The Thorold News re-launched in December 2017 and over the first year nearly 900 Thorold stories were generated. We take the time to look back at some of those stories in brief summaries.
Beaverdams Church gets re-built with a little help from its Friends
Friends and neighbours filled the historic Beaverdams Church to usher in the festive season with a food drive for Community Care and cash raffle to support ongoing restoration efforts, followed by a community carol sing.
David Cowan, president of the Friends of Beaverdams, updated the crowd on upcoming projects, which include replacing the church’s 26 windows before tackling the exterior, then the interior of the building.
“The group is varied, sharp, and energetic,” he said, describing the Friends, who are all passionate about preserving the historical 1832 landmark. “Some of the 141 members are descendants of the original church members; some have ancestors in the cemetery, some are history buffs who know the importance of preserving our heritage, and some are architecture enthusiasts who know how rare the New England Meeting House style is in Canada. They come from everywhere—as far as Toronto and Vancouver.”
Brock students team up with seniors to improve Thorold senior housing
In Dr. Paula Gardner’s experience, students and seniors are often fearful of each other.
That is, until they spend some time together, and start to see each other, 'Through Their Eyes.'
Part of Gardner’s Developing Healthy Communities course in the third-year Health Science program at Brock University, the inter-generational Through Their Eyes project, which began in New York City, frequently finds students and seniors breaking age stereotypes; becoming fast friends. Even going out together to play bingo.
After all, they’re not all that different, says Gardner, who’s taught the course for five years, and brought the project to Brock, which teams students with seniors to suggest improvements at a different rental unit each year. This year’s subject was the seniors’ housing residence at 45 Ormond Street South.
Spending a couple months with seniors, students analyzed their findings under categories such as Transportation and Public Spaces, and presented them in the apartment’s common room last week.
“It was a great experience,” said Cheryl Lacasse. “I enjoyed my students and I feel like I got to voice my opinion on things that are needed around here and they really listened. I had a really good time with them, and I wouldn’t mind if they come to see me all the time.”
Likewise, students said they enjoyed the experience.
“I was so nervous,” said Brock student Emma Duncan, at the outset of the project.
After being teamed with a senior, “I aspire to her level of sass,” she said, with a smile.
Coun. Terry Ugulini, the city’s Senior Centre Liaison, invited students to an Age-Friendly committee meeting, expressing his pride in students: “This is the message we have to get out about Brock.”
Gardner said students are asked to reflect on three topics: personal growth—to change the way they act in the world; civic engagement—to learn that they are “larger than themselves,” and academic enhancement. After participating in the project, some said they began greeting and waving to seniors for the first time.
“The students are so passionate about it. It’s a great way to fight against age-ism.”
Students said, “I see older people now. I mean, I really see them,” and “I get it now. All that book learning suddenly makes sense in the real world.”
Christmas comes early to Beaverdams
Christmas came early to the Friends of Beaverdams Church, in the form of a $10,000 cheque from Ontario Power Generation.
Gerry Foote, OPG’s Vice President of Operations Niagara, made the donation to Friends president David Cowan at the historic church Friday morning.
“It’s all part of our Power with Purpose program. We like to support the communities in which we operate. The bonus is it’s not just a great community project, but it’s historic, and being a company that’s over 100 years old” makes it a good fit, he said. “We’re pretty pleased to be a part of it.”
Cowan remarked that “We are surrounded by OPG” property.
The Friends have been fundraising to replace all 26 of the church’s multi-paned windows, with an expected installation start date of Jan. 2.
At a cost of $2,000 per window, he called the donation “an important contribution because it certainly speeds up the windows project. This will complete the windows and enable us to move on with the siding earlier than we thought.”
The new nineteenth-century style windows are hand-made by Mennonite carpenters, and have been painted with four coats. The siding, which isn’t original to the 1832 heritage building, will arrive pre-painted, said Cowan.
“The place has been re-sided at least once before.”
He added that while it was necessary to rebuild the foundation—to the tune of $80,000—“It’s not visible in the street, but the windows will be.”
The Friends have hosted several events and received “a lot of individual donations,” towards renovating the Marlatts Road landmark, said Cowan.
“We’ve been able to meet our project goal every year so far, and we’ve only owned the place since 2014.”
Christmas for marginalized men
According to James Symons, some of the men he’s trying to help may have never had a Christmas present.
Men who are homeless, or on the verge of living on the streets.
So when a shoe box lands in their lap, jam-packed with warm accessories, toiletries, snacks and “something fun”—all from strangers—it can make a world of difference, just knowing that someone is thinking of them around Christmas time.
