Brockville native Shawn Dawson com-pleted the last two climbs in his historic quest to reach the seven highest continental summits of the world in less than 24 months, a feat that less than 10 people in history have been able to achieve.

The final two pieces of the puzzle were Indo-nesia’s Puncak Jaya, and Australia’s Carstenz Pyra-mid. Dawson completed both to quash the idea that Australia and Ocean-ia are sometimes treated

as the highest continental peaks. The difference is the continental peak and the geological peaks be-ing Castenz Pyramid and Puncak Jaya respectively.

In Indonesia, Dawson was faced with a differ-ent challenge, trekking for four days through the tough jungle just to reach the base of Puncak Jaya. “The approach to get to the highest mountain in Oceania was extremely difficult, possibly even harder than the mountain itself”, said Dawson, add-ing that the physical chal-lenges were extraordin-arily difficult with the

torrential downpours that seemed unending during the trip through the dense jungle.

“Twenty hours a day the rain poured down on the team”, said Dawson. “The mud was knee-deep and filled with snakes, spiders, thousands of ants and mosquitos and hectic river crossings”.

Puncak Jaya is world renowned for the difficult approach to the base of the mountain. “This has been called the hardest trek on earth, and it lived up to its reputation”.

THE

PROUDLY SERVING BROCKVILLE and SURROUNDING COMMUNITIESdand SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES

bserverO VOLUME 2, ISSUE 21 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 FREE

Your FREE Guide to Area Homes Inside!

www.thebrockvilleobserver.ca

Relay senior boys The senior boys sprinters smashed a pair of EOSSAA records on Friday, handily win-ning the 4 x 400m and 4 x 100m titles. Pictured here is Trent Corney handing off to Chris Cauley during the 4 x 100 final.

PHOTO BY AUSTIN DE LUIS Seven members of the Kilimanjaro climb in April pose with team leader Shawn Dawson at a party to celebrate his historic achievement.

Dawson completes his dream list

DAWSON continues on page 2

Fine Leather and Cashmere Knit Accessories at Factory Outlet Pricing

Men’s & Ladies Accessories, Fine Leather Dress Gloves, Pashmina Shawls & Scarves, Cashmere Sweaters, Gloves, Hats, Scarves, Wraps

840 Walker St., Prescott, ON613-925-4242

Hours: Mon. - Sat. 10:00 - 4:30portolano@ripnet.com

PORTOLANO GLOVE OUTLET

seasonstartshere! 170 King St W Brockville • 613-499-2225

Now

Open!

Hearing CentreEstablished Family Business Since 1989

68 William St. 613-342-3217Ask theMaddens

BATTERY SPECIALBuy 2 Packages & Receive 1 Package FREE

By Austin de LuisThe Observer Editor

25 ELEANOR ST BROCKVILLE613-342-0234

2005 Pontiac Pursuit 2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac Adrenalin

$9,995 $34,995

RIVERSIDEwww.riversideford.ca

Sunroof, Leather, Power Seats, DVD Entertainment System, Trailer Tow Package, 38,000 kms

Stock ID: U8726R

4 dr, Auto, Air, Pwr Windows/Locks,Cruise Control, 73,300 kms

Stock ID: U8667RA

Page 2 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 THE OBSERVER

The ObserverNEWS

Ph: 613-342-7122 or Toll Free 1-877-342-7122 Online Sales www.brockvilleartscentre.com

June 29 & 30

July 27 & 28

July 13 & 14

August 3 & 4

July 20 & 21

August 17 & 18

2011 PRICEDEX SUMMER SERIES

SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS & SINGLE TICKETS NOW ON SALE!Brad Sharron, DD65 George St. Brockville613-345-2110

Complete - Partial DenturesRelines Repairs Soft LinersImplant Dentures

NO REFERRAL NECESSARY

TAKE THE TEST:ARE YOUR DENTURES LOOSE

CRACKED & WORN?

OVER 5 YEARS OLD?

IN YOUR POCKET?

MISSING TEETH?

CAUSING GUM PAIN?

DAWSON continues from page1

After drying out cloth-ing and basking in the rare sunshine for a day, Daw-son and the group set off on summit day. “It took 15.5 hours from base to summit and back to base”, said Dawson, adding that a lack of experienced climbers, weather condi-tions and safety concerns made summit day longer than expected.

Dawson has faced many challenges over the past 24 months and eight summits, some were ex-pected, and others were not. “Preparation and determination are the best assets a climber has through these challenges”, said Dawson.

Some of the biggest challenges from the sum-mits are catalogued in Dawson’s achievements over the last two years in his own words.

Denali “Sixteen days of carry-

ing a 60 pound pack and pulling a 40 pound pack, while escaping a near fall of 200m into a giant cre-vasse”.

Aconcagua “120km winds and en-

countering my first dead body”.

Vinson Massif “Temperatures of sub

50 below and trekking through the ice fields of Antartica”.

Everest “The countless dan-

gers with the long men-tal challenges during the most dangerous climb on earth”.

“Stepping over a dead body to reach the top knowing that could easily be me”.

“The overwhelming joy of feeling the presence of my deceased father and grandparents as I reached the summit of Everest. The highest point on earth”.

Kilimanjaro “The pleasure of shar-

ing my experiences of Kilimanjaro with my close friend and the special girl in my life”.

Dawson will be look-ing for a break, after put-ting his body through the harsh environments that comes with climbing the world’s highest peaks. “I looked forward to giving my girl Cherie a huge hug and seeing my friends”, said Dawson. “I have some business to get to opening a new restaurant in Ot-tawa but I will never forget having the opportunity to represent my hometown of Brockville to the world”.

Members of law en-forcement and the Special Olympics car-ried the torch through downtown Brockville on Friday morning to raise awareness for the programs and athletes of the Special Olympics.

PHOTO BY

AUSTIN DE LUIS

INXS has announced the first set of North Amer-ican summer concert dates on “The Original Sin Tour.” The band will kick off the tour in Canada on July 3rd, with their first U.S. show slated for July 17th. A coast-to-coast run of 15+ dates includes stops at The Wiltern in Los An-geles July 22nd and The Beacon in New York on August 4th. The band will be the musical guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this Friday, May 27th performing with Pat Mo-nahan (Train) the newly revamped version of the classic INXS song “Beauti-ful Girl” from their new studio album Original Sin. View an exclusive behind-the-scenes video of Mo-nahan in the studio with INXS recording the track, on YouTube.

The album’s first sin-

gle, “Original Sin” featur-ing Rob Thomas and DJ Yaleidys, has officially topped the Billboard Dance Club Play chart and is the #3 Most Added track at college radio. “Original Sin” featuring Rob Thom-as and DJ Yaleidys is the band’s first ever number one Billboard dance single,

with the original version of “Original Sin” peaking at #17 on the Billboard dance chart in 1984. Check out an exclusive behind-the-scenes video of Thomas and Yaleidys in the studio with INXS recording the track, on YouTube.

Hailed by critics as a “rewarding collision of

nostalgia and modern-ism” and a “cleverly and lovingly assembled col-lection,” Original Sin, an ambitious album project two years in the making, teams the band with musi-cians from around the globe, from superstars like Ben Harper, Pat Monahan, Rob Thomas, Tricky, and

Nikka Costa to up and comer DJ Yaleidys of Cuba, to reinterpret and revital-ize their own classics for a whole new generation.

One of the most notable and successful rock bands of all time, INXS has sold over 35 million albums worldwide with the group’s music remaining in con-

stant radio rotation and in DJ sets nightly across the globe. To this day, the group’s multi-platinum landmark albums Listen Like Thieves, Kick, and X are all widely regarded as music collection staples. Huge chart-topping hit sin-gles including “What You Need,” “Need You Tonight,” “Devil Inside,” “Never Tear Us Apart,” “New Sensation” and “Suicide Blonde” have been featured in numer-ous films, advertising cam-paigns and video games, earning the band count-less accolades and awards around the world, includ-ing several Grammy nom-inations, and is the driving force behind selling over 15 million albums in the U.S. alone. With a career span-ning three decades, first as the Farriss Brothers, then as INXS, brothers Tim, Jon, and Andrew Farriss, along with Kirk Pengilly and Gar-ry Gary Beers have created some of the most enduring music in rock.

INXS announce “The Original Sin Tour” summer concert datesWill perform at Riverfest July 3

Special Olympics Torch Run in Brockville

THE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 Page 3

The ObserverCOMMUNITY

*Top 1% Across Canada - Serving Brockville Since 1985

You Get A Whole Team Of Professionals Working For You

www.brockvillehouses.comRodney Keary

BrokerJoe Madigan

BrokerJennifer MacDonald

Sales RepresentativeBradley SullivanSales Representative

Mary Ann KearyBroker

Sharla HannaClient Care Co-ordinator

ProAlliance Realty, BrokerageIndependently Owned and Operated

Direct 613-345-3404 Office 613-345-3664

1297CtyRd2.com

137ChurchSt.com

1297CtyRd2 com

137ChurchSt com

10VanierDr.com

$284,900 MLS®

305-55WaterStE.com$272,000 MLS®

17VanstonRd.com

$149,900 MLS®

$224,900 MLS®

52BartholomewSt.com

207-109KingStE.com

$149,900 MLS®

2308 Glen Smail Road

1410McDonaldRd.com Tall Ships Landing

$349,900 MLS® $299,900 MLS®

$264,900 MLS®

354 County Rd 1, Toledo

109HartleySt.com

$1.7 mil MLS®

3RichmondSt.com

1030 Fitzsimmons Drive

10-10:30

11:30-12

$229,900 MLS®

$429,000 MLS®

ST. LAWRENCE RIVER

2ElmSt.net$269,900 MLS®

TRIPLE GARAGE

EXTENSIVELY RENOVATED

RIVER VIEWS

BREATHTAKING VIEWS

1823-1825CountyRd2E.com$549,900 MLS®

RIVER - C2 ZONED

229FulfordPointRd.com

$395,000 MLS®

$229,900 MLS®

$199,900 MLS®

ST. LAWRENCE RIVER

67 Granite Ridge Road$449,900 MLS®

INDOOR RIDING ARENA GREAT BUY

23+ ACRES

UPDATED

$179,900 MLS®

193CronkWoodsRd.com

OAK KITCHEN

MINS. TO CITY

5 BEDROOMS

THE EXECUTIVE

OVERSIZED GARAGE

Bridlewood

BUILDING LOTS• Cty Rd. 29 - $19,900 mls/each• Cty Rd. 46 - $34,900 mls• Serviced City Lots -

$44,900-$72,900 mls• 143.24 Acre Lot - $129,900 mls• Granite Ridge Rd - $150,000 mls

Starting at

sold

SATURDAY TOUR OF HOMES

1-1:30

What could be more natural than the 1000 Islands Jazz Festival, the 1000 Islands Wine & Food Festival and ART in the City working together to create a weekend that will be a feast for the eyes, ears and appetite?

The 1000 Islands Jazz Festival will be dropping in to provide musical inter-ludes throughout the two-day festival. Come and enjoy the fantastic sounds performed by talented jazz festival participants in a fun and lively environment.

The 1000 Islands Wine & Food Festival 2011 runs two days, Friday June 17th - 4pm until 9 pm and Sat-urday June 18th – 11am until 8pm. This year it will be held in the Brockville Memorial Centre.

Festival Adult Admis-sion is $8.00 and includes a complimentary wine glass.

The 11th Annual 1000 Islands Jazz Festival kicks off their week-long cele-bration Friday June 10 and runs alongside the Wine & Food Festival weekend with it’s finale at the Brock-ville Arts Centre Saturday, June 18, 2011.

The 1000 Islands Jazz

Festival has become a premiere jazz destination rightfully earning the title of the “Best Small Jazz Fes-tival in Canada”.

The Jazz Festival Com-mittee has worked hard to put together a dynamite line-up of jazz perform-ance. Something for every-one’s taste in jazz. High-lights of this year’s festival include the Latin Grammy winner Alex Cuba, a per-formance by the popular Emile Claire Barlow and the perennial favourites The Nylons.

A combined ticket can be purchased in advance

which gives you access to both fabulous festivals!

