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bserverO VOLUME 2, ISSUE 27 WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2011 FREE

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Observer continues under new ownership Business as usual

We are pleased to an-nounce that the Observ-er newspaper was pur-chased by Don and Sue Rivoire on July 1st, 2011. The day-to-day oper-ation will continue as usual with exciting new changes coming soon.

Don Rivoire, former President of the Mor-ris Group of newspapers and St. Lawrence Printing will continue in the cap-acity of President. Austin de Luis will continue as Editor and Sales Man-ager, Kevin Hoover and Jeff Rogers will continue as Sales Associates, Erin Christie will continue as Staff Reporter, and Sue Ri-voire will join the office in charge of administration.

“We are looking for-ward to continuing to grow serving the com-munity. In the last year the Observer was select-ed as the media spon-sor for the Canada 55+ Games. The Observer has participated in and sponsored the Wine and Food Festival, Riverfest, Jazz Festival, Brockville Arts Centre and the up-coming Ribfest as part of our corporate citizen-ship,” said Don Rivoire.

OBSERVER continues on page 2

The envy of the world!

Canada Day, Riverfest give Brockville reasons

to celebrate(Above) Cpl. Blair Beveridge left, addresses the crowd on the Court House Green during Brockville’s Canada Day ceremony.

(Left) Nineteen month-old Leah Wylie, grand-daughter of local radio host, Bruce “Mr. Brockville” Wylie, shows her National pride during Brockville’s Canada Day celebration, held at the Courthouse Green last

Friday morning. ERIN CHRISTIE PHOTOS

Look for more photos from Riverfest on pages 10-12 in today’s issue. ROZALIND PHILLIPS PHOTO

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2011 THE OBSERVER

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While hundreds of thousands of people flocked to our nation’s capital to celebrate Can-ada’s 144th birthday on Parliament Hill, Brock-villians marked Can-ada Day with heartfelt ceremony that included presentations from the City officials, local mil-itary members and the Brockville Riffles, who presented the Brock-ville flag signed by all the Rifles who have been a part of the combat phase of Canada’s mission in Af-ghanistan.

“Canadians are the freest, happiest and most tolerant people in the world,” Leeds-Grenville MPP Steve Clark told the crowd gathered on the Courthouse Green last Friday morning.

“Canada Day is an op-portunity to remember how lucky we are. Make sure you toast Canada and thank God that you live in this country.”

“From coast to coast to coast, we’re surrounded by a natural inheritance that is the envy of the world,” added Leeds-Grenville MPP, Gord Brown, who prefaced his comments by highlighting Canada’s achievements in the fields of science, culture and sports.

“We share a great country, the greatest country in the world.”

Brockville City Mayor David Henderson con-gratulated the Brockville Riffles, including for-mer Riffle, Captain Peter Hamilton, who returned to home from Afghan-istan the night before, for their efforts during the Afghanistan mission,

praising their willingness to put their lives at risk to defend Canadian values.

“It’s very clear the Brockville Rifles are us,” said Henderson

“We ask them to go and they go.”

Henderson also used the ceremony to provide certificates of apprecia-tion to local teacher and longtime organizer of the Rideau-St. Lawrence Sci-ence Fair, Rod Charlton, who was recognized for his efforts to promote science education, and community activist, Gord McCrady, who was recog-nized for his long service as a Riverfest organizer and his role in starting the Shorty Jenkins Curl-ing Classic.

Canada Day weekend

OBSERVER continues from page 1

“We have every confidence in the group we have at the Observer, and are very thankful to all the support that has been shown to us by the community.” The group has over 50 years of experience in the newspaper industry and will continue to grow within the surrounding communities, bringing you the best local news, sports and information.

Editor/Sales Manager: Austin de Luis Sales Associates: Kevin Hoover Jeff Rogers Staff Reporter: Erin Christie Administration: Sue Rivoire President: Don Rivoire Contributing Writers Doug Grant Russ Dissotell Cyndy Robinson Monica O’Grady Catherine Cavanagh Peter Yerdon John Ryan Dennis Stein Rod Charlton Rebecca Bredin Lauren Smith Tom Allnutt Investors Group Dave Henderson Steve Clark Gord Brown Catherine Durnford-Wang Barb Budd Karen MacDonald-Hurley Leeds & Grenville Health Unit

By Erin ChristieObserver Staff Writer

(Above) Observer columnist and long-time organizer of the Rideau-St. Lawrence Science Fair, Rod Charlton, was recognized by mayor David Henderson with a certificate of appre-ciation for his efforts to promote science education in the area. “Remember, science is fun, boys and girls,” he told the crowd. ERIN CHRISTIE PHOTOS

(Right) Community activist, Gord McCrady, was recog-nized for his long service as a Riverfest organizer and his role in starting the Shorty Jenkins Curling Classic.“We have a world-class curl-ing bonspiel in our com-munity,” said McCrady, who also thanked Jenkins and Bob Londry for their crucial roles in founding the bon-spiel 15 years ago.

(Left) INXS rocked the stage on Sunday evening at River-fest capping off the three-day event. Singer J.D. For-tune salutes the crowd with Tim Farriss behind on guitar.

JOHN MORTON PHOTO

THE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2011

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The ObserverSCHOOL NEWS

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For Thousand Islands Secondary School (TISS) Principal Randy Ruttan, this year’s commence-ment was bittersweet, as it will be his last. After 37 years in education, Ruttan will embark on a new jour-ney; retirement. Ruttan made the announcement at the end of the term, leav-ing behind a legacy of im-proved student achieve-ment that confirms his dedication to higher learn-ing. During Ruttan’s two-year tenure at TISS, his colleagues said, that the has improved the student graduation rate by ten per-centage points, to a rate of over 80 per cent, while de-creasing the truancy rate by 50 per cent.

“When I began working with the talented staff at TISS, we recognized that to improve our gradua-tion rate we had to change some priorities and align our objectives with min-istry and board policies,” said Ruttan, adding that he and the staff had fo-

cused on a number of in-itiatives including;

• Implementing a stu-dent attendance protocol with clear expectations, as well as expectation-based tracking for student assessment and evalua-tion that reflected Min-istry policy.

• Establishing the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) to support all students, through-out the entire school day through credit rescue and recovery and “best” prac-tices for student success.

• Establishing a govern-ance model which oper-ates with credentialed leadership

• Establishing a School Success Plan that is pub-lic, inclusive and ac-countable to measurable objectives.

• Creating the Com-munity Circles initiative to meet the needs of stu-dents, which included embracing other com-munity groups such as Career Services, the local health unit, community development agencies, the local police service

and Child and Youth Well-ness.

Ruttan has also had a rich history of promoting student wellness through regular physical educa-tion and has played a key leadership role in creating the Upper Canada District School Board’s Quality Daily Physical Education (QDPE) program, an in-itiative that resulted in the majority of the UCDSB’s schools being awarded the CAPHERD Diamond Award for Quality Physic-al Education.

Ruttan’s efforts led to the establishment of the Physical Literacy char-ter, wherein the Board is working closely with the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) to conduct fitness testing.

Though his accom-plishments are numer-ous, Ruttan remains hum-ble, saying simply that he can think of no better gift to give to his students than the “competencies to be physically active for the rest of their lives with all the inherent health benefits.”

Retiring principal leaves legacy of achievementBy Erin ChristieObserver Staff Writer

From left to right; Matheson Leadership award winner, Sara Mannseichner, Governor Gen-eral’s award winner, Dylan Evoy, TISS Principal, Randy Ruttan, Valedictorian, Brett Duffy, and Principle’s Medal award winner, Katie Purcell. ERIN CHRISTIE PHOTO

St. Mary Crusaders will be hosting the 2011 Sen-ior Girls ‘AA’ provincial basketball champion-ships (OFSAA), Novem-ber 24th-26th. There will be 18 schools partici-pating including the host Crusaders, with the tournament be-ing played at St. Mary, Brockville Collegiate and South Grenville.

The tournament will bring over 200 athletes along with friends and families to the Brockville area. Each team will be guaranteed three games during the three-day event. This the first time St. Mary has hosted the provincial basketball champion-ships since 1998, with TISS (2007), and South Grenville (2006), being the other area schools who have hosted the biggest basketball tournament

on the school calendar. “We are very excited to have the opportunity to host the provincial cham-pionships,” said head coach Matt Reil. “This is a

special group and a great way to cap off their high school careers.”

