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Town fires Treasurer
Column Six
Let the seller beware
As questions mount over development financing, Cari Pupo, Pelham Treasurer since 2008, is terminated for undisclosed reasons BY DAVE BURKET
The VOICE
With a little less than a month to go before the Town of Pelham is set to defend its financing of the Pelham Community Centre in front of Niagara Regional Council’s Audit Committee, it has terminated the employment of Director of Corporate Services and Treasurer, Cari Pupo. Pupo was hired as Treasurer in mid-2008, taking over when the previous incumbent, Gord Cherney, retired. She came to the Town from the French public school board, where she was Director of Administrative Services. Why Pupo was fired re-
mains unclear. Neither the Mayor, any member of Council, nor CAO Darren Ottaway responded to, or even acknowledged, requests for an explanation or comment. Marc MacDonald, Pelham’s recently hired Public Relations and Marketing Specialist, issued a short statement at midday on Monday. In its entirely it read: “The Town of Pelham announces that the Director of Corporate Services and Treasurer, Cari Pupo, is no longer employed by the Town. Ms. Pupo is an excellent accountant who has faithfully served the Town during her eight-year tenure with the municipality. The Town thanks Ms. Pupo for
her outstanding work and wishes her the best of luck in her future endeavors.” As news spread of the move on late Monday morning, several individuals in the real estate development, engineering, and construction fields contacted the Voice to express their concerns, off the record, that Pupo was being, to paraphrase, “set up to take the fall,” in the event that the Region uncovers improprieties or poor financial decisions at the Audit Committee meeting set for June 12. Pupo told the Voice on taking the job in 2008 that she was the person to make sure that budgets weren’t overspent and problems were addressed as soon as
The coin of the realm is local BY NICK SALTARELLI
Special to the VOICE
A
Former Pelham Treasurer, Cari Pupo. possible. This diligence, she said, earned her the nickname “The Cop” in her previous job. The Voice was unable to reach Pupo for comment before press time.
TOWN OF PELHAM PHOTO
Town Clerk Nancy Bozzato tells News Editor Nate Smelle that Deputy Treasurer Charolette Tunikaitis will serve as an interim replacement until a new Treasurer is hired.
Town kicks off Canada 150th celebrations in Fenwick BY NATE SMELLE
The VOICE
Pelham residents along with members of Town staff, Council and local dignitaries assembled in Centennial Park in Fenwick last Thursday afternoon to launch a series of events promoting Canada’s 150th birthday. Mayor Augustyn opened the ceremony, thanking everyone in attendance for taking the time to be a part of the celebration. He also expressed his gratitude to the Fenwick Lions Club for donating the park to the Town. “The park was named Centenni-
al Park after the Fabulous Fenwick Lions Club donated the park to the Town in Canada’s Centennial year,” said Augustyn. “That was 50 years ago and here we are 50 days away from Canada’s 150th and we thought it was very appropriate to thank the Lions for their ongoing commitment to the community and this beautiful park.” Niagara Centre’s Liberal MP Vance Badawey spoke next, telling the crowd why he sees events like these as an important symbol of national pride. Regardless of what part of the country people come
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from, he said, Canadians should be proud of what Canadians offer each other and the world. “We are quite frankly a country where throughout the years we’ve fought together, we’ve learned together, we’ve lived together and we’ve broken bread together and therefore we continue to walk together forever,” he said. “How important that is for a country to have that close-knit, that camaraderie, that family, those neighbours and these get togethers. Here in Pelham is a perfect example of that. This is a community by true
definition, which contributes to the overall fabric of the entire nation.” “Canada, I think we all agree, is the greatest country in the world, not by a little bit but by a longshot,” added Niagara West-Glanbrook MP Dean Allison speaking to the crowd. “We don’t have to look far to see that there are challenges all over the world, but in Canada we all get along, for the most part. Even different party members get along some of the time. The 150th is a great opportunity to celebrate what See 150th Page 13
WELL WORN LATIN axiom— caveat emptor— warns buyers to be wary, as indeed they should. Looking for some nice Florida real estate? Well then, do I have a deal for you! Pssst! You wanna buy a Rolex Oyster real cheap? You get the drift. Pelham is a small pond but sharks sometimes swim amongst us. While we obviously need to be careful dispensing our hard-earned cash, it’s the other side of the coin I’ll present here. Caveat venditor: Let the seller beware. As advice it’s every bit as sage. The corollary admonition to not pay far more than what something is worth is to not accept payment that is far less. There is such a thing as fair pricing, and whether we’re talking tomatoes or refrigerators there’s always a difference between wholesale and retail. Retailers have to make a living, after all, so they seek to sell at a higher price than what they have paid. It’s a matter of margins, honest and upfront. Local vendors live and die by how fair their dealSee COLUMN SIX back page
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The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
IN THE NEWS
PUBLISHER’S CORNER
More naming rights sold
by Dave Burket
Is this Council's "James Comey" moment? When news broke Monday morning that the Town had fired its Treasurer, Cari Pupo, the speculation came fast and furious, with more than a few observers likening it to #45's firing last week of FBI Director James Comey. While there is no termination letter—at least as far as we know—stating that although Pupo assured the Town on three occasions that it was not under investigation, she had to go anyway, the timing was universally seen as suspect. It hardly helps that no one in Town Hall is saying anything, at least on the record, as to the reason for Pupo's departure. Needless to say, but I say it anyway, we invite Ms. Pupo to share her point of view with us anytime. Filling teeth been very good to me... You can't say that Councillor and dentist Gary Accursi won't put his money where his mouth is. He and his wife, Mall, have donated $300,000 to the Pelham Community Centre project, purchasing in the process the naming rights to a "banquet, theatre, and multi-purpose community room." Several other contributions have come in as well. See the first story at top right. They want your wheels... Lookout Ridge wants you to show up and show off. Get your classic car over there on Saturday, June 3. Details unmissable on page 11 (isn't
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she a blue beauty?). For once a Puzzler winner... Last week we ran a mini-Puzzler in this space, asking you to explain why we chose "Strange de Gym" as the moniker for a new, occasional contributor, who happens to work out at Fonthill Fitness. We added "herb" as a hint. Well, just under the wire, Eileen Dolan, of Hamilton, whose parents Fred and Ruby Humfries live at Lookout Ridge, correctly connected the clues. Herb Caen, who would have turned 100 this year—just a whippersnapper compared to Dorothy Rungeling, of course (page 3)—was regarded as one of the originators, and certainly the master of, "Three-dot journalism," that is to say, what you are reading now. For decades, Caen wrote a daily column for the San Francisco Chronicle, and in his latter years often ran contributions from a mysterious figure known only as "Strange de Jim." Eileen took her $40 Keith's certificate and her husband to dinner, on the last night the restaurant was open. "EXCELLENT homemade food," she reports. "So tasty! The staff were all excellent too! So glad we had the opportunity to eat there before the restaurant closed." Flip a coin... Enjoy Nick Saltarelli's Column Six foray this week into principles proven, locally.
$1 million Welland winners
The Town has announced that additional funds for the new $36 million dollar Community Centre project have been raised through the sale of naming rights to locations within the complex. At a photo-op held at the Peninsula Lakes Golf Club last Thursday, the following donors and their locations were announced: The Dr. Gary and Mall Accursi Banquet, Theatre and Multi-Purpose Community Room and surrounding area ($300,000); the Pelham Minor Hockey Plaza and Entrance ($100,000); the Community of Lookout Ridge Walking Track ($75,000); the Mountainview Homes Upper Arena Lobby ($75,000); the Kinsmen Community Room ($50,000); the Willowbrook Nurseries Entrance ($50,000); the Walker Industries Viewing Galleria ($50,000); the Bissell’s Hideaway Upper Bridge ($25,000); the Daniel & Partners LLP Concession Lounge ($25,000); the Doug and Susan Burr Lower Arena Lobby ($25,000); and the Robert and Patricia Laing Family Change Rooms ($25,000). According to a Town press release, “The capital fundraising campaign will continue until all major spaces in the new PCC have been named. Following the capital fundraising campaign, the community fundraising campaign phase will get under way in late 2017 or early 2018.” Potential donors are invited to contact Martin van Zon, Fundraising Consultant at 905-332-8315 or at mvanzon@interkom.ca.
first. And be very suspicious of web links within unsolicited emails.”
Ridgeville break and enter
Occurred overnight May 9 – 10 at a business/restaurant on Canboro Road between Effingham Street and Centre Street. A small amount of beer and wine were taken.
Theft from auto
Occurred overnight May 8 – 9 from a vehicle parked in a residential driveway on Effingham Street close to Pelham Road. An iPad and some coins reported stolen. Police say that the complainant reported some other vehicles belonging to neighbours were entered, but these were not reported to the NRPS. Police advise that vehicles should be locked and valuables taken inside
Fonthill break and enter
Police report that an apartment on Pelham Street near Hurricane Road was broken into sometime between 4 PM on May 2 and 1 AM on May 3. An unknown amount of cash and jewelry were taken while residents were out for the evening.
No Pelham targets
Computer guru Steve Cunningham says that he received no calls last weekend relating to the $300 ransomware virus that hit some 200 countries, including Canada, at the end of last week. Nonetheless, he advised users to be extremely careful. “Don't open any attachments from a courier service or any financial or government office without talking to the sender
Construction trailer stolen
Police say that a white, 6’x12’, fully enclosed Carmate trailer was taken from a location on Highway 20 East, near the Welland Canal, on Saturday, May 6. Inside the trailer were equipment and three custom 7' tall by 4' wide black frame windows.
Kelly and Alan Tyrer of Welland have a million reasons to celebrate after winning the Guaranteed $1 Million Prize from the March 18 LOTTO 6/49 draw. The married couple has been playing the lottery together for almost three decades. “I was at the store to buy a few things and I decided to pick up our lottery tickets too,” shared Kelly while at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto where the pair got their big cheque. “I put the tickets away and only checked them a couple of weeks later.” Kelly found out about the couples’ win while shopping for groceries. “I used the ticket checker. I had several tickets to check when I came across our winning ticket. At first I thought we won $1,000. I asked the retailer to validate my ticket when all of a sudden I realized there were a lot more zeros on the screen. I checked my ticket again and realized it was $1 million!” After validating the ticket, Kelly left the store and went straight home to share the wonderful news with her shocked husband. “I was in a daze, I couldn’t believe it. Once I was able to comprehend what was happening I thought, ‘We will now be able to give both our daughters beautiful weddings when the time comes.’ All we could do is smile and cry for a while.” The winning ticket was purchased at Giant Tiger on Fitch Street in Welland.
