The Westend WeeklyBringing Communities Together

Box 66, 303 Fifth St., Rainy River, ON P0W 1L0 Ph. 807-852-3815, Fax. 807-852-1863, Email. westendweekly@tbaytel.net Vol. 26, No. 28 Wednesday, October 26, 2016Serving the Rainy River District for way over 25 years! Read us on line at www.westendweekly.ca. Check out the pictures on line. They are so good!

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Just another day on the farm

Veterinarian Stacey Angus checks to see if the cow is preg-nant before announcing, "Beautiful!" and releasing the cow.

The cows were scared to make their way through the chute.My unfamiliar presence probably didn't help. Too manypeople probably means something's going to hurt.

It takes quite a bit of encouragement (and a little aggression)to get each cow moving. However, Kim Jo never seems tolose her patience although the cows do not make the processeasier on her. "Come on mama! Come on girlfriend!" shecheers each one on.

Each cow that was pregnant received Ivomex on their hideand a clostridial vaccine. Golden, pictured here, was born onthe same day that the Canadian Men's Hockey Team wonthe gold medal in Vancouver's Winter Olympics, hence thename.

Maddy Bliss (on right) and friend MacKenzie are eager tohelp out with the process, and are quick to hold the gateopen for the first cow.

For a couple of cows, like Dixie, Kim Jo is required to leadthem through with a harness.

Typically, all three women needed to be intentional andstrategic in how they get the cows into the chute. I even triedto help, although I'm not sure I did much good.

On the other side of the farm, Kim Jo's curious sheep have astaring contest with me before they decide I'm bad news andscamper off.

Lil Rox. Ready to call it a night.

more seriously. The first 30cows take us nearly 3 hours tofinish, or roughly 6 minutes percow. The actualexamina t ion /vacc ina t ionprocess takes a minute or so.All but one are pregnant. Shecorrals her and the one with abusted udder into the barn, un-sure of what to do with themfor now. She'll have to makesome important decisions later.She sends the rest to pasture.

Everything is done in impres-sive synchronization. Kim Jomanages to not only herd thecows into the pen, but guidethem into the enclosure, usingany and all creative methods(turning the cows tail, for in-stance), unlocking them, andopening the gate for them allone at a time. She is steadilymoving and working togetherwith Stacey and her mother toget the cows going in the rightdirection. Even so, her abilityto seamlessly transition fromdetermined farmer to dedicatedaunt is remarkable. There is nodividing line. Her heart beatsfor family and farming simulta-neously. Even the veterinarianis Kim Jo's own cousin, whoalso recalls the cows' namesand histories quite easily. Inbetween vaccinations, pouringon Ivomec and coaxing her cat-tle into the squeeze chute, sheasks about Halloween cos-tumes and birthday parties.

While it's easy for someonelike me to see all the work in-volved in keeping a farm, espe-cially on the weekends, KimJo sees the rewards. "I can'timagine what I would do withmy time if I didn't have the

farm. As a young girl I onlyever dreamed of having cows.This is all I ever wanted to do."The farm is her happy place,and her cows are her constantcompanions. "My nanny toldme it was important to takepride in your own cows," sothat's what she does. Even ifthey are slow, lazy, and timidcows, they are Kim Jo's slow,lazy, and timid cows, and she'sproud of that. In fact, she seesit as an asset. Their relaxed de-meanour makes for a muchsafer environment for children,as well as for Kim Jo's solochores.

We finish up with the first setof cows and head inside forlunch. Although she claims tonot be much of a cook, Kim Jooffers up a homemade Polyne-sian soup for her all-femalecrew of helpers. The rest of usstart digging into the sand-wiches while she drives one ofthe girls back to her mom's

place just down the road on thefour wheeler. For dessert, shepulls out two boxes of Celebra-tion cookies she bought thenight before because she knowsthey're Maddy's favourite.

Plastered across her fridgedoor are homemade remindersof how much she's investedinto the farm and into her fam-ily, especially the next genera-tion. The drawings and schoolprojects commemorating week-ends spent on the farm indicatethat it is indeed a special placeto visit. The conversationwraps its way around the tableuntil we are full and ready foranother round of cattle herding,or alternatively, an afternoonnap. I drive my car off theyard while the family packsinto Kim Jo's truck. This mighthave been just another day onthe farm, but it seems like that'sabout the best kind of day a girllike Kim Jo could have.

by Melissa FriesenI hang out with Kim Jo

Bliss's sheep, who are verysuspicious of me, until I hearthe four wheeler make its waydown the driveway. In the dis-tance I can hear Kim Jo talk-ing, but the only passenger isher dog, Roxy. She loves thatdog. She arrives from anotherpasture, where her heifers are,and after dialling me in on theday's events, she starts anotherround of phone calls.

I'm visiting the farm to getthe inside scoop (well no,that's the vet's job) on preg-nancy checks for cows. KimJo ushers me inside her homewhile we wait for the others toarrive. I sit on her couch (andfind myself surprised to havesuch good cell service). Shestands at the kitchen counter,inserting clostridial vaccineinto a dosing gun whiletelling me about her week. Itinvolved touring Amish peo-ple around the area, she men-tions casually. Yesterday'sfollow up conversation on thephone was two hours long.She tells me about the newfriends she made, without everneeding to stop what she wasdoing with her hands. "Theywant to milk goats," she says,amongst other tidbits abouttheir visit, to Stacey Angusand I, the veterinarian who hasnow arrived. Kim Jo was theirtour guide, not because sheworks for the local govern-ment, or has her real estate li-cense, but because shebelieves in the area.

If Kim Jo can help a person,

she simply does. Her scheduleis riddled and packed withfavours she does on behalf ofher friends, family, and thecommunity. Her job at theEmo Research Station, herfarm, her position as Chair ofthe Riverside Foundation forHealth Care, member of RainyRiver Cattlemans Association,Rainy River Hereford Associ-ation, as well as her regularvolunteer work, (not to men-tion her weekly column inboth the Westend Weekly andFort Frances Times) is jug-gled and balanced alongsidevarious other, sometimes ran-dom, acts of kindness, likesetting up a computer for afriend in need the day before."I'm no computer geek, but itwas basic!" she says in her de-fense when I give her a quizzi-cal look.

Once the vaccines are ready,we head outdoors. Kim Jotakes one look at my shoes(some dirty sneakers I found inthe garage) and insists that Iwear her new Croc boots. "It'snot that [muddy] but it's a lotnicer if you're feet aren't wet,"she urges me. We proceed tothe barn while she tells meabout how her family is veryinvolved with her farm, espe-cially her nieces. "This wasmy great uncle's farm and Ifarmed with my grandma andmy mom has always reallyliked the farm." Her brother,who's not much of a farmer,has managed to raise a coupleof girls who are pretty muchmainstays around Kim Jo'splace. One of them, Maddy,

comes out to the field withher friend MacKenzie andKim's mom Louise.

"Auntie Kimmy," Maddypleads, "can we get a newbunny today?" Not only doMaddy and her sister havecows at their aunt's place,they've also got a good varietyof other pets to take care of.Brownie, their five year oldbunny had just died. Kim Jo,although she has the preg-nancy checking and vaccina-tion of her entire herd at theforefront of her mind, cheer-fully promises to call theirbunny guy once they've fin-ished with the cows.

