The Converged Citizen - October 22, 2014.

VOLUME X ISSUE 4 WWW.THEMEDIAPLEX.COM OCTOBER 23, 2014

CONVERGED CITIZENTH

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SEE COOP PAGE 10

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NEWS

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VOTE

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Local advocates fight

for urban chickens

Photo by Angelica Haggert

A Windsor chicken owner feeds her backyard chickens Saturday Oct. 18.

Eugenio Mendoza

Citizen Staff Reporter

Some Windsor residents say

urban chicken coops should be

allowed on private property.

Experts say having chickens

would be a safe and healthy

alternative to store-bought

products and cite an overabun-

dance of Genetically Modified

Organisms in store foods as a

good reason for Windsorites to

want more locally grown food.

Susan Rideout says she only

buys eggs from a friend with a

chicken coop. Although she

would not consider having a

coop of her own, she says

allowing them to be built in

the city would benefit the

community.

“I think we just have to adapt

to times, I mean that’s why we

have councillors and people

on city council to try and help

us make the right decision for

our environment and our

neighbourhoods.” said

Rideout.

One of the leading advocates

for urban chicken coops, Steve

Green, said he has gone before

city council many times. in an

attempt to have hens legalized.

Last year the mayor broke a

tie vote that resulted in the

denial of Green’s request.

Green, who owns the

Downtown Windsor Farmer’s

Market, said he thinks he was

rejected because of miscon-

ceptions about owning hens.

“I think keeping urban hens

is a very sustainable way to

produce some of your own

Cyclist

struck in

WindsorTaylor Busch

CP Editor

A 19-year-old cyclist was

rushed to hospital following an

accident that occurred near

Holy Names High School

around 7:30 p.m. last Thursday.

Witnesses who were present

at the scene said the driver of

the black minivan likely could

not see the male as he crossed

the intersection of Dominion

Boulevard and Northwood

Street due to poor lighting.

Residents said this is not the

first time a pedestrian has been

struck at this intersection,

which is a concern considering

the number of students who use

it each day.

Rema Elgarousha, 14, was the

first person to reach the scene.

Moments before the crash hap-

pened she watched her friend

climb into another black mini-

van that took off in the direction

Increase in crime has downtown employees talkingAnthony Sheardown


While some employees in

downtown Windsor are con-

cerned about their personal

safety and the safety of their

business, others are not.

Recently there has been a

shooting at the Boom Boom

Room, a club on Ouellette

Avenue, where an employee

was shot in the back.

Pizza Pizza is located

across the street from the

Boom Boom Room. They

are open late on Friday and

Saturday nights and have

customers coming in from

the bars and clubs. On Oct 4,

when the shooting took

place outside of the Boom

Boom Room, Pizza Pizza

was open, but had to close

and evacuate all their cus-

tomers at the request of

Windsor Police.

“I actually don’t feel afraid

at all because crime is every-

where,” said Humira Malik,

an employee of Pizza Pizza.

“Crime is everywhere, not

just in downtown. It just

happens more often down

here because people are

intoxicated. They don’t think

before they do something.”

Malik says she does not

fear for the safety of Pizza

Pizza employees and cus-

tomers.

“No one is stupid enough

to hit a business, especially

with our kind of name, it is a

big company,” said Malik.Photo by Anthony Sheardown

Boom Boom Room located on Ouellette Ave. is seen in thisphoto taken Oct 17.

food,” said Green. “It’s a great

way to teach children where

their food comes from.”

In recent years urban chick-

en coops have become a major

topic of discussion among

SEE CRIME PAGE 10

SEE CYCLIST PAGE 10

NEWS

2CONVERGED CITIZENNEWS OCTOBER 23, 2014

Bookfest Windsorreturns for 13th year

Bookfest Windsor will

begin its thirteenth year with

a four-day event starting

Friday, Oct. 23.

Sarah Jarvis, co-chair for

Bookfest Windsor, said it is a

great event for people to

attend because it allows resi-

dents to talk to their favourite

authors in a comfortable set-

ting.

“It’s so much fun and people

love the fact that they have

easy access to the authors,”

said Jarvis. “At some other

events, they can be very for-

mal, but at this one, it’s very

relaxed. People discover new

writers and they hang out

with their friends. They can

have a glass of wine or beer

at the Capitol Theatre so it’s

just a really relaxed fun day.

The event is scheduled to

take place at the Capitol

Theatre. Thursday and Friday

will be free, but tickets for

Saturday can be bought at the

door or online at www.book-

festwindsor.com/t ickets .

Attendees can expect to pay

$20 on Saturday and $40 on

Sunday. Discounts for stu-

dents will be available.

For more information

about the event, you can visit

the Bookfest Windsor web-

site at www.bookfestwind-

sor.com/

Shelbey Hernandez

Entertainment Editor

Downtown farmers market seesa successful season

This year has brought

much success for the many

vendors at the Downtown

Windsor Farmers’ Market.

Vendors arrived at the

Charles Clark Square on a

damp Saturday morning in

October to the sight of many

customers with smiles on their

faces. The vendors too, were

happy to share this year’s suc-

cess.

“We did extremely well,”

said Leslie Balsillie of the

Fruit Wagon. “It’s our first

year here and we’re very

happy. It’s been great right

from the beginning right ‘till

the end so it hasn’t slowed

down at all. We found that

we’ve really picked up cus-

tomers as we went along and

by the end most of the cus-

tomers we had were repeat

customers so we were very

happy with that.”

Throughout the season there

were also some appearances

by food celebrities.

“Bob Blumer, host of the

Food Network's The Surreal

Gourmet, loves our jam,” said

Balsillie. He came to our

booth and he had some of our

jam for breakfast and he really

enjoyed it.”

Vendors say the market

strives to connect Windsorites

with food providers of sur-

rounding areas by promoting

local, fresh and in-season food

accessibility.

“The Windsor market’s been

very good this year,” said

Grace LaSorda of Zone 6

Gardeners. “The market com-

mittee’s worked really hard

and we’ve got a lot of new

people coming.”

Profits are important for the

vendors and they were happy

to discuss them.

“We have quite a bit of

expense because all of our

stuff is hand-harvested and

packed so we are priced at a

level where we can be prof-

itable,” said LaSorda. “We

appreciate all the work the

market committee does for it

and the market dollar pro-

gram’s been very successful.”

Some business owners were

newcomers to the market in

2014 and were pleased to

have been part of this year’s

market.

“We did fantastic,” said

Greg Martin of La Sila

Bakery & Pizzeria. “This

is our first year with it and

it’s been phenomenal so

we’re going to come back

every year. Some days we

do better here than we do

at our store front which is

great.”

The Downtown Windsor

Farmer’s Market complet-

ed its third season and was

held every Saturday from

May 31 to Oct. 11 at

Charles Clark Square from

8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Josh Teixera


Marijuana advocates gather in local park

Kenny Bullock


The fight for marijuana

legalization marches

through Windsor.

The second annual

Marijuana March was held at

David Croll Park Sept. 27.

Attendees were permitted to

smoke in the area without fear

of being arrested for posses-

sion. Before the march, sever-

al people came to speak and

entertain.

One of the entertainers,

comedian Jon Peladeau, is an

advocate for weed. In his

comedy act, which also was a

speech, he asked everyone in

the park to gather around near

the Windsor Cenotaph.

During the act, he empha-

sized that many people had

come for a protest and yet no

one was being violent, storm-

ing city hall or disrespecting

authority. The only police

involvement during the event

was cruisers following

marchers as they went around

downtown Windsor.

The organizer of the march

said he disagrees with mari-

juana prohibition.

“It’s an individual choice

and I feel the decision to

smoke marijuana, or not,

should be in the hands of the

people, not the government,”

said Alex Newman.

Newman headed the march

waving a pot leaf flag. He

screamed into a megaphone

“if you want it legalized,

make some noise!” Some of

those walking down

Wyandotte, Victoria and

Riverside were chanting their

desire for legalization.

Different signs were carried

by participants. Most were

related to the cause, but a few

endorsed the election of

upcoming prime ministerial

candidate, Justin Trudeau.

“People should really open

up their eyes and maybe

even their hearts to the

idea of people smoking

marijuana recreationally,”

said Peladeau.

Peladeau said during his

speech there are many people

in Windsor he sees smoking

for peaceful and medicinal

reasons. Acknowledging the

illegal activities which occur

because of it, he still said

many people would benefit

from legalization.

Marijuana March organizer, Alex Newman waves a pot flag ashe leads the march down Goyeau street in Windsor, Ont. onSept. 27.

Photo by Ryan Brough

Hadfield touchesdown in Windsor

Canadian retired astronaut

Chris Hadfield came to

Windsor last weekend.

The astronaut who touched

many hearts with his breath-

taking photos posted online

from the International Space

Station is promoting both his

new book You Are Here and

his guest appearance with the

Windsor Symphony

Orchestra.

Hadfield had previously

been on the International

Space Station for six months

in 2012. He was the first

Canadian to command the ISS

and the first Canadian to walk

in space. Back on planet

Earth, he was at the Windsor

Star’s Green Bean Café to

meet and greet fans.

“My first understanding

of aviation was when I was

four years old and my fam-

ily took me to the Windsor

Air Show. That was when I

knew I wanted to become

who I am today,” said

Hadfield.

On board the ISS via

livestream he sang “Is

Somebody Singing” along

with 700,000 Canadian

elementary students.

“I’ve played music my

whole life and I believe

that music is a wonderful

intuitive language,” said

Hadfield.

His next stop on the tour

will be Calgary on Oct. 26

at Indigo Signal Hill.

Chris Hadfield plays his guitar at Windsor Star’s Green BeanCafé. He recently played with the Windsor Symphony Orchestraat Capitol Theatre.

Photo by Erik Zarins

Erik Zarins


CVote 2014Vote 2014 CONVERGED CITIZENONVERGED CITIZENOCTOBER 23, 2014 33

An election period provides journalism students with valuablereporting and writing opportunities. From event coverage to

issue discussion to candidate profiles, the students have seizedthis opportunity to produce this special Vote 2014 issue.

However, it should be noted that the sheer number of candi-dates in Windsor-Essex and multiple events taking place

simultaneously, plus candidates' schedules themselves made itlikely that some would not receive coverage from our muchsmaller reporting team. These decisions were made at ran-dom; no bias in favour of, or opposition to, any candidate

should be interpreted, nor was it intended.

Social media debate proves a success


From left is Steve Gavrilldis, Robin Easterbrook, Mike Tessier, Drew Dilkens, Jaysen A, Sylvestre,John Millson at the mayoral debate at the Foundry Pub Wednesday Oct. 8.

Shelbey Hernandez

Associate Managing Editor

A social media inspired

debate called Vote Now, Vote

Then, attracted over 250

attendees.

