So, why did he do it?

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

Warning: graphic details of the Rivera and Regier murders follow. Discretion is advised.

If there is any reason people feel uneasy about the Jesse Imeson trial, I suggest it is this: we still have no explanation for why Jesse Imeson decided to kill Carlos Rivera, and Bill and Helene Regier.
At least Imeson has an explanation for the former, claiming that Rivera was sexually assaulting him by performing fellatio as he slept. That’s certainly possible; no one has the right to touch you without your permission, let alone perform oral sex on you. Imeson claims he woke up to see Rivera performing said act, and strangled Rivera to death with his belt. He told Lindsay Glavin that another guy did it, and that he watched as Rivera’s “eyes went white and blood bubbles came from his nose.” Later, he told a Quebec police officer, “the gay guy, if I had to do it again, I would do it.”
With regards to the murders of Bill and Helene Regier, his lawyer relayed an apology at his Oct. 27 trial, telling the Regier family that he didn’t intend to kill Bill and Helene. His alleged lack of intent in the Regier case, and crime of passion argument in the Rivera case seem to have saved him from facing first degree instead of second-degree murder charges.
But this is where I get confused. Why did the crown believe anything Imeson said? He has already proven himself to be a liar and a con artist. In fact, everything he says is suspect, especially his insulting and ridiculous apology.
No one witnessed the murders except Imeson, so I suppose we have to take into consideration his testimony. Fine, believe the method, but doubt the rationale. I will never believe that Imeson did not intend to kill any of his victims, especially the Regiers, whose hands he had tied so they would be helpless. Bill was tied to the posts and rafters holding up the house, and Helene was securely bound on the floor. Neither of them was going anywhere, and Imeson would have had many hours to flee.
So why do it? Why pull the trigger, not once, but many times until they were more than dead? It’s disgusting to think of Imeson’s rationale for the act, and the fact that they were in a harmless state tells me that he had intent. Apparently, he had plenty of time to think about it. And if this is the way he approached a murder he “didn’t intend” to do, how did he approach Carlos Rivera? We will never know.
There is some consolation in the fact that Jesse Imeson is locked up for the next 25 years. It’s the most our justice system can do. So why does he seem pleased? I can’t help feeling that he believes he’s still in control, and that he’s going to be remembered. On the latter point, at least, he’s right.
However, unlike the heroic demon he seems to hope we will recall, I’ll just remember him as a bottom-rung loser who tried to bring others down.
The Rivera and Regier families won’t forget him either. Fortunately, they won’t have to look at his face for another 25 years, and then, as Carol Denomy says, they “will remain vigilant to ensure in 25 years that Jesse Imeson remains behind bars.”
We should all do the same.

Candidate profiles - Lambton-Kent-Middlesex

2008 Federal Election
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex

Joe Hill
New Democrat
Sarnia
519-542-2344
joethenewdemocrat@yahoo.ca
www.ndp.ca
 
Birthday: April 8,1942
Hometown: Wallaceburg
Status: Married
 
High School: Wallaceburg District High School
 
Employer: New Democratic Party
City/Town: Sarnia-Lambton
Position: Riding association president

Activities: running, cycling, triathlons
Interests: political activism, cooking, gardening
Favorite Music: blues, rock
Favorite TV Show: CBC News, The Hour
Favorite Movie: Wag the Dog and all of Michael Moore’s Stuff
Favorite Book: The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein
Favorite Quotation or Motto: “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”
About Me: Born and raised in Wallaceburg, married with four children and six grandchildren, After graduating high school in Wallaceburg, joined the RBC for two years and then changed to Nortel for 35 years based in London, Dallas and finally returning to Canada in 2002. Presently living in Sarnia.