Oosterhoff invites Page applicants
MPP Sam Oosterhoff is inviting Grade 7 and 8 students in Niagara West-Glanbrook to apply to the legislative page program. “The prestigious program is ideal for ambitious, responsible and community-driven youth,” said Oosterhoff. “It is a wonderful and unique learning experience.” See IN THE NEWS Page 16
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Column Six
Growing up British Part 2 of 2: Coronation to embarkation
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Apple Day comes to Fonthill
BY JULIE MANNELL
Special to the VOICE
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BALLOONING INTEREST Grade 6 student Jinja Shepherd explains her experiment on static electricity at the Glynn A. Green Public School's annual science fair last Friday. See story, page 3. NATE SMELLE PHOTO
Public meeting tonight on school issues BY VOICE STAFF As questions continue to mount regarding an email that Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn quietly sent to a District School Board of Niagara trustee last summer, Augustyn has agreed to address the issue at a public meeting scheduled for this evening, Wednesday, Feb. 8, in Fenwick. Nancy Beamer, speaking for “Names Matter,” a Pelham citizens group lobbying the DSBN to reverse its decision to rename a local public school, confirms that the meeting will be held at Fire Station #2, known locally as the Fenwick Fire Hall, starting at 7:00 PM. While the Mayor has agreed to ap-
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
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-
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bourhood in the short-term. Manager of Public Works Ryan Cook said that after discovering the issue with
the chicane the morning it first opened, the Town See CHICANE Page 5
Petition-inspired changes coming to 2017 Summerfest BY NATE SMELLE
The VOICE
Representatives from the Pelham Summerfest committee Candy Ashbee and Bill Gibson presented council with a final report on the 2016 Summerfest at the Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 21. Prompted by a story in the Voice in August about a merchant petition to move Summerfest from Pelham Street, in September Town staff met with various stakeholders to hear their complaints, promising at the time that changes in the way Summerfest was mounted would be con-
sidered. The main concerns identified during the community engagement process were security, parking, ensuring customer can access all businesses in town, and liability for damages. How to get all Pelham Street businesses to participate and finding ways to make it beneficial for them to set up a booth were also determined to be of high priority for the committee as they plan for next year’s event. Gibson told Council that the committee is addressing these concerns in a variety of ways. To improve parking, they intend to create bet-
ter signage for out-of-town visitors to designated parking areas and shuttle services. To make participation in Summerfest more enticing to local businesses, they plan to implement a tiered-charge for booths. Under the new system, Pelham Street business owners will be charged the least, other local businesses will pay a slightly higher fee, and vendors from outside Pelham will pay the most. In response to more specific issues for individual businesses, they will also slightly alter the footprint of the event and make adjustments to security. Another way the committee plans
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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
Full service. Full-time Realtor. Your Fonthill real estate connection.
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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.
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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
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Second year Beaver with the 3rd Fonthill Group, Russell Letford offers a fresh apple to shoppers in Pelham during the 2015 Apple Day campaign. SUPPLIED PHOTO
A longtime Canadian tradition, Apple Day began in 1932 in Saint John, New Brunswick, when Scouts handed out 21,000 apples as a way to say thank you to the community. In return for their generosity, many people offered them donations. From then on Scouts have reached out through Apple Day to raise funds for their programs.
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Column Six It doesn’t get better than Autumn
Longtime Scouting tradition dates to 1932
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Column Six
BY VOICE STAFF The District School Board of Niagara is requesting that the Town of Pelham cede a portion of Cherry Ridge Park for use as a soccer field to serve the students of the new Wellington Heights Public School, formerly the E. W. Farr Memorial Public School, in Fenwick. Currently under renovation and expansion, the new school will combine students and staff from the previous school and Pelham Centre, where classes are being held while construction continues. Two letters, containing virtually identical text but signed by different authorities, were sent last week to nearby residents of the park, as well as to parents of Pelham Centre students. “The DSBN is currently building onto Wellington Heights Public School on Alsop Drive,” states the letter. “The size of the school's addition means the existing small soccer field will be eliminated. The Town and the Board have been discussing the possibility of working together to create a field for both the school and the
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“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
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The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
Page 3
Public libraries and the Provincial Culture Strategy BY KIRK WEAVER
CEO Pelham Library
Dorothy Rungeling at home last week in Fonthill.
DAVE BURKET PHOTO
Dorothy Rungeling celebrates 106 BY NATE SMELLE
The VOICE
They seemed to take so long to make decisions, and the place was full of tobacco smoke
women in aviation. She was the first Canadian woman to attain a commercial air license, and to compete in international air races. She entered several Canadian and International aviation contests, including: All Women’s International Air Races, the Women’s
Transcontinental Air Races, and the Canadian Governor-General’s Cup Air Race. At the age of 99, Rungeling added to her list of firsts by becoming the oldest Canadian woman to fly a helicopter solo. In 1964, Rungeling’s pioneering spirit led her to pursue a career in municipal politics. She became the first woman to serve as a Councillor in Pelham. Though looking back, she appreciates having the experience and having the opportunity to serve the community she loves, Rungeling said she wouldn’t do it again even if she were younger. “They seemed to take so long to make decisions, and the place was full of tobacco smoke. Everybody was smoking in those days. It wasn’t pleasant.” In her 106 years, Rungeling said she has seen the Town change tremendously. Acknowledging that the
While most of the funding we receive comes from the local property tax base, we do rely on provincial funding for a significant portion of our operating funds
were reduced there would be a negative impact on our ability to deliver services. We also receive funding provincially to support internet capacity. This funding has been cut in recent years limiting our ability to expand capacity to meet growing digital demand. Having noted the risks of reduced funding, it is important to acknowledge that there is potential opportunity here for Pelham and similar libraries. We are well positioned in Pelham to support provincial objectives around community hubs. Our strategic plan is clear about our desire to engage, encourage and enrich the community. We want to be a community space where people come to learn, interact, and
grow. We also serve a community with a significant rural component. Access to reliable digital services and tools is important to many in this community. With the stated priorities in the provincial strategy we are hopeful that our community will benefit from this ongoing review. We encourage you to look for opportunities to let the Province know your thoughts about the importance of public libraries in communities like Pelham. This may be through your local representatives or through opportunities that the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport may offer over the next few months. You can find out about those opportunities at your local library.
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Friends and family of Canadian flying ace Dorothy Rungeling gathered in the main foyer of Lookout Ridge Retirement Home on last Friday to celebrate her 106th birthday. Prior to the celebration, Rungeling took time to speak with the Voice about her remarkable life story. Rungeling’s passion for flying, and her love of the community where she grew up, have changed the face of Canadian aviation and helped shape the local landscape. Credited for her work helping to save the Niagara Central Airport, it was renamed the Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport in 2015. In 2003, Rungeling was awarded the Order of Canada for her many accomplishments in aviation. Despite these honours, Rungeling’s path to becoming a pilot was not a simple one. Out of fear that people would be upset by the idea of a female pilot, Rungeling said she didn’t tell anyone — including her family — that she was training to get her pilot’s licence. “It was a secret of mine,” she said. “Nobody knew I was learning to fly because I thought everybody would be against it, but they weren’t.” The last time Rungeling piloted an airplane was in the early 1970s, however she recalls her first flight in 1948 as if it were yesterday. “My first flight up, there were very few instruments on the panel at that time” Rungeling explained. “I looked at them and I don’t know what happened. I was scared to death when I first got in the airplane and then when I came out I was all for learning.” She remembers how odd it felt in the beginning, sitting stationary at the controls while flying. “[Up in the sky] there’s a strange feeling of not moving,” she said. “I remember asking the instructor, ‘When are we going to start moving?’ He started to laugh and said we were doing 120 miles per hour.” Rungeling went on to have an illustrious career as
an air-racer and an advocate for women in aviation. Throughout her life, Rungeling has been a pioneer for
The Ontario Culture Strategy was launched in July 2016. Within the strategy there were three commitments related to libraries in Ontario. The first involves exploring opportunities for libraries to serve as community hubs. The second involves reviewing funding for public libraries to build capacity in rural and remote libraries. The third involves supporting the needs of First Nation public libraries. As part of this work, the Province is conducting a number of roundtables with various library organizations seeking input on topics such as implementation of the community hubs concept, leadership and innovation, performance measurement and digital services. These roundtables, along with other research will help inform decisions around the allocation of future provincial funding for libraries. So what does this mean for Pelham? While most of the funding we receive comes from the local property tax base, we do rely on provincial funding for a significant portion of our operating funds. The amount has remained static for many years, but if it
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The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
OPINION
The opinions expressed in submitted commentary and letters to the editor are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Voice of Pelham.