Please call the Brockville and District Tourism Office for more details.

A complimentary shuttle will be available to transport festival-goers to each venue as well as to and from Brockville ac-commodation partners and the Brockville Harbour.

For more information regarding the 1000 Islands Wine & Food Festival, please contact Dayna Earl, Special Projects Coordin-ator at 613-342-4357 or 1-888-251-7676; dayna@brockvillechamber.com

Jazz and more at the 1000 Islands Wine & Food Festival!

Page 4 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 THE OBSERVER

The ObserverNEWS

In recognition of the growing gap in services for Leeds and Grenville’s aging population, a team of lo-cal experts have recently launched a new Memory Clinic that will offer an array of memory-related services to patients with Alzheimer’s and related dementias, in hopes that the early intervention and stream-lined services will improve the quality of life for both the patients and their families. Operated by the Upper Canada Family Health Team (FHT), in partnership with the Centre for Family Medi-cine (CFM) and the Alz-heimer’s Society of Leeds and Grenville, the Clinic is comprised of two family physicians, two registered nurses, a social worker and a staff member from the Alzheimer’s Society of Leeds and Grenville, who will provide services on a primary care basis, a fea-ture that makes it unique within the South East Lo-cal Health Integration Net-work (LHIN).

“We recognized a gap in care in this region, which has made it difficult for

families to manage,” said team member, Dr. Linda Lee, a family doctor who specializes in the areas of dementia and Alzheimer’s, adding that the national statistics indicate that cur-rently, an estimated eight per cent of Canada’s popu-lation over the age of 65 will suffer from dementia later in life, with another 18 per cent having “mild cognitive impairment.”

Further, Lee continued that if one factors in fore-casts that 23 per cent of Ontarians will be over the age of 65 by 2040, the need for increased memory clinic services at the pri-mary care level becomes clear.

To that end, Lee has helped establish similar primary care memory clin-ics in 16 locations through-out the province with the assistance of her team from the CFM, in collabor-ation with the Ontario Col-lege of Family Physicians. These sites, explained Lee, serve a total patient base of between 350,000 and 400,000 people, and this figure will increase drastic-ally in the next 30 years as the province’s population continues to age.

The clinic’s physicians

will use “cognitive testing that is evidence-based and interpretive” in as-sessing patients. Services offered at the clinic will include referrals to other specialists in the field, though its chief function, explained Lee, will be to offer treatment at the family physician level.

“The idea is to provide holistic comprehensive care and early accurate diagnosis,” said Lee, add-ing that, to the best of her knowledge, the 16 clinics currently running in On-tario are the first of their kind in Canada, as mem-ory problems were previ-ously most often treated from a gerontological per-spective.

The clinic is a pilot pro-ject for the region. It will operate out of the Upper Canada Family Health Team office at 5 Home Street in Brockville. Servi-ces are available, by refer-ral, to any resident with a doctor in the Upper Can-ada Family Health Team office at 5 Home Street in Brockville. Services are available, by referral, to any resident with a doc-tor in the Upper Canada FHT a patient base of over 21,000 residents.

FHT’s Memory Clinic helps to fill gap in Leeds & GrenvilleBy Erin ChristieObserver Staff Writer

Members of the Upper Canada Family Health Team (UCFHT), the Centre for Family Medi-cine (CFM) and the Alzheimer’s Society of Leeds and Grenville, from left to right- Dr. Linda Lee, Dr. Denise Pajot, Dr. Meredith Armstrong, Executive Director of the Leeds and Gren-ville Alzheimer’s Society, Denise Wood, Dr. Jay Joworski, Dr. Shari Fahrngruber, Executive Director of the Upper Canada Family Health Team, Sherri Fournier-Hudson, Dr. Diane McIn-tyre, Sharon Dillon Martin (social worker), and registered nurse, Shelley Schmalz .

ERIN CHRISTIE PHOTO

Fitness Brockville

www.fitnessbrockville.com

When you join Fitness Brockville you join a community of

women just like you!fitnessbrockville@gmail.com

613-246-7777

Boot Camp Variety of classes for all levels - Beginner to Advanced Program based on lifestyle change, not a diet Beginning May 30th - Brockville and Prescott

to become HEALTHIER, LEANER and HAPPIER this summer!

Join “Fit with Britt” TV Host Brittany Byrd

Use the

code word

“Observer”& receive

$25Off!

Members of Brockville Tourism and the Brockville Concert Association are getting ready for the Wine & Food and Jazz Festivals.

THE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 Page 5

The ObserverCOMMUNITY

EVERYTHING

IN STOCK

IS ON SALE

19th Annual Fan SaleLangham 42” Antique Brass with Light Kit

Reg: $124.00

Blowout Price:$59.99Less than half price!

Arbour 52” Energy Star Fan Satin NickelIncludes Light Kit and LightBulbs!

Reg: $241.50

Sale Price:$149.99

OTHER BLOWOUT PRICING2 Light Contemporary Floor Lamp Reg: $225.00 Sale: $75.003 Light Bronze crystal/iron chandeliers Reg: $229.99 Sale: $129.99Track lighting 6 light track Reg: $207.99 Sale: $99.99 5 light track Reg: $175.00 Sale: $90.00 3 light pendant Reg: $122.00 Sale: $65.00

Hwy. 29 Brockville613-498-1486 1-800-598-7691

www.canadianlighting.com

Kinsmen Club of Brockville announced a Special Luncheon to Support Our Canadian Forces Troops

BROCKVILLE – The Kins-men Club of Brockville announced today that Brockville has been se-lected as one of the stops on the Portraits of Hon-our National Tour and that their members have begun planning a very special luncheon in hon-our of its visit.

The Portraits of Hon-our National Tour is scheduled to arrive in Brockville on Wednesday June 18, 2011. And the Kinsmen Club of Brock-ville will hold a lunch-eon on at the Royal Can-adian Legion Branch 96 in Brockville. Tickets are $20.00, seating is limited to 300 guests. For tickets, contact Kinsman Club President Don Russell 613-345-2030 or Chair-man Rob Smith at 613-498-0827.

The Portraits of Hon-our National Tour is centred on a 10’ x 35’ oil painted mural featuring the hand painted por-traits of the 155 Canadian soldiers, sailors and air-crew who have lost their lives while serving in Af-ghanistan. The mural has taken Kinsmen and vol-unteer artist Dave Sopha over 6,500 hours so far to paint but admits that his work won’t be complete until our combat mission in Afghanistan comes to a close.

The mural will be toured across Canada in a specialized mobile dis-play trailer commencing May 27, 2011 and organ-izers expect to raise over $1.5 million. The funds raised will support the Military Families Fund and established military charities to assist families of the fallen and to assist the thousands of military personnel who return home with physical or emotional injuries. Or-ganziers will also seek to fund other charities that offer additional troop and family support that falls outside of the Military

Families Fund mandate.Kinsmen Club of

Brockville Chairman Rob Smith hopes to raise $6000.00 when the Tour stops in Brockville. “There are so many brave men and women who proudly wear the uniform of the Canadian Forces and so many strong fam-ilies who remain behind to support them. Many of them need financial assistance. We need to make sure that ever dol-lar raised quickly finds its way to the people who most need it, and that our contribution will make a measurable difference in their quality of life,” said Chairman Rob Smith.

Kin Canada is Canada’s oldest all-Canadian ser-vice organization made up of men and women serving their commun-ities from coast to coast to coast. With a 90-year his-tory, Kin has raised well over $1 billion since its inception in 1920.

For information on the Portraits of Honour Na-tional Tour please visit www.portraitsofhonour.ca.

Portraits of Honour National Tour Scheduled to Visit Brockville

From cure to preven-tion of colorectal cancer, that’s the focus of the Third Annual Screen for the Cure Golf Tourna-ment being held on June 17th at the Brockville Golf and Country Club. Colo-rectal cancer is the fourth most commonly diag-nosed cancer in Canada, and the second leading cause in cancer-related deaths of Canadian men and women. Ironically, if screened and caught ear-ly, the chances for survival with this cancer increase by 95 per cent. To date, over $60,000 has been

raised by Screen for the Cure Golf Tournament, and all monies raised stay in the community—to purchase new colorectal screening equipment for the Brockville General Hospital.

Tournament begins on the 17th with a box lunch at 11:30 a.m., and shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. There are 144 players (36 teams of four). Registration fee is $150.00 ($100.00 for club members), includ-ing lunch, golf & cart, and dinner. Dinner is $50.00. You can register through the Brockville and Dis-trict Hospital Foundation at (613)-345-4478 or via

the Pro Shop at the club. Not a golfer? Donations are also appreciated and can be made through the Foundation.

“Colon cancer screen-ing is an important ser-vice for this community,” explains Dr. William Red-mond, BGH Chief of Sur-gery and Honorary Chair of Screen for the Cure.

“Be part of the pro-gram in Brockville and support the Screen for the Cure tournament. If you don’t golf, any do-nation will help our lo-cal community directly to increase our ability to provide state-of-the-art care.”

Screen for the Cure Golf Tournamenttakes aim at colorectal cancer

Dr. William Redmond, Honorary Chair of Screen for the Cure, and Michele Myatt, Super-visor of Central Supply Reprocessing for BGH, pose with the colonoscope needed for early screening of colorectal cancer.

Every teenage girl knows that grad is all about the dress. Countless hours are spent fingering through clothing racks, revolving in and out of changing room doors and posing in front of mirrors in search of that one dress that will make the mo-ment. Unfortunately, not every girl’s parents have the disposable income available to purchase the $300 or $500 dress of their daughter’s dreams. In order to give all girls the opportunity to find their dream dress, the female students of Brockville Col-legiate Institute (BCI), and members of the Relying on Other Teen Support club, recently hosted two 27 dresses and count-ing events, which offered gently used, donated graduation gowns that guests could try on and take home for free.

“Every girl should have the opportunity to feel special, regardless of what tax bracket they come from. No one should be left out,” said BCI teach-er and staff advisor for the event, Shannon Mc-Kinnon.

“We figured that every girl has a dress hanging in their closet that has been worn only once or has never been worn. I had a girl tell me she paid $150 for a dress that she only wore for three hours. When she brought it in she said she wanted someone

else to feel special just like she did when she wore it. Another girl brought in a dress and took one home. So there was also the op-portunity to trade in. In this economy, events like this make sense, even for those who can afford brand new dresses.”

It’s all about the dressBy Erin ChristieObserver Staff Writer

13 year-old Amanda Wells models her freshly chosen graduation gown, which she intends to wear to her Westminster Public School graduation ceremony, later this spring. Wells selected her gown from a closet of nearly 50 gently used dresses offered to the female stu-dents of all of the local elementary schools during BCI’s 27 dresses and counting event, held in the BCI library last Wednesday evening.

ERIN CHRISTIE PHOTO

By Erin ChristieObserver Staff Writer

The ObserverEDITORIALPage 6 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 THE OBSERVER

THE OBSERVER EDITORIAL

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

I have a motto, “If change was easy we would all be doing it!”

What book are you currently reading or what book do you recommend?

I am reading “A Keen Soldier” - It is the story of Private Harold Pringle from WW2 - He was the last Canadian soldier executed by his own government.

What characteristic do you most admire in others?

A sense of humour.

What characteristic do you most deplore in others?

Ignorance and people who are rude, there’s no need for it!

Who do you most admire, living or dead?My wife. I can’t believe what she puts up

with!

What do you do in your free time?Community events, bag-piping, boating,

we are so lucky with the river on our front step.

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

If I could make myself taller I would be happy. Based on my BMI I should be 9 feet tall! Haha!

What talent would you most like to have?Mechanical abilities, I can’t fix anything!

Who is your favourite hero of fiction?The men and women of our armed

forces and our veterans. They sacrificed so much for us and we take it for granted.

What is your most treasured possession?My home. It was built by my grand-

father and grandmother and protects the most important things in my life..my family!

TEN QUESTIONS WITH SCOTT FRASER

It isn’t as bad as you think Many people have had a friend or loved one who lost a

personal battle with depression for a variety of reasons. Almost everyone has had moments in time that seemed unbearable and struggled to see a way past these tragic points in their lives.

