December 6, 2013

NN
niagara-news.com
Boy band rocks
all over ontario
page 16
new meaning
to winter
blues
page 6
Niagara News
December 6, 2013 • vol. 45 issue 6
Beer drinks wine for lunch
It’s the
time of
year to
give back
Donate to your
local food bank
By NECHELLE VENTURINI
Staff Writer
From left: Matt Soos, Hannah Lee, Asuka Nogami, Steve Herold, Chef Michael Smith, Drew Simon and Phil Craig with the Caps, Corks and
Forks trophy. PHOTO BY NICK FEARNS
By NICK FEARNS
Staff Writer
Beer prevailed over wine
for just the second time
in Caps, Corks and Forks’
history, thanks in part to a
Bolshevik Bastard. It wasn’t
a Russian communist who
helped the beer team, but
instead a Russian Imperial
Stout by Oakville’s Nickel
Brook Brewery.
Caps, Corks and Forks
is an event that brings
together students from
culinary, brewmaster and
viticulture.
Culinary students in
teams of two each create
one of six courses that
are then paired with an
Ontario wine or beer.
“It’s a great example of
the power of applied learning,” says College President
Dan Patterson. “Students
from the Culinary, Brewmaster and Viticulture programs are coming together
to create a great event and
showcase their skills.”
The sold-out event took
place in Benchmark Restaurant at the Niagara-onthe-Lake campus.
Craig Youdale, acting
dean of the Canadian Food
and Wine Institute, kicked
the event off by explain a
little bit of the events history.
Caps, Corks and Forks
was started two years ago
to “bring the passion and
battle” to the students.
Youdale then introduced
the master of ceremonies,
Chef Michael Smith. Youdale says Smith has “done
an amazing job promoting
Canadian food and Canadian chefs.
Smith, the host of Chef
Michael’s Kitchen, Chef
Abroad, Chef at Home and
Chef at Large, called Caps,
Corks and Forks “one heck
of an event.”
Continued on page 2
to reach out to students
here to understand what
environmental changes they
suggest.
“I would like to find these
ideas and concerns our
students have, bring them to
the Sustainability Committee
and do my best to get them
implemented.”
“It’s amazing some of the
ideas that the younger generation, currently enrolled in
Niagara College, will have in
regards to making their campuses and learning experiences more sustainable.”
Marzotto brings with him
previous education from
York University. He graduated in April with a bachelor’s
degree in Environmental
Studies, Environmental
Management. “I thoroughly
enjoyed my studies at York
University where I devel-
oped an understanding of
environmental sustainability
and its global importance.”
It’s “a great feeling to
witness the accomplishments” of a job, whether it
is a corporation becoming
sustainable, diverting waste
or reducing energy usage.
Impressed with the committee’s initiatives already
implemented, Marzotto says
he looks forward to being
part of the committee and
learning from the position.
“I will be challenged to
use my experience and education to assist in Niagara
College’s sustainability
goals.”
The committee is already
working towards a leadership role in environmental
sustainability for the college.
Continued on page 2
New environmental student rep brings fresh perspective
By ALEXANDRA
MONTANA
Staff Writer
The Sustainability Committee welcomes a new
student member. James
Marzotto, of Toronto, Environmental Management
and Assessment program,
was chosen as the student
representative.
Marzotto says he plans
Winston Churchill once
said, “We make a living by
what we get, we make a life
by what we give.”
As the holiday season
quickly approaches think
about the individuals and
families in the community
who will benefit from what
you can give.
Community Care of St.
Catharines and Thorold,
with help from the surrounding communities,
spends 365 days a year giving to those in need.
For 94 years Community
Care has tried to create a
healthy, caring community
where everyone lives with
dignity and purpose, by assisting an average of 1,850
households per month in St.
Catharines and Thorold.
It distributes about 4,000
pounds of food a day, five
days a week. In addition, it
provides service obtaining
and maintaining permanent
housing for individuals and
families at risk of being, or
who are homeless.
Nancy McIntosh, Community Care community and
development co-ordinator,
says they estimate the
number of individuals and
families needing support
this holiday season will be
over 3,000. That’s in addition to the 1,850 already
coming into the food bank
biweekly.
“We [Community Care]
strive to make sure tummies are filled, beds are
kept warm and lights are
kept on,” she says.
The many annual holiday
programs are “to ensure
families in need experience some of the joy of the
holidays.”
As Community Care requires significant financial
support for all it programs,
the Be A Shining Star program accepts all monetary
donations.
“Everything makes a difference,” says McIntosh.
Continued on page 2
Page 2
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
NEWS
Best in Canada: Smith
A new student
representative
for sustainability
Continued from page 1
By 2016 the committee
hopes to reach its fivetarget goal of reducing electricity, water, greenhouse
gas and paper consumption
as well as diverting the
generation of waste.
“
We value our
students’
opinions and
they can really
help up pinpoint
what the
students want
and how we can
communicate
what we are
doing and trying
to achieve.
”
TARYN WILKINSON
From left: Norah Langdon, Spencer Mayer, Gabriella Yangyi Guo, Christian Scagnetti, Amanda Levy and Derek
Beirnes of the Caps, Corks and Forks Wine Team. PHOTOS BY NICK FEARNS
Continued from page 1
“This is the best cooking school in Canada,” says
Smith adding that the college was “catching attention
of folks in the hospitality
field.”
Smith says he had visited
Niagara College before and
was impressed.
“You have here one of the
best hospitality schools in
Canada.”
“I think you do. Your foods
program, your hospitality
program, your beer program, the wine program, the
location, the physical plant,
your curriculum, your facility, it all adds up to one hell
of a very impressive school.”
The judges, the many
ticket-holders, were told
that following the end of
each course, a vote would
be taken by tossing a cork
or bottle cap into a bucket.
A cork represented a vote
for the wine pairing and a
cap for the beer pairing.
The winner of each round
would also be announced
by the playing of that team’s
song. The wine team’s song
was Red, Red Wine by UB40
and the beer team’s was Any
Way You Want It by Journey.
Ontario wines and beers
were well represented in
their categories.
Kevin Somerville, a
part-time instructor in the
Brewmaster program and
brewmaster at Oast House
Brewers in Niagara-on-theLake, had one of the beers
he brewed, the Oast House
Biere de Garde, featured
with the night’s fifth course.
Somerville described the
beer as having a “biscuitlike flavour” with “hints of
caramalised sugar and a
little bit of cherry.”
HGTV’s Bryan Baeumler made an appearance
at the event tweeting “at
Caps, Corks and forks @
Niagara_College with @
Continued from page 1
“From the individual or
company who makes an
exceptional donation, to the
child who brings in pennies.
It all makes a difference to
those facing hardship.”
Donating monetarily allows Community Care to fill
the shelves as needed.
When clients pick up their
food they are assisted by a
volunteer within the food
distribution room where
they choose their foods.
“Whatever you place on
your table is what we need
on ours,” says McIntosh.
“However, we are always in
need of proteins like tuna,
salmon, canned meats and
peanut butter.”
Adopt An Angel is one
holiday program making
a big difference. By donating new toys and stocking
stuffers Community Care
will ensure children, from 1
to 12, receive a stocking to
open for Christmas.
“Community Care is doing its utmost to ensure
families in need experience
some of the joys of the holidays,” says McIntosh.
The easiest way to donate
this holiday season, and
throughout the year, is
monetarily, she advises.
If someone wishes to give
food, local grocery stores
have food barrels available.
Donations can also be
dropped off at 19 Albert St.,
Thorold, between 8:30 a.m.
and 3:30 p.m. weekdays,
and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on
Saturday, in December.
Pan Seared Sea Scallop with Carrot Relish and Coconut
Curry Sauce made by Vaishnav Mayekar and Tanvi
Dave.
ChefMichaelSmth – amazing
event.”
When it came down to
the final round the flannelshirt-wearing beer team’s
Bolshevik Bastard defeated
the red-vested wine team’s
Southbrook Vineyard’s
Whimsy! Anniversary VAQ
to give a final score of four
courses to two courses in
the beer team’s favour.
“We’re very pleased. The
beers were very well suited
to the meals we had,” says
Steve Herold, a member of
the beer team. “The world
of beer is very vast and
people should explore the
variety of beer available.”
Fellow team member Matt
Soos says, “The most powerful pairing of the night
was the Bolshevik Bastard.”
The beer team, elated at
their victory, says they were
going to celebrate the win
with pizza and beer.
The sixth Caps, Corks and
Forks event will be held on
Feb. 22, 2014. Tickets are
available by email at [email protected] or
by phone at 905-641-2252
ext. 4619.
Make a difference this year
“
Community
Care is doing its
utmost to ensure
families in need
experience some
of the joys of the
holidays.
”
NANCY MCINTOSH
“When you give you feel
good,” says McIntosh. “Feel
good this Christmas.”
Working in environmental
management presents the
opportunity to engage with
every business operation
within a corporation, the
committee’s newest member says.
“At the end of a project, it
is extremely rewarding to
see the results of your hard
work, creativity and dedication.”
Taryn Wilkinson, sustainability co-ordinator, says
there has always been a student representative. However, this is this first year they
have offered the position in
application form.
“We did this because
we have more students
interested and we wanted
to ensure it was a fair, open
and transparent process
and ensure we find the best
fit. We value our students’
opinions and they can really
help us pinpoint what the
students want, and how
we can communicate what
we are doing and trying to
achieve.”
As a student representative, Marzotto will act as an
ambassador for the Sustainability Committee and
the Niagara Environmental
Corps (NEC) by organizing
weekly committee meetings
and participating in future
events and activities. Marzotto will work with Gina
Pannunzio, sustainability
engagement assistant, to
direct the NEC for the remainder of the year.
If you want to contact the
committee you can email
then at sustainability@
niagaracollege.ca.
Thank You
For many years
Avondale stores have
generously distributed
2,600 copies of each
Niagara News
issue across the
Niagara Region.
Avondale demonstrates
how good corporate
citizens support
student learning.
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
Page 3
NEWS
Being eco-friendly in Niagara
Vendors gather to show products that can make the Niagara region greener
Businesses
helping to
raise money
for the
United Way
By AMBER-LYNE BRICKER
Staff Writer
Top, Kevin Hamilton from Shared Harvest Community Farm in Dunnville. On right,
Istafa Sufi and Kaitlyn Daw from Brock ECO Club at Eco Fest Niagara in Welland on
Nov. 30. PHOTO BY MEAGHAN MITCHELL
By MEAGHAN MITCHELL
Staff Writer
Niagara’s green businesses and organizations got
together this year to share
projects and products that
will make this a greener
place to live.
Greening Niagara, formerly known as Climate
Action Niagara, held its fifth
annual Eco Fest Niagara
at the Welland Community Wellness Complex on
Saturday.
In the morning, Jane
Hanlon, executive director of Greening Niagara
and Welland Member of
Parliament Malcolm Allen
addressed 20 or more visitors already enjoying the
exhibits.
The festival’s purpose
is to bring the community
together and provide it with
a source for green products,
education and a connection
to organizations with green
initiatives.
“This is pretty amazing.
What we try to do is bring
together some of the greenest businesses in Niagara
and get excited about it,”
said Hanlon.
The crowd applauded
and cheered when Allen
said, “Organics is the fastest
growing sector in agriculture across this country,”
information he received
from Matthew Holmes, the
executive director of the
Canada Organic Trade Association.
