the brockville observer feb 9

The Heart and Stroke Foundation volunteer President Pat Coward spoke at the Brockville Rotary noon-hour meet-ing this past Monday in an effort to raise aware-ness during Heart and Stroke month.

Coward, who was ac-companied by program coordinator Charlene Doherty and area man-ager Ann Henry of the Lanark, Leeds Grenville and Renfrew Counties Heart and Stroke Foun-dation, spoke about how the foundation has touched her personally. “This is something that means a lot to me”, said Coward, who has two grandchildren who have each been diagnosed

with different congenital heart disease.

Her grandchildren

Luke, six months, and Alexis Zehr, 2 ½ years, both received life-saving

heart surgery very early in their lives. Luke was five days old and Alexis

was 11 weeks, on the day of their first surgery. For Coward, the subject has

become very close to her since the diagnosis of her grandchildren’s condi-tions. “When I started volunteering for the foundation, I didn’t have grandchildren, but I al-ways felt a need to help such a worthy cause”, said Coward, who now has even more reason to continue her service.

The foundation’s head office for the region is in Brockville and covers a huge area, from Lanark and Leeds Grenville, to

Raising awareness for Heart and Stroke month

With the campaign well underway, the Can-adian Aid for Chernobyl (CAC), is still looking for crucial donations and sponsors for a number of initiatives.

To date, the CAC has received roughly half what they need to fulfill all the needs set out in this year’s initiatives. 325 of the 650

food boxes have been cov-ered through the dona-tions received in the last month, leaving the other half, which will need to be covered by February 28th, at a cost of $50 per box.

The poultry barn has received full sponsorship from Thousand Islands Duty Free and Free North Duty Free, thanks to the generous donation of $15,000 from owners Hea-ther Howard, and Jeff and

Leanne Butler. The Egg Farmers of Ontario have also donated $3,000 for shipping the poultry barn.

The CAC still needs an additional $9,000 to cover the shipping cost of the three containers destined for Belarus in March.

The Malcomson House needed $5,000 this year and received the funds from the Malcomson family of Kanata.

CAC still needs your support

THE

PROUDLY SERVING BROCKVILLE and SURROUNDING COMMUNITIESdand SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES

bserverO VOLUME 2, ISSUE 6 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2011 FREE

Check out the Observer Real Estate section on pages 11-13

$28,888 $38,888

Moon Roof, Leather, Heated/Cooled Seats, Chrome Wheels,

Michelin Tires, ISD Package, 20,129 Kms.

AWD, Vista Roof,Performance Wheels,White Diamond, Black Leather, 35,000 kms.

NO CONDITIONS!

Open House Saturday 12-1

3310 County Road 27

New Price $214,900

AWD, loaded!!!43,000 kms.

“Ask the Maddens”

Hearing Centre 68 William St.Brockville

613-342-3217

Luke (6 months) and Alexis (2 ½ years), children of Jes-sica and Greg Zehr, after each had life-saving heart surgeries. Both are recover-ing well after being diag-nosed with different degen-erative heart problems.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

By Austin de LuisThe Observer Editor

Dave Shaw of the Can-adian Aid for Chernobyl and Mary Bernard, sit proudly in front of 134 quilts, and hundreds of other items that Mary and her team have made over the last year. In total, Bernard and the team have sent 749 quilts in the past six years. This year, the ladies put in over 6,000 hours of work total fill-ing the room at the Brockville Public Library with items for the chil-dren of Belarus.

PHOTO BY

AUSTIN DE LUIS CAC continues on page 2

STROKE continues on page 2


When the annual Community Care Golf Tournament for Prostate Cancer Research was dis-continued last year, Cathy Thomas, manager of the Brockville Highland Golf Course, decided that she wasn’t quite ready to stop raising funds for health care in the Brockville dis-trict. Instead, Thomas, and her father, tournament founder, Charlie Guy, sought out a new cause and benefactor, which was announced by the tourna-ment’s organizing com-mittee last Thursday.

During the announce-ment, organizers ex-plained that after 12 years and more than $600,000 raised in support of pros-tate cancer research, the decision to discontinue the tournament was a difficult one, but that the new benefactor, the Brockville Cardiovascu-lar Program at Brockville General Hospital, is a worthy successor.

“Most of us know someone who had to go through cardiac surgery or have experienced related health issues,” noted this years’ tournament chair-man, Brockville Police Chief Adrian Geraghty.

“So a program like this would help a lot of people,

plus the money that is raised stays within the community. All things, I think, makes this a very worthwhile cause.”

“If it wasn’t for here, I’d be travelling to Ottawa or Kingston and on a waiting list,” she said. “I’ve just fin-ished in Ottawa, which is

a $100-a-day trip,” added one of the program’s pa-tients, Debbie Zufelt.

BGH Director of Critical Care, Margriet de Bruyn, noted that the success of the rehabilita-tion service, which is free to referred patients and receives no government

funding, is due to the fact that it provides patients not only with the services they need, but with kin-ship as well.

“If you talk to the pa-tients here, it’s not so much the fact that they get the exercise as the cama-raderie they get from those who’ve gone through the same thing that they have,” said de Bruyn.

According to Kinsmen president Don Russell, camaraderie is not only an important aspect of

the program, but also, an integral part of the tournament itself, as this event will mark the first of what he hopes will be many, successful partner-ships between three local service clubs, the Kins-men, the Lions Club and the Civitan Club, who will sponsor the event.

“We were all involved with prostate cancer tour-nament, so when Cathy Thomas asked us to par-ticipate in the new tourna-ment we said, why not?” explained the Brockville and District Civitan Club treasurer, Courtney Le-page.

“We didn’t want the tournament to stop.”

“It’s a good way to give back to the commun-ity,” Brockville Lions club president, Ross Brown.

The Community Car-ing Tournament is set for August 26th at the High-land Golf Course. Twenty per cent of the proceeds will be split between the clubs and used to sup-port their respective com-munity programs. The remainder—eighty per-cent of funds raised—will be donated to the Brock-ville and District Hospital Foundation to support the Brockville Cardio-vascular Program.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2011 THE OBSERVER

The Chausy orphanage wish list, which includ-ed sporting equipment, musical instruments, and 15 mountain bikes needed $8,000 and has received all but the $2,400 needed for the bikes.

Another vital initiative is raising $16,000 for a pas-senger van, that would be used for transporting sick children to and from hos-pitals around the country. The existing van is more than 20 years old and isn’t reliable, having many operating issues.

The Chausy orphan-age educational program needs $500 to cover the cost of 18 year old, Katia Molotkova’s basic living expenses for the upcom-ing school. These basic items include hygiene products and other per-sonal needs.

The CAC works with less than a 1% administration cost, meaning that almost every penny raised ends up at the destination where it is needed. More donations are needed for several worthy causes within the

CAC, and February 28th is approaching quickly. “We are half way through our fundraising and although we have achieved a lot, it is critical that we meet our goals”, said CAC’s Dave Shaw. “Anyone who has

been thinking of donating money, please make your donation soon”.

For more information on how to donate to the CAC, please visit www.canadianaidforchernobyl.com.

Brad Sharron, DD65 George St. Brockville613-345-2110

Complete - Partial DenturesRelines Repairs Soft LinersImplant Dentures

NO REFERRAL NECESSARY

TAKE THE TEST:ARE YOUR DENTURES LOOSE

CRACKED & WORN?

OVER 5 YEARS OLD?

IN YOUR POCKET?

MISSING TEETH?

CAUSING GUM PAIN?

0% Financing2211 Parkedale Ave., Brockville

www.DentistryAtBrockville.ca

DB@

613-341-9000

QUICK, PAINLESS & AFFORDABLE

Now you can have what you crave!

New Mini Dental Implants technology. You can enjoy

secure eating comfort again in one or two short procedures.

Call for Free Consultation

NN hh

LOOSEDENTURES?

840 Walker Street, Prescott, ON613-925-4242

Hours: Mon. - Sat. 10:00 - 4:[email protected]

PORTOLANO GLOVE OUTLET

Fine Leather and Cashmere Knit Accessories at Factory Outlet Pricing

Sweetheart Sale Jan. 4 - Feb. 14Additional 25% OFF lowest factory reduced prices

HEART AND STROKE MONTH continues from page 1

as far north as Deep Riv-er and the surrounding communities. “We cover a lot of ground and have many programs in sev-eral different areas”, said Doherty.

Some of the bigger programs include the

‘Big Bike’, something that everyone in the area has seen rolling by for a number of causes. The ‘Big Bike’ will be rolling through Brockville on May 5th and 6th this spring to raise awareness and funds for the foundation.

There are a number of other events coming up this summer as well including; ‘Fit for Heart’ and ‘Hockey for Heart’, the later will be hosted in Arn-prior on March 25th-26th,

while the ‘Fit for Heart’ is a year-long fundraiser.

For more information you can contact the Heart and Stroke Foundation at 613.345.6183 or visit www.heartandstroke.ca

CAC continues from page 1

The ObserverNEWS

A group of local ladies have been hard at work, quilting, knitting and sewing, for the children in Belarus, who will receive the goods with three containers from the Canadian Aid for Cher-nobyl. From left to right are; Mary Theresa Kowlessar, Nadia Nielsen, Lorna Robertson, Marg Wilard, and Jennifer Fillmore, displaying their finger puppets. PHOTO BY AUSTIN DE LUIS

Community Care Golf tourney targets cardiovascular programBy Erin ChristieObserver Staff Writer

Seated: Left to right-Dr. Jay Bhatt, BGH internist; Michael Galbraith, Brockville Lions Director. Standing middle row, left to right: Ray Marshall, BGH President and CEO; Joan McLaughlin, Brockville and District Hospital Foundation Executive Direc-tor; Margriet de Bruyn, BGH Director of Critical Care; Cathy Thomas, Brockville Highland Management; Ted Hughes, Lions District Governor; Adrian Geraghty, Brockville Police Chief and Tournament Committee Chair; Standing back row, left to right: Ross Brown, Brockville Lions President; Don Russell, Kinsmen Club of Brockville President; and Courtney Lepage, CIVITAN International Brockville and District. ERIN CHRISTIE PHOTO

THE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2011

The ObserverCOMMUNITY

www.brockvillehouses.com

ProAlliance Realty, BrokerageIndependently Owned and Operated

2308 GLEN SMAIL ROAD$169,900 MLS®

MANY UPDATES

16 KAROLINA STREET$139,900 MLS®

GREAT VALUE

486 DIBBLE ST. W. PRESCOTT

IMMEDIATE POSSESSION

354 COUNTY ROAD 1, TOLEDO$264,900 MLS®

OVER 25 ACRES BUILDING LOTS•Cty Rd. 29 - $19,900 mls/each

•Cty Rd. 46 - $34,900 mls

•Cty Rd. 1 - 26 Acres - $44,900 mls

•Serviced City Lots - $44,900-$72,900 mls

•143.24 Acre Lot - $129,900 mls

•Granite Ridge Rd - $150,000 mls

ST. LAWRENCE RIVER

1297 COUNTY ROAD 2 WEST 6336 PLEASANT LANE12129797 CCOOUUNTNTYYTTT RROAOADD 22 WEWESTSTYY 63633636 PPLELEASASANANTT LALANENE

NEW NEW10-11

SATURDAY TOUR OF HOMES

12 - 1

1823 - 1825 COUNTY ROAD 2 E$599,900 EXCL

ST. LAWRENCE RIVER

67 GRANITE RIDGE ROAD, LANSDOWNE$449,900 MLS®

HORSE LOVER’S DREAM

1410 MCDONALD ROAD$399,900 MLS®

MINS. TO CITY

204 - 175 WATER ST W. PRESCOTT$284,900 MLS®

RIVER VIEWS

S OW

NEW

1115 BURNSIDE DRIVE

$899,900 MLS®

Top 1% Across Canada - Serving Brockville Since 1985

Mary Ann Keary, Broker

Rodney Keary, Broker

Direct 613-345-3404Office 613-345-3664

$349,900 MLS®$229,900 MLS®

SOLD

CHERISH YOUR LOVED ONES THIS VALENTINE’S DAY!

Every year the annual Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) tele-thon helps to raise funds and awareness in support of the Leeds-Grenville shelter and its continued efforts to prevent cruelty to animals and to pro-mote animal welfare. The Leeds-Grenville Shelter is a member of a network of more than 50 OSPCA communities within the province. The Telethon, now in its ninth year, will

be broadcasting again from Wall Street United Church in Brockville, on Sunday, April 17th, marking the second part-nership between these two organizations. The goal, Branch Manager for Leeds & Grenville, Marianne Carlyle says, is $20,000, which will go towards a diverse range of programs and services, which include investi-gations, adoptions, hu-mane education, owner surrenders, and lost and found, as well as spay-ing, neutering, vaccina-tions, medical and food

supplies for hundreds of homeless animals in Leeds and Grenville.

According to the or-ganization’s website last year, the Leeds-Grenville OSPCA housed more than 1300 animals, and currently lodges approxi-mately 15 dogs and 50 cats. Representatives from the organization stress that the challenge of meeting the fund-ing requirements for the shelter is daunting and the possibility of re-ducing services is a real-ity, without it, the Branch would be hard pressed to

continue providing care for animals that have been abused, neglected or abandoned.

The Telethon will take place at Wall Street United Church on Sunday April 17th, 2011, from 1p.m. to 6 p.m. The Leeds-Gren-ville OSPC welcomes any business or individual who would be interested in helping to sponsor the event. Satellite locations around Leeds & Grenville for will be in place for easy donation drop offs. For more information visit www.leedsgrenville.ontariospca.ca

OSPCA sets date for telethon

Eighteen senior stu-dents and two teachers from Thousand Islands Secondary School will travel to Nicaragua for two weeks this month. The kids, aged 16-18, are in the final stages of the school’s Humanitarian Educational Leadership Programme (HELP) – an immersion programme where they study up to three foreign languages, including classes of his-tory, civics, and Inter-

national Aid and De-velopment in French.

