Kitchener Citizen - East Edition - February 2014

East Edition

KITCHENER’S ORIGINAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

kitchenercitizen.com Circulation 30,000 • Volume 5, Issue 10 • Thursday, February 13, 2014

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519-748-1914 • waterlooregionmuseum.com

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TO BE PRESENTED FEBRUARY 19

Kitchener’s Sookram wins national volunteer award

BY HELEN HALL

Kitchener resident Narine Dat Sookram

will receive the Governor General’s Caring Canadi-an Award on February 19.

The Governor Gener-al’s offi ce says the award “recognizes individuals who volunteer their time to help others and to build a smarter and more caring nation. The award also highlights the fi ne ex-ample set by these volun-teers, whose compassion and engagement are so much a part of our Cana-dian character.”

Sookram is a local vol-unteer and community builder. He is also the founder of Active Vi-sion Charity Association, which provides books and school supplies to Guya-nese youth, and host of the award-winning week-ly community radio show Caribbean Spice.

Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor David Onley will present the award to

Sookram and 30 other re-cipients at Queen’s Park, in Toronto.

“I am always honoured to be recognized, espe-cially when it is from the mainstream. I never thought a small boy who grew up in one of the smallest villages in Ber-bice would make such an impact. For me it is more prestigious to be amongst other heroic recipients who have one thing in common and that is to maximize their potential to make Canada a better place,” said Sookram.

The history of the award states that when Roméo LeBlanc became Gover-nor General he wanted to thank “the thousands of caring people who give so much to their fellow citi-zens, the unsung heroes who volunteer their time, their efforts and a great deal of their lives to help-ing others, and who ask for nothing in return.”

The Caring Canadian Award was then created in 1995. The pin has a ma-ple leaf to symbolize the people of Canada; a heart for the open-heartedness of volunteers; and an out-stretched hand portray-ing generosity.

Sookram has always been engaged in his com-munity, both in the Re-gion of Waterloo and his homeland, Guyana. He has received over 100 recognitions, including the RBC Top 25 Cana-dian Immigrant Award in 2013.

Canadian Reggae legend Errol Blackwood performs solo during the Black History Month showcase at Kitchener City Hall on Feb. 7. Blackwood, who began his career in Kitchener, was an original a member of the Juno Award winning band Messenjah, which climbed to fame in the 1980s becoming the fi rst Canadian Reggae band to be picked up by a major music label. The showcase is one of many events planned in February throughout Waterloo region in celebration of Black History Month. See page 10 for a listing of coming events.

FAMILY SKATE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD 2:30-4:30 PMAt Kitchener Memorial Auditorium – Kiwanis Arena

JOIN ME FOR A FREE John Milloy, MPPKitchener Centre

At Kitchener Memorial Auditorium – Kiwanis Arena

John Milloy, MPPKitchener Centre

For more information, please call my constituency office at 519-579-5460.

BY HELEN HALL

Ward 7 councillor Bil Ioannidis is the latest incumbent to declare

his intention to run again in the next municipal election on October 27.

“We have a lot of great things hap-pening in which I’m involved and working on. I want to continue the

progress. In particular, advancing fi lm, music and media,” Ioannidis said.

He also said he wants to “Ensure that our city grows effi ciently, envi-ronment friendly, sustainable and compatible with our existing neigh-bourhoods. Ensure seniors program-ming is moving forward, and to build upon creating more jobs.”

Last week newcomer Dan Gra-ham announced his intention to run in Ward 2. Graham would be new to council, but is known in the communi-ty. He is the former executive director of the Blues Brews & Barbeques Fes-tival (now known as the TD Kitchen-er Blues Festival) from 2001 to 2006.

He is the only candidate so far in

that ward.Mayor Carl Zehr announced he will

not run again in October, leaving a dif-ferent Dan, Dan Glenn-Graham, the only declared candidate for mayor.

Ward 10 councillor Dan Glenn-Graham declared in January that he

More candidates declare for October 2014 municipal election

Continued on page 3...

2 • FEBRUARY 13, 2014 • KITCHENER CITIZEN (EAST EDITION)

BY HELEN HALL

How big should the Region of Waterloo International

Airport be?The region is creating a mas-

ter plan to recommend growth at the airport over the next 20 years.

About 300 people attended a public meeting at the Water-loo Region Museum on Febru-ary 6 to review the possibilities and ask questions.

“Nothing has been decided yet,” said Airport General Manager Chris Wood. He said they are trying to determine what is the “optimum size” for the airport, and hope to have a recommendation for regional council by 2015.

Four options were presented at the meeting. They ranged from Option 1, called the “sta-tus quo”, to a high growth plan where over a million pas-sengers would pass through the airport each year.

Under Option 1, up to 243,100 passengers could use the airport annually. In 2013, 138,733 passengers used the airport in 46 weekly fl ights. Adding an additional seven fl ights a week would increase the number of passengers.

Improvements to the site un-der Option 1 include expand-

ing the parking lot, reconfi g-uring the existing terminal, and relocating the Air Traffi c Control tower. The $5-million required for these improve-ments is already included in the current budget for the air-port.

Wood said that, under this option, revenues could rise to $5-million annually, but that taxpayers would still contrib-ute $25 per household annu-ally to subsidize the airport.

Under the high growth Op-tion 4, a new terminal build-ing would be constructed, a new entrance and access roads would be built, and additional parking would be provided.

One current runway would need to be extended, and a brand new runway would have to be built to accommodate the increased air traffi c.

Wood said an expansion of this size might create a “change in governance” at the airport, as it is diffi cult for a municipal department to run an airport of this size.

“We haven’t spent a lot of time on Option 4,” Wood said. “It sounds like a lot to go from today to over a million passen-gers a year.”

To reach over a million pas-sengers, the airport would have to add more than 133 fl ights to the current 46 fl ights

each week.Option 2 is the Low Growth

option, which could increase the number of annual passen-gers from 243,100 to a possible 388,000. It would mean adding between seven and 39 fl ights per week.

Airport improvements would include runway and taxiway extensions, a recon-fi gured entrance road and parking improvements, and an expansion of the terminal building.

Under this option, taxpayers would still subsidize the air-port for about $25 per house-hold annually.

Moderate growth Option 3 could increase airport passen-gers from 388,000 annually to 1,024,700. This would add 39 to 133 extra fl ights to the air-port each week.

Site improvements would include an expansion of the terminal building, runway re-location and expansion, addi-tional lighting, entrance road widening and parking lot im-provements, and the rezoning of lands for a future runway and the realignment of Shantz Station Road.

Because of the development in the east end of Kitchener and in Breslau, Wood said that the rezoning is necessary to protect the land in case an

additional runway is ever re-quired.

It is estimated that if the air-port reached over a million passengers a year, it would fi nance itself and its capital requirements, and taxpayers would no longer have to sub-sidize it. Any surplus revenues would go to the region.

However, Wood said, which-ever option is chosen, these fi nancial estimates rely on an increase in air traffi c and pas-sengers choosing to use the

Waterloo Region airport. Wood said the Waterloo Re-

gion airport has the “biggest opportunity” to increase its passenger count, being located so close to Toronto.

The region is also collect-ing comments from the public online at www.waterlooair-port.ca/masterplan or you can send an email [email protected]. They will determine if a sec-ond public information session is required in the spring.

Last year was another re-cord-breaking year for

passenger traffi c at the Re-gion of Waterloo Internation-al Airport (YKF).

A total of 138,733 passen-gers travelled from the local airport in 2013 -- a 15 per cent increase over 2012, which was also a record-breaking year.

“2013 was the busiest year ever at the airport. We want to thank everyone who made the choice to support our airline partners American, Bearskin, Sunwing and West-Jet and to fl y from Waterloo Region,” said Chris Wood, Airport General Manger, Re-gion of Waterloo Internation-al Airport.

“The airlines are seeing an increase in advance book-ings and the use of one-stop connections to destinations throughout the United States, Canada and the world. We are confi dent that our passen-ger numbers will continue to grow in 2014, as we work with existing and new carriers to

bring more air service options to our community.”

The local airport offers non-stop daily fl ights to Calgary, Chicago and Ottawa with one-stop service available to over 250 destinations in over 40 countries. Weekly direct service to Cancun, Mexico is also available with Sunwing until March 17, 2014.

One of the top 20 busiest airports in Canada, the Wa-terloo Regional International Airport recorded 106,923 air-craft movements (a landing or a takeoff), up 3.2 per cent over 2012.

Airport amenities have helped make travel easy and convenient including $6 per day parking, compli-mentary baggage carts, free high-speed wireless internet, charging stations, licensed de-parture lounge and new lobby café (both operated by Edel-weiss) and National, AVIS and Hertz car rentals avail-able on-site.

2013 record-breaking year for local airport

REGION OF WATERLOO AIRPORT MASTER PLAN

Deciding on the local airport’s ‘optimum size’

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Region of Waterloo International Airport’s General Manager Chris Wood explains the four options the region is considering for growth at the airport during the next 20 years.

Photo by Helen Hall

KITCHENER CITIZEN (EAST EDITION) • FEBRUARY 13, 2014 • 3

Kitchener’s lon-gest serving

Mayor has de-cided to retire in October.

Carl Zehr an-nounced Febru-ary 4 that he will not seek re-elec-tion at the end of this term.

Zehr has been mayor for 17 years and served nine years as a city councillor before that. During that time he also served 23 years as a Region of Waterloo council-lor.

“Over the past three decades our community has accomplished a great deal,” noted Zehr.

Zehr credited his colleagues on fi ve different city councils over the past 17 years who have worked together with the community to complete a num-ber of signifi cant projects including the construction or expansion of 12 community centres, the construction of Activa Sportsplex, the creation of McLennan Park and the Huron Natu-ral Area, the expansions of Don Cardi-llo Arena, development of the Walter Bean Grand River Trail, construction of six of Kitchener’s seven fi re sta-tions, expansion of the Doon Valley Golf Course, the city’s purchase and upgrading of the Sportsworld Arena,

upgrading of the Peter Hallman Ball Yard, construction of the new Kitchen-er Market, construction or renovation of three of the city’s current libraries, upgrades to Victoria Park including the rehabilitation of the lake and the construction of a new Kitchener Op-erations Facility.

“After 17 busy years, I feel I have contributed what I can to the commu-nity as its Mayor. While I haven’t made any decisions about what the future holds for me, I am looking forward to pursuing other professional and per-sonal opportunities, as well as a change of pace that will allow me greater fl exi-bility to spend time with my family and to travel,” Zehr said.

“Carl’s 17 years as Mayor have pro-vided Kitchener with the steady-hand, collaborative style and visionary think-ing which have served our community well,” said Berry Vrbanovic, who has been a city councillor during Zehr’s en-tire career as mayor.

“When history looks back at his time as mayor, I think he will be remem-bered for his focus on re-inventing the local economy - creating jobs and bringing new sectors such as technol-ogy into Kitchener, thus reversing the decline of our downtown, improving quality of life, and giving young peo-ple a reason to stay in our community upon completion of school. Unlike other cities in southern Ontario or the

northeastern US who are still grap-pling with the de-cline and job losses caused by various global trends, Kitch-ener and Waterloo region has been able to re-invent itself.”

Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr will not seek re-election in October

KITCHENER935 Frederick St.

(at Victoria)519-578-1770

KITCHENER935 Frederick St.

(at Victoria)No Tax Mattress Sale

BLASTBALL, T-BALL, 3-PITCH Games are played in the Stanley Park, Rosemount, Chicopee and Centreville areas of Kitchener from April 27 thru to June 21. Two games/week on various evenings – any Sat. games are AM. (We offer scheduling options to accommodate you.) Our fee includes: T-shirt, hat, photo package, trophy and wrap-up party Sat. AM, June 21. More information and ON-LINE registration: www.StanleyParkOptimist.com

BLASTBALL: Co-ed program for children born in 2009 & 2010 (& early 2011) Fee $45

JUNIOR T-BALL: Co-ed program for children born in 2007 & 2008 Fee $85 (Note: Children born in 2009 with Blastball experience may be enrolled in Junior T-Ball.)

SENIOR T-BALL: Co-ed program for children born in 2005, 2006 & 2007 Fee $85 (Note: Children born in 2007 have the choice of playing either at the Junior or Senior level.)

JUNIOR 3 PITCH: Co-ed program for children born in 2003, 2004 & 2005 Fee $85 (Note: Children born in 2005 may be enrolled in either Senior T-Ball or Junior 3 Pitch)

SENIOR 3 PITCH: Co-ed program for children born in 2000, 2001, 2002 & 2003 Fee $85 (Note: Children born in 2003 may be enrolled in either Junior or Senior 3 Pitch)

You can register on-line anytime or come to one of our personal registration sessions:

Stanley Park Mall on Saturday, February 15 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. “Early Bird” session: Blastball $40, T-Ball & 3-Pitch $75

Laurentian Power Centre in the Zehrs Community Room – Sat. March 8 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Stanley Park Mall on Saturday, March 15 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Stanley Park Mall on Saturday, March 29 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Late fees apply at this session)

Registration forms will be distributed in February through the schools & community centres or can be downloaded from our website and then mailed to: The Optimist Club of Stanley Park, 92 Sherwood Ave., Kitchener, Ont., N2B 1J9 with a cheque payable to “The Optimist Club of Stanley Park” covering all applicable fees. Note: all participation is by “Fair Play” codes of conduct and is solely at participant’s risk. Our program is run entirely by volunteers so parents and/or guardians are expected to be involved and help with the coaching or operation of the team. “Good sportsmanship” & “No Tobacco” rules are enforced.

Sponsors, Umpires, Scorekeepers & Student Volunteers needed: www.StanleyParkOptimist.com

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER AT “EARLY BIRD” RATES

is running for the mayor’s seat. So far, he is the only candidate, but that is ex-pected to change.

“I declared early to be clear that Mayor Zehr’s decison to run or not was not a factor in my decision. I believe that a great and diverse city like Kitchener deserves a great debate of diverse visions and now that the fi eld has no incumbent, I hope those who were un-sure before will now come forward as soon as possible to allow the public to get to know us all,” Glenn-Gra-

ham said after the mayor’s announcement.

In Ward 1, incumbent Scott Davey is the only de-clared candidate.

Incumbent John Gazzola is running again in Ward 3, which he has represented since 2002.

No one has come for-ward in Wards 4, 5, and 6.

Zyg Janecki said he plans to fi le his registration pa-pers for Ward 8. If success-ful in the election it would be his second term.

Frank Etherington is also looking for a second term in Ward 9.

At the regional level, in-cumbent Ken Seiling and local businessman Bob Oberholtzer are in the run-ning for regional chair.

Cameron Dearlove, who is Co-ordinator of the Fam-ily Centre, is running to be a regional councillor repre-senting Kitchener. None of the four incumbents have declared if they are run-ning again.

Three people have reg-istered to run to be a trustee on the Waterloo Region District School Board. They include Mat-thew Ichim, David Kuhn and Natalie Waddell. Four trustees are elected.

No candidates have come forward yet for the Catholic board.

Dan Graham recently announced he will run to represent Ward 2 at Kitchener city council. Following the announcement that he will run, Graham held a meet and greet event on Feb. 7 at a senior’s residence on Thaler Ave in Kitchener.

Municipal election ...from cover


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kitchenercitizen.com

RANTS&raves THE KITCHENER CITIZEN OPINION PAGE

Kitchener council should support Victoria Park statue project

GRCA asks for patience during winter storm clean up

Letters to the Editor The Kitchener Citizen welcomes Letters to the Editor. All letters must clearly state the writer’s full name, address, phone number and be signed. Names will be published along with the letter, however, addresses and telephone numbers will be used only for verifi cation purposes and will not be published. Letters should be submitted at least one week before the publication date. This newspaper reserves the right to edit, condense or reject any contribution for brevity or legal purposes.

Invitation to be a guest columnist The Kitchener Citizen invites you to share your experiences of local community as a guest columnist. Do you have a rant? A viewpoint about a local event or opinion about an important issue? Or, do you have a personal or funny story? The Kitchener Citizen is looking for writers who are willing to share their views with their Stanley Park neighbours in a guest column. Columns should be 400-500 words long and submissions must include your name and contact information. To submit your column by fax, email or mail, please call 578-8228. For more information contact, Carrie Debrone, editor, 578-8228.

As we enter the second month since the December ice storm, the Grand

River Conservation Authority has been hearing from people wondering why the cleanup is taking so long.

Some have volunteered to help move it along.

While the sentiment is admirable, it’s also misguided. It could actually result in making conditions more dangerous for people entering our properties.

The damage at the GRCA’s conserva-tion areas, rail-trails and natural areas was massive. We have had dozens of our staff, supplemented by several commer-cial tree services, working almost daily since December to make our properties safe.

It’s critical that we get it right. It’s criti-cal for the safety of our staff doing the work and critical for the safety of the public when we reopen the properties.

As we have said since the storm, the biggest challenge is not the stuff lying on the ground. It’s a fairly straightforward job to chip it and get rid of it.

By far, the bigger threat is above: the broken and damaged branches and trees that are just waiting to fall during the next big wind, or under the weight of the next ice or snow storm.

In the forestry industry these hazards are called “widow makers.” And for good reason.

Do an internet search for “killed by falling branch” and check out the results: a baby in Central Park, a man cleaning up storm debris in Hawaii, a woman

strolling through a park in London, a camper in Arizona. In 2004, a 10-year old boy on a school outing was killed by a falling tree at the Royal Botanical Gar-dens in Burlington.

No volunteer with a hand saw is going to get at those hazards. You need bucket trucks and heavy equipment and, most of all, expert arborists who know how to work in dangerous, high places.

So the GRCA has made a deliberate decision to leave the stuff on the ground, to deter people from entering the prop-erties, until we have had a chance to deal with the dangers overhead. To reinforce the message, we have posted “No Tres-passing” signs.

Our concern is that if people see a cleared path, they’re more likely to en-ter our parks, natural areas or rail-trails, without realizing the danger above.

We’ve already had cases of do-it-yourselfers trying to clear a rail-trail for snowmobiles. But they didn’t remove the debris from the trail, deal with overhead hazards or cut back branches far enough to provide enough clearance for riders. They left the trail more dangerous than it was before they “helped.”

