Outdoor pool is where it's at

The summer of 2009 should be an especially busy one for the Ancaster Lions Club outdoor pool. The outdoor pool will accommodate public swimming, swimming lessons and Waterfit programs while the Ancaster Aquatic Centre is closed for an extensive renovation.
Ancaster firm Bestco Construction was awarded the contract earlier this spring for more than $850,000 in upgrades. The pool is expected to remain closed until October 18.
Renovations includes a new roof, structural foundation improvements, boiler and dehumidification upgrades, new lighting, acoustic ceilings and lockers facilities. The project is the largest renovation the building has received in its 30-year history.
Public swimming at the Lions Outdoor Pool is available on weekdays from 1:15 p.m. to 3 p.m. and on weekends from 1-4 p.m.
Visit http://www.myhamilton.ca/ for complete program listings.

A three minute glimpse of Heritage Days

Check this link for our Heritage Days slideshow: http://slideshows.metroland.com/Heritage_Days_2009/

It features 70 photos from last weekend's events.

Ancaster set to become Soccer Central

In just five years, the Ancaster Heritage Days soccer tournament has grown nearly as big as the festival of the same name.

More than 5,000 soccer players aged eight to 18 and 10,000 spectators will fill virtually every soccer pitch in Ancaster beginning tonight.

Ancaster Soccer Club president Jim Bethune said this year's tournament features 255 teams who will play nearly 500 games in three days.

About 40 teams were turned away this year, but organizers now have three additional fields to play with thanks to the newly added park site at the former Jerseyville Road landfill.

The new fields were unveiled on Thursday, just in time for the tournament.

A safe return from Afghanistan

The threat of enemy insurgents was just another part of the daily routine for two Ancaster reservists who recently returned from Afghanistan.
Sergeant Bradley Lofchik and Corporal Derk Dunford served an eight month tour of duty in Kandahar, Afghanistan with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada.
Sgt. Lofchik and Cpl. Dunford provided security for government representatives as they toured Kandahar province in Southern Afghanistan. They were part of a Canadian contingent estimated at 2,700. Canadian troops are expected to remain in Afghanistan until 2011 according to current federal government plans.
On Monday morning, Sgt. Lofchik and Cpl. Dunford gave a presentation to students at CH Bray Public School, where Derk’s father, Doug Dunford, serves as principal.
Sgt. Lofchik, 30, who once attended CH Bray, said most Afghans he met appreciated the involvement of Canadian Forces who are helping to provide peace and stability.
“The country still has a long way to go, unfortunately. But all I hear from the locals is nothing but good things.”
Sgt. Lofchik said several key areas were targeted by enemy insurgents, including the local Afghan police headquarters and a jail.
Cpl. Dunford, 19, said it was not uncommon to hear loud explosions that would shake some of the buildings in their area. Just one week before their departure, the governor’s mansion in Kandahar province was targeted by a suicide bomber. No Canadians were involved.
“Every day there would be something new,” Cpl. Dunford said. “It just became normal. It was life.”
When it comes to fixing Afghanistan’s social, political and economic problems, Sgt. Lofchik said the only solution is time.
“Like any other country, there’s no quick fix,” he said.
Just a few hours after the reservists’ visit to CH Bray, Canadians were reminded of the heavy toll the country has paid during the Afghanistan mission. By Monday afternoon, the Canadian Press had reported the death of Private Alexandre Péloquin, 20, of the Royal 22e Regiment, based at CFB Valcartier near Quebec City. The Canadian Press reported Pte. Péloquin was killed by a makeshift bomb while on foot patrol in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar province. Pte. Péloquin’s death marks 119 casualties for Canadian Forces since the combat mission began in 2002.
After showing students a slide show of photos from their mission, Sgt. Lofchik and Cpl. Dunford fielded questions from CH Bray students.
Sgt. Lofchik described the Taliban as “the bad people” who have access to guns and impose their will with brute force.
“They’re people who don’t agree with the beliefs of the other people,” said Sgt. Lofchik.
As CH Bray Principal Doug Dunford explained, the Taliban seek to ban girls from attending school.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and still control several key areas.
The slide show included photos of various buildings that have been protected and maintained by Canadian forces. A new Kandahar City University is a recent addition, along with several new schools. Canadian troops helped to rebuild a retaining wall at a local jail that was damaged during an attack. An abandoned hospital was also surveyed in the hope it can be reopened. The presentation also included shots of armed soliders in military fatigues, soldiers handing out supplies to Afghan children, scores of supporters lining the Highway of Heroes and reservists hoisting cups of Tim Hortons coffee. A photo of a soldier seated on Santa Claus’ lap prompted laughter from the students.
One student asked the reservists if they had fun during their mission.
“It’s not meant to be a fun experience,” said Cpl. Dunford, so it’s not as fun as you might think.”
Cpl. Dunford was one of the youngest reservists ever accepted for an overseas mission by the Argylls. Like the rest of his colleagues, he underwent a one-year training program at CFB Petawawa before being dispatched into the field.
Now that their tour of duty is complete, both reservists are looking forward to new careers. Sgt. Lofchik plans to attend teacher’s college. Cpl. Dunford hopes to become a paramedic.

