The Voice, September 22 2021

New water tower coming to town

DEBBIE PINE SALES REPRESENTATIVE 905.892.0222 NRC Realty, Brokerage

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of Pelham and Central Niagara

Vol.25 No.38 

SEPTEMBER 22 2021

Single sock dating site

BY JANE BEDARD Special to the Voice

T

He longed for his time on the field.

“Missing football was really big and stressful

he last time Stan saw Louise, they were being tossed around in the dryer. They usually enjoyed the experience, flipping about in the warm air, laughing and dizzy. On this last occasion, Louise became separated from Stan and did not reappear into the laundry basket at the end of the cycle. Stan watched the clothes being sorted and folded, then screamed as he was carelessly dropped into The Drawer, which closed from above as darkness pushed up against him.

He was snapped out of his aloneness by a voice: “Hey there!” said the friendly male voice of an Old Grey, misshapen, polyester/ cotton-blend sock.

“Welcome!” came the innocent sound of a colorful, child-size, Polka Dot number with a lacy trim.

“Where am I?” asked Stan, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he began to make out the shapes and colours which surrounded him.

“You’re in the Single Socks Drawer. We’re all here waiting for a match. You should make a profile to help you find someone quicker,” said Old Grey.

“I don’t know,” said Stan uncertainly. “I’ve never been alone before. Besides, I’m sure Louise will show up and

See FOOTBALL Page 15

See COLUMN SIX back page

BY BERNIE PUCHALSKI Special to the Voice

stressful.”

His family played a key role in getting him through the tough times.

“I’m happy to be out here now but I am very

lucky that I have lots of siblings — I have three brothers and a sister — and I did get to see people at home but it was still very tough for all of us.”

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Column Six

is back

need them,” he said. “It was a very difficult time for me and being locked up in the house and not being able to go anywhere or see my friends was very

Darcy Richardson, CPA, CA | Broker

Published every Wednesday

Football Jon Hooker is overjoyed to be back in school and on the football field.

The 12B student has returned to E.L. Crossley for the academic component of high school and he will suit up for the Centennial Cougars football squad. Because Crossley doesn’t have a football team, he is allowed to play for the closest high school.

“I came back because I didn’t do so well last year.

I am not very good at doing online school,” the 18-yearold Welland resident said.

“It really wasn’t good for me and I had to come back to earn my credits. Obviously I love playing football and I wanted to come back for football as well.”

Online schooling didn’t work for Hooker.

“I have ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] and not being able to work one-on-one with the teacher in person was very difficult for me. It was hard for me to wrap my head around all the assignments being thrown online and not being able to ask my teachers questions whenever I

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The Voice

A September 22 2021

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PUBLISHER’S CORNER

by Dave Burket

Thirty-six days later: So here we are, Election Day as I write this, polls still hours from closing, but the likely outcome already known. In 1996, the Canada Elections Act was amended to reduce the minimum campaign period from 47 to 36 days, and 36 days is exactly what the Prime Minister calculated it would take to convince the nation that he should be handed a majority mandate. I fearlessly predict that this gambit has failed, and that after all the mail-in votes are counted— possibly not until late in the week—we’ll once again see a Liberal-led minority government in coalition with the NDP, if anything a more precarious coalition. Elections Canada has estimated the cost of this exercise in deja vu at $610 million dollars. I’m sure we can all think of a lot more useful things to spend over half-a-billion dollars on than a pointless election during a pandemic. I also fearlessly predict that Niagara West MP Dean Allison will retain his seat, possibly on a slimmer margin than he’s been accustomed to, what with the slowly changing demographics as more liberal retirees vacate the GTA and settle in our verdant villages. (That said, no matter how many red or orange or green voters buy $919,600 homes in Pelham—the latest typical price—they’ll never be as well organized at the blue churches in the riding’s western reaches.) Speaking of MP Allison, he remains the most popular topic in letters to the editor this week, specifically his claimed health “exemption” from Covid-19 vaccination. We alerted the Allison campaign to this and requested comment on the specific reason that the MP asserts receiving the vaccine would imperil his health. Came the response: “Comment will be forthcoming in the near future but not today.” Now, I don’t claim to know where an absolute line runs between personal right to privacy and public right to know, but in this case, given the literal life-or-death situation we’re in with a global pandemic, I’m comfortable coming down on the side of the public’s right to know. Allison is an elected official—a federal officeholder—and his constituents deserve to know on what specific grounds he has decided not to be vaccinated. This may come as a surprise, but according to the CDC there are no known medical conditions which absolutely prevent a person from getting a Covid-19 vaccine. In fact, quite the opposite is the case for those with compromised immune systems—not only is the vaccine recommended, so is a third booster shot...Oddest voicemail of the month: A man called to complain that our crossword puzzle has been the same for five weeks. We double-checked. They’ve been different, all right!...Rubber hits the road: Credit to the accumulated weight of John Swart's health and wellness columns over the last few weeks—after three years gathering dust, our bicycles are back on the road, our shaky legs able to endure only the flattest flat roads. But it feels good!...As ever: Stay masked and stay safe. Enjoy this week's centrespread—it's a big universe out there. ◆

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Raffle winner Steve Collins, centre, with a few of his new Fabulous Fenwick Lions best friends.

SUPPLIED

Classic Camaro heads north to NOTL

BY VOICE STAFF After a one-year postponement due to Covid, the Fenwick Lions Club held their Classic Car Raffle draw on Saturday, Sept. 11. The winning ticket was drawn

by Garret Vanderweed, a puppy raiser for the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides, and out of 10,000 ticket stubs, Steve Collins,

of Niagara-on-the-Lake, was declared the winner of a 1968 Camaro.

Reached by phone with the good news, Collins hopped into his car and drove to straight to the draw site, Centennial Park in Fenwick, to claim his prize.

“I'm still in shock, I can't believe it,” Collins said on arrival. The avid car enthusiast plans on holding on to

his prize.

“It’s always a nice feeling when you give away a car," Classic Car Raffle Chairman Ryan Van Lochem said. “It's a lot of work running these raffles but it's worth it to see the joy on the winner’s face.”

Proceeds from the raffle go to the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog guides program, as well as to local charities and organizations.

The Pelham Fire Department responded to 14 calls for assistance from Friday, September 10 to Friday, September 17.

Saturday, September 11 Medical assistance, Station 3 Medical assistance, Station 1 Motor vehicle collision, Bergenstein Cr., Station 1 Sunday, September 12, Medical assistance, Station 1 Motor Vehicle accident, Station St., Station 1 Medical assistance, Station 3 Monday, September 13 Medical assistance, Station 1

TOWER

Rob Hickson, General Manager and Director of Golf at Lookout Point Country Club, confirmed that the club owns the land designated as the Region’s preferred site, but said no deal has been struck.

“The Region has only approached us about a possibility,” said Hickson. “They've got to go through all their hoops and hurdles and perform their due diligence. We're completely out of the loop until something gets approved, and then they've got to have discussions with us again.”

continued from Page 3 will be painted the same as the Region's other elevated tanks—white with the Niagara Region logo. The bottom of the tank will be concrete, and appear similar to the existing tank. Coating technology has improved significantly over the years, and now features greater ultraviolet resistance and durability. Routine maintenance of the tank will preserve the appearance.

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CELEBRATING OUR 20TH YEAR

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

DSBN wants portion of Town park

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The Comfort Maple myth

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Column Six

Growing up British

Vol.20 No.32

Wednesday October 12, 2016

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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 NATE SMELLE PHOTO Public School's annual science fair last Friday. See story, page 3.

Public meeting tonight on school issues

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It sure is getting there, Julie.”

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

Part 2 of 2: Coronation to embarkation

BY VOICE STAFF

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

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

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

BY HEATHER McLAREN ROHRER

Special to the VOICE

A

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

While waiting for the contractor to return to fix

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

VOICE PHOTO

bourhood in the short-term.

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

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

Petition-inspired changes coming to 2017 Summerfest

BY NATE SMELLE

The VOICE

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

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

sidered.

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

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

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

Another way the committee plans

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BY VOICE STAFF

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

After delivering to Council a petition containing

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

podium over to Loewen and Williams to plead their case.

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

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

www.pennylanesold.com

H EATHER AND P ENNY L ANE S ALES R EPRESENTATIVES

BY JOHN SWART

VOICE Correspondent

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

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

Town Council approves sidewalk to serve E. L. Crossley

BY NATE SMELLE

The VOICE

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-

Cell 905.933.3049

T

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

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

Office 905.892.1702

Column Six It doesn’t get better than Autumn

Longtime Scouting tradition dates to 1932

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Request made of community still peeved at name change

See DSBN Page 9

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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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OF THE WEEK!

Beau Parro of Pelham is a future Carrier of the Week. He dropped off a copy of the Voice while visiting his Aunt Marta in Whistler B.C. with his mom, Miranda, and grandma Marie!

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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

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

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The Voice

Page 3

A September 22 2021

New water tower in the works Preferred site is off Lookout St.

BY DON RICKERS Voice Correspondent

toEarlyON go chargesCentres closing driving 83 days Fenwick and South Pelham NRPS Raidy Manso (center), Santa Cayo, Cuba!

At impaired

Sue Lough with daughter Tamara, of Fenwick, with new Cuban friend

One might call it a “fluid situation.”

Urban intensification in Fonthill has prompted the Region to address the water needs of the municipality.

Currently, one elevated water tank sits on Highway 20, behind Fire Station 1. A new elevated tank is planned for construction in 2022. Once the new tank is operational, the existing tank will be decommissioned.

Michelle Miller, the Project Manager of Water and Wastewater Engineering for the Niagara Region, told the Voice that the tank project is being undertaken to make necessary improvements to the town’s current and future service, especially related to system pressure and flow capacity. She said that Niagara Region and the Town of Pelham identified a list of seven possible sites in North Pelham that could potentially meet the project’s objectives, based on property mapping, elevation in the area, and location related to the existing tower and associated infrastructure.

“The seven potential sites were each evaluated based on social, economical, technical, archaeological, and environmental categories, from which a shortlist of three possible sites was generated,” said Miller.

“Further evaluation of the shortlisted sites found a preferred site located south of the existing Lookout Point golf driving range, at 220 Tice Road, to have the fewest impacts based on the evaluation criteria.”

Miller said that the proposal of the site south of the Lookout Point driving range as the preferred location was brought forward to the public for feedback in the fall of 2019. Niagara Region conducted additional screening and re-evaluation of potential sites, with the location south of the driving range again emerging as the preferred site.

The information from the re-evaluation was present-

MERIDIAN COMMUNITY CENTRE AS OF SEPTEMBER 22ND, PATRONS MUST BE FULLY VACCINATED (2 DOSES + 14 DAYS) WHAT INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE PROVIDED?

12 ENTERING THE FACILITY UNDER AGE 12 Provide contact tracing information only Carbonation, anyone? Just before 1 AM last Tuesday, Sept. 14, reader Ayrton Ashick snapped this shot of lightning striking the existing water tank behind Fire Station 1 during that night's thunderstorm. No damage was reported.

AYRTON ASHICK

ed to the public for feedback until September 14, and is currently being reviewed.

Jason Marr, Pelham’s Director of Public Works, told the Voice that the new water tower needs to be in a location with high elevation, which provides the greatest pressure for the whole system.

“The water tank needs to be of a sufficient size to support future development in the town, and you need a land mass that's able to support that size,” he said.

Marr noted that the subdivision directly between Lookout Street and Haist Street has low water pressure, which would be alleviated by the new water tower.

“We currently have to pump water to that area, and there are maintenance issues and ongoing costs associated with that. The new water tank location will hopefully eliminate that need for that booster pump.”

The Town of Pelham is part of the larger Welland water system. The Welland Water Treatment Plant pumps water to the Shoalts

Drive Reservoir, in Fonthill, which is a large underground storage tank. From there, it gets treated again, and then water is pumped up to the water storage tank located behind the fire station.

“It's gravity fed down from that water tank, and the further the water tank is away from the distribution system, the more likely you are to get water quality issues,” said Marr. “We try to keep as close as possible to the distribution system with the highest elevation.”

The current elevated tank on Highway 20 holds 2.3 million litres, and the new elevated tank will hold 6 million litres to address current water volume shortage and accommodate growth. The new tank will be 44 metres above ground, about 15 metres taller than the current tank. A taller elevated tank is required to have sufficient pressure for the northern developed areas that are at a higher elevation.