We wish the cleanup was going faster, too. However, there’s a lot of work to be done, and it can be frustratingly diffi cult to clear snow-covered trails and park roads to allow the heavy equipment to manoeuver into place. The job is compli-cated by high winds and bitter cold that slow down even the best equipped crews.

In reality, it would be better to leave

some of the non-emergency work until spring, when it can be done more quick-ly, effi ciently and safely.

We have had to set priorities. We have more than 750 rental homes and cot-tages on our properties so we have been working to secure them. We’re still deal-ing with branches dangling over homes and power lines. We want to make sure our nature centre properties are safe for school children.

And while we do all of that, we can-not ignore that our fi rst duty – legal and moral -- is to the health and safety of the people doing this hard and complicated work.

Some dismiss this worry, suggesting it’s a mark of a society more concerned about lawsuits than results.

Yes, when you work in natural areas, there are always concerns about risk and liability.

But we need to manage that risk, mak-ing it as small as reasonably possible. That’s why we’re using trained and prop-erly equipped crews to do the work, and that’s why we want to keep others out of these dangerous places until the work is done.

We don’t want to allow a situation where a well-intentioned volunteer, or a hiker enjoying a winter stroll, is seri-ously injured – or worse – on one of our properties.

Dave SchultzGrand River Conservation Authority

Kitchener City Council now has a dif-fi cult decision to make.

After receiving some very vocal nega-tive feedback on the proposed 2017 ses-quicentennial statue project in Victoria Park, it must decide whether it will forge ahead anyway.

The plan to place 22 life-sized bronze statues of Canada’s Prime Ministers along the path that runs from the clock tower around the Commons area in Kitchener’s Victoria Park is being pro-posed by a local group, which has already raised $1.1-million towards its $2.2-mil-lion cost. They are asking for $300,000 from the city for the statue bases, electri-cal and landscaping.

Organized by former Kitchener Colle-giate Institute principal Jim Rodger and Sandvine CEO Dave Caputo, the art installation project has been endorsed by Governor General of Canada David Johnston, MP Peter Braid, John English, the offi cial biographer of two Prime Min-isters, and Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr.

Rodger was interviewed on CBC radio last week and said he is “perplexed” by the negative response to the project so far. Additional comments from a City of Kitchener online survey that closed Feb-

ruary 7 have not yet been released.People have complained that they

don’t agree with all the policies or beliefs of our former leaders and therefore they don’t deserve to be bronzed in Kitch-ener’s beautiful downtown park. Others have said these leaders don’t represent enough women or minorities.

Those who are against the project are making a lot of noise, while those who are for it, or indifferent to it, don’t seem to be making much noise at all.

If we can’t agree that our prime minis-ters deserve this kind of public display, who will we fi nd that we can all agree is worthy? Religious statues are out. Maybe sports fi gures like Terry Fox or Wayne Gretzky aren’t as controversial, but they don’t seem to tie into the his-torical feeling of the park that was built in 1896 and named after Queen Victoria, or to the sesquicentennial.

Maybe we should stay away from peo-ple altogether and go with another kind of sculpture? Again, this would be an in-teresting debate. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder, as witnessed by that red sausage sculpture sitting in front of the old provincial courthouse on Freder-ick Street.

History is history, and the prime minis-ters are the people who led our country. They made decisions that were often re-fl ective of the time in which they lived, and not always popular today. Like them or not, there is no argument that their decisions and their personalities helped shape our country.

One of the proposed features of this display is its educational value for school children. What a teachable moment to look at our prime ministers and to talk about the lack of women and minori-ties that have led our country, and dis-cuss whether that should change. What a teachable moment to talk about some of the poor decisions or statements made by former leaders, and what we have learned from them. What a teach-able moment to talk about good policies made under their leadership, and how they improved our country.

As they say, we learn from history. Not everything needs to be about perfection. Our prime ministers weren’t perfect, and neither are we, but they are our history. With all their quirks and fl aws, they de-serve to be remembered.

Guest Column

Editorial


I was recently asked at a so-cial gathering why I love

local politics. The person was curious to know “why” I do what I do and if after all these years, I’m still passion-ate about my work. What sur-prised me most was not what I answered, but the speed at which I answered.

I answered a resounding “yes”, and went on to explain how much of a privilege I’ve considered it to be to repre-sent your interests at Regional Council. Even with the con-troversial light rail transit is-sue (LRT) on the table I’ve enjoyed analyzing all the data presented, and diving deeply into new data as it has become available.

In 2010, when I ran for Re-gional Council I voiced my concern about the cost and scope of the project, based on the information that I had available at the time. Not un-like many of you, I’ve lived in Kitchener my entire life, and upon fi rst glance the numbers did not seem to justify the so-lution being presented. As you can imagine, what I now know in 2014 has broadened my appreciation for the com-plexity of the issue and I have come to understand the im-portance and necessity of the service over time.

Contrary to popular belief, what’s not up for debate is whether or not we need a new transit solution to accommo-date the impending growth of our community. We do. Our

region is growing tremendous-ly and will continue to grow. If we don’t take proactive steps now to manage change, this change, quite simply, will manage us. We are at a cross-roads in our community, some would say, where the GTA was 35 years ago. We know we can expect another 250,000 resi-dents in the region by 2031. Shouldn’t we learn from other communities’ mistakes? And so, it is not an option of build-ing rapid transit now or build-ing nothing at all. Without ION, 500 km of roadway will be needed to accommodate growth at a cost of approxi-mately $1.4 billion. Building ION reduces this cost by ap-proximately 40% or $500 mil-lion.

ION is as much about man-aging growth and change in our community as it is about providing transportation choice. Every infi ll project along the line means less de-velopment in the suburbs and less congestion. Already there are many projects underway.

When ION begins in 2017, I know that a large part its suc-cess will be dependent upon how successful Regional gov-ernment is in making public transit an attractive transpor-tation option for all residents. This is why one of my ongo-ing priorities has focused on fi nding new ways to encour-age residents to get out of their cars and try Grand River Transit (GRT).

Many non-transit users may

not be aware of the conve-nient and direct bus routes, like the new 202 iXpress, that GRT offers. GRT buses are accessible, comfortable and offer bike racks so passengers can combine cycling with pub-lic transit.

There is defi nitely work to be done in order to make the case for public transit to a wid-er audience, however, in terms of building ridership, there’s no doubt we’re already seeing some positive results.

The projected year one daily ridership of ION LRT is 25,000. Today, Route 7 and iXpress (which run between Fairview Park Mall and Con-estoga Mall) already carry about 20,000 rides per day. Of course, we want to see this rid-ership trend continue. So, how do we go about making public transit an attractive option for those who don’t currently con-sider it?

One way is to make it as con-venient and effi cient as pos-sible. That means introducing new iXpress routes, adding lo-cal service and increasing fre-quency in established Kitch-ener neighbourhoods.

ION is much more than the “mall-to-mall train” that some critics of LRT refer to it as. ION will stop at ma-jor destinations, employers, post-secondary schools, and neighbourhoods throughout Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo.

Another way is to reduce our carbon foot print. On a

consistent basis, we generate 4½ Megawatts of power at the regional landfi ll site from methane gas. We sell that and send it to the grid – enough to power 2,500 homes. This is green power at its best. ION will be powered by electricity as well – no diesel fumes from buses that could have been running up and down the line.

It’s my belief that a rapid transit system, combined with expanded GRT service and walking and cycling trails, balances our transportation needs and provides better choice for all Waterloo re-gion residents. I know that not everyone is going to give up their cars in favour of pub-lic transit. That’s why the Re-gional Transportation Master Plan also includes strategic improvements to roads in ad-dition to ION and improve-ments to GRT, walking and cycling trails. My hope, how-ever, is that by offering attrac-tive transit choices, people will

begin to consider GRT buses, and soon ION trains, as con-venient options to get them to where they need to go.

I’m always interested in hearing from residents on transportation and other re-gional issues. I’m grateful to be in a position to have your voice heard and I feel even more passionate about lo-cal issues today, than I did 26 years ago when I was fi rst elected to serve you.

What a wonderful realiza-tion.

Please send me your thoughts at [email protected].

For more information on ION and the future of trans-portation in Waterloo Region, please visit the Region of Wa-terloo rapid transit website at www.regionofwaterloo.ca/rapidtransit.

Geoff LorentzWaterloo Regional Councillor

Transportation needs include LRT, expanded bus service and trails

Green bin that!

Feed it...All food waste including candy and chocolatesIndoor plants and cut flowersPaper party stuffPaper cups and platesPaper towels and napkinsPet waste wrapped in paper

Show yourgreen bin

some love

For more information about waste programs and services, please visit www.regionofwaterloo.ca/waste or

call 519-883-5100 TTY 519-575-4608

Guest Column


One of the ways I’ve found to serve our community

is by using the offi ce of Mem-ber of Parliament to encour-age those who are doing good work for the rest of us. Offi cial recognition can add just a little bit of confi dence and hope to the efforts of those who give generously of their time and effort to make our community a better place to live.

One of those people is Fitz “The Whip” Vanderpool with whom I recently celebrated the 11th Anniversary of his

Academy. Fitz has made it his mission to mentor youth, passing on the life skills need-ed to live successful, fulfi lling lives.

I am not a boxer. In fact, you could almost say that I am a pacifi st. However, it is clear to me that Fitz “The Whip” Vanderpool exemplifi es many fi ne qualities, including tenac-ity, courage, self-discipline, and generosity of spirit.

Fitz has devoted his time, effort and personal resourc-es for many years to inspir-

ing these same qualities in others and changing many lives along the way. He has achieved success in his fi eld, winning the Canadian Pro-fessional Boxing Federation title, the World Boxing Fed-eration Intercontinental title, the World Boxing Council Welterweight Fecarbox title, the World Boxing Federation Superwelterweight World title and the World Boxing Council Superwelterweight Fecarbox title. He recently co-wrote “The Whip” which is an inspirational book about how anyone can chase their dream and succeed even when the odds are stacked against them.

Fitz’s true character is re-vealed by the work he does for the Waterloo Region community which include fa-cilitating boxing programs in the Waterloo Region schools, speaking at schools to inspire young people to chase their dreams and acting as an Inter-national Fire Safety represen-tative. Fitz is the kind of man who takes time to visit chil-dren who are ill in hospital.

Fitz’s efforts don’t make him rich. In fact they exact a toll of personal sacrifi ce. He deserves our support. Fitz “The Whip” Vanderpool is a fi ne role model for all of us.

PARLIAMENTARY REPORT by Stephen Woodworth

Member of Parliament Kitchener Centre

It was just one year ago that Ontario’s new Premier,

Kathleen Wynne was sworn in as Ontario’s new Premier. Un-der her leadership, Ontario has seen purposeful, progres-sive and practical solutions and a government intent on making the legislature work.

Trust with teachers has been restored and extra-curricular activities returned to schools. We secured a sustainable future for horse racing and the many communities who

depend on it. We held jobs roundtables in Waterloo Re-gion and other communities across Ontario, talking to real people about how to grow the economy and create jobs.

As we begin 2014, our eco-nomic plan is beginning to bear fruit. Jobs were up in No-vember and economists are predicting Ontario’s economy will grow by 2.6% in 2014, the fastest growth rate in 4 years. And on December 13, we an-nounced a partnership with

Cisco Canada that is the larg-est job creating investment in the history of Ontario’s tech sector.

Our economic plan is fo-cused on investing in people, building modern infrastruc-ture and supporting a dynamic and innovative business envi-ronment. This has positioned our economy for healthy growth in 2014 and made mea-surable by helping people in their everyday lives.

This year, we introduced a

budget based on Liberal prin-ciples that is fair to everyone in the province. It shows a government prepared to live within its means but commit-ted to taking care of people fi rst. We worked with the NDP to get it passed so that we could keep doing what the people of Ontario elected us to do—build a brighter future.

We made a deliberate de-cision to invest in you and build on your strengths be-cause we believe people are Ontario’s number one asset. We expanded access to health care, launched the Youth Jobs Strategy to put 30,000 young people into good jobs, and are leading Canada towards an enhanced Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) so that everyone can retire comfortably. We are reducing the cost of car insur-ance and strengthening con-sumer protections, because

you deserve to keep more of the money you earn.

By building modern infra-structure—roads, transit, hos-pitals and schools—we are connecting communities and making sure you can get home quickly and safely at the end of the day.

And our government con-tinues to attract businesses and support their growth. That is why we lowered taxes for 9 out 10 - 60,000 small busi-nesses across the province.

There is a lesson in the year that was: never underesti-mate the power of collabo-ration. Premier Wynne and our whole team rejected the politics of division, focused on what is possible, played to Ontario’s strengths, and never stopped working towards our goal of a prosperous and fair Ontario. The results speak for themselves.

PROVINCIAL ISSUESby John Milloy

MPP – Kitchener Centre

Kathleen Wynne Delivering Real Progress for Ontario

Honouring Fitz “The Whip” Vanderpool

• Basic & advanced foot care• Trim & file toe nails• Skin, corn & callous management• Diabetics welcome• Veterans welcome• Home visits available

Linda, The Foot Nurse519-893-2969Linda Heber, RPN Foot Care NurseFoot Care EducatorCertified Master Pedicurist

NursingFoot Care

Free Parking

ymcacambridgekw.ca


Read the Citizen online at kitchenercitizen.com

5

Page 28 l Kitchener Citizen - West Edition l November 7, 2013

City-Initiated Amendment to the City of Kitchener Official Plan

The City of Kitchener is conducting Planning Around Rapid Transit Stations (the PARTS project). One of the next steps is a proposed amendment to the City of Kitchener’s current Official Plan. In advance of developing new land use and infrastructure plans for areas around future rapid transit stations, the City’s Planning Division is proposing new policies to clarify how development applications will be evaluated in the interim. The proposed policies include using Transit-Oriented Development principles for any new development proposed on land that is within 800 metres, or a 10 minute walk, of the future ION station stops (shown on the map below).

Planning Staff will be hosting an information meeting specifically regarding this proposed Interim Direction and Transit-Oriented Development policies.

Information MeetingWednesday, March 5, 2014

Learning Room, Second Floor, Kitchener City Hall, 200 King Street West

7:00pm - 9:00pm

To view more details on the proposed amendment, the proposed policies, to get involved or request additional information, or to be notified of any report on this matter please contact Tina Malone-Wright directly, or see the following website: www.kitchener.ca/PARTS

Written comments on the proposed changes will be accepted until March 18, 2014 and will be considered in the staff report on this matter.

Tina Malone-Wright 519-741-2200 x 7765 [email protected] Fax: (519) 741-2624TDD\TYY: 1-866-969-9994

The process for renewing an Ontario drivers’ license

for seniors is being simplifi ed.Starting April 21, 2014,

drivers aged 80 and over will no longer have to complete a written knowledge test. In-stead, they will participate in a shorter, simpler renewal program that includes a vi-sion test, a driver record re-view, an improved, in-class group education session and

two short, in-class screening exercises.

The new screening exer-cises are simple, non-comput-erized tasks that help identify drivers who may need further assessment, such as a road test or medical review.

Samples of both exercises are available online at www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/senior-driver-renewal-program.shtml

Proposed changes to proce-dures for city council meet-

ings received strong support during a special council meet-ing Jan. 13.

A proposal to accelerate publishing standing commit-tee agendas was formally ap-proved in December, while 16 others were approved in prin-ciple and referred to the meet-ing for approval.

The proposals approved in-clude: • The committee chairs will ensure meetings stay on track, which may mean deferring the matter to the next appropriate meeting date.• Items for information can only be discussed if a majority of the committee votes to in-troduce it for discussion.• Council meetings going later than 11pm will need unani-mous consent of council mem-bers to extend the meeting by one hour, with proceedings ending no later than midnight.• Council members will be giv-en fi ve minutes for their initial set of questions, fi ve for a sec-

ond set, if required, including a response from the delega-tion.• Unregistered delegations wishing to speak to an item not listed on the agenda may appear before council, but council members may not ask them questions.• Matters that do not fall within the City of Kitchener council’s jurisdiction will be referred to the next available agenda-setting meeting for consideration by committee chairs. If the matter is found to be inappropriate, or outside the council’s jurisdiction, the delegate will be notifi ed with an explanation for refusal.• If an item is not on the cur-rent agenda, staff will refer the delegate to an appropriate meeting so the right staff can attend, and supporting mate-rials have been circulated for council’s consideration.

“The city is committed to making it possible for citizens’ voices to be heard and to pro-moting informed decisions that last,” said Colin Goodeve,

manager, council/committee services and deputy city clerk.

“We believe these procedur-al changes strike a balance be-tween facilitating city business in an effi cient and effective manner while enabling pub-lic engagement and ensuring council members have access to the information they need.”

For a full list of the chang-es, visit www.kitchener.ca and search “effi cient meetings.”

Region of Waterloo coun-cilors approved a 1.86 per

cent tax increase fi nalizing the 2014 budget at their Jan. 15 meeting.

“We worked to strike a bal-ance between funding impor-tant services while keeping the tax increase low,” said Ken Seiling, Regional Chair.

The increase of 1.05 per cent for regional services and 0.81 per cent for police ser-vices will increase the aver-age household tax by $32.38. Regional services make up about 50 per cent of the resi-dential property tax bill.

“We had to make some dif-fi cult choices on how to al-locate funds to meet critical needs in the community,” says Tom Galloway, regional councillor and Chair of the Budget Committee.

The region is a major pro-vider of essential community

services including helping families, children and seniors, ensuring the safety of our drinking water, getting peo-ple to the hospital in emer-gencies, ensuring the avail-ability of affordable housing, providing public transit, gar-bage and recycling collection, building and maintaining regional roads, planning for growth and supporting other vital community interests.

Despite less revenue and increased costs for garbage and recycling, increased costs for capital projects and more transportation costs for a GRT expansion and ION, this year’s budget will help meet the increasing needs in services areas like: childcare subsidies; seniors’ services; bus service in Cambridge; Mobility plus; Ontario Works discretionary benefi ts and ambulance service.

