Twelve-year-old Austin Straza has released the second book in his Jurassic Times series.

Jurassic Times, Book Two: The Lost Volcano of Elirak is the second in a seven-book series that follows the life of 15-year-old Alan Jaken, who one day wakes up to find himself transported back to the prehistoric age.

The book is a followup to Straza’s first novel, Jurassic Times: Book One. The young author is currently working on the third book in his series.

Copies of Jurassic Times, Book Two: The Lost Volcano of Elirak can be purchased by e-mailing nstraza@gmail.com.

St. Mark’s hosts Music at Noon

St. Mark’s Church is launching Music at Noon, a concert series running throughout Lent.

Every Thursday from March 1 to March 20, performers will take the stage at noon at the Memorial Drive church.

Performers include Greg Walshaw, Bill Schatz, Alison E. Clark, Roger Bayley and Daniel Eickmeier.

Each concert will be followed by a soup lunch. Donations will be accepted for lunch. All proceeds support the St. Mark’s music program.

Local author launches The Valley Time Forgot

Local artist and author Susan Dianne Ferrell will launch The Valley Time Forgot, her first book in The Whipple Wash Chronicles, on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Brantford Station Gallery.

The self-published book is the first full-feature novel for the author, who has been writing for 20 years. The book, targeted at youth aged 12 to 13, is an adventure about an unlikely hero who realizes that hard work can change the world.

The book launch will feature readings by Joan Minnery, Marc Laferriere, Jamie Stephens and Mary M. Cushnie-Mansour. Musical entertainment will be provided by Sugar Time, Linda McCann of Adventures In Music and Gabrielle Fraser.

The unheard stories of the War of 1812 were the focus of the 15th annual Heritage Day Workshop in St. George last Friday.

More than 200 people attended at the South Dumfries Community Centre to hear from presenters who are researching different aspects of the military conflict between the United States and British Empire that had a huge impact on what is now southern Ontario.

“The War of 1812 comes across as a cartoon conflict most times,” local historian Bill Darfler said. “But if you think about 7,300 refugees streaming across what is now southern Ontario, that is just one example of what you won’t find in the popular history of the war.”

Darfler said there are stories of refugees, turncoats and mass hangings that have not been chronicled. He is working on a documentary project with Brantford filmmakers Zach Melnick and Yvonne Drebert titled “A Desert Between Us and Them: Raiders Traitors and Refugees in the War of 1812.”

Scheduled for release next spring as part of ongoing bicentennial commemorations of the war that lasted from 1812 to 1814, the film features local stories not told before.

“These incredible stories have presented real challenges in finding voices to tell them,” Darfler said. “I’ve been learning a lot about the structure of history and which stories get told compared to which don’t. These stories all exist on a local level.”

The heritage workshop, hosted by Brantford, the County of Brant, Grand River Conservation Authority and Grand Strategy Heritage Working Group, also featured presentations by Six Nations researcher Rick Hill and Jonathan Seiling, a Toronto historian researching the Mennonite and Quaker communities during the war years.

Darfler and Melnick said work on their documentary is still in full swing with the support of 12 area municipalities and using a community focused production model.

He said they have identified about 75 per cent of the more than 400 actors they will need for the project, but are still looking for more.

“Specifically, we are looking for more young men to take part,” Melnick said. “Most of the parts are volunteer, but there are a few paid ones if you want to get in touch with us.”

For more information about the film, e-mail mail@visualheritage.ca.

The team expects TVO to pick up the documentary when it is complete. It will also be distributed to schools with educational material.

There will be other events to commemorate the War of 1812 in Brant region. In March, the Canadian Military Heritage Museum will open it’s 1812 exhibit. April will see the Brant Museum and Archives host a War of 1812 exhibit. Doors Open Brant will have an 1812 theme this September. In November, Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant will feature an 1812 exhibition.

Lafarge Canada is seeking to grow its sand and gravel pit on King Edward Street in Paris by applying for a licence from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

The company wants the MNR to approve an additional 245-acre area for extraction. The land is located to the west and south of its current 180-acre West Paris Pit operation, which has an annual extraction limit of 850,000 tones.

