This time around, only 16 contestants will be taken, as last year’s starting number of 20 was deemed too unwieldy, said organizer Wendy Richardson, adding there’ll be an afternoon start-time for the event rather than running late into the evening.

Ali Carol was crowned the 2011 winner of Wellesley Idol at the ABC festival last September. [observer file photo

The contest will be judged by Gary Goeree of the Community Players of New Hamburg, Tavistock musician Charlene Zehr and former Idol winner Scott Malloch.

Following the first round, the semi-finalists will square off at the Wellesley-North Easthope Fall Fair on Sept. 11, with the eventual winner chosen Sept. 29 at the Wellesley Apple Butter and Cheese Festival. First prize is $500, with $300 going to the runner-up and $200 to the singer who finishes third. There will also be $125 awarded to the People’s Choice at the fall fair.

For more information, call Wendy Richardson at 519-656-2961. She’ll take registrations and provide a complete set of rules, as well as answer any questions. Applications are due by May 29.

Add in some prime rib for those who choose not to indulge in the lobster, along with a wide range of salads, potatoes, a secret baked bean recipe and dessert, and everyone is sure to go home with a smile on their face.

“There are two secrets – you need to start with a big fresh lobster and you have to cook it just right,” said Tom Hendrick, committee chair and founder of the event. “We’ve cooked about eleven tons of lobster over those 31 years. When you’ve done so much for so long, you get pretty darned good at it.”

Eleven tons of lobsters cooked to date.

Kiwanis club member Tony Dowling said the event has become a fixture in the community over the past three decades, and is an important fundraiser for their ongoing work in the community, including the Kiwanis Music Festival, the Kiwanis Santa Claus parade, Meals on Wheels, the Kiwanis food drive, the Woolwich Memorial Centre, and others.

Some 500 to 600 people come out annually, helping to raise anywhere from $7,000 to $10,000.

“We’ve had a pretty steady core over the years,” Dowling said.

Aside from the great food, diners will enjoy live east-coast music during dinner, with a DJ and a dance to follow. There will also be a cash bar, and one of the highlights of the evening is the so-called “lightening raffles” for great prizes ranging from sporting events to weekend getaways.

Introduced two years ago, Dowling said the raffle is a real hit. After dinner a handful of ticket sellers are given about ten tickets to sell, but once they’re gone they’re gone, and it usually only takes about two minutes for them to be sold out. Once they are sold the item is raffled off immediately, and the next round of tickets are made available.

“It doesn’t last more than 20 minutes for the whole thing,” Dowling said.

“A lot of time you try to do raffles you lose the crowd because it goes on and on. This is very entertaining.”

The 31st Kiwanis Lobsterfest is on May 26 at Lions Hall in Elmira. Tickets are $39 per person for the early bird seating at 5:00 p.m. or $49 for the late sitting, which starts at 7:00 p.m. For tickets visit Read’s Decorating or call Tony Dowling (519) 669-1281 or email tony@elmirastoveworks.com.

Approximately 4,200 kilograms of BLE 25, a mixture of diphenylamine and acetone used as an antioxidant in the making of some rubber products, and 112 kg of acetone were released Sept. 27, 2010 when a rupture disc burst as designed due to the pressure build-up in the storage vessel. The company subsequently spent $1.7 million to clean cars, houses and other personal property of nearly 300 affected neighbours in the immediate area, as well as its own property.
Since the incident, Chemtura has taken steps to ensure something like this won’t happen again, said plant manager Josef Olegarz.

The company has added new layers of protection, including interlocks, changes to the process alert/alarm system to include visual and audio triggers to allow for earlier detection and new staff training. As well, no processes will run unattended: leading up to the incident in 2010, there were no operators present to heed visual and audible alerts.

As a result of the release, Chemtura reviewed the processes in place throughout the facility, he said.

“We don’t see issues with other parts of the plant.”

Chemtura has also changed its communications procedures so that there are no delays in alerting the public in the event of a problem at the chemical plant. The company was criticized for the slow process following the BLE releases, taking more than four hours to notify Woolwich Township officials. It did, however, inform the Ministry of the Environment and Waterloo Region’s spill centre immediately after the incident.

