID-19 Coverage, Best Sports Photo, and Best Online Breaking News Coverage.

First, second, and third place winners will be announced in a virtual presentation on April 23.

Pelham Fire Department Weekly Calls

The Pelham Fire department responded to nine calls for assistance from Feb.19 to Feb. 26 Saturday, Feb. 19 Emergency assistance, Pelham Town Square, Fonthill

Community Centre reopens

Medical assistance, Fonthill Sunday, Feb. 20 Medical assistance, Fonthill

BY VOICE STAFF Last Friday, the Ontario Government announced that the Niagara Public Health Unit, which includes the Town of Pelham, would transition to the Red-Control level as of 12:01 AM this Monday.

In a statement released Sunday evening, the Town said its facilities will reopen accordingly, with the same safety measures and health screening in place.

Some notable changes to Pelham facilities in the Red stage are: Town Hall is open by appointment only. Staff remain available to assist residents Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM by phone or email.

The Meridian Community Centre (MCC) rinks and gyms are open with capac-

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A March 3, 2021

ity limits. Team sports must not be practiced or played except for training (no games or scrimmages). No spectators are permitted; however, each person under 18 may be accompanied by one parent or guardian.

The walking track at the MCC is open with capacity limits. Users are required to book their time in advance.

Times can be booked backto-back. To register, call 905-732-7872.

Face-coverings are required while in all Town facilities.

Outdoor gatherings of a maximum of 25 people are now permitted.

According to the statement, public health regions will stay at their level as of Monday for at least two weeks.

Vehicle fire, Hwy. 20, Fenwick Wednesday, Feb. 24 Motor vehicle accident, Hwy. 20 E, Fonthill Medical assistance, Fonthill Thursday, Feb. 25 Carbon monoxide alarm, Meadowvale, Fonthill Structure fire, Michaela Cr., Fonthill, Fenwick

Type your pithy letter to the Voice right

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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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Vol.20 No.48

CELEBRATING OUR 20TH YEAR

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

DSBN wants portion of Town park

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The Comfort Maple myth

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Column Six

Growing up British

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Apple Day comes to Fonthill

BY JULIE MANNELL

Special to the VOICE

W

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

NATE SMELLE PHOTO

Public meeting tonight on school issues

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It sure is getting there, Julie.”

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

Part 2 of 2: Coronation to embarkation

BY VOICE STAFF

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

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

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

BY HEATHER McLAREN ROHRER

Special to the VOICE

A

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

While waiting for the contractor to return to fix

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

VOICE PHOTO

bourhood in the short-term.

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

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

Petition-inspired changes coming to 2017 Summerfest

BY NATE SMELLE

The VOICE

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

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

sidered.

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

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

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

Another way the committee plans

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sundays were different again. Dad would play golf on summer mornings and billiards in winter. Then he'd stop for a 'refresher' at the local and would pick up the prawns, cockles, winkles or whelks we'd be having for tea later. Meanwhile, Mum was roasting the 'joint' and potatoes. I got to make the Yorkshire pud, and mint See COLUMN SIX Page 14

BY VOICE STAFF

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joining their principal, Karen Simpson, at the Sept.

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

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

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

After delivering to Council a petition containing

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

podium over to Loewen and Williams to plead their case.

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

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

www.pennylanesold.com

H EATHER AND P ENNY L ANE S ALES R EPRESENTATIVES

BY JOHN SWART

VOICE Correspondent

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

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

Town Council approves sidewalk to serve E. L. Crossley

BY NATE SMELLE

The VOICE

Cell 905.933.3049

T

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

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

Office 905.892.1702

Column Six It doesn’t get better than Autumn

Longtime Scouting tradition dates to 1932

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Request made of community still peeved at name change

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

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

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

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

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

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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.

Jennifer R. BEAUPRE, 41, Thorold Justin T. BELL, 27, Buffalo, NY Alex B. LOCKHART, 29, Welland Justin J. MCCARTHY, 29, St. Catharines Frank D. SMALL, 62, St. Catharines Jeremy G. SEGUIN, 32, Welland Joshua A. P. RODRIGUE, 40, Welland Carly C. MACDONALD, 37, Port Colborne

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

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

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

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

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

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

The hues of Autumn are outstanding.

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

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

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

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

Indulgence Bakery Mossimo’s Pelham Street Grille Peter Piper’s Pubhouse DeVries Fruit Farm Beamer’s Hardware Pelham Libraries Bob’s Boys Antiques PharmaChoice Pharmacy Fonthill Fitness Fenwick Pie Company McDonald’s Duffin Appleworks Fonthill Legion Semenuk’s Gas Bar Shoppers Drug Mart Tim Horton’s Giant Tiger Fonthill LCBO Zee Lube Express Care Food Basics Minor Bros Stores Avondale Stores A-1 Market Boggio's IDA Sobeys South Pelham Grill on Canboro Shell on Hwy 20 Circle-K

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every year. stroys thousands of lives deaths in Canada and deleading cause of criminal Impaired driving is still the ment programs like RIDE. offenders through enforceand the apprehension of offences through education reducing impaired driving lice Service is committed to The Niagara Regional Po-

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toEarlyON go chargesCentres closing driving planners 83 days instead, sayRESULTS Fenwick and South Pelham NRPS impaired Peace on Earth Existing community facilities toand beAirbnbs used in Pelham At Hoo-Ahh Aerial of theHome Week qr 905.892.7900 THE VOICE POLL: Hotels

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A March 3, 2021

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Page 3

TOWN COUNCIL NEWS

Special meeting of Pelham Town Council, via Zoom, Feb. 25.

YOU TUBE

Special Town Council meeting on transit nearly veers off rails

BY JOHN CHICK Voice Correspondent we’re going get people in the million-dollar homes, but we’re going to be getting people in 1,100-1,200 square-foot apartments and townhouses who will require public transit. I would never support the current cost, perhaps there’s something we can go back and say we’re prepared, but it’s a far lower level, and if they’re not agreeable to that, we’re not going to play … the Region has to sharpen their pencil and sharpen it hard.”

Olson then cited potentially incorrect numbers regarding usage of the current transit system by local students headed to Brock University and Niagara College.

“It’s really not proving to be that useful a service,” he asserted, citing 1.3 percent of the ridership are such students.

CAO David Cribbs responded, saying that student numbers are redundant at the moment due to those institutions having their campuses closed due to COVID-19.

“With all due respect …

I’m surprised there’s even one percent of people going to closed buildings,” the CAO said.

“These numbers were from 2018 and 2019!” Olson interjected. “That was before the pandemic, as far as I know.”

Cribbs replied that those numbers didn’t add up.

“Councillor Olson, if you stood at the MCC you’d have seen plenty of people getting on buses,” he said.

“The source is ‘Students On The Move’ survey, done by Niagara Region and Brock, written and presented by Niagara Region,” Olson retorted. “I stand by my source.”

At that point, Director of Recreation, Culture and Wellness Vickie vanRavenswaay jumped in to say that 2018 would have included Pelham’s own bus, which would not be cited in the Region’s stats.

With the meeting headed off the rails, Cribbs and Town Clerk Nancy Bozzato reminded members that the point of the special gathering was to provide feedback to the Region on the proposal, as they are still in the consultancy stage.

Yet on the procedural matter of simply receiving the report—which made no recommendations and did not commit the Town to action— neither Hildebrandt or Olson would commit, and voted no. It passed 3-2 anyway.

The other concern lay with representation on the proposed future transit board. Regardless of financial commitment, it’s unlikely Pelham would have a permanent seat on the board, which would be dominated by the three largest cities in Niagara.

According to statistics cited by Olson, St. Catharines (60 percent), Niagara Falls (26 percent), and Welland (nine percent) make up 95 percent of the Region’s transit ridership.

“Why on earth would we really expect to have much say in this system?” Olson said.

Adding to the confusion, Wink then asked

With all due respect, I'm surprised there's even one percent of people going to closed buildings

See COUNCIL Page 17

A harmless coffee break can do more harm than you think.

Wear a mask, wash your hands and physically distance to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Learn more at ontario.ca/covid-19 Paid for by the Government of Ontario

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A disjointed special meeting of Pelham Town Council last Monday, Feb. 25, dealt with Niagara Region’s Transit Governance Study, which aims to launch a fully integrated regional transit system by late 2022.

As laid out in a presentation during council’s Feb. 16 meeting, the proposal would see Pelham face a 500 percent increase— to over $1 million in cost— for transit by 2029.

Unsurprisingly, this prospect did not sit well with the Mayor or council, and members present last Thursday used the special meeting to further criticize the plan.

Neither Mayor Marvin Junkin or Ward 3 Councillor Lisa Haun attended the meeting.

Junkin was attending a virtual Regional Council meeting held at the same time; Haun’s absence was unexplained.

Ward 1 Councillor Marianne Stewart, currently in rotation as Deputy Mayor, chaired the meeting.

Councillor Bob Hildebrandt opened the gathering by again expressing doubts about public transit in general, saying a “paradigm shift” is underway with people working from home during the pandemic.

“On my street for instance, I took a survey,” Hildebrandt said. “Thirteen homes, 36 residents. Of those people, 13 used to go to work. It’s four now.”

Hildebrandt cited a statistic predicting Niagara’s population is expected to grow 25 percent in the next 20 years, and provided a somewhat simplistic conclusion that echoed the “white flight” exodus, identified by some sociologists, from Brampton and other GTA communities, where former mainstream ethnicities—not necessarily only white— are not comfortable finding themselves in the minority.

“Immigration is going to come to the big cities like Toronto, and Toronto’s going to move out to the Golden Horseshoe. So, I don’t think the people that are moving here are looking for transit. They’re looking for the lifestyle that we have.”

What appears to be the fatal flaw in the Region’s proposal is the idea that relatively wealthier municipalities such as Pelham and Niagara-on-the-Lake pay more per capita because of their higher property values.

“We’re running at about 1.5 rides per service hour,” Councillor Wayne Olson said of Pelham’s current transit usage. “The fi xedroute bus thing is not tenable. I think we’ll end up bearing the costs, and the fact it’s based upon housing values means that we have a desirable place to live, we don’t have the social issues — at least the visible social issues — as other places, but we’re going to end up paying for everybody else’s.”

Ward 2 Councillor John Wink urged more foresight, but agreed the proposed price model was too steep.

“We do have to look forward a little bit.

There will be more demand for public transit as more and more people occupy townhouses and apartment buildings,” he said. “Yeah,

Page 4

The Voice

A March 3, 2021

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

COTÉ'S COMMENTS Larry Coté

Coping with pandemic isolation

A

mong all the creatures that inhabit the earth, homo sapiens are known to be one of the wisest and most social of the animal kingdom. That means most people require the company of, and association with, others to live a normal, healthy life. There are some people who prefer to be antisocial, but they are exceptions to the norm, and consequently considered to be “different.” People who are so inclined tend to be reclusive and prefer their own company rather than interact with other persons.

Since most people are social animals, this COVID pandemic has disrupted their social normalcy and, according to health professionals, such a deficiency can be detrimental to their mental and physical well-being.

