Jill Wilkinson and her daughter Ruby, tucked cosily into a ski-mounted sled, set off on the Dryden Ski Club’s Nordic trail system to enjoy the outdoors in temperatures that ranged above the freezing mark, Feb. 4. The Dryden Ski Club will turn on their lights on the downhill runs for the first time this week, offering night skiing every Wednesday evening. Photo by Chris Marchand

An evening scene from the Wabigoon Lake Ice Road looking north towards the Dryden Yacht Club,  Jan. 23.          Photo by Chris Marchand

Relay medal bearers Rob Shaffer and Cindy Coles examine the Rick Hansen medal — the only one of its kind, the Royal Canadian Mint crafted medallion will be passed over 12,000 kilometres.

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Photos by Ally Dunham and Chris Marchand

By Dryden Observer Staff

Twenty-five years after Rick Hansen’s Man In Motion World Tour, his message was renewed over two days last week in the Dryden area and local ‘difference makers’ took awareness for spinal cord injuries and handicapped accessibility to the streets.

In Wabigoon medal bearers Ross Bolton, Jennifer Hancharuk and Loretta Parenteau each carried the Rick Hansen Medal for a leg.

In Dryden, the honour belonged to Tim Zabloski, Debra Farrer, Lucinda Hoffstrom, Rob Shaffer, Cindy Coles, Ronda Hart, Carla Markowski, Kirk Markowski, Shauntelle Pihulak and Mark Wherrett.

The following day, the Rick Hansen Medal made a tour of local schools on its way west carried by Wilma Oombash, Jennifer Armit, Randall Jacobs, Celena Brosseau, Jessica Darling, Sonya Denzler, Lorna Tremonti, Kris Cameron, Carol Duckworth, Marie Major, Cassandra Jolicoeur and Aaron Brown.

Arriving in Vermilion Bay, medal carriers Laurie Hannah, Shannon Elliott, Casey Lougheed, Shelly Wilson, Keith McEwen, Joan Mallyon and Scott McEwan each took a turn relaying the medal through the community.

Eagles wrestlers competing at the school’s third annual tournament which attracted approximately 180 junior and senior level competitors from as far as Winnipeg and Thunder Bay, Jan. 13. Photos by Chris Marchand

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By Chris Marchand

Luck, or bad luck had little to do with the outcomes on the mat for 180 wrestlers from Dryden and beyond this past Friday the 13th.

Dryden High School Eagles Wrestling Team hosted its third annual regional tournament, a gathering that is growing in popularity as a place for Winnipeg and Thunder Bay teams to ‘meet in the middle’.

“Every year we’ve hosted this tournament it’s just gotten bigger,” says DHS Wrestling Coach Mike Hill. “We’ve had a lot more attention from the other teams. They’re really enjoying coming and participating in Dryden — we’re kind of the hub around here. In the past Thunder Bay teams have always travelled to Winnipeg and vice-versa, now we’re right smack dab in the middle.”

Hill says the state of the sport of wrestling is fairly strong in Dryden at the moment with a 15-member high school squad, co-coached with Richard Walsh, that seems to be coming into its own in its 13th season. Harry Curtis coaches another 20-member squad of local elementary aged competitors, who Hill says is an important development system that will help DHS form competitive teams in the future.

“We have a number of kids who are wrestling at a high level,” said Hill. “In the past we’ve been fortunate enough to take as many as 10 wrestlers to OFSAA (championships). It’s shaping up to be like that this season as well with a number of returning seniors who are in contention to return to OFSAA this year.”

Along with some OFSAA hopefuls from the junior ranks (Grade 9-10), Hill adds that three DHS Wrestlers will attend Ontario Winter Games in March.

Hill adds that a regional rivalry is developing as Kenora’s Beaver Brae Secondary has recently started a team, appearing at last week’s event.

The Dryden Observer would like to welcome Dryden’s 2012 New Year’s Baby. Eight pound, three ounce Cameron Charles Dustin was born at Dryden Regional Health Centre at 8:39 a.m. on Jan. 3 to proud parents Joanne Petit and  Jeff Dustin of Dryden. Cameron’s sisters Cassandra Kenny (white shirt) and Chantelle Petit join them in the photo. Baby Cameron’s excellent sense of timing has earned the family a large assortment of gifts donated by 24 local businesses.