"If Stacy finds one that'sopen (not pregnant) today, Idon't like that." She admits tosometimes crying when thecows are sent off to be slaugh-tered. After all, she spends alot of time with her Herefordsand Red Angus cows over theyears, and ultimately is thesole caretaker for the farm,even though she has help. Shehas cameras in the barn thatconnects to a television in herbedroom. When the lambswere born, or when it's calvingseason, she binge watchesmoment by moment barn ac-tivity. "That's what I watch in-stead of regular tv," shelaughs. She knows each of the42 cows in her care by name,and all their mannerisms. Infact, she warned me ahead oftime that the process would betime consuming. "I have slow,lazy cows," she texts meweeks in advance. I shruggedit off when I read it, but per-haps I should have taken her

Page 2, The Westend Weekly, October 26, 2016

Plus, candy for the kids on Oct. 31 at Outfitters - 4PM until it’s gone!

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Lots to see

Moos by Kim Jo Bliss passingsLast week seems like just a

blur. Our cereal performancedata was due on Thursday.Though I knew we were cut-ting things pretty tight – it allwent bad when I went to enterthe numbers and discoveredour 1000 Kernel Weight ma-chine was giving us false num-bers. There was no way wewould have time to re-do all ofthem and still make the dead-line. We did what we couldand had to ask for forgiveness.They were happy to have ouryield data at least. So thoseare big trials and it’s a bigbonus to have them behind us.They are going to haunt us fora few more days yet. Thank-fully I have come up with aplan to hopefully deal or po-tentially deal with our tillageissues. A local farmer is plan-ning to come in and chiselplough at a certain depth andwe will see if this helps withsome of our issues. If not, wewill have to re-visit this nextyear as well. Though I havebeen here so many years thechallenges certainly never endand perhaps get more difficultas times passes. (Maybe I amjust getting old.)

Thankfully we chose a greatday Saturday for preg-check-ing cows, vaccinating and de-

worming. We welcomed aspecial guest – Melissa Friesenjoined us to see what life waslike on the farm during theseactivities. I got up early to goget the bigger group of cows inbefore we had all our companybecause they tend to get suspi-cious if too many people ap-pear. We even had time to goand lock up the group atNanny’s so we were startingoff successfully. Maddie andher friend Mackenzie were outfor the day but Marleecouldn’t make it. Maddie wasalso dealing with Brownee –her rabbit that died last week.She was trying to get him intoa shoebox so we could find aspecial spot to bury him afterwe were finished up withcows. Preg-checking wentwell – we had one open cowand one open yearling. Cowswere mostly well behaved butStacey and I were even betterbehaved. We worked hard notto use inappropriate languagesince we had a guest. We didwell. When I went anddropped off Marlee her 1stquestion was – “did Maddieget lots of money in the swearjar” and 2nd “is Maria (her fa-vorite cow) having a baby?” Iwas proud to say no to her firstquestion and yes to the second.

This is another Cattle SaleWeek! It is the last Sale of theseason. It looks like we havea great week ahead of us witha great group of cattle comingto Stratton. Certainly if youhave time come on out andcheck out a real live auction!Sale Time is 9:00 am and thelunch counter is open all day.At our last regular Cattlemen’smeeting we’ve decided to addanother Sale Date to our fallsales for next year. From thesurvey responses from ourmembers earlier this year itwas evident that people wouldlike us to try for a sale later inthe season. Our biggest hurdleis water. With open pens thewater freezes on us – we couldlikely be dealing with that thisweekend as well. We areworking on a solution for thisand have decided to try thesedates on for 2017 – April 22,August 26, September 30, Oc-tober 21 and November 4. Wewelcome feedback on this aswell.

The first Wednesday in No-vember is Canada’s National4-H Day or better known as“Show your 4-H ColoursDay!” So show off your 4-Hgreen on Wednesday Novem-ber 2, 2016!

With great sadness the fam-ily announces the passing ofMurray Robert Ames, 57 ofRainy River, Ontario on Fri-day October 21, 2016 at theRainy River Hospital.

Murray was born on Decem-ber 7, 1958 in Kenora, Ontarioto parents Gerald and GlenyceAmes.

Murray worked for the Cana-dian Pacific Railroad inKenora for many years beforemoving to Rainy River, work-ing as a meat manager forBeaver Mills Grocery. He en-joyed mechanics, fishing,crafts and restoring old vehi-cles. He was united in mar-riage to Barbara Cornwell onAugust 28, 2010.

He will be greatly missed byhis wife Barbara of RainyRiver, ON, his children Jen-nifer Ames and Robert Amesof Winnipeg, MB, his stepchildren Anthony Cornwell ofLas Vegas, Nevada, and JaideCornwell of Cedar Rapids,Iowa. He is also survived by

his brother Gerald Ames ofKenora and sister NancyGoodridge (Wayne Capri) ofRainy River, ON, and numer-ous nieces and nephews.

Murray was predeceased byhis parents Gerald andGlenyce, his brother Cliffordand sister in law Debbie Ames.

A time of fellowship will beheld in Murray’s memory atthe Rainy River EvangelicalCovenant Church, on TuesdayOctober 25, 2016 from 1-3p.m. If desired memorial do-nations may be made in Mur-ray’s memory to the RainyRiver Hospital, c/o NorthridgeFuneral Home, Box 89, Emo,ON, P0W 1E0.

Online condolences may beoffered at www.northridgefu-neralhome.com

Murray Robert Ames

With heavy hearts the familyannounces the passing of Mil-dred Myers-Ricci, 83 of RainyRiver, Ontario on SaturdayOctober 22, 2016 at the RainyRiver Hospital.

Millie was born on July 11,1933 in Alonsa, Manitoba toparents Alexander and Cathe-lene Cardno.

She was a very generous per-son, always involved in thecommunity activities in which

she lived. Millie was very tal-ented in baking bread andbuns and her talent will befondly remembered by many.She enjoyed spending timewith family and friends and al-ways looked forward to seeingher grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.

She will be lovingly remem-bered by her husband Lenardof Rainy River, her childrenJim (Eileen) Myers of ShoalLake, MB, Ruth (Garry)McAulay of Carman, MB,Tom (Kathy)Myers of Miami,MB, step children Donald(Lou) Ricci, Christine (Gary)Armstrong, Corey (Darryl)Dyck, all of Rainy River, ON,John (late Cindy) Ricci ofEdmonton AB, Brad (Marilyn)Ricci of Atikokan, ON,Karen Ricci (Gordon Craig) ofWinnipeg, MB, Marty (Randy) Ricci of Page, Ari-zona.

She is also survived by hersiblings Jean Dunn (Leo Do-zois), Dorothy Gillies and nu-merous nieces and nephews.

Millie was predeceased byher husband Dick Myers andsister Helen Boberg.

A service of Celebration andRemembrance will be held onWednesday October 26, 2016at 2 p.m. at the Rainy RiverEvangelical Covenant Churchwith Pastor Brad Ricci offici-ating. Interment will takeplace in the Hillside Cemeteryin Belmont, Manitoba at alater date.

Honourary Pall Bearers willbe grandchildren JeffMcAulay, Mike McAulay,Kristen Myers, Abigail Myers,Mellissa Myers, MichelleMyers and Kevin Myers.