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Micheal Janssens
Christian Heritage
519-245-9458 (Strathroy)
micheal.janssens@londonlife.com
www.chp.ca
 
Age: 21
Hometown: Strathroy
Status: Recently Married
 
Education: Athabasca University (Online)
Concentration: Political Science
 High School: Providence Reformed Collegiate
 
Employer: Freedom 55 Financial
City: Sarnia
Position: Financial Security Advisor
 
Activities: exercise, reading news
Interests: economics, politics, religion, philosophy
Favorite Music: The kind with sound.
Favorite TV Show: Better things to do.
Favorite Movie: Air Force One
Favorite Book: Anything by Robert A. Salvatore
Favorite Quotation or Motto: “Atheism: the belief that there was nothing, and then nothing happened to nothing, and then nothing exploded for no reason, creating everything, and then a bunch of everything rearranged itself for no reason whatsoever into self-replicating bits which turned into dinosaurs – makes perfect sense.” - Unknown

About Me: You have most of it listed above, I’m afraid. What more can I tell you? I am a devout Christian, attending the Kerwood Canadian Reformed Church twice each Sunday. I was married just this past August to my wife, Sara. I collect medieval weaponry and armour as a hobby, and I enjoy a glass of Coke as much as the next fellow. I’m completely addicted to coffee, like most people in my profession, and last, but certainly not least: I am, like most people in the country, sick and tired of watching mainstream parties in power struggles, backroom politics, and back-stabbing treachery against each other and more importantly, against every Canadian they claim to serve.

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Bev Shipley
Conservative
Age: 61
Hometown: Greystead Drive, Denfield
Status: Married to Barb for 37 years, three married children, six grandchildren

Email: info@bevshipley.ca
Phone: 1.866-765-2254
Website: www.bevshipley.ca

College: Centralia College of Agriculture and Technology
Concentration: Agriculture Business & Administration
High School: Medway High School, Arva
Employer: The People of Lambton Kent Middlesex
City: Ottawa
Position: Member of Parliament

Activities: Ontario Caucus, Auto Caucus, Rural Caucus, Veterans Affairs Committee, Transport and Infrastructure Canada Committie, a number of Parliamentary Associations, past Member of the Industry Science and Technology Committee
Interests: Family, church, friends and travel
Favorite Music: Music with a positive message
Favorite TV Show: CSI
Favorite Movie: Any movie I can watch with my grandchildren
Favorite Book: Any book by John Grisham
Favorite Quotation or Motto: “God first, family second and me somewhere after that.”
About Me: I’ve never been particularly comfortable talking about myself and generally like to leave that to others. I believe I am a good husband, father and grandfather and citizen and I am very proud to be a Canadian. I work hard and believe in the value of team work because I understand that no one is an island and the best results are achieved through dedication to the task at hand, cooperation and positive relationships.

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Jeff Wesley
Liberal
1-866-548-6558
jeffwesley@votejeffwesley.com
www.votejeffwesley.com

Age: 51
Hometown: Wallaceburg
Status: Married 28 years, four children, one grandchild

Education: Honours B.A, University of Western Ontario; graduated from University of Windsor Law School last year

High School: Wallaceburg District Secondary School

Employer: Union Gas
Position: Manager of Government Relations.

Activities: certified scuba diver, play and coach hockey and soccer, fishing, duties of a “new grandparent”
Favourite Music: Nickelback, The Fray.
Favourite TV show: Law & Order, CSI, House
Favourite Movie: no one favourite; enjoy nature and adventure shows.
Favourite Book: anything by Tom Clancy.
Motto: If you work hard, do your homework and persevere, you can succeed.

