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The Observer | Saturday, July 12, 2008
Young Elmira runner competes in Olympic track trials............................. »19 Feed for a new breed
»13 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 28
SATURDAY, JULY 12, 2008
www.ObserverXtra.com
These ladies are driven to succeed
PRICELESS
VANESSA MOSS When Elmira’s Connie Deckert first took up the game of golf more than 35 years ago, finding other women golfers in the area was a challenge. Now, ladies’ tournaments, clubs and leagues are quickly popping up across Waterloo Region as more and more women begin to appreciate the health, social and even economic benefits of the sport. “Women need this game for business,” Deckert said. “It’s a perfect venue to conduct business because it gives you a chance to get to know people.” After years of recreational play, Deckert recently turned her passion for golf into a career by teaching at Max’s Golf Centre in Waterloo and coaching both the men’s and women’s teams at the University of Guelph. She is thrilled that women, especially juniors, have taken such a liking to a sport she said provides a lifetime of enjoyment. The university students she works with look at her in amazement when she tells them stories about how wom-
Once a very rare sight on the links, women are taking up golf in greater numbers
See LADY GOLFERS page »22
GENTLEWOMAN’S SPORT Golf instructor Connie Deckert has seen a significant increase in the number of female golfers playing in Waterloo Region since she took up the sport more than 35 years ago. Women’s leagues, clubs PHOTO | VANESSA MOSS and tournaments are helping to encourage golfers of all skill levels to tee up.
Woolwich seeks ATV clampdown
Mixture of education and police blitzes will tackle longstanding problems with trespassers in Breslau STEVE KANNON Watch for liberal applications of the carrot and especially the stick as Woolwich moves to clamp down on trespassing ATV users in Breslau. Reacting to longstanding complaints, the township will focus on educating users of all-terrain vehicles while simultaneously launching a
series of blitzes to prosecute offenders. To help with the education process, the township and private property owners in the area will post more signs, while police and bylaw enforcement officers will seek out those who ignore the warnings. “The idea is to meet-andgreet folks coming through the properties,” director of
recreation and facilities Larry Devitt told councillors Tuesday night, updating them on a meeting with stakeholders last weekend. ATV users have been riding through a stretch of natural property adjacent to the new Hopewell Heights subdivision, stretching from Fountain Street to Greenhouse Road. Signs have been torn down and barriers removed as
the township and landowners tried to prevent access to the site, to no avail. The land in the area east of the village belongs to a variety of owners: the township, Waterloo Region, developer Thomasfield Homes, private homeowners and the Goderich-Exeter Railway. “We have to start letting people know they’re trespassing. “The best we can achieve is
to start to reduce the activity. It’s not realistic to expect to eliminate the practice … at least not right away,” said Devitt, expressing concerns that the interlopers would merely go elsewhere, perhaps in the township, to cause trouble. A number of upcoming police blitzes should help drive the point home, said chief administrative officer David See ATV page »02
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