If desired memorial dona-tions may be made in Millie’smemory to the RainyRiver/Kenora DistrictAlzheimer’s Association or theRainy River Hospital c/oNorthridge Funeral Home,Box 89, Emo, ON, P0W 1E0.Online condolences may be of-fered at www.northridgefuner-alhome.com

Mildred Joyce Myers-Ricci

The Bookworm Sez by Terri Schlichenmeyer

Loving, Supporting, and Caring for the Cancer Patient by Stan Goldberg

“Call me if you need any-thing.”

When your friend shared herdiagnosis, that was all youcould think to say but, ofcourse, she’ll never call be-cause she has cancer and sheneeds more than six words.What to do? Read “Loving,Supporting, and Caring for theCancer Patient” by Stan Gold-berg, and learn what really

helps.It happens to all of us sooner

or later: a friend or loved onetells you they have cancer, andyou don’t really know how toact. Saying you’re sorry soundslike not enough. An offer ofhelp seems perfunctory. Every-thing feels superficial but inthis book, Goldberg offers real“suggestions” and remindersfor helping to ease the burdenof someone who has cancer.

First of all, Goldberg says, re-member that nothing is thesame, patient to patient. Yourfriend’s journey is differentthan other cancer patients’ ex-perience, so it’s best to followhis perception of it. Don’t com-pare. It’s not your cancer, oranyone else’s; it’s his.

As for offers of help, don’tjust offer – be specific by find-ing out what needs doing andasking to be assigned a task.Than ask again. And again.

Remember that being treatedfor cancer isn’t a battle. Don’tsay your friend is “fighting can-cer” because there can be a lotof unnecessary guilt for the per-son who feels like she didn’tfight hard enough if her diseasedoesn’t go into remission.

Know how to deal with pain,and understand that discomfortis sometimes worse; learn totell the difference and deal withboth. Be realistic without beingblunt; don’t talk of miraclecures or falsely buoy spirits.Listen to your friends’ percep-tion of her diagnosis and honorany decision to stop treatment,even if that’s not what youwant.

And finally, take care of your-self, and recognize your ownhelplessness. Know how tomanage your stress and frustra-tions, and know that you didyour best. Also understand thatthere will come a day when youwill recapture joy.

I once asked an auditoriumfull of people if any of them didnot know someone with cancer.No hands were raised, which isan example of why everyoneshould read “Loving, Support-ing, and Caring for the CancerPatient.”

While it’s true that librariesand bookstores are filled withvolumes on cancer, what setsthis one apart is that authorStan Goldberg not only workswith end-stage cancer patients,but he was a cancer patienthimself. That unique both-sidesPOV is what makes this bookmost helpful – that, and the factthat Goldberg leaves room forhis readers to adjust their care-giving angles. You may notethat his ideas are written as“suggestions,” allowing for dif-ferent situations and, indeed,different diseases. It’s nice, too,that small chapters are listed in-dividually in the contents,which makes browsing easier.

“Loving, Supporting, andCaring for the Cancer Patient”is one of those books you hopeyou’ll never need, but you’llglad to have when you do.Finding it may be proactive.Owning it is a good call.

c.2016, Rowman & Little-field $35.00 / $46.00Canada 212 pages

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Operation ChristmasChild shoebox gifts

National Collection Week—when everyone’s boxes are tobe at Collection Centers—isNovember 14-20

The Canada-wide 2016 Op-eration Christmas Child shoe-box collection season—anannual initiative of Samari-tan’s Purse Canada for 23years—has started.

It’s when thousands of indi-viduals, families, churches,businesses, sports teams, andcommunity groups begin

packing shoeboxes with toys,school supplies, and hygieneitems, plus personal notes andphotos.

Thanks to $7 donations fromgenerous Operation ChristmasChild supporters, Samaritan’sPurse is able to deliver thegift-filled shoeboxes to chil-dren around the world living inthe midst of poverty, disease,war, and natural disaster.

Last year, Canadians filledmore than 730,000 shoeboxes

with gifts that shared God’slove and hope with children inthe developing world. Andsince 1993, Operation Christ-mas Child has collected anddistributed more than 135 mil-lion shoebox gifts around theglobe.

Shoeboxes are given as un-conditional gifts regardless ofthe child’s race, religion orgender. When given, theyoften open doors for Samari-tan’s Purse to work with localcommunity leaders in identify-ing and addressing otherneeds, such as clean water, lit-eracy and vocational trainingfor women, school meals forchildren, etc.

National Shoebox CollectionWeek is November 14-20.Each gift-filled shoeboxpacked, donated, and deliveredto one of hundreds of collec-tion centres in Canada by No-vember 20 will make a longjourney into the arms of aneedy child in Haiti, LatinAmerica, Ukraine, or WestAfrica. People can also conve-niently pack boxes online, andeven include a personal noteand photo, at PackABox.ca.

Shoeboxes can be picked upand dropped off at the follow-ing Collection Centers:Quetico North Outfitters lo-cated 35 km east of Atikokanon Highway 11, The BargainShop in Atikokan, The Bar-gain Shop, Lowery’s andBethel Baptist Church in FortFrances, Tompkins HomeHardware, Cloverleaf FamilyFoods and Calvary BaptistChurch in Emo and KregerSales and Service in RainyRiver.

Page 3, The Westend Weekly, October 26, 2016

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A day at our Queen's Park

The original present day building has beautiful columns and ornate wood panels, with de-signs carved into them. Each has dragons as part of the design, intended to keep the buildingsafe from evil spirits.

When one wing burned down because it was made of wood, it was replaced with a wingmade mostly of marble and sandstone. The marble came from Italy and the sandstone waslocal.

There is a wall dedicated to the women who have served in parliament. Maybe someday itwill no longer be necessary because that will be so common, but now it is awe inspiring tosee all these brave women who challenged the status quo.

by Charleen GustafsonOne day while I was in

Toronto, I walked 15 minutesto Queen's Park. I walked up

the steps of the front door,showed my passport and had atour. It's as easy as that.

The old part is mostly

wooden and really beautiful.The American architect whodesigned it put dragons every-where, carved into the wood. I

thought that was really interest-ing because this was done forUnited Empire Loyalists, whowere really Christian, and thesedragons were put there to wardoff evil spirits which isn't reallyChristian at all. So I tried tofind out more about that but ap-parently I am the only one whofinds this interesting. Therewere no pics on the web or in-formation anywhere aboutthem.

Later, one part of the buildingburned and was replaced with awing that is much more similarto the Manitoba Legislativebuilding, more marble andsandstone, much whiter andalso very beautiful.

If you go on Friday you cango into the room where theyhave question period, but thiswasn't Friday.

Question period was happen-ing at 10:30. You can't go inearly, but this really pleasantsecurity guard let me go past touse the bathroom, then Iwaited.

Question PeriodThat was an experience. You have to go in the side

door at the basement level, giveID to one person then all yourbelongings to another. That in-cludes everything, jackets, um-brellas, bags, purses and allelectronics. While in the visi-tor's gallery you cannot read orwrite or talk. And you very cer-tainly cannot take pictures.

As the MPPs walked in totheir places, there was lots oftalking from them. The micswere on all the time and a con-stant murmur and mumblefilled the room.

Then the Speaker walked inwith the big mace. No, not thestuff you spray at bad guys.This is a big gold scepter.

Everybody stands.That was followed by lots of

declarations of birthdays andother personal events, with ap-plause. Everybody paid atten-tion then.

As soon as some MPPsstarted asking questionsthough, things changed. TheLiberals seemed mostly to betalking to each other. I could-n't see them too clearly becauseI was right above them. Kath-leen Wynne was just below me.

