 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 17, 2012 The small market that has been operating every Friday in a parking lot on John Street – back behind Centro Gardens reminded me of the Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi.
The line `put up a parking lot`sort of speaks to the farmers market – it`s held in a parking lot.
An even more telling line is:
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
Barry Imber, the driving force behind the idea, had thought there would be a little more in the way of traffic. “It is growing” he said “but not quickly enough for the farmers who spend the four hours at the market each Friday.”
 There is a small collection of fresh from the farm products available at the Farmer’s Market on John Street. More traffic is needed if the market is to continue. Last week Russell Gibbs was back with his honey – he sold out the first time he offered his product – so there is a market. Featherstone Farms has been in since the beginning with their pork and soaps and then added bread.
Farm to Table Meats and Cheese Gypsy as well as Tree & Twig were there. But Imber wants something a little more robust. While he isn’t a vendor he nevertheless wants to promote organic and get some activity into the downtown core – where things can get desperately quiet far too often.
 Barry Imber, the driving force behind the Farmer’s Market on John Street talks with Michelle Macdonald, operator of Featherstone Farms, the providers of soaps, bread and pork products. Imber is working on some food trucks and visiting chefs for the coming weeks to spice it up.` He isn’t seeing a good adoption here. Likewise the vendors aren’t totally comfortable with the traffic either so the whole thing may dissolve sooner than later if people don’t come to the conclusion that they have something special here — their own market in their downtown — the start to something cultural and rich. A real community hub.
If people don’t make an effort to support it soon, it will be gone unfortunately and giving it another try will be that much harder.
And that gets us back to the line:
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
The only reason there will be an outdoor market in the downtown core is if people come out and at least try the products. Part of the problem may be that people just don`t know. Our Burlington is certainly doing its part to tell the story.
There will be additional promotional effort put into the project early in September – and then we will see if Imber`s idea was a true addition to the city or just a bit of folly.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 23, 2012 When an organization brings in a new leader expect changes – that`s why the new leader was brought in.
City Manager Jeff Fielding, formerly with London, Ontario has been with Burlington for six months now and staff are getting a clearer picture of how he operates.
The city manager has traditionally used an office on the 8th floor, steps away from the Mayor. Fielding has decided to move down to the 6th floor, where he will have an office with his General Managers. Fielding wants to be where his team works and not two floors above them.
He has re-aligned some of the departments that report to the three general managers the city employs. Two, Kim Phillips and Scott Stewart are in place and a third will be hired in the fall to replace Steve Zorbas.
 General Manager Scott Stewart wants his staff to be sharp, come up with good ideas, deliver great service and have some fun while they are at it. Here he models his vacation wear. Councillor John Taylor is on the left with MP Mike Wallace on the right General Manager Scott Stewart heads up what has been called community services – that has been renamed to General Manager Development and Infrastructure. Kim Phillips heads up what has been called Budget and Corporate Services – that will be called Corporate Services.
A third General Manager will be hired in the fourth quarter of the year and Fielding let it be known that third person could well come from within the organization. Bruce Zvaniga, who has done some excellent work recently, is serving as Acting City Manager while Stewart is on vacation. Expect Bruce to be polishing up his resume when the job is posted.
The building on Brant Street is becoming a different city hall. The budget process the city goes through this year will focus on where the city should be investing funds and not get tangled up in the weeds of how much should be spent on pencils and paper clips.
 Soft spoken, direct, wants his people to be creative and bring him new ideas and then expects them to deliver on those ideas. Some staff members will not meet that challenge but for those that do, and there are lots of them, the city is going to be a great place to work. City Manager Jeff Fielding is changing the culture at city hall. In a past budget a senior staff member spent time explaining what some software would do – it was an upgrade of a program used all over the world. Fielding doesn`t want his staff spending time like this. He wants his staff to do forward thinking and will be bringing what he calls a business case approach to deciding the business the city should be in and what they shouldn’t be doing.
For Fielding it is a matter of supporting the staff in what they do, have them see themselves as collectively accountable to the public for the way the city is run. He also wants them to pick up the pace. This is certainly not the approach that was operational at city hall with the previous city manager.
For many of the sharper people at city hall it will be seen as a blessing – an opportunity for them to be both accountable and creative.
Fielding commented on a meeting he took part in earlier in the day when staff was making a presentation. The ideas they put forward “almost brought tears to my eyes”.
Economic development is going to get much more attention from city hall as is investments elsewhere in the city. Community Development Halton has been asked to prepare a business case for an approach to serving the city that will see funds invested in neighbourhoods. Joey Edwardh, Executive Director of CDH has been asked to develop a business case and bring it back to the management team where it will get discussed, debated and some recommendations developed that get taken to city council committee.
The Economic Development Corporation has been asked to produce a new business case as well. Fielding sees the EDC as an investment the city makes – and if that investment is paying off – then it should continue. Operations will continue if the business case can justify them; if not, then the question asked will be: Why are we doing this?
These business cases will be put before Council and they will decide which ones they want to fund.
Fielding tells of the 45 different services the city provides. Each is looked at, reviewed and a case for continuing with the service is put forward and Council decides which they want to continue and which should be abandoned.
For Fielding it is a matter of delivering service. Staff will be asked to make the business case and uses something as simple as the sending of an invoice. It costs the city $1 to mail an invoice but just 40 cents to send it via the web. You can see where he is going with this kind of thinking.
 Master University is developing a three year program that will significantly improve the management skills of senior and middle management staff at city hall. As many as 150 staff members will be taking courses over a three year period. Staff development is getting much more attention. The city is about to conclude an agreement with the DeGroote campus of McMaster University that will have staff taking courses designed specifically for the city. Paul Bates, Andrea Mior at McMaster and Laura Boyd and Roy Male at city hall are working this up – we may see more than thousands of children heading back to classrooms in the fall.
Fielding is asking much more of his staff than they have been used to. Those that see civic administration as a career opportunity will meet the challenge while others will begin to feel very uncomfortable at city hall. Fielding added that salaries at city hall will reflect the cost of living increases but staff won`t be getting all of it. “We are coming in a little below the actual cost of living increases.”
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON August 23, 2012 The Halton Children’s Aid Society has investigated a complaint against a Halton Board of Education teacher thought to be sexually exploiting a student. Halton Regional Police recently arrested Carol Shepherd, 48, of Burlington, Ontario and charged her with one count of Sexual Exploitation and one count of Sexual Assault in connection with incidents which occurred between 2005 and 2010.
