Fugly Baby
With the economic recession, political wrangling
and no relief in sight, 2009 is not the cutest baby new year.
New operator on the landscape
After years of operation at Weber Street North and Benjamin Road in Waterloo, Kuntz Landscape Depot will have new ownership and a new name this spring.
The longtime landscape supply business on the Woolwich-Waterloo border was recently sold to the former owners of Basics office products, Jim Dillon and his son Jeff Dillon. The deal closes Dec. 31.
Jeff Dillon and his father, Jim, former owners of Basics office products, have teamed up again to buy the Kuntz Landscape Depot, which now operates under the name Stone Landscapes Inc.
The change comes as Ray Kuntz moves to concentrate his area of focus on his other project, Kuntz Gravel Ltd., located on Bridge Street, on the Woolwich side of the road. The venture also operates a small gravel pit at 889 Bridge St. W. Last month, Woolwich council approved an increase of the annual tonnage extracted from the site, to 80,000 tonnes from 50,000.
The shift in focus prompted Kuntz to sell the landscape businesses, property and buildings at 650 Weber St. N. to the Dillons.
“I’m quite excited about it; there’s lots of opportunity in improvements that we’re going to be working on in the next 12 months, initially, that will take this business to the next level,” said Jeff Dillon, noting …Read more
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas from all the little elves busy putting
together another issue of The Observer.
Keeping it au naturel with baby
One-year-old Charlotte Muller was entertaining herself Tuesday afternoon by pulling baby bottles out of a cardboard box in the new store in Conestogo that bears her name.
Baby Charlotte opened its doors this week, selling organic and chemical-free bottles, clothing, diapers and skincare products for babies and new moms.
Carla Muller holds her daughter, Charlotte, in the newly opened Conestogo store that bears her name. Baby Charlotte offers organic and chemical-free products for babies and new moms.
On Tuesday, Carla Muller was unpacking the last boxes and putting the finishing touches on the store. The idea for the store was conceived when she was pregnant with Charlotte, her third child.
“I started hearing some pretty scary things about what was in everything. Everything from your shower curtain could kill you to your rubber ducky was the worst possible thing to put in hot water,” Muller said. “It seemed that every step I took with her I was hearing that something I was using for her was bad. So I stopped buying from the drugstore altogether and started sourcing out natural products.”
But natural products don’t come cheaply. A bottle of phthalate-free …Read more
The Spirit of Christmas Present
It’s in the still quiet of the night when no one is stirring – not even a mouse – a grandfather clock ticking away the minutes before the big rush. It’s in the crisp crackle of a flame, a fire around which the whole family is gathered sharing a laugh over some chestnuts. It’s in the adoring carols and rich melodies booming at a crowded midnight mass or church service. And it’s in the soup kitchen, where some warm food is accompanied by an even warmer smile, offering sweet respite from the bitter cold.
Woolwich Coun. Sandy Shantz looks forward to spending time with family during the holidays. She’ll also be opening up her doors to her neighbours for a potluck, and volunteering to help those less fortunate.
The spirit of Christmas is in all these situations and many more, as the yearly celebration means many different things to many different people.
Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, is a very significant celebration for Christians around the world, second in importance only to Easter. But it is also a very important cultural tradition for people who don’t consider themselves religious – for them, the holidays are synonymous with family, friendship and generosity.
“I enjoy the family get-together and that closeness that Christmas brings,” says Wellesley Coun. Jim Olender, noting that for his family, a typical Christmas involves plenty of dinners at home and at the homes of his siblings.
“I look forward to the family get-together – not the presents,” he quips, noting that as a child, the idea of a gift-bearing Santa was, naturally, a big deal. But even then, Olender saw more in the holidays than gifts …Read more
The most wonderful time of the year
Christmas, it seems, is a little less merry than it used to be. Oh, not necessarily in absolute terms, but anecdotal evidence shows we’re sharing fewer greetings of “Merry Christmas” or even the more neutral “Happy Holidays.” Perhaps even fewer incidences of meeting “smile after smile.” …Read more
Something to help build Christmas Spirit
Jacob Moon and the Welcome Christmas Orchestra present “An Enchanted Evening of Carols & Holiday Songs” at the Registry Theatre Dec. 19 and 20. The venue then hosts a production of A Christmas Carol leading up to the big day.
If the snow and festive lights haven’t quite yet succeeded in getting your Christmas spirit in top gear, the Registry Theatre has a few last-minute presentations that should help do the trick.
This weekend (Friday and Saturday), singer/songwriter Jacob Moon and an assortment of musical guests will be performing Christmas music galore. Then on Monday and Tuesday, a group of young actors will stage that quintessential holiday favourite: A Christmas Carol.
Moon’s two-day stint at the Registry is shaping up to become something of a tradition itself, this being the third year for his Christmas show there. This year, the sound will be bigger than ever, as Moon, his band and string quartet will see up to 10 performers on stage. The combinations will make for a real mix.
“It’s kind of like a variety show,” he said in an interview from his Hamilton home. “I like to mix it up – it’ll be a diverse, …Read more
Another pair of losses for the Kings
Nic MacEachern carries the puck up the ice during the Sugar Kings matchup against Brantford Dec. 14.
The Elmira Sugar Kings continued their roller coaster season last weekend, this time on a downward plunge, dropping games to Guelph and Brantford.
The Kings allowed 17 goals over the weekend, losing an 8-6 decision to the Guelph Dominators Dec. 13 and going down 9-1 to the Golden Eagles the following day.
Coach Geoff Haddaway called the weekend’s results “extremely disappointing.”
“You lose …Read more
An annual display of goodwill
This week, Lions Hall in Elmira looked like a satellite office of Santa’s workshop.
People were busy assembling hundreds of cardboard boxes, sorting thousands of groceries into the boxes and wrapping the presents stacked on a table running the length of the room.
Woolwich Community Services’ Christmas goodwill hamper program is run with military precision, and it takes an army of volunteers to make sure Christmas comes to less fortunate families in Woolwich.
Kim Hendrick sorts food into hampers.
“It’s a well-oiled machine,” said volunteer Joan Moyer. “From year to year it just seems to flow.”
Moyer looks after matching recipient families with sponsoring families. She’s been coordinating the sponsors for the past six years, but before that she was a shopper and packer and gift wrapper. She started volunteering after she retired from teaching at Park Manor Public School.
“When I had the free time, I thought ‘what better way to give back to the community?’” …Read more
Feds, province promise more money
The opening ceremony of a bridge in Woolwich Township Monday – the product of joint federal-provincial-municipal funding – served as the focus for what has become a ubiquitous talking point: infrastructure spending. Such projects are expected to be the cornerstone of a stimulus package aimed …Read more
