The Tri-Town News
Local teacher returns from African adventure
Cheryl Basden
Special/Tri-Town News
Imagine spending most of your life in one small town and then a unique opportunity arises to travel halfway around the world to live and breathe another culture so vastly different ... a place where you meet people with names like Promise and Letters, where you fall asleep each night to the sound of jackals in the distance, and where you wake up to find a giraffe grazing near your doorstep.
Leamington school teacher Rosie Gebrail was handed such an opportunity and spent two years living an adventure in the small town of Magaliesburg, South Africa.
The 33-year-old Grade 7/8 teacher at St. Louis School recently returned home from her job at Magalies Retreat, a game reserve near Johannesburg, with many new friends added to her BlackBerry, several interesting stories, and a greater appreciation for her Canadian roots.
Gebrail was thrilled to return to her family and to simple amenities including the grocery store and reliable hydro service.
"We were on a rural farm and a market was about a 50-minute drive on dirt roads," says Gebrail. "Electricity went out everyday - it was bad."
But she marvelled at the animals in their natural setting and the rare opportunity to live among them in a small cottage at the retreat.
Set in dense bush, rocks and mountainous terrain, 400 of the retreat's 650 hectares are devoted to wild game, including buck and zebra, baboons, wart hog, and giraffe. The remaining area offers lodging and conference facilities.
Visitors to the retreat have an amazing access to wildlife, to a vast selection of accommodation, and to activities including a gladiator arena, obstacle course, game viewing, mountain bike trails, and various sports.
"I miss the animals, some of the friends I made, and the weather was always lovely," Gebrail recalls.
"I don't miss the mosquitoes ... my legs are wrecked permanently."
Gebrail wasn't sure what her role would entail when she arrived there in 2009, but soon learned she would oversee much of the operations at the Magalies Retreat. Duties included everything from responding to requests for quotes, to creating team-building weekends to overseeing maintenance and wait staff.
Friendship is what brought her to South Africa. Gebrail graduated from the University of Windsor with her teaching degree, but jobs in Ontario were scarce so she moved to Alberta to teach at a charter school for three years. While there Gebrail befriended a girl whose family owned a mining company in South Africa. The girl’s father had recently purchased a gaming retreat and needed someone to run the operation. The family invited and paid for Gebrail to visit them in South Africa for two months in 2008. She stayed in contact with the family and in March 2009, the entrepreneur offered Gebrail the job opportunity.
"The owner asked if I would be willing to move to South Africa and help him and I thought 'when will I ever have opportunity like that?' ... the signing package included a vehicle, a phone, a house, food, maids."
Her parents were not excited about the prospect, but after contemplating the offer for a few months, Gebrail accepted. In June 2009, she left her home in Leamington and took a leave of absence from teaching.
"I worked hard there. I was up at 5 a.m. every day. I was juggling so many people that I had to become a problem solver. My new saying is: 'I'll make a plan. I'll sort it out.' When my students come to me now I apply that experience, those words."
While there, Gebrail had opportunity to visit Cape Town, a popular tourist destination. During her two-week vacation, Gebrail dined at a restaurant built out of a cave, went on a scenic garden tour, and visited an elephant sanctuary where she hand-fed elephants.
"I loved it. I really enjoyed being there. Never would I have met so many different types of people and experienced so many things I had never been exposed to." Although Gebrail treasures her experience, she prefers her life in Canada, in Leamington, close to her family and friends.
Former Leamington mayors recall their time as municipal leaders
Posted 2 days ago
Cheryl Basden
Special/Tri-Town News
Leamington's three surviving past mayors have a rich history with this town and while this article could take on a life of its own with their anecdotes, accomplishments, and lengthy political resumes, the Tri-Town News wondered what they've been up to since.
What happens when a person in a leadership role, meeting influential people including Canada's prime minister and Queen Elizabeth, returns to everyday life to become an ordinary citizen under a new leader.
The Tri-Town News offers a peak inside their lives today and reminds us what they achieved while in office.
