VOLUME X ISSUE I WWW.THEMEDIAPLEX.COM SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

CONVERGED CITIZENTH

E

NEWS

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NEWS

NEWS

LIFESTYLE

Photo to right - Retired Chief Warrant Officer

Thomas Skelding sits atop his specially decaled

motorcycle during the second annual Andrew

Grenon memorial ride on Sept. 14 in Tecumseh.

Skelding was on tour in Afghanistan when

Grenon was killed. Skelding came from

Newfoundland to participate in the event.

Grenon memorial ride

One of many pieces of custom decal work on

Skelding’s motorcycle.

Photos By Dan Gray

Managing Editor

Setting the wheels in motion for charity

Photo By Justin Prince

Hugh Pillon wipes the windshield of his 1996 ChevroletCorvette before the start of the Wheels On Wyandotte Car andMotorcycle Show in Windsor on Saturday, Sept. 13.

Justin Prince

Citizen Staff Reporter

Car and motorcycle enthusiasts alike are setting the

wheels in motion for a charitable cause.

The fourth annual Wheels On Wyandotte Car and

Motorcycle Show was held Sept. 13 to help raise funds

for Camp Brombal, a charity founded by the Windsor

Police Services. The charity was created in 2002 in hon-

our of Const. Nereo Brombal. Brombal was a police

officer who served in the late 1920s until the early

1940s. According to Bridget Scheuerman, the executive

director and chairperson of Wheels on Wyandotte, 141

people entered the event this year, up from 120 partici-

pants in 2013. Some of the cars ranged from restored

classic cars like a 1929 Model A Roadster to newer mod-

els like the Dodge Charger.

“At that time period (when Brombal was on the force),

Italy was allied with Germany,” said police officer

Shane Renaud, a 15-year veteran in the WPS’s

Community Services branch. “Unfortunately for

Brombal, he was a full-pledged member of the WPS

(who was Italian) and he was dismissed. Fifty years

went by and we apologized to his family. Unfortunately he had

already passed away and a camp was named in his honour.”

SEE PAGE 3

2CONVERGED CITIZENNEWS SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

Sean Frame

Managing Editor

The new city hall design

concept decision is being

put on hold by Windsor

city council, until the pub-

lic has given their sugges-

tions.

At the city hall meeting

on Monday, September 8,

three new city hall design

concepts were presented.

Designers Architectura Inc.

and Moriyama & Teshima

Architects showcased three

concept designs: the cam-

pus concept, the courtyard

concept and the gateway

design. Council voted in

majority towards waiting

to choose a design until the

public has seen two of the

three designs.

Each design will incorpo-

rate the council chambers

on the first floor to attempt

making council meetings

more open to the public.

The courtyard concept was

voted out by council leav-

ing the campus and gate-

way to be viewed at an

open house at a later date.

The open house will give

Mayor Eddie Francis and associates are presented with the gateway concept for the new city halldesign at a council meeting held Sept. 8.

the public a chance to dis-

cuss the new design and

voice which one they pre-

ferred.

The first design was the

campus concept. This design

would create a public campus

environment in which city hall

would be combined with a

plaza for festivals and activi-

ties.

The courtyard concept

would take advantage of

Senator Croll Park with poten-

tial for more green area. With

an estimated budget of $23

million for construction, the

New city hall design in the hands of the public

courtyard would be well over

budget costing $27 million.

Project administrator Wadah

Al-Yassiri said the campus

concept would be the more

preferred option, with its open

plaza,festivals and events

could take place on its

grounds. It’s also considered

the most cost-effective facility

to operate, according to Al-

Yassiri.

The gateway concept,

according to the architects,

would commemorate the

industrial history of Windsor.

“City halls tend to be more

open now,” said Diarmuid

Nash, a partner of Moriyama

& Teshima Architects. “This

current city hall only has two

doors, so all three of our

designs incorporate a more

open city hall with the city

council [chambers] being on

the main floor. We get the final

say on the main idea of the

design and we are focusing on

getting the public into the

place and feeling a real sense

of transparency.”

