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The Times Advocate, 2008-08-27, Page 3Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Times -Advocate 3 Bluewater faces the world in Sweden Against the world —The Bluewater Men's Tug -of -War team will compete in Sweden at the World Championships from Sept. 4-7 after qualifying at the Canadian Championships in Toronto in July.The team is front from left, Derek Mathonia, Curtis Ryckman,Tim Hoffman, Matthias Metzger and Brandon LaPorte. Back: Rob Hoffman, coach Jim Connolly, Dennis Dewetering, Darryl Hern,Ted Hoffman and Trevor Cottrell. (photo/Pat Bolen) By Pat Bolen TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF DASHWOOD — After taking first place in every category at the Canadian Championships in Toronto, the Bluewater Tug -of -War Club is confident as it heads to Sweden next week for the World Championships. The trip to Stenungsund, Sweden, will be the first outside of Ontario this year for the Bluewater team, says Matthias Metzger. While the club usually competes in the United States, it wasn't possible this year but Metzger says everything came together to send the men's team to Sweden where it will compete in the 640 kilogram class against 19 countries from Sept. 4-7. The team earned the right to compete in Sweden by winning first in the 640, 680, 720 kilogram and men's catch weight divisions with the Canadian championships, which is a qualifier for the Worlds. As preparation for the tournament, Metzger said every team member had the goal of being able to hold their own weight up for five minutes, a mark which has been met. Metzger said the world championships are also a qualifier for the world games next year in Chinese Taipai. The sport has changed over the past few years, says Metzger, with the 12 to 15 minute pulls that were common previously no longer seen. With better training and more strength among competitions, the sport has gotten tougher and the Bluewater club has also changed its training to keep up. Metzger said while the club does more weight training, it means less time on the rope and it takes time to recover the precision and timing of the team. The team has been training hard to prepare and Metzger says "our goal is gold," and that they feel good about their chances of winning Ausable Bayfield ConservationAuthority meeting EXETER — The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority education programs have proven to be popular with local schools, says conservation education specialist Julie Hicks at the ABCA board meeting Aug. 21. Speaking to the board, Hicks said the ABCA spring water awareness program visited 17 schools. Other education programs by the ABCA include March Break Day Camps, the Huron Perth Agriculture and Water Festival, being on the Huron -Perth Envirothon organizing committee, the Sylvan Conservation Program and Spring Nature programs. Timber harvest Forest and Stewardship specialist Ian Jean told the board that marking was completed on a 15 - acre section of the Parkhill conservation authori- ty downstream of the Parkhill Dam. Jean said 203 trees were marked for harvesting with an assessed value of between $4,300 and $6,825 with one bid of $6,100 accepted from Morley Logging of Ailsa Craig to conduct the har- vest. Source protection Stewardship and conservation lands supervisor Kate Monk briefed the board on the Source Protection Outreach and Education Program. Monk said the program was a joint project between the ABCA and the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MCVA) to communicate with landowners near municipal wells and the Goderich Lake Huron intake. She said the Ministry of the Environment pro- vided $101,120 to the two authorities for the six month project that had as its objectives to Nov 30 deadline for agreements By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE DUBLIN — Administrators of the Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board are confident they can reach collective agreements with their teachers' unions ahead of a provincially -mandated Nov. 30 deadline. But so far, that same level of confidence has not materialized for the coterminous Avon Maitland public board. Provincial framework agreements have been worked out between negotiators for Ontario's Education Ministry, the lobby group representing Catholic school boards, and Catholic teachers' unions. The big-ticket items in those frameworks include 12 per cent pay raises spread out over the four years of the agree- ment. "For the people that we have to work with, those agreements are all in place," explained Huron -Perth business superintendent Gerry Thuss. "We've met, and we have more dates scheduled, and we'll contin- ue to work away at (finalizing deals with the local unions)." On the public side, however, neither the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) nor the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) have agreed on provincial frameworks. ETFO's president recently called on the government to eliminate a gap in pay scales between elementary and secondary teachers. And OSSTF's president accused district school boards of planning to wait until the last minute before the Nov. 30 deadline, thereby putting undue pressure on teachers to sign inferior deals. According to Thuss, the government recently announced a two-phase provision of increased fund- ing for the 2008-09 school year. Initially, money will be provided for a two per cent increase in teacher remuneration. Then, if boards are able to reach agreements with their local unions before the November deadline, additional funding will bring the pay increase up to three per cent. "We're working towards meeting those time frames," Thuss said. Existing four-year teacher deals with both Catholic and public systems expire Aug. 30. Unions will refrain from job action until the November deadline, but boards that haven't yet signed deals at that time could potentially face teacher walkouts. The event you can afford to come to, but can't afford to miss! IIP La'Ron Williams Stephanie Beneteau Marta Singh Charly Chiarelli Antonio Rocha Friday - Sunday, September 5, 6 & 7th Milt Donnell Field (The Flats) .IT.TCf For more information: www.stmarysstorytelling.org 519.229.6468 dNIAN10 NNIS CDNN[IL MOM Nr� CPNSEIIDEEANTEDFL'WIARIq EPontano' r`cs'J,", increase awareness of the clean water act, greater knowledge of best management practices and assistance with identifying beneficial drink- ing water protection stewardship activities. Monk said over the six months, staff conducted door-to-door visits to landowners who said the visits were more effective in creating awareness of programs than material mailed out. Other activities over the six months included open house events, a small business meeting and open well events. POLICE BRIEF Intoxicated man caught in Pinery LAMBTON SHORES — On Aug. 20 Lambton OPP officers were called to assist the Pinery Provincial Park wardens with an impaired driver inside the park. The wardens allegedly stopped a 2001 Hyundai and determined the driver had been con- suming alcoholic beverages. Lambton OPP attended and arrested the driver. Subsequent tests indicated that a 40 -year- old London man was over two times the legal limit. He will appear in a Sarnia Court Oct. 6 to speak to the charges of impaired driving and being over the legal limit. Capsule Comments by Ernie Miatello Here are the warning signs of a stroke: weakness or numbness on one side of the body; sudden or severe headache; loss of vision or visual disturbances especially in one eye; loss of balance; slurred speech or having difficulty communicating or finding the right words. Stroke effects can be minimized with quick medical help. It's good to know what to look for. Counterfeit drugs make up about 10 per cent of the world's drug supplies according to the World Health Organization. In Canada, pharmacists have very reliable sources of drugs that guarantee the drugs are exactly as labelled. This security will get even better in the near future when all drug containers will have a radio frequency ID tag that makes it easier to track the drug's movement from manufacturer to user. Many medicines used today originated in nature. The spice, turmeric, found commonly in curry powders, is being touted as a possible treatment for some diseases. The active ingredient is curcumin and it is hoped that it may have a positive effect against pancreatic cancer, Alzheimer's and colorectal cancer. Thinking about quitting smoking? Imagine this: after stopping for eight hours, carbon monoxide levels in the blood normalize. Your senses of smell and taste become more acute in one week and in three months you can breathe better. Think about it. Huron Apothecary Ltd. Phone 235-1982, 440 Main St. Exeter "YOUR HEALTH CARE PHARMACY"