With the Dryden Regional Health Centre not yet announcing a New Year’s Baby for 2012, this week’s leading feature photo goes to young lady Katie O’Flanagan who could be found out on Wabigoon Lake skating up a storm over the holiday season.

Photo by Chris Marchand

The musical Cortens family performing on stage at Come Together 8, Dec. 27. Pictured from left are: Laura, Michael, Andrew, Tommy and friend of the family Dustin Heritz on drums. Photos by Chris Marchand

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By Chris Marchand

The spirit of togetherness was again rekindled on the stage of The Centre over the holidays as the eighth annual Come Together concert took to the stage, Dec. 27.

Featuring over 30 local musicians in a dozen acts throughout the evening, producer Carl Bleich says staging the lineup for the annual fundraiser for the Dryden High School (DHS) Music Association is a difficult to achieve balance of newcomers, old standbys and interesting collaborations.

Bleich says the show’s ethic of family, togetherness and collaboration plays a big role in the tough decisions around choosing a lineup from a long list of capable performers.

“The Carters, the Cortens and the Kellars — the families up there. To me that’s the heart of Come Together,” says Bleich.

While the stage show may serve as the pinnacle of the experience, he says the performers themselves find a much deeper experience in the preparation for the show.

“It gets people together to practice,” he said. “I know that Kelsey (Fenwick), Michelle (Carter) and Jessie (Penner) got together once a week for about five weeks. I could see them gelling not only as musicians, but as friends. That’s what it’s about.”

Notable highlights included a collaboration between Paul Hampton and vocalist Shannyn Peters. His last stage appearance before making a move back to Winnipeg, Hampton pulled off a memorable version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Mother’ with some help from Peters before a standing ovation led to a performance of Elton John’s ‘Candle In The Wind’ — a local fan favourite.

Hampton returned to the stage later with local songwriter and funnyman Byron O’Donnell.

The very musical Cortens family — consisting of father Michael; sons Andrew, Tommy and daughter Laura; were joined by Dustin Heritz for a 60’s inspired set.

To cap off the second set, the evening’s emcees, The Kellar Family, took to the stage themselves.

The crowd immediately noticed some pizzazz on the Come Together stage. A giant guitar lit with LED lights served as a spectacular and festive backdrop to the event. The prop, built by members of the local hospital maintenance staff, could be recognized from the Dryden Regional Health Centre’s recent float for the Santa Claus Parade. With some help from Kevin Lapointe, Bleich says the unit was transferred via tow-truck to the venue for the show.

After the event, Bleich says the giant guitar has since become a permanent fixture in the DHS music room and will be used for future events at the school.

“The big guitar kind of represents the growth of the concert,” said Bleich. “It somehow made it a little more spectacular. Our numbers were up a little bit from last year.”

Bleich says between ticket buyers, musicians and some 15 volunteers, total attendance was 377.

For more images from the event check out www.tdob.ca, or the event’s own site at www.cometogetherdryden.com.

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12►

A collection of some of the best images of the year from the pages of the Dryden Observer, taken at event in and around the community.

Rockhouse owner and manager Michelle Levesque and chef Roary McIlhargey invite you to experience what the Rockhouse has to offer, starting Dec. 21. Photo by Chris Marchand

By Chris Marchand

Amidst the high spirits of the holidays, downtown Dryden is celebrating a new beginning this week.

After months of renovation and preparation, The Rockhouse Tap and Grill opens its doors, Thursday, Dec. 22 at 11 a.m., eager to launch a new dining and lounge experience in Dryden.

After a lifetime working in the restaurant business Owner/manager Michelle Levesque says the restaurant is a lifelong ambition of hers. Open until two a.m., Levesque says The Rockhouse will be the place to be for UFC fans looking to catch the latest fight. Levesque also hopes to stage small musical acts on a regular basis while offering a menu loaded with classic steakhouse fare and a few signature dishes.

“I want to give something to Dryden that nobody else has,” says Levesque. “A combination of family fun, live music, sports bar, and late nights.”

In the spring and summer, Levesque says the patio will greatly enhance the operation, seating an extra 15 guests and featuring a separate bar area.

To head up the kitchen, Levesque has recruited Red Seal Chef Roary McIlhargey of Calgary.

“I’m hoping that we can bring some good wholesome food to Dryden,” says McIlhargey. “We’re making our sauces from scratch. We have some great steaks on the menu. Lunch is a big focus — we want to get you in and out of here in an hour. The menu is designed to come out quickly, so don’t be afraid to come out for lunch, we’ll get you back to work in time.”