Regional approves 1.86% tax increase

Changes to driver’s licenserenewal for seniors

Kitchener council supports effi cient meeting proposals


BY CARRIE DEBRONE

When you are in prison, staying healthy physically and mentally is

tough – but it’s a challenge that must be overcome if prisoners are to be success-fully integrated back into society.

The challenges were addressed by pre-senters at the 5th annual Forum for Fed-erally Sentenced Women, held January 30 at Conestoga College.

Hosted by the Grand Valley Institution for Women and the students from the col-lege’s Community and Criminal Justice Degree Program, this year’s forum theme was the role recreation, leisure and well-ness activities play for women in prison and following their release back into so-ciety.

Keynote speaker Dr. Darla Fortune, from the University of Waterloo’s Depart-ment of Recreation and Leisure Studies who has researched the role of leisure ac-tivities in the lives of people released from prison, told the 175 people who attended that meaningful leisure involves freedom of choice and is an expression of human-ity helping to defi ne who we are and who we become.

Giving an overview of how important recreation and leisure activities are, she said positive leisure experiences “allow our gifts to become visible” often bring out people’s hidden talents.

They provide an opportunity for friend-ship and support, build relationships, cre-ate a sense of belonging and can be a buf-fer against stress.

However, she warned that some leisure activities can become addictive, or be tied to harmful restrictive policies that stigma-tize or assert social control over partici-pants.

“Sometimes they can create stress be-cause although people want to participate in them, they may not have the time or money to allow it.

“For people coming out of prison they

worry about the dangers o f having too much free time,” Fortune said.

“I was once told by a prisoner that she didn’t want any leisure time. She said, ‘That’s when I get into trouble.’”

Fortune said the high cost of partici-pation in leisure sports and recreation programs may limit involvement and if former prisoners apply to fee reduction programs, they often fear they will have to suffer the embarrassment of telling or-ganizers that they were in jail.

“They have a fear of fi tting in and not feeling part of the community, especially if they have just moved to a new community in order to get away from the people who they were friends with when they got into trouble,” she said.

“Leisure and recreation programs can and should play a major role in the reha-bilitation of women in prison, but what does it take to make this a reality?” she asked.

Noting that not one photo of a leisure or recreational program was included in a photography project undertaken at the prison to show places or situations where

the women felt most comfortable, she suggested programs could be redesigned to be more inclusive and suggested the prison offer a large number of varied pro-grams allowing prisoners to explore their interests.

“Free time is more diffi cult to do than to work,” she said, adding, “We don’t all automatically know how to make the best use of our leisure time.”

As a panel of four current and former prisoners from the Grand Valley Institu-tion for Women in Kitchener told their per-sonal stories, the same message emerged – there is a lot of work to do if society wants to improve the health of prisoners.

GVI is mandated by the federal gov-ernment to provide leisure and recre-ation programs, both for prisoners and for those who are released from prison but are still under sentencing restrictions.

Currently, GVI runs many sports and recreation programs including arts, crafts, exercise classes, sports teams, computers, book club and knitting. Most of its leisure and recreation programs are led by its hundreds of volunteers.

Anastasia Samms, said she used to par-ticipate in sports before she went to pris-on, but found there were few sports team opportunities once inside. She said the prison does have gym equipment, but it is often diffi cult to book time on what little equipment there is and that she found it diffi cult to “switch gears” to using fi tness equipment instead of playing a team sport in order to get physical exercise.

“I became less motivated to exercise and felt there was a void in my life.”

When Samms had the opportunity to help plan a recreational sports program at GVI, she jumped on it.

She helped organize some sports teams and began to participate again.

“I felt light and refreshed. It sharpened my skills both mental and physical,” she said, but said the teams may not have hap-pened if she wasn’t committed to creating

them.Jayde Gordon-Cummins said it is tough

to get access to the prison’s seven exercise machines, explaining that access is limited to four hours a day and prisoners must sign up for a time slot.

“Some women hog the machines and people don’t want to step on their toes and create a problem between those women and themselves,” she said.

“Only about 49 of the prison’s 160 peo-ple who want on the machines everyday can use them,” Gordon-Cummins said, adding that a half-hour time slot does not give enough time for a good workout. The lack of physical exercise contributes to an overweight, depressed prison community.

She said the prison used to have Zumba and Yoga programs each week, but that there are no volunteers currently willing

to run them.“One shocking quote that I’ve heard is

that if the women can’t work out they will just do drugs until they do lose weight,” she said.

She said that many of the women in the prison also don’t know how to cook and so do not eat healthy food also leading to poor health.

“Establishing healthy habits would help the women in the long run.”

Candace Pitvor, released from GVI two years ago, said the hours she spent in the gym while incarcerated helped her con-nect with others in a positive way and al-leviated boredom and stress.

She also said that she used to walk on the prison’s track every morning, and en-joyed seeing the groundhogs in the ad-joining fi eld. Walking time allowed on the track has since been limited.

“Most people gain weight because of unhealthy eating in prison. They are vul-nerable when they are released and they don’t have money for leisure activities – they don’t even have bus money,” she said.

“Not eating right, being depressed, be-ing restricted from physical exercise can cause a downward spiral,” Lynda Drosi, serving the last year of a 12-year sentence said.

She said it is tough to make the right choices in life but that not being healthy in mind, body and spirit just makes prison life and life after prison more of a hard-ship for people who already face extreme challenges.

She said that in her experience, medi-cal staff at the prison offers pills to help women instead of fi nding natural ways to solve their health problems.

Noting that if women had more help to learn to become and stay healthy while they are in prison, it would benefi t everyone.

“It costs $233,000 a year to keep one prisoner at GVI. A woman coming back to prison is expensive,” she said.

BY CARRIE DEBRONE

Hearing the challenges to stay or become healthy faced by

women in prison hit home with the founders of the local gym Xtreme Bootcamp in Kitchener who have offered to deliver a year-long pro-gram to help Grand Valley Institu-tion for Women inmates.

Xtreme Bootcamp Inc. founders, Sandra Leelook and Shauna Judar were two of about 175 people who attended the 5th annual Forum for Federally Sentenced Women, held January 30 at Conestoga College.

Hosted by the Grand Valley Insti-tution for Women and the students from the college’s Community and Criminal Justice Degree Program, this year’s forum theme was the role recreation, leisure and wellness ac-tivities play for women in prison and following their release back into so-ciety.

Jessica Hutchison, Community Engagement Coordinator for the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, said Leelook and Judar ap-proached her immediately following the forum offering to help provide fi tness and health programs to the women in prison.

Xtreme Bootcamp, founded in September 2010, is an athletic cen-tre offering fi tness and nutrition training and promotes healthy living to Canadians.

“As a total health and fi tness cen-tre, XBC strives to encourage ac-tive and healthy lifestyles. We are dedicated to changing people’s lives through proper guidance in fi tness and nutrition. Just like many other women in society, the women of GVI deserve the support and guid-ance in learning how to adjust their lifestyle so that they can live healthy and fulfi lling lives,” said Xtreme Bootcamp co-owner Judar.

Xtreme Bootcamp will offer eight-week sessions focused on exercise and nutrition in the prison. The two-hour sessions will be offered once a week throughout the year.

The offer is just one example of how the community has become en-gaged in fi nding solutions to issues faced by prisoners that have been highlighted at the popular annual community forums.

Past year’s forums have focused on employment, housing, mental health, and the new minimum-se-curity unit being constructed at the

prison.Hutchison said the employment

forum has also sparked an entrepre-neurship course offered through the Accelerator Centre where business leaders in the community donate their time and expertise to teach the women in GVI how to start and run their own businesses. To date, al-most 70 women have completed this program.

She said the forums were also the catalyst for many local business-es and agencies that now provide women prisoners with opportunities to work in the community during the day and return to prison at night under work releases.

The Sexual Assault Support Cen-tre of KW also came forward offer-ing individual counseling to women in GVI at its centre. The women travel to the centre for counseling using a temporary absence pass from the prison.

“At each forum, attendees indi-cate their willingness to volunteer at GVI in some capacity, either through Chaplaincy, as a driving es-cort or through the Stride program at Community Justice Initiatives,” said Hutchison.

Being healthy an uphill battle for women in prison and after release

Dr. Darla Fortune

“Leisure and recreation programs can and should play a major role in the

rehabilitation of women in prison, but what does it take

to make this a reality?”

FORUM SPARKS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPLocal gym to offer fi tness program for prisoners at Kitchener jail


Kitchener Utilities has launched a survey asking

customers about their satis-faction with Kitchener Utili-ties, their natural gas rates and the utilities’ gas purchas-ing strategy.

Since approving a natu-ral gas purchasing policy in 1998, the city has been using a blended model for purchasing gas to minimize price fl uctua-tions for customers.

This purchasing practice was reviewed in 2006 and in December 2013, council au-thorized another survey of customers to see if the blend-ed rate model is still the pre-

ferred method of purchasing.“Historically, customers

have told us they prefer the rate stability that our current purchasing strategy offers,” said Wally Malcolm, director of Kitchener Utilities.

“Other suppliers who use variable market rate pric-ing change their prices every three months, leading to less predictable billing. That is certainly an option for coun-cil to consider depending on what feedback we receive from the survey.”

The survey asks customers how they review their bills, how much they understand

about how the total cost for natural gas is broken down, how they think their rates have compared to other sup-pliers and their customer ser-vice experiences.

“One of the common mis-conceptions is that we mark up the rates for our gas sup-ply,” adds Malcolm.

“It’s important to us that customers understand what they are paying for and how their utilities are billed.”

In addition to the online survey, focus groups and a random, telephone sur-vey will also be conducted. Kitchener Utilities staff will

also be doing community out-reach at events around the city to make people aware of the survey.

The survey is available un-til March 19 at www.kitch-enerutilities.ca. Phone sur-

veys are being conducted by Metroline, an independent, third party research group, throughout February and ear-ly March.

Staff will present the results to council on April 28.

Have your say: Kitchener Utilities asking for customer feedback on rates, service satisfaction

Alex Mustakas, Artistic Director and CEO of Drayton Entertain-

ment, will be the guest of honour at the 27th Annual Mayors’ Dinner.

The popular annual fundraiser, hosted by Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr and Waterloo Mayor Brenda Hal-loran, celebrates outstanding contri-butions to Kitchener-Waterloo and is a fundraising event for The Working Centre and St. John’s Kitchen.

“Alex embodies the spirit of en-trepreneurship, creativity, and genu-ine passion that makes Kitchener-Waterloo such a desirable place to

live, work, and of course, play,” says Stephanie Mancini, Co-Director of The Working Centre.

“He is the perfect honoree for this year’s fundraiser.”

An icon in Canada’s performing arts industry, Mustakas has donated resources from his charitable arts or-ganization to support the individual fundraising efforts of over 750 chari-ties throughout Ontario and has per-sonally raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local initiatives by spear-heading successful collaborations with the Waterloo Regional Police Service,

United Way of Kitchener-Waterloo, United Way of Perth-Huron, St. John’s Kitchen, Salvation Army, Ro-tary, and others.

The Working Centre is a non-profi t, community-based, volunteer-inspired venture that seeks to give individu-als and groups access to tools and opportunities to become involved in the building of community projects in Kitchener-Waterloo and surrounding areas.

Every month, over 10,000 people use Working Centre services and proj-ects ranging from job search support

to daily meals, public access comput-ers to transitional housing.

The Mayors’ Dinner will be held Saturday, April 5th at Marshall Hall, Bingaman’s and will feature emcee Neil Aitchison, guest speakers and entertainment by some of the biggest stars of Drayton Entertainment.

Tickets are $100 and include a $55 tax receipt. Groups of 8 are available for $750 with a $390 tax receipt. Tick-ets for the event are available exclu-sively through The Working Centre at 519-743-1511 x 119 or online at www.theworkingcentre.org/dinner.

FUNDRAISING EVENT FOR THE WORKING CENTRE AND ST. JOHN’S KITCHEN

April 5th Mayor’s Dinner to honour CEO of Drayton Entertainment Alex Mustakas

After nearly 11 hours of delibera-tion, Kitchener councilors voted

10-1 to approve the city’s $104-mil-lion operating budget that includes a city tax rate increase of 0.99 per cent for 2014.

Based on the average residential household assessment of $258,000, the city’s portion of the annual prop-erty tax bill will increase by $10. The rate does not include a 3 per cent in-crease to the storm water rate, up $4 from 2013. That money will be used to fund critical infrastructure proj-ects.

John Gazzola was the only council-lor to vote against the budget.

Councillors started with a proposed 1.17 per cent increase and whittled it down to just under the one percent.

“The Environics survey was clear – residents wanted a tax increase in line with the rate of infl ation, while main-taining the level of services they’ve come to expect,” said Councillor Scott Davey, chair of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee.

“We hit a target that we should all be happy with and we were still able to add some progressive items for fu-ture years.”

Key budget items include:

• Eight new revenue sources ap-proved to reduce tax levy including: increases to user fees, cost recovery

initiatives in bylaw, engineering and special events and generating advertising and sponsorship rev-enue.

• Water rates increased by 3.5 per cent and sanitary sewer rates in-creased by fi ve per cent the major-ity of which relates to the cost im-posed by the Region of Waterloo for water supply and wastewater treatment.

• Two additional bylaw staff added to help reduce response times and ensure offi cers are available 24/7 to respond to calls from the public.

• Two additional information tech-nology staff to implement and sup-port technologies to expand mobile computing leading to operational effi ciencies and improved customer service.

• Annual home offi ce and technol-ogy expenses for each councillor was capped at $2,500, a decrease of $630

• Allocation of $136,000 towards reducing the city’s three areas of chronic defi cit: electricity costs in city owned facilities, operation’s ongoing defi cits and bylaw enforce-ment fi ne revenues.

• Reduce the operating grant for Cre-ative Enterprise Initiative (CEI) by $10,000 to $46,000.

Kitchener council approves 2014 budget increase of less than 1 per cent

www.wcdsb . ca

Catholic Elementary Schools:

Blessed John Paul II (519) 742‐7378 Blessed Sacrament (519) 745‐5950 Canadian Martyrs (519) 578‐7579 John Sweeney (519) 579‐52 Monsignor Haller (519) 579‐1230 Our Lady of Grace (519) 745‐3961 St. Aloysius (519) 893‐5830 St. Anne (519) 745‐7847 St. Bernade e (519) 743‐1541 St. Daniel (519) 893‐8801 St. Dominic Savio (519) 576‐5503 St. John (519) 579‐0890

St. Kateri Tekakwitha(519) 895‐1716 St. Mark (519) 743‐4682 St. Paul (519) 743‐4401

St. Teresa (519) 743‐2131 St. Timothy (519) 748‐1874

Catholic Secondary Schools:

Resurrec on Catholic Secondary (519) 741‐1990

St. Mary's High School (519) 745‐6891

Welcome New Kindergarten & Grade 9 Students...

Come Exper ience The Difference. . . CALL TO REGISTER TODAY!!

All registration information: www.wcdsb.ca/register

Extended Day Learning information: www.wcdsb.ca/extendedday

John P. Rush, B.Sc., D.D.S.

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Telephone: 519-893-6450Toll Free: 1-888-893-6450Facsimile: 519-893-6459

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New Patients Welcome

Ottawa Heritage Dental

1335 Ottawa Street North Kitchener, Ontario N2A 4A3

Being healthy an uphill battle for women in prison and after release


There are a number of February events planned in celebration of

Black History Month.• On Family Day, Feb. 17, the 4th an-

nual “Bring on the Sunshine Festi-val” will be held from 10am to 5pm at Forest hill Untied Church, 121 Westmount Road, Kitchener. En-joy the best of Africa in the midst of winter (Waterloo Region loves Sun-shine!) - as well as art workshops for kids, live music, tasty food, fabulous market place browsing and further fun activities for all ages. Cost: free or by donation. For more informa-tion visit bringonthesunshine.ca

• On Feb. 23 One Nobel Journey: A Box Marked Freedom &:30pm at The Registry tells the true story about Henry “Box” Brown, an Afri-can American who was born a slave in 1816 in Louisa County, Virginia. At the age of 33, he was bequeathed to his master’s son, who sent him to work in his tobacco factory in Richmond. When Brown witnessed his wife and children taken from him and sold to another state, he reached his breaking point and de-vised an escape plan that would have him sealed in a small wooden box and shipped to friends and to freedom in Philadelphia.This show runs 90 minutes, and is appropriate

for a mixed audience.• Faith and the Arts celebration at

Maranatha Lutheran Church, 236 Woodhaven Rd. Kitchener, from 11am to 4pm. Sunday, Feb. 23 Free

• Saturday, Feb. 22 at 4pm - The fi rst annual Black Heritage Saturday “Music Love and Family” at The GBHS Cultural Centre 83 Essex Street, Guelph. $7 adults, $5 chil-dren, $20 familes (2 adults, 2 chil-dren). Contact info: [email protected]

• Enjoy the tastes of cultural foods prepared by Ellison’s Bistro at Fri-day food festivals in Kitchener’s city hall rotunda, taking place on Feb. 15 and 22, accompanied by dancing and sounds of a steel band.

• The Kitchener Market is also cel-ebrating Black History Month. A special Kids’ Hop will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 19 and on Saturday, Feb. 23, visit Caribbean Kitchen once again to soak up the fl avours of the Caribbean while you sway to reg-gae and calypso beats. Crafts for kids will be available and much more. Visit www.kitchenermarket.ca for complete details.For more information on each event,

including locations, costs and times visit www.tapestrycelebrations.ca

The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Waterloo Region and Landmark

Cinemas in Kitchener will host the 5th annual Movie Morning to End MS on Family Day, Monday, February 17 at the movie theatre located at 135 Gate-way Park Drive, in Kitchener.

If you buy your tickets in advance you can see four blockbuster movies on the big screen for the low price of $10

per family or group of four people. The movies are: Despicable Me 2, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Ender’s Game and The Croods.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.wagjag.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the theatre on the day of the event for $20 per family or group of four people.

Attendees will be able to visit with

live costumed movie characters – prin-cesses, super heroes and ghost bust-ers! Kitchener fi re fi ghters and police offi cers will also attend along with, Tex the Kitchener Rangers’ Mascot, Miss Oktoberfest, Onkel Hans, a clown and face painters.