The debate was held at The

Foundry Pub Oct. 15 and

began at 7 p.m. The debate

consisted of 10 of the 12

mayoral candidates and was

broken up into three rounds

of questions. The first round

consisted of questions that

were created during the Your

City, Your Ideas summer

event hosted by YKNOT

Windsor-Essex. The second

round consisted of questions

that were submitted through

social media prior to, and

during, the debate.

According to Jon Liedtke,

the moderator for the debate,

there were over 75 questions

submitted through social

media. The last round was a

lightning round where candi-

dates were given white

boards and asked to answer

the questions with either yes,

no or maybe.

Liedtke said there were

many ways this debate was

more interactive and interest-

ing for youth compared to

other debates. The lightning

round, he said, made it so the

audience could understand

clearly what each candidate

plans to do if elected mayor.

“typically at debates, you

don’t get to see definitive

answers like that with hard

facts,” said Liedtke. “It’s a

lot of platitudes and conver-

sation so I think a lot of the

demographic that was there,

younger people…they were

able to figure out what these

candidates actually wanted

or what they are actually

going to do.”

The debate also included

mock voting. There were

three times when the audi-

ence would vote for their

preferred mayoral candidate,

once before the debate

began, once after the first

round and once at the end of

the event.

The first and second set of

votes was first past the post,

but the third set was ranked

voting. Based on 98 votes in

the first round, John Millson

won, with Drew Dilkens in

second and Larry Horwitz in

third. The second set of votes

had the same results as the

first, but for the last vote,

Dilkens won with Millson

close behind.

Liedtke said because of the

different results, it is a per-

fect time to start talking

about using ranked voting

instead of the current first

past the post method, which

he said isn’t the best method

of voting.

Missy Sauro, a representa-

tive for Pathway to Potential

and Windsor Essex Youth

Advising City Councillors,

partnered with Liedtke to

plan and organize the debate.

She said one of the great

things about the debate was

having it entirely run by

those who understand what

entices younger generations

to vote. She said the location

was especially important to

the debate.

“The reason why we’re

having the debate at the

Foundry is because we’re

bringing public debate back

to the pub. That’s where tra-

ditional political debates

began,” said

Sauro.“Traditional campaign

strategies, polling, going

door-to-door, canvassing,

that doesn’t work for us.

“The idea was to allow

these candidates to engage

with a demographic that

they’re really not seeing,”

said Liedtke.“It’s one thing

to have a Twitter account as a

candidate and to put up a

post every now and then, but

it’s another to be in front of

that demographic where they

feel comfortable having a

few drinks, letting your hair

down, so to speak.”

Although the debate was

seen as a success, one

attendee said she didn’t think

the candidates had enough

time to talk and as a result,

she felt many questions were

hardly answered.

Keren Escobar, a

University of Windsor social

work student, said that

before the debate began, she

wanted to vote for either

Millson or Horwitz. But after

the debate, she said she

wanted to vote for either

Dilkens or Raymond Poisson

because she felt Horwitz and

Millson weren’t giving suffi-

cient answers to the ques-

tions.

“It was either that they

(Millson and Horwitz)

referred back to their life

experiences and employment

experiences, but weren’t pro-

viding me with information

as to what their plan would

be for our city,” said Escobar.

“A lot of the times, they just

weren’t answering the ques-

tions and that was frustrat-

ing.”

One of Escobar’s main con-

cerns going into the debate

was poverty reduction in

Windsor which she said only

Poisson touched on.

Liedtke said he can only

hope this debate will spark

younger generations to take

an interest in the voting

process. He said if youth

want to make a change, all

they need to do now is go to

the polls and cast a vote.

Editor’s Note


Denise Ghanam aims for councilMadison Duggan


Harley Davidson motorcy-

cle rider, singer, wife, leader,

these are just a few of the

titles this candidate boasts.

Denise Claire Ghanam was

born in Dartmouth, Nova

Scotia and moved to Windsor

with her husband in her early

twenties. She is the youngest

of six. You can find her at her

local choir, on the back of her

husband’s motorcycle, or

what she’s passionate about

most, running for Councillor

of Ward 1 in Windsor.

“As a kid, some people

dream of being an astronaut

but me, I dreamt of being

Prime Minister,” said

Ghanam.

Ghanam enjoys being

involved in her community,

but more than that, she

believes she knows what the

people want. She credits her

family dinners as a kid for

her ability to listen to what

people want.

“I say that my consensus-

building skills came from the

family dinner table because

dad would announce the

topic of the day and you had

to go around the table and

everybody would give their

opinion,” Ghanam recalls.

“Of course being the

youngest, I always had to go

last, so in order to come up

with something original to

say I got very good at listen-

ing carefully to everyone else

and taking a little bit of this

and a little bit of that and put-

ting it together to come up

with sort of a compromised

position.”

Ghanam claims to bring

vision, drive and ambition to

Ward 1. One of her passions

is meeting new people. She

goes door to door in the ward

to ask the people what they

want and get a firsthand look

at people’s needs.

“I think a common miscon-

ception is that when you’re

knocking on their door

you’re convincing them to

vote for you, and you’re not.

You’re there to do two

things: to see if they’ve

already made their decision –

if it’s not for you, that’s great

and thanks for your time –

and if it is for you that’s won-

derful, now I want to make

sure I get you to the polls.

Most people, even at this

point are still undecided,” she

said.

Ghanam said that coming

up with the funds to run is

one of her greater challenges

but it is possible. “The good

news is there’s people who

have faith in me and see that

I have some skills to bring to

the table so they are willing

to help me by supporting me

financially.”

“Denise is such a positive

person and I would love to

see a woman be councillor of

Ward 1,” said Marlene

Dugal, local resident.

Aside from politics,

Ghanam runs her own busi-

ness, visits her three children

who live in Ottawa, New

Zealand and Halifax volun-

teers for multiple boards and

societies and plays basket-

ball.

“I wish I was just a few

inches taller. Then I would be

able to sink baskets,” said

Ghanam.

She fears most not living up

to her potential. “When

you’ve been given a lot of

gifts, there’s a certain view

on you that you should use

them for the greater good. If

you are someone that has

vision and energy you should

use them to make the world a

better place.”

Dilkens wants to

keep moving forward

“Continue to move the city

forward or go back to the

1980s when Mr. Millson was

mayor?”

Drew Dilkens was born in

Windsor in 1972. In Grade 9 at

Massey High School, he ran

for class president and never

looked back. Dilkens was also

a member of the swim team

through high school, which is

where his passion for the

Windsor International Aquatic

and Training Centre was born.

Dilkens eventually became the

Chair of the Committee that

oversaw development and

construction of the swimming

and diving complex.

When Dilkens was younger,

he remembers helping his

uncle, Marty Goldberg, who

later became the councillor of

Ward 1, the same ward

Dilkens currently serves.

“I remember helping him in

the 1980s. Handing out

brochures and going door to

door you kind of catch a bug. I

caught the bug when I was

young and here I am,” says

Dilkens. He has been the Ward

1 city councillor for the last

eight years and is now running

for mayor.

Dilkens has a long list of

community involvement, hav-

ing been a part of more than

15 different groups and organ-

izations, including the

Windsor Police Auxiliary,

where he was a staff sergeant.

One of the common con-

cerns being brought up during

this election is regional transit.

There is no bus that can get

residents from Lasalle to

Essex. With places in the

county like Colasanti’s

Tropical Gardens and Point

Pelee National Park, there are

many places people can’t

reach by using public transit.

Dilkens insists he is all for

regional transit.

“I’m a regional thinker, in

2008 I stood up at city council

and said let’s have a discus-

sion related to regional gov-

ernment,” said Dilkens. Since

then, there have been no plans

moved forward for regional

transit. In fact, since then, the

Town of Tecumseh has devel-

oped their own transit system.

Only about 42 per cent of

voters cast a ballot in the last

mayoral election. Dilkens

talked about being discour-

aged when going door-to-

door.

“It can be tiring as a candi-

date when you’re knocking on

doors and you spend hours vis-

iting people knowing that in at

least one in two homes people

aren’t going to vote anyway,”

said Dilkens.

As the election is less than a

month away, some factors indi-

cate the race between Millson

and Dilkens is neck and neck.

But no matter how close they

are in the rankings, Dilkens’

confidence remains strong.

“This election is a clear

choice. We’ve come too far as

a city to go backwards at this

point.”

Ryan Brough

Photo Editor

Mayoral candidate Drew Dilkens is seen standing in front of hiscampaign headquarters on Howard Avenue.


McKenzie applies personal touchSean Frame

Managing Editor

“Knocking on 7,000 doors

seems like a lot of work but at

the end of the day it is an

amazing experience.”

Kieran Mckenzie is running

in Windsor’s upcoming munic-

ipal election for Ward 9 coun-

cilor. He has dedicated most, if

not all, of his spare time to

campaigning. Mckenzie’s goal

is to meet at least 95 per cent

of the people living in his ward

before October 27. With 45

minutes of daylight left on a

day in October, he treks on to

reach his goal. With each

neighbuorhood he visits and

each new person he meets, he

feels a sense of accomplish-

ment and fills in the Ward 9

map with a blue highlighter.

Mckenzie says he gets most

of his excitement while cam-

paigning from talking politics,

and the odd time when some-

one’s cat runs out the door. But

when the day is finished and

the political chatter and cat

wrangling comes to a halt,

Mckenzie heads to his

favourite place in Ward 9: his

home.

Mckenzie and his wife

Jessie have a 20 month-old

little girl named Liv. At this

point in his life, Mckenzie

says his daughter is the main

reason he gets up in the morn-

ing and works as hard as he

can.

“My wife… I love her very

much and while I am cam-

paigning I miss my family

very much I am away from

home more than I have been

in the past,” said Mckenzie. “I

look forward to coming home

every single day. As much as

it has been a great experience,

coming home after a long day

of campaigning and seeing

my family is what encourages

me to be a better person than I

am and be involved in the

community. This is part of the

example I want to leave

behind for my daughter.”

As a child Mckenzie was

encourage to be involved in

the community. He grew up

on Windsor’s east side play-

ing baseball, and was a mem-

ber of the Windsor Y

Dolphins Competitive Swim

team. Kieran’s father

Lawrence and his mother

Lorraine were involved in

various organization looking

to improve Windsor’s com-

munity. Over the years

Lawrence Mckenzie ran in the

municipal election in

Montreal and in the last

provincial election for an

NDP nomination in North

London Centre. Mckenzie’s

sister is currently running for

school board trustee in

Toronto, so one might say he

has politics in his blood.

When he was very young he

had dreams of being an astro-

naut and never would’ve

thought he would be in poli-

tics. Mckenzie went to the

University of Windsor and

completed his honours in

political science. He also

obtained his firefighter level

one and two certification, but

in the end he decided

SEE PAGE 5


Candidate believes

in determination

and commitmentBobby-Jo Keats


Maria Fernandes appears to

know a thing or two about

what it takes to be successful.