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Jim Johnston
Green
Did not return our questionnaire

Federal election questions: Lambton-Kent-Middlesex

What is the most pressing issue facing your riding, and what do you plan to do about it if elected?
Micheal Janssens: The most pressing issue facing this riding, this country, this world, is the demoralization of western society brought on by the disintegration of the family. We kill our children, trample marriage, ignore the elderly, and then we wonder why the whole world seems to be going crazy. When you remove God, you remove his morals. When you remove his morals, you destroy the basis for family. When you destroy the family, you destroy the bedrock on which our nation sits. Our children grow up in families. Without families, our children aren’t raised, and when they take over the country, it falls apart. It’s been going on since the 60s, and it has to stop.
Joe Hill: The downturn in the US economy, and specifically the downturn in the automotive sector, has caused global corporations to close their SW Ontario operation.
If elected, I would work with our new Prime Minister Jack Layton to implement legislation to make it more difficult for global corporations to close and move their operations
Bev Shipley: The economy, especially as it relates to jobs, protecting families, agriculture and tourism. Ontario has experienced a slow down in the manufacturing sector and I believe we have to continue on the course set by our Prime Minister of balanced budgets, lower taxes and debt reduction. To be clear, I believe we have a responsibility to retrain our workforce and make investments in technology as well as research and development. In support of these initiatives we must build on the investments we have made in agriculture, and ensure our new programs reflect the ever-changing needs of farmers in a global marketplace. In terms of protecting families, seniors and those who are at risk, a growing economy, jobs, debt reduction will allow us to make the selected investments so that all Canadians prosper.
Jeff Wesley: Issues vary according to what part of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex you’re from. Certainly agriculture and jobs are vital. But tourism and the ongoing Ipperwash issue are important in Grand Bend. Before my present position, I specialized in municipal and aboriginal relations, visiting almost all the First Nations in Ontario. I believe my background provides a unique perspective to help with the situation, in addition to my law degree. And as Mayor of Wallaceburg, I know the tourism opportunities that are available if we just work together, especially for such a beautiful place as Grand Bend and area.
For farmers, we will fund the federal share of the Risk Management Program, and support the hog and beef sector.
A new Liberal government will implement a five-point economic action plan within the first 30 days of being sworn in to provide Canadians with needed certainty and clarity in times of economic turmoil. Canadians are rightly worried for their savings and value of their RRSPs, mortgages, household finances and their jobs. Canadians expect their government to offer more than assurances that all will be well. They expect action. Mr. Harper’s response to financial instability and economic uncertainty has been to lecture Canadians that things are fine. I believe governments have a responsibility to protect Canadians from undue economic harm and to take prudent, responsible action to respond at a time of crisis. And we will deliver.

What is the biggest environmental issue facing your riding and what will you do to address it?
Micheal Janssens: Lambton-Kent-Middlesex faces no more problems than any other riding in Canada. We’ve all got pollution woes. As a whole nation, we need to rethink our stand on the environment. To start, the CHP would scrap the Kyoto Accord. It doesn’t work. Pollution didn’t get better when we got into it, and in fact, what was accomplished was billions of taxpayers’ money pumped into Chinese and Russian economies to buy “pollution credits” that they weren’t using. That money would be much better spent subsidizing research into renewable energy sources, like water, wind, and solar.
Joe Hill: Years of abuse by the oil companies, chemical companies, manufacturing industry and the coal-fired electric generating stations in Michigan and Indiana have poisoned our environment by spewing toxins into our air, soil and water. In the rural farm communities of our riding we put our citizens at risk with the uncontrolled use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers by the global agri-business.
Bev Shipley: Industrial pollution, whether it is discharges to the St. Clair River or the Great Lakes ecosystem in our riding would be the first but not the only issue that comes to mind. This is why our government provided $3.3-million in support of clean up efforts in the St. Clair River. I have and will continue to work with stakeholders, including WATCH, the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Great Lakes and BPAC to ensure their input is sought and acted upon.
Jeff Wesley: Climate change is the issue of our generation; it creates lower lake levels, more hail (as we saw this summer in the area, destroying crops), more thunderstorms and hurricanes. We have an action plan to deal with it; all can read it and see how much income tax they’ll save by visiting www.thegreenshift.ca. I have a lot of experience dealing with businesses in Chemical Valley, for example, which were responsible for 300 chemical spills into the St. Clair River in the 1990s. People in Wallaceburg had to line up behind water trucks at the local mall to get their drinking water like refugees. We now, thankfully, have provincial laws in place that mean, “you spill, you pay.” I congratulate our MPP, Maria Van Bommel, who was instrumental in developing that plan of action. I will work with the municipality and the province to develop a local action plan to help reduce the number of beaches closed locally. We must all do our part.

