“You either get better or you die.” – Reg Copeman

Reg Copeman of Port Franks grew up in London, and in early 1952, he contracted polio at age 10. He has few aftereffects today, but the memory stays with him.

As told to Casey Lessard

I came back off summer holidays, and the first week of school I got feeling sick. They thought I had the flu or something, so they kept me home, but it kept getting worse. My doctor was an older fellow and didn’t really know what he was getting into.
It got to the point where I couldn’t swallow food at all. My aunt would make me mashed potatoes, but it was like soup. I got really sick and the doctor sent an apprentice doctor to look at me. He put his hand on the back of my neck and pushed my forehead back. It was just like someone drove a knife into my back. He said, “Get him ready and call an ambulance; I think he’s got polio.”

A scary experience
I was ten years old and really scared. I remember going from the main hospital where they did the tests on me down this long tunnel into the children’s hospital and into isolation immediately.
The type of polio I had, you either get better or you die because it affects the muscles around your lungs. They get deteriorated to the point where the muscles don’t work.
It kept getting worse and worse and they put me in an iron lung for a couple of months. You’re sealed in there. They alternate putting air pressure in and taking it away and that’s what makes your lungs work. There were two or three in the room where I was. The iron lung totally covers you and your head sticks out of the end. It’s sealed at the neck. They had sealed holes that they could stick things in or turn you over. Your whole world is a mirror in front of your face.
Your relatives couldn’t come in the room with you. They stood outside in the hallway and talked to you through a window. If they brought you something, books or toys or whatever, the nurse would bring them into you. If you dropped an item on the floor, you couldn’t pick it up. The nurse would come in, pick it up and sterilize it, and it would be three or four days before they gave it back to you.

Survival story
Once they got my lungs working again, it was back into isolation. That’s when I saw some of the other kids who were a whole lot worse than I was. There were crippled babies whose bodies were wasting away. I don’t know how many of those small kids survived.
I kept in touch for years with one boy my age, and the last I heard he was still in Paris. He never did get the use of his legs back.
I have no lasting effects that stop me from doing anything. I still have problems swallowing, and I have to be careful what I eat. To eat steak or any kind of beef, I have to make sure I cut it up into really small pieces and chew it well or I’ll choke.
The rest of my body, the right side muscles are smaller than the left side. I have very little reflexes in the right side of my body. I have a lot of fun with doctors at examinations.

A sleeping giant
I think about it all the time. They brought the vaccine out a year after I got out of the hospital. I remember my mother taking me to get the vaccine shot, and they told her I didn’t need it because I would never get polio again. It’s just like having chicken pox. Well, my younger sister adamantly refused to have her three kids vaccinated. When I found that out, I was very upset. We had little kids of our own at the time and I gave her quite a talking to. She figured no one gets it anymore. But that’s why we vaccinate.
It’s a monster still out there lying there waiting for enough people foolish enough not to get the vaccinations. Once you’re affected, vaccinations won’t do anything. We’ve got it licked. Let’s keep it licked.

Paintings by Lorraine Thomson and Tony Miller on display at Bliss Studio in Port Franks

The Art of Bliss
Bliss Studio, 519-243-3598
7617 Riverside Drive, Port Franks

Story by Casey Lessard

A winter storm set in motion a collaboration that led to this summer’s final show at Bliss Studio in Port Franks. Owners Lorraine Thomson and Tony Miller started working together on paintings after Thomson came into the studio where Miller was working in December. Asking if she could add some strokes to his painting, Miller agreed, and by the time they were done, they had to push the door together to get through the snowpile that had built up.
“I was working on the Red Dancer,” Miller says. “She said she’d really like to paint on it, too. So we went for it. It worked out so well, I got her to make me a commitment to work on a series for a show. Just wanted to show how two different styles can work together.”
“It was Tony’s idea, but it was meant to happen,” Thomson says. “After all these years, it was inevitable.”
Together, the pair painted six works that are on display at their home studio/gallery. Work by the individual artists completes the show.
“It’s surrealistic,” says Miller, describing the work. “I do some high realism work and some abstract work. Lorraine’s a contemporary artist, but she paints a lot of realism and abstracts it a bit. Combined they’re abstract, surrealistic and fantasy. It’s hard to put a label on them.”
“Our work is experimental,” Thomson adds. “If it doesn’t work out, it’s no big deal. It’s not the end of the world.”
There were times, though, when Thomson surprised Miller with her contributions.
“She shocked me sometimes by totally covering something I just spent an hour or two painting,” Miller says. “You just have to trust each other knowing you have the best wishes for the ultimate outcome.”

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

I want to send my gratitude to everyone who came to my art exhibition opening over the weekend. It was not only a pleasure to see old faces, but also to see the silent supporters who had never previously said hello. I had people visiting from as far away as England and Denmark (thanks for coming Darren). I am especially grateful to the few, including the Brits, who supported me by buying my work; you know who you are, and I hope others follow your example. It proves to me that the work I’m doing is valued, so thank you very much.
Thank you also to Anjhela for performing, and to Tony and Lorraine for hosting. As always, my mom is my biggest fan, so thank you especially. The show continues until the 26th, so be sure to stop by Bliss Studio in Port Franks when you get a chance.
Thanks also to you, the people who are reading this paper right now. If you have this in your hands, it means that you believe in what I’m doing, and for that I’m grateful. If you’re not a subscriber, I hope you will consider signing up as it is the best way to give me the flexibility to cover events and find stories that no one else is covering. This area is full of interesting stories, and I do my best to report on as many as possible.
It’s a short summer, and we’re already into it. Enjoy the good weather when it comes, and stay safe.

