With one of the country’s oldest infrastructure networks as her backdrop, Kadie Ward is reminding Canadians from coast to coast what’s needed to build connected communities and sustain municipal growth.

The London, Ont.-based economic development specialist is travelling across Canada by VIA Rail train armed with a social media team in what she calls the Build Strong Cities Ride.

She is advocating for renewed investment in digital and transportation infrastructure, and along the way she’s stopping to showcase some of communities that have made the necessary improvements to compete in today’s economy.

On Friday, Ward, who set out from Halifax on Tuesday, addressed a crowd of about 50 – what she said was the largest turnout on her tour yet – at the train station in Stratford before continuing on her eight-day journey, which ends in Vancouver May 29.

“We just really want to get the dialogue started on investing in infrastructure,” Ward said, adding, “one thing we need to create and grow our economies is connections to other markets, connections to other people.”

In Vancouver, Ward will attend the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ annual general meeting, where she plans to continue the infrastructure investment conversation with representatives from over 2,000 communities across Canada.

The ride is being done in partnership with the Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN), whose managing director, Kevin Tuer, said in a press release the initiative is “a great way to draw attention to the importance of Canada’s digital highway as a vital and necessary channel to market Canada’s natural digital resources on the world stage.”

Ward said Stratford was unique in that it has demonstrated how connectivity can turn a small-town economy based on arts and culture into a burgeoning technology centre that can compete in the broadband economy.

But she noted many cities like Stratford continue to face challenges due to a lack of investment in physical infrastructure. Her comments were particularly relevant to this region, which last year lost one of its commuter trains along VIA Rail’s North Main Line, which encompasses the London- St. Marys-Stratford corridor.

City councillor Bonnie Henderson said while Stratford is leading the international movement towards intelligent communities, broadband connectivity, and digital economies, the loss of some passenger train service, as well as Greyhound bus service back in 2011, has posed challenges, particularly for residents who want to live in the city but work outside of it.

“By eliminating rail service to our community it erodes the small, urban, and rural way of life, and it hurts tourism to our community,” she added.

One of the more vocal critics since VIA Rail announced its cuts in service, Christ West of St. Marys briefly spoke about the important role passenger trains play in supporting the local economies by providing alternative transportation for the hundreds of thousands of people who each year visit the area to attend tourist attractions like the Stratford Festival and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys.

He urged the people in attendance to contact their members of parliament to tell them they need to support the country’s digital and physical infrastructure – something that seems more likely now that the federal government has committed $14 billion over the next 10 years to infrastructure projects.

“A lot of decisions are going to be made over the next few years on where to invest in infrastructure,” Ward noted. “ … there’s going to be some serious policy planning.”

Ward is being joined on her cross-country ride by University of Waterloo Stratford campus students Manoj Kelath and Jean-Francois Tremblay, who are capturing footage throughout the trip for her website, www.buildstrongcities.com. She is also joined by digital media entrepreneur Josh Wright.

A Woolwich resident was honoured last week at a special awards night that recognized police members and local citizens for their extraordinary actions throughout the year.
Steve Bauman was a citizen award winner at the Waterloo Regional Police Service’s Annual Awards Night.
Bauman works at WS Feed and Supply in Conestogo and was unloading a truck with the owner in September 2012 when the owner suddenly collapsed.
Bauman recognized the signs of a massive heart attack and was able to react immediately to save his life. He began performing CPR while having another employee dial 911 and continued doing so until ambulance crews arrived.
Bauman’s employer was stabilized enough for major heart surgery, and, as a direct result of Bauman’s quick thinking, he was able to make a full recovery.
Chief Matt Torigian was on hand to help present awards during the ceremony held at Bingemans and sees this as an opportunity to recognize members of Waterloo Region for their efforts at creating a better community.
“With special events such as the Annual Awards night, we can bring formal recognition to the citizens and police members whose exceptional contributions have made a positive difference in the quality of life of Waterloo Region,” said Torigian.
Bauman, however, was quite modest in receiving this honour.
“Doing CPR on somebody, you’re not expecting to be recognized for it,” said Bauman. “You help save someone’s life and that’s the honour in itself.”

Baz Luhrmann has the tendency to take the pomp and circumstance out of classic tales and grind them down to the blood and guts that made them popular with their original audiences. Case in point, the guy made Shakespeare cool again in the 90s with Romeo + Juliet.