In three large rooms of
the complex, representatives were sharing information, offering memberships
and volunteer opportunities with nature trail clubs,
community gardens, local
hydro services and groups
dedicated to environmental
issues. Canadian author
Maude Barlow’s newest
book, Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and
the Planet, was for sale by
The Council of Canadians, a
group dedicated to environmental issues across
Canada of which Barlow is
the national chairperson.
Barlow was in New
Brunswick to show support
of anti-fracking protesters
and meet with Elsipogtog
Chief Aaron Sock.
Other vendors spoke
about their products of raw
foods, vegan and gluten-free
goods, organic coffees and
teas, children’s books and
toys as well as green renovations and non-toxic cleaning products and services.
“We are always looking
for volunteers who have a
passion for fair trade,” said
Ellery Penner, a manager
at the Niagara-on-the-Lake
Ten Thousand Villages
store.
“They will learn a lot
about social justice,” she
said.
Throughout the day
violinist Beth Bartley and
guitarist Mark Clifford of
Vox Violins, Uilleann pipe
player Ray Caldwell, accordionist Neva Tesolin and
guitarist and vocalist Danny
Lamb performed a variety
of strolling minstrels.
The day ended with a
draw for prizes, a thank you
to guests and participants
and an invitation to next
year’s festival.
For more information
on Greening Niagara visit,
www.climateactionniagara.ca.
“I don’t want creative control, I want the students to
use their own creativity.”
Maiolo says he will be
taking care of gathering
volunteers, processing of
equipment, rentals, reviewing content and editing
room rentals among other
elements.
The idea for Niagara TV
first came to Maiolo when
he went to Brock University in St. Catharines and
noticed Brock TV.
“There was no reason why
this couldn’t happen here, it
just needed a kick-start.”
Niagara TV has been in
the process of planning for
about two years now. “It
was just a matter of getting
the funding for the equipment.”
With the help of the Student Technology Enhancement Committee (STEC)
funds were provided for
equipment including: two
Shure SM58 microphones,
two Sony UWP wireless microphones, two Rode NTG-2
shotgun microphones,
two JVC GY-HM15OU HD
memory card cameras
with tripod and dolly, four
FloLight MicroBeam 512
flood lights with stands,
two FloLight MicroBeam
128-daylight floodlights,
travel cases, power chords
and SD cards.
They have already gathered five volunteers, but
spots are still open. Maiolo
says there is no cut-off set
in stone, but the maximum
number of volunteers will
be around 20.
Although Niagara TV will
be primarily at the Welland
campus, Niagara-on-theLake students are more
than welcome to volunteer
for this too.
Involvement in Niagara
TV will be recognized on
the co-curricular record.
Volunteers will contribute
towards some of the follow-
ing tasks: filming, writing,
interviewing/hosting, set
design, marketing, lighting
and editing.
The executive producer
position remains unfilled.
The job will be to co-ordinate all phases of production and ensure members
are reaching their full
potential within the project.
To apply for a position on
this team you can fill out an
online application form at
http://ncsac.ca/niagaratvapply/.
You can also apply in person with a cover letter and
resumé at the SAC office in
Welland in SE103.
Niagara creativity comes to the big screen
By KAITLIN TIESSEN
Staff Writer
Get your voice heard.
Niagara TV will be starting
at the Welland campus in
2014.
Niagara TV is a branch of
the Niagara College Student
Administrative Council
(SAC) to promote student
life, entertainment, politics
and varsity sports around
the college.
Adam Maiolo, marketing
manager for SAC, will be
the supervisor for Niagara
TV. He says he will have
minimal personal involvement.
This year the college community is hoping to raise at
least $35,000 for the United
Way foundation. To date,
the campaign here is at 80
per cent of that goal thanks
to the efforts of many students and faculty members
at both campuses.
“The campaign ends in
late December, so we still
have four weeks of fundraising and we’re confident that
we will reach our target,”
says Vivian Kinnaird, the
Dean of Business, Hospitality and Tourism here. Last
year the college raised
$31,000.
“Students are encouraged
to get involved and any students’ activities that would
raise some funds between
now and the holiday break
are welcome,” Kinnaird
says.
While the college campaign is coming to an end,
the corporate campaign for
South Niagara pushes on.
This year the United
Way’s dollar goal is
$600,000. As of Nov. 28
$199,330 had been raised,
$21,650 over last year’s
total at this point in the
fundraising.
The loss of major industries and jobs has not only
impacted communities but
it has also impacted the
United Way.
“To make up for the loss
in funding, we have had to
diversify our revenue by
reaching out to all businesses and employers, big
or small,” Deanna Pope,
a United Way campaign
associate, says. “We’ve also
seen the benefits of special
events.”
Recently the United Way
South Niagara was the beneficiary for the annual It’s A
Wonderful Life event.
It is held by local business owners, John and
Rebecca Clark and typically
generates funds upwards of
$15,000.
“For these types of event,
we also rely on generous
sponsorship from local
businesses to help make
each event we hold successful,” Pope says.
United Way South Niagara
funds nearly 30 programs
and services delivered by
16 non-profit agencies. It
is unknown whether or not
the demand for funding is
up as the proposal deadline
was Nov. 28.
Students at the college
can donate to the campaign
via the online portal or
contact Michelle Carile,
905-735-2211 ext. 7292 for
more information.
As always students can
also donate or volunteer for
the corporate campaign via
the website, www.unitedwaysouthniagara.ca.
Page 4
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
Editorial
Editor: James Herbert
Publisher: Greg Unrau
Associate Editor: Brittany Erwin
Program Co-ordinator: Paul Dayboll
Assistant Editor: Jesse Cole
Managing Editor: Charles Kopun
Photo Editor: Michael Sorge
Associate Editor: Phyllis Barnatt
CANADIAN
COMMUNITY
NEWSPAPER
AWARD 2011
2009 WINNER
BNC2009
2009 WINNER
Photography Consultant: Dave Hanuschuk
Budgeting can reduce stress
Planning ahead can put more money in your pocket for the holidays
We’ve probably all been
told, at some point, that the
time we spend in college
or university is the best of
our lives, and it’s true. But
a looming student debt can
put a serious damper on
what should be a fun, educational time in our lives.
Debt is a growing problem in all universities and
colleges. How do we cope
with such extravagant
tuition prices, student
residence prices and food
prices that seem to pile up
so quickly? With the right
financial choices, paying
your way through college is
actually achievable.
I can’t speak for everyone’s situation, there’s no
uniform solution to everyone’s financial problems.
But there is one trap I’ve
seen a lot of students caught
in: the allure of credit cards.
Credit cards themselves
are not an issue; they can be
very helpful. They become
a hazard when they are not
used wisely. The idea of buy
now, pay later is generally
accepted as a great idea
in society today. That’s a
problem when people start
buying items without having the money to pay for
said items at the time.
Never buy something on
a credit card if you can’t pay
for it right away with cash;
that’s risky. If, for some
reason, you aren’t able to
pay off your credit card bill
at the end of the month,
there are serious penalties.
The easiest way to avoid
this is to simply steer clear
of credit cards all together
if possible. And don’t worry
about building good credit.
“No credit is good credit,”
says Dave Ramsey, a twice
self-made millionaire from
Tennessee. He would know.
Another issue we need to
think about is budgeting. A
smart budget can take an
infinite amount of financial
stress out of a person’s life
if they stick to their budget
plan without cheating.
When you get your
paycheque (having a job is
another excellent idea, even
just part time) sit down
with it and divide it among
your different spending
priorities, whether they be
food, rent, various bills or
just miscellaneous spending. A budget is especially
helpful during this time of
year. Planning ahead financially will ensure that you
have cash on hand when
Christmas shopping for
your loved ones.
We all want to spend our
paycheques right away on
having a good time, but living paycheque to paycheque
is difficult and stressful.
Submitted Photo
A strict budget will make a
huge difference.
One final piece of advice
is to avoid going out to the
bar or the mall on a regular
basis, especially with Christmas coming up. Spending
the evening with friends is
great, and there’s nothing
wrong with going out. But
more than once or twice a
week becomes expensive.
Look for things to do with
friends that don’t hurt your
wallet. We all know alcohol
is expensive. Try limiting
the amount you purchase.
You will save money, and
you’ll have fewer hangovers
as well.
If you can stick to your
budget, avoid spending
pitfalls and work whenever possible, you will find
yourself with more money.
Every little bit counts when
it comes to finances, and
nothing will fix a financial
crisis immediately short of
winning the lottery (NOT
RECOMMENDED). But over
time there will be a noticeable difference, both in the
amount of money you have,
and stress you won’t have.
JAMES HERBERT
Take the time to take care of yourself
Studies show 90 per cent of students feel overwhelmed by their workloads
Submitted Photo
They say stress can kill
you. It might be true. Exam
time is fast approaching
and students are feeling the
pressure of final exams and
projects.
How do you know if you
are stressed from exams?
Well, if you have trouble
sleeping, are constantly
tired, often forget things,
have unexplained aches and
pains, have a poor appetite,
a loss of interest in daily
activities, increased anxiety,
migraines and headaches
and dizziness, you have it.
According to a study by
The Globe and Mail earlier
this year, 90 per cent of
students feel overwhelmed
by their workload in the
school year, 50 per cent say
they feel hopeless and 63
per cent say they feel lonely.
They also state that 9.5 per
cent of students considered
taking their own lives.
There are many things
you can do to keep your
stress levels to a minimum.
Organization is a big key to
staying calm during exams.
Make sure you have everything you need to study and
to write your exam.
Diet is also important.
Eat foods that are energy
producing and not heavy on
your stomach. Make sure
to eat a lot of fruits and
proteins, which are a good
source of energy.
Relaxation is also key to
crushing the exam time
stress. Before an exam,
relax, and stop studying.
Whatever you have learned,
be confident that you know
the material and that you
will do well, chances are
that if you try to cram just
before the exam you will
only remember what you
just learned and forget
everything else. When
you go in to write your
exam, make sure you read
all of the questions before
you start writing. When
you are done writing your
exam, make sure you check
your answers and go over
anything that you missed.
Take about 15 minutes to
review, you won’t believe
how many mistakes you can
find if you just take time to
check it over.
If you don’t deal with
stress, many things can happen to you. Heart disease,
digestive problems, sleep
problems, depression and
obesity are all symptoms,
as are skin conditions and
autoimmune disease.
Burnout is another
problem. It is an emotional,
mental and physical exhaustion caused by stress. This
often happens when you
feel overwhelmed and have
to meet time demands. You
may feel like everyday is a
bad day, caring about school
is a waste of energy, you’re
constantly exhausted, most
of your time is spent on
your homework or on tasks
you find mind-numbing and
you feel like nothing you
do will make a difference.
These are all signs that you
are burnt out.
To prevent it spend 15
minutes either before bed
or at the start of your day
writing in a journal, doing
stretches or reading. Set
some boundaries, do not
overextend yourself and
learn how to say no to tasks.
Take a break from technology; turn your cellphone
off an hour before you go
to bed. These things may
be hard to do at first, but
in the end, they could save
your life.
BRITTANY ERWIN
NIAGARA NEWS •Dec. 6, 2013
Page 5
news/opinion
How to survive a concert
Tips and tricks to safely enjoy your favourite band
By AMANDA-SUSAN
CARSON
Columnist
Concerts happen year
round but every season is
different. Concert goers
have to be careful to dress
according to the weather.