We are not referring here to the interactions with mates or partners with whom one cohabits, but rather those sporadic or casual relationships such as those one frequently encountered on a pre-pandemic normal day. For the most part, one does not consider them as friends

per se, but have some sort of acquaintanceship with them. When one encounters these people, there is usually some type of acknowledgement, such as a brief verbal salutation or physical

No doubt these casual encounters were taken for granted

motion such as a wave or a nod.

One meets these people at the grocery store or on a walk through the neighbourhood.

Usually, they recognize each other but may not know them by name. A brief verbal exchange may be had such as a non-controversial comment about the weather and the like.

The closures of schools, bars, eateries, barber shops,

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www.thevoiceofpelham.ca EDITOR & PUBLISHER Dave Burket publisher@thevoiceofpelham.ca ADMINISTRATION Lori Gretsinger office@thevoiceofpelham.ca CONTRIBUTORS Jane Bedard, Carolyn Botari, Colin Brezicki, Rosemary Chambers, John Chick, Larry Coté, Brian Green, Miriam Han, Megan Metler, Bill Potrecz, Bernie Puchalski, Don Rickers, John Swart, Helen Tran, Mike Tucker, Rob Weatherby. Proof Sleuth: Julian Fitch NEWS INQUIRIES & TIPS editor@thevoiceofpelham.ca LETTERS TO THE EDITOR letters@thevoiceofpelham.ca ADVERTISING INQUIRIES advertising@thevoiceofpelham.ca

clubs, work places and other gathering places have mostly eliminated these casual social interactions. No doubt that these casual encounters were mostly taken for granted.

Some people have resorted to Zoom and other social media technologies in an effort to connect with people outside their homestead.

Such initiatives are efforts to try and experience those former contacts inside and outside their immediate families.

Research by health professionals indicate that these casual connections contribute to both a person’s mental and physical well-being. Taryn Grieder, a neuroscience researcher at the University of Toronto, reported in an interview with the Toronto Star that pleasant interactions with others releases oxytocin in the brain. This hormone is known to depress stress and ease tension. So, just by casually greeting these acquaintances automatically has a beneficial effect on one’s mood and, likely, demeanour.

To counterbalance deSee COPING next page

Letters Get kids on entrepreneurial track—minus a map At a recent council meeting, I had a chance to make a comment on recent changes to the Food Premises Regulation.

Very briefly, this an opportunity to start low-risk, home-based food businesses.

With summer coming, I see this as an opportunity for our students to have an opportunity to explore their entrepreneurial talents. The best part of being an entrepreneur is not having a road map, and who knows where this could lead?

The products that can be sold are non-hazardous and do not require refrig-

7

eration. According to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, products can include baked goods, pickles, preserves, fudge, trail mix and many other items.

Students might wish to take a try at forming a cooperative in order to learn about our great agricultural heritage and traditions in a very practical way. This is an excellent way to share your ideas and creativity and build a business.

Councillor Wayne Olson Ward 1

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS Member of Federal Parliament

Electoral District: Niagara West

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

Electoral District: Niagara West

Sam Oosterhoff, MPP 4961 King St. East, Unit M1 Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0 sam.oosterhoffco@pc.ola.org 905-563-1755 Members of Niagara Regional Council Councillor Marvin Junkin mjunkin@pelham.ca 905-658-2987 Councillor Diana Huson diana.huson@niagararegion.ca 905-324-3094 Town of Pelham 20 Pelham Town Square P.O. Box 400 Fonthill, ON L0S 1E0 905-892-2607

Mayor of Pelham Marvin Junkin mjunkin@pelham.ca 905-658-2986 Members of Pelham Town Council Ward 1 Councillor Marianne Stewart mstewart@pelham.ca 289-821-0840 Councillor Wayne Olson wolson@pelham.ca 905-933 6033

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Ward 2 Councillor Ron Kore rkore@pelham.ca 905-933-3805 Councillor John Wink jwink@pelham.ca 905-892-4475 Ward 3 Councillor Lisa Haun lhaun@pelham.ca 905-892-5877 Councillor Bob Hildebrandt bhildebrandt@pelham.ca 905-892-5647

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The Voice

Page 5

A March 3, 2021

OPINION PELHAM AND COVID-19 Mayor Marvin Junkin

REGIONAL COUNCIL UPDATE Diana Huson, Regional Councillor for Pelham

Decision-making and perspective in a pandemic world

I

t’s official. Niagara has now entered Red-control status. There’s been a lot of confusion about how these decisions are made and by whom, which has prompted me to provide some clarification.

Previous news that Niagara was staying in the Grey zone solicited some extreme responses, especially on social media, most of which unjustly targeted our Acting Medical Officer of Health (AMOH). I was horrified to read comments threatening violence or calling for his removal for doing his job.

Throughout the pandemic, the role of our AMOH has been to prioritize community health and reduce the loss of life. In the face of this unwarranted criticism, he has continued to maintain professionalism and dedication. I believe we are in good hands with our Public Health team. They have worked tirelessly to put the health of our communities first.

In reality, our AMOH is not responsible for the decision as to what zone we are placed in. Neither is Regional Council. The zone system, the colour of the zone, the restrictions within the zones, what gets added or subtracted to the restrictions, who gets placed in what zone and when, how vaccines are distributed across the province (or diverted), and when we receive those vaccines are all decisions made by

the province.

In some cases, the province will reach out to our AMOH for local context. In these calls he may or may not be asked for an opinion about what zone we should be in.

This advice, along with other input is factored into the provincial decision-making process at a meeting of cabinet where a decision is announced each Friday.

As a Region, we actually have very little control over restrictions. We do have control over how we respond, such as our capacity to do contact tracing, communicating numbers and statistics, our management of long-term care and subsequent outbreaks, and also our EMS response.

Niagara Region did support a mask mandate, which has been proven as an effective mechanism to combat the virus and reduce spread. It’s been embraced internationally.

Also, our AMOH enacted a restriction that limited indoor dining to households and applied public health measures to retail businesses. Numbers did demonstrate viral spread connected to indoor dining. As a result, Toronto has banned all indoor dining. Niagara opted to limit indoor dining to make it safer in lieu of more severe restrictions such as closures, in an attempt to find a balance between both extremes.

See PERSPECTIVE next page

F

inally!

Canada is seeing an up-surge in vaccines distributed across the country, with numbers making up more than double of what was allocated in the last two weeks. In the last week of February, Canada received 643,000 doses, making this the best week for receiving vaccines so far. Including last week’s shipments, some 2 million doses have been distributed across the country, with the vast majority of these vaccines being the Pfi zer-BioNTech shot. This company has committed to providing 4 million doses by the end of the fi rst quarter. When other brands are included in the numbers, Canada is on track to receive a total of 6.5 million doses by the end of March. With Health Canada approving yet another vaccine for use this past week, these numbers should continue to climb

into the spring.

With the completion of senior homes and longterm care homes, Niagara should see caregivers and

Canada is on track to receive a total of 6.5 million doses by the end of March

fi rst responders receiving injections this week, with seniors living in the community next in line. Finally, your patience has been rewarded! For up-to date information go to niagararegionhealth, click on “vaccinations.”

This Monday, the Region went into Red-control status, which will allow restaurants to open with the maximum number of patrons being ten. A safety plan must also be completed, and posted in a conspicuous location.

Other services that are allowed to re-open are fitness centres, gyms and hair salons.

In Pelham, the community centre is open, with appointments needed for the walking track, and a maximum of ten people per area.

With the rain and warm temperatures of the last couple days, the walking trails of Pelham should also be getting back to being in good shape.

Until next time… ◆

Offering

Food for winged trail users This letter is sent to acknowledge and thank the Bird People for enhancing the use and enjoyment of the Steve Bauer Trail by hanging feeders for our feathered friends.

Today, I walked the trail from Port Robinson to Merritt and back. It’s been quite some time since I have been on the trail but the mild temperatures and sunshine called and so I answered.

What a nice surprise to see homemade bird feeders and suet cages hanging from the tree branches as well as fresh bird seed scattered on the ground at the edges of the path. I spotted many different birds and, if I correctly used my bird

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Don't pick on the President Regarding the column by Pastor Rob Weatherby, “Joe Biden: New chapter for an old man” [Faith Lift, Feb. 3, p. 19], I have never written a response about any newspaper article ever! This word, “old,” really upset me. We have all been through a lot. I am hoping the American people finally have a leader. I wish Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the rest of the team well. Their workload is large. He is commended for taking on this role. I feel a better choice of word could have been used by Pastor Weatherby.

B. Martin Thorold

COPING

continued from previous page

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pressive tendencies, mental health professionals suggest people interact more meaningfully with those they have chance encounters with such as neighbours, delivery persons, and fellow grocery shoppers.

So rather than continually sitting on the sofa in a lockeddown status, get up and get out where you can casually interact with others at a socially safe distance. You will feel better for it and so will those you encounter. Take it from the health practitioners. Feeling good is good for your health. ◆

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Page 6

The Voice

A March 3, 2021

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Letters continued

Improvised bird feeder on the Steve Bauer Trail.

ANNE SCHATTMANN

WINGED

continued from previous page guide afterwards, these included chickadees, cardinals, mourning doves, sparrows and juncos.

I loved the constant chorus of birdsong from these residents: chirps, coos, whistles, squeaks and trills. For a moment, I thought someone was playing a nature CD of bird calls! The choir never stopped singing.

Today’s bird encounter was the highlight of recent weeks for me. I will be back to check on my feathered friends soon.

Maybe I’ll spot a Blue Jay next time.

And so I say a big thank you to the invisible Bird People who have helped create this inviting environment for the birds (and people) of the Steve Bauer Trail.

Anne Schattmann Fonthill

PERSPECTIVE

continued from previous page Small businesses have undoubtedly been negatively impacted, but the economic and social challenges have been far reaching. Racialized and minority groups have disproportionately been infected by the virus. Low-

Clear the trail

To TD Bank customers...

Can someone tell me why the Town has decided not to do snow removal on the Steve Bauer Trail? I understand it is the only trail in Fonthill not cleared, and probably the most used! It was paved recently to make it more walkable and really has made it a wonderful place to walk... until the snow fell.

While attempting to do my daily walk on a snow-covered trail, I was very concerned to see a senior pushing her walker through the snow accompanied by a friend. This is just not right! I appreciate how the Town clears the sidewalks on Port Robinson Rd., and many other streets, and feel the trail should also be cleared regularly. In fact on their site it mentions they take responsibility for plowing sidewalks and TRAILS! A week ago while taking my walk l was forced to use Emmett St., as snow and frozen footprints prevented me from attempting the trail. The irony is that while walking on the sidewalk l slipped on snow and had a very bad fall. I hit my head on the ground and injured my arm and leg. Fortunately nothing was broken but l was left with a black eye and a huge bruise on my leg. I was unable to walk home. So many more of us walk now and l feel the Town should extend its maintenance responsibility to include another paved surface, the Steve Bauer Trail.

Brenda Burger Fonthill

In response to Mr. Whitehead, my hero [“TD Bank—Goodbye to Fonthill, and maybe customers too,” Letters, Feb. 17, p.4], I also received the letter that the TD branch in Fonthill is closing. I was disturbed and confused by this rash decision.

