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The Citizen, 2015-08-13, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, August 13, 2015 Volume 31 No. 31 REVIEW - Pg. 19 ‘Mary’s Wedding’ impresses Festival audiences TRANSCAN - Pg. 7 Walton to welcome thousands this weekend Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0 INSIDE THIS WEEK: Paralyzed yet determined, Sawchuk begins recovery Taking the next step Tiffany Deitner, right, said that after being crowned Huron County Plowing Match Princess, she was encouraged to throw her hat into the ring for the Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador competition. Next, she thinks she may take aim at the Huron County Queen of the Furrow competition when she’s eligible. Crowning Deitner at the Saturday night ceremony is former Ambassador Jamee Johnston, whose time as Ambassador has come to a close. (Jim Brown photo) Deitner crowned Ambassador ahead of Brussels Fair The life of 41-year-old Julie Sawchuk will now go one of two ways – which way, however, is dependent on whether or not she is able to walk again. Sawchuk is the Blyth-area cyclist that was struck by a car while training late last month. The collision with a westbound Volkswagen Jetta has, for the time being, left her paralyzed from the chest down, but below her shoulders, meaning she has use of her arms. “I’ve done nothing but think my whole time here,” Sawchuk said through tears in an interview with The Citizen from her London hospital room. “I can’t sleep. I can’t turn off my head. My body is completely broken, but my mind is absolutely perfect.” Sawchuk is emotional in response to a question about the future, whether it be how she returns to her career as a high school teacher, how she re-ignites her passion for physical activity and the outdoors or how she continues her life as a wife to her husband Theo and mother to their children Ella and Oliver. “I think about future stuff. I think about life with my kids,” she said. Police say that Sawchuk was struck by a westbound Volkswagen Jetta on County Road 25 near Council Line before 9 a.m. on July 29. She was training for the Goderich Triathlon. A 47-year-old Ashfield-Colborne- Wawanosh man has been charged with failing to turn out to left to avoid a collision with a bicycle in connection with the incident. As a result of the collision, Sawchuk’s T4 vertebrae was fractured, Theo says, a fragment of which pierced the dura, the membrane around the spinal cord. Her T2 and T5 vertebrae were then fused together over eight hours of emergency surgery upon her arrival to Victoria Hospital in London. In addition, Sawchuk suffered from a burst fracture in her L1 vertebrae, lacerations on her head and chin, a broken nose, five broken ribs, a fractured skull and various road rash injuries. She says she doesn’t remember being hit and that she doesn’t even remember hearing the car. While her memory from that morning is hazy, Sawchuk says she does recall fragments of the experience, such as being airlifted to the hospital and how frightened she was. She was first brought to hospital in Goderich, where she was stabilized, before being airlifted to London. Julie’s husband Theo, remembers seeing Julie during that brief period in Goderich. He said it was reassuring to see her, to look into her eyes and see his wife looking back at him, knowing that while her body may be injured, she was still well mentally. The first thing Julie said to her husband, scrawled in a notebook, All Huron County councillors, with the one notable exception of North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent, felt concerns regarding the Goderich-to-Guelph Rail Trail had been largely addressed after a delegation at the Aug. 5 meeting. Paul VanderMolen and Chris Lee, both of G2G Inc. the not-for-profit group taking on the trail project, were summoned by council to address a number of concerns with the trail. They did so that day before a large gallery of trail opponents. VanderMolen told councillors that he and others involved with the trail had done extensive research regarding the concerns and had found that many were unfounded. The first concern, he said, is that insurance rates will rise as a result of the trail. VanderMolen said that he, as well as others involved with the trail, contacted their personal insurance providers, who all said there was no further risk with a trail running adjacent to property. What they did hear, however, was that if a homeowner felt there was more risk, that the company would be happy to sell him some more insurance. The second issue, he said, was regarding biosecurity concerns. VanderMolen said he has been in contact with one of the biggest three buyers of IP (identity preserved) crops in the country and was told there is absolutely no added risk from an adjacent trail. He stood by previous statements he had made, however, saying that if anything, he felt the trail would increase security for farms around the trail. Whether it be through fencing, supervision or the ability to close the trail (which doesn’t currently exist), if there are biosecurity concerns due to a livestock disease, it would be easier to close the trail than it is now. In response to other concerns, he said there are a number of laws in Brussels-area teen Tiffany Deitner beat out three other contestants for the Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador crown over the weekend. The competition on Aug. 8 saw Deitner compete with Johanna Blake, Natalie Fear and Chelsey Terpstra for the coveted crown and Deitner said that winning was great. “It felt awesome,” she said. “It was pretty unexpected and definitely an even competition. The judges had a really difficult choice to make.” Deitner said the competition was tough on the contestants but that her experience as Huron County Plowing Match Princess for the 2013/2014 competition really helped out. “It was nerve-wracking being in the competition,” she said. “It was similar to the Princess competition, but, having to do it all over again, made me nervous.” She said her previous experience helped her to prepare and know what kind of questions she might be facing. She also felt that her sister, Morgan Deitner, who was named ambassador in 2010, proved invaluable to her bid for the crown. “I had her as a coach and it helped a lot,” she said. “She was a wealth of knowledge. We would go on long walks together and I would say my speech. Then, on the way back, she would ask me important names, give me impromptu questions and help me practice. She was definitely my sargeant.” Deitner had been working on her speech, which spanned several topics, for two weeks, writing it and memorizing it, and another week beyond that preparing by memorizing facts and names. She said the time was all worthwhile. When asked about tips she has for anyone looking to follow in her footsteps, either as ambassador or Princess, she said just to go for it. “If they are just kind of looking at participating or being asked to do it, my advice for anyone is to go for it,” she said. “I didn’t really want to do the Princess of the Furrow competition, but I did it and I ended up having an awesome time and loving being Princess which made me want to run for Ambassador and, I think, I’m going to run for Queen of the Furrow when I can. “It was an awesome experience and I think being ambassador will be too.” Deitner said she is very much looking forward to the coming year because of the knowledge, skills and networking she will enjoy through being the ambassador. Getting through any competition like the Ambassador contest is not a solo effort and Deitner had plenty of people to thank. She said that she wanted to thank the Brussels Agricultural Society and Ambassador of the Fair committee as well as her sponsors, Brett and Laura Fischer of Pioneer Hi-Bred. She said her family was also high on the list as were her fellow competitors, the Legion ladies for providing lunch and the guidance she received from everyone involved. The Citizen Celebrating 30 Years 1985~2015 By Denny Scott The Citizen G2G reps answer county trail questions By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 10 By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 20