The top of the new tank See TOWER previous page

12+

ENTERING FOR SPORT ACTIVITY UNDER AGE 18 Provide contact tracing information only OR

18+

ENTERING AS A SPECTATOR Provide Government issued Photo ID and Proof of Vaccination OR approved documentation for exemption

ENTERING THE FACILITY AGE 18+ All adults, including parents or guardians of youth participating in an organized sport.

Provide Government issued Photo ID and Proof of Vaccination OR approved documentation for exemption

WHAT DO I SHOW AS PROOF OF VACCINATION OR EXEMPTION?

Fonthill Plaza (905) 892-5443

Proof of vaccination will be accepted if the person's name and date of birth on their identification matches the fully vaccinated receipt OR for those that qualify for an exemption that they can provide the necessary paperwork as identified by the province.

For more information call 905-732-7872 or visit www.pelham.ca/covid19

Page 4

The Voice

A September 22 2021

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OPINION

The opinions expressed in submitted commentary and letters to the editor are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Voice of Pelham.

The Voice of Pelham is a 1211858 Ontario Limited publication David Burket, Publisher 2-1428 Pelham St., P.O. Box 1489, Fonthill, ON L0S1E0

COTÉ'S COMMENTS Larry Coté

A different pandemic is already here

A

few days ago, as I exited from my vehicle on Main Street in Welland, I was approached by a very disoriented, unstable and disheveled young man. Interestingly, he asked for some bottled water and claimed he was “dying of thirst.” Unfortunately, I didn’t have any water on board and he stumbled away without asking for money, as I expected.

It was a disturbing encounter, and while I declare that I am not qualified to diagnose his condition, I guessed this young man to be in some form of a drug-induced state.

Shortly after that encounter I had was reading about another eruption this society is facing in addition to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The press and the medical community have labeled this as the opioid epidemic.

According to readily available Niagara Health reports, in 2019 there were 499 suspected opioid overdoses that were responded to by EMS personnel. In the fi rst eight months of 2021 there were 639 suspected opioid overdoses responded to by that same health

system. That is more than a 20 percent increase in the number of reported cases and it would appear that rate of increase is not abating.

Over 75 percent of these overdoses were male, 60

Between January 2016 and September 2020 there were some 19,000 opioid-overdose fatalities in Canada

percent in the 25 – 44 age group, and almost half of the cases occurred in St. Catharines. Nearly a quarter of them occurred in Niagara Falls.

According to national records, between January 2016 and September 2020 there were some 19,000 opioid-overdose fatalities in Canada. Last year, opioid overdoses killed 521 people in Toronto. That number

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was a 78 percent increase over the previous year.

There are a number of opioids and synthetics in use today and these are primarily intended to alleviate pain in those suffering grievous illnesses or painful injuries. Oxycontin was one of the fi rst opioids developed and put on the market in 1996 by Purdue Pharmaceutical. Since that time, that company has reportedly profited by about $10 billion dollars from the sales of the drug. Currently, a large percentage of opioid-overdose deaths result from the use of another drug known as fentanyl. As a measure of its potency, it is said to be about 100 times more potent than morphine. To the peril of drug users, fentanyl is often mixed with heroin or cocaine and tragically without the knowledge of addicts and recreational drug users.

So, a mere scanning of the available statistics associated with illicit drug usage, one can readily conclude there is a drug epidemic. The eruption of this condition is both severe,

Letters Allison should stick to proven facts I’m very disappointed with Dean Allison's backtracking.

Off-label use of any drug makes no sense when the vaccines were developed by science.

We are in a much better situation compared to a year ago because of the quick development of vaccine. The mandatory use of vaccine will probably be the real way to minimize the case numbers.

Dean Allison is another example of a politician who skews the scientific facts. A horse wormer is not a human cure. I understand he just moved to Pelham and built a mansion on the river. Time to end the era of entitlement for any politician, and that should apply to political pensions.

Rick Kavanagh Via Voice website

See OPIOIDS next page

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CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS Member of Federal Parliament

Electoral District: Niagara West

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

Electoral District: Niagara West

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

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

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The Voice

Page 5

A September 22 2021

OPINION Two-faced Being the politician that he is, Dean Allison is attempting to play both sides at once.

He declares that vaccination is the way to go to fight Covid, and then excuses himself from vaccination by declaring he is “medically exempt.” For the most part, Canadian citizens can expect that their medical histories and conditions are private, but politicians cannot always enjoy such privacy.

I, and many others, do not believe Mr. Allison’s claim to a genuine medical exemption.

Prove me and the rest wrong and shut us up, Mr. Allison, by clearly stating the nature of your medical exemption from vaccination.

David Fowler Wainfleet

Actual record plays a different tune Regarding MP Dean Allison’s letter to the editor last week, “Trudeau ‘demonizing’ those with opposing views,” [Letters, Sept. 15, p.4], he states unequivocally and “for the record” that he never endorsed any alternative treatment, including therapeutics, as a cure for Covid-19.

For the record, here’s what Mr. Allison said recently: On August 12, 2021, Mr. Allison posted on his Twitter account: “Wondering why our federal government is not spending more time and energy looking into therapeutics.”

The image posted along with his statement included a package of Ivermectin.

On March 25, 2021, Mr. Allison presented a petition, e-3256, (https://petitions. ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3265) to Parliament that read, “Ivermectin has been proven to be 100 percent safe, and can eliminate COVID and all the variants by 95 percent within 24 hours, and Ivermectin is already approved in Canada for anti-parasitic use.”

Mr. Allison states he never endorsed an al-

ternate treatment. Never? I count twice that he has, and on the record to boot. Perhaps Mr. Allison has trouble telling the truth, or perhaps he’s just being deceitful. Perhaps both.

Whichever it is, I agree with Mr. Bingham—it’s clear to me that Allison really does not have his constituents or our community’s best interests at heart. Not even close.

Mr. Allison, no amount of hemming and hawing, back-peddling, or damage control will get you out of this one. Shame on you for treating your constituents as fools, and shame on you for irresponsibly endangering the lives and health of those in our community.

And one more thing. Mr Allison says he has a medical exemption for the Covid-19 vaccine. I guess we’ll just have to take his word for it—however, with his lack of integrity and inability to tell the truth on full display of late, I’ll take this dog whistle with an enormous grain of salt.

Peter Schafrick Fonthill

PELHAM AND COVID-19 Mayor Marvin Junkin

Want to get back to normal? Make like the Danes

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o-o-o. I can’t help but feel that maybe, just maybe, the authorities are using the wrong approach when it comes to trying to increase vaccination numbers. We have all read about anti-vaxers that, after making loud proclamations about how there is no pandemic, and that Covid-19 is a government hoax, their death is reported and their last proclamation is, “Please, get the vaccine.” This approach does not seem to be working as well as it should, perhaps because most of us tune out the bad news, and “death” stories are losing their punch. Maybe it is time to focus on what can happen if we all get the shots.

The latest “good news country” that is currently in the forefront is Denmark. They have reached the enviable goal of having 96 percent of their eligible residents over 50 years of age vaccinated, and have

I’m considered mobility challenged and use a walker. My mobility was surely challenged when I went to cast my ballot at the Advanced Poll on Thursday, September 10. The facility was not “user friendly.” I needed help to avoid curbing at a “handicap” parking spot, and needed more help to navigate a stairway. When selecting voting sites, more consideration needs to be given to handicap issues, so that our affected citizens can access the facility with relative ease and can thereby participate in our precious democratic voting process.

Jane Jackson Ridgeville

continued from previous page fast growing and deadly.

Measures need be introduced both on the demand and the supply side. Clearly, there is a great need for the early introduction of educational programs that will effectively deter young people from experimenting

with harmful drugs. Additionally, stricter measures need be implemented to deter the illegal distribution of these chemical killers.

There is no doubting there are plenty of societal issues to be addressed.

The opioid epidemic need be among the highest priorities. ◆

Gilberts Flowers

A

unprofessional behaviour of this employee.

September 13—On-site meeting Monday morning.

Those in attendance agree that there was no room for three-metre sandbags, and that the earthen cofferdam was doing excellent job.

NCPA official recommends contractor buy and install new type of silt cloth. Contractor buys and installs recommended silt cloth, as instructed.

September 16—NCPA shuts down the site, because contractor has installed silt cloth as instructed. Also, earthen cofferdam, that was all right on Monday, is now cited as an infraction.

Round and round it goes.

It absolutely amazes me that anything is accomplished under the direction of this agency. After seeing how this agency functions I have renewed respect for the professionalism that our Town staff exhibits, day after day. ◆

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OPIOIDS

ended all coronavirus safety protocols.

Last week they hosted an outdoor rock concert with some 50,000 in attendance, again with no masks required, and obviously no social distancing. With a population of just under 6 million, their latest seven-day average of new cases is 359, with seven-day average of deaths at two. Maybe if our government focused on success stories like Denmark’s, people would be more inclined to get the jab.

Moving on. nother week and another disruption in the repair at Sulphur Springs Drive. Here’s the timeline.

September 9—NPCA enforcement officer appears on site, stays for 30-second meeting, then storms off shouting, “I will be issuing a ticket!” Public Works Director Jason Marr not given an opportunity to say a thing, later phones the NPCA CEO to complain of

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Page 6

The Voice

A September 22 2021

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Letters continued Trudeau unreliable

Please consider neighbours before allowing hunting This is a plea to farmers and landowners who have previously allowed hunters on their property. When you allow this, is it a snap decision, thinking you are helping your fellow man who is going to think positive of you for allowing the use of your land?

On the other hand, what about your neighbours who have to be subjected to the noise pollution of shotguns and rifles fi lling the autumn air. Are there neighbours with little ones, sick ones, tired workers and what about all of them when you so freely offer your land over to hunters.

Why is it that a small minority gets to overshadow everybody else's chance to enjoy a peaceful quiet autumn season?

Why would you go out and pay for permits, hunting attire, equipment, if you have no actual land belonging to you to hunt on? Rather presumptuous.

Short Hills Provincial Park has been another thorny issue since 2013. Are we not taught in most circles to “Do unto to others as we would have them do onto us”? Political correctness aside, why should one group discover a park around 2013 and take over all that it was meant to be up until then.

Peaceful oasis enjoyed for generations

by many and suddenly from an old treaty there is no compromise or understanding.

It is simply our way or the highway.

No matter what culture, hunters all seem to wear this self- absorbed robe of entitlement with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry following exactly what they are told. Listen, that does not help the majority of the population who worked and created the park and suddenly are silenced.

Is that any way to treat your neighbour?

This year some persons reached out to Wainfleet Township and Pelham asking for no hunting due to the high population growth in certain areas. Have yet to hear a straight answer one way or the other, so suspicious how it will play out as once again hunters no matter what culture seem to be able to bully their way through.

This is not the 1800s, so let's do the right thing for a change and cut out hunting and allow the rest of us to enjoy autumn for a deserved change.

Truly it is the anti-hunters turn, don't you agree?

Faye Suthons Wainfleet

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Who ever said that politics can’t be fun— even silly sometimes? Both of these elements are alive and well in Niagara West.

First, let me provide some background.

Last week, the Voice published comments I wished to express under the heading: “Campaign signs stolen—but Allison signs remain” [Letters, Sept. 15, p.5].

The Bingham campaign replaced the two signs which were removed, but the story doesn’t end there. On Saturday afternoon, the 18th, as I was backing out of my driveway to run an errand in the village, I noticed an Allison sign at the edge of the field opposite our home. It was aimed, it seems, directly at my garage. It was about 3 PM, but we hadn’t noticed this new sign, because it was not visible to us from the house. Since the sign was pointed directly north, motorists driving east or west on Tice could not

“Tilt-In Feature”

see it either. The only way it was visible was from our driveway.

I caught sight of the sign on my rearview camera as I was backing up. I had to put on the brakes before going any farther because I was laughing so hard. It was fairly clear that this sign was intended to remind me that I was living in Conservative territory.

Tit-for-tat? Retribution? One-upmanship?