The difference maker in many cases is the support cast for the person in the situation. Getting past the critical ‘low-point’ can be the difference literally between life and death. Everyone has felt a weak moment and felt the weight crushing down on them, but after time passes, the effect of a difficult situation seems to lessen, and things revert back to more a state of normalcy.

Let a few days pass. Too many great people have been lost because they made the ultimate decision at the low-est possible emotional point of their lives.

To be in tuned with those close to you is key. Knowing when something is wrong is at times the responsibility of the support cast, as some people keep things hidden even from those closest to them. Let them know you are there to talk and always keep the lines of communication open.

Some tragedies could have been avoided with a little help from your friends. Be the friend that is proactive and sees the signs that may be subtle and aren’t always easy to spot. When you see them, do something about it. Seeing these signs and either not noticing their meaning or not acting, can be something that you come to regret.

Life can be hard, but it can also be great. Make it through the worst times and better days will be ahead.

Austin de Luis

Officer Cadet Eric Perreault from Trenton, left, and Civilian Instructor Jon Braz, right help secure Cadets Kyle Hall and Cameron Wales in the glider of Monday morning. The conditions didn’t allow for a glide but the Cadets were taken for a ride in the tow plane.

PHOTOS BY AUSTIN DE LUIS

In both his professional life, as a respected officer with the Brockville City Police and co-chair of the Safe Communities Coalition, and his personal life, as a husband, father and active volunteer, Inspector Scott Fraser works diligently to create positive social change. Here, Fraser takes a moment to reflect on Canada’s military, manners and the importance of good mechanical skills when he answers Ten Ques-tions for the Observer.

Pay attention to these signs of depressionIf you identify with several of the following signs and

symptoms, and they just won’t go away, you may be suffering from clinical depression.

• you can’t sleep or you sleep too much• you can’t concentrate or find that previously easy

tasks are now difficult• you feel hopeless and helpless• you can’t control your negative thoughts, no matter

how much you try• you have lost your appetite or you can’t stop eating• you are much more irritable and short-tempered than

usual• you have thoughts that life is not worth living

(Seek help immediately if this is the case)

We’ll begin this week’s column with a “no news is good news” story. After a flurry of e-mails and phone calls between Brockville, Australia and LCBO Head Office in To-ronto there has been a definite lull in communi-cations with Chateau Mildura and owner Lance Milne. As of the last in-stallment, an e-mail with a heading of “the order is almost here”, the ship-ment of Mildura wines was on its way and all the requisite LCBO paper-work was being com-pleted. Lance, a wee bit weary, but wiser about the LCBO system, was making plans for his trip to Brockville.

So, ever the optimist, I look on this as a posi-tive development. I urge you to stop and chat with Lance when you attend the 1000 Islands Wine and Food Festival, Friday June 17th and Saturday June 18th at the Brock-ville Memorial Centre. He has gone to an inordin-ate amount of trouble to travel halfway around the globe to reconnect with the hometown of his win-ery’s founder. He also has an intriguing selection of wines.

This year’s festival has a number of other local interest stories. Among those attending this year are Countryman’s Winery and two wineries new to the area. Eagle Point Win-ery, located in the town-ship of Leeds and the Thousand Islands, is pro-ducing wines from classic grape varieties, right in our backyard. Blue Gypsy Wines in Oxford Mills, are producing small hand-crafted batches of sulfite free fruit wines.

Ontario wines used to mean Niagara and Lake Erie wines. But these are exciting times, especially for those of us in East-ern Ontario. First there was the emergence of Prince Edward County wines and now winer-ies are popping up much closer to home. Maybe the “Waterfront Trail” can be joined by “The Eastern Ontario Wine Trail”.

For this week’s wine we’re going to head to Lake Erie, for The Pelee Girls 2008 Cab-ernet Merlot (CSPC# 435321, $12.95, Brock-ville Shopping Centre). Ontario’s wine industry has always given back

to the community by supporting a number of worthy charitable causes. Pelee Island continues to remain at the forefront of this effort, with 10% of the proceeds from Pelee Girls wines being do-nated to the Ontario As-sociation of Food Banks. So you can enjoy a great quality Ontario red and

help Pelee Island Winery support a very worthy cause.

Pelee Girls is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot and 10% Zweigelt. The latter might be a new grape to some, an Austrian specialty that has found a second home in Ontario. It brings gen-erous cherry fruit, soft tannins and a delicate spice to the blend.

Our Cabernet blend has a generous nose of bright cherry and red berry aromas with a gen-tle smoky quality. The medium weight palate is round and soft with raspberry, cherry and

plum fruit, a light pep-pery spice and a return of the smokiness evident on the nose. Medium soft tannins and a nice acidic grip balance the fruit, giving Pelee Girls a won-derful structure that por-tends great aging poten-tial. The finish has good length with the cherry and spice of the palate showing through.

A pleasant sipping wine, Pelee Girls will also perform yeoman duty as a barbecue wine to match with burgers or spicy sausages. Back in the kitchen it makes a nice partner for hearty tomato based pasta. Enjoy!

Take 800 lobster +150 lbs potato salad + 15 heads of cabbage with 20 lbs of carrots and other secret ingredients, 75 lbs of drawn butter, add the Rotary clubs of Brockville, as well as the T.I.S.S Sen-ior girls basketball, the students from the Travel club of T.I.S.S, plus the teachers and students from the Hospitality and Tourism program at the school. A man in a tuxedo and a beautiful women in a evening gown, let’s not forget four hundred hun-gry people.

For years now this com-bination in one way or another has led to a very successful and fun night in the Lobster House (main gym) at Thousands Islands Secondary. Other things are added to the recipe to make for a successful evening. There is a silent auction, and a bar to help pick just the right bever-age to enjoy the lobster with. There is always en-tertainment which helps

set the mood and add to the party like atmosphere.

The lobster comes in between 11 am and 2 pm on the day of service from the fresh catch in Mari-times. The potatoes are peeled and the cabbage shredded 600 buns are baked.

This is a true commun-ity event and a major fund raiser for the Rotary Clubs of Brockville! Four hun-dred people pay $50.00 dollars for 2 Lobsters with all the fixings. I have now worked 10 “Lobsterfests”, I have made friends that I see only at this time of year, people come togeth-er to celebrate and help with a good cause

The proceeds go to help with all the things Rotary does for our community, my students get a chance to see the kind of pace it takes to work in a real res-taurant environment, the Basketball team receives a few dollars to help off-set their costs, as does the travel club, and Brockville gets to eat lobster in the month of May and cele-brate another year of Ro-tary’s involvement in our community.

It is true event and people may not notice but everyone is excited! Thanks Rotary!

Peter Yerdon O.C.T. Red Seal

A recipe for success

THE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 Page 7

Tickets & Performances at Brockville Arts Centre

613-342-7122www.brockvilleartscentre.com

The Nylons

Sat.June 118:00 pm

AlexCubaThurs.

June 168:00 pm

The best small jazz

festival in

Canada

Presented by

The Observer OBSERVATIONS

on

To register for Computers for Success, contact the EEC at 613-498-2111 or email amy@eecentre.com

www.eecentre.com

OFF THE VINE

by Russ Disotell

Eastern developments, western wine

Ontario wines used to mean Niagara

and Lake Erie wines. But these

are exciting times, especially for those

of us in Eastern Ontario.

Rotary’s Lobsterfest at TISS Wednesday.

What a week!I’ve had some busy

weeks since my election as Leeds-Grenville MPP 15 months ago, but I think last week tops them all.

Of course, the big news was the announcement by PC Leader Tim Hudak that if we form government after the provincial elec-tion on Oct. 6, our party will take the provincial portion of the HST off of hydro bills as well as home heating oil, natural gas and propane. And we’ll also re-move the debt retirement charge on hydro bills.

This is great news for hard-working families like those in Leeds-Grenville who contact my constitu-ency office daily to talk about how difficult it is to make ends meet when fa-cing skyrocketing hydro bills.

Inside the Legislative Assembly, I didn’t spend much time sitting at my desk as it seemed I spent the entire week on my feet.

Here’s a look at just some of the local issues that had me standing up for and speaking out about Leeds and Grenville:

I spoke up for local bus operators when my caucus colleague MPP Elizabeth Witmer and I teamed up on a question to Education Minister Leona Dombrow-sky.

We asked the minister during Question Period how she can defend her new transportation pro-curement policy when it threatens to force local companies like Howard Bus Service in Athens, Brockville City Bus Lines, Clark Bus Lines in Ganan-oque and Healey Trans-portation in Smiths Falls out of business.

We’ll keep up the pres-sure on the Minister until she agrees to do what the PC Caucus has already

committed to and imple-ment a moratorium on the policy.

On Thursday, I partici-pated in an important de-bate about reforms to the Municipal Elections Act.

The focus of the amendment (introduced by Liberal MPP Jean-Marc Lalonde from Glengarry-Prescott-Russell) was to change the date on which new municipal councils take office to the second Monday in November from Dec. 1. This makes sense as the “lame duck” period that exists now with the election in late October is just too long.

However, during the debate I stressed the need to open up the entire act for an update. One glar-ing problem in need of an amendment is the time-line for municipal candi-dates to file their financial statements – and the pen-alties they face if they miss the deadline.

To drive home my point that the rules as they exist now just don’t make any sense, I used local ex-amples from Athens Town-ship and Elizabethtown-Kitley Township Councillor Earl Brayton. I also pointed out that Elizabethtown-Kitley Township and the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville councils have passed resolutions calling for this portion of the Act to be amended.

With the Legislative As-sembly set to rise on June 2, obviously there is not enough time to get that particular amendment through – but I’m commit-ted to making sure it hap-pens after the Oct. 6 prov-incial election, regardless

of which party forms gov-ernment.

During Member’s State-ments on Monday, Wed-nesday and Thursday, I was proud to tell everyone in the province about the pending grand opening of North Grenville Public Library, the 30th anniver-sary of Thousand Islands Playhouse and Burnbrae Farms’ Joe Hudson.

Perhaps the highlight, for me, came Thursday afternoon when the first bill with my name on it – Bill 185, the British Home Child Day Act – was passed into law.

Some MPPs can go an entire career without ex-periencing this feeling, so to have it happen so early in mine was a terrific hon-our.

The bill proclaims Sep-tember 28 of each year as British Home Child Day in Ontario to honour the in-credible contribution they and their ancestors have made to our society.

It was a private mem-ber’s bill introduced by Liberal MPP Jim Brownell from Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry. This was the third time MPP Brownell had tried to get it passed, but what was different this time around was he had sponsors for his bill from the two other parties: myself and NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo.

Its passage proved to the public that despite the often bitterly partisan nature of Queen’s Park, individual MPPs can work together and accomplish great things.

Home children were orphans sent from the British Isles to countries like Canada with scarcely more than the clothes on their backs between 1870 and 1948.

They came to a strange land to work as domes-

tics and farm hands but through courage and perseverance managed to go on to raise families of their own and leave an in-delible mark on their com-munities.

Leeds-Grenville has a strong connection to the Home Children as Fair-knowe Home in Brock-ville was one of many “receiving homes” for the orphans after they arrived

from their voyage across the Atlantic.

I also spoke about the “Home Boys” exhibit that opens at the Athens Mu-seum this month. The dis-play highlights local stor-ies of home children in the Athens area, including the village’s legendary police chief, Scotty McLean.

As I mentioned, when the Legislative Assembly resumes on Monday, there

will be just four sitting days left until it rises for the summer on June 2 and we won’t be back until after this fall’s election.

So, I expect another busy week as we tie up all of those loose ends – and one thing is guaranteed: as your representative at Queen’s Park I’m going to make certain Leeds-Gren-ville’s voice is prominent during those debates.

Page 8 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 THE OBSERVER

The Observer OBSERVATIONS

613-342-5244 | www.brockvillemotors.ca | 1240 Stewart Blvd.

Every New Car has OurBest Sale Price Tag in theWindow for Easy Shopping• Finance Rates as low as 0%!• 3 years FREE Goodwrench Maintenance Plan• 5 year/160000 km Powertrain Warranty• 200 vehicles in-stock and on the way!• $1000 Bonus for loyal GM Customers!• Top Dollar for Trade-Ins!• We are shipping to the oil rich provinces!