So when it was announced that Luhrmann would direct Hollywood’s newest interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, movie fans knew what to expect: Long montages of glittery soirees set to thumping, auto-tuned songs by artist Pink; fast, cartoony dialogue; lots and lots of colour. And, for the most part, that’s exactly what they got.

Luhrmann’s signature is the flashy party scene. He puts these scenes together like other directors cut action sequences- nothing but super- fast cuts and disorienting POVs. The imagery in Gatsby is not unlike that found in Luhrmann’s other films like Moulin Rouge, with clownish emcees and sequined showgirls doing spastic dances between plot-points. Unfortunately, Luhrmann got somewhat sloppy with Gatsby’s hyperactive cuts. First-viewing alone revealed a ton of lines said out of sync with actors’ mouths.

And yet, despite his focus on the glitz of the roaring twenties, Luhrmann’s Gatsby shows that a decent amount of attention was paid to the book’s heavy usage of symbolism. The green light at the end of the Buchanan’s dock is used so much it’s almost a character in the movie. The eyes of Dr. Eckleburg keep a stern watch over the Valley of Ashes. Luhrmann even works in some symbolism of his own, with repeated appearances of a red biplane during recollections of Gatsby’s past and billowing sheets synonymous with the appearances of Daisy.

The acting runs hot and cold. Leonardo DiCaprio does well as Jay Gatsby. I’ll be honest…the man is 39 years old, and it’s taken me this long to finally not think of the actor as “boyish”. In Gatsby, DiCaprio oozes all the needed charm for the role, and his awkward moments during courtship, though boyish, are comical as they seem so out of character for a confident, grown man. His unwinding, also, unhinges as it reveals this confidence as being paper thin.

Carey Mulligan’s role as Daisy suffers due to lack of appearance. In the book, Daisy charms us, and then breaks our hearts with her callousness as she does Gatsby’s. We don’t see enough of Mulligan in Luhrmann’s film for her to work her magic, and those scenes we do see her in are the wrong ones, full of moping and brimming tears; not bubbly, but rather depressed.

Interestingly, the film goes somewhat easy on Daisy. Far more attention is focused on Gatsby’s obsession with her, implying much of the fault with the story’s tragic ending lies with him.

The film’s lowest point is, without question, Tobey Maguire as narrator Nick Carraway. With trademark poor acting and a refusal to open his duck mouth beyond an inch, Maguire gapes and overbites away, wasting precious screen time hawking two of his best facial expressions: “infant awaiting candy” and “prepubescent boy sights his first naked breast.”

Very rarely will you ever hear me say that a film picked up when the romance became the focus, but that is indeed the case with Gatsby. Once Maguire and the ADHD party scenes fade to the background and DiCaprio and Mulligan take centre stage, the film has some real moments.

Bright, dazzling, but not without soul, here’s hoping Baz Luhrmann’s Gatsby will make the same connection between F. Scott Fitzgerald and this generation’s young people that he did between Shakespeare and kids in the 90s.

Normally, before I review a film like Oblivion, I warn the reader about possible spoiler alerts; but, if you’ve seen the trailer for this year’s first big budget sci-fi story, then the film has already been spoiled for you.

I wondered if this would be the case after I first saw the Oblivion trailer. I got the weird feeling that I didn’t need to see the film; that the trailer had already shown me all of the integral plot keys: Tom Cruise lives above a destroyed Earth in pristine bubble-inspired future tech. He explains a war was fought, won by humans, but the Earth was ruined, and now he and his redhead companion are “The mop-up crew.” Fast forward through a montage that shows a dirty Morgan Freedman talking about “the truth”, the redhead turning on Cruise, and lots of explosive action bits.

Now normally, if a film contains twists, the bulk of its preview’s content will be taken from the first 10 to 20 minutes in order to keep it mysterious; but not Oblivion. Just from seeing that scant two minutes of footage meant to entice, you already know that Cruise’s bubble world is a façade, the redhead is an obstacle, Cruise will end up with a dark-haired woman, and the remaining humans on Earth live underground and wear helmets with glowing orange eyes, exactly what the “aliens” Cruise fights are shown to wear in the first few minutes of the film itself.

Your next thought might be that this is only the film’s intro, and even more mind-bending twists are in store, but no. It takes over two hours for Cruise to do exactly what we knew he’d do just from watching the preview: explore a destroyed Earth, figure out the aliens are humans and he’s working for the aliens, have the redhead turn on him, end up with the dark-haired lady, and then fight his former masters.