The incident occurred at 3 p.m., but with the township out of the loop for so long, it was almost 10 p.m. before the Community Alert Network systems was activated, with automated phone calls going out to some 850 households in the area nearest the plant. As a precaution, notification also went out to locations deemed more vulnerable, such as schools and nursing homes.

Facing complaints from residents immediately following the incident, the township laid the blame for the delays squarely on Chemtura.

Olegarz said the company has fixed the process, and apologized for both the release and the lag time in notifying residents. A year and half later, he is satisfied with the cleanup effort, noting he’s not hearing any complaints from residents.
“Everything that could be done has been done.”

Chemtura is still looking for feedback, though: a community meeting has been scheduled for June 19, tentatively set for Lions Hall, to allow those affected by the BLE release to meet with company officials and to learn what steps have been taken in the aftermath.

A full slate of activities is planned throughout the region, from quilting demonstrations, appraisals and workshops, to the now famous Mennonite Relief Sale, which auctions off quilts on the 25th and 26th to raise funds for Mennonite Central Committee projects around the world. Some 200 quilts will be auctioned that day and the event takes up the entire fairgrounds.

“(Visitors) can spend a couple days in St. Jacobs easily, and visiting all the other ones in the area I guess you could be here all week,” Brubacher said with a laugh. Not a quilter herself, she appreciates the hard work and time that goes into each design.

While quilting may have its roots in the Mennonite culture of Waterloo Region and beyond, one avid quilter believes the act of making a quilt has moved past those historical to become almost an art form.

“I think it started out that way, but now there are just as many non-Mennonite quilters as there are Mennonite quilters,” said Irma Buehler, a member of the St. Jacobs Mennonite Church and who has helped out with the event for the past 15 years or so.

“It really has become an art form more so than a utilitarian thing. We’ve taken them off the bed and put them up on the wall.”

The annual Quilt and Fibre Art Festival runs from May 22-26 throughout Waterloo Region and the surrounding communities. For more information on the wide range of activities and classes that are available, visit www.stjacobs.com/quilt-fibre-festival for a complete calendar of events and times.

Yet the systemic-onset form Kandis suffers from is a rarer and more severe type of JA. It occurs in about 20 per cent of all children with JA and affects both boys and girls equally. Kandis’ problem began last August when she started complaining of joint pain and was not able to walk on her own for extended periods of time.

Four days of tests later at the children’s hospital at London Health Sciences Centre, and they finally had their answer.

The diagnosis of arthritis was actually a relief for Kandis’ parents, Bailey Palmer and Ron Braid, as doctors had completed a wide range of tests including a bone marrow tap to check for signs of Leukemia, unsure of what was causing her such pain.

“It was a relief, but then at the same time there was the medication she needed and she had to go for physiotherapy,” said Bailey. “So it was two seconds of relief followed by being overwhelmed with everything else.”

On May 25 the family will be holding a fundraiser called Kickin’ it for Kandis at Lions Hall in Elmira to raise money for JA research and to help offset some of their own costs. The event includes a family fun portion including a bouncy castle, cotton candy, face painting, balloons and a barbecue. There will also be a 19+ dance later in the evening and a raffle table with a wide range of prizes, including a gas-powered lawn mower and weed-eater.

“It will have a stag-and-doe type feel to it so we can include all of our friends,” said Bailey. “Not all of our friends have kids and they want to help out so they are more inclined to come to the later one.”

Kandis is currently taking two drugs for her pain, prednisone and tocilizumab, and her parents are trying to wean her off of the prednisone because of the harsh side effects, including swelling, and they say the new medication is working well. The family receives funding to cover the $25,000 annual cost of the tocilizumab but their insurer is trying to avoid paying for their other drug prescriptions even though the couple is covered under their insurance policy.

They must also pay about $350 every three months for the tocilizumab, as well as their incremental costs of travelling to London and missing work.
Bailey and Ron want to donate the other half of all their proceeds they collect to the children’s hospital which has a partnership with the University of Western. They want to raise $7,500 for a three-year bursary for someone studying JA or who is working towards finding a cure.

Kickin’ it for Kandis is on May 25 from 5 pm to 1 am at Lions Hall. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children, and $25 for a family. Tickets can be ordered ahead of time or bought at the door. For more information email bailey_palmer89@hotmail.com or visit http://kandisjajourney.blogspot.ca/.

A photo gleaned from Facebook of Saskia Koning while working at the Charcoal Steakhouse in Kitchener.