The Voice of Pelham is a 1211858 Ontario Limited publication David Burket, Publisher 2-1428 Pelham St., P.O. Box 1489, Fonthill, ON L0S1E0
COMMENTARY / OP-ED Larry Coté Keith's: Another icon gone In this column and on other pages in the Voice in recent months, the changing face of Pelham has been well-chronicled. In some cases these reports and commentaries have had a positive bent. At other times a not-so-favorable inclination was argued. A few months ago in this space, I discussed the impact some of these developments may have on the seniors who made their home here over many years. Some few might gladly cash in on the inflated value of their properties. Yet others may well face the challenge of not being able to afford to live in this community. The recent burst in house prices can be a boost or a bane depending on one’s position on the life cycle. The latest evidence of this ‘times-are-a-changing’ revolution is the closure of what undeniably was one of Fonthill’s most iconic institutions. The venerable Keith’s Restaurant has shut off its ovens, turned off the lights, and closed its doors forever. To many residents it seems the town is losing another piece of its charm and character. The Crick family, who opened and operated this eatery since 1952, added something special to Fonthill’s charm and hos-
pitality. It comes to mind that Beamer’s Hardware, a stone’s throw from Keith’s, is another family enterprise, among many, that added measurably to the town’s reknown and is now among the few such establishments remaining. There are few people in Pelham and surrounds who did not sit down to a meal, snack or piece of pie at Keith’s superbly friendly diner, located smack-dab in the center of town. Who doesn’t recall the eversmiling Keith coming out from kitchen clad in his wrap-around chef’s apron, wiping his hands on a dish towel and warmly greeting the diners gathered there? Many diners ordered something from the menu as a self-indulgent excuse to move on to dessert, digging into a generous piece of Keith’s famous made-inhouse pies. The meringue above the lemon was as tall as a giant and as light as a pixie’s slipper. Following Keith’s passing his wife Vilma carried on the tradition, menus, service and ambiance that the patrons had grown to love and enjoy. Their son Tom, who sadly passed away recently, became the King of Pies in
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more recent years. The servers at Keith’s were from the old school, rounding-out the diner experience like the cherry on top of a decadent ice cream sundae. All who entered Keith’s were greeted warmly and pleasantly by the entire staff. The greetings and service were never robotic, but rather a genuinely warm embrace no matter if one were a regular or infrequent patron. The building that was home to Keith’s at 1502 Pelham is vividly etched in the memories of the longtime residents of Niagara and even further afield. Apparently, a new modern building may replace this near-historic landmark in the not too distant future. It may be an overdose of melancholy to say it, but the new developments in the old town may be eroding some of the attributes that made the charm of living in Foothill so special. Lastly, and not incidentally, it is certain that the people of Pelham will continue to admire and respect Vilma Crick for her exemplary entrepreneurship and contributions to the community she so obviously loves. May she be favored with a healthy, happy and prosperous future.
Letters Interesting times for moms, aunts, sisters, and girlfriends The weekly editions of the Voice do not appear to be scarce for news. Eagerly snatching my copy of the paper from my mailbox weekly, I can feel in my clutching hand the extra weight of information from those fluttering pages. Information a resident of Pelham, like me, needs to know. Interesting times we are living in, Mr. Editor, in this small town Ontario. Stuff of cloak and dagger over at the Animal Farm…I mean Town Hall. You’d like to think the money is disappearing (drum roll) through naughty activities, but no, there’s no money in the first place…just anticipated government grant money. As taxpayers looking on, we see a Town
Council gone wild and lusting with visions of honorary plaques, Citizen of the Year, and provincial candidate nominations dancing in their heads. I was so sorry I missed the meeting of the angry villagers at the firehouse. I really wanted to go. My pitchfork was in being repaired. Meanwhile, a word about last Sunday’s holiday: Mother’s Day didn’t start out with all the advertising circus and money spending hoopla that this day has evolved into. In the beginning, there was no gift givSee TIMES next page
CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS Member of Federal Parliament
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Dean Allison, MP 4994 King Street Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0 Dean.Allison@parl.gc.ca 877-563-7900 Member of Provincial Parliament
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Members of Niagara Regional Council Councillor David Augustyn mayordave@pelham.ca 905-892-2607 Ext 317 Councillor Brian Baty 742 Memorial Dr. Fenwick, ON L0S 1C0 905-892-5317 Town of Pelham 20 Pelham Town Square P.O. Box 400 Fonthill, ON L0S 1E0 905-892-2607
Mayor of Pelham David Augustyn mayordave@pelham.ca 905-892-2607 Ext 317
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Ward 2 Councillor Catherine King cking@pelham.ca 905-658-8599 Councillor Gary Accursi gaccursi@pelham.ca 905-892-5528 Ward 3 Councillor John Durley jdurley@pelham.ca 905-892-5388 Councillor Peter Papp ppapp@pelham.ca 905-328-6008
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Letters
The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
FOLLOW THE MONEY By Jim Pitt
continued
Wants vs. needs, minivans vs. Corvettes, rinks vs. pools
Why patio on sidewalk rather than parking? I always thought this Town of Pelham was lacking common sense. They certainly have no regard for those of us who find it hard to get around. First beautification takes away parking spots on Pelham Street in front of the CIBC bank, and now we have a patio in front of a restaurant that takes up two of the only three parking places left. Doesn't common sense dictate that accessibility is more important than beautification or a patio— especially in an aging community? Frances Johnson Pelham
Calls for lower speed limit on Pelham Street Is it just me, or do others notice the traffic problems in our downtown core? First of all, when did the term "maximum speed” on the road signs start to mean “minimum speed”? On Pelham Street in Fonthill the maximum speed signs indicate 50 km/hr. This goes all the way from Webber Rd. in the south to Regional Rd. 20 (formerly Highway 20) in the north —- the speed signs indicate this rate of speed for the entire distance. Almost no one observes this speed, especially in the Pelham section. The only variance to this is by the Glynn A. Green School, when caution lights flashing indicate 40 km/hr. However, the speed is 50 km/hr. at all other times
and continues right into the very busy congested core of
TIMES
cial day to acknowledge her mother, Ann Jarvis, a humanitarian and social activist during the Civil War,
continued from previous page ing, no taking mom out to breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or serving her up breakfast in bed whether she wanted it or not. Mother’s Day came in the form of a proclamation written in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe. The Mother’s Day Proclamation was a pacifist demonstration against the human carnage the Civil and the Franco-Prussian Wars were serving up— particularly the dead bodies of husbands, sons and other innocents who unfortunately got in the way of the war machine. Julia Ward, a feminist, wanted to hammer home to a society solely controlled by males in the mid-to-late 1800s, the significant role women played in the dayto-day life of those times. The social consciousness of society was women. Women were solely responsible for the rearing of children, including overseeing, and/ or teaching them their early education. Outside the home, without the female dedication to charitable works, the poor would go hungry without food, cold without warm clothes, and sick without medical aid and nursing. In 1914, Anna Jarvis lobbied the US government successfully to get a spe-
Almost no one observes this speed, especially in the Pelham section
Fonthill and through its intersections. Does this make any sense? Anyone who drives into the area as often as I do is
I really wanted to go. My pitchfork was in being repaired.
Page 5
well aware of the potential hazards that lurk everywhere. On the west side of Pelham Street, vehicles pull onto the street from the Moku’s exit, and Dr. Sawatzky's parking lot, and the small strip mall, and from the parallel parking spaces. On the east side, vehicles enter the street from Pelham Town Square, a couple of driveways, and the parallel parking spaces in front of the businesses (from which there is an occasional unsafe “U” turn). With vehicles (cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, etc.) also entering this space between the Route 20 and Church Hill, I suggest that we can use an ounce of See TRAFFIC Page 18
but who are nurturing and mentoring to my children, supportive to my family, and loving and caring friends to me. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Mother’s Day was created to celebrate ALL SIGNIFICANT WOMEN IN OUR LIVES. Today, I shout out to all women, Happy Aunt’s Day, Happy Sister’s Day, Happy Sisters-in-Law Day, Happy Girl Friend’s Day. Pamela "Pamcita" Robb Pelham
A
SHIN Y SPORTS C A R DROV E past me the other day with the radio blaring,"You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” the classic Rolling Stones tune. We all know the lines. You can’t always get what you want But if you try sometimes Well you might find You get what you need The song got me thinking that when it comes to the new Community Centre the Mayor and four of our Town Councillors reversed those lyrics, from getting what we need, to getting what we want. Hey, we’ve all been there. We’ve all justified turning a want into a need. I need a minivan because it makes sense for our family, and as a family that’s what we agreed to buy. But I really want a shiny red sports car, because it’s so cool and will impress the neighbours. By process of self-delusion a want becomes a need. Any excuse will do. Town Council appears to have used the same logic in their final design of the Community Centre. They wanted something different from the original plan outlined by the consultant hired to survey us residents on what we needed, Leisure Plan International. That Community Centre was practical and affordable, and the “family” (this would be you and me) agreed to buy it. But dang it, it was boring. Council wanted a shiny red sports car to impress the neighbours and was determined to find a way to need it. WARNING: This week's column contains so many numbers that it's almost Accounting pornography. But stick it out, so to speak. Knowledge sometimes takes some work to acquire. In 2013 the Town hired Leisure Plan International to discover what Pelham residents could support in the way of a new recreation facility. This original plan was based on a “statistically significant” survey, as the Mayor liked to repeat, of the townsfolk through a telephone survey. The 61-page plan was presented in April 2014 to Council. Its conclusions were detailed and precise. The plan showed a high demand and level of support from all of the groups that submitted reports for each of the facilities outlined as follows. The plan called for a single pad arena with seating for 250 (36,000 sq. ft., $10 million), a recreational/wellness/admin space (2,000 sq.ft.,
$267,000), a fitness centre/track/gymnasium space (32,000 sq.ft., $6.8 million), and a multipurpose/public/shared space (9,300 sq.ft., $2 million), for a total of 82,000 sq.ft at a cost of $23 million. A second ice pad was not deemed necessary due to limited demand and usage until 2023-24. The demand for a pool was not sufficient, for various reasons, to warrant the projected annual operating cost of "$1 million," as asserted by the Mayor. In 2015 the Town requested that Leisure Plan update the study based on new information. This second study focussed solely on ice time usage and the need for a second ice pad. The report of June 2015 indicated that increased demand now warranted a second ice pad and it was added to the design. Leisure Plan provided no costing or size information in this updated report. The new design included everything from the original plan plus the second arena. In July 2015, cost estimates came in at $54 million. Ouch. In December 2015, the fitness centre was removed from the plan, the second arena stayed, and a $37 million dollar ceiling was placed on the cost. The final plan for a two-pad arena, one with 1,100 seats and one with 100 seats, a gymnasium, an indoor walking track, and a space for community events was approved by Council last spring and the cost was set at $36.2 million. In April 2016, the newly approved Community Centre was 136,080 sq.ft. The addition of 9,000 sq. ft. last fall increased the size to 143,887. By comparison, a Walmart Superstore, like the one in Welland, is 130,000 sq. ft.. The Haist Street arena is 30,000 sq.ft. Each of the new arenas will be 16,800 sq. ft., but arena 1 will have 7,000 sq. ft. extra for 1,100 seats. The double gymnasium is 15,000 sq. ft.. It appears to have an athletics function only. The main floor lobby/atrium is 4,200 sq. ft.. It appears to be open space only. The second floor lobby is 2,800 sq. ft.. The viewing gallery is 2,000 sq. ft.. These two spaces also appear to be open space only. All the open spaces combined are 9,000 sq. ft., about the size of the original plan from 2014 that contained a multipurpose/wellness/shared space. See FOLLOW THE MONEY Page 12
Professional SERVICES Directory but also to bring attention to the important contribution that all women have had in shaping the country politically and socially. All women. Yes, Mother’s Day started out honouring all women... Not just women who had been through a birthing experience. So, on the day entitled Mother’s Day, a day that tends to be overshadowed by women who have popped a baby out of their womb, we forget this day is for ALL WOMEN—sisters, sister-inlaws, aunts of our children, our best girlfriends. I can count personally, on two proud hands and more, women I know who don’t have the title of mother,
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NEWSFLASH Tell us your story Column Six presents tales of personal triumph, adventure, strange-but-true stories, life-changing events, and looks-back at our past. Did you conquer Everest or kick a bad habit? Did you meet your spouse-to-be in jail or on an African safari? Do you know where Hoffa’s buried? Write it down, send it in: publisher@thevoiceofpelham.ca (You won’t get rich, but you will get paid.)