LED magic wands and swords will be on sale and the cinemas concession counter will be open.

All money raised through this event goes to support programs and services at the local Waterloo Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.

The MS Society provides services to people with multiple sclerosis and their families as well as funds research to fi nd the cause and a cure for this disease. For more information on the local MS Soci-ety visit www.mssociety.ca/waterloo.

The City of Kitchener 2014 artist in residence is Dwight Storring,

a digital storyteller and media art-ist. Storring’s year-long residency, entitled Neighbourhood Voices, will document life in the stories of Kitch-ener’s neighbourhoods by collecting personal stories of residents.

Storring will draw out the richness of life in Kitchener in 2014 through personal stories of family and com-munity, using still images, audio and

video combined into a collaborative documentary fi lm, using the city’s community centres as a place to start.

Storring will also hold three story-gathering events at selected locations, for participants of all skill levels. Through a step-by-step story-telling process that includes neighbourhood mapping, video portrait making; a story-sharing circle and one-on-one story coaching, residents’ stories and interviews will be recorded in video.

“My art is centred around the per-sonal narrative and its resonance within the large societal narrative,” Storring says. “I strive to bring peo-ple’s personal stories to light and cast the storytellers as players within a community space.”

Storring spent 15 years as a pho-tojournalist and photo editor with the Record before starting the pa-per’s fi rst website in 1996. His work includes projects for IMPACT 13, Women’s Crisis Services Waterloo Region, inREACH program, House

of Friendship and Waterloo Region. His Latitudes and Longitudes digital storytelling tour, Made in Kitchener, (madeinkitchener.ca) is a Kitchener 100 project celebrating the city’s cen-tenary in 2012.

In every project, story is central.“I aim to honour people’s personal

stories while bringing a new perspec-tive to the work through curatorial practices of collection, relationship-making and interpretation,” he says.

To see portraits, stories and inter-views, go to www.kitchener.ca/air

Local Black History Month events

FOOD, FAMILY, FANTASY AND FUN ALL FOR A GREAT CAUSE! Celebrate Feb. 17 Family Day at MS Movie Morning fundraiser

Digital storyteller Dwight Storring is Kitchener’s 2014 artist in residence

The Region of Waterloo will launch a revised package of four Historic

Countryside Tours at the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation’s 2014 showcase at Fairview Mall in Kitch-ener on Saturday, Feb. 15.

First published in 2006, the tours have been updated and redesigned to include a variety of new historic and scenic attractions along routes in the Townships of North Dumfries, Wool-wich, Wilmot and Wellesley.

Regional councillor Jean Haalboom will make a presentation about the revised tours at 11am in front of the Heritage Planning Advisory Commit-tee (HPAC) booth.

The tours are a resource for cyclists, hikers, daytrippers, heritage enthusi-asts, local residents and visitors to the region. They take approximately two to three hours to drive and include stops at heritage buildings, bridges, landmarks, parks, scenic roads, trails,

and more.A complimentary online mapping

application is available on the region’s website and the tours are customiz-able and available for both handheld and tablet devices.

The Heritage Showcase is a free event designed to educate people about the history of Waterloo region. The theme for 2014 is Having Fun with Heritage: Historic Places Made for Play. The showcase runs from 9am

to 5pm. The tour packages are available for

free, and in addition to being distrib-uted at the Heritage Showcase event, they can also be picked up at: the Waterloo Region Museum, Joseph Schneider Haus, the Kitchener Public Library, and the Region of Waterloo Administrative Headquarters. The tours will be more widely available at libraries and other locations across the Region later in February.

2014 HERITAGE SHOWCASE AT FAIRVIEW MALL

Updated countryside tours to launch at Feb. 15 Heritage Showcase


BY JANET BAINE

Canadian Heritage River designation of the Grand River 20 years ago was a major

coup in many ways.The Grand River was the fi rst nonwilder-

ness river to be designated. It was also the fi rst to have its tributaries integrated within its designation, taking a more integrated ap-proach to heritage designation.

Acceptance of the Grand into the Canadian Heritage River System broke new ground.

“The real coup was to convince the ‘powers that be’ to designate the Grand River, because it was a departure from all the other desig-nated rivers to that point,” explains Bryan Howard, who worked for the Ministry of Nat-ural Resources and was cochair of the Grand Strategy in 1994, and is now retired. “There was a broadening of the scope that paved the way for other nonwilderness rivers in south-ern Ontario, such as the Thames, Humber and the Detroit rivers to be designated.”

Nomination was a lengthy process that be-gan in 1987 when watershed municipalities approached the GRCA and asked it to spear-head heritage river designation. The Grand was nominated February 20, 1990, when Lyn McLeod, then Ontario’s Minister of Natu-ral Resources, signed the carefully prepared nomination document.

There was a great deal of input from com-mittees and hundreds of members of the pub-lic all along the way.

The Grand was designated on January 18, 1994 and the fi rst Grand River plaque was un-veiled September 26 of that year with great fanfare. The Grand was the 15th river to be designated by the Canadian Heritage Rivers Board, which has representatives appointed for each province and territory.

The decision was made when the board met at the historic Langdon Hall in Cambridge, where they were presented with a manage-ment plan called The Grand Strategy. The strategy provided a plan for the future and a look forward 25 years, to 2019.

It was developed through a collaborative process involving more than 200 representa-

tives of community groups, businesses, edu-cational institutions, municipalities, federal and provincial agencies, First Nations and the GRCA.

“It was regarded as a pivotal change for the Canadian Heritage River System (CHRS) to embrace the Grand River into the system, be-cause it was a working river,” Howard says.

The GRCA’s lead in this process was Grand Strategy co-chair Barbara Veale, who dedi-cated many years to bringing about the river designation. During the two decades since, she has helped to keep the river designation on the front burner locally, nationally and in-ternationally. She recently left the GRCA and now works for Conservation Halton, but she continues her interest in heritage designation of the Grand.

Stumbling Block The stumbling block for designation of the

Grand River was that it did not meet the cri-teria to be considered for its natural heritage. For this reason Veale, Howard and a legion of other people worked extra hard to bring about the nomination and designation based on the two other areas of nomination: cultural features and recreational opportunities.

The Grand nomination document included the major tributaries in the designation — the Nith, Conestogo, Speed and Eramosa rivers. Howard believes that including these rivers strengthened the case to designate the Grand River. It also brought the concept of integrat-ed watershed management into the Heritage River nomination process.

By 1999, Heritage River plaques had been unveiled on all the rivers to denote their des-ignation and acknowledge that a river is part of a system.

The only river in the CHRS that has more kilometres of designated waterways than the Grand is the Fraser River, as the entire 1,375-km river has been designated.

In contrast, many Canadian Heritage Rivers have sections that have been designated, such as 48 km of the Yukon River known as “The Thirty Mile,” which was part of the Klondike Gold Rush. The Yukon itself is nearly 3,200 km long.

Where Are We Now “One of the biggest values of the Heritage

River designation was to raise the profi le of the river in the communities up and down the rivers,” says Veale. “Many neat things have come out of it, including books about the river, poetry and art festivals, to name a few. All of those increase awareness of the rivers again. It has really helped to have people no-tice the river, because before the designation, we turned our back on the river.”

For a few decades, parents warned their children to stay away from the river, as it was dirty, and communities dumped their gar-bage along the riverbanks. Great effort was put into cleaning these areas up and making waterways a place that people wanted to visit and to improve even more.

Dozens of businesses and organizations are named after the Grand River and its tributar-ies. Some have changed their name to incor-porate “grand,” such as Grand River Hospital (in 1995), Grand River Transit (in 2000) and the Grand Philharmonic Choir (2006). Com-panies in all lines of business, from beer to insulation to dance, are named for the Grand River, so the river is much more than a source of water to the communities that it fl ows through, especially since the designation.

The Grand Strategy was created to direct change within the Grand River watershed, and it worked in partnership with other pro-grams. These include the Grand River Fish Management Plan (completed in 1998), the Grand River Forest Plan (completed in 2004) and the Grand River Water Management Plan that is being fi nalized this year. In fact, a goal for the CHRS is that all designated rivers have management plans. In addition, annual monitoring takes place after designation, and the GRCA will be preparing a 20-year moni-toring report to outline the changes that have taken place since designation.

There are now 38 Canadian Heritage Riv-ers and three more that have been nominated for designation. The CHRS now places less focus on designating new rivers and more on supporting the rivers that have already been designated.

Community SPOTLIGHT

Three local Kitchener newspapers to serve you.

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Union St

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Project3:Layout 1 4/7/13 2:05 PM Page 1

Grand River broke the mold for Heritage River System

Janet Baine is a Communication Specialist with the Grand River

Conservation Authority.


THIS MONTH’S READING:Longbourn by Jo Baker

REVIEWED BY:Sharron Smith, Co-ordinator,

Bibliographic Services

For more great reading ideas, visit www.kpl.org and click on the “Books and More” tab.Want to share your own review of your favourite read? The library’s online catalogue enables library card holders towrite a review for any item in the collection. Simply click on the “Add Review” tab for your selected book, and write away!

WHAT WE’RE READING

Fans of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (orthe TV series Downton Abbey) won’t want to

miss Longbourn by Jo Baker, a wonderful storythat eloquently mirrors Austen’s story. Still set inthe Bennet household, this time the story is toldfrom the perspective of “downstairs”, providingreaders with the servants view.

As the story unfolds, readers meet housemaidSarah, who like Elizabeth Bennet, is initially in-trigued and almost taken in by a man who is notwhat he purports to be. It is only when a newfootman arrives on the scene that Sarah will findherself, and like Lizzie, is then faced with a choicebetween two very different men. Baker providesa wealth of downstairs detail, and does not skimpon the realistic harshness of the daily work ex-pected from the servants. The result is a vividrecreation of both time and place in the story.

In a nod to social injustice, there is a story linefeaturing the sugar plantations of the New World

and slavery. Readers are also offered glimpsesinto the life of a Napoleonic War soldier. Scenesof both hardship and violence are included, andagain, very much in contrast to the scenes de-picted by Austen, where the militia are frequentlyseen engaged in dinners, card parties or balls.

All of Austen’s beloved characters are here;however, for the real P&P fan who may be hopingto spend time with Mr. Darcy, you’ll be disap-pointed as the real emphasis is on the servantsand how the events above stairs, impact on thelives and relationships of those downstairs. Any-one picking up this companion novel may want tore-read Pride and Prejudice again, this time tocapture glimpses of the cast from Longbourn. Allin all, this take on the classic work does not dis-appoint; it is a highly enjoyable and compellingglimpse into the lives of the working-class duringthe Regency period in England.

A monthly column featuring great reads as suggested andreviewed by librarians from the Kitchener Public Library.

Follow along each month and discover your next great read!

Artist: Bethany Richelle ReinhartTitle: The Collision of Elements

in the UniverseOil on canvas

Artist: Alyssa ShouldiceTitle: Nature’s FamilyAcrylic on canvas

Artist: Ryan TennantSelf Portrait - MuddledCharcoal

Artist: Jessica BraunTitle: TetraAcrylic on

canvas

GRCI art students present exhibit at Homer Watson House & GalleryThe graduating class from Grand Riv-

er Collegiate has collaborated with the Homer Watson House & Gallery in Kitchener to present an art exhibition titled transFORM.

Every year, through its Open Gallery Program, Homer Watson House & Gal-lery selects one graduating art class from a Waterloo region high school to create and curate an exhi-bition of its students’ personal works.

Under the su-pervision of their teacher, Karen Fletcher, and the museum’s curator, Faith Hieblinger, GRCI students produced, in-stalled, promot-ed, and exhibited their art in the gallery setting.

TransFORM features paintings, sculp-tures and charcoal portraits by the Grand River High School students intended to showcase the individual.

The students have used infl uences from pop-culture, as well as inspiration and techniques from renowned artists to cre-ate each piece. The works encompass the transformation that occurs during the

creation of art, in both the artist and the medium in which he/she is

working, as it is extended to someone viewing the art.

The exhibit runs until February 28 at the gal-lery, 1754 Old Mill Road, Kitchener. For more in-formation on the exhibit call 519-748-4377.

Artist: Jessica BraunTitle: TetraAcrylic on

canvas

Artist: Mackenzie ShawTitle: HopeSculpture

Artist: Ryan Tennant

Tthe Homer Watson House & Gallery in Kitchener to present an art exhibition titled transFORM.

Program, Homer Watson House & Gal-lery selects one graduating art class from a Waterloo region high school to create and curate an exhi-bition of its students’ personal works.

pervision of their teacher, Karen Fletcher, and the museum’s

Artist: Bethany Richelle ReinhartTitle: The Collision of Elements

create and curate an exhi-bition of its students’

creation of art, in both the artist and the medium in which he/she is

working, as it is extended to someone viewing the art.

ThFebruary 28 at the gal-lery, 1754 Old Mill Road, Kitchener. For more in-formation on the exhibit call 519-748-4377.

ARTS&entertainment

ArShouldiceTiAc


ARTS&entertainment Art can help build your business

New Waterloo Region Museum TALKS Series begins this month

BY CARRIE DEBRONE

Forget bowling nights or in-spirational speakers –you

can improve your business by looking at, and thinking about, art.

A new Creative Thinking Workshop offered by the KW Art Gallery is putting its own gallery collections to good use by helping local businesses with professional development.

In today’s world, image is be-coming more and more impor-tant. Have you ever looked at an image and wondered what the artist intended you to see? What message he or she was trying to convey?

Taking time to delve into visual art from all angles can boost your creative thinking skills, your ability to interpret visual information and your analytical skills – all important communication tools needed to succeed in today’s fast-paced business world.

Building on this knowledge, staff at the KW Art Gallery developed the Creative Think-ing Workshop as a fun way for companies to engage their em-ployees in professional devel-opment.

Using the art on its own gal-lery walls – some of the best contemporary works of art from around the world – the workshop allows co-workers to learn with one another outside the offi ce in the casual atmo-sphere of the KWAG galleries and in the recently renovated former Art Bar, now called the

Community Access Space.In the fall of 2013, a group of

resident doctors from the Mc-Master University medical pro-gram in Kitchener participated in the workshop.

“Feedback from the group was positive,” said Nicole Neufeld, KWAG Director of Public Programs, who said re-sponses included: “The pro-gram was very helpful to get a sense of the fi ne details to look for in art and in life,” and “It was great to get different per-spectives.”

The gallery also provided a mini version of the workshop to the public in January.

“We had a great response to the mini session and had to cap the numbers. We will be doing another teaser session later in the year,” said Neufeld.

“We live in an increasingly image-based world where how to read and understand images becomes very important,” said Neufeld.

“It’s also important to real-ize how the context of images can change the understanding of them,” Neufeld said, adding that while one person may fi nd comfort in a painting of ocean

waves, another may be left feeling uneasy by the same picture.

Not only do par-ticipants learn new analytical skills but Neufeld said the workshop could also help to boost team morale.

“It’s really a lot of fun and fosters a sense of curi-osity. Research shows that this type of activity hones a sense of empathy for one another,” she said, adding that the workshop provides a great opportunity for managers to see their em-ployees’ skills in a way that may not come to light in a tradition-al offi ce setting.

The 3-hour workshop is lead by a gallery facilitator and is suitable for groups of between 8 and 25 people. During the ses-sion, participants view various pieces of art and learn how to critically analyze them, learning the language and descriptions often used by art critics. They also complete a simple art-making project and view art in the gallery to think about how it affects them emotionally. They are given time to talk with each other about what the art means to them and gain from every-one’s input.

The sessions cost $650 (per group up to 25 people). Costs could be lower for not-for-prof-it groups.

“The workshop encourages people to fi nd new ways to think about art and about life,” Neufeld said.

For more information about the workshop or other programs offered at the KW Art Gallery visit www.kwag.on.ca

The new Waterloo Region Museum 2014 Winter TALKS speaker series offers the

opportunity to learn about diverse topics in-cluding various aspects of the past, present and future of the Waterloo Region.

This series takes place in the Christie The-atre at the Waterloo Region Museum, 10 Huron Road in Kitchener. Monday, February 24, 1:30pm Don Smith - The Extraordinary Maungwudaus: A For-gotten Waterloo Region Native SonMonday, March 3, 1:30pm Bengt Jorgen - Ballet Jorgen CanadaMonday, March 17, 1:30pm Paul and Hil-di Tiessen Lucy Maud Montgomery & Ephraim Weber: A 40 Year Conversation from 1902 to 1942Monday, March 24, 1:30pm Maryanne Weiler - The History of the Kitchener Hor-

ticultural Society and Rockway Gardens

Monday, March 31, 1:30pm rych mills - A Corner in Time: Kitchener’s King Street and Queen Street

Monday, April 7, 1:30pm Karen Ball-Pyatt - Babies, Brides and Bones: Adventures in Discovering Family and Local History Roots in the Grace Schmidt Room of Lo-cal History

Monday, April 14, 1:30pm Joanna Rickert-Hall - Myth, Magic and Medicine in 19th Century Waterloo County

To purchase tickets call 519-748-1914. Single ticket price is $8 plus HST. A full se-ries pass is $40 plus HST. Limited seating. Ticket includes admission to exhibits. Lim-ited seating is available so advance ticket purchase is recommended.

TRAILS

PARKS

POOLS

ROADS

COMMUNITYCENTRES

ARENAS

SPLASH PADS

What is your ideal city?Calling all future leaders, decision makers and visionaries - between the ages of 10 and 12 years old!We want to know what makes a city great place to live, tell Mayor Zehr and members of council (in 250 words or less) howyou would shape Kitchener for the future. Winners will participate in a live, televised council meeting on April 28, 2014 to debate a community-related topic and receive a tour of city hall! As well, your essay will be printed in an upcoming issue of the Kitchener Citizen.

Essays are due by March 28, 2014 and can be emailed to [email protected] or dropped off at the Office of the Mayor and Council in City Hall (after business hours, please drop off at security desk.) A total of 11 essays will be chosen. All entries are the property of the City of Kitchener. Only the winning names and ages will be published. For more information, call 519-741-2300.