I can’t imagine the labour pains that must have accompanied the birth of this brilliant idea! It is clear to me that this was the brainchild of supporters from the Allison campaign. Allow me the plural “supporters” in this case, because I am not convinced that the logistics of such a caper could have been carried out by just one adherent to the Allison campaign. It must have taken a whole See SIGNS next page

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TAKE NOTICE OF PELHAM that the Council of the Corporation of the By-law 4371 (2021) adopts amendment no. 12 to the Town of Pelham Official Plan which will amend B1.1.2(b), Town of Pelham passed By-law No.4371 B1.1.3(e), B1.1.4, B1.1.9(h), B1.7.3.2(a(v)), B1.7.7.3.1 (a(ii)), B1.7.7.4.1(a(iii)), B1.7.8.3.1(b(xi)), B1.7.8.4.1(b(xi)), Approved By: B2.2.2, B2.1.3.5 and Appendix Date: Terms B2.1.2, F – Definitions (Residential Intensification (e)) to implement policies on Second (2021) on September 7, 2021, which 905.892.8690 ‘R.C. O’Hara’ Mar 29, 2016 Dwelling Units (SDU) in the Town.

Amendment no.

12 will permit Second Dwelling Units in single detached, semiadopts amendment no. 12 to the Town of detached, townhouse and multiple dwellings as well as in detached accessory buildings in the Urban Living Area Pelham Official Plan under Section 22 of DEADLINES PRODUCTION designation in the areas identified on Schedule A1 to this Official Plan, without the need for a Zoning By-law the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, as Ad Bookings Readythat: Ads News / Editorial amendmentCamera provided Thursday Noon, week prior.

Monday Noon for advertiser Monday Noon amended. supplied print ready/ Ad Materials Onwith Pressthe Ontario Building and Fire Codes as well the Town's Zoning By-law. A a)Second Dwelling Units will comply approved ads.

Supplied as Thursday 4 pm, week prior, for ads requiring Tuesday permission for a second dwelling unit; building permit will be required to obtain high resolution pdfs.

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1136 (1987), as amended, under Section 34 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, as amended, with consideration given to all written submissions relating to the by-law that were made to Council before its decision and all oral submissions relating to the by-law that were made at the public meeting.

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Zoning By-law; e)The second dwelling units are designed and located to maintain the external appearance and character of a principle dwelling unit as viewed from the public street; and, f)Second Dwelling Units - will be included in the Town’s Intensification targets.

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By-law 4368 (2021) amends the Town of Pelham Zoning By-law No. 1136 (1987) to permit two (2) Second Dwelling Units (SDU) on a lot in the Residential Village 1 (RV1) zone, Residential Village 2 (RV2) zone, Residential Multiple Village 1 (RMV1) zone, Residential 1 (R1) zone, Residential 2 (R2) zone, Residential 3 (R3) zone, Residential Multiple 1 (RM1), Agricultural (A) and Special Rural (SR) zones, subject to the following provisions: a)SDUs located within Residential zones shall have a max floor area that does not exceed 74.3 m2 (800sqft); b)SDUs located within Agricultural and Special Rural zones shall have a max floor area that does not exceed 93 m2 (1,000sqft); c)A minimum of one (1) on-site parking space is required for each Second Dwelling Unit, in addition to the parking requirements for the principle dwelling. Parking shall be in accordance with Section 6.16 of this By-law; d)Maximum height: i.No accessory residential building or structure shall exceed 4.75m (15.58 ft) in height; and ii.No accessory agricultural/special rural building or structure shall exceed 7.2m (23.62 ft) in height. e)In Agricultural (A) and Special Rural (SR) zones, the maximum distance between a principle dwelling unit and SDU is 40m (131.2 ft) unless the SDU is located in an existing building; f)Entrance to a SDU must be separate from the entrance provided for the principal dwelling; and, g)A building permit must be issued.

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

SIGNS

continued from previous page gaggle of them.

But I digress. I was flattered that my comments had aroused such sentiments, and even more impressed that they would warrant the presence of that sign. Imagine this: someone (or “someones”) had taken the time and trouble to look up my address, procure the sign in question, and then drive to our home to install it.

That’s dedication to a cause! Why, the price of gas alone these days would classify this response as a supreme sacrifice for the cause.

As I drove to the village I had a wide smile on my face. The Allison campaign had made my day.

And I’m still smiling!

Don MacRae Ridgeville Wait, there is a sequel to the sequel.

Perhaps my little tale was too charitable. This morning, Sunday the 19th, the day before the election, the Allison sign is still proudly standing opposite our driveway. I would never think of removing it. However our Bingham signs and those of our Liberal neighbour down the road have once again been removed, perhaps by the same idiots who were involved the first time. I don’t know.

Is this what the Conservative party is willing to allow? Childish behaviour such as this tells me that supporters like these won’t allow another point of view which does not coincide with their own. “My way or the highway” seems to be their motto. I really do pity them, but at the same time I fear that their behaviour may be an early manifestation of far more consequential actions.

But the bottom line is this: I’m still smiling, thanks to the Allison campaign.

The Voice

Page 7

A September 22 2021

Give where you live

BY BILL POTRECZ Special to the Voice Natalie Seniuk is all smiles when people buy nothing.

The 42-year-old Pelham resident has nothing against a good, old-fashioned purchase, but she has also seen the many benefits of sharing goods and services within a community.

Seniuk became familiar with The Buy Nothing Project, a social movement that has some 6,500 groups worldwide, while living in Hamilton the past 20 years.

Buy Nothing is network of “local gift economies,” where neighbours can share pretty much everything with each other, from a cup of sugar to a fishing rod, without exchanging money.

Services and skills — haircutting or music lessons as an example — can also be shared.

Seniuk moved to Pelham last fall to be closer to family — her father lives in Fonthill and she grew up in St. Catharines — and noticed Pelham did not have a local chapter of Buy Nothing.

“I saw an opportunity because the one in Hamilton was amazing and it was really active,” Seniuk said. “If I have something I no longer have a use for, I post it and see if anybody wants it. We share it. We gift it. It’s not trading, it’s not buying, it’s not selling. There are groups for that. Or if I need something, I can see if someone has it.”

Seniuk took on the role of administrator in July, but response has been tepid with only about 70 members so far.

“I’ve mostly advertised at a minimum, through channels

I already had in Pelham,” she said. “It’s been through word of mouth and it’s been slow. Ideally, to have a group that’s robust and running, you want a couple of hundred members so I thought the Voice would be a good place to let people know about it.”

Seniuk said Buy Nothing is more than just giving away items or acquiring items free of charge.

“The other part of it is you get to meet your neighbours. You get to meet faces in the neighbourhood.”

Seniuk quickly found use for the Buy Nothing community when she and her husband, Jeff, were setting up their new home.

“I don’t know a lot of people and someone posted they were pruning their garden and had extra ivy. We just bought a new house and our garden needed it, so I went to that person’s house, got what I needed, and met somebody,” she said. “I was walking down the street the other day and my neighbour who I met through this gave me flowers because she had extra as I was walking by.”

She admits the pandemic has made things difficult.

“Through Covid it’s been a bit trickier because people are nervous about hanging out,” she said. “Before that, you would pop by. You might not become friends with everybody, but now it’s another face.”

Seniuk, who is employed at Metrolinx as a manager for environment programs and permitting, said pretty much anything

Buy Nothing Project administrator Natalie Seniuk. can be offered.

“A lot of it is standard household stuff,” she said. “Sometimes it starts things. For example, I have a lot of extra clothes and you have a lot of extra clothes so it becomes a clothing swap. It can be anything.”

Seniuk said many also use the service to share items.

“Maybe my lawnmower broke and I need one for the day or I’m going on a trip and need lifejackets and it's something I don’t want to buy because I’m one going to use it once, and someone might have one there are willing to share,” she said. “That’s where it’s kind of cool. It saves everybody a bit of money.”

How items are distributed is up to the person giving the item away.

“It’s not meant to be compet-

BILL POTRECZ

itive,” she said. “Some people will ask to be told why you want it if they were posting something they knew would have a lot of interest. It’s up to the person giving it,” she said.

It is also handy for the those who don’t want to give an item away, but don’t mind lending it out.

“You can give it to someone who uses it regularly and they can give it back if you need it.”

Seniuk said her group is meant for those who reside in Pelham.

The closest other group is St. Catharines.

“There is no harm in joining,” she said. “Fonthill has grown and changed so much. People are here from new places and I see it in a lot of the groups.”

See: https://www.facebook. com/groups/489586512311702

Notice of Public Meeting TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021 AT 5:30 PM - VIA WEBCAST File Name: Saffron Meadows Phase 1 & 2 and River Estates Phase 2 Subdivisions File Number: AM-05-2021 The Town of Pelham has initiated a Housekeeping Zoning By-law Amendment for the property known as Saffron Meadows Phase 1 & 2 and River Estates Phase 2 Subdivisions, and described legally as Blocks 44-47, Registered Plan 59M – 456, Blocks 31-36, 39 & 40, Registered Plan 59M-576 and Block 39 and 40, Registered Plan 59M-471 in the Town of Pelham, Regional Municipality of Niagara.

The proposed Zoning By-law Amendment would rectify zoning interpretations and potential for non-compliance with the zoning by-law for the street townhouse blocks/units in the Subdivisions as it relates to lot frontage and exterior side yard setbacks.

YOUR INPUT IS ENCOURAGED: Please provide input by speaking at the public meeting or by making a written submission to the Town of Pelham. Unless indicated otherwise, personal information and all comments will become part of the public record and may be publicly released. To provide input in writing, or to request personal notice if the proposed rezoning or draft plan of subdivision is approved, please send all correspondence by 12:00 PM on Thursday, September 30, 2021 for inclusion in the public meeting agenda package c/o Town Clerk, Holly Willford, PO Box 400, 20 Pelham Town Square, Fonthill, Ontario L0S 1E0, or by email at HWillford@pelham.ca. Verbal comments will be received remotely at this public hearing using the Zoom platform. To participate remotely, please pre-register with the Clerks office by sending an email to clerks@pelham.ca before 12:00 PM on Friday, October 8, 2021. All registrants will be provided with instructions on how to use your computer, tablet or phone to participate in the Public Meeting. Registrants will also be notified of Council’s decision. If you have not submitted written comments or pre-registered before the aforementioned deadlines, but wish to submit comments during the Public Meeting, you may livestream the meeting from the Town of Pelham’s YouTube channel and email comments to clerks@pelham.ca during the public commenting portion of the subject application only. If your comments are not received prior to the closing of the public commenting portion of the meeting, they will not be considered.

NEED MORE INFORMATION: For more information, please contact Kenny Ng by email at Kng@pelham.ca or at 905-892-2607 ex. 324. A copy of the staff Report regarding the proposed application as well as any additional information may be obtained on the Town’s website at https://events.pelham.ca/meetingsor at Town Hall after noon on Wednesday, October 6, 2021.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: If a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the Town of Pelham in respect of the proposed rezoning before Council gives or refuses to give approval to the rezoning, the person or public body is not entitled to appeal the decision of the Town of Pelham to the Ontario Land Tribunal. If a person or public body does not make oral submission at a public meeting or make written submission to the Town of Pelham in respect of the proposed rezoning before Council gives or refuses to give approval to the rezoning, the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Land Tribunal unless, in the opinion of the Tribunal, there is reasonable grounds to do so. If you wish to be notified of the decision of Town Council in respect of the proposed rezoning, you must make a written request to the Clerk of the Town of Pelham and such request must include the name and address to which such notice should be sent.

Dated at the Town of Pelham, this 15th day of September, 2021

Page 8

The Voice

A September 22 2021

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

S tudebakers EVENT VENUE HOSTING FALL MARKET

On Saturday, September 25th, Studebakers Event Venue is hosting a Fall Market from 10 am to 3 pm. Local vendors will be selling handmade treasures of all kinds to help start your seasonal shopping. Many familiar favourite vendors will be joining RJ’S food truck in a beautiful natural setting.

JUST SOME OF THE FAMILIAR FAVOURITES INCLUDE: • Sing Little Sparrow Baby Designs • Nana’s Knitted Dish Cloths • Sweet Legs • Felon & Lully Rustic Signs • Nana’s Jams/candy apples/popcorn • Garden City Finds Vintage Collectibles • My Beau Wooden Goods • Resinating Creativity • Godfreys Gifts, mask & hair essentials • Norwex • Wilde and Whimsical baby and toddler • Gel Moment Nail Polish

• Tanya’s Tasty Eats • M & M Wooden Games • Meg’s Boutique • Hedgewitch Herbals • Scentsy • Crafty Canning Company • Between 2 Lakes Candle Company • Remi’s Collar Addiction • Kaleidoscopic Harmony Resin Designs • Mandi Jewellery Designs • Sue’s Hand Knitted Items • and many more

Studebakers Event Venue is located at 60967 Niagara Regional Road 27, just outside of Welland and bordering on Wainfleet.