This will likely be the final year that St. Mary will be in the ‘AA’ category with enrollment decreas-ing in many schools in the area. The Crusaders will likely return to ‘A’ in the coming year. “This will be a highly competi-tive tournament with sev-

eral of the best schools and young basketball players from all over On-tario competing here for the OFSAA title,” said Reil.

The event will kick off with a banquet for all players, coaches and parents on Wednes-day evening followed by games beginning on Thursday, with the tournament finals go-ing on Saturday at St. Mary.

On Wednesday, July 27th, the team will

host a golf tournament to raise funds. The event will be held at the Brock-ville Country Club.

Cost is $95 for non-members and $55 for members. Prices include dinner, golf, cart, prize and donation to the school.

Contact Matt Reil for details at [email protected]

St. Mary to host 2011 OFSAASenior Girls provincials coming in November

Last Wednesday’s com-mencement ceremony was an event four years in the making for the scores of parents, friends, and staff who gathered in the gymnasium of Thousand Islands Secondary School (TISS) to watch as 214 beaming “Pirates” enjoyed their last moments before becoming alumni.

“Each of you will have the opportunity to im-pact the world in a posi-tive way,” Principal Randy Ruttan told his former stu-dents.

“Make a difference in everything you do and leave the world a better place than you found it. Don’t let adversity or dif-ficulties cloud your mind. Welcome the challenges,

learn and grow.”Joining Ruttan onstage

were his colleagues the Upper Canada District School Board’s (UCDSB), associate director, Ian Car-swell, and Brockville and Augusta’s UCDSB trustee Jeff McMillan, in congratu-lating the proud students, who also offered words of wisdom and encourage-ment.

“You leave with many dreams, and dreams are a wonderful thing,” said Mc-Millan.

“Only you can make them come true.”

Representing the graduating class was val-edictorian, Brett Duffy, who in his speech, con-fessed that he was sur-prised to discover that

he had “mixed feelings” about leaving high school.

“I thought the last day of school would be the happiest day of my life until I actually got here and realized what I’d be leaving,” Duffy told his fellow graduates.

“I figured that moving forward would be easy. That reminiscing would be enough but I will miss each and every one of you and no amount of time will change that. When we entered this school, we became pirates, and leaving this place doesn’t change that. Pirate blood courses through our veins. We will always be pirates. Wherever you go, whatever you do, never forget that.”

Pirates now and forever


The ObserverBUSINESS

Managing your MoneyExplaining the ages of insurance

Lisa Bell – Senior Financial Consultant

Change can be tough but we live with it every day. We age, our working, per-sonal and family life changes. Our finan-cial goals and expectations change. And as these things change so does our need for insurance. Here are the types of insur-ance that make the most sense for each of life’s three main stages.

Under 40 As you begin to build your family, insurance should be a simple and economical solution to your emerging needs. You’ll want to protect your family by establishing a source of cash that will pay off your mortgage and other debts should you become unable to do so. You’ll likely want to provide funds for the education of your children.

Life insurance pays a lump sum to your beneficiaries. Term insurance is often the most affordable kind of life insurance for young families. It pays a specified amount should you die, but premiums increase with each policy re-newal and get very expensive over time.

Disability insurance is a must. It pro-vides a regular income stream should you become disabled and unable to work. You may already have some dis-ability insurance as part of your employ-ment benefits package but backing it up with your own personal plan is a good idea.

40 – 60 Your personal and financial life are maturing and becoming more com-plex. To keep pace, consider increasing life insurance protection for both you and your spouse. Look at changing to a type of permanent insurance coverage that can fulfill your estate plan. Whole Life insurance offers a guaranteed amount of coverage for life and, unlike term insur-ance, the premium never goes up.

Disability insurance assumes even

more importance and now is the time to also check out Critical Illness insurance. It provides a lump sum payment that you can usually use any way you wish when you are diagnosed with a medical condi-tion covered by the policy, such as heart attack, stroke or cancer.

Over 60 You now have different rea-sons for revising your insurance protec-tion – like using life insurance to pay estate liabilities (the taxes on your regis-tered savings plans, capital gains on real estate and other investments) so your beneficiaries can inherit the entire value of your estate free of tax consequences. Universal life and whole life insurance work well for estate creation and pres-ervation and the investment compon-ent can be a source of non-registered retirement savings. Term insurance isn’t a good option. Most term policies don’t allow renewal after age 75 or 80 and the premiums are prohibitively expensive.

The chances of disability rise with age, so check your coverage and consider adding Long-Term Care insurance to protect your loved ones from the finan-cial burden of a lengthy illness requiring nursing home or home care.

Yes, change can be tough. Make it eas-ier with the help of your professional ad-visor who can tailor your insurance pro-gram to every stage of your changing life.

This column, written and published by Investors Group Financial Services Inc. (in Québec – a Financial Services Firm), presents general information only and is not a solicitation to buy or sell any in-vestments. Contact your own advisor for specific advice about your circumstances. For more information on this topic please contact your Investors Group Consultant.

Xplornet purchases Ripnet Xplornet Communications purchased Ripnet on July 1st looking to expand their clientele in the area. Pictured above are Bob Davie, VP, Michael Burgess, Director of Human Resources, MPP Steve Clark and David Mills, Chief Network Officer. “This is a big opportunity to work with a team that has had great success,” said Mills. “They have demonstrated great dedication to their customers and we will continue this top-notch service.”

Remax Hometown opens Prescott officeLocal dignitaries, real estate agents and supporters joined Remax Hometown Real-ty owners Ray Wheeler and Janet Eaton in celebrating the grand opening of their second branch, located at 165 King Street East in Prescott. “It’s great to have Janet and Ray in Prescott,” said Mayor Brett Todd, who joined the agents in commemorat-ing the occasion. “Their presence is great for King Street and hopefully, will lead to good things for Prescott.” From left to right; Remax Hometown co-owner, Ray Wheeler, Prescott mayor, Brett Todd, and co-owner, Janet Eaton.

ERIN CHRISTIE PHOTO

State Farm offices presenting Cars II

Rick Beer and Mark Neuman of the State Farm Insur-ance offices in Brockville hosted over 175 children from their collective customers for a private showing of Cars II, a corporately sponsored movie. “We wanted to give something back to the people that support our busi-ness,” said Beer. “This was a great way to get involved in the community and truly do something for our cus-tomers.” In the above photo is Madison Alkerton with Good NeighBear outside the show.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Senior Financial Consultant

The ObserverEDITORIAL WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2011 THE OBSERVER

THE OBSERVER EDITORIAL

Police and Fire services are essential services in Ontario. They do not have the right to strike if they disagree with a wage offer or a contract offer from the City. We need them to be on the job.

If it was simply a mat-ter of no ability to strike and municipalities just decided what fair reimbursement for services is, it is likely that over time a police officer or fireman would have been on the low end of the municipal pay scale. Leverage is a key component in determining any negotiated outcome, no ability to strike – no lever-age – the City wins. Eventu-ally a city would have to raise wages because they would have a hard time keeping or hiring officers.

So the province estab-lished legislation for essential services that settles contract negotiation disputes via a 3rd party, an arbitrator (either one or a panel of three). The arbitrators receive informa-tion from both sides and walk through a process of discussion, and then they de-cide the issue. In theory they are supposed to consider a number of issues defined in the legislation such as; the employer’s ability to pay; the local economy and market conditions; the ability of the service to hire staff.

Historically, mu-nicipalities have seen that these fac-tors generally do not matter. Arbi-trators usually apply settlements based on previous comparable settle-ments, ie what was a settlement in the previous six to twelve months. This results in a circle of settlements that re-main in the 3-4% annual range plus

strong benefits, in commun-ities that have zero growth or declines in the economy, in communities where other public sector unions settle for much less (and they have the ability to strike) and the pri-vate sector has freezes. This cycle effect means a continu-ous process of increases that ignores recessions and ig-nores extremely low turnover rates in these professions.

Over time, supplemental benefits such as retention pay of 3/6/9 % have been awarded to match large urban centers. Originally this bonus was given to po-lice officers in areas where they were having a hard time keeping experienced offi-cers, like Toronto . When an officer reached 23 years of service, they received a 9% annual retention or seniority bonus, every year from then on. Understandable perhaps in Toronto but in most rural areas police services do not

have a problem retaining experienced officers, in fact that was where they were go-ing.