Do you believe your riding needs federal infrastructure funding, and if so, what will you do to bring it here?
Micheal Janssens: The Liberals’ proposed infrastructure bank has a glaring fault. The Liberals know that our infrastructure is in bad shape, and they know that they don’t have the funds to fix it. So they are going to sell equities (shares), and sell bonds (debt), and borrow from Canada’s chartered banks to get the money to rebuild infrastructure at a low cost of interest.
Right idea; wrong execution. This plan would plunge Canada further into debt, stealing even more money from future generations.
The CHP would instruct the Bank of Canada to make interest-free loans to provinces and municipalities to improve infrastructure. As economic revenue increases from the upgrades, the lower levels of government would pay off the loans, which the Bank of Canada would then remove from circulation to prevent inflation.
Joe Hill: Yes, I believe that our riding needs federal infrastructure funding; I will do my best with Jack Layton and our team to ensure that downloading of federal funds reaches the areas that it is most needed to benefit the working families of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex.
Bev Shipley: All municipalities across the country need the support of all levels of government to address infrastructure funding. Through COMRIF and a number of other programs we have begun to address many of these issues. But of course there is still more to do which is why our government established Build Canada, a $33-billion fund to partner with provinces, private and municipalities to address these issues. For specifics regarding federally funded projects in our riding, please contact me at info@bevshipley.ca
Jeff Wesley: Yes, absolutely, and not the phony cheques given by our MP to some area municipalities, whereby no money was attached, and local mayors had to come up with two-thirds of the funding, hurting local taxpayers. The Liberal government created the rural infrastructure program, and we have committed to a new $70-billion program over 10 years. Our roads, bridges, sewers, waterlines, are all important to keep our economy on the move.

What will you do to stimulate the economy in your riding?
Micheal Janssens: Aside from playing around with corporate taxation and easing up on regulative legislation, the government really doesn’t have that much control over the economy; the businesses do. The CHP would do just that; we would arrange a system of taxation and regulation that would allow for businesses to open and run profitably. One idea that we would implement is a Fair Tax system for all Canadians. We believe that if you earn a dollar, then that dollar is yours – you’ve earned it. The finance minister has no right to ask you what you earned last year and even less right to say “Send me half.” We would eliminate the income tax and replace it with a consumption tax. That puts you in charge of how much tax you pay. The incentive to earn less to save on taxes will be gone, we’ll be encouraged to save and invest more, and we’ll all become wealthier.
Joe Hill: I will work with Jack Layton and our team to continue to confront the manufacturing crisis by reviewing unfair trade rules, investing in manufacturing upgrades and improving worker transition programs. This would include continuing to promote our green-collar jobs strategy and a green car strategy to reposition Canada’s auto industry as a leader in producing the fuel-efficient cars that the world is demanding.
Bev Shipley: First I would say we need the kind of strong decisive leadership demonstrated by our Prime Minister Stephen Harper. I have had the honour of working with him and our caucus to deliver balanced budgets, especially in these times of global economic uncertainty, lower taxes ($3,600 in lower taxes for the average family of four) and debt reduction ($40-billion), which we are committed to passing on the interest saved in the form of even lower taxes for hard-working families. We need to build on investments already made in retraining our skilled workforce for the in-demand jobs of the future as well as in new technology and research and development. What we do not need is reckless irresponsible spending which will spiral us into deficit as the opposition parties in this election are proposing.
Jeff Wesley: Set up a local committee of representatives of chambers of commerce, business associations, employers, unions, tourist operators, to tackle the problem head-on. Too often, Ottawa seems like some foreign capital, when it shouldn’t be. The MP’s role is to not make big speeches and attend ribbon-cuttings; it’s to roll up your sleeves and shake things up. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and I would take their ideas and help implement them.