For more information or directions, please call or text 905 324 1914. Email us at rjseatery@hotmail.com or visit our website at www.studebakers.ca

ABOUT US: Brenda and John Sawyers bought the property 3 years ago with a vision to host weddings and celebrations for people wanting to experience all that Niagara has to offer.

John is a Certified Red Seal Chef who creates mouth-watering menus using only the freshest, local ingredients largely purchased from local markets and farms.

Brenda makes sure every detail is planned and executed to ensure your event is a success - and FUN! There are no pre-set packages to choose from. Instead, every event is customized to make your vision a reality.

At the outset of the pandemic, Brenda and John decided to create a one-stopshop for all things EVENT – catering, rentals, staffing, co-ordinating, and Bridal – all in one place. As the summer winds down, our Bridal Suite is transformed into a space to host small dinner parties and celebrations. RJ’s Catering and Event Planning now has a country home at Studebakers.

Fridays from 5 to 6:30 pm, RJ’s food truck is serving up Lake Erie Perch propro vided from their friends at Minor’s in Port Colborne. Take out or tailgate under the trees or the big tent and enjoy watching the gardens change though the season.

School sports return to DSBN Plenty of Covid protocols await athletes

BY BERNIE PUCHALSKI Special to the Voice High school sports are ramping up at District School Board of Niagara schools.

“We are very excited to have athletics running because we know how important it is for our students and their well-being,” said Helen McGregor, the DSBN’s Superintendent of Curriculum and Student Achievement Secondary. “We also know sports are so important for so many of our students from an equity perspective [for students] that cannot participate in community sports. We really want to focus on maintaining safe opportunities for our students.”

Activity started in earnest last week.

“We have approved all the fall sports to start their practices and what we have done, with [DSBN athletic convenor Rina Rode’s] support of course, we have worked out very specific guidelines so that they fall within the ministry and public health guidelines,” McGregor said.

Football teams held mini camps in August and started practice the first week of school but the other sports were not given the green light until last Tuesday. Fall sports played at the high school level are football, tennis, golf, cross country, girls basketball, boys volleyball and girls field hockey.

All the sports will need to follow Covid protocols.

Some of the protocols are specific to the sport but all sports must: follow masking guidelines, students have to screen for Covid symptoms, social distancing has to be maintained, unnecessary touching such as high fives is not allowed, there has to be separation on the benches between players, hand sanitizers need to be used, and there is a limited number of people allowed in changerooms.

“It’s all of those sort of normal Covid protocols that exist and that have been outlined to us by the ministry and department of health,” she said. “And the list goes on.”

For outdoor sports, ministry guidelines say players can be unmasked if they are maintaining distance or if they are involved in strenuous activity.

“If they are running, that is a health risk to wear a mask whether it is indoors or outdoors,” McGregor said. “If they are inside the building and not playing basketball or volleyball, they have to have a mask on.”

There is no DSBN requirement that students need to be double-vaxxed to play sports.

However, DSBN staff have to follow the provincial policies and guidelines—meaning they either need to be double-vaxxed or do twice weekly negative Covid tests, she said.

“The DSBN decided with safety in mind that any outside coaches and volunteer coaches must be double-vaccinated, period, and all officials entering or participating with any of our students also must be double-vaccinated. We have been working

with our agencies and our partners to make sure that that happens.”

No spectators will be allowed at indoor sports, and the DSBN is working on its policy for outdoor sports such as football.

“We are very much limiting access to our schools other than staff and students,” McGregor said. “We are doing that for the safety of our students and our staff so the same goes for spectators at this point in time.”

Schedules for all sports are being worked on with tennis and golf starting first because they are outdoors, there is limited contact between athletes and there are no outside officials.

“We are working through sport by sport and there are tentative dates for tennis and golf. They will be coming and our goal is to have competition for all those fall sports but once again we are following ministry and public health guidelines,” she said. “If the conditions or the rules change, that is what we are governed by.”

There are a lot of factors being weighed in all the decisions regarding sports.

Because the DSBN plays in the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association with other schools — French, public, private and Christian schools as well — “we have to work our protocols out amongst all the different schools,” she said. “That is what we are doing right now.”

Once the DSBN has navigated its way through the fall sports, it will start moving on to the winter sports.

“The other thing I will say is there may be implications for some sports in outside venues if they require students or anyone entering to be double-vaccinated,” McGregor said. “For swimming, for ice rinks, curling, hockey, etc., there may be some potential limitations for participation that are out there and are out of our control.”

Busing is obviously a factor in the successful running of high school sports.

“We are working very closely with NSTS [Niagara Student Transportation Services],” she said. “They have Covid transportation protocols that they follow so we, of course, are making sure that we operate within those protocols.”

Getting ready to launch the sports had required a phenomenal amount of work.

“It is so important and I will say a big thank you to Rina Rode, who is our DSBN and NRHSAA athletic lead, and we have created teams behind the scenes to work through these protocols for practices and then moving into games,” McGregor said.

Those efforts have been appreciated.

“The feedback from parents, students and staff has been incredible about how excited they are. I have seen some of the practices and to see the joy and excitement of youth participating in sport has been an awesome thing,” McGregor said. “You talked about the work and that work is for our students and for their opportunities, well-being and enjoyment. People realize how much they missed it.”

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

The Voice

Page 9

A September 22 2021

NPCA shuts down Sulphur Springs repair Contractor says agencies "colluding" to keep road closed

BY DON RICKERS Voice Correspondent The long-awaited rehabilitation of Sulphur Springs Road has ground to a halt.

In a statement, Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) Communications Specialist Erika Navarro said, “Sulphur Springs Road reconstruction work has been stopped to bring the site into compliance as per the approved Erosion and Sediment Control Plan. NPCA staff are working in close coordination with the Niagara Escarpment Commission, the Town of Pelham, and their contractor on appropriate solutions to address environmental issues in a timely manner.”

Pelham’s Director of Public Works, Jason Marr, told the Voice that the work stoppage “is basically the result of the dewatering plan that was originally proposed for saltation control. The dewatering plan couldn’t be constructed on site due to the topography and the narrow channel that exists with the current stream, so an alternate method of dewatering saltation and soil control was devised. Until such time that the contractor is able to get that new

Contractor Bill Duffin and Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin survey the reconstruction site on Sulphur Springs Drive on Saturday, Sept. 11. erosion control plan approved by the NPCA, they are on hold from doing further work. The contractor has submitted all the necessary documentation for review by the NPCA engineering department.”

Sulphur Springs Drive in north Pelham, which runs between Eff-

ingham Street and Roland Road, just south of Short Hills Provincial Park, had a portion of its roadway washed out in May 2016, and has been closed since. The roadway abuts the headwaters of Twelve Mile Creek, an ecologically sensitive waterway. The Town of Pel-

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The Voice

A September 22 2021

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YMCAs back in business Three Niagara facilities reopened last Wednesday

BY BERNIE PUCHALSKI Special to the Voice A degree of normality returned to Niagara this week with the reopening of the region Ys. Welcoming new and former members Wednesday were the Niagara Centre YMCA in Welland, the Niagara West YMCA in Grimsby, and the Vale Wellness YMCA in Port Colborne.

All the facilities had been closed since the provincial lockdown was last imposed at the end of December.

“First and foremost, Covid has been really hard on everyone and it has been really hard on charities. We need to get our doors open, we need to get people back in using the YMCA because it is important for our physical and mental well-being,” said Kim Bentley-MacDonald, the YMCA’s Senior General Manager Health, Fitness and Aquatics.

“People are craving exercise and social [activities] and it is absolutely critical we get this pool open, get the fitness centre and group fitness classes going, because those are the things

people love about their YMCA. They come, we know their name, they know what they can expect and people just miss that so incredibly much.”

Anticipation of the reopening had been building for days.

“We have had people this week knocking on the door, the phones have been ringing and we have had lots of emails so we know people are eager,” she said. “We are just as eager to serve them.”

Welland centre manager Ashley Laing is thrilled with the reopening.

“It’s just having people and staff back and it brings vibrancy and life to this building,” she said. “It was great that we had the vaccine clinics here to service the community but when we are not able to run as the YMCA, it is not just about the fitness and what they do here. They love seeing each other, they love seeing us and they love coming here.”

Bentley-MacDonald was excited to welcome back staff members.

Ashley Laing and Kim Bentley-MacDonald were thrilled as Niagara’s three YMCAs reopened Wednesday.

BERNIE PUCHALKSI “So far we have only seen smiling faces and people happy to be here. They are excited but we have a ton of change so we are teaching them everything that has changed and adjusting our systems.”

The 45 full- and parttime staff members for the three Ys have been training since Sept. 1 and the preparation work done at the Welland Y mirrored the other locations. Tasks included: cleaning the facility and reorganizing and putting things back where they belong, setting up equipment and the social distancing notifications, refilling the pools, and updating the organization’s website about its new online registration.

People coming to the Y will notice the same Covid

protocols that were in place before the last lockdown.

“It’s masking, social distancing and booking your workout times,” Bentley-MacDonald said. “Those are all current for this reopening but there are obviously vaccine requirements this time around as per the government’s directive to have everyone vaccinated by Sept. 22.”

The YMCA has put programs in place for those who are not vaccinated.

“For those looking for accommodation, we will have virtual programming, in-person outdoor programming, and we will look at some other offerings as well so we can support folks who don’t have their vaccine but want to be engaged from a health and wellness

perspective.”

The virtual programming has been up for months.

“We turned to virtually programming way back in March of 2020, and this seems like a natural flow for folks who are unable to return due to the directive,” Bentley-MacDonald said.

Members coming to the Y will need to do a health screening. There will be a QR code posted in the lobbies and members will use that to do the health screening.

If they pass the screening, they proceed to the membership desk. If they have pre-registered with the new membership online form, they will need to complete a few final details about the membership. A new card will then be printed, they will be given any information required, and their vaccine status will be noted.

“We won’t need to see that any more once we logged that into the system,” she said.

A hard copy or an image on a phone are both good to show vaccine status.

“Everything we have moved online has been change for folks but we will have additional staff around who will be able to assist people with those processes,” Bentley-MacDonald said. “As much as possible, if people could arrive with some of that done it would be helpful so we don’t get a backlog at the desk but we have staff, we have tablets, we have computers. We won’t turn people away.”

The YMCA has a new membership model with

flexible options for people to choose at varying rates. The four options are based on what individuals like to use.

A fitness membership includes fitness floor, open gym, indoor track and virtual programs. The biweekly rates are $14.50 for an adult, $13.78 for a senior and $13.05 for a youth or young adult.

The fitness, group and recreation option includes all the fitness options plus group fitness, drop-in sports and recreation, and fitness and goal setting. The biweekly rates are $17.50 for an adult, $16.63 for a senior and $15.75 for a youth or young adult.

The aquatics option includes Aquafit, lane swimming, indoor track and recreational swimming. The biweekly rates are $19.98 for an adult, $18.98 for a senior and $17.98 for a youth or young adult.

The all-inclusive option includes everything the Y has to offer and multibranch access. The biweekly rates are $24.98 for an adult, $23.73 for a senior and $22.48 for a youth or young adult.

Visit ymcaofniagara.org for more information.

The YMCA survives on membership fees and donations.

“As a charity, we are always looking for donations and there is a Donate Now button on our YMCA website,” Bentley-MacDonald said. “When people donate to the YMCA, they are donating to help someone else belong. Our membership assistance program ensures we turn no one away.”

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The Voice

Page 11

A September 22 2021

Busy autumn ahead for local Trout Unlimited chapter Planting, educational programming, and in-stream restoration projects are on the go

BY BRIAN GREEN Special to the Voice Josh White watches with close attention as Mike Ashcroft’s excavator places 100 kg rocks in precise locations along the riverbank.

“These will become the foundation of a ‘vegetated buttress’,” says White, “and when it is complete it will not only shore up the streambank and prevent more erosion but prevent tonnes of sediment from being swept downstream during flooding.”