Firstly, it is not convenient for myself to go to the Welland branch nor do I do online banking. Secondly, I truly do not understand the waste of money renovating the bank outside and inside last year. Thirdly, I do enjoy going to a friendly helpful bank where one trusts the folks there.

This closing does not make sense. I have lived in Fonthill all of my 73 years. Many businesses have come and gone. Some of this progress was good but much of it was not progressive. Fonthill has lost a great deal of its country charm. Why sell off this property and for what purpose? Does the Town know why? Bottom line – MONEY?? AGAIN. I did call the TD Bank complaint hotline.

Here is the number, if you wish to call: 1-833259-5980. I spoke to a very sympathetic and polite gentleman. However, as we all know, there were no definitive answers. In this COVID-troubled time, the larger banks will take their advantage in the boardrooms.

Maybe my complaint will fall on deaf ears.

However, I hope someone in the upper offices of TD Bank will think about how their decisions affect many real people who do not live in Toronto and do not need a change.

Nancy (Tobias) Cheel Fonthill

er-income populations have seen greater levels of unemployment that has only deepened the economic divide. Women have exited the workforce in greater numbers due to the collapse of our childcare resources. Seniors have seen far greater death rates than any other age group and faced isolation from loved ones. Children have suffered from a lack of so-

cial interaction that is important to their development. The pandemic has escalated and publicized significant shortcomings of our long-term care homes. All of these experiences are important.

In other words, the list of injustices is a long one. You would be hard pressed to find anyone unscathed by the crisis. The solution is simple. The more quickly

we receive vaccines and vaccinate our communities, the sooner we can get back to normal. Both Niagara Health and the Region’s Public Health Department are working closely and collaboratively on our vaccination plan. All we need is the province to send them our way. It couldn’t happen fast enough. Let’s focus on that important goal and support

Seriously, clear the trail Since the Town has taken the very positive step of paving the Steve Bauer Trail from Pt. Robinson Rd. to Quaker Rd, can I suggest that proper winter maintenance be carried out on a regular basis?

This would include snow-plowing and sanding similar to that being done in Welland with the Merritt Island trail since December, when Welland realized how important the trail was for exercise in winter, especially during the pandemic.

If the Steve Bauer Trail is not maintained, it will still be used and thus become hazardous to citizens, as it becomes icy quite easily when packed down, especially after the usual thaw and freeze periods that happen in our climate.

Because a large number of the users are seniors, icy patches can cause fall injuries, possibly creating liability for the Town. It should be maintained in winter at

our friends, family members and community as much as possible and wherever we can.

Remember that we all are dealing with our own personal struggles. And while we don’t have a lot of control over this pandemic, we do have the ability to control how we react. Let’s react by supporting and encouraging one another.

Stay well everyone! ◆

SHOP LOCAL. SAVE LOCAL Support the local businesses that keep your community and its newspapers thriving.

The Voice Z of Pelham and Central Niagara

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The Voice

Check out our newest community engagement tool, Bang the Table! Join the conversation at:

https://engagingpelham.ca It’s as easy as:

1. Register 2. Engage

Page 7

A March 3, 2021

The Town of Pelham recently launched a new online engagement tool, EngagingPelham. The online portal features a suite of engagement tools asking residents to participate in discussions, offer ideas, complete surveys, and more on various topics.

The software, powered by Bang the Table’s Engagement HQ, offers a user-friendly site that hosts information, documents, videos, photos, and more, allowing residents to participate and follow projects as they progress. Tools such as surveys, question and answer, polls, news feeds, virtual post-it notes, and the ability to connect with the project’s administrators are available.

Current Projects

FEATURED PROJECT

T

he Pelham Street Reconstruction project includes the reconstruction of Pelham Street from the Fonthill downtown core to the south Town limit approximately 150m south of Quaker Road. The project will be completed in four phases at an estimated cost of $9M. The first phase of the project included the reconstruction of Pelham St. between College Street and Port Robinson Rd. This project commenced in the fall of 2020 and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2021.

The second phase of the project involves the reconstruction of Pelham Street from Port Robinson Road to approximately 50m south of Pancake and John Street. The project will include a full reconstruction of the roadway, including newly paved surfaces such

as designated on-road bicycle facilities, concrete curb and gutter, new concrete sidewalks, a new storm drainage system improving drainage and mitigating flooding concerns, new water main and new street lighting for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The project will also include pedestrian safety and traffic calming measures at the key intersections, including a raised tabletop intersection at Port Robinson Road. Phase 2 of the project is expected to commence in the spring of 2021, with completion by December of 2021. Additional finishing work, such as sod, may be completed in spring 2022.

The Town has received a grant from the ICIP Rural and Northern Stream for $4.2M in order to complete the Pelham Street Reconstruction project.

Page 8

The Voice

A March 3, 2021

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Dispute over $260 charge leads to $10,747 bill to Town Resident Frank Feeley, upset over gypsy moth spray cost, filed complaint with Integrity Commissioner

BY DON RICKERS Voice Correspondent “I'm still reviewing my options.”

So said Frank Feeley, a retired management consultant living in Fonthill, who previously filed an ultimately unsuccessful Integrity Commissioner complaint concerning Pelham’s 2019 gypsy moth spraying program.

Integrity Commissioner Edward T. McDermott, on contract to the Town, assessed Feeley’s 50-page brief and concluded that a full investigation was not warranted, writing in his decision that “the bottom line is that Pelham Council and Staff do not support [Feeley’s] oft-repeated positions in this debate,” and advised that, “I have no jurisdiction or mandate to address [his] numerous complaints about Staff on this issue.”

McDermott billed the Town $10,747 for his services.

Feeley told the Voice back in January that he was still considering the options of a class action suit or a small claims court approach, but was daunted by the potential cost.

“If I go to small claims court against the Town, who have highpriced lawyers to represent them, their hired guns, I'm going to need to hire a lawyer, which could easily cost $5000,” he said.

Feeley estimated that he has spent 1000 hours of his own time in his battle with Town Hall.

But would he do it all again, over a $260 bill?

“More than likely, on point of principle,” said Feeley.

He said he made a proposal to resolve the matter back in 2019.

“Although my lot is less than the average size of .25 acre of the private urban properties being sprayed, I told [Mayor] Junkin that I was prepared to accept his ‘one price fits all’ formula, based on the .25 acre. And I said that works out to $98.88. I asked him to let me know at his earliest convenience if this was acceptable, and I would cut a cheque immediately.

The very next day I get an email from the Mayor, saying that the Town does not make deals with individuals in relation to previous billings. He said that the vast majority of taxpayers that received the $260 statement have already paid in full, and perhaps I should follow their example.”

Feeley recalled that Mayor Junkin had offered a compromise at a meeting in Town Hall.

Jennifer Pilzecker, who is chair of the Pelham Beautification Committee, was present at the September 4 2019 meeting, when Junkin suggested that if Feeley emailed him his rationale and if the amount he proposed was a fair payment, the Town would likely be prepared to accept his offer.

Fonthill resident Frank Feeley, with binders of gypsy moth-related information he has compiled over decades.

DON RICKERS “The suggested deal came after long discussion,” said Pilzecker.

“The Mayor said some of the cost inflation was due to the road allowances that were sprayed and applied to the private property bills. Frank said the overcharge was larger than just road allowance. I believe the Mayor was well-meaning when he offered a ‘deal.’ I think he was just trying to appease a bad situation.”

Feeley was not alone in the fight. A group of local residents (including Feeley) who identified

themselves as the “Pelham 294” and the “Gypsy Moth Coalition” emailed the Voice a copy of a 2019 gypsy moth spray petition sent to Town Council in November 2019, and again in February 2020, bearing 100 signatures of local taxpayers.

The email asserted that “the spray area covered demographics of a largely elderly population in Fonthill on fixed income, who felt blindsided and hurt by the actions of the Mayor and council.

Hundreds of residents still vow to

remember this when they head to the polls in 2022.”

A host of issues were raised by the group, questioning the transparency of the process. The most contentious focused on why 294 property owners living in the vicinity of Hillcrest Park were sent $260 billing statements (based on average properties being .25 per acre, with spraying costs at $1040 per acre) when the Town was charged $625 per acre by the contractor. The group requested a repeal of the “unfairly and ineq-

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

The Voice

uitable” decision, which they viewed as a cost-recovery measure to disproportionately fund the Town's 2019 gypsy moth spray program.

“Trees clearly benefit all those who reside within a town and offer a positive environment. We believe the decision to protect horticultural assets by the Town with no option for opt-out is the responsibility of the Town as a whole,” said the group in its petition. By their estimate, if shared amongst approximately 6800 property taxpayers in Pelham, the cost would be a one- time fee of $11 per property tax bill.

“I've always maintained that it should have been built into the overall tax base,” said Feeley.

A letter from Public Works Director Jason Marr, dated September 26 2019, was shown to the Voice by Feeley, which indicated that some residents were being reimbursed for their $260 spray bills. Feeley said he emailed the Mayor and the CEO in December 2019, and asked how many people got the refund, but his request went unanswered.

Pelham CEO David Cribbs told the Voice that a plan for targeted aerial spraying in urban areas of Fonthill with heavy gypsy moth infestation was presented to and approved by council in the spring of 2019. Two hundred and ninety four addresses within the targeted areas were to be billed equally for two applications. Ultimately, said Cribbs, there were 16 addresses where there were discrepancies between the spray company records and the spray plan, such that it could not be stated with absolute certainty that spraying of those 16 properties had occurred. As a result, these 16 bills were cancelled, or monies were refunded if the bills had been paid. Seven of the 16 cancelled bills were on the same street, said Cribbs, while the others were on the periphery of spray paths.

“Overall, this was a successful program,” said Cribbs. “It was delivered from conceptualization to spraying in a few short months, and it protected the tree canopy.

Obviously, no one enjoyed receiving a bill for service. However, the results of the spraying were excellent, and the Town had no real capacity to pay at the time, given the depletion of the [financial] reserves—which have

Page 9

A March 3, 2021

since improved dramatically.”

Cribbs anticipated that in 2021 the Town will once again be administering a gypsy moth spray program in accordance with the policy approved by Council in 2020. Bio Forest Inc. has been retained through a competitive procurement process to undertake egg-mass surveys to determine the areas and level of infestation, and to assist in the delivery of the spray program.

The Town had no real capacity to pay at the time, given the depletion of the reserves— which have since improved dramatically Based on initial discussions with the consultant, the spray programs completed in the past have yielded positive results with respect to controlling the infestation, said Cribbs.

“That being said, it does look like the 2021 gypsy moth spray program will be of similar size to the last two years.”

Mayor Junkin recalled that, “Mr. Feeley was upset with council’s decision regarding the amount that individual homeowners would be required to pay for the spraying of gypsy moths on their properties. The two things that stand out in my memory of this event are that it was a unanimous decision of council, and that the Town had no money. As a council we stood by our decision, and as a result, Mr. Feeley took his complaints to the Integrity Commissioner, who decided that the complaint had no merit. It is unfortunate that the [investigation cost] was what it was, but that is the price to be paid for having an appeal process in place.”