Venues crank up the heat
in the fall and winter so you
get overheated if you wear a
long sleeved shirt. That can
cause sweat stains and you
never want those in any of
your pictures with the band.
A coat check is available, so
dress in layers as you can
always take off a layer, but
you can’t put one on if you
don’t have an extra one at
hand.
If it is cold and you are
waiting in line or camping
out to be in the front row
for your favourite band,
bring a jacket, gloves, hat,
scarves and even an old
blanket. I have a blanket
specifically for concerts.
You are going to want to sit
down while waiting and the
ground outside venues is
never the cleanest.
Make sure you pack water
and snacks, as you don’t
want to be dehydrated and
starving. Bring a bag that
you can put all of this in,
and can leave at coat check.
You may have to pay for two
coat checks because of your
bag and jacket but you will
be warm and happy going
into the venue.
With every show there is
almost always band merchandise, so you may want
to bring extra cash for those
keepsakes. Keep a few extra
$20 bills in your sock, this
way, if you unfortunately
lose your wallet, you have
some spending money.
You want to capture those
By CHRISTINE DEMERS
Staff Writer
Eleven Past One puts on performance for excited fans. Photo by Amanda-Susan Carson
memorable moments of the
lead singer singing to your
best friend and even getting
your picture with the band
afterwards so charge your
camera batteries the night
before.
As for your phone, you
don’t want to be without
it. No one does at concerts.
For those bathroom selfies
with your best friends, fully
charge the phone the night
before, lower the brightness of your screen and
turn off your data. All of this
will preserve your phone’s
battery. A cordless charger
pack for iPhone users may
be a little expensive but if
you go to as many shows as
I do, it will come in handy.
As always, if you are
planning to drink at a show,
don’t drive. Always have a
designated driver. If you end
up drinking, there are many
other ways to get home
like taking public transit,
taking a cab or even calling
Designated Drivers who will
come pick you up and drive
you and your car home. This
way you don’t get a drunk
driving charge or cause an
accident.
be there for our children
and grandchildren.”
While there are geographic boundaries for the LHINs,
those are only for administrative purposes. Patients
in Ontario are able to go
anywhere in the province
for their care.
According to Cripps,
Ontarians can get involved
with their LHIN in a number
of ways and every LHIN
provides opportunities for
community involvement.
“Across all LHINS, however, is the opportunity to
be involved with the governance at the board level. If
someone is interested in being a part of the local board
or the LHIN organization
they should contact their
LHIN for more information.”
With the upcoming review, Ontarians will have a
chance to give their opinion
about the LHIN in their
community. Gélinas says it
is a priority for the NDP that
communities will be able
to speak with the review
committee.
“The LHINs were created
to give people a voice into
their health programs and
services that are available
in their community, this
is their primary mandate.
So, we have to hear from
them so we understand
how LHINs are working
for communities across the
province.”
Gélinas says the NDP
hopes to work together
with Ontarians to improve
health care.“New Democrats are happy that we
are finally getting a chance
to take a close look at the
LHINs. We know that for
many communities there
have been significant problems with the LHINs. This is
our chance to look at what
went wrong, but also what
has gone right.”
NDP’s push for health review ends in success
Party plans to
work with public
to improve
health care
By CARLIE CHERNENKO
Staff Writer
The New Democratic
Party (NDP) has been pushing for a review of the Local
Health Integration Networks (LHINS) since early
2010 and its efforts have
succeeded.
According to France Gélinas, MPP for the Nickel Belt
and NDP health and longterm care critic, the original
date for the completion of a
review was March 28, 2010.
“New Democrats have
been pushing for the review
since 2010 and have been
disappointed that the Liberals ignored their responsibility for so long.”
Student
gives back
with new
position
LHINs were created by
the Ontario government in
2006 and, according to the
LHINs’ website, are corporations that “work with
local health providers and
community members to determine the health service
priorities of our regions.”
They plan, fund and integrate local health services
in the communities. Those
services include hospitals,
community care access
centres, community support
services, long-term care,
mental health and addiction
services and community
health centres.
According to Donna
Cripps, chief executive officer of the Hamilton Niagara
Haldimand Brant Local
Health Integration Network
(HNHB LHIN), the Local
Health System Integration
Act 2006, has changed the
way that the health system
is managed.
France Gélinas, MPP
representing Nickel Belt
(NDP)
Submitted Photo
“The LHIN role is to
ensure the right services in
the right place at the right
time and the goal is a health
system that keeps people
healthy, gets them good care
when they are sick and will
Shane Malcolm is the
voice of the students at
Niagara College.
He grew up in Jamaica
and decided to take the
Culinary Management
program here. Actively involved within the college,
he is taking part in many
student groups including
the Student Administrative
Council (SAC).
Last year, he was the
director of clubs and volunteers and ran for vicepresident this year.
“When I decided to run
for vice-president, it felt
only natural that I run for
[student representative on
the] Board of Governors.”
Malcolm said that being
part of the board and SAC
is a great way to “give back
to the college.”
In Jamaica, Malcolm accomplished many things.
He said he was part of
many clubs and societies at his high school. He
was also involved in the
performing arts, in and out
of school.
“I took my love of
performing here and I
started a dance club at the
[Niagara-on-the-Lake college] campus.”
In 2011, Malcolm was
part of the culinary team
representing Niagara College. That team won first
place at the Barley Culinary Challenge. Malcolm
says he considers that to
be one of his biggest accomplishments.
The highlight of Malcolm’s life, he said, was in
2008 when he was one of
five students selected in
Jamaica for a six-week internship at the University
of the West Indies.
“It was an amazing experience as I got to work on
my own research in finding planet-based organic
pesticides.”
Before the end of the
year, Malcolm said he
would like to accomplish
many things such as
graduating at the top of
his class, getting more students to participate in SAC
elections and continuing
to advocate on behalf of
students the best he can.
“Being part of the board
is great.”
Malcolm said board
members are “very helpful
and passionate” about the
college. They are “invested
in helping the college on
its path to post-secondary
excellence.”
“They are a great group
of people that really value
each other’s opinion and
really listen when I offer
the student perspective on
a topic.”
Page 6
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
NEWS
It’s going to be a Blue Christmas
By MICHELLE
ALLENBERG
Staff Writer
Forget a white Christmas,
the Niagara Parks Commission’s Butterfly Conservatory wants you to have a
Blue one.
The Butterfly Conservatory will be receiving
about 1,000 Blue Morpho
butterflies for its Blue
Christmas event from until
Dec. 19.
Cheryl Tyndal, 54, the
conservatory’s entomologist, says the choice of the
Blue Morpho is because
they are the “favourite of
most visitors.”
The Morphos do what’s
called a “Morpho dance”
in which two or three will
fly together making a type
of dance. Tyndal says the
Morphos’ wingspan is between four and five inches.
The “iridescent colour” of
the wing comes from ridges.
The light reflects and that is
what gives them the “beautiful colour.”
For Blue Christmas,
the conservatory will be
decorating the lobby with
tropical plants and blue
decorations. In the butterfly
enclosure, there won’t be
any blue decorations so not
to distract from the Blue
Morpho.
The tropical poinset-
Multiple types of butterflies feeding on some fruit. PHOTO BY MICHELLE ALLENBERG
tia plant adds nectar for
the butterflies and will be
added to the facility. Tyndal
says there are more than
2,000 butterflies and between 30 to 40 species.
“It is interesting to come
back more than once. You
might always see a different
butterfly. You’ll see different
plants or flowers.”
The Morpho comes from
a farm, Bosquele Nuevo, in
South America.
Tyndal says the profits go
to preserving rainforests in
Costa Rica. The farm purchases many hectors of land
to regrow forest. Bosquele
Nuevo helps support a
number of people and communities.
The conservatory chooses
farms that do ecologically
sustainable farming, she
adds. It costs the conservatory $6 per butterfly for
transportation, permits,
brokerage and other costs;
it costs $3 for the butterfly
itself. Tyndal says the money
goes back to the community.
The conservatory has
two endangered species of
butterfly: the Ornithoptra
Priamus from Australia and
the Troides Rhadamantus
from the Philippines.
It has been given the right
to breed these butterflies
from the Council of International Trade Endangered
Species.
“We want education and
understanding. Butterflies
and plants rely on each
other.”
John Lostracco, 39, is the
store manager at the Butterfly Conservatory. He says
there have been no preordered tickets, but there
have been many people calling about the Blue Christmas event.
Suzy Konick, a visitor
from Hamilton, says she has
been to the conservatory
previously with her family.
She had not heard about the
Blue Christmas event, but
might come back for it.
As for the initial visit? The
children are “loving it and
having a good time.”
For more information go
to www.niagaraparks.com.
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
Page 7
FEAture
Building change in Nicaragua
A life altering experience for both the volunteers and the children
By BRITTANY ERWIN
Staff Writer
The First Redeemers
Church, in Waterloo, started
a church in Telica, Nicaragua, and a group of nine
people over the past week,
have been finishing what
they had started.
Sara Wigle, Cody Krause,
Diane Leeming, Monica
Brandner, Matt Pafft, Cynthia Welacky, Sheri Erwin,
Dillon Erwin, and myself
and Tim Bunn, all set off
to be gophers for the local
workers. Most of the group
arrived in Managua, Nicaragua’s capital city, on Nov.
23 with the rest arriving on
Nov. 26. For six days, the
group began constructing a
church in Telica.
On the first day, the team
began filling a hole in the
middle of the area where
the church would stand,
The second day was more
of the same, but moving
bricks and digging more
dirt ensued. On the third
day, the rest of the team had
arrived. It included Dillon
Erwin, Sheri Erwin, and myself. Day 3 was – more dirt
digging, and leveling ground
for a garden that will be
started and taken care of by
the community.
At the mid-stay day, we
Sara Wigle giving a care bag to the child she
sponsored. Photo by Brittany Erwin
“
He looked as if
he were about
to cry, so I gave
him a hockey
jersey, his face
lit up
”
Sara Wigle
painted steel beams to be
used as church roof rafters
and – more dirt digging.
Although Day 5 featured
more dug dirt, all of the
church’s children and parents came.
We handed out bags of
food followed by care bags
for children whom people
sponsored through the
First Evangelical Lutheran
Church-Kingsville.
This was by far the best
day of the trip everyone on
the team agreed. Each child
stood waiting until their
name was called, then came
forward to receive their bag.
Digital and Polaroid photos were taken, the latter so
the child could keep a copy
of the photo. The second
that the Polaroid camera
printed its first photo, the
kids went crazy, swarming
the photographer.
During our time there we
met many incredible people
such as Pastor Maximo, who
was overseeing the building of the church in Telica,
and his daughter, Magdalene, who had a great time
referring to me as “cerdito,”
which translates to “little
pig.” The team met Francisco Jose Peralta, the transla-
Dillon Erwin pushing children in a wheelbarrow in Telica, Nicaragua. Photo by
Sheri Erwin
Anthony playing in the dirt. Photo by Sheri Erwin
Sheri Erwin, Sara Wigle, Brittany Erwin, Tim Bunn with children in Telica. Photo by
Dillon Erwin
tor who assisted them in
learning Spanish, and the
children in the community,
who touched each one of
the team members’ hearts
in only a few short days.
Wigle said, “It’s crazy, we
have been working on this
church for a week and now
we’re already saying goodbye to these kids.”