Community honours Travis Carter

Every few weeks, Derek Carter gets an e-mail that brings a tear to his eye.
Parents around the world have contacted the Carter family seeking more information on Batten’s Disease, a rare, fatal degenerative neurological disorder with no cure.
“It makes you cry because I already know what’s going to happen to them,” Mr. Carter said.
On May 30, 2008, Mr. Carter’s son, Travis, lost his courageous battle against Late Infantile Batten’s disease at age 10. But today, thanks to Travis’ legacy, more people understand the devastating effects of childhood Batten’s disease and the continued search for a cure.
Last year, Travis’ parents hoped to return to China for a second stem cell treatment. Travis responded well to his initial treatment in 2006. Derek and Jenny Carter hoped a second treatment would help prolong Travis’ life. But Travis took a turn for the worse. He was taken off life support and fought for two days before succumbing to the ravaging effects of Batten’s disease.
In the months that followed, Travis’ parents took some time to consider a tribute to their son. After consulting Ward 6 councillor Tom Jackson and city parks staff, the Carters decided to support new, handicapped accessible playground equipment at Meadowlands Park, using the money that was supposed to send Travis to China.
“Out of all the things we could have done, this was the next best thing,” Mr. Carter said.
Three new pieces of accessible equipment have been added to the park, directly across the road from Holy Name of Mary on Meadowlands Boulevard. The new equipment is designed for children who use a wheelchair or youth with limited mobility.
The newly refurbished Meadowlands Community Park was unveiled on May 29 in a special ceremony honouring Travis Carter. Travis’ family joined hundreds of students from Travis’ school, Holy Name of Mary, along with city representatives at the official dedication ceremony.
“This is an emotional day, more emotional than I thought,” said Mr. Carter. When city crews were working to install the new equipment and related landscaping, Mr. Carter visited the site on a daily basis.
“Going to school was Travis’ greatest joy,” Mr. Carter told students and school staff at the dedication ceremony. “You allowed him to be a normal boy, even though it was only for short years.”
Today the Carter family is continuing to help other families deal with the devastating effects of Batten’s disease. The Carters recently helped a 10-year-old Italian boy receive the same stem cell treatment Travis received in 2006. Using their knowledge of the Chinese medical system, the Carters have helped other families explore stem cell therapy, a procedure that is unavailable in North America.
The Carters’ charity, Travis’ Battle, is no longer raising money. But the Carters hope to create a national Canadian foundation for Batten’s Disease that would promote research and awareness. Travis was just the 48th Canadian child to be diagnosed with the disease.
As an infant, Travis lived a normal life. He sat up at six months, said his first words and crawled at nine months and took his first steps shortly after his first birthday.He amazed his parents by assembling a 10-piece shape toy at 18 months. He learned to swing a golf club at age two.
On Canada Day, 2001, Travis endured his first seizure during an afternoon nap. He was rushed to McMaster Children's hospital and eventually diagnosed with childhood epilepsy. At age four, Travis was diagnosed with Late Infantile Batten’s disease.
Travis’ parents continue to maintain a website at http://www.travisbattle.com/ with information on Travis and Batten’s disease.