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Page 6
The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
Biophilia and the healing power of nature BY NATE SMELLE
The VOICE
Honorees Walt and Lucienne Chemerika, center.
NATE SMELLE PHOTO
Pathstone hosts annual Hope Awards BY NATE SMELLE
The VOICE
An audience of some 700 supporters of Pathstone Mental Health assembled in the ballroom of the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls last Friday night for the 2017 Hope Awards ceremony. The recipients of this year’s Hope Award were Walt and Lucienne Chemerika, of St. Catharines. As the founders of Loving Outreach, the Chemerikas have dedicated the past 27 years of their lives to supporting those who have lost a loved one to suicide. After returning home from a trip up to their cottage to find that their daughter Lisa had committed suicide, the Chemerikas decided to transform their loss into an opportunity to help others. They founded the support group Loving Outreach. “We could not change what had taken place, the only thing that we could do was help cope with the hurt, pain, healing and grief,” said Walt. “Our hope is that with an organization such as Pathstone, we will be able to help young people get the Loving Outreach that is required.” Lucienne said that it is important for Pathstone and Loving Outreach to continue their work. “We need to talk about mental illness, we need to talk about depression and we need to talk about suicide,” she said. “Suicide is a sickness, just like a heart attack or cancer.” Prior to the keynote address by Dr. David Suzuki, E.L. Crossley student, Matt Beard shared a moving account of his personal struggle with mental illness. Two and a half years ago, while heading into Grade 10, Beard said he started to have feelings that he had never experienced before. “I remember one day specifically in class that I got this queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach,” said Beard. “At first, I tried to ignore it, but it soon it crept up into my lungs and there was this tight tension and then the room started spinning and it moved up
into throat and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I was terrified because I never felt like this before, and it was just out of the blue for no reason. What I eventually learned was that these were just some of the symptoms
I was terrified because I never felt like this before, and it was just out of the blue that make up an anxiety disorder.” For the first few months, Beard said it seemed impossible to describe his feelings to anyone. For a while, he said it felt as if he was going insane, because he had thoughts in his head that he could not make sense of, that he couldn’t stop no matter how hard he tried. During that period, Beard spent most of his time in bed trying to wrestle with these thoughts. “I missed a lot of school, I couldn’t sleep, I wasn’t keeping in touch with my friends and I certainly wasn’t pursuing any of my hobbies or doing any of my homework,” he said. “It was so bad that I couldn’t even walk down a crowded hallway without spiralling into a full-blown panic attack.” After building up enough courage to explain the feelings he was having to his girlfriend, she told him it sounded like anxiety and recommended he talk to someone about what he was going through. Beard said he was terrified to admit that he needed help, however he eventually decided to ask his guidance counsellor for advice. Beard said turning to Pathstone for help was one the best decisions of his life. Beard said the counsellor from Pathstone was one of the kindest, most empathetic people he had ever met. She explained to him
that he was not insane, nor was he alone. This was the first time he said he understood that people from all walks of life experienced anxiety. “The treatment really does work,” Beard told the crowd. With Pathstone, he learned the terminology to understand how he was feeling, and the strategies to deal with those feelings. Beard said he also learned about coping mechanisms and his triggers. Pathstone even had someone check in with him each week to make sure he was safe. “There were still days that I felt like hell, where my mind was a prison that I was just trying to escape,” said Beard. "I remember there were even times where I convinced myself that I would feel that way forever. There was no miracle all at once, but slowly day by day, week by week I made progress. I learnt how to breathe and how to meditate, how to feel safe connecting with my feelings. I learnt what to do in times of crisis, I learnt that exercise internally helps me to release extra tension. But, most importantly I learnt how my mental illness does not define me as a person. With Pathstone I learned how to separate my anxiety from myself and deal with it head on.” It has been over a year since Beard has had a panic attack or a thought spiral out of control. He said he now refers to his anxiety disorder in the past tense, because he is proud to have his life back. “I have not missed school due to mental illness in over a year,” Beard said proudly. “I have not turned down friendships or new experiences, or my passions in over a year. In fact, I found the courage to pursue improvised comedy — just going up on a stage without a script. I mean what is that? Before I came to Pathstone, I couldn’t even walk down a crowded hallway. Today, I am standing in front of 700 people telling you my story.” “I promise you, treatment works.”
In 2004, the CBC held a nationwide campaign to identify The Greatest Canadian. The only living member of the top five candidates — Dr. David Suzuki— took the stage at the Fallsview Casino last Friday evening to deliver a special message to the 700-plus gathered for the Pathstone Mental Health Hope Awards. Acknowledging that the awards ceremony was taking place on indigenous land, Suzuki opened his address stating that he believes mental and physical health are intimately connected. He says that the most prudent way of helping people heal should begin with preventing illness rather than just treating it when it arises. “Of course, when people get sick they need to be treated, but shouldn’t we be focused on prevention and keeping people healthy in the first place?” asked the award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. “To do that we have to know what causes the health problems that we confront. I believe that we are living in a world that is becoming increasingly unhealthy — physically, mentally and spiritually — and it’s an environment we’ve created.” Suzuki pointed out that over the last hundred years humanity has undergone a formidable change of lifestyle. In 1900, he said, the vast majority of the 1.5 billion people on the planet at the time lived in rural communities because they were involved in some aspect of agriculture. By the year 2000, he said, there were 6 billion people in the world and more than half lived in large cities. “We have been transformed in a century from farmers to urban dwellers,” said Suzuki. The problem with this is that large cities were not designed for human beings. Instead, they were designed for vehicles and the efficient transport of commodities. As a result, humanity has designed itself into a corner, by restricting humans from using their bodies as nature intended. According to Suzuki, this shift in human behaviour has also served to disconnect the human species from the environment on which it depends for life. Speaking in regard to the effects of depriving future generations access to a natural environment and way of life, he asked the audience to think of how children today live primarily inside. “Today in cities throughout Canada the average child spends less than eight minutes a day outside and more than six hours a day in front of a screen,” he said. Growing up as a child in London, Ontario after World War II, Suzuki lived with his three sisters lived and their parents in a small, 1,000-square-foot house with one bathroom. Today’s “McMansions” dwarf his childhood abode, however he found the communal neighbourhood in which it was situated more conducive to a healthy lifestyle than most urban landscapes today. With little room indoors, his parents encouraged him to play outside. As a child, he said he learned early that when it was raining a puddle could be a magical place. “The human body evolved outside,” Suzuki said. “For 95 percent of our existence, we were nomadic hunter-gatherers. We had to carry everything we owned on our backs and we had to follow animals and plants through the seasons. Believe me, you have a very different relationship with the earth when you have to live outside that way.” The best way to eliminate health risks, he said, is to get people outside exercising. Using the human body how it was meant to be used, Suzuki asserted, is the best way to reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, stroke, heart disease and obesity. Spending time outdoors is not just beneficial to our physical health, it is also beneficial to our mental and spiritual health, he added. In Japan, there is an ancient Shinto practice that translates roughly into “forest bathing.” Suzuki highlighted the fact that studies now show how spending time among trees and in nature has a beneficial impact on human health and consciousness. For decades, those opposing the envi-
Naturalist David Suzuki.
NATE SMELLE PHOTO
ronmental movement use to dismiss activists as “tree-huggers’” he said. Suzuki embraces the term with pride. “Yes, I hug trees because it’s good for me and it’s good for all of us,” he declared. “The eminent Harvard ecologist Edward O. Wilson has pointed out that we evolved in a state of nature and that we have an inbuilt need, a genetic need, to affiliate with other species — we have to be in the presence of other species. He calls that need ‘biophilia’ — bio, life, and philia, love. We have a built-in love of life.” Suzuki said there is no disputing that biophilia is real. Citing one example after another, he explained how humanity’s innate love of nature is reflected in the way people living in cities still grow food and flower gardens, and keep pets as companions. Even hospitals, he said, have recognized how bringing in animals can help people in distress. A recent study conducted by the David Suzuki Foundation in Toronto, recently concluded that the more trees communities have, the less their health care costs are. He said it has also been proven that even seeing trees outside a hospital window can help improve patients’ physical and mental health. Despite the abundance of evidence which exists proving the interconnectedness of all life on earth, humans continue to treat the air, water and soil as a toxic dump. Currently, he said, there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there has been in millions of years. The root of the problem, Suzuki said, stems from the fact people have allowed the economy to become the primary focus of human existence. “Capitalism, the economy, markets, corporations, these are not forces of nature, they’re human constructs, and yet we are constantly trying to ‘shoehorn’ nature to fit into our corporate or economic demands. This is crazy! The only things we can change are the things that we create.” Suzuki gave examples of how, when logging companies are having financial troubles, governments will often allow them to log above their annual allowable cut to bring in more income; or if a chemical company is in trouble, they will be allowed to pour more pollutants into the rivers, lakes and oceans. When former Prime Minister Stephen Harper claimed that Canada could not do anything to fight man-made climate change because it would destroy the economy, Suzuki said he elevated the economy above the very atmosphere that creates life on earth. Although Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made promises to make Canada a leader in the global effort to halt climate change, he has yet to take serious action on the environment, asserted Suzuki. Realistically, he said, if Trudeau is to remain true to his word, and the Canadian government is to honour the commitment it made in Paris, 80 percent of the oil in Canada will need to be left where it is. “Trudeau tiptoed into it, saying ‘Well, we can’t take all of the Tar Sands, they’ve been hammered so heavily’, but he backtracked immediately and said, ‘No, no, no, no country would leave that much oil in the ground.’ Well, we have to leave it in the ground if we are going to meet the targets that were set in Paris in 2015.”