John PotvinJohn Sheridan Russ Revell

Shawn Denesha Mark O'Neil Jacob Cassellman

Proud to be Brockville's S U P E R S E R V I C E Chevy Buick GMC Dealer!

customer

Appreciation

DaysCustomer

0%Financing

2011 Chevy Equinox

3 Year Free goodwrench Maintenance

Plan

Appreciation Days Sale Event!Exciting Special Customer

Thank You Party May 28th!

by Steve Clark

Queen’s Park

rePort

Leeds-Grenville a hot topic last week at Queen’s Park

A couple of days ago I was fortunate enough to spend time with my cousins from Greece. My one cousin Anna is a famous singer in Greece and was on her 5th North American tour. It still blows my mind how popular she is, and the reception she receives when she gets on stage. It always makes my eyes water, I’m so proud of her. Her sister Nikki and two daughters were also with her so I got to spend a couple of days with them in Montreal.

My sister and I spent all our summers with their family when I

was a child. As soon as school finished, my parents would send us to Cyprus. I was a very lucky child. My aunt and uncle treated us as if we were their own. I have so many fond memories of that time. This past weekend was bittersweet. We had a great time together, and it was like we had never been apart, but sad that we have never lived in

the same country. It was nice that my chil-dren were able to spend time with their children this weekend also.

Although my cousin is extremely famous, she has not changed at all. She treats us like Royal-ty when she has a show and makes my mom feel extra special. Spending time with her at the hotel was just like old times. We talked for hours about our lives and what we have been up to. She is a very special person, kind, beautiful and very talented. She has had all those traits since we were kids.

My cousin Anna Vissi

Page 14 WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2010 THE OBSERVER

The Observer VOICE

Unfortunately, we havespent a lot of time at theBrockville GeneralHospital this past monthwith our son. It has beenvery frustrating to be toldover and over again to goto Ottawa or Kingston byeveryone. The peoplethat are saying it have noidea of the excellent carethat our son has beenreceiving. The nurses onthe second floor havebeen incredibly caringand positive, eventhough they are extreme-ly short-staffed. Stayingat the hospital overnightwith even less staff on,they never get a break.Unfortunately, with theshortage, which I don’tunderstand, as there areplenty of unemployed

nurses, the patients donot get the care that theyneed. Unless a familymember is with thepatient at all times, theyneed to wait to be helpedfor little things, thatwhen you are in thepatient’s position are bigthings.

My husband and I havebeen helping differentpatients in the sameroom as our son withthese little things – likepulling up their blanket,or getting an extra blan-ket because they arecold, or pushing a table

closer to them, adjustingtheir beds.The nursesjust don’t have the timeto be there as they arewith other patients doingmore critical nursing.Another example is anolder gentleman, whowas in the same roomanother time. His mealswould come, the nurseswould set him up in hischair, and he would justsleep through the wholetime. What he reallyneeded was someone tofeed him, as he had nostrength to do it himself.Again, the nurses justdon’t have enough timeto be able to give him thecare he needs. When theydo have a moment, theywill help as much as theycan. I never see any

nurses sitting, or relax-ing. All I have seen isthem running from oneroom to the next trying todo the best they can.They have been wonder-ful with our son given thecircumstances, and weappreciate them greatly.

Another irritating thingabout people’s com-ments is their scepticismof a new, young surgeonin town, which we havebeen very impressedwith. Dr. Somani hasbeen diligent, cautious,knowledgeable, caringand has treated us andour son with the greatestrespect. He has beenlooking out for our son’sbest interest from thefirst day he met him, andwe trust his judgement,

explicitly. He has treatedour son as a person, notas a case in a file.

In my experience,small town hospitals giveyou better personal care.When I was in Montreal,in the West Island, peo-ple always said the samething. Don’t go toLakeshore Hospital; godowntown to the biggerhospital. Well, for me,that wasn’t true. In mylife, I had been admitted12 times for surgery orother reasons to theLakeshore Hospital andBrockville General, andin Montreal’s RoyalVictoria reputable teach-ing hospital. My childrenhave been in these hos-pitals also. The only timeI had a horrible unac-

ceptable experience wasin the bigger hospital-The Royal VictoriaHospital in Montreal. Allmy other times, I hadexceptional care.

People need to learn tobe patient, and lookaround to see what theproblem is, before doingany blaming. It’s not thenurse that is in front ofyou that is causing yourdelays. It is caused bysome bureaucracy far-ther up, that need tocome into these hospi-tals and see how thesecut backs are affectingthe patients. Is a hospitalnot supposed to be allabout treating patients?Or is it all just aboutnumbers on a spread-sheet?

THE O’GRADY

FILESby Monica O’Grady

I was thinking about EdSullivan this evening. It’sSunday, dinner is doneand there’s nothingentertaining on televisionon Sunday night anymore. Cartoons andmade for TV movies don’tseem to scream out"watch me". The showCriminal Minds justcreeps me out. The cur-rent barrage of amateurstrying to be professionalsvia shows such as So YouThink You Can Dance(Canada) and AmericanIdol are a little too dra-matic for my tastes.Having the loser standthere to be humiliated fortwenty minutes before hisor her name is called is abit harsh, in my opinion.Along with millions ofother North Americansback in the 60s, I used torush home on Sundaynight to watch The EdSullivan Show. That’swhere you found every-one at eight o’clock onSunday night. That’swhere the entertainmentwas.

Every week was differ-ent yet every week wasthe same. The guestschanged, the format did-n’t. There was someonefor everyone. If you werea comedy fan you werealways in luck. There wasa comedian pretty muchevery week. Rich Little,Alan King, John Bynerand Frank Gorhswin wereall on there. Ed was goodat introducing new talentand he was particularlyfond of comedians, eventhe raunchy ones likeGeorge Carlin. Bet youcan’t guess which come-dy act was on his showmore than any other?Well, it’s Canada’s ownWayne and Shuster.

If you were a Broadwayenthusiast you too werein luck. There would besongs from current hitsperformed by the cast,

scenery and all. I alwaysloved it when RobertGoulet came on so I couldhear Ed butcher hisname......"Right here onour stage, from Canada,young RobertGoooooolet." Cracked meup every time.

I suppose there werefolks out there whoenjoyed watching theplate twirlers, the tum-blers, the assortment ofjugglers, the knife throw-ers, the magicians, liontamers and the otherweirdos (my opiniononly, of course) who Edmanaged to scrape upeach week. That time Ireserved for pouring aCoke because the com-mercials were few and farbetween back then andthere wasn’t that muchtime during the realbreaks to do much.

Ed had some verystrange yet much lovedacts who were semi-regu-lars. There was TopoGigio, the creepy littlemouse who used to ask ofEd, "Eddy, kiss me good-night." and much to ourhorror and delight Ed, thestalwart, no expression,no personality Ed, wouldplant a big fat one onTopo Gigio’s little roundcheek. Not my favouriteguest - probably due to anaversion of rodents in anyform. There was the guywho talked to his handand also had a box andthe box used to say, "Saygood-night. Good-night."Kind of funny in a strangeway.

There were the stan-dard ballad singers whocame on. Steve Lawrenceand Eydie Gorme, thehusband and wife teamwho I thought had to bethe happiest couple onearth, were regulars. Thesurprising Gomer Pyle,out of character andbeing himself, JimNabors, with his unbe-

lievable voice. Somehowthough, it was alwayshard to take him serious-ly, and he was alwaysGomer Pyle impersonat-ing a real singer. I remem-ber the night Greg Morris(the guy on MissionImpossible who did allthe intricate twiddling ofobjects that eventuallyblew up) was on the showto sing. After the orches-tra had played the open-ing stanza at least threetimes, Greg finally, out ofstage fright, talked thewords instead of singingthem. Ed Sullivan showwas live so there was notaping, retaping, lip-synching, it was all realand in the moment. Myfavourite of the old timeballad singers was JackJones, one of the best andunderrated singers of histime. He had a perfectpitch voice, was pretty tolook at but sang fairly dullsongs most of the time.Mel Torme was anotherguest - poor Mel, who hadno chin, and sang in astyle that irritated me noend - but he had talent. Ijust didn’t like the FrankSinatra wannabes.

The big build up of allthese comedians, tum-blers, knife throwers,Broadway acts and balladsingers was the inevitableand much anticipatedrock and roll act. Ed neverdisappointed. He likedbeing on the cutting edgeof his time and showingcurrent trends and rockcertainly was cutting edgeand a very current trend.On his show he had Elvis(he was not actually therefor the initial ‘unveiling’of Elvis, having been hos-

pitalized at the time ofElvis’ first appearance),he had the first Americansighting of the Beatles(something he orchestrat-ed and was proud of), RoyOrbison, The Dave ClarkFive (most appearancesby a rock and roll groupdue to their clean cutappearance), The Mamasand Papas, Sonny andCher, The Rolling Stones -they were all there. Hebanned The Doors aftertheir first appearance. Wewere treated to them all.

Ed Sullivan started outhis career as a boxer whobecame a sports writer.From there he moved tobe a real competitor ofWalter Winchell. Walterwas a famed columnistwho wrote from a table atThe Stork Club in NewYork about the comingsand goings of New York’srich, famous and infa-mous, basically a gossipcolumn. Ed, when hecame up against Walter,outdid him in spades. Hetook a table at The ElMorocco night club andbecame more famousthan Walter ever was andoutlasted him.

Ed always had a kind ofdour expression with noactual talent or actingability. It was said of himby comedian, Alan King,"He will last as long assomeone else has talent."He had an inert under-standing of what the pub-lic wanted and he gave itto them. His show airedfrom 1948 - 1971, andremains one of thelongest running varietyshows in television histo-ry. At the end of each showhe told us who nextweek’s guests would be.The anticipation stayedwith us all week.

It’s Sunday night, andI’m twiddling my thumbsbecause there is nothingon television. I miss TheEd Sullivan Show.

Observations of a Baby Boomer... Ed Sullivan

By Catherine Durnford-Wang

There has been a lot ofdiscussion in the medialately over the concept of“junk science” What isthis, and why should webe concerned?

Junk science usuallyrefers to the mis-applica-tion of science, in theform of studies, tests etc.to support a point of viewthat under close scrutinyis not supportable basedupon the true scientificevidence.

An example: there arethose who believe thatman-made climatechange is not real, andthat there is no reason toworry. This is junk sci-ence, because these peo-ple, and they are many,will examine a small partof the evidence whichmay support this view,while ignoring the morenumerous and reliabledata which contradict it.In true science, all data isreviewed and considered,and if a particular set ofdata does not fit thehypothesis, it is not dis-carded or ignored, butstudied further. It may bethat data was not collect-ed properly; it may bethat unknown factorsaffected the data, or itcould be other factors.The point is, the data isnot ignored but high-lighted for further study.

Often those whoadvance junk scienceusually have anotheragenda. This viewpointcan cloud their objectivi-ty and make it easy forthem to dismiss data orevidence that does notsupport their position.This is often encounteredin areas such as climatechange, as mentionedabove, certain areas ofenvironmental studies,so-called alternate medi-cine, areas related to evo-lution, and many areaswhere subjectivity mayplay a role. Most of these

topics are things of whichthe public may be awareand on which they likelyhave an opinion.

What can the averagereader do to discernwhen they are beingconned with junk sci-ence? Look at the evi-dence. Ask how it wasderived. Check to see ifthere was any evidencethat did not support themain hypothesis, andhow was it considered.Within the science com-munity many words havebeen written about non-conforming data; the keypoint is that in true scien-tific studies it is neverignored.

Another key issue withjunk science is… was thedata peer-reviewed? Thatis, were other scientists,experts in the field, con-sulted and did they agreewith the conclusions?This is one of the key ele-ments in how scientifichypotheses are refinedand how data is gathered.

Junk science is not tobe confused with a non-standard viewpoint thatmay be another way oflooking at a problem or aset of data, as long as thatprocess is carried outwith true objectivity andrigor. Galileo certainlywas not doing junk sci-ence when he provedthat the Earth and theknown planets orbitedthe Sun, rather than vice-versa. His views cost himdearly but he was vindi-cated eventually, and hisdata and observationswere of high quality forthe day.