Residents shocked by retail energy contracts

A special report
Part One
A knock at the door leads to long term commitment

When Linda Barrett signed a contract with Universal Energy she hoped to insulate her family from rising electricity bills.
Instead, she unknowingly agreed to pay more for hydro service and she’s now locked into a five-year contract.
Today Ms. Barrett is calling for government action to protect consumers from so-called price-protection plans that can often result in dramatically higher energy costs.
An independent study shows that since 2005, Ontario consumers who have opted to purchase electricity from a retail supplier have paid more than the regulated rate available from the local public utility.
Last year, Ms. Barrett was sitting down for dinner when she was summoned by a knock at the door. A salesperson from Universal Energy began discussing the rising costs of electricity and told Ms. Barrett she could protect herself from the higher rates.
“I remember thinking what a fool I would be to not protect myself from the rising rates so I signed a five-year contract to purchase my electricity from Universal Energy at a rate that would be guaranteed not to increase for the next five years,” Ms. Barrett said.
On May 22, she was shocked to see her bill jump from about $185 to $293.
She called Hydro One and was told the increase was due to the fact she buys her electricity from a retailer instead of a local distribution company.
Although her bills are still issued by Hydro One, Ms. Barrett pays a locked-in rate of 8.69 cents per kilowatt hour that has so far resulted in higher costs.
“My rate with Universal Energy is $115 per month more than what I would have been paying with the government supplier, Hydro One,” Ms. Barrett said.Ms. Barrett said she received a follow-up telephone call after signing the contract. She said the caller asked whether she had read the fine print.
“I informed the caller that I had not read over the small print of the entire contract because I was satisfied with the salesperson's answers to my concerns,” she said.
When Ms. Barrett called Universal to terminate the contract she was told she must pay a fee of more than $1,000. Today she’s calling on the government to do more to protect consumers. She’s also filed a letter of complaint with the Ontario Ombudsman.
“At this point I kind of feel that I’ve been duped,” Ms. Barrett said. “But it may have been my own fault because I didn’t read the fine print.”
Ontario has had a competitive, deregulated market for electricity since May, 2002. The natural gas market has been deregulated since the mid-1980s.
Today, instead of purchasing electricity or natural gas from a local public utility, consumers can sign up for a locked in rate with an energy retailer, such as Universal.
Universal Energy vice president of marketing Jan Nybida said door-to-door salespeople do not guarantee savings.
“Purchasing your energy from us is very similar to locking in your mortgage rate - some months you may save money and others months you may not,” she stated by e-mail. “There is no guarantee of what the rates in (the) market will do - there are historic figures that we reference; however, much like a fixed rate mortgage, the market over the length of your contract will dictate whether you save money or not.”
According to statistics from energyshop.com, Universal Energy currently offers a five-year fixed rate of 7.88 cents per kilowatt hour for residents of Ancaster’s L9K 1P7 postal code. The current regulated price from the local provider is 5.7 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 1000 kilowatt hours per month during the winter, and the first 600 kilowatt hours during the summer.
Ms. Nybida said Universal must collect cancellation fees because the company buys energy from a wholesaler up-front once a customer signs the contract.
“On the contract and in the terms and conditions we clearly state that we are securing their energy for a specific term (typically 5 years) and that we pre-buy this energy on their behalf. Similar to a mortgage, there are penalties for cancelling the contract early and those penalties are assessed based on length of term left and any set early termination charges that are in the contract,” she stated.
When Stoney Creek resident Holly McGilvery called to cancel her natural gas contract with a retail provider back in 2002, she believed everything was in order. But as the months and years went by, Ms. McGilvery realized she was still getting significantly higher gas bills than her neighbours.
She recently called Union Gas and was shocked to discover the retail contract she signed five years ago with Direct Energy had been renewed without her knowledge.
The company claimed it never received a written cancellation notice. Since then, Ms. McGilvery has paid 49.9 cents per cubic metre for natural gas. According to energyshop.com, most residential customers in Southern Ontario are currently paying about 24 cents per cubic metre under the regulated Union Gas cost structure.
Ms. McGilvery has another opportunity to cancel her contract on Oct. 31. This time, she plans to fax a copy of the cancellation notice, place a recorded call to the company’s office and send a registered letter.
“I don’t know what else I can do,” said Ms. McGilvery, who estimates she has lost $7,000 to $10,000 by purchasing natural gas from an independent retailer.