The Grand Bend Horticultural Society hopes this year’s Festival of Homes, Gardens and Arts sells out like last year’s event did. On board for the June 27 event are nine homes and gardens, 23 artists and 2 nurseries. Passports for the tour are $15, with locations disclosed that day. The passport includes treats such as homemade cookies and lemonade, and samples from local restaurants, Parmalat Cheese in London, and Brantford’s The Cider Keg. M&M Meat Shops is a major sponsor, and is donating proceeds from a lunch barbecue to the event.
Entertainment will be provided by UWO’s New Horizon Band, with Paul Seagrave performing at the Putherbough home in St. Joseph during the afternoon.
To reserve your passport, call 519-236-7884.

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin
Head Professional, Sand Hills Golf Resort

Your spine angle should remain consistent during your backswing and at the impact position. Any loss of body height on the backswing or standing up at impact or the opposite changes in height will cause inconsistent striking of the ball.
To improve consistency, work on improving your posture position. Think of your spine being as straight as possible, but on an angle over the ball, with your arms hanging directly down from your shoulders. Weight pressure should be felt in the middle of your feet.
During your swing the hips and shoulders should turn perpendicular to the spine angle.
Review this with a video camera. Check out your angles!
For more swing tips see your local CPGA Professional.

Community/Charity

Tuesdays
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Pt Franks Comm Ctr
Kids Matter every Tuesday. Join us as we Crochet sleeping mats out of milk bags to send to the children in Africa and South America. Bring your lunch, scissors and a #7 crochet hook. Call Peggy Smith at 519-296-5834 for details.

7 p.m. – Grand Bend Legion
Bingo

Fridays
5 to 7 p.m. – Grand Bend Legion
Meat Draw

Wednesday, May 27
Grand Bend Horticultural Society.
Plant sale.

Tuesday, June 2 to 20
Huron Country Playhouse
Oliver! For tickets, call 519-238-6000.

Wednesday, June 3
Grand Bend Horticultural Society. Bus Tour to Sipkens, Degroots, Sarnia parks, Forest Glen Herb Farm and mystery spot as shown on separate flyer.

12:30 p.m. – Grand Bend Legion
Grand Bend Golden Agers Luncheon. Guest Speaker, Casey Lessard. Shuffleboard every Mon. & Thurs. at 1:00 p.m., Euchre every 2 & 4 Wed. at 1:30 p.m. New members welcome!

Tuesday, June 9
9:30 a.m. – Grand Bend Legion
Grand Bend Women’s Probus meeting. Annual General Meeting. Annual reports and voting on the new slate of officers will take place. Refreshments and fellowship will end the Probus year until September.

Friday, June 12
Huron County Playhouse Guild presents an Evening with David Chilton, author of the Wealthy Barber. For tickets contact Val at 519-236-4404 or HCP Box Office at 238-6000. Tickets $25 and include a copy of “Eat, Shrink and Be Merry”.

Tuesday, June 16
10 a.m. – Grand Bend Legion
Grand Bend Men’s Probus Club Meeting.

Wednesday, June 17
1 to 5 p.m. – Grand Bend CHC
10 year Anniversary Celebration of Midwestern Adult Day Centre. Speakers, music from the Grand Bend Beach Boys, open house and refreshments

Arts & Entertainment

Thursdays
1 to 3 p.m. – Grand Bend Art Centre
Open Painting. Cost is $10 – bring a project and materials and paint with various artists.

Fridays
1:30 to 3:30 p.m. – GB Youth Centre
Grand Bend Drum Circle. Contact Anita at the Youth Centre or call 519-238-8759.

To May 30
Arts Project, London (Dundas St. between Richmond and Clarence)
South Huron DHS Visual Arts students present a variety of art (paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints and mixed media pieces) created by students in grades 9 through 12. http://www.artsproject.ca

Saturday, May 30
3 to 6 p.m. – Grand Bend Legion
Live Music with Midlife Crisis

Saturday, June 6
2 to 7 p.m. – Bliss Studios, Pt. Franks
Opening for Lead and Feed the Creation, featuring work of Sarah Westgate and Ryan Thomson. Runs to June 25. All welcome.

3 to 6 p.m. – Grand Bend Legion
Live Music with The Persuaders

Saturday, June 13
3 to 6 p.m. – Grand Bend Legion
Live Music with Cactus Jam

Health & Fitness

Mondays
8 to 9 a.m. – GB Lion’s Pavilion
Workout for Your Life. $8 per class; $5 for spouses and students. Call Beth Sweeney, (519) 238-5555.

8:45 to 10 a.m. – Grand Bend Legion
T.G.I.F. (Thank God I’m Fit) exercise class with Elinor Clarke 519-294-6499. $3 per week; all fees go to charity

6 to 7 p.m. – McNaughton Park, Exeter
Workout for Your Life. $8 per class; $5 for gym members, spouses and students. Call Beth Sweeney, (519) 238-5555.

6:45 to 8 p.m.
Anne’s Yoga Works studio, Port Franks
Yoga Classes, info and registration call Anne 519-243-3552. Beginners welcome. 

Tuesdays
9 a.m. – Pt Franks Community Centre
Healthy Lifestyle Exercise Program. Sponsored in part by Healthy Living Lambton. Cost: Free!! Everyone welcome. Contact Cindy Maxfield at the GBACHC, 519-238-1556 ext 6 to register.

Wednesdays
8 to 9 a.m. – GB Lion’s Pavilion
Workout for Your Life. $8 per class; $5 for spouses and students. Call Beth Sweeney, (519) 238-5555.