Moriyama & Teshima and

Architecttura Inc, who are

known for designing St.

Clair’s Mediaplex, collaborat-

ed on the design. They showed

basic two dimensional images

of the design.

According to Dan Amicone

of Architecturra, they had

more in depth three dimen-

sional models but stuck to the

two dimensional images,

given the time constraints.

Ward 3 councilor Fulvio

Valentinis went into a more

detail when looking at the

design aspects and expressed

his concern.

“Both of these look like they

are ground floor [the campus

and gateway design],” said

Valentinis. “The current city

hall’s entrance is a disaster,

there is no slope there so with

water accumulation and

everything else, I think this

should all be taken into con-

sideration.”

Al-Yassiri said they

would take this into con-

sideration. Council cham-

bers were packed with peo-

ple, leaving some people to

stand pushed side to side

against the chamber walls,

which only highlighted the

need for a new, larger city

hall.

Locals discuss how lack of education

could hinder youth votershipShelbey Hernandez

Associate Managing Editor

Windsor residents are dis-

cussing how education can

determine the likelihood of

younger generations to vote.

For this year’s municipal

election, there are 12 mayoral

candidates. Even though there

are more candidates running

than in previous years, some

residents are concerned not

enough youth are interested in

voting.

“I always vote in every elec-

tion,” said 76-year-old

Beverly Brown. “When I was

young, we always voted. The

whole family always voted. A

lot of countries are

oppressed—they can’t do that.

That’s a freedom we have and

so I think it’s very important

that young people vote.”

For Brown, education played

a huge role in how she viewed

voting. She said voting is

important because it allows

her to have a say in what goes

on in her country and her com-

munity. She said no one has a

right to complain about how

the country is run if they don’t

plan on voting.

Mohammad Akbar, a politi-

cal science student at the

University of Windsor, said

voting is extremely important

to him because his parents,

back in their home country,

were unable to vote. In his

case, he was educated quite a

bit about politics and voting.

“I would like to see educa-

tors make an effort to teach

politics prior to elections so

that youth may make an

informed decision,” said Fawn

O’Brien, an individual who

has been out of school for two

years. “I know some of my

peers have said, ‘I don’t even

know who is running or why,

so I don’t want to vote because

I cannot make an educated

decision.’”

Not being educated about voting

is a reason why Amy Thomson

doesn’t plan to vote in the upcom-

ing election. She said she doesn’t

think she should bother voting

until she has more knowledge

about it.

When it comes to how political

campaigns are laid out, Akbar said

they are meant for all audiences

which makes them less appealing

to the youth.

“There are a variety of ways to

engage youth through social

media and through person-to-per-

son discussions, but it is often dif-

ficult for candidates to engage

youth in these ways due to their

campaigns being geared towards

the general population,” said the

23-year-old University of Windsor

student. “In addition, youth face

disillusionment with not only the

structure, but also the processes of

voting.”

Some mayoral candidates this

year have taken a step towards

more social media outlets. Drew

Dilkens, for example, has been

using his Facebook account to pro-

mote himself. Although his

account has been active since

2007, he began using it to promote

his mayoral candidacy in August

2014.

Voting day for Windsor is on Oct.

27. Residents will be asked to vote

for a mayor, city council members

and school board trustees. If any-

one has any questions regarding

the elections, they can call 311. If

they need more detailed informa-

tion, they can call (519)-255-6285.

Residents can also find out their

perspective voting station loca-

tions by going onto the City of

Windsor website.