Ideal City Ad_Layout 1 14-01-10 1:12 PM Page 1

“ We live in an increasingly image-based world where how to read and understand images becomes very important,”

Mindy Alexander, School Programs Coordinator, leads a discussion about a painting as part of the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery’s new Creative Thinking Workshops that provide professional development for local businesses.


In Good TasteThis is a sauce for diners

who do not mind giving their taste buds a wake-up call. The intense tomato fl avour is at least partially due to the cooking method, assisted by the garlic and pepper fl akes. Use fettuccine, spaghetti, or your choice of pasta.

PASTA WITH BUTTER-ROATED TOMATO SAUCE1 28-oz can whole tomatoes, including liquid6 – 8 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces¼ to ½ teaspoon hot red pepper fl akeskosher or coarse sea saltfreshly-ground black pepperfreshly-grated Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago cheesepasta for 4 servings – about 350 grams

Preheat oven to 425 de-grees F. Pour the tomatoes into a 13 x 9” baking dish, and crush them somewhat with your hands. Add the garlic, butter and hot pepper fl akes. Roast for about 20 minutes, then give them a stir and re-turn to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes. The garlic should be very soft and the mixture should be almost the consistency of jam. Using a potato masher, mash the mixture well to break up the garlic and the tomatoes. Cook pasta to only the al dente stage, in a very large pot of boiling, salted water, to which you have added a couple of tablespoons of veg-etable oil. Stir a couple of times during he cooking pe-riod, then drain, reserving at least ½ cup of the liquid. Taste the sauce for season-ing and add a pinch of salt, if necessary, and a generous fl urry of pepper. Return the pasta to the pot and stir n the sauce and the reserved cooking liquid; briefl y toss over medium high heat, until the sauce coats the pasta – about a minute of two. Serve topped with grated cheese. This sauce can be used not only for pasta; try pureeing it with chicken stock or water, adding a bit of cream, for a great winter soup. Or, add a spoonful to an omelet before folding. Or use it as a sauce for pizza. Or ,whatever strikes your fancy.

Even if the vanilla ice cream you have on hand is not home-made, no one will notice when it is topped with this:

SAUTEED BANANAS WITH PRALINE SAUCE(4 servings)

¼ cup unsalted butter4 bananas, halved length wise, then crosswise¼ cup packed brown sugar1/2 cup heavy creampinch of ground cardamom (optional)pinch of coarse salt¾ teaspoon fresh lime juice

Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet over me-dium-high heat. When the foam subsides, place two of the bananas, cut side down in the skillet and sauté for a minute of two (total) un-til the bananas are golden, turning once.

Transfer to 2 dessert bowls.

Heat another tablespoon of butter in the skillet and repeat with the remaining two bananas. Transfer to two more bowls.

Melt remaining 2 table-spoons of butter in the skil-let over moderate heat, then stir in the brown sugar, cream, cardamom, and salt. Simmer, stirring occasion-ally until sauce is slightly thickened – about 2 min-utes.

Remove skillet from heat and stir in lime juice.

Top the bananas in the dessert bowls with ice cream and spoon the sauce over the top.

Cold weather greens can be a challenge for the shopper – especially one on a tight bud-get. But we can always count on kale to be available in most grocery stores. If you fi nd that kale is too tough to serve raw in a salad, chop in fi nely, dress it, and al-low it to sit at room tempera-ture for a while to soften. Kale can be added to many winter dishes, such as stews, stir-fries, soups, casseroles, etc. And who can resist kale chips? Unlike most other leafy greens, kale becomes crisp, not wilted, when baked. Cut kale into bite-sized piec-es; toss in olive oil, with added spices if you wish; spread out in a single layer on a back-ing sheet and bake at 300 degrees F. for about 35 min-utes; turn every 10 minutes. Sprinkle with a bit of coarse sea salt and allow to cool.

When you don’t have time for marinating, spice rubs are a good alternative. And, you can vary them endlessly, using your favourite fl avours in countless different combinations. This one is particularly good with chicken. The amounts I have given here will coat two whole chickens, but it is so simple to reduce to any small measurable amount that you won’t even have to remember your basic arithmetic.

SPICE RUB FOR CHICKEN1 tablespoon cayenne pepper2 tablespoons sweet paprika3 tablespoons brown sugar4 tablespoons kosher salt, or coarse sea salt

Combine. Rub on the sur-faces of the chickens, then cook as you normally would: grill, broil, roast, or fry.

Use whatever variety of ap-ple you prefer for this salad, but make certain it is a crisp one.

APPLE SALAD WITH WALNUTS1 cup very coarse, fresh breadcrumbs½ cup walnut halves2 crisp apples, thinly sliced about ¼ cup chopped mild or sweet onion¼ cup fresh parsley leaves¼ cup fresh lime juice, or lemon juice¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper fl akessaltfreshly-ground black pepper½ cup grated cheese – provolone or white cheddar2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a small baking sheet, spread out the breadcrumbs, and toast, stirring occasion-ally, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow crumbs to cool.Meanwhile, spread out

walnut halves on a baking sheet, and toast, stirring occa-sionally, until golden brown – 8 – 10 minutes. Allow to cool, then chop coarsely.

In a large bowl, toss the breadcrumbs, walnuts, apple slices, onion, parsley leaves, lime juice and red pepper fl akes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the cheese and oil; toss gently, and serve.

SIMPLE RECIPES FOR A BUSY LIFE STYLE

MarketNEWS

KIDS IN THE KITCHEN: VALENTINE’S DAY Saturday, Feb.15, 10 a.m. – noonCome to the Marketplace to make a Valentine’s treats and crafts. Wear red for fun! Olympic torch visits the market

February 15, 10 a.m. - noonWe will have the Olympic torch and medals on display. Wear your Olympic gear to celebrate our athletes. With a donation of food for the Waterloo Region Food Bank, take a pic with the torch and the mitten mascots.

TOTAL WOMAN SHOWFebruary 8-9, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Bingemans Enjoy two days showcasing women featuring speakers, fashion shows and exhibitors. Be sure to stop by to visit the Kitchener Market booth and cooking stage.

Cooking classes in the MarketplaceIt doesn’t matter if you know your way around the kitchen, can’t tell a saucepan from a frying pan, or just want a fun night out - we have a class for you! To register: Visit www.kitchenermarket.ca/cookingclasses, call 519-741-2287 or email [email protected]

Date night: Thursday, Feb. 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m.Looking for a date night idea? This cooking class focuses on fun and romantic meals made for two, to make your nights at home just as special and memorable as your nights out on the town! Join other couples for a fun night of watching a hands-on cooking demonstration while you enjoy a glass of wine. This class is $99 per couple.

Indian cuisine: Wednesday, Feb. 19, 6:30-8:30 p.m.Indian food can be spicy, sweet, sour, buttery and salty – but most of all it can be addictive! For authentic Indian recipes and hands-on teaching from a professional chef, look no further. Our Indian Cuisine class will show you just how easy it can be to make classic Indian dishes to wow your family and dinner guests alike. $55/per person.

Thai cuisine part 2: Wednesday, Feb. 26, 6:30-8:30 p.m.In this continuation of the Thai Cuisine cooking series, we will explore more in-depth techniques and more complex recipes to provide an advanced knowledge of Thai cuisine. Traditional Thai dishes use simple ingredients like rice, noodles, chicken and seafood, and combine these with flavorful sauces and spices to create a unique meal. If you have already taken the first class of this series, or if you have an interest in learning how to make complex Thai recipes with simple step-by-step guidance from a chef, this is the class for you! $55/per person.

Get the MarketNEWS delivered every month to your inbox!

Sign up: kitchenermarket.ca/newsletter

THIS MONTH WE CELEBRATE It’s been a long, cold winter! Get out of the cold and into the Kitchener Market to heat things up in the kitchen with spicy Indian and Thai food.

Celebrate love with the kids at Kids in the Kitchen and have a date night with your special Valentine.

Visit our website for details and to register: www.kitchenermarket.ca


The leading cause of blindness in older people is age-re-lated macular degeneration (AMD), which results in the loss of central vision and the ability to see fine details. AMD is primarily triggered by a lifetime of free-radical damage, so the best way to protect your eyes is to make sure they have an abundant supply of targeted antioxi-dants.

Cataracts are another common problem associat-ed with aging. More than half of all North Americans in their 80s either have cataracts or have had surgery

to replace the clouded lens. Not surprisingly, the same nutrients that protect against AMD have also been shown to help stave off cataracts.

NEW Vision Essentials with lutein, beta-car-otene, ginkgo biloba, lycopene, black currant and 10 other nutrients helps reduce the risk of developing cataracts and helps to maintain eyesight in conditions such as cataracts and age-related macular de-generation.

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For many, the New Year represents a fresh start—and with nearly 16% of

people in Ontario being smokers and tobacco users accounting for 30% of all cancer deaths in Canada, a popular reso-lution may be to quit smoking.

Follow this 5-step plan to help ensure that by next year, you’ll be celebrating a smoke-free anniversary!1) Know your reasons for quitting

While winning a car is a great reason to quit, there are probably many others. Write down your reasons for quitting smoking and keep that list with you so you can refer to it often. A visual remind-er just might be the encouragement you need to keep those temptations at bay. Try selecting a few of the most important rea-sons on your list and post them around the places you used to smoke.2) Prepare for cravings and

withdrawal symptomsNo matter how good your reasons are

for quitting, you may still fi nd yourself craving a cigarette. The best way to defeat temptation is to avoid it, so change your routine and stay away from the places you used to smoke. Avoid events with a lot of other smokers by suggesting alternative social gatherings that don’t emphasize smoking.

When withdrawal symptoms occur, remind yourself that they will only last a few days. You can manage withdrawal symptoms with some preparation. For headaches and irritablitiy try relaxation exercises (deep breathing), listen to

soothing music, drink lots of water and visualize a relaxing place or event.

For trouble sleeping eliminate caffeine and do a slow-paced activitiy before bed that won’t overstimulte, such as read-ing. For dizziness, stop and sit down for a while, and for a cough, drink plenty of fl uids, used cough drops or chew gum.3) Get a little help from your friends

Research shows that people are more successful in changing their behaviour when they have a support system. Ask a friend or family member to be your sup-port buddy. You can sign up for The Driv-en to Quit Challenge with your buddy and can also call Smokers’ Helpline to speak to a Quit Coach at 1-877-513-5333. 4) Don’t give up!

If you have a slip, don’t beat yourself up about it and most importantly, don’t give up! Quitting smoking is hard work and often takes many attempts.5) Reward yourself

Plan special celebrations on the anni-versary of your quit date, but you don’t have to wait a year to treat yourself. Smaller, more frequent rewards prove to be just as benefi cial. Made it to one week smoke-free? Treat yourself to a massage. One month? Go out with your support buddy for a nice meal.

For your chance to win a grand prize of a new car, register for The Driven to Quit Challenge and stay smoke-free for the month of March 2014. Visit www.Dri-ventoQuit.ca for more information.

Trash the ash: A 5-step plan to quit smoking and win a car!

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Q. We live in a condominium townhouse and our garbage is picked up once a week. Some owners just toss their bags and walk away without caring that the bag broke open. We never know what is going to be left behind to pick up after the gar-bage and recycle trucks depart. Could you please address this problem? Thanks!

A. You are certainly not alone regarding this issue and it is a major problem in both hi-rises and condo townhouses. For some reason, some residents fail to recognize the importance of following the rules when it comes to garbage disposal.

I too have seen people toss their garbage bags from a dis-tance hoping they reach the bin. Sometimes the gamble pays off, other times someone else is left with a mess to pick up. In hi-rise buildings some owners try to force larger bags down the gar-bage chute. If they don’t fi t they

leave the bag sitting inside the door or worse, stuck half in and half out of the garbage chute. This is very irresponsible and unfair. Continuous poor garbage disposal habits will only create unbearable odors, which attract mice, cockroaches and many other unwanted critters. Not to mention the extra amount of un-necessary work that falls on the shoulders of the superintendent or maintenance staff. Some superintendents, who cannot tolerate the above bad habits any longer, have armed them-selves with rubber gloves and facemasks. They do this so they can go through the broken aban-doned garbage bags and search for envelopes etc. to identify the culprit.

Recycling is another signifi -cant problem if it is not sepa-rated properly. Some directors have discovered used baby dia-pers, car muffl ers, crock pots, baking pans and a broken snow shovel just to name a few. I have

heard of some situations where recycling privileges were taken away because of improper sort-ing. Residents would be wise to post a list somewhere handy, so they can refer to it prior to recy-cling or garbage disposal.

Having garbage picked up regularly is a privilege and con-venience that we should not abuse. Everyone should take the time to follow the particu-lar condo rules that govern their corporation. Good habits will guarantee a very clean and at-tractive property that the entire community can be proud of and enjoy.

* * *Marilyn Lincoln is a condo

owner, director and author of The Condominium Self Manage-ment Guide 2nd. Sen d questions to [email protected] To order a copy of her guide, send $39.95 plus $4.98 ship-ping and handling to The Condo Guide, 163 Thaler Ave., Suite #302, Kitchener, Ont. N2A 1R4

Lets Talk About Trash

Each Offi ce is Independently Owned and Operated

Peter Schneider,Sales RepresentativeRe/Max Solid GoldRealty (II) Ltd., Brokerage180 Weber St. S., Waterloo519-888-7110 Businesswww.takemehome.ca

Bungalow Living! Clean, well cared for open concept townhouse. Features includes; hardwood fl oors, large ensuite bath, 9’ ceilings and very low condo fees. You’ll be impressed!

MLS $229,888

Quality built 4 bedroom home located on a quiet cres. Features include a kitchen addition, built-in appliances, fi nished basement, newer gas furnace, 25 year shingles. Fenced mature yard plus much more

MLS $359,888

Very impressive, totally renovated, open concept Condo. Kitchen & Sunroom walls have been removed to create a large bright living space. Too many improvements to mention. You’ll have to see it!

MLS $343,888

Clean, well cared for home backing onto parkland. Features include hardwood fl oors, central air, walkout basement, in-ground pool with heater, new roof in 2006, windows 2006 & 2009. Plus much more!

MLS $327,888

Peter is a licensed Sales Representative with Re/Max and has specialized in the Stanley Park Area for 27 years.

For a free home market evaluation withoutobligation, call me at 519-888-7110.

Late winter and early spring historically are the best times to sell a home. Over the next 90 days

more homes will sell than any other 90 day period throughout the year. As the days get longer and snow starts to melt, people come out of their winter hibernation.

More buyers mean higher prices for sellers. Homes that have been on the market for a while will start to move. New listings that come on the market will be priced a little higher than the homes

that just sold. Sellers must be careful not to overprice their

homes because in the long run they will end up selling for much less, if they sell at all.

In this fast paced market, buyers are leary of homes that have been sitting on the market for more than two months, since the average time to sell a home in Kitchener-Waterloo is under 30 days. For a reasonable “Honest” value of your home in todays’ market call me anytime at 519-888-7110.

Real Estate Corner

Thinking of Moving!

STYLE OF HOMES # OF SALES PRICE RANGE AVERAGE PRICE

Single Detached Home 5 Low $252,500 $296,180–3 bedroom, single garage High $380,000

Single Detached Home 1 Low $460,000–4 bedroom, double garage High

JANUARY AREA SALES REPORT

Look for the next issue of Kitchener Citizen on March 13


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It’s Your BUSINESS CANADA’S BUSINESS

BY BRUCE WHITESTONE

From time immemorial

the current, pre-dominant gen-eration belittled the coming group of young

people, denigrating their work ethic, lifestyles, and values. This seems to be part of the life cycle.

However, business must do more than criticize; it has to learn how to manage this mixed group of employees who are going to run things in the future.

The latest group of young employees often get jobs be-cause of their digital expertise

that so often baffl es others. Employers are often amazed at the ability of young people who work so easily with high-tech material. However, young people have to adjust to the slow process of change.

Even though the present la-bour market probably is the most diffi cult in more than a generation, many young work-ers with the proper skills seem to have an excellent future.

Some older workers are postponing retirement be-cause of longer life spans and fi nancial needs, so employ-ers now have workers with an unusual diversity of age from which they can hire.

The generation X, those born in the middle 1960s to the early 1980s, are discovering

that they are caught between older workers who hang on to their jobs, and the coming younger group who are receiv-ing better working treatment and higher starting pay than they ever were accorded. Em-ployers must be as diplomatic as possible to appease these different employee groups.

Older workers have as-sumed incorrectly that the coming category of young em-ployees will not be as diligent or hard working because they have been so coddled. Those notions have been unfounded; young people today are more mature than any previous gen-

eration.Some older people inferred

that young people would be too soft and uncaring. gener-ally lacking motivation, but many have been pleasantly surprised that young people are resilient and more than willing to help their older col-leagues, who, in turn have to be open to advice and to learn from young people.

Older workers must be will-ing to report to more youthful supervision, often a painful process.

Employers must learn to adjust to a young population that works differently, want-

ing more fl exible hours or time off, perhaps for volunteering or for personal reasons.

The task of business man-agement nowadays must be to harmonize these varying groups, which can all make valuable contributions to the workplace.

If managed well, the genera-tion gap can provide the build-ing blocks to a more successful company and economy.

* * *Bruce Whitestone is an

economist and syndicated columnist living in the

Breslau area.

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18 • FEBRUARY 13, 2014 • KITCHENER CITIZEN (EAST EDITION) l Kitchener Citizen - West Edition l February 13, 2014

notes from city hall

Office: 519-741-2784 Residence: 519-498-9056 [email protected]: www.scottdavey.info

As Kitchener’s finance chair,I’d like to detail my pride in

staff and council for bringing what Ibelieve to be the best budget thus

far in our term. You probably haven’theard or read much about the 2013budget because, to be frank,“KITCHENER DELIVERSRESPONSIBLE BUDGET” isn’t exactlyheadline news.

I was elected more than two yearsago on a platform of efficiency andfiscal responsibility; borne of therealization of strained taxpayers anda stagnating economy.