Across the aisle were theConservatives in most of theseats and the NDPs in the rest.Everybody's mics were on sowe could hear mumbles all thetime, but what was most unfor-tunate was the heckling. It wasembarrassing. It was often dif-ficult to hear the questions andespecially difficult to hear theanswers because of the shout-ing from the opposing parties.Actually I only noticed twoNDPs heckling but they werevery loud. There were lots ofConservatives heckling. It wasrude.

The Conservative's questionswere mostly about Toronto is-sues, such as day care. TheNDP questions were mostlyabout Hydro. But none wereanswered as far as I could tell.

As I left I was following threepeople from the States andNetherlands who were smirk-ing and laughing about the badmanners shown by the politi-cians. I wanted to be all of-fended and defend them, thenthought, but I was thinking thesame thing.

Pity.

Page 4, The Westend Weekly, October 26, 2016

Classified AdsClassified Advertising Rules: Personal classified ads are a free service. They run for 2 weeksand must be resubmitted if you wish them to run again. We charge for business classifiedsat $8.75 per inch per week. Please do not phone in free classifieds. We accept them only byfax, email, mail, or drop off. We have a mail box next to the office door if we’re closed. We ask thatyou try to make ads no longer than 25 words. We do not accept clothing unless it is an expensiveitem. Please don’t use this free service for lists of items. We will not accept items repeated everytwo weeks over long periods of time. Please print or type submissions. Real Estate ads are notfree. $10.00 included with the ad of 25 words or less pays for a 4 week run. Over 25words will be billed at our regular classified advertising rate of $8.75 per inch perweek. Billing address must be included with the ad or it will not run.General Newspaper submissions and letters to the editor: This is an independant publicationsolely owned and edited by Jacquie Dufresne. I will not accept any submissions which are slander-ous or intended to malign any person, business or organization. I won’t print any letters to the editorwhich are written to anyone other than the editor of this paper unless the editor is addressed. Sub-mission of articles originating in other publications will be accepted providing proof of authorizationis provided.

LIDKEAOptometry ServicesDr. Robert E. LidkeaDr. Bruce A. Lidkea

221 Scott Street Fort Frances, Ontario

(807) 274-6655

NORTHERN SPORTS & MACHINE

Randy Orton • 651 Cty Rd 1SW, Baudette

3/4 mile S. of Baudette Motel

(218)634-1089

ATVs & Snowmobiles• We service & repair all

makes & models• Complete Automotive &

Diesel Machine Shop• Complete line of Sled

Bed Trailers

Polaris ATVs may not be ridden by anyone under 16and all riders should take a safety course. For safetyand training information see your dealer or call Po-laris at 1-800-342-2764. ATVs can be hazardous to op-erate. For your safety always wear a helmet, eyeprotection, protective clothing and never carry passen-gers. ©1998 Polaris Industries Inc.

Your outdoor furnace dealer!

•Stoves•Parts•Accessories•Installation

Mallard Creek Mechanicalmallardcreek@tbaytel.net - Daryl Meck

691 Barwick Road, Phone 487-1395 or 1-807-271-2201

Your local H&L Motors rep

See us for your farmequipment needs!

McCormick, Landini,Hesston, Valtra, Kuhn,

MacDon and FarmKing

Check out the website:www.hlmotors.ca

Rainy River DistrictWomen’s Shelter of Hope

If you are a woman who has experienced violence or abuse,

staff at the Atikokan Crisis Centreare available 24 hours a day to

listen and provide support to you.Call

1-800-465-3348

The UPS Store®

Wide Format Printing• Banners & Posters• Blue Prints & Maps

• Photographstheupsstore.ca/369

274-5444

808 Scott St., Fort Frances

274-8551

DR. THOMAS COUSINEAU- O P T O M E T R I S T -

9 round plywood to giveaway phone 274-5025.29

To give away: older woodspindle crib, very goodcondition. Twin bed,wood head & foot board,also in very good condi-tion. Bergland area,phone 705- 910- 1472.30

Moving Sale inPinewood. Furniture,tools, sports etc. Call forinfo/view. (780) 902-8736. 29

Found on Despair roadabout 2weeks ago - sparetrailer tire. Phone Gord at274-9501. 29

Looking for a handymanto build a simple wall forbedroom in basement.ph. 274-5025. 30

Meals On Wheels is cur-rently needing volun-teers! Can you spare ahalf an hour once in awhile? Please considersigning up to ensure thisvaluable service contin-ues. Call 274-2244 tosign up on a day or weekof your choosing. s

Jigs! Glow jigs & spin-ners, Disco jigs, othercoloured jigs, red/greenspinners, custom orders,ph. 852-3669. s

Frigidaire front loadwasher dryer set, largetub, white, many newparts runs like new VGC$300, call 8523655 RR.28

1/2 ton loads of split sea-soned mixed ash andbirch firewood for pickupor delivery call 487-2274.

28

Frigidaire top loadwasher dryer set, white,VGC, large tub, new partsprofessional installed,$300, call 8523655 RR.28

Industrial upright Trincomodel 36 Sandblast Cab-inet and Dust Collector.Stands app. 64” high 37”wide 25” deep. Heavymetal construction, greatshape, $1,300.00 firm,cash. Call 274-0627.29

rockwell beaver 6 inchjointer planer and stand$250.00 rockwell beavertable saw and stand$100.00 phone 486-3887.

29

Flat deck trailer; ridinglawn mower; high chair;booster seat; potty train-ing chair; weights phone274-8751 or 276-0013 formore info. 29

Tired of moving your oldfishing rods around?

FARM ANDOTHER HEAVY

EQUIPMENT

LIVESTOCK/PETSFOR SALE

TO GIVE AWAY

MOVING SALE

FOUND

SERVICES WANTEDOR AVAILABLE

WE NEEDVOLUNTEERS

MISC. FOR SALE

5737. 30

Firearms in any condition,need not be complete orworking. Also interestedin parts, scopes andsights, ammunition, re-loading components orany firearm related items.Fair prices paid. 274-0472. s

For rent in Rainy River, 2bedroom unit in triplex.Fround floor with largeyard with a deck. Fridgeand stove included, haswasher/dryer hook-ups,references required,$550/month plus hydro,no pets, call or text 276-4933. 33

For Sale, 4 bedroom splitlevel house at 1024Williams Ave., FortFrances. Large garage.$180,000.00. To view orplace offer call 274-0213.