Tourism is an important industry in our readership area. Do you believe the federal government should fund arts and culture projects, and if so, what kind?
Micheal Janssens: Canadian culture is powerful and deeply rooted in Judeo-Christian ideals. If our culture needs welfare, then we’ve truly degenerated into a sad nation indeed. I’m okay with local governments giving scholarships to talented potential artists, but to suggest that Canadian culture would die out if it didn’t have funding from the government, to me, debases and humiliates Canadian culture. We’re Canadian. We don’t need Ottawa’s money to protect our Canadian identity. We’re better than that!
Joe Hill: Yes, I believe the federal government should fund these projects.
Presently, the federal government has focused its spending on the “bricks and mortar” and cut programs that support the actual “artists”: musicians, filmmakers and visual artists. I believe that we should continue to oppose Harper’s narrow-minded cuts to programs that support cuts to Canadian artists, cuts to local artists and cuts to museums.
Bev Shipley: I do, which is why our government has increased funding to arts and culture by eight per cent ($2.3-billion annually) since coming to office, which is far more than the previous government spent. However, we were elected in 2006 to manage taxpayer money effectively and efficiently and in that regard we have undertaken a strategic review, which resulted in reallocating funding from programs that were not working or that had achieved their objective to programs that required additional funding.
Jeff Wesley: Yes, the federal government should fund arts and culture. I was very disappointed when Mr. Harper cut $10-million from the museums budget. That hurt our smaller museums in particular.
A new Liberal government will double the budget of the Canada Council for the Arts to $360-million annually, while simultaneously reversing the cuts recently announced by the Conservative government to arts and culture.
Canada’s diverse arts and cultural community plays an important role in our national identity. We are committed to helping revitalize a vital sector of the Canadian economy that is under threat by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s ideologically driven mismanagement.

Were you a Star?

By Casey Lessard
Photo courtesy UWO

Libraries in Zurich, Exeter and Parkhill each have a little gem hiding in their DVD catalogue: archived 8mm film from the late 1940s featuring each town and its residents from the era. Stars of the Town is a collection of 85 films profiling towns from across southern Ontario, distributed as an enterprise of the University of Western Ontario archives.
“They’re fascinating,” says Benson special collections librarian John Lutman, whose mother grew up in Zurich, “because they summarize a way of life in the old Ontario before mass suburbanization. Parkhill, for instance, is not as vibrant as it was. People move away or go to London for recreation and small towns couldn’t compete with the big chains. It shows towns at the peak of their prosperity and vibrant activity.”
The films were made by Rev. Roy Massecar between 1946 and 1949. Rev. Massecar made the films to supplement his income; he would travel to towns, film them and perform a show for an admission fee.
UWO acquired the films in 2005 and have been selling DVD copies of each town’s film for $15.
“The films average 30 minutes,” Lutman says. “You see people shopping in the town, driving down the main street in their cars, tractors, and horse drawn carts, and you see a lot of the fashions of the times.”
You can borrow the DVD from the libraries, or you can order a copy (Zurich, Exeter and Parkhill are the only ones in our area currently known and available) by calling 519-661-4046 or by emailing archives.services (at) uwo.ca
If you are in one of the movies or think you know of another film (for example one for Grand Bend), we’d love to hear about it. Call the Strip at 519-614-3614 or email us.