8:45 to 10 a.m. – Grand Bend Legion
T.G.I.F. (Thank God I’m Fit) exercise class with Elinor Clarke 519-294-6499. $3 per week; all fees go to charity
 
10 to 11:30 a.m. – Grand Bend Legion
Line Dancing

6 to 7 p.m. – McNaughton Park, Exeter
Workout for Your Life. $8 per class; $5 for gym members, spouses and students. Call Beth Sweeney, (519) 238-5555.
7 to 8 p.m. – Parkhill Leisure Club
Yoga Classes, info and registration call Anne 519-243-3552. Beginners welcome. 

Thursdays
9 a.m. – Pt Franks Community Centre
Healthy Lifestyle Exercise Program. Sponsored in part by Healthy Living Lambton. Cost: Free!! Everyone welcome. Contact Cindy Maxfield at the GBACHC, 519-238-1556 ext 6 to register.

Fridays
8 to 9 a.m. – GB Lion’s Pavilion
Workout for Your Life. $8 per class; $5 for spouses and students. Call Beth Sweeney, (519) 238-5555.

8:45 to 10 a.m. – Grand Bend Legion
T.G.I.F. (Thank God I’m Fit) exercise class with Elinor Clarke 519-294-6499. $3 per week; all fees go to charity

Monday, June 1
7 p.m. – Grand Bend CHC
Alzheimer Caregiver Support. A great monthly facilitated group program that provides education and support to caregivers. Please contact the Alzheimer’s Society of Huron at 1-800-561-5012 for details. Last meeting till fall.

Tuesday, June 2
9 to 10 a.m. – Grand Bend Catholic Church or Port Franks Comm Centre
Walking for Wellness. Each Tuesday and Thursday. Contact Cindy Maxfield at GBACHC 519-238-1556 ext. 231.

Thursday, June 11
12 to 4 p.m. – Grand Bend CHC
Community Health & Safety Day. FREE Car seat check, BP clinic, cooking demonstrations, information on low cost things to do this summer for fun, tips and strategies to help you deal with the current economics along with contact information, stress reduction, home safety, falls prevention & checklists, refreshments and door prizes.

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin
Sand Hills Golf Resort

It’s time to get ready for a long summer season. Remember the following:
Check your grips. Shiny or worn grips will rob you of distance. Clean with powdered Comet or Ajax. Don’t forget your putter grip!
Make sure you have a new set of soft spikes in your shoes.
Arrive early for your tee-time, hit a few balls on the range, hit some chips and putts.

Remember the fundamentals
Check these six fundamentals before you make any changes to your swing motion. Remember most swing faults are caused by incorrect fundamentals.
Position your club head: the leading edge of your club should be at right angles to your intended target.
The Grip: you should see 2 to 2 1/2 knuckles on the back of your dominant hand when you look down on your hands at the address position. Remember to grip the club in your fingers not palms.
Stance: feet shoulder width apart, wider with longer clubs, narrower with shorter clubs.
Ball position: forward in stance with long clubs, gradually moving back to the middle of your stance with the shorter clubs.
Posture: bend over from the waist, keeping your spine as straight as possible, slight leg flex, arms should hang straight down from your shoulders, the base of your spine should feel slightly concave.
Alignment: your body and stance should be positioned parallel left (for lefties, right for righties) of your intended target. Think of a mini railway line, your club head and ball on the far track and your body on the near track.

Anne’s Yoga Works – Yoga and Pilates
annesyogaworks.com
info at annesyogaworks.com or 519-243-3552

May 4 to June 29 – Mondays
10:30 to 11:45 a.m. – Port Franks studio
8 weeks $72. Drop in fee $10.
6:45 to 8 p.m. – Port Franks studio
8 weeks $72. Drop in fee $10.
(Drop-in fee allows participant to try one class without committing to whole session)
Classes offered: Yoga Your Way; Beginner Pilates; Teen Yogilates; Trim and Tone Yoga; Restorative Yoga; Yoga/Pilates for Golfers; Private group and Individual Yoga or Pilates classes by appointment only; Two hour Workshops will also be available.

Story and photos by Casey Lessard
In these stressful times, you may be exploring ways to reconnect with your body and slow down. Port Franks yoga teacher Anne Chute believes yoga and Pilates can do both.
“It makes people feel better and sleep better,” Chute says. “It allows the body to heal itself from the inside, and creates a feeling of contentment. It helps you learn how to focus what’s happening in your body.
“For the most part it’s people who already recognize they should slow down,” she says of her typical clientele. “People that push themselves really hard should come, but they tend to be the last people who want to come to a yoga class. The type of yoga I teach is hatha yoga, but I teach on the gentle side.”
Hatha yoga, which Chute teaches, involves a holistic approach that includes physical postures, yogic breathing and meditation. Because of the type of focus needed, Chute says yoga has advantages over other health programs.
“In a lot of facilities, the music is cranked so loud and there’s so much other noise that you can’t focus on what your body is saying,” she says. “Yoga focuses on the abilities of your body and strengthening that.”
Chute has been teaching yoga for five years, and has earned her Yoga 500, which involves doing 500 hours of instruction. It’s a long road that started with watching yoga on TV and discovering the pitfalls of that route.
“It’s hard to do it that way,” she says. “A lot of them (DVDs and books) don’t give you the opportunity to find out what you’re doing wrong.”
Regardless of how you do yoga, Chute sees the value of getting started and staying focused.
“The healing always starts from the inside, even when you cut yourself. Yoga is no different, but it unites the mind, body and spirit. You end up with a better attitude about yourself and your surroundings. You let go of things you don’t need, whether it be ego or money. Yoga says, I’m here right now. I need to enjoy this moment.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.”