 Former Halton Board of Education teacher charged with sexual exploitation During this time, the accused was employed as a teacher for the Halton District School Board. As of June 2012, the accused was no longer employed by the HDSB.
Police do not believe there are further victims attributed to the accused.
Anyone with additional information is requested to contact D/Cst Charlotte Zarowny at 905-465-8979, or an investigator in the Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Bureau at 905-465-8970.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 23, 2012 The first clue is the handle bar mustache that is now snow white. The moment you see it you just know this is a military guy. Then you hear him addressed as Major and the suspicion is confirmed. The next question is – which service – and if it was the army you know the man has an ass as hard as nails. Turns out Joe Veitch was Royal Air Force Major – which softens the image, but not by much.
 Joe Veitch, mover and shaker at the Seniors’ Centre listens patiently, to anyone who wants to talk to him – but then he wants to get a decision made and get something done. Joe Veitch tends to get right to the point and while not abrupt he doesn’t know how to doddle over anything. The day we met at the Seniors’ Centre Veitch had had his toe nails done. “It’s one of the things you can get done here and it costs just $22. We then went for coffee – $1 a cup if you buy a card that gets you ten cups.
Breakfast comes in at $6.11 and it was the setting up of this breakfast service for the seniors that Joe Veitch was awarded one of the Queen’s Jubilee Medals which is now on his uniform along with a Canadian Forces Decoration. He has yet to wear it in public.
 Joe Veitch inspecting the medals on his uniform. He was a recent recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee medal for the work he did in setting up a Seniors Breakfast program at the Centre This new commemorative medal was created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada. The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal is a tangible way for Canada to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country. At the same time, it serves to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians. During the year of celebrations, 60,000 deserving Canadians will be recognized.
This new medal gets added to the Canadian Forces Decoration which Veitch holds. It is awarded to officers of the Canadian Forces, who have completed twelve years of service. Veitch has the medal and one bar.
With his military career in his past Veitch now focuses on the Seniors’ Centre in Burlington where 3,000 members make heavy use of the facility on New Street, situated next to the Lawn Bowling Green, the YMCA, the Library and the Central Arena – with plenty of parking as well and excellent transit service.
During my time at the Centre the meeting room where people can have their meals was as busy, if not more so, than most of the restaurants I have been to in Burlington.
The Region classifies the Centre as a “private club” which gives Veitch considerable satisfaction and a bit of a chuckle.
 The Seniors Centre is run by a Board of Management. They are always on the lookout for young at heart board members. The centre is run by a 12 member Board of Management – elections will take place at the end of September. The BOM was required by the city to incorporate, which the city made easy by putting up the money to cover the cost of that incorporation.
The Centre has a nice solid sum in their reserve fund – between $120,000 and $130,000 and has managed to get the city to pay the GST/HST tax the Centre neglected to collect on its goods sales over the last ten years or so. It is clear that one has to make sure their wallet is tucked away in your pocket when you negotiate with these people.
While the difficulties the Centre had with the city over the handling of the woman who runs the kitchen, Veitch is quick to say that he believes the problems can and will be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. Little wonder that Veitch would make such a statement after the almost total “give in” on the part of the city during the first stage of negotiations.
“This used to be a very happy place before the difficulties” explained Veitch “and I hope we can get it back to that.“
The revenue from the memberships, classes and rentals all goes to the city”, explains Veitch. “we get to keep the revenue from the Bistro and from the sales of items from our Boutique”.
“The city”, according to Veitch, “put up $320,000 each year to subsidize the Centre” – which Veitch says works out to $106 per senior; “and that’s a lot more than they put up for every visitor to the Art centre or the Performing Arts Centre`, declares Veitch.
 In 2006, this is where seniors tended to live in Burlington Longer term, what are the future needs of the Centre and its Seniors’ going to be – Veitch doesn’t have much to say on that level. He does feel that at some point the building will have to be expanded and he feels there should be facilities for seniors north of the QEW. “There are some programs for the seniors at Tansley Woods as well as some programing at Brant Hills – but the New Street Centre is definitely “Senior Central”.
 In 2011 more seniors were living north of the QEW, but the services they require haven’t moved with them – yet. The challenge for the city and the seniors community is to align the services with where seniors live in the city. If funding were available what would Veitch like to see – a swimming pool would be very nice to have.
When asked if having a public health nurse on site, a couple of hours each day a few days each week would make sense, Veitch wanted to know who would pay for it. When it was suggested it would be cheaper for the hospital to have a nurse come to the Centre rather than have dozens of seniors clogging up the waiting rooms at Joe Brant Veitch saw the wisdom in that. Long term thinking isn’t on the agenda at the Seniors` Centre.
The Seniors have exclusive use of the space during each day. The city gets to use it at night.
As one listen to Veitch and those that drop by for a few words, you quickly realize that they certainly understand and have no problems wielding their political clout. “Mike Wallace is a fine fellow” says Veitch. “He takes good care of us and we take good care of him.”
That’s not something that just Wallace does; Patti Torsney, a former Burlington MP, did the same thing when she was the Member of Parliament for the city. The seniors will go with whoever offers them the best deal; something the politicians never want to forget. With the number of seniors rising every year – politicians at every level are going to have to come to terms with the fact that at some point they are going to have to say no. The seniors don’t believe they have the courage to do that.
Next Saturday registration for the fall programs begins and Veitch expects the place to once again become a hub of happy people enjoying their retirement years. Joe Veitch is certainly enjoying his.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON August 23, 2012 It was just after 1 am in the morning when the fire trucks raced up Longmeadow Drive in Burlington to find no one but two cars ablaze.
It didn’t take long for police to extinguish the fire; nor did it take very long to determine that an accelerant had been used to start the fires.
 Burlington Fire fighters quickly extinguished a blaze on Longmeadow Drive, Arson is suspected. The fire was quickly extinguished with no further property damage and no injuries. Total damage is estimated at $15,000.00.
This appears to be an isolated incident and the Halton Police are investigating this matter as an act of arson. There are no suspects at this time and the investigation is continuing by the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747, Ext. 2305, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 21, 2012 It was one of those summer evenings when the living is easy.
The mosquitoes weren’t biting and the air was cool enough for some people to wear sweaters as they set their chairs out on the lawn in front of the Band shell at Central Park next to the library.
 Seniors with their chairs set out in neat rows listening to Alchemy Unplugged at the Band shell last week. While no one told people where to put their chairs – there they were set out in neat rows, but all some distance from the stage – which is unusual for concerts.
