REMEMBRANCE: Branch 4 Service On Nov. 8

Welland-Crowland War Memorial, Chippawa Park (Photos by Joe Barkovich)

WELLAND – The annual Remembrance Day ceremony held by Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 4, will take place Sunday, Nov. 8 at Chippawa Park.

By tradition, the service is in front of the Welland-Crowland War Memorial. It will start at 1:45 p.m.

The always-impressive service includes the laying of wreaths by representatives of various levels of government, the local legion branch and others.

Readings and comments by invited guests also form part of the ceremony.

A second service, on Remembrance Day itself, Nov. 11, will take place at Branch 4, 383 Morningstar Ave., Welland, commencing at about 10:45 a.m.

Happy Halloween!

One of the coolest signs around town. (Photo by Joe Barkovich)

EXTRA! This One’s A Keeper

A great read! (Photo by Joe Barkovich)

By Joe Barkovich, Scribbler-at-large

WELLAND – Hot off the press!

I found my copy of GreenScene, Niagara Region’s environment-themed flyer, inserted in today’s edition of the newspaper. What a great read.

Flyers, usually, don’t get my attention. But as I looked through the content of this eight-pager, I liked what I saw.

Didn’t take long to make up my mind: this is a keeper.

It’s visually attractive, easy to read and has a wealth of useful information.

Take this headline for example: It Came From Beneath The Street. What a hook. If that doesn’t grab your attention, the sub-head certainly will: “It’s terrifying to see what some people flush down their toilets. Cotton swabs, dental floss, paper towel – not to mention so-called “flushable” wipes. An entertaining read, made more so by lines like this: “Don’t let sewer blockages haunt you.”

By nature, this can be dull, boring stuff, a tough slog to get through. But the presentation used in this publication is inviting and makes reading fun.

Some of the other content: Fall branch collection, nicely illustrated; Trains, planes and automobiles, a primer about a vision for Niagara’s transportation future; an enlightening story about compact fluorescent light bulbs; Christmas tree collection and holiday curbside collection dates; Recycling tips and even a full page spread about fitness activities for seniors.

Be sure to separate this from the other sections of your newspaper, give it a read then put it away for future reference. Don’t “trash” it – pardon the pun. It’s worth saving.

(Joe Barkovich lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario, Canada’s Rose City.)

CITY SHORTS: Try ‘Em On For Size

CITY SHORTS ART: Autumn walk along the canal trail. (Photo by Joe Barkovich)

Compilation by Joe Barkovich, Scribbler-at-large

City Shorts

City Shorts is a compilation, from various sources (government websites, news announcements, press releases, church bulletins, advertisements, community service information and events, bulletin boards, requests, telephone requests, web postings, email requests etc.) of short items (in most cases) about matters of local interest in Welland. Want to submit an item for consideration? Please send to: joe0606barko@gmail.com

Mark it on your calendar: Nov. 7.

WELLAND – Welland Community Food Drive is coming up, Saturday, Nov. 7.

As in previous years, canvassers will be going out door to door starting at 10 a.m. from Auberge Richelieu, River Road.

Please leave your food at your front door, non-perishables only!

Most needed are: Cereal, peanut butter, canned fruit, tuna, canned meat, canned stew, canned veggies, pasta and beans, canned pasta, dry pasta, pasta sauce, rice, Kraft Dinner.

Watch for more news about the food drive here on the blog.

Central United hosts music, art evening

WELLAND – An Evening of Music and Art (art display and concert) with pop-acoustic duo, The Lay Awakes is being held Friday, November 6, 7pm.at Central United Church, 12 Young St. Welland.

Advance tickets $20, at the door $25. Call 905 735-2333

November Book Club titles available

WELLAND – The books for Welland Public Library’s November Book Clubs are now available at the Circulation Desk.