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.”

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.

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 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.”

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.

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

Draft community plans stir debate in Port Franks, Grand Bend

By Casey Lessard

EDA Collaborative Inc. presented its draft community plans for Lambton Shores at three separate meetings May 6-8, with some praising and others panning the progress.

Port Franks
Moves to make Port Franks a “lakeside residential natural neighbourhood” mean advertising signs will be dropped from the main entrance to the community, a move that is frustrating business owners.
“They’re trying to drive away all of our tourists by taking down our signs,” says Christine Orosz of Christine’s Marina Bar & Grill. “They should at least have something saying there are businesses in our town.”
The Welcome signs include advertisements for Port Franks businesses; businesses pay an annual fee to advertise on the signs. In his presentation, EDA’s Bruce Cudmore noted community feedback indicated residents want signs with no advertising.
“You’re not going to please everybody,” says Ward 3 councillor Mark Simpson, “but it’s more of an aesthetic facelift.”
“It lets people know there are businesses here,” Orosz says. “Port Franks is extremely hard to get around if you don’t know the area.”
Cudmore concurred that visitors “get lost very easily” in the community, and the plan includes better signage to solve the problem. The draft plan hopes to make the community more natural and less urban with multi-use trails, more opportunities for recreation, and seating to enjoy community gardens.
The goal is to “protect Port Franks’ quiet beauty,” Cudmore says. The plan calls for pedestrian and cycle connections within Port Franks and to Grand Bend.
Betty Urbanski of Harbourside Trailer Park has concerns about the plan.
“Port Franks is at the end of the road. To me this (plan) discourages business. How many locals come to my store? Not very many. Who is riding bikes in Port Franks? Our campers and boaters.”
Wayne Nelson, who lives in the east part of the village with his wife Maureen, disagrees.
“We have a safety issue because there are so many cyclists and walkers on the road,” he told the meeting, saying he’s excited by the prospect of a better trail system.

Grand Bend
The May 8 meeting in Grand Bend met less resistance from a much larger audience. The Grand Bend plan involves discussion about how best to design sidewalks, roads, parking, bridges, trails and street fixtures. Few questioned the designs, which aim to create a “sustainable countryside lifestyle,” with Grand Bend billed as an “attractive residential community,” “lakeside destination,” and site for “regional tourism.”
Among EDA’s recommendations: two pedestrian bridges over the river connecting the River Road area to the main core; more pedestrian crosswalks over Highway 21; a road connecting the Legion parking lot to Main Street East and a centre median on Main Street between Highway 21 and the health centre; shrinking Main Street to three lanes with parking on the south side only; redeveloping the former casino site with underground parking, retail on the main floor and residential on the second; and renewed intersection with paving stones and an overhead Welcome sign at the entrance.
Grand Bend resident Bob Sharen is not impressed, noting businesses are being left out of the equation.
“Why spend money fixing the physical appearance of the street when it’s the physical appearance of the buildings on the street that’s most of the problem?”
Ward 1 councillor John Dehondt says the market must drive change.
“Fifty years ago there was a casino. Then (Grand Bend) became more youth oriented. With the aging of our population, there will be stores that cater to that clientele.”
Sharen thinks the change needs to be driven by town council.
“Homes pay less tax but get more services. Why not address the issue of the extremely high commercial taxes and the ability to have a sustainable business when you’re paying that kind of money?”
Dehondt says giving the community a facelift is the first step, not the last.
“We can fix and change the things we can control. Step one is to develop a master plan. I think you’ll see a lot of it redeveloped over the next few decades.”

By Casey Lessard

Confusion over the wording of a new No Beach Access sign in Port Franks seems ill-timed to coincide with the start of a new beach season.
‘I’ve had a lot of people come in and ask about the sign,” says Christine Orosz of Christine’s Marina Bar & Grill. “They feel they’re not wanted and there are people here who have lived here forever and don’t realize they’re still allowed to go to the beach.
“If you don’t have a cottage or home here, you’re not supposed to be on the beach. Residents of Grand Bend, for example, are not supposed to use the beach.”
The beach is owned by the Port Franks Beach Homeowners Association and was deeded to the village as part of the transfer agreement from the family that owned it previously. Technically it is private property, but has been used by the public for years.
“We’re going to have a look at the wording,” says Ward 3 councillor Mark Simpson. “The intent was to help the beach homeowners’ association. All the beaches in Port Franks are private; not a lot of people know that.
“We have a lot of issues with parking and issues with people parking on lawns, leaving their garbage, and defecating. The London Free Press and some other tourism magazines are promoting Port Franks as a gem, which it is. We’re trying to quell some of the crowds, but now the business community’s upset because of that. It’s a catch-22. We’re trying to work it out. It’s a work in progress.”
Orosz is still concerned about the ramifications of the sign’s prominence at the main entrance to the village.
“If you were looking for a home to buy in this area, you would see that sign and not want to buy property on or near the water because you would think you don’t have beach access.”
Simpson disagrees.
“The deed clearly states that any resident of Port Franks shall not be denied walk-in access to the beach,” Simpson says. “Technically, (cottagers and visitors to the trailer park) would be allowed. But if someone came from Windsor for the day, technically they would not be allowed.
“They’re not standing there checking people for ID. It’s a private beach, but they allow public access as long as people use it responsibly.”