Arbitration passed on similar wages and contract wording to Fire services in rural areas as well.

In the City of Brockville, over a 10 year period, the dif-ference in wage settlements between the police asso-ciation and the next high-est settlement for unionized employees (which was also slightly above the private sec-tor increases for the period) is the equivalent of approx 3 officers wages. We have 42 of-ficers on the force.

Think about that. Now you might think this is a rant against the police or fire but you’d be wrong. They are the same as all of us, we will ask for and push for what we can when it comes to wages. The system enables them to gain more. The system has over-compensated of their lack of an ability to strike. Now it is time for Queens park to rec-ognize that there is a prob-lem in the system and make adjustments to how arbitra-tion for essential services is applied.

Fair Pay – Arbitration for Essential Services

Where was Brockville? After selling out huge stadiums all across Europe and North

America in a matter of minutes, INXS came to Brockville Riverfest on Sunday and sold approximately half the printed tickets for the headline show of the festival.

Going through the crowd on Sunday, I didn’t recognize a great number of people, showing me that several of the roughly 3,000 audience members were likely from outside the immediate area. This prompts me to pose an obvious question…Where was Brock-ville?

I guess maybe having performers who have had the Billboard album of the year and sold over 30 million copies is just another weekend event for Brockville. Ideal conditions to finish off the long weekend seemed like the best time to sell out a show of this magni-tude, but the crowds just weren’t there.

The organizers of Riverfest did have great success with ‘Brock-ville Day’, dedicated to local performers and content. The usually typical small crowds in the afternoon were augmented greatly with Colfax, Fairview and Bravestation capping off the main stage acts.

The overall numbers looked good over the weekend, but final statistics won’t be available until later this week. Canada Day had a steady crowd throughout the park, showing the attractions were well thought of and included something for everyone, but the over-all financials won’t look as they should with the INXS show coming up around 2,500 tickets short in overall sales.

This was not the caliber of show you will get to see too often in our community and with the sales from Sunday, it may never hap-pen again.

Austin de Luis

LETTER TO THE EDITORMS community “cautiously optimistic about CCSVI trial approval in Canada

What do I think of the Federal Government’s June 29th an-nouncement that it will fund clinical trials for CCSVI/MS in Can-ada??

When I first heard this, I had a feeling of disbelief. The MS Com-munity is happy, but we are also cautiously optimistic and some-what skeptical. We need details as to the size of the clinical trials, and as to when they are going to begin, and especially as to who is going to conduct these trials. Our worst fear is of these trials being conducted in MS Clinics under the purview of Neurologists who have already labelled CCSVI as a “hoax”.

We already know the outcome of these trials. The rest of the world gathered the data while Canada was ignoring CCSVI/MS Patients. One third of the people treated experience dramatic improvement, one third of those treated experience more moder-ate improvement, and one third of those treated remain relatively unchanged. Everyone experiences improved circulation, and the procedure is almost 100% safe. So, we want to see large numbers of people treated soon. Time is so very critical when it comes to MS, and so much time has already been wasted. We are thankful to those of our Government Officials: Randy Hillier MPP, Steve Clark MPP, Scott Reid MP, and Gord Brown MP among others who have presented petitions re: CCSVI to our Governments numerous times over the past year and a half. Devoted advocate, Dr. Kirsty Duncan Liberal MP has attended seven International Conferences (speaking at two) regarding CCSVI over the past year, and we thank God for her. Liberal Senator, Jane Cordy presented a Private-Mem-bers-Bill to the Senate on June 26, 2011 before summer break.

We would like to thank everyone who continues to support us. There has been so much jargon to convince you not to do so. Some would have you believe that those of us who have been treated, and report the good results are somehow mesmerized, under some kind of Placebo effect, and have joined a Cult. This is absurd, especially in light of the fact that we have been treated by many different Physicians, in many different places, at many different times. Bear in mind; it is the autoimmune theory that has never been proven. Yet, this theory is the basis for the MS medications. Remember, the idea of the vascular connection to MS is not new. It has been re-visited for a very long time by different Physicians. But, Dr. Zamboni, motivated to help his wife who has MS, picked up this vascular connection yet again, and voila.

Sincerely,

Judy ButcherJasper, Ontario

Giz Perron of Thousand Islands Martial Arts breaks through five bricks during the Thunder Demo at Riverfest.

PHOTO BY AUSTIN DE LUIS

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The Observer OBSERVATIONS

The weather remains hot and humid so our foray into the world of beer will continue for another week with a look at a recently re-leased, tasty new seasonal beer. For many the bever-age of choice during the “sticky” weather remains beer. This week’s selection meets all the criteria for a summer thirst quencher, while offering great fla-vour and quality.

While it doesn’t trans-late into something you taste in the glass, part of the allure of wine and beer is the history attached to them. Their back-stories can be absolutely fascin-ating. It may only be co-incidence but when I was a member of the Vintages tasting panel every mem-ber had a background in history.

Waterloo Radlermass (CSPC# 246132, $2.75 for a 473-ml. can, Brockville Shopping Centre) has a fascinating back-story concerning its origin. The name is from the German, Radler meaning cyclist and Mass meaning a litre of beer, which gives us a loose translation of cyclist beer. The story is an ex-ample of the adage “Ne-cessity is the mother of invention”.

In the early 20th cen-tury Franz Xaver Kugler, a retired railway worker opened the Kugleralm inn in Bavaria, located a short distance from Mun-ich. Shortly after the First World War cycling became all the rage in the area.

Kugler, a quick thinking businessman, arranged for a bicycle path to be built connecting Munich to his inn through a pic-turesque forest, with visions of cyclists arriving at his establish-ment.

It was a sound business decision, but soon became a case of be care-ful what you wish for! On what one can only imagine was a fine sum-mer day in June 1922 some 13,000 cyclists took advantage of the newly minted bi-cycle trail and visited Herr Kugler’s inn! They were a thirsty lot and it soon be-came apparent that the inn’s beer supply would not meet the demand, a disaster in beer crazy Bav-aria.

Herr Kugler quickly crafted a solution. The Ku-gleralm had a large supply

of lemon soda that hadn’t been a big seller with the beer loving Bavarians. Ku-gler instructed his staff to mix the soda half and half with the remaining beer. The refreshing beverage was a hit with the cyclists

and saved the day. Kugler, ever the

o p p o r t u n i s t , claimed he had d e l i b e r a t e l y planned the

new mixture to prevent cyclists

from falling off their bicycles on their re-turn journey to Munich!

Radlermass was so suc-cessful that other inns and beer gardens in the area began to offer it to their clients. The Kugleralm is still in operation today and features a beer gar-den with seating for over 2,000 guests. Radlermass remains a Bavarian trad-ition.

Waterloo Radlermass has a deep, rich golden colour and beautiful head on pouring. The nose is quite enticing with cit-rus, floral, malt and hop aromas. The palate opens with sweet lemonade fla-vours and then gives way to refreshing malt, lager backbone. The citrus fla-vours on the palate are very natural with a lemon zest quality and a subtle

touch of sour lemon in mid palate. The finish has plenty of zesty lemon with just a touch of bitter hops flavour.

Radlermass is a re-freshing summer thirst quencher. The flavours are natural and focused while the sweetness is nicely balanced with acidity and never approaches cloy-ing. It will also pair nicely with simple grilled fish or grilled sausages.

Enjoy!

Radlermass is made for summer enjoyment

by Barb BuddHoward Travel

Travelling to Niagara Falls at any time of the year is a treat, especially for those who live outside of the Golden Horseshoe.

On Howard Travel’s most recent trip to the Niagara area (June 7 through 9), the attrac-tions were the casinos. We stayed at the Best Western Fallsview, a per-fect place to be in the centre of all the action. The hotel is located in the fallsview district of Ni-agara Falls, Ontario and has a view of the roaring

falls. The hotel itself fea-tures indoor and outdoor pools, whirlpool and 24-hour on-site retail out-lets. For those who went strictly for the gaming, the Fallsview Casino was located directly across the street.

The casino was not the only draw, however. Many people who enjoyed this trip just wanted to get away. Because Howard Travel always includes a city tour in a package, the people who chose to were able to take a couple of hours to learn about the area and sights.

The hot dog, a sum-mer BBQ staple! I have a friend who would rather steam his hot dog than cook it on the grill! Each to his own, but there is something special about summer and a hot dog cooked outside, whether it is on the BBQ or on the open camp fire. A hot dog is just not the same without a little scorch on it. Add ketchup, mustard and relish and you have a tradition. See where I am going here? How do you make a hot dog your own?