And that’s the movie. You can watch the two-minute preview and get the gist, or watch the two-hour extension for more visuals.

Is it such a big deal that the preview gave it all away? I mean, we watch movies where we know the endings all the time, such as anything at all based on history or popular novels. So can’t we just enjoy Oblivion despite the ruined twists?

I couldn’t. Granted, Oblivion has some cool visual effects…but it borrows too much from other films. It is, at multiple points, alarmingly like WALL-E, Independence Day, and Moon. Couple the rehashed plot-points, visuals, and action-sequences with a story made tiringly predictable by the faulty preview, and you’ll be checking your watch after the first half hour, wondering when you can go home.

Save yourself some time and money. Just watch the preview. Then, if you’re still curious, rent the full shebang when it’s released for home-viewing.

I just saw Jurassic Park 3D. Excuse me while I gush.

For me, Jurassic Park will always be the perfect movie. Every generation has one; that magical cinematic odessey you saw as a kid that made you fall in love with films. Older gents will scoff at Spielberg’s Mesozoic masterpiece, saying it pales in comparison to their generation’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Great Escape, Star Wars, or Raiders of the Lost Ark, in the same way I might turn my nose up at younger buffs who put Avatar in the same vein as my beloved Jurassic Park. (I should clarify…Avatar was great, but you get my point.)

Rewatching Jurassic Park for the first time on the big screen since grade six made me re-realize a few things. Firstly, the film’s greatness is not just found in its special effects, although that’s a big part of it. The computer generated graphics set a standard still adhered to today, (but nothing beats the realness of the robots.)

No, what makes Jurassic Park truly great are those moments between the car chases and the raptor hunting. It’s the treatises on ethical science; the lessons in Chaos Theory; life finding a way; and the reminders that, at it’s heart, the entire film is “…still the flea circus”; pulling the wool over our eyes, masking falsity as truth.

By the time the final credits rolled and that epic John Williams score began playing, I had tears in my eyes. That’s how much I friggin’ love this movie.

Now, a note on re-releases. I think they’re a fantastic idea. I used to love going to classic movie marathons at the Bloor Cinema when I lived in Toronto, and the Hyland Cinema in London will occasionally play them. Even Silver City has begun hopping on the bandwagon, feeding people’s desire to see those favourite films of bygone ages on the big screen again.

Unfortunately, the big-name chain cinemas don’t give you your heart’s desire for cheap. Seeing Jurassic Park in 3D, despite having a “free admission during the month of your birthday” voucher, still cost over $23 for two tickets; and that’s without the $19 popcorn and pop. You have regular admission, PLUS the additional 3D charge, PLUS the additional IMAX charge, which, in London and on a regular sized screen, is a complete and total rip-off.

Don’t get me wrong, the 3D was fantastic. You were fully immersed in the movie, noticing things in the background that you never saw on VHS and DVD. But was this because of the IMAX? And was it worth that big a hike in ticket prices? I don’t think so.

What make movies great has always been their accessibility. During the worst of the Great Depression, folks could still afford the nickel to see a movie and escape life for a hour or two. It’s what made it the medium of choice for the past century.

With today’s economic realities, we still need that escape. Instead, we have an industry that cries poor, attempts to limit our digital rights due to “online piracy”, ups the ticket prices at the box-office, reaches record-breaking numbers in revenue, and then continues to cry poor. All this while independently run cinemas continue to close up shop due to astronomical operating costs.

Why the money grab? Are movies better now? If anything, the proliferation of CGI and green screen technology has cheapened production costs. No, as Ellie Sattler puts it so eloquently in Jurassic Park, “It’s still the flea circus. It’s all an illusion.”

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is one of those films starring ageing comedians that are rife with cameos and devoid of anything new or trendsetting.

Steve Carell stars as Wonderstone, a pompous magician whose tired act is cancelled, unexpectedly landing him in the poorhouse. His self-centred behaviour alienates him from those closest to him, including his partner, Anton (Steve Buscemi) and assistant/love-interest Jane (Olivia Wilde). Relearning why he fell in love with magic in the first place, largely due to meeting his childhood idol (Alan Arkin), Burt, Anton, and Jane team up to win a lucrative Vegas casino contract; but a rival, more hip magician (Jim Carrey) stands in their way.