Photo by Sean Frame

THE CONVERGED TEAMManaging Editors

Shelbey Hernandez

Bobby-Jo Keats

Associate

Managing EditorsSean Frame

Dan Gray

Production

Manager

Production

Team Justin Thompson Tecumseh MacGuigan

Angelica Haggert

Sean Frame

Senior

Sports EditorsChelsea Lefler

Ryan Turczyniak

Copy EditorJohnathan Martin

Katherine Sokolowski

Taylor Busch

Angelica Haggert

Digital

EditorBobby-Jo Keats

Photo Editor

Tecumseh MacGuigan

Ryan Bro

Shelbey Hernandez

WWW.THEMEDIAPLEX.COMEMAIL: MEDIA.CONVERGED@THEMEDIAPLEX.COM

PHONE: (519) 972-2727 EXT. 4963FOLLOW US AT HTTP://TWITTER.COM/THE_MEDIAPLEX

Entertainment

Editor

-

Shelbey Hernandez

Associate Managing Editor

Applications for the Miss

Universe Canada Western

Ontario Preliminary competi-

tion are now being accepted.

The applications have been

available since Sept. 1 and

will continue to be accepted

until February or March of

2015. Pageant co-ordinator

Sonny Borrelli, said the dead-

line is flexible and depends on

how many girls apply. Girls

must be between the ages of

18 and 27 in order to apply.

Borrelli said it is best to

apply online by going to the

Miss Universe Canada web-

site. Women from all across

Canada apply through this

website and once the applica-

tions are seen by head office,

they are emailed to each cor-

responding region’s pageant

co-ordinator. For Western

Ontario, that co-ordinator is

Borrelli.

Borrelli will then set up the

casting calls, where women

will be tested on their inter-

viewing skills and their poise.

A select few are chosen from

the casting calls and begin

training with Chelsea

Durocher, a previous Miss

Universe Canada contestant.

By April, the women who will

move on to the national round

will be chosen and will com-

pete against girls from all

across Canada for the title of

Miss Universe Canada. The

woman who does will also

represent Canada at the Miss

Universe pageant in the sum-

mer of 2015. The location is

yet to be determined.

The Western Ontario prelim-

inary competition co-ordina-

tor said although experience

helps, it is not necessary to

compete.

According to Renaud, the

charity gives 40 children the

opportunity to go camping out

in the wilderness with no cost

to their families. The partici-

pants are chosen through the

Grade 6 Values, Influences

and Peers program, which

addresses topics from shoplift-

ing to drugs. Renaud said the

children are selected based on

who might not have the

resources to go to camp other-

wise. The charity’s website

states that it costs $20,000 per

year to run the program, or

$400 per child.

“I don’t have a problem with

that (donating to Camp

Brombal) at all,” said Windsor

Area Street Rods President

Joe McFadden. “Most of the

car shows we go to throughout

summer, they all donate to one

charity or another. It’s just

another venue for them to get

money for their charities so

it’s all good.”

Windsor Street Rods, which

was founded in 1974, has

about 50 members according

to McFadden. He said most

clubs go to shows throughout

the region with their cars,

from A&W Cruise Nights in

Windsor every Wednesday to

events in Michigan.

McFadden said the club also

has its own car show every

May to help support ALS

Canada.

“We just like to show off our

cars and we like to come out

and mingle with other friends

and all the other old car own-

ers here,” said Hugh Pillon, a

member of the Corvette Club

of Windsor. According

to Scheuerman, it was very

important “to select a cause

that was demonstrating con-

siderable involvement in the

community.” She also said this

year’s event was held in co-

ordination with Vintage in the

Village, an event held by the

Pillette Village Business

Improvement Association, for

the first time. She said she

hopes both the Olde Riverside

Town Centre Business

Improvement Association and

the Pillette Village BIA can

work together in the near

future to make a better show.

“We will be continuing to

hold this event annually, mak-

ing the event more visitor-

friendly and attracting more

cars and motorcycles,” said

Scheuerman. “We will look at

the success of the various

events within the show and

make plans for a better show

next September.”

According to Scheuerman,

the final total for the donations

will not be made public until

October, when the organiza-

tion will be handing a personal

cheque to the charity. The

event raised $3,500 in 2013.