As for Feeley, he grew tired of his ongoing tax bills reflecting the $260 spraying cost plus accruing interest, and recently paid the outstanding amount by cheque postdated to February 28, 2021.

Police gained access to the second-story unit through a window.

VOICE

Tenant found deceased in Fonthill apartment Man's son earlier apprehended at same location on unrelated arrest warrant

BY VOICE STAFF Responding to a welfare check request, Niagara Regional Police officers made a grim discovery last Thursday at the Spring Valley Manor apartments, at 1600 Pelham St. in Fonthill. Officers used a ladder to access a second-floor unit, entering through a window. Inside, they found the body of tenant Ronald Snoei, 60.

“At approximately 1 PM...our officers arrived on scene and were able to gain access to one of the apartment units,” NRP spokesperson Phil Gavin told the Voice. “A person was found deceased inside. Foul play is not suspected and the incident is being treated as medical in nature.”

In recent years Snoei had worked as a self-employed handyman. His advertising for “Ron’s Bathroom Renovations” occa-

sionally appeared in the Voice.

A tenant in the building where Snoei lived, who did not want to be named, told the Voice that earlier in February police suddenly arrived one day, surrounded the building, and entered Snoei’s apartment.

There they found his son, Matthew Snoei, who had been listed on the NRP’s “Niagara’s Most Wanted.”

Gavin confirmed the arrest, which occurred on Feb. 6.

“We attended to the address to locate wanted person Matthew Snoei. He was wanted for relief of surety. Our 3 District officers attended and located Snoie in a family member's apartment. He was arrested at 4:10 PM and taken from the property at 4:19 PM.”

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The Voice

A March 3, 2021

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Groups want culvert under Highway 20 corrected Rice Road stormwater pond overflow damaging environment

BY DON RICKERS Voice Correspondent It needs to be fixed, come hell or high water.

That’s the attitude several local organizations have taken regarding the stormwater management pond at Rice Road at Highway 20, which empties into the fragile headwaters of 12 Mile Creek between the Lions Club and Pelham Cares.

Brian Green, who sits on the board of directors of the Niagara chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada (TUC), said that the stream flows north from the pond via a culvert under Highway 20, and meanders towards Hollow Road. He contends that the volume of runoff has been so great at times that it has caused significant erosion damage, washing soil away in the creekbed and affecting aquatic and plant life.

Property damage is also a result, said Green.

“Jim Overholt has a farm down there, and has been complaining for years about the volume of sediment washing down through the creek.”

It's an intermittent problem. Some days the stream is barely a trickle. But Green said that after one stormy downpour in January, the outflow emerged with such velocity that it was cubeshaped, conforming to the

shape of the culvert. In recent years, other witnesses have described the same phenomenon to The Voice.

Dennis Edell, president of the Niagara Chapter of

If you are Pelham Cares, you are close to losing your building. Something's got to be done.

TUC, views it as an opportunity to correct a longstanding problem in the last remaining cold water watershed in Niagara. He said that Brook Trout habitat is threatened, and with the ever-increasing density of development in East Fonthill, this situation will only get worse unless action is taken.

“We strongly encourage council to take appropriate and immediate action to counter the damaging effects of the inadequately designed outflow from this stormwater pond,” wrote Edell in a letter to Pelham

Observers have asserted that during heavy rain water emerges from the culvert at such velocity that it retains the shape of a cube. DON RICKERS Town Council.

In the past, TUC has proposed several solutions to Town staff, as designed by fluvial geomorphologist and chair of the Niagara chapter’s Project Committee, Professor Ian Smith.

TUC has offered to assist with potential remedies, such as planting trees to stabilize and shade the pond.

Upper Canada Consultants, who designed the stormwater management pond, was theoretically required to design the outflow to meet required minimum provincial standards.

The problem, said Green, is that the standard doesn’t take into account what is called, “erosion threshold,” when high-velocity water

Change and challenge at the NPCA Ontario Attorney General notes positive progress

BY DON RICKERS Voice Correspondent When Chandra Sharma was hired by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) in January of 2020, board chair Dave Bylsma was effusive in his praise for the new CAO and secretary-treasurer, citing her experience in governance, operations, and program development.

Fresh leadership was desperately needed by the organization, which had been criticized in a 2018 report by Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk as having significant operational issues and an overstepping board. Lysyk said that it was critical for the NPCA to “restore public trust and deliver its programs and services economically, efficiently and effectively.”

Last week, Sharma released a summary report of her first year at the helm of NPCA, entitled “Reflections on 2020 – A Year of Change, Resilience, and Progress,” which asserted that the Authority is back on track, despite the challenges of a year of pandemic.

“When I was hired, I was told by the board that one of the most important things I have to do is take care of the staff,” said Sharma.

“NPCA has a very talented, pro-

fessional, and committed group of people, many who have been here for a very long time. Some are third-generation staffers.”

She made it a priority to personally meet with each NPCA employee. And despite the unprecedented challenges of COVID in 2020, Sharma said that the organization did not lay off a single staffer.

“It was important for me to learn about who I'm working with, their backgrounds and aspirations,” said Sharma. “I can tell you that it's a very resilient team of people. And they love what they do—it’s a very positive conservation authority culture.”

Sharma began her career at the Toronto & Region Conservation Authority, and over the past 20 years has moved progressively to more senior roles in watershed management and strategy.

She holds masters degrees in both international relations and environmental studies, along with a public management certificate.

“We were innovating and charting new territory every day last year, developing pandemic procedures and policies on the go, and keeping our staff morale top-of-

NPCA CAO Chandra Sharma. SUPPLIED mind. The pressure to keep parks and green spaces available to our communities was huge, and our frontline workers really responded,” she said.

Key highlights from 2020 included the preparation and delivery of a clean financial audit, and action on recommendations made the previous year by Lysyk.

“The Auditor General’s office conveyed to us that they were pleased with the progress NPCA has made in a short period of time,” said Sharma, adding, “these things take time to be done right, and with proper consultation.”

Sharma said that the organization was financially stable, and efforts were underway to build strong relationships with municipal partners. She also underscored the progress made by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Foundation (NPCF) as it works at creating a long-term plan to provide critical support for the NPCA. 2021 will be an important year for the NPCA, and will involve completion of a strategic plan that will be the organization’s road-

causes desedimentation in fragile soils, such as the sandy loam of the Fonthill Kame.

The Niagara Chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada, the Fonthill Lions, and Pelham Cares have all sent letters to council to encourage action.

“Upper Canada Consultants approved it, the

map for the next five years. The Ford government’s controversial Bill 229 has required that the NPCA update all of its policies and budget, said Sharma.

The Province approved Bill 229, Ontario’s Budget Measures Act, last December, despite prominent resignations and opposition to the environmental changes by individuals and organizations across the province. Conservation Ontario, the agency that represents Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities, said that the new legislation will allow the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to force a conservation authority to issue a permit even if it conflicts with their responsibility to protect the environment.

The new law also prevents conservation authorities from making appeals to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT), and includes a number of other changes that limit the powers of conservation authorities.

“I think Bill 229 was a partial win for conservation authorities, because we asked for several changes, and we made some inroads, we found the middle ground. We’ll have to see how the regulations play out,” said Sharma.

Sharma said that the NPCA has a strong board at present, which “brings a diverse set of skills, are very supportive of staff, and work together really well.”

Pelham Regional Councillor and NPCA board member Diana Huson echoed the good news at the NPCA, which is tasked with overseeing the Niagara Peninsula watershed, and manages conservation, restoration, and development across 41 properties. “Our new CAO had to shut down the office a mere three

Conservation Authority approved it, the Town approved it, everybody approved it,” said Green, speaking of the stormwater management pond and culvert. “And now we're faced with a bit of a disaster. If you're Pelham Cares, you're close to losing your building. Something's got to be done.”

months after her arrival due to the pandemic, move operations online, and create a digital work environment that simply didn’t exist previously, in addition to meeting the organization’s customer service commitments and important reporting functions,” said Huson.

“When you reflect on all of these things, the challenges in her first months were extraordinary. And yet the organization has excelled.”

Huson said that despite COVID challenges in 2020, NPCA parks stayed open and experienced record-breaking numbers, while maintaining essentials standards of health and safety for both staff and guests.

“I believe our parks benefited from a renewed appreciation of our outdoor natural spaces, and also a focus on the benefits these spaces provide to our overall health and wellbeing,” Huson said.

Continuity of NPCA’s restoration program was also a success, according to Huson. Restoration grants are available to homeowners, NGOs, and non-profits to help restore and improve water quality, wildlife habitat, and forest cover across the Niagara watershed. “It’s encouraging to see that a number of grants were issued across Pelham last year, which means that work is being done in our community to help enhance our local ecosystem and greenspaces,” said Huson. “It’s great to see Pelham, and our natural features, benefitting by this important program.”

Huson is proud of the way that the NPCA has “rallied and adapted” over the past year. “I attribute this to a very capable leader, and also a dedicated team of professional staff. There’s more progress to be made, and I’m confident we have a team that can achieve it.”

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The Voice

A March 3, 2021

Page 11

Pelham's cowboy heritage Legendary horse trainer and western showman Bobby Kerr got his start in Ridgeville

BY BRIAN GREEN Special to the Voice Among the many events cancelled during the pandemic last year was the CanAm Horse Expo in Markham, which was to have featured legendary horse trainer and western rider, Bobby “Mustang Man” Kerr, of Hico, Texas. Kerr has performed across North America with his trained mustangs, wild horses rescued from their destinations as dog food and adopted to star in his shows.

Called “a household name in the rodeo world,” by Cowgirl Magazine (yes, that’s a thing) for his “passion for the western way of life” and “his innate ability to communicate with and train mustangs that has earned him many prestigious honors,” including being named the 2017 PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) Specialty Act of the Year, Kerr has a schedule of performances that would dizzy a rock band. He is founder of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas and in January beat 50 other trainers to take home the $50,000 first prize at the Mustang Makeover Championship in Fort Worth.

Bobby Kerr may be the consummate western horse trainer and cowboy, but he got his start not in Texas or Oklahoma or Wyoming, but growing up at the intersection of Effingham and Canboro in Ridgeville.

Kerr credits the Bishop Family, of 4B Ranch on Roland Road in Pelham, with giving him his start in the cowboy arts. The Bishops trace the origin of their nine decades of Western shows back to the late 1800s when a young Tom Bishop, the grandfather of the current Tom Bishop Jr., saw the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in London, England. He was inspired, and eventually emigrated to Canada, where he and his brother founded the 4B Ranch and began touring a Wild West Show of their own.

The family business of western entertainment continued into the ‘60s with Tom senior and wife Jan (Aylett) along with his sister Lorna and her husband Chuck Aylett performing their trick riding, roping, and cowboy lore for audiences across Canada and the United States. Now Tom junior has taken the reins and continues the family tradition with Wild West shows at fairs and rodeos, but a major part of the work is wrangling for TV shows and motion pictures, including Murdoch Mysteries, Salem Witch Trials, and dozens of commercials.

