February 28, 2013

1 - February 21, 2013 - St. Thomas - Elgin W

eekly News

St.Thomas/Elgin

Volume 8 No. 43 519-633-1640 • www.theweeklynews.ca

February 28, 2013

The life of a submarinerTop secret regiment of the navy used to dress like dockworkers

When it comes to submarines, Dean Lewis knows all too well what life was like. Dean, who was known as Lead-ing Seamen Roth when he served in the Royal Canadian Navy (he was legally adopted by his stepfather), served on all three Oberon class sub-marines during the Cold War — the Ojibwa, now located in Port Burwell, the Onondaga and the Okanagan.

Hailing from Woodstock, Dean en-listed at Centennial Hall in London at age 17. He was ready to serve his country and protect its citizens. His love of the water aided his decision to join the navy. “If you would find me anywhere in my childhood, it was always near water or the pool or the beach. My real father and grandfather were both part of the Air Force and they were a little disappointed that I went to the navy, but they were glad that I went to the military.”

As a sonar operator, Dean’s job in-cluded being the lookout on the sur-face and a helmsman under the water. As a helmsman he was responsible for steering and maintaining the depth of the ship. Inside the submarine, up to 70 people could be stationed. Those 70 people Dean refers to as a large family — one that could kill you if someone wasn’t paying attention to their job. How did those 70 people fit into one submarine? That’s something Dean says you’ll have to tour the sub to find out. “When people ask me what it was like, I often ask them a question — Let’s say you have a 12 by 15 room. Now, invite 10 of your best friends over for the weekend and don’t leave the room. If you can come out of that after a weekend with no anxieties, you have a good idea what it was like.”

The submarines were used during the Cold War, a war Dean says was

about nuclear domination between the United States and Russia. It end-ed with the fall of communism and the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Dean likens it to playing cat and mouse. “We’re a killer submarine. Our job is to remove a nuclear submarine. If you can’t hear us, you can’t see, you can’t find us, then we’ve got the up-per hand. That was basically our job and when we weren’t on that part of the Cold War, it was training our ships and other submarines to be able to find us.”

Dean served with the navy from 1982 to 1988 and left after six and a half years to be with his family.

Submariners typically get between seven months to one year to learn the entire workings of the sub, and are then issued their Dolphins, which is akin to a pilot getting their wings. It signifies you are the elite of the elite.

Having served on Ojibwa, Dean thinks it’s a huge advantage for many people in the country to have the

sub in Port Burwell. Not only will it help people understand who sub-mariners are, but it will also help ex-plain what the Cold War was about. This part of the Navy was top secret. “Some families didn’t even know you were part of the submarines,” he says. When his wife asked how his day was, he would only answer that it was fine. He says submariners would eschew typical military uniforms and instead dress in jeans and t-shirts when they boarded to blend in with dockworkers so that no one knew they were on the submarines.

“I think generally people need to know that when we left a port in Hali-fax, we never knew if we were coming back because WWIII was imminent at that point in time. As we know now, it didn’t happen, but it still looks like WWIII could be down the road.”

He calls Ojibwa the most unique ar-tifact in Ontario, one that is going to create an incredible amount of struc-ture for the area.

By Tim HarveyWeekly News Correspondent

Marian Millman. (photo courtesy of the Elgin County Archives)

Kaitlyn Harvey, from Sparta, on her way to a Gold Medal at the Canadian Airgun

Grand Prix in Toronto.

Elgin County’s first female warden

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One of of six children, Marian Millman (nee Churchill) never strug-gled to be noticed. The first female warden of Elgin County, Marian im-pacted a lot of lives, and not just those involved in politics.

Her brother Lloyd Churchill recalls growing up in Sparta and life in El-gin County. He says Marian’s inter-est in politics began at an early age. “I guess maybe at the time she de-veloped an interest, it was because she felt she might be able to make a difference by running,” he says. And what a difference she made. Marian is responsible for current Central Elgin Mayor Bill Walters’ foray into politics. Back in 1990, when then Reeve Bill Martin passed away, Marian, who was deputy reeve at the time moved up to reeve, then another man moved into the deputy reeve position, leaving a hole on council that Marian encouraged Bill to fill.

See MARIAN/page 2

Bringing home the gold

Canadian Airgun Grand Prix

Billed as the largest Airgun match in North America, the 31st Cana-dian Airgun Grand Prix was held in Toronto on February 15 – 17, 2013.

Olympic style shooting of both air pistol and air rifle not only drew competitors from across Canada and the USA, but also from Trinidad Tobago, India and Ecuador.

Several athletes from St. Thom-as, Aylmer and London competed this year with the highlight going to Kaitlyn Harvey from Sparta. Al-though she won this event in 2011, this year she shot a personal best, placing first in both of her match-es and continuing unchallenged to the finals to become Ladies Air Rifle Match Champion. Kaitlyn also took 4th place overall in the Camp Perry Open this past January, a high level match held on the Camp Perry Military base near Port Clinton Ohio. Kaitlyn said she has aspirations to compete “in the upcoming Com-monwealth and Pan Am games as

See GOLD/page 2

Time to don your best St. Patrick’s Day gear and lace up for a good cause. This March will bring the second annual Shamrock Shuffle, an event designed to raise money for Inn Out of the Cold, the homeless shelter at Central

United Church.Event organizers and run-

ning enthusiasts Kathi Joliffe and Doreen Jensen say the hope for last year’s fun event was 100 entrants that would raise $3,000. In reality, the event attracted 348 partici-

pants and raised $10,000 for the shelter. Even better was that 75 per cent of par-ticipants dressed up for St. Patrick’s Day. “I don’t know that we actively promoted people dressing up. They just did,” Kathi says. “We couldn’t

believe the number of people that showed up dressed up.”

Money from the event was used to purchase and install a washer and dryer, two cots for people with mobility issues, a couple of laptops for job and housing searches and...

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Fun run raises green for Inn

See GREEN/page 2

Submariner Dean Lewis.

Remembering Marian

“The last refuge of the

insomniac is a

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to the sleeping world.”

~ Leonard Cohen

“Never laugh at live dragons.”

~ J.R.R. Tolkien

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Continued from front page



Remembering MarianShe stayed reeve for seven years,

while Bill remained on council. When Central Elgin was formed, they both ran for mayor. Bill won.

Marian was a past warden for the County of Elgin, the first fe-male reeve of Yarmouth Township, as well as deputy reeve and coun-cillor (1982-1997), former Chair-man of the St. Thomas-Elgin Gen-eral Hospital Board, former Board Chairman of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, appointed a member of the provincial “Who Does What“ panel under then premier Mike Harris — a panel formed to look at the amalgamation of municipali-ties, a member of the local LHIN Committee, a former member and executive member of the Ontario Good Roads Association, a mem-ber of the St. Thomas Kiwanis Club

and past secretary, a volunteer at the St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital, a former member of the International Plowing Match Com-mittee (1985 and 2010) and was an active member of the local El-gin Plowing Match Committee.

She was also a graduate of the recently demolished Snell School of Nursing at STEGH.

In her family, she was the only member involved in politics.

Central Elgin Mayor Bill Walters says Marian was always trying to help better the community. “We lost John Wise, Marian and now, this weekend, Gary Coad. In our last term as Yarmouth council, Coad was a councillor, I was a councillor and Marian was Reeve.” Coad passed away on Saturday, February 23, 2013.

Bringing home the gold

“...well as be selected to go to the next Olympics”, to be held in Brazil in 2016. Kaitlyn has been shooting air rifle for seven years and been a member or the Canadian National Team for the last six

years. She is a graduate of the Junior Rifle Program at the East Elgin Sports-men’s Association in Aylmer.

The competition consists of the sum of two matches shot during the event and the top eight competitors in Men’s and Ladies’ air pistol as well as Mens’ and Ladies’ air rife shooting a finals to de-termine the champion of each category. This involves extreme precision shooting where a score of 10 will only be given if one takes out a dot the size of a pin head at 10 metres (33 feet). Lead pellets are propelled with compressed air by preci-

sion manufactured pistols and rifles in the $2,500 - $3,000 range.

Also competing at this match were Jessica Hornby, who placed 5th in Ladies Air Rifle, Chris Baldwin, Michal Dugovic, and Dustin Giesbrecht, placing 2nd, 5th and 6th respectively in the men’s air rifle final. Other local competitors were Stephen Inchley, Laura Inchley, Morgan Vandeursen, Cole Vandeursen, Sabrina Sargent, Stacey Franklin, and Shea Sul-livan. All of these athletes benefited from the great coaching of Richard Lanning and Elaine Brown.

Pictured, from left, are: Sofia Padilla Busta-man, from Ecuador, 3rd, Kaitlyn Harvey, Sparta,

Ontario, 1st, and Connor Deneka 2nd, from Manitoba.

...the installation of a normal size stove and pots and pans for guests to cook with. Anyone spending the night at the Inn re-ceives a warm meal, access to a shower, a warm place to sleep

and breakfast in the morning. This year’s family-friendly

event will take place Saturday, March 16 at Central United Church on Wellington Street. The shuffle includes 5km and 10km runs and 2km and 5km walks. The 10km run will go through Pinafore Park. All walks and runs will start and end at the church.

Participants can register ei-ther in person at the Real Cana-dian Superstore, upstairs, from

9-11am on Thursday, February 28 or online at raceroster.com/events/2013/656/The-Sham-rock-Shuffle. On the day of the event, doors will open at 8am, with the run starting at 9am and walks at 9:05am.

“It’s been a very supportive community,” says Doreen. “It was really nice to see just how strong of a community we really have.”

One thing Doreen points out as being really neat for them

last year was the transition of one of the participants from us-ing the Inn to being on his own, something she calls “pretty cool.”

Every dollar raised goes to-ward Inn Out of the Cold and this year’s donations will go towards the installation of a se-curity system to keep everyone safe.

Anyone with $75 or more in pledges will receive a water bottle and a technical t-shirt.

In celebration of its 200th birthday, resi-dents in Sparta have gathered together and created an events list to mark the special oc-casion.

Beginning in March, celebrations start with a St. Patrick’s Day dance

at Pleasant Valley Golf and Country Club. This dance will be held Sat-urday, March 16. Tickets are $10 each and are available at Yarmouth Metal or by calling Con-nie at 519-775-2560. Free cab rides will be available to take people

back to St. Thomas and a late lunch and prizes will be provided.

On Saturday, June 29 a parade will be held in the village of Sparta. The parade will feature historic floats, antique vehicles and will be fol-lowed by a barbecue

and Old Boys ballgame. A family dance and din-ner will also be at Quai du Vin winery. Tickets will become available in April.

For more information visit www.villageofspar-ta.com

Fun run raises green for Inn

Sparta turns 200

Shamrock Shuffle organizers Doreen Jensen and Kathi Joliffe lace up in anticipation of the

their event. Third organizer Noel MacKay is absent from the photo.

CRA in St. ThomasThe Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)

has stepped in and told City of St. Thomas that parking passes provided to employees are a taxable benefit. As such, staff will be charged an average of $339/year for the use of these per-mits. St. Thomas provides permits to its employees and this enables them to park in the downtown area. The amount the CRA will collect is based on the Fair Market Value of those spots, or what the spot would earn in an open market. St. Thomas divides its downtown parking lots into three groups and the price is an average of the three.

Heritage designationGrace United Church could be home

to the city’s newest heritage designa-tion. In a letter received from Serge Lavoie, the Municipal Heritage Com-

mittee chairman, he recommends the heritage label for the church located at 18 Balaclava Street. The building was purchased recently and fears are the building could be torn down, though currently nothing to that effect has been substantiated. The origi-nal church, built in 1873, is the only known St. Thomas Methodist Church. In 1909 a wind storm damaged the existing structure, so tenders called for both a new church to be built and the old one demolished. The new church was completed in 1910.

More on heritageIn May 2012, the Municipal Heritage

Committee wrote to council requesting the establishment of a heritage reg-ister for non-designated properties. Since July the MHC has begun iden-tifying properties they feel should be included in the register. The owner of

each property has received a letter in-forming them that their properties are under consideration for inclusion on the register. These properties include: 180 Talbot Street, 244-248 Talbot Street, 268-274 Talbot Street, 284-286 Talbot Street, 344-360 Talbot Street, 364-366 Talbot Street, 368 Tal-bot Street, 370 Talbot Street, 247-251 Talbot Street, 257-259 Talbot Street, 275 Talbot Street, 277-283 Talbot Street, 291 Talbot Street, 295 Talbot Street, 301 Talbot Street, 305-309 Tal-bot Street, 311-313 Talbot Street, 315 Talbot Street, 321 Talbot Street, 341 Talbot Street, 343 Talbot Street, 345-347 Talbot Street, 349 Talbot Street and 353 Talbot Street. Properties with this designation have cultural heritage value in the community, and promote knowledge and understanding of the community’s cultural heritage.

The home of the one millionth tree was an-nounced during the Ket-tle Creek Conservation Authority’s (KCCA) Annu-al General Meeting. The tree will be planted at the Dan Patterson Conserva-tion Area on Saturday, June 22, 2013 at 11am with a strawberry social to follow.

Other items of note on the agenda included congratulations to Pub-lic Relations Supervisor Luiza Moczarski’s for five years of service with the KCCA. Luiza was the driv-ing force behind the one millionth tree logo and the reinvention of the corporate website.

In 2012, staff were challenged to improve KCCA’s service, a goal staff embraced. Today,

KCCA can reach upwards of 10,000 users with a single tweet.