Beach project begins

Planners move to block splash pad from wind, make more attractive for pedestrians

Story and photo by Casey Lessard
Diagram courtesy EDA Collaborative

Snowbirds and visitors won’t recognize Grand Bend’s beach next summer. The beach enhancement project will be finished in June 2009, and the planners have made some major changes that should ease some of the concerns residents had at meetings last year.
Among the highlights: the splash pad will be moved east of the bathhouse and out of wind range; a renewed wood boardwalk with seating areas will stretch from the pier to north of the condo building; dune grass will line the boardwalk and reduce sand blowoff toward Main Street; Government Road has been demolished and will be rebuilt with a new design and name.{+}
The $3.5-million project started several weeks ago, and fundraising co-chairs Jim Southcott and Dr. Jim Jean are seeking donors in exchange for naming rights for each piece of the beach project. The most significant would be Government Road for $200,000; smaller portions can be named for a minimum $25,000 donation. They are also seeking smaller donations from $1 up as they try to raise $1.5-million of the project’s cost.
“This will help mitigate the tax burden to the municipality,” Southcott says, “and (naming rights) will leave a legacy for people interested in Grand Bend.”
The project is an ambitious one, and contractor McLean Taylor has the reins. The lead and many of the contractors have close ties to the area. Southcott is eager to see the end result.
“This is going to be a place to come,” he says. “This will be where families will want to bring their kids. There’s going to be a lot more amenities, with a splash pad for little kids, a play area, a terrific boardwalk with gazebos to sit and watch our tremendous sunsets.
“And it should encourage the people on the main drag to take a second look at their properties and see how they can improve and extend their summer activities into the shoulder months.”
The project’s completion is the last step in the municipality’s quest to achieve Blue Flag status for the beach, he says. Dr. Jim Jean notes the incorporation of dune grass along the boardwalk will be an important part of that accreditation.
“We’ve had great success with dune grass where it’s been planted and it has retained the beach,” Jean says, noting it has been used elsewhere in Grand Bend. “I think that will add to the beauty of the project. One of the facets in the Blue Flag designation is that you try to maintain an environmentally sensitive area on your beach.”
“The beach defines Grand Bend,” Southcott affirms. “We want to make it more people friendly and better for families. We want to make it so our sunsets can be enjoyed to their fullest.”
Jean agrees.
“We’ve always had a great resource here, and this enhances our ability to use that resource.”

Sewer meeting exceeds expectations

By Casey Lessard

Turnout at the recent sewer meeting (previewed in the Sept. 25 edition of the Grand Bend Strip) was more than double what the municipality of Lambton Shores expected, community services director Peggy Van Mierlo-West said Monday.
“We proposed we would get 200 people. We had 400 show up. It’s great to see there’s great interest in the project.”
“People had a lot of great comments, pro and con, for the collection system. We realize we have a lot of work to do to answer questions, but we’re ready to go ahead with that.”
Public comment on the project must be received by October 24. The two options available to get sewage from homes to the sewage treatment plant are gravity-based, which costs $23,000 per lot, or a hydro-based system, which costs $10,000 per lot. Municipal staff told the meeting they recommended the latter due to cost. Federal and provincial funding may bring these costs down.
Either system requires homeowners to link into the system privately, which costs an additional amount. In our Sept. 25 issue, Dashwood resident John Mason predicted that amount to be at least $10,000 per home.
Van Mierlo-West anticipates there will be more meetings to discuss this project.
“We want to know how homeowners are feeling, so having those comment forms come in is an important tool for us.”

Clarification: When John Mason suggested in our Sept. 25 issue that effluent should be used to fertilize trees at the Pinery, he meant only the Pinery’s effluent, not that of the entire sewer coverage area.

Letter to the Editor - Horticultural Society

To the Editor,
After our successful ‘Home and Garden’ tour on July 5, the Horticultural Society asked our members for suggestions on spending some of the money to improve areas around the Bend. Sharon Solden asked that we consider doing something with the very neglected front at the public school. The executive decided that because the school/library is used by so many residents, it was a good idea and we, some of the students and a parent, Joe Hotson (he roto-tilled the area for us) completed the work.
Paul and Anita from Westland Greenhouses donated beautiful fall mum plants and everything was completed in time for ‘Meet the Teacher’ night on Thursday.
In the spring we are going to plant pink and purple coloured plants so the gardens will be ready for the ‘Community in Bloom’ judges to have a look at next year. Pink and purple are the colours they are suggesting for next year and we are going to talk to as many people as we can reach in the area to plant their gardens in pink and purple. 
Please mark your calendar for June 27 next year. That is the date for our next ‘Home and Garden’ tour.
Bob Putherbough
Grand Bend Horticultural Society