31

For Sale – Rainy River.Newly renovated, 4 bed, 2bath large character homeon double lot facing river.Large deck, detachedgarage, hardwood floors.$199,000. Call 204-960-8026. 31

For Rent in Rainy River:2BR Apt. w/ fridge andstove supplied, laundryhookup, yard and parking.Close to downtown serv-ices. $550.00/mo., (rent +water/sewer) Utilitiesextra (gas heat + hydro).807-483-5347. 31

House for sale in RainyRiver, 207 Third Street,$22,900 obo ph. 852-3111. 29

Hunting cabin for sale 85acres, 20 cleared Cabinwired and insulated Greatquiet serene spot Ontario,old homestead with min-eral rights, asking$95,000, contact meCarol Wardman 514-755-1009 s

There will be a ChristmasCraft Sale at the BerglandHall on Saturday, Novem-ber 26th 10am to 1pm.Tables are $10.00. For in-formation and to rent atable call 488-5715. 30

2000, 24’ Dutchmantravel trailer sleeps 4, fullbathroom, air cond., inmint condition, $7,995obo, ph. 274-0315 formore detailed info. 28

5 x 9 utility trailer withramp style tailgate. 12inch tires with spare.Metal frame with treatedwood floor. $400.00486-3887. 29

2000 Dutchman camper,24ft mint condition7500.00 obo call 274-0315. 30

2004 Kia Sorento 4x4,191,000 km, well main-tained, original owner,non-smoking, PowerSeat, air, tilt, cruise, AT,new brakes, 3500 lbTrailer Hitch, Roof Rackswith available cargobox/ski carrier. $4400.00Ph. 274-2354. 28

2009 Chevy Ext cab 4x4115,000km with safety,asking $15,900 obo phone274-9110. 30

NOTICES

RECREATIONALITEMS

PLANES, BIKES& OTHERVEHICLES

REAL ESTATEFOR SALE OR

RENT & MOBILEHOMES

2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser2.4 L Turbo, cruise,power locks & windows,sunroof, new tires 13,000kms $4,000 obo withsafety ph. 276-9161.28

Give me a call and I’llpick them up. Don 852-3669. 29

Lazy Boy couch andloveseat in good condi-tion. $250.00 for the pair.Phone 274-9751. 29

Small square bales ofstraw, also vegetables in-cluding squash, potatoes,cabbage, and carrots.274-2111. 28

12" sliding chop saw150.00; Delta commer-cial table saw 200.00; 2new shaw dish receiverswith remotes 25.00; 1new shaw dish 50.00; 120hp outboard motor500.00; 1 used Yamaha20hp 500.00; 1 one yearold Samsung cell phone150.00; Please call 274-0315. 30

Hammer drill, heavy duty10 amp, 1- 1/8” usedstandard SDS bits,pointed and flat chiselsincluded, used 1 hour,$125, 852-3253. 28

Dirt Devil upright vac-cuum, bagless ph. 1-807-274-7318. 28

North Star generator,8000 Honda motor, 131/2 hp, power start ph.483-5384. 29

2 skis for a skidoo elansnowmobile $25 each15" track for a 1978 skiDoo Olympic snowmo-bile $50 truck box for a2003 dodge Decota clubcab truck $300 box linerfor a 96 dodge ram 15008 foot box $50 call 274-7499. 30

Sears X-Cargo car topcarrier $50 phone 852-3211. 30

Tassimo coffee maker,used very little, $50; mi-crowave cupboard $15;entertainment centre $25;small Whirlpool fridge$100; hideabed $75;baby buggy $25; slowcooker $25; ph. 852-3602. 30

1000 B F 1x4x8 birch,garage stored ph 483-5384. 29

Tonneau cover fromGMC box 6’8” long, 18”wide ph. 483-5384. 29

Cement mixer 1/2 hpmotor, 1 bag capachie ph.483-5384. 29

30 plastic tubs and lids,63 litre size, used oncefor moving, $100 firm, aswell an assortment oflarger tubs negotiable.Randy 274-9478. 28

A Crosley upright electricfreezer, 32"W-27"D-66"H. It is in excellentworking order and has 5shelves with another 5shelves in the door. Ask-ing $150.00. Please con-tact via e-mailworby55@gmail.com.30

125 Fluxcare Welder-New=with auto darken-ing helmet and gasconver. kit. Mounted onwheeled cart $300 obo;8’' Simoniz orbit polisher& waxer=$30 obo; 4”x36” belt 6” disc sander –new. On wheeled cart$100 obo; entertainmentcenter with 29” t.v.= $ 70obo phone 274-5025.29

wanted: 5pssgr vehicle,very low kms, year notimportant; miles are.wellmaintained,exc. cond.pls call 807-274-9089.29

Wanted to buy: old Elnasewing machines- neednot be working ph.274-

WANTED

Need used parts? Call or stop at

NORTH AUTOon the highway, west of Fort Frances 274-7243

NORTH AUTO for used parts!North Auto is your local recycler for used parts.

We can also find new after market parts at reasonable prices.

We are now scrapping for parts the following vehicles:2004 GMC Sierra 2500 2008 VW Rabbit 2013 Dodge Caravan

2005 Jeep Liberty 2008 Dodge Avenger 2013 Chevy Cruze2005 Chevy Colorado 2012 Nissan Versa 2014 Jeep Wrangler

2007 Ford F150 2011 Chevy Silverado 1500 2013 Mazda 3

If your water doesn’t drain...Ease the strain! Call

RomynPumpingWaste Water Service

483-5339

emphillHeatingVance Hemphill

Natural Gas & Propane Appliances

Sales, Services & InstallationProfessional Duct Cleaninghome, commercial & cottage

maintenance available

807-271-3516vhemphill@live.com

Lorelei Locker

OPTOMETRIST314 Scott Street, Fort Frances

274-0510

We’re here tocover

ALL YourSharpening

Needs!!“If it cuts we can sharpen it!”

We do it all...Woodworking tools, Vet-erinary & Hairdressing needs as well

as sewing.Drop off locations at:

Great Bear, Busch’s Auto and Tomp-

kins Hardware plus pickup and deliv-

ery on large orders.

807-707-0750 or 807-481-9980pjmatt@bell.net

Bauman’sConstructionAll types of cementwork: floors, walls,

driveways, sidewalks,basement repairs.

Call Bruce807-483-1423

brown1958@sympatico.cawww.noblemonuments.ca

• Custom-orderedmonuments & markers• In Home Consultation

• Design Proof forApproval

• SatisfactionGuaranteed

482-3778276-3648

Mavis St. Hilaire

Noble Monument Sales

Contact me for aNo Obligation Quote

* Windows * Doors * Decks * Docks * Drywall * Kitchens * Baths and more!

Call Randy 807-276-0263

Home RenovationsNew Construction

Lake Work

Are you a compulsive Overeater?Overeaters Anonymouscan help. Contact us atoa.org or call 275-5832.

Alcoholics AnonymousRainy River AA

Please call for meeting time and locationPh. 1-807-276-1074

BARWICK OSB MILLLocal Community Employer

& Consumer of Wood for20 Years

If you have land with wood on it, we will help youachieve the Maximum Value for your resource!

WE OFFER• Accurate on-site appraisals of volume and quality

• Before and after aerial photography• Competitive pricing

• Flexible payment options• Pay statement directly from the mill for

ALL DELIVERIESwith direct deposit to your bank account

EVERY WEEKCall and set up an appointment todayBud McQuaker 807-487-2000 x 260

Baudette DentalDavid C. Wohlrabe, DDS

406 Main Street N.W.(Hwy. 11) Baudette, MN

General Dentistryand OrthodonticsMonday to Thursday 8 to 5

(218) 634-2389New Patients Welcome!

We accept Cdn. Dental Plans

Carr's Repairis a fully licensed truck,car, and Heavy Equip-

ment Repair shop.

We also have a servicetruck to meet your re-

pairs and welding inthe field.

Located 2 miles east ofBarwick on HWY 11

Phone 487-2548or see our website at

www.carrsrepairvintageparts.com

CentralBoiler.com

Dealership NameCity, State

Phone Number

Eliminate HighHeating Bills!

