Neighbourhood ALDERSHOT Issue 06 2020

ISSUE 06 • 2020

ELVIS ROCKS BURLINGTON NEIGHBOURHOOD

C O V I D -1 9 :

m o r f e g a s es MMEDIA aTHN

NOT S T UC K AT HOM E S TAY I N G S A F E AT H O M E .

Over these past many weeks our lives have changed profoundly.

Our number one priority is staying well and ensuring we don’t contribute to the spread of COVID-19. Staying home has come to mean staying safe and those who do venture out do so out of necessity, taking an abundance of precautions.

We continue to have deep appreciation for our frontline workers who are enabling us to get through this worldwide pandemic. Our medical professionals, paramedics, PSWs, firefighters, police and those who bravely risk their own health to keep us well have our full support. A new level of appreciation for grocery store, pharmacy, postal, delivery, volunteers and varied essential workers has given us the opportunity to say thank you more often.

Many businesses in our communities have felt the economic impact of the pandemic. Buying local has never been so important. Phone and online orders are happily filled, contactless pick up and delivery get the goods to us.

Purchasing a gift card, ordering in for a meal or stopping by an open business to show your support are all valued gestures. These actions will help keep our local businesses afloat until regular business can resume.

Whether you are social distancing from seniors, family members and friends, home schooling or working from home, collectively we draw strength from being in this together. Phone calls, texts, emails and zoom help us to feel connected.

The creativity and humour being shared at this time helps to lift our spirits.The abundance of acts of generosity, caring and concern speak to our Canadian resiliency and strength. We see healthy days ahead.

YO U AN D YO U R LOVED O N E S G O O D H E ALTH FRO M ALL O F US AT

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PRESIDENT JAMES BAKER

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CONTRIBUT0RS PEETER POLDRE LESLIE STYLES GARETH SKIPP

PRINTING DOLLCO

COVID-19 Wall of Inspiration

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Elvis Rocks Burlington Neighbourhood

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Flour Child Bakery

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COVID-19 Response from Burlington Food Bank

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A Springtime Stroll

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Burlington Public Library Helps

The Gift of Giving Back

Responding to Joseph Brant Hospital’s ongoing need for personal protective equipment, Burlington Public Library (BPL) delivered their two MakerBot 3D printers, computers, and 3D filament to the Biomedical Engineering team at JBH. To make sure the printers were right for the job, BPL’s former maker-in-residence, Harrison King-McBain, fabricated a prototype based on a design approved

by JBH physicians. The hospital received the printers on April 8, along with the Library’s heartfelt thanks to all JBH staff for their tremendous work around the clock to help those in their care.

The Gift of Giving Back recently donated $85,000 to their beneficiaries: the Burlington Food Bank, the Salvation Army, Food for Life, the Compassion Society, Halton Women’s Shelter, and the Carpenter Hospice to help them purchase food for the vulnerable folks they serve. This is, of course, in addition to the almost 1.5 million pounds of food that was collected by young people in Burlington in November including members of the Burlington Eagles, Burlington Barracudas, BOMBA, Burlington Gymnastics Club, and Burlington Soccer, as well as the staff and students of Bateman High School.

#PromIsOn2020 Local Notre Dame secondary school grade 12 student Sophia Divita, who shadowed me for a day last summer, worked hard with her classmates and cohorts around the country to make sure #PromIsOn2020 no matter what! Raising funds for Kids Help Phone in the process, they created a new way to celebrate together virtually in these challenging times and still get dressed up and dance the night away! I wish Sophia and all this year’s graduates a wonderful graduation and sincere congratulations.

I know the grads of 2020 will forever be a wonderfully unique bunch with extraordinary shared memories and a very special bond.

A MESSAGE FROM MAYOR MARIANNE MEED WARD As a result of the situation our city faces with COVID-19, many local organizations and businesses

have inspired us by taking action to support our community in new and creative ways. From retooling their manufacturing process to create personal protective equipment, to donating food or supplies to our local hospital, to finding new ways to connect with vulnerable residents and get them the essentials they need, our city has risen to this unique and unprecedented challenge. I have received emails and notifications from many residents, letting me know of the good work that is being done throughout this crisis. I want to take a moment to recognize them here and thank them for inspiring us all with their generosity and innovation. I invite the community to continue to reach out and alert me of additional stories of inspiration via mayor@burlington.ca.

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C

Staying Safe

H

Hello Aldershot friends and neighbours. I hope everyone is managing to stay healthy and active and have been enjoying some of this spring/summer weather of late. I am not sure if that was one of the longest and coldest springs or have we all just been quarantined for too long! I am a regular gardener and this may have been the first time that I watched my plants grow everyday and felt that they were slower than ever to grow to a recognizable size. In previous years, I would really only have time on weekends to spend in the yard and wouldn’t notice the daily movement of any of our plants and flowers. This year we experimented with seeds from Amazon for our vegetable garden, perennial bulbs and a variety of hydrangea to spice up our outdoor space. Our family has decided to take part in the “GROW A ROW!” program, by adding an extra row to our garden, and then donating the food produced in that row to the Burlington Food Bank. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching everything come to life and may have found my hobby, come retirement life.