So… as an interestedobserver, you can ask thequestions, challenge thefindings, debate the conclusions. If the personadvocating a positiondoes not agree to this orgives evasive answers, beon the lookout for junkscience and take it with agrain of salt.

Junk Science - The New PerilBy Rod CharltonContributing Writer

THE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 Page 9

Page 10 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 THE OBSERVER

The ObserverTRACK & FIELD

At North Country Sports, buy one item and get one of equal or lesser value for a

penny on selected apparel, footwear, Crocs footwear and

sports gear. And be sure to check out new arrivals of Nike, Adidas,

Puma and Crocs footwear, Nike soccer gear and

athletic apparel at North Country Sports,

King Street in downtown Brockville.

Located at 65 King St. W.

BCI’s best EOSSAin a decade

The Brockville Collegi-ate track and field team had their best EOSSAA results in over 10 years, winning two events and qualifying four athletes in six events for next week’s region-al finals. Kathrynn Morrison finished first in the EOSSAA junior girls’ 200m, while run-ning a personal best time of 26:93 seconds, her first time breaking of the 27:00 second mark. She also quali-fied for East Regionals with a third place in the 100 metres. Tegan Kilpatrick is the sen-ior girls’ EOSSAA jav-elin champion with a throw of 37.24 metres . Tegan also qualifed with a fifth place in long jump. Also quali-fying for East Regionals were Fraser Blair with a third in high jump and Natasha Dennison with a fourth in triple jump.

Area schools shine at EOSAA

Pirates sending 49 athletes to regionals

Erica Bulanda skips during her junior girls triple jump gold medal at EOSSAA Friday.

Connor Hickling of Ange Gabriel during the junior boys 3000m.

Rebekah Beattie of St. Mary during the junior girls 400m.

Dustin Blanchard of TISS during the junior boys shotput.

The TISS Pirates con-tinued their dominance this track and field season,

setting a number of records and sending 49 athletes to the Regional finals, one step away from OFSAA.

The senior boys sprint-ers broke a pair of long-

standing records in the 4 x 400m and 4 x 100m finals, shattering the 4 x 100m re-cord by over four seconds. The record had stood since 1971.

There were many other standout performances including the junior boys shot put team, who fin-ished first, second and third.

By Austin de LuisThe Observer

Monday night the Sports Hall of Fame com-mittee elected 5 new members

Steve McAllister was involved with the Na-tional Hockey League Players Association, then

sports editor for the Globe and Mail and now Sports Editor for Yahoo sports. He’s a Prescott na-

tive whose 20 plus years in sports has earned him a spot in the Hall.

The Late George Hunt-er who started several leagues and was one of the original members of the Brockville Braves Executive will join Steve in the Hall.

Also going in are Jim Hale who has had an amazing career as an athelete and coach; Roy Pyke who played semi-pro hockey in the eastern hockey league and Jim Vickery who has coached at the Elementary school level for decades.

The Hall of Fame com-mittee also announced the nominations in the other categories.

Up for Sports Person of the year

1. Trent Corney - a star track and field athlete at TISS

2. Randy Ferguson - who won three divisions at the Canadian National Sportsting Clays Associa-tion championships for shotgunners.

3. Shannon Fergus-on who was named the OCAA female athelete of the month in October 2010 and was the tourna-

ment MVP at the OCAA Champioinships in fast-ball

4. Emma Norman a runner who won a 3000 metre race at the Can-adian National Youth Track & Field Champion-ships last August.

5. Christopher Per-kins - the male athlete of the month by the US Sports Academy. He shot a world junior and senior record of 599 out of 600 at the Canadian Archery championshps.

The Sports teams of the year nominations are:

1. Brockville Blazers midget Girls Basketball team - provincial cham-pions

2. Brockville Rowing Club Light Weight men’s

four - Canadian Cham-pions

3. Brockville Legion girls Bantam under 14 team - Canadian Cham-pions

4. St. Mary’s Junior Football Team - Provin-cial Champions

5. 65 Plus Magedmos Hockey team - Canadian Champions

The nominees for the R & T Coaching award are

1. Roy Brooks for spe-cial olympics

2. Brian Enright - for hockey

3. Walter Smail - for several sports

And the Investor’s Vol-unteering nominees are

1. Scott Easton - hock-ey involvement

2. Sam Rappin - Brock-ville Braves Trainer

3. Richy Welch - Ath-ens sports

The Kinsmen sports awards dinner is Thurs-day June 9th. Tickets will be on sale next week.

The City of Brockville Induction ceremony goes on the 10th at the Me-morial Centre and the Bruce Wylie HOF Golf Tournament is the 11th in Prescott.

THE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 Page 11

The ObserverSPORTS

MacLeod wins MVP honours at Carleton Kendall MacLeod won the Most Valuable Player of the Carleton Ravens for 2010-11, leading the team to their first ever appearance at Nationals, peaking at the 3rd seed in the country. MacLeod, 5’9”, is in the Psychology Program at Carleton.

MIKE CARROCCETTO PHOTO / FOR BROCKVILLE OBSERVER

JUNE 17 - 19, 2011

For more information,contact Big Brothers Big Sisters of Leeds & Grenville at

613-258-4440

or toll free at 1-866-344-9972

http://kemptvilleribfest.weebly.com

ALL WEEKENDCraft Show

Extra Charges for:

Midway

Rock Climbing

Bounce House

Thunderdome Racing

FRIDAYLive Music

Kids Show

Live Pro Wrestling

SATURDAYKids Shows

Pony Rides

Live Music

Boat Show

3 on 3 Basketball

Tournament

SUNDAYKids Shows

Pony Rides

Live Music

Boat Show

Charity Run/Walk

RIBFEST

Big Brothers & Big Sisters

of Leeds & Grenvilleof Leeds & Gre

FREE ADMISSION

TO ALL SHOWS

rs

Brockville & Area Sports Hall of Fame holding induction ceremonyHall will have 100 members after the ceremony on June 10th

Page 12 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 THE OBSERVER

The ObserverTHE GOLF PAGE

613-342-3023

THIS YEAR

PLAY THEBCC!

COMMUNITYWELCOME

Last week I touched on what I think could be the most important club in your bag, the driver and does it fit your game.But we still have 13 other clubs in your bag to talk about here, your set of irons, your set of wedges and last but not least your putter. These too should be fitted to your game, let’s start with your irons.

Like last week with your driver, I am a big be-liever in getting all your clubs fitted properly. And no one better to do that than Garry Dunn once again, one of Ontario’s and Canada’s top club makers and club fitters.

So when it comes to a set of irons, what are we looking to accomplish here? There are quite a few variables that go into fitting a set of irons and like I mentioned last week not everybody swings the same. Yet most golfers out there will go to these golf outlet stores and buy their set of irons off the rack. Here we go again.

Let’s start with lie angle. A few years ago I gave a local golfer a Les-son, and to my surprise his swing was as good as it gets, but yet his ball kept going to the right of his intended target (right-handed golfer). As a Tech Rep with Taylor Made, I knew enough to check the clubface of his irons and his divot. His divot was deeper towards the toe-end, therefore his iron’s clubface had more dirt in the toe end of his clubface than the heel end.

This led me to the conclusion that the lie on his clubs were too flat for him. He got his irons adjusted four degrees

upright. The next time we got together after he had them adjusted, he hit every shot dead straight.Nothing wrong with his golf swing, his equipment didn’t fit what he was do-ing in his golf swing. So if you are having trouble hitting your set of irons, it may not be necessarily what you are doing, it’s probably your irons and the way they are set up.

So what effects will a properly fitted set of irons do to benefit you? For $50 Garry Dunn will put you through an extensive fit-ting session guaranteed to give you the informa-tion and the adjustments you’ll need to have your irons fit for your game.

Are your irons the right length for you? Is the lie angle and loft set up for the way you hit the ball?What about shaft flex in your irons, are they right for you? Would you bene-fit more from graphite or steel shafts? What about the size of your grips?

A fitting session with Garry will easily answer all these questions for you. How about the width of the sole of the club and why would that be im-portant? If you are a dig-ger and swing too steeply into the ball, you could use a wider sole at the bottom of your irons. On the other hand, if you are a sweeper of the golf ball you can get away with a narrower sole. These two factors will greatly affect what wedges you should play with as well.

The bounce that you see on the wedges today are there for a reason. The higher bounce de-grees will greatly benefit the diggers, where as the lower bounce degrees will benefit the sweeper of the ball.

That brings us to your putter. Does your putter have enough loft for the way you stroke the ball? What about the lie angle of your putter, is it right for you? Would you bene-

fit more from a heel-shaft-ed putter, center shafted or a mallet style putter? Or are you a strong can-didate for either a belly or chest putter? Once again these are questions Garry can answer for you with a

proper fitting.Look at the above pic-

ture of the two grips. One is a standard size and the other is a jumbo size. The jumbo will benefit both the golfer with big hands and the golfer who suffers

from one form or another of arthritis.

So if you have arthritis in your hands and you thought your golfing days were done, there’s good news for you, try the big-ger grips.

To book an appoint-ment with Garry and get your irons, wedges and your putter fitted, call him at his shop at 613-342-3167 or on his cell at 613-340-9320. With the information you get from Garry, you can get him to build you a set of irons or present your spec sheet to your favorite golf com-pany and have your clubs made to your specs and yours only.

John Ryan, CGTF Level

Three Instructor, teaches exclusively at the Tincap Golf Club. If you have any comments or questions on this column or need information on Lessons contact John by phone at 613-345-1390 or e-mail at planeandsimplegolf@hotmail.com.

Do your irons, wedges, and putter fit your game?

Take a look at the two grips on the left.  One is a standard size and the other is a jumbo size.  The jumbo will benefit both the golfer with big hands and the golfer who suffers from one form or another of arthritis. Above, changing grips are a good idea with arthritis.

By John RyanObserver Contributer

When it comes to find-ing a job these days, it can be tough out there and employers say that hav-ing an “extra edge”, such as sector specific certifi-cation, can make all the difference. In response to this the Upper Canada District School Board, has offered grade 11 and 12 students from five area public high schools, the opportunity to partici-pate in PERCS (Partners in Employment Readi-ness Certification of Stu-dents) Certification Days, a series of low cost em-ployment readiness work-shops hosted at St. Law-rence College last week. During the two-day pro-gram, more than 300 hun-dred students from Ath-ens District High School, Brockville Collegiate In-stitute, Seaway District High School, South Gren-ville District High School and Thousand Islands Secondary School, par-ticipated in a wide range of courses offering “in demand” certifications such as Red Cross First Aid, Fork Lift Operation, Safe Food Handling, and Infection Awareness and Control, which, South

Grenville co-op teacher, Carson Kilpatrick says, in some cases, could pot-entially add up to $250 worth of certification on their resumes.

“The cost of some of these courses can range from $75 to over $100, so for ten or twenty dol-lars per day, to cover the

cost of the lunches and snacks that are provided, students can get valu-able certification with hard and soft skills train-ing that employers are looking for,” explained Kilpatrick, adding that the “true cost” of the pro-grams are absorbed by the School Board, as well

as additional educational partners, many of whom, provided resources such as personal, facilities and equipment, at no cost.

Kilpatrick continued that PERCS, and its pre-decessor, the Do Jobs Grow on Trees program that was implemented about 10 years ago, has transformed into its cur-rent incarnation out of “a recognition that in order to help students bolster their resumes for post-secondary education as well as employment, they would need concrete cer-tification”.

Additionally, Kilpat-rick said, the PERCS pro-gram compliments an-other up-and-coming Board initiative, the Spe-cialist High Skills Major

(SHSM) program, a spe-cialized curriculum that provides senior students with a specific focus with the opportunity to ex-plore experiential learn-ing activities, in their area of interest, such as a co-operative education course. It also involves contextualized units in Math and English where the focus is in the specific sector. At the conclusion of the program, students receive a special Red Seal diploma and transcript as evidence of their comple-tion of the program. Kil-patrick added that some colleges and universities are offering incentives, including scholarships and “first pick at rooms in residence”, for students who are SMSM graduates.