13-1309

Up to $1500 instant rebate

$1500Save up to

*Instant rebate savings up to $1500 on select in-stock Central Boileroutdoor furnace models. Savings shown is on an E-Classic 3200 model. See dealer for details.

Emo FeedService Ltd.Canning Lane, Emo

482-2017

Horwath brings story of localfamily struggling with Hydrobills to Question Period

Last week during QuestionPeriod, Ontario NDP LeaderAndrea Horwath spoke abouther recent visit to Sudbury, ask-ing the Premier why the familyshe visited, Maryse and ChadGareau are having to choosebetween saving for their chil-dren’s future, and paying theirskyrocketing hydro bill.

“Maryse has watched herhydro bills go up by nearly$100 since this time last year,”said Horwath. “The cost ofhydro means they can’t save fortheir kids’ future, and she’sconcerned about whether shecan afford enrolling them inafter school programs andsports. Why won’t the Premierstop the sell-off of Hydro Oneand help families like Maryseand Chad?” she asked.

It’s not just families that aresuffering under the pressure ofincreasing hydro bills. Accord-ing to the Ontario Chamber ofCommerce, one in three smallbusinesses say the cost ofhydro has a negative impact ontheir ability to invest in the fu-ture of the province.

“Wherever I go, I talk tosmall business owners who saythe cost of hydro can be the dif-ference between growing, orgoing out of business. The Pre-mier needs to give some hopeand confidence to small busi-ness people, start getting hydrocosts under control, and stopthe sale of Hydro One,” saidHorwath.

The NDP has been working tostop the hydro-sell off since itwas first announced almost twoyears ago. Horwath’s recenttrip to Sudbury to speak toMaryse and Chad comes in aseries of discussions she has

been having with people allacross Ontario about how thesell-off is affecting them.

“Travelling the Province lis-tening to people I am shockedby just how unaffordable hydrois in Ontario. It has become anuntenable situation for manypeople. The Premier would dowell to re-think her wrong-headed sell-off of our publiclyowned utility, how can shekeep moving forward when somany people are struggling?”asked Horwath. “This is notwhat people voted for.”

The NDP has called for animmediate halt to the HydroOne sale and for the permanentand full removal of the provin-cial portion of the HST fromhydro bills. These measuresare first steps in addressing thehigh cost of hydro in Ontarioand the NDP is committed topushing for more.

Page 5, The Westend Weekly, October 26, 2016

Sincere thanks to my dearfamily and friends for theirprayers, get well wishes, visits,gifts, food, and cards follow-ing my accident. Thanks alsoto the doctors, nurses andparamedics of Rainy River,Thunder Bay Regional, andFort Frances Hospitals forthe excellent care I receivedwhile there.

“We are so fortunate tohave these caring dedicatedpeople.”

Thank you again,“God Bless”Vivian Locking

Legion Ladies Auxiliary Branch #29

Remembrance DayTea

Sunday, November 62:00 pm to 4:00 pm Fort Frances Legion

Adults $4.00 Children under 7 $2.00Baking & Candy Table, Cookie Walk, Meat Pies,

Cabbage Rolls, Perogies, and much moreNumerous draws Plus 50/50 draw (license M778031)

Maximum prize potential of $1,700.00

We Will Remember

Romeo JodoinOctober 27, 1999

In Memory

Softly the leaves of memory fall,Gently we treasure them all.Unseen, unheard, you’re always

near,Still missed, still loved, each

passing year!We will always love and

remember you.With love,Wanda and Family

Dine Daily ~ 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.www.thunderbirdrainylake.com

10 miles east of Int'l Falls on Hwy. 11218-286-3151

ON BEAUTIFUL RAINY LAKE

Our SpecialThis Friday & Saturday is

Chicken Alfredo BruschettaOur delicious Chicken Alfredo toppedwith bruschetta and drizzled with abalsamic vinegar reduction. Served

with a Tossed or Caesar salad.

Best Food, Best View!

Fishing for yourunwanted or brokengold & silver jewelry.

Buying & Selling Gold andSilver Bullion.

One oz Bags to 100 oz Bags

283-4701 324 3rd St., Int’l Falls

Celebrating 33Years!

We are Accepting Applications For the Following Position:

• Finance Supervisor

For more information visit our website at:www.rrdssab.on.ca

(Human Resources/Job Postings)

Knox United Church, Rainy River

Fall Turkey SupperSunday, Oct. 30

5:00 pmat the church

EVERYTHING ISDELICIOUSLY

HOME MADE!Adults $15.00, children 12 & under $8.00, 5 & under freeOur elevator is available to all who would like to use it!

Tickets available at Rainy River Drugs.For meal delivery or tickets call Larry at 852-3243

or Anne 852-3691Advance tickets only, no door sales.

Lutefisk & Meatball SupperSunday, October 30

3 to 7 pmFirst Lutheran Church, Baudette

2 blocks south of Baudette Motel on Hwy. 1Adults $15.00 6-12 yrs. $5.00 Children Under 6 Free

(U.S. Funds)

Come, Enjoy Fine Food & Fellowship!

Notice of Special Meeting of Members and Special Meeting of theHolders of Class A Shares, Series 1

Wednesday, November 9, 20166:00 pm

601 Mowat Ave, Fort Frances302 ATwood Ave, Rainy River

Details of the meeting can be found on the websitewww.nlcu.on.ca

or by visiting the branch

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a special meeting ofthe members, and a special meeting of the holders ofthe Class A Shares, Series 1, of Nexus CommunityCredit Union Limited will be held

Thank youTo my family and friends for the wonderful

surprise birthday/retirement party at the Emo

Legion on October 8th. Thanks to everyone who

planned, donated and helped in any way.

Thank you for the gifts and memories. I will

miss seeing you at the Post Office.

Trudy Badiuk

It’s Here! It’s Here!!!I Call Myself a Prospector** Book 3 ** by Bob Durnin

Available at: Betty’sTompkins HdweCountry Corner CafeStratton ServiceBeaver Mills Market

Be the 1st kid on yourblock to own the

Trilogy!!We write no more...Thanks for your support

Lots of local stories,

local names and places.

A truly fun read!

Final union worker has lastshift at the Fort Frances Mill

Gary Nixon and wife Diana celebrate his last day of work at the Fort Frances mill with agroup of family and former co-workers.

by Melissa Friesen Even though the Resolute

Forest Products pulp andpaper mill has been closed fortwo and a half years, it has notbeen entirely abandoned. GaryNixon has been maintainingthe buildings and lagoonsince the doors shut. He wasoriginally hired as a pipe fitterand was too young to retirewhen the mill closed, so heopted to stay on with one otheremployee. Resolute termi-nated his job a year ago, re-ceived his severance, and thenthey hired him back as an oncall worker. He received 3eight hour shifts a week. Butwhen his co-worker retired 6months ago, he was all alone.

Gary was responsible tomaintain the mill structures allthe way from the lagoon to thewaterfront. It was pretty basicupkeep but enough to keepGary busy; repairs, sumppump servicing, and maintain-ing the fire protection system."He was a jack of all trades, healways was," said his wifeDiana, adding that he was incharge of raising the flags andfixing signs and doing otherodd jobs throughout his career.

The work environment wasinteresting, if not peculiar. Inthe absence of social outlets,Gary took enjoyment in hisgradually peaceful surround-ings. "It was pretty quiet, butthere's a lot of wildlife -- lotsof deer and geese at the la-goon, and lots of raccoons run-ning around. They kind oftook over once the place satthere for awhile."