FROM PAGE 1

Miss Universe Canada

now accepting applications

for Western Ontario

Windsorites walk for ALSTaylor Busch

Copy Editor

Nearly 500 residents took

part in Sunday’s ALS walk

along the Ganatchio Trail in

Windsor.

ALS – three letters that

change people’s lives forever.

Amyotrophic Lateral

Sclerosis is a rapidly progres-

sive, neuromuscular disease

that attacks every part of the

body except the mind.

According to ALS Canada,

every day nearly three thou-

sand Canadians are treated for

it and 0.1 per cent die from it.

Unlike cancer or other neu-

rodegenerative disorders,

ALS has no known cure and

many treatments to slow its

progression fail. Until recent-

ly, many Canadians only

heard about the disease when

someone close to them was

diagnosed with it or died from

it and awareness was very lim-

ited.

Then, the ALS Ice Bucket

Challenge went viral. Pete

Frates, a former college base-

ball player living with the dis-

ease, is credited for being the

first person to tie ALS to the

challenge. After Frates nomi-

nated his friends to take the

challenge for him or make a

donation towards ALS

research, awareness for the

disease began to skyrocket.

Suddenly, Americans and

Canadians who had never

heard of Lou Gehrig’s disease

were willing to empty their

pockets for it. Many

Windsorites who walked for

ALS on Sunday later admitted

they would probably still not

know about the disease if not

for the challenge.

Sharon Colman, long-time

president for the ALS Society

of Windsor-Essex and

Chatham-Kent, said Sunday

was the best turnout they’ve

had in ten years. The walk,

which was started by the

Beattie family of Windsor, is

very different from other char-

ity walks because most of the

participants and volunteers

have not lived with the dis-

ease. Of the 500 people in

attendance on Sunday, only

two of them are current ALS

patients.

SEE PAGE 4

3CONVERGED CITIZENNEWS SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

“This event has always

focused on celebrating the

lives we’ve lost, but maybe

that’s starting to change,” said

Colman. “We’re very, very

fortunate and grateful to get

this size of a turnout and we

certainly hope everyone will

come back next year.”

Since neither of the men

with ALS can speak, their

wives spoke for them. Peggy

Barrette became emotional as

she described the support she

and her husband George have

received from the ALS

Society since 2004. Jill

Maden, whose husband Bill

also suffers from ALS, said

she is grateful for the aids and

assistance the ALS Society

gives them which allow him

to continue living at home.

Both women also talked in

great detail of their over-

whelming gratitude for

Colman who has given them

everything they needed and

more since day one.

“The ALS Society has been

absolutely fantastic up to this

point and I don’t know what

we’d do without them,” said

Maden. “We try to remain

positive but this disease is so

unpredictable we can only

hope for the best and prepare

for the worst.”

Linda Scaife, a volunteer for

the walk, said her family con-

tinues to have a very positive

experience with Colman and

the ALS Society years after

the death of her father Frank.

Like many of the other volun-

teers present, Scaife said she

participated in the walk with

her father several times while

he was sick, but began volun-

teering her time in his memory

after he died. She and her fam-

ily members said they have

never felt an obligation to

repay the charity, but choose

to show appreciation for the

support they continue to

receive from meetings held

each month at the Hospice of

Windsor.

“I continue to volunteer for

this organization now because

I know how much it helps

families and patients who are

diagnosed,” said Scaife. “All

the money that’s raised stays

right here to help these people.

You can’t ask for more than

that.”

Though Colman said the ALS

Society reached their goal for

funds and awareness at this walk,

they will certainly need more

throughout the year. Without the

services and supplies they give to

local families, experts estimate it

could cost between $150 and $200

thousand per year to care for just

one sick relative at home. To find

out more about ALS or make a

donation visit www.alswindsor.ca.

FROM PAGE 3

Photo By Taylor BuschBill Maden, who is currently living with ALS in Windsor, was escorted down the Ganatchio Trailby friends and family during the 10th annual ALS walk Sunday, Sept. 14.