Other initiatives brought forward in 2012 included: Partnering with Central Elgin to introduce Greening Central Elgin — a new forestry pro-gram targeted at smaller plants, raising $300,000 for on the ground stew-ardship projects in the Kettle Creek watershed and the Elgin County

Clean Water initiative and Elgin Clean Water pro-gram. KCCA also planted more than 100,000 trees.

The 2013 levy and budget were also ap-proved, with all members present accepting a 3.8 per cent average levy increase over 2012. Any-one not satisfied with this can appeal to the Ontario Mining and Lands Com-missioner.

Three area Mayors were given a chance to share their vision for the upcoming year during the third annual State of the Municipalities luncheon on Wednesday, February 20, 2013.

Southwold Mayor Jim McIntyre, St. Thomas Mayor Heather Jackson and

Central Elgin Mayor Bill Walters were all given the opportunity to speak briefly on the direction their town, municipality

and township are going, then each an-swered questions asked by Bob Ham-mersley, St. Thomas District Chamber of Commerce Chairman that were sub-mitted prior to the event.

Jobs are a priority for all three may-ors, so is infrastructure.

Bill Walters spoke on Central Elgin completing its first official plan. As soon as the 20 day appeal period ends, the plan will be implemented. Along with the plan, Bill says they are working on the planning and imple-mentation of service to the subdivision

lands on the east side of St. Thomas along Centennial Avenue. The installa-tion of a pumping station and start of construction this spring will alleviate a health risk he says, and provide 140 acres of serviced employment lands along the Talbot Street/Highway 3 cor-ridor.

Mayor Heather Jackson believes strongly in the City of St. Thomas. She spoke about the community strategic plan document called Our Community, Our Future, Our St. Thomas. It’s a plan based on three goals: providing a safe, healthy and vibrant community, develop and re-tain a thriving economy, and create and maintain sustainable infrastruc-ture in natural places. She is work-ing on ways to assist and encourage businesses to move to St. Thomas, including a business trip to Japan planned for later this year.

Mayor Jim McIntrye spoke on what’s ahead for Southwold. He says he’s looking forward to the Ford Plant sale, something he hopes will happen in the near future. “This will occur, hopefully, in the next few months. This will create new jobs and assist in rebuilding our tax base.” Southwold’s official plan is expected to be approved shortly.

Along with the Ford Plant Sale, Southwold has created the Shedden library committee. Through commu-nity feedback, residents have said they want to keep library services in the township, and that a new library would be welcome. This issue will come to council in April.

Jobs, official plans on Mayors’ agendas

KCCA AGM


eekly News

They come when you least expect them; feasting on our children sucking their blood; creating fear and disgust in parents. No, it’s not the cast of the Twilight movies-I’m speaking about lice. Lice are tiny, wingless insects that live on hairy parts of the human body and feed on our blood (fortu-nately they drink less than the average vampire). It’s unfortunately very com-mon for kids to be infected with head lice and it’s not in any way related to poor hygiene. Transmission is by di-rect contact with someone who has lice or by sharing personal items such as hats, towels, combs or bedding.

The most common symptom of lice is intense itching at the site of the bite. Other signs include small, red bumps on the scalp, neck, and shoulders as well you may see tiny white specks (called eggs or nits) at the base of the hair which are hard to remove. To identify lice, it’s best to examine the head under bright light. Part the hair all the way down to the scalp in small sections, looking both for moving lice (they look like small white to grey bugs with six legs and a large back-

side) or the eggs which attach to the base of the hair shaft and are hard to remove. You should examine the entire scalp this way but pay particular to the areas around the top of the neck and ears, the most common location.

Treatment should be initiated even if only a single egg or nit is found. A number of over the counter treatments are available and it is important to dis-cuss the options with your pharmacist. Many products require retreatment in 7-10 days and it is important that you perform the second course. Avoiding washing the hair between treatments may help the products to work bet-ter. If one product fails, switching to a product of a different class may be effective. If two products fail, then you may want to see your doctor or nurse practitioner for a prescription medi-cation to increase success rates. A nit comb is a small plastic (or preferably metal) comb with narrow teeth which makes removing the nits easier. With care and hard work, parents can tackle the problem of lice and be victorious. Take care of yourselves and each other.

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St. Thomas council briefs

Pictured are, from left: Author John Bacher, Two Billion Trees and Counting, Elizabeth

VanHooren, KCCA General Manager and Bud Polhill, KCCA Chair and City of London representative.

Southwold Mayor Jim McIntyre with City of St. Thomas Mayor Heather Jackson and Central

Elgin Mayor Bill Walters. The mayors gathered during the “State of Municipalities” luncheon held at St. Anne’s Centre Wednesday, February

20, 2013.

This will occur, hope-fully, in the next few

months. This will create new jobs and assist in

rebuilding our tax base. Mayor Jim McIntrye

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“Everything else is new again,” is an adage that takes on fresh meaning at Annie Thingz in down-town St. Thomas.Owner Wendy Shattler takes vintage furniture

and using a combination of paint, imagination and inspiration, gives it an artistic makeover.

“We’re furniture artists,” says Shattler “We have a passion for transforming second hand furniture to create wonderful pieces of art. And, when we do, it’s a piece of us.”

They put considerable thought into the char-acter of each piece in order to determine how to renew and reclaim it, to make it distinctive.

Working with furniture and paint is something Shattler has always done as a hobby. But she had long wanted to open her own store and, a couple of years ago, took the plunge, nam-ing the store after her grandmother.

The venture, however, was almost doomed before it got off the ground. Shat-tler found the VOC (volatile organic com-pounds) in the paints were causing here breathing problems. The savior was her discovery of CeCe Caldwell’s Paints, a natu-ral green chalk and clay water-base paint that’s non-toxic and odourless. It’s avail-able in 36 base colours that can be mixed and matched for numerous variations. They also use water based Modern Masters Me-tallic paint, often to provide decorative highlights.

It’s easy to work with, as it doesn’t get sticky like other paints, which allows more time to work with it and create the desired effect.

The business has been grown exponentially. Last June, the business expand-ed to the current Talbot Street Location. Furnishings stream in from auctions and estate-sales searches as well as from customers with pieces to sell.

“We don’t buy junk” Shattler is quick to stress. “It’s all good-quality furniture” As an ex-ample, she points to a solid mahogany corner cupboard, yet to have a facelift. Not all pieces are reclaimed, she says. But the transformed fur-nishings definitely do draw attention.

There have been instances where Shattler hes-itated to paint wood furnishings in good condi-tion, however, when they didn’t sell over time, they were spruced up with some paint and then sold immediately.

Customers can bring in their treasures to be made over with a new look. Annie Thingz offers “Paint Made Easy” classes for do-it-yourselfers to learn to create their own master pieces.

The furniture is complemented by a selection of gift items, form handmade soaps or vintage jewellery to cards and even the occasional piece of clothing.

“You never know what you’ll find here” Shat-tler says. “But it’s always something different, something unusual.”

“Everything else is new again,” is an adage that takes on fresh meaning at Annie Thingz in down-town St. Thomas.Owner Wendy Shattler takes vintage furniture

and using a combination of paint, imagination and inspiration, gives it an artistic makeover.

“We’re furniture artists,” says Shattler “We have a passion for transforming second hand furniture to create wonderful pieces of art. And, when we do, it’s a piece of us.”

They put considerable thought into the char-acter of each piece in order to determine how to renew and reclaim it, to make it distinctive.

Working with furniture and paint is something Shattler has always done as a hoppy. But she had long wanted to open her own store and, a couple of years ago, took the plunge, naming the store after her grandmother.

The venture, however, was al-most doomed before it got off the ground. Shattler found the volatile organic compounds in the paints were causing here breathing prob-lems. The savior was her discovery of CeCe Caldwell, a natural chalk and clay water-base paint that’s non-toxic and odourless. It’s avail-able in 36 base colours that can be mixed and matched for numerous variations. They also use water based Mod-ern Masters metallic paint, often to provide decorative highlights.

It’s easy to work with, as doesn’t get sticky as quickly as other paints, which allows more time to work with it and create the desired effect.

The business has been grown exponentially. Last June, the business expand-ed to the current Talbot Street Location. Furnishings stream in form auctions and estate-sales searches as well as from customers with pieces to sell. It’s also a London’s Western Fair Farmers and Artisans Market on Saturdays.

“We don’t buy junk” Shattler is quick to stress. “It’s all good-quality furniture” As an ex-ample, she points to a solid mahogany corner cupboard, yet to have a facelift. Not all pieces are reclaimed, she says. But the transformed fur-nishings definitely do draw attention.

There have been instances where Shattler and Curtis hesitated to paint wood furnishings in good condition, however, when they didn’t sell over time, they spruced up with some paint and then sold immediately.

Customers sometime bring in their treasure to be made over with a new look. Annie Thingz offers “Paint Made Easy” classes for do-it-yourselfers to learn to create their own master pieces.

The furniture is complemented by a selection of gift items, form handmade soaps or vintage jewellery to cards and even the occasional piece of clothing.

“You never know what you’ll find here” Shat-tler says. “But it’s always something different, something unusual.”

AnnieThingzCHALK & CLAY PAINT

“For everything and anything you need to transform your furniture.”

[email protected] Talbot St., St. Thomas, Ontario

“ W e ’ r e F u r n i t u r e A r t i s t s ” Annie Thingz

With files by Ellen Ashton-Haiste

“ W e ’ r e F u r n i t u r e A r t i s t s ” Annie Thingz

With files by Ellen Ashton-Haiste

Avoid tax audits by “getting it right from the start”

You are a small business owner and you file your income tax return on time. When you receive your no-tice of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), sometimes there is a cheque attached; other times, you are told you owe money. Whatever the outcome, you assume that you are done with the CRA until next year.

But then an envelope arrives and the return address says it is from the CRA. You open it and find out that you have been selected for audit.

Most people can’t help but think, why me? Have I done something wrong? Does the CRA think that I’m cheating? Did I make a mistake on my income tax return? How could I have avoided this?

In many cases, a simple lack of awareness about Canada’s tax laws

and your tax obligations as a busi-ness owner can lead to errors in reporting on your income tax return. It can be hard to understand exactly what information or numbers the law requires you to provide, so you give it your best shot and hope that every-thing is okay.

While some returns are chosen for audit from computer-generated lists and others are conducted based on risk asessments, the good news is that there are some things you can do as a small business owner to en-sure you are meeting your tax obliga-tions and that may, in fact, help you prevent costly errors and avoid an audit later on.

Audits can be a lot of work and time-consuming for small business owners, so the CRA is encouraging them to take a bit more time when they file their income tax returns, so they “get it right from the start.”

The CRA says it is investing more of its resources to help small busi-ness owners do just that. Several in-formation programs are underway to raise awareness among small busi-nesses of their tax obligations earlier and at key moments in the business cycle. This support is intended to help them comply voluntarily with Canada’s tax laws and provide com-plete and accurate information when they file income tax returns.

To “get it right from the start”, go to www.cra-arc.gc.ca,and click on Information for Business—where the agency has posted a video series on starting a business, as well as plain language information about many tax topics such as what books and records should be kept, details about what an audit involves, con-tact information for more help, and more.

www.newscanada.com

Every year, thousands of im-migrants make Canada their new home. How-ever living in a different country can be a major

adjustment, especially if you are unfamiliar with having to file income tax forms.

“Even if you are new to Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) expects you to comply with your tax obligations,” says Cleo Hamel, se-nior tax analyst with H&R Block.“It is important to find out your residency status under the CRA rules and what this means to your tax return.”

People entering Canada can be classified as non-residents, deemed residents or part-year residents, de-pending on how long they stay and if they establish residential ties.

People who immigrate to Canada on a permanent basis are usually considered part-year residents for tax purposes. Part-year residents are taxed on their world income from the date of entry, so all income earned in a tax year must be reported.

“Every new Canadian needs to apply for a social insurance number (SIN) as soon as possible,” explains Hamel. “You will need a SIN to file a tax return and qualify for tax credits.”

Part-year residents may be en-titled to the GST credit after their ar-

rival. Parents should also complete a Child Tax Benefit Form RC66 from the CRA as soon as they arrive.

“Your tax obligations on invest-ments and properties will be calcu-lated based on the fair market value (FMV) on the date you entered Can-ada,” says Hamel. “The FMV will de-termine any capital gains or losses after you arrive, meaning you don’t pay more tax than you need to.”

If you are new to Canada, it is important to make sure you claim the credits to which you are entitled while ensuring you comply with the existing tax laws and treaties. Infor-mation on this topic is available at “ 1-800-472-5625.

www.newscanada.com

Valuable tax preparation resources are available to communities across Ontario prepared by the Certified General Accoun-tants of Ontario www.cga-ontario.org.

Here are three tips pertaining supporting local farmers:

• Tile drainage, clearing and leveling of farmland, as well as building an unpaved road, can be expensed in the year such

payments are made or any portion carried forward to future years. However, land improvements on farmland rented out to another farmer/producer do not qualify for this deferral.

• Alternative energy projects under Ontario’s MicroFIT

program have been deemed by the CRA not to be inci-dental farm income. Revenue and expenses related to solar and wind energy production under this program must be reported on a separate business schedule us-ing the accrual basis of accounting. Income tax regula-tions relating to these can be complex so it is advisable to consult with a CGA for more details.