Lambton Shores hopes residents will get in the spirit and make their community bloom with red this summer. The Lambton Shores Communities in Bloom committee is organizing initiatives to compete for the 2008 provincial title, which is judged based on eight criteria for all municipal, commercial/industrial and residential properties in the municipality: tidiness, environmental awareness, community involvement, natural and cultural heritage, landscaped areas, floral designs, urban forest, turf and ground cover.
The theme for Lambton Shores is red, so you are encouraged to “Think RED for your garden bed” when purchasing your spring plantings.
Other initiatives include the Trash Bash Day held last month, Adopt a Pot/Plot program, a Lambton Shores “Brag Book” for the judges tour, the  promotion of Lambton Shores “Going Green” strategies, and the Garden of the Week. 
For the Adopt a Pot/Plot program, a family, business or community group chooses to look after a planter arrangement or plot of land identified by the committee.
The Garden of the Week program will launch in the last week of June. Winners will receive a sign to be placed in their garden.
Judges will tour the community in the summer, and the committee plans to ensure they experience a sunset on the Grand Bend beach. The judges will also meet with local community group representatives to discuss the Grand Bend projects that demonstrate the eight judging criteria.
For more information about Communities in Bloom in your town, your contacts are Shirley Andraza and Christine Bregman for Grand Bend, and Grace Dekker for Port Franks.

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin
http://www.sandhillsgolf.ca

Club head: Position your club head at right angles to your intended target line.
Grip: The back of your left hand facing your target, looking down you should see between two and three knuckles on your left hand. Right hand palm facing the target, right thumb left side of the grip and there should be a line formed between the right thumb and forefinger, if you extended that line it should point to your right shoulder. (opposite for you lefties)
Feet: Shoulder width apart, slightly wider for your longer clubs and slightly closer together for your short irons.
Ball position: Long clubs, keep the ball forward in your stance (closer to the target) and then move the ball progressively back until the middle of your stance with the pitching wedge or sand wedge.
Posture: Tilt over from the waist keeping your weight positioned on the middle of your feet and with a slight leg flex. Your arms should hang straight down from your shoulders. Keep your spine as straight as possible.
Body Alignment: Position your body parallel left of your target line (think of railway line tracks) your club head and ball on one track and your feet and body on the other. (Parallel right of your target line for you lefties)
Practice these SIX fundamentals and save a few strokes.
See your local CPGA Professional for more swing tips.
Cameron Rankin is a member of the CPGA and British PGA, and the head pro at Sand Hills Golf Resort (http://www.sandhillsgolf.ca) in Port Franks.

From the OPP website:
On the 5th of May 2008, a 69 year Port Franks resident reported a possible cougar sighting on Patrick St. in the village of Port Franks. According to the witness, at approximately 7:45 p.m. he was working on a trailer in his driveway. At that time, he heard some rustling in some bushes located about 20′ away. When he went to investigate, he witnessed a large cat walk out of the bushes and across the laneway into another bush area. He then lost sight of the animal.
The cat was described as two-tone brown, light brown colour on top and a darker brown on the belly. The cat stood approximately 14-18″ tall and was about 3′ in length. The animal’s head was described as being large with longer fur. The man indicated that he was sure it was a cat but had never seen one that large before.
The animal was not aggressive and briefly looked at the man before walking away.
OPP have contacted the Ministry of Natural Resources regarding the sighting.

May 6 – 7 p.m. – Thedford arena – Lambton Shores is holding a revitalization meeting for Thedford, Arkona and Port Franks. Citizens are encouraged to attend this important meeting. For more details, visit the Lambton Shores website.
7:30 p.m. – SHDHS in Exeter presents Our Town, the Thornton Wilder play. Tickets are $7. For more information, visit the SHDHS website.

A man with a Port Franks connection is heading to the Olympics. Adam van Koeverden, whose aunt Theresa lives in the Port, won the K-1 1000 men’s kayak race at the Canadian team selection trials Saturday.
Read the CBC story

The Grand Bend Studio Tour runs this weekend, featuring 25 artists at venues around town. For more details, visit the Grand Bend Studio Tour website. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 3 and from 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday May 4.

Residents of Lambton Shores are invited to review the DRAFT Community Improvement Plans for Arkona, Forest, Grand Bend, Thedford and Pt. Franks and provide feedback and input.
Meetings will be held at 7 p.m. each night:
May 6 – Thomas Hall, Thedford (Thedford, Arkona & Pt. Franks plans)
May 7 – The Shores Recreation Centre (Forest plan)
May 8 – Grand Bend Legion (Grand Bend plan)

The second annual Lambton Shores Trash Bash event is Tuesday, April 22 from 10 to 11 a.m. Volunteers are needed to help clean up trash, and anyone interested should meet at one of the following five locations throughout the municipality at 10 a.m.: Arkona Library, Grand Bend Legion, Forest Library, Port Franks Community Centre, and Thedford Village Complex. Bring your own gloves and wear bright colours. The municipality will supply garbage and recycling bags. For more information, contact Grace Dekker (dekfam@execulink.com), Catherine Minielly (minieljc@xcelco.on.ca), or Ruth Illman (illmanru@xcelco.on.ca).

Are you a previous parishioner of St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in St. Joseph? Join St. Peter’s 135th Anniversary Celebration! Saturday, July 12th features an evening of local entertainment. An outdoor mass will be celebrated Sunday, July 13th at 10:30 a.m. followed by lunch. Enjoy this opportunity to view historical displays, reminisce, and renew old friendships. There will be various activities for the children. In order to accommodate everyone, advance registration is recommended. For more information and to register call Monique 519-236-7817, Dennis 519-236-4755 or visit www.bluewater.dionet.ca.

