Merritton Matters Summer 2009 - Merritton Community Group

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Attention Rocky heath Yes, you, Rocky Heath! But how does Rocky Heath relate to Merritton Matters you might ask? Rocky grew up on Ferndale Avenue and attended Ferndale Public School. He remembers walking to the Merritton pool as a child and being scared and unsure of where to turn at the end of Ferndale. At the beginning of Grade Four, the Heath family moved to the North end, but Rocky’s heart was in Merritton. He would frequently visit his friends here in the summers. After getting married, he and his wife, Gail, bought a house in Secord Woods and have remained there since. When his children, Amy and Justin, were high school age, Rocky felt Merritton was the best choice for them and they agreed. Years later, Rocky is thrilled to get to watch his grandchildren walk past his house on their way to school in the community. As a GM retiree, Rocky began to investigate ink refilling businesses after attempting to fill his own cartridges and making a mess. He found a franchise called Cartridge World which refills ink and toner cartridges. An environmentally conscious man, Rocky felt that reusing empty cartridges was a better alternative to throwing them away. Not only does refilling help save the environment, it also saves people money! For more information, you can call the store (located at the Midtown Plaza on Welland Ave.) at 641-2770. Can we hope that a Merritton expansion is in the works? Rocky Heath, your family is proud of you! Happy Birthday!!!! 10 I MERRITTON MATTERS christmas concert The Merritton Lioness and Westminster United Church are hosting a Christmas Concert for Community Care featuring Rev. Mark Curtis on Sunday, November 29th at 6:30 p.m. Admission is a non perishable food item and a free will offering. 100% of monies from the free will offering will go to Community Care.
A chat with habitat for humanity Niagara Director of Marketing Lisa Aceti How did Habitat arrange for this lot? — Land is a key element in our formula for success. In fact, having the land is what kicks off our affordable housing mission in the community. In 2008, Habitat Niagara’s CEO met with Mayor McMullan and his staff to discuss the availability of excess and surplus land in St. Catharines. A property was identified in the community of Merritton and in October 2008 the Mayor and City Councillors agreed to accept Habitat Niagara’s purchase offer. What still has to be done to the lot to prepare it for home building? — The property is in the process of being serviced in partnership with the City of St. Catharines. Hydro, water and sewage lines are being brought to the site, preparing it for excavation in mid-September. Who designed the plans for the house? — We worked with engineering professionals and students at Niagara College to customize this home design. We modify each house design to the land and neighbourhood, and of course the family needs. How was the family chosen for this home? — We select families based on three criteria: housing need, ability to pay, willingness to partner. We have a Family Selection committee of volunteers that extensively evaluate every family application. They interview the family in their home and assess the need for safe, decent, affordable shelter. We evaluate the family’s financial situation, do credit history and reference checks. And finally, we sign a partnership agreement where the family agrees to volunteer 500 hours, of what we call Sweat Equity, giving back to the community. Tell us a little bit about them. — The Schott family was selected for a habitat home in July 2008. Ron and Karen Schott were born and raised in the Niagara Region and have a family of 2 children and 2 grandchildren. They were thrilled to be offered this future St. Catharines home. Ron works in St. Catharines and volunteers at the Habitat ReStore. Karen went back to school and just graduated from Niagara College Social Worker program and is actively volunteering in local women’s shelters. What are the expectations for them in this construction? — The family will fulfill their Sweat Equity commitment volunteering in the ReStore and in the community with other non-profit organizations. They will be involved in various aspects of the construction planning of their home. When is construction scheduled to start? — Construction will begin in September with the District School Board of Niagara Specialist High Skills Major Construction students. Approximately 20 students from area high schools, under the supervision of their construction teacher, will build this 3-bedroom, raised bungalow to EnergyStar standards. The home will be completed by the end of the semester and we plan for a Home Dedication event in Early 2010. Is all the funding in place to start construction? — The community in Merritton has been very supportive. We have a great start to the fundraising with donations from the Rotary Club of St. Catharines, Merritton Lions Club, Merritton Lioness Club, Grantham Lions Club, and some very generous individual donors. Our fundraising continues to achieve the goal of $80,000 minimum for this project. What can individuals and business do to support this? — Our formula for success has only one final element to complete – fundraising. We encourage the community to host 3rd party fundraising events, make Habitat Niagara your corporate charity of choice, and provide generous donations to support our project. Not only will the lives of these future home owners be forever changed, the individuals and corporate community will also be positively affected by getting involved in Habitat and our affordable housing mission. Merritton Community Group is your fundraising champions. What does that involve? — As our community fundraising champion, the Merritton Community Group will be the catalyst to our fundraising mission. They will help us achieve our fundraising goal through engaging the community and facilitating individual and corporate donations. How will you celebrate when the house is ready? — We have 4 key milestones to celebrate our home building project. The first, held on June 11th, was the kick off event and formal announcement to the community that we will be fundraising to build a new home in the area. Through the home construction process we will mark two special events: the first day of excavation and construction in mid-September, followed by a community fundraising event in mid-October. This community event will encourage individuals and the corporate community to visit the home during the framing stage, purchase a 2-by-4 or square foot, physically sign the timbers and floor boards, leaving a message of hope and good wish to the future family. It’s our Habitat version of a time capsule: for the life of the home, these powerful messages of hope will forever be in the home, behind the walls, spiritually supporting our Habitat partner family in their journey of life transformation. The final event is a celebration of construction completion, a thank you to our donors, and largely a dedication of this new home to the Schott family. This home dedication event will be planned at the end of construction, early in 2010. Editor’s Note: I realized when I was writing this Habitat article that the last time I used the question and answer format was when I interviewed Robert Malcomson, a Woodrow Avenue resident. I had heard about Bob through my work at DSBN but quickly came to realize that Bob was well-known beyond his excellent teaching at Richmond Street School in Thorold. Bob was an internationally recognized scholar on the War of 1812 and his written documentation of Canadian history. He published hundreds of articles in journals, magazines and newspapers in Canada, the U.S. and Britain, and 8 books on Canadian history. In May 2009, he won the John Lyman Book Award for Canadian Naval and Maritime History for his latest book, Capital In Flames. Robert Malcomson, age 60, died on July 21st after an indefatigable 17 month battle with a brain tumor. MERRITTON MATTERS I 11
Page 1 and 2: MERRITTON MATTERS IN ThIS ISSuE •
Page 3 and 4: happenings Around the community No
Page 5 and 6: Is the Municipality Ignoring Mounta
Page 7 and 8: Spartan Junior “B” Lacrosse Did
Page 9: A celebration of A community garden
Page 13 and 14: Merritton high School, class of ‘
Page 15: Steam power By Tom Barwell Many yea

Merritton Matters Summer 2009 - Merritton Community Group

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