Well, considering the number of ways you can now buy a hot dog (all beef, vegetarian, with cheese, with onion, with onion and cheese, foot longs, jumbos, and minis,) the variety is end-less but still not your own.

So make the prepara-tion a way to make it your own. Like my buddy you can steam it, or pan fry it, grill it on the BBQ or the camp fire, and who has not done hot dogs in the microwave? When my kids were young and we would camp, we would make spider dogs. This is when you cut the hot dog in quarters down the length - not quite to the end - put it on a stick, and place over a heat source, usually the camp fire. As it cooks, the hot dog starts to curl and kind of look like a spider. Ok, it is a stretch, but the kids love it, and frankly so do I.

So these are all nice ways, but still how do you make it your own? Switch up what goes on the dog: replace the ketchup with chili sauce, or like they

do on Coney Island, chili for the Coney Dog. Try sautéed or caramelized onions, or just diced on-ions. Next time you’re at the grocery store, check out the different flavours of mustard. I think we have one that has cran-berry in it! I am definitely looking forward to trying that. Dice some toma-toes and put them on your dog; make a tomato relish with some red wine vinegar, olive oil, and chopped onion and garlic like a bruschetta. Or try salsa - you pick the heat. Grated cheese is always good, especially when you combine it with something else like a beef chili. Sauerkraut goes well on sausage, try it on your hot dog. Of course, all of these can be used on sausage, too, just pick a flavour, there are so many...oh never mind, that is another story.

Like always your im-agination and taste pref-erences will rule.

The Hot Dog, boring? Not so when you “Make it Your Own”! Enjoy!

MAKE IT YOUR OWNBy Peter Yerdon, O.C.T Red Seal, Contributing Writer

Yawn, HOT DOGS!

OFF THE VINE

by Russ Disotell

Visiting the Fury

Niagara Falls

NIAGARA continues on page 8

While it doesn’t translate into something you taste in

the glass, part of the allure of wine and beer is the history

attached to them.


The Observer OBSERVATIONS

NIAGARA continues from page 7

After spending time with a local step-on-guide, people usually feel a lot more comfortable wandering around on their own - which they al-ways do.

On this trip, Howard Travel made a couple ex-tra stops for the people who wanted to get in a little more shopping and sight-seeing. June 9th was a perfect day to wander around lovely Niagara-on-the-Lake and that is just what we did. Spend-ing a couple of hours in

the sun in such a beautiful place makes getting back on the coach a little hard-er, but completes the trip perfectly. The other stop that was made was the outlet stores where How-ard Travel’s hostess was able to point the guests in the direction of all the great sales.

The next trip to Niag-ara Falls will be Aug 22-24. Included in this tour will be a People Mover Pass which will enable you to leave the area of the ho-tel without having to walk

too far. Also included is admission to Niagara’s Fury, Journey Behind the Falls, Maid of the Mist and White Water Walk. If Marineland is something that piques your interest, Howard Travel will pro-vide the transportation to and from the park for your convenience.

Though not officially a Natural Wonder of the World, Niagara Falls On-tario is a destination and attraction that every Can-adian should visit at least once.

After speaking to a few well-connected friends, and following the Korean Tourism Organization on Facebook, I man-aged to get tickets to the R16 World Master B-Boy Championships, a week-end event that brings together the best break dancers, both solo dan-cers and crews, along with artists, musicians, produ-cers, and everyone else who has a love for the hip-hop scene, together for a some of the best dancing on the planet.

Surrounding the Olym-pic Hall was the Urban Street Arts festival. All over the park, dancers, artists, and hip hop enthusiasts were able to check out what is going on in Korea and around the world in the hip hop scene. De-spite the fact it was pour-ing outside, there was still a lot to see and do.

Now, I won’t even pre-tend to be into hip-hop music. I’m more the pop princess type. The great-est day of the summer so far was when my mom said she won me the NKOTBSB (New Kids on the Block) CD. But when it comes to dancing, I think hip-hop is amazing. Plus, I am a huge dance freak. I watch “So You Think You Can Dance” religiously back home, and tried to marathon “America’s Best Dance Crew” when I was

living in Japan. There is a folder on my hard drive dedicated to dance mov-ies, which I watch regu-larly. So getting to see the world championships for break dancing? I might as well have “Step Up” per-formed right in front of me, that’s how amazing it was.

I thought getting free tickets to the show was awesome enough, but be-ing the brave and slightly crazy person that I am, I decided to take a risk and put in an application for a press pass. Amaz-ingly, when I showed up at Olympic Hall, there it was, waiting for me. I was able to get a pretty sweet seat that I didn’t use, and instead spend the entire four hours pressed against the stage with my camera. 1500 photos later, I’m still editing them at time of writing.

The show was abso-lutely amazing. There were eight countries represented: Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, the United States, France, Russia and Kazakhstan. Korea is the defending world cham-pion, so I expected them to be good. I know many

Japanese b-boys, so I ex-pected them to be good as well. I figured China and Taiwan would be good too simply because they have martial arts to influence their moves. I was really surprised by Kazakhstan, who were really entertain-ing to watch. The team that blew me away the most though was France. When I think of France, world class break dancing is not the first thing that comes to mind.

Watching these men perform was an amazing experience. B-boys are in-credibly passionate about what they do, and they love dancing more than anything. You can see it in every step, every move, every well- executed trick that it has taken countless hours to perfect. I have so much more respect for these artists after see-ing them put everything they have out there on the stage.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the R-16 World Champion-ships, head over to my website, http://www.ablogabroad.com, where I’ll be posting much more detail about the battle break downs, videos and photos (not 1400 photos, I promise.) And in case you’re wondering who ended up winning, I’ll give you a hint: I was really happy with the outcome.

Watching the B-Boy Masters

SEOULSEARCHING

by Rebecca Bredin

THE SCIENCE COLUMN

by Rod Charlton

REBECCA BREDIN PHOTO

For many of us sci-ence and tech junkies, the Space Shuttle was a wonderful experience. It had all the necessary ele-ments: space travel, real-ly cool science, an abil-ity to engage us publicly, especially if we were able to travel to Florida to see a launch, some mystery (that satellite launched last week was a secret spy satellite that can read license numbers!) and of course, elements of tragedy as we watched horrified as Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off in 1986, then the break-up of the Colum-bia on re-entry in 2003.

The era of the Shuttle has come to an end, with the last flight around the corner. I can clearly re-member in 1981, swiping a TV from a training room and bringing it into my office at what was then, the DuPont plant so I and a few colleagues could watch a fuzzy picture of the first Shuttle landing. We were almost as ex-cited as we were in 1969 watching Neil Armstrong land on the moon. NASA originally planned for

fifty shuttle missions per year, but it soon became apparent that the cost would be prohibitive, so the maximum was only about twenty.

Perhaps the Shuttle’s greatest achievement was the placement of the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit in 1990. Astron-omers have always strug-gled with the distorting effects of the earth’s atmosphere as they built more powerful telescopes and many were and still are located atop moun-tains in Hawaii and Chile, to minimize these effects. The images from Hubble are stunning by compari-son. With no interfer-ing atmosphere, astron-omers have been able to

get incredible views that continue to provide more and better astronomical data than has ever been available. The problem with the mirror on the Hubble was fixed early on, and it performs well twenty years on. No rust in space!

Another thing about the Shuttle is the size. We

almost never see a per-son beside the Shuttle, because it is huge. The Hubble telescope that fit nicely into the cargo bay is the size of a Voyageur bus! We have all passed those on the 401 and they are pretty big themselves.

The International Space Station, the ISS, is another of the Shut-tle’s great achievements. Many tons of equip-ments, from capsules, to living quarters and life support systems, to space manufacturing and

The Space Shuttle – End of an Era

SPACE continues on page 9

Perhaps the Shuttle’s greatest achievement was the placement

of the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit in 1990.



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SPACE SHUTTLE continues from page 8

experiments, have been carried aloft in the Shut-tle, assembled in orbit and incorporated into the ISS. Many people are un-aware of the ISS because it just swings around the Earth up there, away from our view. It never lifted off the way the Shuttle did, it is just “there”. However, at any time there are as many as about ten astronauts from many countries, including Canada, living on board for months at a time and carrying out exciting research and ex-periments. You can go to www.iss.astroview.net/ and see where the ISS is

at any moment. Under the right conditions you can see it with binoculars or a small telescope, and that website will show you where to look.

