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08 | 02 | 2014 VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 31
RECOGNIZED FOR MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE LIVING HERE PAGE 24
COMMENT PAGE 6
WET SUMMER, BUT WATER RULES REMAIN IN PLACE
www.OBSERVERXTRA.com
MCC lending comfort to those suffering in Gaza
CRAFTING FOR A CANCER CURE
Agency looking for donations to help with relief kits and other supplies urgently needed by those under seige WHITNEY NEILSON
Grace Harth, Makenna Brooks and Jadyn Brooks will be selling bracelets, rings, and bouncy balls on First Street in Elmira for the month of August. They were inspired by Austin Whittom, who passed away from leukemia in February. All proceeds will go to Sick Kids Hospital. [WHITNEY NEILSON / THE OBSERVER]
There’s no end in sight for even the latest round of war and death in Gaza, part of a longstanding conflict between occupied Palestinians and Israel, but a local organization is part of the effort to ease the immediate suffering. The Mennonite Central Committee Ontario has worked toward peacebuilding in the Middle East for the past 60 years. Executive director Rick Cober Bauman saw firsthand how their organization is helping the victims of this con-
flict when he visited Israel in 2011. “We actually met with the director of a partner, the Al Najd Development Forum, she talked about how MCC had been involved in that case getting canned meat into a number of Gaza communities during the war that happened between Israel and Hamas in 2008 and 2009.” Cober Bauman said he wondered how well received the canned meat was because it very clearly says ‘in the name of Christ’ MCC | 4
It's finally official: July sucked
Cooler temperatures and wet weather were the norm, but don’t give up on summer yet, we’re advised WHITNEY NEILSON For those of us who look forward to hot, sticky summers, we’ve been sorely let down by Mother Nature. For the first time weather guru David Phillips can remember, June was warmer than July. “May was actually warmer
than normal. June was actually warmer than normal. It was certainly above normal by almost more than a degree. July has been probably about one and a half degrees colder than normal – we’ve had no days above 30 degrees,” said Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada.
The average temperature in June was 19.4 degrees Celsius, while only 19 in July. He said it hasn’t been a record low, but certainly felt more lukewarm than the Julys we’re used to. Last year we saw the thermometer hit 33 degrees in July, and nearly 35 degrees the year prior. This July, the two days
it hit 30, that was it. “It feels so much cooler,” Phillips said. “For those that love their temperatures warm, it’s been sort of disappointing. We had a long cold winter.” But it’s not time to throw in the towel just yet. Phillips says we could still see those mid-30s temperatures come
August, and maybe into September. The weather models suggest August will be warmer than normal. “My sense is it’s too early to see how the summer will pan out,” Phillips said. “July just really couldn’t get going. From a growing point of view we are probably a little bit behind. The
crops are alright but maybe it needs to be the heat to bring on the fruits and vegetables. That may come.” This week’s forecast included 20 degrees on Thursday, close to a record in terms of coolest afternoons for this date in ElWEATHER | 2