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Residents on Park Avenue fear changes

» Neighbours petition township to maintain street’s historical heritage as property is sold

BY: STEVE KANNON

The pending sale of a century home on Park Avenue West to local developers has residents of the Elmira neighbourhood worried the property will be transformed into something out of character with the rest of the neighbourhood.
Dozens of them brought their concerns to Woolwich council Tuesday night, seeking support for their effort to maintain the historical feel of the street.
Ideally, the new owners would restore the existing home at 10 Park Ave. W., suggested Ken Galipeau, representing the Park Avenue West Neighbourhood Association. The house, vacant since its former owner passed away in November 2006, has fallen into disrepair.
Barring such renovations, any new building should match its surroundings, he added.
“We ask that the new development be respectful of the character of the neighbourhood.
“Why mess up the neighbourhood?”
While residents have no idea what the new owners have in mind, they fear the worst. They circulated photos from other Elmira neighbourhoods where modern houses and apartments had been wedged between century homes.
Even though Woolwich Holding’s purchase of the property has yet to close, residents wanted to be proactive in tackling the issue, said Sandra Bair, who circulated a petition signed by everyone on the street, as well as residents on adjoining routes.
More than just a NIMBY issue, the Park Avenue situation should be a catalyst for the township to develop a policy for historical preservation, she said, noting past examples where new construction clashes with existing neighbourhood standards.
“I can’t understand why one individual can be allowed to ruin it for a street or a neighbourhood.”
Admitting there is little the township can do at this point, councillors suggested residents meet with the prospective owners and planning staff to discuss options.
Contacted the following day, Woolwich Holding’s Paul Robb said the company currently has no plans for the site.
“I imagine we’ll be able to do something to keep everybody happy,” he said.
The oversized lot could be put to a range of uses, from a single home to a pair of duplexes. There is the potential to sever the property, creating two building lots.
While the township can do little to influence the ultimate use of the property, it would have more say under the Planning Act if the owner applies for a zone change or variance, explained director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley.
His department is willing to mediate a meeting between the new owner and the neighbours.
“There’s a need to balance the needs of the neighbourhood with the rights of the purchasers.”

Family finds Wheels in Motion

» Upcoming fundraiser will benefit area man paralyzed in
farm accident

BY: VANESSA MOSS

For the past three months, Carol Weber has been adapting to a new way of life.
While once she helped her husband, Doug, run their dairy farm on the 8th Line and raise their children – Kelsey, 6, Dana, 4, and Todd, 1 – she now spends every day in the Chedoke Hospital in Hamilton.
There, she helps Doug, 33, with therapy as he recovers from a C6-7 spinal cord injury.
“We’re just trying to take a day at a time and see how things go,” she said.
Doug was paralyzed from the chest down on Feb. 1 after a hay bale hit him in the head while he was lifting it with a tractor.
Two hours later and just in time, Carol found him in the barn and called for help.
“My heart was pounding,” she said, remembering the moment.
“He told me, ‘I’m sure I’m paralyzed.’”
Since the accident, Carol, 30, has found strength in the support from friends, family and community members, even those outside their home area of Mapleton Township.
“[Doug] finds it hard to believe that that many people are caring,” Carol said.
At the end of March, $180,000 was raised at a benefit auction so that the family could hire a full-time herdsman to run the farm. Now, the Elmira Rick Hansen Wheels In Motion committee has chosen the Webers to receive 40 per cent of the profits from their event coming up on June 8.
“Because he wants to continue his career in farming … we thought we’d give him every support we could in order to make him as successful in his new life as he can be,” said committee member Taposhi Batabyal.
“I think it helps to have someone who is local and who is well-known and I think that it will encourage people to come and support our event because they know that a lot of the money that we raise will come back into this community.”
Batabyal, 46, understands what the Webers are going through since she suffered a C6-7 spinal cord injury during a car accident in 2002.
Proceeds from the first Elmira Wheels In Motion event six years ago allowed her to buy a piece of rehabilitative exercise equipment.
“When you’re newly-injured, your entire life changes and there are suddenly so many things that you need in order to be as independent as possible and a lot of these things are very pricey,” she said.
“The [Rick Hansen] Foundation estimates that someone with a high C-level of injury, it could cost as much as $20 million over the course of their lifetime. Not only do you need wheelchairs, [but] you need seating, you need occupational therapy, rehab therapy and you need many other supports in order to make it through the activities of daily living that you used to take for granted.”
In Doug’s case, the funds raised will pay for an elevator lift to be installed in the family’s home so that he can access every room.
Committee chair Sheila Forler Bauman said she is glad the group will be helping a community member with a specific “Quality of Life Project” this year.
Coincidently, the June 8 event coincides well with Doug’s proposed homecoming on June 13.
His original discharge date of May 13 was pushed back due to an infection, but now that he is recovering from that and getting stronger, Carol hopes he will be ready.
Doug spends several hours in therapy daily, with his wife by his side, learning to transfer himself from the bed to the wheelchair and working on his balance. So far, he has good movement in his arms and has regained slight finger mobility in his right hand.
“It’s a start,” Carol said, adding that he enjoys the daily workouts.
“It gives him something to do and it’s much better than just lying in bed all day.”
Having suffered pneumonia and significant neck and shoulder pain in the weeks after the accident, Doug is now feeling much better, but there is still a long road ahead, Carol said.
“He’s missing the children more and I think it won’t all be easy coming home and that will be a challenge - just to find his place again, I think, but all in all, he’s done quite well.”
With Carol away from home over 12 hours a day, the past few months have been trying for the whole family, especially for the couple’s oldest daughter.
“Our four-year-old’s pretty carefree, so she takes it pretty good. Our older one is a little more sensitive and she sees deeper, I think.”
Doug’s parents have moved into the Weber home to care for the children, who only get to see their mom once or twice a week when she comes back early from the hospital.
They look forward to weekends when they can visit Doug for a day.
“They just love being with him: our youngest likes wheelchair rides and they all really like it down there, more than they did. At first it was new, you know, but they’ve become used to it and they really like it.
“There is lots of fun and we’re hoping we can all be together again and still have lots of good times together.”
As they prepare for his hospital release, the couple is planning to get some normalcy back in their lives as soon as possible. They hope to make do without a nurse and Doug is even considering helping out with feeding in the barn if he can.
The addition being built on their home should make the transition easier since it was designed with wider doorways, a roll-in shower and generally larger spaces.
But, those things considered, Carol is not expecting a miracle.
“The prayer support [helps] and believing in a God that he’ll help us get through it – I’m not saying that it’s all easy. It’s kind of unpredictable: sometimes when you think you’re handling it well then all of a sudden, unexpectedly, you find it hard too.”
The Elmira Rick Hansen Wheels In Motion run, cycle, walk or wheel takes place June 8, starting at Woolwich Physiotherapy, 25 Industrial Dr. The event consists of a barbecue, information displays, prizes and demonstrations from the Twin City Spinners Wheelchair basketball team. Participants can register online at www.wheelsinmotion.org or at the clinic. Tomorrow (Sunday), the Wheels In Motion committee is holding a fundraising breakfast at the Elmira Legion from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wellesley daycare centre ready for
June start