The students with the help of Student Tour, a Quebec company, are paired with a Canadian NGO called Spirale, who delivers aid on the ground at the Romero Centre in Nicaragua.

The TISS students will work with the Romero Centre in Nandaime, Nicaragua over a fif-teen day period (Feb 15 – Mar 1) to learn more

about the need for inter-national relief and spon-sorship. They will visit a dump where children live and work, bring them school supplies and food, and organize games for them. They will also help out on a collective farm for three days, hauling wood, clearing fields, watering plants and weeding gar-dens. In another rural community, they will shadow housewives,

participating in their daily chores, preparing meals, and feeding ani-mals.

For most of the trip, the students will be bil-leted with families ser-viced by the Romero Centre. These families lived in the barrio – the poorest area of town.

This is the fourth such trip undertaken by students from the Inter-national Studies Pro-gramme.

Nicaragua: a life-changing experience


The ObserverNEWS

RON DRYSDALET A X C O N S U L T A N T

Professional Tax PreparationBusiness & Personal Services

Management & Bookkeeping ServiceDebit/Credit Transactions Available

613.342.7935 | [email protected] MacOdrum Dr, Brockville ON K6V 6H5

Specializing:• General House Cleaning• Clutter Elimination• Commercial Cleaning

Free, no obligation consultation

MOBILE VACUUM CENTRE

613-925-2184 613-802-4477

SALES - REPAIRS - PARTS - ACCESSORIES TO MOST MAKES- Electrolux - Filter Queen - Tristar - Beam - All Canada Vac

NEW AND RECONDITIONED UNITSCentral - Upright - Cannister Vacuums

MOBILE IN HOME SERVICE & REPAIR

NGuaranteed

Best Price

113 Perth St, Unit B, Brockville

In celebration of Inter-national Women’s Day/Month Brockville Women in Business will welcome Y Woman of Distinction Nominee, and award-winning journalist and producer, CTV Weekend News anchor, Kimothy Walker, as the keynote speaker for their March 8th meeting.

Brockville Women in Business luncheon meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month, starting at 11:30 a.m. The meetings pro-vide an opportunity for women to meet other business women, and to share expertise, experien-ces and successes in a sup-portive, business-oriented

atmosphere. All women actively working or mar-keting their business in the Brockville area are in-vited to attend the group. Pre-registration for each luncheon meeting is re-

quired; RSVP [email protected]. For more information about the group, please call Wendy Onstein at 613-342-8772 x470 or email [email protected].

The hunt is on for new tenants to occupy the Abbott Labs building. City officials announced last week, that they are planning to obtain a broker within the next few weeks, in hopes that that they will be able to find a tenant to replace the manufacturer prior to termination of pro-duction in September of 2012. Abbott Laborator-ies announced in Octo-ber that it plans by Sep-tember 2012, to close its Brockville plant, where a workforce of 151 people make the nutritional formula Similac and En-sure baby formula for the global company. City of Brockville Director of Economic Development, Dave Paul, said that the building would make a great new home for an-other food processor, biotechnology company or possibly a brewery.

“What makes this a special piece of real es-tate is the highly compli-ant nature of the struc-ture and the facility,” noted Paul. “It’s a food audited building which means that the building meets the high standards of purity and cleanli-ness required by the food manufacturing and bio-tech industries because it is completely sealed.”

Paul continued adding that the 200,000 square

feet building is equipped with 80,000 square feet of production space, 80,000 square feet of warehous-ing, and 40,000 square feet of offices as well as 30-foot ceilings and nine bay doors and two drive-in shipping doors. The drive-in doors are sealed and pressurized so that bugs are repelled by blown air. The facil-ity has 600-volt service, three-phase electrical, up to 3,000 amps, and is fully serviced by fibre op-tic connections.

“I can give you 10 different examples in Brockville where com-panies have left and others have taken their space,” said Paul. “For example, Coca-Cola left town in the late 1990s and was replaced by Northern Telecom, which has more than quadrupled Coca-Cola’s workforce to about 110 people. Last sum-mer, Northern Cables expanded into a facil-ity deserted by Selkirk Metal Products just two months after the build-ing became available.”

Brockville will begin to market the Abbott facility in 2011 upon approval of Abbott executive which is anticipated in the first quarter. A broker will be announced at that time.

Any inquiries should go to Dave Paul, who can be reached at [email protected] or 613-342-8772.

Search is on for new Abbott building tenants

By Erin ChristieObserver Staff Writer

CTV news anchor to speak at upcoming BWB meeting


Leeds-Grenville MP welcomes new power simulator at St. Lawrence College

St. Lawrence College President Chris Whitaker watches as Leeds-Gren-ville MP, Gord Brown receives an introduction to the new power gen-eration simulator at the college from workshop instructor Dave Brown. The $41,800 simulator, and accompanying training, were funded by the federal government, through the Eastern Region Community Develop-ment Corporation, in order to further support students in the Power En-gineering Techniques program at the college. The simulator will provide students with hands-on training, without the dire consequences of a real life situation. “This is an important component of this program for the college. It gives the college a significant competitive advantage in training and will help train students for jobs right here in Leeds-Grenville,” said MP Brown. Brown continued that the project for the programs and simulator brought together business leaders from the region, representing 25 organizations primarily from the manufacturing sector to help drive the process and culminated in the formation of the Technical Training Advisory Commit-tee. This working group is dedicated to assisting the college in the design and implementation of relevant skills-based programming.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

First off, lets be clear, when it comes to arguments over our borders with Elizabethtown –Kitley we are not sending in the troops. I’m pretty sure that the Brockville Rifles are not at our disposal for such a mission. We are having discussions with the Township about borders. The City and the Township have had such discussions off and on over many years. These types of dis-cussions happen on a regular basis between municipalities over time and especially when one is predominantly urban and the other rural.

Brockville is geographically surrounded by the Township of Elizabethtown-Kitley. Our east-ern border is Oxford Ave. The houses on the east side, The Brockville Mental Health Cen-tre, and St Lawrence Lodge are outside of the City. To the west the Brockville Country Club is outside the City while across the street, Country Club Place is inside the City. To the North the City ends just south of the Lock Truss area.

A key issue is that the Brock-ville Waste Treatment facility, the site undergoing a $42 mil-lion upgrade currently, is out-side of the City, to the East. Brockville owns the property but it is located in the Township.

In the year 2000 the Town-ship made an agreement with the city. The Township agreed to not charge the City their portion of the property tax or the edu-cation property tax. They asked the County to do the same but the county did not agree. Since 2000 the City has paid just the county portion of the property tax on the Waste Treatment Plant site.

In 2009 the Township de-cided that they didn’t like the agreement and they cancelled it. In 2010 they sent the city a property tax bill of roughly $160,000. The county portion of this is roughly $30,000. $40,000 is the Township and the bal-ance is education. All numbers just ballpark figures.

So…what do we do? First we ask why…why did they can-cel the agreement? The answer is because the Township felt it was unfair. Then we ask why did they make the agreement in the first place? And their answer is because they were good neigh-bors….okay.

Now the wonderful thing about being the Mayor is I get access to thousands of old files where we keep notes, press clip-pings, letters, faxes, reports etc.. So I get the job, along with our staff, of wading through the old notes.

The story we piece together runs like this (short version) – In 1984 the City objected to the Official Plan amendment to al-low the building of the Rosedale Retirement centre. The facility needed Water and sewer ser-vices but was outside of the City. The City and the township made an agreement that when a boundary change occurred in the future there would be no compensation to the township and the two parties would work towards such a change in good faith. When the building was

built the will to discuss bound-ary changes disappeared.

In 1997 the Township needed water service out to Long Beach in the west due to road salt con-tamination. The MTO would pay for this as it was there salt.

The City agreed that one of the options to consider would be a connection to the City Water system, if consideration was given to addressing the boundary issue on the east side (to the east the first property is St Lawrence Lodge, which pays no taxes and is primarily fund-ed by the City, next is the City Waste Treatment Plant, next to the plant is Rosedale Retire-ment Center). Both municipal councils agreed to this and put out a joint news- release stating such.

Fast forward to December

1999. The best option for Water was connecting to Brockville. The only thing holding it up was the signing of the final water agreement. Brockville wanted an annual fee included that was approx equal to the property taxes on the Rosedale property. It was apparent that the Town-ship did not want to discuss the Boundary issue thus the City re-quest.

The Township argued that the issues were unrelated.

Brockville agreed to drop the requested fee but also indicated that they would ask for an arbi-trator to come in and deal with the Boundary issue as this was the second time that Brockville felt an agreement was reached to deal with it and the Township had backed away.

Shortly thereafter a letter was received from the Township where the Township offered to stop billing the City the Muni-cipal and education portions of the property tax on the Waste Treatment Plant site. They also offered the same deal on the

city airport located to the North. They would further encourage the County to do the same. In turn there would be no bound-ary change. This was the agree-ment that was put into place and stayed in place until 2009 when the Township Council de-termined it wasn’t fair.

It would seem that the agree-ment served a purpose.

Now the next question is – What boundary change makes the most sense? Should the entire stretch from long Beach to the Agusta border be part of Brockville as this area is truly part of greater Brockville with people living there and work-ing in the City. Should the City stretch to the north to include the Airport and allow us to make better planning decisions along Highway 29?

The City provides services across the border. Water and sewer, Fire, transit, and street lighting are supplied to various degrees and under various con-tracts to the east. Most contracts cover variable costs but not

overhead and admin. One of the arguments that drives munici-pal boundaries is what services are provided – where services are provided the municipality generally needs the property taxes from the serviced areas.

The most heavily serviced area is the institutional area to the east of Brockville, out to Sherwood Park Manor, includ-ing the Mental Health Centre and along Oxford ave. It makes the most sense that this area along with the Rosedale / Waste Plant / St Lawrence Lodge piece should be within the City Boundary if a boundary change is made.

If the tax agreement is no longer in place then we should settle the outstanding bound-ary issue. As good neighbors we have to keep in mind that the urban area and the invest-ments in developable land and services is the prime economic driver for the area. Over 9,000 people a day drive into Brock-ville to work – together we have to make Brockville grow.


The ObserverOPINION

3062

25_0

210

WE NEED

YOUR HELP!

460 OF 750 FOOD BOXES SOLD

Border skirmishes…. when to draw the lineTHE MAYOR’S

CORNER by Dave Henderson

The ObserverEDITORIAL WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2011 THE OBSERVER

THE OBSERVER EDITORIAL

Every once in a while you and I may write to our M.P., M.P.P., a government Minister or even the Prime Minister about an issue we are concerned about. We may even sit down with our M.P. or M.P.P., sign a petition or be part of a delegation. Some people participate in demonstrations and protests. It is called lobbying. It’s when we try to get those in power to see things our way.

But there is another kind of lobbying which makes our efforts look quite puny – corporate lobbying. It’s lobbying done by corporations such as those in the min-ing industry, the oil industry, the tobacco industry, the arms industry, the financial industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the junk food industry, the health indus-try, agribusiness, etc. This lobbying even makes that done by our former Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, with his envel-ope of money, look puny.

Corporate lobbyists are at the heart of writing and determining government policy. They operate outside democratic control, generally hidden from public view. Lobbyists are behind trade agree-ments such as CETA. As we have seen in the oil lobby, lobbyists are not above mis-representing the truth.

“Billionaires and corporations are capturing the political process every-where;” writes George Monbiot. “Anyone with an interest in democracy should be thinking about how to resist them.”

Registered lobbyists in the U.S. from Jan. to July, 2010, numbered 12,488. Top of the big spenders in the U.S. was the pharmaceutical and health industry, which, in 2009, invested almost $200 mil-lion in derailing Obama’s health reform. The insurance industry spent $122 mil-lion for the same reason.

British M.P.s may be contacted by lob-byists 100 times a week. In Britain, lobby-ists number 14,000 and are worth $2.98 billion.

In Australia, lobbying groups employ 2,421 people and spend well over $1 bil-lion per year.

In India, there are at least 30 major lobbying firms in New Delhi.

Business interests have ganged together to form a massive lobby group – the 150-company strong Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE).

In Europe, the huge BusinessEurope lobby group represents 20 million com-panies from 34 countries.

In Ontario, it’s a David and Goliath battle; the private health care lobby groups and US-funded think tanks are the Goliath engaged in a very aggressive campaign to create two-tier health care and a market for private health corpora-tions.

To date, with a few exceptions, the people of Ontario (David), with the help of the citizen-funded Ontario Health Coalition, have succeeded in stopping or holding back two-tiering and for-profit privatization of clinical hospital services. The fight-back campaigns have rolled back the Public, Private, Partner-ships (P3s) significantly – both in the number of Ps hospital deals and in the scope of privatization included in the re-maining deals. We have forced the elim-ination of for-profit cancer treatment and MRI/CT clinics and their return to non-profit control. We have brought competitive bidding in homecare to a standstill twice.

The corporate takeover of democracy is not just a paranoid nightmare. It affects all of us at every level of our lives – the food we eat, the medicine we use, the air we breathe, the wars fought in our name, how our natural resources are used, the temperature of our planet, how we spend our money, and how our money is spent for us by those who control the public purse.

There is just too cozy a relationship between government and business.

