Wednesday, January 3, 2007 · Page 6 September (cont'd) The Essex 73's began their 2006 season with a 5-3 loss to the Dresden Jr. Kings at Essex Memorial Arena. November The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 201 launched its annual poppy campaign. Members of the local legion distributed more than 10,000 poppies around the municipality. O A `Meet the Candidates' night was held in McGregor for those running in the Nov. 13 municipal election. Two mayoral candidates, 13 councillor candidates and those running for school board trustees answered questions from voters packed into the Knights of Columbus Hall. Throughout the night, the topics discussed by the panel ranged from taxation to the Essex arena project. O The BIA's Essex Business Excellence Awards honoured a number of local businesses. Award winners included Sadie Daher of Sadie's Diner, Dave Hayes, manager of the Essex Zehrs and Jack Simpson, owner of Deluxe Restaurant. O By a margin of nearly 1,000 votes, Ron McDermott was reelected as the mayor of Essex. The incumbent received 4,520 votes to challenger Larry Snively's 3,651. In the election of councillors, Randy Voakes and Morley Bowman came out on top in Ward 1. In Ward 2, incumbent Richard Meloche received the most votes. Newcomers Paul Innes and Ron Rogers were elected to Ward 3 and Peter Timmins was acclaimed in Ward 4. O Essex MPP Bruce Crozier promised to take a message to the Ontario legislature after meeting with the administrators of local long-term care homes. Administrators from Country Village Health Care Centre and Iler Lodge Long Term Care Centre told Crozier they were unhappy with legislation proposed by the provincial government regarding long-term care homes. The administrators said the act made no commitment to fund the structural renewal of older homes such as Country Village. O The 12th annual Jingle Bell Run, Walk and Wheel got hundreds of people moving down Talbot Street in Essex for the event that raised more than $10,000 for Community Living Essex County. O The Essex High School Junior Girls' basketball team defeated the St. Anne's Saints 43-26 to capture the WECSSAA AAA/AAAA championship. O Essex District High School graduate Mike Barnewall was seriously injured while serving with Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, losing part of his leg in a land mine explosion. Days later the 26-year-old was safely transported back home to Kingsville. O The Essex-Harrow Goodfellows campaign hit the streets with dozens of firefighters and volunteers selling special edition newspapers to raise money for four local food banks. The final tally exceeded $40,000, nearly twice as much as last year's campaign. O Christmas came early to Essex residents as the BIA's annual Christmas Parade had Santa and Mrs. Claus rolling down Talbot Street to mark the start of the holiday season. October At the beginning of the month, ballots were set for the November municipal election, pitting incumbent Ron McDermott against Larry Snively in the race for the mayor of Essex. O Despite being rainy and overcast, the Ruthven Apple Festival scored with its most successful event to date. The two-day festival, which took place at Colasanti's Tropical Gardens, included food and craft booths, a farmers' market, rides and a parade. A record $35,000 in proceeds later went to Community Living Essex County. Among others, volunteers were credited as being the driving force behind the event. O After 26 years as a municipal representative, Ward 4 Councillor Peter Timmins received an Ontario LongService Award. Timmins began his political career as a councillor in 1980. In 1984, he became the mayor of Harrow, a position he would hold for 14 years. After amalgamation, he served as the deputy mayor of Essex until 2000. This year, he was acclaimed as Ward 4 councillor. O Essex town council responded to public concerns of fiscal mismanagement and increasing debt after Harrow resident John Balvert accused councillors of using credit cards irresponsibly weeks earlier. O The Essex 73's finalized their 22-player roster, which included the return of some players from last season's OHA Junior "C" championship squad and a number of new faces. O Essex MPP Bruce Crozier announced Highway 3 will be widened to four lanes from Leamington to Windsor by 2014. Construction on the three-phase, $80-million project is expected to begin next summer. Crozier said widening the highway will help alleviate the poor flow of traffic. A detailed design on the first phase is expected to be complete by the spring. O The Kingsville Fire Department opened its $462,000 north station in Cottam. A ceremony was held at the Fox Street location that included local residents, politicians and the station's 25 volunteers. Included in the 4,800 square foot building was a training room that could potentially be used as an emergency operations centre if the area faced a disaster situation. O A two-day active transportation workshop organized by the o for Green Active Living and Environment Program ame to Essex. A representative from the group met with unicipal employees and local residents to create an action lan for the town that focused on environmentally friendlynitiatives and healthy lifestyles. Outgoing Essex Deputy Mayor Percy Dufour, left, congratulates Mayor Ron McDermott after his election victory Nov. 13. During the Nov. 20 Essex town council meeting, councillors and town administrators said goodbye and good luck to Dufour and outgoing Ward 3 councillor Bill Caixeiro. Caixeiro chose not run in the recent election while Dufour was defeated in Ward 3 by Paul Innes and Ron Rogers. A fundraiser was held for the family of late Essex resident Chris Jackson at Holy Name Parish Hall. Members of the church and the Essex Knights of Columbus teamed up to hold the pasta dinner fundraiser for Jackson's four children. O Rick Derus was named as the new detachment commander for the Essex County OPP. Derus, a 23-year OPP veteran, was promoted to the top-ranking officer in Essex County, responsible for overseeing 115 officers and 20 civilians serving Tecumseh, Lakeshore and Kingsville. O Kingsville area dairy farmer Bernard Nelson was named the new president of the Essex County Federation of Agriculture. O Woodslee farmer John Diemer was awarded with the 2006 Conservation Farm Award for maintaining a number of environmentally-friendly practices on his 650-acre operation. O An abundance of holiday donations came in from the community in the form of canned goods, toys and clothes, benefiting a number of local charities such as the Essex Area Food Bank and the Salvation Army. ESSEX CLINIC OPTOMETRIC DIVORCE... Separation Agreements, Custody, Visitation, Spousal Support, Child Support, Marriage Cohabitation Agreements, Property Division including business assets & pensions. December The new Essex town council held its inaugural meeting where, in a recorded 4-3 vote, Ward 2 councillor Richard Meloche became the new deputy mayor. After being sworn in, Meloche identified a number of issues he planned on looking into over the next four years including the new arena project and an increase in residential and industrial development. GARY G. OUELLETTE Greenwood Centre 974-0688 Even healthy eyes * SATURDAY APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE * need exams DR. J BELL Even healthy Even healthy 186 Talbot St. S., Unit #2 DR. M.B. 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