Running her immigration and

family law practice for over

14 years, the humble, soft-

spoken wife and mother of

three is a candidate running

for Windsor’s Ward 10. With

degrees in nursing, education

and law, Fernandes believes

determination and commit-

ment are the keys to success.

Fernandes was born in

Northern Portugal, but when

she was two, her family set-

tled down in Amherstburg.

Working from the age of 12,

she developed a strong work

ethic. After high school she

was a nursing assistant at

Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital

until graduating as a regis-

tered nurse and working at a

Detroit hospital. She studied

at the University of Windsor

for 11 years and earned her

masters at Wayne State

University. In her mid-20s,

she moved to Windsor where

she has lived ever since.

“I loved being a student. I

enjoyed being on campus.

The beginning of fall espe-

cially, when the trees start

changing colour. I think

‘gosh I should be going back

to campus.’ It’s still in the

back of my mind because I

was there for so long. It was

a great school and a great

experience.”

Shortly thereafter, she ‘fell

into’ studying law. Her

friends told her since she

‘liked to argue’ she should

become a lawyer. A week

later, she passed the law

school entrance exam at

Wayne State University,

receiving scholarships and

being accepted to numerous

universities, before attending

law school in Windsor where

she has now been practicing

law for 15 years.

The immigration side of her

practice varies, from refugee

matters to bringing in busi-

nesses.

Fernandes believes immi-

gration law is a nice counter-

balance to the family law side

of her practice.

“It is draining at times

because even when you have

a win, you don’t have a win.”

At the end of the day you

have a family that has been

torn apart. When it comes to

immigration, when you have

a win, you really have a win.”

Despite her career,

Fernandes says the best job in

the world is being a mother.

She and her husband strive

to set a good example for

their children, David, 13,

Emily, 7, and Matthew, 6.

Her father taught her about

hard work and resourceful-

ness and her mother always

encouraged her education,

encouraging her to be pre-

pared for anything.

While attending the U of W,

Fernandes participated in

debates, discussed the needs

of students and eventually

started a family and practice,

always knowing she would

return to the world of politics

and says now feels like ‘the

right time.’

“It doesn’t matter if you

decide to be a journalist or

you decide to be a lawyer or

you decide to be a judge or

you decide to be a candidate

running in a ward, you have

to be dedicated and commit-

ted to what you’re doing to

be successful at it.”

Building a strong communityRyan Turczyniak

Sports Editor

Daniel William Speal, 48 is

running for Windsor’s Ward 7

council in his first campaign

and was the first in line to file

his candidacy papers in 2014.

He is married with two chil-

dren and has been running his

own company for 25 years

which he believes will be an

asset if he’s selected. Speal

lived in Kingsville before

moving to Windsor and has

lived in Ward 7 for 41 years.

Speal went to local schools

Parkview Public School, St.

Anne’s Catholic School and

St. Clair College. Speal decid-

ed to run for his ward this

election.

His Windsor Power & Light

company was first contracted

in 1994 and started out small

as a proprietorship. As a busi-

nessman, Speal says he wants

to change what he sees in busi-

nesses around his ward.

“I see a lack of pride and will

to create opportunity in our

city,” he says. “Windsor is

unique. Only our own original

ideas will bring investment

and jobs that stay.” Speal

searches for a way to make

that happen.

“We need to attract and

retain citizens in this neigh-

bourhood,” said Speal. “We

need viable businesses to serv-

ice citizens and additional res-

idents to share costs and con-

trol our taxes.”

Speal looks to help particu-

lar types or residents. “Some

very basic services are lacking

to assist the growing number

of seniors. Some will come as

the neighbourhoods grow and

there are enough people to

support retail,” said Speal.

Speal repeatedly mentions

helping improve life for the

seniors in the ward. Caring for

those in his ward no matter the

age, gender or physicality type

is something he wants to

speak about.

“I suggest we need a walk-in

clinic as seniors are suffering

long commutes for care,” said

Speal.

“Everything I suggest

requires people, especially

young families to ensure our

neighbourhoods have a

future.” Speal believes he can

make Windsor a peaceful,

strong community to live in

for families with new genera-

tions to come.

Ward 7 resident Jordan

Quaqish said stores in the area

would like to see an improve-

ment.

“It’d affect the whole com-

munity for sure, it would bring

in a lot of money for the

ward,” said Quaqish.

Quaqish has lived in Ward 7

for nine years and has not seen

a lot of changes.

“A lot of progress can be

made. Everything is the same,

no improvements on any-

thing,” said Quaqish. “I’d like

to see some modern day tech-

nology reach our area for

sure.”

Residents and politicians have a

few more weeks until the munici-

pal election comes up, giving time

for those living in the ward to think

about who they want to run their

ward and how they can change it

for the better.

Photo by Ryan TurczyniakA campaign sign on a Ward 7 lawn promotes Dan Speal, inWindsor.

to follow in his fathers foot-

steps and is trying to better

Windsor’s community. He

now works as a legislative

assistant at the office of Brian

Masse M.P. He explained the

experience he has gained over

the last 10 years of working

there has given him the ability

to serve better for the commu-

nity.

“Give yourself every oppor-

tunity not to have any

regrets,” he said with pride in

his voice. “There is nothing

worse than looking back and

saying ‘Oh jeez I wish I

would have done this and if I

would have said this, things

would have been different.'”

If you go to Kieran’s social

media pages they are full of

support and wishes for good

luck.

Paul Synnott writes

“Congratulations Kieran

McKenzie, a strong start to

the campaign trail, only 6000

more houses to go now!”

Donn Merrifield wrote

“Best of luck my friend.

Seriously don’t raise my

taxes. I know where to find

you.”

Mckenzie said campaigning

and jogging are a lot a like,

and that mental games are

involved in both practices. He

said, there are mental demons

that tell you “you have done

enough and you can stop

now”, this is demotivating for

Mckenzie but doesn’t let it get

to his head.

Broadcasting is another one

of Kieran’s hobbies. He is a

producer and co-host on

CJAM’s award winning radio

program Rose City Politics

and helps with the television

broadcast

of Lancer’s football. He said

the opportunity to work in

sports broadcasting was a

dream come true. It is true

Kieran has his toes dipped in

many different pools so the

question remains, what does

he want to be remembered

for?

“I would like to be remem-

bered as someone who was

passionate about his commu-

nity and who loved his family

and was a good man.”

FROM PAGE 4

Kieran McKenzie


Shelbey Hernandez


“Throw plenty of dirt and

some of it will be sure to

stick.”

It’s been more than two cen-

turies since the Barber of

Seville promoted dirty cam-

paigning and 100 years since it

morphed into mudslinging.

But when candidates spend

their time belittling their oppo-

nents, it begs the question:

when they do throw dirt, does

it really stick? Or are candi-

dates better served when they

wash their hands of mudsling-

ing altogether?

The mudslinging in Windsor

began near the end of August,

when The Windsor Star report-

ed Ward 7 candidate Angelo

Marignaniwas making allega-

tions about IrekKusmierczyk’s

rental home. Later on, The

Windsor Star reported that

Larry Horwitz accused current

council of leaving Windsor in

a deficit. There were further

reports regarding John

Millson’s call for transparency

which led Drew Dilkens to

publicize a private email cor-

respondence between Millson

and current mayor Eddie

Francis. The Windsor Star also

reported Millson saying

Dilkens had no actual infra-

structure spending plan and

that Dilkens never bothered to

return phone calls from people

who said their houses were

flooded.

According to TelevisionAdvertising in CanadianElections: The Attack Mode,1993, over 50 per cent of the

1993 Canadian federal televi-

sion campaign advertisements

were negative. Authors of the

book suggest mudslinging

may steer people away from

certain candidates since peo-

ple find negative comments

easier to remember and more

interesting than positive ones.

Other sources suggest nega-

tive campaigning is ineffec-

tive, causing people to veer

away from those who engage

in dirty tactics.

University of Windsor polit-

ical science student

Mohammad Akbar said mud-

slinging campaigns may be

effective, but only temporarily.

“When people start slinging

the mud and complaining

about other candidates…

that’s why people start disen-

gaging,” said Akbar. “They

don’t want to hear all the gos-

sip and the drama. They want

to see a vision and they want

to see positivity, to an extent.”

Akbar also said mudslinging

hurts democracy as a whole.

He said by engaging in mud-

slinging, candidates are ruin-

ing the relationships they have

with each other and the rela-

tionships they have with the

public. He said there are better

ways to reach out. If candi-

dates are worried about getting

votes, they should work harder

to reach out to the public and

to present the issues rather

than engage in verbal attacks

against their competition.

Howard Pawley, a retired

University of Windsor politi-

cal science professor and for-

mer Manitoba premier, says

there are no positives to mud-

slinging. He says those who

engage in mudslinging just

make themselves look bad and

prove that they have no actual

vision. Pawley says he hasn’t

noticed much mudslinging in

Windsor. For him, mudsling-

ing is making negative com-

ments about a candidate that

have nothing to do with their

ability to run a city. So when

Horwitz claimed Windsor is in

a deficit, Pawley said this was

not mudslinging. However,

Pawley has noticed other peo-

ple are losing interest in voting

because they see certain com-

ments as attacks.

Pawley has noticed the can-

didates are not talking about

the issues as much as they

should.

“I think that in the Windsor

elections, there has been insuf-

ficient discussion of the criti-

cal and important” said

Pawley.“I feel that that is not

taking place as it should (and)

I think it’s important that peo-

ple have choices.”

It would appear that slinging

mud in the short-term does

stick. However, in the long-

term, candidates may want to

consider this: when slinging

mud, don’t be surprised if the

wind picks it up and slings it

right back.

Caleb Workman


With the upcoming mayoral

elections, many students say

they are excluded at the

municipal levels and the final

outcome doesn’t affect them.

Saverio Posa, 22, is a liberal

studies student at the

University of Windsor.

“I let the people who have a

desire for that have their

involvement and I just pay my

taxes. I feel like once I get a

little bit older and start worry-

ing about my finances a little

more then I’ll start worrying

about it a little more.”

Posa is from the U.S. and

said it is interesting in

Windsor because although

there are many students who

shy away from voting, it does-

n’t necessarily make them

voiceless.

“If you look at the city from

a point of employment, job

opportunities are very scarce,”

Posa said.

He said if there was a politi-

cian who offered more job

opportunities he would defi-

nitely follow the mayoral run-

ning more closely.

Another student who is in

the accelerated paralegal pro-

gram also said she will not be

voting.

“I would be more likely to

vote if the politicians provided

more information with what

Mudslinging:effective orinefective?

Some students don’t think municipal elections concern them

they were going to do with the

city,” said Rebecca Sarkis, 21.

Sarkis said social media

needs to have more informa-

tion on campaigns and issues

before voting because it is

much easier than going out

and getting a paper to find the

information.

Sarkis said one thing she

wants to see from the mayor’s

office and council is that they

improve driving conditions in

the area, especially for people

coming from the county.