» After years of planning and several false starts, village will finally have a child-care centre of its own

BY: MARC MIQUEL HELSEN

Some three years since it began as a loose idea, the Wellesley daycare project is finally coming to fruition. Set to open its doors June 2, the former Fellowship Hall on Henry Street, which throughout the years has also served as a school and council chambers, will get a new life as the Inspiring Minds Early Learning Centre.
“It’s absolutely amazing. I keep saying that it is a dream that has come to reality. I’m really excited about the whole thing,” said Krista Schott, supervisor of the centre that will provide both full-time and after-school services.
Schott, a veteran in the field of childcare, was among a group of people who years ago identified a need for daycare spaces in the township. Since then, they’ve pressed all levels of government for financial assistance.
Finally, the daycare project, which will provide 46 spaces, was given the green light to proceed by township council in the spring of 2007. The decision came as a boon to advocates who had seen other such proposals come and go without ever materializing.
The project got a further boost last October when it received $558,380 from Waterloo Region, part of its $2-million share of the province’s Best Start funding program. The centre has also received private funding and donations from the Wellesley Board of Trade.
“It’s amazing. That building, it’s just an amazing transformation that has occurred there,” said Joe Nowak, president of the Wellesley and District Board of Trade.
A historical building, the front façade was left intact. However, a massive facelift to bring the inside up to code was required.
“When I saw the facility inside – I don’t want to sound too emotional – but you almost cry really when you look at the whole thing and all the hard work. Basically, four women many years back had an idea, and now it’s coming to fruition – it’s just unbelievable,” said Janek Jagiellowicz, a member of the centre’s board of directors.
Construction included a significant heavy-duty retrofit – including gutting, installing partitions, washrooms, a kitchen, a new furnace and outdoor playground.
Except for some added windows on the sides, and some siding in the rear, the exterior walls of the facility were left alone, meaning that the structure will continue to live on as an historic building. Some landscaping and exterior work remains to be done, but should be completed by the June opening.
So far, approximately eight children have enrolled for the month of June; that number is expected to grow in the ensuing months.
“Spaces are available,” Schott quipped.
The centre will offer both full-time and after-school programs for children up to kindergarten age. Neighbouring St. Mark’s Lutheran Church will offer programs for children aged 6 to 12.
Fees will vary depending on age: $800 per month for toddlers (ages 18 months to 2.5 years) and $695 per month for pre-schoolers (ages two-and-a-half to four years).
Schott noted the group has applied to the region for a purchase of service agreement to enable financially challenged parents to enroll their children at the school.
An open house is planned for June 7, with a grand opening ceremony in September.
For more information, contact Krista Schott at 519-656-9028, ext. 227 until June. Afterwards, when the centre opens, the number will be 519-656-1003.

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