A brush with figure skating stars Virtue and Moir

Kathleen Rempel sent us this photo of New Hamburg Figure Skating Club skater Emily Rempel with 2010 Olympic gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.  Kathleen took the photo at the November 2009 HomeSense Skate Canada International Competition at the Kitchener Auditorium where Emily was a volunteer, on-ice flower retriever.  Virtue and Moir captured Canada’s first ever Olympic gold medal in ice dancing Monday night in Vancouver.

The New Hamburg Figure Skating Club presents its skating carnival on Saturday at the Wilmot Recreation Complex.

New Hamburg shows support for our Olympic athletes

Owner of Cranberry House Bed and Breakfast Terry Schaefer showed his support for Canada’s athletes at the Winter Games by flying the Maple Leaf and the Olympic flag this week. He reports that his neighbours on Waterloo Street in New Hamburg were flicking on their outdoor lights whenever a Canadian won a medal.

Support for the athletes is visible all over town.

Scott Shantz painted the words GO CANADA! on the back of a canoe for everyone driving up Huron Street to see.

New Hamburg woman greets gold medalist at Winter Olympics

New Hamburg’s Tina Drake, selected last fall to work at the McDonald’s in the Olympic athlete’s village in Vancouver, is blogging about her experience, which included a recent meet and greet  with Canada’s first home-soil gold medalist, Alexandre Bilodeau, seen here with Tina.

Alexandre was at the Athlete’s Village McDonald’s the other night and allowed employees to take photos.

You can read more about Tina’s adventures on her blog HERE.

Family Day fun in New Hamburg

Bouncy inflatables, obstacle courses, slides and rides filled the New Hamburg arena yesterday for the Family Day Fun Fest in support of Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region. The third annual event welcomed hundreds of parents and children for an afternoon of fun and musical entertainment provided by Erick Traplin.

The Forest Glen Heart and Stroke skipping demo team got the crowd hopping. There was also a silent auction and toy raffle to help raise money.

The event raised $12,809 for Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region. Half of the money will go to the Better Futures Program, which provides small grants to children who want to explore their talents; the other half goes to the Pregnancy Fund for Better Beginnings, meeting the needs of expecting mothers to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

“It was such an amazing event because it was local families coming together to support other local families on Family Day,” said Candy Harrington, supervisor of fundraising and communications at FACS.

Google Streetview goes live in New Hamburg

Want to check out a photo of your home, or take a virtual tour of New Hamburg?

Check out the Google Streetview maps. Look for the icon of the little man when you go to Google Maps. Drag him onto the street you wish to view. It will then automatically zoom in.

Once there, follow the on screen instructions.

Here are a few screen shots from downtown New Hamburg. If you find anything humourous or interesting, take a screen shot and email it to the Independent!

Getting their kicks

Forest Glen students improved their soccer skills this past week, learning under the Soccer Tots program run by Brazilian soccer instructor Geordie Wilson. He operates a camp in Stratford.

Donation from Senior Games goes to Wilmot Active Living Centre

Wilmot Mayor Wayne Roth accepts a cheque for $3,761.92 from councillor and senior games chair Terry Broda recently. The money, designated for the Active Living Centre in Phase 2 of the Wilmot Recreation Centre, was raised last summer when Wilmot hosted the District Senior Games.

Doug Coxson, Independent staff

Youth Appreciation

The New Dundee Optimist Club gathered on Jan. 26 for their annual Youth Appreciation Awards dinner. A number of community groups came together with youth nominations for the award. Receiving the award was Thomas Lade, Haylee Dick, Scott Wilkins, Canaan Kropf, Ryley Maxwell, Jacob Douglas, Garret Elmes, Megan Seaton, Brianna Smith, Rachel Shantz, Veronica Smith, Ashley Baer, Nancy Hillborn, Laura Boronka, Jesse Burkhart and Megan Sherk. Absent from the photo was Kyla Berry and David Barraclough. Receiving the New Dundee Volunteer Hero Award was Cathy Scheerer.

Tim Murphy, Independent staff