As daily announcements from all levels of government from Federal, Provincial, Regional and Municipal include more and more openings of our business community, please remember to consider our local small businesses. Many of them have had to go through some very challenging financial times with COVID-19 rules and closures. We have seen many adapt to curbside pickup and other delivery options, and are proud of how inventive and resilient they have become. Customers are slowly returning to some businesses, though many organizations have no indication of when they may re-open. Many retail and small shop businesses with store fronts are now permitted to be open to public, but all have some form of restrictions and new operational challenges to help prevent further spread of COVID-19.

I would like to congratulate the citizens of Ward 1 and Burlington as a whole as we have worked hard to isolate, resulting in some of the lowest numbers of positive COVID-19 cases in the GTA and the lowest of all in Halton Region

Main photo: Councillor Galbraith with his family celebrating “quarantine birthday”.

Insert: Councillor Galbraith with his partner Angie modeling face masks donated by the Gazette Face Mask Community Initiative.

municipalities. This is a positive sign that people are listening to our health experts and direction from all levels of government, even when it was not always convenient or easy to do so. I have been surprised at how many conspiracy theories have emerged during this pandemic with social media being perhaps the most popular vehicle to share information. However, from what I have witnessed, most of our population has respected our government shutdowns and our numbers of cases have proven this. Currently, (as of May 26, 2020) we have zero cases of COVID-19 being treated in our local hospital and we have not yet needed to utilize the temporary tent-structure that we had erected with an additional 100 beds to handle COVID-19 overflow cases. As we slowly and cautiously begin to open up the economy and people will be traveling and working again, we all must act responsibly by respecting social distancing guidelines and not congregating in large crowds. Please invest in a mask and continue to wash your hands as much as possible. We will get through this if we all work together to do our part.

Best wishes from my family to yours.

Kelvin Galbraith Ward 1 City and Regional Councillor City of Burlington/Halton Region 905-335-7600 Ext. 7587 / kelvin.galbraith@burlington.ca

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Burlington has a new Bakery and Aldershot Village is its home!

Authentic, European Pastries and Baked Goods in the traditional methods that have been handed down for generations

ALL OF OUR PRODUCTS ARE BAKED FRESH Choose from a variety of breads including white, multi-grain, sour dough, ryes, and baguettes. Our butter, cheese and chocolate croissants will melt in your mouth, and our European cakes and pastries are baked in the European tradition.

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Elvis Rocks BURLINGTON

Neighbourhood Article by Leslie Styles

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Elvis is alive!

Professional vocalist Cameron Caton has entertained for years at local functions and venues. Since Covid-19 has affected so many lives, Cameron has transformed himself into Elvis Presley to help raise money and collect nonperishables for those struggling to put food on the table.

“He’s got all the right moves,” remarked spectator Pat Flanagan as she danced to Cameron’s rendition of ‘Teddy Bear’.

The May 30th benefit concert was organized

by Burlington resident and Cameron’s long time buddy, Jerry Romano who had handed out flyers throughout his neighbourhood.

Approximately 60 guests came to enjoy the show with families spacing themselves out according to social distancing guidelines.

OVER 500 LBS OF FOOD WAS DONATED by neighbours during the hour long benefit concert. Grateful for the outpouring of support, Cameron, who looked and sounded like the real King, announced, “I’m just the spark that gets this fire started but my audience keeps the flames burning. Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Apart from donating to Burlington’s Food Bank, Cameron also contributes to women’s shelters and baskets for Covenant House. Thank you, Cameron.

Thank you very much.

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Flour Child Bakery FLOURCHILDBAKERY.CA

Where did your love of baking come from?

My Mom! She is the best home baker. I can remember baking with my mom before I was in kindergarten. We would bake everything from butter tarts to English muffins and she makes the best piecrust. Once she made an apple pie with no apples.

She used Premium Plus Crackers!

Before I entered grade three, my family and I moved to Cayuga when my parents purchased 10-acres of land.

I loved it because we grew our own fruits and veggies so we always had fresh produce that we could bake and cook with. When you know what good food tastes like, how can you not enjoy baking!

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MARIA THORNTON, OWNER & OPERATOR, FLOUR CHILD BAKERY

Why did you decide to open your own bakery?

I always knew that I would be doing my own thing one day. I am an Accountant (CPA) by profession and I loved it. Although I was working long hours, I was good at what I did and my career became my life. After working so hard for other companies and other people, I needed something for me.