To some people, a pair of warm socks or new toothbrush might not seem like much.
To these men, it can mean a great deal.
“My goal was 25 (shoe boxes),” said Symons. As of Thursday night, “I’m at 200,” said the Thorold resident.
For the past few weeks, the front end assistant and cashier has coerced his Costco coworkers, family and fellow parishioners at the Village Church into helping him collect car loads of donated items and form assembly lines to sort them so each box contains roughly similar items.
Some people gave dozens of toothbrushes, others gave snacks, or one of every item he requested: a toothbrush, toothpaste, warm socks, gloves, toques, chocolates or some type of snack, soap or body wash, and a word search, crossword puzzle book or small game to keep their mind off their troubles.
Still others who didn’t have time to shop donated money so Symons and his team could descend on Thorold’s dollar stores and stock up on whatever was needed.
Eight volunteers helped him sort, pack and wrap the boxes at the Village Church Thursday night.
The previous night, “A team of 20 youth from Jubilee church did 63 boxes in 45 minutes at the TCAG (Thorold Community Activities Group),” said Symons, adding, “Each player on the Welland Admirals (hockey team) did a box.”
Jordan Clark, a realtor from ReMax, has been helping Symons deliver them to Start Me Up Niagara and various homeless shelters.
Symons, who spearheaded Thorold’s Rubber Boot Drive for six years—raising $60,000 for Community Care and the Niagara Life Centre, said the idea to fill boxes originated “out of frustration. There was a purse drive for women, a pyjama night and stuff for children, but not much for men. If we’re having fun at Christmas, they should have fun too.”
Symons has a degree in community health science from Brock University, a personal support worker diploma from Niagara College, and is a volunteer board member for Contact Niagara, volunteering at Start Me Up Niagara and Southridge, an emergency shelter.
“My grandma always taught my dad and me to give back. Her husband died when my dad was very young. She worked hard and didn’t have the assistance like they have today but always made sure she shared.”
Council Briefs
Council has Shawn Wilson’s back
Council voted in favour of continuing to pay fellow Coun. Shawn Wilson during his leave of absence due to illness.
Wilson, 46, has been struggling with cancer for a couple years, and according to Mayor Ted Luciani, is currently undergoing chemotherapy.
“He’s coming around and feeling better,” said the mayor, “but his treatments happen on Tuesdays all the time,” meaning that Wilson feels too ill to attend Tuesday council meetings.
If a council member is absent for three successive months without being authorized to do so, council may suspend pay, under current rules.
Luciani said Wilson “wants to come back, so I’m asking that you support the resolution” to continue Wilson’s remuneration despite his absence.
It passed unanimously.
“We all wish him all the best,” said Coun. Tim Whalen.
Pay parking machines, permits coming soon
Within the next few weeks, downtown parking will be subjected to stricter enforcement measures as the city starts to implement its new parking strategy.
“The intent is to have it in before the end of the year,” said the city’s engineering manager, Sean Dunsmore.
The new plan includes the installation of pre-pay parking meter machines, and by-law enforcement staff will be ticketing vehicles violating the allotted time limits.
“There will also be parking permits, and there is a grace period with advance notice,” said city CAO Manoj Dilwaria, and we will make sure it’s properly advertised in the newspapers. Once we start implementing it, people who are in default will be ticketed.”
Handley wants recognition for city employees
After attending a holiday celebration with city of Thorold workers, Coun. Jim Handley said he was “saddened to see that more employees weren’t in attendance.”
“Employees say to me, ‘Why should I pay $30 to go to a city Christmas party’?” Handley noted.
“As a municipality, I don’t see why we can’t have an employee recognition night and that we as a city foot the bill. At one time, we used to do it and give away a week’s vacation.”
Calling the idea “a good suggestion,” Dilwaria said, “We want to see how we could make it better.”
Stop, in the name of safety
Coun. Mike Charron said he is “seriously concerned” about residents’ request to remove the stop sign on Portland Street where it intersects with Welland Street South, and urged other neighbourhood residents to voice their opinion on the matter.
“I live in the area and so does Ted,” he said, referring to Mayor Luciani. “If you have a feeling about that one way or the other, let Sean Dunsmore know.
“I oppose it,” said the mayor at the Dec. 5 Council meeting.
Dunsmore said he’s currently “collecting information” and will bring forward a report on the issue.
Neale wants more dirt: sidewalks pose possible safety hazard
The installation of new sidewalks within the city has left Fred Neale feeling fearful for pedestrians.