Lafarge plans to extract an additional 1.5 million tones of material annually in the expansion area, according to a letter addressed to the County of Brant from MHBC Planning sent on the company’s behalf.

Chris Galway, Lafarge Canada’s land manager for southwestern Ontario, said hydrogeological, natural environment and traffic studies for the proposed expansion area are complete. Galway said groundwater contamination will not be an issue in relation to the expansion.

“All of our reports indicate that there will be no adverse impact on the wells of surrounding residents,” Galway said. “When we extract material, we are not pumping the water out. The water stays where it is.”

Galway said the company is waiting on official plan and zoning bylaw amendments from the County of Brant. Public consultation about the company’s expansion plan began last Wednesday during a presentation at county council chambers in Paris.

Galway said Lafarge Canada is not expecting extraction to begin in the proposed area for at least a year.

“We are early in the application process,” Galway said. “We don’t have an exact timeline, but it will be more than a year before extraction (in the expansion area) begins.”

Galway said the company has set up nine wells around the site to analyze groundwater.

“We have a good understanding of the physical characteristics of the site,” Galway said. “We have been monitoring it.”

Future rehabilitation at the site would involve creating two freshwater ponds with wetland areas.

Paris Coun. Cliff Atfield, who worked for Lafarge Canada during the 1970s, said he is confident the expansion will not pose an environmental threat.

“The MNR really keeps an eye on what is done,” Atfield said. “The land has to be rehabilitated back into useful land.
“As homes are built out that way, we need reservoirs. It would be perfect because the water would settle and go back to people’s wells.”

It wasn’t their usual winter weekend camping trip, but local Scouts and Guides enjoyed another Canadian pastime on Sunday.

More than 70 members and leaders representing eight local Scout and Guide groups attended a Brantford Blast hockey game against the Dundas Real McCoys at the Brantford and District Civic Centre.

The event kicked off Scout and Guide Week.

“It is a phenomenal celebration of more than 100 years of scouting to commemorate our founder’s mission,” 5th Brant Beavers leader Kim Clarke said. “That mission is to engage youth in purposeful and meaningful activities that enhance their communities.

“We do a lot of leadership training, teamwork, community service and we have lots of fun.”

Scout and Guide Week is celebrated annually across Canada during the week of international scouting founder Lt. Gen. Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell’s birthday. Baden-Powell began forming scouting groups in Britain in 1907. Canadian groups were also founded that year.

Tyler Richards, 7, a Beaver group member with 48th Brant, caught a puck to take home from Sunday’s game.

“I like Beavers because we go have fun,” Richards said.

Second Brant Scouts troop member Sean Stilwell, 11, said he likes learning new skills and meeting people.

“I like going camping and I like meeting new friends,” Stilwell said. “I get to try a lot of things I haven’t done before.”

Mike Ross, 18, has been a Cub and Scout leader with Second Brant troop for two years.

“I like to work with the kids,” Ross said. “I went through scouting from Beavers to Venturers and I got hooked.

“After seeing the interaction between leaders and scouts, I saw that it helped the kids grow. I wanted to be a part of that.”

Elaine Burnside, a leader with 8th Brantford Guides for 11 years, said Scouts and Guides offer well-rounded programs involving something for everyone.

“We do crafts, camping and life skills,” Burnside said. “We really push equality because it is for everyone.

“We have funding available for subsidies so everyone can join.”

Jessica Hunt, 17, who is serving her third year as Scouts area youth commissioner for Brant, said she would not be where she is today without her 11 years in scouting.

“Scouting is a great program that people should look into,” Hunt said. “It has changed my life because without scouting I would not be as confident as I am today.

“There is so much I have learned and experienced, including camping, general knowledge of the outdoors, achievement of badges and awards and overall enjoyment and fun.”

Sebastienne Moran, a leader and volunteer with 2nd Brant Scouts for seven years, said scouting has a long history in Brant.

“We are the second oldest continuing group in all of Canada,” Moran said. “We are having our 90th anniversary celebration in April.”

