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.

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

You’ve gotta have Faith

Story and Photos by Casey Lessard

It was a leap of faith, but a former Hollywood actor, a New York musician and a London (Ontario) camerawoman converged on an Ipperwash trailer park this summer in hopes of creating a music video that will also showcase the park to the nation and the world. Stephen Shellenberger, whose art is regularly shown at group shows at Bliss Studio in Port Franks, left Hollywood several years ago and directs the video for “Faith” by Joseph Arthur, a folk-rock musician based in Brooklyn. They teamed up with a friend of Shellenberger who owns London’s video production studio CIVA Communications, and who provided the team with Sylvana Liebregts, who shot and edited the video. It should hit MuchMusic this month if accepted by the music network, and there’s word it will air in the United States and France.
“I’ve done some music videos in the past,” Liebregts said, “so I was thrilled when I was asked to do it. I’m crazy about music, so to be able to do this and combine my passion for filmmaking with music is incredible. Joseph’s a really nice guy and talented so it was an easy job to take.”
Arthur has enjoyed moderate success in the U.S., with one of his songs featured on an EP as a tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The song was recorded and remixed six times on the EP by such artists as Peter Gabriel (who signed Arthur to his Real World label), Chris Martin of Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, and by Arthur himself in a duet with Michael Stipe of REM.
“I kept telling Stephen about Joseph,” said Arthur’s manager Peter Wark, whose office is down the street from Shellenberger’s Montreal home, “and he came out to see him play solo at the Montreal Jazz Festival. We gave him the record and Joseph said we should do a video. Stephen started calling me and he brought a lot of energy to the process. He had the idea from day one to do it at this trailer park.”
“It’s amazing,” Arthur, born 36 years ago in Akron, Ohio, said of the area. “It’s a beautiful lake and I like this trailer park because I like the characters and the people here. It was Stephen’s idea to come here. It’s a song about faith, and I just trusted his instinct and I feel like it’s something interesting we’re making here.”
Shellenberger lives part-time at the Huron Shores Trailer Park. He recruited some locals, including his neighbours and Miss Kettle Point, to perform in the video, which was filmed over several days at the park and at Ipperwash beach.
“I’ve never shot a rock video before,” Shellenberger said, “and I love Joseph’s song and I though if we’re going to do it, let’s do it at my trailer park.”
Shellenberger turned to art while acting in Hollywood, with roles in 30 films including A River Runs Through It with Brad Pitt, directed by Robert Redford.
“I was always painting along the way,” he said, “and then I went through a rocky breakup and my kids were taken to France and I started painting more and more. If you’re an artist, you will do whatever is necessary to create. Arthur hyper-focuses and puts out three albums a year. It’s a compulsion to do it.”
Arthur’s album Temporary People will be his first full-length album for 2008, following four EP-length albums released in March, April, June and July.
“When you’re really productive, you flood the market with your psyche,” Arthur said. “The Internet is a digital manifestation of humanity’s subconscious and it’s limitless. You can do as much or as little as you want. You could put out a record every five years or blog like crazy every day.”
Arthur is a busy man, not only touring and producing music, but also running a New York art gallery, which is shutting down this month because of problems with the landlord (according to stereogum.com). He sets off for a tour of France and North America October 6.
“Joseph does well, but he’s still struggling to get to the next place. I think everyone is,” his manager Wark said. “Success for artists is getting to the point where you can do your art and you don’t have to work a day job. Then you aim for the sky and hope you play for thousands and thousands of fans every night.”
Canadian fans should get at least one glimpse of Arthur when his video hits the air on MuchMusic; he recorded an interview that is expected to air when the video makes its Canadian debut. The album hits stores September 30.
“Our aim is to do something more with this and see if we can expand on the idea of what a music video can be and is,” Arthur said. “Through all these avenues of distribution, we’re no longer limited as artists to formulate our products into a fixed idea of what is commercially viable.”
“Having the video air on national television is probably the coolest thing to happen in my career to date,” camerawoman and editor Sylvana Liebregts said, “and it motivates me to make it really cool and really good.
“The theme of the video is faith, and it’s a spiritual, personal song to him. I like a handheld feel; it’s more intimate and you can get into the action. A steady, tripod look is nice, but it’s sort of dry and more standard; there’s not much too it. In post-production we’re going to give it quite a distinct look. I want to make it look really cool, so I’ll spend a lot of time on it.”
For first-time music video director Shellenberger, who has directed some shorts, it’s a brand new experience.
“I’m flying by the seat of my pants,” he said. “I don’t watch a lot of videos, but I know what I would like to see. You have to trust yourself and believe it’s all going to be perfect. I’ve worked on films where you have so many cooks that the flavour is cooked out of it. You have too many people overseeing everything. The beauty of this is I do what I feel and that’s how it’s happened.”

