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Serving the Mapleton Community
Community News Volume 46 Issue 28
Drayton, Ontario
1 Year GIC - 2.05% 3 Year GIC - 2.25% 5 Year GIC - 2.55% Daily Interest 1.55%
Friday, July 12, 2013
Inaugural Mapleton Rodeo ‘a huge success’ Over 4,000 attend weekend event by Chris Daponte MOOREFIELD Organizers of the Mapleton Rodeo say last weekend’s inaugural event was a terrific start to what they hope will become an annual tradition in the township. “We feel it was a huge success,” said rodeo marketing cochair Ron Funnell. He estimates 4,000 to 5,000 people took in a variety of events from July 5 to 7 - a total that may have been even higher were it not for some wet weather on the last day of the rodeo. “For a first-year event, it was amazing to get that type of response from the community,” said Funnell. He told the Community News his phone has been ringing off the hook since the rodeo closed on Sunday afternoon,
with people offering very positive feedback. “I think people really got good value for their admission dollar,” Funnell said. He explained that in addition to great rodeo events, last weekend’s Mapleton Rodeo also included a lot of other attractions, such as an arm wrestling competition (also “a huge success”) and a reptile show (which organizers said boasted one of the largest crowds they have seen). Plus about 500 people were served at the family barbecue dinner that opened the weekend on Friday night. And concerts on Friday and Saturday night were also very well attended, Funnell noted. Proceeds from the event were still being tabulated at Continued on page 4
Drift-In owner recalled as ‘hard working guy’ by Patrick Raftis DRAYTON - Local restaurant owner Nicholas Assimakopoulos, well-known and respected in the community for his hard-working lifestyle, died on June 29. Assimakopoulos and his wife Anna have operated the Drift-In Restaurant in downtown Drayton for the past 23 years. The couple recently sold the restaurant and was preparing to retire when Nick passed away over the Canada Day long-weekend. Longtime Drayton businessman Ab Hesselink was a regular at an informal breakfast club that developed at the Drift-In. “I just loved the place. It was great, the people were great,” said Hesselink . He noted customers were often lined up prior to 6am waiting for the restaurant to open. “The same crew goes every morning. That’s the meeting place. They served the community well,” said Hesselink. John Green, of Drayton, another breakfast regular, described Assimakopoulos as “a very wholesome family man,” who was “very kind and generous to those he was close to.” Assimakopoulos came to Canada in 1961 after serving as a police officer in Greece. He was joined by Anna, then his fiancée, in 1967. The couple has three children, three grandchil-
NICK ASSIMAKOPOULOS dren and numerous nieces and nephews. Hesselink describes Assimakopoulos as “a hard-working guy” who was well respected in the community. The Drift-In was a sevenday-a-week operation and, although they always maintained a residence in Waterloo, the owners lived over the restaurant at one time. Hesselink said the restaurant’s annual open house, at which they opened up the restaurant and fed all who stopped by, became an annual community tradition. “It was almost like they ended up becoming family to many people because they were always open, that’s all they ever did - they worked seven days a week,” said Hesselink. “They’re just marvelous people.” A funeral service was held at St. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Kitchener on July 3.
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Rodeo race - Ashley Bole of Monckton was among the competitors in barrel racing at the inaugural Mapleton Rodeo last weekend in Moorefield. Thousands of fans attended the three-day event. More rodeo photos on pages 2 and 3. photo by Mike Robinson
Mapleton sticks with county planning services by Patrick Raftis MAPLETON - The township will continue to obtain planning consultation services from the County of Wellington planning department, council here has decided. At its regular meeting on June 25 council heard planning consultant proposals from county planning director Gary Cousins and three private planning firms: K Smart Associates, Cambium, and GSP Group. In a report to council, CAO
Patty Sinnamon commented the county submission “is by far the most cost effective.” Sinnamon also noted “the county has acted as the township’s planners for several years and have not invoiced the township for time spent at the municipal office, either meeting with staff or in preconsultations with residents. “Township staff are pleased with the level of service, including response times received from the County of Wellington
planning department.” Figures provided by Sinnamon indicate the county planning services have cost the municipality between $10,000 and $20,000 per year since 2011. The county charges the township $92 per hour for planning services and $185 for having a planner attend public meetings. The county does not charge mileage or fees for GIS mapping services. The other firms presenting submissions charged between
$95 and $100 per hour for the services of a primary planner, with additional charges for other services. The only firm to provide a detailed annual fee was Cambium, which listed an annual fee of $38,400, plus charges of $9,600 and $4,800 to attended council and committee of adjustment meetings respectively. Councillor Neil Driscoll noted the municipality is “getContinued on page 4
Local arm wrestler a national champion by Patrick Raftis MOOREFIELD - Local resident Tyler Robinson is a national champion who hopes to earn a global title as well. Robinson won the disabled division at the Canadian Arm Wrestling Championships in Timmins on June 29, placing first in both the left and right arm categories. Though born with cerebral palsy, Robinson also competes in non-disabled competitions and finished in the top five in the open division for his weight class on June 30. “There were lots of good competitors,” in both classes, he noted. The first place finish qualifies Robinson to compete at the World Arm Wrestling Championships in Poland this fall, from Sept. 1 to 8. However the trip would be prohibitively expensive for Robinson and he’s hoping to
attract some sponsorships to help out with costs. “I would like to go,” said Robinson, “but it costs too much money.” Having never competed outside Canada, Robinson isn’t sure how he’ll fare in international competition, but he’s keen to give it a try. “I don’t even know what to expect. I imagine there will be more guys in the disabled class,” he said. The 23-year-old has been arm wrestling competitively since 2011, when he was named rookie of the year by the Ontario Armwrestling Association. He works out daily to stay in shape and generally participates in one or two competitions a month. Anyone interested in sponsoring the local athlete’s trip to the world championships is encouraged to call him at 519573-7268.
Weekly Wag eas;
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National champion - Tyler Robinson of Moorefield recently won the disabled division at the Canadian Arm Wrestling Championships held in Timmins Ontario June 28-30. The win qualifies him to compete in a world championship event in Poland in September. submitted photo
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