Part of what makes Wonderstone such a ho-hum comedy is its disjointedness, especially with Carell’s character. Wonderstone jumps from being a dashing showman to a brain-dead moron to a caring rational-thinker almost by the scene. The comedy surrounding the Burt and Anton shtick is mostly family-oriented and light on jokes, with Carell’s few comedic moments involving him, surprise surprise, yelling incoherently and/or conducting himself in a socially awkward manner.

Wilde is a write-off character, and could’ve been played by any number of cookie-cutter Hollywood women. I spent the majority of the film thinking she was Watchmen’s Malin Akerman. Her role is that of a humourless kind of pole for Carell to creepily rub up against for comedic effect. The fact that Jane ends up with Wonderstone indicates she either has low self-esteem, horrible taste, the memory of a goldfish, or all of the above.

Jim Carrey shines as the best reason to see the film. He plays a Messiah-like cross between Criss Angel and David Blaine whose ‘magic’ is more feats of endurance and high pain tolerance than sleight of hand. Carrey flits in and out of the film, with each increasingly inane stunt perking up the otherwise dragging plot.

Alan Arkin is Alan Arkin: a crotchety and wise-cracking senior. Knowing the Academy, he’ll likely be nominated for another Best Supporting Actor award for this role.

Wasted cameo parts go to comedians like Jay Mohr and Brad Garrett. Unfunny secondary roles are awarded to anti-comedians like James Gandolfini.

In short, it comes off as a flippant Hollywood project. Maybe Carell was under contract and needed something quick and easy; maybe Gandolfini thought he’d listen to his wife and give comedy a try; maybe Carrey felt like rediscovering his roots, digging his teeth into a physically engaging character like the Carrey of old. After all, if it flopped, would anyone notice?

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone seems to me like the film equivalent of your mother’s Thursday-night experimental cooking, when only half the family is present at the table. Its necessity, mixed in with a healthy dose of boredom, results in a sometimes bland, sometimes nice, sometimes awful concoction, easily forgotten and eclipsed by everyone’s traditional favourites come Friday.

The purpose is to review further disclosure in the criminal proceedings.

Schweitzer, charged with the death of 17-year-old Nicole Wagler and the attempted murder of 22-year-old Tyler Baker back in December in Milverton, will appear by video in Stratford’s provincial court on June 21 at 10 a.m.

Amanda Lynn Mayhew has been hunting all of her life.
The Elmira resident, who is host of the Nothing But Outdoors radio show, has fond memories of hanging out in the bush with her father, from a very young age.
“My dad took me out on mini bikes for partridge,” said Mayhew. “I was two years old.”
Since then, Mayhew has become an expert on hunting — so much so, Mayhew doesn’t buy meat from the grocery store.
“We don’t go grocery shopping for meat, ever,” said Mayhew. “You know where your meat comes from. That’s the biggest reason we do it.”
Mayhew is hoping to encourage other women to learn more about the sport she loves. She is hosting, with the support of the Elmira Rod and Gun Club, and the Upper-Grand Long Beards of the National Wild Turkey Federation, a Women of the Outdoors Event at the Elmira Rod and Gun.
Mayhew said that there is still many barriers between women and hunting, with some men suggesting that women shouldn’t hunt.
“It can be so intimidating; most men say ‘you can’t come; you’re a girl,’” said Mayhew.
There’s something empowering about learning the skills for yourself, and going hunting without anyone else’s help, said Mayhew, something she has done on countless occasions — and something Mayhew believes is available to any woman who wants to hunt.
“They should want to be able to go hunting on their own, without relying on a man, just like anything else,” said Mayhew.
At Women of the Outdoors, women can learn archery, pistol shooting, rifle marksmanship and skeet shooting, all with the help of trained hunters, male and female, who are volunteering their time for the day. Firearms, bows and ammunitions are being donated for the day by Elmira Rod and Gun club members, as well as Shooter’s Choice.
Participants in the day won’t have to bring anything, and will also enjoy a lunch at the club, as part of their registration. Registration for Women of the Outdoors, set for Sunday, May 26, costs $35. The event begins at 8 a.m. For more information, contact Mayhew at amandalynnmayhew@sympatico.ca, or at 519-669-9812.
TURKEY SHOOT
The Elmira Rod and Gun club will also be hosting a turkey shoot on the same day, following the Women of the Outdoors event. Registration for the turkey shoot will start at noon. For more information, call Rob at 519-575-6549.