Escapism is Bliss

Story by Casey Lessard

If you’re looking for an escape from reality, stop by Sarah Kane’s solo retrospective at Bliss Studio in Port Franks (7617 Riverside Drive, 519-243-3598), running August 11 to September 7. Twenty-five year old Kane, originally of London, sets up dreamscapes involving real people and transforms them through Photoshop before using graphite or acrylic to make art that bears her brand of escapism.
“It’s a literary term that’s been used a lot,” she says, “but it’s a form of art where you create a fantasy world to lose yourself in. When people come and see my show, because I create a theme for them to come and see, they enter a different world and it’s a new take on reality. The images aren’t so farfetched that you wouldn’t see it, but they’re a more beautiful and idealized version of what we see every day.”
Kane buys props and costumes to build her imaginary world, and often uses her younger sisters as models. Her art is beautiful and unsettling, and has matured into a solid enough body of work that at 25, she can have a retrospective show, a feat normally reserved for much more seasoned artists.
“I create a lot of art fairly fast. I do it full time, so I produce enough work to do two full out solo shows per year.”
Launching a full-time art career two years ago “was kind of a gamble because my boyfriend was in school,” Kane says, “so we took the chance and surprisingly I have been making money at it. I’m surprised at the response I’ve been getting. Everyone told me you can’t make it as a full-time freelance artist. I was uninspired by that and have never been interested in having a part-time job or in teaching, so I immersed myself in it. So far I’ve been able to make money off it to keep it going and it’s been rewarding so far.”
Bliss Studio is a sort of home for Kane, whose first group show was at the Port Franks studio.
“Usually we don’t do very many solo shows,” says owner Tony Miller. “But we’ve seen how hard Sarah’s been working and we thought it would be good for us and for her.”
“A lot of galleries are only interested in people that have already have been successful because they’re looking at the monetary factors. Who are they and can they sell? A lot of galleries are not willing to show up and coming artists, even if they think the art is visually appealing.”
Unlike many other galleries, Bliss enables young artists by charging a smaller percentage, and no hanging fee. It’s a bigger risk to take, but in the long run, Miller and Thomson think it’s worthwhile.
“No matter where she goes,” says owner Lorraine Thomson, “and I hope it’s to the top, I hope she see this as a home base.”

August 3 - Rubber Duck Race at Christine’s in Port Franks

Christine’s Marina, Bar & Grill
Port Franks
August 3, 1:30 p.m.
Live entertainment and prizes
Event supports the Northville Fire department.
For more details, contact Christine’s at 519-243-3636.

All good things come to an end

The inevitable day has arrived.
I had hoped I would be able to continue to provide the Grand Bend Strip newspaper for free indefinitely, but after thinking long and hard this spring, I realize that the only way for the paper to publish this winter is to ask for your support.
Like you, I value the ability to learn more about the people who live and work in this community. I love meeting you and capturing your memories for the paper. This is what I feel I can bring to this community, and I want to stay here.
I also feel it’s important to bring to light some of the problems that exist here, and the challenges we face in this community. I’m willing to put the work into creating quality journalism here, but I can’t do it alone.
The Strip will continue to be free until the end of the summer, which on most people’s calendar is the Thanksgiving weekend. After that, it will be available only to Strip Club VIP members. Even the website will be restricted to VIPs. I have yet to decide whether the exclusivity will continue next summer.
I promise to make membership worthwhile, and hope you will contribute to surveys to improve the paper, and take advantage of special offers from our advertising clients.
For more information about club membership, please see our subscription page.

Port Franks cougar sighting - the proof is in the plaster

Port Franks resident feeds big cat that left paw prints in his garden

Story and photos by Casey Lessard

Port Franks resident Bob Rutledge is a friend to animals: he feeds 14 squirrels and a couple of raccoons on a regular basis. So it is only natural that another, larger animal would gravitate to him.
“I’ve been putting food out for the raccoons every night,” he says, describing his routine, “and they come around about 10 o’clock. There’s a big one and a small one. They have their feed and leave.
“Then I’ll put out a few more scraps in a pan and usually around 11 or 11:30, I end up with a big black cat there. He’s way too big to be a normal cat. He’s been around seven or eight times. He sits on my well, eats his dinner and disappears.”
Rutledge believes the animal is a cougar, which others in the area say they have sighted over the past year.
“It’s the black one,” he says. “It’s probably about three or three-and-a-half feet in length. One of my neighbours spotted a tan one at the corner of his house. The cougar’s main food is deer, and there have been an awful lot of those around this year, so they’re probably well-fed. They appear to be, because all of the small animals around here haven’t disappeared. ”
To date, no one has proof enough for wildlife authorities to confirm the animal’s identity. Now, Rutledge believes he has proof to confirm what he has seen with his eyes.
“Our daughter is getting married on the 5th of July, so we’re trying to get our yard ready. Saturday night, we put in some new soil and new grass, very loose. Overnight Saturday night, he walked down through the middle of it and we got an excellent set of paw prints. My neighbour Tony Miller came over and made some casts of it.
“It’s certainly a wild animal. It’s about three to four times the size of a domestic cat. The paw prints are five to six inches in length, and the pads were sunk down a good inch into the soft earth.”
Officials have told Rutledge they need DNA or other forensic evidence (hair, blood, saliva) before they can confirm anything, but for now, he is content to enjoy the view – from the safety of his home.
“I watch them from my kitchen window. It’s been interesting to sit and watch them. One day it went past in broad daylight. And it moves very rapidly.”

