“Harness, Hedda,” said16-year-old Orangevilleresident Laura Jotham, asshe stood holding a blackCanine Vision Canada(CVC) harness in front ofher small black LabHedda.

Hedda was almostimmediate in her response.Putting her head through

the harness, she waitedpatiently for Laura tosecure it to her small body.

Laura and Hedda havebeen together now for amonth. The first 26 ofthose days were spent inOakville at the Sir JamesDunn Dog Guide TrainingCentre, created by theLions Foundation ofCanada.

“I’ve never stayed

away from home that longbefore by myself,” saidLaura. “I thought it wasgoing to be a completelyuncomfortable situation.But it was great, the staffwas great and the accom-modations were fantastic.”

Laura has Retinopathyof Prematurity (ROP),which is a blinding eyedisorder that primarilyaffects premature infants.Laura was born at 26weeks, spending almosthalf the first year of herlife in hospital. She devel-oped ROP during thattime.

Laura is legally blindwith only 10 per centvision in her right eye, andnone in her left. Sincecompleting the program inOakville she has found shecan move through life withmore confidence.

“It’s not necessarilythings I wouldn’t havedone before, but now I’mjust that much more confi-dent,” said Laura. “I don’tneed to wait for someoneto take me or wait for afriend to go with me.”

Since graduation Laurahas been readjusting to life

at home with her newcompanion.

“It’s been a bit difficultjust because I have to bal-ance her (Hedda) andschoolwork and every-thing else,” she said. Shewas quick to add that heranxiety came from beingunable to relate to thisexperience and not know-ing what to expect.

Laura commented thatshe was glad the programwas a bit lengthy. She wasable to establish a workingroutine with Hedda thathas continued since theyarrived home.

Greg Clarke, CVC’shead trainer in Oakville,said that for clients theprogram doesn’t end at theend of the training session.After the client returnshome, within between twoweeks and a month a train-er will visit them at hometo make sure the dog is lis-tening to commands andthe client is happy.

“I can vouch for a thor-ough, all-encompassingcurriculum,” Laura said.She commented thatthroughout her time inOakville they were given

various tasks to accom-plish that simulated reallife.

“It costs $6,000 to traina dog in the Canine visionprogram,” said Mr. Clarke.Funds as well as the num-ber of dogs bred andaccepted to the trainingprogram are among theproblems that face theLions Foundation ofCanada.

“There is no cost to aclient,” he added.“Everything’s coveredfrom (the client) beingassessed, flying toOakville or any othertransportation to get here,their stay here is all takencare of.”

Since her enrolment inthe program Laura andHedda have accomplisheda lot together.

“We did a trip inDowntown Toronto usingthe subway, using theescalators,” Laura said.She commented thatbefore Hedda she was ter-rified of both those things.But now ‘it’s like noth-ing.’

They also did thePurina Walk this past

weekend. “It was really, really

good,” she said. “I thinkit’s important for people tosee the end result, whatthey are helping accom-plish.”

She stated that the walkis something that shehopes to continue doingannually with Hedda.

“Walk for dog guides isa big fundraiser for theprogram, it helps us con-tinue what we are doing,”said Mr. Clarke.

Before, the CVC uni-versity for Laura was start-ing to fade away for her.Now, it is still a bigunknown but now sheknows that wherever sheends up going, she won’tbe alone.

“On the back ofHedda’s tag it says ‘Pathto Freedom,’ which is real-ly what she is,” Laura saidof the dog resting patientlybeside her. “I think thereshould be more facilitieslike this and I think thatanyone who can partici-pate or volunteer theirtime or donate shouldbecause it’s a great thingto do.”

Orangeville Citizen/Free Press and Economist June 10, 2010 A5

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able to service it for hous-ing.

Mr. Young sought tohave the 20 acres redesig-nated but Mr. Wever saysit would be difficult tomeet the provincial criteriafor including it for devel-opment.

However, the councilwill consider the request

prior to next Monday’smeeting, after which thefinal draft of the OPreview is expected to becirculated to the provinceand various agencies.

Three of the major con-siderations for the firstdraft would be therequired sidewalks, theheight restrictions, andpossibly the Besleyrequest.

• From page A4

Challenged by PPS

Black Lab Hedda now Laura’s eyesBy LINDSEY PAPP

Staff Reporter

The Mono Nordic SkiClub will hold its 11thannual trail run thisSunday, October 17.

One of the most populartrail runs of the fall season,the event will take place atMonora Park, just north ofOrangeville on Highway10. Its features include amulti-purpose area for useby participants before andafter the run; alunch/snack bar andindoor washroomsequipped with showers.