Wigle sponsored a child
with a care bag and had
no clue that the child she
had sponsored was the one
whom she had been playing
with all week until his name
was called and her bag was
given to him.
Dillon Erwin, a Niagara
College student, “really connected” with one of the kids,
he said. The one boy that
Erwin had played with the
entire week wasn’t sponsored by anyone, and didn’t
receive a care bag.
“He looked as if he were
about to cry, so I gave him
a hockey jersey that my
friends had donated and
when I gave it to him, his
face lit up.”
Women cooking food on the side of the road. Photo
by Brittany Erwin
Page 8
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
NEWS
Media under-represents Aboriginal peoples
“
By SHEILA PRITCHARD
Staff Writer
A recent study by Journalists for Human Rights (JHR)
found that Aboriginal issues
are significantly under represented by most Ontario
media outlets and that most
coverage is negative or
focused on crisis.
Aboriginal peoples represent about two per cent of
the population of Ontario,
yet Aboriginal issues occupy
less than half a per cent of
provincial online and print
media.
“There is nothing new in
the fact that media do not
tend to cover very much of
First Nations issues,” says
Maurice Switzer, communications unit director for the
Union of Ontario Indians.
“What they do tend to cover
is what we would call negative or stereotypical.”
In June 2013, JHR, a Canadian media development organization that trains journalists throughout Africa,
launched its first program
in Canada, the Northern
Ontario Initiative. It aims to
ensure that media coverage of Aboriginal issues in
Ontario is balanced and in
proper context by providing
journalism training programs for Aboriginal people
in remote or Northern communities, giving Aboriginal
learners the opportunity to
pursue careers in media.
“I think there are a lot of
challenges, it’s not necessarily the fault of the mainstream media,” says Robin
Pierro, JHR project manager
and communications co-
Media coverage of Aboriginals in Canada often focuses
on negative stereotypes and conflict instead of a rich
heritage and culture. SUBMITTED PHOTO
ordinator.
The report, Buried Voices:
Media Coverage of Aboriginal Issues in Ontario, was
conducted by JHR, which
has trained more than
12,000 journalists in 21
countries to report ethically
and effectively on human
rights issues. The report
monitored 171 publications
from June 2010 to May
2013 using quantitative
analysis of media coverage
and examines trends, news
spikes, and tone of media
focused on Aboriginal
people.
Under the direction of
Buried Voices lead writer
Pierro, the report’s findings were given to Robert
Harding, social work and
human services instructor at University of Fraser
Valley in British Columbia,
for consideration. Harding,
a contributor to numerous studies of Aboriginal
representation based on
traditional content analysis, says the report echoes
everything he has seen in
the past and agreed with
the challenges journalists
covering Aboriginal issues
face.
“Many reporters lack the
knowledge of history and
context that is essential for
understanding complex issues that have long historical antecedents,” Harding
says. “Furthermore, they
often lack the tools to work
with Aboriginal sources and
issues in an effective and
culturally sensitive way.”
Pierro says these challenges include geographic
isolation, the breakdown
in relationships between
journalists and Aboriginal
communities, and the lack
of opportunities for Aboriginal people to actually have
a voice and write stories
about their communities.
The report included four
recommendations, including expanding curriculum in
journalism programs to provide students with courses
that teach effective and ethical reporting on Aboriginal
issues and people.
“First, it is really important that Canadian journalism schools include a
component of reporting on
Aboriginal communities in
their training because they
are Canadian journalism
schools and it is a part of
our history,” says Pierro.
The second recommendation calls for working
journalists to create relationships with Aboriginal
people by actually visiting
the communities they are
reporting on and seeking out new sources and
stories.
“Junior journalists graduating from [post-secondary]
programs go to work in
smaller towns that are often
very close to Aboriginal
communities, but with so
little understanding of how
to cover them,” Pierro says.
The third suggestion
encourages journalism
schools and media outlets
to create more opportunities for Aboriginal people to
work in media by providing
training, fellowships and
jobs as reporters.
“This is a bit different
than having a program for
non-Aboriginal students,”
says Pierro. “We’re approaching colleges and
universities that have a
predominately Aboriginal
student body and looking at
where we can get journalism curriculum into those
schools so people who
have considered media as a
career have the opportunity
to take a basic course and
maybe from that become
inspired to take on a career
in media.”
“That is something that
we feel very strongly would
vastly improve the balance
of that kind of commentary,”
says Rachel Pulfer, JHR’s executive director, told Northern Ontario’s First Nation’s
Wataway News. “Rather
than just a media episode
covering a protest, there is
also more articulate commentary coming from those
who are frustrated, saying
what they want, what they
need, why they need it, why
it’s valuable and why the
rest of Canada needs to take
these requests and claims
much more seriously.”
The report also calls for a
broader scope of media coverage of Aboriginal people
beyond the crisis situations.
The study shows that
although news media make
efforts to balance the tone
of Aboriginal coverage,
in periods of conflict and
tension, what shapes the
tone of media coverage isn’t
always the facts.
“The most important
thing about implementing
Aboriginal-focused journalism curriculum for Aboriginal learners is to include
examples of Aboriginal
success,” Pierro says.
“This past June, JHR
launched its first media
development program in
Canada in partnership with
Wawatay Native Communications Society in a
number of northern Ontario
communities. The program
focuses on creating job
opportunities for Aboriginal people in media and
improving non-Aboriginal
Canadians’ understanding
of Aboriginal issues.
problems getting pregnant.
Learning that Aboriginal
women struggle keeping
children was interesting
for me because when my
husband and I decide to
become pregnant, I can take
a lot more precautions.”
Boulard is of Métis descent and says she is so passionate about her artwork
not only because it gives a
voice to important Aboriginal issues, but because it
has also allowed for her to
connect with her culture.
“Growing up Métis, you
know you’re French, you
know you’re Catholic, but
you don’t know much else,”
says Boulard.
“So learning that my family was Aboriginal, from the
1800’s and going back to
different marriages within
the Aboriginal community,
gave me a sense of spirituality and a way to look at the
world differently knowing
that I have this past, I have
these ancestors. It’s very
important I learn to pass
that on to future generations because it’s something
to be proud of.”
As an illustrator, she is
proud to share her art while
helping to enlighten people
about important issues in
Canada.
“Choosing the subjects,
you have to be careful with
the subject matter and images and be more tactful.”
Boulard says illustration
is about more than just
the conceptualization of
an idea, it’s all about the
process.
“For the infant mortality one [illustration] there
were four or five different remakes before finally
settling on one image that
was very impactful and
not crude. It has to do with
the process work: process,
process, process.”
Boulard believes there are
many ways for a person to
get involved with an issue
that impassions them, and
hopes, if nothing else, her
voice will be heard through
her artwork.
“As an illustrator, I’m taking the initiative to be very
visual about these [Aboriginal] issues,” she says.
“A lot of times people
don’t want to read anything
that’s longer than two
sentences, so I find it very
important to have a the
image that initially engages
someone and highlights the
issue.”
To see more of Boulard’s
illustrations, visit
www.jessieboulard.com.
The most
important
thing about
implementing
Aboriginalfocused
journalism
curriculum
for Aboriginal
learners is
to include
examples of
Aboriginal
success.
”
ROBIN PIERRO
Artist’s illustrations are a political and social statement
By SHEILA PRITCHARD
Staff Writer
For Jessie Boulard, her
illustrations are more than
a creative expression, they
are a political and social
statement.
Boulard, who graduated
in April with a bachelor
of applied arts degree in
illustration from Sheridan College in Oakville, is
passionate about creating
awareness surrounding
rarely talked about issues
within the Aboriginal community.
Her illustrations focus on
subjects such as infant mortality, missing Aboriginal
women, inadequate living
conditions and poor water
quality.
“The water quality issue
is very important. To think
that anywhere in Canada
there are conditions so bad
that people have to boil
their water; you wouldn’t
think that,” says Boulard.
“Canada is a First World
country, you wouldn’t think
some of these [Native]
reserves have a 47 per cent
poverty level. They have to
boil their water, they have
no medical attention.”
A study released in June
by the Canadian Centre
for Policy Alternatives and
Save the Children Canada
found that the poverty rate
of status First Nations children living on reserves was
triple that of non-Aboriginal
children.
“The poverty rate is staggering. A 50 per cent poverty rate is unlike any other
poverty rate for any other
disadvantaged group in the
country, by a long shot the
worst,” reports David Macdonald, a senior economist
at the Canadian Centre for
Policy Alternatives and coauthor of the study.
Born and raised in Southern Ontario, Boulard, 27,
applied to both the illustration and animation programs at Sheridan College,
and says she chose illustration in the end because it
allowed her to do more
personal work.
“Doing work that is
personal to me and having a
voice is important to me.”
Among Boulard’s illustrations are thought-provoking, debatably harsh images
depicting very real issues
many Aboriginal people in
Canada face, including the
disproportionately high
infant mortality rate in the
Native population.
Canada’s aboriginal com-
Jessie Boulard’s illustrations depict issues faced by
Canada’s Aboriginal population, such as high infant
mortality rates, missing women, inadequate living
conditions and poor water quality. SUBMITTED PHOTO
munity has traditionally
experienced high infant
death rates due to poverty
and remote locales.
Dr. Janet Smylie, a physician in the department
of family and community
medicine at Toronto’s St.
Michael’s Hospital and
researcher at the University of Toronto, says some
Aboriginal populations register mortality rates of up
to four times the national
average. She says the health
gaps among diverse Native
populations suggests that
it is social deprivation, not
genetics, to blame.
“Approximately one-third
of aboriginal children come
from low-income households where nutritious food
is often in short supply,”
says Smylie.
“Poor water quality and
substandard, overcrowded
housing also contribute to
health problems.”
Boulard says she is
already at high risk for
miscarriage due to medical
complications so learning
about the high Aboriginal
infant mortality rate was
something that she felt
strongly about.
“I myself will have
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
Page 9
NEWS
Every regular garbage collection day, Welland’s curbs are filled up with boxes and household items the owners have decided to give a second chance to be used again.
Don’t waste your second chance
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY RENAT ABSALYAMOV
By RENAT ABSALYAMOV
Staff Writer
It’s been more than two
months since Environment
Day was celebrated, but
Welland residents are still
recycling.
Every week on the regular
garbage collection day, they
continue placing newspapers and squeezed pop cans
into the proper grey and
blue boxes and, along with
household items, putting it
at the curb near the houses,
giving the materials and
products a second chance to
be used again.
“Reusing the old items
(and waste) is very important for the society and the
environment as well,” says
Adel Esayed, the chair of
Niagara College’s School of
Technology Studies.
“It is also very important
for the economy of the
country. It allows you to
save money and use the
things for several times
instead of just throwing it
away.”
Shawna Luey, an international student adviser here,
agrees with Esayed saying
that it is important because
if one looks at the places
where people do not care
about the environment, he
or she can see the effect.
“You can see pollution in
the air from diesel gas fuels;
you can see garbage all over
the place making a less
beautiful public space,” says
Luey, about the importance
of recycling and reusing.
According to EnviroGuide,
there is not only Emterra
Environmental collecting
Welland’s territory, but also
17 organizations ready to
pick up reusable items up.
Goodwill Niagara, Christian
Benefit Shop, Salvation
Army and the others take
anything from batteries to
bicycles and old furniture.
Electronics, household
items, clothing, construction, scrap metal – almost
everything is collected by
the companies if the products are clean and in good
condition.