With that in mind, back in May Isuggested we conduct arepresentative survey of residents to

determine affordability ofservices. Staff implemented thesurvey with expediency and theresults came back as suspected. Itis best summarized as maintenanceof services with tax increases nogreater than inflation.

At the time of the survey, inflationwas projected to be 2-2.5 per cent;little did we know it would dropsharply in the latter half of the yearsettling at 1.4 per cent.

Still, with significant work fromstaff and council, we managed to

bring in a budget at 1.39 per cent —the lowest increase of the tri-cities,and among the lowest in Ontario.

My pride in reaching this figurestems from the fact that it wasaccomplished without beingregressive. We made a $500,000payment to debt, dedicated$800,000 to major parks (includingKiwanis Park), $1.65 million totrails, and $320,000 to replacetrees affected by the emerald ashborer. In short, we’re strongerfiscally and still managed to makeKitchener a little bit better. n

Office: 519-741-2779 Residence: [email protected]

The final budget was ratified inJanuary, setting Kitchener’s

tax rate at 1.39 per cent. Throughpublic input, research surveys and

the interactive website, this is whatcitizens told us they could manage.No significant cuts were made toservices such as community centres,snowplowing, and grass cutting;however, one significant reductionthat council made affected our firedepartment. Their budget wasreduced by $480,000 to account forthe retirement of four firefighters;two fire prevention officers havealready retired. This reduction waspresented by senior staff as a viableoption to limit the potential increaseto the fire budget. Even after the

reduction, the overall budget for thedepartment will still go up in 2013.

I understand how the public mayperceive these cuts; I respect thework our firefighters do. It takes aspecial people to do these jobs and Iknow that the communityappreciates this essential service.The reality of the fire departmentbudget is that it has gone up 31.3per cent over the past six years dueto increases in salary, and theopening of an additional fire station.

Salaries are often decided througharbitration. These decisions have

caused unsustainable salary levelsat the municipal level and, if theycontinue, cities could experience anunstable financial position. Citiesneed to send a clear message to theprovince that these methods are notsustainable and taxpayers don’thave limitless funds to pay theseincreases through their taxes.

Everywhere we see efforts toreduce spending, we must lead byexample at the city. Please contactme with your questions orconcerns.n

For the first time in 10 years, Ivoted in favour of the tax

budget, which resulted in anincrease of 1.39 per cent; slightlylower than the annual increase inthe inflation rate. This was

accomplished without cutting anyintegral services.

The most contentious issue wasreducing four firefighters in the firedepartment through attrition. Thisresulted in annual savings of$480,000. I supported this,requesting staff investigate ways toprovide this essential service in amanner that we can afford now andin the future. No action will be takenuntil thorough studies are carriedout, which clearly result in nocomprise to the safety of our citizensand risk to our properties.

Although the increase in taxes isat a reasonable level, I wasextremely disappointed in theincrease constituents will be facingthrough other essential services:water and sewer rates areincreasing by 4.75 per cent. I hadput forward a limiting increase ofthree per cent, but received supportfrom only three councillors. Ourutilities are in a strong financialposition and could withstand givingour consumers a slight reprieve. Inthe last 10 years, the inflation ratehas increased by about 20 per cent.

During this same period, water andsewer rates have increased 199 percent and 293 per cent respectively.

Users of our recreational serviceswill again be facing a further threeper cent increase in fees foractivities such as swimming andskating. Hydro rates are alsoincreasing and many will faceincreases over the next four yearsdue to the change in propertyassessment values. The taxincrease was reasonable, but we fellconsiderably short in other essentialservices provided to our citizens. n

The main branch of KitchenerPublic Library on Queen Street

is open during construction, and ifyou have not seen the progression ofthe new 25,000-square-foot

addition, you will be pleased with thenew space and its changes once itopens this spring. Improvements willthen begin on the original building.For more information on programsand services at all the KPL locations,check out their wonderful andinteractive website www.kpl.org.

The new underground parking atthe main branch library is open andconstruction will be completedsometime this spring on the otherparking garage to the east of thelibrary. And yes, a great public spaceis planned above these parking

garages; your input will be requestedsoon.

KW Art GalleryLooking for something creative for

you or your family to do? Take a tripto see the great exhibits at the KWArt Gallery and find out about theircool art programs there for kids,teens and adults at www.kwag.ca.Let the inner artist out to play andcheck out the wonderful art that is inyour very own backyard at Centre InThe Square!

40 km/hour school zonesLastly, I am moving that the City of

Kitchener consider a pilot program todetermine the effectiveness of areduced speed limit of 40 km/h onelementary school frontages in the2013/2014 school year.

A staff report will come to thecommunity and infrastructureservices committee on April 8. Weneed to develop a culture that sayspedestrians first, especially littleones!

Keep in touch with your great ideasor concerns at [email protected] or519-741-2786. n

Office: 519-741-2786 Residence: 519-576-3501 [email protected]

Office: 519-741-2243 Residence: 519-896-7300 [email protected]@berryonline

Office: 519-741-2790Residence: [email protected]

Office: [email protected]

Family Day is only a few daysaway, so if you are stilllooking for something fun

to do on Feb. 18, I suggest checkingout Mayor Zehr’s Movie Morning, insupport of the Multiple SclerosisSociety of Canada. Doors open at 8a.m. and movies begin between8:45 and 9:15 a.m., at EmpireTheatre on Gateway Park Drive.

There are great movies to choosefrom this year, including The Lorax;Ice Age: Continental Drift;Madagascar 3: Europe’s MostWanted; Transformers: Dark Sideof the Moon and The HungerGames.

The morning is sure to offersomething for everyone! There willbe Lucky Looney draws, great doorprizes, face painting and visits fromOnkle Hans and Miss Oktoberfest.For more details on this event, visitwww.mayorsmoviemorning.com.

Although March Break is stillweeks away, it’s time to startthinking about what your childrenwill be doing with their newfoundfreedom. Will they be visiting withtheir grandparents, spending theweek at home with family, or visitingfriends?

Another great option is MarchBreak Camp at the BreithauptCentre, running from 9 a.m.-4:30p.m. daily with additional supervisedhours available. Children in JK tograde six will spend the weekplaying games both indoors andoutdoors, making new friends, andgoing for a daily swim. For moredetails and to register, visitwww.kitchener.ca, keyword search“camp.”

On April 12, I will host the annualState of the City Address. Thisbreakfast event provides anopportunity for me to share insightssurrounding the 2013 budget, theprogress and planning of citywideprojects, upcoming initiativesaffecting our community, and manyother issues affecting the citizensand businesses of Kitchener, andour entire region.

This charitable event is open to allmembers of the public, with netproceeds from ticket sales donatedto the Kitchener and WaterlooCommunity Foundation. For moreinformation on this, and past Stateof the City addresses, visitwww.kitchener.ca, keyword search“state of the city.” I hope to see youthere!

Budget 2014On Jan 30th, after 11 hours of

deliberation, Kitchener council set the budget and accompanying tax

increase for 2014. After the work of staff and council, the increase stood at an inflationary 0.99%. I’m content with that figure, but it’s merely the headline of a story that you really have to read to appreciate. It’s not difficult to get to inflation provided you’re prepared to slash services, but most Kitchener residents did not want that; and we heeded that direction.

In fact, we added to the budget providing better service in our by-law department. We also began a new

process to increase productivity-per-worker via a mobile tech strategy that will realize efficiency across the organization.

One area that continues to irk me is that of water and sewer costs.

Each year we are assigned rates, passed down by the Region of Waterloo, that have far exceeded inflation yet we have no ability to affect them. I’m not suggesting there isn’t good rationale for those increases, but they are often portrayed as being set by Kitchener

council when they are not. We have no control. Without getting into detail, the costs Kitchener actually can control for these services, rose only at the rate of inflation.

While this is an election year, this is not an election-year-budget.

Our last three budgets have all come in under inflation, and we’ve cut chronic deficits from $943K/year to $144K/yr. I’m proud that the next council of this great city will begin their term from a position of fiscal strength.

Wow! Hard to believe it’s February already. It certainly has been quite the winter this year. From the ice storm before Christmas to all the snow throughout January, it has felt like the

kinds of winters we had 15-20 years ago!2014 BUDGETIn recent weeks, we just finished the

2014 City of Kitchener Budget. The approved final budget sees a 0.99% increase in the City of Kitchener portion of property taxes, amounting to $10 per year for the average home. This is less than CPI. We maintained necessary planned investments in infrastructure, and invested nearly $1 million in service enhancements to support the new expanded Central branch of the Kitchener Public Library, make bylaw enforcement 24/7 and supported investments in mobile technology which will lead to increased efficiency across all city services in

the future. While I was disappointed that we did not invest in increasing the maintenance budget for our street trees, overall, I believe this was a responsible and reasonable budget consistent with taxpayer identified priorities.

RINK VOLUNTEERSA shout out to all of our volunteers

throughout the City who have been maintaining our outdoor skating rinks this winter. The job has certainly been challenging. A special thanks to our Ward 2 volunteers for the rinks at Centreville-Chicopee Community Centre, Country Clair Park, Morrison Park and the Stanley Park Community Centre.

WINTER COPS

Thanks to the Chicopee Ski & Summer Resort and our volunteers from the Waterloo Regional Police Service, the Kitchener Fire Department and our community centre for making the Winter COPS ski experience a success again in 2014! Almost 50 local youth had an amazing experience. I was glad to join them for part of the evening!

UPCOMING EVENTSCheck out some of the following

special events in our community in the next little while – HockeyTown on Civic Square and Coldest Night of the Year: Awareness Walk, both on Feb. 22nd, and the Annual Int’l Women’s Day breakfast on March 7th.

Council has now passed the 2014 Budget containing 18 different clauses. Altough I was satisfied with the 1% tax increase; I could not support the large increases in the

other services provided by the city; some of which used to be included in the tax bill. Water and sanitary sewer, storm water fees, parking and many recreational services will all increase at rates ranging from 3.0% to 5.5% - the current inflation rate is below 1%. Increases in hydro and gas rates will be determined later. Also I could not support the hiring of additional staff at this time. It is interesting to note that in the last 10 years taxes have increased by 34% (not including the new storm water fee); Water by 99% and sewer rates by 193%; whereas the inflation

rate has gone up by 17%.Council has now approved an

additional expenditure of $400,000 to renovate the Boat House at Victoria Park. Normally actions by Council are approved at a committee meeting and then ratified a week or more later at the next council meeting. Again this was not the case with the Boat House decision. The decision was ratified within minutes of being approved at the committee. Unfortunately I was out of the city for the committee meeting fully expecting to be able to participate in the discussions at the next council

meeting seven days later. One has to wonder why there was suddenly such a rush. There should always be at least a week provided for Councillor to rethink and revisit decisions before they are ratified. This also allows time for public engagement. The public has time to contact their Councillor and/or to appear as delegates at the following council meeting. I have long been opposed to this quick action process used on “possibly prickly” issues.

Hello NeighboursMany of you may already know

that Kitchener City Council passed

a budget which included a .99% increase to taxes. Although this is an admirable percentage increase to achieve, it is important for all taxpayers to understand what the total percentage on your tax bill represents.

The Region has supported a 1.86% increase, representing 51% of the total tax levy on your bill. The City of Kitchener’s portion is 32% and the rest is the school boards.

Although I was strongly supportive of reducing the increase in the water, sanitary and storm water fee this

did not pass with the majority of Council. Even though we purchase our water from the Region and they are responsible for our sewer/waste, we have some significant reserves set aside in these utilities, that I and some other councillors were hoping we could use to reduce the rates by 1 to 2%. As of Sept. 30 in the storm water utility budget alone, there was close to $7M left unspent.

Along with these increases, there was a proposal to add seven additional staff. I did support the hire of two by-law officers, since

I continue to hear from residents that by-law’s response time is more than what they anticipate. It is my hope this additional coverage, which now allows for 24 hour by-law coverage, will alleviate these time challenges. I could not justify the cost of employing another 5 people at a total of $450,000 due to the impact on what citizens would pay through the tax levy.

Should you have any questions or comments about the budget please contact me.

We live in a great city with people who care about creating an even better one for future generations.

Planning for a better future was the purpose of our most recent Environics

survey. After giving the results a thorough read, I was pleased to find citizen concern over safety in the downtown is no longer one of the top three concerns found in the same 2003 survey. I equate this to the revitalization of our downtown core over the past 10 years which has dramatically changed the community. I am sure that the majority of those who live, work or shop downtown would agree that it is a safe place with a great mix of businesses and restaurants. Come and see how we’ve changed!

During budget deliberations, I set a personal goal to keep a city tax increase to the current rate of inflation. I am pleased that we achieved this, but not without making some very difficult decisions since many expect that this increase, .99%, to be the new norm, however many pensions are barely growing at even this rate.

We need a culture shift in our thinking towards the environment! As the only council member on Climate Change Waterloo Region (CCWR), I have learned a great deal about

reducing energy output, making me even more passionate about keeping the City of Kitchener a leader in environmental conservation.

Collectively, small steps can add up to big strides! Just by adding a rain barrel to your garden, signing up for an energy audit at www.reepgreen.ca, or borrowing a free electricity audit at www.crewzone.ca will make you aware of simple money and energy saving areas you can act upon.

Ideas or complaints, I enjoy them all. Contact me anytime.

Kitchener Utilities has launched a survey asking customers about their satisfaction with Kitchener Utilities, their natural gas rates and the utilities’ gas purchasing strategy.

Since approving a natural gas purchasing policy in 1998, the city has been using a blended model for purchasing gas to minimize price fluctuations for customers.

This purchasing practice was reviewed in 2006, and in December 2013 council authorized another survey of customers to see if the blended rate model is still the preferred method of purchasing.

“Historically, customers have told us they prefer the rate stability that our current purchasing strategy offers,” said Wally Malcolm, director of Kitchener Utilities.

“Other suppliers who use variable market rate pricing change their prices every three months, leading to less predictable billing. That is certainly an option for council to consider depending on what feedback we receive from the survey.”

The survey asks customers how they review their bills, how much they understand about how the total cost for natural gas is broken down, how they think their rates have compared to other suppliers and their customer service experiences.

“One of the common misconceptions is that we mark up the rates for our gas supply,” adds Malcolm.

“It’s important to us that customers understand what they are paying for and how their utilities are billed.”

In addition to the online survey, focus groups and a random, telephone survey will also be conducted. Kitchener Utilities staff will also be doing community outreach at events around the city to make people aware of the survey.

The survey is available until March 19 at www.kitchenerutilities.ca. Phone surveys are being conducted by Metroline, an independent, third party research group, throughout February and early March.

Staff will present the results to council on April 28.

Have your say: Kitchener Utilities asking for customer feedback

KITCHENER CITIZEN (EAST EDITION) • FEBRUARY 13, 2014 • 19 February 13, 2014 l Kitchener Citizen - West Edition l

Ihope you have been enjoyingthe summer so far. If you are

looking for an exciting destination to

visit with your family, you may wantto check out the Huron Natural Area(HNA) located at 801 Trillium Dr. Notonly is it Kitchener’s largest park, itis also home to some significantwetlands and species. Withkilometres of trails and boardwalks,there is truly something foreveryone.

The park also offers lots ofeducational experiences, includingan upcoming presentation and walkentitled All About Bats, happeningAug. 24 from 8-10 p.m. You mustregister in advance to participate.

If bats aren’t your thing, you maybe interested in an event calledGanödagwёhda:’ dosgёhgёhö:de’ – village close by thestream, which is a chance to learnabout the rich archaeologicalheritage of the area. This is a drop-inevent on Sept. 21 from 1-4 p.m.Please visit www.kitchener.ca,keyword search “HNA” for moreinformation and to register.

Every year I look forward to theWilliamsburg Community Festival.This year the event will be takingplace on Sunday, Sept. 8 from 11-4

p.m. at Max Becker Commons.While the details are still beingfinalized, you can expect lots ofgreat games, food, activities andentertainment for the whole family.Everyone is invited and I hope to seeyou there!

I want to leave you with a finalthought on fire safety. If you have apropane BBQ, please rememberthat the canisters have a shelf life.Propane cylinders must beinspected and re-certified orreplaced every 10 years. Enjoy therest of your summer! n

notes from city hall

The beautiful weather hasbrought to light someresident concerns regarding

our newest major city park —

McLennan Park. Some key featureslike the large splash pad, dog parkand the walking trail are very wellattended. The number of peopleusing these amenities, plus somevery hot weather, has made itevident that more shaded areas andseating are needed in key areasaround the park. As this is still anewer park, trees have not reachedmaturity to provide sufficient shade,and planting more trees at this timewould not solve the issueimmediately for the same reasons.So, I have been working with our

parks staff, who are investigatingsome options.

Another inconvenience that I’msure has hampered the enjoymentof McLennan Park has been theclosure of the main bathroomfacility. This has been due to somesanitary and structural issues thatare taking longer than anticipated toaddress. As a temporary measure,portable washrooms have beenmade available. Understandably thisis not the desired alternative. I askyou for your patience until theappropriate repairs can be made.

This year, my wife and I took greatpleasure cruising the streets ofWard 6 in order to nominatedeserving properties for theKitchener in Bloom awards to beheld on Sept. 12. Many of you areproud homeowners, taking the timeto beautify your properties. I wantedto make certain that those of youwho go above and beyond would beacknowledged for your efforts inbeautifying your front yards. I amvery happy to say I was able to sendin more than 200 nominations forresidents in Ward 6. n

Iam pleased the city recentlyinstalled sharrows as a pilot

project along King Street fromMadison Avenue to Francis Street in

the downtown core, allowing cycliststo occupy an entire lane, similar to amotorist. Kitchener also has manymarked bike lanes.

In my recent travels to Chicago,Vancouver and Ottawa, I observedone-way and two-way bike lanes ondowntown streets. Some of thesebike lanes are marked with elephantfeet (extra-wide crosswalks, showingthat bikes are permitted to rideacross using the green section astheir travel lane) and are separatedby either planter boxes, collapsibleplastic bollards or raised curbs to

separate the bike riders from themotorists. I also noticed sharrows onthe curb lanes of four lane streets inChicago, which allow motorists topass any cyclists in the passing laneif they are not travelling at the speedlimit.