With the end of the Shuttle program, ele-ments of the ISS program will end as well. Astro-nauts and food and sup-plies can be brought to and from the ISS using a Russian rocket, but no large structures can be added. As well, the Rus-sian rocket carries three astronauts, where the Shuttle carried seven. The Shuttle replacement, tentatively called Orion, is still years away from

being a reality. It does not have a specific goal. They have yet to determine if it will go to the moon or Mars, or if it will to go into Earth’s orbit or what? Until that is clarified, it is pretty hard to advance the design.

As a boy I watched the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs avidly and now I see the Shuttle heading the same way as they went… exciting, dangerous, but reward-ing from a technological view and they all ad-vanced our knowledge and capability well be-yond the immediate goals.

Put it in gear and ride…

Museum volunteers recognized for years of serviceSeven dedicated volunteers from the Brockville Museum were recognized for their years of service by the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture for their contributions to the museum. The ceremony and reception was held on Monday, June 27th at the Ambassador Inn in Kingston. From left to right; Leeds and Grenville MPP, Steve Clark, Brock-ville Museum curator/director, Bonnie Burke, and the volunteers: Barbara Pollard (10 years), Helen Peach (25 years), Bronwynne Dawes (Youth Award), Elliott Parker (30 years), Renee Porter (15 years), and Brian Porter (15 years). Missing from photo- Hugh Campbell (5 years). SUBMITTED PHOTO

Motorcycle Poker Run in Support of United Way

Here we go again. Rid-ers from all areas are coming together this year for the 3rd Annual Ride United Poker Run.

The 240 km ride throughout Leeds and Grenville will take place on August 27th, 2011, with all proceeds going to the United Way of Leeds and Grenville. Registra-tion will be at A & W lo-cated beside the Walmart parking lot on Parkedale Avenue between 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.

This year, we have added a few more stops and a whole new route. Riders will be able to travel at their own pace, stopping along the route to see some of the amaz-ing scenery and attrac-tions that Leeds and Grenville has to offer. Along the way, they will stop at various locations picking up poker ships that they can redeem at the end for cards for their poker hand. At the end of the day, the rider with the best poker hand will win a grand prize. The final destination will be Brockville Honda 1882 County Road # 2, Brock-ville at 3:00 p.m. There will be a BBQ for all par-ticipants at the end of the run. Winners will be

announced and prizes awarded at 4:00 p.m.

Registration for riders is $25 with an additional fee of $15 for passengers. Passengers are encour-aged to play their own poker hand for $25. Pre-registration is encour-aged and can be done by contacting Judi at 613-342-8889 or [email protected]. The first 100 registered riders/pas-sengers will receive a free Ride United t-shirt. Participants are also wel-come to collect pledges in support of the United Way of Leeds and Gren-ville. Riders that collect pledges are eligible for prizes if they raise more than $50.00. Registration fees will be waived if you have raised $100 in com-bined pledges from rider and passenger and each will receive an additional poker chip for the poker hand at the end of the ride.

The United Way of Leeds and Grenville sup-ports 27 agencies, over 90 programs and ser-vices that help support 33,000 people living in Leeds and Grenville, ap-proximately 1 in every 3 people in our commun-ity. For more information about the United Way or Ride United, please contact Judi at (613) 342-8889, [email protected]

For more information: Judi Baril United Way of Leeds and Grenville (613) 342-8889 [email protected]

Ride Safe,Ride Long, Ride United

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The ObserverRIVERFEST 2011

Derek Wilson of Bravestation performing during the final act of Brockville Day. PHOTO BY TINA LALONDE

Rebekka Paige of Catalina performs during the opening night of Riverfest. PHOTO BY AUSTIN DE LUIS

Derek Atkinson from the Loon Choir performing on the Riverfest main stage during Satur-day’s Brockville Day. PHOTO BY TINA LALONDE

INXS during Sunday’s headline performance.PHOTO BY JOHN MORTON


The Observer RIVERFEST 2011

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Opening of Brockville Office

(Left) The Dock Dogs were a steady attraction all weekend long at the far end of Blockhouse Island. Beginners and pros alike provided a steady stream of entertainment for viewers.

Three year old Brady Blaseg, front, and his sister, four year old Calya, bounce around in the children’s obstacle course. PHOTO BY AUSTIN DE LUIS

(Above) Six year old Avery Last shows off her tiger’s growl after Jennifer Harvey of the ‘Not so amateur, amateurs’, finished painting her face at Riverfest.

PHOTOS BY AUSTIN DE LUIS


The ObserverRIVERFEST 2011

Artists Guy Wales and well-known comic book artist David Day from Gananoque displayed a 3-D chalk painting on Blockhouse on Friday and Saturday of Riverfest. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Megan Maitland flies through the air during a demonstration from Thousand Islands Mar-tial Arts of Brockville. PHOTOS BY AUSTIN DE LUIS

(Left) Leigh Bur-sey and Matt Va n d e r B a a r e n perform dur-ing Pump up the Volumn at Hardy Park.

(Below) Street performer Kob-bler Jay from Ni-agara Falls per-forms for around 75 kids and par-ents.


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consultation.

A pair of Brockville Country Club (BCC) members battled for the City and Dis-trict title this week. Emily Peters came roaring back with a second round 76 to edge out fellow BCC member Alex Hodgkinson by two strokes to win on Tuesday afternoon.

After a first day 86, Peters ended with a 162 total, two better than Hodgkinson’s 164. Both will be playing in the OVGA national tournament taking place over four days starting this weekend.

The Brockville Islanders floor hockey team won the provincial title in Sudbury last week. After losing their opening game to the hosts 7-6, the Islanders bounced back with win over Arnprior (8-1), Oakville (11-1), to reach the final and setting up a rematch with Sudbury.

Brockville won the game 7-4 with an empty net goal to seal the victory. Stan Madden was the team MVP with 16 goals over four games.

Brockville will now head to the 2012 national games in St. Albert, Alberta in February.

Members of the provincial champion Brockville Islanders special Olympic floor hockey team pose in Sudbury. Sit-ting - Ron Gallager, Darryl Clark, Stan Madden2nd row - Brad Moodie, Stu Reid, Roy Brooks, Doug Clarke, Peter Carbino3rd row - Fred Elms, Taylor Reid, Terance Crabtree, Patrick Burgoon, Chris Fleming, Neal Condron

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Brockville’s Teri de Luis is sitting in third place after a second round 76, the low score of the day brought her within five shots of leader Bonnie Wolfe with two rounds remaining later this month.

The four day event is one of the most grueling and sought after tournaments in Eastern Ontario with over 100 of the best lady golfers from the area compet-ing each year.

Islanders win title in provincial floor hockey

de Luis sits in 3rd place of Ottawa Citizen tournament

Peters edges out Hogkinson for OVGA City and District title

SportsBRIEF

Emily Peters practicing at the Brockville Country Club.


The ObserverGOLF

“9 & Dine Pkg”$49 all

inclusive

Have you ever heard an instructor say repetition leads to “muscle mem-ory”? “Muscle Memory”, think about that one for a second. Do our mus-cles have any memory? No. Have you ever seen a comatose person get up and walk around? Not a chance.

What these instruct-ors mean, is your Mind’s Eye will fire instructions to the muscles needed to get them to respond to the image just seen. Whether it is to swing a golf club or anything else you do in life.

Here’s some proof that many of us can relate to. Remember a time when you had to hit a ball over a sand trap to a pin cut close to the edge of the green. What’s the first im-age that flashed in your Mind’s Eye? It was prob-ably that of your golf ball plopping right in the mid-dle of the sand trap, right?

That’s your Mind’s Eye sending instructions for your muscles to follow the image you had, and usu-ally, they followed it to a tee, no pun intended.

Here’s another great ex-ample, what about a time when you had to hit your ball across a big pond. Do you remember how you saw the image of your ball splash in the water only to have your muscles re-spond to that signal given by your Mind’s Eye?

The next time you are waiting on the tee for the group ahead of you - dem-onstrate this for yourself. Ask one of your playing partners to stand some 15 feet or so away from you. Then toss your golf ball to him, there’s probably a good chance you seen your ball land in the palm of his hand through your Mind’s Eye and then you actually did it perfectly.