“We take those items
that other people no longer
use,” says Karen Drobnich,
the director of operations
for Goodwill Niagara, St.
Catharines, adding, “We
pretty well take everything,
everything and anything
as long as it is not stained,
ripped, turned, broken and
cannot be resold.”
Launched as the nonprofit organization helping
community members with
disabilities to find a job,
Goodwill has expanded and
become “one of the largest
employers in the Niagara
region,” providing not only
jobs, but also such various
training workshops as those
for employment, culinary
and retail skills, Drobnich
says.
In Welland, the company,
founded 100 years ago in
the United States by Edgar
James Helms, is represented
by two stores, 572 Niagara
St. and 1 Churchill Ave., and
Real or artificial Christmas tree?
mainly aimed to help people
in need.
Along with training
and employment services
advertised on the website,
Goodwill accepts various
reusable items including old
furniture, appliances and
clothing.
The procedure of the collecting old items is simple.
All you need to do is to go
to the back of the Goodwill
stores and give your donations to the staff.
Everything that is not sold
or suitable for the store is
donated to the Third World,
most often hats, purses
shoes, belts, ties and soft
toys.
Goodwill and other
charitable organizations
in Welland dealing with
donations of various used
household goods and clothing, such as the Christian
Benefit Shop, Redeemed
Goods and the St. Vincent
de Paul Society – are not
subject to taxation. As a result, it permits them to keep
the prices of the reusable
goods low for those in the
community.
“Our children’s clothing
starts from 50 cents to $2,”
says the manager of the
Christian Benefit Shop Margaret Manwaring, adding,
“We feel really strong about
helping people out.”
“We have to care for one
another in this world; it is
just so important. There is
no greater gift than a gift of
your time and a gift of your
smile.”
Buying a real tree saves the environment and supports a local business
By ETHAN FAHEY
Staff Writer
It’s a case of the traditionalists against the modernists.
To get a real Christmas
tree or an artificial tree, that
is the question.
Certainly both have advantages and downfalls.
Buying a real tree is a
much more eco-friendly
choice,` according to David
Suzuki and other environmentalists. Plus, they
usually help support a local
business. However, they can
become messy once needles
begin to fall off and can also
become expensive buying
one year after year.
Most real trees after being
disposed of are “treecycled”,
a process that recycles old
trees to produce appliances
and accessories, such as
furniture. This is providing
they don’t end up as fuel for
a great fire instead.
An artificial tree is much
easier to set up as many
come in just a couple of
pieces. They can be used for
many years before a new
one needs to be purchased,
saving you money annually. A major advantage of
artificial trees is that most
of them come pre-lit and/
or pre-decorated, which for
some who cannot decorate their tree themselves
is handy and stress-free.
Making these artificial trees
uses a lot of energy and
chemicals though, so they
are not very eco-friendly
according to earth911.com,
Suzuki and others.
Some people don’t have
much choice in the matter.
Real Christmas trees can
cost anywhere from about
$30 to $100 for an average
tree. An enthusiast could
easily seek out a more expensive one.
Artificial trees cost from
about $30 for a small,
standard one, to just under
$1,000 for a mammoth 12foot, pre-lit tree.
Nathan Fragomeni, 20,
of Niagara Falls, says, “We
can’t have a real tree in the
house because of my mom’s
allergies so we have a nice
artificial tree.”
“We like it. It’s nice and
easy to set up every year
and it comes with the lights
already on it.”
Alex McGowan, 20, of Niagara Falls, says his cats are
the reason they don’t have a
real tree.
“Our cats eat the tree if
we put up a real one, then
they get pretty sick. We
don’t have a problem with
the fake tree though they
leave it alone,” says McGowan.
Some artificial trees now
come with decorations already on them, which takes
away most of the fun for
some people.
“I love decorating my tree,
it’s my favourite part,” says
Meaghan Burcuil, 20, of
Niagara Falls. “Why would
I buy a tree that’s already
decorated?”
It doesn’t seem to matter
what kind of Christmas tree
you buy this year, just go
with whatever suits your
fancy.
An artificial Christmas tree set up and decorated in
The Core at the Welland campus. PHOTO BY ETHAN
FAHEY
Page 10
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
News
Students get a taste of the world
International day brings diverse ethnicities to Niagara
By JASLEEN KAUR
KALRA
Staff Writer
When it comes to international food no one can resist
the temptation to have it.
On Monday Niagara College organized an International Day to celebrate the
culture of students from
various countries by serving
the food of their countries
at the Benchmark restaurant, Niagara-on-the-Lake
(NOTL) campus. The event
represented five countries.
Chef Professor Peter
Blakeman, 55, says, “We organize this event every year
and we have been organizing this event at NOTL campus for the last 10 years.
Before we used to organize
it at the [Niagara Falls] Maid
of the Mist campus.
“The reason behind the
event is that in the last 10
years, we have seen a large
population of international
students and we want to
celebrate that. In our programs, in our curriculum
[for second year] we have
put in an international cuisine course.
“In a country like Canada,
a lot of students come
from different countries,
so we thought it would be
fun for them, because they
are away from home, to
celebrate their culture and
do something as an event
to celebrate the different
nationalities by coming to
our school and a program,”
says Blakeman.
“We don’t have any South
Americans in the group; we
have lot of eastern European, a lot of Chinese and
Korean students. I would
say Chinese food is really interesting – it is sweet, sour
and the noodles are simply
amazing.
“In this event, the new
thing is that we have a Nigerian section from Africa,
which is really different. I
don’t think that people have
ever tried it – a combination of Nigerian goat stew
and porridge beans with
plantains.
“Every time when we
organize such events, we
repeat food from some of
the countries like China,
Mexico and India. This time
students made a new Mexican dish, it is a big dish, and
something which is new for
me to learn as well and I am
learning as much as they
are. They are learning about
my culture and I am learning about their culture.”
Kristina Lebedeva, 19, a
second-year student in the
Bachelor of Applied Business – Hospitality Management Operations program,
says, “We have prepared a
different cultural food like
traditional Nigerian food
and traditional Mexican,
Russian/ Ukrainian, Chinese
and Indian food.”
Lebedeva is from Russia
Students from China share their culture with all of the
students. PHOTOS BY JASLEEN KAUR KALRA
Food Menu
India : Tandoori chicken and Basmati Rice
Ukraine/Russia : perogies with onions and
bacon & sausage and sauerkraut
China : Pot stickers with sweet chili sauce and
stir-fried Chow Mein
Nigeria : Nigerian goat stew and porridge beans
with plantains
Mexico : Cochinita pibil with maiz tortilla and
guacamole and pico de gallo
Bukky Izibili, 25, a first-year student in the Human Resources Management program
is holding a board with Nigerian facts.
and one of the students
who prepared the food for
the students. She says it is
“pretty hard to say” which
one will be the most served.
“My favourite food is
Chinese – grilled shrimps
and noodles. It is my first
experience and I feel very
good that I got a chance to
make food for people and
serve them.”
Another volunteering student, Victoria Radchevko,
19, a second-year student
in the Bachelor of Applied
Business – Hospitality
Management Operations
program, says she is very
happy and she loves her
program.
“I love studying in
Canada; I meet a lot of new
people. I had a good experience and it was really fun.
“My favourite food is
Ukrainian because I like
perogies as it reminds me of
back home. I used to eat lot
of perogies when I was in
Ukraine.
Jeffrey Stewart, 43, chair
of Niagara College’s Hospitality, Tourism and Administration division, says, “I was
pretty excited and I see all
the students who are here
from across the campus to
really share a great cultural
opportunity.
“We change the countries
from our student perspective. We have students from
over 20 different countries,
mostly from China and
India. This is the biggest
event in the college; we
are celebrating it the last
almost 15 years. I tried Chinese food – a combination
of shrimp and pork chow
mien and dumplings and I
would say that the students
did a great job.”
Dan Leblanc, 41, a chef
professor for the Culinary
Management (Co-op) program, says this event is organized annually with food
from different countries.
Leblanc has worked at
Niagara College the past
five years and has 25 years’
experience in the food
industry. He says that while
preparing food and instructing students he had a
good experience, it was fun
and interesting.
Chinese, Indian and Mexican food are on the list, says
Leblanc.
“We have got good reviews for Nigerian food as
well, as it was served for the
first time and people really
like it. We prepared food for
500 students but more than
600 students turned up
and I think it is really a big
achievement.”
Marcie Newell says, “I feel
great; it is a real honour to
attend this wonderful event.
We have an opportunity to
meet new people, to get to
know about their countries.
“I was trying to learn how
to use chopsticks and also I
was asking Indian students
to teach me Bollywood
dance, as I am really a big
fan of Bollywood dance.
Though, they were shy to
teach me, but I was dancing
on the tunes.”
Newell is originally from
Italy. She came to Canada
in 1969 and has worked
with Niagara College for 12
years as support staff at the
Greenhouse.
“I was at the event last
year as well. I think this
time more students came
and the line-up was tremendous. I tried food from
China, Nigeria and India and
the food I like the most is
Indian, as I like curry. It is
something which I cannot
cook by myself and students
did a fabulous job.”
“I would say, also, the goat
meat was also beautifully
cooked. I have never tried
Nigerian food before, but it
was really awesome.”
The food is really delicious, very flavoured, and it
tastes perfect, says Yonyoung Zhang from China.
Zhang, 19, is a secondyear-student in the Hospitality Management – Hotel
and Restaurant (Co-op)
program. She says she tried
food of all the countries and
the one she liked the most
is the Indian food. It is not
at all spicy, it is just perfect,
Zhang says.
“I was here last time too,
but I was in the cleaning
department. There were
not too many students, but I
think this time there are lot
of students and it is really
good.”
Bijal Makwana, 30, a
second-year student in the
Culinary Management (Coop) program, says “food is
really very good.”
Makwana is from India.
She says, “I tried food from
all the countries and the
most delicious and my favourite is the Ukrainian and
Nigerian.”
Kathryn Stobo, 19, a firstyear student in the Office
Administration – Executive
(Co-op) program, says, “Oh
my god, the food is just too
awesome and delicious. I
tried all of the dishes but I
like the Mexican dish most
as I have always been a
fan of vegetables and I am
familiar with the food as
well.”
Bukky Izibili, 25, a firstyear student in the Human
Resources Management
program, says the food is
“so delicious and tasty; it
reminds me of my home. I
felt like as if I am in Nigeria.
I really didn’t expect this
much perfect taste for the
food.”
Apart from food, Dr. Mary
Kilmer-Tchalekian, 69,
was selling products made
by small communities in
Argentina. The handcrafts
produced from the natural
environment were aimed
at helping the students of
the Clemencia Gonzalez
Tourism School Yryapu,
Argentina.
Kilmer-Tchalekian is a former professor. She taught
Spanish language courses,
International Communication and Protocol courses,
and English communication
courses for 20 years here.
She visits this event every
year and says it is always
a pleasure to meet new
people and experience the
flavour other people’s culture. “The food is very good;
it has a different flavour,
different taste and different combination. I tried
Mexican and Chinese food. I
wanted to try Nigerian and
Indian food as well but it
was finished.”
Liu Na, from China, 26,
a second-year student in
the Hospitality and Tourism Management program,
shared Chinese culture with
all the students.
She was there as a volunteer teaching how to use
chopsticks, how to write
your name in Chinese letters, which every student
and a staff member enjoyed
learning.