After waiting in hopeful ex-pectation that there might besome action at the mill again,but not seeing any promisingresults, Gary felt he was run-

ning out of options in FortFrances. He couldn't keep upwith the effects of neglect thatwere taking form on the equip-ment and he started to wonderif they would ever be usedagain. He saw two purchasedeals fall through and whenthere seemed to be no prospec-tive activity this fall, he could-n't bear to stay any longer. "Ithought for sure somethingwas going to happen thisyear," he said.

With two and a half years leftbefore he can retire, and whenthe mill supervisor could notpromise him more than 3shifts a week, he knew he hadto look elsewhere. "He kepthoping something was goingto happen with the mill andthat's why he hung on, andhung on. Plus he didn't want toleave me, but I told him to justgo and get it done and thencome home," she said with alittle laughter. After 32 yearsof working for Resolute, hefinished up his last shift onThursday, October 13th.

"He applied for pipe fittingjobs all over Canada," saidDiana. Fortunately, he washired on at the kraft mill inDryden. The job requires himto commute of course, spend-ing his weeks away fromhome and coming back to FortFrances for the weekends. Hiswife Diana has some physicaldisabilities and was relievedthat he found work so close tohome and that he wouldn't begone for two or more weeks ata time. "We haven't been apartin 20 years", she adds. “It waskind of emotional when he leftyesterday. He's the nicest,nicest person you can evermeet," she boasts of her hus-band.

She threw together a littleparty for him with family,friends and former co-workersat the Legion after his lastshift. Although Gary was thelast union worker to leave,there are still two salaried per-sons on staff: the site managerand the mill supervisor.

As for his new job, it's a bitof a learning curve again, atleast in terms of the work at-mosphere. He started work lastMonday. The quiet hush of theFort Frances mill is now ex-changed with the buzz of pro-ductivity. "It seems like apretty nice place to work. It'sall new but at least the job isfamiliar to me. That part of itI'm okay with," he pauses be-fore adding, "It's just a new en-vironment and I'm not used tohaving a lot of people aroundtoo. It's pretty busy, prettynoisy. There's always someoneto talk to and have a conversa-tion with."

Marching toward aworld without genocideBy Gerry Chidiac

"When you listen to a wit-ness, you become a witness,"Elie Wiesel often said.

Those words are the drivingforce behind the March of theLiving, an event that bringsthousands of young peoplefrom around the world toPoland every spring. Therethey visit the places wherecrimes against humanity tookplace.

The name March of the Liv-ing is in stark contrast to the in-famous death marches, duringwhich innumerable people per-ished. They were forced by theNazis at gunpoint to go fromconcentration camps in Polandto camps in Germany, as theSoviet army advanced in early1945.

What's particularly powerfulabout the March of the Livingis that the young people are ac-companied by Holocaust sur-vivors who tell them theirstories and walk with them.Many of the youths are grand-children and great-grandchil-dren of the very people theNazi death camps sought to de-stroy.

The unmasking of concentra-tion camps at the end of theSecond World War was a piv-otal moment in human history.It was terrifying proof of thedangers of racism and extremenationalism. The newly-formedUnited Nations responded bydefining genocide in 1948, andthe world declared, "Neveragain!"

Throughout the Cold War,"never again" fundamentallymeant pointing to the crimesagainst humanity committed bythe other side. But since theearly 1990s, we have all beenable to look honestly at whathappened - and what is stillhappening in so many parts ofthe world.

When we scratch the veneerof history, we begin to see that

genocide is not only a part ofthe history of Germany. It's ar-guably a part of the history ofevery colonial power. In someplaces, it has been glossed overas "civil war." And it remainspart of the story of much of theworld today.

Studying genocide helps givea voice to the victims. And bylistening to survivors, we vali-date and empower them - andwe are changed. We cannot un-learn what they teach us, andwe have no choice but to con-tinue their mission.

Understanding genocidegives us a powerful lens to lookat the world. We see evil ex-posed for what it is: a horribleand ridiculous lie.

When we look at the vastnumbers of descendants ofHolocaust survivors participat-ing in the March of Life, andsee the tremendous contribu-tions they make to the well-being of others, how can wedare to say that any form ofracism can ever be justified?How can we dare to say thatthose who are suffering fromoppression today should not behelped?

Indeed when we help others,we help ourselves. Imagine allthe good that would be happen-ing in the world today ifmankind had only had thecourage to save more people

from Hitler's tyranny!Genocide studies have a pow-

erful impact on the educationof today's young people. Al-though it was already mandatedin some jurisdictions (primarilythose with a strong Jewishlobby), when I began teachinggenocide studies in 2008, therewere only a few high schoolprograms scattered throughoutthe province. Today, GenocideStudies 12 is outlined and ap-proved by the British ColumbiaMinistry of Education.

Many of us have crimesagainst humanity in our familyhistories - as survivors, as per-petrators or as both.

When we honour the victimsof genocide, we are changed.We have no choice but to workfor a more just world. As moreof us grow in awareness, wecast a powerful light on thedarkest shadow of humanity.

We all become witnesses.Gerry Chidiac is a high

school teacher who has livedon four continents and speaksfour languages.

Commercial SpaceRAINY RIVER: Commercial/storage space available.Basement of NWHU build-ing, along Highway. Willingto negotiate price and termsof lease. Call (807) 275-5683.

Page 6, The Westend Weekly, October 26, 2016

continues!!Check out our selection of Clearance Drill Bits

and much more!!

Store Hours - Monday to Friday 7-5:30pm, Saturday 9-1861 Kings Hwy. Fort Frances 274-3853

Store Hours: Baudette: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday to SaturdayInternational Falls: 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday to Saturday

Both Locations: Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

www.ronnings.comFalls (218) 283-8877 Baudette (218) 634-2088

No Sales Tax on

Clothing!

Serving ourcustomerssince 1964

Thursday, October 27 ONLY

4pm to 8pm only20% Off StorewideExcludes Mucks, Bogs & FXR

www.badiuk.com 274-6311

Huge selection of used sleds and ATVs

New stock has arrived!!

Chapple's Vendorland

by Charleen GustafsonOn Saturday in the Barwick

Hall, the main floor was filledwith vendors and crafts peopleof all kinds. It was nice to seethe Nighswanders again. Theyused to be regulars at theFarmer's Market in Fort

Frances. Several people hadsewing and knitting which isalways popular. Customerstravelled through from 9:00until after 2:00, stopping oftento eat some of the chili offeredby the Barwick Rec commit-tee. This small group of young

people is dedicated to bringingback all of the opportunitiesthat were available when theywere young.

This was the second Vendor-land event. Hopefully it willcontinue every year.

Layne McCormick enjoyed playing with the infuser at the Young Living Essential Oilsbooth, while his Mom Laura looked on. Laura is one of the young people who have revital-ized the Barwick Rec Committee.

Karsyn Drew Mainville checked out every booth then stopped to get a close look at RuthGerber's amazing animal photos. Most are of wildlife, but Karsyn loved the kitty best.

We are getting ready for Hal-loween and will be handingout treats on Monday.

There will be a HalloweenDance on Saturday sponsoredby the Curling Club.

The time changes this week-end so we will be in the darkat a later time.

There will be no food for themeat draw this Friday.

Just a reminder to order your

wreaths and now is the time torenew your membership.