• Because the CRA considers crop advances to be loans, in a better than average year, consider storing all or part of the crop and then taking an advance against it. This advance, which must be applied for early in the year, serves as an effective planning technique for farm-ers using the cash basis of accounting.

www.newscanada.com

Avoid tax audits by “getting it right from the start”

New Canadians have tax obligations too

Three tax tips for agricultural finances


eekly News

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The worst movie made in 2012 would still be better than this year’s Oscar tele-cast. There was a time when it was truly entertaining, but

things kept going off the rails, thanks to the mo-ronic humour of Seth MacFarlane. When Captain Kirk beamed back to the present to predict that MacFarlane would be considered the worst Oscar host ever, he didn’t miss the mark. I wish they had begged Billy Crystal to return. He, at least, is genuinely funny and highly creative.

Actually, I really miss Bob Hope, but they would have to send long distance to get him. His wry hu-mour and self-deprecation would have made up for some of the overly-long message of self-con-gratulation. As I recall, Whoopi Goldberg didn’t do too bad a job either. The best moment of the night was when Ben Affleck accepted the Best Picture Oscar with praise for Ken Taylor, whose role in the film was overlooked. It was pretty much predicted that Argo would get the nod for the top award,

though Affleck was snubbed as director.I don’t know why the Oscars have lost their

magic for me. I can’t blame the poor hosting, though it helped to dim some of the shine. When the fashion gets more attention than the awards, something is wrong. Canada did fairly well in the statue count, but mostly for the lesser awards. The last big one that came our way was for London’s own Paul Haggis, who remains humble and still approachable.

On the morning after, CBC’s Heather Hiscox was holding an Oscar brought in by a colleague whose father had won it long ago. She noted that it was heavy, and many recipients have said so. My only contact with an Oscar happened a while back when I went to England to interview playwrights. In the Surrey home of Maggie Smith, there was an Oscar sitting on the floor near the front door. Be-cause my business was with her husband, the late Beverly Cross, I resisted the temptation to bend over and pick it up. I would probably have found it to be heavy.

St.Thomas/Elgin

There is truth in the old adage that funerals are more for the living than the dead, something I was reminded of last Monday

when Rev. Malcolm Rust was reflecting on the life, as well as the death, of Marian Millman.

In addition to many other titles and roles in Elgin County and beyond, Marian proudly served as the first female warden of the Coun-ty. In terms of birth order, this was an unlikely event. The majority of business and political leaders are the oldest in the family, and Marian was “one of the little kids” when she was grow-ing up on the farm. But birth order is not the only indicator of future occupation or success. When Malcolm Rust said at her funeral that de-termination was one of her defining characteris-tics, his comment elicited knowing smiles from those gathered at Knox Presbyterian Church in St. Thomas.

Marian’s determination, her interests and her community involvement were legendary. Wheth-

er it was politics or plowing matches, Kiwanis or her kids, the hospital or the home, she mas-tered the art of setting an objective and seeing it through. She had much in common with many farm women who came before her. They may not have lived as much in the public eye as Marian. But they shared a dedication to farm, home, family and community that seemed as natural as the air they breathed.

Malcolm Rust told the mourners that the woman born Marian Louise Churchill had as-pired to be an airline hostess in her late teens. When she graduated as a nurse, she saw nurs-ing as her ticket to work her way across Canada in various hospitals. Instead, she fell in love with Ralph Millman, and they farmed near Sparta before she began her spectacular career in politics and community work.

Those of us who had the opportunity to work with her remember her dogged dedication. But we also fondly recall, and will miss, a softer side – the way she would stop, smile, shake her head and laugh, often at herself.

The topic of infrastructure was touched on at last week’s “State of the Municipalities” luncheon, with Mayors Heath-er Jackson, Bill Walters and Jim McIntrye fielding ques-

tions from the public, and explaining their future visions for our local towns, townships and counties.

Infrastructure may not be glamourous, but it is re-markably important not only to our economy, but for anyone looking to travel. A recent story regarding the collapse of an entire section of highway in California brings this point home. As do the growing number of stories coming from Canadian publications that are shining the light on a growing problem with most of Canada’s aging bridges and highways.

Current infrastructure was never meant to handle to kind of high traffic stress the roads today are subjected to. Bridges were never supposed to be crossed by hundreds if not thousands of cars.

So how do our towns and municipalities plan to replace these ancient roads, highways, bridges and tunnels? And have we done enough to ensure that

when the time comes, there will be money in the coffers to help offset the cost of these projects from taxpayers? We want to travel safely, but we don’t want our taxes raised. See the conundrum?

In 2011, the collapse of Montreal’s Ville-Marie tunnel helped highlight an important infrastructure failure. And, closer to home, who remembers the large sink hole downtown London at the corner of Richmond and Oxford Street? It seemed surreal, like a scene from Ghostbusters.

A 2007 report by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities states that Canada’s three levels of government (municipal, provincial and federal) will have to spend about $123 billion to avoid future collapses. This includes not only roads and bridges, but also water and wastewater systems, transit and transportation, and solid-waste management.

Most of the current infrastructure was put in place 40-60 years ago, and the cost to fix these problems is only going up.

There are only so many things that can be de-commissioned and shut down. Everything else re-quires immediate attention and faster action.

“I’m visiting from Australia. I’ve been here since Wednesday and I’ve already won two coffees.”

What Happened: In Canada, Tim Hortons unveils their Roll up the Rim to Win contest in late Febru-ary, which to many people indicates that the start of Spring is just around the cor-ner. Do you look forward to this contest? And, have you won anything?

“I didn’t realize it was on, but I’ve won a coffee already.”

“I was looking forward to it.” “Yes. A doughnut. I got a maple.”

Walter Wilson, Sparta

Darrell Boudreau, St. Thomas

Brad Hansen, St. Thomas

Jevan Collins, St. Thomas

St.Thomas/Elgin

A Community Newspaper, published by Metroland Media.15 St. Catharine St., (Lower) St. Thomas, N5P 2V7519-633-1640 Fax: 519-633-0558

Terry Carroll - General Manager: [email protected] ......... [Ext. 25]Nelson Parreira - Advtg. Manager: [email protected] ...... [Ext. 24]Melissa Schneider - Reporter: [email protected] ...... [Ext. 26]Linda Axelson - Sales: [email protected] ....... [Ext. 27]Chris Heil - Sales: [email protected] ........ [Ext. 23]

Shari Cole - Sales: [email protected] ......... [Ext. 33]Circulation - Starmail: ........................................ 519-451-1500Laura Bart - Office Administrator: [email protected] ....... [Ext. 21]Jim McHarg - Production: [email protected]

Member of St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce, St.Thomas Executives Association, Ontario Community Newspapers Association, Canadian Media Circulation Audit

CMCAAUDITED

Member:

The Weekly News welcomes letters to the editor. Senders must include their full name, and a contact phone number. Phone numbers will not be published. We reserve the right to edit letters for space and content. To submit a letter to the editor, please email to [email protected] fax to 519-633-0558 or mail to The Weekly News, 15 St. Catharine Street, St. Thomas ON, N5P 2V7.

Melissa Schneider Ric WellwoodImportance of infrastructure Oscar hits and misses

Terry Carroll

Elgin’s first female warden, R. O. P.

Gangnam StyleSeveral ladies took the floor during the 44th annual Wine and Cheese show to perform the

Evolution of Dance skit, that featured Gangnam Style by Psy. Involved in the skit are, Laurie Mom-mersteeg, Nancy Maunu, Lisa Gregory, Kate Lampoon, Kate Scott, Lorri Donaldson, Elisa Dun-seath, Elizabeth Gouge, Dorianna Duncan, Karen Clarke, Nurd Rojas, Crystal Macdonald, and Dawn Palmer. (photo by Tracie Boudreau)

Talk about an ex-citing time, February was. Valentine’s Day, Acts of Kindness get-together, and heart month to name a few.

We can be inspired by so many.

Annaleise Carr, from Norfolk, who was the youngest person to swim Lake On-tario and raise over $250,000 for Camp Trillium.

Ryan Reid, from St. Thomas, #741 Squadron received

the Duke of Edinburgh gold pin award.

Victoria Player, of Belmont, the cyclist amputee, who I met last summer in Port Bruce.

Volumes can be written about achiev-ers, volunteers and inspirers.

That’s why we are “Progressive By Na-ture.”

David HardingSparta

Approximately 25 people at-tended the release of the new Shambock beer at Railway City Brewing Co. on Thursday, Febru-ary 21, 2013. The beer, hailed as a German beer for an Irish

holiday, was one of six new an-nual releases. The beer has a rich, malty flavour with a hint of maple, sourced locally from Palmer’s Maple Syrup farm. Managing partners Al Goulding

and Matt Janes were on hand for the event. Each attendant received a 60 ounce stein as a souvenir from the release. (pho-to by Tracie Boudreau)

Local Swimmer’s Results from the Ontario University Athletics, held at the University of Toronto, February 7-9, 2013. Laura Van Bommel and Stephen Bakare are both graduates of St. Joseph’s High School in St. Thomas, while Meg Sloan graduated from Central Elgin Collegiate Institute.

Meg Sloan—swimming for Mc-Master University200 free relay—Gold Medal—New

OUA record 1:43.151.Sarah Taylor, 25.94 2. Emma Mittermaier, 25.56 3. Meg Sloan 25.97 4. Emily Fung 25.68

800 free relay- Bronze Medal—8:27.76

1. Emily Fung 2:08.83 2. Meg Sloan 2:04.64 3. Jessica MacKenzie 2:06.10 4. Louisa Chan 2:08.19

100 free7th Meg Sloan 57.94

400 Medley Relay— Bronze Medal

1. Kieran Lew, 1:02.53 2. Alex Van Ommen 1:10.78 3. Virginia Hetherington 1:04.04 4. Meg Sloan 57.32200 free5th Meg Sloan 57.69400 free relay—Silver Medal

1. Sarah Taylor 56.78 2. Meg Sloan 57.69 3. Emma Mittermaier 55.47 4. Emily Fung 57.12

Other Local Swimmers:Laura Van Bommel swimming for the University of Guelph5th 50 breast 33.865th *qualifies for CIS

19th 100 breast 1:18.33

Stephen Bak swimming for the Uni-versity of Guelph

18th 400 free 4:11.4415th 1500 free 16:46.7631st 200 free 2:03.75

The next event for University Swim-ming is the CIS Swim Championships hosted by the University of Calgary Dino’s, February 21-23, 2013 at the UC Aquatic Centre.

Swimming Results

Montreal born Wendy Farha is a singer, songwriter, musician, comedian and inspirational speaker. She has been delighting au-diences for more than 34 years with her hilarious com-edy, stunning vocals and poignant songs.

Wendy was diag-nosed with clinical depression in 2004 and then with breast cancer in 2009. She now tours across Canada, sharing her talents, teach-ing workshops on depression and speaking of how to

overcome life’s ob-stacles with faith and courage.

Wendy will be at Fellowship Church, 641 Elm St St. Thomas on March 9, 2013 from 1:30 to 3:30pm. Coffee will be served at 1pm. Tickets for the event are $10.

Come hear Wen-dy’s remarkable story and see how sadness and despair can be turned into hope and joy.

For more info, please contact Jan-ny Van Oorspronk at 519-637-0283.

An inspirational evening

Dear Editor,Tasty Tour7 - February 28, 2013 - St. Thom

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“Never make a decision when you need to pee.” ~ Leonard Cohen

“One new feature or fresh take can change everything.” ~ Neil Young

“Who said nights were for sleep?” ~ Marilyn Monroe

Fiscal responsibility, economic growth and increased employment topped the list of pri-orities in the throne speech this week. Ontar-io’s newly minted Wynne government calls its priorities “bedrocks” to build on.

Returning to work after a four-month hiatus means Ontario’s elected officials have a lot of catching up to do. Wynne is already well recognized by media outlets for her ability to mend fences. Many speculate the throne speech’s conciliatory tone that addressed spending cuts and respect for teachers will give her government new footings on furrowed terrain.

For Ontario farm families, the emphasis on improving infrastructure – including rural

roads and bridges – is welcome news. So is the promise to consult local residents before allowing wind farms or quarries to be built in their hometowns. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has already listed invest-ments in rural Ontario as a key priority for this session, and we look forward to working with government to further address these issues.

But mentions relating to agriculture – the province’s largest sector – stopped there. On-tario’s agri-food sector contributes $33 billion to the province’s economy and represents 10 per cent of the provincial workforce already, with 700,000 jobs. If fiscal responsibility, eco-nomic growth and more jobs are what Ontar-io’s new government is after, then the OFA is

up to the job of demonstrating how small in-vestments in our sector can yield high returns.

On behalf of Ontario agriculture, OFA will also be addressing the need for a provincial agriculture and food strategy, reliable and af-fordable energy access and revisions to the regulatory environment in this session. The OFA looks forward to working with our new premier, and her colleagues of all political parties, as we lead up to the 2013 budget planning process. We are pleased by the for-ward momentum gained with the start of the legislative session, and we will use it to work on behalf of Ontario’s farmers to enable pros-perous and sustainable farms.

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to

be a fool.” ~ William Shakespeare, As You Like It

By Mark Wales President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Throne speech presents “bedrocks” to build onFe

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CE BUZZNEW EASY WAY TO GET WASTE INFO FOR YOUR PROPERTY & REPORT A PROBLEMGet the “MY WASTE” AppDo you want to keep up to date with your own personal waste collection calendar and holiday changes? Wondering what can be recycled? Looking for an easy way to let Central Elgin to know about a problem plus send a picture of the problem. Get the MY WASTE app. There is no charge for the app. It works with Apple and Android phones and tablets and the new BlackBerry Z10 phone. Just go to the applicable app store for your device, download the app and request info for Central Elgin.