The posting for the three-year contract position reads, in part, “Reporting to the CAO and mayor, you will provide confidential and professional senior administrative support to the Mayor and Council including coordination of a variety of administrative, recordkeeping and public relations functions. You will act in a liaison capacity for the mayor/council with all township departments, government officials, outside agencies and the general public.

“Complementing your post-secondary education in office administration, business administration or related disciplines you have a minimum of three years experience in office administration, business administration or executive assistance, at a senior level preferably in local government. A post-secondary education or experience in corporate communications would be considered a definite asset.

“Your noted strengths in organization, communication, public relations and customer service are complemented by your knowledge of local government, municipal procedures, protocol and relevant legislation.”

Koning is listed has having graduated from the University of Cape Town in December 2010 with a degree in film and media production. In an online forum for ex-patriots, she listed her profession as video production assistant. In Canada on a temporary visa that was to expire next month, she had been working as a waitress at a Kitchener restaurant prior to joining township staff on Apr. 26.

Woolwich’s senior bureaucrat, chief administrative officer David Brenneman, would not directly address apparent discrepancies between the job posting and Koning’s qualifications, citing privacy concerns. He maintained she was the best-qualified candidate for the position.

“The Township of Woolwich conducted an open and competitive recruitment process. The candidate selected at the conclusion of the competition was chosen because of her diverse work experience in office administration, project/event management and media/communications co-ordination,” he said this week in a written statement. “The successful candidate’s post secondary education in media, broadcasting, as well as office administration complements her background and experience.”

The township, however, has not made Koning available for an interview, nor released any documents to back its assertions.

Woolwich is currently going through the hiring process for a similar administrative assistant’s position, this a one-year (maternity leave) contract. That job, too, pays $43,000 to $53,000, plus a generous benefits package.

This year the school had 62 teams sign up for the 12-hour event, with each team donating a minimum of $1,000 for the cause. The school set a goal of raising $75,000.

“We believe as Lancers we will see our school step up to the plate as they usually do when we have this event. At our last event two years ago we raised over $78,000 so we know we can do it again this year,” said Jocelyn Lubert, co-chair of the event.

Jocelyn Lubert (left) and Holly Boyne are co-chairing the EDSS Relay for Life event held at the WMC sports track on Friday. The school hopes to raise $78,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. [colin dewar / the observer

“After the victory lap participants and students keep walking around the track throughout the night. The goal is to have at least one person from each team always walking around the track,” said co-chair Holly Boyne.

During breaks from walking students were invited into the Woolwich Memorial Centre to play games inside the Dan Snyder Arena. Many of the students took part playing video games, foosball, cards, and making their way through obstacle courses. Outside in a tent a DJ spun tunes for dancers and in the early morning the tent became a make shift movie theatre.

Around 10 p.m. the students lit their luminaries and placed them around the track. Luminaries are fire resistant covers placed over a candle. People purchase a luminary to write an inspirational message on them for a loved one to commemorate and celebrate those who have fought cancer.

“It is usually the most emotional part of the night,” said Boyne.

During the luminary ceremony a photo slide show was projected of family members who have or are currently fighting cancer.

The closing ceremonies were held between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m.

“Relay for Life does not have to be an end we can all continue to fight against cancer,” said Lubert.

Chairing the event is quite an undertaking for the two high school students who have been tirelessly working on the project since January.

“At the last event it really moved me and I really loved it,” said Boyne. “I never expected that much could come from one night over 12 hours. I really wanted to recreate that experience again and hopefully other people will be able to experience it the same way.”

“It is a really special event and I wanted to step up and take that leadership role and help others have the same experience,” said Lubert.

“There is just something about walking with so many people around the track late at night when everything is quite. The track really mimics the track that someone with cancer is on. At first you are all pumped up saying I can do this, I can fight this, but then in the middle of the night you are tired and exhausted and you just want it to end but you know that morning is coming and that it will end and you made it to the other side,” said Boyne. “It is really empowering and really amazing.”

The township’s environmental watchdog, however, wants the Ministry of the Environment to force Chemtura Co. to do more, including the digging up and removal of source material, to ensure the work gets done.