Sincerely,Jim Riesberry

President of the Brockville Chapter

of the Council of Canadians

Treacherous conditions, unsafe drivers

Not that I really want to remind everyone about the weath-er last Wednesday, or even be reminded myself, but there was a consistent theme about driving on the 401 that treacherous morning of reckless transport trucks, causing havoc to them-selves and other vehicles on the highway.

On the road that day, traffic was going roughly 85 km/hour. Within 25 minutes drive in each direction, I was passed only six times, all by transport trucks, four of which I later saw in the ditch. While being passed, there was a period of 25-30 seconds, where visibility was completely gone, and one just had to keep as straight as possible and hope for the best.

I understand that they have a job to do and time is money in the industry, but safety must be paramount to everything else and their actions, coupled with their inherent trips into the cen-tre median, show that safety wasn’t a thought that occurred in the minds of these drivers.

Losing control of a vehicle of that size can be dangerous to everyone on the road. If these vehicles had lost control with anyone nearby, the consequences could have been far worse. As much as they are protected by the massive machine they are driving, the vehicles around them are more at risk with such a difference in weight, allowing for any contact to send a smaller vehicle out of control.

Most people took heed to the conditions of the road, slowing down and forming long caravan-like lines, slowing down to en-sure their safety, but these handful of transport drivers failed to take not only their own safety, but more so the safety of the far smaller and vulnerable vehicles they were blinding while pass-ing, at speeds that obviously were in excess of what they needed to be to stay in control.

I know that everyone was driving in unfavorable conditions, but to see four out of six transports in the same position, was more than just coincidence. Undoubtedly, I was a little ticked off about being blinded all those times, but the outcome none-the-less shows the validity in my concern.

Even if the vehicle could manage the speed it was travelling, the detriment to the other smaller cars and trucks on the high-way were enough to raise a serious concern. Under these con-ditions, courtesy for the safety of other drivers around you has to take precedence over ‘making good time’. Taking away all possible harm to anyone out of the equation, the time it took to get pulled from the ditch would have erased far more time, than could be made up from speeding over a period of many months.

Bottom line, slow down, take other vehicles into consideration and no matter what kind of hurry you may be in, it isn’t worth putting yourself and others at risk, just to save a bit of time.

Austin de Luis

Contributing WritersTom AlnuttRuss DisotellDouglas GrantLauren SmithDennis Stein

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Mary and her quilting teamMary Bernard and her team consisting of Nadia Nielsen, Lorna Robertson, Jennifer Fillmore, Ann Troy, Laura MacAfee, Marg Willard and Mary Teresa Kowlessar pose for a quick picture in front of everything they have made over the last year that will be heading to Belarus this spring.

PHOTO BY AUSTIN DE LUIS

Only three per cent of the water on the planet is freshwater. Most of that is trapped in glaciers, or the polar ice caps. The re-mainder is in freshwater lakes, rivers, marshland and groundwater.

Oil, and all of its associated products, is an-other important natural resource, trapped in rock, sand, and under the ocean bed-rock. It pow-ers our vehicles in the form of fuels, powers our homes by providing elec-tricity, and feeds us through food production, har-vesting, process-ing and transpor-tation. To feed a family of four for a year consumes almost a thousand gallons of oil based products, roughly the same as what that family spends in fuel for their own car. With ap-proximately 80 million more people on the plan-et each year, the demand for these seemingly finite resources continues to increase.

Oil, coal, and natural gas are energy sources

which are non-replenish-able, and have reached global peak in produc-tion. Water is replenish-able through the natural cycle of evaporation to precipitation, but we humans are drawing off of the aquifers of fresh water quicker now than it can be replaced. Which

will become more valu-able in the future, oil or water?

While we gripe about the cost of gas for our SUV’s, and have every convenience known to man, almost 900 million people have little or NO access to clean water, and some in drought-stricken areas like Ethi-opia and Kenya have to walk long distances to get

it. Water is already worth more than cash in a lot of under developed areas, and is sold in small quan-tities, which must sustain families to drink, irrigate small crops, and wash with for long periods. Do we think of these things as we turn on the tap at home, when we go to a

water park, or water our grass?

Oil is something that we cannot survive with-out either, and it will be-come scarcer in the near future. All of our energy is supplied by fossil fuels. Yes, I said ALL. Solar pan-els are manufactured using oil derived prod-ucts such as plastics. Bio-fuels are alternatives that simply use less of the

needed petroleum based fuels. Fuel cells and wind turbines are made using oil-based products. Your computer is made from processes that require large amounts of energy. Even the internet, which is one of the most marvel-lous connected construc-tions on a global scale in

recent history, is sustained by energies all rooted in oil.

A mere five per cent drop in global oil pro-duction would quadruple the cost of gas, and if you watch closely, it is hap-pening. Water will be the next big commod-ity as we use up the supply that Mother Nature cannot replace fast enough for human demand. These situations must be resolved quickly, and not

just by OUR government, but by all peoples on the planet. Our days of waste are over, and new means of energy and conserva-tion must be found. This is not something that will go away by not thinking about it, and unless al-ternatives can be found soon, we may share the current situation with many third world coun-tries.

Like oil and water


To register for these Informative Sessions Call...613-498-2111 or 1-800-926-0777105 Strowger Blvd., Brockville

www.eecentre.com

Workshops are 9 a.m. to 12 noonunless otherwise indicated.

Please call ahead to reserve your spot.

WORKSHOPS

Wed. Feb. 9 Effective Resumes & Cover Letters

Thurs. Feb. 10 Smart Serve: $30

Fri. Feb. 11 Interviewing Skills

Mon. Feb. 14 Interactive Resume & Computer Clinic - 2 p.m.

Tues. Feb. 15 Information & Decision Making Recommended First Workshop

Wed. Feb. 16 Taking Control of Your Job Search

Fri. Feb. 18 Computers for Job Success Information Session - 1 p.m.

It’s Tax Time Again! Personal Tax Returns Farms & Businesses Estate Taxes Corporate Tax Returns

Financial Planning Accounting Services Business Advice Estate Planning

ALL WORK GUARANTEED

George CanersAuthor of “So You Want

More Money”,all about saving, investing

and minimizing taxes.

613-342-15559 Broad St., Suite 210, BrockvilleE-mail: [email protected]

New clients always welcome

The Observer OPINIONS

Welcome to the semi-regular potpourri known as odds and sods. This time around we have a tasty red wine that was left behind and a subject I’ve been talking about for ages, just never in print.

Late last week the city of Brockville announced that they plan to aggres-sively seek a new tenant for the Abbott Labora-tories property, which will be vacated in Sep-tember 2012. One of the ideal candidates men-tioned was a brewery. Let me toss out a thought that I’ve expounded on a number of occasions. An ideal addition to Brock-ville and area’s economic landscape would be a cider mill. Lord knows there are plenty of apple orchards in the region and a number of producers of non-alcoholic cider.

Hard cider is a viable alternative to beer and occupies a solid niche in the “drinks” world. If marketed properly to lo-cal restaurants and pubs it

could become a regional specialty and a tourism draw. Cider is a staple of British style pubs across the province and a local, top quality product would appeal to curious aficion-ados of the apple. It’s an idea with plenty of upside and deserves a closer look.

In the early fall we took a look at selections from Chile’s Cono Sur winery. Time and space didn’t al-low us to get to a discus-sion of Cono Sur Merlot 2009 (CSPC# 457176, $9.95) available at the King Street LCBO. Today we’ll make up for this oversight and explore a Merlot that has a lot going for it.

Cono Sur is Spanish for “Southern Cone”, a rough description of the shape of South America. It is probably no coinci-dence that it also echoes the word connoisseur!

The winery was founded in 1993 with a philosophy of growing “just the right grapes in just the right lo-cation”. With this goal in mind they have vineyard holdings spread across

most of the winegrowing regions in Chile.

In 1998 they made a commitment to sustain-able growing and eco-logical responsibility with the induction of their In-

tegrated Vineyard Man-agement system, which uses natural alternatives to fertilizers and pesti-cides. They even employ flocks of geese to control a local beetle pest known as the burrito!

Cono Sur Merlot is rich and round with great structure, not flabby, as many of today’s Merlot tend to be. After a string of good vintages over the last few years the 2009 may be the best vintage yet.

The wine is a dark inky purple in colour, a prom-ise of pleasures to come. The open nose is alluring and bold with aromas of spicy plum, coffee, rasp-berry and blackberries. The generous palate is complex and loaded with intense fruit flavours. You can expect blackcurrant,

plum, dark cherry and raspberry fruit with bitter-sweet chocolate nuances, a hint of toasty oak and light herbal spiciness. The structure is superb with just the right amount of acidity to balance the deep fruit flavours. The finish is lengthy and ele-gant.

Our stylish Chilean is perfect for enjoying on its own, but really deserves to be enjoyed with food. The obvious matches are roasted or grilled chicken, turkey, sausages and pasta dishes. Other considera-tions include medium rare steak, pork and grilled tuna or salmon. If you have a dish that is flavoured with balsamic vinegar, a traditionally dif-ficult pairing, this is the wine for you. Enjoy!

Quality Chilean merlot at an unbelievable price

THEFINE PRINT

by Dennis Stein

OFF THE VINE

by Russ Disotell

The other day my wife and I were driving to Kingston in our new vehicle. It was one of those really cold days, about minus 25 degrees, and the vehicle seemed to be exceptionally smooth and powerful. This made me think about the reasons why this was possible and I immediately thought of a teacher many years ago.

The workings of an internal combustion en-gine rely upon volume to work, that is, volumes of air are drawn into the engine, mixed with fuel and burned, producing power. When the tem-perature is about minus 25 degrees the engine runs better because every gulp of air that it draws in weighs about one fifth more that the same gulp of air on a hot day. That extra fifth means more oxygen for the fuel to react with, and lower carbon diox-ide emissions, resulting in a more efficient burn.

The downside, and there is always a down-side, is that the fuel in-jection system works on volume as well, so that it squirts the same volume of gasoline into the combustion cham-ber, but of a colder denser fuel. The result is a slightly lower fuel economy than during warmer weather.

Older carbureted vehicles used to show a marked contrast be-tween summer and winter running, but the difference for fuel in-jected vehicles is less pronounced.

Computer-mapped

fuel injection systems measure ambient tem-perature and compen-sate to some extent for the denser air, but I am a bit old-school, and it sure feels to me as if the engine runs better at -25 C than at +30 C.

The overall efficiency of internal combustion (IC) engines hovers in the 30% range, as meas-ured by the amount of energy delivered to the rear wheels by a given mass of fuel. Engineers have been tinkering with this for decades. Strides have been made due to more efficient fuel injection, as above, better and longer-last-ing lubricants meaning fewer friction losses, more reliable electron-ic ignition systems, to name a few. Some be-lieve these engineers have wrung about as much efficiency as pos-sible out of the IC en-gine, and that no signifi-cant jumps remain to be made. Others are chal-lenging this with innov-ative opposed-piston designs, improvements that have been made to the rotary (Wankel) engine, low-emission two-strokes, new de-sign diesel engines, and more.

Our need for a reli-able relatively low-cost power unit of some sort inevitably turns up a version of an IC design. The challenge for engineers and de-signers of the 21st cen-tury is to balance the sometimes competing interests of economy (both of fuel consumed and of manufacture), reliability, type of fuel used, and consumer ac-ceptance. Meanwhile, I am enjoying my new vehicle and the way it runs more smoothly at low temperatures.

One of my all time fa-vourite singers was the wonderful Roy Orbison. His lyrics were heart-wrenching and when he sang, he was clearly in the kind of agony you only ex-perience when you are a teenager and love has gone terribly wrong. ‘Crying’ was one of the most perfect ex-amples. “I was al-right, For a while, I could smile, For a while” then the inevitable hap-pens, he runs into her and his heart breaks all over again...”Then I saw you last night, You held my hand so tight”….the sentiment and emotion washed over this teen-aged girl like cara-mel syrup being poured over ice cream. Roy was the master. Un-beknownst to me at the time, he had an enviable range in his voice of three (some say four) octaves, something sel-dom heard. He was also a mag-nificent song writer whose music was very complex.

It wasn’t just the lyrics that got me going. It was the dreamy music and swaying to it in the arms of my current boy-friend. There was nothing like it, dancing on a crowded dance floor, Mr. Perfect leading me around, peek-ing every now and then to see all the other couples, their eyes closed, enjoy-ing young love. The only thing better was listen-ing to those songs with a broken heart. I felt the words so profoundly; they seemed to be written with only me in mind. Lying on my bed, a half-empty box of tissues next to me, sip-ping on a Dr Pepper and singing softly the words my portable record play-er was blaring out. The words that were intend-ed to make my breaking heart shatter into a mil-lion pieces. When a heart is breaking those songs are better than any ther-apy. It was heaven to a teen-aged girl.

Roy Kelton Orbison was born on April 23, 1936 in a small town in Texas. At six, he received a guitar as a gift and by the time he was seven he was completely given over to music. At eight he performed on a local radio show of which he was the host by the late 1940s. He sang in a band in high school and was signed by Sun Records. A classmate named Pat

Boone was signed to a re-cord deal which strength-ened Roy’s belief that he had a future in music. In the early 1960s twenty-two of his songs placed on the US Billboard Top 40. In 1960 he wrote a song called ‘Only the Lonely’ which was turned down by Elvis and The Everley Brothers so he sang it him-self. It shot to Number 2 in the US and to Number 1 in the UK and Australia. The rest, as they say, was his-tory.

