AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME INDUCTION `Hard working' farmers recognized IN MEMORY OF AN ANGEL Blood donor clinic honours Katelyn Laforet STUDENTS RALLY FOR RELAY FOR LIFE June 1 event announced See NEWS Page 6 See COMMUNITY Page 9 See COMMUNITY Page 14 $1.00 "Serving Essex and Community Since 1896" (GST included) Whole Number 6233 Registration No. 08565 Volume 128 No. 15 Phone: 519-776-4268 Fax: 519-776-4014 519-776-4021 32D Arthur Ave., Essex Wednesday, April 11, 2007 http://essexfreepress.reinvented.net Local election spending well below limits BY ANDY COMBER Some local municipal candidates spent more than half of their limit on campaign expenses allowed in the Nov. 13 municipal elections, but as the results show, not all of the top spenders won a seat. In the Essex mayoral race, with the provincial limit set at $19,463, challenger Larry Snively reported $11,591 in spending compared to $8,800 spent by incumbent Ron McDermott who was re-elected with a comfortable majority. It was the opposite result for the top spender in the Kingsville mayoral race, where the winning candidate, Nelson Santos, spent $12,983 compared to challenger Pat O'Neil, who spent $9,747. Both were well below their limit of $18,824. The spending limits set by the province for Essex were $9,061 in Ward 1, $7,333 in Ward 2, $8,967 in Ward 3, and $6,600 in Ward 4. Of all Essex councillors, Paul Innes spent the most, $3,086, and won a seat in Ward 3 along with Ron Rogers who spent $1,628. Incumbent Percy Dufour spent the least in Ward 3 campaigning, but lost his seat in the election. Peter Timmins was acclaimed in Essex Ward 4, which made any spending unnecessary for the seasoned politician. SEE SPENDING, PAGE 2 Yellow ribbon campaign supports troops BY DANIEL SCHWAB EGG HUNTER Matthew Greenfield, 5, shows off his basket filled to the brim with a heap of candy eggs during the annual Easter Egg Hunt hosted by the Essex Gospel Tabernacle at Maplewood Public School on Saturday. For more photos, please turn to page 8. Watson, Whe lan, Nat yshak prepare to square off ag ain BY DANIEL SCHWAB Canadians may be heading to the polls sooner rather than later. As rumours of a pending federal election continue to spread, Essex County is preparing for a repeat of the three-way contest held last January. Liberal hopeful Susan Whelan and NDP candidate Taras Natyshak will be vying to unseat Essex MP Jeff Watson, who says while the other two are preparing to launch campaigns, he'll be focused on governing. SEE THREE-WAY, PAGE 3 Woodslee native Donna Roubos is encouraging her fellow residents to paint the town yellow. For the past few weeks, Roubos, the owner of Donna's Hairstyling, has been distributing flyers throughout the town promoting the Yellow Ribbon Troop Campaign scheduled for April 15. Hosted by the Friends of Woodslee, the event is focusing on bringing the community together to show support for local Canadian soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. In the days leading up to the event, Roubos will be handing out Troop Boxes to a number of businesses and churches throughout Woodslee, asking for donations to be sent overseas and into the hands of Canadian soldiers. She is asking the community for hard candies, granola bars, hand soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, peanuts, canned Pringles chips, jujube candy, Tim Horton's gift certificates and magazines. Two weeks ago, the Ladies Bible Study group of the Church of the Living Word, of which Roubos is a member, collected two full boxes of items that will be shipped to the war-torn country. The campaign will culminate during the April 15 event at Memorial Park in South Woodslee, beginning at 1 p.m. SEE PAINTING, PAGE 11 Daniel Schwab / Free Press