Thank you and have a goodweek.

Lest We Forget........

Legion Chat by Walter Wagner, Major Hughes Br. 54 president

As leaves change colour anddrop from trees, and a chill inthe air signals the approach ofwinter, many of us are thinkingof the fall harvest and heartysoups and dishes that will soonwarm our bellies.

Not everyone is lucky enoughto enjoy such thoughts. Aboutfour million Canadians — in-cluding more than a millionchildren — lack food security,defined as reliable access to asufficient quantity of afford-able, nutritious food. InCanada, people from low-in-come households and Indige-nous communities are the mostlikely to suffer from food inse-curity.

Fruit, vegetables and otherfresh food must often be flowninto remote Indigenous com-munities, leading to alarminglyhigh sticker prices that makehealthy diet choices unafford-able. A 2016 report by Food Se-cure Canada found the averagemonthly cost to feed a familyof four in three remote northernreserve communities of FortAlbany, Attawapiskat andMoose Factory is $1,793.40,based on 67 standard fooditems (the Revised NorthernFood Basket), and that on-re-serve households in Fort Al-bany must spend at least halftheir median monthly incomeon a basic nutritious diet.

Food insecurity takes on aneven starker meaning in thecommunity of Grassy Narrows,Ontario. In the 1960s, theprovincial government alloweda pulp and paper company todump more than 10 tonnes ofmercury into the WabigoonRiver system. Despite recentscience showing it can becleaned up, the government hasrefused calls to remedy the sit-uation. Toxic mercury levelsstill exist in the watershed. It

travels up the food chain,bioaccumulating in fish thatGrassy Narrows communitymembers rely on for subsis-tence. Consumption of toxicfish has resulted in high rates ofmercury poisoning, affectingnot only community members’food choices but also theirrights to carry out traditionallivelihoods.

Sadly, it’s not just humanswho are affected by misman-agement of food systems andthe ecosystems of which theyare a part. Wildlife feel the im-pacts as well. The primarythreats of habitat loss anddegradation faced by some ofCanada’s at-risk species arecompounded by food insecu-rity.

Take the monarch butterfly.Its caterpillars’ sole food sourceis milkweed, yet milkweed haslong been eradicated in Canadaas a noxious weed. (It was onlyremoved from the noxiousweed list in Ontario, its mainmigration thoroughfare inCanada, in 2013.) Milkweedscarcity is even worse in theAmerican Midwest’s corn belt,where herbicide-tolerant cornand soy crops treated withglyphosate (Roundup), have allbut eliminated the plants fromvast swaths of land that onceprovided an essential foodsource for monarchs.

According to MonarchWatch, since 1996, 29.5 millionacres of land not previouslyused for agricultural purposeswere put into corn and soybeanproduction. In 2007, the U.S.Congress passed the Clean En-ergy Act, creating a market forethanol. The demand for cornspiked to an all-time high.Farmers pulled land out of con-servation and planted cornwherever they could. Corn isalso used to feed livestock, es-

pecially hogs and poultry,which is then eaten by us.

The impacts of our harvestingand consumption patterns onland are mirrored in the ocean.This year’s sockeye salmon runin B.C. was the lowest inrecorded history. Salmon, en-joyed by many of us and an es-sential food source for manyIndigenous communities, arealso a staple for numerouswildlife species, includingbears, eagles and whales. Thisyear’s low salmon numbers ledto the closure of commercialand First Nations fisheries onthe important Fraser Riversockeye run. South Coast chi-nook had similarly poor re-turns. Beyond what this meansfor salmon fishers and Indige-nous communities, 82 endan-gered southern resident killerwhales depend on chinooksalmon to survive.

Globally, social justice organ-izations such as Oxfam notethat human hunger is not andneed never be inevitable. It’scaused by poverty and inequal-ity, not scarcity.

We produce more thanenough to feed all people onthe planet. Surely it’s one of thefundamental challenges of ourtime to focus our considerableintelligence on altering ourconsumption and harvestingpatterns so that all who sharethis small blue Earth — two-legged, four-legged, wingedand finned — can enjoy foodsecurity.

David Suzuki is a scientist,broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David SuzukiFoundation. Written with con-tributions from David SuzukiFoundation Science ProjectsManager Rachel Plotkin.

Learn more at www.david-suzuki.org.

Science Matters by David Suzuki

Food security is important for humans and other animals

By Faith WoodI recently found out (on Face-

book of all places) that a dearfriend had passed away sud-denly. I was in shock. Had itbeen April Fool's Day, I mighthave believed it was someone'sinappropriate joke. But it was-n't.

I didn't know what to say orwhat to feel. I was numb.

One of my first thoughts wasthat I am a terrible friend. Howcould I have missed so manyopportunities to connect byphone or in person during oneof my many work trips to herarea?

This friend supported methrough all my varied adven-tures the past 20 years. She ad-vocated for projects, colluded,created and pushed me to bebetter than I thought I could be.Anne was probably the personwho most encouraged me towrite for newspapers and evenmy first books.

She was a wonderful story-teller and her life was cut short- a tragedy to her communityand her family.

My shock and dismay got mepondering the value we placeon friendships and the effortswe make to ensure thesefriends know how much theyhave added to our lives.

I felt so selfish, but I think thisis a pretty common first re-sponse to the sudden death of afriend.

Humans are wired to be so-

cial. We want to be aroundother people. Sadly, we oftenget so caught up in the trialsand tribulations of daily lifethat we forget how short life re-ally is. We think there will al-ways be plenty of time toconnect and stay close. Whenthis turns out to be untrue, wefind ourselves in an inner con-flict - the should have, couldhave stories all compete for at-tention.

When someone dies, a wholeweb of people who had differ-ent relationships with that per-son are affected. The newsripples through our 'tribes' andthe loss is often more wide-spread than we recognize. Evenpeople who didn't have a directrelationship with the deceasedare affected - either becausethey feel for (and with) the peo-ple who had a close relation-ship or because, at the end ofthe day, the tragedy and perma-nence of death shocks andlikely scares us all.

When someone dies sud-denly, there are a lot of emo-tions going on. The loss of aloved one is one of the mostdifficult times in our lives.

So if you face something sim-ilar, here are a few tips to helpyou navigate through the mo-ment and reduce the inner con-flicts:

Pause and reflect on all thosefabulous experiences together.Embracing those memorieswill help you move through the

grief process.Write down a few special

memories. You may even con-sider posting them to sharewith family members.

Even if you don't know whatto say, rather than crossing thestreet or walking out of theroom, make a point of sayingsomething as simple as, "I'msorry to hear what has hap-pened." Or text them or send acard. Nothing can make the sit-uation better. It's about helpingthe family recognize how manylives their loved one touched.

Don't be afraid to attend thememorial service. It will begood for you and the family nomatter how long it has beensince you saw them in person.

Be proactive about reducingyour stress. Take a walk. Eatnutritiously. Release your emo-tions - cry (at commercials,songs, movies) or watch com-edy in an effort to refocus yourinternal energy.

It doesn't matter how old ourfriends get, or how young theyare when we lose them, the factis that we miss them when theyare gone.

Recalling the positive impacton our lives will help to keepthe memories alive.

Conflict Coach Faith Wood isa novelist and professionalspeaker who focuses on helpinggroups and individuals navi-gate conflict, shift perceptionsand improve communications.

Strategies for coping with thedevastating loss of a friend