Bobby Kerr says his interest in horses and shows started “down the road at the Bishops,” where he watched the family practice with horses getting ready to go out on the road to perform. Jan Bishop remembers young Bobby’s fascination with the Bishops’ skills.

“Chuck and Lorna taught him to ride and helped him get his first horse. Lorna was also his school teacher,” Jan recalls. At 14, badly bitten by the cowboy bug, Bobby learned of a mammoth horse training and sales operation in Smithton, Illinois and decided to run away from home to get work with Cletis Hollings as a horse trainer. Finally tracked down by his worried parents, Bobby was hauled back to Ridgeville, where his mother enlisted his school principal, Mr. Hoag, to lecture him on staying home and going to school. However, after talking with the boy, Hoag told the parents that Bobby knew exactly what he wanted to do, unlike most kids his age, and maybe they should let him do it. His parents took him to Buffalo the next day and put him on the Greyhound bus to Illinois.

He worked for Hollings for several years, then split his time between winters in the US and summers working for horse trainer Dale Purdy in Ontario, until Purdy moved to Hico, Texas. Bobby followed and has never left Hico, where his training and show operation is still based while he travels across North America to more than 100 shows a year. Kerr still stops by Pelham and checks in with the Bishops while visiting his mother, who now lives in Niagara Falls.

While he says that Ridgeville was “not what you would call cowboy country,” he fondly remembers his first contact with the Bishop family. “I was a little kid delivering TV Guides and I’d ride my bike past their place and see them between rodeos… and I just loved it. Chuck Aylet was my Roy Rogers.” From that beginning in Pelham, Bobby Kerr has become a Texas cowboy legend.

THE '60S WERE A DIFFERENT TIME, KIDS 4B cowboy Chuck Aylett twirls his six-shooter for a group of pediatric patients at an unnamed "city hospital."

1967 4B RANCH YEARBOOK

I was a little kid delivering TV Guides and I’d ride my bike past their place and see them between rodeos

Above, Bobby "Mustang Man" Kerr, formerly of Ridgeville, now of Hico, Texas.

BOBBYKERR.NET Left, 4B Ranch's Canada Centennial Year program. Bottom, as captioned in the program, "Recognized as one of the best trick ropers of today, Tom Bishop spins out a giant wedding ring loop for the camera on 'Baldy.'"

1967 4B RANCH YEARBOOK

Page 12

The Voice

COLUMN SIX

continued from Page 1 canning factory, which is now a set of apartments on Pelham Street, beside the transformer station.

When I was 7, in 1961, two groups of cousins joined the club of the Abnormals. Two of my cousins lost their father to cancer. The same year my three cousins from Niagara-on-the-Lake lost their mother and they were now part of the club. They were on my mother’s side of the family through my grandfather, but they were all in the same age group as my sisters and me. For two years, when I was 7 to 9, my father was having heart troubles, and then one day right around my birthday it happened. The ambulance came and he was gone forever. Now my mother became a widow and my sisters and I became part of the Abnormals.

It started out gradually, because we did not have to move, but little by little things began to change for us. We still went to church every Sunday. I was soon becoming very tired and bored with this routine. As the only boy I always had to tag along with the women.

We started out in the morning, with my mother driving our car with her mother in the front seat with my little sister between them. My other sister and I sat in the back until we got to Fonthill to pick up my other grandmother. After this we proceeded up Pelham Street past the Anglican Church on the left. Turned right on

20 Highway. Went past the Baptist church on the right, which later became a guns and ammunition store, and arrived at the United Church at the top of the hill to drop my grandmother off. She would now have to fend for herself for the rest of the day. She would always get a ride home with friends from her old community up on Cataract Road.

Then it was on to the Kirk-on-the-Hill. Yes, Fonthill had a lot of churches in those days. It still does. I was still being trained as a Traditional. The early years had Sunday school for kids, but now I was older, listening to the sermons year after year.

By age 10, I got in the habit of walking to my other grandmother’s home in Fonthill after church because I got tired waiting for my mother and grandmother catching up on the local gossip. My little sisters had no choice.

I would enjoy cookies and milk while waiting for my ride home. I am sure my grandmother enjoyed me stopping in. I was the eldest son of her eldest son. There were nine kids in the family and according to Scottish tradition I was now the head of the clan.

This Sunday morning ritual continued for a couple more years. But by age 12, when my mother asked me if I wanted to join the church, I said no. She made me join anyway. So much for freedom of choice. By this time their stays after church became even longer, so I said to my other grandmother I am going to start walking through the valley. She

A March 3, 2021

would tell them I had already left when they came to pick me up, but I usually made it home before they came along on the road. I had already changed my clothes and was hanging out with my grandfather, who never had to go with us to church.

I guess there was not enough room in the car. Yes, church life was definitely their cup of tea, not mine. So now I am not only one of the Abnormals, I am now becoming stronger as an Independent Abnormal.

By age 12, I was working at Goldring’s Farm, a greater source of escape, and I was hanging out at Effingham Park with my friends. My time attending church had now ended forever. It was rewarding to work for my own money. I worked as much as I could helping on the farm. In the early years I and a friend would clean house, wash and wax floors, and do anything that was asked of us by the elderly couple and their two daughters, who were the traditional old-English type.

[See Sidebar, The Goldring Family of Effingham, next page.]

I believe we landed these jobs because my friend’s mother worked for the other Goldrings. The younger Mr. Goldring, his wife and family lived in the other side of their shared home, with separate entrances. Mrs. Goldring was also a teacher at St. Johns School. Our boss was a gentleman farmer with a refined English accent. The younger Mr. Goldring was a lawyer in Fonthill. My friend was also in scouts with me as well as many of the lads in

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The Goldring farm, "Orchard Hill," date unknown. the community. He was the head of the pack as a sixer in scouts. I was a second in command. Our meeting area was at the old firehall. Many of our fathers were volunteer firemen.

Soon we began working in the Goldring’s gardens doing groundworks. We then advanced to working on the farm. Operating farm tractors and equipment, as well as operating the old Chevy pickup truck, with a threeon-the-column shifter, became our livelihood. Many of our friends as well as my little sisters and other girls in the neighborhood also started working on the farm.

We still all attended school, but if we were not working on the farm, especially in the summers months, you would always find us down at Effingham Park.

One of the hardest parts

of becoming an Abnormal was to ask some of my friends if I could sit with them at the father-andson banquets at the Allanburg Community Centre. My mother would always volunteer to work in the kitchen on these occasions and she did not want me to miss out on all the events associated with scouting. I always felt awkward, but my different friends' families were always willing to let me join them.

I also remember another time that my mother went the extra mile for myself and of course my little sisters. We used to have bicycle rodeos at the St. Johns Public School, learning how to operate our bicycles in a safe and efficient manner. Staying within the lines of the figure-8, as well as slowing your bicycle down to a stop,

PELHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY

and of course using your out stretched arms for your turn signals. This year I won the opportunity to go and compete with the best riders in Niagara at the public school at Black Horse Corners, in Allanburg.

Unfortunately, the Saturday morning of the competition I had a flat tire.

We were short of time as it was and I said not to worry about it, but as with the scouts my mother did not want me to miss out. So we had to head to Thorold to get the tire repaired. We loaded my bike in the trunk of our old grey Studebaker and off we went. It was close but we got to Black Horse Corners with my bike repaired.

Again, I was going to throw in the towel but my mother worked to make sure I could compete with the others. I came in second place, but I sure was a winner that day.

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Although I did not want to attend church any more, I still got along good with my mother, grandparents and sisters. Sometimes we would go to St. Andrews Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake together. As long as my grandfather went, I would also go. It was cool, this old -fashioned Scottish church with its wooden pews boxed-in for certain elders. Afterwards we would go for a picnic along the Niagara River and later end up at my uncle and aunt’s farm in NOTL. This was my grandfather’s youngest sister. He had five but they were still older than him. My cousins were also there so we hung out the rest of the day with them. They were the other Abnormals I mentioned earlier. They too spent a lot of time with their grandparents. Their dad was a produce inspector for the government and travelled to Toronto every day.

Like my mom he relied a lot on his parents to safeguard his children.

Between 12 and 16, I was able to save up $1000. To young kids now that does not seem like much.

But when you work for 85 cents an hour and pick plums for 7 cents a basket, plus pears, grapes and apples for 25 cents a bushel, it does take a long time to save.

During this time, I also bought a new transistor radio and a reelto-reel tape recorder.

Along with the phonograph I received for Christmas, I became very updated with the music of this era. Yes, the music of the ‘50s and ‘60s was creating a new youthful attitude of rebellion and non-acceptance of traditional values in society. Whether it was in Los Angeles or New York or the small ghost town of St. Johns West, change was in the wind.

School and many of my teachers became less important as I

became stronger. They seemed fractured and unwilling to accept change. One particular teacher I liked discredited me because of my abilities. I once drew a grasshopper freehand for a science project. It was so good he thought I cheated and traced it, and thus challenged my integrity. Needless to say, he became just another member of our intellectual society that governs the education system.

So again, as with church I lost interest in school and just worked harder at making my own money. Needless to say, during this time my friends which I classified as the Traditionals were becoming disillusioned with their own family backgrounds. We all seemed to be on neutral ground.

All hoping for a brighter future.

In our early teen years all we neighborhood kids wanted to do was hang out with each other and enjoy life. Wow, not much different from the kids today.

We were still all innocents. Sure, some of us a little more daring than the others but we were all a good bunch. Swimming in the summer, skating in the winter.

Going to Merrittville Speedway on a Saturday night, hanging out at Effingham Park, playing pinball and listening to the jukebox until the early dawn, our parents and grandparents all safely nestled in bed after we had sneaked out from our tents, treehouses or summer cottages.

A few of the local neighbours would label us as troublemakers because we were riding our bikes or walking these rural roads at all hours of the day or night. Basically, these were the ones who were very judgmental to begin with. The Short Hill folks were also a good bunch and I am sure we were not much different than they were in their youth.

Page 13

A March 3, 2021

I do remember a time when I asked one of the girls, Nancy, to go with me to a Grade 9 dance at E. L.Crossley. Much to my surprise, her dad said no, that he didn’t want her hanging around “that boy.” He told his daughter that I and my his friends were nothing but trouble. (Yet they had moved in to the area only a couple years before.) Ah, the price you pay when you become an Independent Abnormal.

By the time I turned 16 my mom had gotten remarried to a good, solid Rockaway farmer. He has been a good husband to her and a stepfather to us for over 50 years. I immediately got my driver’s license when we relocated over to his farm. It was only five miles away from my grandparents' home. I now always had access to wheels, something a lot of my friends did not have. My stepfather also transported cattle and hogs for himself and some local farmers to market. He had a good reputation in the area and was a churchman, which pleased my mother and grandparents well.

He had a blue Chevy one-ton stake truck, which he let me borrow to get around in. I am sure it did not impress any of the girls I dated, whether they were city or country girls, but I really liked driving this old truck with its four-on-the-floor shifter. I also had use of their car or my grandparent's car, but they asked for it back when false rumors circulated that I was racing against a friend of mine on Cataract Road.