I have also checked out bike laneson trails and dedicated bike lanes todetermine if there are any gatesbefore approaching a publicroadway. Having biked in StanleyPark and the waterfront inVancouver and Toronto, I have yet todiscover any gates at road crossings.

In fact, Stanley Park has extensiveone-way bike trails and only one gateto separate bicyclists frompedestrians using the local beach.

Well-marked directions, bike speedlimits and separated pedestrian orbike paths are well designed asnoted on numerous park billboards.The Vancouver parks departmentalso provides an extensive BikeVancouver route map and guide.While we have made great strideswith our cycling strategy inKitchener, there is clearly room togrow. n

The summer of 2013 hasbeen terrible for weeds inKitchener. It began when

Region of Waterloo decided to

eliminate the roadside grass cuttingbudget as a cost-saving measure.The region contracts out the serviceto the city but when the moneydisappeared, the city had no choicebut to stop maintaining roadsidegrass.

Wisely, after receiving a lot ofpushback from Kitchener and othermunicipalities, the region reinstatedthe money but unfortunately, amaintenance backlog had beencreated. This backlog, combinedwith an unusually rainy spring andOntario’s pesticide ban, created the

perfect storm for weeds. Recently, I met with city staff to

see how this issue could beaddressed. It is important to notethat grass maintenance iscompleted on a three-week cycle byroutes. The trim crew performs basictrim maintenance on cul-de-sacs,park frontages and aroundplaygrounds and park furniture.Larger mowers cut the main areasof the parks. Staff have alsoinformed me that the maintenancecycles will tighten up as we return tothe drier weather of July and August.

Another solution would be to allowsome areas to be naturalized. Citystaff would work in consultation withresidents to locate appropriateareas that might be beneficial toreturn to a natural state, like valleylands and meadows.

In addition, I am in the process ofdrafting a motion to bring beforecouncil that would seek to increasethe amount of maintenanceperformed on city land. I certainlysympathize with residents who arerightly proud of our community andwant to keep it looking its best.n

Office: 519-741-2783Email:[email protected]: @bilioannidis

Office: 519-741-2798Email:frank.etherington@kitchener.

Got a complaint...who yougonna call? Your complaint-

buster councillor, of course.

Lately, in the hot, stickysummertime, I have been hummingthat Ghostbusters ditty whilehandling legitimate beefs aboutbass-thumping music, high weeds,geese droppings and dying trees.

And that’s why — amid complaintcalls — it’s a relief to receive positivecomments from people delightedabout a city-backed program toreintroduce rental boats to VictoriaPark.

As councillor, I have neverexperienced such a refreshing flow

of complimentary responses about acity project. It’s been great to seethe way residents have embracedthe efforts by Canoeing the Grand toreturn boats to the downtown park.

That company is also donating $1from every boat rental to a park-maintenance fund.

Everywhere I go, people tell methey like seeing boats back on thelake after a 20-year hiatus. Many ofthe comments come from residentswho remember spending enjoyablesummer weekends boating on the

lake during past decades.I recently met one resident in a

neighbourhood grocery store who,as a young man, used to rent boatsfrom the city in the park. He lovedseeing the program return andcommented that, years ago, it cost$3 to rent a boat. He’s amazed that,decades later, it’s still possible torent a boat for $5 per half hour foreach person.n

Office: 519-741-2300Email: [email protected]

What does yourneighbourhood mean toyou? This is the

question that is being asked ofresidents as part of the 20thanniversary of Kitchener’s Festivalof Neighbourhoods.

Typically, residents would host acommunity event and register theirevent to be entered into a randomdraw for a $10,000 capitalimprovement grant to be used intheir neighbourhood.

Since this year marks the 20thanniversary of Kitchener’s Festival ofNeighbourhoods, we thought wewould add even more excitement tothis already outstanding event andcreated the Mayor’s Challenge. It’ssimple; all you have to do is tell mewhat your neighbourhood means toyou. Maybe you want to share a storyabout the memories you have ofgrowing up in your neighbourhood,the impact that one specialneighbour made in your life, or thehistory of your entire neighbourhood.There is no right or wrong answer;just share what your communitymeans to YOU!

You can tell me about yourneighbourhood in any way that youchoose. Write a story or essay of 500words or less; draw, paint or create apicture on an 8.5x11 inch page;create an audio recording of fiveminutes or less, or film a video offive minutes or less.

Please submit your entry to SarahFitzPatrick, executive assistant to themayor, via email,[email protected] or bymail, 200 King St. W., Kitchener, ONN2G 4G7. Submissions must bereceived no later than 3 p.m. onSept. 30.

But now the big question – whatdo you win? Since this is the Mayor’sChallenge after all, the winner andhis/her neighbours will have theopportunity to take me on a walkingtour of your neighbourhood. You canshow me your favourite spots, chatabout topics that are of interest toyou or share your vision of how yousee your neighbourhood in thefuture.

If you have questions or needmore information, please contactJanice Ouellette at 519-741-2200x7227 [email protected].

I look forward to reviewing all ofthe entries and will see one luckywinner this fall! n

Office: 519-741-2793 Cell: 226-748-3109 Email: [email protected]: @paulsinghward6

Office: 519-741-2796 Residence: 519-57Email: [email protected]

Office: 519-741-2791 [email protected]: @gallowaykelly

Dear Ward 5 Residents,Crossing Guard at Woodbine

Avenue and Seabrook DriveI have heard from residents

and the principal at Jean Steckle Public School regarding the need for an adult crossing guard. I raised this concern at a council meeting and staff are doing the required studies and expect to make recommendations to council in the near future.

Getting InvolvedHave you considered

getting involved with your local neighbourhood association? If you want a way to give back to your community and have a hand in shaping its future, this is the

volunteer position for you. Find out more at www.kitchener.ca, keyword search: “neighbourhood association”.

Parking Pilot ProjectAs you may know, Ward 5 has an

ongoing pilot project that is nearing completion. The project seeks to ease our community’s chronic parking shortage by allowing drivers to park cars on the paved portion of the boulevard on residential roadways until March 31, 2014. In order to take advantage of the temporary changes to boulevard

parking and avoid being ticketed, residents are urged to read the complete rules which can be found at: www.kitchener.ca/parking. I want to hear from you about whether or not we should continue to allow boulevard parking; your experience with the project or if you have other ideas for addressing the parking situation.

Please feel free to contact me on any local matters. I can be reached by email me at [email protected] or give me a call at 519-741-2791.

As most of you who follow municipal politics saw, City Council approved a tax levy increase of .99% for the 2014 budget. I supported this

increase as I felt it met the target of the current rate of inflation of 1% and we did not have to reduce any services. Also, I did not support hiring additional staff other than two by-law enforcement officers, desperately needed for 24 hour enforcement of by-laws pertaining to noise issues, backyard open fires, sidewalk snow shovelling, etc.

One concern I had issue with was the increase in the storm water, water and sanitary rates. These rates have increased substantially over the last ten years. Councillors Gazzola,

Fernandes and I tried to dramatically limit the increase. Unfortunately, we were defeated by the others who supported larger increases of 3% for storm water, 3.5% for water and 5% for sanitary user rates. I did not support any of these increases.

If you combine the tax levy with the user fee rate increase for utilities, the actual overall impact on the taxpayer is actually 2.65%.

I also moved that the $100,000 saved by not installing a sidewalk on Glasgow St. between Knell Drive and Westmount Road as

part of the Glasgow Reconstruction Project this summer, be applied to reducing the tax levy as requested by these residents. This would have decreased the tax levy by about 1% to .89%. However, engineering and finance staff argued against me and insisted that the money remain in infrastructure accounts for future works. Also, Budget Chair Scott Davey refused to accept my motion of reducing the tax increase which was then not considered by council.

Dear Neighbours,I hope you have been keeping

well this winter! It has not been easy

with frigid temperatures and more snow than we have seen for a few years. Let’s hope that spring is finally around the corner.

On a brighter note, I am pleased to report a new pilot project in our community. Forest Heights Community Association (FHCA) is partnering with the newly formed Boardwalk Neighbourhood Association (BNA) to create a joint community newsletter. FHCA was founded over forty years ago and is the ideal organization to mentor the fledgling BNA. The two groups

plan to embark on a number of other joint projects, including a “lend a volunteer” initiative. I am excited to see the results of this new collaboration.

Do you want to get more involved in your community? Your local neighbourhood association is the perfect starting point. There is no better way to get to know your neighbours, help out your community and have a say in local matters. Visit www.kitchener.ca to find out more.

As some of you may know, the extra parking lot at St. Dominic Savio

School is at risk of being closed. I recently met with officials from the Waterloo Catholic District School Board to discuss what options, if any, are available. As a parent, I understand the importance of having a safe place to drop off and pick up kids from school. I plan to fight the closure and will keep you posted on any further developments.

As always, I encourage you to keep in touch! Tweet me @bilioannidis, email me at [email protected] or call me at (519) 741-2783.

What’s a mere $629.55 while councillors wrestle with a $104,450,374 annual budget?

That question and a suggestion I’m media grandstanding are among

comments I hear during annual budget sessions as I bring up items like the home-office technology allowance for councillors and our fair-access, subsidy program for low-income families.

My answer? Cuts made to home-office expenses involve a symbolic exercise where we lead by example at a time when many seniors living on fixed incomes and families hit hard by layoffs are experiencing financial difficulty.

Every year, each councillor is budgeted $4, 454 to cover capital and operating expenses for home offices

— a total $48,994 for the mayor and council. Some councillors spend most of their budgets while others use far less.

During every budget session I suggest, with limited success, that we reduce expenses that pay for home-office operating costs as well as items including furniture, computers, BlackBerries, laptops, tablets and even digital cameras. I also note that we have well-equipped offices at city hall.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Leisure Access cards helped 3,460 seniors and children to afford

recreational activities in 2013. And, even though staff did not turn anyone away, the program went $29,469 over budget.

Last month, I was pleased to see councillors support my motion that we add $10,000 to the fair-access program.

And, with a municipal election approaching this fall, a majority also approved my second motion that cuts a councillor’s home-office operating expenses by $629.55 a year, down from $3,129.55 to $2,500.

Greetings Ward 6 Residents,A budget is an action plan and

one of the most important city policy documents. Deliberating on our last

budget for this term of council, has again made me appreciate living in such a dynamic and diverse city that offers such a healthy level of services and programs, which in turn contribute to a stronger economic climate.

Having said this, I realize increasing costs and taxes are becoming difficult to bear. Through this budget process, I continued to encourage reductions to the tax levy that would have the least negative impact on citizen services and future taxes. Last fall I put forth a request to staff to find alternative revenue

sources for council to consider during the budget process. These options not only helped to further reduce the tax levy, but also provided opportunity to strategically allocate funds to priorities, with little or no impact to our citizens.

The various options before us allowed for a budget that met the request of many of our tax payers: an increase limited to, or less than, inflation. While staying within the guidelines of this request, council were also able to improve service levels in some areas where they were lacking.

Ultimately, after a long day of budget deliberation, council approved a tax levy increase of 0.99%, below the provinces 2013 year-end Consumer Price Index. This increase is balanced and insures that taxpayers receive value for their tax dollars.

When council considered water, sanitary, and storm water utility rates, I fought long and hard, encouraging council to be sensitive and consider their affordability to our customers. Unfortunately, the majority of council did not support my motion for a lower rate increase.

As you have likely heard, after 26 years on Kitchener City Council – 17 as Mayor and nine as City Councillor – I will not be seeking reelection in the coming fall election.

Over the past three decades our community has accomplished a great deal. By working together, residents, businesses, community groups, municipal staff and councils have built a city that is truly the envy of many other municipalities. We have provided residents with the services they need today, while transforming our local economy into one which creates jobs for decades to come and positions us well to compete globally.

I am deeply honoured and grateful to have had the opportunity to play a leadership role in many of those accomplishments and believe strongly in the community we have built - no one individual, including myself, can take credit for all of this amazing work.

Some of the municipal amenities that have been built, expanded or upgraded over the past 17 years include:

• 12 community centres built or expanded upon;

• Activa Sportsplex built (2 ice pads, indoor walking track and boxing facility, LEED Gold Certified);

• McLennan Park and Huron Natural Area created;

• Walter Bean Grand River Trail developed and river crossing built;

• 6 of Kitchener’s 7 current fire stations built;

• Doon Valley Golf Course expanded by 9 holes, a pitch and putt and practice facility;

• New Kitchener Market built;• 3 of the City’s current libraries built

or significantly renovated;• Victoria Park upgrades completed,

including rehabilitation of the lake, and;

• Kitchener Operations Facility built. One of the greatest pleasures I

have had while serving as Kitchener’s Mayor has been the opportunity to speak with and help so many people from so many different parts of our community. While I will certainly miss that part of the job, I am confident that the next generation of political leaders will continue Kitchener’s long-standing traditions of inclusion, compassion, innovation and engagement.

Lastly, I would also like to thank the Kitchener Citizen for their continued support – by providing Council with the space to run our monthly columns – which allows us to provide the citizens of Kitchener with information about current issues affecting their lives.

ca

9-4052


BY CARRIE DEBRONE

Six local amateur musi-cians, all members of the

Jammin’ 101 program at the Stanley Park Community Centre in Kitchener, will be playing live music March 1 from 12 noon to 1pm at the A.R Kaufman Family YMCA to help raise money dur-ing the Cambridge and K-W YMCA’s fi rst Megathon.

The fundraiser asks people to get active, take on a new challenge and raise pledges to help get kids healthy and active at their local YMCA.

About 93 per cent of Cana-dian children aren’t getting enough physical activity and one in four of all children cur-rently registered in YMCA programs require fi nancial assistance to participate.

The local musicians – four acoustic guitarists, a bass guitarist and a slide guitar-ist – will join hundreds of people who are collecting pledges to help raise the $200 per child needed to give them the opportunity to

participate in physical activi-ties at the YMCA and hopes enough money will be raised to open its doors to 1,000 children who need fi nancial support in 2014.

While most fundraisers are collecting pledges for a physi-cal challenge they will be taking on, like a fi ve-hour fi t-ness class or family triathlon, the six musicians’ decision to play live music to raise mon-ey is unique.

Michael Henderson, who started the Jammin’ 101 pro-gram at the Stanley Park Community Centre in 2005, said he is looking forward to the event that each of the mu-sicians is happy to be doing something to help the kids.

The other members of the group are Susan Koswan, Brian Madill, Greg Wilson, Peter Pyne and Mark Leden-bauer.

During a practice session Feb. 3 the group chose about 15 songs it will play in the café at the A.R. Kaufman Family Y on March 1.

Henderson, who works out

regularly at the local YMCA, said he got the idea to raise money for the athletic cen-

tre before he knew about the Megathon campaign and approached the Y’s general

manager about it.“She suggested we raise

money using pledges and sug-gested we could be part of the Megathon fundraiser they have organized,” Henderson said.

Alicia Becker, the YMCA Director of Annual Giving, said she is grateful for the willingness of the musicians to share their passion.

“Megathon is an opportu-nity for people to do what they love to do to help us raise money. Music is one of the things that Michael knows and loves. Because of the nature of the event we are able to offer the option to participate in various ways,” Becker said.

For more informationon the Megathon visit

www.ymcamegathon.ca

Local musicians, members of the Jammin’101 program at the Stanley Park Community Centre, will perform March 1, from 12 noon to 1pm at the A.R. Kaufman Family Y to raise money to help children who require fi nancial assistance to participate in physical activities at the local YMCAs. From left: front, musicians Susan Koswan, Mark Ledenbauer, Greg Wilson, back, Michael Henderson, Brian Madill, Peter Pyne.

LOCAL YMCA’S FIRST MEGATHON FUNDRAISER MARCH 1

Local musicians help raise money for the YMCA

505 Franklin St. N. Kitchener | 519-741-2504 | [email protected] | www.spcakitchener.ca

Monday February 17thFREE Swimming,10am to 11:30amCraft: 10:00am to 12:00FREE hot chocolate, coffee, timbitsLyle Hallman pool, 600 Heritage Drive

Brought to you by Stanley Park Community Association, Optimist Club of Stanley Park and the City of Kitchener

Admission: Pick up your FREE tickets at Stanley Park Community Centre (limited tickets available)Parents must accompany their children in the pool - Swim Admission Guidelines in effect

Fun Family Day Swim

The Kitchener Aud fi lled up with potatoes as Ranger fans dropped off bags of potatoes to kick off the House of Friendship’s monthlong February Potato Blitz at Don Cameron Potato Night during the Feb. 7th Ranger’s game against the Oshawa Generals. The event also marked a milestone - The House of Friendship’s 75th year of service to the community. Each year the House of Friendship uses over 300,000 pounds of potatoes in its emergency food hampers and meals assisting people in its 18 programs. On Saturday, February 22, shoppers in the KW area can also “join in the game” and participate in the Super Market Blitz, 9 am – 3 pm, at 26 participating super markets locations where volunteers will be available to collect potatoes and cash donations. The House of Friendship also invites everyone to its Community Potato Lunch, Friday February 28, 12pm -1 pm at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Kitchener. There is no cost for lunch, but donations will be gratefully accepted. From left: front, Don Cameron, voice of the Rangers, John Neufeld, Executive Director of House Of Friendship, back, players, Justin Bailey and Matia Marcantuoni, and a cardboard portrait of House of Friendship’s Founding Director, Joseph Cramer, cut a cake marking HOF’s 75th year of service.


BY HELEN HALL

When John Cooper retired as the City of Kitch-ener’s Co-ordinator of Athletics over two

years ago, he didn’t walk away from sports.Cooper has continued to volunteer and in June

2013 helped start a chapter of KidSport for Kitch-ener-Waterloo, an organization that provides fund-ing for children who can’t afford the cost of minor sports registration fees and equipment.

“We know there is a huge demand,” said Cooper. “We foresee helping up to 200 kids in a year.”

Cooper has been a long-time volunteer on the Kitchener-Waterloo Sports Council, which pro-vides coaching certifi cation courses and training sessions for athletes, their parents and coaches. The group had always felt there was a need for a lo-cal KidSport chapter and he is currently the chair.