Part 2
Government response and ways to shield yourself

They were promised “price protection” from rising electricity and natural gas rates. But Linda Barrett and Holly McGilvery ended up with skyrocketing energy bills after signing a contract with a retail energy company.
Today they want governments to do more to protect consumers. And help from the province appears to be coming.
A new bill aimed specifically at energy retailers recently passed second reading in the provincial legislature.
Private member’s Bill 131 by Liberal MPP David Ramsay seeks to amend the Ontario Energy Board Act to ensure contracts are worded in plain language. The proposed legislation would require the energy retailer to state on the first page of the contract that the company is not affiliated with the government or a local distributor. The contract would also indicate the agreement only covers the cost of the electricity or natural gas and that other costs, such as delivery, are not included.
Retailers would be required to list cancellation fees should the consumer request to terminate the contract early. The price per kilowatt hour for electricity or per cubic metre of natural gas would also be required on the contract’s first page.
The bill, if passed, would require energy retailers and marketers to provide a reaffirmation letter to the consumer that must be signed and returned to the retailer.
Michael Wilson, parliamentary assistant to MPP David Ramsay, said Bill 131 is currently under review by parliamentary committee.
“We had quite a few complaints in the riding that dealt with misconduct at the door,” Mr. Wilson said.
Mr. Wilson said he anticipates a comprehensive bill from the Ontario Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure that will adopt some of Mr. Ramsay’s recommendations later this fall. Mr. Ramsay represents the Northern Ontario riding of Timiskaming-Cochrane.
Residents, including Linda Barrett of Ancaster, have complained about unfair marketing techniques used by door-to-door agents. For Ms. Barrett, promises of “price protection” led to a 63 per cent increase in monthly electricity costs after she signed a contract with Universal Energy.
Universal Energy vice president of marketing Jan Nybida said the company has specific training that all agents must pass before being dispatched into the field.
“As well we have OEB regulations that heavily influence any kind of guarantees or promises made at the door to customers,” Ms. Nybida said.
Since 2005, anyone who has signed up for a retail electricity contract has ended up paying more than the regulated rate from a local distribution company, according to figures from energyshop.com.
Energyshop.com founder Ian McClellan said weather patterns and a sagging economy have combined to reduce demand for energy. Subsequently, homeowners who continued to buy energy from a regulated public utility enjoyed stable rates, while those who used an energy retailer paid more.
“For the last three years, the market price for electricity has been gradually declining,” Mr. McClellan said.
Demand for energy spikes during periods of intense heat or extreme cold.
“We haven’t really seen that over the last three years,” Mr. McClellan said.
Mr. McClellan co-founded energyshop.com in 1999 as an independent database of energy rates comparing local distribution companies and retail suppliers. By submitting a postal code, visitors can instantly compare all the available rates in their area.
Universal Energy has continued to grow despite the economic downturn. Operational revenue from natural gas and electricity has grown from $69 million in 2006 to $406 million in 2008 according to the company’s 2008 annual report.
Universal Energy is a licensed member of the Ontario Energy Board and a publicly traded company.
Universal Energy also has a history of consumer complaints and administrative penalties levied by the Ontario Energy Board.
As part of a formal review initiated in September 2007 the board found that in 57 recorded calls with low volume electricity consumers, Universal contravened section 88.4 of the Ontario Energy Board Act, by engaging in an unfair practice as defined by regulations, by making false, misleading or deceptive statements to consumers. According to the board, Universal representatives indicated that the government is cancelling the regulated price plan in May 2008. Universal representatives also said consumers will become subject to the true cost of power and will pay market prices for electricity starting in May 2008.
In January, 2009, the OEB issued a motion for an administrative penalty of $200,000 against the corporation.
Paul Crawford, an OEB spokesperson, said Universal Energy agreed to pay a penalty of $127,500. The company voluntarily agreed to re-train its customer service representatives and entered into a voluntary compliance agreement with the OEB.
The OEB issued a second $60,000 administrative penalty against Universal on April 23. Mr. Crawford said Universal agreed to pay the fine one day later. He said the second penalty came as a result of a CBC Marketplace documentary which recorded door-to-door salespeople using hidden cameras.
Universal Energy says it’s taking provincial regulations seriously.
Ms. Nybida stated Universal currently participates in an agent registry set up by the Ontario Energy Association. The registry tracks agents and allows Universal to record any agent conduct in the field.
“We have very strict training and testing that every agent must take and also pass. We are regulated by the OEB and are also active members of the OEA. Recently the OEA has provided optional training to its members and also additional testing that we participate in as well,” Ms. Nybida stated.
In a January 7, 2009 Toronto Star article, Universal Energy Corporation President and Chief Operating Officer Nino Silvestri downplayed claims of wrongdoing made by the OEB.
"They reviewed about 450,000 calls between 2007 and 2008 and over that period they found 57 were inappropriate," Silvestri is quoted as saying in the Star article. He also noted that of the 57 inappropriate calls, only seven contracts were set up.
While many consumers are calling for tighter regulations, Mr. McClellan said consumers can safeguard themselves by taking the time to understand their contract.
“Any time you sign your signature on anything, you should read everything,” he said. “People don’t realize they’re making about an $8,000 commitment when they sign up.”