The landscape of Leamington might be a lot different today if the men who led the community in the past two decades had not been in office. Would Leamington have a marina, a recreation complex, a revitalized Seacliff Park, or even a Walmart?
Perhaps those municipal amenities would exist today, but perhaps they wouldn't.
The significant decisions and roles former mayors Jim Ross, Dave Wilkinson and John Adams played led to those these community treasures.
Turn back time to 1992 before Ross was in office when the aging municipal arena on Erie Street North was the proud home of the Leamington Flyers, when the highway to Windsor ended in Ruthven, and when the land where Walmart and surrounding businesses stand today was an empty field. The progress these men and their councils made is evident.
Mayoral duties are still fresh in the mind of Leamington's most recent former mayor, Adams, but already it has been an entire decade since Wilkinson was in charge, and even longer for Ross.
Following a fierce campaign in a three-way mayoral race in the 2010 municipal election, Adams was defeated by Coun. John Paterson. The defeat ended an illustrious 27-year political career that began on the former Mersea Township council. Immediately after his loss, Adams took his wife Rose on a trip to the Grand Canyon, a place they had always wanted to visit.
After their vacation, the retired farmer applied for a part-time job at Nature Fresh Farms and today works 25 to 30 hours a week doing yard maintenance and looking after the greenhouse complex's sprinkler system.
"I just applied. I'm not one to sit around and watch soap operas. I like to get up in the morning and have something to do," Adams says.
In addition to his flexible part-time job, Adams enjoys boating with his wife Rose in the summer and spending time golfing in Florida during winter months. His four grandchildren visit often and enjoy the swimming pool on their family farm.
"And I'm actually catching up on movies I haven't seen for the last 27 years," Adams laughs.
Recently retired, Wilkinson now enjoys his winters in Florida with wife Marlene. The couple own a retirement home there situated on a golf course. The rest of the year, Wilkinson enjoys leisure time with friends and family including his two sons and three grandchildren. To read more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.
Learning the ropes at Gesstwood
Posted 2 days ago
Matt Weingarden
Special/Tri-Town News
Gesstwood Camp is learning the ropes.
The campground is now the location for the Challeges for Success ropes program, formerally owned and operated by the Windsor Essex Community Health Centre.
The course is a challenging outdoor personal development and team building activity, thought to have been developed by the ancient Greeks while training their soldiers.
The program is used world-wide and makes use of a variety of materials, such as rope, utility poles and street structures.
The ropes course at Gesstwood was built and developed in 2009.
"The ropes program has been in existence for 12 years," says Leda Conlon of the health centre. "Over that time we've had over 20,000 students and 10,000 adults go through the program." To read more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.
Wonder energy crop has its genesis in Leamington
Cheryl Vigh-Basden
Special/Tri-Town News
Tired of his livelihood being controlled by a volatile energy market, greenhouse tomato producer Dean Tiessen began the search for an alternative fuel source a few years ago and struck a goldmine with a tall perennial grass.
Today, Tiessen, the owner of Pyramid Farms and the New Energy Farms group of companies, is the pioneer for miscanthus, the leading energy crop in North America. The 43-year-old sought-after keynote speaker is attracting industry-leading researchers, presidents of global companies and investors from across the planet to his Leamington farm to discuss the potential of miscanthus.
"The universities I've been in contact with, the amazing people I'm working with from around the world - I've just been so humbled," says Tiessen.
The wonder of miscanthus is its rapid growth. A relative of sugar cane, it can grow up to four metres in a growing season.
"This has opened up just a massive opportunity, from sitting in an office with the president of BP Oil in the UK to having one of the presidents of Toyota Motors at our facility, to a farmer who wants to produce some animal bedding for his animal farm, to a guy in Atlantic Canada who wants to use an alternative heat source for his body shop."
Tiessen gets right to the root of his passion with the people he meets, rapidly pouring out his thoughts about the potential that miscanthus will have on his future, the future of agriculture, and any other industry open to its alternative uses.
"The growing of biomass is in its infancy and it's the beginning of a new economy for rural areas," he says.