Does that make sense to you yet? Your muscles

will follow the image seen in your Mind’s Eye. If your ball striking and short game is average- start using your Mind’s Eye to your advantage. If not, keep working on improving your game a little more before relying on your Mind’s Eye to get you over the hump.

On the tee, don’t focus on the trouble left and right, focus your Mind’s Eye on where you actually want to hit your golf ball to, not on where you don’t want to hit it.

This is consistent through all the shots you’ll face in golf. Prove it to yourself when you are chipping, pick a spot where you want to land your ball according to the type of trajectory you are going to use for the shot. There’s a good chance you’ll pull it off as long as you don’t clutter your mind with unnecessary garbage.

Use your Mind’s Eye to your advantage and try to be more positive with your images. You’ll soon see your scores drop dra-matically. If your Mind’s Eye gives you negative images, you’ll get negative results, it’s that simple.

Now looking back, do you still think there’s “Muscle Memory”? Or do you now accept the fact that you have to trust and follow the image given by your Mind’s Eye, whether it is a positive or negative image

Test it for yourself the next time you play or practice.

John Ryan.CGTF Level Three Instructor, teaches exclusively at the Tincap Golf Club. If you have any comments on this or any other column or for more information on Lessons call John at 613-345-1390 or e-mail at [email protected].

Our Mind’s Eye: seeing yourself play better golf Do you score regularly in the 80’s and 90’s and wonder what you need to do to score lower?

If you can learn to rely on your Mind’s Eye, you’ll watch those scores drop big time.

The Sunni Mini-Putt course at Sunnidell Golf will be the scene of the first ever “Dawn to Dusk” Mini-Putt “Smackdown” this Friday, July 8th be-ginning at 4:00 p.m. Rhianna Robins, co-host of JRFM’s “Breakfast Show” with Bruce Wylie has challenged the Co-Chair of the “Dawn to Dusk” Charity Classic, Martin Noe to a winner-take-all round of mini-putt. This grand sporting event will be played under PGA (“Progressively Geriatric Administrators”) rules, with David Dargie, the other Co-Chair of the “Dawn to Dusk” Char-ity Classic, acting as the Head Rules Official.

Martin Noe observed, “Recently we were on Bruce and Rhianna’s radio show promoting the ‘Dawn to Dusk’ Char-ity Classic and Rhianna said that she wanted to play in our July 15th event. However, due to scheduling problems she will be unable to join us at the BIG tournament. Instead, we have ar-

ranged for her to be ‘schooled’ on July 8th at the ‘Dawn to Dusk’ Mini-Putt ‘Smackdown’. We are inviting the media and the public to witness this epic match on Friday, July 8th at 4:00 p.m.”

The “undercard” for the main event will fea-ture the two golfers who have signed up for all 15 hours of play in the “Dawn to Dusk” Charity Classic that will be held at Sunnidell Golf from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Friday, July 15th. Wolf-gang Pohl and Bob Harp-er, our two “Masochists” will face off in the second match of the “Smack-down”. David Dargie, Co-Chair of the “Dawn to Dusk” Charity Classic

remarked, “We have in-vited Wolfgang and Bob

to join us on Friday for a friendly match

to balance the ten-sion and competi-tive nature of the original challenge match between

Rhianna and Mar-tin. You may want to

leave the young chil-dren at home for this one as we cannot guarantee the behaviour of the two original combatants will be ‘family-friendly’!”

The public is invited to join us on Friday, July 8th for the “Dawn to Dusk” Mini-Putt “Smackdown” and to sign up that after-noon at Sunnidell Golf for the “Dawn to Dusk” Charity Classic that will benefit two local organiz-ations: the Brockville and Area Community Foun-dation and the Brockville and Area Sports Dome Association. There are still spots available for all three time slots on July 15th: 6:00 - 11:00 a.m.; 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.; and 4:00 - 9:00 p.m. For a $50.00 entry fee, each player will get to play as many holes of golf as they

can in five hours; a bar-b-q lunch; a chance at some great prizes; and a tax re-ceipt issued by the Brock-ville and Area Commun-ity Foundation for at least $30.00. The final amount for that tax receipt will be determined following the July 15th event.

Come one, come all to Sunnidell Golf on Friday, July 8th for the “Dawn to Dusk” Mini-Putt “Smackdown”. The festivities begin at 4:00 p.m., so choose sides and come out to cheer on Rhianna Robins or Mar-tin Noe! Better still, show your support for the construction of a multi-sports dome in Brockville through your participa-tion on July 8th AND July 15th.

“Dawn to Dusk” Mini-putt “Smackdown” event for the Dome

TheObserverhas your weekly dose of local news, sports and

community events

Rhianna Robins, co-host of JRFM’s Breakfast Show, has challenged “Dawn to Dusk” Charity Classic co-chair Martin Noe to a mini putt “smackdown” that will see the two face-off in a winner-take-all mini-putt battle.


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CONGRATULATIONS

on graduating from McMaster University at the June 15, 2011 convocation with a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree, Summa Cum Laude. Allison has accepted a position with KPMG in Ottawa and will be pursuing her Chartered Accountant designation. We are all very proud of your hard work and determination over the past 4 years.

Love Dad & Sue, Grandma & Grandpa, Justin & Jena and Meika (meow)

GRADUATION

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

FOR SALEBUSH BAR for Ford Expedition, F250, Navigator. Call 613-213-4224 for more information. (nc)

HELP WANTEDGENERAL LABOURER required for heating and cooling business. If you have a positive attitude, strong work ethic and a willingness to work as a team player, you possess three key qualities required to be part of our team at Toshack. Please submit your resume by fax: 613-342-6918 or email: [email protected] (psv27)

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HELP WANTEDADULT CARRIERS needed for the Brockville Observer on Wednesdays. Part-time and on call carriers for walking routes needed, car is an asset. Contact Bob at 613-925-1439, leave a message. (nc18)

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• Vacation Bible School: Children join in on a “Wilderness Adventure” to hear stories, play games, sing songs and make crafts. This is one ‘trek’ you will never forget! Vacation Bible School is being held at Bethel CRC at 117 Windsor Drive and is for all children ages 4-Grade 6 (just finished). More information on our church website: www.bethel-crc.com or call 613.345.2050.

• Olde Tyme Hymn Sing. Sunday, July 10, 6:45 pm. Hanson Memorial Church, Charleston Lake. Featuring Celebration Singers.

• Self-Employment Benefits Orientation Session. Tuesday, July 12th at 10 am, Prescott. To register for the mandatory orientation please call 613-925-4275 ext. 24 or email [email protected].

• 147th Lansdowne Fair. Friday, July 15 - Sunday, July 17. All day event. See website for full details.

• “Elvis!” An outstanding ‘Elvis’ Tribute Artist performing Friday, July 15, 6-8 pm at the Prescott Legion, 141 Henry St. Goodwill donations accepted. BBQ supper at 5 pm available. Everyone welcome!

• Athens Annual Farmersville Exhibition. Friday, July 15 - Sunday July 17, Athens Fairgrounds/Centre 76. Old Time Fiddler Show, 7-10 pm Friday Evening. Saturday & Sunday grounds open at 9 am. Steam Engines in operation, vintage machinery, cars, trucks, motorcycles, craft fair, festive gardens under special occasion permit. Saturday - Vintage tractor pull - 12 pm start, country music in the afternoon. Sunday - Horse draw - 11 am start. Camping available.

• Brockville Off-Leash Dog Park welcomes everyone, with their dogs, to their third anniversary barbecue. Saturday, July 16th, 11 am-2 pm. Dogs will demonstrate their skill with Frisbees. There will be dog contests. Come & enjoy the day with us.

• Nathan Putnam of the Living Cities Company will speak on Urban Agriculture at the Brockville Library on Saturday, July 23rd at 2:00 pm. Sponsors: the Brockville Library and the Brockville Climate Action Group.

• Brockville Farmers’ Market - Market Street West Brockville. The market hosts an amazing collection

of traditional and organic produce, herbs, meats, honey, maple syrup, preserves and baked goods. From May to October there is an ever changing selection of hand-crafted jewellery, furniture, textile products, quality cut flowers, perennials and annuals. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, May - October 7 am -1 pm

• Birthday Parties at the Brockville and Area YMCA. This 2-hour party includes a specially decorated room, fun activities, meal of choice and one hour of pool or gym time. Available Friday evenings, Saturday & Sunday afternoons. Call 613-342-7961.