VOLUNTEERS WANTEDCentral Elgin Growing TogetherCentral Elgin Growing Together promotes and supports tidiness of green spaces; recycling, composting, and other environmental projects; natural and cultural heritage conservation initiatives; and the annual Growing Together Awards/Citizen Recognition Awards night. The Committee is looking for volunteers to serve on the 2013 Committee. If you have an interest in making Central Elgin a better, greener municipality, contact Lloyd Perrin, Director of Physical Services at 519-631-4860 Ext 277 or [email protected].

2013 Property Tax Billing Process Changes:Central Elgin Tax Bills have undergone several changes including modification to the size and layout of the bill and new due dates for the 2013 Interim Tax Bills. 2013 Interim Tax Bills will be mailed no later than February 22, 2013 and due dates have been changed to MARCH 15th & MAY 15th, 2013.Please note: Interim tax bills are calculated at 50% of the prior year’s taxes. All changes due to re-assessment and tax rate changes will appear on the final tax bill which will be issued in August. The Interim bill includes BOTH March and May installments. Please remember that bills will NOT be sent before the May installment. Arrears Notices will only be mailed AFTER the May 15th installment if either installment has not been paid.Payment Options: Pre-Authorized Payment (contact office for plan options andapplication forms), Telephone Banking, by your mortgage company if applicable, ATM Payments, Internet Banking, Mail (by cheque/money order only), in person at the Municipal Office (cash/debit/cheque) during regular business hours – Monday – Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, or by cheque/money order left in the mail slot located at the front entrance of the Elgin County Administration Building, 450 Sunset Drive. Please be sure to allow enough processing time for the payment to be received by the due date. The Municipality is not responsible for bank or postal processing delays.Please bring entire bill when paying at the office if you require a receipt of payment. A $5.00 fee will apply for duplicate tax bills to be printed.

www.centralelgin.org

DAILY SPECIALSSunday – Roast Beef Dinner with Yorkshire Pud-ding, includes soup, your choice of potato and vegetable.Monday – Grilled porkchop dinner with creamy mushroom sauce. Comes with your choice of soup, tea or coffee and Pudding for Dessert.Tuesday – Beef of Chicken Pot Pie with Salad. Comes with your choice of soup, tea or coffee and Pudding for Dessert.

Wednesday – All You Can East Pasta. Your choice of Spaghetti, Fusilli or Penne noodles with Meat sauce, Marinara or Mushroom Sauce. Includes a Side Salad (Garden or Caesar) and a Slice of Garlic Toast.Thursday – Half Roasted Chicken Dinner. Comes with your choice of soup, tea or coffee and Pudding for Dessert.Friday – Fish & Chips. Comes with your choice of soup, tea or coffee and Pudding for Dessert.

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EXCITING JR. B HOCKEY AT ITS BEST!GAME #2: Thurs. Feb. 28 - London vs. Stars

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At a special presentation during council on Tuesday, February 19, 2013, 25-year service medals were presented to local firefighters. Spouses/partners of each firefighter also received com-panion pins for their ongoing support of their spouse’s career. Pictured are, from left: Capt. Kevin Butters, Mayor Heather Jackson, Deputy Fire Chief Ray Ormerod, Platoon Chief Mark Walters, Ald. David Warden and Fire Chief Rob Broadbent. Former Deputy Chief Os-car Jensen received a 30 year service medal.

Service Medals

Five Generations

Charlie Locke, of St. Thomas, proudly poses in this rare five generation photo, holding his great, great grandson Carter. Proud father is Cory Sullivan, right, grandmoth-er Melanie Lampman, and representing the late great grand father Dwight Locke, deceased, is his brother Drew Locke.


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John DiRenzoSales Representative519-857-3490

Centre City Realty Inc.

Professional Real Estate Services1010 Talbot St., St. Thomas

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Homes • Condominiums • Estates • Rentals • Retirement • Commercial519.633.1640 Thursday February 28, 2013Circulation 30,500

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It's true that real estate sales are dependent on the right price, location and condition of a home, but there's a little more to it than that. Martin Rygiel, the sales director at the ComFree Network, Canada's largest commission-free real estate network, says simple strategies can reduce your days on market, without having a negative impact on your pocketbook. Consider the following tips from Rygiel:1. De-personalize the rooms.

Buyers need to visualize themselves in your home. When staging it, go for a neutral look and put away

family photos and personal artwork. If there are loud colours on the walls, use a fresh coat of paint in a neutral colour to make the space more welcoming.

2. Breathe new life into curb appeal.

Invest in quick, simple fixes in the front and back of the home. Mow the lawn, trim the hedges and plant flowers. Once this is finished, take quality photos to use in your listing and showcase your home at its best.

3. Get a pre-listing inspection and complete the to-do list.

Once the inspection is

complete, either fix any issues found in the report, or reflect the repairs needed in the asking price. The smaller your to-do list, the smaller a homebuyer's will be, giving them less bargaining room.

4. Spread the word - go social.In today's connected world, one of the best ways to get a message out is through social networks. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other sharing sites let your networks know that you're selling and help them relay the message for you.

5. Be accessible and get buyer feedback.

Check your e-mail and voicemail often and respond quickly and cordially. While receiving inquiries about your home, make sure to record the names and contact information of potential buyers. If you do happen to make a price reduction in the future or improve the property, you can refer to your list of potential buyers who viewed the house and did not make an offer, letting them know about the change.www.newscanada.com

Five tips to sell your home faster

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Located on a paved road minutes from Ay-lmer & Port Bruce, this 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath is loaded w/features, large lot (100ft x 321ft), 3 car garage w/shop, large deck & above ground pool. Brick, stone, & vinyl exterior. Large 40ft x 26ft games room above the ga-rage w/fireplace, 2pcs bath & wet bar that is perfect for entertaining. A MUST SEE! Call today before it’s gone. 49253 Sparta Line. MLS# 514172. [email protected]

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Looking for your first home, and not sure what

that next step is?Call me and I will

guide you through it.519-633-0600

Carylon Baines*

John & BobbieRobinson*

Roberta Kerwan*

Well kept 4 level backsplit w/single attached garage located in a quiet & desirable neighbourhood. This 3 +1 bedroom & 2 bath home has been freshly re-painted & is ready to move in! Open concept main floor w/living & dining room combo. Second level presents 3 bedrooms while lower level houses the fourth bedroom, 3pc bath & family room w/gas fire-place...perfect for those cold winter nights! Located close to schools, shopping & park. Great opportunity for first time home buyers or for a growing family!

Wonderful Neighbourhood!

Marc Sopoco*

$179,900NEW LISTING

[email protected]

[email protected]@[email protected]

[email protected]

$99,900

56 Juno Drive. Open House Sun. 1-3

138 Lake Margaret Trail

22 Little Creek Place, Port Stanley

18 James Turvey Place, St. Thomas

Sparta a place where history is all about. This home has been reshingled & new carpet-ing throughout. The upper bedrooms have been re-dry walled insulation & rewired. Why not have your next family get together in your 25.5 X 15.9 main floor family room where you can enjoy the glow from the gas fireplace. 46292 Sparta Line, Sparta MLS 502104. [email protected]

GOOD FAMiLy HOME RENOVATiONS COMPLETE

Chris EwEr* 519-859-2859

Two Houses - West LorneTwo wonderful houses and a 30 ft x 32 ft Quonset Hut on just under 1 acre. Front house has 3 bedrooms and the back house has 2 bedrooms. 9 appliances included.

$ 269,900

Chris Ewer*

[email protected]

TriLAND rEALTYrEAL EsTATE BrOKErAGE

Open HouseSat 2-4

NelsoN CoNroy* • 519-630-7470

80 ft x 200 ft beautifully landscaped lot with a pond and many perennials. 2 + 1 bdrms, 2 baths. 1 1/2 car garage with a workshop. This backyard is a paradise! For more pic-tures, see MLS # 513559

Located in the hamlet of Wallacetown, this 3 + 1 bdrm, 2 bath custom built raised ranch features a 1 1/2 car garage and heated workshop. For more pictures, see MLS# 511554

Country sized lot in the City!

1/2 AC OF PURE PEACE & QUIET!

Nelson Conroy*

[email protected]

$227,000$250,000

TRILAND REALTY

REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE


eekly News

TRILAND REALTYREAL ESTATE BROKERAGE

491 Talbot Street. St. Thomas • 519-633-0600

Betty-Lynn Cassis*[email protected]

BETTY-LYNN CASSIS* 519-670-9436

FREE RENOVATIONS!!Beautifully redesigned Casey Kitchen with centre island, newer windows and patio

doors to newer 2 tiered lighted deck. Newer laminate in fully finished Rec

Room with 4th bedroom and 2nd bath. All renovations at NO CHARGE TO YOU.

George Esler* Colleen Macdonald*

GEORGE* 519-868-7775 OR COLLEEN* 519-671-0060

328 Canterbury Place, Belmont NEW LISTINGOne owner all brick ranch home. First time offered and loaded with updates. Situated near the end of a Cul De Sac, this 3 Bed-room, 2 Bath with oversized 2 car garage suits many potential buy-ers. Updates include windows, patio doors, furnace and A/C. Flooring counter tops, carpet and shingles. Master bedroom with ensuite and walk in closet. All appliances included! MLS# 515272

Jim Harris**

JIM HARRIS** • 519-857-5429NEW LISTING

Large Principal rooms in this 3 + 1 bedroom raised ranch. Fenced yard, with inground pool and access from lower lever rec-room. Open concept living on the upper level. Don’t wait call today!

Senior’s Real Estate Specialist

SHARON MERKLEY** • 519-670-0630

Sharon Merkley**

135 Penhale, St. Thomas

Spacious,12 Foot Ceilings,Open Concept,Large windows make this home inviting. Potentially 5 bedrooms if you need them,2 gas Fireplaces,Fenced yard with Sundeck backing onto

greenspace. Walking distance to schools.

Martin Trethewey**

MARTIN TRETHEwEY** • 519-808-5607 (cell)

Rob Kilmer*

ROB KILMER* • 519-633-0600

45 South Valerie St.This 3 +1 Bedroom Ranch with a 2 car attached garage is located on a large mature landscaped property on the outskirts just south of St.Thomas. This Home has open concept and vaulted ceilings in the kitchen, livingroom & eating area. Lower has finished rec-room, bedroom

and 3pc bath. Hardwood in kitchen, livingroom & eating area. There have been many updates, furnance, shingles,

main bath & more.

189 McIntyre St., Dutton This home sits on a large lot 66’ x 165’ (approx.)

Updated bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, main floor laundry, large family room. Most windows

UPDATED (2012) & updated laminate in family room. Close To Downtown.

Dennis Broome** Christine Broome*

DENNIS BROOME** • 519-637-0133 • CHRISTINE BROOME*

KATHY wILLOuGHBY* • 519-633-0600 • BARB GINSON*

Greg Pfeifer*Matt Pfeifer*

MATT PfEIfER* • 519-633-0600 • GREGORY PfEIfER*

Business OpportunityOver 1100 sq. Ft of Prime Dutton Storefront. Great building with a number of uses. Prop-erty is zoned C1 with a wide variety of uses.

Country Living! NEW 2350 sq. ft. Home. Beautifully finished and ready to move in. Open concept style with lots of upgrades.

Karen Dench*[email protected]

KAREN DENCH* • 519-633-0600

This Cozy 3 bedroom Bungalow is the perfect place to call home or an exceptional summer home at the beach!

• Huge lot is .66 acre & overlooks Catfish Creek. Main level offers a lg living room, dining room, kitchen, 4pc bath & laundry • Full bsmt features a part finished family room

& lots of storage • 200 amp service, newer shingles. Call Karen for details or to view this property! MLS# 509486

51.98 ACRE FARMBeautiful brick ranch has 3 + 1 bedrooms and offers many

outstanding features including:• Gorgeous hardwood • Spacious kitchen/eating area • Main floor laundry • Finished lower

has Lg games room, family room and walkout • Stunning setting atop rolling hills • Approx 20+ acres workable. Call Karen for details or appt to view!

Garry Morritt*[email protected]

GARRY MORRITT* • 519-633-0600

WOW - London on the Thames!! Located downtown backing onto the Thames River. All

brick, 2 storey,newly renovated from top to bottom with finished rec-room and separate entrace from outside.

Walk-up development attic potential. New wiring, windows, etc. Garage and new paved drive MLS #513687

Call the listing agent for viewing $289,900

PORT COMMERCIAL / RESIDENTIAL In the heart of the downtown business district is this great investment property. Commercial is ready to move into and set up for the busy spring market.

Rear residential is in need of finishing (approx $40,000). Nice sized lot. Priced to sell. Don’t miss

your opportunity to buy into Port! Call Garry, the list-ing agent, for viewing. MLS #511748 $219,000

NEW 3 LEVEL SPLIT !! Located on Sunset Drive at the edge of town.

All new from top to bottom. 3 bedrooms, finished rec-room. 2 full baths. Ravine rear yard backing onto Kettle Creek and hiking trails MLS

# 513413. Call the listing agent for viewing $179,000

$ 193,900

NEW LISTING1900 sq. ft. 4 level side split 4 bedrooms. 3 full

bathrooms Kitchen/Centre Island/Pantry Great room/Cathedral ceiling. Recreation room. Lots of extras

throughout. Covered deck. Fenced rear yard. mls#515382

WELCOME SUMMER2 plus 1 bedroom home. Fireplace in living room.