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin

The season is upon us after a long snowy winter. The local golf courses seem to have wintered well, with no noticeable winter kill or snow mould to speak of. The spring rain we’ve just had should promote a fast turnaround to course conditions and get the grass nice and green once again.
I have three tips for you this week to be properly prepared for the season.
1 – Check those golf clubs and consider replacing your grips. The feel of a new grip makes that club feel like NEW again. If the grips just need cleaning, use Comet or Ajax in the power form to clean them up. Make sure you check the steel shafts for any surface rust, use chrome cleaner to polish up.
2 – Check your shoes. Check those spikes and consider replacing them for better traction. Don’t forget to weatherproof your uppers.
3 – Get your legs into shape. Practice walking; the average golfer walks a minimum of four miles during eighteen holes, so if you want to finish your round strongly remember those legs.
Cameron Rankin is a member of the CPGA and British PGA, and the head pro at Sand Hills Golf Resort (www.sandhillsgolf.ca) in Port Franks.

Lambton Shores is hoping the public will come out to give their input on the future of Grand Bend Tuesday night. The municipality and its consultants, EDA Collaborative (the same people doing the beach improvement plan), will host a workshop Tuesday, January 22 at 7 p.m. at the Grand Bend Public School gymnasium.
A workshop regarding the future of Port Franks will be held Thursday night (7 p.m.) at the Thedford/Bosanquet Community Centre; that workshop will also discuss planning for Arkona and Thedford. The North Lambton Community Health Centre will host a similar workshop Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
The municipality and the consultants will present their ideas to date and seek suggestions to improve life in the community.

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin

What a fall season for golf!
The weather has been great to get those last few rounds in. Even the professionals have enjoyed the weather, with Mike Weir taking down Tiger at Royal Montreal and Jon Mills making a great mid-season charge to get his PGA Tour playing privileges back for next season.
Before you put your clubs away for the season, do some winter maintenance on them. Take the time to clean the grips, the grooves and if you still play with steel shafts, clean them with some chrome cleaner. Finally, store them in your house for the winter months; the truck doesn’t cut it due to the extreme temperature changes.
For those golfers still playing, please take a few minutes to do some stretching and warm up exercises before you tee-off. Dress warmly and have some fun.
I hope you all had a good season. Time to get those skis waxed and skates sharpened and ready to go.
Go Leafs!
Cameron Rankin will return to the Strip in the spring.
Sand Hills Golf Resort remains open for special events.

Couple hopes to one day sail around the world in hand-built catamaran

Story and photos by Casey Lessard

Retired teachers Hank (North Lambton Secondary School, Forest) and Diane (Our Lady Immaculate, Strathroy) VanderVelden, both 58 years old, set sail from Port Franks Thursday, embarking on a journey they started almost 20 years ago. With an interest in sailing that started in the early 1990s, Hank has spent the last eight years building a 14-metre long by 8-metre wide catamaran they now call home. The boat has three queen-sized bedrooms, two bathrooms (one with a bathtub), a storage area, a full kitchen, and living room with television. Equipped with a machine to convert salt-water into drinking water and solar panels for electricity, the sailboat (with two backup diesel engines) allows the couple to be self-sufficient on the ocean.

This year, their destination is Florida, next year the Caribbean, the following year Europe, and if all goes well, they will sail around the world the year after that.

Hank: I’ve watched the round-the-world rally races for about 20 years, so it’s always been something I’ve been fascinated by. Certainly you get to see a lot of the world, and parts of the world you won’t see through a travel agency. Backwards parts of the world, interesting parts of the world, scary parts of the world; it’s not boring, that’s for sure.
We plan to go to Europe in 2009 with a group called ARC – Atlantic Rally Crossing – where you pay a fee and about 250 boats cross through Bermuda. They supply all the charting, weather forecasting and a doctor on one of the boats. It sounds like a lot of boats, but three or four days out you won’t see anybody anymore. You might see a mast way out in the distance, but you’re in radio contact if you have problems. We’ll go to Holland and the Mediterranean, and come back in September. We’ll see where we go from there. We may get out there and say, “Holy crap, this is not for us. This is too scary.” Maybe we’ll just float back and forth to the Caribbean. There’s no guarantee that we’ll circumnavigate. It’s our dream, but it’s a dream that has to come with a certain amount of reality.
Diane: Hank said he wanted to do this for our retirement, so we started looking around. We got our plans from Roger Simpson Design in Australia.
We sold our house about 10 years ago to stay with my mother who was dying of Alzheimer’s. Then we moved to an apartment and she moved into a nursing home, so we just stayed in the apartment. We just kept getting smaller – from a four-bedroom house to a two-bedroom apartment to a boat. The boat’s our home.
Hank: We enjoyed sailing all the time, and we thought it would be nice to retire on a boat. The advantage of a catamaran is it doesn’t keel over. You can put a cup down and it doesn’t go sliding off the end of the table; everything stays on the level. And it’s got more room. A cat this size probably has as much room as a 65’ mono-hull. We started looking at boats, and we decided on a catamaran. Then we started looking at catamarans and realized they were too expensive for us (a new boat this size would cost about $800,000), so we had to build one; that’s the only way we could get one.
I first got interested when a good colleague of mine and I sailed on another friend’s sailboat. The three of us guys would sail to the North Channel, to Tobermory. Then Diane decided she wanted to sail, too, so we took the courses together and we chartered together. As we became more confident in our skills, they let us go out on our own. Then we had the boat for two weeks alone in the North Channel, navigating around rocks and all that other stuff.
Would I tell somebody else to go and do it (build and live on a boat)? I’d say, you’d better really think it over because there’s a lot of work involved. As long as you research and understand what it’s going to cost and what it’s going to take. When you’re out on the golf course, you know where I am. When you go away for the long weekend, you know where I am. It’s a dream, but there’s a cost. It’s hard, dirty work. If you want it, you have to pay for it one way or another.
Diane: For the last month we’ve lived on the boat, and it’s been an uphill climb. There have been a number of setbacks – you get one thing fixed and something else comes up.
Hank: Both of us have mixed feelings because you’re leaving behind friends and family. If I told you we had no second thoughts, I’d be lying. Of course I’m apprehensive. You’d be crazy not to be. But it’s a trade off: do you want to just sit around at Tim Horton’s every day talking to your friends or do you want to go out and do something? You decide.
I can see it going ten years. That’s what we’re thinking right now. You don’t know until you go out and do it. We know what it’s like to live on it for two or three weeks, but we don’t know how it’s going to be over several years.
Diane: I’ve survived 38 years with Hank; I think we can survive a few more.

