Forest Glen celebrates Halloween

Grade 4 and 5 students at Forest Glen organized a Halloween carnival on Friday to celebrate the spookiest day of the year.

W-O defeats Southwood

The W-O senior girls basketball team beat Southwood 40-28 during a match on Thursday afternoon.

Pumpkins for UNICEF

Grandstand construction photos

Crusaders in action

The W-O junior boys football team competed with Eastwood Collegiate on Thursday. The boys lost to Eastwood 26-22.

Buehlow finishes Hawaii Ironman

Wilmot’s Peter Buehlow has finished the Kona, Hawaii Ironman World Championship.

For the full results, and to watch a video of Buehlow crossing the finish line, click here.

He finished 536 out of 1,736 competitors overall. He finished 38 out of 164 in his age category.

Protesting torture

An anti-torture protest was held in New Hamburg this past Saturday. For all the details, visit the New Hamburg Independent.

Protesters gathered in front of the Independent, the post office and the New Hamburg Sobey’s.

The protests were just days before a report into the involvement of Canada in torture were released.

Upright and smiling

Their motto was ‘finish upright and smiling’ and that’s how Wilmot Township runners Jackie Rolleman, Caroline Wilson and Amy Moses completed the Chicago Marathon on October 12. Sheila Yendt, a friend from Kitchener, was looking for someone to run with and the three thought it sounded like fun. Chicago was the destination of choice as the flat course and entertainment along the route makes it a favourite marathon for first-time runners, said Moses. The marathon welcomed 33,000 runners, who started out on a beautiful, cool morning. The temperature reached 30 C on some parts of the course. A ‘red alert’ was issued by race officials warning runners to hydrate and listen to their bodies. About 2,000 runners failed to make the finish line, but after months of training which started at the New Hamburg Classic Races in June, the four were determined to finish. Wilson finished in 5:01, Rolleman in 5:09, and Moses and Yendt in 5:48. In picture: from left to right: Caroline Wilson, Sheila Yendt, Amy Moses, Jackie Rolleman

Submitted Photo

TCP supports community groups

The Community Players have partnered with Aldaview Services to improve the literacy of their residents and help non-profit groups. TCP is letting non-profit groups use the sign, located on Highway 7/8 in front of Tim Horton’s, to advertise special events. Aldaview Services residents will help spell out the messages, which will aide them with literacy skills. For information on using the sign for your non-profit organization, visit http://www.thecommunityplayers.com. Helping spread the message was Randy Bruckman, Karen Matos, Katy Holst and Barbara Becker.

Tim Murphy, Independent staff

Albrecht elected

Conservative Harold Albrecht won by a considerable margin, securing a second term as MP for Kitchener-Conestoga.
Speaking to an energetic crowd at the Edelweiss Tavern, Albrecht thanked all the volunteers who made his victory possible.
“This is fantastic,” he said. “Thanks for all of your support.”
Flanked by his wife Betty and other family members, Albrecht told the crowd that three years ago, he was told a Conservative victory would never happen.
Than, he said he was told just a few months ago a reelection would also be impossible.
Albrecht also congratulated his opponents on running a clean campaign.
Liberal Orlando Da Silva dropped by shortly after Albrecht arrived to concede defeat.
The two exchanged a handshake and a hug, before Da Silva made a quick departure.
More details will be posted as they become available

Campaign signs indicate Conservative lead

A bylaw enforcement officer inspects signs in downtown New Hamburg last week. The signs were removed for violating regional regulations on the placement of signage.

Tim Murphy, Independent staff

Some people like to wear their political affiliations on their sleeves, in this case their lawns.
The Independent has conducted a not-very-scientific, drive-by poll of Wilmot Township’s settlement areas to determine where each candidate stands in the upcoming federal election — all based on visible sign support from homeowners.
We only followed a couple of rules to determine the numbers. The signs had to be clearly visible on the property of a private residence — signs on business properties and signs posted in ditches and municipal right of ways were not counted.
Of course homeowners who have election signs posted on their properties are very likely to vote on election day, so we’d like to assume our numbers are relatively close to what the final election results will be for this part of the Kitchener-Conestoga riding.
Prove us wrong and get out there and vote Oct. 14.
According to our count, Conservative MP Harold Albrecht has the overwhelming support of Wilmot voters with 54 per cent of all the signs counted sporting Conservative blue.
The Green Party came in a distant second with 24 per cent support, most of that in New Hamburg where candidate Jamie Kropf has made a huge impression to nearly double the sign count of Liberal candidate Orlando Da Silva. Da Silva supporters came in at 20 per cent of the total, while NDP support is virtually non existant in Wilmot Township at a dismal two per cent.
As far as individual community support goes, Baden is decidedly Conservative blue with 78 per cent support displayed in lawn signs. The Liberals have 15 per cent of the sign tally and the Green Party held on at seven per cent support.
In St. Agatha and Petersburg, Albrecht supporters doubled Da Silva’s tally with 62 per cent of the vote. The Green Party garnered six per cent of the vote.
New Hamburg offered a bit of a surprise with the Green Party’s Jamie Kropf boasting support from 32 per cent of homes counted. But Albrecht retains a whopping margin with 50 per cent of the sign vote. The Liberals have 16 per cent of the sign tally and the NDP made a showing at two per cent.
New Dundee and Haysville supporters favoured Albrecht with 63 per cent displaying the Conservative sign. Da Silva and the Liberals garnered 25 per cent of the vote, the Green Party earned 8 per cent support and NDP four per cent.
In total we did a rough count of 125 signs on lawns in all of the settlement areas mentioned above.

All-candidates debate

Kitchener-Conestoga candidates discussed the issues during a debate on Sept. 30, in St. Agatha.