After 35 years in the music business, Murray Porter has everything he’s ever wanted.

The Six Nations born and bred blues musician took home a Juno Award for aboriginal album of the year in March for his album Songs Lived and Life Played.

“I don’t even know how to describe it,” Porter said. “All those years of hard work and riding in the back of cars and station wagons and pickup trucks across the country, all that work came to fruition at that moment. That was the biggest night of my career so far.”

Porter, who currently resides in north Vancouver, is returning to his hometown to celebrate his victory with his family, friends and local supporters for a one-night-only show at Brantford’s Club NV on Sunday, May 20 at 10 p.m.

Porter will take the stage with fellow Six Nations blues band The Healers, each performing their own solo set, followed by a group jam session.

“I haven’t played in the area for quite a few years and to come back and put on this big show at Club NV is going to be great,” Porter said. “It’s really going to be a lot of emotion, a lot of energy and a lot of fun.”

Porter’s love for the blues was born on Six Nations when the then 13-year-old would huddle under the covers with his AM radio listening to B.B. King.

“I was listening to a Chicago radio station late at night and I got to hear B.B. King sing the Thrill is Gone,” he said. “I listened to it and my mind was like ‘wow, what is this kind of music?’ I knew at that moment that’s what I wanted to do.”

Through sheer will, Porter said he taught himself how to play the piano. Since then, he’s released multiple albums and travelled the world performing. He sang as part of the Aboriginal Welcoming Song during the 2010 Olympic opening ceremonies, performed 22 times during the Games and wrote and performed the theme song to APTN’s Rez Bluez.

His career came full circle three years ago when he was invited to open for his idol, B.B. King, on his 82nd birthday at a concert that also featured Etta James. After the show, he was invited onto King’s bus to share a piece of birthday cake.

“To have the person who started you in the music business and your inspiration be such a warm, wonderful, loving person, it was my full-circle moment,” he said. “That night was a magical night.”

But even that doesn’t top winning a Juno, Porter said. And now that he’s got one, he wants more.

“I’m planning on doing it lots more times,” he said. “B.B. King is 85, I’m only 50. I’ve got 30 more years of career left.”
Tickets to see Murray Porter with The Healers cost $15 at the door. Visit www.clubnv.ca for more information.

The Brantford Police Service will undertake strict enforcement of traffic laws in the city during Canada Road Safety Week.

Police say residents can expect to see an increase in RIDE checkpoints, as well as speed, unsafe motor vehicle and aggressive driving enforcement, in Brantford from May 14 to May 21.

Since 2010, there have been five deaths and 12 serious injuries related to vehicle collisions in Brantford.

Police vehicles will be stationed at key locations to remind people that safe driving habits save lives and reduce injuries on roadways.

“Anyone can become a victim of unsafe driving, whether it is direct involvement or association through a loved one,” Brantford police Const. Nat Laing said. “Police agencies across the country are joining together on this project because they have seen the devastation and know that this initiative is essential to achieve safer streets and highways.”

The focus of Canada Road Safety Week is reducing risks for drivers, passengers and other road users. Police will concentrate on promoting sober and alert driving, seat belt use and refraining from aggressive driving.

Canada Road Safety Week is sponsored by Transport Canada, endorsed by police and is part of Road Safety Strategy 2015, which aims to make Canada’s roads the safest in the world.

Since childhood, Maurice Rutherford’s hobby has been collecting everything from buttons to Massey combines.

His County of Brant farm is filled with collectables, including more than 20 antique tractors, a 1947 Mercury truck, a 1958 Volkswagen Beetle, an old Massey combine and a 1965 Ford Galaxie 500.

Inside his garage are dozens of model tractors, Mickey Mouse collectibles, mugs, hats, an old-fashioned popcorn machine and hundreds of old toys.

Inside Rutherford’s house, there are even more model tractors lining every flat surface and a working 1941 Wurlitzer jukebox.

“I’m not a computer person, so this occupies my idle time,” Rutherford said. “I’ve always been interested in old stuff and, being in business, it was a way to get away from the general public and everyone else’s problems.”

Rutherford scours flea markets, auctions and hobby shows for the perfect find for him to take home and refurbish. Occasionally, he takes those finds back to shows to flaunt his collection.

Rutherford plans to bring his 1947 Massey Pony tractor to this year’s Paris Hobby Expo, running June 9 and June 10 at the Paris Fairgrounds.

Along with one of Ontario’s largest antique tractor displays, the expo will feature hobbies both traditional and otherwise, including the Great Canadian Pork Barbecue Championships, draft horse pulls, a classic car cruise, vintage snowmobiles, steam engines, a working sawmill, model train exhibits, crafts, a swap meet and more.

“Every once in a while it’s nice to get together and see what other people do for themselves and what makes them happy,” said Russell Press, general manager of the Paris Fairgrounds. “A lot of times, that’s a hobby.”

The event has been a staple in Paris for more than a quarter century, offering a way to celebrate the things people do for fun. The expo offers the opportunity to see, participate and experience all types of hobbies under one roof.

“Variety is the spice of life and the Paris Hobby Expo is the spice of hobbies,” Press said.

The weekend’s feature event is the Paris Super Power Pull, a modified truck and tractor pull – one of the biggest in Ontario.

“The whole event is unique because it’s got all different types of hobbies, but (the power pull) is the big draw,” Press said. “This is big dollars, big machines, really loud and lively and everyone loves them.”

Admission costs $7 for adults on Saturday between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and on Sunday, or $12 after 2 p.m. on Saturday. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Weekend camping is available for $25, plus admission.