Local farms honoured

By Casey Lessard

It’s appropriate to raise a glass to Twin Pines Orchards and Cider House (left), who we featured for their winery last fall, and to one of our favourite farms, Sunnivue of Ailsa Craig. Both won regional awards for the Ontario government’s Premier’s Agri-Food Innovation Excellence awards. Each won $5,000 for their innovation; Twin Pines won for making their farm a destination and offering more than just fruit for sale. The farm offers school tours in addition to the winery, which creates apple wine and apple cider. Sunnivue Organic Farm, outside of Ailsa Craig, is a not-for-profit land trust that produces and sells organic milk, beef, veal, chicken, pork, and a large variety of fruits and vegetables.

From Main Street to The Killing Fields and back

How a former Grand Bend entrepreneur made his way into the movies and became an Internet star

By Casey Lessard

Sarnia native and Kitchener resident Robert Stirrett opened a hot dog and hamburger stand for his brothers in the 1970s. Today, Stirrett is a Flickr sensation, posting photographs that consist of two images fused and therefore called a PhotoFusion, which is his Flickr name.
Back in the early 70s, I ran the Ponderosa off Ipperwash. I ran a riding stable for a couple of summers, and then I rented for my brothers (thinking they’d want to do it) a hot dog and hamburger stand on Main Street Grand Bend. There was lots of business, but my brothers didn’t want to run it unless it was the weekend, so we kept it shut during the week. To make any money, you had to wait around for the bar crowd from across the street to let out.
In 1979, I was running a shoe store in Petrolia and I came into some money ($3500). I had always wanted to travel, so my brothers took over the store.
I was with a group that takes about two months to go from London to Katmandu. You get in the back of an army truck and you go all through Europe and Turkey. Then you go into Iran. I got out of Iran three days before the hostage crisis in 1979.
We went into Pakistan and went up to Srinagar in Kashmir. I wound up in New Delhi and they had a sign at the camp where we were staying looking for extras. I was a day late, but I went to the hotel to see what it was all about. They said, “You’re Canadian, can you work for three months?” and I said, Sure. Because I was Canadian I didn’t need a visa.
I was hired to be a stand-in for David Niven for The Sea Wolves with Roger Moore and Gregory Peck. A stand-in stays with the actor at all times and when the actor goes to wardrobe and makeup, you have to be their height and same skin tone, so you become the actor when the director sets the lighting and the camera.
It became more than stand-in work. Three days later, they had difficulty finding extras to play German and British soldiers. They had a big dance scene in New Delhi before they flew us to Goa. I said, Why don’t you use the people from the embassy? So they sent me to all the different embassies and wound up getting all the people to work for free. They hired me and I became an assistant to the director - without the title. I did all the hiring of all the extras throughout the movie. They paid me well and I had a blast.
Goa was Portuguese for 400 years. They had hired all these Sunday school teachers to play hookers and they told them they were playing party girls. They were Indian, but Portuguese Catholic. None of the local girls would do it because they’d be tainted for life for playing a prostitute in a brothel. They all quit and we needed them for this big scene. I went to an all-nude beach and found the girls with the darkest tans to do it.
I was in Sri Lanka when I had a chance to go down to film Indiana Jones; Steven Spielberg came up to recruit people for Temple of Doom. But I wanted to go to Nepal first and then to Thailand. I wound up in Bangkok and I knew The Killing Fields was going to be filmed. The director, Roland Joffe, had just won the Oscar for Chariots of Fire. I immediately got hired because I had experience. It was probably the most intense of all the movies I worked on. I was in a scene with Craig T. Nelson (who was the star of the TV series Coach). That’s my big scene.
I started doing Toronto skyline pictures in 1998, and I always look for a good beach. Grand Bend’s got a perfect beach for it because it has the beach house. Some of my best pictures are out of Grand Bend.
I know what I’m looking for. You have to match shadows, but it’s a really simple process. Now with computers, it’s amazing what you can do with them.
I invented a comb that you put in your wallet and to go along with the comb, I thought there should be a mirror. I wanted pictures on the back of the mirror for advertising, and Toronto has four million people, so I thought they would sell if I had a nice picture of the skyline. I went over to Toronto island, and found it difficult to get the swans to match the sky, so I started slicing with a razor blade across the harbour and put another bottom in.
I’m having fun with these pictures and am getting a great response. I haven’t had a day under 1,000 hits for about two months now. You get comments from around the world and I’ve been able to resurrect a whole pile of my old pictures.
To see more of Robert Stirrett’s work, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/BlairStirrett

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