White is Landowner Engagement Co-ordinator with Trout Unlimited Canada’s Niagara chapter, and just last week he finally received approval from the Niagara Escarpment Commission to commence in-stream work on a fragile section of Twelve Mile Creek, near Hollow Road.

“My predecessor in this position applied for a permit in 2020 and all approvals were finalized in the last two weeks of August 2021… just in time,” White explains, “to get the work done before the end of the permit period that extended into mid-September.”

White and his contracted project manager, restoration ecologist Chris DiRaddo, of Sassafras Farms, are guiding the placement of the rocks which will be packed into place with soil and tree roots, and then planted with native shrub and tree species to form the buttress.

“When it’s done right,” White says, “a vegetated buttress has

more strength than tensile steel and it not only supports the bank at a key point, but serves to slow the velocity of the rushing water during floods and reduce erosion further downstream.”

This project is just one of many that White and his team are working on this fall. It is a cooperative venture with the NPCA and is partly financed by the Great Lakes Local Action Fund, with the landowner making “a significant contribution.” With some 85 percent of the land along Twelve Mile Creek in private hands, White is delighted when landowners take part in stream restoration.

“It’s great to see local landowners get involved both physically and financially in helping to naturalize the stream,” he says.

Other projects the Niagara chapter is actively pursuing this autumn include shoring up a large clay cliff in Short Hills Provincial Park that is eroding huge amounts of sediment into the Twelve. In cooperation with Walker Environmental, who made a considerable contribution to the chapter for restoration work, White and his Niagara chapter volunteers will work with volunteers from Walker to build on earlier efforts to stabilize the sheer wall of clay by planting some 600 shrubs and trees across the face of the cliff.

Noting that tree planting any-

Josh White guides Mike Ascroft in placing boulders in Twelve Mile Creek. where in the Twelve Mile Creek watershed helps the creek by reducing excess water, providing cover, and stabilizing banks, White says the chapter has ambitious plans for the autumn planting window.

“With our NPCA partners we’re planning on planting more than 12,000 square metres of native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers on one property in a series of workdays that will involve some 150 volunteers,” he says. “It’s an effort to engage people, especially groups like Scouts and schools, in some of

this important restoration work.”

On a smaller property, they will be planting along the stream edge to provide shade and bank stability, while more planting of shade trees will be the focus of a project to cool and protect amphibian ponds in Short Hills Park.

In addition to the ongoing work in and around the stream, the chapter is completing work on a series of educational modules that will present some of the challenges facing coldwater environments by focusing on the lifecycle of the

native Brook Trout. Called “Bring Back the Brookies,” these programs are aimed at Grades 7 to 9 but are suitable for both younger children and adults. They take a local point of view, focusing on Twelve Mile Creek and its declining population of Brook Trout, which are the best indicator of a healthy aquatic environment. The modules will include workbook and manual components along with the video programs, and emphasize experiential learning through field trips and walks along the creek.

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Page 12

The Voice

A September 22 2021

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Through Louis' Lens

I

t’s known as a barred spiral galaxy, our Milky Way, and it’s estimated to have a visible diameter of 100,000 to 200,000 light years. Recent calculations suggest that it

may contain a dark matter disk extending to a diameter of nearly 2 million light years. Our galaxy contains its own satellite galaxies, all of which are part of the Virgo Supercluster, itself part of the

Laniakea Supercluster, defined just in 2014, and home to some 100,000 galaxies. It’s remarkable that as recently as a hundred years ago, in the early 1920s, most astronomers assumed that the Milky

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Way contained all the stars in the universe. Then observations by the great Edwin Hubble proved that the Milky Way was but one of many galaxies.

Its name derives from the Latin via lactea, through

The Voice

Page 13

A September 22 2021

the Greek galaktikos kýklos, meaning “milky circle.” From Earth, we perceive the Milky Way to be a band, since we’re viewing its disk-shaped structure from within. In this superb view from

Morgan’s Point, in Wainfleet, by photographer Louis Albanese, lights from across Lake Erie in New York State and Pennsylvania encroach on an otherwise clear summer night’s sky. ◆

Page 14

The Voice

A September 22 2021

HALTED

PEOPLE AND POLITICS

continued from Page 9

by David Siegel

The dilemma of a minority government

T

his column is written from a peculiar perspective. Deadlines require that I submit this before the election, but by the time you are reading this, you will have a pretty good, or maybe an exact, idea of the results. I am much too timid to try to predict the winner of the election, especially an election that seems this close.

However, I am writing this based on the relatively easy prediction that we will have a minority government of some sort.

There is sometimes great distress when an election produces a minority result, as though we are in for some dire trouble for the duration of this great tragedy. The truth is that the Westminster Parliamentary form of government is built to accommodate minority status, and there has been some analysis that indicates that the results produced by minority governments are not much different from those produced by majority governments. Minority governments require careful navigation by the parties, but the sky won’t fall.

In Canada we have had several minority governments at both the federal and provincial levels over the years. And as long as we

continue to have five or six viable parties jockeying for power, we will likely continue to have minority governments at the federal level. They might become the norm as has been the case in some European countries for many years.

The Governor General could choose the party that won the most seats, but not necessarily When one party wins a majority of seats, the result is quite straightforward— the Governor General asks the leader of that party to form a government. If no party wins a majority of seats, the situation becomes more complicated, especially if the two leading parties are fairly close in number of seats.

There are no laws governing this situation, but the Governor General is bound by certain conventions. The general idea is that the Governor General should choose a party to govern that will provide some stability in

office. Stability means that the governing party will be able to present budgets and other matter of confidence that would attract enough votes of other parties so that they could be passed. If these confidence measures are not passed, then the government would fall.

The Governor General could choose the party that won the most seats, but not necessarily. In 2019, the decision was relatively easy.

The Liberal party won a plurality of seats and it had natural partners in the NDP and the Green Party so the Liberals were given the right to govern and they were able to walk the tight rope and provide stability for a period of time. The same scenario could present itself this time.

If the Liberals win a plurality of seats, it is likely that they would be given the right to govern and they could continue as long as they had the support of some other party or parties on confidence motions.

However, if the Conservative Party won a plurality, but not a majority, the picture is more complicated.

The Conservative Party does not seem to have the logical partners that the Liberal Party has. Of course,

but only after Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin went public to the Voice and CHCHTV to detail the delays and frustrations.

The contractor for the Sulphur Springs project, Bill Duffin, has described the job as a significant engineering challenge, given that there are actually two streams involved—the Twelve Mile Creek headwaters, and the Sulphur Spring stream, the latter being primarily responsible for degrading the narrow, undulating, four-metre wide roadway. The project necessitates excavating the roadway to a depth of about eight feet, and rebuilding it in layers with a special plastic grid and compacted gravel before applying an asphalt topcoat.

Duffin is clearly frustrated at yet another delay.

“At first, when I was told that the NPCA was shutting us down, I thought, ‘Here we go again, another roadblock, another attempt at having the time run out on our permit so we can't do the work,’” said Duffin.

“The powers that be—and

See MINORITY Page 19

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www.thevoiceofpelham.ca they know who they are— do not want Sulphur Springs reopened. I think that it is more than just a coincidence that this happened when they found out that we were granted a [work deadline] extension by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.”

Duffin said that the company spent close to six months getting the NPCA permit and “jumping through all their hoops.”

“And now the NPCA want their permit back. The NPCA did not think that we would even start the job, as they made sure that they granted the permit when we had only five days to complete an eight-week job.”

Duffin praised Town Hall, however, for trying to keep things on track.

"I must commend the Town for their support in trying to keep this job going—in particular our Director of Public Works, and the Mayor. They are in a difficult and political position while trying to move forward with this project".

Duffin said that approximately a third of the work on Sulphur Spring Drive has been completed.

“It is time that the truth

is told,” he said. “The NPCA, NEC, and Trout Unlimited are colluding to prevent this work from moving forward.

The people of Pelham have lost enough of their smalltown culture, and shouldn't have to lose their Short Hills, along with the most scenic, natural drive in the Niagara Peninsula.”

Representatives of the NEC and Trout Unlimited did not acknowledge requests to comment on Duffin's collusion charge.

NPCA spokesperson Erika Navarro told the Voice that like other conservation authorities across Ontario, the NPCA works with many environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGO’s) and community groups to promote stewardship of natural resources.

"However, we must be clear that NPCA does not engage or rely on third-party or ENGO input or influence in carrying out our legislative mandate of plan review and permitting," said Navarro. "These responsibilities are carried out independently by our professionally trained and experienced technical experts based on decades of science and evidence."

Truth be told.

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The Voice

Page 15

A September 22 2021

ANOTHER ROUND

by John Piccolo

Dial back the pressure and enjoy the moment

M

ost students come in for a lesson thinking they will be taught the right way to do all the things they need to do to play golf successfully. If they have played for awhile and are struggling then they think it must be their grip, stance, or the fact they always lift their head which is the cause of their inconsistencies. It is therefore always with some trepidation that I have to inform many students that their problem is not physical but rather a mental error. Not always of course. Sometimes there is an obvious issue which consistently disrupts the chances of success. There is a reason however for the quote: “The most difficult distance in golf is the six inches between your ears.”

I recently had the privilege of teaching a great group of women of various ages and walks of life. I spent a lot of time asking questions about what was most difficult for them in the game.

As our sessions were winding down I asked for feedback on what they had learned and if their individual paths to success were clear.

There was a common thread amongst many of them.

Along with the technical instruction we had talked about, the greatest benefit was the confidence they gained to play the game their way. To let the swing happen and be open to dealing with the results. Then make your best guess as to which club and where to aim for the next one and carry on until it goes into the hole or you have had enough of that particular hole. Their swing didn’t have to look like everyone else’s. They didn’t have to hit it as far as everyone else. It is okay to fail (pretty much mandatory), okay to doubt, okay to be anxious. Okay to be happy with a result others are disappointed in. It is okay to have to move a little closer to the ball one week and a little further away the next.

It is okay to have to cycle

through different thoughts.

If it works for you, you don’t have to justify it or explain why.

What struck home for many were the stories both personal and about various

At the highest level of all sport modern athletes have been coached to death about all things physical and mental

tour players and how everyone goes through the same peaks and valleys, the mental and physical highs and lows. The best players in the world don’t stand up there and know what is going to happen every time. Some go through stretches where this seems to be the case and they never miss but inevitably they do. Just like us they have many things going on in their lives that can interfere with letting themselves succeed.

At the highest level of all sport modern athletes have been coached to death about all things physical and mental to do with their game. Yet, they still fail. Even though they have done what they need to do physically thousands of times they can’t always do it. Even though they have access to very high priced sports psychologists (golfers even have amateur ones carrying their bag around for them) they can’t always enact the strategies they have been trained to use.

We put way too much pressure on ourselves. We don’t have the time, money, desire, or physical ability to be as good as we might hope.

Accept that. You don’t need to apologize for it. This is your hobby. You can play at what-

ever level you like as long as you leave the course happier than when you arrived. Don’t let others’ expectations or pontifications interfere with this outcome.

Here are a few of the things we talked about to help take some of the anxiety out of the game. Tee off with whatever club you have the most confidence in. Particularly if it is the first hole, which tends to be the most stressful. A driver may go further in theory and that is why your partners may be encouraging you to use it. If, however, the length of it or your track record with the club leaves you very much doubting the chances of success, ditch it. A wellstruck hybrid or 7 iron (or whatever your preference) will help build confidence even if it doesn’t go as far as you hoped.

Before you start, decide on a set number of strokes you will take on any given hole before you pick up and place your ball on the green.

After six or eight swings on most holes your mind starts thinking of getting the hell out of there rather than any thought of ingraining the proper movements.

Same thing on the green.

Hit three or four putts, each with purpose, and then off you go. Play best ball if you start to feel overwhelmed.

Hit every shot, but if you feel you are taking too long and holding things up, move your ball up to where another member of your group has hit it. Keep doing this until you get your confidence back to play your own ball and focus on process instead of situation.

Don’t be afraid to break some rules if necessary to succeed. The rules were See ANOTHER ROUND Page 20

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continued from Page 1 because I thought I wouldn’t get to play football again in high school,” he said. “I played football in Grade 9 and 10 and in Grade 11 I got a bad concussion and I was out for the whole season. I wanted to come back to play in Grade 12 and then Covid happened.”

He loves the sport.

“It’s a good release. We all like to come out here, work together as a team and we are a big family out here.”