• Bottles for Babies - Bring your pop cans, liquor, wine & beer bottles and cans to Food For All Food Bank in Prescott. Proceeds will be used to purchase baby formula for mothers in need. 136 Henry St. W. Prescott 613-925-2444.

• Girls Just Wanna Run Program. A run club for girls 12-16 years of age who want to learn to run but didn’t think they could. Learn to run 5 km! Join us: Wednesdays & Fridays 4-5 pm. Brockville & Area YMCA.

Would like to invite you to a BBQ / Groundbreak-ing Fundraiser in sup-port of The Rotary Park Revitalization Project (Splash Pad, Synthetic Ice, Basketball Court).

Saturday, July, 16, 2011. Brockville Rotary Park (Beside Brockville Gymnastics Academy). 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Hamburgers, Hot Dogs,Beverages, Snow Cones,

Cotton Candy.Special appearance by

Sparky the Fire Dog.Park Informa-tion Display.

Gymnastics and Skate Board Demonstration.

Fire, Police, EMS, Vehicle Displays.Junior Firefighter Obstacle Course

Challenge.Bring cameras for pictures of kids in

Junior Bunker Gear.Family Games, Face

Painting, Water Slides and More.

The Brockville Professional Firefighter’s Association Local 536

and The Brockville Fire Department

Upper Canada District School Board’s Energy Efficiency

Saves Tax Dollars(Brockville) – The

Upper Canada District School Board has re-ceived a rebate cheque for $153,370 plus HST for recent energy effi-ciency initiatives. The Board received the funding through the Ministry of Education’s Energy Efficiency – Small Equipment Grant for replacing obsolete T12 Lighting and other high wattage lighting with new, energy ef-ficient lighting in thir-teen schools through-out the Board.

Robert Smith, the Ministry of Education’s Incentive Programs Advisor, told the Up-per Canada Board that “this is by far one of the largest payments I’ve seen.”

Facilities depart-ment Manager of De-sign and Construction,

Peter Bosch, says the school board managed the incentive projects through Hydro One Networks and three other local distribution companies – Ottawa River Power Co., East-ern Ontario Power, Ri-deau St. Lawrence Dis-tribution, Inc., as well as the Ontario Power Authority.

“We plan to use the rebate to fund addi-tional energy efficient projects that will gen-erate further incen-tives. In essence it is a planned Energy Effi-ciency Domino Project effect,” outlined Bosch.

“We are now focus-ing on applying for 2011 incentives on cur-rent energy related pro-jects.”

Following is a list of the schools where the 2010 energy efficiency

work was completed:• Almonte District

High School • Arklan Commun-

ity Public School• Beckwith Pub-

lic School• Caldwell Street

Public School• Gananoque

Secondary School • Roxmore

Public School• R. Tait McKenzie

Public School • Smith Falls

and District Collegiate Institute

• South Grenville High School

• Tagwi Secondary School

• Iroquois Public School

• Seaway District High School

• Brockville Collegiate Institute

Visit us online www.thebrockvilleobserver.ca


The ObserverJUST FOR FUN

crossword

SEE PAGE 15 FOR ANSWERS

WorD search

CANCER - June 22/July 22Some members of your family will be in need of you this week, so be there to help them. You know what can make you happy. Jupiter makes you capable of great generosity.

LEO - July 23/August 23You have every reason to believe in your good luck. You might have to settle some matters in a short period of time. Doing so will bring you much satisfaction.

VIRGO - August 24/Sept 22You are asking yourself many questions about your surroundings, and you wonder if you wish to continue living in the same place. You are on the verge of attaining some extraordinary things where your work is concerned.

LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23Mars causes you to have a great sense of authenticity. You want to say things with a lot of respect but also with a great deal of firmness. You must face up to some money problems that have been around for a long time.

SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22You are being honest with yourself about some matters, and this is very demanding. Your loyalty will be put to the test, but don’t be afraid: people trust you.

SAGITTARIUS - Nov 23/Dec 21The Moon brings you a renewed enthusiasm for life. You are heading towards things that will help you to blossom — happiness is within reach. You wish to be very close to the person you love.

CAPRICORN - Dec 22/Jan 20You look for ways to become more independent in your work. Striving for this will be crucial for your self-respect. You are in a phase of your life where many things become important for you.

AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18You are worried about making mistakes and you carefully analyze everything that presents itself to you. You receive some fantastic job offers, but they seem illusory. Neptune causes you to need plenty of rest.

PISCES - Feb 19/Mar 20You have a fresh understanding of your own depths. Saturn causes you to avoid rushing into things. It is important that you make some time for yourself this week.

ARIES - Mar 21/April 20You are starting a new phase in your work. You need to feel appreciated. Venus causes you to be very kind and bring happiness to the people close to you.

TAURUS - April 21/May 21You are deeply sensitive to everything connected with feelings. You will be very intuitive and will be better able to express what you are experiencing.

GEMINI - May 22/June 21You might be required to make enormous progress in your professional life. You need to say “yes” to some challenges. Have complete confidence in yourself; you are fully capable.

- Grilling -

CLUES ACROSS1. Loom6. Flood11. Composed of

two parts15. Circle around16. Seamstress17. Back then18. Actor Stacy ____19. Baseball division20. Motion picture21. Birth-name word22. Nape’s site23. Road for Cato24. ____ up (total)26. Word with weed

or doll28. Tea choice32. Slacken34. Short operatic

piece38. Under40. Floral essence42. Measurement of

resistance43. Delight44. Song45. Golly’s partner46. Mass calendar49. Coral reef51. Chess piece52. Flirt with53. Jet finder55. Pertaining to a

time period58. Mischievous

creature59. Follow in order60. Lettuce variety64. Collapse66. Christmas tree

decoration

67. Disinterest70. Slicker71. Night animal72. Nail75. Scintilla77. Entire79. Dependent80. Ramble82. Room and ____85. Downwind86. Silvery87. Procrastinator’s

motto88. Measure of time89. Small food fish90. Friend’s opposite

CLUES DOWN1. Chinese cook’s

item2. Prior to, in poetry3. Leave4. Evil habit5. Heavenly6. Rational7. Nip8. Identical9. Great deal10. Joule’s kin11. Not ferocious12. Textbook division13. Teenage woe14. Malign look16. High-pitched

sound24. Priest’s garment25. Hart’s mate27. Poker wager29. Poisonous snake

30. Bart Simpson, e.g.

31. Windy33. Lily type35. Cato’s cloak36. Muscle37. Sunday reply39. Earphones40. Love deeply41. “____ We Meet

Again”46. Due47. Actress’s job48. Tip, as a hat50. St. Anthony’s

cross51. Course of action53. Gather crops54. Rectangular pilas-

ter56. Roster57. Congenial61. Put apart62. Recently made63. Pipe joint65. Hook and ____68. Metal joint69. Alps sound70. Trading center72. Rock to and fro73. White74. Sector76. Bivouac shelter78. Lend80. Used to be81. Furnish weapons

to83. Stipe’s group84. Dishwasher cycle



As the Communica-tions Officer at Brockville General Hospital, Maggie Wheeler has a knack for telling stories. Whether she’s writing about a golf tournament for pallia-tive care, a fundraiser for the cardiac care program, or a new piece of new equipment purchased to improve the quality of care at BGH, Wheeler

composes her anecdotes with enthusiasm and pre-cision. Her talent comes as no surprise when one discovers that the former corporate writer and Ot-tawa U graduate is in fact, a popular mystery writer and author of the ac-claimed Farran Macken-zie Lost Villages mystery series.

Here Wheeler reflects

on mother-daughter wisdom, “unkindness”, and the merits of Jessica Fletcher when she an-swers Ten Questions for the Observer.

Do you have a motto? And if you do what is it?

I have several. My fa-vourite is “Life is meant to be enjoyed, not endured.” I find it important to re-mind myself (and others, occasionally) of this fact. Life is so busy and we need to slow down to enjoy the good things and people we have.

What book are you currently reading or what book do you rec-ommend?

I have a stack of books beside my bed that are gifts waiting for me - all great choices and quite varied. The one on the top that I have just start-ed is ‘Mother-Daughter Wisdom: Understanding the Crucial Link between Mothers, Daughters’, and ‘Health’ by Christiane Northrup. My sister gave

it to me. She has a daugh-ter and I have three.

