Students going to Greece, Holiday Jam for Hunger, act of kindness

Morning Coffee – By Aaron Hall

Weather forecast for Thursday, December 21, 2017

A special weather statement is in effect across Chatham-Kent.

Today – Mainly cloudy. 60 percent chance of flurries this afternoon. Wind becoming east 20 km/h this afternoon. High plus 1.

Tonight – Cloudy. 30 percent chance of flurries changing to 70 percent chance of freezing drizzle or drizzle near midnight. Wind east 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming light after midnight. Low minus 1.

Dresden students raising funds for trip to Greece

Students at Lambton-Kent Composite School are doing a fundraiser to help with their Greece trip in March of 2018.

They are selling broasted chicken dinner tickets, which will be held on Sunday, January 21 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Dresden Arena.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for kids (12 and under).

If anyone is interested in purchasing tickets, they are available at McKellar Flowers in Dresden or by calling 519-683-4368 or ask a student who is going on the trip.

Holiday Jam for Hunger 2017

Many talented local musicians are sharing their talents this holiday season; all to help raise much needed funds for the Chatham food bank.

For this 13th annual Holiday Jam for Hunger, musicians from across Chatham-Kent and southwestern Ontario will be gracing the stage on Friday, December 29 at Sons of Kent Brewing Company.

All proceeds from the event will go towards to the Chatham Outreach for Hunger.

This musical tradition started in 2004 and has continued every year since, organized the last six years by local musician Alysson Storey.

While different community organizations have benefited from each concert, several years ago Chatham Outreach for Hunger was adopted as the annual recipient, as the need continues to grow every year.

“All of the musicians playing have strong connections to Chatham-Kent and want to support local organizations like Outreach for Hunger which is filling such an important need,” stated Storey.

“I’m happy to say the Holiday Jam annual events have raised over $13,000 for local charities, which is a true testament to the community spirit here in CK.”

While these musicians are serious about the cause, they’re also interested in having a lot of fun on stage.

This year, in light of the special impact Canadian music had on so many listeners, the theme of the night is “Celebrating Gord and The Hip: A Night of Canadian Music.”

The Dave Trinca Experience, will open the evening, followed by The Constellations with Rob Mitchell as lead singer. Rob is a singer-songwriter born and raised in Chatham, has released three CDs of original work and was also a finalist in the 2016 CBC Searchlight music competition. Mitchell, who now lives in Guelph, has played in the Holiday Jam almost every year since its inception with the Chatham Funk All-Stars.

Walkin’ 47 is headlining the evening. This well-loved and talented local band of Scott Aarsen on rhythm guitar, Steve Bellan on drums, Brian Cox on lead guitar, Jason Denys on bass guitar, and Drew Varsava on lead vocals have been playing across southwestern Ontario for many years now.

“I was really happy when Alysson approached us for this event,” states Jason Denys of Walkin’ 47.

“We believe strongly in supporting our community and this event is a great way to do that. We’re excited to be playing with these bands and this great venue too.”

Sons of Kent and an anonymous donor are generously sponsoring this year’s event.

Holiday Jam for Hunger takes place Friday, December 29 at Sons of Kent Brewing Company, 27 Adelaide St. South in Chatham.

The event starts at 8 p.m. and admission is by donation, with all proceeds going to Chatham Outreach for Hunger.

For more event information, please contact Alysson Storey at 519-365- 2129 or alyssonstorey@gmail.com.

For more information on Chatham-Kent Outreach for Hunger, please visit www.outreachforhunger.com.

New hours at Chatham Cultural Centre

The community of Chatham-Kent has spoken, and the local arts and heritage institutions have listened. Beginning this winter, venues at the Chatham Cultural Centre and downtown Chatham will offer visitors even more opportunities to enjoy the collections, special exhibitions and a variety of new program offerings.

Starting January 2, 2018, the Thames Art Gallery, the Chatham-Kent Museum and ARTspace will be changing opening hours in order to better serve our visitors. Reviews of attendance statistics, as well as the results of the recent CK Museum Survey, have identified extended evening and weekend hours as preferred hours of the public. While the total number of open hours will remain the same (currently open 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily), TAG and the CK Museum will be closed on Monday and Tuesday to the public, and will be open from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the weekends. These new hours will also allow the public to take advantage of new and exciting programming opportunities meant to drive more visitors throughout all spaces.