In voting on the issue this week, Woolwich councillors sided with the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee, despite a call from the company to stay the course. They did, however, welcome Chemtura’s commitment to the cleanup project.
The company has been using a pump-and-treat process to remove a pair of toxins – NDMA (nitrosodimethylamine) and chlorobenzene – from the former drinking water aquifers underneath Elmira. Discovery in 1989 of the carcinogenic NDMA precipitated the water crisis in Elmira, leading to the construction of a pipeline from Waterloo, which supplies the town with water to this day.

An MOE control order sets out the company’s responsibility for dealing with the contaminants in the municipal aquifers, with a deadline of 2028. More than two decades past the start of the crisis, CPAC is worried the timeline won’t be met, calling for provincial intervention. It wants the company to remove contaminated source material rather than simply treating the groundwater. The resolution endorsed May 8 by council also ask for the province to review the funding formula outlined in a 1991 agreement between the MOE and Chemtura, to make money available to CPAC to pay for studies, consultants, legal advice and other experts, and to establish a trust fund that would continue to pay for groundwater cleanup if Chemtura fails to meet the 2028 deadline.

“CPAC represents the residents of Elmira, the injured party in all this, and needs to have a budget that is adequate to the job,” new committee chair Dan Holt told councillors. “In addition, we need to impose a penalty so that if our aquifer is not cleaned up there is a price to pay.

“[...] now is the time to change directions and make sure that we have clean, drinkable water again by removing the sources of contamination. Currently we are only treating the symptoms; we need to remove the cancer.”
The company, however, says its current pump-and-treat process is working, and will clean the groundwater by 2028.

“We will meet that deadline,” said plant manager Josef Olejarz. “We have no reason to believe we won’t meet this date.”

Pointing to data that show contamination levels continue to drop, he said the pump-and-treat method would get the job done.

“There is nothing better on the market right now,” he said of the technology.

Peak concentrations of contaminants offsite from the plant have been reduced by 10-fold or more, said Olejarz. There’s been a 20 per cent  reduction in the size of the NDMA plume in the municipal upper aquifer since 1998, covering 174 acres; a 41 per cent reduction in the chlorobenzene plume in the municipal upper aquifer in that timeframe, a decrease of  34 acres; and a 25 per cent drop in the chlorobenzene plume in the municipal lower aquifer since 1998, some eight acres.

“We consider this as a good success story.”

His rosy outlook was tempered, though, by CPAC volunteer David Marks, a hydrogeologist, who called the company’s forecast for pump-and-treat “overly optimistic.”

That technology, he explained, works in limited circumstances, but is not likely to fully remediate groundwater in the complex geology found underneath Elmira.

“Personally, I hope that happens. Professionally, I have my doubts,” said Marks, adding the pump-and-treat system is containing the contaminants and would have to be part of any stepped-up plan to treat the pollutants.
Supporting the resolution calling for greater MOE involvement, Coun. Mark Bauman said a more diverse approach would help get the cleanup efforts back on target.

“Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket,” he said of simply sticking with the pump-and-treat process.

He also called for more cooperation and less of an adversarial relationship between all the parties, stressing the need for a backup plan if the 2028 deadline is in jeopardy, though hoping not to need it.

“It’s always nice when you don’t have to go to Plan B.”

The address changes will ensure each customer will have a uniquely identifiable mailing address, reflecting the customer’s physical location. Each address is unique to a specific property.

Canada Post representative Tom Zadorsk addressed the issue at Wellesley council Monday night.

“We are upgrading some of the equipment in the (St. Clements) post office. Canada Post wants to civically address every address in Canada, and right now we are working through out Ontario towards that goal,” said Zadorsky. “This is not going to be an overnight process. It will take a while but with the changes happening in St. Clements it is a natural opportunity for us to do it.”

There will be some problems with some addresses in the town especially if a house has a basement apartment because it may not be a recognized address by the municipality.

These people were given a P.O. box in the past but they should not have received one, he explained.

Canada Post has to provide one free method of mail delivery for every valid address.

For the municipality it means that residents will not have two addresses anymore. The street address will be the mailing address and no longer will addresses have P.O. numbers.

Residents will also be able to see their address online as the initiative takes place, allowing package delivery companies the ability to deliver packages to doorsteps and not box numbers.

St. Clements is the first in the region to receive the address change, as Canada Post is not really focusing on southwestern Ontario; instead, they are working in the Toronto area and northern Ontario.