Local Cubs will hold their annual Kub Kar Rally at Ryerson Heights Elementary School on Feb. 25 beginning at 10 a.m. as Scout and Guide Week comes to a close. The public is welcome to attend.

Participants will be recognized for best design, best paint job and race results.

“The Kub Kar event is a chance for the Cubs to race the cars they have created,” said Andy Balog, a Cub leader with 1st Burford group. “There will be 20 youth from this area that will go on to a regional race in Hamilton.”

More than 74,000 children and young adults are involved in Scouts Canada programs, which are led by 23,000 volunteers.

A little piece of Brantford will once again make its way down the Oscar red carpet.

Local entrepreneur Taren de St. Croix’s Earthpawz products will find their way into celebrity gift bags at the 84th annual Academy Awards, being held on Sunday, Feb. 26.

“I am really excited,” de St. Croix said. “It is kind of a special year for us because we are launching new products. It’s nice to have an opportunity like that where we can send them into something like the Oscars.”

This year’s bags will include a bottle of the yet-to-be-released Smelly Dog pet odour eliminator, as well as Dirty Dog floor cleaner, Doggie Slobber glass cleaner and Doggie Grime all-purpose cleaner.

This is the second year in a row that Earthpawz products have made their way into the coveted Oscar gift bags. The environmentally friendly, non-toxic pet cleaning products were chosen because they are green, de St. Croix said.

“Like every one of our products, everything is toxin free,” de St. Croix said. “They are always looking for environmentally friendly products and everyone knows there are so many celebrities with dogs that are really into their dogs. Having our products is a good fit for the bags.”

Nominees for top awards, including actor and actress in a leading role, will head home with a bag filled with Earthpawz products. That means stars like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Glenn Close and Meryl Streep will receive them.

“I think that a lot of the celebrities, if you read about them, they tend to look for green products and support a lot of environmental groups,” de St. Croix said. “I feel pretty confident that when they go through the bag they will find a product that they will actually use.”

Last year, the products made their way into the hands of Los Angeles-based television personality Tamara Henry. The former news anchor and Oscar correspondent featured the product on her online eco-show GreenT with Tamara.

“I love that Earthpawz products are naturally derived, non-toxic and biodegradable,” Henry said on her show.

Earthpawz started two years ago, after de St. Croix noticed her two dogs, Oreo and Daisy, kept getting sick after she washed the floors. What was labelled as a “natural” product actually contained a large amount of non-natural chemicals.

Using her background in chemical manufacturing, de St. Croix teamed up with a chemist to create a product that was made entirely from ingredients derived from plants.

“I started using it at home and the dogs haven’t been sick since,” she said.

The idea developed into a line of seven products that includes an oxy stain remover, a toilet bowl cleaner and a wall and baseboard cleaner. Earthpawz products are now sold in more than 700 stores across Canada and de St. Croix recently signed a deal to sell her products through PetPlace.com, a leading U.S. pet retailer.

“It’s been really challenging, but it’s so rewarding,” she said. “I love that I’m doing something for the environment as well as trying to build a business. When I first started, I was so excited to get two bottles sold in a pet store and I feel the same way now.”

Visit www.earthpawz.com for more information.

City police say a Brantford Police Service officer shot at a vehicle fleeing from a West Street parking lot shortly after 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.

The incident began when members of the Brantford police street crimes unit and patrol officers in marked police vehicles approached a suspect vehicle in the parking lot, located at 325 West St.

Police said in a media release that an interaction took place between officers and a male driver of the suspect vehicle. An officer discharged his firearm at the vehicle as it drove toward him while fleeing the scene, police said.

When the man attempted to flee the parking lot, a female passenger in the suspect vehicle suffered injuries not related to the officer discharging his firearm. City police say the provincial Special Investigations Unit is probing the circumstances of the female’s injuries.

Bystanders in the parking lot reported hearing two gunshots.

Amy Hammel, who works at Findlay Personal Injury Lawyers, said she heard someone yell “get down on the ground, put your hands up.” Hammel said she witnessed police with guns drawn and pointed toward a car in the parking lot.