While still in the midst of training staff, McIlhargey expects the operation will eventually employ as many as 20 staff.

Sitting vacant for over two years, Levesque says the 30 Queen St. location required significant renovations and repairs. A new furnace and ductwork throughout takes care of any heating concerns that may have previously existed. The kitchen has been replaced, literally from the ground up — beginning with the replacement of a large section of the kitchen floor. Paint and trim along with new tables and chairs updates the look and the exterior was spruced up with a wash and fresh coat of paint.

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The staff of the Dryden Observer would like to thank the elementary students of Dryden and area who submitted hundreds of fantastic entries in the newspaper’s 2011 Holiday Poster and Essay Contest.

This year we asked young artists in Kindergarten to Grade 4 to draw us colourful scenes of their favourite Christmas activities. Their response reflected the magic of wintertime in Northwestern Ontario and the many things to do outdoors — from ice fishing to sledding, snowboarding and snowmachining. But the posters also reflected a focus on sharing good times with friends and family.

The value of togetherness was expressed in all of our first place poster winners, including New Prospect’s Charlie Sherwood (Grade 3/4), Open Roads’ Mae Ross (Gr. 1/2) and kindergartner Promise Belanger of New Prospect.

In the essay division, winning young writers were the ones who took the most risks in revealing personal stories from Christmases past — who offered a little bit more than the rest in our essay theme: Best or Worst Christmas ever.

The winning essays were a mixture of moving, funny, gut-wrenching (literally) and sentimental that always revealed something deeper about the spirit of the season.

Congratulations to all on a job well done.

Winners will receive fantastic prizes donated by a wide variety of local business.

We urge the grown-ups out there to delve into these essays and posters. They hold within them a magical spark of inspiration that we all sometimes need to get into the spirit of the season.

Winning Essays

1st Place

The smell of leather

By Alex Jolicoeur, Grade 7, Open Roads School

As I slowly skipped through the pages of my Young Rider magazine, my eyes gazed at all the wonderful saddles; English, show jumping, cross country, dressage…but no western. I could see my mom looking over at me, as she said, “What are you looking at Alex?”

“Oh, just saddles,” I responded with a sigh.

She came over to me and looked at them with me, and pointed out one. It was light chestnut with silver designs.

Trying not to respond too harshly, I said, “Mom, that is a Barrel Racing saddle, I need an ‘All Round’ saddle, but thanks.”

Her eyebrows rose as if I just said the most confusing thing in the world. I knew she had no idea what that was.

She said to me in a stern voice, “Well good luck finding a saddle.”

“Thanks,” I replied with a smirk.

It had already been an hour of trying to search for the perfect saddle. I looked in the Canadian Horse magazine, Young Rider magazine, and even on the net. No luck. I was ready to give up.

I sat on the floor with my cat and put the Young Rider magazine down. My cat got up and walked over the paper, and stood on the magazine. I lifted her off, and there it was!

The most spectacular, jaw dropping saddle. It was dark brown, with silver plates all over. It was the perfect saddle, and most of all, on sale! I had to have it! With it I would be able to go in shows, go on trail rides, and it was also “coach approved”!

I ran over to my mom and shoved the picture in her face, pointed, and talked super fast. My mom stepped back frantically, grabbing the counter for stability. She took the magazine. I could see her eyes widen.

“She looked up at me and yelled, “$900!”

“But it is on sale,” I replied in a cheerful voice.

“No way am I buying you a $900 saddle!” she said.

“But Mom, I-“

“No ifs, ands, or buts!” she said, cutting me off as she walked away.

Next thing I knew, I was frantically cutting, gluing and flipping through pages, making the most supreme Santa letter ever. In the centre of the paper was the saddle, with bright letters, saying, “Dear Santa.”

I finished it and raced to my grandma’s. I rushed in the door, nearly tripping over the carpet. She spun around and saw the letter, and automatically knew what it was. She started to put on her coat and boots, as I raced out the door to the car.

We pulled up to the post, and before my grandma could even park, I was already in the post office, throwing the letter at the counter lady.

In no time it was Christmas day. I lunged from my bed and raced down the stairs to my tree. I ripped open every present. Still no saddle. I heard the door open and close; I just thought it was my mom letting my dog out, but no!