 Singing a tune and scanning the crowd Lisa Farmer entertains seniors at the band shell on a summer night. Lisa Farmer and Daren Swanson – known in the world of music as Alchemy Unplugged, were on the stage as part of the city’s summer entertainment program. Lisa and Daren are a favourite with the seniors set. They write music of their own and are in the process of recording an album at their own studio.
Daren is the kind of guy who can string things together and actually make them work.
Lisa serves as back up on the technical side but when it comes to the voice – hers is definitely the dominant one. She has a nice, light clear tone and can move from boogey woogey to soul searching blues and then blast out a piece done by the Eagles.
While the audience didn’t rush the stage there was a gentleman who could move rather well to the different tunes and he just needed to be out there grooving away in his own world. Then there was a delightful young lady who found the music much to her liking and she too climbed up on the stage and for a few minutes danced with Lisa and then decided she would just park herself at the feet of the entertainers and wave her arms to the sway of the sound.
 Lisa Farmer and Daren Swanson are a favourite with the seniors crowd. The two of them harmonize very nicely and have an album in the works. She wasn’t doing any harm but there came a point when it was time for her to leave and Lisa, in a beautiful dignified manner helped the young woman off the stage and back to her parents. No fuss, no bother. The youth was enjoying the music and was doing what came naturally to her. The polite, dignified way she was handled was a pleasure to see.
When she left with her parents – Lisa called out – good night. She should have been given a round of applause for that gesture.
All part of the way Burlington is – polite.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 21, 2012 The fire on the top floor of the Riviera Motel will mean the demolition of that building in the very near future. If not because the building is now an even greater public hazard, it will be because the owners of the property have four months to get something in the way of real plans into the hands of the city and then be approved by the Conservation Authority before new set back rules come into play that have the potential to put an end of any significant development on the site.
 Fire damage to the top floor of the Riviera Motel was extensive, and arson was thought to perhaps be the cause of the blaze to the abandoned motel. No report yet from the Office of the Fire Marshall. The property, which has been in the development potential stage since 1985, has been hampered by market conditions and the inability to find the right hotel development partner and thus land that has been approved for three buildings: two seven storey structures and one 22 storey structure – a fact that many people in Burlington still don’t know about or fully understand.
Assuming the developer, Mayrose Tyco, comes up with acceptable plans and gets the approvals before the end of the year, we are probably going to see construction begin at the site sometime in the spring.
 An architectural rendering of what the developers would like to build on the Riviera Motel site. While it will be some time before we see a 22 storey structure on the waterfront, we may see a seven (possibly eight) storey hotel in time for the Pan Am Games. All we will see during this first phase of construction is the building of the seven story hotel. The developers have asked for an additional floor which the hotel will use as administration and marketing offices. This is apparently something going through the committee of adjustment.
The public seldom hears much, if anything, from the developer. They prefer to work through city hall where informing the public is not always a top priority.
There was the hope that the Waterfront Access and Advisory Committee would serve as a source for information and also as a bit of a watchdog for the citizens of the city, but that proved not to be the case.
The city shut down that committee earlier this year because it wasn’t doing quite what was expected. As city general manager Scott Stewart put it at a council meeting: We voted with our feet and walked from the Advisory committee meetings.
Waterfront Advisory Committee chair Nicholas Leblovic said he had been blind-sided by the city’s decision. That wasn’t the way most people, including many members of the committee, saw that decision.
The Waterfront Advisory committee will cease to exist on December 31st. They used to meet once a month and will probably continue to do so, until the mandate they had ends.
Both the Mayor and Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward have said they will create their own Advisory committees and run them out of their office. This makes the waterfront situation even more political than it should be.
As an Advisory committee the Leblovic committee had a diverse membership with representation from each ward that had the potential to reflect the views of the city. With that committee gone – well, things won’t get any better and the developers will be able to work with city hall with little in the way of true public input. We all lose with this set up.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 20, 2012 Just over a year ago, the city agreed to requests to delay the due date for the re-tendering of the construction of the Pier at the foot of Brant Street.
The contract was awarded to Graham Infrastructure, a Calgary based company that partnered with an Ontario firm to take on the task of building a pier that had been plagued with problems almost from the day the idea was conceived.
 The flat bed truck arrived just after noon last Friday Between now and then the job was to remove the steel that had been installed a few years ago. There has been some fixing up here and there on the pier but no real construction work because the steel needed was not available and when the steel needed was available it had to go through levels of testing that were far beyond the norm for this type of bridge construction work.
But – the steel did arrive and the fabricators did overcome the concerns the quality control and quality assurance people had and the city now has ten girders on site with five more due on Monday which means actual construction can begin.
 The crane that will lift the girders and lower them into place is on site. Some wonder if it came with a guarantee that it wouldn’t topple over. The crane that will lift girders in place where they can be bolted together is on site and will begin swinging them into place on Monday.
The construction work gets done in segments with steel going into place, then form work being done for the concrete pour and then the actual pouring of the concrete.
 On site almost daily is Burlington’s Jimmy Tapp checking on the progress. Here he talks with Pier Project Manager Craig Stevens. After that it is a case of the construction people doing their best and hoping that the weather will cooperate.
Once poured, concrete needs 28 days to cure properly with all kinds of testing along the way.
Some of that concrete pouring is due to be done late in October and into November when weather will be the critical factor.
Last year the construction people will tell you – we didn’t even have a winter, Will the same weather conditions prevail this winter There are a lot of people hoping so, but the construction people aren’t betting on it.
 The two guys that are going to see this project through are Craig Stevens, Pier Project Manager for the city and Eric Carriere who works with Graham Infrastructure. What everyone now knows is that the pier is under construction and with a bit of a break from the weather we will see it opened in 2013. The Festivals and Events people at city hall might have already started planning the party – maybe it will be a civic holiday.
Stevens, who did project management work on the Performing Arts Centre says “the weather was so good, the winter we worked on that project, that we were able to go right through and not shut down for the winter.”
That building was protected quite a bit because it was tucked in behind another building whereas the pier is exposed to the wind coming off the lake.
 By Pepper Parr
They gather in the hundreds and spend hours building sand castles. There are the professional sand castle builders; then there are the Family efforts, that can be quite amazing and then there are what five, six and seven year olds build.
 This is what happens when you let a professional get into a pike of sand. This one, being worked on by Sandi ‘Castle’ Stirling, delighted everyone. This year it was just the same.
 It was a perfect summer day. Just at the edge of the horizon sail boats tacked back and forth while people strolled along the edge of the water. The pro’s were out there working on the big ones while the artists in progress were toiling away with their individual efforts. While the crowds were not what the Beachway has seen in the past – it was the public making great use of a wonderful location.