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The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
P IS FOR PIANO Glynn A. Green student Christine Kim won the Niagara Concert Trophy at the 84th Annual Stamford Kiwanis Music Festival, held at Stamford Lane United Church in Niagara Falls last week. This trophy is awarded to the most promising piano student at the festival. SUPPLIED PHOTO
Page 7
CARD SHARPS! Friends of the Pelham Library Bridge Group recently held their 2016-2017 season wind-up at the Fonthill United Church. Pictured left to right are, Nan Rilstone, overall high score and Linda Campanelli, evening high score. Missing from the photo is Mary Lee Varty, afternoon high score. Bridge players interested in joining the club for the 2017-2018 season can contact Jean Rittenhouse at 905-892-0813 or pelhambridge@gmail.com for more information. SUPPLIED PHOTO
Hunter is our Lazyboy!
Page 8
The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
If these walls could talk, they would tell 65 years' worth of stories, accompanying the many historical photos posted on them over the decades.
DAVE BURKET PHOTO
End of an era: Keith's Restaurant closes BY NATE SMELLE
The VOICE
Pelham lost a beloved local landmark last Friday afternoon, as Keith’s Restaurant closed its doors for the last time. Situated on the corner of Pelham Street and Hwy 20 in downtown Fonthill, Keith’s has been serving up home-cooked meals and freshly baked pies for 65 years. On Friday, owner Vilma Moretti held a reception in the dining area to show her appreciation to her customers and staff, whom she fondly called her “Keith’s family.” While the atmosphere at Keith’s this day was as friendly as ever, there was an undeniable tinge of sadness. Moretti decided to close the restaurant after her son, Tom Crick, passed away from pancreatic cancer earlier this year at the age of 53. Tom’s father, Keith Crick, opened the restaurant in 1952 in the building next door, before moving it to its current location seven years later. Tom was
planning to take over the business before succumbing to his illness in February. “It has been very difficult being here since losing my son,” said Moretti. “Today is about our family here at Keith’s. We wanted everyone to have a good time together before we closed.” Long-time Keith’s staff member Lori Terpstra started working at the restaurant at just 15. She was sad to see this chapter in local history come to an end. A day earlier, she said, a customer gave her a card that described Keith’s perfectly as “a place where everybody knows your name.” “Keith and my dad were cousins, so I grew up here,” said Terpstra. “So many people have been coming in to tell me how much they are going to miss us and this place. Where else can you get such good home-cooked meals. I’ve had customers tell me that instead of staying home and making dinner they would come in to have dinner
with their Keith’s family.” “This place feels like a second home and a second family for me,” added her daughter, Hannah Terpstra. “Our customers and our boss have been amazing,” chimed in another long-time Keith’s staffer, Helen Stiff. The sentiment around the room was the same. Several of the patrons took time to share how special Keith’s had been to them over the years. One table, calling themselves the Thursday Night Gang, took turns expressing their sadness and sharing a few happy memories. “We have no idea where we are going to eat now,” said patron Gloria Carmen. “We’re regulars here. We’ve had wedding receptions here, funeral receptions, birthdays, baptismal gatherings all kinds of special occasions, and we’ve have never had bad food. People have made a lot of memories here.” “We are really going to miss
This place feels like a second home and a second family for me
it,” said Rae Ball, Moretti’s former teacher. “When our children were young — about six or seven-years-old— we use to come here every Thursday as a family to have supper and dessert for five dollars,” added his wife, Gladys Ball. “It’s rare to see a restaurant last so long. Now so many of them are just fast food. The food doesn’t taste as good and it isn’t healthy. Here, the food was always tasted just like you cooked it at home.”
“We are going to miss this place terribly,” said another patron June Timms. “It’s so friendly here, it feels like family and you always get excellent service and excellent food. It’s truly a landmark for our community.” A lifetime resident of Pelham, Paul Ryan has been coming to Keith’s since it first opened its doors. By losing Keith’s Restaurant, he said Pelham is also losing its social hub. “People would come to Keith’s for the camaraderie,” said Ryan. “You got to know everybody here and a lot of people depended on that. They didn’t just ask you how you were doing because it was something to say. They actually cared about you. Keith’s was its own style of church.” When a customer embraced Vilma Moretti and said goodbye, she smiled and stood back, resting a hand on his shoulder, and replied, “Don’t say ‘goodbye.’ Say, ‘farewell.’”
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Letters
The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
Page 9
continued
Poop-leavers, smile: You're on Canine Camera After 17 years of picking up dog droppings I have had enough! By the way I don’t own a dog! The fine dog walking citizens of Fonthill are the cause of my problem…three to four times per week on my front lawn and a couple times a week in my back yard! I used to move it to the middle of the sidewalk for everyone to share, but my wife says that not being a good neighbor! Oh well! And the ones that do stop to pick it up in a plastic bag just throw it in our landscaping or walk right to the house to put it in my compost bins…maybe I will try shaming to see if that will work, because the next step will be publishing the security footage. Annoyed on Pelham Street. B. Buchanan Fonthill
HOWL ABOUT THAT! A little while after he woke up one day last week, Mike Athay says he noticed something pass outside his home on Whitehall Gate, in Fonthill. “Glancing out, I observed a dog-like animal prance into my neighbour’s yard. Emerging from the back of the house, it then ran into the next neighbour’s yard. Remembering the story from last year of a coyote sighting on Forest Hill Crescent, I wondered if this might be the same animal—Whitehall runs off Forest Hill.” A moment later, says Mike, the critter came back into his yard and Mike grabbed his iPhone. “I wondered about the sensibility of going outside, but I guess it was more scared of me than me of it, as it then took off down the road.” MIKE ATHAY PHOTO
Page 10
The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
So, farewell, not goodbye Images from Keith's Restaurant on its closing day, Friday, May 12, 2017.
Top left: Keith's Dream Team of long-time staff, Lori Terpstra, Helen Stiff and Kelly Stewart. Photo-bombing courtesy of Dave Swan. Stiff has moved down the lane to Fenwick, where she has joined the staff of the Grill on Canboro. Top: Keith's Restaurant, at the intersection of Pelham Street and Hwy. 20, Fonthill. Lower left: Shirley Welstead, Joan Ryan and Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan has been frequenting Keith's since it first opened its doors in 1952. Bottom: Patrons gathered for a farewell slice of Keith's pie, or a piece of sheet cake donated by Fonthill Sobeys owner Ron Kore.
NATE SMELLE and DAVE BURKET PHOTOS
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FOLLOW THE MONEY continued from Page 5 The facility will have four multipurpose rooms. On the second floor, room A is 2,000 sq.ft. and room B is 1,900 sq.ft.. They can be separated by a retractable partition or opened-up into one room. These rooms do not appear to be designed as exercise-type facilities, but as meeting rooms for various functions. The functions listed on the ourpcc website included fashion shows, wedding receptions and Mayor Augustyn’s gala. The architectural drawings include a wedding seating plan for this space. On the first floor, room C is 616 sq. ft. and room D is 264 sq. ft.. These rooms are too small for anything other than meeting rooms. The fitness centre was removed from the plan so there appears to be no weight training, cardio or exercise space available. There are 12 team rooms ranging from 1,600 sq. ft. (change room, showers, locker room) for the
The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017 Junior B team, down to 520 sq. ft. for other teams. The two family change rooms are 60 sq. ft.. The 8,000 sq. ft. inside track is in arena 1. For now. The updated plan requested by the Town was 29 pages long. The first plan covered the community's demands, as tabulated in the survey by Leisure Plan. The Town justified the elimination of an indoor pool based on this Leisure Plan report. In a May 9, 2016 article in Erie Media, the Mayor said, "In January 2014, Leisure Plan reported that the number of potential members to use an indoor pool was only 50% of that required to financially support it. Further, it estimated that to make an indoor pool 'financially viable', the Town would have to provide an operating subsidy in the order of $1 million per year. Therefore because of the high capital cost and the lack of sustained demand, Council accepted Leisure Plan’s recommendation that the Town not
provide an indoor pool facility.” The City of Port Colborne provides an annual $300,000 subsidy for its 6-lane 25-metre lap pool and leisure pool. It is used by over 2,100 residents. The demand for a second arena was not initially identified by Leisure Plan. A fitness centre was. Its plan indicated that the community had a high demand for this type of facility. In 2015, the Town requested that Leisure Plan have a second look at the feasibility of a second ice pad to build along with the first pad. The Town provided new numbers from various groups associated with hockey and figure skating only. These number showed some added demand for practice, March Break and Summer camps, goalie school and the like. But enough public demand for a second pad? No public forum or second survey was mentioned or recorded in regards to this change, nor any other modification from the original 2014 plan. No other groups made
formal requests for new or modified facilities like a pool or the removal of the fitness centre. Canada is, on average, older than it used to be, not as old as Japan or some European countries, but nevertheless older. Niagara is even older and Pelham—well, the average age jumped from 39 in 1996 to 46 in 2016. Nearly 6 out of 10 Pelham residents are over 45. This number is steadily increasing. The Town is engaged in developing East Fonthill into medium- and high-density residential housing. You might suppose younger families starting out, and older people downsizing are the target buyers of this type of housing. These are the people that would benefit from a fitness centre. The demand for a fitness centre was identified, costed and recommended by the company retained by the Town, at great expense to the taxpayers, in 2014. This plan outlined a facility that would have had a double gymnasium and a running track in a warm space, not in a cold arena. There would have been two multi-purpose exercise rooms; a babysitting/ multi-purpose room, so mothers and fathers could exercise while their children were nearby; and there was space for change rooms and administration. Leisure Plan's “statis-
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca tically significant” survey made specific recommendations based on input from a large segment of the population, mostly the segments over 45, parents of pre-schoolers, and people interested in personal fitness, who were anticipating using this new facility. With no apparent reason, the Town quietly dropped this design in favour of a second arena. The addition of 1,100 seats using 7,000 sq. ft. of space was also not identified in the original plan. In the updated plan it stated, "The majority of multi-pad arenas in the Region that are used by Junior Hockey teams provide spectator seating for 1,000-1,600.” Like any other hired-gun, Leisure Plan was providing the Town with information the Town wanted to hear. Of course you need that shiny red sports car—you deserve it, you’ll look great in it! After all, the customer is always right. This second arena was approved without the input of residents or through the use of another survey or public forum. It was just added and the fitness centre dropped. One is struck by the enormous amount of open space in the final design— 9,000 sq. ft. for lobbies, or common space, which, as Councillor Accursi was quoted as saying in 2015, doesn’t generate money. There is 7,000 sq. ft. of seating, a poor use
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of space according to Councillor Durley, also in 2015. Large open lobbies dominate the area that separate the gymnasium from the two arenas on both floors. These spaces have no identified function other than to be open spaces. There are vague allusions to meetings or social functions of some type, but nothing specific or needed. The administration space morphed from a combined recreation/wellness/administration space of 2,000 sq.ft. to a dedicated administration space of 1,500 sq. ft. This space will no doubt be needed for the increased staffing the facility will require. As a community centre, the facility being built is not the facility recommended by Leisure Plan. This means it was not approved through the findings of a “statistically significant” number of Pelham residents, but by the inexplicable whims of Town Councillors turning wants into needs. Like the song says, you can’t always get what you want. But of course that depends on whose doing the wanting. A boring single pad/activity centre costing $23 million may have been the identified need, but like the minivan, it wasn’t what Councillors Accursi, King, Durley, Rybiak and the Mayor needed. Somebody in this small group needed an expensive, second arena to add to the first arena, with lots of seats, just like the other arenas around the Region, and a gym with a really grand, elegant lobby—no, make that two elegant lobbies, and make sure they have an airy feel, for $36.2 million, $6.2 million more than agreed upon in October 2015. Somebody needed a shiny red sports car and now we get to buy it for him.