Students said they will be

more likely to get involved

with the elections if more

effort is put into informing

them of issues that concern

them.


Windsor students struggle with the power to voteAshley Ann Mentley


Many University of Windsor

students have strong concerns

about the city, but mixed feel-

ings about voting in the

upcoming election.

Megan Sinclair, 20, and

Lisan DeNijs, 19, are both

third-year concurrent educa-

tion students who moved to

Windsor to attend the univer-

sity. They have slightly differ-

ent views on it, but both

acknowledge the importance

of being involved with voting.

DeNijs moved from

Muirkirk, Ont. to earn her

teaching certificate and said

she plans to vote on Oct. 27

and wants other students to do

the same.

“It’s our future,” she said.

“If we want these issues dealt

with we need to pick someone

who will take care of them.”

DeNijs is concerned about

the amount of construction,

job opportunities and the

accessibility of the city for

students. She already does not

see a future for herself in

Windsor.

“I wouldn’t want to get a job

here,” she said. “I want to get

a job in a city where I can have

a family and I don’t feel like

Windsor is the place for that.

It’s all construction or factory

jobs.”

Sinclair, who is originally

from Mississauga, Ont., said

student safety and unemploy-

ment are her primary con-

cerns.

“There have recently been

three instances around of sex

offenders,” Sinclair said.

“That’s kind of unnerving.”

Despite Sinclair’s concerns

about safety, she said that

overall she enjoys the city.

Like her classmate, though,

she is not optimistic about

finding a job in Windsor when

she graduates in 2016. A

report published by the

Canadian Centre for Policy

Alternatives that analyzed

Statistics Canada employment

data identified Windsor as a

“hotspot” where the unem-

ployment levels are over 20

per cent.

Sinclair said she does not

plan to vote in the upcoming

municipal election because

she has too much school work

to focus on.

Keeping young people in

Windsor and the lack of jobs

across the city are points of

concern for many of the resi-

dents. With more than 20,000

post-secondary students in the

city both Sinclair and DeNijs

recognize the importance of

voting.

“If students don’t vote,

there’s a whole slew of people

whose opinions don’t count,”

Sinclair said. “It’s weird,

because it does affect us.

Maybe if the city had more

influence on issues at the uni-

versity, then I would vote.”

“It’s our right and not

enough young people make

use of it,” said DeNijs. She

said she hopes to help elect

a mayor who will make

Windsor a better place for

students and recent gradu-

ates.

Millson’s platform,implement change

Dan Gray

Managing Editor

A people person with a plan

and a promise. A father, entre-

preneur and former city coun-

cillor. More experiences,

more time and more ideas to

dedicate to a city he once led.

From under a bushy white

mustache a beaming smile

meets anyone that John

Millson encounters. That

smile and his happy-go-lucky

attitude backs up his claims

of who he is when you strip

back all the politics; someone

who wants to help people.

Green and white placards

form a makeshift wall in a

headquarters that is otherwise

sparse. Volunteers man a

front desk, a bunch of tables

put together. Maps hang off

the walls showing every sec-

tion of the city.

Since Grade 9, John Millson

has shown signs of being a

forward thinking business

person. At the time, he

opened up a shop inside the

cafeteria at J. L. Forster sec-

ondary school to sell school

supplies and gym wear. He’s

moved forward from that

point, serving Windsor as a

councillor and then mayor.

He said he left politics years

ago for family reasons. Now

his kids are grown up and

spread all across the world

from Dubai, UAE to his

youngest who still works

right here in Windsor.

“It’s an opportunity for me

once again to come back, I

just didn’t like what I saw as

far as the candidates that had

their name going forward,”

said Millson. “No one I felt

had the experience to do the

job and I know I do.”

Millson believes his current

resume, which highlights his

experience as President of

Windsor Raceway and owner

of his own business shows

reasons he is fit to lead. One

of his businesses was respon-

sible for bringing contracts

from the oil sands back to

Windsor for local companies

to fill. Our tool and die indus-

try is a highly-skilled rela-

tively untapped resource this

city should be exploiting.

Expand those companies past

working for the automotive

industry and get a younger

workforce involved.

Including St. Clair College in

the training of the workers

and the University in training

the engineers helps keep

young people in Windsor.

Doing this would accomplish

another goal, growing our

small businesses into big

ones.

Millson says if he is elected

he will be open and transpar-

ent. He is looking to bring a

change to city hall by making

what is old new again. Using

his age and experience he will

attempt to revitalize a city

like he did a raceway and use

his ability as a people person

to move forward from here.

“I just like people and am

concerned about people, if I

had one thing, I’m concerned

about people and want to

work shoulder to shoulder

with them.”

Photo by Sean Frame

Joey Wright listens to questions from the public at the GinoMarcus Complex Centre on Oct. 16.

Wright to highlight cityTecumseh Macguigan

Photo Editor

Joey Wright is about to enter

a new stage in life.

The 23-year-old Windsor

native just finished perform-

ing in a local adaptation of

Othello in September amidst

campaigning for council in

Ward 5. By 3 p.m. one Friday

in October, Wright had

already been interviewed for

TV by students at St. Clair

College, video profiled by the

communications program at

the University of Windsor,

and sat down at the

Manchester Pub downtown

for the opportunity to talk

about what he likes about

Windsor.

Wright is not only running

in Ward 5, but also lives there,

which is stereo-typically an

area thought to be avoided.

Clearly Wright sees some-

thing in the area.

“I think that there is a lot

that Ward 5 has to offer,” says

Wright. “There are a lot of

nice little neighbourhoods, a

lot of nice houses, we have

the Ford Test Track... we have

three schools... I think that the

stigma that exists of

Drouillard and Seminole is

just that, a stigma.”

Wright says he believes in a

“Windsor made for

Windsorites.”

He thinks water slides are

fun, but the bus ride getting to

the water park can be a differ-

ent story. Wright relies solely

on the bus for transportation,

the only candidate to do so.

But while every politician

has their platform, it doesn’t

always speak to who they are

or what they like. While drink-

ing a Coke, Wright delved into

more detail about who he is.

Wright saw and experienced

bullying against gay and

straight students while attend-

ing Walkerville High School.

Instead of simply accepting

the bullying, Wright led a

coalition that lobbied the

Greater Essex County District

School Board to create the

area’s first ever Gay-Straight-

Alliance in 2009.

“Since Walkerville estab-

lished a GSA there has been

one at every public high

school in the county,” said

Wright. “It’s a student-run

organization and its sole pur-

pose is to provide a safe space

for everybody, not just mem-

bers of the LGBT communi-

ty.”

Following high school

Wright moved into his own

home in Ward 5, performed in

the Kordazone theater, and

spends his days enjoying

Windsor. Dining at the

Twisted Apron, going to bars

downtown and walking the

trails of Ojibway Park as well.

Wright says he truly loves

Windsor and all that it has to

offer. He hopes to make

Windsor not only a great

place for visitors, but also a

great place for Windsorites.

“People come to Windsor

and they only go downtown,”

says Wright. “New pools are

nice but I want people to see

the rest of the city. Ten years

ago people would say ‘oh

don’t go to Walkerville, but

now it’s one of the nicest parts

of the city. With the right

work that could happen in

Ward 5 and many other neigh-

bourhoods that some consider

undesirable or just not worth

going to.”


A new voiceAaron Sanders


Residents of Ward 2 are

looking for a councilor to be

their voice and one candidate

thinks he can be the answer.

When any Windsorite

approaches John Elliott,

they’re approaching a person

whose calm, friendly and busi-

nesslike demeanor is well

known in Ward 2.

His daily routine is as fol-

lows: around 10 a.m. he goes

door-to-door with his wife

Tammy. At the same time, his

phone is ringing with people

requesting lawn signs. At 3

p.m., Elliott goes to work at

Sandwich Teen Action Group,

a recreational facility for

teens. Inside his office at

STAG, he’s surrounded by

framed awards and accolades.

During his 27 year stay in

Windsor’s west end, he’s been

the executive director of

STAG for 21 years.

Sometimes, he leaves it to vol-

unteers to take over STAG in

his absence.

Around 5:30 p.m. , Elliott

is back going door-to-door for

another two and a half hours.

When 8 p.m. hits, he returns to

his office at STAG where he

finishes up business in a half

hour’s time and thus, the end

of another business day for

STAG and John Elliott.

Elliott feels confident as he

runs for Ward 2 councillor for

the second time. The 2010

election was his first, and he

lost to Ron Jones by only three

votes. In that election, his

campaign crew had no experi-

ence and went door to door to

around 4000 houses. For this

year’s campaign, Elliott and

his crew have taken his

knowledge of the last election

and he believes it has

improved his planning.

Robert Renaud, 20, has been

going to STAG for the last 10

years. He believes that Elliott

has brought the neighbour-

hood together.

“This community needs a

voice and who else to speak

for us than John?,” Renaud

said. “All the events he has

done were to benefit the kids

and families in the community

in order to keep us off the

streets.”

Elliott has also coached the

Assumption High School girls

basketball team. He encour-

ages voters to check his

resume, consider his commu-

nity work and talk to people

around the ward.

“I’ve done a lot in the

city,but people should concen-

trate on what I’ve done in the

community to make it better,”

Elliott said. “To help the fami-

lies and their kids and to vol-

unteer within my powers. It is

my true calling and that call-

ing is to serve.”

Should Elliott win the Ward

2 councillor position, he

would consider it an opportu-

nity for the west community

residents to have their voices

heard. Elliott said that he

would make decisions that are

close to home.

“This community will have

someone that’s in city council

that will be their voice,” said

Elliott. “I’m homegrown here,

I live here, I raise my kids here

and it’s home. ”

A husband, father to five

kids and community worker,

he’s got his name on the ballot

for Ward 2 councillor.The

municipal election on Oct. 27

will determine if Elliott’s cam-

paign plans come to fruitition.

On a cool fall afternoon in

Windsor, Ont., just four days

after the end of summer, chil-

dren were kicking a soccer

ball around the Midtown

Farmer’s Market in Ward 3.

The smell of fresh cut grass

and tomato sauce flooded the

market, held in the parking lot

of Rino’s Kitchen and Ale

House.

Rino Bortolin, the owner of

the restaurant since it opened

about four years ago, was out-

side speaking with vendors,

Monica and Brian Brandner,

the owners of Brandner

Farms. Inside about eight peo-

ple sat at the tables, in the

three-story brick house.

Upstairs is Bortolin’s cam-

paign and restaurant office.

It’s warm and stuffy, with a

Ward 3 map and an old

Phogfest poster from 2009 on

the ceiling. More boxes filled

with office supplies are

stuffed into the corner.

Bortolin’s son Jack, wearing

an Italian soccer jersey, fol-

lows him into the office and

sits at the computer. His father

bought him a comic book

from the market down below.

“The theme (of the restau-

rant) is a very casual pub fare

with a focus on local,” said

Bortolin. “People often say ‘it

feels like we’re eating at a

friends house.’ We often say

it’s like eating at a house party

or on the weekend.”