There were many stor-ies about Roy Orbison—that he was blind, that he was an albino, that his en-tire family was wiped out in one huge tragedy. Prob-ably they were invented to explain his wearing of

sunglasses, his wearing of black and his seemingly melancholy presence on stage as he sang his sad and mournful songs. Due to a childhood bout with jaundice, he had a perma-nently sallow complexion. He also had very bad eye sight and wore extreme-ly thick glasses. Once, while on tour, he left his glasses on an aeroplane so wore his prescription

sunglasses on stage. He found he preferred them to his regular glasses so continued to do so. His penchant for dressing in

black had nothing to do with having a melancholy nature; he was in fact a happy and outgoing man. He was, quite simply, a bad dresser who had no manager so he never benefited from someone telling him how to dress or act on stage.

While in the UK in 1963, he fronted a new lo-cal band called The Bea-tles. Roy enthralled the

audience so much that after fourteen encores he was dis-couraged from sing-ing anymore so that The Beatles could take the stage. It’s said that the Fab Four, whose act was showy and action packed, were com-pletely astounded at the way Roy stood completely still and simply sang his fourteen encores.

Tragedy struck in 1966 when his wife, Claudette, (whom he had divorced and re-married and was the catalyst for the song Claudette that he wrote for the Ever-ley Brothers) was killed while riding her motorcycle in Tennessee. Then, in 1968, while on tour in England, he re-ceived the news that his home in Ten-nessee had burned down killing his two eldest sons. He remarried a much younger woman in 1969 with whom he had two children.

As a teenage girl, I simply loved the feeling I got when I heard his voice; its melancholy lyrics stirring up teenage girl sentiments. Even today, I find myself being able to recol-lect exactly where I was, with whom I

was dancing, over whom I was crying, when I hear, “You held my hand so tight, As you stopped to say hello…”

Singing the praise of Roy Orbison


Mon., Tues., Wed. 11 am-7 pm;Thurs. & Fri. 10-8 pm; Sat. & Sun. 12-7 pm

Major Credit Cards

Accepted

627 Proctor Ave.Ogdensburg 315-393-9767

The Observer OPINIONS

THE SCIENCE COLUMN

by Rod Charlton

by Catherine Durnford-Wang

OBSERVATIONS OF A

BABY BOOMER

Temperature and efficiency



The Leeds, Gren-ville and Lanark District Health Unit is undertak-ing a two-year project to update all immunization records of children and youth in schools within the tri-county area. A note from the Unit issued earlier this week is ask-ing parents to submit proof of their child’s im-munization or medical exemption to the Health Unit under the Immun-ization of School Pupils Act, 1990. This informa-tion helps the Health Unit to identify at-risk chil-dren in situations where an outbreak caused by a communicable disease

has been declared. The Unit is also asking parents to check their child’s yel-low immunization card to ensure the child’s im-munization is up-to-date, if not, the release says, an Immunization Program Questionnaire letter will be mailed to the parents.

Parents are asked to respond to the Immun-ization Program Ques-tionnaire by the deadline specified on the letter or their child may be sus-pended from school until the necessary informa-tion is provided. Over the next two years the Health Unit will be reviewing ap-proximately ten thousand records for missing im-munization information, focusing on high school

aged children this spring, as it is important for these students to have up-to-date immunization infor-mation for their college and university admission requirements.

The Health Unit ob-tains immunization infor-mation by:

Parents giving infor-mation to the Health Unit when they register their child to attend school and after their booster shots.

Requesting grade 2 student records show-ing their 4-6 year booster shots.

For more information please contact the Health Unit at 613-345-5685, 1-800-660-5853 or visit www.healthunit.org/im-munization.

We all have to eat and most of us prepare meals. Even though we aren’t preparing meals for cus-tomers, many of us pre-pare meals for ourselves, our families and guests. There are even some of us who prepare food as a vol-unteer or for community events. How we handle the food we eat and pre-pare can result in a safe and tasty meal, or it may result in making ourselves and others seriously ill. Al-though food borne illness is highly under reported, public health experts esti-mate that between 11 and 13 million cases of food borne illness occur each year in Canada. Many of these cases are a result of poor food handling habits in the home. If food is not handled safely from the time we purchase it, store it in our homes, prepare it, cook it, cool it and serve it, a tasty meal can result in food borne illness. Symptoms of food borne illness may include nau-

sea, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever and may last from hours to several days. So it only makes sense to prevent it. There is a simple recipe for safe food that is easy to follow and includes the following steps:

Separate (keep raw and ready-to-eat foods separ-ate when you shop, store and prepare foods)

Clean (wash hands, fruits & vegetables, counter tops and utensils before you start and be-tween tasks)

Cook (cook foods to the recommended temper-ature and keep hot foods hot at 60oC or higher)

Chill (cool foods in shallow containers and keep cold foods cold at 4oC or lower).

It is important to know that most bacteria that cause food borne illness do not taste or smell bad, so they don’t alert us that they are lurking in our food. A lapse in any one of the steps to food safety can result in an opportun-ity for bacteria to grow to harmful levels and cause illness. For more infor-mation on these simple steps to ensure a safe meal, please explore the following links to food safety: www.healthunit.org/foodsafety, www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/kitchen-cuisine/index-eng.php or call the Health ACTION Line at 1-800-660-5853 and ask for a Public Health Inspector.

There is yet no call for an election and I have no idea when one will be called. But I take every opportunity to meet people and hear their views. When I am “out and about” some people tell me that “it does not matter who we vote for”, or “an individual MP has no power, so why should I vote?” I strongly dis-agree with both of these sentiments.

Last week I spent two days with Federal Lib-eral MPs and Liberal candidates from across the country. Everyone I spoke with had ener-gy and ideas on how to strength their commun-ities. The first day was spent with other can-didates who, like me, are working hard to be elected in the next elec-tion. We were briefed on campaign tactics such as voter tracking and map-making – pretty dry but essential material.

On the second day both candidates and Lib-eral MPs discussed how an election campaign might roll out. Although eventually we will all be facing five weeks of un-believably frantic activity, the camaraderie among those present brightened my spirits. Several of the MPs are old friends

– it was a time to renew these acquaintances as well as to get to know the other candidates from all across Canada. We exchanged canvas-sing techniques and dis-cussed communications challenges. It felt like a team.

These candidates are an impressive group, with experience as di-verse as running a John Howard Society (helping people who have been in jail to successfully re-integrate into society); owning a bio-technology firm; fighting white collar crime; operating a beef farm; and working as a wildlife biologist, a fire fighter and an Lieutenant Colonel in the Canadian Air Force(now retired).

Some, like me, have lots of past political ex-perience. Others are seeing politics with fresh eyes. Some are coolly analytical, and others more emotive in their ap-proach.

Many are accom-plished women – includ-ing the owner of the bio-tech company, the beef farmer and the retired Air

Force Colonel mentioned above.

Some candidates are running in dense urban ridings while others are in vast ridings several times larger than Leeds-Grenville. We have all been knocking on doors, and everywhere – from city high-rises to rural villages - we are hear-ing concerns about jobs, pensions and the costs of raising children and providing for their edu-cation.

These strong candi-dates with a broad range of views and experiences have the making of a wonderful team: exactly what is needed at the de-cision-making tables of government. They come prepared with the ex-perience to deal with the Canadian economy, our complex society and our vast geography.

These are people who want to make a difference in their communities – and have the skills and drive to do so. I cannot see this group of people being limited to reading “talking points” prepared by staff in the proverbial “back-rooms”! These are individuals that, if elect-ed as Members of Parlia-ment, will indeed make a difference.

Though it’s still four and a half months away, members of the Re-lay for Life organizing committee has already begun preparations for this years’ fundraiser, and are looking for teams, survivors, vol-unteers and sponsors to help make this event the most memorable yet, beginning with a Kick-Off event which will be held this week-end. Organizers say the event is a great way to learn more about the Relay, register a team, volunteer, join to the organizing committee or help-out for “day of” set-up and tear downs. The committee is also looking for musical and other forms of enter-

tainment for the 12-hour event. The hope, organizers say is to gen-erate enough support to surpass last years’ astounding $122,716. The Canadian Cancer Society Relay for life, now in its sixth year in Brockville, is an oppor-tunity to get together with family and friends to celebrate cancer sur-vivors, remember loved ones lost to cancer, and fight back in the hope of finding a cure for this terrible disease.

The Canadian Can-cer Society is a national community-based or-ganization of volunteers whose mission is the eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with can-cer. When you want to

know more about can-cer, visit our website at www.cancer.ca or call our toll-free, bilingual Cancer Information Service at 1-888-939-3333.

To learn more about how you can fight back against cancer, visit www.relayforlife.ca/brockville.

The Kick-off event will take place at 10:00am on Saturday, February 12th, 2011 at The Mill Restaurant (upstairs meeting room) at 123 Water Street West, Brockville.

This year’s Relay For Life event will be held at Row’s Corners Fairgrounds on Friday, June 17th from 7:00pm to 7:00am on Saturday, June 18th.

OUT AND ABOUT

by Marjory Loveys

A Federal election Relay for Life registration kicks off this weekend



Food handling is just as important in the home as in a restaurant

Health Unit is asking for parents’ help to update immunization records

Public Health PerspectivesLeeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit

Teresa Clow, Public Health Inspector


613-345-3664 2A-2495 Parkedale Avenue, BrockvilleProAlliance Realty, Brokerage

Independently Owned and Operated

1421 County Road 2 East141414212121 CCCoou ttnty RRRo ddad 222 EEEasasttt14142121 CC tt RR dd 22 EE tt

$429,000 MLS®

Waterfront

Call Phyllis today!

Alex McLeodDirect 613.803.1644

RonEdgeley

Sales Representative

RESales Representative

Direct 613-340-3135

Office 613-345-3664

Independently Owned and Operated

[email protected]

Office613.345.3664Direct613.340.0861

www.HomesBrockville.com

$219,900 MLS

$464,900 MLS®

$134,900 MLS®

$169,900 MLS®

6 Fairmont Cres.,

BrockvilleExcellent East-End Location

802-55 Water St E, Brockville

Panoramic River Views

11 Avenue Road,

AugustaCozy 2 bedroom

bungalow

20 Church Street

Great value in Athens!

The Executive

10 -10:30OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY

NEW

PRICE

Jeff Patry Sales Representative

Melissa Patry Sales Representative

Office 613.345.3664 Direct 613.340.6431

356 First Ave

9319 Branch Road

$139,900 MLS®

$239,900 MLS®

NEW

PRICE

NEW

PRICE

ProAlliance Realty, BrokerageIndependently Owned and Operated

Brockville New Construction

www.25WildwoodCres.com225WiWildld ddCC$329,900 MLS®

25 Wildwood

Cres.

www.22WildwoodCres.com2222WiWildld ddCC$302,000 MLS®

22 Wildwood

Cres.

www.lisamastin.comlili$332,000 MLS®

Lot 14 Wildwood

Cres.

www.lisamastin.comlili$379,900 MLS®

Lot 15 or 17 Wildwood

Cres.NEW NEW

S A L E S R E P R E S E N T A T I V E

27 Tips for achieving a quick sale for top dollar

More tips for a successful sale.5. When Getting an Appraisal is a Benefit

Sometimes a good appraisal can be a benefit in marketing your home. Getting an appraisal is a good way to let prospective buyers know that your home can be financed. However, an appraisal does cost money, has a limited life, and there’s no guarantee you’ll like the figure you hear.

6. Tax Assessments - What They Really Mean

Some people think that tax assessments are a way of evaluating a home. The difficulty here is that as-sessments are based on a number of criteria that may not be related to property values, so they may not ne-cessarily reflect your home’s true value.

7. Deciding Upon a Realtor ®

According to the National Association of Realtors, nearly two-thirds of the people surveyed who sell their own homes say they wouldn’t do it again themselves. Primary reasons included setting a price, marketing handicaps, liability concerns, and time constraints.

When deciding upon a Realtor ® , consider two or three. Be as wary of quotes that are too low as those that are too high. All Realtors ® are not the same! A professional Realtor ® knows the market and has in-formation on past sales, current listings, a marketing plan, and will provide their background and refer-ences. Evaluate each candidate carefully on the basis of their experience, qualifications, enthusiasm and personality. Be sure you choose someone that you trust and feel confident that they will do a good job on your behalf.

We will be running all 27 Tips in the following weeks.

The ObserverREAL ESTATESelling a home during

the cold winter months can be challenging, but it’s not impossible.

You can absolutely sell your home in the win-ter, and there is a certain charm in the look of a nice house covered in a fresh blanket of snow.But since you do have snow and rough weather to contend with, you need to make an effort to make your house as slip-proof, appealing and cozy look-ing as possible when showing it to potential buyers.

Here are five tips on how to do this in the most cost-effective way pos-sible during the winter’s deep freeze:

1. Keep safety in mindMake sure the walk-

ways are shoveled so that they are not icy and dan-gerous.

To avoid having any-one slip in your home and to keep from tracking snow into the house, ask potential buyers to re-move their boots. Invest in some disposable slip-pers that people can wear so their feet stay warm

and dry, suggests Marcia Layton Turner, co-author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Staging Your Home to Sell” (Alpha Books).

You don’t want to ruin the look of nice hard-wood floors with dingy runners but consider placing an attractive rug near the front door that

fits in with the rest of the decor.

Put away all shovels and other snow remov-al items. Even though everyone knows that you have to shovel, you want to give the impression that the home is easy to maintain. It’s more of a psychological thing, not reminding people of the shoveling they need to do when it snows.”

2. Make the inside

(and outside) homeyProperly staging a

home is important in creating that warm feel-ing you want buyers to associate with the house - especially when snow covers the ground.

Light a fire in the fire-place. Bake cookies or brownies to give the house a nice smell. Offer some to buyers as they enter. If you don’t want to make this kind of effort, light a delicately scented candle.

Bake something deli-cious and set the table so buyers can envision family days in the kitchen.

