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THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009 10 MUNCHKIN MANOR Consignment Shop - Boys & Girls Newborn to Size 10 111 Jackson St, Rockwood, ON 519-856-0838(1st street past the tracks, Main St. N) UP TO 50% OFF Winter Clearance Sale! I will pay the GST and PST on all sales until Feb. 28, 2009 OPEN: Tues/Wed 12-5, Thurs. 12-6, Fri. 12-5 Sat. 10:30 - 2:30 IMP LAN T DEN TUR ES Matthew Swanston is up for Junior Athlete of the Year By Rebecca Ring A longtime Rockwood family has a lot to be proud of in their grandsons ac- complishments. Matthew Swanston, grand- son of Walter and Virena, is one of three finalists for a prestigious Canadian Sport Award. The multiple med- al-winning swimmer has been short-listed for Jun- ior Athlete of the Year. The ceremony will take place next Tuesday, February 24 in Ottawa at the National Gallery of Canada. A member of the New- market Stingrays Swim Club, 17-year old Swanston spent last weekend in Hali- fax competing in the Eastern Canadian Championships where he cleaned up, win- ning six gold and two bronze medals. He has set numer- ous national and provincial records in his age group. Swanston comes by his talent honestly. Both parents are world-class swimmers. His father, Alan, a senior coach with the club, is in the University of Waterloo Sport Hall of Fame and his mother, Avril (Peaker), is in JR ATHLETE OF YEAR? Swimmer Matthew Swanston, who has family roots in Rockwood, is one of three finalists nominated for Jr Athlete of the Year. The Canadian Sport Awards ceremony will take place Tuesday. - Submitted Photo the University of Guelph Sports Hall of Fame. Alan was headed for the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, but missed out because of Canadas boycott. Matthews younger broth- er Jeffrey seems to have inherited these swimming maintaining an average in the 90s. He has won a full scholarship from Stanford University, where he will continue swimming com- petitively and study this fall. Even with all of this work, Swanston says he makes time for a social life, includ- ing a girlfriend, who is also a national level swimmer. The 36th Canadian Sport Awards are presented by the True Sport Foundation. The other two finalists in Swan- stons category are Alex Harvey (Cross Country) and Sarah Reid (Skeleton). Swanston was nominated by Swimming Canada, after being named Junior Male Swimmer of the Year. Being a finalist for this award is def- initely unexpected, he says, Its kind of cool because its for all sports, not just swim- ming. The day after the cere- mony, award recipients and nominees will visit two Ot- tawa schools where they will share with students their suc- cess stories, challenges and benefits of sport in Canada. Right after that, Swanston will swim in the Junior Provincial Championships in Nepean. genes as well, as he is also a medal-winning swimmer in the same club. Swanston works hard for his success. He practices two hours before school and two hours after school almost every day. He is no slouch academically either, Contract ratified By Rebecca Ring The Upper Grand District School Board ratified collect- ive agreements reached with its Secondary Teachers and Secondary Occasional Teach- ers, represented by OSSTF District 18 (Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation). The contracts are in ef- fect from September 1, 2008 to August 31, 2012 and are compliant with the Provin- cial Discussion Table (PDT) Agreements under the Min- istry of Education. The unions ratified the agreements in late January. The settlement includes a three per cent salary increase each year, with additional funding for professional de- velopment, benefits, and staffing for regular teachers, which are fully funded by the Province. The Occasional Teachers rates of pay are based on the regular teacher salary grid. Their contract stipulates that the Board will call short-term occasional teachers for work using an electronic qualifi- cations-based random order system. Selects prepare for season The Rockwood FC Se- lect U12 games, under the coaching of Dave Rimmer, have been training inside at Rockwood Centennial on Saturday mornings to pre- pare for the 2009 soccer season. In order to be able to evaluate the girls strengths, Coach Rimmer organized a Rockwood Invitational PowderPuff game and invit- ed the Guelph Select girls to a Saturday morning outdoor game. The game was held on the mini soccer fields which were well covered in snow, played in full snow gear, and played using an oversized exercise ball. Due to wind chill, the game was kept to just under an hour but both teams played hard. The initial warm up of jogging around the field in 30cm of snow and full winter gear provided a good workout, not to mention the 45 minutes of hard played soccer action that followed. The girls quickly adjusted to falling through the snow every few steps, to the larger ball and to the heavy foot- wear and played an action packed game with plenty of exercise, great enthusiasm, some excellent footwork and lots of laughs. The Rockwood girls will meet the Guelph girls again in a traditional in- door soccer game on Feb 21 in Guelph. The players are ready for a rematch and the parents are eagerly an- ticipating watching a game without shivering. TALES OF HEARTBREAK: The Eden Mills Writ- ers Festival held a fundraiser last Friday Unlucky in Love where four authors read and six poets com- peted in a poetry slam. Author Paul Quarrington told his sad tale to music. - Rebecca Ring Photo Unlucky lovers pack fundraiser By Rebecca Ring Last Friday, there was standing room only as folks jammed The Book- shelf ebar in Guelph for a fundraiser benefitting the Eden Mills Writers Festi- val. Theme of the evening was Unlucky in Love to celebrate Friday the 13th before St. Valentines Day. Four Canadian authors were featured Sandra Sabatini, Paul Quarring- ton, Stephen Henighan and festival founder, Leon Rooke. Sabatini read from her new novel, Dantes War, due to be released March 11 with a launch at The Bookshelf on the 16th. Set in WW II, it tells the story of two young Ital- ian lovers, Angelina and Dante. He is deployed to North Africa with the Italian forces while she contends with Nazi occu- pation in her small Italian village. In keeping with the evenings theme, Sabat- ini read an excerpt about Anselmina, an old hag who lives on a mountain in the village and has the evil eye. Years earlier, she lost her own husband. Disregarding a formidable superstition, he walked under a ladder she was on and her bucket fell on his head, killing him. Now, she loathes Angelina, so deep in her young love, and hands her a knife tell- ing her the world would be better off without her. Instead of succumbing to Continued on page 12 Vet Clinic saves pet Letter to the Editor Thanks to all the Rock- wood Veterinary Clinic vets and staff and those who by their quick actions, saved the life of a Rockwood cat caught in an animal trap. Mocha (the miracle cat) is now recovering at home Thanks again for saving our pet. The Kennedy family, And pet sitter Ralph