Bortolin says he’s been

working in the industry since

he was 13 years old. While he

was a student at Catholic

Central High School, his

friend’s mother got him a job

at a banquet hall. He original-

ly loved the job because he

has a little more spending

money. But as the years went

on, his interest in the hospital-

ity business grew. By the time

he was part of the school’s

second graduating class in

1990, he was working part-

time in a few different restau-

rants.

As he went from washing

dishes to cooking the food, he

was also studying in the

University of Windsor’s

Philosophy program. By the

time he got his degree, his

career was thriving in the culi-

nary arts.

Bortolin isn’t just a restau-

rant owner. He’s running for

Windsor city council for the

second time. Bortolin finished

in the middle of the pack in

the 2010 municipal election.

But according to the City of

Windsor’s website, the ward

also had one of the lowest

turnouts in the city’s last elec-

tions, with only 35 per cent of

residents putting in their bal-

lots.

Bortolin got just 435 votes,

while Valentinis has 2,342.

“I did everything with limit-

ed help (last time),” he said,

bringing in a fresh printout of

platform cards. “I had a couple

of good friends volunteering,

but the campaign was 100 per

cent on my shoulders. This

year, we have a team.”

With Valentinis not running

for re-election, a person

Bortolin says he respects,

this year’s election is differ-

ent.

According to Bortolin’s

website, the platform for his

campaign has seven main

points, ranging from attract-

ing people back downtown

to better transit systems to

higher standards for proper-

ties and bylaw enforcement.

Bortolin, the head of the

culinary tourism steering

committee for Tourism

Windsor-Essex Pelee Island,

says his platform is similar

to what it was in 2010.

“I decided to run again just

because of the same reasons

we ran last time,” Bortolin

said. “We wanted to bring a

new fresh perspective to this

area. I live in the area and I

have a business here, so I

have a lot invested in this

community.”

As the day winds down,

Bortolin gets up from the

table and sits down next to

his son. He has a lot of work

to do he says, as he starts

typing on the computer. His

son moves over as he contin-

ues to read his comic book.

The market outside is

starting to pack up, as a

group of crafters carry a

table across the street to

their minivan. The street

next to the parking lot is

under construction, with

orange traffic cones sitting

on the edge of the grass.

Soon, the sun will set on

another busy day in the race

for Ward 3.

Justin Prince


Photo by Justin Prince

Monica Brander looks through her vegetable stand at the Midtown Farmer’s Market in Windsoron Sept. 25.

Bortolin runs for a second time

Bachetti dreams of

leading TecumsehErik Zarins


The town of Tecumseh has

created opportunities for those

looking for “The Canadian

Dream.” Restaurants, shop-

ping centres, medical services,

a skateboard park and the

WFCU Centre are all within

reach.

Joe Bachetti is quick to point

out the perks of Tecumseh life.

He has represented Ward 3 in

Tecumseh for over 20 years

since he became a municipal

councilor in 1994.

His community involvement

is well documented. He is an

affiliate member of several

organizations including the

Tecumseh Area Historical

Society, and was recently

awarded the “Vocational

Service Award” by The Rotary

Club of Windsor – Roseland

SEE PAGE 9


Essex mayoral candidate Ron Rogers speaks to a resident inMcGregor while campaigning on Sept. 30.

Photo by Shelbey Hernandez

Shelbey Hernandez


The first physical feature

that stands out would be his

black-framed glasses. They

are the studious, no-nonsense

kind of glasses that many peo-

ple wear, but only certain peo-

ple can pull off. He is 60,

although his black hair with

only whispers of grey suggests

otherwise. Yet, despite his hair

and his overly-serious glasses,

there is a hidden side to this

mayoral candidate for Essex.

“I call him my Clark Kent,”

Carolyn Rogers says, laughing

the same way a teenage girl

does when she announces she

has a boyfriend. “A lot of peo-

ple say he looks like Clark

Kent and I’m like, ‘Yes, he’s

my Clark Kent. He’s my

Superman.”

Inside his house, visitors see

a more colourful, youthful and

vibrant side of Ron Rogers.

His house rests on a hill over-

looking the Colchester beach

and boasts an abundance of

flower pots. The flowers

match the highlighter sunsets

which are painted across the

sky from one end of the

water’s edge to the other. It

makes sense, though, consid-

ering Rogers has been a co-

chair for the Town of Essex’s

Communities in Bloom com-

mittee for seven years where

he also occasionally played

the part of Bloomer, one of the

CIB mascots.

“I think given that I’m very

new to Essex County, I really

admire his passion for the

county…,” says Paul Tonon, a

co-chair with Rogers on CIB.

“I think that’s something that

I’ve had rubbed off a little on

me. He’s kind of contagious

that way.”

Although he isn’t an actual

superhero, Rogers tries to be

involved in his community

and in politics. He first

became involved in politics in

1991, running for and winning

the seat for Colchester South

where he remained until 1999.

Six years later, he ran for the

same seat and was successful.

When he tried to run for

mayor in 2010, though, he lost

to Ron McDermott by 376

votes.

Rogers is also involved in

the John R. Park Homestead

advisory committee, the

Windsor Essex Therapeutic

Riding Association board of

directors and the Access

County Community Support

Services board of directors.

Growing up, Rogers says his

parents instilled in him a

strong belief of community

involvement. His father was

very involved in the church

and his mother would volun-

teer in cancer and blood donor

clinics. Although he only lived

in Colchester part-time when

he was a kid, he and his older

brother still had a love for it

they just didn’t feel for

Windsor.

“Being out in the country is

much more appealing to me

than living in the city,” says

Rogers, looking towards the

water. “I really have no desire

Ron Rogers shows his true colours

to live in a large city anymore.

I enjoy the calm and the

quiet.”

Rogers attended W.D. Lowe

High School and afterwards,

studied engineering at the


“He knows everything,

something of everything and

what he doesn’t know he will

find out…” says his wife of 25

years, Carolyn. “He built our

house, he can do plumbing, he

can do wiring he can do every-

thing and he will.”

After university, Rogers

spent three years out west.

Upon returning to Windsor, he

got a job at SKD.

If he becomes mayor, Rogers

says he wants to accelerate the

10-year road program which

he says has been going on for

20 years. He also would like to

fix the flooding issues and to

fix the current infrastructure in

the Town of Essex.

Every person has some-

thing that makes them dif-

ferent. In the case of Ron

Rogers, voters will be

allowed to determine

whether to allow his hid-

den colours to shine.

LaSalle candidate speaks outTaylor Busch

CP Editor

Growing up in a single parent

home has its challenges. In many

cases, children are forced to grow

up quickly and take responsibility

for their family years before their

peers. Adrien Bezaire was no

exception. After his father died,

Bezaire says his mother continued

to raise nine children on her own

despite having a low income. But

Bezaire credits his rough child-

hood for making him the man he is

today and the right candidate to

lead LaSalle.

Adrien Bezaire is a retired fire-

fighter and former trustee for the

French Catholic school board,

who has participated in many

efforts to improve the town of

LaSalle over the years. Though he

first ran for office more than 10

years ago, Bezaire says he still gets

a rush from politics and a chance

to help his community.

“Some people ask me why I’m

running in this election so I tell

them my mother always taught us

to take care of our neighbours,”

said Bezaire. “She would say,

‘sometimes you don’t need to be

rewarded, just knowing you’ve

done something for the people is

enough,’ and she was right.”

Bezaire says if he is elected he

will bring his experience as a resi-

dent, firefighter and elected official

to the council. He believes he can

freeze property taxes by control-

ling expenses and reducing waste-

ful spending.

During his time as a firefighter,

Bezaire says he mentored many

men beneath him. Mike Wiley

was one of these men. He is now

working full time for the depart-

ment as Bezaire’s replacement.

Wiley says Bezaire has the experi-

ence and knowledge LaSalle resi-

dents are looking for in their next

mayor.

“As someone who has worked

for the town of LaSalle for many

years, it’s not like he doesn’t know

how to be a councilor,” said Wiley.

“I don’t think not being a councilor

will hinder him in any way. The

people who know him will tell you

he knows what he’s doing.”

During his time on the school

board, Bezaire said he personally

handled budgets over $100,000

and successfully increased enroll-

ment in his schools. He said his

career as a firefighter taught him

how to keep calm in trying situa-

tions and trained him to be on call

24 hours a day. As a resident,

Bezaire says he saw the town of

LaSalle grow from 8,000 people to

more than 25,000 people and

knows what it will take to keep

growing in the future.

Bezaire said he is confident

he will win the election based

on the number of residents

who have told him they want a

change. He plans to continue

speaking with LaSalle resi-

dents and businesses up to

Election Day.

“When I become mayor, it

will be a success story for all

young people to look at and

say ‘no matter what life deals

you, you need to believe in

yourself you can go a long

way.’”

Favourite Sports Team:Denver Broncos

Favourite genre of music:Rock and Roll

Favourite Hobby:Fishing at his cottage

3 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOTKNOW ABOUT BEZAIRE

for achieving excellence in

vocation and outstanding serv-

ice to his community.

Bachetti says he knows his

way around town, and why

wouldn’t he? Born in 1966

during the “year the

Canadiens won the Stanley

Cup” he has lived in Windsor-

Essex all his life. Bachetti said

his interests in politics started

after he graduated from the


“I wanted to see the commu-

nity grow and back then, the

sidewalks and roads were a

major concern. Now the roads

and sidewalks of today are in

much better condition. And

I’ve always had a passion with

working with kids.”

According to Bachetti, work-

ing simultaneously as a politi-

cian and a principal is not as

difficult as it seems.

“It’s complementary to run-

ning a school and running a

town. When you’re a teacher

or principal, it makes you

become a better politician

because you’re able to talk to

everybody about their every-

day concerns like a neighbour-

hood dispute.”

So what does he do when

he’s not taking care of class-

room kids and residents of the

town?

Bachetii said his hobbies

include cycling, running, 5K

runs, and participating in drag-

on boat races as a member of

the “Rack Pack Team”. He

really enjoys the open space

and different seasons of events

in Tecumseh.

The most unique thing about

Bachetti is his vision on how

to persuade people into mov-

ing into Windsor or Tecumseh.

“If you’re from Toronto it

would be an easy sell…Our

housing market is one of the

most economic in this area.

You can get yourself a man-

sion on the Riverside Drive.”

“You also have a close prox-

imity to another large interna-

tional market such as Detroit,

Michigan across the border. In

terms of network and job mar-

ket opportunities, you’re in the

hub of this area.”

This year while Bachetti served

as chairman of the Tecumseh Corn

Festival and co-chairman of the

Art of Eating and Wine Festival,

Tecumseh was named 2014’s

“Best Festival City in the

Province” by Festival Events

Ontario. He has also created a per-

sonal motto to ensure better living

and building his community.