Hooker did find a way to stay fit over the past year and a half.

“I started a Snapchat story with all my friends called Fitness Only and we would

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He was thrilled when he heard that high school football was back.

“I was excited. We knew there was going to be football right off the bat and we did some training in the summer to get really prepared for this. It is great to be back.”

Hooker and fellow seniors Noble Arterberry, Robbie Pereira, and Ethan Robertson ran a mini camp for the players three days before school started and as many as 16 players turned out each day.

He can’t wait for the season to start.

“I am looking forward to that first game and the pep rally if we have a pep rally.”

After this year, Hooker plans to study building codes and drawing at Niagara College.

“I want to draw up blueprints some day.”

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COOKIES FOR A CAUSE Pelham's Tim Hortons locations teamed up with Wellspring Niagara for their annual Smile Cookie fundraising campaign to support cancer patients in Niagara. From left, Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin, Sandy Sheehan of Wellspring Niagara, Tim Hortons baker Sam Eller, Tim Hortons franchisee Steph McWilliams, and Pelham Town Councillor Wayne Olson. BILL POTRECZ

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The Voice

A September 22 2021

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The Voice

Page 17

A September 22 2021

$228,000 raised for local lad’s ear surgery in US Earlier than expected return sees Emmett Gervason recuperating at home

BY DON RICKERS Voice Correspondent Three-year-old Emmett Gervason’s life-altering, eight-hour ear surgery in California on July 29 appears to be a total success, says his relieved mother, Amanda, from the comfort of her rural Cream Street home in North Pelham.

“We were supposed to be there six weeks, but we were able to combine some appointments, and come home a bit early,” she said.

The admiration Amanda holds for the doctors who performed the surgery in Palo Alto, however, does not extend to certain motorists on the state’s highways.

“As far as the surgery and the healing process, that was all flawless. The trip was a bit of a nightmare.”

The Gervasons had been driving to one of Emmett’s follow-up appointments in Los Angeles a few weeks after his surgery, and were forced to take a detour due to a road-rage shooting.

“There was an accident ahead— everyone’s brake lights were coming on, so we slowed to a stop.

Some guy behind us, who my husband Aaron had previously noted had been driving erratically, smoked our rental car from behind, and totalled the vehicle.”

Aaron has some significant injuries from the crash, including whiplash and a concussion, and is currently receiving physiotherapy.

Amanda suffered whiplash and a

lower back injury. Luckily, Emmett, who was facing backwards in a second-row car seat, wasn’t hurt.

The trip did allow Emmett to visit the beach during the stay in California, “but we had to be had to be super careful to avoid getting sand in his ear,” said his mom.

Emmett was born with pediatric microtia in his left ear, a congenital deformity in which the ear is small and misshapen. He also had atresia, a condition in which the ear canal is missing, causing deafness in the ear. Emmett had problems identifying the direction of sounds and coping with noise, and had several learning deficits affecting his speech and language skills.

Amanda said that the doctors did not need to construct any middle-ear prosthetics, other than an artificial eardrum. The procedure has not only potentially restored up to 80 percent of Emmett’s hearing, but has cosmetically resculpted his ear to a normal shape.

Emmett was in good spirits after the surgery, though keeping him from running and jumping as the healing occurred was a challenge for his parents.

A dramatic improvement in Emmett’s hearing and cognitive functioning have already been observed.

“His speech is vastly improved—it's the fact that he can

Emmett Gervason with his new ear, the result of an eight-hour operation in late July in California. actually hear what he's saying,” Amanda said. “Emmett’s enunciation, and the complexities of putting sentences together that make actual sense, have really skyrocketed. A family friend came over a couple days after we got home and said that she couldn’t believe his clarity.”

Emmett has follow-up appointments scheduled with a doctor in Welland, with the healing process expected to take up to six months.

“We have to record videos of the ear’s improvement, which are reviewed by the California surgeons,” said Amanda.

Emmett has a hearing test scheduled in December.

“He's been a little trooper dealing with his nightly regimen of ear drops and creams.”

Although Toronto’s Sick Kids

Hospital is capable of performing a similar corrective surgery, Emmett would not qualify for the operation until he turns ten, and his parents were unwilling to see him struggle developmentally and emotionally for seven years in the interim. Amanda also feels strongly that the operation in California provides a better result cosmetically than the surgery at Sick Kids, based on comments from parents whose own children had the procedure performed in Toronto.

“I'm such an advocate for the procedure done by the Palo Alto surgeons,” said Amanda, who noted that one has earned an international reputation, and attracts patients from around the world.

The Gervason’s total costs for the surgery, plus post-operative and travel expenses, will likely

DON RICKERS

exceed a quarter million dollars.

Friends organized a GoFundMe account in an effort to cover expenses, and the funds raised currently total over $228,000.

“The word ‘appreciation’ only conveys a fraction of what we're feeling, said Amanda. “The stress of wondering how we could pay for all this, which has been looming over our heads, has been lifted.

Emmett was always the priority.

We’re just feel so thankful and so blessed, thanks to the generosity of friends and strangers.”

Amanda is still in the process of appealing to OHIP, in an effort to have the California procedure covered for other Ontario families.

“I need to have all my documents in by October 15 to the OHIP board. I’m expecting they will deny it again,” she said.

United Way visits Pelham

BY BILL POTRECZ Special to the Voice United Way Niagara’s flag will be flying across all of Niagara this week.

The non-profit fundraising group spent much of last week travelling around to various communities in Niagara and stopped by Pelham Town Hall to help raise awareness of their current campaign for community support.

“We’ve been on a road show,” United Way campaign manager Mandy Cavasin said. “It’s been great, especially after a year where we weren’t together with people. It’s been really nice to be out and about and talking about the United Way again.”

Cavasin said flags were raised in Welland, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, West Lincoln, Lincoln, Grimsby, and Port Colborne.

Flags generally fly for one week.

“We wanted the opportunity to raise awareness of the United Way campaign through as many municipalities as we could get out to,” she said. “This is the

first time we have been out to so many of the municipalities, which has been really nice. We’re hoping the more exposure we have to the campaign the more people will continue to give and learn about the United Way and the impact they can make throughout their communities.”

Cavasin said this year’s campaign could be described as, “bigger is better.”

“Our goal is to impact 120,000 lives again this year who access a United Way funded program,” she said.

“Our annual campaign invests in over 200 programs that go throughout the region and help the most vulnerable people throughout our community. Our goal is to not only meet that, but exceed that, and help ensure programs are available no matter what period of their lives they’re in.”

Cavasin noted the Covid pandemic has been a challenge for United Way Niagara.

“At first we were worried about how it would impact

United Way Niagara raised their flag at Pelham Town Hall last week. From left, Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin, Town Councillor John Wink, Regional Councillor Diana Huson, Pelham Fire Training Officer Greg Young, and Town Councillor Wayne Olson.

SUPPLIED our yearly investment,” she said. “What we did see was that the people who were able to give still gave and continued to give more if they were able to. Of course, there was an urgency to Covid.”

Funds from the federal government were a godsend.

“We did receive some funding from the federal

government that allowed us to address some of those emergency needs that were coming up,” Cavasin said.

“We had a Covid response fund where all that money went to towards immediate needs in the community to be able to ensure that some of the smaller agencies could focus on their frontline program providing as

opposed to raising funds.”

Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin appreciated United Way Niagara taking the time to visit.

“We’re happy to have the United Way’s flag flying at Town Hall,” Junkin said.

“We support the United Way with voluntary donations on the payroll and we thank staff for doing that. The

United Way has been in the community for I don’t know how long, and you strive to make the normal better. I’m hoping as this campaign rolls out in the community that we hear the success of it and we wish the campaign all the best.”

For more information, see https://www.unitedwayniagara.org.

Page 18

The Voice

A September 22 2021

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Bethany Christian Reformed Church www.bethanycrc.ca

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Concordia Lutheran Church 105 Welland Rd., Fonthill

Fonthill Baptist Church www.fonthillbaptistchurch.ca

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

Ridgeville Bible Chapel ridgevillebiblechapel.com

Fenwick Church of Christ www.fenwickchurchofchrist.ca

Fonthill United Church www.fonthillunited.com

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

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

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FAITH LIFT

BALANCED LIFE

cross in our place and for our sins (fi rst Easter).

Since then, Seto’s life has had meaning and his inevitable death someday will not be the end. Our Creator has made each of us unique like the snowflake on your toque and the fi ngerprint on your hand. We were made in his moral image with incredible complexity and physical design. And that, my friend, is an answer made in heaven. ◆

Sylvia liked the fact that the seating position was natural and didn’t put too much pressure on their arms, plus it allowed them the opportunity to enjoy looking around as they rode.

Sylvia has had knee surgery, so the combined electric pedal assist and upright seating position is easy on her knees. The step-through design means no need to throw a leg up and over a tall seat, and front suspension forks smooth the roads and trails, making these bikes convenient and safe to use.

As someone who has relationships with most local dealers, and favours buying local whenever supply allows, I was interested to learn about the Harrison’s online purchase experience, and how much assembly and pre-ride servicing was needed.

There was no drama. The new bikes came in a normal bicycle shipping

continued from Page 23

Rob Weatherby is a retired pastor who shares Jeffrey Seto’s faith, peace and hope.

°

continued from Page 22

box with the pedals, seat, handlebars and front wheel removed. Dave says, “The instructions were clear and I put them together myself, and it wasn’t a challenge. There are specific instructions, and online videos if you need help. The battery came fully charged, and customer service was excellent.”

(In general, e-bike prices start around $1,500, with superior models clocking in at $2,500 or so.)

To qualify as an e-bike in Ontario, the bike must weigh less than 120 kilograms including battery, and have a top speed of no more than 32 kilometres per hour. Insurance and license are not legally required. The statute governing e-bikes does allow municipalities to prohibit the use of e-bikes on specific trails or streets as required.

A typical ride for the Harrisons is 30 -35 kilometres, and they’ve ridden their bikes approximately 1000 kilometres so far. The manufacturer’s suggested range on a full charge is 40 – 60 kilometres, depending on the

terrain, wind and assist level the rider uses, and a full charging takes about three hours.

On their old bikes, the ride to Lake Ontario along the canal trail meant having to do the big climb at Thorold to return to Welland, and they’d worry about facing strong headwinds on the way back when they rode to Fort Erie along the Friendship Trail.

They did these rides reluctantly, “But that’s no longer an issue,” says Dave now that they have e-bikes.

Sylvia and Dave walk four to five kilometres per day, and prefer to get some exercise while riding their e-bikes. The bikes have twist throttles like a motorcycle, and can be ridden without any pedaling at all, which the Harrisons avoid. The assist level can be preset in a range from one (lowest assist) to five (highest assist), allowing riders to vary their pedalling effort. The Harrisons’ guesstimate that on level two, which they use most often, their effort is equivalent to approximately 20 per-

cent of what they would expend on non-electric bikes.

The Harrison’s shared their riding experiences and their thoughts on how much enjoyment e-biking has added to their summer.

“We play a lot, we explore, we have fun,” said Sylvia, detailing various adventures that they would never have had without their e-bikes.

There was the escaped cow on Colbeck Drive just that morning. “The police were there because somebody had reported a cow on the road. Dave was previously a farmer. He asked the police for permission to put the cow back with its herd, so Dave opened the gate and had the herd back up, and I chased (on my e-bike) the one cow back to the herd,” said Sylvia.

There were the monarch butterflies she saved.

“Up north we found a patch of milkweed and a whole bunch of monarch butterfly caterpillars, so I See BALANCED LIFE next page

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Page 19

A September 22 2021

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continued from Page 14 it is possible that it could find common ground with the NDP or Greens, but that seems unlikely. It could seek support from the Bloc Quebecois, but the Bloc has always been cagey in dealing with the other parties. Its major goal is furthering the interests of Quebec, and this position makes it difficult to define the Bloc on a left-right continuum. Also, the Bloc could feel that it maximizes its power by being coy and shifting its support between the major parties on different issues.

The party that wins the plurality of seats does not have the right to attempt to form a government. If the Conservatives have a plurality, but do not seem to be

The Voice Z

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the Governor General could look to the Liberals. Thus, the Liberals, with fewer seats than the Conservatives, could continue to govern.

Something like this happened in Ontario in 1985.