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
Page 11
SPorts
From saving pucks
to saving souls
The story of how a St. Catharines native went from a life
of chasing Lord Stanley to a life dedicated to the Lord
Bob Froese was in net for the
Philadelphia Flyers from 1981 to
1986.
By STEVE AULD
Staff Writer
There is a clear point in time when
ex-Philadelphia Flyer and National
Hockey League (NHL) goaltender Bob
Froese’s life splits into two separate
stories. Nov. 10 1985 was the day Froese’s competition, friend and teammate, Pelle Lindbergh, had a couple
drinks and decided to drive.
He crashed his car into the back of
an elementary school in Pennsylvania.
Lindbergh never recovered and at
27, Froese says, he became “a different person.”
“From that day in my life on, I was
changed.”
Froese, a 55-year-old St. Catharines
native and pastor of Faith Fellowship
Church in Clarence, NY, says that before the accident he considered himself a hockey player who professed
Christianity. Afterwards he became a
Christian who played hockey.
That’s not to say Froese didn’t feel
the calling of his religion beforehand.
In fact, he had felt the call as a child.
“I have here in my study at the
church a drawing I drew when I was
five years old. I’m holding a bible
with my arms outstretched and my
teacher wrote on the top, ‘Wants to be
a preacher.’”
The accident was far from the
first tragic memory in Froese’s life.
His parents divorced when he was
a young child and his dad move to
Calgary.
He says the absence of his father
almost halted his hockey-playing days
as a child, but he had other male mentors in his local church who encouraged him.
A few years later, winning the allOntario tournament at 15, was the
first example of hockey and religion
intersecting in his life. Froese had to
make a decision that ultimately was
the first of many that culminated in
his current pastoral role.
Froese told his coach at the time,
Bob Craig, he would be missing a
game in order to be baptized at his
Protestant church in St. Catharines.
“I remember him wanting for me to
be truly committed to the team and
Bob Froese traded in his stick and goalie pads and is now a pastor at Faith Fellowship Church in
Clarence, NY. SUBMITTED PHOTOS
saying if I chose to do this I might be
forfeiting my spot on the team. I remember saying that’s the way it’s going to be, I wasn’t going to back out of
being baptized. I remember the date,
Dec. 2 [1973] like yesterday. I always
had more of a relationship with Jesus
Christ.”
Although religion won out in this
case, Froese kept his spot on the team
and began down a path that saw
hockey become his “consuming interest” until that fateful day in November
of 1985.
Froese remembers hockey beginning to take over and how it was
affecting all aspects of his life at the
time.
“I graduated high school as a
15-year-old so it’s either go to college
or play hockey. Back then [if] you
went to college – I had a few offers
to go to college and university in the
States – but at that point, at that time,
you’d be kissing your NHL career
goodbye.”
Skipping out on an education is
something that negatively affects a lot
of people and the opportunities they
have, but not Froese. After two years
apiece with the Ontario Hockey Association’s St. Catharines Black Hawks
and the Niagara Falls Flyers the St.
Louis Blues in the 1978 NHL amateur
draft selected him in the 10th round,
160th overall.
Froese bounced around for a couple
seasons in the American Hockey
League and the International Hockey
League and was cut loose by the Blues
in 1981.
He signed with the Flyers in the
1982-83 season and his goaltending
career took off.
This is also where he first met Lindbergh. They shared similar lifestyles
and became friends despite battling
each other for playing time.
Around this time is when Froese’s
religion really took a backseat, partly
because of the partying atmosphere of
being a hockey player in a room full of
young, testosterone-filled men
Continued on page 12
Page 12
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
Sports
Religion was always part of Froese’s life
Continued from page 11
and partly because of the
violence surrounding the
team he played for, who
were known as the Broad
Street Bullies.
“The one thing I knew
growing up in the Philadelphia Flyers system is
that – well by the time I got
there I was pretty much
brainwashed into thinking
this is the way you play and
this is the way you win. It’s
still a man’s sport, they still
wear hockey pants instead
of hockey skirts.”
Froese was playing
hockey first and being a
Christian second.
“What I would say is that
I put it on the backburner. I
had a personality. I was fun.
I enjoyed being with the
guys. What I held dear earlier in life I would’ve moved
to the backburner just to be
one of the guys.”
He lived and played this
way for a couple years
until the night everything
changed. At 5:41 a.m. on
Sunday, Nov. 10, 1985
Froese, his wife, and his
children were about to get
up to go to church as they
did most Sundays. At the
same time, Lindbergh drove
his new Porsche into the
brick wall of an elementary
school after having a couple
drinks. He wasn’t scheduled
to practice the next day.
Froese says he didn’t realize the seriousness of what
was happening at first.
“She [Froese’s wife] came
and got me as I was putting
down one of the kids in the
nursery. [She] said, ‘Kim
Poulin is on the phone.’ Kim
Poulin is (Flyers’ captain)
Dave Poulin’s wife. She said,
‘You[‘ve] got to get to the
hospital. Pelle’s been in a
bad car accident and he’s
looking pretty bad,’ and I
remember travelling to the
hospital thinking, ‘Now the
net’s all mine.’”
Lindbergh, Vezina Trophy
winner as the NHL’s top
goalie and who had led the
Flyers to the Stanley Cup
finals the previous year,
was brain dead. Two days
later, on Nov. 13, 1985, his
parents took him off the
respirator keeping his body
alive. He was 26.
He knew he had lost a
good friend, but it really
only hit him a few days later
“
By COLLIN STACHURA
Columnist
things, from blockbuster
deal to the monopolized
broadcasting rights of NHL,
but however you feel about
the deal or would want to
say about it, Hockey Night
in Canada will never be the
same starting next season.
Last week Rogers Communications struck a deal
and seized control of broadcasting and media rights to
hockey in Canada starting in
the 2014-15 season running
to the 2025-26 season. That
I remember he
said that’s the
first time he’s
ever told a wife,
‘He’ll never
play again’ and
the wife says,
‘Yippee.’
”
Bob Froese
at a drill in practice that required two goalies. He was
the only one there.
He recounts how on the
Tuesday before the accident
a televangelist visited the
Flyers’ locker room. The
preacher singled him out
in the crowded room asking, “What does it mean to
be Christian?” Froese felt
“embarrassed” the televangelist would ask him when
he knew his beliefs were on
the “backburner.”
The accident changed
that.
“I remember that day,
promising God that if
anyone ever asked me what
it meant to be Christian I
would tell them.”
Froese finished the season
winning the William M. Jennings trophy (fewest goals
allowed by the goalie(s)
playing a minimum of 25
games) and played another
half season in Philadelphia
before being traded to the
New York Rangers where
he played until 1990, when
a shoulder injury forced his
retirement.
“I remember he said that’s
the first time he’s ever told
a wife, ‘He’ll never play
again’ and the wife says,
‘Yippee.’”
At 32 years old, Froese’s
NHL goaltending career
was over. He knew “nothing
else” and also that he hadn’t
made enough money to
live on forever. He tried his
hand at helping coach with
the Rangers for a while, and
eventually wound up with
New York’s other team, the
Islanders, as a goaltending
coach for two seasons.
But, he began getting the
itch to help people in other
ways. It was the first time
he thought about becoming a pastor. That itch grew
unbearable and Froese says
he knew. His first call was
to the Islanders’ then-head
coach Mike Milbury.
“I had to call Mike Milbury
and tell him what I was
doing and after about 45
minutes of the most awkward silence I’ve ever had,
he asked how much was
the church offering me. He
thought it was a negotiation
ploy.”
It wasn’t a ploy. Froese
spent the next few years as
a student again, earning his
bachelor of science degree
in religion from Liberty
University in Lynchburg,
Va., then his master’s degree
in religion from the Liberty
Baptist Theological Seminary. Still not satisfied, he
went on to earn a doctorate
from Trinity Theological
Seminary. Bob Froese was
now Dr. Bob Froese.
“I thought my hockey
career was going to be the
epitome of my life and everything would be downhill
from there. My top experience playing all those years
in the NHL, I realize now
was nothing but preparatory work for what I do today.”
Froese thought it would
be hard to adjust to life as
a pastor as he had “credentials from playing hockey,
but no credentials as a pastor.” It didn’t stop him. He
became pastor at Faith Fellowship Church in Clarence,
NY where he is today.
Froese maintains his
connections to the Niagara
region too, as his wife and
her family are from Niagaraon-the-Lake and his family
is originally from Fonthill.
He is “in Canada at least
once every two weeks,” and
is happy when he sees the
people at his old stomping
grounds who helped him
growing up.
As for being a pastor and
its effect on how he views
the violence and fighting in
today’s NHL, Froese says it
isn’t fighting the league has
to worry about.
“In my opinion, when they
put helmets on the players,
the sticks came up. When I
played, if a guy was going to
go around and use his stick
or if a guy was a dirty player
of mouthy or whatever …
there would come a day of
reckoning where he would
have to defend himself. I
think that’s what it did. It
kept the honest players
Bob Froese in 1986 posing with the William M. Jennings trophy, which is presented
to the goaltender(s) on the team with the fewest number of goals against.
honest. I’m not a proponent of someone who says
fighting should be abolished
from hockey, only because
of the sport and the intensity of the sport.”
The influx of European
players changed how the
game was played, but he’s
quick to point out it was
only eastern European
players he worried about.
There was a “big difference
between the Swedes and
the Finns versus the Russians and the Czechs.”
“What I found with the
good Canadian boys was
that if something happened
they were going to fight,
they were going to get
busy. But then the eastern
Europeans came over, the
Russians and the Czechs,
and all of a sudden it was
a different game.” With
some of the notoriety that
athletes get off the ice, it’s
hard to believe many would
be open to a life of religious
values and preaching. Froese agrees. He isn’t in touch
with many of his former
teammates.
“I’ll still get some Christmas cards but a lot of guys
don’t want to be close
friends with a pastor.”
Everything comes back to
one decision by a 15-yearold kid with a dream.
“At that point, at 15, I
remember [having to decide]
whether I wanted to be a
doctor or whether I wanted
to be a goalie in the NHL and,
obviously, well I’m thankful
that I got to do both.”
Rogers owns a 37.5 per
cent stake in Maple Leaf
Sports and Entertainment
and has allied with the
Vancouver Canucks. That
includes naming rights to
Vancouver’s home building,
the Rogers Arena. It also
holds ties with the Edmonton Oilers.
Rogers Communications
becoming the home of
hockey Canada for broadcasting makes perfect sense
for them. What is in it for
the fans? The new agreement means no further
regionalization of games
or local blackouts. Rogers Communication has
three exclusive windows
of broadcasting any game
involving Canadian teams –
Wednesday nights, Saturday
nights (including CBC) and
Sunday nights.
And when it comes to
Rogers and the NHL’s new
relationship Commissioner
Gary Bettman said in a joint
press release issued by the
league and Rogers, “The
NHL is extremely excited
about the power and potential of this groundbreaking
partnership.”
With teams increasing
the salary caps, players
are capable of receiving
higher salaries and bigger contracts. With more
local games being seen by
Canadian viewers it seems
the $5.2-billion deal is a
win-win-win.
Rogers scores monumental deal with the NHL
It’s a beautiful day in the
neighbourhood, especially
for Rogers Media.
Just last week it struck a
blockbuster deal with the
National Hockey League
(NHL) for exclusive broadcasting rights for the next
12 years. Goodbye Hockey
Night in Canada, hello Rogers’ Night in Canada.
