Serving Lake Erie’s North Shore Friday December 18, 2015
LEB HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
A Park In Memory of Sylvia Hofhuis
This will be our final edition for 2015. We will be closing for the first four weeks in January. Our first 2016 New Year edition will be mailed Friday February 6, 2016
We wish all our readers, writers, friends, family and especially our advertisers the very best for the holiday season and for the coming year. Andrew, Linda and family.
INSIDE Letters Thank you all for making Port Stanley the wonderful village that it is! STORY PAGE 2 Holiday treats and gift ideas. Shop locally whenever you can. PAGE 4
Dan McNeil
Port Stanley Report A tradition that was started in 2005, 10 years ago by the Port Stanley Optimists continued this Christmas at the Library. STORY PAGE 6
10 stocking stuffers Looking for stocking stuffer ideas this year? Check these out! STORY PAGE 9
LOOK AHEAD Community Events
Page 10
Classifieds & Service Directory Page 11 Business Roladex
Pages 8 & 12
Wishing You A Merry Christmas Let Me Be Your Real Estate Agent In 2016
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Sylvia Hofhuis was dedicated to her community and courageous in her vision for the future of Port Stanley’s harbour. When she became mayor in 2006 her Council’s top priority was a successful divestiture of the harbour from Transport Canada.
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Left: Sylvia Hofhuis. her partner who was also dedicated to the community.
This was an immense challenge, because, thus far the criteria for any harbour divestiture was structured around “the protection of commercial port operations”. Quite clearly, Transport Canada itself had given up on the financial sustainability of Port Stanley by refusing to upgrade it to Seaway depth, refusing to repair its breakwater and reseverance set the stage for the sucfusing to do the regular dredging that cessful deal, which was concluded in was required. September 2010, several months after Sylvia showed cheerful leadership Sylvia died. It is truly fitting that the while clearly being frustrated at the park being created by the current slow progress of negotiations. Her per- dredging will be named after her and
The idea to create new land in the harbour became part of the “vision” for Port Stanley during Sylvia’s tenure. There is quite a bit of information available about what is going on, but much remains to be decided. The outline of Hofhuis Park south of McAsphalt and east of the breakwater was created with some clean fill, and with the debris from taking down the silos. This perimeter to the north and east provides the only firm ground for the excavator and trucks to drive on. Of course it also is the containment preventing the ‘muck’ from sliding back Continued On Page 5
Community Fund Grant For The Shedden Library Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation There are young people selling cupcakes door to door, and big applications being written to provincial and national funders and everything in between! The fundraising campaign to build a new home for the Shedden Library is well underway and it is truly a community effort.
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Above: The proposed Hofhuis Park from reclaimed land in the Port Stanley harbour.
“Our library is an important heart of our community” says Cathy Bishop, Southwold Library Committee Chair, “but our library is simply busting at the seams and need more space.” Volunteers from the Rosy Rhubarb Library Committee have taken on the
there is much work to be done before that happens so the community has rolled up their sleeves and started the momentous task of fundraising. There is excitement around what that larger space will mean to this library and the range and breadth of programing and initiatives that could be hosted there. Says Mayor Grant Jones “The Keystone Complex is a local hub and I can imagine when families have one child in soccer practice another could be taking advantage of library programs and resources”.
task of fundraising for the new Southwold Library location. The plan is to It is that kind of vision and commubuild a new 3500 sq. foot addition to the nity spirit that inspired the Elgin St. Keystone Complex to become the new home of the Shedden Library. Plans are Continued On Page 9 to break ground some time in 2016, but