THE
SERVING THE MAPLETON COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY NEWS Volume 48 Issue 34
Local man stabbed at market in Ottawa OTTAWA - A local man is recovering after being stabbed during a performance by members of a Drayton Mennonite congregation in the Byward Market in Ottawa on Friday. Ottawa police report that at 4:55pm, the victim, a 26-year-old male, was standing at the corner of George and Dalhousie Streets when he was stabbed in the lower back by an unknown female. Police say the attack was unprovoked and the suspect is not known to the victim, who suffered non-life threatening injuries as a result of the stabbing and was released from hospital. The suspect, described as a white female aged 21 to 22, slim build with blond hair and pink highlights, was not apprehended and police state the investigation is ongoing. Continued on page 3
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Drayton Entertainment takes anniversary party outdoors by Caroline Sealey DRAYTON - Drayton Festival Theatre celebrated its final performance of the 2015 season with a classic musical inside the theatre and great food outside the venue. On Aug. 9, a rare afternoon opening brought invited theatre patrons, supporters, media sponsors, actors and actresses from the last 25 years to Drayton to enjoy The Music Man as the Festival Theatre wound down its 25th anniversary season. Prior to the show, Drayton Entertainment fan favourite Neil Aitchison spoke to the audience. “Twenty-five years ago, the actors performing in our first show complained that I took too long to start the show. Today, we started 20 minutes earlier,” Aitchison said. The Drayton Festival Theatre opened its doors on July 1, 1991. The first year budget was $99,000 and Alex Mustakas was the artistic director. Mustakas had approached the then Village of Drayton with his dream of live theatre in the community. “During my presentation to the community, one farmer sat
Theatre history - Invited patrons of Drayton Festival Theatre enjoyed a stroll down memory lane and a catered barbecue meal after the Aug. 9 opening performance of The Music Man, the last production of the theatre’s 25th season. Photos from shows performed over the past 25 years were on display outside the theatre. photo by Caroline Sealey stone faced in the back seat, listening to my idea. I knew if I could sell my concept to him,
I could sell it to anyone. That person turned out to be Bruce Schieck,” Mustakas explained.
“He said we have hockey and all kinds of sporting events for our children. Let’s go with
a theatre for their enrichment.” Schieck is still a member of the board of directors today. Mustakas set a goal of creating “the best theatre anywhere in the world,” using the best artists. The first performance was staged with 12 borrowed lights - compared to over 200 permanent lights today. The length of the stage has doubled from its original size, a live orchestra still performs and each year 3,100 adults and children volunteer. The Music Man is the 101st live show presented at the theatre. Schieck gave a history of the theatre before it became the brand it is today. “We always wondered if a theatre could exist in an agricultural community with a strong Dutch and Mennonite presence,” Schieck said. “Twenty five years later, it’s successful and there are plans in the works for a theatre group for children.” After the performance, patrons were invited to dine outside the building, view a collection of historic photos of the theatre’s past 25 years, and mingle with the cast of The Music Man.
Local residents recall extensive reforestation efforts on Mapleton properties by Caroline Sealey MAPLETON - In her childhood years Ann Buehler’s family farmed in Maryborough Township above Conestogo Lake. With her father Andrew Stanners becoming ill every winter, doctor’s advised him to give up farming. The family moved to a house in Hollen, which Buehler disliked. Six weeks later her father was offered a job as superintendent at the Conestogo Dam with the Grand River Conservation Commission (GRCC), which provided housing for the family at the dam. “The house at the dam made me happy. I remember tree planters boarding with us. As my brothers grew of an age to work they joined my grandfather and uncles planting trees for the GRCC,” Buehler said. “In the 1960s, Eileen Dietrich and I were the first females hired by what is now known as the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA). We worked the gatehouse, cut grass and pruned Christmas trees near Moorefield.” Buehler has been planting trees on her Mapleton Township property for over 30 years. The first piece of land reforested was planted as a cooperative effort between the GRCC and
Trees by the millions - The Cook Farm in Maryborough Township was one of the Grand River Conservation Commission’s reforestation projects. The five millionth tree was planted at the farm by the commission on April 23, 1964. submitted photos
the Schieck family. In an interview with The Floyd News, Community Schieck said, “My family owned that property in the 1950s. The GRCC came with a tractor and an attachment that was low to the ground. Two of us sat on the attachment, one of us split the trees from the bundle and the other planted the trees.” A second plot was reforested by Buehler’s family years later. “It’s important to me to keep planting trees”, Buehler said. “I was raised that way and will continue doing it. I love seeing the wildlife, walking the trails
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and the privacy a forest provides.” In May of 2015, Buehler and three of her neighbours on Wellington Road 11 joined together and had 2,800 seedlings of hardwoods and coniferous trees planted on their properties located across the Conestogo River. The 7.5-acre project was planted by the GRCA. A combination of white spruce, hybrid poplar, European larch and mixed hardwoods were planted because of their fast growth and ability to shade, along with the landowners’ desire for a variety of trees. GRCA forestry special-
ist Mark Funk said, “It’s a cost-share program provided through Trees for Mapleton and the Wellington Rural Water Quality Program. Up to 80 per cent of the cost of planting trees can be covered by different programs, leaving the landowner with 20% of the bill. It’s a very reasonable amount.” Land is reforested by com-
panies that are contracted by the GRCA. The organization previously used GRCA employees, each year taking office staff and any available employees out into the field to help with planting. Ten years ago, contracting out became a more viable option. This project was completely planted by hand due to its inaccessibility
by motorized vehicles. Three men planted the acreage in half a day with shovels. Land owners also have the option to plant trees themselves. Reforestation is done to create a habitat for wildlife, enlarge the natural corridor of trees and meadows along a river, control soil erosion, protect the river, improve water quality and promote walking trails. The work is done in April and May, with the 2015 season seeing 300,000 trees planted in the watershed. Two thirds of the trees were planted on private land and one third on GRCAowned lands. Funk does a quality assessment of each planting and checks each site, as time allows. Every year, Funk works with up to 60 landowners. Tree thinning of established plots is commonly completed every 40 to 50 years. The GRCA is striving to expand the large tracts of forests in the watershed. At present, Continued on page 3
Over 90 calves lost in Mapleton barn fire by Jaime Myslik and Caroline Sealey MAPLETON - An Aug. 11 barn fire here claimed the lives of 92 veal calves
Weekly Wcahagllenging
is about Great theatre ing us to nd encourag a k in th e w to. how rld we aspire o w a t u o b a fantasize e- Willem Dafo
and caused approximately $200,000 worth of damage, Mapleton Fire Chief Rick Richardson told the Community News.
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The call came in at about 1:20pm on Aug. 11 and by the time firefighters arrived on scene at the Wellington Continued on page 8
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