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The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
Page 13
Pelham Art Festival dazzles art lovers BY NATE SMELLE
The VOICE
MP Dean Allison, assisted by Winter Loewen and Parker Stevens. NATE SMELLE PHOTO
150TH continued from Page 1 Canada means, not only to us but what its place is in the world.” Celebrating his third birthday, Parker Stevens
and his friend, two-yearold Winter Loewen, joined in the festivities, helping raise the Canada 150 flag at the park. Following the flag-raising, Winter’s parents Copper and Iron gave an impromptu performance of the national anthem.
TURNING 106 continued from Page 3 community has fundamentally transformed during her lifetime, she is content with today’s Pelham. She does, however understand that others do not feel the same about how the community has changed. “There seems to be two sides to it. I was talking to someone just the other day and they were say-
The Pelham Art Festival Art and Artisan Show and Sale returned for its 31st year last weekend. Festival co-organizer Heidi TeBrake said that each day of the three-day festival had its own theme. The event opened with a celebration of the community on Friday night. Saturday was intended to create a more family-friendly feeling, with activities for kids. While Sunday celebrated Mother’s Day with a special brunch. “It’s a way of being exposed to art without being in a formal gallery,” said TeBrake. “It’s much more interactive and it’s a nice way for people to not feel intimidated. We had a scavenger hunt for kids, which meant they had to speak with some of the artists. We had them speak to an artist that does water colour, another who does work about children, another who focuses on animals. It has been an excellent way to introduce children to the arts.” One of the main reasons for the event’s success, TeBrake said, is that it continues to evolve year after year. This year’s festival featured a diverse array of artistic talent, exhibiting the works of 75 artists. Victoria Leprich is a mixed-media artist working out of St. Catharines. She uses a mix of oil and acrylic paint, along with fabric, paper, pastels and other textiles to adorn the canvases she works on. Leprich draws her inspiration from the Goddesses of mythology, women, different ethnic cultures, costumes and jewelry. She said she enjoys working with mixed-media because it allows her to add depth,
ing they didn’t like Fonthill at all anymore — they liked it the way it was 20 years ago. Now, I like it the way it is. I think the Mayor has done a good job and the place looks nice and clean and not as though it’s going to fall down in the next tenminutes.” For some years, Rungeling shared her passion for life with the community she loves each week as a columnist with the Voice. These pages, however, were not the first place her writing appeared. Run-
texture and character to her art that could not be achieved otherwise. “Art and music is the joy of life. What would life be without art and music?” Leprich asked. “My work comes out of my imagination. Sometimes it can be scary, but our imagination is a wonderful thing.” Welland artist Robert Amirault draws much of his inspiration from natural landscapes throughout Canada and around the world, and says he is constantly on the lookout for moments to capture with his paintbrushes. “I try to paint the effects of light on different subjects,” he explained while pointing to his work. “It’s not that I look at something and say I want to paint a tree, a pile of snow, a rock or a wave. My interest is the effect of light upon that.” Using photographs that he takes as a starting point for many of his paintings, Amirault said each of his paintings tell its own story. Painting allows him to recreate scenes and moments that mean something to him in a way that photography cannot. It also allows him to impose how he felt in that moment in his work. To find these inspirational moments in time, Amirault often wanders afield before dawn or just before sunset when the light is just right. “I don’t know what I am looking for, but when I find it, it speaks to me,” he said. “Early in the morning or late in the afternoon are what many artists refer to as the magic hours. That’s when you get the shadows going across your view and the skies are a different hue. That’s when the magic happens.” Though most artists exhibiting at the festival are Canadian, one artist,
geling was only 11 when she began following in the footsteps of her mother, Ethelwyn Wetherald — a published writer and poet. The young Rungeling’s first article was featured in The Farmers’ Sun, and was about her experience at the Toronto Winter Fair. “The Farmers’ Sun had some kind of a contest and I won a free week at the Fair. I didn’t stay the whole time because my folks thought I shouldn’t miss that much school.”
Jessada Kongsommart.
Jessada Kongsommart, traveled all the way from Kalasin, Thailand to be a part of the show. The artist spent much of his time at the show working on a painting of a cardinal he saw the day before. Wanting to share his passion for the arts with the next generation, Kongsommart donates 100 percent of the profit from his paintings to support young art students in northeastern Thailand. The Pelham Art Festival also gives back to the community on several levels. Proceeds raised from the festival will be donated to the Pelham Libraries, and be used to fund annual scholarships to graduating Pelham students pursuing studies in fine arts from E.L. Crossley Secondary School and Notre Dame College School. TeBrake said that funds are also set aside to support various community arts projects.
“I didn’t agree with them,” she said with a smile. That same year, Rungeling’s parents bought her a bicycle for her 11th birthday. Her love of riding her bicycle evolved into a passion for riding motorcycles and driving in general. “My parents bought me my first bike and things from there just seemed to grow mechanically,” said Rungeling. “I was always interested in anything mechanical. Getting my first
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OBITUARY
SINCLAIR, Barry Frank Following a brief illness, Barry passed away with his loving wife by his side at the Welland Hospital on Monday, May 8, 2017 in his 79th year. Beloved husband for 30 years of Roxanne (nee Hicks). Cherished father of Marc Sinclair (Vicki), Michele Sinclair (Jamie), Traci Dyer (Ralph) and Cari Taylor (Peter). Proud grandfather of Spencer, Cody, Carling, Bree, Carly, Carter and Brooke. Dear brother-in-law of Paul and Richard Hicks. He will be sadly missed by many extended family, friends and by his faithful companions; his golden retrievers Henry and Maggie. Predeceased by his parents Frank and Kitty Sinclair and his step-father Jim Kivell. Barry was a Principal with the Peel Board of Education for 25 years until moving to Niagara in 1986. He retired from the District School Board of Niagara as a teacher at Glynn A. Green School in Fonthill. Throughout his career, he was admired and deeply respected by students and faculty alike. Barry had many interests and passions outside of work. He was a sports enthusiast, spending his time coaching for his own children’s teams as well as his students. In his later years golf became his passion. He loved to spend time on the greens with his wonderful golf buddies. He was a very active and dedicated member of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Welland. As a husband and a father, Barry devoted his life to loving and supporting his family. He was a caring and attentive husband and an outstanding role model to his children of what it means to move through life with dignity, strength, and humour. A service to honour and celebrate Barry’s life will be held at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 29 Bald Street, Welland on Saturday, May 27th beginning at 2 p.m. Following the service, there will be a time to visit with the family and enjoy light refreshments in the Church Hall. For those who wish, memorial donations may be made to St. Andrew’s Church Memorial Fund or the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation with cards available at the H.L. Cudney Funeral Home, 241 West Main Street, Welland who are in care of the funeral arrangements. The family would like to sincerely thank the staff from the Emergency Department and the I.C.U. at the Welland Hospital for their kindness and compassion. Online condolences available at www.cudneyfuneralhome. com
OBITUARY
Thomas L. Bishop Passed away May 5, 2017. A true renaissance man, entrepreneur and one of a kind. He was born in 1938 into a family of Wild West Show performers. His father, enamored with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show which he had seen in person in England, started his own show based in Ridgeville, ON starting in 1914. Tom grew up performing along with his sister Lorna, trick riding and trick roping, and appearing on the CBC show the Cliff McKay Holiday Ranch in Toronto in the 1950s. After high school, Tom began working at local radio stations and had his own show at the age of 18 called ‘The Melody Corral ‘ playing cowboy music. He also had a popular show called the “Supper Club” at St. Catharine’s CKTB, and later an agricultural show on QRFM. After marrying in 1965 Tom and Jan (nee Whitty) were hired to bring their horses to Blackpool, England for a show called the ‘Canadian way of life.’ Once in Europe they discovered that the company had gone broke, leaving them stranded with their horses. Tom and the other cowboys and cowgirls put together a Wild West Show to earn enough money to get their horses back to Canada. Back at home, Tom began a Wild West Show and Rodeo with his wife, sister Lorna and brother in law, Chuck Aylett, touring throughout the eastern United States and Canada. This included numerous shows at the Canadian National Exhibition and Toronto’s Royal Winter Fair among many others. Later, Tom became one of the Toronto film industry’s early ACTRA (Association of Canadian, Television and Radio Artists) members as a stuntman, actor and head wrangler. His
FOLLOW THE MONEY continued from Page 12
Questions and Answers Reader L. Zavitz suggests that our May 3 examination of development fees was “fear mongering.” Surely the Town would not have to build 11,000-plus houses to collect $12 million in development fees specifically for the Community Centre. What about fees generated by new commercial buildings, she asks. According to the Town's Development Fee Pamphlet, readily available on the Town website, the amount charged for the various fees is specific. The Pamphlet outlines various fees, but, as stated in the column,
first job was with the CBC television series ‘Forest Rangers’ in the 1950s and he continued to work in the film industry up until last year with such shows as Road To Avonlea, Murdoch Mysteries, Pompeii, and Anne of Green Gables. A self-educated handyman, he built a number of horsedrawn wagons including a police wagon, a steam fire engine and a working steam calliope that was a labor of love and took him 10 years to build. He machined the brass whistles on a 1940s lathe and painstakingly made the wood carvings on this 2-tonne horse drawn wagon. He was a kind man with a ready smile, great sense of humour, an innate curiosity and an ability to find a solution to any problem. He loved his family, his church and his horses dearly and was a true original. A longtime member of the First Church of Christ Scientist in St. Catharines. He is pre-deceased by his sister Lorna (Aylett) and brother-in-law Chuck, his mother Eva and father Thomas W. Bishop. He is survived by his wife Jan, his son Tom Jr. (Angie) of Ridgeville, his daughters Sally (Todd Lemieux) of Calgary, Sarah (Mark Schneider) of Fonthill and grandchildren Remington and Laney. Also brothers in-law Ray Whitty, Dennis Whitty (Lorna) and many nieces and nephews As per his wishes, cremation has taken place. Visitation at the Vineland Chapel of Tallman Funeral Homes, 3277 King St. on Saturday, May 27th from 7-8:30pm and a Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, May 28th at 2:00pm in the chapel with reception to follow in the Tallman Fireside Room. Online condolences at www.tallmanfuneralhomes.ca
the Town can use only the Interior Recreation Fee for things like arenas. Boiling it down, to generate the promised $12 million dollars in Interior Recreation fees, 2,500 commercial buildings, sized 30,000 sq. ft. each, would need to be built. (The promised medical building in the East Fonthill development is a 30,000 sq. ft. design.) Considering that Canada Post says there are slightly over 300 business addresses at present in Pelham, it seems unlikely that we will soon see a demand for 2,500 additional, enormous, commercial buildings. One might also wonder where they would be built, and who would work in them. I hope this answers the reader's question.