Photo By Taylor BuschMany members of the Windsor Lancer football team came out to support ALS research by walkingand completing the Ice Bucket Challenge earlier this summer.

4CONVERGED CITIZENNEWS SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

Photos By Ryan Brough

Photo Editor

Photo above: State Of Us is seenperforming at Milk Coffee BarThursday Sept. 18. The bandworked in Toronto throughout thesummer and their recent perform-ance was their first local showsince their return to Windsor.

Photo to left: Sebastian Abt per-forms live at Milk Coffee BarAbt’s band State Of Us playedtheir first show in Windsor sincemoving recently from Toronto.

State Of Us comes home MediaPlex Town Hall

Ward 3

Oct. 66:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Meet the candidates

Doors open 5:30 p.m.Doors open 5:30 p.m.

275 Victoria Ave519-972-2727 ext 4292

www.themediaplex.com

Tweet us your questions

@the_mediaplex

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St. Clair College MediaPlex

Open InvitationOpen InvitationHave questions? Come get answers

Mayoral

Oct. 20

6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Sean Frame

Managing Editor

Korda Artistic Productions

and Director Dean Valentino

had their opening night on

Sept. 13 for Shakespeare’s

tragedy Othello. I was given

the opportunity to see this play

and would recommend it to an

audience who doesn’t frequent

live theatre.

Tim Clark portrays Othello,

a general in the Venetian army

who is well loved by his peers.

The tale of Othello is a one of

racism, jealousy and war.

Othello falls in love and

elopes with a Venetian girl of

great beauty, Desdemona. She

is the daughter of the Venetian

Senator Brabantio who dis-

owns her after learning about

the affair. The story of jeal-

ousy and deceit is set in

motion by “honest” Iago,

Othello’s junior officer who

despises the general for “steal-

ing” his rank.

Kristen Lamoure-Dias plays

the loyal Desdemona with

great delicacy, adding to the

belief that Othello would do

drastic things for her. When

the actress sings the “Willow

Song”, a song her mother fre-

quently sang to Desdmona as

a child before passing, there is

a sense of sadness in her stun-

ning tone. Eric Smith plays

various small roles throughout

the play and does an excellent

job of distinguishing between

the roles. Amongst the cast

was Joey Wright (Roderigo)

stood out, catching my atten-

tion in most of the scenes and

outshining most of the cast

with his performance.

Director Dean Valentino

plays Iago well enough but I

felt he was lacking emotion

and didn’t seem menacing

enough for his role. He only

shows his characters true

colours when the other charac-

ters backs are turned, snicker-

ing and sneering at the audi-

ence. Valentino goes back and

forth between “honest” Iago,

well respected by all, then

back to the mastermind behind

his own villainous plot to

make “The Moor” Othello fall

into a jealous rage.

The costuming was all black

modern-day clothing that

leaves a lot to the imagination

Photo by Sean FrameOthello (Tim Clark) smothers Desdemona (Kristen Lamoure-Dias) in Shakespeare’s tragedyOthello directed by Dean Valentino at the Kordazone Theatre on Saturday Sept. 13.

Korda Artistic Productions Othello review

yet does not add to the

imagery of the play. The props

were lacking and most of the

swords looked as if they were

purchased from a dollar store.

The cast of Othello does a

good job using what space

they have, using a balcony to

set the scene on the small

stage. In one scene Tim Clark

(Othello) is on the balcony

spying on Iago, adding tension

to the scene. The area around

the audience is also used

adding to the magic of their

play, drawing the audience in

and erasing barriers.

After a brief intermission the

cast and crew began Act Two

of the play. The second act had

a darker atmosphere than the

first and this was very evident

in the story. I felt the lighting

structure didn’t really add to

the atmosphere. Only in the

final scene, with a single light

on centre stage, did I feel it

was used well.

As Iago’s plan is set in

motion, using Desdemona’s

handkerchief to pit Othello

against his second in com-

mand instilling jealousy into

Othello’s mind. This act of

mischief leads him to expect

his Venetian wife has been

cheating on him with Cassio.