There will be doorprizes as well as prizes forthe top male and femaleparticipants and top threeelementary-level racers.

The trail run will usethe club’s five-kilometrecross-country ski trail,which takes participantsthrough a colourful standof hardwood trees, somefragrant pines and past aninviting pond, as well asup and down some chal-lenging hills.

And this year the club isoffering a new event in theform of a unicycle race

over the full five kilome-tres.

All told, there’ll be1.5k, 5k and 10k runs,with the shortest for ele-mentary school childrenand the longer runs for allfive categories – elemen-tary, high school, post-sec-ondary, Open and Master(40 years and over).

The event, which willstart at 10 a.m., involvespre-registration fees of $5for kids 12 and under, $15for youths 13 to 18, $20for adults and $10 for allentrants in the unicyclerace.

Entrants will berequired to sign waiversand register no later than9:30 a.m. Sunday. Youthsand adults registering onrace day will face an addi-tional $5 fee.

All proceeds will go tothe club’s racing program.

It has been four monthssince Laura Jotham gradu-ated from the Sir JamesDunn Dog Guide TrainingCentre and came home toOrangeville with her dogguide Hedda. Since then,Laura has had to be re-enrolled into the trainingprogram with her new dogWatson.

Laura has Retinopathyof Prematurity (ROP), ablinding eye disorder thatprimarily affects prema-ture infants. She devel-oped ROP after she wasborn and today is legallyblind with only 10 per centvision in her right eye andnone in her left.

Laura plans on further-ing her education afterhigh school. Having aguide dog that is able tokeep up with how she willbe living her life in thefuture was really impor-tant to her.

“With Hedda, I had herat home for a couple ofmonths and she wasn’tkeeping up with me,” shesaid.

During a follow-upvisit from Laura’s trainer itwas decided that Hedda

wasn’t working out wellenough for Laura’s needs.Hedda was brought backto the school to see if someextra training would helpiron out the problems shewas having.

“If I wanted to get upand go, she wouldn’t getup for me, she wouldn’tgo,” said Laura. “Heddawas great in training butshe wasn’t working outwhen she came home.”

There was no changeand it was agreed that anew dog should bebrought in.

Laura says she was notdeterred by her experiencewith Hedda. She under-stands that sometimes adog and a person are notwell suited for one anoth-er, and she is much moreoptimistic about her newguide, Watson.

“He is fantastic, hekeeps right up with me,”she said. “We have offi-cially been training togeth-er for three weeks.”

Watson is a two-year-old golden Lab cross who,according to Laura, has a‘great work ethic’.

“He will lie low whileI’m in class but when wehave to go he’ll get up andgo.”

Instead of requiring herto go back to Oakville fora month to complete thetraining for a second time,the Sir James Dunn DogGuide Training Centre hasbeen very accommodat-ing. They are allowingLaura and Watson a homeplacement where theirtrainer will visit them acouple times a week sothey can train together inLaura’s home environ-ment.

“It’s my grade 12 yearand I can’t afford to take amonth off school thisyear,” said Laura. “Theschool is so great, I’mreally blessed to havethese people in my life.They are very accommo-dating.”

A trainer visits Lauraand Watson a couple timesa week in Orangeville towork with them.

“The school is there if Ineed them, and training inmy area is working outwonderfully,” said Laura,who will be graduatingfrom the program inNovember. She has plansto visit the Lions Clubaround Christmas to showthem how she and Watsonhave been doing.

Orangeville Citizen/Free Press and Economist October 14, 2010 A11

• From page A8

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THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF SHELBURNE NOTICE OF COMPLETE APPLICATION AND PUBLIC MEETING

UNDER SECTION 34 OF THE PLANNING ACTTake notice that the Council of the Corporation of the Town of Shelburne has received acomplete application for a Zoning By-law Amendment and will hold a public meeting on:

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2010

The public meeting is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m, or as shortly thereafter as possible,and will be held in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Office, 203 Main Street East,Shelburne.

The purpose of the meeting is to consider a proposed Amendment to the Town of ShelburneZoning By-law No. 38-2007. Take notice that the application has been deemed complete sothat it can be circulated and reviewed.

The land subject to the proposed amendment is known municipally as 219 First Avenue anddescribed legally as plan 12A Block 10, Lots 16 and 17, in the Town of Shelburne. Thesubject land has an approximate frontage of 30.2 metres (99 feet) on First Avenue, and alot area of 0.13 hectare (0.32 acre). The accompanying map illustrates the location of thesubject property.