Newer furnace, Central-air and shingles. Profession-ally painted throughout. Enclosed heated sunroom.

In-ground pool, heated, water features, Cabana. mls#508611

2 Units in Strip Mall •#1 Unit - 1000 sq. ft. with offices & waiting area. • #2 Unit - 600 sq. ft. Separate building Both with lots of parking. Signage Excellent exposure. High Traffic area.Call for details.

AVAILABLE for LEASE

$1000per month

mls514430

$900per month

mls514439

and

WANTEDI have clients for a

2 or 3 bedroom semi detached home, north

or south side of St. Thomas.

If you are considering SELLING

give me a call. 519-670-9436

1968Full time agent

for over 40 years

OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY 1:00 to 3:00PM

Quick Possession Affordable family home in Port Stanley. Three bedrooms, 2 full baths, one main

floor and one on second floor (both recently updated), open concept kitchen, dining room and den on main level. Contact

Martin at 519-808-5607. MLS# 512983

Quick Possession Great family home in south St. Thomas.

Three good sized bedrooms, one full and one half bath. Country kitchen to prepare

meals for large gatherings. Bonus 3 season room. Fenced and treed back yard. Contact

Martin at 519-808-5607. MLS# 515085

23 Warbler Heights Custom Built Bungalow with 2 car attached garage located

in Lake Margaret Estates. This custom home sits on an oversized amazingly landscaped treed ravine lot! A rare find! Home has 2 + 1 bedrooms with open concept, has loads of upgrades, slate flooring, granite countertop in

kitchen area, 9ft’ ceilings and 14ft’ ceilings in great room with gas fireplace. Finished Rec-room with gas fireplace and walkout basement to a beautiful backyard with an in ground pool. Extra large deck with hot tub overlooking the backyard. This home has so many updates, a must see!

ONLy $136,900• Updated mechanics

• Large Lot • Parking for Five

• Ideal for large family • Duplex or Granny flat

* Sales Representative ** Broker

www.sellingelgin.ca

www.ISellStThomas.com [email protected] @ISellStThomas

Barb Ginson*Kathy willoughby*

www.barbandkathy.ca

306 Colborne St., Port Stanley 41 Leger St., St. Thomas

Open HouseSat 2-4

$ 274,900

$ 169,900

$ 279,900

$ 169,000$ 189,900

$ 80,200$ 379,900

$ 269,800$ 274,800

$ 289,900$ 219,000

$ 179,000

$ 475,000$ 219,900

$ 136,900

$ 539,000$ 329,500

$ 99,500

Open HouseSun 1-3

70 Grand Avenue, London 230 Colborne St., Port Stanley 128 Sunset Drive

Open HouseSun 1-3

Open HouseSat 1-3

Serving St. Thomas, Port Stanley, Elgin County & London Broker**Sales Representative*

DennisBroome**

ChristineBroome*

V i s i t www. ro ya l l e p age t r i l a nd . c om

491 Talbot St.,St. Thomas

519-633-0600INDEPENDENTLY OWNED

AND OPERATEDNelsonConroy*

KarenDench*

GregEarl*

LindsayBenwell*

JimHarris**

Betty LynnCassis*

PeterMeyer**

RobKilmer*

KodiBecker*

ChristineBroome*

DennisBroome**

GeorgeEsler*

BarbGinson*

RobertaKerwan*

Serving St. Thomas, Port Stanley, Elgin County & London Broker**Sales Representative*

CarolynBaines*

Sharon Merkley** Cell 519-670-06304 LEVELS OF LIVING

SPACEAre you a fan of Open Concept?Do you love high ceilings andlots of light? Would a backyardbacking onto greenspaceappeal to you?We have all thatand more to offer, so check usout. What a great Valentinegift!

SharonMerkley**

Seniors Real Estate Specialist

Betty Lynn Cassis* Cell 519-670-9436 • www.bettylynncassis.com

1968Full time agent for

over 40 years

Betty LynnCassis*

[email protected]

Jim**Harris

ISellStThomas.com • Cell: 519-857-5429

Rob Kilmer* 519-633-0600

RobKilmer*

Barb* and Kathy* 519-633-0600 • www.barbandkathy.ca

BarbGinson*Kathy

Willoughby*

KarenKimble*

LestariRupert*

JUST LISTED89 MANOR ROAD

3 bedrooms with a bonus roomabove the garage. 2 1/2 bathrooms,fully fenced with mature trees, goodsize backyard. Concrete drivewayin November 2011. Central vac andBBQ gas hook up. Walking distanceto shopping centre and park. It’s ahouse to call home!!

Karen Kimble* 519-633-0600Lestari Rupert* 519-280-2517

18 JAMES TURVEYPLACE

Spacious 3+ 1 bedroom home on cul-de-sac in desirable Lynhurst Village. Featureskitchen with eating are, main floor familyroom with fireplace, formal dining roomand living room, main floor laundry,Attached double garage and large pieshaped landscaped lot with tiered decks.

$ 309,900

$ 144,900

Betty Lynn Cassis* Cell 519-670-9436 • www.bettylynncassis.com

Heart & Stroke

SOUP’S ON

OPEN SUN 1-3

I WOULD LIKE TOOFFER YOU MYASSISTANCE

If you ever need my real estateservices please call. Being a fulltime agent for over 45 years, Ihave learned a lot. Let me passthis on to you. If you are buyingor selling, you will want to knoweverything there is to know soyou can make your own decision

when the time comes.

193 HIGHVIEWGREAT 3 BEDROOM

SEMIThis home features open living room anddining area. Eat-in kitchen. Patio doorsoff master bedroom, to fenced backyard.Large finished lower level. This is a greatvalue and better than paying rent. Takea look.

32 THIRD AVE. • JUST MOVE INWell maintained 1.5 storey with 2+1 bdrms,located on the south side of St. Thomas.Main floorhas kitchen, eating area, living room, bedroom,2nd floor has 2 bdrms. There is a finished rec roomand play room. Large two-tiered deck off eatingarea to a full fenced yard. Many updates, shingles,furnace, c/air flooring and more. A must to see!

$ 159,900

Garry Morritt* 519-633-0600

GarryMorritt*

Karen Dench 519-633-0600

KarenDench*

50 ACRE FARM• Newer 3+1 bdrm brick Ranch on 51.98 ACRE• Fully finished lower has games room, family room & 4th bedroom with walk outand huge walk in closets.

• Home is in move in condition with gleaming hardwoods, spacious rooms andgorgeous views.

• Approx. 20 acres workable land. • Pond, stream & bush to enjoy.

$ 475,000

519-633-0600 www.sellingelgin.ca

MattPfeifer*

GregPfeifer*

210 MAIN STGREAT LOCATION

Three bedroom home in full service village of WestLorne. Move in ready. Insulated attached garage.

Spacious office. Nice rear yard.

$ 134,900

Dennis** & Christine* Broome 519-637-0133 [email protected]

“Specializing in You since 1982”

LANDResidential, development, retailand industrial sites available.

For all the information.

OPEN HOUSE SUN. 1-34 FARLEY PLACE

• Quality home. Many updates throughout• Eat-in kitchen. Separate dining room.• Main floor family room with lots of windows• Master bdrm ensuite, balcony & lots of closets• 3 bedrooms plus 2 bedrooms on third floor

$ 349,800

THINK SUMMER!!!!!• Updated home on 1 acre lot• Natural fireplace in living room• Sunroom overlooking heated in-ground pool• Features-Cabana, waterfall.• Newer furnace, air-conditioner, shingles• Professionally painted throughout.

$ 269,800

Thursday, Feb. 14, 201311 AM to 1:30 PM

St. Anne’s CommunityCentre

Tickets at door $5.00Soup sampling • SilentAuction • Door prizes

LOCATED IN KOMOKA!Amazing 4 bedroom, 2 storey home with a 2 car attachedgarage. Sitting on a mature treed lot. Large backyardwith an in-ground pool, Main floor has a vaulted ceilingin living room to 2nd level. Dining, eat-in kitchen, greatroom with fireplace. main floor laundry, 4 bedrooms,Master ensuite and 4 pc. bath on 2nd level. finished rec-room. There is a wrap around front porch and more.

$ 424,900

CUSTOM 4 BEDROOM HOME!Immaculate 2 storey home with a 2 car garage, sitting on .73 of anacre, on a cul-de-sac. This home also has a 16’X32’ in-ground poolwhich is fenced. Open concept kitchen to a great room with gas f/p.Main flr laundry, dining rm, den, 4 bdrms. Master ensuite and 4 pc,bath on 2nd floor. There is a finished lower level rec-room with gas f/pand an oak bar. Many updates. Located south of St. Thomas, south onSunset Rd. to JohnWise Line, turn right then left on Applegate Lane

$ 387,500

$ 159,000

$ 424,900

$ 204,900

15 REDTAILNew price for this 1 ownercustom built 1650 sq. ft. homeon a cul-de-sac close to the mall.Main floor family room withfireplace for winter evenings.Many upgrades here includehardwood & ceramic floors, 2full baths, master has ensuite &access to rear yard. 6 appliancesincluded. SEE YOU THERE

$ 284,500

OPEN SAT 1-3

OPEN SAT 1-3

$ 279,900

PORT BRUCE3 bedroom bungalow on .66 acre, treed lot that overlooksCatfish Creek. Very well maintained home is perfect foryear round living or an exceptional summer home! CallKaren for details. MLS#509486

$ 219,900

70 GRAND AVE., LONDONLONDON BOUND? WOW!

This fresh spacious nicely renovated newlisting is nicely located on the ThamesRiver in downtown London. All brick,deep lot to the river’s edge. Vacant, quickclose possible, Come see it this weekend,MLS#513687

15 REDTAIL • NEW PRICENew price for this 1 owner custom built 1650sq ft home on a cul-de-sac close to the Mall.Main floor family room with fireplace forwinter evenings. Many upgrades here includehardwood & ceramic floors, 2 full baths,master has ensuite & access to rear yard.6 appliances included. SEE YOU THERE

230 COLBORNE ST., PORT STANLEYWOW!! COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIALNewly finished commerical unit located in thebusy downtown. Port Stanley core. Plus a large2 story unfinished rewar addition with greatviews of the village. This is a great investmentin port! The hard word is completed simplycall in the finishing trades. MLS#511750

$ 219,000

$ 289,900

$ 284,500

OPEN SAT 1-3

OPEN SUN 1-3

60 Steele St.

Dennis** or Christine* Broome 519-637-0133 or [email protected]

“Specializing in You since 1982”

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ST. THOMAS ELGIN WEEKLY NEWS

HOMES • CONDOMINIUMS • ESTATES • RENTALS • RETIREMENT • COMMERCIALCIRCULATION 26,000 | CALL 519.633.1640 | THURSDAY FEBRUARY 28, 2013

HOMESHOMESPRICE ADDRESS CITY TIME AGENTS NAME BROKERAGE FIRM NAME PHONE MLS#$117,500 75 Alma Street St Thomas 2pm to 4pm Lindsay Benwell Royal LePage Triland Realty 519.633.0600 515713

$174,900 356 Sunset Dr. St Thomas 1pm to 3pm Sharon Merkley Royal LePage Triland Reality 519.670.0630 513491

$179,000 128 Sunset Drive St Thomas 1pm to 3pm Garry Morritt Royal LePage Triland Realty 519.633.0600 513413

$189,900 41 Leger Street St Thomas 2pm to 4pm Martin Trethewey Royal LePage Triland Realty 519.808.5607 515085

$219,000 21 Luton Crescent St Thomas 1pm to 3pm Nancy Milles Elgin Realty 519.637.2300 514660

$269,900 26255 Talbot Line West Lorne 2pm to 4pm Chris Ewer Royal LePage Triland Realty 519.859.2859 n/a

$358,800 36 Thorman Terrace St Thomas 1pm to 3pm Mary-Anne Cross Elgin Realty 519.637.2300 513707

REALTOR® OPEN HOUSES - SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2013

PRICE ADDRESS CITY TIME AGENTS NAME BROKERAGE FIRM NAME PHONE MLS#$179,900 56 Juno Drive St Thomas 1pm to 3pm Marc Sopoco Royal LePage Triland Realty 519.633.0600 515525

$193,900 60 Steel Street St Thomas 1pm to 3pm Betty-Lynn Cassis Royal LePage Triland Realty 519.670.9436 513589

$219,000 230 Colborne Street Port Stanley 1pm to 3pm Garry Morritt Royal LePage Triland Realty 519.633.0600 511748

$279,900 135 Penhale St Thomas 1pm to 3pm Sharon Merkley Royal LePage Triland Realty 519.670.0630 509002

REALTOR® OPEN HOUSES - SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2013

OPEN HOUSE DIRECTORYOPEN HOUSE DIRECTORY


FSCO#

10513


Call 519-872-3754www.centum.ca/

jon_minielli

527 Talbot St., St. Thomas519-637-2300

Nancy Milles, [email protected]

519-670-2993

LET OVER 27 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WORK FOR YOU!

John DiRenzoSales Representative

519-857-3490

Centre City Realty Inc.

Professional Real Estate Services

1010 Talbot St., St. Thomas

Brokerage

Homes • Condominiums • Estates • Rentals • Retirement • Commercial

519.633.1640

Thursday February 28, 2013

Circulation 30,500

Advertise Your Office Listings With Us

Call The Weekly News today and see why so many are making the switch!

