What to do about China

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

I wanted to briefly discuss the Olympic torch relay and the debate over how best to solve the human rights crises caused by China. While Tibet has been the prime concern for Western activists, we can’t forget that Darfur continues to be an unsolvable problem at the United Nations Security Council because of China’s oil interests in Sudan.
So what do we do? Boycott the Olympic Opening Ceremonies or the Games? Avoid the Olympic media machine? Keep working on the diplomatic front? Or do we expect our athletes – who have worked for years to stand on the podium – to represent the concerns of Canadians and boycott the games?
Don’t forget Ontario’s trade mission to Beijing this weekend, which forced the Liberals to pass the buck to the federal government, saying it’s not the provincial government’s job to speak up on national issues.
It’s everyone’s responsibility to speak up for human rights. For now, I’ll be speaking with my wallet and avoiding anything Made in China. If you have a better solution, drop me a line.

Saying goodbye

(Reader Lee McCutcheon was inspired by the View from the Strip, March 12, and wanted to share some words written for his mother’s funeral in 2005):
Saying “Goodbye” never hurts so much as when we know that it is final. Throughout our lives we issue each “Goodbye” comforted in the knowledge and reasonable expectation that each one correspondingly will be followed with a welcome “Hello.” And so it becomes very hurtful when we must face the reality that such expectations for someone we have known and loved, no longer hold true.
It’s my understanding that the wishes “Fare thee well,” “Farewell,” and”Fond farewell” were precursors to the expression “Goodbye.” When we wish someone a “Goodbye,” it contains the hope that the one with whom we are parting company will be well until we meet again. And, therefore, the prospect of never meeting again can be the one that hurts the most.
Even with the understanding of the inevitabilities in life, there’s nothing that we can ever say, or do, it seems that truly prepares us for the day when a dearly loved one is no longer a part of our lives.
Such were my feelings when in July 2001 my youngest sister, Sylvia Lewis, died at the early age of 48; and in March 2002 when my Dad, Allin Stewart, died at the senior age of 84.
Mom, I know that we have to say goodbye for now. And on behalf of all in our family I thank everyone who came to this service today to share in this farewell. But know this too Mom, that we weren’t ready yet to say goodbye to you. The truth be told, we never would be and that we truly wished we would never have to.

How will you be remembered?

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

It’s easy to take life for granted as we rush through our daily routine. My week includes driving back and forth to Humber College in Toronto, and often to London to spend the day at school with Anjhela. I’ve done a lot of traveling over the years and often had some very close calls.
The thing I fear most is the reality for the family of Mary Walker-Thiel, who was killed last month on her way home from Toronto. Her husband Hub survived, and he says that’s the way God wanted it. I don’t envy what he’s going through right now, but I do envy his strength in being able to trust that Mary is in a better place.
Someone I’ve known for many years died mysteriously last week after travelling to the Caribbean. Don Fahner is a good friend of my brother’s, and so far there’s been no explanation about why he died; he was sick since returning from his vacation, and died at work. Our thoughts are with his family.
We all take big chances when we travel, whether it be around the corner or around the world. We can’t predict what will happen along the way, good or bad.
The good does happen, and it has happened to Anabel Salas and Carmen Rivera, two young Mexican women who discovered they are both living in Grand Bend. Now they’re roommates and having an adventure together. That’s the way it should be.
We need to take advantage of the life we have and enjoy every minute. Spend time with the people you love and make sure they know you care. That’s how Mary Thiel will be remembered, and not just by her husband. It’s going to take many people a long time to forget the impact she has had on her community. How will you be remembered?

Time to get serious

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

The Grand Bend winter carnival was a great success; I haven’t seen so many different people involved in local activities since the summer. Congratulations to the organizers for great work.
Congratulations also to my parents for sticking it out for 45 years. They’ve been able to make love work through the good and bad times, and they deserve a lot of credit. Joanne (Morgan) Smith has similar sentiments for her parents in a touching letter inspired by Valentine’s Day.
Now I’d like to get serious for a moment, and hopefully more. You expect a certain standard of journalism from this newspaper, even if we’re reporting on the fun things that happen around here. I would like to feel that the hours that go into this paper are making a difference, and as a result plan to tackle more serious issues in the future. We’ve touched on some in the past, but there are many concerns you have about what affects your daily life in this community. I’m not only talking about beach enhancement and town revitalization, although those are major concerns, for sure.
I don’t want to give away too many of my ideas, but you can expect to see more stories that will be the result of investigative research this year. Our goal will be to bring to light issues you may be aware of, but which you may not understand or appreciate. There will be articles you won’t want to read because they take you out of your comfort zone, but I challenge you to read them anyway so at least you can verify your opinion about them. Not happy I ran the story? Tell me. Letters are always welcome here.
I have my ideas about what should be discussed in the Strip, but I want to hear from you, too. What are the issues that are ignored but which affect you and your neighbours? Send me a letter by post or email, or call me directly (see bottom of page). Your ideas are safe with me, and if they belong in the public spotlight, I’ll do my best to tell the story.
For those of you who just like a fun newspaper, we’re not abandoning that aspect. You’ll still get the information you need to have a good time in Grand Bend and area, and we’ll keep covering the great events you attend. The only change will be stories about more of the challenges your neighbours face daily.
For now, here’s hoping you enjoy sharing the good times featured in this edition of the Grand Bend Strip, and hope you have a great Valentine’s Day and Family Day.
See you in March!