Parking was a challenge but this Sunday we didn’t see the bylaw enforcement officers putting a ticket on anything that had four wheels. Smart move city hall.
The music was light summer stuff – the Beach Boys sound and the crowds loved it.
 The people putting together a A Cultural Action Plan for the city went to the community and asked people: What is culture to you and where do you look for it in Burlington. The group took a booth at the Children’s Festival and had children make their mark on a choice list. Interesting approach. This year there was en element of culture thrown in. Jeremy Freiburger, who heads up the development of the city`s Cultural Action Plan was asking the children and their parents where they looked for culture in Burlington and asking where did they find it?
His was an interesting approach to gathering information from the public.
 Sculpting lots were laid out waiting for people to show up and begin working with sand. By the end of the day the lots were full with every imaginable idea built with sand. The Festival was a two day event with the first day focused on the Beachway where the sand sculpture competitions took place. People were able to register in advance and get a small lot assigned to them.
There were prizes in five categories: Adult, Youth, child, family and The People`s Choice.
The People`s Choice went to the Andrews family who really worked as a team. Those who were not sculpting stood and held umbrellas over those who had their hands in the sand.
Adult prizes were:
1st: Azva Bowron – Sponge Bob Square Pants
2nd: John Bowron – Castle
3rd Eunice Harvey – Flower
 It wasn’t just about sand castles and playing in the water. Face painting was part of the event as well In the Youth category prize winners were:
1st: Julia Barnes – Man watching animals
2nd: Matthew Souter – Igloo and snowman
3rd: Jeff Behr – Tiger
In the Child category the winners were:
1st: Mitchell Green-Johns – Dolphins
2nd: Katie Green-Johns – Dragon Fly
3rd: Lulia Skumuter – Flower
 The Andrews Family took top prize in the Adult category as well as the People’s Choice prize Their winning effort was “under construction” in this photograph. In the Family category the prize winners were:
1st : The Andrews Family – Dragon and Castle
2nd: Mifsud Family – Jungle Animals
3rd: Barnes Family – Castle
 The sand castle builders always had attentive audiences The People Choice went to the first prize winners in the Family category – The Andrews Family with the Dragon and Castle sculpture.
Each year the Children`s Festival has a sand castle theme.
The Children`s Festival is a two day event with Day2 taking place at Spencer Smith Park and runs from 10:00 am to 10 pm. This is the 20th year of the Festival in Burlington. The theme this year Jungle Safari: the park will be overrun by Tarzans & Janes & Jungle Creatures! Themed around jungle fun, children will enjoy great activities targeted to them such as:
Live entertainment, Play zones, Inflatables, Character meet & greet, Shows, Kids’ marketplace and the Jungle Promenade Parade. Add crafts and the NEW Infant marketplace & activities.
The evening ends with an outdoor showing of the film Madagascar 2
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON August 18, 2012 The Riviera Motel, empty for at least six months was found ablaze late Friday night.
Burlington fire crews responded just after midnight to the Riviera Motel on Lakeshore Road near Brant Street to find flames engulfing the second storey of the building. There were no injuries. Arson is suspected and the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office has been notified.
 A long time landmark along Lakeshore Road set ablaze Friday night – arson is suspected. The building is due for demolition before the end of the year The motel which has long been a landmark along Burlington’s waterfront, was badly damaged by the flames. It is slated for demolition before the end of the year to comply with a change in a Conservation Authority requirement that calls for a greater set back form the lake that is currently required.
The site has a height and density that will allow for a 22 storey building and two seven storey buildings. The owners of the property are currently working with the city to permit an eighth floor on the building that will be a hotel. The developers wanted seven floors for hotel accommodation and an eighth floor for administrative and marketing use.
If the eighth floor is permitted the building will be higher than the Waterfront Hotel which is just to the west of the Riviera site.
The intention is believed to be to have a hotel in place for the Pan American games which take place in 2015.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 18, 2012 She put everything she had into the effort.
It cost her the job she had but for Michele Benoit that didn’t matter. The focus for her was to slip into the water at Port Dalhousie at 8 pm Friday night and head for Spencer Smith Park in Burlington and come ashore some twenty to twenty two hours later.
It wasn’t to be.
Weather conditions at Port Dalhousie were just not right for the swim Benoit wanted to do and at approximately 8:20 Friday evening she informed the city that the swim has been postponed until further notice, likely in two weeks at the earliest. Benoit and her team had decided that the conditions were just not right to set out.
The swim was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., but swim master Christine Arsenault said the winds were too strong.
Those who work on Lake Ontario will tell you that the lake changes in September; it becomes a different body of water.
 Michele Benoit needed reasonably calm waters to cross Lake Ontario Friday night. The weather didn’t cooperate and the swim was postponed The goal Michele Benoit had is a noble one. And she had the best wishes of a community behind her including a Mayor who tweeted for her regularly.
Benoit wasn’t the only person who had to cancel her swim.
Annaleise Carr, a 14 year old who wanted to become the youngest person to swim across the lake had planned on starting her swim on Friday as well. She was to land at the famed Marilyn Bell Park in Toronto, named after the first Canadian to swim across the lake.
Solo Swims Ontario, the official body responsible for verifying the validity of the swim and for ensuring the safety of the swim declared the winds too high Friday for Carr to enter the water. Those same wind conditions existed at the western end of the Lake as well
Lake Ontario is one of the toughest bodies of water to conquer. François Hamel, 42 abandoned the swim after injuring his left shoulder. In August 2011, Greg Willoughby, 41, had just one mile left to go when his whole body gave out and he couldn’t keep himself afloat any longer.
It’s a tough unforgiving lake.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON. ON August 17, 2012 Halton Regional Police are reminding the public of the perils associated with social media platforms after notice of a Burlington house gathering resulted in several unwanted youths attending.
On Thursday August 16th at 10:55 p.m., police were called to a disturbance at a home on Silvan Forest Drive. A child of the homeowner had invited a few friends over and word of the gathering was inadvertently posted on various social media sites.
 Surprise – we heard about your party and we want in. Police were called – it got “unruly” The posting resulted in several unwanted youths attending the home, causing damage and removing items from within. Despite the unruliness of the attendees and having objects tossed at them, police were able to quell the disturbance and restore order.
Despite its many benefits, the advent of social media has its downsides and incidents such as these are becoming all too common within our community. The police in conjunction with school board officials continue to work on educating both youth and parents of the need to be cognizant of the potential implications associated with social media applications.