“As an elected financial

steward of a municipality,

doing what is right rather

than personal gain is criti-

cal.”

FROM PAGE 8

Adrien Bezaire

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Ward 5 all-candidates meeting


Photo by Sean Frame

(Photo by Sean Frame) Ward 5 candidates (left to right) Ed Sleiman, Randy Diestelmann,JoeyWright, Jon Middleton, Gary Kaschak, Sam Drakich and Gene Michael Leon Locknick answerquestions at the Gino Marcus Complex on Oct. 16.

Sean Frame

Managing Editor

10 days before the election,

Ward 5 candidates are

attempting to show the com-

munity why they are the right

choice.

On Oct. 17 at the Gino and

Liz Marcus Community

Complex candidates were

given a chance to state their

stance on the issues in their

ward. The candidates

explained their campaign in

brief detail and were asked

three questions, which came

from the community and

were prioritized.

One question directed

towards all candidates was

“What have you done for our

ward as a private citizen?”

Within no time at all, the can-

didates answered with a

sense of pride in their voices.

Joey Wright answered with

the story of how he took on

the Greater Essex County

District School Board and

created the first gay-straight

alliance in Southwestern

Ontario.

“I am not one to sit back

and let people walk all over

me or the people I represent,”

said Wright. “My track

record is clear, I’m not scared

to stand up and fight for what

I believe in or to stand up and

fight for what feels right, or

for what the residents of

Ward 5 need and deserve.”

After the question period,

where candidates were given

two minutes each to answer,

questions were opened up to

the floor.

Upon the first question

from a Ward 5 resident, the

audience member began to

become hostile towards cur-

rent Ward 5 Councillor Ed

Sleiman. The attendee said

that every time he calls

Sleiman someone else

answers his phone and

because of this he feels the

communication is lacking.

Although the statement was

directed towards Sleiman,

moderator Mary Medcalf

made the question about

communication with coun-

cilors.

“When people email me, I

get it on my Blackberry. When

people call me, I don’t get it

immediately, it goes to the

city,” said Sleiman. “I never

ever tried to neglect you in any

way.”

After Sleiman responded, he

was only met with more hos-

tility from the resident.

Despite the setback, the candi-

dates moved on answering

questions on the topic of

speeding on roads to drug

addicts using strange jamming

technology to which Sam

Drakich answered “That

sounds like something for the

RCMP.”

With the question period

over, the candidates were

given a chance for a two

minute closing statement.

During this time, candidate

John Middleton took a few

verbal shots at Ed Sleiman.

“I have talked to residents

who are not happy with the

placement of the new fire sta-

tion,” said Middleton. “Mr.

Sleiman voted to put that fire

station there. After the resi-

dents saw this, they were mad.

Mr Sleiman decided to do a

little dog and pony show at

city council for council to

reconsider the vote. That is not

right.”

After the closing statement

the meeting was concluded.

Attendees were given a

chance to speak with the can-

didates.

“Ward 5 is a large ward and

I don’t think people realize

this,” said Sleiman. “It goes

from Walker Road all the way

to Pillette. There is different

concerns, my heart is at Ford

City, but the whole ward takes

a lot of energy individually.”

FROM CRIME PAGE 1She was sad to hear what

happened to the victim of the

shooting. She also said she

thinks that the Boom Boom

Room should lay low for a

while and stop hosting big

events, such as the upcoming

Waka Flocka Flame concert

this October.

“Honestly speaking, every

fight I’ve heard of has hap-

pened at the Boom Boom

Room. So I honestly don’t

know why they keep doing

such things there,” said Malik.

Ljubica Cajan works at

Tunnel Discount Convenience

next door to the Boom Boom

Room and she said the shoot-

ing has made her more con-

cerned for her safety and the

safety of her business.

“It is scary. I have to think of

who is coming in the store,”

said Cajan.

Cajan said that last year a

fight broke out in front of her

store and her window was

broken. Cajan said she thinks

the crime rate may be increas-

ing in Windsor.

“It’s hard to say. You never

know, but it does look like it

is.”

FROM COOP PAGE 1Windsor residents and has been

brought up in multiple mayoral

and councillor debates.

Another leading advocate for

the legalization of urban chick-

en coops is Philippa Von

Zirgenweidt. She said chicken

coops are inexpensive, easy to

build and are a great idea for

low-income families.

“People have all sorts of ideas.

They think they’re scary, they

think that there’s all sorts of

problems and we need to talk

about that first,” says

Zirgenweidt

Zirgenweidt said it is even

more important to change the

public’s perception of chickens

than it is to change the bylaw.

Zirgenweidt says she is always

asked if chickens bite, a rumour

she says is not true.

“We live in a city where dogs

are biting people on a fairly

regular basis and yet we don’t

have chickens. It sort of strikes

me as bizarre that we can’t have

these gentle animals but it’s

perfectly okay to have dogs,”

said Zirgenweidt.

In Kingston, residents are

allowed to own up to six hens

and keep them on their proper-

ty, legal since Nov. 5, 2013.

Green and Von Zirgenweidt

both said they don’t plan on

taking further action to chal-

lenge the bylaw until the Oct.

27 elections when a new coun-

cil and mayor will be appoint-

ed. Currently, housing a chick-

en within city limits is punish-

able by a fine of $100.

of the intersection. Though she

was turned away from the area

when the accident happened,

Elgarousha said she heard

everything and knew someone

had been hurt.

“I was walking to go to the

mosque and all I heard was

something that sounded like an

accident,” said Elgarousha. “I

started running towards it and I

saw the guy and his bike on the

ground. He wasn’t moving.”

Elgarousha said her immedi-

ate reaction was fear. Even after

she realized her friend was not

involved in the accident, she

continued to be in distress

when she saw that the man on

the ground was not wearing a

helmet.

Elgarousha added, “I feel bad

for the driver and the guy who

got hit by the car because he

was probably hurt bad. He

probably broke part of his body

or something worse.”

EMS arrived on the scene

quickly and took him by

stretcher to a hospital for

assessment. Traffic was

backed up on Dominion

Boulevard past the

Expressway for a time, but

police were able to clear this

quickly after the ambulance

left.

FROM CYCLIST PAGE 1

CVote 2014Vote 2014 CONVERGED CITIZENONVERGED CITIZENOCTOBER 23, 2014

Essex’s mayoral candidates fight to stay on topCaleb Workman


Essex residents are going to

be making a decision about

who will run the town for the

next four years.

There are four candidates

running for mayor, leaving

townspeople with a lot to

think about when determining

the future development of

Essex.

Essex is not a major industri-

al centre, but current Ward 3

councillor and mayoral candi-

date Bill Baker has plans to

help the town grow in this

area.

“We operate on a $35 mil-

lion budget … Only $12.5

million is assessed from taxes.

Of that $12.5 million, 80 per

cent is from residential based

tax,” said Baker. “We need to

focus on growing our industri-

al and commercial sectors.”

Baker said there needs to be

more of a balance from

assessed taxes. He said too

much is being taken from the

residential area and Essex

needs to have more coming

from the commercial sectors.

In order to do this, he believes

Essex needs to create more

jobs on an industrial and com-

mercial level, even in terms of

youth jobs. Baker said Essex

needs to have the land ready to

build whatever is needed so

that the town is ready for

future development.

“If anyone comes and tells

you it’s going to happen

tomorrow, it’s not,” said

Baker. “The problem is there

have never been strategies to

go for that so I want to create

the strategies to do that.”

According to Baker, the

focus of youth employment

will be in the jobs involved

with media convergence, jour-

nalism and the emerging tech-

nology centres. The big indus-

try jobs are not available for

youth yet, but the goods and

services sectors need to be

better so that youth are being

encouraged to stay in the town

while they go to school, and

focus on landing careers in

Essex.

Baker said it is important to

have the youth involved in not

only the elections, but the

decision making processes of

council.

“[The youth] need to see the

bridge between us who are

here, and where they are, so

they feel connected,” said

Baker. “We need to reach out

and say, ‘What is it you need?’

This is not the old world, this

is the current world and that is

what I bring in terms of lead-

ership, is the current world.”

Ron McDermott is running

for his fourth term as mayor

and does not think much needs

to change.

“We just need to continue

doing what we’ve been doing

the past three terms that I’ve

had,” said McDermott.

“Depending on how many

new people we get, I need to

get everyone on the same

page. That’s the mayor’s job,

to bring us all together.”

McDermott said he’s made

one promise since he’s been

involved in politics, which is

that he’ll work his hardest for

everybody. He said he and his

council have been responsible

for many projects in his past

three terms, such as the

sewage plant ,which made the

construction of newer homes

possible and the new twin pad

arena. He said he is hoping to

put up a new community cen-

tre in the next term if re-elect-

ed.

“We need to get our store-

fronts filled,” said

McDermott. “That’s our num-

ber one goal if I’m re-elected

along with getting our infra-

structure fixed in terms of

drainage.”

McDermott said young peo-

ple need to start voting now.

He said soldiers every day are

sacrificing their lives in coun-

tries that don’t have the right

to vote.

“We all want the kids to vote

for us, but they should vote. If

you don’t vote for me, vote,

because it does mean some-

thing,” said McDermott.

Steve Bjorkman, who is on

the board of directors of

Essex’s Business

Improvement Areas and run-

ning for Ward 1 council mem-

ber in Essex, said the youth

need to get involved if Essex

wants to see change.

“Learn everything you can

about these candidates. What

you read in the paper is one

thing, but if you can go some-

where where they are speak-

ing in person you have an

opportunity to ask a question

that relates to your life,” said

Bjorkman.

Also running for the position

of mayor are candidates Ron

Rogers, a former councillor in

Essex, and editor and reporter

Andy Comber.

Photo by Caleb Workman

Ron McDermott shows off his moustache at the Essex Red

Raiders football game on Oct. 10 at

Essex District High School.

Student apathy in votingKenny Bullock


To increase voter turnout,

politicians are trying online

voting, closer locations for

voting and more convincing

promises.

They are going all out to

increase the voter turnout. The

question is, why is it so low?

The answer likely lies within

the younger generation, more

specifically the college and

university students. Not all

students refuse to vote, how-

ever many have reasons why

they don’t.

Some students have a lot of

interest in all things political

but have their reasons why

their interest lessens over

time. One such St. Clair

College is Corrine Trojansek,

who used to be a diligent fol-

lower of all things political.

She said she will not be voting

this year due to believing her

vote doesn’t make any differ-

ence. The reason why she

ceases to care or keep updated

is she has lost faith in

Windsor’s government.

“Hundreds of millions of

dollars have come out of the

city’s pocket just to make this

place a bigger deal to

tourists,” said Trojansek.

One of the bigger problems

that bring Trojansek apathy

towards her city is the neglec-

tion of the homeless. She says

she doesn’t feel safe to be

downtown and it deters her

from venturing downtown.