In addition, the hours for ARTspace, the Municipality’s community art gallery featuring Chatham-Kent artists for presentation and sales, will be changing hours from Tuesday – Saturday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Sunday & Monday) to Wednesday – Saturday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Sunday-Tuesday).

“With the New Year coming and a renewed focus on outreach, it is a prime goal of the organization to increase our profile at a local, national and international levels through increased marketing and new programs, and by developing strategic plan that looks at revising governance, memberships and education,” stated Pamela Edmonds, gallery curator.

“We’ve been increasingly hearing that visitors would like more ways to experience arts and heritage offerings. We are excited about developing ARTspace not only as a renewed commercial and presentation space, but also looking at different ways to feature public installations and pop-up art projects throughout the region as a way to showcase local talents and further engage our diverse communities.”

Act of kindness in Sarnia

On December 20, 2017, a young family attended the Sarnia Police Service to fulfill a wish that a little girl had of giving the Sarnia Police something for Christmas.

The mother, Ariana, and two daughters, Sofia and Elaina, along with a friend, Terri, showed up with goodies for the staff. They put together ‘Survival Kits; for each staff member made up of various candies with instructions of on how to use them in times of emergencies.

The police were also treated to some savory and sweet food.

The amount of work and kindness that went into this was amazing and truly appreciated by all.

“These acts of kindness remind us of why we do what we do and for this we are grateful,” Sarnia Police officials stated.

“As token of appreciation Chief Nelson handed Alaina, Sophia, Elaina, and Terri a Chief’s coin in recognition of this act and the thoughtfulness of Sofia’s generosity.”

Ontario releases first anti-black racism strategy

Ontario is taking action to address the intergenerational impacts of slavery, an extended history of racial stigmatization and ongoing systemic racism that contributes to disparity in outcomes for Black Ontarians.

Government officials say the province released the Anti-Black Racism Strategy on Wednesday, which creates a roadmap for how government and its institutions will work to eliminate disparities for Black Ontarians in the child welfare, education and justice sectors.

“Everyone in Ontario has the right to lead a life free of prejudice and discrimination,” stated Kathleen Wynne, Premier, in a press release.

“We can’t stand by and allow systemic racism to persist — it is wrong. And it’s up to all of us to tackle these issues head-on. When Black people in Ontario are victimized or discriminated against in any way, we are all diminished. With the launch of this Anti-Black Racism Strategy, we are making ourselves accountable in the fight to eliminate the discrimination and inequality that Ontario’s Black community continues to endure. Together we will build a fairer, better province for everyone.”

The strategy focuses on improving outcomes by:

– Setting long-term targets to reduce disparities for Black Ontarians in the child welfare, justice and education systems

– Creating anti-racism tools to support transformation within the government

– Partnering with organizations that serve a high percentage of Black Ontarians to run pilot projects to understand how anti-Black racism manifests and work in real time to address it

– Fostering stronger relationships with the Black community

– Increasing public awareness and understanding of systemic racism and its impacts on Black communities.

“The persistence of anti-Black racism in Ontario hinders not just Black people, but everyone in our province,” stated Michael Coteau, Minister Responsible for Anti-Racism and Minister of Children and Youth Services.

“When we all have equitable access to life’s many opportunities, we can reach our full potential as a society.”

More details:

– In February 2017, the Ontario government recognized the United Nations (UN) Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024), and is taking action to eliminate anti-Black racism.

– Between 2001 and 2016, Ontario’s Black population increased by more than 50 per cent, to approximately 627,000, or 5 per cent of Ontario’s population.

– Of all racialized people in Ontario under the age of 15, 20 per cent are Black.

– By 2036, racialized people will account for an estimated 48 per cent of Ontario’s population.

– The Anti-Black Racism Strategy is a commitment outlined in A Better Way Forward: Ontario’s 3-Year Anti-Racism Strategic Plan, released earlier this year, which builds on decades of activism, research and reports calling for government action to address anti-Black racism.

– Systemic racism occurs when institutions or systems create or maintain racial inequity, often as a result of hidden institutional biases in policies, practices and procedures that privilege some groups and disadvantage others.

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If you have a suggestion, story idea, column idea, or if you want to say hello… drop me an e-mail at aaron@sydenhamcurrent.ca.

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