The Afternoon Book Club will be held Wednesday, November 18 at 2:30 pm, discussing Ruby by Cynthia Bond. The Evening Book Club will be held Tuesday, November 24 at 7:30 pm. discussing The Children Act by Ian McEwan.

More information is available here.

Quit Smoking Workshop In Welland

WELLAND – The Smoking Treatment for Ontario Patients Program offers eligible participants in Niagara five weeks of cost-free nicotine replacement therapy and smoking cessation information to help them in their quit attempt.

Eligible participants will attend an educational session and receive a five-week course of nicotine patches.

Workshop date in Welland is November 19, from noon to 3 p.m. Call 905-688-8248 ext. 7240, to find out if you are eligible and to register for a workshop.

Vote for your favourite picture book

WELLAND – Regional Chair Early Years Niagara Literacy Award: It’s not too late to vote for your favourite Regional Chair Early Years Niagara Literary Award (RCEYLNA) nominated title. Visit either the Main or Diamond Trail library branch to read a copy of each title and vote for your favourite. Plus, enter our draw for a copy of your favourite RCEYLNA title.

Voting and draw entries close on Saturday, November 14, 2015. Draw date is Thursday, November 19, 2015. Click here to vote online.

Welland Library, Museum, team up for Trivia Night

WELLAND –Welland Public Library and Welland Museum are joining forces to bring a night of fun to Welland. Together, they are hosting a Trivia Night on Friday, November 6 at Riverstone Event Centre.

The Trivia Night will include eight rounds of trivia questions, a silent auction in support of the library and a 50/50 draw in support of the museum. Doors open at 6:30 pm and trivia begins at 7:30 pm. A cash bar will be available and guests will enjoy a delicious menu of hot and cold food platters throughout the night. Tickets for Trivia Night are $25 each, and are now available for purchase at both the museum and the library. For information contact the museum.

 Sunday hours are back

WELLAND –The wait is over! The Main Library is now open Sundays from 1 to 5 pm.

Sunday hours continue to the end of April 2016 (closed December 27, 2015 and March 27, 2016.)

 Flowers and Wine

WELLAND – A Flower Show and Wine Tasting is planned at the Croatian National Home, Broadway and Highway 58, for Thursday, Nov. 26. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Flowers will be by Vermeers and wines, from local wineries. Tickets are $20 per person.

Coffee/tea and dessert will be served.

 Fundraiser for local hospital

WELLAND – Save Our Welland Hospital is hosting a Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser, Thursday, Dec. 3 at Royal Canadian Legion Br. 4, 383 Morningstar Ave. Welland.

It begins at 6 pm with a meet and greet, followed by dinner at 6:30 pm. For tickets, 289-820-8129 Wendy or 905-932-1646 Sue. Tickets are $15 per person.

 (City Shorts is a recurring feature on the blog)

COMMUNITY SUPPERS: New Season Starts Sunday

By Joe Barkovich, Scribbler-at-large

WELLAND – The Harvest Kitchen community supper program for 2015-16 has its start on Sunday, Nov. 1.

The season’s first meal is being served at Central United Church, 12 Young St., starting at 5 p.m.

Central United will host meals on Sundays and on Tuesdays, the latter commencing Tuesday, Nov. 3. For other venues and dates, see graphic below. Community suppers are served five of seven evenings per week.

Harvest Kitchen in Welland had its start about 20 years ago as Out of the Cold. Back then, the program also offered overnight accommodation if needed.

It has been under the capable leadership of Rev. Bob Bond since its beginning.

Harvest Kitchen is an important partner in the social safety net that exists in the local community to assist people in need.

Venues have changed over the years, but need for the program in Welland has not. Participating churches and other groups have provided yeoman service to the community by opening their doors from fall to spring year after year.

The Harvest Kitchen schedule for 2015-16 has been released. The new season begins Nov. 1 and continues to next spring.