With my skills of working on the farm and new skills of driving trucks, school was more and more in my rear -view mirror all the time. Get ready for the next chapter: “The Renegades of the Short Hills” This will not be about William Lyon Mackenzie, but about modern-day rebels. ◆

SIDEBAR

The Goldring family of Effingham

BY CATHERINE B. RICE Pelham Historical Society The members of the Goldring family were always interested in progress and improvement.

They were also firm supporters of church and community and the appreciation of history and heritage. They were good friends of all who lived in the neighbourhood, which to them extended beyond geographical borders. During the Second World War, each one offered his or her assistance for the good of the country.

Mr. Goldring was enthusiastic about protecting the environment long before the average person gave it much thought. He and Mrs. Goldring often took a drive through the country, noting areas which were neglected or misused. By means of letters to the newspapers, Mr. Goldring urged the readers to respect their environment, and to mend what was wrong before it was too late. In an article written on January 22, 1955, he described the drives and trails that would make our area more beautiful and encourage visitors.

About one, he said, “I want a road running along a stream of clear water coming down in a series of waterfalls from Lake Gibson,and planted on each side with flowering trees such as hawthorns and dogwoods.”

He mourned the pollution of rivers, the smoke-laden atmosphere, and garish advertising,, but the mourning was not an end in itself.

He conveyed his thoughts to others, and hoped for a good response from the inhabitants of Pelham. He considered that the Niagara Escarpment should be a parkway, with young people developing an active interest in protecting it. He pleaded for the life of our trees, so that no community would be deprived of its rightful heritage in the way of growing things. He could not understand why “highways should be bare and drab,” and felt that rural roads should be kept in shape with no billboards, and with trees bordering them once again.

When Mr. and Mrs. Goldring bought their home in Effingham, it was a mixed farm where the topsoil was washing down the steep, bare hillsides. When they took up residence in 1934, Mr. Goldring began changing it to a fruit farm, sparing no effort to improve the situation. He planted hundreds of forest trees on the hillsides, so ending the persistent erosion, and improved the soil of the farm by cultivating, fertilizing and

Wallace Goldring, 1883-1975, born in London, England, and Madeline Isobel Grace (Denison) Goldring, 1890-1975, born in Orangeville, Ontario.

PELHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY

underdraining. Many black walnut trees were placed in the former pasture fields, and black locusts along the roadside.

On June 28, 1973, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority wrote Mr. Goldring a very complimentary letter stating that they were most appreciative of his work and leadership in conservation over these many years.

Mr. Goldring's wish for the perpetuation of trees lives on. When Mr. Lou Bowman was the principal of E.L. Crossley Secondary School,, he leased seven acres on the east side of the Goldring farm, dedicating the use of it to conservation, with pupils from his school annually planting trees under his direction. The Carolinian forest is represented, as tulip trees are thriving on the site, along with valuable walnut trees which actually grow to a height of 40 or 50 feet before bearing any branches. Visits to the Goldring Woodlot by elementary school students are now part of the programme of the St. John's Outdoor Studies Centre.

Pelham Historical Society Calendar, 1996

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The Voice

A March 3, 2021

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Are you missing some property? Bench summons issued in Niagara Police looking to return stolen goods

Effingham pedestrian fatality

BY VOICE STAFF Since last December, 3 District (Welland/ Pelham) uniform officers with the Niagara Regional Police Service have been investigating thefts from vehicles in the area of Highway 20 and Effingham Street, in Ridgeville.

As a result, police say, detectives located multiple items of stolen property.

Officers are now looking to identify the

owner of the property.

Anyone who was a victim of a theft from a motor vehicle in December, in the area of Highway 20 and Effingham, and is missing a box set of music, bag of clothes, shoes, glasses, a tire gauge and books, is asked to contact officers with specific information about the items by emailing david.sinclair@ niagarapolice.ca

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BY DON RICKERS Voice Correspondent A former Pelham resident who was behind the wheel when he allegedly struck and killed a 66-year-old Ridgeville woman walking along Effingham Street, on November 30, 2019, has been issued with a bench summons.

Michael Bond, 54, is charged under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act with careless driving causing death, driving while under suspension, driving with no valid vehicle license, and operating an unsafe vehicle.

He was to have appeared in a teleconferenced court session on Tuesday, February 23, but was a no-show.

Bond previously told the court that he had no legal

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Bond was supposed to call me. I’m more than happy to help, but I have not been retained, there has been no disclosure, and I have no instructions.”

Assistant Crown Attorney Andrew Brown agreed with the presiding judge, Her Worship Lourdes Cruz, that a bench summons was appropriate in order to locate Bond and apprise him of the new teleconference court date, which is April 7 at 1:30 PM. A bench summons is a formal command to police to find charge individuals, and if necessitated, to arrest them and bring them before the court.

“The Crown is very concerned about Mr. Bond’s lack of attendance today.

He hasn't retained counsel, and it is incumbent upon him to be available for this appearance,” said Brown.

“It seems to me that if one is facing charges like this, it would be front and centre on his mind.”

Brown said he was equalGreat ideas will be served. ly concerned that the case dates back to November 30 Friday of May2019, 1st at 12:00pm and involves a fatality.

Ben-Eliezir said that he had sent a number of texts to Bond, and indicated that This seminar is being presented during his initial contact as a webinar. with him, “he was very responsive, and did not appear to be running away from the problem.”

The court clerk noted that Bond had attended most of his previous court appearance dates, and suggested it may be a situation where he is unable to charge his phone due to his living circumstances. Bond is apparently homeless at this stage, having be evicted from his stepmother’s residence in Pelham.

Ben-Eliezir told the court that he did have an address for Bond, which he would not disclose.

“I will undertake, as an officer of the court, to write to him care of that address, and let him know what occurred today.”

He also asked the court for the phone number of Bond’s step-mother, in the hope of reaching out to Bond for a response.

representation, due to his inability to afford a lawyer. Toronto-based lawyer Lawrence Ben-Eliezer appeared in the teleconference on Bond’s behalf, but noted that he had not been officially retained as his counsel.

Ben-Eliezer told the court that he had spoken with Bond several weeks ago regarding an issue with his legal aid certificate, in that it inaccurately specified charges in criminal court, not traffic court.

Ben-Eliezer contacted Ontario Legal Aid on Bond’s behalf, and took the necessary steps to have the certificate amended. He has not heard from Bond in the interim.

“At the present time, I have no idea where he is,” said Ben-Eliezer. “Mr.

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least as well as the Town’s sidewalks. I am sure the cost of such maintenance would be minimal and given the closure of certain Town facilities, I am confident that especially this year Town maintenance staff could be redeployed to do this job.

As citizens have recently pointed out during the controversy over possible new subdivision roads crossing the trail, this part of it is a wonderful recreational resource for our town. Why not maximize its use and safety by maintaining it year-round?

Barry Ray Fonthill

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

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A March 3, 2021

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South Niagara hospital project moves ahead

BY DON RICKERS CARDVoice MAKING WORKSHOP Correspondent

PELHAM LIBRARY Make six cards with fall themes, learning a variety of techniques. Materials The long-awaited news regarding the Proposals (RFP), from which a winning are provided. At time of registration,forplease enquire about tools needed. construction of a “super hospital” in the bid will be selected in the fall of 2021. southern tier of Niagara was shared via The South will include Tues., Sept. 16 10 – 12:30. $10. Please register Niagara ahead. hospital Visit www.pelhamZoom meeting in mid February, delivered “centres of excellence” in stroke care, gerilibrary.on.ca or call 905-892-6443 for more details.

by Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff be- atric psychiatry, and aging and wellness.

fore an online assembly of politician stakeOosterhoff commented that the money holders and healthcare executives. invested in the two hospitals, “will ensure FABULOUS FENWICK LIONS FISH FRY Infrastructure Ontario and Niagara patients and their families receive the best Tasty withcharge funds toheading straight backcare,” into the Haddock, Health willtreats lead the bring the possible andcommunity. was excited that, “next state-of-the-art, 1.2 million squareRuns foot Sept. generation health french fries and much more.

9 fromof4-7 p.m.care technologies is facility to fruition by 2026. The hospital being implemented.” will be built at a site at the corner of MonOthers who spoke at the virtual antrosePELHAM and BiggarMINOR Roads, HOCKEY in Niagara EQUIPMENT Falls, nouncement SALEwere Lynn Guerriero, Preswith spades in the ground potentially by ident and interim CEO of Niagara Health, Buy, sell or trade used equipment atMPP theRobin Pelham Arena.

Aimed toassistant provide late 2022.

Martin, parliamentary It was a goodoptions week forfor healthcare to the Minister of Health, cheaper players inin the this upcoming season.

RunsNiagara Sept. 6Region from Niagara Region, as a provincial govern- Chair Jim Bradley, Niagara Falls Mayor Jim in the morning. ment9-12 announcement on the prior Monday Diodati, Welland Mayor Frank Campion, committed some $15 million towards the Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates, Fort Erie design and construction a new West Lin- Mayor Wayne Redekop, and Port Colborne PELHAMHospital MUDFEST coln Memorial (WLMH) in Grims- Mayor Bill Steele. by. The new WLMH will will havebe a capacity Although was not at the Men and women back inofthe mud as theshe second run present on the year is 61 beds, a large 24 hour emergency depart- Zoom announcement, Deputy Premier and held at Bissil’s Hideaway. ment, modern maternity and surgical ser- Minister of Health Christine Elliott did vices, and outpatient care for minor surgi- comment through a media release, notcal procedures.

NIAGARA REGIONAL EXHIBITIONing that the government is “committed Overall costs for the South Niagara hos- to building a connected, patient-centered games live$1entertainment headline exciting event.

It pital Rodeo, are expected to and exceed billion. A public healththis careyears system, and ending hallNiagara Health press release notes that the way health care.” runs from Sept. 11-14 at the Welland Fairgrounds. project “will be priced through a rigorous Gates spoke to the need for good-paying competitive process to ensure value for the jobs as Niagara emerges from the pandemtaxpayers of Ontario.” ic, and encouraged Infrastructure Ontario BIG MOVE CANCER RIDE The next step is to identify and select a to consider using local workers and local Bigthe Move Cancer is a non-competitive taking placeofon teamThe to run project, basedRide on submisbusinesses in ride the construction theSept. new sions7. ofProceeds Request For Qualifications (RFQ,), hospitals, given that, “we have some of the for the Big Move stay in Niagara and support the Walker Famwhich detail a company’s design, con- most highly-skilled workers in the provily Cancer Centre.management ex- ince of Ontario.” struction, and facilities perience, and establishes that the company Diodati underscored the reality of Niaghas the qualified personnel and financial ara’s demographic curve which includes a WALKING CLUB capacity to undertake a project of this size significant number of seniors, and stressed and complexity.

Three shortlisted compa-Join that “good health care is especially top of Interested in walking in Pelham? them Tuesdays at the Pelham Arena nies will then be asked to prepare a Request mind” for an aging population.

from 9-10 am and Thursdays at Fonthill Bandshell for 9-10:30 am. There is no fee for this program. For more information, please contact jcook@ pelham.ca or call 905 892-2607, ext 329.