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The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
Page 15
SERVICE DIRECTORY Electrical Electrical
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Fonthill Rlectric Ltd rock Creative Director • Contact Design Name & Construction • Landscape Tarja Barton Interlocking • Interlocking Stone • Natural Stone Taryn Wilton email • Retaining Walls • Ponds & Water Brick Contact Phone graphics@thevoiceofpelham.ca Features • Mini Excavator & Bobcat by • 905.401.5748 Services • Free Estimates Bill Nieuwenhuyzen Design & Marketing Director Contact email Planting THE Steve Van Lochem NPD • 905-892-2188 Office 905.892.4510Dave Burket info@fonthillelectric.ca 874 Hwy #20 West, Fenwick • www.naturesownidea.com email Cell 905.641.8203
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Waiter, we have been promised a new Puzzler for weeks, yet it never appears. I demand to see the Chef! But first, more Greek salad, please.
Places of Worship and Events Bethany Christian Reformed Church 1040 Balfour St., Fenwick
First Presbyterian Church 602 Metler Rd., Fenwick
Glad Tidings Church of God 1 Pancake Lane, Fonthill
Pelham Evangelical Friends Church 940 Haist St., Fonthill
Concordia Lutheran Church 105 Welland Rd., Fonthill
Fonthill Baptist Church 1414 Pelham St., Fonthill
Holy Trinity Anglican Church 1557 Pelham Street, Fonthill
Ridgeville Bible Chapel 418 Canboro Rd., Ridgeville
Fenwick Church of Christ 765 Welland Rd., Fenwick
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses 1369 Rice Rd., Fonthill
Kirk on the Hill Presbyterian Church 1344 Haist St., Fonthill
St. Alexander’s Roman Catholic Church 50 Pelham Town Sq., Fonthill
Fenwick United Church 1050 Church St., Fenwick
Fonthill United Church 42 Church Hill, Fonthill
Pelham Community Church 461 Canboro Rd., Fenwick
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church 834 Canboro Rd., Fenwick
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Page 16
The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
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T SALE Outdoor Maintenance Pelham Year Arena. to provide roundAimed for a bungalow, ideal for a retired person, Fonthill, ming season. Runs Sept. 6 from Haist and Welland Road, 905892-5492
as the second run on
How could you miss the "Greek" theclueyear to the is Puzzler?!
adline this years exciting event. It IN THE NEWS grounds.continued from Page 2
Selected students will have the chance to work at petitive ride taking place on Sept. Queen's Park during sittings, serving as messenara and support the Walker Famgers, and delivering documents to MPPs, among other important duties. Approximately 140 students across Ontario, with a gradeat average of 80 percent m Tuesdays the Pelham Arena or higher, will be chosen. BandshellTheforpages 9-10:30 am. There get a leave of abormation,sence please fromcontact school, jcook@ full tutoring and an honorarium of $15 per day for their term of duty.
Market or bring a non-perishable m Farmers Market on Sept. 4.
STEEL BUILDING SALE ...”MEGA
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Phone: 905-892-7898 Fax: 905-892-4811
No Sunday Calls, Please TF
“I encourage students interested in learning firsthand how this province is run to apply,” said Oosterhoff. “I look forward to welcoming a page from our riding, as well as treating him or her to lunch in the Legislative Dining Room.” The deadline for applying as a page for the Fall Parliamentary session is June 15. For further information, or to apply, please visit http://discoveryportal.ontla. on.ca/en/youth-programs/ page-program/about-program.
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Beamer’s Pro come to Hardware your home or farm and custom mill your logs. Firewood Sobey’s & lumber also available. Call LAWN CUTTING FENWICK Putting on an event? McDonald’s Rob Patterson, 905-401-4948 Avondale Store Grass Cutting Service riverwood@primus.ca. Fonthill Legion Tell the town! 8 years Fenwick Sub Shopexperience, references available on request, service includes Tim Hortons Community Event Classified trimming, and driveway/sidewalk cleared of Golden Grill grass cutting, edge cuttings. John 905-892-8410. ads are available in blocks Semenuk’s FLOWERS Devries Fruit Farm of 30 words, including Pic’s Hangers, pansies, perennials, Ridderikhoff Meats headline for $8.85 + HST. Klagers BOTTLE DRIVE shrubs, annuals, planters,
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Welland child porn charge
Police say that earlier this 905.892.8690 month, members assigned to the Niagara Regional Police Service Internet Child Exploitation (I.C.E.) Unit engaged in a joint investigation that was initiated by members of the Toronto Police Service Child Exploitation Section. Last Thursday, members of the NRPS ICE unit with the assistance of the Technological Crimes Unit executed a search warrant at a Welland residence. A number of computer systems and
Region Ads included to reach your market coming soon. Watch for early previews of our
storage media devices were seized. As a result of the onThis ad is to be printed going investigation, James Olesiuk, 56, of Welland, has been arrested and charged with the following offences: Possession of Child Pornography, Sec. 163.1(4); Making Available Child Pornography, Sec 163.1(3); Access Child Pornography, Sec 163.1(4.1). Olesiuk was held pending a bail hearing.
ter
receiving
complaints
count of Fraud Under $5,000.
Karen Robinson and Karen Hannis, solicited funds between August 2016 and February 2017 for multiple cruises that were either never booked or were not as advertised. As a result of their investigation, last Tuesday investigators arrested 48-year-old Karen Gushue of Ridgeway. She is charged with 1 count of Fraud Over $5,000, and 1
In April, the Niagara Regional Police Service says it began receiving reports of a male believed to be exposing himself while masturbating in the area of several schools in the City of St. Catharines. Through their investigation, police believed they identified a likely suspect.
NEW, EXCITING WEBSITE. about cruises that were beGushue was released on bail by all participating Ontario papers ing offered by a Ridgeway with numerous conditions Follow us on Twitter,resident. Some 140 com- last Wednesday. plainants alleged that KarLike us on Facebook. en Gushue, also known as Indecent act arrest
Cruise fraud arrest
In February, the Niagara Regional Police Central Fraud Unit says it undertook an investigation af-
See IN THE NEWS Page 19
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The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
Page 17
Page 18
The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
Letters The
Total prize value now:
$240!
Complete the correspondence:
ing east on Port Robinson Rd. at the school and heading down its gradual slope, there are no traffic signs to state that the maximum speed is 40 km/hr. when the lights are flashing on Pelham Street. This should also apply to Port Robinson as the traffic in and out of the schoolyard is heavy at times and it is as an important entrance as the one
on Pelham Street, maybe even more so, as the school buses enter and exit here. Heading west from Station Street, there is a sign on the north side of Port Robinson Rd. saying “40 km/hr. Begins” but no signage going east. This is confusing and it needs to be reviewed. Bob Laing Fonthill
May 27, 2017 @ 7pm
All cuts are tapered, or faded, out for a refined finish that lend to a much nicer appearance both when you leave the shop, and when the cut has grown out.
Read full Puzzler rules and conditions at: http://www.thevoiceofpelham.ca/the-pelham-puzzler/ Fonthill
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prevention here instead of waiting for the inevitable accident, or, heaven forbid, a serious injury or fatality. The "maximum” speed of
50 km/hr. is unreasonable. A safer environment could be created by a maximum speed of 35-40 km/hr. Will something be done before it's too late? I sincerely hope so. By the way, after turn-
HERE AT FONTHILL BARBER SHOP, WE SPECIALIZE IN THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO THE HAIRCUT.
...are to what?
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continued from Page 5
RBER A B SHOP
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continued
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IN THE NEWS continued from Page 17 Last Wednesday, members of the St. Catharines Street Crime Unit began to conduct mobile surveillance of Tshituni Nzembela-Kalumba, 35, of St. Catharines . At approximately 12:40 p.m., the suspect was observed by undercover police officers at Brock University in one of their parking lots allegedly exposing himself while seated in his vehicle. Police approached Nzembela-Kalumba and attempted to place him under arrest. Nzembela-Kalumba accelerated his vehicle in attempts to evade his arrest, almost striking the arresting officer. A pursuit ensued, and, with the assistance of uniform patrol officers, Nzembela-Kalumba was arrested at a traffic stop on Highway 406 without further incident. Nzembela-Kalumba is charged with Committing an Indecent Act in a Public Place, Resisting Arrest, and Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle. He was held in custody pending a bail hearing.