Spring Valley Arena targeted for closure in city plan

A twin pad for Morgan Firestone Arena coupled with a rejuvenated Spring Valley Arena is still the best plan for Ancaster Minor Hockey League.
Although no time line has been set for the planned expansion of Morgan Firestone Arena, when the new twin pad facility opens, it is expected to force the closure of Spring Valley Arena on Orchard Drive.
Diane Lapointe Kay, city recreation director, said the city will streamline its operations by closing Spring Valley. A feasibility study for the Morgan Firestone Arena twinning has already been completed.
“The ideal situation would be to close Spring Valley Arena for hockey to amalgamate the uses at one facility,” Ms. Lapointe Kay said.
Meanwhile, the timing of the Morgan Firestone expansion plan remains uncertain. Last week, Hamilton councillors voted not to include the arena expansion among a list of projects eligible for government stimulus funding. The total cost of the twin pad is $13 million.
Dean Morrow, president of the Ancaster Minor Hockey League, wants to continue using Spring Valley Arena after the Morgan Firestone expansion is complete. With some minor roof upgrades and renovated dressing rooms, Mr. Morrow believes the aging arena would still have plenty to offer. The AMHL has long advocated for greater access to ice time in Ancaster, to mitigate the need to rent ice time outside the community.
“What good does it do anybody to close one arena and open another?” Mr. Morrow said.
Last year, an independent consultant recommended closing Spring Valley Arena, coupled with the a second ice surface at Morgan Firestone, as part of a long-term renewal and construction plan for Hamilton's recreational facilities. The report suggested a timeline somewhere between 2012 and 2016.
Spring Valley Arena has a long and storied history. Built decades ago by a local community group, the arena was transferred from the Spring Valley Community Association to the Town of Ancaster in 1966. Following amalgamation in 2001, ownership reverted to the City of Hamilton. Today the Spring Valley Community Association still operates a canteen and sponsors sports teams.