This Social Media can cut both ways. The Mayor of Burlington recently sent out the following:
| Hi Pepper,Rick Goldring has invited you to like his page The Mayor’s Cabaret.
Thanks,
The Facebook Team |
The Mayor wants you to show up at the Performing Arts Centre and attend the fund raiser he is sponsoring for the Centre – which remind us – what have they been up to at the Centre lately and is their agreement with the city signed yet?
 By Margaret Lindsay Holton
I recently moved. And, as anyone who has been through this anxious ordeal knows, moving, if not carefully planned out, can be a logistical nightmare. In preparation, I had meticulously prepared what was going where, sorted which boxes were to go to what specific location, marked said boxes for the movers in black and red markers, and basically got ‘mover ready’. I was determined to leave behind a clean empty house.
Two items were of concern. I was taking two appliances with me. Item one was a 1997 washing machine (worked perfectly) and item two was a bulky Maytag refrigerator that had a deep lower fridge portion, (which I liked and wanted.) Both items were large, cumbersome and very heavy. Both were going to need two strong movers using an appliance dolly to get them out.
I measured the door opening between the kitchen-dining room area to make sure that the appliances would fit through on route to the truck, and discovered, yes, the washing machine would fit, no problem, but no, the fridge frame was too wide by a quarter inch. Thus, the doors of the refrigerator would have to come off. In the basement, I found the prefect sized wrench to remove the door bolts and put it on top of the fridge, with a small plastic bag for the disassembled bits, ready too for the movers.
The big day arrived. On Wednesday, August 1st. at 9am, after emptying the contents of the refrigerator into a cooler, I went and got the 14’ U-Haul cube truck. I gingerly backed up the beastie so that the cavernous back would open up unfettered to the front door. I rolled the appliance dolly into the kitchen. I was ready for the ‘movers’. Everything was ‘on schedule.’
 Never argue with man and his tape measure. © Photography by Margaret Lindsay Holton Bonus. The first of three strong male movers arrived early. He asked me what I wanted him to do first. I told him that the doors on the refrigerator had to come off so that it would go out the kitchen into the dining room to get to the front door and out to the truck. He looked at the door opening and said, “Naw. It will fit. Just remove the refrigerator handles, not the whole doors.” I handed him the tape measure, and said, “You might want to double check that.” Miffed that I would challenge his perceptual acuity, he briskly measured the width and depth of the fridge, and measured the width of the door opening. “SEE?” said he, “Lots of room! We only have to remove the handles, not the entire doors.” “Are you SURE?” said I. “ABSOLUTELY”, said he, as he pointedly placed the tape measure back on the counter.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, never argue with a man and a tape measure. I left him as he began to remove only the refrigerator door handles and went upstairs to finish tidying up there.
When I returned to the kitchen, the two other movers had arrived. All three of them were trying to jimmy the now handle-less refrigerator strapped onto the appliance dolly out through the kitchen-dining room door opening. The dolly was screeching back and forth on the kitchen linoleum as they took one run after another. All were giving instructions: ‘Go left a bit. Go back a foot. Go right 2 inches. Got it here. Go forward. Go left a few centimeters. Go back.’ But still, the refrigerator would not fit through. I meekly suggested that maybe they should take off the entire refrigerator doors. This suggestion was abruptly dismissed. Instead, the MEN decided it would be “Easier & Quicker” to just remove the kitchen-dinning room door off its swing hinge, (rather than unstrap the securely bound refrigerator from the dolly.) I left them to it.
 Door handles © Photography by Margaret Lindsay Holton An hour later, the move had ground to a halt. Two of the guys, (not the guy who had measured the refrigerator), were fixated on removing the kitchen-dining room swing door from its upper and lower sockets. That old wooden door, painted several times during the decades, was deeply embedded into the door frame. Without electrical tools on hand, prying loose those old painted over screws and pulling out those old embedded socket hinges demanded dogged determination and a strong set of hands. Another strong set were needed to hold the heavy door level. It was proving to be hard work just to get that door off.
And where was the guy who had so confidently said to remove ONLY the refrigerator door handles?
I found him, a big strong sweating man, on the other side of the swing door, in the dining room. He too had stopped carrying stuff to the truck. Instead, somewhat sheepishly, he was very carefully vacuuming up all the aged paint and wood bit chips that were flying off that stuck door and frame as the other two struggled to set that old door free.
It was a poignant vignette. In that instant, I concluded that men really are wonderful, even though they can be proud, stubborn and even a little bit pig-headed.
Margaret Lindsay Holton is both an environmentalist and an acerbic social activist. She is an artist of some renown and the designer of a typeface. She is also a photographer and the holder of opinions she will share with you in an instant. She appears as an Our Burlington columnist every two weeks.
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 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON August 17, 2012 Beach water monitoring by the Regional Health staff on August 14 revealed the following beaches are safe for swimming:
•
 Beachway water is safe – jump in Burlington – Beachway Park
Halton Hills – Prospect Park Old Beach
Milton – Kelso Conservation Area
Oakville – Coronation Park East
The following beaches are unsafe for swimming:
• Oakville – Coronation Park West, Bronte Park Beach.
Remember to take sun screen and to park legally along the Beachway.
Have fun
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 16, 2012 The Regional Police got a call from the Fido store at the Burlington Mall to report a theft. This was slick – they’ll get caught – eventually.
On August 12th, mid-afternoon, an unknown female suspect entered the Fido cellular phone store at the Burlington Mall. The store clerk began assisting the woman. Soon after, an unknown black male suspect and an unknown white male suspect entered the store. The white man approached the store clerk and told her that the black man required assistance picking out a phone. While the store clerk spoke to the black man with her back to the white male and female, the white man entered the back room with the female’s black and white striped bag and proceeded to grab numerous cellular phones and place them in the bag. When the white male exited the back room, he handed the bag back to the woman and the three suspects left the store together.
 4S iPhones – a popular item.. If you get an offer of a good deal – think twice. This crew had obviously “cased the joint” and knew where the inventory was.
Stolen items include: Five 16 Gigabit 4s white iPhones; four 16 Gigabit 4s black iPhones; and one 64 Gigabit 4s white iPhone.
Suspect #1 is described as: female, possibly of aboriginal descent, approximately 5ft5, approximately 140 lbs, with a heavy build. The suspect appeared to be approximately 30 to 35 years of age, with black hair. She was wearing a black shirt, blue jeans, brown knee high boots, with a black and white bag on her right shoulder.