The Progressive Conservative Party won a plurality of seats and began governing, but it lost a confidence vote very quickly. The Lieutenant Governor could have called an election at that point, but there is a bias toward stability and by that time, the Liberals and the NDP had arrived at an Accord. Therefore, the Lieutenant Governor called on the Liberals, who then governed (with NDP support) for two years.

If the Conservatives have a slim plurality, the Governor General could face a difficult decision. Normally, the Gov-

BALANCED LIFE

continued from previous page started raising monarch butterflies. When we went back a week later, all the milkweed was gone, cut off when they trimmed the sides of country roads.”

Because of their e-bike rides, they met a couple sitting on their yacht in Port Colborne who were sailing from their home in Newfoundland to Belize, and a little old man in the highland boondocks selling “nothing but junk” at his yard sale.

The Harrison’s e-bikes weigh approximately 25 kilograms each, and will fit on bike carriers which attach to a vehicle via a trailer hitch. This makes transporting them to ride in fresh locales or to avoid heavily trafficked

of government first. If JusBrick, Block, Stone and Chimney repairs. tin Trudeau could convince her that the Liberal party CARD MAKING Wet and damaged basement repairs.

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Atcould time of registration, please enquire about tools needed. not, then it is entirely posTues., Sept. 16 10 – 12:30.CUSTOM $10. Please register ahead. Visit www.pelhamMILL FOUND sible that she could give the Liberals the right toor proceed library.on.ca call 905-892-6443 for more details. Set of keys attached to long Portable sawmill service. even though they has fewer I will come to your home or black cord found on trail in seats than the Conservatives. farm and custom mill your FABULOUS FENWICK LIONS FISH FRY Of course, at the same time, Welland just south of Lincoln logs. Firewood & lumber also the Conservative party would Tasty treats with funds heading straight back into the community.

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roads easy. The e-bikes sit upright in the carFRIENDS OF THE STEVE Work out and have fun! rier, so there is little lifting required.

NIAGARA REGIONAL EXHIBITION BAUER TRAIL TEE-SHIRTS When asked what the best thing about Try outdoors Zumba at the Rodeo, games event. It e-biking is, Sylvia said, “Just being outand therelive entertainment headline this years ASKINGexciting FOR DONATIONS farm. Outdoors, Monday 6:30 in the fresh air, in nature its best.

Up north runsatfrom Sept.

11-14 at the Welland Fairgrounds.

OF $20 -15 by Pelham Tree pm near Highway 20 and we’ll see animals. Red fox, deer, you have to Conservative Society. Call watch out for bears too.”

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The Voice

ANOTHER ROUND continued from Page 15

made for the top ten or 20 percent of people who play this game. The vast majority of the rest are breaking a lot of them on a regular basis. Follow the etiquette and safety measures necessary to keep from interfering with another’s enjoyment of the game. Beyond that why would you not better your lie, move away from a tree, or even place it on a tee on the fairway, if it will facilitate your entry or help to keep you enjoying the game?

There is no use playing golf to stay out of another player’s way. If you have a swing that has been proven to work you have to stick

A September 22 2021

Voice

with your plan on all of your shots. Also, if you are struggling with your confidence, try to play with the right people at the right place at the right time. Big busy golf courses with impatient spouses or playing partners generally don’t do much to help enact any of the strategies above.

In the end, remember the fact that because it is difficult to achieve your goals is what makes playing the game worthwhile. If it was easy it would be boring. ◆

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

4

Penne with Seasonal Greens

John Piccolo is a golf instructor and runs Piccolo’s Custom Golf Shop at Eagle Valley Golf Club, in Niagara Falls. You may reach him at picgolf@vaxxine.com

LAST OF THE SUMMER SUN Proud grandma Jill sends in this shot of Matteo Milana, accomplished senior kindergartener on the verge of turning five, enjoying a break at Marlene Stewart Streit Park, in Fonthill.

JILL DEMOE

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Pasta recipes are versatile and can quickly feed a crowd when increased accordingly. Another benefit to pasta is it often is a safe bet when hosting a dinner party that includes people who follow vegan or vegetarian lifestyles. Furthermore, with the abundance of “alternative” pastas available, even individuals who must go gluten-free can indulge without worry.

Fresh greens paired with pasta deliver an abundance of nutrients to the meal. This recipe for “Penne With Seasonal Greens” from “The Contented Vegan” (Head of Zeus) by Peggy Brusseau includes a variety of seasonal greens, but they can be modified to taste or with whatever fresh produce is available at the market.

Penne With Seasonal Greens Serves 4 2 16 1 1 1 1⁄4 1 1

tablespoons untoasted sesame oil cups chopped mixed seasonal greens, such as mustard greens, dandelion leaves, or purple sprouting broccoli, small amounts of spinach, arugula, and chicory tablespoon dried basil tablespoon dried oregano fresh chili, finely chopped, or 1⁄2 teaspoon chili flakes teaspoon ground nutmeg whole garlic bulb, cloves separated and chopped pound, 2 ounces dried penne Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Pour the oil into a large (4-liter/16 cup) saucepan. If you don’t have one, use the largest pan you have and fill it with greens. Press and pack the chopped greens into the pan. It should be absolutely full!

Cover the pan and place over a medium-high heat for 5 minutes.

If you have used a smaller pan, add the remaining greens and the herbs, spices and garlic. There will be room — the greens will reduce in bulk very quickly. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the penne and cook according to the packet instructions until just tender. Drain the pasta into a colander and return it to the hot pan. Stir the greens through the pasta and serve, drizzling a little extra virgin olive oil over each serving.

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www.thevoiceofpelham.ca “If you don't have confidence, you'll always find a way not to win.”

Carl Lewis

The Voice

A September 22 2021

Sporting Green The Niagara

Page 21 John Swart tracks down e-bike enthusiasts

22

The Voice | September 22 2021

Olympic silver medallist returns home

BY BERNIE PUCHALSKI bpsportsniagara.com

F

ifteen years after he started training at the Niagara Olympic Club, Mohammed Ahmed returned to the St. Catharines location on a recent Thursday evening wearing an Olympic 5,000 metres silver medal around his neck.

“Everything seems the same, honestly,” the 30-year-old former St. Catharines resident said, while sitting in the NOC’s clubhouse prior to a small reception in the honour. “All the banners of all the universities people went to are here, including the one from Wisconsin that I brought back.”

He expressed delight at being home.

“What makes home home is the people, the memories and it is kind a museum for me every time I come back here,” the three-time Olympian said. “I am reminiscing back on history and the people. It is really, really good to be back.”

The three-time St. Catharines athlete of the year vividly recalled the first time he arrived at the club in June of his Grade 9 year at St. Catharines Collegiate.

“It was a Saturday and I can even remember the temperature that day. I recall the guys taking me for an 8K- or 9K-run.”

He flashed back to running that first time with Matt Mahler, Spencer Prudhomme, and Ryan Thomas.

“I was kind of like ‘Am I going to get dropped here?’ but I hung on to them and it felt really good. I felt anxious and nervous and I remember finishing that run and thinking that I wasn’t so bad.”

Niagara Olympic Club president and coach Sharon Stewart also remembered that first day.

“I saw a tall, lanky kid in basketball shorts who was ready to run. He was quiet but he has really matured and come out of his shell.”

No way did she think she was in the presence of a future Olympic silver medalist.

“No, he was too young.”

It would take a lot of things to get him there.

“It was ability, good programs, lots of support, really learning to believe in himself, trusting his program and his coaches,” she said. “Kids need to have abilities and a good program but they really need to develop how to believe in themselves and develop the confidence that goes with the hard work and the talent.”

Ahmed’s Olympic dreaming began when he was in Grade 8 at Queen Mary.

“I wasn’t good like a lot of the guys that were training at the NOC, like Brad Jamison and Doug Easterbrook and Ryan Thomas. Those guys were the same age as me but they were with the club from a very young age and they were a little bit more developed than me,” he said. “They just dominated me in Grade 7 and 8 and I was nowhere near them but something made me write in my Grade 8 yearbook that I wanted to be an Olympian.”

Years later, one of his former Queen Mary teachers send him a picture of the yearbook page.

“It was pretty interesting to see that, but what I think did that was the summer before Grade 8. I watched the 2004 Olympics, I was very motivated and inspired and it was in my head,” he said. “It was October or November before your graduating year that you are preparing the yearbook. There wasn’t too much thought to it but I did write that and I was foreshadowing the future in some way.”

By Grade 10 and 11, he knew he wanted to be an Olympian.

“I was striving for that and that was a clear goal that I want to go after. But even then, you don't know what the journey

Niagara Olympic Club member Moh Ahmed shows off the silver medal he won in the 5,000 metres at the Tokyo Olympics.

BERNIE PUCHALSKI entails.

His journey in high school began at Collegiate under coaches Perry Wakulich and Alex Acs, both of whom remain close to Ahmed to this day.

“He came to Collegiate cross country practice because he wanted to learn how to run,” Wakulich said.

On Ahmed’s first day at practice, he showed up with basketball shoes and shorts that went way below his knees.

“I looked at those and cringed a little bit but that was what he was comfortable with. It didn’t really matter to me as long as he showed up for practice,” Wakulich said. “After about a week, I thought, ‘This kid could really have something,’ He was like a diamond in the rough. He kept on coming out and I knew I had to look after getting him proper footwear.”

Wakulich approached the Collegiate alumni association and it provided the money to purchase him a pair of proper shoes.

“I told them that I had a kid who had a lot of potential and could we get him a decent pair of shoes and he is going to hurt his feet.”

The shoes weren’t the only purchase that day.

“When we bought Moh the shoes, there were these socks in the colours of Collegiate. They were black with red and gold flames going up the side,” Acs said. “He still has those socks and they have become his lucky socks. They are so threadbare that he only wears them when he does his warmup and then he competes

in other socks.”

Those socks made the journey to the Tokyo Olympics.

“He wore them in practice on the day he got his silver medal so the luck has followed him,” Acs said.

The socks and shoes were the beginning of a dominant career for Ahmed at Collegiate.

“From then on, between Alex and myself we kept encouraging him and his first year he was one position away from making it to OFSAA [Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association championship],” Wakulich said. “He was fasting for Ramadan and he didn’t have a kick at the end of the race.”

Ahmed would go on place seventh at OFSAA cross country in Grade 10 and then won in Grade 11 and 12.

“It was building and building and he loved to run,” Wakulich said. “He had a great attitude and was alway smiling. He is a salt of the earth kind of guy.”

Ahmed dominated high school running in cross country and track and field.

In the 3,000 metres in his last year, he lapped the whole OFSAA field.

“It was crazy,” Wakulich said.

He admitted he didn’t think he was witnessing the birth of an athlete that would reach an Olympic podium.

“No, but I knew he was going to be fast and I knew he had great potential,” Wakulich said. “We steered him in the right direction to Andrew Yap for more of the technical direction and the efficiency of his running. We got him involved

with the club and he was very strong and all the other runners and his teammates were great in making him feel at home and it just built from there.”

Those building blocks would result in Ahmed finishing second in Tokyo.

“There’s not a whole lot going through my head when I crossed the line,” Ahmed said. “You are just doing the action and I think it was more relief. I wasn’t exuberant. I just kept walking and my teammates Justyn Knight and Grant Fisher were going ‘Moh, Moh, Moh,’ and I wasn’t hearing. I kept walking away and they ran to me.”

The relief was clearly the overriding emotion.

“It was 15 or 16 years of work to do it. I was so ready last year and that was stopped and it was wait, wait, wait, for a year and a half,” he said. “That was the only thing at the end of the tunnel and part of the time I was wondering if it was going to happen. There was a lot of mind games so there was a lot of relief.”

So far, his Olympic performance has done little to change his life monetarily and he doesn’t expect that to happen.

“You are not making much from track and field and you are not in it to get rich.

That is just a fact,” he said. “Once you go down the route of marathons there is a little more financial compensation but for track and field distance it is not a whole lot. You have to do it for the love of the sport and that is what I have been doing for the last seven years.”

Success hasn’t and won’t change who he is.

“I am the same person. I am still renting and I am not buying houses or anything like that,” he said. “It’s track and field and people are not going to recognize you and you are not going to get the star treatment unless you run into someone who knows track and field.”

That was evident when Ahmed and a few of his former Niagara Olympic Club teammates attended the Canadian men's soccer team’s World Cup qualifier against El Salvador.