Letter to the Editor - ALS

To the Editor,
Every year for six years our family has participated in The Walk to D’feet ALS, as my grandfather died from ALS in October 4th, 1985. This year my daughters, aged four and six, wanted to raise money and brainstormed for ideas.
First my daughter Abby wanted to sell live turkeys to people but we explained why that could not happen. Instead, they held a charity barbecue at Hayter’s Turkey Products and raised $450, and with other donations they raised over $850 this year. Abby and Emma wrote letters to No Frills and Sobeys for donations, which the support they received was amazing and we thank them so much for their support as well as Hayter’s for donating all of the turkey burgers and turkey hot dogs.
Emma is in one in the huge t-shirt,  Abby is in the pink,  then there is me (in brown) and my mom Jean Mclean (Nana) it was the 4 of us just after we all finished the walk. 
Jenn Maguire
Grand Bend

What are you selling?

Technically Speaking
By Tamara Nicola
VisitGrandBend.com

Are you ready to give selling over the Internet a try? There are a host of tools available; many of them are free or very low cost.

Cleaning out the closet
Most of us remember the days when costly classified ads or yard sales were the only option. Today consider turning to kijiji.ca or craigslist.com to sell that dusty treadmill. You can list your items for sale, free of charge, on both of these very popular websites. This is an especially good solution for bulky items that you would not want to ship to a buyer. Just note, “Local pickup only” in your ad.

Crafts or small inventories
Exposure to as many potential buyers as possible is critical to successful online selling and this is especially challenging for those with limited budgets. Ebay.ca and etsy.com are both excellent solutions. Either of these services can function as the main website for your operation. Ebay.ca has a storefront feature that allows you to create a fully functioning online store. Etsy.com is set up this way by default. They have built in payment options that allow you to create a paypal.com account that can easily and securely link to your personal bank account.
If you already have a website and you want to sell items on your own web page, using tools available at paypal.com you can integrate a shopping cart and checkout feature into your existing site. This will allow you to accept major credit cards. While this is a simple solution, keep in mind that you also need plenty of visitors to your website to generate sales.

Selling large inventories
There are several tools on the market today designed for the Do It Yourself entrepreneur. While you need not be a technical expert, a good understanding of web basics is required. Whether you have an existing website or you are starting from scratch, your web hosting company should specialize in e-commerce.
Many hosting companies offer free e-commerce software as part of your monthly fee. They also provide web security, customer payment solutions and the technical support you will need. The hosting company can create a new a website address for you, for example www.bestwidgets.com, or they can transfer your existing web address to a new e-commerce account. Once your account is created you are typically provided with a web link to your new online store for customization. Usually there will be several design templates for you to choose from as you create the look and feel of your new store.
Next step is adding your inventory and product pictures. Your hosting company can assist in setting up a payment gateway. This will allow you to accept credit cards in real time as well as calculate shipping charges using carriers such as United Postal Service, UPS.

Recommendations
There are two web applications that I highly recommend mivamerchant.com and/or oscommerce.com. They are both full service solutions including options such as integration with your existing accounting software like QuickBooks. The options are unlimited and you will need to do your research. My best advice is to choose your e-commerce web hosting company carefully, then jump in and start selling.

Joseph Arthur Faith video shot in Ipperwash now online

You can now check out the video for Faith by Joseph Arthur and the Lonely Astronauts, filmed in Ipperwash, on YouTube:
Faith on YouTube

For more details about the video’s filming, see our story:
You’ve Gotta Have Faith

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