Keeping up with technology

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

I’ve frequently had the fortune of being on the cutting edge of technology, starting with my time at the University of Western Ontario. There, I took a computer science class that introduced me to email and websites, both of which were relatively new. Then, when I studied broadcast journalism at Fanshawe College, we were in transit from traditional tape-to-tape audio editing to digital editing. Then, when I went to Loyalist College for photojournalism, our year was the year that the industry as a whole moved from film to digital cameras.
It’s only recently that I realized that I’m behind the times. I’ve never really caught on to Facebook (I’m stuck in the email/web generation), and my interest in MySpace lasted about a day. Social networking is the new internet, and often I feel left behind. Until last year, I didn’t even have an iPod. I occasionally used the one I got for Christmas, usually for running (which wasn’t very often).
But we’re in a new year again, and times have changed for Anjhela and me. We got rid of our CDs after I received a higher end iPod (see mom’s article), which I now use for long rides in the car including my weekly commute to Toronto. We’re contemplating canceling our home phone after discovering Skype, a computer program that allows us to call anywhere in North America for $3 a month using our internet connection. It’s even better for the newspaper because I can record conversations directly into iTunes using Call Recorder, a program I bought for $20. This is especially useful for journalists or anyone else who needs a copy of a phone conversation (legally, of course).
So what’s next? I’d love to see the day when we all can download the Grand Bend Strip as it appears here, without the costs of printing or mailing (both of which have gone up this month). It might seem far-fetched, but I think I’ll see it in my lifetime; maybe next year?

P.S. Big news from our household: my dad is feeling much better, and this week received his license with ease. Congratulations dad! Watch for him on the road.

Remembering friends

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

It’s been a great year here at the Strip and in my household. My family and I have enjoyed visiting your homes, and we look forward to being part of your lives in 2008. If you don’t celebrate Christmas, Happy New Year from all of us. To the rest, Merry Christmas, too.
This season is going to be particularly tough for friends of mine in Haliburton. Sun Media bought the local newspaper (the Haliburton Echo) a few months ago and downplayed the prospect of cuts. They’ve finally arrived. Five friends are now jobless, including some who spent the bulk of their careers making that newspaper one of the best in Canada. Two head office executives gave them an hour to leave; they barely had a chance to say goodbye. I’m glad I didn’t witness the announcement.
Jamie, Donna, Renzo, Sharon and Buffy, I’ll be thinking of you this Christmas.

A total surprise

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

It’s amazing how contentious change can be. This issue of the Strip profiles the varying opinions about plans to improve the beach and its parking lot. Lambton Shores wants everybody on side so it can get on with the project.
Barbara Gare discovered this firsthand earlier this month, after she gave her opinions at the October 27 beach enhancement meeting. Representing herself, but mentioning she worked at the Chamber of Commerce, the (now) former executive director described concerns tourists brought to her attention at the tourism booth. The only note I made about her short speech was, “If you look at any websites for other tourist towns, they all have vital downtowns,” Gare said. “You have to have A before you can get B.”
Watching her give that speech, something didn’t feel right. It was the last straw for the chamber executive. Gare was reprimanded in an email for representing the chamber, which supports the plan. Gare wasn’t aware of that official stance.
She was fired days later.
Barbara Gare says the move came as a total surprise, but the chamber executive told its members last week she should have seen it coming. They’re tight-lipped about what led to her departure (under legal advice). The question is, was this the last straw or the only one?