I smelled something. Not wet dog, not snow, but yes, leather! I raced up the stairs to see all of my family, smiling and taking pictures. I ran over to my mom and have her a great big hug.

I wiped the start of some tears from my eyes and ran over to it. The cat was already perched on top sniffing it out.

I turned to my mom and she said, “Want to test it out today?”

I screamed, “yes!”

The ride was perfect, I rode better than ever! And the horse approved. Even now when I walk in my shed, I can still smell the same smell of leather.

Love you more than all the stars in the sky

By Stephanie Beaudoin, Grade 7, Open Roads School

Princesses, talking animals, pixie dust. Wow! The idea of magic bounced in my head for as long as I could remember. One day me and my Papa Beaudoin were going to make it there. The place beyond imagination, the place of dreams — DisneyWorld, Orlando, Florida.

We started saving our spare change in a jar, everybody in the family contributed. It wasn’t much but it was a start. We did anything possible to save money. Time zipped by and we still didn’t have enough money saved. Life was passing by and before we knew it years went by.

Not too long later, my Papa was diagnosed with brain cancer. I was four at the time and I didn’t understand very well. I thought he would be better soon. A few days later I lost my best friend.

Years went by and I still never gave up, I knew he wouldn’t want me to. Christmas was approaching as always. The feast was eaten, the presents were almost all opened.

“Steph, there’s one more present,” my Mom said. I was expecting a huge colourful box with shining and sparkling paper, but all I saw was a plain green box. I opened it thinking a monkey would pop out and shove a pie in my face, but all I saw was a letter.

I read the letter and started to tear up. Was it too good to be true?

The letter explained how my Papa gave my Dad instructions to sell his most prized possession, his amazing convertible. He gave me half the money and my younger cousin the rest. With the convertible money we had enough to go!

It was my best Christmas ever, everything I imagined it would be. It was the best rip ever, Papa. I love you more than all the stars in the sky.

Second place essays

Once upon a Christmas tree

By Jacey Wright, Grade 6FA Open Roads School

Twas the chilly day before Christmas when my Auntie, Mom, two cousins Anesa and Kylee and I went looking for a Christmas tree down an old road.

We were looking for approximately an hour, so we decided to have a picnic in the snow! After our picnic, we started looking around again.

All of a sudden, my cousin shouted, “There it is! That’s the one!”

We all got out of the truck to go check it out of course, when there it was. She had found the “perfect” tree!

“I’ll go get the ax,” my auntie said.

“Jacey, go play with Anessa and Kylee in the snow,” Mom told me.

After they chopped down the tree, they put it in the back of the truck, but never strapped it down, and we headed back into town.

“Haha, I am going to laugh when it falls out,” I said.

“Don’t worry, it won’t fall out,” said my auntie.

We started to drive down the road, and my cousin Kylee fell asleep. Anesa and I were talking and playing a little game when all of a sudden, the tree fell out of the truck!

“I knew it, the tree fell out!” I told them.

“Are you serious? No it didn’t,” Mom said.

My auntie looked at my mom and said, “Kelly, I think it did fall out, we didn’t strap it in, remember?”

They both looked back, no tree in the truck.

“There are people behind us and the tree is on the road,” I said.

We pulled over and the people behind us stopped too, and helped us put the tree back in the truck.

That was the Christmas my family and I will never forget!

Le pire Noel de ma vie!

By Shannon O’Donohue, 8e anné - École Enfant-Jésus

Ce soir est le seul soir qui reste avant noël… FINALEMENT! Je suis tellement excitée! J’étais excitée tout le jour! Même pendant la nuit! J’étais si excitée que je n’étais pas capable de dormir. Toute la nuit j’ai restée débout pour voir le Père Noel! Puis quand le matin est venu, j’ai couru en bas des escaliers, je n’ai vue AUCUN cadeau en dessous de notre sapin de Noël!

J’ai couru autour de la maison, en espérant trouver les cadeaux dans une autre place. Comme dans la douche, dans la maison des chiens dehors, même dans le congélateur! Mais je n’ai toujours trouvé AUCUN cadeau de noël! J’étais dans les ténèbres! J’avais été gentille toute l’année mais je n’avais encore reçu aucun cadeau de noël! Donc j’ai décidé d’aller chercher ma mère, et de lui expliquer que le Père Noel ne nous avait pas donné des cadeaux, et qu’il ne nous aimait pas.