The Weekly News Real EstateSt.Thomas/Elgin

Year off to a slow start2013 got off to a slow start, with 438 homes trading hands in January, down 3.5 per

cent from the previous January. “We’re expecting a fairly flat, but stable market over the next year and these sales figures are pretty much in line with that,” says Doug Pedlar, President of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS. “Besides, January has never been a great month for real estate. Looking ahead, we have the Spring market and that will give us a better idea of how 2013 will shape up.”

New listings were down 3.8 per cent, while inventory – the number of active listings at month end – was also down by 4 per cent.

The City of St. Thomas had a good January. Sales were up 5 per cent over the previous

year, with 42 homes exchanging hands for an average price of $189,783. The average price for a detached home in LSTAR’s jurisdiction at the end of January 2013 stands at $244,833, down 3.8 per cent compared to December 31, 2012, while the average price for a condo at month end stands at $158,099, down 7.8 per cent. The average price for all housing types at the end of January 2013 stands at $229,586, down 3.9 per cent.

When compared to other comparable communities across Canada, the London CMA remains very affordable as the following chart illustrates. (The data is from December 2012 and the latest information available.)

— www.lstar.ca

Fluffy is not pleased about being shaved, but her long matted fur required it.

All one needs is one or a few Canadian ma-ples to begin producing your own syrup. Steve Plume, of Owen Sound, pictured framed by a re-quired product, demonstrated how to make maple syrup to a group at Berry-Hill Ltd. Thursday, Feb-ruary 21, 2013. He works for a supplier of Ca-nadian made products by Dominion and Grimm. (photo by Brian Wilsdon)

Tapping into a syrup market This poor little girl was dropped off at our front door in a

cardboard box. She sat in the bitter cold for several hours before being found.

Fluffy was a matted mess who required extensive shaving, due to the fact that she is a longhaired cat.

She still requires spaying, but needs some TLC from the volunteers at Pets/Friends for Life first. After that she will be available for adoption.

Come visit Fluffy and her friends at Pets/Friends for Life on St. Catharine Street in St. Thomas.

Fluffy is not so fluffy these days


eekly News

U N I T E D W A Y P E N N Y D R I V E

a thought for your pennies.Every single penny you donate to the 2013 United Way Campaign will help us meet our goal. What

a simple and effective way to make your community a better

place to live!

Create change with your change!

Drop off your pennies at The United Way Office or at The Weekly News

HOUSE OF SHEKINAH

FRI., MARCH 1 - 7:00PM TO 10:00PMSAT., MARCH 2 - 9:00AM TO 2:00PM

St. Thomas & Elgin Memorial Centre80 Wilson Avenue , St. Thomas

Lunch & Refreshments are Provided

CALL 519.701.7793 FOR MORE INFORMATION

YOU will never be the SAME!Dr. Bernardine Daniels from Barbara Yoder’s Shekinah Regional Equipping & Revival Centre in Ann Arbor, MI is responsible for Church Planting, Houses of Shekinah & School of Equipping & will be ministering in St. Thomas on PRAYER AND HEALING

HARVEST OUTREACH INTERNATIONAL

44583 Dexter Line15 min. south of St. ThomasHOURS: Mon. – Fri. 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Sat. 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. CLOSED SUNDAYS

Service • Parts • Accessories

All Major Brands• Factory Trained

Technicians• Full Machine Shop

• Pick-up and Delivery Available

Dean ParkerService Technician A

TV’s

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#1Area’sServicing Dealer

519-782-7155www.advancedyamaha.com

Variation law - If you impatiently change lines, when standing, or traffic lanes, while driving, the one you were in will always move faster than the one

you moved to.

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Michael Murphy and Sharon Lechner practise their dance style at a Stork Club Big Band Mu-seum and Hall of Fame fundraiser at the Port Stanley Arena Saturday, February 16, 2013. A dance instructor, Michael introduced interested participants to the Lindy Hop basic steps. Sharon worked with the Port Stan-ley BIA in organizing the event featuring the Sahara Swing Band as orchestra.

Dr. Giuseppe Guaiana, STEGH’s chief psychiatrist along with Deb Gibson, Mental Health Care Manag-er at STEGH help construction along to make room for a new interim mental health care program under-way on the first floor.

As part of the mental health restructuring occurring across Southwestern Ontario, the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital (STEGH) has started construc-tion to prepare for a new mental health care unit. The new unit will be located on the first floor, west wing of the hospital.

A Schedule 1 mental health care unit, which includes a 15-bed inpatient unit for patients requiring a stay of up to two weeks as well as related out-patient services, will be open in late September. The beds will stay in this temporary location

until the permanent facility is completed in 2017 as part of STEGH’s larger redevelopment project. The transfer of beds and services comes from St. Jo-seph’s Regional Mental Health Care, and will be distributed to four partner hospitals in On-tario. STEGH is the last of the four transfers. St. Joseph’s new forensic facility — the South-west Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care — will be opening this June. In the meantime, RMHC needs to empty the cur-rent building before the move to the new building.

Mental health care is not new to STEGH. The hospital has been an active partner in the commu-nity through involvement with El-gin Health Services council, the Behavioural Supports Services Council and the Mental Health and Addictions Network.

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care accepted the re-scoped redevelopment pro-posal presented by STEGH in August 2012. The project con-sists of new facilities for Emer-gency Care, Mental Health Inpa-tient and Outpatient Care and a surgical suite.

Construction commences at STEGH15 - February 28, 2013 - St. Thom

as - Elgin Weekly New

s

2008 Chevy Cobalt automatic & air, Only 8,5000 km

$8,695 2008 Toyota Yaris

5-speed, air, Only136,000 km

$7,995 2009 Nissan Versa

auto, pl, pw Only 75,000 km

$9,995 2008 Jeep Patriot

pl, pw,cruise,4x4 Only 70,000km

$9,995 2010 Chevy Equinox LT

awd, pl, pw, cruise Only 98,000 km

$17,995 2009 Toyota Venza

pl, pw, cruise Only 76,000 km

$21,495

2007 Chevy Silverado EXT Longbox4x4, pl, pw, cruise Only 131,000 km

$15,995 2009 Dodge Ram Quadcab 4x4

pl, pw, cruise Only 121,000 km

$18,995

2005 Toyota Tacoma Quadcab TRDpl, pw, cruise,4x4 Only 115,000 km

$17,995 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan

Stow & go, pwr window grp Only 120,000 km

$10,995 2006 Honda Odyssey EX

pl, pw, cruise Only 71,000km

$14,995 2005 Saturn Relay Vanpl, pw, cruise Only107,000km

$7,995

IN HOUSE FINANCING AVAILABLE

*All prices are plus HST

Shall we dance?

Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dig-nified woman, as in ‘straight laced’. .

Wore a tightly tied lace.

With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine.

Insulating air pockets.

Inspiring design.

Energy WiseManufacturer’s Rebate

Min.

$100Up to 50% of a home’s heating and cooling energy

is lost through its windows.

With the ‘honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb’

construction and three insulating air pockets,

Duette® Architella® honeycomb shades increase

energy effi ciency.

Purchase three Duette® Architella® honeycomb

shades between January 1st and April 30th, 2013

and you’ll receive a $100 manufacturer’s rebate.

Also, purchase any number of additional Duette®

Architella® honeycomb shades and you’ll receive

an extra $25 for each.

WALLPAPER LOFT1026 Talbot St. St. Thomas

519-631-1187

By Kirk Barons

At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid’s job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She

had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in ‘pints’ and who was drink-ing in ‘quarts,’ hence the term ‘minding your’P’s and Q’s ‘

Aylmer and East Elgin newsAward for A.C.T. playAylmer Community Theatre’s production of

“Don’t Dress for Dinner” was adjudicated during one of its recent performances at the Old Town Hall Theatre. Award announcements – for both in and out of festival plays – were made at the annual Western Ontario Drama League meeting in Guelph. From ACT, Sandi Loponen was among five nominated for Best Actress. Mary Morin, Stage Manager, received a Special Adjudicator’s Award. Commented Barb Warnock of ACT: ”In festival means that you are competing for one of five positions at the week-long festival. Out of festival means that there is no intention to go on to the festival but the adjudication is for learning

purposes and there are a number of awards for which these shows are eligible. We were out of festival as we did not want to compete for a posi-tion at the festival.”

Update: Port Bruce icePeter Dragunas of the Catfish Creek Conser-

vation Authority provides this update on the ice situation at Pt. Bruce: “At this time there is ice in Port Bruce from the harbour up to approximately Cedar Bend. It is too early to comment on what will be done, apart from observing and monitor-ing the ice. Forecast daytime temperatures are to remain seasonal and flat at freezing, night temperatures are to dip below freezing which should freeze the small amounts of possible

thaw, all in all there is no expectation of any significant degree days associated with melt. This being said, anything can change, ideally the strategy is to free the harbour of ice at the appropriate time when there is a significant melt forecast. ”

Wilson Line fire(Information from Malahide Fire

Dept.) There was a chimney fire at 47000 Wilson Line around 7:30 pm on Sunday, Feb. 17. The fire spread to the attic area. The fire was controlled upon arrival of the Fire Department. The damage estimate is $20,000. Mala-hide Station 4 responded and received tanker assistance from the other Mala-hide Stations as well as from Central Elgin’s Belmont Station. Approximately 40 Firefighters were on scene for about three hours. There were no injuries. Fire Chief Paul Groeneveld commented: “This is a good time to remind people who use wood burning stoves for heat-ing their house to regularly clean their chimney to avoid build up of creosote

and to reduce the potential for a chimney fire.”Bayham ambulance service beginsElgin County Council announced that effective

February 18, an ambulance/ first response unit was located daily at the Straffordville Fire De-partment. It is to be present from 7 am to 5 pm. Council recently decided to add the service at a cost of $189,000 annually.

Aylmer apartment building updateAbe Friesen, Construction Site Rep for Golden

Community Builders outlines the progress of their three-storey Apartment Complex at the cor-ner of John and Sydenham Streets): “Graceview Construction reports that we are on schedule for major completion at the end of February. As of today the top two floors are done and the first is very close. The main entrance doors have been installed. According to Graceview, the commer-cial floor will be finished in early March, and they are working towards having the street open by then. We are just over 1/3 sold at this time and

that leaves 24 residential units available. The commer-cial floor has some interest but nothing solid.”

East Elgin place names: Orwell

When first settled in the early 1800’s, Orwell was known as Catfish Corners with the creek just to the north. It then became known briefly as Temperanceville, presumably after Temper-ance Davis, the daughter of a prominent local settler. When it acquired a post of-fice later in the 1830’s its

name changed to Orwell. Apparently this was be-cause the Davis Brothers, who settled extensively between Orwell and Aylmer, came from the vicin-ity of Orwell in Oswego County, New York. There is also an Orwell in Prince Edward Island.

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We provide families with a full range of personalized services. From simple cremations to traditional funerals; pre-planning and prepayment options. See the difference your local funeral professional will make. Shawn Jackson

Funeral Director / Owner

St. thomaS-Elgin

Building Our Own COmmunity

March 11 - 15, 2013March Break Camp

Our camp will construct an entire community in one week.

• Visits from the Fire and Police Departments • Swimming • Cooking Club Restaurant

• Games • Craft • Dramatic Play and so much more.

$132/week or $28/day per childRegular Camp Hours: 8:00am to 5:00pm Extended Care Available 7:30am-5:30pm

(additional $2 charge per 1/2 hour)

location: Elgin Court P.S., 254 First Ave.

Register at 16 Mary Street West,

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Call 519-631-9800Subsidies Available and family

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170 Wellington Street, St. Thomas, ON N5R 2S1T. (519) 633.1444 F. (519) 631.5729

To Your HealthCan acupuncture help me manage my stress? Dr. Sandra Lee,

B.Sc., D.C., CAFCICertified Chiropractor

Acupuncture PractitionerWhat problems can stress cause?Once the body is under stress, it stimulates our ‘fight or flight’ mode. This response stimulates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and ‘turns off’ the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). This should be time limited, meaning once the threat or stressor is removed, the nervous system and the body should begin to normalize. However, if we are under chronic stress over long periods of time due to stressors from work, family, dealing with a death of a loved one or financial worries, the nervous system goes on autopilot and into what I call ‘sympathetic overdrive’. At this state, we are not able to nor-malize our nervous system ourselves. The body stays in a state of a fight or flight response (sympathetic overdrive), even after the threat or stressor has been removed. This can cause a whole lot of symptoms such as headaches, jaw clenching, insomnia, breathing problems, depression/anxiety, digestive disorders, high blood pressure and excessive sweating.

How can Acupuncture help?Acupuncture is wonderful for balancing and normalizing the nervous sys-tem. There are points on the body that can calm the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). It is a very relaxing, comfortable form of treatment that can improve your sleep, decrease your pain and improve your mood. Acupuncture, in addition to a healthy diet and regular exercise program, is an excellent way to manage stress and live a happier and more balanced life!

Dr. Sandra Lee has been studying and practicing acupunture in Canada, the United States and China for over 18 years. She holds certifications with the Acupuncture Foundations of Canada Institute and with China Shanghai Inter-national Acupuncture Training Centre. For further inquiries regarding Dr. San-dra Lee’s professional healthcare services, she currently practices at the MVP Pain Clinic and Spinal Decompression Centre located at 190 Wortley Road in London, 519-850-7321. She is joined by a multi-disciplinary team of highly skilled doctors and therapists with leading edge therapies to help ad-dress all muscle, spine and joint pain or dysfunction.