Suspect #2 is described as: male, black, approximately 6ft, with a slim build. The suspect appeared to be approximately 20 to 25 years of age, dark haired, with a shaved head. He was wearing a grey long sleeve zipper hoodie, blue jeans, dark shoes, and a large wrist watch on his left wrist.
Suspect #3 is described as: male, white with a tanned complexion, approximately 6ft, with a heavy build. The suspect appeared to be 200 lbs, 25 to 30 years of age, dark haired, with a shaved head. He was wearing diamond earrings in each ear, a white golf shirt with a diamond pattern, white and neon striped shorts, and a loafer style dark shoe.
 Those are pretty good descriptions. When the police eventually apprehend this crew – they will be identified. If you get an opportunity to buy a cell phone that seems too good to be true – now you know where that telephone may have come from.
Anyone with information on this or any other crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 15, 2012 It has been a challenge but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is going to get brighter and brighter. Five of the 42 beams needed to complete the building of the Pier at the foot of Brant Street are now on site and up to nine more will be delivered this week.
The plan is to have a minimum of five beams delivered every week until all 42 are on site and ready for installation.
With the nine that are scheduled – we say scheduled because they first have to pass a very rigorous inspection on Wednesday, the 15th, there will be enough steel for some of the erection work to be started. The crane needed to do the erection work will be in place early next week.
 General Manager Scott Stewart with Deb Franke of AJ Braun and Craig Stevens discuss the welding of beams for the Pier. The progress schedule is top of mind for all three. One of the beams being welded is shown. During a site inspection at the fabrication plant last week, city General Manager Scott Stewart, Project Manager for Corporate Strategic Initiatives, Craig Stevens and I traveled to Kitchener to get a firsthand look at the work being done and to inspect the quality logs.
Almost the first question Stewart had of Deb Franke, the woman running A. J. Braun, one of three companies welding the beams, was – “do you have a grip on the problems now and do you feel you are going to be able to get the fabricated steel out the door and onto the trucks on the schedule we have put in place? .
“I think so”replied Franke, “but I want to wait until Wednesday of next week to be absolutely sure.”
That Wednesday is today. There is a lot riding on the inspection which is very rigorous. But if all the welding work passes it will indicate that the fabricators have overcome the problems they were having. At one point the inspector failed all four beams one fabricator had produced – it was that bad.
The problems that are being worked through now go back to the shipment of steel plate that came in early in February that was rejected by the company doing the quality assurance work for the city. Unfortunately city hall wasn’t as transparent as they could have been and should have been with the public about having to order new steel. City Manager Jeff Fielding was recently quoted as admitting staff had erred in not informing council back in February or March that it had some concerns.
 A J Braun, a Kitchener company doing much of the welding for the beams that will be used to create the deck for the pier has every certificate imaginable. If certificates mean anything – these people are qualified to do the job. Staff has decided they will provide updates on the pier every three weeks, instead of every six weeks. Why not provide an update when you have new information?
The kind of steel plate needed to build the pier is not manufactured in Hamilton. The first shipment came from a country outside Canada. It did not pass the quality control tests.
The second shipment came from two different steel plate manufacturers in North America. Once the plates – which measured 40 feet wide 80 feet long – were sourced they had to be transported. That’s when CP Rail went on strike. Getting a truck to transport the steel turned out not to be an option – first there wasn’t much in the way of truck transport available and our steel could only be transported in daylight hours because of the length of the load.
City General Manager Scott Stewart said at the time that there wasn’t a problem that hasn’t managed to find its way into this project. Many believe there is a book in this experience. Opinion appears to be divided on whether the book should be written as a comedy or a tragedy.
As soon as the steel that was sourced from two mills in North America, it went to Brannon Steel in Brampton for cutting. We are talking about steel plate that is 7/8th of an inch thick and starts out as 40×80 foot in size.
When the plate is cut it goes to the fabricators. That’s when a new set of problems cropped up. It is vital that the welds on the steel be perfect – and that isn’t easily achieved. Its very technical and called for a level of perfection not normally called for in the construction field but, because these beams are going to carry a very heavy load of concrete that is poured once all the beams are bolted together – they have to be solid.
 Every beam has 19 pages of documentation. General Manager Scott Stewart on the left and Project Manager Craig Stevens look over the reports that set out who did what when and how long it took to get the job done. The city learned just how solid when a crane on the site during the first attempt at building the pier toppled over. That’s when it became evident that welds weren’t holding and that the tensility of the steel was not good enough. The tensile strength is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled. The city learned just how much tensility was needed when the crane toppled and at that time – there wasn’t enough.
Resource Industrial Group; A J. Braun and Bellcamp are now involved in the welding. Each shop do their own quality control with Herschfield Morrison doing the quality assurance on behalf of the city.
 Every weld on every beam is inspected. Here, a beam with markings from the inspector is shown. Nothing is being left to chance. At one point the inspectors sent back four beams that did not pass the tests – and that put the wind right up the you know what, at city hall. This project was never going to get done at this rate.
Traditionally one out of every five welds is inspected – this project has 100% inspection – they look at everything.
 B3 – the problem beam.. Getting the welds done so they would pass quality assurance was easier said than done. Deb Franke, chief cheese at AJ Braun, one of three companies doing the welding work take Scott Stewart and Craig Stevens through the problems. Deb Franke will tell you about beam B3 – it was a problem and had to be re-welded a number of times before they got it right.
Each welding shop does its own Quality Control – but it has to get past the Quality Assurance inspectors who are tough, tough, tough. Their job is to find something wrong and sometimes they don`t want to stop until they do find something wrong.
There are short studs, set a couple of inches apart, that are welded to each beam – they are in place to hold the concrete when it is poured. An inspector puts a long pipe on a stud and bends it. If all the studs do is bend bend and the welds don’t pop – it passes the test. If the weld pops – the stud fails. Now here is where we get a peek at just how rigorous this testing is. Two of the Nelson studs are bent for each test. If they pass – the beam is OK.
If one of the welds pops, that is it doesn`t hold, the next test is done to four studs. If any one of the four pops, the next test is 8 studs are bent, if anyone of them – fails, well you can see where this is going. Nothing is being left to chance.
There was one occasion when the inspectors basically shut down the A.J.Braun shop while they went through everything – the beams they were expecting passed.
Time and again the Quality Control inspectors would turn down a beam because the problems with the quality of the weld. There was one particular beam that seemed to be nothing but trouble for Deb Franke at A.J. Braun, a fabricator in Kitchener that had bid on the very first tender put out for the pier back in 2005.
