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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2018-07-12, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018. Sports Cycle business bringing bicycle mechanic to Blyth Highlighting history When it comes to telling the story of Blyth, most locals know to visit the Voddens' Repository of History to get a leg up and new business owner Reece Sparling was no exception. Sparling's new venture, Blyth Bike Tours, offers 90 -minute and three-hour tours that share the story of the village of Blyth and the surrounding areas and Brock and the late Janis Vodden helped him put together some historical highlights. Sparling ran a test tour with members of the creative team behind the Blyth Festival's locally -inspired production Wing Night at the Boot last week to test his cycling and storytelling chops, and also announced that Jason Lamont, a bicycle mechanic from Seaforth, would be joining the venture. From left: Actor Daniel Roberts, Director Severn Thompson, Reece's father David and Reece. (Photo submitted) Continued from page 3 incorporate a bike mechanic from Seaforth named Jason Lamont. The repair shop will maintain bikes for the Blyth Bike Tours and offer repair services. It will be located in the rear of the building currently housing the Pick a Posie pop-up shop on Queen Street until Blyth Bike Tours moves to its permanent location on Queen Street. Lamont, however, isn't your average bike mechanic, having been blind since birth. Local accessibility expert Julie Sawchuk connected Sparling with Lamont after she formally met him last month at an accessibility group meeting. She had become aware of Lamont when visiting the International Plowing Match last year where he was playing country music at the event. Lamont told The Citizen that Sawchuk connected Sparling with him because the latter didn't know much about repairing bikes. He recently received accreditation through the Winterborne Bicycle Institute in Guelph as a bicycle mechanic and shortly after met with Sparling and his father David to start the wheels in motion for the repair service. Lamont has always liked mechanics and, while attending the W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind, he participated in a co- operative program in an auto shop. "Last summer, I worked for an auto garage here at home," he said. After that, he pursued several options, but didn't find what he was seeking until he attended a basic bicycle repair seminar in Listowel. "They had never had a blind student before, so it was confusing for them and for me," he said. "But after that, I started looking into the program in Guelph." Lamont grew up around mechanics, with his father previously working on machinery. In addition, his friend's father and his godfather were both mechanics. "I grew up around it," he said. "I liked the work that is involved" He said that the repair business will concentrate on Sparling's bikes and a few customers he knows, but he will eventually be welcoming new clients. "I want to start working with people that I know," he said. "There are a lot of people in Seaforth that know me that want their bikes taken care of." He said, for the time being, he will working mornings on Sparling's bikes before expanding to customers he knows before considering more customers. Lamont can be reached at 519- 276-8903. Pull event raises money for Steffler Foundation PULLLLL! The Huron County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Youth Advisory Council (YAC) held a special Emergency Medical Services "pulling event" where teams pulled emergency vehicles last month. The event raised $914 for the Tanner Steffler Foundation. (Lisa B. Pot photo) NHL players set to play in Hospice fundraiser By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen On Sunday, Nov. 25, the Huron Residential Hospice will be raising funds through a special hockey game between the Central Huron Fire Department and a team comprised of former NHL players. The game will begin at 4 p.m. at the Eastlink Arena in Clinton, with doors opening 45 minutes prior. While the game is scheduled for this fall, hospice volunteers are already hard at work drumming up support for the event, contacting community members regarding ticket sales and potential sponsorship. The Huron Residential Hospice officially opened to the public in May and has since welcomed its first families in to utilize the service at the new location, situated just west of Clinton. The location is the result of a comprehensive study that was conducted on the need for hospice in Huron and Perth Counties. The study dictated the need for two hospice locations in the area, one in the Clinton area and the other near Stratford. The event is being held in conjunction with Pro Hockey Heroes. Information on the organization can be found at prohockeyheroes.com or at 1-888- 777-9793. The Huron County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Youth Advisory Council (YAC) EMS "Pulling Event" turned out to be an overwhelming success. This inaugural event was held on June 15 under sunny skies at the Clinton Raceway. It featured first responder teams battling it out in a good old fashioned "pull off". It was pretty clear, even to the casual onlookers, these first responders needed to dig deep to find their inner strength and determination to get the heavy vehicles moving along. The five -person teams were challenged to see how quickly they could pull a fire truck, ambulance and police cruiser each a distance of 25 metres down the horse track. With the support from a large cheering section of students from Central Huron Secondary School (CHSS) the teams pulled with all of their might and were successful in getting the vehicles to the finish line. In a closely -contested match, the combined team from the Fire Department of North Huron and Central Huron Fire Departments came out on top with the lowest cumulative time. Huron County Paramedic Services finished second, leaving the two Huron OPP teams in third and fourth place. The true winner though was the Tanner Steffler Foundation. A total of $914 was donated to the Tanner Steffler Foundation from the proceeds of this event. The Tanner Steffler Foundation remains committed to promoting awareness and creating a culture of change in mental health, addiction and wellness services for youth and families in Huron County. Tanning Packages IFSHEAR TALENT Hair Design & Tanning 45 West St., Goderich 519-524-6555 See histories and historic photographs on the History section of the Stops Along the Way website at stopsalongtheway.ca For Tickets Call 519.523.93cm Toll Free 1,877,862,5984 or visit blythfestival.com Canadian Theatre BLYTH FESTIVAL August 8 to September 15 I WORLD PREMIERE WING NIGHT AT THE BOOT Written by The Company Directed by Severn Thompson From the days when the rubber boots at the bar were still "fresh" from the barn, to dollar draft night, to snowmobilers, fiddlers, and karaoke contests; Wing Night at the Boot celebrates and lampoons 141 years of the Blyth Inn. Season Sponsors OtO sparlings YEW PrOPArle [01....1951 Season Media Sponsor OMIT Media Sponsor