Performing soloMiracle Collins enters a sit spin, one of three basic figure skating positions, during her solo

routine at the 2013 Western, Ontario STARSkate Championships and Adult Showcase at the East Elgin Community Complex on Saturday, February 24, 2013. A member of the Port Stanley Skating Club, Miracle placed 4th in her category out of a total of 13 competitors.

St. Thomas and District Horticultural Society AGMby Richard Cartwright

The St. Thomas and District Horticultural Soci-ety re-affirmed its pledge towards the purchase of the Michigan Central Rail Road trestle at the City’s west end by On Track committee at the society’s Annual General Meeting held on January 23, 2013 at the Monsignor Morrison Catholic School. On Track committee member Ed Vandermaarel had spoken at the society’s October 4, 2012 general meeting about plans for the St. Thomas Elevated Parkway. Society members subsequently approved a donation to the project.

The Board of Directors for 2013 were in-stalled: Co-president’s Shelley MacKenzie and Sherry Burgess, Past President Diane Vaughan, First Vice President MaryLou Purcell, Secretary Richard Cartwright, Treasurer Sharon Shortt, and directors Ellenita Bell, Brenda Comfort, Joanne Girvan, Frances Iscove, Sally Martin and Laurel McTavish.

In March, the horticultural society will be participating in Canadale Nurseries Ltd. Spring Open House and sponsoring a bus trip to Can-ada Blooms/National Home Show in Toronto. For information about the bus trip, contact Ms. MacKenzie at 519-769-2529.1222 Talbot Street, St. Thomas ON N5P 1G9

Phone: 519-631-8038 Fax: 519-207-2455

All of�ce equipment must go.

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1991 Jeep YJ 4X4

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SHAMBOCK* Time Is Here

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Are you ready for St. Patrick’s Day?Are you ready for St. Patrick’s Day?

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Best Car Wash & Auto Detailing in TOWN!!!

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Subject to standard lending criteria of Royal Bank of Canada.

Kari Wilson Mobile Mortgage Specialist

Cell: 519-200-0965 [email protected]

Expert mortgage advice. When you need it, where you need it. Subject to standard lending criteria of Royal Bank of Canada.

Kari Wilson Mobile Mortgage Specialist

Cell: 519-200-0965 [email protected]

Expert mortgage advice. When you need it, where you need it.

Joe Preston MPElgin - Middlesex - London24 First Ave Unit 2, St. Thomas, ON N5R 4M5(519) 637-2255 www.joeprestonmp.ca

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assageM• 15 years of experience• Call for more information • Online Bookings Available

Lori Henderson-Gibbons Registered Massage Therapist

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Watch for the March 2013 Issue!

Bell’s BookBin552 Talbot St.

(Across from City Hall)

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MarchMONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Stay informed on what’s happening in your community, and where

SUNDAY

Rotary Music Festival Finale

St. Thomas

Pies and Purses Auction

Doors open 6:30pm20 Flora Street

German Canadian Club

Annual General Meeting 1 p.m.

522 Talbot Street W., Aylmer

Mar. / Apr. Low Income Tax Clinics

St. Thomas Public Library

United Way Touchdown event

6pmCASO station

Women Helping Women

EBRC Speed Mentoring

at St. Thomas Seniors’ Centre

Big Brothers / SistersBowl for KidsCy’s in Aylmer

Eastlink Free Public Skate

March 11 – 15East Elgin Community

Complex

St. Patrick’s Day

Blood Donor ClinicTimken Centre,

St. Thomas

Make it “from scratch”Arts & Cookery Bank,

West Lorne

Spikes Volleyball startsGrades 1 – 8,

Mitch Hepburn P.S.St. Thomas

Big Brothers / SistersCurl For Kids

St. Thomas Curling Club

Eat at Wendy’s, St. Thomas

Raise $$ for Southwold School

Coffee & CultureThe Perc, Aylmer10:30 am or 11 am

Cross WalkThree Churches in Port

Stanley

Easter Egg HuntsWest Lorne, Sparta, St. Thomas, others

March Break at Aylmer – Malahide Museum

March 12 – 16

Shamrock Shuffle

Sparta 200th anniver-sary dance$10/person

Pleasant Valley Golf Course

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7 First Avenue, St.Thomas519-633-7300

FURNITURE,CLOTHING,

SHOES, HARDWARES,APPLIANCES,

ETC.Donations gratefully

accepted

M-F 9-5, Sat. 9-3

THRIFTSTORES

Rescuing dogs from local shelters to find new homes.

You can help.Donate to our vet fund,

foster, adopt.Visit all our dogs and cats looking for new homes. www.allbreedcaninerescue.petfinder.com

333 Talbot St., St. Thomas, ON N5P 1B5

(519) 633-3788www.animalaide.org

AdoptCats / Dogs

www.arfontario.com Whisker TicklesCat Sitting Service

[email protected]

Articles for Sale (Misc.)

Pet Supplies/Boarding/Service






6TH ANNUAL PIES AND PURSES

St. John's Church, 20 Flora St.Sat. March 2nd.

Doors open at 6:30pm/ Sales starts at 7:00pm

Free Admission.Auctioneer Al Hughson

Pie and beverage $3.00

BUS TRIPSDRAGONFLY TOURS & ENTERTAINMENT

FALLSVIEW CASINODIRECT TRIP-$15

INCLUDES BUFFET

NIAGARA WINERY TOURSaturday, March 16

GREAT LAKES CROSSING - SHOPPING

Saturday, April 6

ST. JACOBSSaturday, May 4

GRAND RIVER CRUISESaturday, June 8

Booking & Info:519-852-2161


Pets/Other Pets/Other

Announcements Coming Events

DRIVERwith mini-van required

to act as independent contractorto deliver flyer bundles

and newspapers to carriers in the St. Thomas area.

Must have clean driving record, own insurance and be able to load Wed. afternoon or early Thurs. a.m. and deliver to carriers Thurs. a.m. Call Terry at

The Weekly News 519-633-1640 Ext. 25

From Professionalsyou can Trust!Contact us today

for a free estimate:

637-3542(519)

[email protected]

Drivers

Announcements

Domestic Help Available

Home Improvements by

The "Honey-Do"

ManHome renovations

Painting, etc. We'll do the jobs on

your list!

George [email protected]

Home519-633-2696

Cell519-857-9891

Drivers Handy Person

Computers

WILSDON COMPUTER SERVICES - Basic setup, operating system install/up-grade, internet setup/repair, Tune-Up, recommended safety suite, rescue disc, data transfer, data backup. In-Home service available. Call Sara or Ian Wilsdon 519-633-9638.

Support Services

ALCOHOLICS ANONY-MOUS - Drinking is your business. Helping you to stop is ours. Call 519-633-0430 or Write P.O. Box 220001, St. Thomas, ON N5R 4P5.

Health/Beauty/Fitness

MADE YOUR resolutions? Don't know what to do next? We can help! Active Abun-dance 'Martial Arts Based Fitness, Nutrition Based Wellness'.Contact Elizabeth Windover 519-851-9460.

Fax: [email protected]

Free KidsKlassifi eds

• 20 words or less• Personal property of children 12 years and under

(Kids toys, games, sports equipment, etc.)• Some restrictions apply

Deliver your message to more than 30,000

households inSt. Th omas & Elgin!

To Place an ad in Classifi eds

please callCall 519-649-2600Fax: 519-649-2608

[email protected]

Adjustments: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of your ad. Please check your ad on the first insertion. For multiple insertions of the same ad, credit will be made only for the first insertion/ Credit given for errors in connection with production on ads is limited to the printed space involved. Cancellations must be made by 10:30 a.m. two business days prior to publication date. Cancellations must be made by telephone. Do not fax or e-mail cancellations.

Call (519) 649-2600 • Fax: (519) 649-2608 • [email protected]

Business Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Telephone Hours: Monday to Thursday 8:30 am - 5:30 pm Friday 8:30 am - 5 pm

15 St. Catharine Street, St. Thomas, ON, N5P 2V7 www.theweeklynews.ca

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eekly News Free Income Tax Clin-

ics: Mondays in March and April (except April 1), Thursday April 4, St. Thomas Public Library, 9:15am - 2:30pm No appointment necessary.

Free Income Tax Clinics on the four Tuesday af-ternoons in March, noon to 4pm, by appointment only. Call 519-633-2850 for appointments. St. Thomas Seniors Centre.

Nervous about public speaking or a job in-terview? Talbot Trail Toastmasters can help. Visit a club meeting, Thursday evenings 7pm. Elgin Mall Community Room. 519-637-7798.

Do you have an hour a week to spare? Become a Volunteer Visitor. Call VON at 519-637-6408 for more information.

Do Your Own Family Re-search, Family Search Centre, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 436 Elm Street. 519-631-8282. Wed. 10am-9pm, Sat. (1st and 3rd): 10am-2pm.

The winner of the Taylor Swift tickets from the Park-side C. I. draw is Ali Hilder. Thanks to all for sup-porting our draw to raise funds for the St. Thomas Alzheimer’s Society.

Support St. Thomas’ first robot by sponsoring St. Jo-seph’s High School’s first robotics team! Our team competes at the competi-tion in Waterloo in March. Call 226-378-8753.

Thursday, February 28, Kickers, 6pm at St. An-drew’s United Church, mid-week group, ages 5-13, games, music, craft. Everyone welcome. Info 519-631-4558.

Thursday, February 28, Turkey Dinner, 5-6:30pm at St. Andrew’s United Church, 60 West Ave. Tickets 519-631-5363 or 519-631-4558. Everyone Welcome.

St. Thomas Stamp Club Meeting, February 28, 7pm. Community of Christ Church, 105 Fairview Av-enue. Info Rick Badgley 519-637-8432. Every-one Welcome To Attend.

Field Naturalist Meeting, Friday, March 1, 7:30pm, Knox Church, St. Thom-as. Presentation by Sue Southon on Arctic Adven-tures Info 519-631-5279.

March is Epilepsy Aware-ness Month, Open House March 1, 11-5pm, El-gin Mall Community Room. Seizures 101, learn about different types and what to do, at 1pm. 519-633-8476.

The Churches will be hold-

ing their annual World Day of Prayer on March 1 at 2pm at the Community of Christ, 105 Fairview Ave.

6th Annual Pies & Purses Fundraiser Auction, Sat-urday, March 2 at St. John’s Church. Doors open 6:30pm, sale starts 7pm. Auctioneer Al Hughson. Free admis-sion 519-631-7368.

Murray Adlam’s “Songs From The Heart”, Satur-day. March 2, 7:30pm, St. Mark’s United Church, 38 Aldborough Ave. Tickets $12. advance, $15. at door. Call 519-631-2110.

March 2 from 10am-12 noon. Youth Baseball Registration at the Union Community Centre $45 per child. Call for more info Vicki 519-631-3840.

YWCA Women’s Day, March 2, 10am-4pm, registra-tion 9:30am, St. Thomas Seniors’ Centre. $40 in-cludes three workshops and lunch. Register 519-631-9800, 519-765-2082, 800-461-0954.

Crafter’s Market and Clear Out, Saturday March 2, 10am-noon, 77 Fair-view Ave. Proceeds to All Breed Canine Res-cue. Something for ev-eryone and your dog!

Next Low Impact Cir-cuit Training Session at Union Community Centre begins March 5. Registration 6:30-7pm. Classes run Tues-day 7-8pm & Thursdays 5-6pm. 519-631-3840.

Aylmer Museum opens Tuesday March 5. Open-ing Exhibit “Extra! Extra! Read All About It”. A historic look at front page headlines from history. Open Tues– Fri 9-5pm and Sat 11-4pm.

United Way Elgin-St. Thomas Touchdown, Tues-day March 5, 4-6pm, CASO Station, 750 Tal-bot Street, St. Thomas.

March 6, Lenten Lunch Noon Hour Recital Pro-gram, featuring George Heldt at Trinity Anglican Church with the Purple Steeple Lunch following, Soup and Sandwiches $7.

Wednesday, March 6, Lions Bingo, in Dutton Dunwich Community Centre. 7pm, cash priz-es, with $500 Jackpot.

VON Public Foot Care Clinics. St. Thomas Se-niors Centre, March 6, 13, 20, 27, 8:30am-12pm, 225 Chestnut St. Call 519-637-6408 for an appointment.

Grab & Go Roast Pork Dinner, Friday, March 8, at St. Mark’s United Church, 38 Aldborough Ave. Pick-up 4:30-6:30pm. Pay at door $12.

Port Stanley Youth Group & St. John’s Presby-terian Church Sunday School Spaghetti Din-ner, March 8, 5-7pm, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Colborne Street. Tickets 519-782-3971.

March 8, Beef Supper, Odd Fellows & Rebekahs Hall, 54 Moore St. Doors open 4pm, serving 5-7pm. Adult $10, child 6-12 $5, under 5 free. Tickets at door, eat in/

take out. 519-631-3494.

Speaker Wendy Farha will be at Fellowship Church 641 Elm St, March 9, 1:30-3:30pm. Coffee at 1pm. Hear Wendy’s story, see how sad-ness & despair can be turned into hope & joy.

Splash ‘N Boots, Saturday, March 9, 2pm at the Ay-lmer Old Town Hall Theatre. Tickets $8 advance by calling 519-773-8220 or $10 at the door, present-ed by Kids & Company.

Ham & Turkey Bingo Sun-day, March 10. Doors open 12:30 pm. St. Thomas Legion, 24 John St. Everyone welcome.

Sunday, March 10, 9am-1pm Lions full breakfast for $6, in Lions Den, behind Dutton Dun-wich Community Centre.