Chemical spill at Hilton
Last Saturday, at approximately 8:30 PM, emergency services personnel from the Niagara Falls Fire
The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017 Service, Niagara Emergency Medical Services (NEMS) and the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) responded to the Hilton Hotel located at 6361 Fallsview Boulevard, Niagara Falls, in response to Hilton employees calling to report a chemical spill. Emergency Service personnel located a chemical spill in the basement of the middle tower. Hilton Management, working in co-operation with the Niagara Falls Fire Service, decided to evacuate the middle tower and portions of the north and south towers. Approximately 160 hotel rooms were affected along with some shops and restaurants. The City of Niagara Falls sent/ supplied Transit busses so that those affected by the evacuation could have shelter. NEMS assessed three Hilton employees on scene, and two were transported to the hospital. Police say that the name of the exact chemical involved is not being released at this time as it is part of the investigation. The NRPS is not investigating this matter as a criminal act. The investigation is being led by the Ministry of Labour.
New Deputy Chief of police
Bill Fordy, Assistant Commis-
sioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), has been appointed Deputy Chief of Police for the Niagara Regional Police Service, effective June 27, 2017, by the Regional Municipality of Niagara Police Services Board. Assistant Commissioner Fordy takes over for Deputy Chief Joe Matthews who retired on January 31, 2017. Deputy Chief-Designate Fordy currently serves as RCMP Assistant Commissioner overseeing all operational and administrative matters of policing in the Lower Mainland District (LMD) of British Columbia. The LMD and Integrated Units covers 13 detachments in 28 communities, with 3,522 employees serving over 1.8 million people and over 40 indigenous communities with a combined budget of approximately $414 million. He has been a member of the RCMP for 28 years and has held a variety of senior management positions including Chief Superintendent, Superintendent in-charge of Investigative Services, and Inspector of the Integrated Homicide Investigative Team.
Crime Stoppers take aim at dumping
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Alan Caslin, Regional Chair, and Ernie Sibbett, Chair of the Crime Stoppers Board of Directors, have announced a formal partnership between the two organizations that will increase public awareness of illegal dumping issues and provide residents with an alternative way to report illegal dumping. Under the partnership, Crime Stoppers of Niagara will now receive anonymous tips related to illegal dumping in the region using its anonymous reporting system. Information gathered from the tips line will be forwarded to the Region’s Waste Management Services division for investigation. Callers will remain anonymous. Residents now have three ways to report: Crime Stoppers: 1-800222-TIPS; and online reporting tool; and Niagara Region’s Waste Info-Line: 1-800-594-5542. A cash reward will be given to any person whose report of illegal dumping activity results in an act of compliance or leads to a conviction.
Brock research on obesity and smoking
Underweight or premature baNiagara Region and Crime Stopbies are not the only results of smoking during pregnancy. pers of Niagara are joining forces to help combat illegal dumping. Fetuses exposed to nicotine from
cigarette smoke are at higher risk of becoming obese after they’re born, reports a new paper by a Brock University researcher in collaboration with a research team at the State University of New York. “Those babies are growing faster and bigger,” says lead researcher Danielle Molnar, Assistant Professor in Brock’s Department of Child and Youth Studies. In partnership with Rina Eiden and colleagues at the Research Institute on Addictions at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Molnar followed two groups of pregnant women — one consisting of smokers and one consisting of non-smokers — who were recruited at their first prenatal visit from a large city hospital. Of the group of smokers, the researchers monitored how much they smoked during each trimester of their pregnancies and then after the babies were born, their first stool — called meconium — was analyzed for nicotine and nicotine metabolites. “Knowing how much actually gets through to the fetus is critical because...two women could smoke the same amount and yet the fetus could get different levels,” says Molnar.
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The Voice of Pelham, May 17, 2017
www.thevoiceofpelham.ca
The Voice of Pelham
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COLUMN SIX continued from Page 1 ings are. Recently I scooped a glossy flyer out of my mailbox. It informed me that in two weeks an out-of-town outfit would be setting up shop for a day at the Royal Canadian Legion on Highway 20. They were seeking local folks interested in cashing in their collectibles—sports cards, comic books, stamps, coins, jewellery. Stuff like that. Lots of exclamation points! Prices have never been higher! Fair valuations! No obligation! Don’t miss out! Cash paid! It piqued my interest. Before he died my father gave me the Canadian coin collection he started putting together in the 1950s. The coins are pressed individually into royal blue cardboard folders. The value of the collection is mostly sentimental. The majority of the coins are common and the few less common coins are mostly mediocre in condition and low in value. The exception is the collection of silver dollars. Canada minted 80%-content silver dollars from 1935 to 1967, excluding the war years 1940-44. The old blue folder is complete. Every spot occupied. My father took pains to collect only the finest examples he could find. Most of the coins are uncirculated. These were
his favourites. A few years back I updated my will. To establish an estate value I took that blue folder of silver dollars to an established local business that buys and sells collector coins, seeking a wholesale estimate. The proprietor was pleasant and forthright. He confirmed what I already knew from perusing the catalogues, namely that of all the silver dollars there were five of certain interest to serious collectors, and only one of those five, the 1948, was of particularly keen interest. It was, he said, the King of Canadian silver dollars. He scanned the collection carefully, touching only the folder itself, then asked permission to handle the five key pieces. He removed, examined and replaced each in turn, commenting favourably on their condition, then made an offer. $2,200. I thanked him, leaving the premises with his business card in my pocket and a good taste in my mouth. I returned the folder to its place in the safety deposit box. This initial offer was about half of what I had established as full retail value. A fair starting point, I thought. It was a consummately professional encounter, one inclined to bring me back to his shop to negotiate a deal should the time come to liquidate the collection rather than leave the task to my heirs. To satisfy my piqued in-
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terest, I took the glossy flyer up on its offer. In April I found myself at the Fonthill branch of the Legion, sitting opposite the out-of-town buyer fond of exclamation points, seeking a second, updated evaluation. The big room is empty but for a dozen chairs, several tables and the two of us. I have taken out of safekeeping the folder with the silver dollars plus another, this one of Victoria and Edward VII quarters, and have presented both to the buyer. The Victoria collection is well-worn and incomplete but there is one coin that is quite rare and certainly valuable, the 1875. It is why I have brought it. The buyer gives the folder a cursory scan, takes a few pictures with his cellphone and hands it back. I open the folder of silver dollars. The buyer is a study in nonchalance. I am watching him carefully. While he strives to maintain a poker face it is nevertheless evident that the prospect of scoring this collection has got his juices flowing. He takes a dozen pictures and asks permission to remove and examine the 1935, the oldest in the collection. This is odd, as this particular coin is worth perhaps $40 retail. When it comes to coins, old and rare are mutually exclusive. Next is an Elizabeth II coin, maybe $20 retail. Why on earth is he spending time on this one? He all but ig-
nores the five rarer coins. But then, almost as an afterthought, he points and asks if he can remove “this one.” He doesn’t name it, but it is the 1948. The King. Like the others it gets examined with a jeweller’s loupe and closeup pictures are taken before it is returned to its place in the blue folder. The buyer transmits the pictures to home base back in Montreal and while we’re waiting for a callback he opens up and lays on the table a well-worn price guide and fingers a calculator while writing numbers into a small black notebook. His brow is furrowed, his jaw set. There is no eye contact. No banter. Unlike the local business encounter, this one comes across as a bored distraction, almost choreographed, a performance. Perhaps, I muse, for the benefit of my ignorance. The placement of the price guide on the table between us seems deliberate. I can easily read the numbers. They appear upside down in more ways than one. The minutes tick by. At last the cellphone rings and the buyer puts down his notebook and is engaged in conversation. It is entirely in French but I don’t mind. I worked years ago in the Gaspé and the Saguenay-Lac St. Jean. I’m rusty, but still functionally bilingual. The one-sided phone conversation is measured. Careful. The buyer’s voice
is low. “Yeah. Agree. Yeah. Yeah. No. I think so. Yeah. The ’48, yeah. Yeah, there. Father’s. Older guy. 60, 65. Right. Yeah. Okay.” The buyer puts down the phone and our twoway conversation resumes in English. He consults his notes. He says they’re not much interested in the quarters. Their grades just aren’t good enough but he’s prepared to make an offer for the lot anyway. For the two folders, $1,200. I am unable to restrain my guffaw, decline with thanks and get up to leave. “Wait! Wait!” says the buyer, animated at last, some urgency in his voice. “Please! Sit down. Let’s talk! I want to be fair. Maybe I’m missing something? How much do you want? What do you think they’re worth?” I suggest we first talk about just two coins. I open the quarter folder and ask what value he puts on the 1875H. Yes, it is the most valuable coin in the folder but it is worth, he shrugs, maybe $200. He opens his book and shows me. See? The rest of the coins are so worn they’re really worth only bullion value, he says, and he pays 85% of the daily spot price for silver. I examine the line in the book. It offers no range of values by condition, only one, based on an average “very fine” grading. I’d checked online an hour before: the same coin in
the same condition lists at CoinsandCanada.com at $2,300. $200 represents less than 10% of retail. He is, in essence, offering $1,000 for the silver dollars. “What about the 1948 silver dollar?” I ask. “There’s a full page ad in the Toronto Star every week that offers a minimum of $800 for a 1948, and this one’s about uncirculated.” “That’s us!” says the buyer. “That’s our ad! And it says we pay up to $800. $800 maximum.” (The ad actually says “$800 and more,” exclamation point.) “Yes, it’s an interesting coin, but not in perfect condition. But tell me, how much will you take? Let’s do a deal.” I tell him about the offer from a local coin shop for the silver dollars alone, he gets back onto his cellphone and has a second conversation, also in French, but this time more than oui and non responses. He puts the phone down, pauses, purses his lips. His new offer for the entire lot is $3,200. As I rise I say, “Merci pour votre temps. Je vais en penser.” to an expression of mild surprise. I leave, taking my blue cardboard folders and sense of fair play with me. As I walk back to the car the internal conversation in my head shifts from French to Latin: Caveat venditor. Alternate translation: Buy, and sell, local. ♦