In the final scene in the

play Tim Clark displays

rage and a certain sadness

with utter ease making one

feel for his situation, yet

the rest of his acting lacked

very basic emotions.

Despite the props and set

they drew the audience in

and used their acting skills

to create the story’s atmos-

phere.

The show continues from

September 18th to the 20th

at 8 p.m., Tickets are $10

for seniors and students

and $15 for regular admis-

sion at Kordazone Theatre

on 2520 Seminole St.

A personal perspective on 9/11

Mark Brown

Columnist

The anniversary of the

September 11, 2001 terrorist

attacks has a profound effect

on me, as an American who

has lived in Canada for over

five years. This day also has

meaning for me as a person

who was working for a media

outlet on that horrible morn-

ing.

On the 13th anniversary of

the attacks on New York,

Washington and rural

Pennsylvania, I’m ready to tell

the story of what I experi-

enced that day. I want my

classmates at St. Clair College

to get a perspective on how

that day was like from a media

standpoint – how we were

able to work through the

shock, anger and sadness to

cover the story.

September 11, 2001 started

out as a typical Tuesday morn-

ing for the staff at radio station

WSPD in Toledo, Ohio. It was

a beautiful late summer day.

Just like in New York, there

was a primary election going

on, so the news staff was plan-

ning its coverage. I was just a

kid in my 20s who hadn’t been

with the station that long. My

job at the time was to run the

network board for the midday

shows the station carried, Dr.

Laura and Rush Limbaugh.

I stopped on my way to work

to put gas in my car. I got back

in the car and flipped on the

radio, and the morning host

was saying that two planes

had just crashed into the

World Trade Center. I thought

it was a joke at first. So I

flipped through the other sta-

tions, and of course, no one

was laughing. I thought at first

that small, twin-engine planes

had a terrible accident. Then it

was determined that these were

jetliners, flown into the towers

on purpose. It was a terrorist

attack.

I needed to get to my station

as soon as I could. En route, I

was flipping between stations

and all of them were covering

the story. By the time I arrived

at the station, chaos reigned.

People were running around,

shouting, asking questions,

watching the TV in disbelief.

I entered the studio and saw

the pictures for the first time.

Black smoke was belching

from both towers of the World

Trade Center and you could

hear the chorus of sirens still

rushing to lower Manhattan. I

definitely wasn’t prepared for

what happened next. As Peter

Jennings on ABC said “Good

Lord,” the first tower came

down.

I turned away from the TV

and tried not to get violently

ill. My country was being

attacked on live television and

there was nothing I could do

about it. I could only muster

three words…

“God help us.”

Once that sick, helpless feel-

ing passed, we went into crisis

mode and stayed on top of

that story. I alternated

between the network and live

programming on that board

the rest of my shift without

even a bathroom break. The

station suspended regular pro-

gramming through that com-

ing weekend. In place of net-

work programming, we were

live and local, taking calls

from listeners, and being out

on the streets helping to col-

lect relief money for the vic-

tims. We had people on the

street and at City Hall. We

heard the stories of people

who were at the affected

places. It didn’t stop…not for

a while.

I still get the chills when I

think about it. But through it

all, we were proud of our-

selves for the job we did. It

didn’t matter if you were the

news reporter out getting the

latest information or the pro-

grammer making sure the

information got on the air. We

were a team. We covered the

story.

We accomplished the goal of

reporting the facts and keeping the

listeners informed. Isn’t that the

hallmark of the industry? So for

my fellow journalists – when a

story breaks, don’t lose track of

what’s important and don’t let

your emotions get in the way of

what you’re reporting. We all

want the same thing, to learn as

much about our profession as we

can.

Still mourning the almost 3,000

people that lost their lives that

awful day…

2.5/5 Rating

5CONVERGED CITIZENLIFESTYLE SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

OPINION

REVIEW