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The Voice

A March 3, 2021

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Concordia Lutheran Church 105 Welland Rd., Fonthill

Fonthill Baptist Church www.fonthillbaptistchurch.ca

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

Ridgeville Bible Chapel ridgevillebiblechapel.com

Fenwick Church of Christ www.fenwickchurchofchrist.ca

Fonthill United Church www.fonthillunited.com

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

St. Alexander Roman Catholic Church www.stalexander.on.ca

Fenwick United Church www.fenwickunited.com

Glad Tidings Church of God www.gladtidingschurchofgod.com

Pelham Community Church (United Church) www.pelham.cc

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FAITH LIFT

continued from Page 19 idence for a divinely created universe. In what he calls the “crime scene of the universe,” he finds fingerprints pointing to the existence of God. His third book, Forensic Faith (2017), makes the case for a more reasonable, evidential Christian faith, and challenges believers to be "case makers" who know how to both investigate and communicate the Christian worldview.

Wallace and his wife, Susie, mother of four, together produced youth versions of his books called Cold-Case Christianity for Kids and God's Crime Scene for Kids. Their purpose is to show children how to think rather than just what to think. These resources are supplemented by an interactive online academy — www.CaseMakersAcademy.com.

Similarly, the book So the Next Generation Will Know, by Wallace and apologist Sean McDowell, is designed to help parents, youth leaders and Christian teachers train the next generation with a Christian worldview. All this (and more) is on his website – www.coldcasechristianity.com.

Who would have thought that a homicide detective would use the tools of his trade to come to a living faith? And then help others do the same. ◆ Rob Weatherby is a retired pastor.

LIONS PITCH IN The Fenwick Lions Club has contributed $500 toward the Gervason family’s GoFundMe effort to raise $250,000 for surgery in the US to restore their son Emmett’s full hearing ability. As of Monday, the total raised so far was just over $57,000. From left, the Gervasons with Lion Chief Ron Acaster and member Bert Marissen.

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COUNCIL

continued from Page 3 if this meant council would not support the commission aspect of the proposal.

“For clarity, all you’d be saying is you don’t like a full commission,” Cribbs said. “They are hoping for some constructive feedback.”

The CAO added that the Region had been working on the transit proposal for eight years.

“How many Pelham people were involved in the eight-year project?” Ward 2 Councillor Ron Kore asked.

“To my knowledge, none directly,” the CAO said.

“So, point taken,” Kore stridently replied.

Stewart asked for clarity that no commitment was

BALANCED LIFE

continued from Page 18 ry purpose is to facilitate business travel and hasten the country’s reopening.

Business travelers within Denmark will be able to return to in-person meetings, trade shows, etc. by proving they have been vaccinated.

A more sophisticated digital system, which will integrate Denmark into anticipated international databanks, is due by June, and Sweden is working on a similar system.

There is no consensus on the need for such systems, how to ensure privacy and security, whether they can be ethical and equitable, or if they will be effective.

Even those within the same industry cannot agree.

The World Travel and Tourism Council, a global network of private sector travel and tourism businesses, has aligned itself with the International Chamber of Commerce, Airports Council International, and other interest groups, in wanting international travel to be allowed without waiting for vaccinations and certification processes.

The WTTC issued a statement in December, saying, “[Vaccinations) must not be a requirement to travel, as this will further delay the revival of the already ailing travel and tourism sector, which needs to restart

The Voice

Page 17

A March 3, 2021

being made. At this point Bozzato shared her Zoom screen with members, and a motion she drew up unsolicited that read council wouldn’t support the idea because it feels it won’t sufficiently be represented.

That motion passed.

Olson then tabled an idea he had brought up before, in which the Town could reject the transit public transit option and instead partner with ride-sharing service Uber, mirroring a similar setup in the Town of Innisfi l, south of Barrie.

“I don’t predict success with this, so I would like to see a study with the Uber model,” Olson said. “We still do need transit.”

Cribbs advised waiting on that, as the Region’s transit plan will ultimately be sub-

ject to a “triple majority” vote where Pelham could have no say in the matter— although it’s unclear if the Town would be obligated to participate financially.

“If enough municipalities that represent enough population of Niagara vote to make this happen, then it will happen over our objection,” the CAO said. We may not have control over our destiny in that regard.”

He reiterated that the Region is still in the consultancy stage, and that concerns from the likes of Pelham are supposed to be addressed before any vote.

Kore asked Cribbs if the votes of St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland alone would be enough to carry the proposal.

Cribbs said no.

“They have the population, but they are only three out of [12] municipalities,” he said, adding that Niagara’s mid-size municipalities would also need to support.

However, Niagara-on-the-Lake has already endorsed the proposal, and the suburban nature of Thorold in relation to St. Catharines may make it likely they would follow suit.

“It’s possible it would be the north against the south, really?” Kore said, chuckling.

“Civil War,” said Wink.

“Can we secede?” said Stewart, referring to the slave-holding Confederate States of America breaking away from the U.S. in 1861, sparking a confl ict that led

to some 600,000 deaths.

“A kinder, gentler, Niagara-style civil war,” Cribbs added.

Separate to the integration proposal is the matter of Pelham’s current on-demand transit system. The Town is expected to sign on to the ongoing Regional pilot project for another year, but Hildebrandt voiced concern that staying with the pilot would mean signing on to the commission model. Wink said he was concerned about the cost of extending the current system.

Cribbs said it would be a “gargantuan amount of work” to fi nd an alternative, and that the cost to Pelham is currently $178,800 — an amount that

would more than double if the Town ran a bus system on its own.

Cribbs and vanRavenswaay encouraged councillors to provide feedback and concerns regarding the existing system. Hildebrandt again complained about technical issues with the service.

“Niagara Region Transit for anyone without a smartphone is a disaster,” he said.

Staff was directed to report back on existing service concerns at the April 6 meeting. Treasurer Teresa Quinlin said that Pelham will receive $53,000 from the gas tax this year, and $100,000 from a community transit grant, leaving the actual cost to the Town just shy of $26,000.

now to save itself, millions of jobs in the sector and beyond, and the global economy.”

Christine Lehmann, an American health-focused journalist, reported that just one month earlier, Alan Joyce, the CEO of Australian Qantas Airways, said, “Once a coronavirus vaccine is available, passengers hoping to fly on [Qantas] would need to prove they had taken it. I think that’s going to be a common thing, talking to my colleagues in other airlines around the globe.”

Medical science has yet to prove that being vaccinated reduces one’s ability to transmit the virus, so some countries like Greece, that are heavily dependent on tourism, use this as justification to favour spot-testing before departure and after arrival.

Security, the certainty that any type of vaccination proof is not fraudulent, will require a massive international cooperation effort, including the latest digital technology. The yellow card that I used to enter Ethiopia was first introduced in the Netherlands in 1933, and has been unchanged for decades.

Integrity Mchechesi, co-founder of Vaxiglobal, a tech start up in Zimbabwe dedicated to immunization verification, studied yellow card authenticity in his home country.

He found

that 80 percent of the yellow cards presented at the capital city Harare’s main bus station were fraudulent.

He also noted that he could have purchased a fake coronavirus vaccination card on the street for 10 Euros, while the cost of a vaccination is 60 Euros.

When I pulled my own yellow card out of its pouch to reexamine for this story, I was reminded how things never change. Upon opening it, a U.S. $10 bill fell out, still hidden there for the next time I might have had to produce the card in Africa.

The World Health Organization is moving quickly on many fronts to develop a standardized digital proof-of-vaccination card under the umbrella of its International Health Regulations (IHR), but it will be an enormous task. Coronavirus is not part of the IHR’s legal framework, which defines the rights and obligations of individual countries when dealing with public health crises which have the potential to expand beyond their borders.

Bernardo Mariano, WHO’s Director of Digital Health Innovation, said recently, “Some countries already require a negative COVID-19 test to enter, and the next evolution of that will be requiring proof of vaccination.

For a COVID-19 vaccination certificate to become compulsory for travel the world

over, it would have to be part of the IHR, and that process would take a long time.”

WHO is working with governments and private technology companies, and hopes to have data privacy issues and defined vaccination certificate standards established by this April.

They cite the VISA credit card system as an example of secure information gathering and dispersal that is trusted the world over.

As someone who would prefer to sit on an airplane with other passengers who can prove they have been vaccinated, and shown via swab or temperature testing upon boarding they are not infected with coronavirus, will I be accused of denying others their civil liberties?

Yes says Allan Richarz, a privacy lawyer from Toronto, in a February 4t CBC opinion piece.

He wrote, “No vaccine, no service? As the distribution of the much-anticipated coronavirus vaccine continues its rollout worldwide, there is troubling talk from governments and organizations over requiring evidence of vaccination to obtain goods and services such as airline flights post-pandemic. The requirement to carry some form of post-vaccine certificate in order to fully participate in a re-opened society is an unacceptable violation of civil liberties. Such require-

ments are ripe for backsliding towards discrimination and stigma, as well as creating inequitable outcomes globally, with the harms arising far outweighing the purported benefits.”

Richarz follows with the expected examples: staggered rollouts within various age groups in developed countries favor the aged and affluent, under-provision of vaccines to certain racial and ethnic groups in countries like the United States, and inequities in global availability of vaccines.

He drives his point home by citing the historically factual denial of services such as accommodations, air travel, educational and employment opportunities to HIV-positive individuals just two decades ago.

I experienced this slippery slope of preferential treatment by nationality (in a benign way) as I watched a friend travelling under a Dutch European Union passport pay an immigration fee of $25 to enter Chile, then being told my fee was $125 for the same service because I had a Canadian passport.

Apparently Canada and

Chile weren’t getting along just then for some reason.

If discrimination can be this simple and blatant, it is hard to deride Richarz concerns.

How does the “who cares” of this column’s headline fit in? Once vaccinated, each of us must search our conscience before we board that airplane. Yes, I can finally use the $150 deposit I left with Sydney, of Friends Travel Vietnam, 15 months ago to shuttle me and my bicycle deep into northern Vietnam, knowing I am now protected from the coronavirus. But until the science confirms that I can’t spread COVID-19 variants, is it responsible or fair for me to travel there? Or Aruba, Cancun or Cuba — until we know the citizens of that country will be equally well protected from us?

As consumers of international travel, our job of selecting destinations and purchasing airplane or cruise tickets in the future will require a level of diligence and social understanding much more comprehensive than in the pre-pandemic era. I hope we’re up to the task. ◆

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Page 18

The Voice

A March 3, 2021

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

THE BALANCED LIFE

by John Swart

Digital vaccination certification—Centralized control, inexorable future, or who cares?

W

hen I discovered the faded sign identifying the “Immigration Controling Post” in English as well as Amharic on a side street in Metema, Ethiopia, I relaxed a degree. With my passport exit-stamped by Sudan border control an hour before, I had pedaled the streets of Metema, population 5,581, without legal status, searching for this building so that I might officially enter Ethiopia before I was arrested.