Morning Walk

The payoff of taking a morning walk on a blustery, unsettled morning such as today’s. (Photo by Joe Barkovich)

WIND WARNING: Strong Winds Into Thursday

Warnings

Issued:  9:16 PM EDT Wednesday 28 October 2015
Wind warning in effect for:

• Niagara Falls – Welland – Southern Niagara Region
• St. Catharines – Grimsby – Northern Niagara Region

Strong winds that may cause damage are expected or occurring.

Early Thursday morning, southwesterly wind gusts to 90 km/h are forecast to develop over the regions, with strong winds expected throughout the day Thursday. These winds on Thursday may be strong enough to damage trees and cause local power outages. The winds will gradually diminish Thursday night.

Damage to buildings, such as to roof shingles and windows, may occur. Loose objects may be tossed by the wind and cause injury or damage. High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break. Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions due to high winds.

Wind warnings are issued when there is a significant risk of damaging winds.

Environment Canada meteorologists will update alerts as required. Please monitor local media or Weatheradio. To report severe weather, send an email to storm.ontario@ec.gc.ca or tweet reports to #ONStorm.

Canada’s New Government Must Target Climate Change

By Joe Gunn

I’m told a trip to Paris should be a treat in anyone’s life.

Joe Gunn

But only six weeks after the federal election, our newly-elected Prime Minister will face his first foreign-policy challenge there.

Will he make Canadians proud?

COP 21, the United Nations conference on climate change, starts in the French capital on the last day of November. The nations of the world will attempt to agree to targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions that will prevent global temperatures from rising over 2? Celsius.

So far, there are prospects for an agreement to be signed, but little hope that these negotiations will be ambitious enough to successfully slow climate change.

As a prime example, Canada has proposed an emissions reduction target, but it is the least ambitious of all G7 countries. Many Canadians – as well as people around the world – are quite certain Canada can do better.

Around the globe, there will be impressive activities in favour of climate action, featuring marches as the negotiations begin (including a major march and demonstration on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill) and “mass mobilization and action events” on Dec. 12, when COP 21 wraps up.

Some groups are planning four days of non-violent protests in front of the prime ministerial residence in Ottawa. Environmental groups are calling for 80 per cent of fossil fuel reserves to be left in the ground, and that the planet transitions to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050.

(In case this seems unreasonable, remember Prime Minister Harper has already agreed with his G7 peers to phase out fossil fuels use by 2100.)

Canadian churches are also organizing to try to positively influence the outcome of the Paris climate negotiations.

FEDERAL ACTION

In late September, the 25-member denominations of the Canadian Council of Churches, representing 85 per cent of Canada’s Christians, released a first-time statement.

It called on the federal government to “positively influence” negotiations in Paris, “establish more stringent and ambitious emission targets in Canada” and “provide $500 million in material assistance to assist the poorest and most affected countries to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change.”

Because this was the first time the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops joined ecumenical opinion on the topic of climate change, this statement deserves wide circulation and study in parishes.

In early October, a delegation of Canadian church leaders, including Churchill-Hudson Bay Bishop Wieslaw Krotki, traveled to northern Sweden for a conference titled, The Future of Life in the Arctic: The Impact of Climate Change.

Stating that, “Climate justice for the Arctic is a spiritual issue,” they asked faith communities and people everywhere “to rededicate themselves to stand in solidarity and support the peoples in the North, who are now already survivors and leaders in responding to climate change.”

Delegates from the United Church of Canada, the Christian Reformed Church and Mennonite Church Canada will all travel to Paris, in an attempt to meet with and encourage the official Canadian delegation to achieve more substantial results there.

To assist congregations to prayerfully support climate justice, Citizens for Public Justice has prepared Prayers for Paris – worship resources for the First Sunday in Advent (Nov. 29) – one day before the conference begins.

Parishes can access hymn suggestions from the Catholic Book of Worship, bulletin inserts, videos, Prayers of the Faithful with environmental themes, and even homilies for that Sunday prepared by Saskatoon’s Bishop Don Bolen, among others. See: cpj.ca/un-climate-summit-2015.