J’ai entré dans la chambre de ma mère puis j’ai sauté sur son lit, déjà avec des larmes dans mes yeux, mais avant que j’aille la chance d’expliquer la situation à ma mère, elle m’a dit, «Joyeuse veille de noël ma petite!”

English Translation

Tonight is the only remaining night before Christmas … FINALLY! I’m so excited! I was excited all day! Even at night! I was so excited that I was not able to sleep. All night I stayed up to see Santa! Then when morning came, I ran down the stairs, I have no gift below our Christmas tree!

I ran around the house, hoping to find the gifts in another place. As in the shower in the doghouse outside, even in the freezer! But I always found NO Christmas gift! I was in darkness! I had been nice all year but had not received any Christmas gift! So I decided to get my mother and explain that the Santa had not given gifts, and he did not love us.

I entered the room of my mother and I jumped on her bed already with tears in my eyes, but before I got the chance to explain the situation to my mother, she said, “Merry Christmas Eve my dear!”

Third Place Essays

Am I on Santa’s Christmas naughty list?

By Elisha Morrissette, Grade 7, Open Roads

Who doesn’t love Christmas?

All the presents, being with your family, making ginger bread houses and singing Christmas Carols. When I was about six years old I wanted to overpower my four year-old sister more than anything.

My little sister had wanted the new Baby Alive. It talked, it walked, it ate — it did just about anything a normal baby could do. I thought it was the most annoying thing in the world. Well, it came in a close second following my sister. I knew how much my little sister Emma had wanted this so called ‘magnificent’ toy. SO, I decided I wanted it too, just to make her mad.

The next night, right before bed time, me and Emma made our Christmas wish lists. The number one on mine was Baby Alive, even though I didn’t want it. I knew my sister would be furious with me.

As we gave mother our wish lists I sleepily stumbled up the stairs to my bedroom, flopping into bed. As I was falling asleep, guilt filled my system and I knew I would be on Santa’s Christmas naughty list.

I knew it was too late to take my Christmas wish list back. I felt terrible.

The two weeks before Christmas had gone by fast and before I knew it I was sleeping soundly in my lime green comforter on Christmas Eve. As I woke on Christmas morning, I dashed down to the multi-coloured tree, astonished by what I saw.

There were hills and hills of presents with my name on them. It was like running down the stairs on Christmas Day to find your favourite band in the whole world standing beside the Christmas tree.

As I ripped through the presents laughing and smiling, I found myself at the last gift. Guilt filled my heart and as I slowly opened the gift I could see the tip of Baby Alive hair. I looked over at my sister in sorrow. I rushed over to her and she had a blank, disappointed look on her face. As I looked into her eyes I relized what a bad sister I was for doing this.

I paused for a moment although it seemed like forever. I glanced back at my sister and thought I now knew what could make this better.

I lifted my hand and passed over Baby Alive saying, ‘For you, I didn’t want it anyway.’

From that moment on, I knew I wasn’t on Santa’s Christmas List.

Definitely the worst Christmas ever

By Keaton Saunders Grade 6 Lillian Berg School

I’m Keaton Saunders and I’m going to tell you about my worst Christmas ever so far.

My worst was when I was about seven years old. I woke up in my room lying on the floor covered in blankets. I went upstairs but by the time I got to the landing I didn’t feel good, but me being stubborn, I pushed that aside. I shouldn’t have because when I got to the top step I was going to puke!

So I ran as fast as my legs could go. Meanwhile my mom was asking, ‘what’s wrong!’. I skidded into the bathroom, puked into the sink, fell into the tub and puked all over myself!

So, I took off my pyjamas, threw them into the washer and had a shower.

When I got out I got dressed to have brunch, then open presents. At brunch we had a magnificent meal of eggs, ham, fruit, vegetables and punch. I ruined it halfway through it — it wasn’t even my fault. Just randomly, as if on cue, I threw up all over our good meal. It was terrible, so we took off the table cloth and threw everything out. I said I was sorry and everyone said it was okay so we opened our presents.

The first present I opened was my stocking. There was chocolate, jellybeans and the movie Happy Feet inside. After, I opened up my other presents like my crystal growing kit.

I started to feel a little uneasy, so I politely asked if I could have something to calm my stomach. Instead, it made me feel worse. I was extremely sick but I couldn’t get to a bathroom on time so I punched a hole in my brother’s present and threw up.