“I was at the game yesterday and no one knew who the hell I was. I am just another guy and I honestly don’t feel any different. It’s just the way I go about my life. I am on to the next thing.”

The next big thing on his calendar are the 2022 world track and field championships in Eugene, Ore. “It is just down the road from Portland so it is sort of like a home championship.

Even if I didn’t live in Oregon, it would be a home championship because of it being in close proximity to Canada,” he said.

“That is what I am looking forward to and what I am excited about, competing at home. I know the last time I competed at a home championship I won.”

He won gold in the 10,000 metres at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.

Wherever Ahmed goes, he has the support of many in Niagara.

“He is a great person, a great athlete and a role model,” Wakulich said. “He is someone that you love to spend time with.”

And a small number of people got to do just that Thursday night.

“It’s a chance to recognize Moh’s achievement with his silver medal, have a big cheer, let some people see him and congratulate him,” Stewart said. “We can’t go too big so we have limited numbers but there are certainly some people here who are close to him and helped him in the village process of raising a child into an amazing athlete.”

Ahmed clearly appreciated the event.

“I am a loss for words at the turnout and seeing familiar faces who have decided to show up for this occasion,” he said. “It means a lot.”

Page 22

The Voice

A September 22 2021

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

THE BALANCED LIFE

by John Swart

E-bikes also great for beginning riders of a certain age

D

uring recent bike rides, I’ve twice noticed a couple cycling along the Welland Canals Parkway Trail in Welland on e-bikes.

Their image has stuck in my mind for a number of reasons: the bikes were unique in appearance, she was wearing a long-sleeved white top both times, complementing her white bike, he was in dark colours on his black bike, but mostly, they just seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves as they rode confidently along.

Twenty months ago, barely pre-Covid, this column featured a story on e-bikes, quoting statistics about how

fast the market was growing in Europe and North America and how it was being driven by an “older but active” demographic, much like a large segment of Pelham. Since then, I’ve met and ridden with a few e-bikers, all of whom had previously been avid cyclists. They had purchased e-bikes to continue riding as the various physical limitations that often accompany aging reduced their ability.

Last week I was headed south on Effingham Road near the Welland River when I saw what appeared to be that same couple on their white and black e-bikes pedal by on River Road, just a

half kilometre ahead. Was there a chance that they were new to cycling, perhaps an example of folks that had recently chosen to ride because of the possibilities e-biking offers? Could they put a human face on the statistics, maybe share their experiences with those who might be deciding if an e-bike was for them?

I set out in pursuit, and thanks to a few strategically placed stop signs along River Road, was able to catch them.

Sylvia and Dave Harrison, of Welland, are in their 60s, he late and she early, as Sylvia specified. They purchased new e-bikes in January of this year. They have a cottage north of Bancroft in the Algonquin Highlands, and have done some casual cycling on mountain-type bikes along the area’s back roads. Beyond that, they have no cycling background.

Sylvia and Dave Harrison of Welland enjoying River Road in Pelham on their new e-bikes.

Those long hills were a problem for us.”

Dave did his research, checked reviews and testimonials, then ordered two e-bikes from Rad Power Bikes, an online retailer with Canadian headquarters in

“There’s all these back roads, and they’re interesting to ride on, but the hills were too much of a challenge for us on a regular bike,” says Dave. “We’re not the most physically fit people, but we enjoy being out on bicycles.

JOHN SWART

East Vancouver.

The bikes they chose have a more upright seating position than most traditional bicycles, and have stepthrough frames. Dave and See BALANCED LIFE Page 18

V oice HOROSCOPE ARIES – Mar 21/Apr 20 Attention to detail is very important this week, Aries. Be sure not to lose your focus as things you do will be highly scrutinized by others. Ask a third party to check your work.

TAURUS – Apr 21/May 21 Give others room to breathe and respect how they’re feeling in certain situations, Taurus. Just because you feel comfortable doesn’t mean others will as well.

GEMINI – May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, reminisce about those people with whom you had strong connections. If you lost touch, this can be a great time to rekindle relationships and move forward.

CANCER – Jun 22/Jul 22 Feel out the crowd and make adjustments to the way you interact with others based on the vibe you’re getting, Cancer. If people are outgoing and boisterous, follow suit.

LEO – Jul 23/Aug 23 Maintain a positive outlook in regard everything you encounter this week, Leo. A positive perspective can make all the difference when a lot is on your plate.

VIRGO – Aug 24/Sept 22 Virgo, a quest to discover something new about yourself could prove fruitful. Take an introspective approach to the next few days and be ready to learn something new.

LIBRA – Sept 23/Oct 23 This could be an extremely creative week for you, Libra. Afford time for artsy pursuits and you may be surprised at what you can create.

SCORPIO – Oct 24/Nov 22 Scorpio, you’re not typically one who excels with last-minute details. Therefore, start planning on an upcoming event and make sure you have all of your ducks in a row.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov 23/Dec 21 Listen to your emotions, Sagittarius. While you tend to deal with situations by acting rationally, this time around you may have to go with your gut and your heart.

CAPRICORN – Dec 22/Jan 20 This is a week to sit back and slow down. Channel summer vibes even if it’s not quite summer any longer, Capricorn. If you didn’t have a chance to get away, do so this week.

AQUARIUS – Jan 21/Feb 18 Your nurturing instincts are on alert, Aquarius. This is an excellent time to tell someone you care about that you’re always available for him or her. Reach out soon.

PISCES – Feb 19/Mar 20 Good times are ahead, Pisces. Keep an open mind and embrace any opportunity to do something good for others.

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SOLUTIONS DOWN

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15. PALL

16. ORMOLU

12. BU

14. EEC

10. REC

11. VERNAL

1. CPA

4. ARTIST

ACROSS

CROSSWORD ANSWERS

SOLUTIONS

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Page 23

A September 22 2021

FAITH LIFT

by Pastor Rob Weatherby

Made in Heaven, Part 2

A

few weeks ago I wrote an article with this same title. In it I looked at ten examples of incredible design in nature that man has tried to copy and apply to technology and industry. I found them in a book (by the same name) authored by Ray Comfort and Jeffrey Seto. Here are a few more fascinating examples that caught my attention…

More examples

Scientists and engineers have studied…  the fly’s ear to improve sound systems  the human hand to improve robotic hands  mussels to improve adhesives  burrs to invent Velcro fasteners  wasp nests to improve papermaking  cats’ eyes to invent highway reflective lights  gecko feet to propel robots vertically  termites to improve air-conditioning  bone structure to strengthen buildings  eyelids to improve car wipers  kingfishers to improve plane and train design  shipworms to improve tunnel safety  the moth’s eye to improve solar cells and  sunflowers to improve solar panels.

I’m sure the list goes on and on with new discoveries and breakthroughs on the way.

Making it personal

All this information is interesting to read but the authors make it personal at the end of their book.

Jeff rey Seto (the aerospace engineer) writes, “Back when I was 20 years old, I began to think deeply about the meaning of life

and death, and came up with nothing. I searched and came to the nightmare conclusion that life had no meaning and death had no solution. There seemed to be no way around this terrible dark door that each of us must face. Such a thought left me in quiet despair.” Many of us reading this can probably identify.

Finding peace

Thankfully, Seto found an answer to his dilemma.

He continues, “One dark night in April of 1972, God reached down and gave me light in my darkness.

He brought comfort to my

pained and thirsty soul. He gave me an alternate door (see John 10:9) and used a surfi ng buddy named Graeme Reid to share the gospel with me. That night I came out of darkness into light— out of death into life.”

He goes on in the book to explain in detail how the God who created all the incredible things listed above is also a personal and loving God who cares for him individually. This was best demonstrated in the coming of Jesus into our world (fi rst Christmas) and the sacrifice of his life on the See FAITH LIFT Page 18

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

Word Search: Paycheques

Find the words hidden vertically, horizontally, diagonally, and backwards.

ACCRUE BASE BONUS COMPENSATION DEBT DEDUCTIONS

DEPOSIT EARNINGS ELIGIBLE EMPLOYER EXEMPT EXPENSES

GROSS INCOME LEDGER LEGAL LIABILITY NET

RATE TAXES TRANSACTIONS WAGES WEEKLY WITHHOLDING

ANSWERS ON PAGE 18

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we’ll be reunited soon.”

“That’s what we all said when we first arrived,” said Old Grey. “Denial is the first stage. You’ll be okay.

I can help you when you’re ready.

I help everyone with tech support.

We’ll have you up and running in no time. Besides, it’s your only way outta here.”

“We’re never getting out of here!” declared a red Compression sock.

“Relax, you’re so uptight!” exhaled a tall, lean Sport sock between push-ups, while an extra-tall Hockey sock, striped and malodorous, repeatedly stretched in a nearby corner.

How can I relax?” questioned Compression. “I’ll never find my sole mate!’

“Not with that attitude,” said Sport. “You gotta want it! Visual it every day! Stay focused, work hard, and you can achieve your goals!”

“Blah-blah-blah. That’s what all you jocks say,” said Old Grey. “You guys are the only ones who regularly find a mate, even when you don’t match. Different colours, different lengths, different styles—it doesn’t

“So it’s an older photo. I still feel young. It’s what’s on the inside that counts,” said Plain Black defensively.

“You poor, deluded thing. Nothing’s ever gonna be on the inside of you once your true identity is revealed. You’re nothing but a fraud and a holy mess,” sneered Argyle.

Suddenly, from under a pile of kids’ socks, sheer, prima donna Panty Hose groaned, “What am I doing here? I’m not even a sock! I come with two feet, attached to two legs! I'm not damaged or incomplete. I’m perfect in every way, and I’ll never be able to identify with

any of you! Ever!”

Granny sock ignored the drama but comforted her.

“It’ll be okay, dear. I’m so pleased you can embrace your truth. We’re all special and perfect in our own way. One day someone will appreciate you, and you’ll find the life you’re looking for. Look at me, I’ve been here since 1974 and I haven’t given up on me.

Been through four moves and I’m still here. I’m a survivor.”

Ironically, a Silly sock chimed in with a bitter attack: “Get over yourself, Granny. You’ve been reading too much Brené Brown. You’ve obviously had an interesting history, what with all the coloured stripes and the ten toe holders and all. But you’re only here because you represent an era that’s hard to let go of. You’re a reminder of brashness and youth, and the anticipation of a life that’s full of possibilities and hope, not yet hindered by the wear and tear of work, and kids, and responsibilities. Your former mate was probably left under a park bench on the corner of Haight and Ashbury after a love-in, or under the stage at the last Simon and

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca Garfunkel concert. Face it, you’re a relic, little more now than a wistful memory. This is your last stop, my friend. Get comfortable.”

“Wow,” said Granny, momentarily stunned. Then, summoning a voice and a courage which had been suppressed for too long, she declared with conviction, “I had no idea I was Drawer-mates with an armchair analyst. Although, now that I look closer at you, I must cut you some slack—it must be tough, always having to use fancy language to compensate for that fine display of tacos decorating your exterior. Are you even a real sock or just a throwback from that show Promotional Material Gone Bad?” Startled by her own malicious retort, Granny quickly softened, “What I meant to say, dear, was… were you bullied as a child?”

Before Silly could formulate a response, Old Grey hissed, “Shh, I hear something.”

The group fell silent as footsteps approached. The Drawer practically vibrated from the tension in every fiber of every sock. In came the blinding light as the Drawer was opened, and a single sock was chosen. ◆

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seem to matter. Haphazardly plucked from the Drawer of death to a marriage of convenience. It’s not love, it’s desperation.”

“Not true,” piped up the small golf Sockette. I’m an athletic sock and I’ve been here for a long time looking for love.”

“You must have misunderstood me,” said Sport condescendingly. “I was talking about athletic socks, not golf socks. Har, har, har!”

A sleek, Argyle dress sock joined in the conversation, adding in a snobby tone: “It won’t take me long. It’s all about using the right keywords—symmetrical design, silk, with top ribbing added for a little mischief. Besides, once I flash my dashing good looks, the ladies will come running.”

Argyle looked down at an old Plain Black dress sock with a hole in the toe and a frayed, thin heel and continued, “Unlike some. Hey, old guy, still trying to use that factory-fresh photo as your profile picture? Face it, it might get your foot in the door, but you’ll never get to first base.”

A September 22 2021

Balfour

COLUMN SIX

The Voice

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