After fleeing the parking lot, the man drove the suspect vehicle to a nearby business and fled on foot into a wooded area, police said. After a brief foot pursuit, the man was taken into custody at a parking lot at Charing Cross and West streets.

A Charing Cross Street resident who wished to remain anonymous said she witnessed police take down and arrest the man.

“I saw 10 police officers with handguns and (long) guns drawn at this guy laying facedown on the street,” the woman said. “Officers jumped on top of him. It was all really uncomfortable and surreal. This is something you watch on TV.”

Police also said they executed a search warrant at the male driver and female passenger’s residence on Charing Cross Street.

The driver of the suspect vehicle, a 25-year-old Brantford man, is facing numerous criminal charges. The 22-year-old female passenger also faces criminal charges. Both are being held in custody for a bail hearing.

The SIU could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

Mike Moore is about to journey to where no Brantford motivational speaker has gone before.

The humourist will head to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to offer humour and motivational tips to the staff at the NASA Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 28 and Feb. 29.

“I’ve gotten some real nice gigs over the years, one in Hawaii, one in Las Vegas, but this is the biggest,” Moore said. “It felt great to get the e-mail. I thought to myself, this is a step.”

With NASA’s space shuttle program coming to an end last year after a 30-year run, Moore was asked to come in to help the program’s employees deal with the change.

“The shuttle program has terminated and they are now trying to go into the future with a new program, but there are people who have been laid off, jobs don’t exist anymore,” Moore said. “A lot of the people remain in a state of flux. They don’t know what the new program is going to be about. Their workload has increased. Morale is low and stress is high.”

Moore will spend one day speaking to “big wigs,” including engineers and scientists, and a second day speaking to other Kennedy Space Centre staff members. He will present a talk titled “Stretched to the Limit.”

“It’s about managing stress using humor and a positive attitude,” Moore said. “There is no such thing as a stressful situation. It is only a stressful response to the situation.”

A retired teacher, Moore travels across North America presenting between 25 and 30 motivational talks each year. He’s also the author of books including How to Avoid Getting Old and Embracing the Mystery.

“I’m having the time of my life doing what I love, teaching, meeting people, travelling and sharing the message that life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.”

Visit www.motivationalplus.com for more information about Mike Moore.

City police say a Brantford woman is facing assault charges following a domestic dispute on Friday evening.

Officers responded to a report that a man had been assaulted with a knife by his spouse shortly after 7 p.m.

Police say the man was found with injures to his face that required medical attention. He was taken to Brantford General Hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released.

Investigators say the man and woman were involved in an argument. As the man attempted to leave the residence where the dispute took place, he was confronted by the woman with a knife.

Police say the woman swung at the man, cutting his face with the knife.

The man escaped and police were called.

A 49-year-old woman faces charges of assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and forcible confinement.

The name of the woman is not being released.

Brantford police say an investigation into a report of a sexual assault received last month has revealed the incident did not take place.

On Jan. 27, police reported that a woman was sexually assaulted by two men in Charles Ward Park four days earlier.

At the time, police said the men attacked the victim and sexually assaulted her in a secluded area of the park before releasing her and leaving the area.

Police on Monday said the investigation has been closed.

Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant’s spring series of art classes and workshops offer something for artists of all ages and abilities.

During March break, children aged seven to 12 can participate in a full week of activities, including painting, sculpture and cartooning.

Other children’s classes running throughout the spring season include Saturday Art Studio with Emily Terejko beginning March 31, Sunday Cartoon classes with Drew Hussey starting March 25, ZenArt with Emily Mills beginning March 25 and a PA day program running April 27 and June 4.

For adults, there’s Mosaics Family Workshop with Heather Vollans starting April 15, Introduction to Drawing and Painting with Tibor Nyilasi beginning March 26, a photography weekend workshop with Brian Thompson on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26, life drawing with a nude model starting March 27, watercolour classes with Chelo Sebastian beginning April 2, a short story workshop with Larry Brown beginning May 3 and Intro to Stained Glass with Brian Pickering starting April 5.

Visit www.glenhyrst.ca or call 519-756-5932 for more information about Glenhyrst’s spring classes, times, dates and prices.