How to sell your home in winter

WINTER continues on page 12

Place fresh flowers in the bedrooms and bath-rooms. This adds life to a home when there are no flowers outside.

Strategically place quilts, throws and pil-lows in the living room or family room to give these rooms some add-ed texture and warmth. Play soft jazz or classical music. This can be very soothing on a cold winter day and may encourage buyers to want to linger in your house.

3. Keep the home warm and dry

Turn up the heat throughout the house to a comfortable temper-ature, not too hot or cold. Briefly open some win-dows to allow fresh air into the home.

4. Use lightingWith the driveway

shoveled and ice re-moved, keep the home bright both outside and in, especially in the even-ing, Kobets adds. Also, if the home has big picture windows, pull back cur-tains or drapes so buyers can look out and make sure the windows are clean.

5. Photos in bloomSince buyers won’t be

able to admire a lush gar-den or a beautiful pool during the winter, show them an album of photo-graphs taken during the spring and summer - when everything is in full bloom and the pool looks sparkling.

Whatever the weather, make you home appear warm and welcoming.

Almost everybody loves pets except the home buyer who is buy-ing your house. Home sellers who adore their pets have a hard time imagining the negative attitudes others harbor against pets. So, while this might be a bitter pill to swallow, if you want to get top dollar for your house, pay attention to how much you might lose with a dog or cat in resi-dence.

Why don’t home buyers like your pet?

• Nervousness. Pets make some people very uncomfortable. Not everybody grew up with a family pet or enjoys out-ings at the zoo. Fur and four legs does not a hu-man make.

• Fear. Real and ir-rational. It’s not only dogs that instill fear in people. All kinds of silly wives’ tales and superstitions involve cats.

• Inexperience. Pets are not always predict-able.

• Your pets aren’t their pets. They im-agine yours bite, jump, vomit, claw, spit-up hairballs or are just plain hyper and bad.

The best thing to do to ensure top price for your home is to relocate your

pets while your home is on the market. Putting them in the back yard, in the garage or in another room that you keep locked is insufficient, and it’s not fair to them. You need to remove them from the house.

• Let a friend or relative care for Fluffy and Spike.

•Board them at a ken-nel.

• Send them on vaca-tion.

Overcoming negatives associated with

your petsIf you shrug off all pro-

fessional advice and ab-solutely refuse to move your pets out of the house, then at least mini-mize the objections and nuisance factors, real or

otherwise:Cat litter boxes & dog

potty pads: Keep them out of sight and impec-cably clean. Nothing turns off buyers faster than opening the door

to the laundry room and being greeted by a full or stinky cat box.

Carpet & floor pet stains: Hire profession-als to remove the stains. Buyers will spot them and form unfavorable opinions about the rest of the house. If the stains can’t be removed, then remove the floor covering and replace it.

Pet odors and smells:Cat urine is the worst. Without question. The. Worst. Bring in a neigh-bor to do a whiff test. Do not use air fresheners. People with allergies will react. Try enzyme clean-ers such as Simple Solu-tion , Nature’s Miracle or call a professional ozone company.

Remove signs of a pet: You may be required by state law to disclose that pets have lived in your home, but you don’t need to advertise that pets live at your house. Removing signs that you have a pet is simply smart practice. Why turn off a buyer at the get-go? It’s those first impressions that are so all-fired important.

• Do not put photos

online showing your cat asleep on the bed

•Seal up doggie doors• Put away food and

water bowls when not in use

• Vacuum religiously, every day, sometimes twice a day

• Pick up pet toys and put them away

• P ack up cat trees and other signs of cat para-phernalia (you know who you are)

• Remove photos of pets from refrigerator, walls and table tops

• Pack up all cages, car-riers and other tell-tale signs

Showing your house: Put your pets into a

carrier and attach a note warning buyers not to disturb them. The last thing you need is some-body sticking their hand inside the carrier and getting bit or scratched. You can’t predict how your pet will react when locked up and alone.

Following the above advice will make the sell-ing process less stressful for your pets and more successful for you.

Selling a home where pets live can be a challenge


Brandy Burns

RobREALTY CORP.

Thompsonwww.

.ca

Free Delivery Belleville to Brockvilleand Kingston to Kanata

Lyons Goodfellow

w w w. l y o n s g o o d f e l l ow f u r n i t u r e . c o m

at Lyons Good fe l low o f Westpor t !

Also on sale-Award Winning

Top Grain Leather

Starting at only

NOW IS THE TIME!

If you’re interested in comfort AND saving money....

Athens

Delta

Frankville

42 29

29

42NewboroBrockville

Only 40 minutes from Kingston and 1 hour fromOttawa, Belleville & Brockville

y

$599

= LEATHUARY

Westport

Recliners

Lyons Goodfellow is proud to offer you the largest independent

showroom in the Kingston and greater area!

The ObserverREAL ESTATE

WINTER continues from page 11


Ken Allen*Ext. 114

Lorraine Perkins*Ext. 110

Ron David *Ext. 109

Sharon Clarke*Ext. 106

Sue Steele*Ext. 111

Jerry Hough**Ext. 116

®Team

125 Stewart Blvd. Brockville

Nancy Gardner**Ext. 107

Ray Wheeler***Ext. 117

ConnieEustace-Buell *

Ext. 115

Desmond McKinley**Ext. 122

Jennifer Owsiak*Ext. 123

Jon LaBrash*Ext. 108

Chris McCann*Ext. 113

Check these parcels...

T hinking of Building in the

[email protected]

• 89 acres, Domville $130,000 MLS®

• 12 acres, Maynard $89,500 MLS®

• 1.1 acres, Domville $21,500 MLS®

Spring?

www.remaxbrockville.com *Sales Rep. **Broker ***Broker of Record

613-342-9000

Hometown Realty Inc. Brokerage

11-12OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY

248 Park Street$254,900MLS®

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY

404 James St. W Prescott$202,900MLS®

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY

79 Fairway Cres. Brockville$249,900MLS®

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY

21 Bernard Cres.$204,900MLS®

10 - 11

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY

549 Sophia Street$169,900MLS®

1 - 2OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY

3925 County Rd 26$147,500MLS®


3125 Cty Rd 18, Prescott$114,000MLS®

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY

2 Wiltse St. W. Athens$84,900MLS®


1656 Cty Rd 2 Mallorytown$204,900MLS®

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY

96 - 8th Line Road$279,000MLS®

26 Hamilton St.$129,900MLS®

21 Ormond Street$339,000MLS®

DUTYREALTOR

WEEKEND

4 Mathew St. Delta$222,000MLS®

29 William St. E, Cardinal$119,900MLS®

15 Henry St. Athens$149,900MLS®

www.kenallen.ca

26 Davison Ave.$209,900MLS®

125 Park St. Brockville$169,900MLS®

1573 Blue Church Rd$209,900MLS®

619 Pittston Road$228,500MLS®

357 West Street$109,900MLS®

2502 Cty Rd 21 Spencerville$299,900MLS®

Waterfront property!

Canada’s Negotiators

59 Hartley Street$675,000MLS®

3 Reid St. Athens$80,000MLS®

2179 Dundas St. Cardinal$109,900MLS®

6018 Hwy. 29$169,900MLS®

8325 Klitbo Road

. www.8325klitbord.com

$274,900MLS®

1 Sevenoaks Ave.$183,500MLS®

335 Christian St. Almonte $349,000

Lot - South Campbell Rd$169,900MLS®

6 Fairknowe Dr. Brockville$1,250,000MLS®

2420 2nd Conc. Rd. Augusta$525,000MLS®

NEWNEW

631 Lake Street$231,900MLS®

NEW

Janet Eaton*Ext. 118

$184,500MLS®

NEW

10 Hooker Street

11:30-12:3011:30-12:30

11:30-12:30

5 Queen St., Athens$229,900MLS®

2 - 2:30

12:30-1:30

This week’s Genera-tions Braves profile is first year defenseman Ryan Collier.

Collier, who hails from Pointe Clair, Quebec, was born in Muiden, Holland during his father Geoff’s career as a professional hockey player in the Dutch national league.

Growing up in Holland, Collier didn’t have the level of interest and coaching available in Canada, but his father helped him with his early develop-ment, teaching him the finer points of the game. “Hockey wasn’t a big deal in Holland”, said Collier, adding that his father and a youth coach, Hannie Sprong, were instrumen-tal in his early years.

Today, Collier models his game after re-

cently retired legend-ary blue-liner, Scott Niedermayer for his abil-ities in both the attacking and defending aspects of the game. “He knew how to contribute on offense, without sacrificing his de-fensive responsibilities”, said Collier. “He’s great at applying his assets to the game”.

Collier like Niedermay-er is a great skater, that always seems to be travel-ling at great speeds effort-lessly. He can take more chances going forward, knowing that he has the ability to get himself back into position defensively.

Collier also has a good shot, having the ability to g e t

pucks to the net, and the

instinct to avoid defend-

ers looking to block shots. He has been a big part of the power-play and penal-ty kill, proving his coaches trust in him in all situa-tions, no matter the time of the game.

A s for the t e a m’s re c e n t success, C o l l i e r attributes a boost in team chemistry as the main reason for the turn-a r o u n d , after a

poor string of games saw them get left behind by Pembroke and Cornwall. “We have come together as a team”, said Collier. “We have

been more consistent lately. This is something that we are always looking to improve”.

Collier has collected some decent numbers so far this year with 4 goals, 10 assists, for 14 points, in-cluding five points on the

power-play.

The Brockville Braves continued their stellar play as of late with an-other strong week, both at home, and on the road.

On Friday, the Braves welcomed the Nepean Raiders, in the return leg of a home-and-home series, after beating the Raiders 10-4 the Sun-day prior. The game was much closer this time around, and remained undecided until the last minute of the contest.

Brockville opened the scoring at the midpoint of the first period on Scott Dawson’s fourth of the year. The Braves couldn’t manage another goal in the opening 20 minutes despite firing 16 shots at the Raider goal.

In the second per-iod Nepean notched the game at 1-1 just beyond the five-minute mark, but late in the middle frame, Mark Belvedere gave the hosts back the lead, with his sixth of the season.

David Roy made it 3-1, scoring early in the third

period, his 18th of the campaign, and fourth in his last two games, both against the Raiders. The lead was cut to 3-2, but Mark Belvedere iced the visitor’s comeback at-tempt with an empty net goal, his second of the game and seventh of the season.

Belvedere and Kyle Armstrong both fin-ished the game with two points, while Justin Gil-bert played well despite constant harassment from the Raider forwards, stopping 30 of 32 shots he faced for the win. Gilbert was knocked into several times, and intentionally tripped during a heated third period that went unnoticed by the offi-cials.

On Sunday, Brockville travelled to Kemptville to take on the 73’s, look-ing for their seventh con-secutive win.

Kenny Matheson opened the scoring with his 22nd of the year at the seven minute mark of an opening period that saw Brockville fire 21 shots at

the Kemptville goal. After the 73’s tied the

game at 1-1, James Keane restored Brockville’s lead, with his 2nd of the year.

The score remained 2-1 until late in the third period, when Sebastien Gingras scored into an empty net to ensure the win for the visitors. Gin-gras finished the game with two points. William Betts won his 16th game of the year, stopping 18 of 19 shots he faced. Brock-

ville thoroughly domin-ated the game despite the close score, outshooting their opponents 48-19.

On Tuesday, the Braves paid a visit to the much-improved Carleton Place Canadians. In another solid effort, the Braves owned the game from the very start, eventually winning 6-1.

Maxime Dumond got the Braves going early in the first period with his 16th of the year. After

Carleton Place tied the game, Stephen Bird scored, restoring the Braves lead, his fourth of the campaign.

Mark Belvedere ex-tended the lead in the

second period with his third goal of the week, and eighth of the season.

David Roy continued his hot streak, scoring his 19th of the year, be-fore Belvedere added his second of the game to make it 5-1. Zak Zaremba finished off the scoring with his 17th of the year. Justin Gilbert had another great game, stopping 21 of 22 shots he faced for his 22nd win of the season.

This was Brockville’s eighth consecutive win and the team is starting to not only score more goals, but have also tightened up in the own end. Nepean, Kempt-ville and Carleton Place aren’t teams at the bot-tom of the league, de-spite the Braves showing their dominance this past week.

Brockville’s next game is Friday February 11th when they welcome their oldest rivals, the Pem-broke Lumber Kings to the Memorial Centre. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Braves red hot streak continues


DINING • BEDROOM • OFFICE • LIVING ROOM • ENTERTAINMENT

Canadian Made • Eco-friendly • Solid Wood

7712 Kent Blvd., Brockville 613-342-4617Always Open at: www.generationsfurniture.ca

Proud Supporterof the

Brockville Braves

7:30 pm

Memorial Centrewww.brockvillebraves.com

Brockville Braves

Friday, Feb. 11

Brockville BravesPembroke

Lumber Kings

Generations Braves profile of the week: RYAN COLLIER

The Observer BRAVES HOCKEY


Shaun Altshuller fires a shot at Braves keeper Justin Gilbert during Friday’s 4-2 victory for Brockville. Gilbert was solid in goal, backstopping the hosts to their sixth consecutive win.


The Observer TIKIS HOCKEYTHE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2011

25 ELEANOR ST BROCKVILLE2255 EELLEEAANNOORR SSTT BBRROOCCKKVVIILLLLEELERIVERSIDE

613-342-0234T BROCCKVILLE 6133www.riversideford.ca

John Ryan

2009

Dodge Grand Caravan SE

2009

Ford Flex SEL

2005

Jeep Rubicon

$28,995

$27,995

$17,995

$15,995

Crew cab, 5.4 L, leather, 34,000 kmsStock ID: U8654

AwD 3.5 V6, loaded,leather, 32,000 kmsStock ID: U8462R

V6, loaded, sto’n goseating, 58,000 kmsStock ID: U8608

4x4, 4 L V6, manual, soft& hard top, 78,000 kmsStock ID: 10298B

2008

Ford F150 FX4

The Brockville Tikis are in a three-way battle for the final two play-off spots in the Rideau Division with only two games remaining in the season for each team.

