Page 11 - Nov. 9, 2017

Thursday, November 9, 2017 The Independent Page 11
Facing mental health issues at the rink
Attention Business Owners/Managers
Businesses with over 20 employees have until December to create an accessibility plan.
Having a hard time recruiting employees, you may be missing a huge pool of talent.
The Independent of Petrolia and Central Lambton and Lambton County Developmental Services are hosting an information evening
Wednesday, Nov. 15 from 5:30 to 7 pm
@ LCDS 339 Centre Street, Petrolia, ON
Finger foods & refreshments available
Speakers include:
Rob Hughes, former Para Olympian who tells about his struggles and triumphs to nd a full time job and ...
Louie diPalma of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce who help you nd a whole new employee talent pool and will tell you how to follow the Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
Heather Wright
The Independent
Nick Salaris has been coaching minor hockey for almost 10 years. He’s never had to worry about the mental health of one of his players.
But that all changed last week after the death of 16 year-old Connor Newport. Although he wasn’t part of the Petrolia Minor Hockey Association, Newport was a close friend to many of the young men on his team including Salaris’ son. And it hit them hard.
or wrong as long as you’re supportive of the kids who are suffering.
it.
The teams will be given
Salaris admits as a coach and a parent he felt “kind
of helpless” in the face
of death by suicide and
the mental health issues surrounding it. “I struggled with what is right and what is wrong way to react,” he told The Independent. But he’s learned there is no right
an awareness campaign for coaches and parents involved in minor hockey.
Salaris thinks coaches are in a unique place to help. “The head coach, the bench staff, they get to know that kid...they are people who are together a lot and we may be able to pick up on thing others might miss.”
Alvinston and Inwood re departments are now known as Brooke Fire Rescue.
Councillor Wayne Deans, an Inwood re ghter, says everyone seems to be in agreement about the name.
How to support them may become a little clearer. PMHA is one of seven hockey associations to partner with St. Clair Child and Youth in Faceoff for Mental Health. It is
green tape for their sticks as a sign of support for those with mental health issues.
On Nov. 18, 19 and 20, St. Clair Child and Youth will be at the Petrolia arena talking to kids about what help is available if they need
And Salaris hopes by raising awareness about mental health issues, it might help avoid tragedy in the future.
Alvinston, Inwood now Brooke Fire Rescue
That after Brooke-Alvinston Council approved the move at a recent meeting.
McArthur asked council to make the nal decision so he could begin using it in reports to the Ontario Fire Marshal.
One of Chief Jeff McArthur’s rst jobs was to bring both the Alvinston and Inwood volunteers together. On the top of the list was a new identity. McArthur says Brooke Fire Service was okayed by just about everyone.
The name will begin to appear on uniforms and re trucks over a period of a number of years. McArthur and Administrator Janet Denkers hope to have a plan for council to look at in a couple of weeks.
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“It’s short and sweet and easy to say,” he recently told council.
Bringing a Canadian icon to life
Talia Milke of Sarnia is Anne in the iconic Canadian story Anne of Green
Gables. Bonnie Stevenson Photo
Bonnie Stevenson
The Independent
Talia Milke sounds a bit like the Canadian icon she is about to bring to life.
Milke has the title role in Petrolia Community Theatre’s Anne of Green Gables which opens next week. “It’s like being able to enter a whole new world for a couple of hours.”
The sweet, purely Canadian musical, Anne of Green Gables, at the Victoria Playhouse Petrolia will feature the bright, triple-threat young actress in the title role.
Milke, 16, won the role through the audition process and says she has been doing local theatre since she was very young. “When I was six years old,
I had a few lines in The Music Man (Sarnia) and before that, I had some ensemble parts.”
different ways to use this (performance training),” she said. “I can always teach dance, singing or acting.”
She’s been studying dance since she was six, beginning with ballet. “I did competitive dancing, and now I take ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and hip hop, and I’ve been on point since I was eleven,” she said. And although she hasn’t formally studied voice, she says she loves to sing.
Milke says her parents have been supportive of her performance aspirations. “They tell me they have tickets for the opening and closing shows, and they may be getting some for the other performances.”
A Grade 11 student at St. Patrick’s Secondary School in Sarnia, Talia is setting her sights on a career in show business. “I know it’s a risky business to go into but there are a lot of
With a love of the theatre driving her desire to make it her life’s work, Talia says her reward is the joy she receives on stage. “Live theatre is really fun,” she said. “There is an actor/audience connection that is so cool.”
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