After months of considering policies and approv-ing a bylaw, the KW Sports Council established the local KidSport in June and started fundraising on July 1st at the University of Waterloo Canada Day celebration, raising $1,600. All money raised stays in the community.

The KidSport chapter is made up of 20 volun-teers. Since last August they have raised $14,000, and between August and December awarded $8,375 in grants to 38 children participating in two types of dance and nine different sports at various levels from instructional through to competitive.

Grants of up to $500 annually are awarded to pay for registration fees and equipment for each eligible child.

Cooper said they receive applications every week and anticipate the group will need about $25,000 annually to invest in local children.

They have met with local sport and social agen-cies and set up an application process where par-ents can fi ll out the registration forms and leave them with the sport or dance organization. If they are approved, the money goes directly to the sport-ing group to pay the frees.

They also receive referrals for eligible families through Big Brothers/Big Sisters Waterloo Re-gion, City of Kitchener, City of Waterloo,Family & Children Services Waterloo, House of Friendship, KW Counselling Services, Lutherwood, Our Place, Reaching Our Outdoor Friends (ROOF) and Re-gion of Waterloo Social Services.

KidSport relies on donations from individuals, businesses and foundations and has already re-ceived donations from Kitchener Conestoga Ro-tary Club, the KW Community Foundation and Ontario Secondary Schools Teacher’s Federation Local 24.

For more information call the chapter at 519-772-4399 ext. 7 or email them at [email protected]. You can also visit its website at www.kidsport-canada.ca.

While they rely mostly on contributions from individuals, businesses and foundations to fund KidSport, volunteers with the chapter sold glow sticks and raised $1,600 at the Canada Day celebrations at Columbia Lake in Waterloo last July to help build up their coffer.

New KidSport Chapter makes sure that all Kitchener-Waterloo kids can afford to play

Citizen Crossw

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505 Franklin St. N. Kitchener | 519-741-2504 | [email protected] | www.spcakitchener.ca

Monday February 17thFREE Swimming,10am to 11:30amCraft: 10:00am to 12:00FREE hot chocolate, coffee, timbitsLyle Hallman pool, 600 Heritage Drive

Brought to you by Stanley Park Community Association, Optimist Club of Stanley Park and the City of Kitchener

Admission: Pick up your FREE tickets at Stanley Park Community Centre (limited tickets available)Parents must accompany their children in the pool - Swim Admission Guidelines in effect

Fun Family Day Swim


COMMUNITY CALENDARHOMER WATSON HOUSE & GALLERY LUNCHTIME LECTURE SERIES - featur-ing rych mills, February 13 from 12 noon to 1pm at Homer Watson House & Gallery, 1754 Old Mill Road, Kitchener. The fi rst educational Lunchtime Lecture of our 2014 series will fea-ture local historian rych mills, who will refl ect on the creation, development and changing role of Homer Watson Park. The event will also include a question and answer period with the local history enthusiast, as well as tasty appetizers donated by local food suppli-ers! Please call ahead to reserve your seat. Cost: $10/person or free for those who hold current memberships. Registration: 519-748-4377 or homerwatson.on.caYOUTH VIDEO COMPETITION 2014 – Open to youth ages 12 – 25, the City of Kitchener’s Public Art Program invites youth and schools to express their creativitity, win cash prizes and have their videos digitally projected onto Kitchener City Hall. Show-case your short original videos (no audio). Contest deadline is March 31. Learn more and enter the contest: www.kitchener.ca/youthvideocomp K-W FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB MEET-ING – The February 24 meeting will feature a presentation of Peter Raspberry’s nature photos. Peter is a hobby photographer with a special interest in birds, wildfl owers, insects, landscapes and other elements of our natural world. He teaches at the Blair Outdoor and Environmental Education Centre, which af-fords him the opportunity to photograph many local wildlife species. He has had pho-tographs published by the Canadian Wildlife Federation in its Canadian Wildlife and Wild magazines. In 2010, his poster-size photos were exhibited at the Biosphere Environment Museum in Montreal, celebrating the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity.

Peter will share his appreciation for the en-vironment with KWFN at its regular meeting February 24 from 7:30 – 9:30pm, 404 Wing/Rotary Centre, 510 Dutton Drive, Waterloo. Please join us! For further information call 519-742- 4577 or visit www.kwfn.caOPEN CLOSET – In recognition of Interna-tional Women’s Week, the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region is hosting its 8th Annual Open Closet. This year’s event is on Friday, March 7th, 2014 from 11am un-til 1pm in two locations! At Kitchener (Trin-ity United Church, 74 Frederick St.) and In Cambridge (in partnership with Langs, 1145 Concession Rd.) SASC invites all women and their children to shop through our fabulous selection of gently-used, free clothing, while enjoying refreshments! We need your help! Community members interested in donating gently-used women’s and children’s clothing are encouraged to begin sorting through their closets. Clothing donations can be made on Thursday, March 6th, 2014 from 4pmto 8pm in BOTH locations listed above! Due to space restrictions, we’re not able to accept cloth-ing at any time other than these scheduled drop-off times. Anyone interested in assisting with receiving, sorting, and folding clothing or providing refreshments, please contact [email protected] NIGHT OF THE YEAR WALK On February 22, 2014 approximately 800 toque-wearing walkers from the Waterloo Region will be taking part in the fourth Cold-est Night of the Year, a family-friendly win-ter fundraising event for K-W’s homeless, hungry and hurting. The funds raised will directly support the Ray of Hope Community Centre, which provides daily meals, food hampers and clothing to those who need it. This year’s walk is BIGGER, growing from 37 cities to 64 from all across Canada. People

Citizen Crosswords #34 BY CHARON

Answers on page 21


CommunityChurch Listing

St. Anthony Daniel - Catholic29 Midland Drive, Kitchener (519) 893-6960

Pastor: Michael King Associate Pastor: Bradley MarkusMasses: Sat. 5:00pm; Sun. 8:30am and 10:30am

St James’-Rosemount United171 Sherwood Ave., Kitchener (519) 742-1002

Sunday Service: 10:30amNursery, Sunday School, Youth Group, Wed. Night Bible study

Kitchener Gospel Temple-Pentecostal9 Conway Dr. (at River Rd), Kitchener (519) 894-5999

Sunday Service: 10:30amMid-week activities for all ages. www.kitchenergospel.com

Kitchener East Presbyterian10 Zeller Drive, Kitchener (519) 748-9786

Reverend: Mark S. RichardsonSunday Service: 10:30am Nursery and Sunday School provided

Sonshine Corner, Thursdays from 9 - 11am

Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran322 East Avenue (at Stirling), Kitchener (519) 742-5812

www.holycrosskitchener.orgSunday Service: (Sept. - June) 8:30am and 11am, (July-Aug.) 9:30am

9:45am - Sunday School, Youth & Adult Bible ClassesChoirs - Stephen Ministry - Youth Group - Beginnings (0 -3 years)

Hope Lutheran30 Shaftsbury Drive, Kitchener ON N2A 1N6 (519) 893-5290

Pastor: Rev. Terry HurshFALL SERVICE TIMES (starting on Sept. 22)

Sunday, Sept. 15 at 10:15 am – Rally SundaySunday Services @ 9 and 11 am (nursery provided)

Sunday School and Adult Bible Study at 10 am. Sudanese service @ 2:30 pm

Reformation Lutheran Church456 Krug St. (at Cambridge), Kitchener (519) 745-2561

Pastor: Neil ThomsenWorship Service: 10:00am Sunday Church School: 9:45am

Breslau Evangelical Missionary Church102 Woolwich St., Breslau (519) 648-2712

SundayWorship Service: 9:30amChildren’s Ministry - Youth Ministry - Small Groups

All are welcome! Visit us at www.bemc.ca

St. Andrew’s - Anglican275 Mill St., Kitchener (519) 743-0911Sunday Services: 8:00am and 10:00am

Rector: Canon Robwww.standrewsmemorial.ca

Stanley Park Community Church9 Dreger Ave., (at Ottawa St.) Kitchener (519) 893-8186

www.stanleyparkchurch.caPastor: John Pearce

Sunday Service and Kid’s Church: 10:30am ALL WELCOME!

Trinity United Church74 Frederick Street, Kitchener (519) 742-3578

www.tuckitchener.orgSunday Service: 10:00am Church School and Nursery care provided.

Sunday Hymn Sing: 10:00 a.m. (1st Sunday of month)

can support their favourite KW walker or join a toque-wearing team for this 2, 5, or 10 KM walk event by signing-up online (www.brrrr.org). Registration is at Cam-eron Heights Collegiate (301 Charles St. E) from 4-5 PM and each walk route fi n-ishes at the Ray of Hope Community Cen-tre (659 King St. E) where a warm bowl of soup will be waiting. For more infor-mation call 519-578-8018 ext 220 or visit www.rayofhope.net TECHNOLOGY COACHING SESSIONS – offered by the Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo. Free to all – Reg-istration Required. Whether you have never touched a computer before or you would like to learn more, we can help! During a personalized coaching ses-sion, you will learn new or practice your computer and Internet skills with the hands-on help of one of our ConnectKW team members. Choose from topics such as: intro to Word, online banking, or us-ing Facebook. Coaching sessions can be booked from now until the end of March, 2014. To register or for more information, please call the Community Information Centre at (519) 579-3800 or ConnectKW at (519) 579-1096 *3011 or e-mail us at [email protected] STANLEY PARK SCHOOL’S 50TH AN-NIVERSARY – Stanley Park Senior Pub-lic School will be celebrating its 50th an-niversary on Saturday, April 5th, 2014.The school will be open to anyone interested in sharing in our history during a “drop-in” from 1 to 4pm, where visitors will be able to view a variety of “decade rooms”, com-plete with photos, yearbooks and other school memorabilia. There will be a short program in the gym at 2pm, featuring some local dignitaries. Refreshments will also be served. Following the program until 4pm, visitors can tour the school and view displays including the contents of the 25-year time capsule that will be opened especially for this occasion.100th ANNIVERSARY OF ST. AN-DREWS PUBLIC SCHOOL - St. An-drew’s Public School in Cambridge is extending an invitation to former staff, alumni, and local history buffs to join in the planning of the school’s 100-year cel-ebration. The school, which fi rst opened its doors in 1914, will be welcoming for-mer students, staff and the public with an Open House and celebration planned for May 10th, 2014. Volunteers are needed plan, prepare, and promote the celebra-tion. Help is needed to collect and scan old photographs, track down yearbooks and memorabilia, promote the event to alumni, plant a commemorative garden, research and document the history of the school, and coordinate activities for the public celebration. For more information, check the school website at sta.wrdsb.ca or call the school at (519) 621-7170.KW SYMPHONY - PIXAR IN CON-CERT - on Feb 26, 7pm Centre In The Square. From the Toy Story trilogy to The Incredibles and UP, Pixar has forever im-pacted fi lmmaking and given audiences of all ages some of the most beloved char-acters in cinematic history. Now, for the fi rst time ever, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony presents Pixar in Concert, with visually stunning clips and memorable scores from each of Pixar’s movies, includ-ing their latest release, Brave, performed live by your KWS. Movie magic on the big screen with Evan Mitchell, conduc-tor. Watch fi lm clips from your favourite Pixar movies with the soundtrack played LIVE by your KWS! Fun for the Entire Fam-ily. For tickets visit: tickets.kwsymphony.on.ca [email protected] or [email protected] OUT KW PRESENTS SHERLOCK - Adapted from the novel The West End Horror by Nicholas Meyer act OUT KW presents this superbly funny stage pro-duction of Sherlock on February 28 at 7pm and March 1 at 1:30 & 6:30pm at the Registry Theatre, Kitchener. Tickets avail-able through www.ticketscene.ca, [email protected] or at the door (cash

only). “CHANGE to MAKE a CHANGE” collection during the performance will benefi t Nutrition for Learning.LINCOLN SERIES OF LIVE MUSIC RE-TURNS - The Lincoln Series returns this Fall at St. Columba Anglican Church, 250 Lincoln Road, Waterloo. There is seating for just over 100 in this warm, acousti-cally rich ambience. March 4, 2014 will see the return of the acclaimed Royal City Saxophone Quartet, for a Mardi Gras Concert of New Orleans Jazz and Rag-time tunes. Back by popular demand for the fourth and fi nal concert on April 25, 2014 is the Brian Pickell Band. The band includes Brian Pickell (guitar, mandolin, banjo), Pat O’Gorman (fl ute, whistle, Irish pipes), Shane Cook (fi ddle), James Ste-phens (fi ddle, mandolin, tenor guitar) and Julie Schryer (piano). Single event tickets are $30/Adult and $20/Student. Series tickets are $100 Adult/$65 Student. Tick-ets can be purchased by calling 519-886-6395 or by emailing [email protected]. For more information go to www.saintcolumbachurch.com.REEP OPEN HOUSE - REEP House for Sustainable Living, 20 Mill Street, Kitch-ener is open every Saturday from 10am to 2pm. An interactive community re-source, this 100-year-old home has been renovated by REEP Green Solutions to exceed modern building standards while maintaining heritage value; working dem-onstrations of household energy-effi cient and water management technologies; certifi ed energy adviser available to an-swer your home energy and water sav-ings questions. Contact [email protected] or call 519-744-9799.REEP HOUSE WEDNESDAY EVENING TOURS - REEP House for Sustainable Living, 20 Mill Street, Kitchener is open from 6:30 – 8:30pm every other Wednes-day. Free. Registration requir ed. Contact: [email protected] or call 519-744-9799. Drop in and experience trusted home energy and water manage-ment information from a certifi ed energy advisor, who is available to answer your questions. The 100-year-old REEP House has been renovated to exceed modern building standards while maintaining heritage value; working demonstrations of household energy-effi cient and water management technologies. COFFEE BREAK - is an interdenomina-tional Bible Study for women of all ages and all stages of faith. Nurseries and preschool programs are provided. All pro-grams are free. Wednesdays 9.30-11am, at the Community Christian Reformed Church, 1275 Bleams Rd., Kitchener. Reg-

ister at www.ccrc.on.ca or come out on a Wednesday morning. Questions? [email protected] DAY PROGRAM - Did you know Trinity Village has an Adult Day Program for seniors wishing to socialize with other seniors? The cost is just $8 per day and the program runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 am to 1 pm, at Trinity Village Care Centre, on Kingsway Drive, near Fairview Park Mall. Self-referrals welcome or contact CCAC, 519-748-2222. For more information call the Day Program Coordinator at 519-893-6320 ext. 235.MAKE NEW FRIENDS WITH BETA SIGMA PHI - Are you a woman look-ing for new friends and fun things to do? Do you enjoy a social, community service-oriented group? If so, you might be interested in our Beta Sigma Phi chap-ter. Beta Sigma Phi is an international women’s friendship network. For more information about Beta Sigma Phi visit the international website: www.beta-sigmaphi.org. There are 200 members in KW alone. Our chapter of 8 women has members in our mid 30s and early 40s, mostly married, with small children. We meet twice a month May – Sept. and plan socials throughout the year too. Email [email protected] for more information.ROCKWAY ENTERTAINERS - choral group singing four-part harmony. Recruit-ing new members... Membership open to those over 50 years old. Rehearsals are Thursdays at 1:30 – 3:30pm from Septem-ber until May at Rockway Centre Audito-rium, 1405 King Street East, Kitchener. Please phone 519-885-9978 or 519-741-2507 for more information.DIVERSECITY TOASTMASTERS CLUB - Do you have trouble fi nding the right words when speaking to a group? Need a career boost? Want to polish your presen-tation skills? Toastmasters is the place for you. Learn communication, leadership and presentation strategies in a friendly, supportive atmosphere. DiverseCity is a new club and is open to all. It runs Mon-days, 7 - 8:30 pm at Kitchener City Hall, the Conestoga Room. For more informa-tion contact Georgina Green, 519-743-7655 or [email protected] EVENTS AT DOON VILLAGE RETIREMENT RESIDENCE - 868 Doon Village Road, Kitchener. Sweetheart Lun-cheon on Friday, February 14 at 1pm. Join us for a day of love and friendship. Enjoy a complimentary lunch and live entertain-ment. Happy Valentine’s Day. Space is lim-ited so call to reserve your spot today. Tax Planning Seminar for Seniors on Wednes-

day, February 19 from 9:30-11:30am. This seminar covers thoughtful planning, tax tips, topics and resources for seniors. Complimentary refreshments provided. Space is limited so call to reserve your spot today. 80 Plus Driving School on Fri-day, February 28 from 9:30am-12noon. Be prepared and keep your driver’s license! MTO approved. Complimentary lunch pro-vided. Space is limited so call to reserve

your spot today. 519-896-8702FOCUS ON FRIENDS - Empowering immigrant women to reach their full po-tential. An evening of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, desserts, live entertainment and more at St. George Banquet Hall, 665 King St. North, Waterloo on Thurs. March 6 from 5:30 - 7:30pm. Tickets are $65 and available by contacting Carine at [email protected]

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RRSP TFSAPrimary purpose

Long term savings for your retirement. Short or long term savings for many purposes, such as buying a new car, vacation or home improvements.

Growth type Tax deferred income and interest. Tax free interest.

Annual contribution limit

Based on income. 18% of previous year’s income. Find your contribution limit on your annual Notice of Assessment.

Not based on income. Limit of $5,500 per year, plus any unused contributions from the previous years, plus replacement of previous withdrawals.

Deductibility and interest

Contributions are tax deductible which reduces your taxable income in the year you make the contribution. However, any withdrawals that you make would be added to your income and taxed accordingly.

Contributions are not tax deductible, but the investment earnings are tax exempt.

Plan maturity Must be converted to a retirement income vehicle, such as a Registered Retirement Income Fund, in the year that you turn 71.

No upper age contribution limit or minimum withdrawal requirement.

Spousal plans As a way of income splitting, or equalizing, a spousal RRSP allows families to reduce their overall tax bill by shifting the income from the higher income earner to the lower income earner. By using this method, couples may reduce their overall tax bill.

Although there are no spousal plans, an individual can provide funds to their spouse to invest in their TFSA.

Kitchener Citizen - East Edition - February 2014

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Transcript of Kitchener Citizen - East Edition - February 2014