The purpose and effect of the proposed amendment is to re-zone the subject land fromMixed-Use Commercial (C2) Zone to a site-specific Mixed Use Commercial Exception (C2-#) Zone to permit a 4-unit commercial building and associated parking areas with reducedminimum landscaping requirements along the front and rear lot lines. The Zoning By-lawrequires a 3 metre wide landscaped planting strip between all parking areas and the streetline defined by the limits of the public right-of-way. The proposed parking areas wouldextend to the front and rear property limits with landscaping limited to a grassed areaadjacent to the proposed driveway entrance. An application for Site Plan Approval has alsobeen received by the Town.

At the meeting you will be given an opportunity to ask questions and indicate whether yousupport or oppose the zoning amendment. Written submissions will be accepted by theCAO/Clerk up to the time of the Public Meeting and will be given consideration by theCouncil prior to a decision being made.

If a person or public body that files an appeal of a decision of the Corporation of the Townof Shelburne, in respect of the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment does not make oralsubmissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the CAO/Clerk of the Townof Shelburne, before the proposed zoning by-law is adopted, the Ontario Municipal Boardmay dismiss all or part of the appeal.

Additional information relating to the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment is available forinspection at the Town of Shelburne Municipal Office at 203 Main Street East, during normaloffice hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on the Town’s website atwww.townofshelburne.on.ca. If you wish to be notified of the passing of the proposedzoning by-law amendment, you must make a written request to the Town at the addressbelow.

Dated at the Town ofShelburne on the 12thday of October, 2010.

John Telfer, CAO/ClerkTown of Shelburne203 Main Street EastShelburne, OntarioL0N 1S0Phone: 519-925-2600Fax: 519-925-6134

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NOTICEClients of the Law Office ofthe late James S. Reycraft

Thank you for your patience andunderstanding as to the closure of thelaw office of the late James S.Reycraft. The office is now closed.Client files are in the possession ofWade R. Mills, B.A., LL.B. Pleasecontact Mr. Mills should you requireinformation from your file. Mr. Millscan be reached as follows:

Timmerman, Haskell & Mills Barristers & Solicitors305 Owen Sound StreetShelburne, ON L0N 1S1(519) 925-2608 or (519) 925-2260wmills@shelburnelaw.ca

Thank you for your businessover the years.

The Estate of James S. Reycraft

abuts the rail line.We have had several

bush fires intentionallyset, in the dry grasses ofsummer, requiring firedepartment interven-tions. I personally had arock thrown at mybackyard deck, as wit-nessed by my next-doorneighbour, smashingmy glass picnic table.As the police reportedto me at that time, thereare transients livingunder the bypass bridgeat the bottom of thistrack. As well, therehave been sexual mis-demeanors related topeople using this track.

All of these issueshave kept the policebusy as they patrol thisarea of town and thank-fully walk down thistract in the dark in theirrounds. We owe them agreat gratitude inattempting to keep usall safe.

And finally, we cannever forget and onlyfeel such sadness anddevastation when wethink that only threestreets over, SoniaVaraschin, a belovednurse, a member of myprofession, lost her life,just some weeks ago.

We have been veryfortunate to have thesefour experienced, dedi-cated members of coun-cil making safety a crit-ical and ongoing issue.

I do hope the mem-bers of our communitywill recognize andrespect these candidatesand return them tocouncil, where, I knowthat we, as a communitycan count on them tomake sound, independ-ent thinking decisionsand keep safety in ourcommunity a criticaland ongoing issue. Godbless them in theirendeavours and thankyou, all of you, for serv-ing the people ofOrangeville.

Dorothy HilliardOrangeville

Councillors praised

Photo/LINDSEY PAPPS’COOLLIFE DONATION: On Monday October 4 Joyce Bakker, ShiftManager at Priszm Group (right) presented a cheque for $1,600 to NikkiHughson, grade 3/4 teacher at Orangeville’s Princess Elizabeth PublicSchool (left) from the S’coollife Fund. Mrs. Hughson contacted theS’coollife Fund asking for funds to purchase chimes to add to the schoolmusic program. S’coollife supports DREAMS – Drama, Recreation, Extra-Curricular, Arts, Music, or Sports – at school who apply. This program doesnot look to fund core academic subjects, but those areas that are no lessimportant to a child’s development.

Future’s bright for Laura and WatsonBy LINDSEY PAPP

Staff Reporter

Mono Nordic trail run set for Sunday