Beach meeting Saturday; next Strip Nov. 21

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

An important meeting is taking place this weekend (Saturday, October 27 at 9 a.m.) at the Grand Bend Public School, and anyone interested in the future of Grand Bend should attend. It’s billed as a beach revitalization meeting, but anyone who attended the last one in the summer knows it’s a lot more than that.
Attendees at the last meeting left feeling like the municipality had ignored the realities of the village, and noting the town should get the main strip right before making changes to the beach.
It will be hard walking into a room full of people who are skeptical of your plans, but that could have been avoided by asking questions of the stakeholders in the first place. The people I’ve talked to about this issue say they’ve never been approached (before or after the meeting), and they should have been.
Not all of the ideas presented at the last beach improvement meeting were bad; some weren’t considerate of the context of the village. Many people who attended would like to see the main street cleaned up and made more attractive first. They forgot the meeting was focused on beach improvement, not village improvement. Unfortunately for Lambton Shores, most people consider the two the same.
And yes, there were arguments about the quality and quantity of work put into maintaining the beach on a daily basis. They should not be forgotten either, and we’ll see whether they are addressed.
It’s a good sign that the town has listened to residents who were furious over meetings held on weekdays. We’ll see Saturday morning whether the municipality has listened to anything else, and I’m sure there will be plenty of people who disagree with the plans walking in the door.
Once bitten, twice shy, right?

Strip monthly until May
Our next edition is November 21. We will appear in your mailbox monthly until the Victoria Day weekend. See updates at our website: http://www.grandbendstrip.com.

Name spelled wrong
I also want to apologize for spelling Louise Lockrey’s name wrong. I’ll try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

How to live your dream

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

Maybe I have a soft spot for people who have taken a big risk and left the comfort of a job or home to start a new life doing something completely different. You’ll read about Thomas and Gail Bailey, who started their own church. Hank and Diane VanderVelden have continued to simplify their lives so they could take it to an extreme: living the next ten years (that’s the plan for now) on a boat they built from scratch. And all of the people photographed for the front and back covers took a risk to move to Canada, including our cover subjects Marta Fiore and Joseph Fasolato, who moved from Argentina; on the back page, the Van Der Linde boys moved from South Africa, Elvis and Daniela Gerber from Cuba, and the Selvarajans from Sri Lanka.
My parents moved a lot before I was born, with my dad’s military service taking him all over Europe (my mom followed him to Germany) and into the Middle East. I’ve lived in England, and Anjhela has lived there and in Switzerland. Moving away from home takes a lot of courage and stamina, and you’re never quite sure what’s going to happen in the long-term, but that’s also one of the good things about it.
As you’ll read in our stories, the most successful risks require both planning and faith. It’s important to know what you can expect, but it’s equally important to realize that some things cannot be planned. Risk-takers require an organic attitude, an edge that allows them to be prepared for the worst, and the adrenaline that comes from being imperfectly prepared.
The key to success is having a good support system, and I’ve certainly found that to be true. I’m very thankful for the people who have helped me along the way.
I hope people will read this issue and see that dreams can be fulfilled, as long as you are prepared for the work involved and surround yourself with good people. And don’t forget to keep the faith.
Tell me about your adventures: drop me an note at the email address at the top of this page.

Why MMP sounds good to me

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

For the most part, I am not well-represented at Queen’s Park. I’m an environmentalist and a vegan (and admittedly a bit of a hippie), and I am not aware of any sitting politicians who represent my views in the legislature. To be honest, vegans are a pretty small minority in this country, but I’m still a citizen and a voter. Shouldn’t I expect to be represented?
Okay, probably not as a vegan, but we shouldn’t fault the citizens’ assembly for recommending that underrepresented people should have our ideas presented in the legislature by someone who actually agrees with us. The Green party, for example, will need a lot more than three per cent to take a riding victory, but with three per cent across the province, doesn’t it make sense that someone from that party should be at the table to present their concerns and ideas? Three per cent is a lot of people: according to Statistics Canada, London is just over three per cent of the population of Ontario. Does London not deserve a place at the table? In fact, London will elect four MPPs this year.
Like you, I don’t agree with everything the Green party says. In fact, I don’t agree with everything presented in any of the party platforms I’ve read this election (or any other election, for that matter). Do you? If so, I suggest you’re in the minority. I believe most people have at least one thing they don’t like about what their party of choice stands for, and that’s equally true when we’re talking about a local candidate, even if they’re your neighbour or friend.
MMP, or mixed member proportional representation, will give you the opportunity to vote for the party you like and pick a candidate from a different party if you think they’ll serve you better at home.
Another plus is that it will give more people a reason to vote. If you know that there’s a chance someone with your ideals will be heading to Queen’s Park, you’re more likely to help make that happen.
The proposed electoral system change has made me pay attention to this election, and I think it would be good to force the big parties to listen to the rest of their legislative colleagues. As is the case in the journalism business, you don’t get an accurate sense of reality by always listening to the same people.

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