HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-11-10, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2011. PAGE 7.
Auburn native Paul Cartwright
was justifiably excited to be named
National Association for Stock Car
Auto Racing (NASCAR) Mechanic
of the Year at London’s Delaware
Speedway.
After nearly 30 years of working
on cars, his work on a late model
Ford Fusion earned him the nod
from his peers.
“To be named Mechanic of the
Year is fulfilling and rewarding,” he
said.
Cartwright explained that each car
has three to four mechanics and
each of them receives a ballot to
nominate the mechanic they believe
is the most deserving.
The ballots are then sent to North
Carolina to be tallied by NASCAR
officials and the results, along with a
plaque, are sent back to London.
The news was announced on Oct.
19 that his fellow mechanics had
named him.
Cartwright is one of several
mechanics who work on cars usually
driven by the father and son duo of
Steve and Matt Robblee, including
one which was loaned out to
NASCAR driver Kyle Busch, who
owns the modern-era record for most
race wins in a season, for the
last couple years as Steve battled
and recovered from prostate
cancer.
“We work on four cars for the
Robblees,” Cartwright said, adding
that some of that work is done in
London and some is done for races
in other parts of the province.
Working on just one car means
spending an extra 10 to 15 hours a
week handling mechanical duties for
Cartwright who works full-time at a
NAPA AutoPro in London, but it
doesn’t feel like work to him.
“It’s a stress reliever, I really enjoy
it,” he said.
Cartwright has wanted to be a
mechanic since first began working
with cars. He followed that passion
by focusing on it at Central Huron
Secondary School in Clinton where
he also met his wife, Wendy.
“I’ve wanted to be a mechanic for
as long as I can remember, pretty
much since I got my first car,” he
said.
His passion landed him in London,
as he couldn’t find a job in Huron
County and wanted to be a
mechanic.
Aside from the support of his wife
and daughter, Kelsey, Cartwright
said that one of the first garages he
worked in, which is no longer open,
really led to him choosing to be a
NASCAR mechanic.
“I used to work with a mechanic
named Bob Morris here in London,”
he said. “Bob got me involved in the
NASCAR mechanic job in 1983 and
I haven’t looked back since.”
Firefighters from Blyth, Brussels
and Wingham converged on a
home near Belgrave in Morris-
Turnberry early Sunday morning to
battle a blaze that could have
cost someone their life according
to Fire Department of North
Huron Fire (FDNH) Chief John
Black.
Black said that the owner of the
home was awoken by his smoke
detector and found that the house
was full of smoke. Thanks to the
timely warning of the device he was
able to escape the building and call
fire fighters.“He may have lost his home andhis valuables but, thanks to a $5smoke detector, he still has his life,”
Black said.
The fire and its cause are currently
under investigation by the Ontario
Fire Marshal’s office.
Black said that the presence of the
smoke detector changed this
situation drastically.
“If that smoke detector had not
been working this would be a totally
different situation,” he said. “We
could have been dealing with a
fatality. It’s fantastic that it did its
job.”
Black compared the situation to
one the FDNH ran into earlier in theweek where a home in the Morris-Turnberry section of Belgrave wasfound to have smoke pouring out of
it.
A neighbour called 911 after
seeing the smoke on Tuesday, Nov.
1.
None of the detectors in that house
were working and, while there were
no significant losses at the site, if the
fire had been at night instead of
during the day and had been more
severe it may have resulted in the
loss of life.
“This fire really highlights the
importance of having a working
smoke alarm,” he said.
Mystic Willows, a new art supply
store and studio, has opened on
Brussels main street.
Brenda Sothern, originally from
Fordwich, decided that her artwork
needed a better home than her house
and that she could use a space to
create and to teach.
“I had over 30 pieces of art and
instead of it being in my home I
wanted it to be on display so people
could see it,” she said. “So I decided
to open up a shop.”
The store, located next to the 5 R’s
Community Thrift Store, will serve
both as a creative space for Sothern
and a store and a place for children
to discover the joy of art.
Sothern plans on running classes
for children in two groups; ages
five to eight and ages nine to 12.
“I’ll pick [the five to eight-year-
olds] at school and bring them to the
studio where they’ll be taught from
3:20 to 4:30 p.m.,” she said. “The
nine to 12-year-olds will run from
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.”
The store will also serve as a place
for people to enjoy the artistic
experience.
“I chose this location because of
the traffic down main street, but also
for the space,” she said. “People can
come in, sit down and see artwork.
They can relax and chat with
others about the art and lessons
there.”
Sothern carries a wide variety of
art supplies and, anything she
doesn’t have, she can order.
“I do an order once a month, so I
can get things if we don’t have
them,” she said.
A self-taught artist, Sothern said
that, through her youth she learned
the basics of art through school
but learned what worked best for
her when she began experimenting.
“I mainly do acrylic paints and oil
pastels,” she said. “I grew up with
them. In high school I didn’t do
other paints like water paints and
when I did get around to trying
them, I found they just didn’t work
for me.”
While she doesn’t find that all
media work for her, she does supply
them and make them available for
use in the store, with the exception
of oil paints.
“I supply other products like water
and oil-based paints, but I don’t
allow oil to be used by the students,”
she said. “Oil paints cause unhealthy
fumes.”
The storefront is located at 453
Turnberry Street and is open
Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30
p.m., from 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on
Tuesdays, Wednesdays from 11 a.m.
to 8:30 p.m., Thursdays from 3 p.m.
to 8:30 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to
8:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from
8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Auburn native honoured
as mechanic of the year
Studio opens in Brussels
Smoke alarm saves life in Belgrave-area fire
Writer disappointed
in Harper’s actions
Out of the frying pan
Fire Department of North Huron firefighters entered a
building in Belgrave during a non-life threatening
emergency at the home. While there, they found that none
of the smoke detectors in the home worked and that, if the
emergency had been more severe, the lack of working fire
protection could have resulted in the loss of life. (Denny Scott
photo)
By Denny ScottThe Citizen
Holiday Open House
& Moonlight Sale
Thursday, November 17
5-9 pm
Wreath making
(pre-register before Nov. 17)
~ door prizes
~ snacks & refreshments
www.mcdonaldhomehardware.com
Phone: 519-887-6277 Brussels Toll Free: 1-800-881-0030
We’ve Got Your Lumber
MCDONALD’S
Home Hardware Building Centre
Great deals on Christmas decorations,
giftware, home décor and more!
Gift ideas for him too!
Get your Village Passport stamp
here Nov. 17 - Dec. 31
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
See histories and historic
photographs on the
Huron History section
of our website
www.northhuron.on.ca
The Citizen
THE EDITOR,
Keith Roulston’s Nov. 3 editorial,
“What’s a Mandate” was well
written. Publisher Keith Roulston
points out that only 40 per cent of a
poor turnout of voters supported Mr.
Harper. However, no one truly
knows if 50 per cent of the voting
Canadians supported abolishing the
gun registry legislation.
As well, dismantling the Western
Wheat Board is physically much
worse. Assuming that likely two per
cent of the western provinces’
population is farmers, this means
that 98 per cent of the real voters are
non-farmers who know little, or care
about the Wheat Board. Mr. Harper
must believe that these are the
people who gave him his mandate to
dismantle the Western Wheat Board.
Denying 60 per cent of committed
farm producers a legislative vote, if
they wished a Western Wheat Board,
and then hastily proceeding to
dismantle the Wheat Board while
Prime Minster Harper and some PC
members of parliament quote that
the vote gave them this mandate has
to be democracy at its worst.
George Underwood,
RR 1, Wingham.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen