The Citizen, 1994-04-13, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 1994.
Member of Queen’s team has local family ties
Legal ease
Vanessa Grant, wife of Dr. Richard and Phyllis Street's
son, Philip, won the right to represent Canada during the
world's largest moot court competition in Washington D.C.
last week.
The daughter-in-law of a
prominent Blyth resident is part of
a Queen's University team that
won the right to represent Canada
during the world's largest moot
court competition, held in Wash
ington, D.C., from April 4 to 9.
"We're thrilled," says Vanessa
Grant, wife of Dr. Richard and
Phyllis Street's son Philip, and a
Queen's University second-year
law student, in a release issued
before the competition. "It's a great
honour to be representing our
Council gives to brochure
Continued from page 3
tion with this.
***
The Optimist Club requested that
they be excluded from the list of
voting representatives on the Blyth
Memorial Community Hall Com
mittee of Management. A bylaw
was passed by council in response.
Reeve Lee, Councillors Shirley
Fyfe and Eugene Coburn and
Clerk-Treasurer Helen Grubb will
be attending the Huron County
Municipal Officer's Association
annual meeting, Friday, April 29 in
Rails group seeks input
After a century of ferrying goods
and passengers among the many
communities along its 123 km
railway between Goderich and
Guelph the Canadian Pacific
Railway (CPR) has abandoned the
line and has removed the rails, lies
and other facilities and structures.
The last train trundled along the
line late in 1988.
Now the Ontario government has
entered into an agreement with
CPR to purchase the abandoned
railway right-of-way for long term
utility (e.g. pipeline) purposes.
Subject to settling some unresolved
details the province will become
the owner of the rail corridor lands
during the new few months. While
the province has indicated that it
will purchase the lands as a utility
corridor no decisions have been
made about possible interim uses
for the abandoned railway right-of-
way. This presents both the
government and the public with the
country. We're a little bit
daunted...but we're excited to be
meeting people from all over the
world."
The team's win in the national
division of the Jessup International
Moot Court Competition in
Winnipeg is a first for Queen's. The
international simulated court event
pits Ms Grant's team against 1,000
students from 250 law faculties in
85 countries.
Ms Grant, 30, says she has been
interested in law since she was a
Zurich. Cost is $ 12 per person.
Council passed a motion to pay
the $25 membership fee to the
Association.
♦♦♦
Council will give $400 towards
the new Blyth village brochure,
being put together by the local mer
chants.
Ms Grubb told council that a
retail association was being re
formed in the village to promote it.
»♦»
A grant of $500 was given to the
Horticultural Society towards the
planting of flowers in the village.
challenge - and rare opportunity -
of determining beneficial interim
uses for the right-of-way.
In anticipation of completing its
purchase of the railway right-of-
way the Province recently
established a volunteer Public
Advisory Committee (PAC) to
assist in exploring the benefits and
costs of various interim uses for the
lands. The PAC is made up of
citizens, municipal councillors,
landowners, representatives of
interest groups and others from
communities along the length of
the corridor.
Recently the PAC began meeting
in Milverton to discuss matters
relating to the right-of-way. But
before it goes any further with its
work the PAC wants to know what
the public thinks. The public’s
views are very important -
especially at this stage - and will be
highly valued by the PAC.
During the next four weeks the
child. At age 14, she even
described in her diary a legal case
that intrigued her. And she often
threatened to "sue" her younger
brother.
"Now," she says, grinning, "I
can."
Law is not her first career,
however. Ms. Grant has also
worked in banking, and is a trained
mezzo-soprano opera singer.
Last fall at Queen's, she was
chosen on the basis of her oral
skills to represent the university in;
the national rounds of the Jessup
International competition. She and
her teammates went up against 18
other teams in presenting argu
ments in a complex, hypothetical
refugee case. They remained
undefeated in four preliminary
rounds, and returned to Kingston
with the coveted Maxwell Cohen
Memorial cup.
From late December to late
January, the four students had
researched and prepared the
required factum, or document of
written arguments. It was grueling
work, and Ms Grant says that as the
deadline neared they were living
off four hours of sleep nightly.
After the written submission was
sent in, they began preparing their
oral presentation for the Winnipeg
event.
Ms Grant recalls her team
members joked about having T-
shirts made up with the slogan
'Never Again.' But she says the win
- and the chance to compete in
Washington, D.C. - made the effort
worthwhile.
Besides, she adds, "I come from
a highly competitive background."
Ms Grant was bom in Oakville,
where her mother Joyce works as a
French teacher and her father Roy
is a retired builder. She graduated
from University of Toronto
Schools, where she was active in
drama, the debating society, and
»»*
Reeve Lee reported on a meeting
with the local ball groups. He said
that the representatives expresses
satisfaction with services. The pro
posed fee this year is $270 per team
in each league, while Minor Ball
will pay a total of $500.
The only stipulation is that games
be scheduled, he said.
Reeve Lee said Dave Cook had
suggested new bags for the bases
which are safer and more durable.
Council gave authorization to
proceed with the established pro
gram.
PAC will be hosting five public
meetings in the following locations.
The PAC looks forward to hearing
constructive suggestions about the
future of this important community
land resource. Monday, April 18,
Auburn Community Centre, 7 p.m.
- 9:30 p.m.; Thursday, April 21,
Walton Women's Institute Hall,
7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.; Monday, April 25,
Milverton Arena (upstairs), 7 p.m. -
9:30 p.m.; Tuesday, April 26,
Marden Public School (Wellington
County Rd. 30, 1/4 mi. west of
Hwy. 6), 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.; Thurs
day, April 28, Elmira Legion Hall,
7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
The first hour of each public
meeting will be an "open house"
formal. The remainder will be
structured as a "question and
answer" session._______________
Yxi can lose a lot
more than your licence
drinking and driving.
the Southern Ontario Model UN
Assembly. She also sang with the
Canadian Opera Company's
children's chorus.
After graduation, she took a part-
time job as a bank teller while
studying part-time at Trinity
College. In 1984, she moved to
Washington as assistant branch
manager for International Bank, but
only stayed one year.
"It was a very unhappy time," she
admits. "It really makes you realize
how much you love your country
when you're away. I used to drive
by the Canadian Embassy every
day on the way to work and cry."
After returning to Canada, she
studied vocal performance at the
University of Toronto, emerging
with an honours Bachelor of Music.
For the next two years she tried to
make a go of an opera career,
although she had to continue
banking on the side to make ends
meet.
Turning singing talent into a
successful career in Canada is
extremely difficult. And it didn't
suit her "personality type," she
says, to have to keep auditioning
and "knocking on doors," so in
September 1992, Ms Grant turned
her sights on law. She headed for
Kingston, Ont., with her cartoonist
The Drive for1195"
Annual Meeting
Huron Provincial
Progressive Conservative Party
Fri., April 22
Goderich, Ontario
Knights of Columbus Hall
6-7 p.m. Social Hour
Dinner at 7 p.m.
Steve Gilchrist, President PC Party Ontario
Guest Speaker - Ted Arnott MPP, PC critic for
Culture - Tourism - Recreation - Small Business
Tickets $15.00 each
For tickets call 235-1543, 235-3575, 233-3430
or 1-800-465-5143
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husband, Philip Street, who started
his own graphic-design business
called StreetSmart.
She had applied to law schools
all over Canada, but "Queen's was
really the only school that took the
time to talk to me on the phone.
Coming from banking in customer
service and loans, I was seriously
impressed by this."
Ms Grant says she believes her
banking was good experience, and
she wants to continue singing on
the side, but in law she has found
her niche. She plans to specialize in
litigation, and has secured a
summer position with a Toronto
legal firm.
After her national success in
Winnipeg, she says, "I can’t
imagine doing anything else. I
absolutely loved standing up in
front of the judges, and engaging in
debate with them."
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