PERCS Certification Day gives students the extra “edge” for employment

THE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 Page 13

The ObserverBUSINESS/CAREERS

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 Time: 7:30 pmBrockville Arts Centre - 235 King St. West, Brockville

Tickets can be purchased by phone: 613-342-7122 or online: www.bactickets.caPrice: $10 per ticket ($30 value) Subsidized by Career Services for our Community

National Access Awareness Week Events include:

Week highlights, BMAAC award presentations, collaborative video with TV CogecoMonday, May 30, 2011 – 8:30 – 9:45 a.m. Brockville City Hall

Private/non-profit sector is required to comply with the standards by January 1, 2012 Wednesday, June 1, 2011 – 9:00 – 12:00 noon Brockville Memorial Centre Community Hall

(Limited spaces for this event)

Career Services of BrockvilleThursday, June 2, 2011 – 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. 89 Hubbell St.

Highlighting agencies and businesses – information geared to the general publicFriday, June 3, 2011 – 10:00 – 4:00 p.m. Thousand Islands Mall

For more information about registration for events or sponsorship opportunities please visit:www.careerservices.ca or call 613-342-5775

Justin Hines

Get equities in your equation – putting diversification to work

Managing your Money

Stock markets around the world have been very volatile in the last few years. If your portfolio has lost some of its lustre be-cause of this, you may be seeking ways of protecting yourself from investment losses by moving more of your money into ‘safer’ investments. It can be appealing to look for the stability of fixed-income investments like bonds, mortgages, T-bills, Guaranteed Income Certificates (GICs), or mutual funds investing in those types of securities. But seeking less volatility by loading up on fixed-income investments could cause damage to your financial future. This type of conserva-tive investment usually offers a low rate of return, and potential for a drop in value when rates go up. Combining this with the eroding effects of inflation can virtually eliminate any longer-term benefits.

Market experts agree, and decades of investment experience has proven, that a diversified investment portfolio through ef-fective asset allocation is the best way for investors to achieve the long term goals of their overall financial plan – and equities (in-cluding equity mutual funds) play a key role in achieving the highest returns for a given level of risk. Here’s how (and why) an appro-priately diversified investment portfolio can help buffer market turbulence:

Asset classes tend to move in different directions. By loading your portfolio with a single asset class, you concentrate your risk and limit your sources of returns. A well-de-signed, adequately diversified portfolio en-compasses all asset classes which can offset the downward movement of one class with the upward movement of another.

Nobody knows in advance which asset classes will outperform or underperform, and when. Because asset performance is constantly changing and the asset alloca-tion process is dynamic and fluid, investors are best served by covering all the bases at

any given time. Studies have shown that the correct asset

mix offsets selection risk – making asset al-location, not individual investment selec-tion, the major driver in investment returns. In fact, as much as 90 per cent of portfolio variability can be attributed to the choice of asset types, with only 10 per cent coming from the choice of individual investments.

Since 1950, fixed income investments have generally reduced investment risk but have also lowered long-term growth. Over the same period, Canadian equities have produced the necessary asset growth to achieve long-term investment objectives1. The takeaway: Even conservative investors should allocate at least 25 per cent of their long-term investment portfolio to equities (including higher yielding equity mutual funds).

The amount of risk in your portfolio depends on your personal tolerance for risk and your time horizon. For example, if you’re close to retirement, you might want to reduce risk to protect a portion of your in-vestments from inevitable periods of market volatility.

Diversification works. And knowing the basics can help you understand and take advantage of the risk that may be in your portfolio. The best way to play it safe? Get the asset allocation help you need from your professional advisor.

1S&P TSX Composite vs DEX Long Term Efficient Frontiers (1950-2010)

This column, written and published by Investors Group Financial Services Inc. (in Québec – a Financial Services Firm), presents general information only and is not a solicit-ation to buy or sell any investments. Contact your own advisor for specific advice about your circumstances. For more information on this topic please contact Lisa Bell at (613)498-2403 or lisa.bell@investorsgroup.com.

Thousand Islands Secondary School students, Ronni Keeler (left) and Abby Gallacher (right), practice head-bandaging on their mock “victim” during a first aid certification course offered during the PERCS certification days, held at St. Law-rence College last Tuesday and Wednesday.

ERIN CHRISTIE PHOTO

By Erin ChristieObserver Staff Writer

Page 14 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 THE OBSERVER

The ObserverHEALTH & WELLNESS

St. John AmbulanceBrockville Branch

SAVINGS LIVESAt work, home and play

St. John Ambulance is now offering:

, pppp y

w offering:SStSSS . JoJohnhnnnhn AAAAAAA mmmmmbbbulululuulllulullululuu annananaaaanaaaaana cececeeeecece iiiii ii s ss s nnononooowww

Child Car SeatInspection ClinicYou will be educated on the regulations and the appropriate devices for your children and

the steps to take to make sure that installation of your child’s car seat in the vehicle is safe.

St. John is a non-government funded,non-profit, charitable organization so a

donation of $5.00 would be greatlyappreciated. A tax receipt will be issued for

any donation greater then $20.00.

Call today make an appointment at

613-342-2974 oremail at: Brockville@on.sja.ca

Modern amenities, state of the art equipment, exceptional staff and client friendly business hours

renders this Centre as the go to destination for Brockville and area residents who are requiring

rehabilitation care and fitness training!

s

Minimizing Pain andMaximizing Mobility

Health ACTION Line

or 613-345-5685

or take

WAYS TO GETHEALTH INFORMATION2

Call our toll free information service Monday to Friday 8:30am-4:30pm to the residents of Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Counties. Health professionals are available to answer your health questions.

Browse through our website at thousands of pages of credible health information and services.

You can get information on a variety of health topics

and issues that are important to your health.

www.healthunit.org

He

Dr. Herzan , I feel so run down. I can’t cope with my work, my kids are driving me off the deep end, I have no energy for exercise, I can’t sleep, and this is my 3rd cold this year. We just finished moving my father into a nursing home - I don’t have time to feel this bad! I saw my GP and he said they can’t find any-thing ‘ wrong’, and to just ‘take it easy’ for a while. What is going on? – L.T., Brockville

Stress is part of all our lives. Our bodies have amazing systems that pro-duce stress hormones

that give us the strength to work extra hours dur-ing a busy season, care for an aging parent, sprint to catch a toddler before they reach the road or put on a birthday party for a dozen 4-year olds. (A complete error in judgement on my part!)

The problem is that when stress is prolonged, or we face a longer series of serious life events such as illness, job loss, divorce or even retirement; that the impact of stress hormones can spin out of control.

I regularly see patients who have struggled with the consequences of high stress on their bodies for years. They typically feel exhausted, have poor sleep, their muscles hurt, they’re gaining weight, and may feel anxious, depressed and irritable and face chal-lenges with their short term memory. Women have

more problems with their periods or their menopaus-al symptoms. Patients are often on anti-depressants, relying on caffeine just to make it through the day, having a few drinks in the evening to come back down. This cycle barely manages the symptoms let alone repairs what’s wrong.

The good news is that naturopathic medicine can do a great deal to reverse these effects, and support the body back towards recovery, before these symptoms become more serious problems.

Part of the solution lies in supporting the adrenal glands—walnut sized glands near our kidneys that produce stress hor-mones. Under high stress, they weaken and shrink in size. When taken to the extreme, doctors identify this as Addison’s disease. However, patients who

are not at that level often have difficulty getting their symptoms taken seriously.

What complicates mat-ters more is that high stress hormones, namely corti-sol—can adversely affect thyroid function, testos-terone and estrogen levels, which have consequences elsewhere in the body. I typically use lab services that specialize in hormonal problems to gain a better understanding of what’s happening with a patient. We then develop an in-dividual treatment plan designed to strengthen the adrenal glands. Key nutrients, standardized herbal extracts and natural (bio-identical) hormonal support can make an in-credible difference in the lives of these patients. We typically test for hormonal profiles and work with their MD to reduce dosages of any medications the pa-tient feels is causing them problems.

Are we aiming for a life of

no stress? No, what we do want is a life where stress doesn’t hold our body and mind hostage to its nega-tive effects -- where we can find our balance again and thrive, no matter how many in-laws are coming for dinner, or who drew (with markers!) on the sofa.

Dr. Herzan ND, is an only slightly stressed father of

two, and is a licensed Nat-uropathic Doctor with 15 years’ experience, operating the family practice Unified-Path in the Brockville area. If you would like to submit a question to Dr. Herzan, or for more information please contact us - www.unified-path.ca, email at unified-path@jcis.ca or at (613) 926-9028.

Dr. Martin Herzan, B.Sc, N.D.Licensed Naturopathic DoctorAcupunctureHomeopathic MedicineClinical NutritionMenopausal CareBio-identical HRT

Wendy Herzan, BSTCognitive Behaviour TherapistAdaptive Technologist

613-926-9028

We all seem to be feeling a little stressed these daysA S K D O C M A R T I N

When the weather is warmer, we all like to spend more time outside enjoying our green spaces which we also share with insects and plants. Some of these can be problems for us such as certain ticks, mosquitoes and poison-ous plants. The key is to be familiar with the ways to protect yourself and your family so you can enjoy the outdoors and be safe.

Ticks and lyme diseaseInfected black-legged

ticks can transmit Lyme disease when they bite.

long grass, wooded areas or around shrubbery, wear clothing that covers your skin and tuck your pants into your socks.

being outdoors, check yourself for ticks and have someone else check the back of your body.

with DEET and follow the instructions for use.

ticks.-

ten, remove the tick im-mediately and take it to the Health Unit for testing.

care provider if you have a red bull’s eye rash or are ex-periencing symptoms such as: fever, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint pain.

Mosquitoes and west nile virus

Infected mosquitoes can transmit West Nile virus when they bite. You may be able to reduce mos-

quitoes by removing stand-ing water on your yard.

when sleeping outside.

screens in your home.

outside between dusk and dawn.

with DEET and follow the instructions for use

certain products repel mosquitoes, some do not work.

Poisonous plants and skin rash

Poisonous weeds can grow in areas where hu-mans are working or doing recreational activities. Hu-man skin coming in con-tact with these weeds can result in serious burns and

such as wild parsnip, hog-weed and poison ivy.

to become familiar with the plants and know them by sight.

from picking wild flowers.

these weeds wear gog-gles, rubber gloves, rub-ber boots and coveralls. Thoroughly wash boots and gloves with soap, water and a scrub brush before taking off protective clothing.

For further informa-tion on any of these issues, please contact the Health Unit at 613-345-5685 or the Health Action Line at 1-800-660-5853 or visit www.healthunit.org

Be outdoor smart this summer!

THE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 Page 15

The Observer CLASSIFIEDSPlace your ad 613-342-8777 • Fax 613-342-8773 • www.morris-group.ca/classified-adds

Brockville ObserverClassified Advertising Rates

All Classified AdvertisingPayable In Advance

30 cents per word, $8.00 minimumClassifieds will be accepted by telephone but must be paid

by 5:00 pm Monday, for publication on Wednesday

Ph: 613-342-8777 Fax 613-342-8773email: observer@slpprint.ca

Deadline for Classified Ads Monday at 4:00 pmDeadline for Display Advertising

Friday at 4:00 pm

HELP WANTED

AnswersJUST FOR FUN

The Employment and Education Centre is seeking a full-time Coordinator for our Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) to implement, facilitate and coordinate all functions related to the YVC, a year-round program that involves youth as members of volunteer teams in service to the community.

This dynamic, youth-oriented person will develop volunteer projects; recruit, supervise and mentor youth volunteers; engage an Advisory Council; conduct program evaluation; and develop/maintain community partnerships.

Post-secondary education in related field or equivalent experience preferred. Experienced volunteer who demonstrates excellent communication, organizational and training skills, who takes initiative and works effectively with limited supervision required. Drivers licence, clean driving abstract and provision of police check expected.

Please submit resumes and cover letters to Sue Watts at susan@eecentre.comClosing date May 27, 2011From shrub and flower bed design

& installation to cleanup - there’s no job too big or too small!