"Being a primary producer, you have to be extremely focused on what you do to survive. This here has been almost impossible to focus ... it's endless as far as where the road is going to go, as far as opportunity."
Beginning in 2012, New Energy Farms will allow other farmers to expand and use miscanthus cost-effectively. The crop is being tested on their lands with plans to contract area farmers to grow the wonder plant at scale next year.
The company is currently constructing a processing building in Leamington to produce byproducts and process the biomass.
New Energy Farms uses miscanthus to heat 37 acres of Pyramid Farms' greenhouse tomato production.
The company is also investing in new cultivars and varieties to produce new material that can be marketed.
"I can chop it up and put it into my boiler to make heat to produce a tomato, so what else can I make out of it?" asks an enthusiastic Tiessen.
"As the agriculture community embarks on this opportunity we will see the different dynamics in terms of the products we can produce from miscanthus."
Miscanthus has been in Canada for about a century as an ornamental species with several varieties, but it hasn't been thought of as a viable source of energy until now. To read more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.
Hospital Chaplain provides consoling comfort
Cheryl Vigh-Basden
Special/Tri-Town News
At the most difficult times in people's lives - when grieving the loss of a loved one, news of a devastating medical prognosis, or even on their deathbed - Liz Chaplin is called in to console and bring peace as best she can.
As the chaplain of Leamington District Memorial Hospital, she's the comforting stranger who hugs a tearful family member, and the familiar face who sits at the bedside of a dying patient with answers of what to expect in the final days.
Chaplin may have what many would consider one of the most challenging careers, but believing she was called to this position, she finds it very rewarding.
"It is such a blessing to me. I always feel so humble that people allow me to be with them at such an intimate time," says Chaplin.
"Dying is an amazing passage of life ... it's just incredible."
Chaplin has sat with many people on their deathbed who speak of loved ones 'coming for them.'
"One man told me he saw his 'granny' minutes before dying," she recalls.
"I did my thesis on the spirituality of dying and I have many, many stories," says Chaplin, who is also an ordained Anglican deacon and a certified spiritual director.
Chaplin spends Monday to Friday at the hospital from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. providing spiritual and religious care to patients, their families, and LDMH staff.
"There is more than pastoral care. Providing physical comfort is right up there: holding their hand, listening to them, and being there for them."
Doctors sometimes ask Chaplin to visit patients who continue to cling to life despite their prognosis. Soon after Chaplin began as hospital chaplain, she was asked to visit a man dying of brain cancer. Medical professionals could not understand what was keeping him alive when he had not eaten for a few weeks. They asked Chaplin to visit him and she learned from his wife of their estranged daughter. To read more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.
Agriculture the focus of candidates’ debate
Matt Weingarden
Special/QMI Agency
Chatham-Kent Essex candidates engaged in a lively debate at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Tilbury on Sept. 15.
While several issues were raised, the state of agriculture in Essex County and Chatham-Kent predominated the discussion.
Attending were Liberal candidate Paul Watson, Progressive Conservative standardbearer Rick Nicholls and New Democratic Party candidate Aleksandra Navarro.
Louis Roesch, president of the Kent Federation of Agriculture, which sponsored the meeting, said there are numerous challenges faced by the region's farmers.
"We're here tonight to address some of the issues affecting the local farmers," he said. "We've put everything on the table and want candidates to weigh in on these factors."
Roesch said among the issues faced by farmers is the province's newly expanded Risk Management Program and the federal government's refusal to participate in the program's cost-sharing.
The program, Roesch explained, is designedto offset losses caused by low commodity prices in any given year. It's based on a cost of production formula and funded partly by farmers through premiums.
Payments, he said, would be made if the average price of a commodity, such as corn or soybeans, falls below an agreed support price.
Nicholls said a Tim Hudak government would be a "champion for agriculture and for the rural economies it supports."
He said it would be the "responsibility of the PC government to meet challenges and see farmers succeed and maintain farming as an attractive career choice for the next generation."
The PCs, he said, have a plan to implement a Buy Ontario food policy, and they plan to lead by example at public institutions such as hospitals and schools.