ENCYCLICAL’S GUIDANCE

Pope Francis, in his June encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’, wrote: “It is remarkable how weak international political responses have been. The failure of global summits on the environment make it plain our politics are subject to technology and finance. There are too many special interests, and economic interests easily end up trumping the common good” (54)

The pontiff believes that, “Enforceable international agreements are urgently needed,” (173) and that, “Even as this Encyclical was being prepared, the debate was intensifying. We believers cannot fail to ask God for a positive outcome to the present discussions, so that future generations will not have to suffer the effects of our ill-advised delays.” (169)

While asking God for a positive outcome, we believers also must act for climate justice, by changing our own lifestyles and demanding positive leadership from our newly-elected government.

(Joe Gunn is the Ottawa-based executive director of Citizens for Public Justice, www.cpj.ca, an ecumenical social advocacy organization. He is guest speaker at Distinguished Speaker Night, Nov. 23 at St. Kevin parish, Welland)

Source of this article: Western Catholic Reporter

THE FLU: Seasonal ‘Shots’ Now Available

The best way to protect yourself and your family is to get the seasonal flu shot.

FluMist® is now available to children 2 to 17 years of age. Due to limited quantities, priority will be given to children aged 2 to 5.

Ways to get your Free Flu Shot

• General immunization clinic
• Doctor’s office
• Health Care provider
• Walk-in clinic
• Various pharmacies – Contact your local pharmacy for more information about scheduling

Use the flu shot clinic locator to find a clinic near you

Upcoming Flu Clinics –

• No appointments necessary
• Wear a short-sleeved shirt
• Bring your health card or driver’s licence

Date/Time ▾	Town/City ▾	Location ▾
Mon, Nov 2, 2015 1 – 8 p.m.	Port Colborne	St. James Guild Hall 72 Charlotte St.
Tue, Nov 3, 2015 1 – 8 p.m.	Thorold	Holy Rosary Hall 35 Queen St. South
Wed, Nov 4, 2015 1 – 8 p.m.	Wainfleet	Firefighters Memorial Community Hall 31907 Park St.

Other Flu Shot Locations

In addition to these clinics, here are other options that are convenient for you and your family to get the flu shot:

• General immunization clinics
• Doctor’s office
• Health care provider
• Walk-in clinic
• Pharmacy – contact your local pharmacy for more information

Find a flu shot clinic near you.

(Source of this info: Niagara Region public health website)

THE FLU: Flu Activity In Niagara Region

The Flu (Influenza) is a highly contagious infection of the nose, throat and lungs caused by the influenza virus. It can be a serious illness for some people.

Niagara Region monitors the spread of flu and flu-like illnesses on an on-going basis. During the months of October to May, activity will be reported.

Only laboratory confirmed cases are reported. Most people infected with influenza do not get laboratory testing and so actual infection numbers are likely much higher.

Weekly Flu Activity (Updated Each Friday)

Week of	Influenza A	Influenza B	Total
October 18-24	1	1	2

Totals include lab confirmed cases in the community and cases associated with outbreaks in health care facilities such as hospitals and long-term care facilities.

Total Cases by City/Town

Town/City	Influenza A	Influenza B	Total	Five Year Average
Fort Erie	0	0	0	12
Grimsby	0	0	0	21
Lincoln	0	0	0	19
Niagara Falls	0	0	0	29
Niagara-on-the-Lake	0	1	1	19
Pelham	0	0	0	5
Port Colborne	0	0	0	11
St. Catharines	1	0	1	62
Thorold	0	0	0	10
Wainfleet	0	0	0	2
Welland	0	0	0	27
West Lincoln	0	0	0	13
Total	1	1	2	230

Institutional Outbreaks (Updated Each Friday)

Week of	Influenza A	Influenza B
October 18-24	0	0