VON Public Foot Care Clinics. Milton Towers Apartments, March 11, 9am-12pm, 5 Milton St., Pt. Burwell. Call 519-874-4901 for an appt.

March Break Program. Union Community Centre March 11–15, Movies, Outdoor games, crafts lots of fun. Lunches and Snacks. Call to register Vicki 519-631-3840 or Joy 519-633-6403.

Parkinson Support Group Meeting Tuesday March 12, 2-4pm, Knights of Columbus, 265 Wellington St. Info 519-631-9313.

The Aylmer Museum pres-ents the Tundra Swan Line, March 12–April 6. Daily updates on swan migration provided by the Elgin Stewardship Council. 519-773-7926.

March Break Programs at Aylmer Museum. Ages 5-8. Tuesday, March 12–Saturday. $5. per child. Call 519-773-9723 to reserve your spot.

March 13, Lenten Lunch Noon Hour Recital Pro-gram, featuring Elizabeth and Ted Rae at Trin-ity Anglican Church with the Purple Steeple Lunch following, Soup and Sandwiches $7.

An evening with Julie Berry, local award-winning poet, March 13, 7pm, Elgin Military Museum. 30 Talbot St. Free park-ing and refreshments. Sponsored by Yarmouth Glen Women’s Institute.

St. Thomas Seniors Centre Ham and Scalloped Po-tato Dinner Friday March 15. Tickets $10 advance $12 Day of. Dinner at 5pm. 225 Chestnut St.

Tea and Travel Series at John Kenneth Galbraith Reference Library, Dut-ton. Nicaragua Adven-ture with Rebecca Stortz, Friday, March 15 at 2pm.

St. Patty’s Dance! Sat-urday March 16, 8pm-1am, Pleasant Valley GC. Tickets $10 call Connie 519-775-2560. Proceeds to Sparta 200th. Food! Free cab rides! Prizes!

Field Naturalist Walk, Sun-day, March 17 at John E. Pearce Provincial Park, Lakeview Line at 1:30pm. Info 519-631-5279.

The Central Community Health Centre is look-

ing for mature, friendly, articulate volunteers to help clients complete sat-isfaction surveys March 18-28. If interested call Cathy 519-633-7989.

VON Public Foot Care Clinics. Aylmer Knights of Columbus March 18 & Apr. 15 8:30am-12pm, 58 Beech St. Call 519-765-4334 for an appt.

VON Public Foot Care Clinics. Belmont Unit-ed Church March 19 9am-12pm, College St. Call 519-644-9037 for an appt.

March 20, Lenten Lunch Noon Hour Recital Pro-gram, featuring William Lupton at Trinity Anglican Church with the Purple Steeple Lunch following, Soup and Sandwiches $7.

Spikes Volleyball is ac-cepting registration for Spring Session. Friday night programs for boys and girls in Grades 1-8 at Mitchell Hepburn. Starting March 22. $50. 519-495-9179 for info.

Rummage/Boutique sale at Knox Presby-terian Church, Hincks Street, St. Thomas, Sat-urday, March 23, 8:30-11:30am. Sunday School serving coffee and cook-ies. Freewill donation.

March 23, 1-3pm, Eas-ter Eggstravaganza, Knox Presbyterian Church, 55 Hincks St. For kids 4-12 years. Egg hunt, lots of Easter crafts, games & fun. $1/child. Prereg-ister at 519-631-2414.

Canadian Cancer Society, free 6 week program for cancer survivors and care-givers: “Living Well beyond Cancer”. Every Tuesday 6-8:30pm starting March 26. Call 519-432-1137.

March 27, Lenten Lunch Noon Hour Recital Pro-gram, featuring Dr. Wayne Carroll at Trinity Anglican Church with the Purple Steeple Lunch following, Soup and Sandwiches $7.

Aylmer Museum pres-ents Coffee & Culture at the Perc, 49 Talbot St. Aylmer, compliments of Campbell’s Office Sup-plies. Thursday, March 28, at 10:30 and 11am. Topic: French Ivory.

VON Public Foot Care Clinics. Kettle Creek Apart-ments March 28 8:30am-12pm, 289 Francis St., Pt. Stanley. Call 519-782-4786 for an appt.

Free Family Easter Event, Union Community Centre March 30, 10-11:30am. Easter egg hunt, Pup-pet Lady, animal bal-loons, crafts, Easter Bunny. Union South Yarmouth Optimist Club.

Field Naturalist Duck Rally, Saturday, March 30. Be-gins at Aylmer Wildlife Area Viewing stands at 8am. Info 519-633-4235.

Field Naturalist Meet-ing, Friday, April 5, at Knox Church, St. Thomas at 7:30pm. Presenta-tion by Luke Stephen-son on Grizzly Bears. Info 519-631-5279.

VON Public Foot Care Clin-ics. 420 Wellington Street, April 11, 9am-12pm, St. Thomas. Call 519-

782-4786 for an appt.

The Nale Family and Kingway Quartet Gos-pel Concert, Saturday, April 20, 6pm, East Elgin Community Com-plex, 531 Talbot Street W., Aylmer, 519-773-7302. Freewill offering.

Dine Out Dinner Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pud-ding, Monday April 22, Trinity Anglican Church with the Purple Steeple, 5-7pm, $12pp, Take Out Available, 519-631-7000.

Wanted. Craft and garden vendors for Port Stanley Legion 410 Spring Show May 4. Please contact Gloria 519-637-3292.

Dine Out Dinner Roast Pork, Monday May 27, Trinity Anglican Church with the Purple Steeple, 5-7pm, $12pp, Take Out Available, 519-631-7000.

Dine Out Dinner Chicken BBQ, Monday June 24, Trinity Anglican Church with the Purple Steeple, 5-7pm, $12pp, Take Out Available, 519-631-7000.

Former Clark/VME Em-ployees are planning the Last Reunion at Pinafore Park, Sunday, August 4. For registration details phone Penny to reg-ister 519-633-1422.

Non-profit groups, send your Community Billboard announcements (25 words or less per item by text email, no attachments or email/websites in ad) to [email protected]

Community Bulletin BoardWednesday Morning Eucharist 10am

Lenten Book Study to Follow9:00am (BCP) Holy Communion

10:30am (BAS) Holy Eucharist and Sunday School

Father Jawn Kolohon PreachingLiz Rae Minister of Music

www.trinitychurchstthomas.com519-631-7000

Trinity Anglican ChurchThe Church with the Purple Steeple

Knox Presbyterian ChurchHincks Street at Wellington Street

519-631-2414Minister: Rev. Mavis Currie

Organist and Choir Director: Dr. W. D. CarrollMarch 3, 2013 - 10:30am

Sacrament of Holy CommunionSermon: “Four letter words in church - PRAY”Won’t you please join us! We’re celebrating 175 years!

COME AND WORSHIP WITH US, EVERYONE WELCOME

BARNHARD, IRENE of St. Thomas, passed away Thursday, Feb-ruary 21, 2013 in her 63rd year. A private family service was held February 25, 2013. Williams Funeral Home Ltd.

BELL, FRANCIS AUBREY of Metcalfe Gardens, St. Thomas and formerly of Hamilton, passed away Tuesday, Febru-ary 19, 2013 in his 84th year. A private family service was held February 22, 2013. Williams Funeral Home Ltd.

CARMICHAEL, VERDA LAURENA (NEE STORM) passed away on Thursday, February 21, 2013 in her 81st year. A memorial visita-tion was held February 27, 2013. Shawn Jackson Funeral Home.

COAD, GARY STEWART of St. Thomas, passed away on Sat-urday, February 23, 2013 in his 59th year. Mass of the Chris-tian Burial will be held at St. Anne’s Church, Morrison Drive, on February 28, 2013 at 11am. Williams Funeral Home Ltd.

GOODE, ROBERT “JOHN” of St. Thomas, passed away on Fri-day, February 22, 2013 in his 74th year. A funeral service was held February 27, 2013. Williams Funeral Home Ltd.

HOUSE, HELEN IRENE of St. Thomas and formerly of Aylmer, passed away Thursday, February 21, 2013 in her 86th year. A funeral ser-vice was held February 23, 2013. H. A. Kebbel Funeral Home.

JOHNSTON, BRUCE JAMES of Caressant Care Nursing Home, St. Thomas, passed away Thursday, February 21, 2013 in his 72nd year. A private family service will be held. Williams Funeral Home Ltd.

KENNEDY, LARRY STEPHEN passed away on Saturday, Feb-ruary 16, 2013 at the age of 59. A private family memo-rial will be held at a future date. Shawn Jackson Funeral Home.

MANNEKE, MARLENE JUNE (VanHORNE) of Rodney, passed away Tuesday, February 19, 2013 in her 76th year. A private family ser-vice will be held. Rodney Chapel of Denning Funeral Directors Ltd.

McLEAN, BERNICE MOORE McQUADE of Terrace Lodge Nurs-ing Home, Aylmer, passed away Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at the age of 95. A family graveside service was held on February 23, 2013. Williams Funeral Home Ltd.

MILLMAN, MARIAN LOUISE of RR #1, Union, passed away Wednes-day, February 20, 2013 in her 67th year. A public memorial ser-vice was held February 25, 2013. Williams Funeral Home Ltd.

TAYLOR, GWYNETH of Ingersoll, passed away Tuesday, Feb-ruary 19, 2013 in her 94th year. A funeral service was held February 22, 2013. H. A. Kebbel Funeral Home.

VERGEER, HUBERT of West Lorne, passed away on Sunday, Feb-ruary 24, 2013 at the age of 95. Visitation will be held Febru-ary 28 from 7-9pm and March 1 from 11-12:30pm. Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Church, West Lorne March 1, 2013 at 1pm. Rodney Chapel of Denning Funeral Directors Ltd.

WATSON, REV. THOMAS MELVILLE of Elgin Manor, passed away on Saturday, February 16, 2013 in his 93rd year. A celebration of life was held February 22, 2013. Williams Funeral Home Ltd.

WILKINS, ELAINE MILDRED of Aylmer, passed away Monday, Feb-ruary 25, 2013 in her 76th year. A funeral service will be held on February 28, 2013 at 11am. H. A. Kebbel Funeral Home.

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Sometimes there appear to be valid reasons for being stuck in grief.

You might ask what a reason for being stuck is.• Fear of forgetting that person• Time to “be” with the sadness• Complicated issues associ-

ated with the grieving process• Being supported by others who

are also stuck in their grief• There may be a trauma component connected to the loss

A loss may be traumatic for an individual with-out being specifically defined as traumatic loss.

The grief associated with traumatic loss can be a separate issue from the actual loss. In many cases the trauma of the loss needs to be healed or dealt with before the loss can be mourned and grieved effectively.

Grief defined as the inward expression of loss; which can be mental, emotional, physical, spiri-tual or psychological. (anxiety, despair, inability to eat, over eating, chest pains that feel like your heart is breaking, etc.)

Traumatic loss has numerous components that

could be similar to other problems. A traumatic loss can be unexpected, untimely and sometimes connected with horrific or frightening situations.

When grief reactions seem prolonged and continue to cause problems with daily function-ing; where the individual is unable to use their resources to cope with the loss, there may be a need for a professional diagnosis. How do you get help for traumatic loss?

• Talk with someone, tell your story and in many case tell your story several times

• Be open to the possibility of trauma being a component of loss but know, not all losses have

a trauma component• Seek professional help from someone who

deals with trauma and grief lossProfessionals know what to look for when

someone talks about their loss and are able to identify areas of concern.

Sometimes, when an individual is in the midst of their grief they may not see what others see and may be defensive if someone mentions there is a problem.

I have briefly touched on topics that have mul-tiple aspects to consider.

There is no one size fits all solution.

Recently, I read a book by Eric Irivuzumabe whose story centers around the 1994 Rwan-dan genocide. In this heart breaking and eye-opening book, Eric makes the following comment. “Experts agree that the 1994 Rwandan genocide was rooted in racial in-tolerance, just like the Jewish Holocaust.” He goes on to say that racial intolerance is “an ideology that labels some to be subhuman.” It’s a spiral downward. If you consider a cer-

tain race or a certain person to be less, or as Eric suggests ‘subhuman’, it becomes very easy to be manipulated into committing hor-rific acts.

I’ve often told people I’ve been to hell, and I don’t mean in Michigan. What I mean is I’ve been to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The day I went was an overcast, dreary kind of day. I will always remember stepping off the bus and looking at the camp facilities. It

seemed that immediately something crawled on me. It just felt evil. Walking through the camp, listening to stories, seeing the artifacts, the display of suitcases, hair of the victims, etc. all added to my sense of being over-whelmed. You actually just wanted to stop and weep.

How do people do that to other people? What would possess a person to dehuman-ize another person in that manner? I think

Eric is correct. You begin by developing an intolerance of someone else that lowers your estimation of another’s per-sonhood. You stop looking at them as people. Now before we start throwing rocks at those racially intolerant people let’s ask ourselves these kinds of ques-tions. Whenever we are angry, honk-ing our horns, or looking with disgust at someone, are we not labeling them lower than ourselves? Once we label someone lower than ourselves are we not doing what Eric suggests? Are we not labeling them subhuman?

Once you’ve ‘sub-humanized’ some-one you can easily rip them off, cut them off on the highway, throw your gar-bage on their lawn, kick them, punch them out, yell at them, and do whatever you want to them! Maybe there is a little bit of that in all of us? And that is something to think about.

Is trauma connected to your loss?

Don’t tolerate intolerance

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By Barbara Saunders

Something to think about by Pastor Cusick

February 28, 2013

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Transcript of February 28, 2013