"We will deliver the business risk management program that the Ontario PC's have long championed... this has never been a priority of the McGuinty government, it will be ours from day one," said Nicholls. To read more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.
United Way donation
On September 14, the United Way kicked off its campaign in the county by travelling to each of the municipalities by trolley to present United Way flags to local workplaces, followed by a luncheon at the Essex Civic Centre. Above, United Way representatives and local volunteers gathered at the Leamington Municipal building in front of the classic vehicle representing one of the United Way's longtime supporters, the H.J. Heinz Company. Holding the flag, Leamington Deputy Mayor Charlie Wright and Kingsville Mayor and United Way team chairperson Nelson Santos.
COMING EVENTS
Friday, September 23 — The After School Bible Club will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a dessert evening at 7 p.m. at Meadow Brook Fellowship. Admission is free but please call if you plan to attend, 326-2382 before Sept. 18.
Saturday, September 24 – Japanese dinner served at the Leamington United Church, 5:30 p.m. Tickets $20 each and are available at the church office. Call 326-9461 for further information.
Saturday, September 24 - The Leamington Mersea Historical Society is meeting at the Museum, 121 Essex Rd. 14, Leamington at 12 noon. Please bring a bag lunch. Susan Poth & Janet Ferguson from the Weavers Guild will be speaking on Weaving and demonstrating spinning. Everyone is welcome. We are always looking for new members.
Saturday & Sunday, September 24 and 25 - Join the fun of the 32nd Annual Ruthven Apple Festival at Colasanti's Tropical Gardens in Ruthven. Fun for the whole family with all proceeds to Community Living Essex County. Enjoy over 100 craft and food vendors, parade, entertainment and car show, Farmer's Market. For more information call 519-776-6483, ext 246, or visit www.communitylivingessex.org.
Monday, September 26 – Friendship Dinner. 5:30 at Knox Hall, Knox Presbyterian Church, Leamington (corner of Setterington and Erie St. S.) Free home cooked meal with dessert and beverage for those in need.
Monday, September 26 - Ladies Night, 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Wesley United Church, 365 Sandwich St. S. Amherstburg. Purse, jewellery, sunglass sale. Come and browse these designer-like items. Coach, Betty Boop, Prada, etc. Gold for cash - bring your old or broken gold items - get money on the spot. Buy purses with old gold money
It's all about giving
Posted 2 hours ago
Cheryl Basden Tri Town News
Danny Bateman sits at a picnic table in his quiet neighbourhood park, one of his revitalization projects, and begins to talk of his many involvements throughout his life in Leamington. In the short time he is there chatting, Danny is warmly greeted by a handful of familiar faces passing by the park. Danny is one of those Leamington faces and names that many locals recognize. Some may remember him as a prominent small business leader in downtown Leamington for 34 years, while others may know him as an avid sports enthusiast who readily organized and managed sports leagues for local adults and youth. However people know him, many will agree that Danny, a lifelong Leamington resident, has made significant contributions to the fabric of this community. Hundreds of local residents have benefitted from his desire to improve situations or address identified needs in the area. "I've never been shy about starting something," says Bateman, who talks of his numerous projects and involvements in the scenic setting of Henry Park, an enhancement project he spearheaded. In 2004, Bateman organized the Friends of Henry Park to revitalize the community space located on Henry Ave. Within a year of neighbours' efforts to fundraise and gain community support, Henry Park was improved with the addition of a gazebo, benches, landscaping, paved paths, and new playground equipment. The added benefit for Bateman and his wife Jan was a new network of friends within their neighbourhood. "We never thought about that initially but it has brought the neighbours together," says Bateman. Neighbours continue to volunteer their time to maintain the park's upkeep. Currently, Danny is assisting another neighbourhood group that plans to improve a park on Leamington's east end. Bateman's long list of contributions includes: initiating and managing the Leamington Youth Chorus, a community choir for kids from eight to 14; organizing a junior church fastball league; and starting a parent group while his children attended high school that united parents from across Essex County to share information and present ideas to the board of education. The second youngest of seven children, Bateman's extracurricular involvement began in high school when his teachers recognized his leadership skills and encouraged his involvement in unique experiences including a UN seminar in Kingston and a leadership club hosted in London by the London Free Press and University of Western Ontario. "I wasn't really involved in a lot of anything but sports but I got asked by my teachers to do things … I guess they saw I was kind of a leader." After high school, Bateman was hired as assistant to the town's recreation director at the old Leamington arena and while there, the then-22-year-old organized his first community program – a basketball league at elementary schools. To read more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.