It’s been called a lot of
was the contract currently
held by CBC, as it has been
for the last 61 years.
Rogers reportedly paid
$5.2 billion, to lock in a 12year contract of exclusive
broadcasting rights of hockey in Canada. A deal earth
shattering to the hockey
world and Canadians all
over, the new contract is the
largest media rights deal in
NHL history and the largest
in sport-media rights in
Canadian history.
NIAGARA NEWS •Dec. 6, 2013
Page 13
Feature
Everyone has their ‘champagne dreams’
By KRYSTA PUTMAN
Columnist
Terell Safadi quickly
gained fame within the
Canadian hip-hop scene.
A hometown supporter
and lover of all things Vancouver, Safadi was waking
over the local scene as well.
He wrote about everything,
from issues that come with
being a minority, to being
a Vancouver Canucks fan
or even the sneakers on his
feet.
In the summer of 2010
Safadi released his first
video single Tonight, receiving national exposure on
television and the web.
In early 2011 Safadi
released his remix Black
Red Yellow, a song supporting the Vancouver Canucks
and their retro jerseys. The
video was released on the
Canucks’ official website
and quickly garnered attention.
The remix has had a
hugely popular and positive response with 552,334
views on YouTube to date.
That song threw him into
the spotlight and gave him
an unexpected level of fame.
“I’m glad to be the underdog,” said Safadi in a
freestyle rap session with
Hip Hop Vancouver. “Really,
I had no idea that this song
would get to this level. It
was just supposed to be a
fun mixed tap song that was
for the fans.”
Mid-summer 2011 Safadi
released his debut album
Champagne Dreams. One
Day, a song that was featured on the album, landed
in rotation at MuchMusic
alongside the high-energy
track Ring Around the Rozay
featuring Tre Nyce. Six
months later Safadi had
received a MuchMusic video
grant for album track Art
Shown is a shot featured in the video for Black Red Yellow. Submitted Photo
of Flight, which landed in
medium level rotation.
2012 was a busy year for
Safadi starting off with a
national tour featuring the
rap group Bone Thugs ‘N’
Harmony.
When asked what major
influences propell him to
stay in the industry, Safadi
had quite a lot to say.
“My musical influences
include Drake, being that
he is Canadian. I really like
Kid Cudi, because he makes
very versatile music. I try
and mirror that. I also like
P. Diddy and 50 Cent as I
really look up to them in a
business aspect. In my personal life, my mom, and any
one who is chasing their
dreams.”
During the last few years
of Safadi’s career he has
had the privilege of working with top artists from
around the world as well as
many local artists. Caspian,
Catrina Centanni, Alex
Marsyk, Young Kidd and
Trey Nyce are just a few of
the names.
“Everyone that’s been
supporting what I’ve been
doing including my mom,
my producer’s Crooks and
Kruscher, Jamie “Preme
Diesel” Kuse, and B-Beck,
and everyone that has been
sharing my stuff on Facebook and Twitter. Also my
bearded ones’. Since the
band, particularly Eli, all
sported beards it felt like an
appropriate name,” Warriner said.
In the spring of 2012 the
band began laying down the
tracks for their first selftitled album which dropped
on Nov. 2.
“It was a great experience
and the first time for most
of the band,” Warriner said
about recording and releasing the album.
“The experience definitely
tightened us up as a band
and solidified all our songs
and parts.”
The album holds 10
songs, ranging in style from
heavy-handed sinister rock
to outlaw country.
“I wanted to channel the
back-ups heard in Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main
Street,” Tam Maiuri said.
Other influences include The Stranglers, The
Kinks, Del Fuegos and Elvis
Costello.
Their different sound
snagged them Best New
Band from the Niagara
Music Awards.
“We didn’t have any expectations – we were happy
to be nominated for best
new band and for album of
the year.” The band members said, “We’re appreciative to have been chosen.”
“The dream would be
to getting to the point of
quitting our day jobs and
playing music full time, actually making money doing
it in whatever capacity that
would be.”
For now the band is
enjoying playing clubs
throughout Southern Ontario, trying to be ready for
whatever break may come
down the road.
Barbudos has three shows
lined up, Yanks Old Niagara
Bar n Grill in Niagara Falls
video team, Greg Loukas
and Blake McRitchie. MSH
Sessions and my street
team, The Kick Push Grind
Gang,” said Safadi in an
interview with www.unfinishedman.com.
The video that was
made for his song Lost
Child, opens with text on
the screen reading, “This
is dedicated to those who
feel lost, for those who feel
like giving up. … There’s
always a chance for greatness.” Although the song
has gotten just 5,575 views
on YouTube, it is quickly
gaining popularity among
Vancouver street youth.
“This song gave me so
much hope,” said 21-yearold Shannon Plested. “The
first time I heard it was
when I was sleeping on a
bench outside of the provincial courts downtown.
There was construction on
the street and a few cars
were stopped at the lights,
and a car pulled up that
had this song blaring on the
speakers.” Broken homes
and drug use were common to Plested, and after
struggling for many years; it
gave her the hope to try to
survive.
“I didn’t have a lot of hope
or want to continue living,
but something with this
song just struck a cord with
me and now I make all my
bro’s listen to this song,”
said Plested.
Many of Safadi’s songs
contain messages: his opinion on marijuana, advice
for youth trying to make it
in life.
“Life’s like a skateboard
‘cause you gonna fall, gonna
grind, gonna stall, and
gonna stall. I know, yea, I
know it’s going to be a long
road,” said Safadi in his
fame catapulting song Black
Red Yellow.
It seems Safadi is quickly
rising to the top and we will
just have to wait and see
what generation inspiring
hit he comes out with next.
Niagara band Barbudos releases its first album
By AMBER-LYNE BRICKER
Staff Writer
They describe themselves
as ‘Bearded Revolutionaries’.
Barbudos, a band from
Niagara, boasts an unpolished, undeniably catchy,
infiltrated with jagged,
rusty, unfailing hooks kind
of sound. The band is five
talented members: Eli
Maiuri and Dale Romanuk
on guitar, Nathan Warriner
on bass, Tam Maiuri on percussion and TJ Rogers on
drums. Romanuk, Warriner,
Tam Maiuri and Eli Maiuri
are also on vocals helping
to round out their eclectic
collection of tunes.
Warriner discovered the
band name while reading a
book about Fidel Castro and
the Cuban revolution.
“Fidel played on a baseball team called Barbudos
which translates to ‘the
Barbudos play at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Sept. 3. SUBMITTED PHOTO
on Dec. 13, The Horseshoe
Tavern in Niagara Falls
on Jan. 4 and The Dakota
Tavern in Toronto with the
Strumbellas on Feb. 19.
“The Strumbellas are a
great band and good friends
of ours so we are looking
forward to sharing the stage
with them in February,” the
band members said.
“In the spirit of the season
we also recently wrote and
recorded a Christmas song
called Black and Blue Christmas,” Warriner said.
The song is to be released
the first week of December and can be found on
Barbudos’ website www.
barbudos.ca.
Page 14
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
ENTERTAINMENT
A piece of Downton in Niagara
Downton Abbey fans visit a little piece of Downton at The Crown and Crumpet in Jordan
By CATHY McCABE
Staff Writer
As fans eagerly await
the Canadian release of
Downton Abbey Season 4,
they can ease their anxiety
by visiting a little piece of
Downton in Niagara.
The Crown and Crumpet
tearoom in Jordan, Ont.,
offers visitors afternoon tea
as well as Downton-themed
events.
Downton Abbey is a British period drama airing
Sunday nights on PBS in
North America. Created by
Julian Fellowes, the series
follows the Crawley family
and their servants as they
manoeuvre through their
fast changing world, which
includes the sinking of the
Titanic, World War One and
the Spanish Flu epidemic.
Lorraine Simpson, the
tearoom’s owner, says
they have special upstairs
evening suppers and downstairs evening suppers for
Downton fans.
She says the upstairs
suppers are “terribly posh”
adding the meal is served
white glove by waiters. The
food is traditional including
smoked salmon and beef
wellington.
At the downstairs suppers
the guests are treated as if
they are “servants.” Simpson
says she dresses up as Mrs.
Patmore and her daughter
dresses up as Daisy, two of
servant characters.
“It’s loud. There will be
banging on the table or
they’ll be dancing. Imagine
if you’re in the servants’
hall, how you would behave.
I’ll come in and say, ‘Oy. Pipe
down. Less of your noise.
They’ll hear you upstairs.’
We really make it as if it’s a
play, really.” Volunteers are
welcome to help out with
these events.
Simpson is the founder
and president of the Niagara Downton Abbey Fan
Club. It began because she
“fell in love with the show,”
as the story is relatable.
“It is set in a house that
isn’t something most of
us can afford, so you think
that the people are very
different to us and they are
actually not. They are very
similar to us,” noting they
have the same problems.
“They have financial issues,
they still have death in the
family, they still lose babies,
they still have family issues
and infidelity.”
She says she began with
a few Downton themed teas.
“My customers loved it.
My customers were like,
‘We want more of this’, so
I put on more events and
they sold out too quickly.
We decided to make it a bit
of an exclusive club, so that
if you were a member you
would hear about these
events first.”
In November, Simpson
took a group of 16 to Britain
for a week where they visited Highclere Castle where
Downton Abbey is filmed.
“They loved it. They had
a great time.” They had
dinner with Lord and Lady
Carnarvon, the current
owners of Highclere Castle,
and visited Bampton village,
where the town shots in
Downton are filmed.
A New York Times article
reports Downton Abbey is
viewed in more than 200
countries and has more
than 120 million viewers
worldwide. The Huffington
Post reports 7.9 million people watched the premiere of
Season 3 on PBS.
Downton Abbey Season 4
premieres Jan. 5 on PBS.
To make reservations at
the tearoom go to www.
thecrownandcrumpet.com
or visit www.downtonfanclub.com to join the fan club.
Above: Shown is
Highclere Castle where
Downton Abbey is filmed.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Left: The Crown and
Crumpet Tea Room in
Jordan, Ont.
PHOTO BY CATHY
MCCABE
The Shaw presents its annual
independent film series
By JAMES HERBERT
Staff Writer
The 2013 season on stage
may be over for the Shaw
Festival, but that doesn’t
mean they’re done for the
winter.
Until Feb. 15, The Shaw is
presenting its annual Film
Series. This is the ninth
year that the Film Series
has run, and will feature a
new independent film every
Saturday.
The event began on Nov.
15 with Love Is All You
Need, a 2012 romantic comedy by Danish film director
Susanne Bier. The film stars
Pierce Brosnan.
Other films to be shown
includes Don Jon, a recent
box office hit with rising
star Joseph Gordon Levitt
as the director and main
actor. Other big name actors
appearing on the Shaw’s
screen include Meryl Streep
and Julia Roberts, who star
in August: Osage County
playing Feb. 1.
There will be 12 films
and six documentaries
played, and there is a fundraiser planned for Feb. 22,
after all the films have been
shown. Viewers are invited
to come to The Shaw for
lunch beforehand, where
they can try foods from
local vendors, according to
Shaw’s website.
Tickets for each viewing
are available on The Shaw’s
website, and can be purchased for each individual
film, or a package deal is
available for either the films
or the documentaries.