I have always loved to feed people. I love it when some says, “Maria, that was so good!” So now, I can do that on a larger scale and it feels so good.

Finally, I am doing something for me!

What makes ‘Flour Child Bakery’ special?

We are a “from scratch bakery” which means we make all our own products and fillings. We hand roll our own croissants, make our own puff pastry, pies and sausage rolls, just to name a few.

We bake for the day, meaning that we make based on demand. If you

come at 2pm in the afternoon, we may have run out of the product that you are seeking if we close at 4pm. We try to make enough to have until the end of the day but sometimes we sell out. So to ensure that you get your desired sweets or bread, it’s best to place an order in advance to help us ensure that you are happy!

Anything that is left over, we donate to the Burlington Food Bank. Our goal is to reduce waste.

What are your most popular items?

There are a few items that we are known for. We focus on European flavours with a strong focus on Eastern European; Hungry, Slovakia, Poland, etc. A few favourites for the English palate are our sausage rolls, eccles cakes and empire cookies. Our dobos torta and walnut or poppy seed rolls are a favourite for our Eastern European clients but everyone loves our fruit and cinnamon danishes and vast assortment of all butter croissants.

What do your customers love most about your food?

That our products are fresh and full of flavour! We carry some products that are a little harder to find, so I hear many comments such as, “I haven’t seen that in years!”

You opened your storefront a few months ago and then the pandemic hit. How has your business managed through these challenging times?

It has not been the opening that I was planning for. We did our soft launch on Feb 8th and our Grand Opening on March 10th. Two days later, I watched the Premier of Ontario hold his first live call about cancelling the St. Patty’s Parades and starting to restrict the province’s business sector. The next day, we lost all our Farmer’s Markets, which had been our sole source of business up until opening the store. The past month has been a little more stable and we’ve adjusted to the ever-changing landscape of how best to service the customer.

The community has really rallied behind us. Between the Facebook groups like “Aldershot Moms” and “Burlington Restaurants – Takeout/Delivery”, we have seen customers from all over Burlington. Some of our Farmer’s Market Customers have even made it out from across the Niagara Region, which speaks to the quality of our products but it also tells me that I made a great decision in calling Burlington my Business’ home.

What do you love most about running a bakery?

When a client tells me that it reminds them of how their grandmother made it. That is such an endorsement for me about the quality of products. I also love that we are truly part of the community of Burlington. It is a great place to be in business, especially one such as ours.

You work closely with the Burlington Food Bank.

Tell us about that?

Even before I opened the Bakery, I personally have a commitment working with charities that are focused on food and children. I have been involved as either a board member/chair or as a volunteer with a number of Burlington and Halton focused charities.

I started donating to the Food Bank back in 2018. Even before COVID-19, Burlington has had a need regarding food insecurity. The Covid-19 pandemic has just made it more visible. The Burlington Food Bank does an outstanding job getting food to those in need. I have partnered with the Food Bank in part because they are the sole partner with ‘Feed Ontario’ and ‘Food Banks Canada’ for the City of Burlington, which means that they have additional oversight into the service provided to the community. This ensures that all food handed out to the citizens of Burlington is always fresh – never expired. And there is a mandate in Burlington to serve anyone in need.

If you are in need, please contact them for a confidential and discreet discussion with how they can provide you delivered service during these times. www.burlingtonfoodbank.ca info@burlingtonfoodbank.ca 905-637-2273 What does the future hold for Flour Child Bakery?

More products for now! Because of the current pandemic I have left the product line at the current levels, with a little change or addition here and there, but I have so many more items that I look forward to making and sharing. Once more of the business community is able to open, and we see the full return of the customers’ confidence in shopping during these times, there will be some many more baked goods to create!

Only happy times ahead for Flour Child Bakery!

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A Springtime

Stroll

By Jason Stacey | Photography by Peeter Poldre

WITH THE TREES, BUSHES AND FLOWERS IN BLOOM, springtime is always a great time to get outside to experience the intricate beauty of nature. Accentuated by the soft light of sunrise, THN Media Photographer, Peeter Poldre grabbed his camera and took an early morning walk around his yard to capture the splendour of the season. Using a telephoto lens, Peeter looked for back-lighting and/or a pleasing background to highlight his subjects.

THANK YOU PEETER for keeping us connected to the magnificence of the world around us during these trying times.

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Every Price Range, All Of Your Needs, We Are Your Team!

During this crisis many things have changed but the one thing that remains constant is the need to feel connected.

As we move forward and spend more and more time in our homes we become aware of how important having a home is to us. Our home is our security, it’s our safe place and it’s where we are our strongest.

We at the Michael Brejnik Team are committed to your health and safety and are here to help you navigate through these unique and ever evolving times. Please know we are still working and are always here to listen, offer an opinion, and hopefully help.

Give us a call or visit us at www.michaelbrejnik.ca

Brittany Asquith

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