Last week, the Tikis had a pair of games against the league-lead-ing Athens Aeros, and will play both the Ganan-oque Islanders and South Grenville Rangers in the final week to determine

who will be participating in the post-season.

On Sunday, Brockville travelled to Athens, and put up a solid effort, los-ing 4-3 in overtime.

The Tikis matched the Aeros goal-for-goal throughout the contest, losing to a Nathan Slack goal late in the overtime period.

In the first period, Lucas Mott scored his ninth of the year, after Kyle Drisdelle had given the Aeros the early lead. Slack restored Athens’

lead in the second period, before Brockville scored a pair of goals, from Lu-cas Mott (10), and Dylan Sheldon (2). Steve Parker tied the game 3-3 with his league-leading 48th of the season, and after a scoreless third period, the teams headed for overtime.

Slack ‘s overtime win-ner was his 32nd of the season, and he finished the game with three points. Parker and An-drew Warren finished the game with two points

each. Mott finished with a pair of goals for the Tikis and Dylan Sheldon, and Jay Waller both fin-ished the game with two points. Brad Fraser was solid in the Tikis goal, stopping 29 of 33 shots he faced, while Dal-las Slack stopped 11 of 14 shots he faced in the Aeros goal.

On Monday, the game was far different than the previous encounter, with Athens jumping out to the early lead and tak-ing it to the Tikis on the

ice and the scoreboard, largely in part to a first period hat-trick from Slack, part of a seven point night for the for-mer Brave.

The final score was 11-0, and several Aeros had big nights on the score-sheet including; Slack (7), Brett Costello (6), Parker (5), and several others with multi-point games. Jacob Hartman stopped all 19 shots he faced for the shutout.

Brockville’s next game is Wednesday even-

ing, when they host the Gananoque Islanders, with whom they are cur-rently tied at 29 points. Brockville plays their final game versus South Grenville in what could decide the final playoff spots in the Rideau Divi-son. Gananoque and South Grenville also play Athens and Westport re-spectively this week. A win on Wednesday would all-but ensure the Tikis of a postseason spot. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at the Memorial Centre.

Tikis, Rangers, Islanders going down to the wireThree teams within one point of each other as the battle for two playoff spots

winds down in the Rideau divisionBy Austin de LuisThe Observer Editor


The ObserverJUST FOR FUN

crossword

- Jul 23/Aug 23 You are aware of what is important to

you in order to have success in life. Your values are changing. This predisposes you to better appreciate what is magnificent in your life.

- Aug 24/Sept 22 You are vigilant and this brings you a lot

of good fortune at the moment. The Moon causes you to be much loved by your entourage. This makes you happy, as it is what you have always wanted.

- Sept 23/Oct 23 You have a far better understanding of

everything that happens to you in your professional life. Avoid intrigues and don’t let yourself be influenced by gossip that could harm you.

- Oct 24/Nov 22 You have a great facility for rejuvenation.

Whatever happens you are always ready to confront the demands of your life. This is good, and you are proud of this ability. Continue in this way.

- Nov 23/Dec 21 You are in a period of your life where you

must set aside some time for yourself. You will soon realize the importance of this. Don’t be afraid of anything.

- Dec 22/Jan 20 Planet Neptune brings you poignant

experiences in your love life. You feel things deeply and you know if a situation is honest or not. This enlightens you about many things.

SEE PAGE 19 FOR ANSWERS

WorD search

- Jan 21/Feb 18 This is a week that brings you satisfaction

in several different areas. You feel good, and everything changes for the better. Certain difficulties no longer have an influence on you, and there is great satisfaction for you in that.

- Feb 19/Mar 20 You know how to say what is important to

you. In the past you didn’t talk about such things, but now you need to be heard. You have earned this right.

- Mar 21/Apr 20 You are thinking seriously about modifying

the way you want your ambitions to unfold. You would like to seek out new experiences, and following that impulse will teach you some surprising things.

- Apr 21/May 21 Planet Mercury brings you curiosity this

week. You have the impression that it is taking too long for certain things to come about. You no longer want to feel dependent on factors outside your control.

- May 22/Jun 21 You are able to allow yourself many

beautiful things. You enjoy taking care of yourself, and doing so gives you a sensation of stability. You’re very aware of this.

- Jun 22/Jul 22 Your emotional life makes you quiet.

Planet Pluto causes you to dislike being placed in situations where your gifts are not appreciated. You are especially observant of the person you cherish.

1. Fa follower4. Astounded8. Theda Bara, for

one12. Sound of a slow

leak15. “Shogun” belt16. Wise17. Matinee figure18. “Sesame Street”

fan19. Indistinct20. Cat’s sound21. Send away22. Brouhaha23. Perfume holder25. Campground

shelter26. Vegetable box27. Resentment28. “It Was a Very

Good ____”30. Sticky stuff31. Part of a play34. Electrical

measure35. Admiration38. Sajak or Trebeck39. Panache41. Chorus syllable42. Bit for Fido43. Harpoon44. I have it!48. Long, long ____49. Requirement50. Regal form of

address52. 2,000 pounds53. Walk through tulips?55. Delete57. Witchy woman58. ____ room

(family room)

59. Cowboy exhibition

60. Race distance61. Flowering shrub64. Actress Arthur65. “The ____ of Wakefield”66. Leak67. Has-____

(former celebrity)69. Boggy land70. Ref71. Threadbare73. Awful78. Beret or beanie79. Wild ox80. “____ Do That”81. ____ condition-

ing82. “Picnic” cooler83. Narrow strip of

wood84. Callas specialty85. Drumstick86. Asphalt87. David ____

Pierce88. Storm break89. Pair

1. Bicarbonate of ____

2. Solemn notice3. Exec’s auto4. Be ambitious5. Surgical dressing6. Fairy-tale bad guy7. Rig election

districts8. View9. Hold fast

10. Apollo landing site

11. Parcel12. Secure13. Salt component14. Boulder24. ____ julep29. “Gone With the

Wind,” e.g.30. Baggage31. Young pig32. Welsh herder33. Bar legally34. Wings36. Audio system37. Legitimate39. Wool40. Like many neigh-

borhoods45. Moral principle46. Australian

marsupial47. Choler49. Holiday tune51. Hunch54. Capture56. Appendage60. Short skirt61. Navy62. Jeans fastener63. Overseas65. Springlike66. European gold

coin, once68. Maternally kin69. Delicate71. Cleanse72. Merely74. Tan75. Hairless76. In ____ of77. Thus


The ObserverSPORTS

A group of ‘attacking Angel’s’, swarm the net during Brockville’s 11-0 win over the Kemptville Storm during the weekend’s ‘Gal Power’ tournament. The Bantam Angels went 1-2 in the tournament. The other Angels teams participating in the tournament were; Atom-White (3-1 record, losing in the semi-final in a shootout), Atom-Blue (0-1-2), Novice (1-2), and Peewee (0-2-1).


Red Rams invitationalBelow left: Taylor Publow (24) drives to the hoop during the quarter-finals versus Aurora at the Red Ram Invitational on Saturday. BCI came out on the losing side of a close contest.

Below right: Rhys Larry elevates over a number of defend-ers during the quarter-finals against Aurora.

PHOTOS BY AUSTIN DE LUIS

In the GAL Power Invitational House League Tour-nament on the weekend, the Brockville Procter and Gamble Atom House Angels had a very successful result, but fell just short this time. The Angels won two games on Friday, 3-0 over Cornwall Typhoons Red team, and 1-0 over the Kanata Penguins. On Saturday, the Angels won their only game by a 1-0 score over the Russell Coyotes. Goal scorers for the Angels were Erin Bolger, Kayla Klein-Gunnewiek, and Madison Bat-tams. Katriana Battams had all three shutouts.

In the semi-final game, the Angels battled from behind to force overtime against the Cornwall Typoons Blue team. Two sessions of overtime were scoreless, and a shootout resulted in a 4-3 win for Cornwall, ending the Angels’ championship hopes. Nonetheless, it was a thrilling game before a rau-cous crowd, and everyone enjoyed themselves im-mensely. Goal scorers for the Angels were Madi-son Battams, Erin Bolger, and Leigha Geraghty.

“B” Final ChampionsThe Boston Pizza Brockville Jr. Braves Atom C team partici-pated in the South Grenville Minor Hockey League Tourna-ment on February 4-6. The Atom C Jr. Braves only took one loss in the tournament to a strong team from Hawksbury. The Jr. Braves team finished the tournament as the cham-pions of the “B” Final Game winning against the Kempt-ville- 4 Atom C team with a score of 3-1.

Gal Power tournament


The ObserverFILM

Serving Brockville and the surrounding communities613-342-8773

51 King St. W. Brockville 613-498-2200LOCATED IN THE HEART OF HISTORIC BROCKVILLE

• Social Dance Club - Couples dance, Brockville Rowing Club, Friday, Feb. 11, 8:30 pm. Info: 613-345-1073 or 613-342-3181.

• Rockport Winter Carnival: Wednesday Feb. 9 - Sunday, Feb. 13. Fun for the whole family! Join us to beat the winter blues with many exciting events from our chili contest, darts tournament, country jamboree, fireworks, and much more. More information can be found at: www.vacation1000islands.com/files/carnival11.pdf

• Show Your Love Dinner: You are invited to come for this Fundraising Dinner & Show at Bethel CRC on Saturday, February 13 at 117 Windsor Drive hosted by the Youth Group. More information at www.bethel-crc.com or call 345.2050. Reservations required.

• Seniors Tea: All are invited to come for fellowship, on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2–3:30 p.m. for a special Valentines tea at 117 Windsor Drive at the Bethel CRC. There will be games and fellowship and it is free!

• Sunday, Feb. 20, 2:00 pm, Story Fest with James Raffan, “Coppermine – Dream Journey”, Seeley’s Bay Community Hall, above fire hall, fully accessible, $5 at door.

• Wedgewood Author Series: Author, poet and storyteller Andrea Cameron draws her audiences into her world of canning, parenting, breast cancer, global warming and even potty training in her book, Cameron’s Corner. Cameron will be at the Wedgewood Retirement Resort, 15 Market St. E, Brockville on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. This event is free to the public with entry off Market Street.

• The St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival’s 6th Annual Valentine Dinner & Auction - Saturday, February 19, 6:00 pm at the Prescott Golf Club, 900 Boundary St., Prescott. To book, call 613 925 5788. www.stlawrenceshakespeare.ca

• Open Mic with Robert Graham featuring Robert Graham on piano, singers from St Lawrence College Music Theatre Program and special guests. EVERY Friday night at Buds on the Bay 8:30 pm to 12:30 am. More info at www.robertgraham.org

• Customer Appreciation at MacJohnson Wildlife Area. Monday, Feb. 21st. 1 pm-3 pm MacJohnson Wildlife Area, off Debruge Rd, at the Skating Shack. Bring your skates and enjoy skating on the pond. There will be hot drinks, cold drinks and snacks. There is no charge but donations will be gratefully accepted. Further information 613-345-1990.

• Book Launch for Fact, Folklore and Fiction The History of Mallorytown by David Wells will be held Sunday, Feb. 27 from 2-4 at the Mallory Coach House, 1523 County Rd. 2 Mallorytown.

• Self Employment Benefit Program. Grenville Community Futures Development Corporation - Orientation Session. Thursday, March 3, 2011. For further information and to register contact 613-925-4275 ext 27. [email protected]

• Brockville and Area YMCA Hot Lunches, 345 Park Street, Brockville. Every Wednesday 11:30 am-1:00 pm. January 12-June 8. Different cooks, different menus each week. Take-out available. Info: www.brockvilley.com or 613-342-7961 x30.

• Brockville and Area YMCA Youth Night. Drop in program designed for kids from grades 1-8 who are looking for a safe, supervised place to learn new games, meet new friends and enjoy programmed activities. Activities vary weekly and may include swimming. Saturdays 6 to 8 pm. Jan. 15 - June 11. No Youth Night Feb. 19, Mar. 19, Apr. 23, May 23. Members: Free. Non Members $5.00

• Birthday Parties at the Brockville and Area YMCA. Make your child’s birthday extra special at the Y! We take care of the planning and the mess while you relax and enjoy the party. This 2-hour party includes a specially decorated room, fun activities, meal of choice and one hour of pool or gym time. Available Friday evenings, Saturday and Sunday afternoons. For more information call (613) 342-7961 or go to www.brockvilley.com

• Winter Skating - Saturdays during January and February, 11 am - 2 pm. Mac Johnson Wildlife Area, off DeBruge Road. Shelter. Skating shack at rink, hot drinks and snacks available. Depending on weather.

MOBILE VACUUM CENTRE

613-925-2184 613-802-4477

SALES - REPAIRS - PARTS - ACCESSORIES TO MOST MAKES- Electrolux - Filter Queen - Tristar - Beam - All Canada Vac

NEW AND RECONDITIONED UNITSCentral - Upright - Cannister Vacuums

MOBILE IN HOME SERVICE & REPAIR

NGuaranteed

Best Price

113 Perth St, Unit B, Brockville

The Rite is a slow burn horror movie with a docu-mentary feel that oozes religious darkness. This is also a film about Catholic faith and its role in a mod-ern secular society.