Visit www.parisfairgrounds.com or call 519-442-2823 for more information or a full schedule of events.

Organizers of Brant United Way’s annual Giant Warehouse Sale are looking for a few good men…and women.

The 10th annual event requires about 250 volunteers to help ensure the sale goes smoothly. Volunteers will work as cashiers, help break down cardboard, push shopping carts, sell products and assist with parking.

“We have such an amazing group of volunteers and this event could not happen without them,” said event planner Jean Hawke. “They are a huge part of this event, which supports so many important programs and organizations in Brantford and Brant.”

Organizers are also looking for product donations and sponsorships.

Products donated by local companies are sold at discounted prices, with proceeds going to Brant United Way member agencies.

This year’s sale will be held on Saturday, June 2, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. at 80 Morton Ave. E.

Visit www.brantunitedway.org or call 519-752-7848 for more information.

Three youths are facing arson charges after an off-duty Brantford police officer observed them “on a path of destruction,” according to a media release from the Brantford Police Service.

Police say the officer arrested the trio after watching them leave a home under construction on Lambert Crescent on Saturday at about 8 p.m.

Investigators say the youths started three separate fires on the upper level of the house and tipped over a portable toilet.

Police say the home was filled with smoke and firefighters who attended the scene found a broom smouldering in the basement.

One youth in the group was found in possession of a lighter and a package of cigarettes.

Police say further investigation revealed a second home under construction in the area was damaged.

On Monday, police charged two 12-year-olds and a 13-year-old with arson, break and enter and mischief over $5,000 in relation to the incidents.

Police are urging parents to tell their children to never enter an abandoned or unfinished building.

Anyone with information about similar incidents is asked to contact Det. Jim Sawkins at 519-756-0113 ext. 2273.

The Brant County SPCA has no more room for cats.

The local SPCA hopes that by waiving adoption fees more people will rescue a cat from the shelter and make it a part of their family.

“Many of the cats that we have waiting for adoption at the moment have unique and wonderful personalities,” said SPCA fundraising co-ordinator Barbara Myltschenko. “With our meet your match program, by filling out a simple survey our staff is better able to find the right pet for your lifestyle.

“They are spayed, neutered, microchipped, vaccinated and ready to become a great pet for someone.”

Adoption fees on all cats currently in the adoption area will be waived. The public is asked to call the shelter before bringing in any stray cats.

Call 519-757-5510 for more information.

The importance of a disappearing insect responsible for pollinating up to 70 per cent of food crops was recognized by City of Brantford councillors on Monday.

Councillors proclaimed May 29 “The Day of the Honey Bee” in Brantford and are asking residents to recognize and honour the buzzing bug.

“Honey bees are disappearing at alarming and unsustainable rates all over the world, including Canada, for reasons neither fully explained by science nor understood by the common populace,” Coun. Marguerite Ceschi-Smith said before councillors passed the proclamation. “A third of all the food mankind consumes exists because of the work of the honey bee.

“Up to 70 per cent of our food crops are pollinated and partially, if not completely, dependent upon this keystone species.”

There is a vacant room twice the size of the Best Western ballroom in the upper level of the renovated Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre.

Coun. Jan Vanderstelt wants to see something happen there.

“You could do absolutely anything with this space,” Vanderstelt said during a recent committee of the whole meeting.

The 11,420-square-foot space offers “a wonderful opportunity” for any number of uses, Vanderstelt said.

He listed squash courts, tennis courts, skyboxes overlooking rinks, a ballroom, massage therapy, youth services and community meeting rooms as possible options.

Council has to get more creative and come up with innovative uses for available space, Vanderstelt said. He proposed a motion asking staff to look into the cost and potential uses of the space.

But Coun. Dan McCreary thinks that is a fool’s errand.

“I don’t know that there needs to be a report to come back to tell us what the obvious answer is,” McCreary said.

McCreary noted that consultants predicted it would cost at least $50 per square foot to outfit the empty space with a washroom, sink and kitchen, make accessibility renovations and connect the room to the rest of the centre via an elevator or bridge.

McCreary says the city doesn’t have between $500,000 and $750,000 to renovate what he called “waste space.”

“I quite frankly can’t see spending another nickel in there,” he said.

Even storing council files, as Coun. Vince Bucci suggested, would involve some upgrades to the space.

“I will say publicly that I’m embarrassed by the Gretzky centre,” said Coun. Richard Carpenter, who listed off a litany of complaints with the building, from uneven stairwells and accessibility problems to glass-encased media boxes and poorly ventilated change rooms.

“I think that some day we need to get some answers as to what went wrong here and how to fix what went wrong,” Carpenter said.

Despite the opposition, Vanderstelt sees the vacant space as an opportunity for a legacy project in the centre. His motion was carried and will be addressed at a future council meeting.

The story of David Hearn’s performance at his first Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass can be told through his results on the signature 17th hole.

The Brantford golfer scored a birdie on the famed island green in Round 1 on Thursday, hit an even par on Friday, bogeyed the hole on Saturday and finished with a double bogey on Sunday.

Hearn fired a seven-over 295 in the tournament, 20 strokes back of winner Matt Kuchar.

The Brantford golfer was in the hunt after the first round on Thursday, posting a three-under 69 to finish the day in the Top 20.

But rounds of 75, 77 and 74 had Hearn near the back of the field by the time the tournament finished.

Hearn took home $19,285 in winnings and moved up four spots to No. 95 on the PGA Tour’s money list.