Funds approved for Carnegie Library building renovation
Posted 2 hours ago
By Matt Weingarden
Kingsville Town Council has allocated funding to go towards renovations at the Carnegie Library building located at 28 Division St. S.
"Earlier this year, through a strategic planning session, Council allocated $350,000 in funds to go towards work at the Carnegie building," said Sandra Ingratta, director of financial services with the Town of Kingsville.
Ingratta says she isn't sure of the exact specifics regarding what type of work will be done at the location but there are some building code and accessibility issues that need to be addressed to bring the building up to today's standards.
According to the minutes of the strategic planning session, Council's motion regarding the Carnegie building was to "further projects to enhance arts and cultural requirements by converting the Carnegie Library Building for use as an Arts Centre, Welcome Centre and seek partnerships." This motion was made to identify Council's intent to recognize the Carnegie building as a project eligible for developmental charges.
At a council meeting held August 29, Architect Joe Toth presented a series of drawings to Council. Town Council passed a motion to approve the elevation drawings and changes to the entrances.
The Carnegie Library building was erected in 1913 with a $5000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation. The edifice served as Kingsville's public library until 2010. Andrew Carnegie was an industrialist who used his fortunes to establish libraries around the world. To read more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.
Healthy colon key to overall wellness
Posted 2 hours ago
By Matt Weingarden Tri-Town News
If you are feeling a little sluggish, irritable and discontent the answer may be linked to your body's mid-section. The health of your colon may be directly proportional to your overall constitution and well-being. Stacy Meloche, a trained, certified technician in Colon Hydrotherapy, can help you feel great, lighter and enjoy a greater sense of well-being. Meloche says while skin, lungs and kidneys also serve to eliminate toxins, people throughout history have come to realize that when the colon is cleansed and healed, the well-being of the body is greatly enhanced. There is a renewal of interest in this type of natural healing methods. People are realizing the benefits of these ancient practices and returning back to these basics. The method of enemas, suppositories and laxatives, while useful, are not the same as a colon cleanse. A colonic is the gentle flushing of the large intestine. This flushing process occurs using a gravity fed irrigation system. The large colon is approximately 5 feet long and winds through the abdomen. The average person has 5-25 lbs. of decaying matter in their colon. There are numerous nooks and crannies where waste can build up. Over time, toxic waste accumulates in the large intestine and if these toxins are not removed, people may suffer from constipation, bloating cramping, stomach problems and fatigue. More serious problems including Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Diverticulitis and Chrohn's disease may also occur. "The colon regulates water distribution throughout the body," said Meloche. "If the water is filtered through these toxins and redistributed to other organs in the body sickness begins to occur. All of our organs work together as a team and too often they are thought of separate players." So, if colonics are so good for a person why then doesn't the family doctor recommend them? According to Meloche, physicians trained in western medicine know how to diagnose and deal with disease. They are able to treat the symptoms of that disease using medication and know relatively little of using holistic means of treatment. Essentially, if doctors recommended the use of holistics they would put themselves out of a job. The continued use of antibiotics actually destroy the good bacteria (pro-biotics) in the colon. Meloche says diet is the main factor when it comes to colon health. But while diet is important, how a person maintains after the therapy plays a major role. Maintenance is key. "There are so many processed foods in our diets every day. I understand the convenience of these foods but they really are working against us." said Meloche. "If your diet is primarily boxed, packaged or the drive-thru, that's a problem. Too often these days it starts at an early age." Meloche recommends juice fasts for one day a week where you drink nothing but fresh juices. Eating organic foods, a diet of mainly vegetables and fruits and whole grains can also help overall health and prevent a buildup of toxic waste. "Any and all dairy that you buy from a store is not good for you unless it's raw… from an organic cow that has been pasture raised and grass fed," said Meloche. To see more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.