The screenplay, loose-ly based on ‘The Rite’ by Matt Baglio, is the story of Father Michael Kovak, a skeptical seminary student who after a year of exorcist training became a priest. Sir Anthony Hopkins, in another great role, plays Father Lucas Travant, an eccentric exorcist who lives alone in a dilapidated villa outside Rome.

The Rite is being sold as a horror movie. Given that exorcism is the sub-ject matter, I can’t see how it could be sold any other way. More than a horror film it is really a piece of bio-fiction and a drama that feels like a hard-core recruitment film for priests. It is not so much about a possessed girl, even though one figures prominently in the movie. It is about the modern priesthood and crises of faith.

Anthony Hopkins is wonderful as the aged

exorcist. He has a quiet intensity and lurking in-sanity that reminded me of Hannibal Lector. His char-acter is serious, seemingly troubled, but has a subtle sense of humor. We are introduced to Father Lu-cas when Michael goes to meet him in Rome at the suggestion of a priest who teaches exorcism. It seems

that a few years ago the Vatican put out a call for one professional exorcist per arch-diocese to help deal with the increasing re-quests for exorcism. Father Lucas introduces the priest in training to a pregnant 16 year-old who he believes is possessed. Michael, who has excelled in his psychol-ogy studies but has failed in

theology, refuses to believe in either the devil or pos-session.

Michael Kovak played by Colin O’Donoghue represents the audience and our skeptical view of demonic possession. In a world where psychiatry reigns and mood and be-havior controlling drugs are omnipresent, there seems to be no room for the supernatural. Even if confronted with un-

explainable horror our nat-ural tendency is to turn to science for answers. In the 21st Century how can there really be a need for faith? This is really his story. He was raised in a mortuary. His mother died when he was young, and he was raised by his father (Rutger Hauer), a man who pre-pares the dead for burial. Rather than stay in his fath-er’s business, he decides to go to seminary school to

study for the priesthood. After four years of study, it is suggested to Michael that he go to Rome for what should be his last course, essentially Exorcism 101. It is in Rome that he is told to meet Father Lucas Travant who will show Michael the nuts and bolts of what it takes to be an exorcist.

The Rite is ultimately a religious film. It follows in the footsteps of some giants including The Exor-cist and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Like both those films it takes its sub-ject matter seriously. Un-like so many recent hor-ror films there is no place where the tension is light-ened, either intentionally or un-intentionally. The Rite moves slowly, work-ing its dark magic, getting under your skin without revealing which way it is headed. The atmosphere is continually dark and only gets darker and more suffo-cating as the film goes on.

This is one movie I won’t sit through as second time. It is too slow to appeal to the horror crowd and de-spite the interesting per-formance of Anthony Hop-kins, probably won’t attract anyone else. The Rite aims high, but is too slow and serious for its own good. Want to see a great flick? Go rent The Exorcist.

The Rite - The darker side of religionVIEW FROM THE OUTSIDE

by Tom Allnutt


The Observer CLASSIFIEDSPlace your ad 613-342-8777 • 613-925-4265 • Fax 613-342-8773 • www.morris-group.ca/classified-adds

Brockville ObserverClassified Advertising RatesAll Classified Advertising Payable In Advance

30 cents per word, $8.00 minimumClassifieds will be accepted by telephone but must be paid

by 5:00 pm Monday, for publication on Wednesday

Ph: 613-342-8777 Fax 613-342-8773email: [email protected]

Deadline for Classified Ads Monday at 4:00 pmDeadline for Display Advertising

Friday at 4:00 pm

FOR RENTRetail & Office Space

Brockville Area 200 to 10,000 sq. ft.

1-M free rent

Best Deal in town Contact Mike

613-345-2964/613-340-9326

FOR RENT

ANNOUNCEMENTPLACE AN ANNOUNCEMENT in the Brockville Observer, call 613-342-8777. Deadlines Monday by 3:00 p.m. for the Wednesday edition. Cash, visa or mastercard. All prices are subject to H.S.T. The Brockville Observer is not responsible for pictures left here over 6 months. Please pick up your photographs as soon as they appear in the paper. (nc-8tf)

FOR SALE“TOO COLD and snowy to go shopping? Well, let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! Your online department store is now open for business. Quality merchandise at affordable prices for every taste and occasion. Go to: www.judysventures.com to start your shopping experience.” (cs3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)

HELP WANTEDLOOKING FOR adult carriers. Car preferred. Call Bob at 613-925-1439 (nc)

SOLAR SALES - Cleave Energy, Ontario Solar leader, is looking for self-motivated, teachable sales agents in Eastern On-tario to market and sell solar systems. High earnings poten-tial. Full training and marketing support. Call Norton Solomon at 613-577-0551 or email: [email protected]. www.cleave-energy.com (psmc5,6)

is looking for a person

“TOO YOUNG TO RETIRE”to sell and install window blinds and shutters.

Home base business, protected areas, very little overhead. NO ROYALTIES.

www.blindmasters.com1-800-290-6972

HELP WANTED

Answers JUST

FOR FUNFOR RENT

APARTMENT FOR rent in coun-try. Situated between Roebuck and Spencerville. Available im-mediately. Private entrance, heat included. Call 613-925-0714 or 613-223-3542 (ps-6,7)

LARGE EXECUTIVE townhome w/St. Croix views, 2 BR, 2½ BA, FP, 2 car gar. Free utilities (A/C & heat) and basic Directv. $1350.00/mo. with 1 year lease. Available Feb. 1st 805-489-7624 (csv-4tf)

FOR RENT1 & 2 BEDROOM apartments. Available immediately. Also, waterfront apartments. Carpet and cushion floor. Freshly painted. Phone 613-926-1001. (csv36tf)

800 SQUARE FOOT store on King Street. $600. per month plus utilities. First and last months plus references. Contact Wilf Peters at W.L. Peters Appliances. (cs35tf)

NEW 4 unit apartment in Cardinal. Each apartment has one large bedroom with den. Includes washer / dryer hookups and super insulated. Non-smoking premises. Weekdays 613-657-3184. (cs-3tf)

PRESCOTT, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments. Quiet modern building. Call 613-925-5021 or 613-341-1199. (cs-2tf)

HOUSE FOR SALEPRESCOTT - 3 BEDROOM bun-galow close to schools. New built-in dishwasher, new gas furnace, hardwood floors, large rec-room, large backyard. New price $149,900. Call 613-246-4255 or e-mail: [email protected] (ps-4,5,6,7)

PRESCOTT 3+2 bedroom brick bungalow, new central air, built-in dishwasher, 2 bathrooms, large rec. room, gas heat. Avail-able immediately. Price reduced to $144,900. 613-925-5033 or email: [email protected] (ps 5,6,7,8)

FOR SALE/RENT TO OWNOWNER FINANCED: 4 bed-rooms, double garage, equip-ment shed, pond, guest-house, workshop and 2.6 acres. Now repossessed, cleaned and up-graded. $5,000 down $195,000 VTB, $1,000 monthly. Apply 9:00 - 5:00, 5725 County Road 18. 905-356-7165 (ps-6)

VEHICLES FOR SALECREDIT PROBLEM! In-house finance is easy just apply on line & become pre-approved. For clean low mileage vehicles. www.car-o-line.com or call Car-o-line Auto’s at 1-877-820-5598 or 613-448-2488. (cs-2tf)

TAX RETURNSWILL DO tax returns. Reason-able rates. 613-925-1882 (ps-6)

Contact the Brockville Observer, today at

For All Your Advertising Needs Contact The

Brockville Observer Today!



The Board of Directors of the Brockville and Area Community Foundation are pleased to announce that Dr. Paula Stuart, Chief Medical Officer for the Leeds, Grenville and Lan-ark District Health Unit will be the guest speaker for their first annual Val-entine’s Day Celebratory Breakfast which will be held on Monday, Febru-ary 14th at CJ’s Banquet Hall in Brockville, Ontario. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. with the mor-ning’s program commen-cing at 8:00 a.m. Tickets are $15.00 each and can be reserved/purchased by contacting David Dargie – BACF Executive Director at 613.498.9970 or [email protected].

John Fischl, Chair of the BACF Board of Dir-ectors commented, “We are excited to share the good work of our com-

munity foundation with the Brockville and area communities at our first annual Valentine’s Day breakfast. We will be awarding $13,500 to ten deserving area organiza-tions through our com-munity grants process, as well as making a number of announcements about several future projects that we are undertaking. We are honoured to have Dr. Paula Stuart join us on February 14th as our guest speaker. The posi-tive impact that she has made in our communities in her short time as our area’s Chief Medical Of-ficer has been significant. We are looking forward to her message entitled, ‘Building Healthy Com-munities’.”

The agenda for this event has been finalized, and in addition to the 2010-11 grant recipients,

the breakfast will cele-brate the new “Pay It For-ward” project that is be-ing launched in two area schools; the honouring of Thomas Dunn Dailey for the generous bequest that he left for the BACF; news about the redesign of the BACF’s web site and logo; an overview of the Foundation’s recently re-vised strategic plan; the launch of an exciting new sporting event/fundraiser for the BACF; plus several surprises.

David Dargie, Execu-tive Director of the BACF commented, “We have had such a positive re-sponse to our ticket res-ervations that we have added more seats for this first annual Valentine’s Day Breakfast in order that everyone who wants to attend will be accom-modated. In addition to Dr. Paula Stuart, our audi-

ence will hear from Sen-ator Robert Runciman, MP Gord Brown, and MPP Steve Clark as they bring greetings from their re-spective levels of govern-ment. As well, Brockville’s youngest City Councillor, Leigh Bursey, will be brin-ing greetings as the Act-ing Mayor of the City of Brockville.”

Members of the pub-lic in Brockville, Leeds & Grenville are invited to this Valentine’s Day breakfast to learn more about the great work that is being done by your community foundation! Please book your tickets today to avoid the dis-appointment of missing out on this event. Tickets

are $15.00 each and can be reserved/purchased by contacting David Dargie – BACF Executive Direc-tor at 613.498.9970 or [email protected]. There will be only 100 tickets available for this inaugural event, so community members are asked to reserve their tickets as soon as pos-sible.

BROCKVILLE, ON-TARIO – January 2011] Brockville-based Internet service provider RipNET today announced the completion of a major upgrade to its wireless network. RipNET’s up-graded “next generation” network is now capable of faster speeds, greater download capacity and larger bandwidth al-lowances. “This allows RipNET to double its download speeds and quadruple its monthly bandwidth allowances” according to RipNET President Kingsley Grant. Beginning immediately, RipNET is offering new service plans with the lar-gest called “Big Screen” with a download cap-acity of 160GB/month, combined with the fast-est speeds RipNET has ever offered. “This pack-age has been designed for those folks who want to really embrace en-tertainment through the Internet – like big movie downloaders and Netflix users – people

who enjoy the Internet through their big screen” says Marketing Director James Wilson. “In fact it parallels typical cable and DSL connections.” “Since 2003 RipNET has offered sustained down-load speeds of 2Mbps and 3Mbps. And those speeds were more than sufficient for most Internet appli-cations and the needs of our customers. But those needs are evolving and RipNET must evolve with them.” says Wilson. RipNET ‘s upgrade has been more than a year in the making. It saw RipNET install new fibre connections to Toronto from its hubs in Smiths Falls and Brockville, along with the upgrading of processing and switching equipment at tower sites. “This network upgrade was critical to meeting the growing demand for greater download speeds and bandwidth capacity,” according to Wilson. “It’s NetFlix and media streaming ready.” RipNET has also de-

veloped a new range of service plans. “Our new plans allow customers to pick a service that is perfect for their Inter-net usage and pocket book,” adds Wilson. “This is a breakthrough for our region,” accord-ing to Grant. “We’ve up-graded our licensed wire-less network to make this possible. It’s a significant investment which we are confident will make RipNET even more vital and valuable to people in Leeds Grenville.” “We recognized the im-portance to reinvest in the network to meet the evolving needs of RipNET’s customers”, says Grant. “We’re proud to have been a pion-eer in bringing broad-band to rural Leeds Grenville and we are committed to being a leader into the future.” RipNET is headquartered in Brockville where it has a staff of 27 full time employees. It is locally owned and was founded in 1994.

RipNET completes major upgrade to wireless network

“Call me today to learn of ways to avoid financial realities of life by developing a

shared financial plan.”

Mine, yours and ours –a couple’s guide to finances

Lisa Bell, Senior Financial Consultant

As a single person, what’s yours is yours – and that’s that. But when you join with another person and become a couple, sharing is an absolute neces-sity. Sharing your love, your time, and, oh yes, the bills, obligations and other aspects of your financial lives, as well. So, in the interest of keeping your union on the right track, here a couple of things couples should know about equitably managing their finances.

Togetherness is a good thing If you are contemplating marriage, then it may be time to integrate your finan-cial lives fairly and in ways that match your lifestyle together. Each of you should disclose assets, financial com-mitments (such as loans) and credit history. Decide if it’s best to maintain separate bank accounts, credit cards and investments or to merge some or all of these financial items to elimin-ate duplication and enhance financial benefits. For example, you may enjoy a more robust portfolio if you pool your investments, but that may not be advisable if your intent is to keep all of your assets separate in the event of separation or divorce. Make your de-cisions with a clear understanding of tax and legal implications and if you are bringing significant assets into the marriage, speak to a family law-yer about the financial implications of getting married and how best to pro-tect your assets.

Who will manage day-to-day fi-nances – paying the bills and so on – and who will manage your over-all financial affairs? If one or both of you brought personal assets into the union – a car or home, for example – should you keep them or sell them?