A roundtable discussion on local food, held at the Local Community Food Centre in Stratford on Tuesday, found consensus almost across the board.

Hosted by Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece, the discussion focussed on what changes are needed in the local food industry.

This was the fourth such roundtable that Pettapiece has been involved in, with previous discussions held in Essex, Lambton, and Wellington counties. This was the first discussion, however, that talked about the Liberal government’s new Bill 36, which focuses on local food.

Pettapiece, a Progressive Conservative, said the bill was a necessary one.

“We want to support it,” he said, adding there were two issues he hoped might be addressed when the bill goes to committee; the first being the choice to set the date of Ontario’s Local Food Week for the week before Thanksgiving.

“This would put Local Food Week on top of Agriculture Week,” Pettapiece noted.

He suggested the double-booking was an oversight, adding he hopes a better date for Local Food Week might be selected.

Pettapiece noted that his only other beef with the bill has to do with its lack of teeth.

“It’s wishy-washy. There’s no meat to it,” he said, pointing to the bill’s language, which states, “The Minister of Agriculture and Food may establish goals or targets to aspire to in respect of local food.”

“If my dad had of said, ‘Do you aspire to milk the cows?’ I’d have gone back to sleep,” Pettapiece joked.

Other than those two issues, Pettapiece said the concept of the bill is fine.

He noted the biggest point of contention at Tuesday’s meeting was the definition of local food itself.

“Some want it to be local, as in Perth County,” he explained. “I think the government holds a broader view … meaning all of Ontario.”

He clarified the government’s position, which he said he shares, that certain produce can only be grown in certain areas during certain times of the year.

“Like tomatoes,” he said. “You have to get them from somewhere. Just not Florida; not when you can get them from Leamington.”

Besides that, Pettapiece said most everyone in attendance expressed the same concerns regarding local food.

“The consensus was that there’s a need to promote local products more … Stratford’s done a phenomenal job, but it’s getting harder … especially with meats, seeing as there are no abattoirs in the county anymore.”

Pettapiece also cited the abundance of red tape as an obstacle for local producers, adding, “Farmers just want to get on with life, but there’s too many rules and regulations.”

But is it possible to call for a reduction of rules and regulations while, at the same time, complaining about a food bill lacking teeth?

“It’s a bit of a paradox,” Steve Stacey, director of the Local Community Food Centre, admitted. “Do you need government to step in and say government shouldn’t step in? I don’t know.

“Some red tape is important,” Stacey added. “Such as regulations in regards to food safety. We shouldn’t get rid of everything.”

However, Stacey noted these sorts of debates will only result in better legislation.

“It’s really important to have these discussions with the food act on the table” he said. “Hopefully they get it right. They have a chance to put together legislation that could really support local farmers and the food system in general.

“The more input they have, the more informed the legislation can be.”

Stacey also noted that a well-supported local food industry can only benefit a community in the long run, producing a ripple effect by stimulating regional economic and environmental spheres in a positive way.

“It’s a win,win,win scenario,” he said.

The Orr Insurance Strikers started off fast with a goal in the first five minutes. Tatum James made a run down the left wing and took a hard shot. The rebound came to forward Ashley Vito, who made no mistake and put the ball in the back of the net.

Royals tied the count before the first half came to an end, and then took a 2-1 lead midway through the second half. Strikers continued to push forward and were rewarded when James connected with a shot from inside the 18-yard box, tying the score 2-2.

The Orr Insurance Strikers were not going to be denied the win as Vito scored her second goal of the game off a corner kick.

The Stratford defence of Ashley Hines, Jenna Akroyd-Snider, Sophia Ayenew, Tessa Eliasziw and centre-defence Olivia Giovinazzo had stellar games and shut the door on the Guelph forwards.

The Strikers’ midfield of Julia Cressman, Meredith MacMillan, Kaylee Orr, Sierra Sauve, Makaila Willmore, Micaela Vancea and Sarah Strome had great games by dominating the middle of the pitch.

Goalie Ally Denstedt controlled the box and made some beautiful saves to preserve the narrow victory. The win brings the Orr Insurance Strikers record to one win and one loss in a very competitive L5 Division.

Next game for the U-13 Strikers is at Packham Road fields on Saturday against Orangeville.