This is because she thinks

many people downtown have

or exhibit signs of mental ill-

ness and potential for violent

action. Trojansek recalled a

time where she would not give

change to someone, but the

woman was insistent. She

tried walking away but then

was getting threatened by the

panhandler. After being fol-

lowed for a block, Trojansek

said she would call the police

if not left alone immediately.

Trojansek admits she may

not understand every view on

the city situation, but said if

politicians were more open

and transparent about their

campaigns, this wouldn’t be a

problem.

“I try to reserve my judgements,”

said Trojansek. “I feel one must be

properly educated in order to make

political criticisms.”

She dislikes many politicians’

personalities because many aren’t

very sociable during election time

often then making false promises.

Trojansek doesn’t plan to stay in

the City of Windsor and stated one

of the major reasons is the state of

its government.

On the other side of the spectrum,

first-year University of Windsor

student, Eric Hubberstey, currently

volunteers at Windsor-West MP

Brian Masse`s office. At Masse’s

office, Hubberstey mails letters,

sends e-mails and manages

Brian’s e-mail account. In his

opinion, politics is an essential part

of society and people should really

consider making it a bigger part of

their lives.

“I think it’s important to follow

them to at least an extent, especial-

ly matters that concern you and

your city,” said Hubberstey.

“Voting is another important facet

of living in a democracy because it

allows your voice and opinion to

be heard”.

He said he does sometimes feel

a single vote is pointless but isn’t

deterred because his single vote

means he wants to participate in

his community.

“Government works best when

everyone tells the truth,” said

Hubberstey.

He admits this doesn’t always

happen in politics of any level.

“It is misguided to not keep at

least a small eye on government

because everything that happens

affects you in one way or another,”

he said.

The latest record of voter turnout

in Canada was the 2008 federal

election standing at 37.4 per cent.

This is gravely lower than the 43.8

per cent turnout in 2004. The sta-

tistics show the descending interest

in government by our young peo-

ple, but the biggest question is

what can be done to promote more

interest in politics. Is this even pos-

sible, or will the turnout of young

voters continue to descend into the

depths?

Time will tell.

Voting

registration

City of Windsor employees are

registering electors who do not

have fixed addresses.

On Oct. 16 Elections Windsor

sent city employees to the

Downtown Mission and the

Salvation Army to help register

voters for the upcoming municipal

election for an hour at each loca-

tion.

Ron Dunn director of develop-

ment and community relations at

the Windsor Downtown Mission,

said the city took the initiative to

send employees to help those with

a more transient lifestyle.

“It’s fundamentally important for

everyone to vote,” said Dunn. “For

me, it’s about having the voting

conversation with people who

generally don’t get engaged in this

type of process… Their vote is just

as important as anyones.”

John Hilt was waiting in line to

register. He said it we were all

given the right to vote and our

forefathers fought for that right and

he will not give up that right under

any circumstance.

Sean Frame

Managing Editor

11


Windsorites look to key municipal issuesMillar Hill


Windsor residents are

deciding what issues are

significant to them as they

prepare to vote in the

upcoming municipal elec-

tion.

A total of 54 candidates are

running for ward councillor

positions this year. Some resi-

dents have said they are hop-

ing to see candidates focus on

improving the transit system

and local businesses.

According to 93.9 The

River’s host Dan MacDonald,

focusing on neighbourhoods

is his biggest concern in this

election. He said he believes

local businesses need support

and people need to become

active in their communities in

order to have a thriving city.

“I vote for people who have

benefited the community,” he

said. “I vote for those who

have made progress. Their

track records show they’re

active and working to make it

a better place.”

Program coordinator at The

AIDS Committee of Windsor,

Colm Holmes, said upcoming

councilors could be beneficial

to local neighbourhoods by

becoming active in them.

MacDonald wants to see more

community involvement like

street and park clean-ups.

Activities, he said, that bring

people together and benefit

the city.

“We need to take pride in

what we have and take care

of it,” said MacDonald.

“We want young people to

stay here and we want it to

be a retirement destina-

tion.”

The city’s transportation

system is also a major con-

cern. University of

Windsor student Kyle

Landry rides the bus every

day to school. He said tax

money should be put

towards revamping the

city’s transit system.

“I work with individuals

that rely on Windsor tran-

sit. This is an issues I care

to see improved,” said

Holmes. “Public trans-

portation is vital to our city

and people that use it.”

The election is right

around the corner. Advance

voting stations will be

available starting Oct.11,

and election day is Oct. 27.

Baker follows his political passionKlay Coyle


Many people think the race

for mayor in the Town of

Essex got more exciting when

a fourth candidate, Bill Baker,

threw his hat into the ring.

With a broad background in

business, marketing and com-

munications, and a solid track

record implementing strategic

business plans, Baker believes

he’s the right man for the job.

Bill Baker was born in

Windsor in 1956. After gradu-

ating from high school, Baker

got a job at Chrysler working

the line. Eventually, he

enrolled in the business

administration and marketing

program at St. Clair College.

It was at St. Clair that Baker

first became interested in poli-

tics, where he was elected as

student council president.

“At that point I realized that

the ability to network and use

my skills to communicate with

people were something that

provided me with a kind of

passion,” said Baker.

Baker put his political life on

hold when he moved to

Toronto to kick off his career

in business. Baker currently

works for Leamington District

Memorial Hospital as the

director of communications

and public affairs.

Baker decided to return to

his passion for politics in

November 2010 when he was

elected as Councillor of Ward

3 in the Town of Essex. Baker

says he understands the public

and private sectors of Windsor

and Essex County and he

knows how important it is to

have this understanding to be

an effective mayor.

“When you look at business,

they like to focus and get

things done quickly,” Baker

said. “Sometimes government

doesn’t work as fast…

Coming from the private sec-

tor, public sector and not-for-

profit allows me to understand

all areas and see where we

need to go.”

Baker has molded his may-

oral platform around the

knowledge he gained from his

time as councillor and said it

comes down to increasing

Essex County’s revenue base.

Baker’s strategy for revenue

growth is well underway and

he has been working with the

business and winery sectors of

Essex County to develop bou-

tique hotels in Harrow and the

Town of Essex

Baker knows that sometimes

people look for a family man

when they are electing offi-

cials. He’s happily married to

his wife Shelly Weepers, they

have a daughter, Faith Baker

and three stepchildren. If you

were to ask him what he was

most proud of in his life, he

would smile and tell you it

was marrying his wife and

starting his family.

Bill Baker wants to use his

well-rounded background to

improve the Town of Essex

and bring his community

together.

“One of the most important

things to becoming a leader is

that there is no ‘I’ in leader,”

says Baker. “You are the voice

in the community for what

needs to be done and that’s

what I want to focus on.”

Bill Baker, Essex mayoral candidate, poses for a picture at theEssex Transportation Museum.

Justin Thompson

Production Manager

Women have fought hard

over the years to earn their

right to vote and hold office

around the world. Despite

progress being made national-

ly, Remy Boulbol is one of

only nine women running in

Windsor’s municipal election.

“Gender equity is still some-

thing we cannot say is

achieved,” said Boulbol.

”Whether it be in pay, whether

it be in stature or treatment in

the work place and just sort of

general public reception.

Those things are not gone.”

Boulbol said that the percep-

tion of politics as an “Old

Boy’s Club” can be intimidat-

ing. She believes that women

do a lot and the more they do,

the more that is expected of

them.

Though her parents were

both civil rights activists,

Boulbol’s mother was her

biggest inspiration. Boulbol

was one of four children

raised alone by her mother, a

community health nurse that

was constantly working to

make things better. Boulbol is

currently the Director for the

Rose City Islamic Centre and

has been doing non-profit

work since graduating from

Wayne State University in

1999.

Boulbol believes she can

best serve Ward 4 because she

possesses empathy. Remy’s

mother is Caucasian and her

father is African American,

Boulbol converted to Islam in

her 20s. She wears the tradi-

tional hijab, her personality

outshines common stereo-

types. She believes she can

relate to the needs of residents

of different cultures, under-

standing those needs because

of her own cultural back-

ground.

“Everybody is different,”

said Boulbol. “It’s just my per-

sonality, it takes all kinds. And

I just happen to have an outgo-

ing personality. There are

plenty of other Muslim

women who might have an

outgoing personality. You just

might not notice it.”

Somebody once told

Boulbol, “Islam is like a big

circle and you’re a dot in the

circle, but anywhere in the cir-

cle is fine. Maybe you’re over

here and someone is over

there but you’re in the circle

and it’s fine.”

Jordan Renaud, 24, the pres-

ident of local public relations

firm Prometheus

Communications was an

acquaintance of Boulbol’s

before her campaign and was

impressed by her decision to

run.

“Remy could be anywhere,”

said Renaud. “She could be

councilor, mayor, or spear-

heading another community

building organization. Without

a doubt, it will be at the fore-

front of the needs of others.”

Boulbol would like to be

remembered as somebody

who “did much” and as some-

body who tried even if that

impact was felt by only one

person. She would also like to

be remembered as a good

mother.

In her home on Hall Avenue,

the scent of incense burning

fills the air; Boulbol has

picked up her two daughters

from school and made tacos

for dinner after an exhausting

day of campaigning. From the

basement comes the screech

of an electric drill as her hus-

band installs a door.

Boulbol does not attempt to

hide at hiding her love for

Windsor. She views the city as

a great place to raise a family,

pay off a house, pay for her

children’s educations and still

be doing okay.

“I want Windsor to be a

place where they(my children)

want to stay – but not in my

house,” joked Boulbol.

Boulbol believes the only

way to improve Ward 4 is

through resident input. She

has had conversations with

thousands of residents in Ward

4.

Boulbol also plans on sup-

porting small businesses and

investing in infrastructure.

She believes in utilizing the

limited resources that are

available to serve the greatest

number of people possible.

One of her life mottos

that she inherited from her

mother is her idea of the

perfect representation of

the city of Windsor.

“Though we may not have

much, we can certainly do

much.”

Boulbol hopes for more femalerepresentation on council

Photo courtesy of Bill Baker

12

Local influenza vaccination rates down four per cent

Photo by Rhiannon Lotze

Dr. David Millinoff, a science teacher at SandwichSecondary School, discusses immunization rates and whythey are dropping.

Rhiannon Lotze


Local vaccination rates have

been decreasing despite

influenza killing 2000-8000

Canadians every year, accord-

ing to the Public Health

Agency of Canada.

Based on information from

the Windsor-Essex County

Health Unit, influenza vacci-

nation rates in Windsor and

Essex County have dropped

from 2007 to 2012. The num-

ber of people who have had a

flu shot at least once in their

entire lives has dropped 3.9

per cent. The number of peo-

ple vaccinated less than a year

ago has dropped 6.9 per cent

and the rate of people vacci-

nated between one and two

years ago has dropped 2.4 per

cent. Vaccination rates have

also been dropping all across

Canada.