Together for life? You expect your marriage or common-law partnership to last, but based on divorce and sep-aration statistics, there’s a chance that it won’t. You may want to be prepared by establishing a domestic contract that sets out certain rights and obli-gations for each spouse or partner,

usually in relation to property or sup-port issues that may arise upon the dissolution of the relationship and/or the death of one partner. A domestic contract is especially useful when one or both of the partners bring signifi-cant assets into the relationship or in blended family situations where one partner has support obligations to a former spouse/partner and his/her children.

Together to save On taxes, that is. Although couples must file separate individual tax returns,

there are many tax-planning strat-egies that can reduce your total tax bill now and in the future.

Take advantage of all your deduc-tions and income-splitting oppor-tunities including, where appropri-ate, pension income-splitting and/or spousal Retirement Savings Plans that can deliver tax savings.

Make it work together Take these practical steps as soon as possible:

• A new will for each of you. A will drawn up prior to marriage is usually invalid.

• Arrange mortgage, life and other insurance coverage to ensure each of you is protected

if one partner dies.• Use tax-planning and investment

strategies that deliver immediate and longer-term retirement benefits.

Protect your togetherness from the unavoidable financial realties of life by developing a shared financial plan. Your professional advisor can help you build that plan and a strong financial future for all your years together.

This column, written and pub-lished by Investors Group Financial Services Inc. (in Québec – a Financial Services Firm), presents general infor-mation only and is not a solicitation to buy or sell any investments. Contact a financial advisor for specific advice about your circumstances. For more information on this topic please con-tact your Investors Group Consultant.

BACF announce speaker for Valentine’s day celebratory breakfastDr. Paula Stuart will be guest speaker at first annual breakfast held by BACF

Lisa Bell CFP, EPCSenior Financial Consultant


THE

PROUDLY SERVING BROCKVILLE and SURROUNDING COMMUNITIESdand SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES

bserverOBROCKVILLE’S FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER • ON STANDS AND IN YOUR MAILBOX EVERY WEDNESDAY

WE ARE ONLINEwww.thebrockvilleobserver.ca

View articles, pictures columns and full papers

online.

Place a classified ad.

Send a letter to our editor, Austin de Luis.

Being a part of our

community was

never easier.

www.thebrockvilleobserver.ca

YOUR NEWS.

YOUR

COMMUNITY.

AT YOUR

FINGERTIPS.

The Brockville Observer Online

Editions



Saturday, February 26, 2011

Elgin Bowling Lanes 6-9pmKemptville Bowling 4-7pm

Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Bowling Centre (Brockville) Inc. 12-6pmDelaney Bowling Centre (Gananoque) 12-3pm

Register your team of 5!

You could win an Xbox 360 Kinect Bundle in our incentive draw!

Every $50 raised earns a ballot for this draw!For more information please contact the Big

Brothers Big Sisters office.Phone: 613-345-0281

Email: [email protected]

Where We Always Have Time For You

“Trumpet Boys” by Rhythm 16 Melodies Auto-Night Shut-Off Volume Control

Citizen Watches Citizen Eco-Drive Fueled by Light It Never Needs a Battery

Wenger Swiss Army Watches 5 Year Warranty Titanium & Stainless Steel Free Flashlight with Purchase

112 King St. W., Brockville613-498-0175

Mon-Thu: 9am-5:30pmFri: 9am-6pm, Sat: 9am-5pm

Storewide Valentine SaleSweetheart Sale

Save Up to 40% on Selected Items

Save30%

Sale Ends Feb 14th | Free Gift Wrapping

Save20%

HST Included

Over the years local business magnate David Beatty has proven him-self to be many things, a visionary leader and an ardent community ac-tivist, and to those who know him, a trustworthy

friend, on October 25th, the residents of Brockville substantiated this repu-tation by rewarding him with a staggering 5348 votes, earning him one of nine coveted seats at the council table. Here, Beat-ty takes a few moments to answer Ten Questions for the Observer.

Do you have a motto?Trust people – until

they give you a reason not to trust them.

What book are you currently reading or what book do you recom-

mend?If I like an author I will

read many of his works. This past month I’ve read several books by Bill Bryson and am cur-rently reading “At Home”. I like Bryson’s dry humor and with his keen sense of observation, he can make the most mun-dane thing seem inter-esting. I’ve also just read Stieg Larsson’s trilogy, “The Girl Who..” series, because all three were #1 bestsellers. Unfortu-nately, like many artists, Larsson did not live long

enough to witness the success of his works.

What characteristic do you most admire in others?

Persistence, tenacity, doing what it takes to get the job done.

What characteristic do you most deplore in others?

Insincerity and pre-tentiousness.

Whom do you most admire, living or dead?

Winston Churchill. He would not accept defeat in 1940/1 and convinced FDR into the Lend/ Lease

program. Without his stubborn determination to defeat the Nazis at all costs, we would live in a much different world to-day.

What do you do in your free time?

Spend time with my grandkids, golf, read and most days complete the newspaper Sudoku puz-zles.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would be more pa-tient and “smell the roses”.

What talent would you most like to have?

I’d be creative – paint, act, sing and play musical instruments.

Who is your favourite hero of fiction?

James Bond 007, every day is an exciting new ad-venture.

What is your most treasured possession?

My memories. During the recent Alzheimer’s Walk, I thought how sad it would be not to be able to recall all of your life ex-periences.

Ten Questions with Dave Beatty

Brockville native Ther-esa Kenny-Churchill made her second visit to Durika, Costa Rica, another life al-tering trip.

Churchill, who made a previous trip with two other local ladies, Suel-ing Ching and Susan Watt, decided to make this trip with an added challenge; taking a five-day hike up the mountainside. “I can’t describe the intensity of feelings and emotions I felt during this trip”, said Churchill, adding that the physical and mental prep-aration she underwent was key to her success and survival during the ardu-ous hike.

“I had prepped for this for months with physical training and, probably most import-antly the mental and emo-tional training I needed”. Churchill credits much of her preparation to Clark Flynn, who trained with her leading up to the trip.

Churchill took the hike with five others, includ-ing locals from Durika and two visitors. An ex-perienced guide led them up the mountain, with a capable group, giving a sense of comfort and safety to a potentially dangerous climb. “Our guide is the type of man

that you feel you could follow anywhere and still be safe”, said Churchill. “Not once did I ever feel the least bit threatened or afraid even while sleep-ing in the heart of raw, deep forest with only a tarp over top of us”.

The beauty of the area is remarkable and couldn’t be more unlike our region, with lush rain forests and tropical terrain. There are many dangers including local nature and the ani-mals that call the region home. The group was prepared for anything and with a guide with the

utmost experience and the equipment needed, Churchill said she can’t wait for her next trip to Durika.

“I encourage every per-son, alive and able to take the time to surround your-self with nature at every opportunity, and feel the peace, love, and beauty that you experience from this”, said Churchill. “I will never forget the five days. I am so lucky to have shared this experience with the group, and I look forward to the next time I return to Durika”.

The second trip of a lifetime By Austin de LuisThe Observer Editor

Theresa Kenney-Churchill poses on the way down the mountain-side during the final days of her hike from Durika, Costa Rica. SUBMITTED PHOTO


The ObserverINTO THE WOODS

Magedoma Drive, Brockville

613.342.8772 #8238

An ambivalent Cinder-ella, a blood-thirsty Little Red Riding Hood and a Prince Charming with a roving eye, are all among the cockeyed characters in the Brockville Operatic Society’s upcoming pro-duction of James Lapine’s and Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairy tale, ‘Into the Woods’. Originally staged on Broadway in 1987, ‘Into the Woods’ is an imaginative account of what happens to some of our favourite fairy tale characters, after ‘hap-pily ever after’. The story begins when a baker and his wife, Cinderella, Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk), and Little Red Riding Hood set out for the forest on a quest for their own happy endings. Along the way they meet Rapun-zel, a Wicked Witch, a Wolf, vengeful Giants, a couple of charming Princes, and their own destiny. What begins a lively irreverent fantasy becomes a moving parable about commun-ity responsibility, the loss of innocence and the price

paid for getting the things you really want.

To bring the lavish, Tony award-winning production to life, the Operatic Society called on veteran produ-cer, Jeneatha Oxley (Steel Magnolias), and seasoned director, Barry Whiteland (Showboat, Gypsy, The King and I).

“I was really excited to learn that the Operatic Society wanted to do this

musical because I’ve al-ways wanted to do it. It’s challenging, but it’s also fun and a great showcase for the actors and musicians,” said Whiteland, stressing that the main challenge, was in being able to repro-duce Sondheim’s notori-ously difficult score.

“Sondheim musicals are always a challenge. His songs are very much an interior revelation for the

characters or integral to the plot, so they tend to be wordy and usually employ more than one rhythm.”

In order to ensure a smooth production by opening night, the cast and crew began a gruelling five month rehearsal process that included five weeks of what cast member, Kevin Kennedy, refers to as ‘Sond-heim Boot camp’, lead by choreographer, Ingrid

Doucette and musical dir-ector, Anna Russell.

“It was a lot of work but that’s what makes it so re-warding,” said Kennedy, who plays the role of Prince Charming.

“The whole production has been a real collab-oration between the stage directors, the musicians, the actors and the chor-eographers. We’re all work-ing hard towards the same goal, to make this a great show.”

Though the produc-tion is a who’s who of some of our favourite fairy tale characters, the show’s mar-keting and publicity direc-tor, Liz Rogers, warns, par-ental discretion is advised.

“The theme and tag line for the show is ‘Be careful what you wish for’,” said Rogers.

“These stories are more akin to the ‘Grimm’s’ ver-sions, in that the charac-ters aren’t always quite as honourable, so you defin-itely get to see a new twist on some of the characters and in some cases, they are doing some questionable things, which might not go over too well with some of the younger children.”

However, Rogers con-tinued that unlike the ‘Grimm’s’ tales, ‘any blood and gore is wrapped in a bubble of humour’.

“It’s the darker side of fairy tales, but that’s what brings an element of real-ity to it,’ noted cast mem-ber, Adele McLeod, who plays the role of the Wicked Witch.

“Real life isn’t perfect. People’s lives aren’t always fairy tales, but in most cases you can find humour and in this story, that’s what it’s about, finding light in a darker situation.”

“It’s a production that you can get wrapped up in,” added Rogers. “It’s en-tertaining, but it makes you think.”

Performances of ‘Into the Woods’ will take place on February 17th - 19th (Thursday Saturday) atthe Brockville Arts Centre. All Performances start at 7.30pm. Tickets cost $25.00 for an adult and $23.00 for parties of 20 or more (plus HST and box office char-ges). Due to the themes in the production, parental discretion is advised for younger audience mem-bers.

Happily ever after with an asteriskBrockville’s Operatic Society puts a new twist on fairy tales in ‘Into the Woods’

Actors Eden Jamieson (left) and Michael Trussell (right) rehearse a scene for the Brockville Operatic Society’s upcoming production of James Lapine’s and Stephen Sondheim’s frac-tured fairy tale ‘Into the Woods’.

ERIN CHRISTIE PHOTO



2006 NISSAN SENTRA P2294

Auto, Air, CD Player, 71,009 kms

Sales Hours:Mon. - Thurs. 8 am - 8 pm

Fri. 8 am - 6 pm, Sat. 8 am - 4 pm

Service Hours:Mon. - Wed. 7 am - 5:30 pm, Thurs. 7 am - 8 pm

Fri. 7 am - 5:30 pm, Sat. 8 am - 1 pm

www.1000islandstoyota.com

555 Stewart Blvd. Brockville 613-342-9111 Toll Free: 1-800-665-4918

3 NO-CHARGEOIL CHANGES

WITH EVERY PURCHASEOF A USED VEHICLE

EXCLUDING AS IS VEHICLES

2007 TOYOTA MATRIX P2342 Great, Fun Car, 59,109 kms

2007 TOYOTA CAMRY SE P2309

Leather, Sunroof, Sporty, 85,093 kms2007 TOYOTA COROLLA T2326

Auto, Air, CD Player, 111,588 kms

2005 TOYOTA AVALON 97130A

Wow! Only 69,600 kms

2006 TOYOTA RAV 4 P2300

4WD, Automatic, 89,914 kms

2008 FORD ESCAPE P2343

Leather, 4WD, Fun, 66,899 kms

2006 BUICK LUCERNE 96973A

Leather, Luxury Car, 85,456 kms2007 CHEV COLORADO P2299

4X4, Auto Great Truck, 53,323 kms

2007 CADILLAC CTS P2319

Leather, Loaded, Class, 52,727 kms

2007 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER P2242

Leather, Luxury with 4WD, 76,746 kms

2006 TOYOTA 4RUNNER P2302 Luxury with Comfort, 89,487 kms

2008 TOYOTA TUNDRA P2233

Plow Included, 104,589 kms

2003 HYUNDAI TIBURON P2258

Fun, Exciting Sports Car, 81,500 kms

2007 CADILLAC SRX P2320

Leather, AWD, Loaded, 80,348 kms 2007 HUMMER H3 P2318

4WD, Fun, 66,552 kms

2008 BMW 528XI P2344

Leather, AWD, Loaded, 41,800 kms

2008 FORD RANGER 97159A

Wow! Only 25,276 kms 2009 CHRYSLER 300 P2214

Automatic, Sharp Car, 52,193 kms

$17,995 $16,500 $24,995 $16,995

$10,995 $19,995 $13,995 $15,995

$18,995 $18,888 $8,995

SOLD!

$8,995$5,995$37,999

$16,995

$21,995 $21,995

$16,500

$26,995

the brockville observer feb 9

Documents

heart surgery

renfrew counties heart

stroke monthwith

chernobyl cac

grandchildren luke

free north duty free

islands duty free

leeds grenville