“The beginning of the
Film Series began very
much like The Shaw Festival
did over 50 years ago,”
says Odette Yazbeck, The
Shaw’s director of public
relations. “A local group of
volunteers who are big film
buffs thought that The Shaw
would make the perfect
place to showcase art films
that would otherwise not
be seen in Niagara’s commercial movie houses. They
approached The Shaw and
together we partnered with
Toronto International Film
Festival’s (TIFF) Film Circuit
to bring smart, provocative
films to Niagara.”
She says Stephen Levey,
The Shaw’s art director,
goes to film festivals regularly.
“He spends the off season going to movies at TIFF
and beyond and then brings
his selections to The Shaw’s
Artistic Director Jackie
Maxwell and Event Director
Jane Dagg. Together, they
narrow the list down to 12,”
she says.
For ticket information
and a list of films and their
release dates, visit Shaw
Festival’s website at www.
shawfest.com/films.
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
Page 15
Entertainment
Canada’s original super-heroine
Rachel Richey and Hope Nicholson attempt to sell history, not war bonds, with
the return of the first female comic heroine, Nelvana of the Northern Lights
By MICHELLE ALLENBERG
Staff Writer
Nelvana, the first superheroine, will be reprinted
and back in the hands of
Canadians next year.
After a campaign ending
in October, Rachel Richey
and Hope Nicholson raised
$54,876 from 1,096 contributors. The two women are
comic book fans and comic
book historians. They promote the Canadian comic
book legacy worldwide at
academic and fan conventions.
Nelvana of the Northern Lights was created by
Adrian Dingle and Franz
Johnston in 1941 during
what is considered the
golden age of comic books.
Hope Nicholson, of Toronto, says, “It represents the
era in which the first comic
books were published.”
A ban on American periodicals between 1941 and
1946, meant Canadian comics were the only ones sold.
Richey says, “It was a
wartime ban to preserve the
Canadian dollar. Without
the war there would have
been no Canadian comics
industry at this time.”
Nelvana, created in 1941,
is “very Canadian themed”
with the super-heroine
being friends with an RCMP
officer and riding on the
back of a polar bear.
Nicholson says the comic
had strong connections
to the war and was used
to educate children about
the different technologies
Canada had during the war.
Richey says there is some
strong language and propaganda in the series. The
comic promoted the sale
of war bonds and Nelvana
fought the “Axis powers on a
regular basis.”
Richey says that during
the Second World War superheroes were “taking off”
and the creator Dingle was
“ahead of his time.”
He had inspiration from
an Inuk elder named
Nelvana he met and he
“romanticized that she was
the protector or caregiver
for her people,” Richey says.
He wanted to translate what
he thought into comics.
Nelvana was created to
look physically like his wife
Patricia Dingle.
Nicholson says they chose
to reprint Nelvana because
“it was the most attractive
story in the golden age,
due to the quality of her art
work and the sophistication
of her storylines.” She says
that Nelvana is important to
comic book history because
she was the first real superheroine and this would
likely gain international
attention.
The end of the golden
age was due to American
comic books returning with
dramatically increased
Rachel Richey, left, and Hope Nicholson raised over $50,000 to bring back Nelvana.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
competition since they were
able to print cheaply and
in colour. The interest in
superheroes began to fade
and Nicholson says, “There
was a growing distrust of
comic books and the effect
they had on children.”
Nicholson says they
thought many collectors
and fans would be interested in the reprint of Nelvana,
but “the high volume of
attention that was received
in response was truly a
surprise.”
Nelvana will be reprinted
as one single volume with
all 33 chapters. For those
curious as to the release
date, Richey says they will
start collecting images later
in November and the comic
will be available sometime
in spring of 2014.
Most of the stories were
printed in black and white
except for one printed in
colour. Nicholson says they
will keep the original appearance of the comic.
The will be about 2,500
printed copies will be available online, and in retail
stores. The comics will be
selling for $30 for a soft cover and $40 for a hardcover.
Nicholson says,
“Unfortunately, as Nelvana
has largely been forgotten
by most fans, I don’t think
she is currently a symbol
of Canadian pride, though
hopefully our efforts will
change that.”
Games’ fates decided at Video Games Awards
By MICHAEL SORGE
Staff Writer
And the Game of the Year
award goes to …
Tomorrow night, Spike
TV’s 11th annual VGX
awards, previously known
as the Video Game Awards,
will be viewed by gamers
around the world as they
anticipate what game will
win the coveted Game of the
Year award, along with 19
other honours to be given
out.
“I think that either The
Last of Us or BioShock Infinite should win Game of the
Year,” says Andrew Vanderhout, a Game Development
student at Niagara College.
“Grand Theft Auto V (GTAV)
is a little overrated, in my
opinion, and The Last of Us
and BioShock were so well
done that they both deserve
Game of the Year.”
The 21-year-old from St.
Catharines says he would
like The Last of Us to win
“just to prove that video
games are no longer a ‘kids’
thing; that it can be presented for adults to enjoy.”
Zack Hussey, an 18-yearold gamer from Niagara
Falls, says he thinks GTAV
will win Game of the Year
and would also like to see
the game receive the award.
“The popularity of the
whole Grand Theft Auto
series was massive, and, on
top of that, it was the most
anticipated game this year.
It deserves the award because it’s just an overall fun
game to play at any time.
“[The game’s addictive
nature] was incredible. The
game brought so much to
the table and a lot of what
the gamers wanted to the
series. The quality of the
game has to be one of the
best of its time.”
Welland student Joey
Field, 21, says he thinks
either GTAV or The Last of
Us will win the award, but
hopes BioShock Infinite
takes it.
“I really enjoyed [BioShock Infinite’s] story and
gameplay. While nothing
revolutionary, the game was
a very fun shooter with an
incredible atmosphere.”
Out of all the other award
nominees, Hussey says he
hopes The Last of Us wins
Best PlayStation Game, over
GTAV, Tomb Raider and Rayman Legends.
“[The game] deserves
it and is really well put
together. It is my favourite
PlayStation game I own.”
As for the Role-Playing
Game (RPG), Vanderhout
says, “I would like Pokémon
X/Y to win for Best RPG, It
has been updated so much
from the last five generations and really deserves to
be at least nominated for
Game of the Year.”
The host of this year’s
VGX awards has not been
announced yet, but Vanderhout says he’d like to see
Neil Patrick Harris, who
hosted the event in 2010,
make a return.
“He did so well the last
time he hosted. You can
tell he is passionate about
games.”
Hussey says he hopes to
see Jack Black, who hosted
in 2008, come back to the
event.
“He has to be one of the
best hosts. He’s entertaining
to watch and has done so
well in the past.”
Although he watches the
awards, Vanderhout says he
thinks some of the award
nominations have been
“very stupid” and could be
better chosen.
“[Most of the console
nominees] are multi-plat-
form and not an [exclusive]
Xbox or PlayStation game.
Games should only be able
to have, at most, three
nominations: first is for
their respective genre, second if it’s an exclusive – not
on multiple platforms – and
third as Game of the Year.”
Hussey says this year’s
event will be one of his
favourites to watch.
“The amount of greatquality games that have
come out this year was incredible. This, by far, has to
be one of the most intense
years for all gamers.”
The three-hour event will
be broadcast and streamed
live to televisions, game
consoles, phones, tablets
and websites at 6 p.m.
Page 16
NIAGARA NEWS • Dec. 6, 2013
FEATURE
Eleven Past One
exploding after
signing to Warner
By AMANDA-SUSAN
CARSON
Staff Writer
You can hear them on the
radio, online and all over
Family Channel — Eleven
Past One have skyrocketed
since signing with Warner
Music Canada.
This five-member band
of brothers Daniel and
Stephen Richter, Steve Patenuade, Kyle Bykiv and Dan
Beattie have hopes of making it big one day. Ever since
signing with Warner Music
Canada on May 16, the guys
have taken off, with a summer full of playing countless
shows with Toronto natives
Down With Webster, along
with Canadian band Hedley.
Besides performing in
front of 70,000 people on
Canada Day in Mississauga
Square, “the crowd was so
responsive and massive,”
says Bykiv, the guys played
Family Channel’s Big Ticket
Summer Concert for 16,000
screaming fans at the end of
August.
Since March, Jessica Jones
has been a fan, or a “time
bombs”, as the fan base calls
itself, in relation to their
time-related name.
“They all make me smile
with the simplest of things.
They have helped me
become a stronger girl and
have taught me to never
give up on your dreams and
keep fighting for what you
want to do and who you
want to be.”
The guys always make
time to talk to their fans.
Whether after a show or
on Twitter, they make sure
their fans know how much
they love and appreciate the
support.
“I was pumped! I had
already met and talked
with the team at Warner
and I felt like I was being
adopted into another family
of great people,” says Bykiv
when asked about his first
reaction to being signed
to Warner Music. This also
means a new album is on
the way.
Daniel and Patenuade
were recently in Vancouver
writing and producing some
of the new music with Ryan
Stewart, Jeff Dawson and
Troy Samson.
“It was a successful week
“
They have
helped me
become a
stronger girl
and have taught
me to never
give up on your
dreams and
keep fighting
for what you
want to do and
who you want to
be.
”
Jessica Jones
of writing some great songs.
I’m excited to hear how they
come out!” says Daniel.
As for names of the
new album, “I’m swinging
towards The World Is Ours
EP,” says Bykiv.
A new album means playing shows and doing tours.
“I’d love to tour with Maroon 5, and playing a show
with Justin Bieber would be
pretty nuts.”
The guys just finished a
Fun Facts & Upcoming Shows
tour with Danny Fernandes.
“I’m excited! I’ve known
Danny Fernandes’ drummer, Steve Kimmerer, for
a very long time. We grew
up playing music in church
together back in elementary
and high school. So, it’s
going to be really cool to
do a tour with him after all
these years.”
This month, Eleven Past
One will be taking the
stage with Sean Kingston,
Karl Wolf, Jerzee Tha Icon
and Lil Jaxe at Jingle Ball
2013, to be held in Bykiv’s
hometown of Oshawa at
the General Motors Centre
on Dec. 7.
With all this exposure and
playing shows with such
big names in music you
would think the fame would
go to their heads and their
lifestyles would change, but
they all still have 9-5 jobs.
“No matter how famous
or how much money I have,
my lifestyle won’t change
much. If anything, I’ll just
mature into an old man,”
jokes Bykiv.
“They are such talented
guys and are absolutely
wonderful!” says Jones.
Lead singer Daniel Richter (above) and drummer Steve
Patenaude (below) were recently in Vancouver to write
and produce the band’s new album with Ryan Stewart,
Jeff Dawson and Troy Samson.
All photos by Amanda-Susan Carson
• Eleven Past One started in 2007 in Bowmanville, Ont.
• In 2009, the band toured the U.S. for six months, three of which they spent in Hollywood recording their first album, The Ultimate Catch.
• In 2012, the band released their single, The World Is Ours.
• In 2013, they released their newest single, Tonight’s the Night.
• The band calls its fans time bombs.
• Lead singer Daniel and guitarist Stephen Richter are brothers.
• On Dec. 7, they will open for Sean Kingston at General Motors Centre in Oshawa.
Left to right, Eleven Past One is Dan Beattie (bass), Steve Patenaude (drums), Daniel Richter (vocals), Stephen
Richter (guitar) and Kyle Bykiv (guitar).
Guitarist Kyle Bykiv and his band Eleven Past One have
hopes of making it big one day.