The building was the size of a classroom. There was a table to the right with two smiling individuals in civil-

ian clothes. To the left was a raised platform with chairs and an armed guard, a holding area perhaps, which I had no interest in experiencing. Directly ahead were two uniformed officials.

The friendly bureaucrats took my passport, examined it courteously, and stamped my arrival into the country as legal without fanfare. I further relaxed, and turned to go, when they directed me to the uniformed officials. These were the men that examined my “International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis,” the tattered yellow card, stamped by Canadian health

officials and approved by the World Health Organization, that proved I had been vaccinated against yellow fever.

That was February 2015, but it may foreshadow 2021 and beyond. Will a card or digital QR code certification proving vaccination for coronavirus soon be as important to travelers as their certificates of vaccination were just six years ago for yellow fever in Ethiopia?

And will it matter to us?

We’re living through lingering Trumpism and commercialized, for-profit science. How will each of us decide when and where to travel, and will we care if the person beside us on the plane has been vaccinated, as long as we have? Will we still holiday in the south next winter, not knowing if

Yesteryear's vaccination documentation. What's coming next? we can spread the disease, only that we can’t contract it—or, if we do, that the illness will be comparatively light?

Christine Elliott, Ontario’s Health Minister, is all-in on certification cards. In one of the Ford government’s periodic media briefings, she recently called vaccine certification documents essential.

“That's going to be really important for people to have for travel purposes, perhaps for work purposes, for going to theatres or cinemas, or any other places where people will be in closer physical contact when we get through the worst of the pandemic.”

Manitoba is already working on such a “vaccine passport” for international

JOHN SWART

travel, but is facing opposition from other provinces, civil rights advocates and tourism agencies.

By the time you read this, Denmark will be the first country in the world to have introduced a simple coronavirus digital passport to be available on a national health portal. Its primaSee BALANCED LIFE Page 17

V oice HOROSCOPE ARIES – Mar 21/Apr 20 Expect to be in high demand this week, Aries. You have the time and energy to give to others, so make the most of each chance to lend someone a helping hand.

TAURUS – Apr 21/May 21 Now is a good time to focus on your relationships, Taurus. There may be a close friend who can use a little more attention from a confidante and you can fill that role.

GEMINI – May 22/Jun 21 There is work to be done, Gemini. If your work space is a tad chaotic, then hunker down somewhere less hectic. This can provide the right environment for focus.

CANCER – Jun 22/Jul 22 Cancer, make a habit of finding the silver lining to any situation.

This shift in att itude can bring more positivity and sunshine into your life, particularly when you need it most.

LEO – Jul 23/Aug 23 Shift your focus to your home life, Leo. Find various ways to make things more pleasant at home so it can be the respite that it should be.

VIRGO – Aug 24/Sept 22 You are usually better at focusing on the tasks at hand than most other astrological signs, Virgo.

Don’t be hard on yourself if you get a tad distracted in the next few days.

LIBRA – Sept 23/Oct 23 Get a firm grasp on your finances this week, Libra. Start browsing your bank accounts so you have a better idea of your spending. This way you can better plan for the future.

SCORPIO – Oct 24/Nov 22 Normally you are very good at keeping your emotions in check, Scorpio. However, letting others see what’s beneath the surface can be beneficial to you in the weeks to come.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov 23/Dec 21 Take your foot off of the accelerator, Sagittarius. You don’t have to race to the finish line; enjoy the scenery for a change. Stop as many times as you can along the way.

CAPRICORN – Dec 22/Jan 20 Capricorn, no matter how much time you want to devote to your personal goals, you just may find that other activities require much more attention than you anticipated.

AQUARIUS – Jan 21/Feb 18 Aquarius, don’t be surprised if you have your patience tested a bit this week, especially at the workplace. You’ll find a way to come out shining, however.

PISCES – Feb 19/Mar 20 Take a big, deep breath and focus on all the good things in your life, Pisces. This will help you ride out any rough spots that crop up.

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www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

The Voice

Page 19

A March 3, 2021

FAITH LIFT

by Pastor Rob Weatherby

A detective investigates Christianity

J

ames Warner Wallace is a 59-year-old American homicide detective and Christian apologist, author and pastor. Now that’s quite a combination! So, how did it happen?

His career

Wallace was born in California in 1961, and as a young man studied design and architecture at two California universities.

However, he discovered his real interest lay in police work, so after studying at the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Academy, he became an investigative detective. Wallace’s work found him involved in emergency SWAT teams, gang-related crimes and robbery -homicides.

He helped found his police department's cold-case homicide unit.

As a homicide detective, Wallace investigated several high-profi le cold-case murders. These cases led to him appearing on the NBC show “Dateline” more than any other detective in America. He also appeared several times as a homicide consultant on the TV show “Behind the Screams.” His work has earned him various medals and awards.

Purpose-Driven Life. Wallace later went to seminary earning a master's degree in theological studies.

Wallace is also a senior fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and a professor of apologetics at Biola University, in California. He has been a guest on several news broadcasts, radio shows and Christian TV programs in the U.S. and Canada. He also hosts a weekly TV show called “Cold-Case Christianity,” and appeared in the PureFlix movie “God's Not Dead 2.”

ing popularity is the four books he has written. In his first book, Cold Case Christianity (2013), the sub-title reads, “A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels.” In it he uses ten principles of coldcase homicide to test the reliability of the four Gospels in the New Testament.

A year later he took an excerpt to produce a booklet entitled, “Alive,” which presents compelling evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.

In his second book, God's Crime Scene (2015), Wallace examines eight lines of ev-

One reason for his grow-

See FAITH LIFT Page 16

His books

His faith

In 1996, Wallace became a Christian, at age 35, after he investigated the Gospels as potential eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus. His spiritual journey is similar to that of Lee Strobel, a lawyer and journalist, who made the same investigation and wrote The Case for Christ.

Wallace eventually joined the staff of Saddleback Community Church, while continuing to serve as a cold-case homicide detective. This church is pastored by Rick Warren, who wrote the best-seller, The

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The Voice

Voice

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

4 Bruschetta

Tomatoes are a versatile ingredient in many meals that are just as delicious in a garden salad as they are stewed and simmered in a favorite sauce. Tomatoes are a major source of the antioxidant lycopene, which can reduce one’s risk of heart disease and cancer.

Tomatoes also are a great source of Vitamin C, potassium, folate, and Vitamin K. It’s easy to include more tomatoes into one’s diet with tasty fixings like this light and versatile recipe for “Bruschetta” from “Vegan Cooking for Beginners” (Publications International, Ltd.) by the PIL editors. Use it when serving cocktails and snacks, or as the prelude to a larger meal.

Bruschetta Makes 8 servings 4 1⁄2 5 2 2 1⁄4 1⁄8 16

plum tomatoes, seeded and diced cup packed fresh basil leaves, finely chopped tablespoons olive oil, divided cloves garlic, minced teaspoons finely chopped oil-packed sundried tomatoes teaspoon salt teaspoon black pepper slices Italian bread

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2. Preheat oven to 375 F. Place bread on baking sheet. Brush remaining 2 tablespoons oil over one side of each bread slice. Bake 6 to 8 minutes, or until toasted.

3. Top each bread slice with 1 tablespoon tomato mixture.

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A March 3, 2021

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

JEFFERY

OBITUARY

continued from Page 1 not a bad thing or scary but it’s fun, it pushes you and it makes you a better person.”

She has always been passionate about running.

“It’s a sport that completely pushes you and makes you stronger and you realize it’s more of a mental sport than physical,” Jeffery said. “It always pushes you and even at the end where people are on the ground rolling around or puking, you know you did your best.”

Jeffery started contacting schools in Canada and the United States last summer and then posted her profile on the Next College Student Athlete recruiting website.

“From that, I got a lot of coaches emailing me and I had multiple conversations.

I was able to see all the different kinds of coaches and schools and figure out what worked for me.”

She ended up with a short list.

“Pretty much from the start, I always wanted to go to the States and I narrowed it down to three schools— the University of South Dakota, Coastal Carolina, and Washburn University.”

All three made offers to her as did other schools such as Baylor.

Washburn, an NCAA Division 2 school, ended up being her ultimate choice over the other two Division 1 schools.

“The coach asked me if I would rather be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond and I wanted to be a big fish in a small pond.”

She also loved the coach’s philosophy.

“He has the best ideas. He told me that I would still be young when I was running [in university] but I could run and be at my peak at 30 or a bit later. He told me he wanted to make sure that

John (Johannes) POULI Tessa Jeffery in competition.

BERNIE PUCHALSKI

I could run for as long as I could competitively and that’s what I want to do.”

The school itself was also a deciding factor.

“I wanted a smaller school with a low student-to-professor ratio because academics are really important to me,” she said.

“And obviously through the pandemic, we have been doing a lot of research and they have one of the better online ways of learning. If [the pandemic] is a longterm thing, I have a school that knows how to do it.”

She has set a high goal for her freshman season.

“My goal is to make it to the NCAA championships and that is what I am striving for. I am keeping that in the back of my mind as I train through the winter and through track season this year.”

She’s looking forward to the entire university experience.

“It’s meeting new people and being with a bigger team where we can all push each other.”

Jeffery plans to major in biochemistry with the longterm goal of being a pharmacist or a medical doctor.

John Pouli was born on August 3, 1941, in Almkeerk, The Netherlands, and immigrated with his family to Canada when he was six years old. He grew up in Trenton, Ontario and became a teacher. On Monday, February 15, 2021, in his 79th year, our dear husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather entered into the presence of his heavenly Father, who had “prepared a place” for him. He now has the joy of being face-to-face with his Saviour.

John leaves behind his beloved wife Marjorie and his seven children: Jeff (Traci) Pouli, Matt (Melinda) Pouli, Indu Pouli, Lia (Trent) Kilner, Rashida (Jaco) Vreugdenhil, Camille Pouli and Joel Pouli. His twelve grandchildren and one great-grandchild will forever cherish him.

He will be greatly missed by his siblings: Dirk (Willy, predeceased) Pouli, Joanne (Martin) Triemstra, Grace (George) Couperus, and all of Marjorie’s nine brothers and sisters and their spouses. He was a tender, tuneful, romantic and very beloved husband of Marjorie for 51 years and the beloved father of their children. In their words, “He was always a happy man, sweet and kind to everyone. He brought music into all our lives….” “He had a twinkle in his eyes, was a great listener, upright and godly, and showed unconditional love to all of us, his seven adopted children.” His niece wrote: “We smile to think of the joy and glory Uncle John is experiencing now as he inexhaustibly and exuberantly can sing his heart out with the angels in the presence of his Almighty Saviour! What a blessing he was; he will be remembered as a gentle soul, always ready to sing, and with many smiles and funny nicknames!” John’s life was filled with service for his Lord. He was a dedicated teacher for forty years, loved by his students. He was a gifted musician who always surrounded himself and others with music. He loved gardening, nature, canoeing, and fishing. He mostly spent his retirement in gardening to make money for the needy. His funeral was on Thursday, February 18, 2021, in the Zion Free Reformed Church of Fenwick, and his interment was at the Lane Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Come Over and Help Aid Organization Inc., a charity John loved to support.

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