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin

Fall is the best time of the year to play: the courses are quieter, the weather is cooler, course conditions are improving after an especially dry hot summer, and the green fees are usually less, so get your last few games in before the weather breaks.
Fall is a good time to take stock of your game and get ready for next season. I would check your equipment first. Grips are the first thing to look at. Worn grips or smooth grips will rob you of distance; look into replacing them or give them a good cleaning with Comet or Ajax (powder form). Remember to check that putter grip.
Regarding your game, do some statistics on your next few rounds. The following would be a good start:

Department How Many?
Fairways hit: 6
Greens hit in regulation: 9
Total # of putts: 32
Chip & putt greens: 2
Chip & two putt greens: 7
Penalty Shots: 2

Keep it simple to start. Try and identify your weak areas and work on them this fall and be better prepared for next season.
Good Golfing.

Keep your left wrist (right for lefties) flat at the top

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin

One of the secrets to hitting straighter golf shots more often is the left wrist position (the right wrist for lefties) at the top of the back swing. Assuming your fundamentals are correct, this position can be achieved fairly easily. During your backswing, your wrists hinge on an approximate angle of 45 degrees to the ground; the shaft of the club should also be on this angle. Turning your shoulders to complete the backswing, you should still have your left wrist flat.
Cupping your left wrist will cause you to slice the ball to the right of your target. Arching your left wrist will cause your ball to fly low and left of your intended target. The arched left wrist is not very common, as golfers like to see the ball have some trajectory. Check your left wrist position for lower and more consistent scores.

Cameron Rankin: golf at grandbendstrip.com

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin

The angle we’re discussing is caused when the wrists break during the back swing and is held during the forward swing. Allow the inside (the core or center of your body) or shoulders to move your arms to hold the angle on the forward swing. The hands and arms do nothing and are only moved by the shoulders.
Do not allow your right arm (opposite for lefties) to straighten out too early on the forward swing. You must hold the angle by allowing the right elbow to stay folded as it drops against your right hip.
If your right arm straightens out too early, your right elbow will be pulled away from the body. This is called “casting” or “clubhead throw-away” and is the main cause of power loss. The backswing should be wide with maximum extension; the forward-swing should be becoming narrower as the shoulders turn the right elbow to the right hip. Remember there are two circles, one large circle for the backswing and one smaller circle for the forward-swing.
Remember this angle for more consistent striking of the ball.

Cameron Rankin is the head pro at Sand Hills Golf Resort.

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin

When chipping, don’t try to lift the ball with your swing. Use the loft to get the ball airborne.
The following tips on your set up will help.

- Keep your weight on your front foot (nearest your target)
- Position ball middle to back in your stance.
- Position your hands in front of the club head at address.
- See the letter “Y”
- Optional: grip down your club on the shorter shots for more control.

During your swing, the above tips will ensure you make a descending blow on the ball, contacting the ball first and the grass after. Hold your finish to check that your forward arm and golf club shaft form a straight line.

Remember that letter Y finish.

Do the above and you will save a few strokes around the green.

Cameron Rankin is the head professional at Sand Hills Golf Resort in Port Franks.

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin

There are many reasons golfers slice. The student has to understand that the club head must be delivered to the ball squarely to impact from a slightly inside path. From there the club head moves through the impact zone to the target and then to the inside path again.
The most common faults I see as an instructor are the following.
- A grip too weak: one or both hands too far to the grip’s left side.
- The takeaway: opening of the club face at the start of the backswing, or closing the clubface on the takeaway then opening the club head through impact.
- Left wrist: too cupped at the top of the backswing causing an excessively open clubface. This also tends to force the right elbow to point out and up.
- An outside-in swing path: the club head attacking the ball from the outside of the ball, then having to pull the club head inside to make contact with the ball. This causes left to right spin on the ball.
If you are a left-handed golfer, do the opposite.
Check the above and I’m sure your ball will arrive at the target on a straighter flight path.

Impress your playing partners by playing well and have bragging rights the next time you play.