A poll conducted by Forum

Research has found that only

about 40 per cent of

Canadians have been given a

flu shot. The poll also discov-

ered that the main reason for

people not wanting vaccina-

tions is because they do not

trust the safety of the vac-

cines. According to the poll,

other reasons included incon-

venience, lack of availability

and good health.

The terms vaccination and

immunization are often

thought to mean the same

thing. However, vaccinations

must be received once a year

whereas immunizations must

be taken once in a lifetime

with booster shots taken peri-

odically afterwards.

Another possible cause of

low vaccination rates is

prominent public figures por-

traying them negatively.

Celebrities like Jenny

McCarthy have clouded the

issue of the safety of vaccina-

tions by saying that immu-

nizations are not safe, despite

scientific evidence proving

otherwise. Since many people

think vaccinations and immu-

nizations are the same thing,

they do not receive either of

them.

David Millinoff, 53, is a sci-

ence teacher at Sandwich

Secondary School but he has

also worked as a virologist.

“The media seems to feel

they are experts in public

health issues… don’t go to the

Internet as a source of infor-

mation. Talk to public health

officials,” Millinoff said.

According to him, almost all

vaccinations are safe, with the

exception of one or two

unnamed ones.

While the exact cause of

vaccination rates dropping is

not known, the negative side

effects of lower rates are. Josie

Piruzza is a pharmacist at

Shopper’s Drug Mart and

understands the implications

of decreasing immunization.

“I believe in the herd effect

(herd immunity), which means

that you should vaccinate so

you’re protecting everyone,”

said Piruzza.

Herd immunity occurs when

enough people in a communi-

ty are immunized or vaccinat-

ed against a certain illness to

prevent an outbreak from

occurring if a few people do

get sick.

When not enough people in

a community are protected,

the spread of disease becomes

easier. Research conducted by

UNICEF has found that

Canada’s overall immuniza-

tion rate is at 84 per cent. For

herd immunity to be effective

in Canada, immunization

must be at 95 per cent. In

terms of influenza vaccina-

tions, Canada’s overall vacci-

nation rate for 2013 was 29.3

per cent.

Canada has also seen a drop

in the immunization rates for

deadly and debilitating ill-

nesses such as whooping

cough, measles and polio,

which are now reemerging

into the general population.

Woman turns litterinto ecofriendly art

Melissa Amiouni


A graduate student at the

University of Windsor is

inspiring people to become

more ecofriendly.

At an art show Oct. 19,

Patricia Coates described her

project and why she created it.

While a graduate student

obtaining her masters in visual

art at the University of

Windsor, a former student told

her about a project she had

worked on for over 20 years,

where she began planting oaks

on a farm and restoring it into

a habitat. This made Coates

want to do more and she said

the idea of creating life would

be appropriate today in a con-

sumer society. She began

walking around Essex County

and collected 2,000 acorns

from oak trees.

“In our ecology, we seem to

separate ourselves and domi-

nate the ecology as opposed to

living more sympathetically

with it, so I collected the

acorns then collected the cups

off the street, off fast food

dumpsters and planted them in

it,” Coates said.

Coates participated in the

w.a.v.e.s. Festival on Sept. 26

and Sept. 27, she said the out-

come was so successful it

made her want to show more

of her work.

“It is something that took a lot of

time and I recently shared it with

the public, with the people of

Windsor in the w.a.v.e.s. festival

and to my surprise so many people

responded, kids responded,

teenagers responded, They got the

whole cup idea, it does have that

impact,” Coates said.

Coates then displayed her art on

Oct. 10 at the LeBelle Building for

Visual Arts which didn’t cost her

anything since she was a graduate

from there. She displayed around

900 oaks for everyone to see.

Many said her art was inspiring.

Ron Dufault, a friend of Coates,

said it is important for people to be

more aware of their surroundings.

“I don’t think people take the

time to think about where they live

or how they live and by planting

each individual tree it really makes

you stop and think about the differ-

ence you can make,” Dufault said.

Coates said her art is ongoing

and will continue to be.

“(My work), this is a living

work and this will exist

beyond my life time,” Coates

said.


Photo by Victoria Parent

On Oct. 16 Elections Windsor sent city employees to the Downtown Mission and theSalvation Army to help register voters for the upcoming municipal election for an hour ateach location.

Ron Dunn director of development and community relations at the Windsor DowntownMission, said the city took the initiative to send employees to help those with a more transientlifestyle.

Unregistered voters

being sought by city


The sun's bright rays shine

through the clouds, heating up

the air on a surprisingly warm

October day. Surrounded by

endless walls of corn, a small

field filled with pumpkins of

many shapes and sizes is dot-

ted with people. The unex-

pected weather has brought in

families from all over Windsor

and Essex County. It’s a tradi-

tion at McLeod Farms that has

lasted for many years, but

soon these fields will be

empty.

McLeod Farms was estab-

lished in 1980 when Murray

and Helen McLeod bought the

sprawling farmstead in

Cottam. At the time, the fields

were barren plots of land,

uncared for and void of any

crops. The McLeods got to

work sowing seeds and soon

after, colourful pumpkins dot-

ted the landscape. Once the

fruit was growing, corn was

planted and the now-popular

corn maze was carved out

though the towering stalks.

The maze and pick-your-own

pumpkin patch have been a

popular family attraction for

over 20 years, but this fall

marks its last season.

McLeod Farms has always

been run as a family business

with the McLeod’s children

sharing the workload. But as

time went by, the children

became adults, started families

of their own and are finding it

harder to make time for the

farm. This is one of the main

reasons that McLeod Farms is

shutting down its pumpkin

Pumpkin patch’s last pick

growing operations and

autumn events.

"Over the years we have

been able to keep it going

because we've had our chil-

dren here, helping out on a

Sunday if we need them, but

they have children of their

own now; life happens," said

Helen McLeod, during a farm

visit over the Thanksgiving

weekend.

In most cases, people come

for the family experience and

even with part time workers to

fill the empty spaces, it’s just

not the same when all the

McLeods aren’t there.

Ryan McLeod has been

helping out his parents,

together with his two siblings,

Heather and Adam, for as long

as he can remember. Now that

he is older, he wants to be able

to devote his free time to his

own family.

“You work all week and you

want to spend the weekend

with your kids, and you can't

do that if you're out here," said

Ryan. "It's not just October

either; it's all year round,

pulling weeds and planting.

It's a pretty big time commit-

ment."

Despite the amount of work,

Ryan said he will miss a lot of

things about working at the

farm. He has made many con-

nections over the years being

there and enjoys seeing old

friends when they come by to

chat and catch up with the

family. The entrepreneurial

aspect of farm life is another

thing Ryan has valued and the

experience he gained has

helped his own career.

The family going their own

way isn't the only problem that

has taken root for the

McLeod’s pumpkin business.

There are many variables that

can affect pumpkin farming.

For example, too much rain

caused problems for the

McLeods this season. “We had

to keep going in and keep

planting the pumpkins

because it would rain and the

soil temperature wasn't warm,

and the seed would rot," said

Helen. "You couldn't even

drive a tractor on the field

because it was too wet, so we

had to do it by hand."

Even with the end of their

pick-your-own pumpkin patch

and corn maze, McLeod

Farms won't be closing down

entirely. The McLeods will

continue farming, but with

crops that are easier on their

land.

"Our farm has planted a

pumpkin and berry crop for

years. It takes a lot out of the

soil even though we are put-

ting in a lot of fertilizer," said

Helen. "We need to rest that

land and put in a crop that's

not going to draw so much

from it."

The McLeods have recently

planted a new crop of straw-

berries and they also plan on

planting soy beans to fill in

their fields. This might be the

last pumpkin harvest, but

Helen and Ryan said they are

both interested in making sure

the grandkids still get to expe-

rience some sort of farming

life. Even though their pump-

kin picking days will be over,

for the McLeods, it seems that

farming will always run in the

family.

People pick their own pumpkins at McLeod Farm’s pick-your-own pumpkin patch on Sunday Oct.12, 2014 in Cottam, Ont.

Photo by Klay Coyle

Klay Coyle


Thankful for theturkey, not the excess

According to a recent

report, the average

Canadian eats almost twice

their recommended daily

amount of calories and

three times the fat in just

one traditional

Thanksgiving dinner.

Health Canada says the aver-

age male aged 19-30 should

consume around 2,700 calo-

ries and 80 grams of fat in one

day. A report conducted by

the Calorie Control Council

found that at Thanksgiving

and Christmas dinners, the

average person “may consume

more than 4,500 calories and a

whopping 229 grams of fat

from snacking and eating a

traditional holiday dinner with

turkey and all the fixings.”

Sara Grivas, 45, is a nutri-

tionist in Livonia, Michigan.

She said tradition is one of the

main reasons we overeat

around the holidays.

“People connect food with

family, love and childhood

memories and they will often

want to recreate those

moments,” Grivas said.

Grivas also said what is

unhealthy is not only the

amount of food we eat, but

also the types of food, the way

the food is prepared and the

amount of alcohol we drink,

which in turn lowers our inhi-

bitions and leads us to contin-

ue eating.

Former Petty Officer first

class, Jeff Marcinkowski, of

the U.S. Coastguard, is now a

health food and lifestyle advo-

cate. He said he believes it is

commercials and the media

that cause people to overeat

around the holidays and such a

routine can have a negative

effect on a person’s mental

state.

“Commercials and media get

us geared up for the feast,” he

said. But binging and overeat-

ing “may tend to push people

into a slight depression

because of the mind play

which goes on with the indi-

vidual. So the depression

swing occurs: re-commitment

to healthier life style happens,

the individual gets more

focused and lives healthy until

the next binge which could be

worse and the cycle intensi-

fies.”

There are always healthi-

er options to consider

around the holidays,

though as Grivas pointed

out, the tradition of “break-

ing bread together” is an

old and difficult one to

change. She suggested

things such as going gluten

free, choosing low-fat

foods and eliminating

processed foods.

“Oils, butters, cream,

gravies – all these things

can be substituted or elimi-

nated for healthier options

without jeopardizing

taste,” she said.

Marcinkowski said the

best way to enjoy a health-

ier holiday meal is to have

an all-around healthier

lifestyle.

“We can always establish

new traditions over the

holidays,” Marcinkowski

said. “But the best way to

do this is to eat healthier

all the time. When you eat

healthy on a regular basis

and others know you do, it

becomes easier to stay in the

healthy mode.”

With holiday dinner par-

ties, another cold winter

and comfort food just

around the corner, Grivas

said Canadians can make

small changes such as

drinking more water and

less alcohol, limiting the

amount of snacks before

dinner and trading in tradi-

tional dishes for low fat

ones can help keep the hol-

idays healthy.

Ashley Ann Mentley


Sara Grivas, 45, is a nutrition-ist, student and mother. Shesaid it's not always easy tomake healthier choices, butthe options are certainly avail-able.

Photo by

Matt LaVere Photography

The Converged Citizen - October 22, 2014.

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Transcript of The Converged Citizen - October 22, 2014.