What characteristic do you most admire in others?

Integrity, even when it’s tough (and it usually is).

What characteristic do you most deplore in others?

Unkindness. There is never a reason to be un-kind.

Who do you most admire, living or dead?

My grandmother, Anna Gela Heipel. I lost her years ago and still miss her. She came over in 1929 from Germany, spoke little English, worked hard, raised a family and was the mainstay of our extended family. She is where I get my respect for integrity.

What do you do in your free time?

Free time? I’ve heard of that…Actually, this sum-mer I will have some free time for the first time in years. I will be working on

my gardens, reading that pile of books, and enjoy-ing my back deck.

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

I would be a little more laid back. I’m often too hard on myself, setting the bar too high in what I do. I need to be kinder to myself and give myself more credit for what I do accomplish.

What talent would you most like to have?

The talent to draw and paint. I would love to be able to capture things and people I see. I’m grateful to have the writing skills I do, and to be able to write books, but I wish I could sit and sketch, too.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

On TV, Jessica Fletcher. In books, Miss Marple. And, yes, I hope I turn out to be like both of them in my later years.

What is your most treasured possession?

This was hard to choose. My family is most important to me, but that isn’t really a “posses-sion.” In terms of some-thing I own, I’d have to say a first edition copy of ‘The Secret Garden’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The front is faded from so many read-ings, including the many times my mother read it to my sister and me. I have also read it to my children, and continue to find inspiration in its story of love, hope and rebirth.

There is nothing like walking a mile in some-one else’s shoes to gain some perspective. That is one lesson that the 22 participants of the lo-cal segment of the Food Matters Coalition’s “Do the Math, Eat the Math” campaign learned after spending one eye-open-ing week in November subsisting entirely on the contents of a hamper provided by their local food bank.

The goal of the prov-ince-wide campaign, facilitated locally by the Leeds, Grenville and Lan-ark Health Unit, was to highlight the inadequacy of provincial funding for the food portion of social assistance, while drawing attention to the growing food security problem in Ontario.

When the campaign wrapped, each partici-pant met with project or-ganizer, Carol Chang, for a debriefing to discuss their experiences while providing data for the Unit’s upcoming report on hunger and nutrition within the region.

During these meet-ings, Chang learned that most participants ex-perienced a lower level of energy due to the high sodium/low protein diet, as well as feelings of anx-iety and, in some cases depression, all of which Chang says are charac-teristic of an insecure food supply.

“I think this changed people’s perspective,” said Chang.

“Most of the partici-pants said that if they learned anything, it’s that food security is about more than just putting food in your belly, it’s

about a standard of liv-ing.”

Though several months have now passed since the conclusion of “Do the Math”, the ex-perience, explained the Unit’s chief medical of-ficer and “Do the Math” participant, Dr. Paula Stewart, “stays with you”.

“Wherever I go, I talk about food security,” said Stewart during a recent “Work on the Math” con-ference facilitated by the Food Matters Coalition and the Health Unit.

And Stewart isn’t the only one. In fact, most of the participants have proceeded to lead a number of food-security related initiatives in-spired by the campaign.

Former mayor of Leeds and the Thou-sands Islands, Frank Kin-sella, who participated in the project along with his wife, Marylou, has

joined forces with the Seeley’s Bay food bank and the local Fresh-mart to create a produce voucher for food bank clients, and is currently pursuing a partnership with Loblaws, that would include an PC credit card for food bank volunteers to purchase items for the facilities.

Eighteen year-old, Sarah Wheeler shared her intriguing glimpse into the complex real-ities that surround pov-erty, in a promotional video for the campaign, in hopes that it will en-courage more youth to become involved in ad-vocacy.

Wheeler’s mother, and fellow participant, Janet Eaton, encouraged her fellow Rotarians to bring can-openers to meet-ings to be donated to food banks and included in hampers for clients who do not own one, while Eaton’s husband Ray Wheeler has looked to public officials to en-dorse the project.

“As a community, we have to pressure the government to get in-volved,” said Wheeler.

“We have the ability to make a difference, let’s use it.”

For more information about food security in our communities, visit the foods matters web-site at www.healthunit.org/nutrition/foodmat-ters.

Ten Questions with Maggie Wheeler

Local stakeholders and interested community members share their food security related initia-tives inspired by the “Do the Math, Eat the Math” campaign, during a recent “Work on the Math’ workshop hosted by the Food Matters Coalition and the local Health Unit. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Leeds-Grenville ONDP Candidate Nomination

This Saturday

The Leeds and Gren-ville NDP will host it`s Provincial Candidate Nomination meeting this Saturday (July 9th) at 1:00pm at the OPSEU Hall (333 California Avenue, Unit 15). The meeting will be held in conjunction with the riding association`s 2011 Annual General Meeting to elect it`s new executive branch. Only members in good standings with the party are entitled to

vote or run for election. The AGM begins at 1:00 pm with voting at 1:30 pm, and the elec-tion of the provincial candidate is slated for 3:30 pm. Guest speak-ers include Julie Shaw of Neighbours, Friends and Families, and South Dundas and Glengary provincial candidate Elaine MacDonald. For more informa-tion contact Mary Ann Greenwood at 613-340-7288.

Food For Thought - Do the Math participants draw attention to growing problem

By Erin ChristieObserver Staff Writer

Controversy has been raging in the film com-munity about the future of 3D in feature films. Much talk as been circu-lating about Transform-ers: Dark of the Moon and its success being a bench-mark for whether or not the recent use of 3D tech-nology has been worth the cost. I have read that fourteen movies are being released this summer sea-son in 3D. Most of these movies were filmed in 2D using regular cameras and then converted to 3D in post production. The latest Transformer movie, and I am hoping the final of the series, should put an end to the debate.

The movie starts off well. The year is 1962 and then American president JFK, is told that an alien craft has crashed on the moon. The president in-sists that they must get to the Moon before the Soviets. When Apollo 11 lands in July 1969, it is with the express purpose of checking out the alien craft and bringing back any technology it can carry. This part of the tale is a conspiracy theorists wet dream. The whole opening sequences were brilliantly conceived, blending old film foot-age with new, ala Forrest Gump, leading the story to now. It is only after the title sequence starts, that the movie quickly begins to unravel.

Shia LaBoeuf reprises his role as Transformer friend, Sam Witwicky. Rosie Huntington-White-ley plays Carly, his new girlfriend. Like Megan Fox in the first two films, she is hired for her looks not her acting abilities. And as before, director Michael Bay uses her as eye candy, making a fet-ish of her body; more shiny sports car than woman. She is just an-other piece of beautiful hardware. Her being in the movie added nothing. They could have written her out of the script and it would have read pretty much the same.

Transformer 3 has a great supporting cast who really look like they were enjoying themselves. John Turturro plays Sim-mons. He is a former gov-ernment agent and auth-or of an alien conspiracy book. Another highlight was Francis McDormand as Mearing. She is hil-arious in her role as the woman in charge of a se-cret government program that uses Autobots for warfare.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon has its amusing moments, but is gener-ally devoid of any real hu-manity. The movie is like a roller-coaster ride gone

wrong. It is big, brash, loud and relentless. The 3D, rather than being

used as another color is just used to hit us over the head. It adds nothing to what must have been an incredibly expensive movie to make. When a movie is full of charac-ters that we cannot care about, and features an

absurd plot that is hardly worth talking about, how can 3D help? The action sequences, and that really is most of the last 2/3 of the film are non-stop. The movie bombards its audi-ence with fast moving im-ages and explosive sound, making it difficult to focus on anything. The experi-ence was not exhilarating, it was exhausting.

Who is this movie

made for exactly? Surely the original intent was to sell this to the kids who actually play with the Hasbro Transformer ac-tion figures. This movie is so extremely violent and the action sequences so intense, that I would never recommend par-ents take their children to it. Michael Bay has made a soulless dog of a film that would give its intend-

ed audience nightmares. If movie companies are going to spend hundred of millions of dollars on movies, they really should take time to figure out who they are making them for, and why. 3D technology may help make a movie fun to experience, but it cannot turn trash into art. This summer, don’t see Transformers: Dark of the Moon.


The ObserverFILMTransformers: Dark of the Moon a rollercoaster ride gone wrong

VIEW FROM THE OUTSIDE

by Tom Allnutt

Transformers: Dark of the Moon directed by Michael Bay stars Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Hunting-ton-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand, and John Malkovich.


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