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin

Here a few ideas to help you enjoy your round:

• Try to find out as much as possible about the course you are going to play. If the course has a website look for details such as type of grass used on the greens and fairways, type of sand in the bunkers, club professional tips on how to play each hole, length of holes, diagrams or photographs of each hole and finally make sure you get the proper directions on how to get to the course. There is nothing worse than arriving late for your tee time.
• If you can, arrive early, say 30 minutes ahead of your tee time. Loosen up on the range, spend a few minutes on the putting green, and check out course conditions. If you are playing a new course, most of them are built on a blend, with a sand and topsoil base, bent grass fairways and tees, and Kentucky bluegrass rough. The bent grass tees and fairways allow the golf course superintendents to cut the playing surfaces much shorter if required to provide faster and smoother playing conditions. Playing on this type of grass, I would recommend playing the golf ball slightly further back in your stance when playing fairway shots; this will help you make a more descending blow on your golf ball at impact.
• When you get to the first tee, hopefully you have made some notes on how to play each hole from the golf courses website tips. If not, try and visualize your shot, and align your body parallel to the target line. Mental imagery is your best asset when hitting your shots.
• I highly recommend you play the course at a yardage you will enjoy. Try a set of tees similar to the course you play all the time.
• When approaching the green, try to look at the different contours of it: slopes, right to left, tilted back to front etc. This will give you a better idea of the type of putt you have. When on the green, distance control is the key to good putting. With the practice you had on the putting green, you should have a better idea of the speed and pace of the greens you are playing. My final tip while on green would be to visualize a 3-foot radius circle around the hole and try to put your first putt within that circle.

Try these tips and I’m sure your score will be lower.

Cameron Rankin is a member of the CPGA and British PGA, and the head pro at Sand Hills Golf Resort between Port Franks and Thedford.

9767 Port Franks Road
Off Highway 21 at Port Franks
(519) 243-1800

Information from Cameron Rankin

Hours:
6:30 a.m. to dark

Number of holes:
18

Prices:
Weekends and holidays – $30/18 holes; $20/9 holes. Monday to Friday – $26/18 holes; $20/9 holes. Carts – add $12/18 holes, $10/9 holes

Owners:
Stubbs, Brown and Walden families

Golf pro’s name:
Cameron Rankin, CPGA professional

Year established:
1996

Skill level of golfers:
Novice to advanced. There’s a bit for everybody.

Longest hole:
14. 550-yard par 5

Shortest hole:
3. 115-yard par 3

Most difficult hole:
11. Tee shot is demanding with water on both sides.

Most interesting hole:
14. There’s a pond on the left, fescue grass on the right. Demanding tee shot and a tree in the middle of the fairway, so it’s tricky.

Best time of day to golf here:
Early morning, late evenings for fast game.

Pro shop products:
Callaway clubs, Toureg clubs, Spalding clubs. Shoes by Callaway and Etonic, clothing by Antigua, Lady Haggar.

Dining facilities and information:
Pub fare, and finer dining with dinner buffets Friday and Sunday nights after 4 p.m. Nine and dine is popular – $19.99/person for golf & dinner.

Other activities:
Driving range – $6/large bucket, $4/small.

What people say:
Not a really long course but it’s fun and enjoyable to play. It’s a fair test for new golfers. Fair pricing. It’s in good shape. That’s what people tell us.

Golf tips
By Cameron Rankin

Almost all swing flaws or faults stem from incorrect swing fundamentals. Check the following before making any changes to your swing.

The position of your clubhead (face) at address: position it at a right angle to your intended target line.

Grip: both hands should work together, with the back of your left hand facing the target, palm of your right hand facing the target. Looking down from your address position, you should see two knuckles on the back of your left hand. (The opposite for you left handed golfers.)

Posture: pelvic tilt from the waist keeping your spine as straight as possible. Your arms should hang directly down from your shoulders at the address position. Your legs should also be slightly flexed.

Foot/stance position: have your feet shoulder-width apart, slightly wider for wood play and slightly closer together for short irons.

Ball position: longer clubs, position your ball forward in your stance (closer to the target), moving your ball back in your stance as you get to your shorter irons (middle of your stance with wedges).

Body alignment: your clubhead and ball are positioned on the target line, your body alignment should be parallel left of your target line (for right handed golfers). Think of a railway line: clubhead and ball on one track and your body on the other track.

Check these six fundamentals and your shot results will improve.

Cameron Rankin is a member of the CPGA and British PGA, and the head pro at Sand Hills Golf Resort (www.sandhillsgolf.ca) between Port Franks and Thedford.

Golf Tips
By Cameron Rankin

Most recreational golfers’ are rushing to the 1st tee from work after a short or long commute and they wonder why their round starts off so badly.
Golf course owners and operators throughout the world would ideally like all players to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before their tee-times. This gives you time to check in for your official tee-time and organize a golf cart rental if required, plus pay for your green fee etc.
Additionally if you could give yourself another 15 to 20 minutes before you tee-off you could hit a small bucket of range balls. Start by doing a few stretching exercises; some practice swings then start hitting some balls. Start with some short wedge shots to set your swing tempo for the day, then move to some fuller swings with some mid and long irons and if you have time finish off with some driver shots. Remember to leave time for some chip shots and putts to give you an idea of the pace of the greens for the day.
Give yourself this time and I guarantee you will start off your round with lower scores.

Cameron Rankin is a member of the CPGA and British PGA, and the head pro at Sand Hills Golf Resort between Port Franks and Thedford.

Golf tips
By Cameron Rankin
Having your clubs ready for the season would be my #1 tip to get the new season off to good start.
Check your grips: Oil and perspiration from your hands form a build up of an oily residue. When combined with keeping your clubs in the trunk of the car during hot summer days, this hardens and cracks your grips over time.
The cure: clean regularly with Comet or Ajax in the power form. Use a scrubbing brush and warm water to remove residue to increase the life of your grips.
Cleaning your grips will relax your grip pressure at address and throughout your swing, which in turn will increase your clubhead speed, translating to more distance. This relaxed grip pressure should also improve accuracy and feel on your shots.
For more tips on your game, see your local golf professional.

Cameron Rankin is a member of the CPGA and British PGA, and the head pro at Sand Hills Golf Resort between Port Franks and Thedford.