Comets shoot for successful hockey season
Posted 1 hour ago
By Matt Weingarden Tri Town News
The Kingsville Comets begin their 2011-2012 season Sept. 18 with a Sunday afternoon home game against the Essex 73's. Despite a fourth place finish in the in the South Division of the Great Lakes Junior "C" Hockey League last year and an early exit in the first round of the playoffs, the coaching staff and players are upbeat and optimistic about the upcoming season. The Comets finished in sixth place overall in the GLJCHL with a record of 15 wins, 23 losses and 2 ties for a total of 32 points. "We were pretty happy with our performance last year, we were strong, even though we lost to Belle River four straight in the first round of the playoffs, we were in every game and had a chance to win every game." said Kingsville Comets Head Coach George Winter. "The first year we were here the game was over five minutes in. Last year we ended on a pretty high note with a lot of positives coming out of that and some momentum we are hoping to build on this year." Two years ago, Winter and General Manager Tom Kirby took over the Comets helm. At that point they had 18 kids returning from the previous season. Only six were to make the club that year. Some of those players hung around and played last year. "This is really the first year of really Tom's and my…our footprint so to speak," said Winter. "This is our team that we have built." Winters believes a key to the team's success this year will strong leadership from the veterans. "We've had some really good leadership in the past with Chris Bondy as captain. This year Andrew Meloche will wear the C." said Winter. "I think he will be an outstanding captain. He's already done a lot in the off season helping us with recruiting and meeting with players." Winter says he's also counting on leadership from the core group of players they brought in that first year including Adam Minovski, Justin Parker and Tyler Kirby. To read more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.
Kingsville a college town?
By Matt Weingarden Tri Town News
The official county launch of Eldercollege was held at the Pelee Island Winery in Kingsville last Thursday Sept. 8. The event was well attended by both potential students and local dignitaries. Eldercollege classes are available to those aged 55 and over who wish to engage in meaningful learning in a fun social environment. Eldercollege is currently offering a curriculum of 30 courses throughout Windsor- Essex County and is affiliated with Canterbury College at the University of Windsor. "Today's event is designed to officially launch Eldercollege in the county," said Lloyd Brown-John founder of Eldercollege. "We are inviting people to register today for our fall semester." The Eldercollege concept was initially started in British Columbia. There is an Elder College in Winnipeg but this is the first and only Eldercollege in Eastern Canada. Brown-John says the Windsor-Essex County Eldercollege model is unique because classes are being offered in the urban city environment and also in smaller rural communities like Kingsville. The legislature of Ontario approved a resolution on May 12, 2011 calling on the Ontario Government to support the development of Eldercolleges across the province based upon the model in Windsor-Essex. This rural-urban model is the only one across Canada. "The courses offered are very diverse. For example, the course I'm facilitating All You Wanted to Know about How Canada is Governed and but Were Afraid to Ask Your Mother has already got a fairly substantial enrollment. It looks like politics is popular stuff," said Brown-John. "I'm also doing a course here at the (Pelee Island) Winery and that will be very popular as well." Brown-John wants to make people aware that courses are already being developed for next semester at the end of February through May of 2012 and he is thinking ahead to sessions for the autumn of 2012. Because of the nature of Elder College Brown-John says they have to keep moving with the development of new courses. He says he is on the constant lookout for new facilitators to come in and teach and develop new classes. You do not have to be 55 to facilitate a course. Brown-John says they are always looking for partnerships and opportunities to engage people in both facilitating and studying. "You must be over 55 to enroll in these courses. It's designed for seniors and it's designed to provide what I describe as brain-food for seniors," said Brown-John. Among those in attendance was Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos. He is thrilled at the opportunity to call Kingsville a "college" town. "I think Eldercollege brings us into a new dimension, especially when attracting seniors and retirees to our community," said Santos. To read more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.