Franke was very familiar with the project. `We had hoped to be a sub-contractor on that first attempt but we didn’t make the cut then. Seven years later Braun is the lead player in the team that is fabricating the beams along with two other fabricators.
 Here, Craig Stevens, Project Manager for the Pier and Deb Franke head of AJ Braun, the lead company on the welding side of the project are discussing B3, the problem beam. Deb Franke was one of four daughters – `we suspected one of us was going to end up at the fabrication plant. Tucked away in the corner of her office is one of those pink construction helmets that Franke never wears – she doesn`t have to do cute to make her point. This is a no nonsense, get to the point and lets solve the problem kind of woman. Her shop works weekend shifts until this project sees the last beam go out the door.
When the beams have passed the welding inspection – they are both x-rayed and put through a magnetic particle test. The machine that does this is quite small but it is a vitsal part of the quality process and it has to have its own power supply.
A.J. Braun is doing all the railings for the pier as well. This is a line of fabrication they have a lot of experience with and they don`t see any potential for delays once all the beams are out of the galvanizers.
For Deb Franke, this project has been quite an experience. She isn’t the kind of person one expects to see at a fabrication plant. The business was owned by her father, Walt Bathe, who wasn’t able to keep up with the work load when he became ill. Deb found herself moving from rubber manufacturing into welding and shaping steel and aluminum mostly for the highway industry.
“We have learned so much on this contract” says Franke, “that we are now able to bid on jobs we didn’t know enough about before. We are now bidding on twice as many jobs as before because of this experience. We’ve learned a lot about how to improve quality control and are a better company because of this experience.”
At least someone is getting something out of the delays the city of Burlington has experienced.
Each of the 42 beams has extensive documentation. Every beam is given a number and is a part of a particular segment of the pier.
For each beam there are 19 pages of documentation that note every step taken; time in and time out of the shop; the results of each of the tests with notations showing which employee did the job.
If all goes well, the city will have the last of the beams at the construction site by the middle of September.
Craig Stevens, Project Manager on this one, serves as the right hand man for General Manager Stewart. The two talk several times a day. Stevens was heavily involved with the construction of the Performing Arts Centre and during his 24 years with the city he has been involved in Central Library Expansion, Brant Hills Community Centre and Branch Library Expansion and Renovation, Angela Coughlan Pool Expansion and Renovation, Aldershot Pool Expansion and Renovation, Aldershot Arena Expansion and Renovation, Seniors Centre Expansion and Renovation, Appleby Ice Centre Twinning and now the Pier. Except for the pier every project Stevens has been in on were completed on time and on budget.
Stevens, who has a degree in Landscape Architecture and hold a Project Manager Professional, PMP, began his career with Parks and Open Space. He was hands on with the Paletta Waterfront Park, City View Park Master Plan and our Waterfront Trail. The value of the projects he has been involved in exceeds $100M – which is quite a bit more than the city pays him.
Monitoring progress on close to an hourly basis at times, is what keeps Stevens busy and on the pier project is has gotten really messy – and this one isn’t over yet.
Wednesday, this morning at 5:30 am the inspectors were at all three welding companies to inspect three beams at each location. If they all pass, and they are expected to – they then get shipped off to the galvanizer where 6 mm of molten zinc coating is applied to every beam and then they are loaded on a truck and brought to Burlington.
The crane used to do the erecting so that the parts can be bolted together will be on site – and the city can see their pier being built – finally.
There is surely some way for the city to celebrate the arrival of that final beam.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 14, 2012 When you don`t hear very much about a project – do you assume it`s dead? Maybe there are people back there beavering away and there will be great news any day – real soon.
Or should you worry that there are some problems and begin asking some questions.
The Freeman Station – where is that project.
Well – there has been some movement. Not much on the surface but James Smith says he has a copy of the lease from the Ashland Corporation saying the land to the west of their main plant in Burlington is now leased to the city for the excluded use of the Friends of Freeman Station. That`s good news – isn’t it ?
 The sign will tell you where the station is going to sit – and that’s a step forward. Next step – getting the Joint Venture Agreement with the city in place. On the surface that is good news. The Friends of Freeman Station have had a big sign 8 feet by 4 feet that will get put up on the site in the very near future announcing the new home of the station.
So – what`s next. You’ve got a lease, then have a sign with your name on it that you’re going to put up on the property – you call the moving van don`t you and you move in.
Not so fast – this is municipal politics.
The next step is putting together a Joint Venture Agreement between the city and the Friends of Freeman Station.
There was a time in Burlington when these things were done on a handshake or a wink and a nod; maybe it took a call from the Mayor`s office – those day are over. The city now has a template for all the Joint Venture Agreements it signs. The core part of each agreement is the same with the document modified to meet the specific needs.
The Burlington Soccer Club has a Joint Venture Agreement as has the Burlington Gymnastics Club. Each is fundamentally the same with the details for each written to meet the situation.
The Friends of Freeman now meet with the city to work out just what will be in the agreement setting out who is going to do what and who will pay for what.
Smith will meet with General Manager Scott Stewart and they will work out the details. The document will go back and forth a few times and then to a Council Committee and then to city Council and right after that the Friends of Freeman get the keys and they can move the train station.
Well – not exactly – the city will do that actual move.
But once the building is sitting on a base on the leased property – the Friends can begin working on the transformation of the building. In the world of government – be it federal, provincial, Regional or local – the wheels turn slowly.
In the meantime they will begin looking for a new engineer to help them with the structural issues – the engineer they had retired.
The Friends of Freeman do have some fence mending to do – there are still a number of people at city hall who have quite a bit of clout and aren’t all that keen on the idea of the station going anywhere. Some of them haven’t gotten over the disappointment with what they thought was a solid decision to put the thing at the northern edge of Spencer Smith Park.
But that’s another story.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 13, 2012 She has a sweet, almost pretty sound. It’s light, lyrical – evocative at times. Give her a chance though and she can get as raunchy as the best of them – but music for Lisa Nicole is about being happy and having fun.
 Waiting for their call to the stage. Lisa Nicole and Daren Swanson She and her husband take to the stage at the Central Park Band shell Wednesday evening as part of the city’s summer program. The two of them work very well together – they own the stage the moment they get on it and while there is just the two of them they do each have their own guitar – so there is a chance for Burlington to once again show the world that eight million is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to getting hits with social media.
The last time Burlington did this, when introducing Walk off the Earth to the rest of the world. That group was made up of five people and the one guitar – OK so that group had a bit of help from a BIG name, but if we do this right and the Burlington Olympians (we have five of them and right now Olympians are hot) get on this band wagon we just might manage to skyrocket these two to a whole new level.