MakeoversCall 342-6000 for a free Estimate

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

GARAGE SALESKNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS Annual Garage Sale Saturday, June 4th, 7 am-12 noon at St. John Bosco Church on Windsor Dr. Baked goods, books, dishwear, sports equipment, yard maintenance and children’s items. Donations welcome on Friday, June 3rd at the church. (psv21)

PRESCOTT WELLINGTON WOODSKingston Crescent commun-ity garage sale. Saturday May 28th, 8a.m. to 2p.m. Rain date, June 4th. Items: jewelry, toys, clothes, small furniture, china, books, electric tools, bbq, Para Body home gym, men’s golf clubs and cart, mountain bike, patio set, ping-pong table and accessories and much more. (psmc21)

HOME CAREDAYCARE spaces available. Warm, loving and creative play environment. French/English, Teachers Aid Diploma. West Brockville (Hillcrest Park), Monday to Friday 7 to 5. Maryse 613-345-4012. (psv18,19,20,21)

WORK WANTEDLAWN CARE, hedge trimming and property maintenance. Now giving estimates for grass cutting during the 2011 season in Prescott, Cardinal & Brockville areas. Call 613-925-5048. (psv19,20,21)

COMPUTERSWE REPAIR ALL brand name laptops and computers. We replace damaged LCD from laptops, i-Phones & i-Pods. Fast and reliable repairs. Computer Liquidators, Towne Centre Plaza, Brockville 613-498-0285. (cs18,19,20,21)

Anyone registering after July 15th will be charged an additional $50.00.

There will be an additional charge of $100.00 REP FEE if your child is selected to play on a Representa-tive team.

If anyone has any questions, please contact the BMHA at 613-213-1918 or registrar.bmha@gmail.com

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

www.thebrockville observer.ca/

real-estate/blog

Page 16 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 THE OBSERVER

The ObserverCOMMUNITY

Brockville’s “Shout Sister!” choir is mak-ing a “joyful noise” for the Leeds and Grenville Interval

House and their Daisy of Hope Campaign with their upcoming Year-End concert, which will be held this Saturday, May 28th at Wall Street

United Church. Directed by multi-award winning vocalist Georgette

Fry, Shout Sister, takes an unorthodox approach to choral singing, per-forming interesting se-lection of pop tunes, in-cluding lots of Canadian content. This year’s con-cert is dedicated to a

much loved choir mem-ber, Maggie O’Brien, who joined the Brockville chapter six years ago, remaining a great friend and staunch supporter of Interval House, until recently losing her fight with cancer. In addition to providing safe emer-gency shelter to women

and children escaping violence, the Leeds & Grenville Interval House offers a variety of other programs, including lo-cal and toll-free Crisis Lines, an in-house Chil-dren’s Program, a Chil-dren’s Witness Program, Community Outreach, a Transitional Support &

Housing Program, Pub-lic Education, Fundrais-ing, and a Volunteer Pro-gram.

The concert takes place this Saturday, May 28th at Wall Street United Church, located at 5 Wall Street. Show starts at 8p.m., doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15.00 (children under 8 years-old free), and are avail-able at House of Décor, 66 King St. W., Brockville, through choir members or at the door.

For more informa-tion or to join Shout Sis-ter contact Nancy Greig (613) 531-9685

“Shout Sister” makes joyful noise for Interval House

Toniata’s production of Alice in Wonderland hit the stage last week at the BCI auditorium. The attend-ance reached around 400 for each show. From left are: Caterpillar (Noah Munn), Alice (Paige Gleason), Cards-man (Rayanna Birtch), King of Hearts (Liam Barclay)

Tuesday, May 17thMissing Person: The

Brockville Police are seek-ing the public’s assistance in locating a 64 year-old male from Brockville. Lionel Porteous , 64, 6”6”, 335 lbs, salt and pep-per hair, unshaven, sil-ver glasses and needs a walker to get around. Mr. Porteous was last seen on May 14th in the Brighton Crescent area. Brockville Police are asking anyone with any information re-garding Mr. Porteous to contact them. Foul play is not suspected.

Monday, May 16thHit and Run: On the

16th of May, at approxi-mately 1:00 p.m., a ped-estrian was struck by a motor vehicle in the intersection of Central

Avenue at Perth Street, Brockville. The pedes-trian was not injured as a result of the collision however Police are seek-ing the assistance of the public in an attempt to identify the driver and vehicle involved. Details of the collision are as fol-lows:

Pedestrian crossing from the South side of Central Avenue at Perth Street to the North Side. Motor vehicle was mak-ing a right turn from Perth Street turning east onto Central Avenue.

The pedestrian rolled onto the hood of the vehicle as it eventually came to a stop. The driv-er had a brief conversa-tion with the pedestrian and left the scene travel-ling East on Central Ave.

crossing Stewart BlvdThe pedestrian be-

lieved a number of people may have wit-nessed the event and po-lice are asking that any-one with knowledge of this matter please con-tact the Brockville Police Service.

Domestic DisturbanceOn the 16th of May

2011 at 10 am officers responded to a disturb-ance on Abbott Street. At this time a 45 year-old female and 44 year-old male were involved in a domestic incident. The male was arrested and charged with assault, ut-tering threats and breach of probation.

Police WeekThe Brockville Police

Service will be involved in the following ‘Police Week’ events during the month of May:

May 19 - Safe Grad for Senior Students at TISS

May 20 - Special Olympic Torch Run - All money raised is donated to the Special Olympics - BBQ will be held at the finish line, 12:00 Noon, Brockville Home Hard-ware Everyone is wel-come.

May 27 - Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Pres-entation, 10:00 a.m. at the Brockville Legion

May 28 - Police Dis-play, including police vehicles, K9, bicycle safety and Emergency Response Team, at the Downtown Sidewalk Sale, 10:00 - 1:00 p.m.

POLICE BLOTTER

LOCATED IN THE HEART OF HISTORIC BROCKVILLE

The Thousand Islands Quilter’s Guild monthly meeting Thursday, May 26

6:30 pm

Art in the City” display, May 1st-May 31st

Treasures, Talent and Time Auction Friday, May 27th.

St. Paul’s Cupboard’s monthly yard saleSaturday, May 28 from 8am - 2pm

10th Annual Ladies for Life Charity Golf TournamentSaturday, May 28th.

Used Book Sale

The Brockville Thousand Islands Saturday, May 28 &

Sunday, May 29, 10 am-4 pm.

Our Kenyan Kids.

Monday, May 30, 7 pm.

Knights of ColumbusSaturday, June 4th

7 am to 12 noon

Brockville & Area YMCA Youth Night.

Saturdays 6 to 8 pm. Jan.

15 - June 11.

Birthday Parties at the Brockville and Area YMCA.

Opening: Thursday, June 2, 6:30 to 9:00 pm.

June 7, 2011 at 7 pm

Send us your community event information and we’ll list it here free! Fax to

613-342-8773 or email: rlawson@slpprint.ca

MOBILE VACUUM CENTRE

613-925-2184 613-802-4477

SALES - REPAIRS - PARTS - ACCESSORIES TO MOST MAKES- Electrolux - Filter Queen - Tristar - Beam - All Canada Vac

NEW AND RECONDITIONED UNITSCentral - Upright - Cannister Vacuums

MOBILE IN HOME SERVICE & REPAIR

NGuaranteed

Best Price

113 Perth St, Unit B, Brockville

Small Ads, Big Results

Serving Brockville and the surrounding communities613-342-8773

THE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 Page 17

The ObserverJUST FOR FUN

crossword

SAGITTARIUS - Nov 23/Dec 21Make an honest assessment of your personal finances, Sagittarius. Now could be the time to make a few cuts and smarter decisions to work toward establishing that nest egg.

CAPRICORN - Dec 22/Jan 20Capricorn, you will have a hard time concentrating on one thing, which could prove troublesome at school or work. When you need to focus, it’s important to clear your mind.

AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18For an individual who is so personable, you may have trouble making new friends in the days to come. It could be due to closely guarded secrets that you’re hesitant to share.

PISCES - Feb 19/Mar 20Pisces, it’s time to make a change because the stars indicate discord and antipathy in your life. Think about the possibilities.

ARIES - Mar 21/April 20Aries, there’s so much to get done but your mind just isn’t on the task at hand. Maybe some inspiration and encouragement from friends will do it.

TAURUS - April 21/May 21Taurus, it’s time to break out of your funk because there are many exciting things on the horizon. All you have to do is be a little patient.

SEE PAGE 15 FOR ANSWERS

WorD search

GEMINI - May 22/June 21Gemini, your industrious nature earns you a new opportunity. You’re not quite sure what to make of the situation just yet. With time you could find it is the perfect fit.

CANCER - June 22/July 22Silence is golden for you this week, Cancer. Without any distractions you can accomplish many things on a personal level. New relationships could be budding.

LEO - July 23/August 23Don’t let others write off your abilities, Leo. Show them just what you are capable of this week. They will be surprised at what you can accomplish with your mind set.

VIRGO - August 24/Sept 22Carefully consider your bank account, Virgo. The time has come to find ways to replenish the money that has been spent; otherwise, you could end up in a sticky situation.

LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23Libra, try new things and you will be surprised at the results. An opportunity pops up at work, and it is something you just can’t pass up. Go full steam ahead.

SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22Scorpio, work toward and hope for the best this week in the face of many challenges that lie ahead. With a little dedication you can pull through.

- Feline Time -

CLUES ACROSS1. Property

measure5. Without9. Dangle12. Tree liquid15. Hoodlum16. Hearty food17. Cassowary’s

cousin18. Civil War side,

briefly19. Metallic sound20. Israeli circle

dance21. Talk23. Black cuckoo24. Tofu matter25. Beer ingredient27. Aid a felon28. 18th-century

French style30. Strong cotton31. Take out32. Model wood34. Love affair37. Decorous40. Spock’s eyebrow

shape, often42. Light wind46. Moratorium47. Furthermore48. Break a ____

(good luck)49. Bagel topper50. “Shogun” wear51. Tout on TV53. First number54. Perfect: hyph.55. Besides56. Donate57. Fight58. Shaking60. Skirt type61. Refine

62. Monkey business?

64. Good-bye66. Antlered

creature69. Dye chemical71. Cancel75. “For ____ the

Bell Tolls”76. Romanov title77. Horned viper78. “Animal House”

letter79. On again, off

again81. Competent83. Settled the bill84. Caress85. Openings86. Cato’s cloak87. Skin problem88. Old airline89. Become firm90. Midterm, e.g.91. Gentle creature

CLUES DOWN1. Floral essence2. Khaki cloth3. Mystical4. Mork’s

transport5. Place of learning6. Nautical cry7. Hide ____ hair8. Pundit9. Disorder10. Elide11. Pupil transport12. Diver’s gear13. Liability’s

opposite14. Almond or

tomato ____

22. Core group24. Great number26. Indian nanny29. Last notice30. Analyze a

sentence33. Bombardment35. Corpulent36. Do lobbying37. Young pig38. Fife

accompaniment39. Same41. Welsh herder43. Run away to

marry44. Of a region45. Put forth47. Worship48. Enraged51. At the summit

of52. Of ocean

movement57. Self-satisfied59. Molten rock60. Chatty bird61. Leak slowly63. Farina or

Wheezer, e.g.65. Trouser length66. Cleaned,

as the floor67. Tossed68. Primary artery70. Upset72. Swiftly73. Biblical your74. Down source76. Make weary77. Pond organism80. Garb82. Carton83. Stuff

(Mallorytown) – Co-lin Harris wants to take your kids away from their video games and get them reconnected with the great outdoors. The 36-year-old Hali-burton native is so ser-ious about the obesity epidemic among today’s youth, he is running across Canada to raise awareness about the need for kids to get out-side and get active.

Harris has launched the run as part of his Take Me Outside campaign. He began his adventure in St. John’s, Newfound-land in January and plans to celebrate its conclu-sion on Vancouver Island in September.

During his run, the outdoor educator is stop-ping to talk with students at schools across Canada about the need to incor-porate physical activity into their lives.

“The one goal is to get students outside, active and reconnected with the outdoors,” said Harris, who visited with students Tuesday, May 10 at Front of Yonge Ele-mentary School. “Studies show that over the last couple of years students are spending an increas-ing amount of time inside leading a sedentary life-style. This leads to obes-ity, rising rates of dia-betes and generally poor health.”

