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Elmira Theatre Company mines Insanity for a few laughs.........................»18 THE OBSERVER | Saturday, January 31, 2009
Menno Flyers take to the pond
»14 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 04
SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2009
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Local officials warm to budget
» HELpING HANDS
Timing and strings that might be attached to funds for infrastructure are the worry MARC MIQUEL HELSEN
make it happen. “I asked a coach of a team just a little bit older than him if they would help, and within one day, we had more than enough equipment for the boy.” Then staff at PIB Insurance got wind of what was going on
Happy to hear about the infrastructure funding in this week’s budget, local officials say, however, the devil is in the details. The $12 billion announced in the budget could prove helpful as municipalities cope with aging roads, bridges and water pipes, but the timing and implementation of the funding program will really tell just how useful it will be as an economic stimulus measure. There’s some concern the money won’t move fast enough. “I think it’s good, providing the funding flows readily and easily,” Waterloo Region Chair Ken Seiling said in an interview. Funding for infrastructure is seen as a two-pronged approach that will address both the country’s ailing infrastructure, as well as help stem the economic downturn – creating and maintaining jobs through the realization of construction-ready projects will help stimulate the economy.
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GIVING KIDs a shoT Mark Fackoury, left, and Bob Waters, right, hold some of the equipment Friends of Hockey has provided to players like K.J. Ferguson. The goal of Friends of Hockey is to help boys and girls who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford equipment and registration fees.
Young hockey players in need have a new friend in town Friends of Hockey help ensure everyone gets a chance to play Canada’s game JONI MILTENBURG A year ago, six-year-old K.J. Ferguson wanted to become a bricklayer. “Now that he’s playing hockey, that’s out the window,” said his grandmother, Ruth Usick. “Now his goal is to play for the
Calgary Flames.” Ferguson isn’t quite ready for the NHL draft just yet, but his skating is improving and he’s having a great time learning the game with his mini team. K.J.’s hockey debut was made possible by the Friends of Hockey, a new community fund to help minor hockey
players who wouldn’t otherwise be able to participate. After K.J.’s mother, Valerie Ferguson, was killed in April 2008, there was a huge outpouring of community support for her two children. Bob Waters, one of the founders of Friends of Hockey, knew K.J. wanted to play and decided to
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