“The company that’s going around putting in our sidewalks (Sacco Construction) is doing a good job but what they’re forgetting to do is put the dirt back in so people don’t fall off the sidewalk and hurt themselves and sue the city,” he said. “The dirt hasn’t been put back in all of them,” notably on the southwest corner of
Clairmont and Carleton Streets. Neale asked that it be done “next week, because it’s in real bad shape. It should have been done by now.”
Engineering manager Sean Dunsmore said he agrees with Neale “100 per cent. We have been on our contractor. They have been pulled away a few times and we’re in the process of looking at penalties.”
Thorold Public Library continues to wow patrons
Here at the Thorold Public Library, we like to take a three-pronged approach to wowing our patrons. Or sometimes four; sometimes two.
The prongs are pretty flexible like that.
But, this coming year we have so many new announcements that we're going to break it down for you in parts. In early 2018, we'll be adding three main additions to our existing services: a fun new e-resource, upgraded ILS, and an innovative makerspace! And before you say, "I don't know what any of those words are," let us explain. Our new e-resource is a fully digital magazine subscription service called Flipster and access will be free to all library card holders in good standing.
Starting Jan. 1, patrons can remotely browse titles such as HGTV, Oprah, Seventeen, Comics & Gaming Magazine, and more. This will be in addition to rather than in place of our existing print subscriptions. Our second upgrade is moving to Evergreen Integrated Library System with a go live date of March 1. Along with the user-friendly platform, this system enables us to join a library consortium called liNc that includes our peeps from Niagara College Libraries, Pelham Public Library, Fort Erie Public Library, Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library and Lincoln Public Library. It's the most docile gang you'll ever meet. With the switch, patrons will enjoy easy access to titles not only housed in our catalogue, but in the branches and campuses above.
And finally, over the next few months we’ll be adding a complete maker space centre for young minds to get creative. With the help of a Niagara Community Foundation Grant, we’ll be purchasing a 3D printer, green screen, computerized sewing machines, robotics and coding kits, and even looms.
We’ll be incorporating these tools into inventive new programs that expand the definition of library learning. By a few prongs at least.
Ding dong, DocuPet calling
Online Licensing Program Tracks Lost and Injured Dogs
If you see people with pamphlets on your porch, don’t be alarmed.
It’s DocuPet.
With dog licences due to expire on Dec. 31, the City is starting its second year of a five-year contract with DocuPet, and is aiming to amp up awareness of the online pet licensing program currently operating in several cities across Ontario and Niagara.
Over the course of two months, community representatives—typically post-graduate students—will visit Thorold’s urban area homes to provide information about the by-law, reminding pet owners of the need to renew their licences.
According to city clerk Donna Delvecchio, student door-to-door representatives “do not seek to disturb anyone. Their role is to drop off materials only. They are, however, happy to speak with anyone they meet along their route, should they wish to speak to them.”
Delvecchio said representatives have been formally trained both in the classroom and on the job, and are “under strict instruction to only make note of obvious signs and respect residents’ privacy.”
“The intention of the program is only to educate citizens and ensure more pets in Thorold are licensed. Pet licensing plays an important role in providing a safe community for our citizens and their pets. A licence allows animal control to identify your pet, get in touch with you, and make decisions that are in the best interest of your pet should it become lost or injured.”
DocuPet’s website claims its Lost Pet System program, which includes online pet profiles, has been successful.
“One in three pets becomes lost at some point in their lives. Our system is designed to get those pets home. In fact, we have helped provide the safe return of hundreds of pets that are reported lost. A lost dog wearing identification has a far greater chance of making it home safely and quickly. Once licensed, you will have access to DocuPet's lost pet services. This allows you to report your dog lost on your online account, sending a notification to your local shelter and pet owners on the ‘Lost Pet Brigade.’ Anyone who finds your dog can use the ID code on his/her tag to look up information you've deemed to be accessible to the public.”
DocuPet offers a unique tag and gives owners a choice of two tag sizes to ensure the proper fit for their dog. Each tag connects to the pet owner’s online account through a unique ID code, allowing owners to control which information can be seen when the tag ID is searched.
So far, the community has responded “very favourably” to DocuPet, said Delvecchio, with more than 50 per cent choosing to renew online in year one, “making an extra trip to city hall one less thing they need to worry about. In year two, we are already seeing a larger percentage license online. In year one, our compliance rate has increased by 26 per cent.”
When DocuPet was implemented, Thorold city council revised licence fees to remove large penalties for not complying.
To license your pet online, visit thorold.docupet.com.