Harris hopes to turn that around by model-ling a physically active lifestyle and getting kids to share stories about what they are doing to get active. He in turn shares these stories on his Take Me Outside blog.

The outdoor educator discussed some shocking statistics with students during a presentation in the school gym. Studies show that today’s youth spend an incredible six hours a day in front of a

video screen or television set. This is a dramatic change from their par-ents who – before the age of the Internet – spent hours each day enjoying

outdoor play.As children’s access

to outdoor play time de-creases, studies suggest their quality of life de-creases mentally, physic-

ally and spirituallyAnd today’s adults

aren’t doing much better, he said. Statistics suggest that adults spend only 7 per cent of their lives enjoying the outdoors.

“We really need to find some balance in our lives,” Harris stressed.

He encouraged stu-dents to think what they could do to become more active in their lives. They suggested bike rides,

playing on a play struc-ture, golfing, and foot-ball.

Studies show that in-creased outdoor time can be directly connected to improved physical fit-ness, higher academic achievement, increased attention spans, and in-creased engagement at school, home and in the community.

Following the presen-tation, students at Front

of Yonge said they will try to become more active.

“I found it interest-ing that adults spend 93 per cent of their lives indoors,” said Dawson Smith, 13. “I thought it would have been a lot lower. I think next time I’m bored I’ll pass on the Xbox and go outside.”

The talk was spon-sored by the Leeds, Gren-ville and Lanark District Health Unit.

Page 18 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 THE OBSERVER

The ObserverCOMMUNITY

• Sedation • 0% Financing OAC • Orthodontics• Implants • Dentures

2211 Parkedale Ave., Brockville

613-341-9000www.DentistryAtBrockville.ca

DB@

You’ve Seen Smile Makeovers

on TV... Now See One On

Yourself

Call today for a complimentary smile makeover

consultation.

Open Monday - Friday at 9:00 am; Saturday at 7:00 am

with coffee or teaand dessert

with coffee or teaand dessert

with coffee or tea and dessert

Homemade Soup & Sandwiches

2 Eggs, Bacon, Ham or Sausage.Homefries, Toast & Coffee or Tea.

Check Out Our Newly Renovated Dining Room

Come celebrate the visual arts at the Brock-ville Arts Centre Lob-by Gallery at a special “Opening” reception of a theme exhibit called “and all that Jazz!” which takes place on Thursday, June 2nd from 6:30 to 9:00.p.m.

Members of Art In The City, Brockville, have been challenged to throw caution to the winds, lose their inhibitions, be spontaneous; experi-mental, bold, colourful, swinging, explosive, cool or down right moody; just like Jazz itself! In other words they have been asked to step out of

their usual box of subject matter and techniques to take a risk: Sixteen multi media artists accepted this challenge and they are: Lance Besharah, Deborah Boivin, Jes-sica Brady, Krista Cam-eron, Dawn Code, Lou Charton, Celia Kainz,Pram Arbo Kerr, Anna Krak~Kepka, Christel~Elvira Klocke, Gwyn Marriott, Jenny Masse, Christina Mc-Carthy, Linda Potter, Jennifer Sine and Laurie Sponagle.

This will be the first time that this talented group of multimedia artists have been able

to exhibit their work on the walls and in the cases - at the same time - in the Brockville Arts Centre~Lobby Gallery, this definitely is cause for celebration!.

Tom Code, an Art In The city member, is a multi-talented artist; known for his bird carv-ings, stone sculptures and musicality, he will perform with his jazz quintet “Just Us” for our pleasure during the re-ception: Tom on piano, Roger Wooller,drums, Grant Curry on guitar, Gord Mcrady bass; Bren-da Kelly is the singer in the group: Tom, with a

twinkle in his eye, says his band is “definitely fun to dance to “ so wear your dancing shoes! Appetizers and punch will be served; the BAC wine bar will be open.

Just for the fun of it, art lovers are invited

Dawn Code’s mixed media painting “High Notes”   will be just one of many works of art to be exhibited at the Brockville Arts Centre from June 2nd to the 28th, dur-ing the theme exhibition “and all that Jazz!” by par-ticipating members of Art In The City.

Harris urges students to enjoy the great outdoors

THE OBSERVER WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 Page 19

The ObserverFILM & TRAVEL

Pirates of the Carib-bean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth film of Dis-ney’s “Pirates” franchise is much ado about noth-ing. The movie is peopled with actors who seem un-interested in their roles, the plot is paper thin, and the direction almost non-existent. The only saving grace is the special effects, but even they just get a passing grade. The movie is shot so dark, and the action so plodding, that I found myself staring at the 3D scenery just to find a thrill.

When the first “Pir-ates” film, “Curse of the Black Pearl” was released, skeptics who were used to failed attempts at com-puter games being adapt-ed into motion pictures, scoffed at the idea of a Disneyland theme ride being turned into movie magic. Disney Studios and director Gore Ver-binski, (The Ring) made casting history by hiring Johnny Depp to play Cap-tain Jack Sparrow. Depp based his flamboyant over-the-top portrayal of Sparrow on the real-life character and behavior of

Keith Richards of the Roll-ing Stones. Depp’s pir-ate may have freaked out the execs at Disney, but both audiences and critics loved him.

“Dead Man’s Chest”, the second movie was a fun sequel which garnered great reviews. The third film, “At World’s End”, was a cool adventure with in-spired casting, a fantastic story, and mind-boggling special effects. All three movies were directed by Verbinski, whose singular vision and direction was nothing less than inspired.

The fourth movie of the franchise, “On Stranger Tides” was given to dir-ector Rob Marshall. His previous work on movie musicals such as “Nine” and “Chicago”, may have given him a leg up on how to deal with large casts and complex choreography, but did not give him the wherewithal to create a fantasy-adventure film. Successful fantasy fran-

chises need to be placed in the hands of skilled fan-tasy, sci-fi or horror direc-tors. Pretenders need not apply.

“On Stranger Tides” is the story of three groups of sailors on a quest to find Ponce De Leon’s fabled Fountain of Youth. The Spanish send an armada. The British King sends a ship captained by a peg-legged Barbosa, (Geoffrey Rush). Captain Jack Spar-row finds himself aboard Blackbeard’s infamous The Queen Anne’s Re-venge with the beautiful Angelica (Penelope Cruz) and her father, the afore-mentioned Blackbeard, (Ian McShane).

Johnny Depp stars once again as Captain Jack Sparrow. This time out his performance is lackluster at best. All the original-ity that made Sparrow such a controversial and colorful character when he first appeared on the screen seems to have been washed away. Spar-row came off as more than just distracted, (one of his more amusing character traits); he came off as un-interested. Sure he flung around his wonderful one-liners and dropped many amusing double-entendres, but it takes more than a few funny lines to make a character interesting. It was as if the spark that inspired his earlier performances was snuffed out.

Penelope Cruz plays Angelica. She is the daughter of Blackbeard, and a once nun-wannabe who lost her habit poten-tial when she was seduced by the charms of Jack Sparrow. Like Depp, she seems uninvolved. Even though Angelica is the love/hate interest of the story, Cruz and Depp have zero chemistry together. Their relationship such as it is, whether loving or fighting, has no spark and no believability. It is like they are acting in different movies.

In summer blockbust-ers, audiences are looking for exciting and entertain-ing adventures. Poor spe-cial effects can be forgiven if the stories are great and

the actors give it their all.Director Rob Marshall

has sunk a stake into the heart of the Pirate fran-chise by directing a movie that despite all the talent involved is like one of the zombies on the deck of Blackbeard’s ship, a lum-bering mess.

Atlantic City, New Jer-sey is not just a square on the Monopoly board.

For Howard Travel, At-lantic City is a coach tour that fills up very quickly and has a lot of repeat guests. In fact, almost everyone on the trip that just returned booked early enough to qual-ify for the early booking bonus which saved them enough money to do a little extra gambling and shopping. Regardless of how many times a person goes, he or she will find something to do. The hostess of the most re-cent trip

(May 15-18) has been to Atlantic City on num-erous occasions and has yet to tire of it.

Sure, Atlantic City is known for the casinos and bright lights, but it’s also known for the Boardwalk, also a Mon-opoly property, which has plenty of sights and shopping opportunities.

This trip was a little different than past ones because we were able to offer a side trip to a vil-lage about 25 minutes from Atlantic City, Smith-ville. Smithville is a great place to do even more shopping while getting away from the hustle and bustle of the casino and hotel. This optional side tour, that was no addi-tional cost, was enjoyed by everyone that chose to go. It is sure to be con-tinued in the future as well.

In the Tropicana Hotel where the Howard Travel

group stays, there is an array of entertainment available without hav-ing to step foot outside. There are over 20 restau-rants and bars in the ho-tel to choose from as well as shops ranging from wine to clothing and ac-cessories to a food mar-ket if you’d prefer to eat in your room.

On top of the food and shopping, the Tropicana is also the location of an IMAX theatre, comedy and dance clubs, spa, golf course and pools.

Since we have so many clients who love Atlantic City enough to go every time Howard Travel goes, we decided to extend the tour by one day. The next trip will be October 23-27 and promises to be just as good as all of the others. $599

Double OccupancyDeadline May 30

Amish CountryJune 20 - 23, 2011

15 LOUIS ST., BROCKVILLEMonday - Friday 8:30 am - 6:00 pm

For More Info On Our Extended Tours Please Call Or Visit Our Website

www.howardtravel.caAll rates are in Canadian funds, per person, taxes included.

All extended tour rates are per person, based on double occupancy.

Your Full Service Travel Agency

Reg. #2510616

WHAT’S INCLUDED

OPEN HOUSE - SATURDAYS 10:30 TO 11:00Come visit us during an OpenHouse. Saturdays from 10:30

to 11:00

3 BEDROOMS 2 BATHROOMS

$229,99030 Davison Avenue

Brockville613-498-2347SIGN ID 700490

By Barb BuddHoward Travel

Atlantic City a popular destination

Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger FilmsVIEW FROM THE OUTSIDE

by Tom Allnutt

Page 20 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 THE OBSERVER

613-342-4977522 King Street West, Brockville

Sunroof, AWD, Navigation, 0 Miles, Fully Loaded!

18,290 kms, Navigation, Moonroof, Great Buy!

$44,800

Navigation, Roof, Leather, Power Boards

$39,888

14,701 kms, Navigation, ISD Package, Moonroof

$36,600 $46,800

29,069 kms, 7.0 L Engine, 505 HPQuad Captain

Chairs, Leather, DVD,

Moonroof101,000 kms

$29,888

26,714 kms, H.U.D Memory Seat, Custom Paint, 405 HP, Black on Red

$34,888

g ,www.pastimemotors.com

k llU.S. CARS ARRIVING DAILY!

$35,800

Great Shape, 18,129 milesAWD, Navigation, Up Graded Wheels,Sunroof, 48,260 kms

$36,800

36,000 kms, Leather, Sunroof,Local Trade, Loaded.

$41,000

Brand New, One Of Kind!Black in Colour, Manual Transmission,

Loaded, 6.2 Litre, V8, 100 Miles

$50,800

Sunroof, AWD, Navigation, 0 Miles, Fully Loaded!

SOLD!lack in Colour, Manual Transmission,

Loaded, 6.2 Litre, V8, 100 Miles,,,,,,,,,,,,

SOLD!More to comeMore to come

We understand how hard it is to

HAND OVER THE KEYS.

FOR INFORMATION AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS,SEE YOUR STATE FARM AGENT.

Now you can make sure your young driver is even safer

on the road–and save up to 15% on North America’s

most trusted car insurance. Presenting the State Farm®

Steer Clear® program, designed to help increase the safety

of drivers under age 25.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company • Aurora, Ontariostatefarm.ca®P080030CN 02/08

Rick Beer, Agent522 King Street WestBrockville, ON K6V 3T2Bus: 613-342-9076rick.beer.j13s@statefarm.com

Removes Tough Stains

Flood Clean Up

Family Owned & Operated since 1980

613342-2154

we don’t cut cornerswe clean them

Carpet & Upholstery CleaningAdvanced Technology

Dry in 2 Hours