“As opportunities like this present themselves we want to take advantage of them. From what we have seen most people put both addresses on their mail as it is and now they will be able to drop the P.O. box number. This should not be a huge shock for them,” said Zadorsky.

“As always, change is hard for some and there could be complaints but this is the system that is going into place across the province.”

The only physical change will come from within the post office, making it easier for employees to sort the mail right in the buildings.

The rural routes around St. Clements will not be changed this summer, just the P.O. boxes, he added.

Having your civic address as your mailing address means only having one address to give out to correspondents. Canada Post will be using the already established civic number, street name and municipality name issued to customers by the province.

Canada Post will be sending letters to all the residents affected about the change in their mailing address.

The job involves providing administrative support to the mayor and council, along with some communications functions, such as writing press releases. Its creation was approved by council earlier this year.
Of the large number of applicants, the mayor and CAO told the newspaper she was the most qualified.

Saskia Koning has been hired as the new executive assistant to Woolwich Mayor Todd Cowan and council.

Questioned about the hire, chief administrative officer David Brenneman said privacy laws prevented him from discussing specific details of  her employment and the necessary federal government paperwork.

“What I can reiterate though is that the Township of Woolwich as a corporation follows and did follow a standard and legal recruitment process, the contract employee Saskia Koning is legally permitted to work in Canada, and further that the township is in compliance with applicable Canadian law and will continue to meet said obligations.”

In order to take the job and remain in the country prior to the imminent expiry of her previous work permit, she would need clearance from Immigration Canada based on a labour market opinion (LMO) from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, according to HRSDC.

“Businesses must recruit Canadians before hiring temporary foreign workers. When all reasonable efforts to hire domestically are unable to meet acute short-term labour market needs, eligible employers can seek an LMO to hire temporary foreign workers,” explained HRSDC spokesperson Lisa King.

“A number of factors are taken into consideration by HRSDC/Service Canada as part of the LMO application process, including whether the temporary foreign worker is likely to fill a labour shortage as well as the efforts the employer made to recruit and train Canadians or permanent residents.”

King added the department was unable to discuss a specific employer or employee, directing questions about citizenship issues to Immigration Canada, which hadn’t replied to specific inquiries prior to press time.

The new position was approved in February as part of the 2012 budget. A subsequent job posting solicited applications until Mar. 23. The LMO process outlined by HRSDC typically takes two to three months, after which a work permit could be issued by Immigration Canada. Koning was on the job Apr. 26.

Brenneman said he couldn’t discuss if the township went through the LMO process, citing privacy issues.

“I’m not aware of any concerns that would prevent her from working.”

He stressed, however, that the hiring followed standard procedure.

The mayor was involved in the hiring process, but the township has no policy about hiring friends of current staff or council members. In keeping with provincial rules, Woolwich does have a nepotism policy governing the employment of family members, said Brenneman.

Cowan, acknowledging a friendship with the young woman, said her hiring was “happenstance,” noting he had been approached by others also interested in the job.

“I think there were 116 or 120 résumés, so before they even got to the interview stage they were vetted by the HR person and, I think, David (Brenneman). There was a screening process. When it got to me, there was only two people that I had actually talked to before,” he said.

“We follow an open and transparent process, and that’s what was done here.”

He dismissed concerns the job went to a young,  non-Canadian, saying the $43,000 to $53,000 pay range essentially made it an entry-level position that qualified candidates would not have applied for.

“That’s not an issue. I feel the process was open,” he said of Koning’s citizenship. “We were just looking for the right person at the right pay, because we know that we weren’t paying the big dollars.”

At almost $50,000 plus full benefits, however, the position pays about 50 per cent above private-sector averages for administrative assistance jobs – about $35,000 – and much more than entry-level offerings, which run closer to $25,000. Executive assistants, with more experience and responsibility, can earn closer to the range offered by the township, according to figures available from federal employment websites.

Citing his own experience, including time at Queen’s Park, Cowan noted executive assistants can earn more than $100,000.

“I used to be an EA in the private sector and I made considerably more than this, so it’s an entry level,” he said of the newly-created position. “Anybody hiring to do what (Koning) was hired to do would be making $75,000.”
Brenneman declined to discuss whether the township even considered lowering the pay scale for someone with little experience, sticking instead to the $43,000-$53,000 range.