How do you do that? Well first – listen to the sound. They will be playing at the band shell in Central Park on Wednesday, the 15th from 7:30 to 9:00 pm.
The two, Lisa and Daren refer to themselves as Alchemy Unplugged, a duo that was formed in 2002.
 Lisa Nicole and Daren Swanson will take the Central Park band shell Wednesday the 15th Daren wrote a piece about a homeless guy he passed on the streets of Toronto. As I listened to the lyrics I realized – I know that man. He sits on a cushion almost every day of the week selling cheap ball point pens out of a tin cup and telling the women they look like Marilyn Monroe and they should be in Hollywood. The men get told that they look like Robert Redford. He isn’t a beggar – he is selling you a ball point pen.
When I asked Daren – do you remember the man’s name – he said – I never asked – neither had I but if you bump into him on the street – buy a pen and say hello for Daren and me.
What makes this man, who looks homeless, unique is that twice a week he goes to the hospital and gets plugged into a dialysis machine to have his blood cleaned.
Listen to the music about this man. It’s what’s in store for you if you happen to spend part of a summer evening at the band shell in Central Park.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 13, 2012 The pint sized lady who is going to swim Lake Ontario from Port Dalhousie to Burlington this Friday and Saturday, is at that frenzied stage; trying to get it to that “it’s all together now” stage. Michele Benoit isn’t there yet.
The hard, day in day out training is behind her – if she isn’t in top shape physically now – she never will be. Her mental condition will be known by this swimmer the moment she slips into the water.
She could use someone with a Zodiac for the trip that will last at least 20 hours. She has one – she would like a second one. By the end of the week she will have all the pieces in place and slip into the water Friday evening and begin the solid stroke after stroke that will get her from there to here.
 That pixie look hides a very determined woman who has decided to take on Lake Ontario Making this happen has not been an easy task. The swim is badly under-funded. It has had to scrimp and scrape to get the equipment and people needed to make this happen. But bit by bit – the pieces are falling into place and Benoit continues her daily swims and exercise routines.
Mayor Goldring has been tweeting his audience about the event. The city is getting ready to set up a small tent to receive Benoit when she comes ashore sometime Saturday afternoon. The special entrance being put in place to get to the “instant beach” formed on the west side of the under construction pier was moved up in the schedule so Benoit could land there.
They are still working out just where the people who are going to be at Port Dalhousie with her will park their cars once someone brings them back to Burlington.
Stephen Turner is part of the crew serving as the paramedic. Billy Johnson and Joe Atikian will drive the boats. Christine Arsenault is her swim master. Colleen Shields is one of the pacers as well as a boat driver.
 You swim across a lake by putting one arm in the water after the other – with a Lake Ontario swim – you can be doing that for as much as 24 hours. That`s the battle between Michele Benoit and Lake O As Benoit strokes toward shore there will be a large crowd of people out on the Beachway Park building sand castles and when the word gets to them – they may walk to the other end of the Park and be on hand to greet this unbelievably committed young lady who has been doing media interviews that range from the French CBC radio station to a handful of small Christian based radio program and an interview on 100 Huntley Street.
Benoit brings a strong Christian commitment to the swim – it is not something she is doing just to get her name on a list of people who have swum across the lake. The swim is the first step in a planned approach to raise funds for an organization that helps people in Africa get fresh water.
Benoit will tell you all you ever want to know about the plight of people in a number of African countries where fresh water – something we take for granted – is a precious and at times hard to come by commodity.
Waves for Water is the charity all this swimming is being done for. Once the swim is completed – and there is absolutely no doubt in Benoit’s mind that she will complete the swim – in record time? That’s not something she can tell you. Everything depends on the weather. High winds will mean large waves and that means more time – but for Benoit –well she will face what she is given.
Her team is in place – for the most part. Her Mom and Dad is going to be there as is her sister, niece and nephew, who will handle the land side communications.
Her feeders are in place – these are the people that will get nutrients to her from a cup at the end of a pole. Matt Smith heads up that task as well as being the crossing coach. Deborah Arsenault is the nutritionist preparing the feed. Her pacers will be aboard one of the accompanying craft. During the swim various pacers will be in the water with her to help her keep a steady arm over arm stroke.
 It`s a cold forbidding body of water that Benoit will slip into next Friday night. She believes that she is up to the challenge. Doug Hawksworth will be out there with his sailboat along with members of the family, Chelsea and Candice and Brett White helping out.
Sue Reed is her crossing manager. Miguel Vadillo will help with the pacing as well as driving the boat which has to have huge lights on it at night so that Benoit is never out of sight.
Geoff Farrow will also pace and drive the boat.
Jessie Douglas will be along as the photographer.
Michael Shaen and sister Kim are land co-ordinators.
Chris Chriswick, Bud Seawright, Nigel Reed and Branko Dren will be part of the crew on the landside of things.
There is a team meeting on Tuesday – the last one before the pace changes and Michele Benoit prepares herself for the challenge – the awesome struggle between her and what she calls Lake O.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON August 13, 2012 The Conservation is getting into marketing and helping parents get the kids off the couch and away from the screen and out into the green.
 Getting them away from the screen and out into the green – Mountsberg has a great program. “Does your child suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder, or do you just want them to take a break from screen time and get some green time? “ they ask. And they offer a 50 Things To Do Before You’re 12 program.
It all starts Sunday August 19, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mountsberg Conservation Area. It includes many activities some ‘old timers’ may remember doing as kids.
 Mountsberg offers great outdoor programs year round. A must visit if you`re raising children At 50 Things To Do Before You’re 12, children will learn how to use a compass, build a fort, start a fire without matches or skip a stone on the lake. Mountsberg is especially excited to welcome Maple Hill Tree Services who will help you to climb a big tree, without having to worry about falling.
50 Things To Do Before You’re 12 is based on a list created by the United Kingdom’s National Trust. All the activities engage children and their families with nature in a way that is sure to create long term family memories.
 Mountsberg is an incredible collection of things to do. This little guy would never get a chance to do something like this – churning – anywhere else The program is part of a response to the growing disconnect between children and nature. He coined the term ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ to describe the poor physical and emotional health of children and adults due to the lack of direct exposure to the outdoors.
There is no additional charge for the program; it is included with regular gate fees, and free for Conservation Halton Annual members. It will be a great day full of family fun, who knows maybe you can prove you are the greatest stone skipper of all time!
Getting there: Mountsberg Conservation Area is located on Milburough Line, five km west of Campbellville, ON, between Highway 6 South and the Guelph Line.
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