HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-08-02, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2012.
Walton welcomes Homecoming visitors
Lee cuts ribbon on new TransCan event centre
Organizers of the Walton
TransCan welcomed members of the
media to the event’s grounds last
week to show of their new 100-
kilowatt energy project and event
centre.
Event founder and landowner
Chris Lee was on hand to officially
cut the ribbon on the building
alongside Bill King and Gerry
Wheeler of KW PowerLogic and
Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb on July
25.
The event also hosted the world
premiere of a 3-D video tour of the
TransCan track that was made
available simultaneously on the
event’s website and Facebook page.
In addition to the new energy
project, several other improvements
at the track were revealed to the
public for the first time, including a
redesigned motocross and OHV
track, an enhanced layout for
spectators and exhibitors, a newly-
constructed mountain-bike trail
system and a newly-constructed
BMX pump track. Further details on the Friday nightJason Blaine concert were alsoreleased. It is the first time that a fullstage concert will be included as part
of the Walton TransCan.
Lee and his fellow organizers also
unveiled the track’s new wetlands
project, that was completed with the
help of Ducks Unlimited, as well as
several other partners.
The wetlands project is the first
ever to be completed at a raceway
facility.
Much of the work that has been
done at the Walton Raceway, Lee
said, has been accomplished thanks
to the Celebrate Ontario initiative,
which is funded through the
Ministry of Tourism, Culture and
Sport.
Lee says much of the thanks for
the raceway’s participation in the
program can be traced back to
Huron East Economic Development
Officer Jan Hawley. Hawley profiled
the raceway for the newly-formed
Regional Tourism Organization 4
(RTO4) and alongside Mike Pullen,
from Huron County’s economic
development department, made
the case that the Walton TransCan
was the premier event of its
kind along Ontario’s west coast and
a prime economic driver in the
area.
In addition to funding that made
the Friday night Jason Blaine
concert possible, other benefits the
event will see as a result of the
Celebrate Ontario initiative will be a
Walton Raceway Fan Fest Pit Party,
video screens, transponder scoring,
streaming event information,
enhanced spectator viewing as
well as infrastructure improvements.Last year marked the 20thanniversary of the Walton TransCan, a monumental year forthe event.
This year’s Walton TransCan will
be held from Aug. 13-19, kicking off
at the Blyth campground one
weekend earlier with the
TransCan’s official tailgate party on
the Aug. 10-12 weekend.
Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa
Thompson will be at the grounds on
Aug. 15 to officially start the event’s
first race, while Huron East Mayor
Bernie MacLellan will be there on
Aug. 18 to bring greetings from the
municipality, as well as the county,
and Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb will
be there on Aug. 19 to award the
winner of the Pro MX1
championship with the traditional
prize of a sword, as the winner is
dubbed the King of Walton.
More information can be found at
www.waltonraceway.ca or at
www.facebook.com/waltonraceway
It was great week of weather with
a nice rainfall Friday evening. It is
still very dry and more rain would be
welcomed by most farmers.
Homecoming was the excitement
of the weekend. There was fantastic
attendance at most of the events and
a fantastic parade for everyone to
watch. I was kept busy with the
Legion food booth and a few folks
told me interesting clips for the
column, but at this point, my mind is
blank.
The McDonald family had some
special guest at their home on
Wednesday. Bob and Sue Speers of
Brock, Saskatchewan, made a
whirlwind tour of our area for a day.
Bob’s mother was a McDonald.
They were met at the Toronto airport
by cousin after their flight from
London, England landed by cousin
Bruce McDonald of Hanover after
their flight from London, England.
They stayed with cousins Paul and
Marjorie Krauters in Listowel for
the night. On Wednesday morning
the group including Bruce, Bob and
Sue, Paul and Marj and Marie
Chambers (Paul’s sister) started the
day by visiting the Brussels
Cemetery and the graves of many
McDonald relatives. Then they went
to the home of Rick and Jo-Ann and
the McDonald homestead. They
enjoyed mid-morning coffee and
snack and had a nice visit with all.
The group, including ourselves,
travelled to Bayfield to meet up with
many more Mcdonald relatives for
lunch at the home of Karin
McDonald Calhoun. Joining to visit
with cousins was Karin, Neil
McDonald, Marilyn McDonald,
Sarah McDonald Young, Dianne
Huether and Roger and Joyce
(Huether) Tipple. The original six
then headed for the Hanover area
and an airplane ride for the special
guests. They had a wonderful aerial
view of Bruce/Huron. They again
spent the night in Listowel and
travelled to Toronto to see a Blue
Jays game and returned to their
home in Brock on Friday. It was
great to see Bob and Sue again. We
had been to their home in Brock
back in 1993 and had seen them
once in Ontario since then.
We hear that Harvey Smith is
doing very well following knee
surgery over two weeks ago. I’ve
been told it will take more than knee
surgery to keep Harvey down for
long.
Judy Emmrich also had knee
surgery last week and is home
recovering. We hope she comes
along quickly in her recovery.
Jim, Leona, Robert, Bruce,
Claudette, Bryan and Nathan
Armstrong returned home Friday
morning from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
They attended the world’s largest
fly-in and have been attending for a
very long time. They were away nine
days, but back for Homecoming.
A group of Walton/Seaforth young
men went to Jamboree in the Hills in
Morristown, Ohio last week. They
watched headliners Jason Aldeen,
Ronnie Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Big and
Rich and others and had a great
time. Rough camping was just that,
and all were glad to come home to
good beds. The group included Scott
McDonald, Devin Blake, Brandon
Blake, Rob McClure, Greg Medd,
Steve Carnochan, Barry Young and
Jason Denys (groom to be).
Congratulations to Jason and
Megan Gemmel on the birth of a
beautiful baby girl, McKenna.
Congrats to first-time grandparents
Glenn and Marilyn Beuerman.
Celebrating birthdays this past
week include Dorothy Kelly, Tyler
Eckert, Donna Blair, Cathy
Flaxbard, Tyler Leslie Ribey, Olene
Dennis, Sandra Huether, Paul Ryan,
Jordan Shortreed, Margaret Bennett,
Bridget Blake, Jeanne Dionne and
Jennifer Grobbink.
In the July 19 issue of The
Citizen, columnist Jo-Ann
McDonald’s condolences to the
McClure family on the passing of
Gladys Cornish were placed on the
page in an insensitive manner. The
condolences should have been
included with the rest of
McDonald’s community news.
The Citizen apologizes to the
McClure family for any grief the
error may have caused.
A euchre party was held in Ethel
on Monday, July 23.
Winners were: high, Helen
Dobson and Norman Dobson; low,
Marion Harrison and Allan Martin;
lone hands, Viola Adams, Allan
Edgar and Bill Siemon; tally prizes,
Keith Turnbull, Dorothy Martin,
Adrian Verstoep and Vicky Siemon.
The next euchre will be held on
Aug. 6 at 8 p.m.
Cty. Rd. 25
BlythCarlow
Cty. Rd. 15
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PEOPLE AROUND
WALTON
NEWS
FROM WALTON
Going green
Chris Lee, second from right, officially opened his new event centre in Walton on July 25 with
a little help from his friends. Bill King, left, and Gerry Wheeler, second from left, from KW
PowerLogic were Lee’s partners in the 100-kilowatt solar project that sits atop the structure,
while Huron County Warden and Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan, centre and Huron-
Bruce MP Ben Lobb, right, have been huge supporters of Lee for years. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Correction
Euchre held
in Ethel