The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

9| W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,July 19,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca I was doing my power walking at RIM Park on Tues. July 11, when I no- ticed the hockey camp in progress lead by Mike Hoffman on one of the ice fields. During my walk, I'd look in the windows, but one scene caused me to stop. There on the ice was a 14-year-old boy named Mi- chael (I'd met him and his mom on my walk) in his wheel- chair sur- rounded by the young hockey players. My heart melted as I saw their respect and compassion for Michael. The young hockey players skated around him and then Mike Hoffman had them go into two lines and each one touched Michael's hand. After that they pounded their sticks against the ice to cheer Michael on. They posed for a team pic- ture with Michael in the cen- ter and then they left the ice. By this time, I was in tears for it was so beautiful, but it wasn't finished. With the ice empty except for the coach- es, Mike took Michael for a very fast skate around the rink in his wheelchair and his smile was huge as his hair blew in the wind wind. Michael was "flying" and enjoying every sec- ond. All the coaches gath- ered round him for a sec- ond photo and then each one signed Michael's jer- sey. I was able to thank them when I saw them in the hall and they gra- ciously said "It was our pleasure." Those coaches taught the hockey camp students far more than hockey that day. They were shown how to treat people that have disabilities with honour and respect. I'll never for- get those moments and felt honoured that I wit- nessed them. Nancy Seiling, Waterloo Letter to the editor: RIM Park hockey camp "My heart melted as I saw their respect and compassion for Michael." - Nancy Seiling Hey, Waterloo! We are hitting the home stretch in the registration period for this fall's mu- nicipal election. All nomi- nations must be in, to the city clerk's office, by 2 p.m. on Friday, July 27. That means you have just over a week to get your nomination package to- gether. Now, this process is a little more complicat- ed than in previous years: You will need to download the nomination package from a link on the City of Waterloo's website, then rustle up 25 signatures from your friends and neighbours. As I write this column - moments before my Mon- day morning deadline - a fair bit of opportunity awaits on Waterloo city council. One-term incumbent Mayor Dave Jaworsky is being challenged by a po- litical newcomer, Kelly Steiss. I'm surprised that there aren't more candi- dates - it's a great opportu- nity to lead, in a fabulous city. As expected, hearty races have emerged in the two council wards that have (officially) retiring councillors. Over on the west side, the neighbour- hoods of Westvale and Beechwood have generat- ed four motivated candi- dates - Sandra Hanmer, Adam McCarthy, Robert Parent and Xia (Leia) Lei - to replace Bob Mavin in Ward 1. In our Uptown, Melissa Durrell's depar- ture has spurred a flurry of interest from the com- munity with Tenille Bono- guore, Carol Parsons, Ra- mi Said and Devon McKen- zie all on the Ward 7 ballot. So far. Meanwhile, there ap- pears to be a dearth of in- terest in the other council seats. Where three incum- bents have declared their intent to run - Angela Vieth (Ward 3), Diane Freeman (Ward 4) and Jeff Henry (Ward 6) - no con- tenders have come for- ward to challenge them. With all the conflict and chaos around traffic calm- ing in Ward 3, I'm a little surprised that no one from the Lake Louise neigh- bourhood has stepped for- ward to challenge Vieth, but time will tell. Two incumbents - Bri- an Bourke (Ward 2) and Mark Whaley (Ward 5) - have yet to formally de- clare their intent to run or retire. Currently, commu- nity advocate Jen Vasic is the only contender in Ward 5, while Janice Moore and Royce Bodaly have stepped up in Ward 2. So, is the next person to register, you? I'll even give you a plat- form, based on the funda- mental idea of "building a healthier community." What does a healthy community look like? It provides the infrastruc- ture for people be healthy, including extensive oppor- tunities to play, walk and cycle. It is safe and acces- sible, for those of us who face challenges. It is inclu- sive and accepting, in meaningful ways. And it acknowledges that our biggest healthy community challenge in Waterloo Region is afford- able housing and that all levels of government have a role to play in addressing it. July 27 will soon be here - are you ready to run? - Karen Scian is the co- founder of the Talent Business Solutions, an educator and a communi- ty advocate. She is also chair of the Waterloo Pub- lic Library Board. You can email her at bein- scian@gmail.com or fol- low her on Twitter @ka- renscian. OPINION Still plenty of time to go for a run Races are heating up on Waterloo city council, but you still have time to get your name in, says Karen Scian KAREN SCIAN Column As a vegetarian for the past 18 years, I was thrilled with the recent turnout at this year's first KW Veg- Fest, at city hall in Kitche- ner, with more than 30 veg- an vendors and an estimat- ed 3,000 visitors. My family enjoyed deli- cious black bean and mushroom veggie burgers, hand-rolled veggie dogs, and sampled a variety of vegan cheese and plant- based desserts. Our daughters pur- chased some reusable bam- boo drinking straws and T- shirts that read, Yes, I Get Enough Protein, and Flesh Is for Zombies. I saw other T-shirts that read, Stop Climate Change, Go Vegan, and Kale Is the New Beef, and Tofu Never Screams. The TorontoPigSave- .org booth especially caught our attention with a large poster of a pug and pig that read: "The only dif- ference is your attitude." Beneath the pug was the word "cherished" and writ- ten beneath the pig was "confined, exploited, abused, violently slaugh- tered." Looking at the poster of the pug and the pig, I see two innocent beings, both deserving of kindness and respect. I was reminded of the 2005 documentary Earth- lings, a damning look at hu- manity's absolute depen- dence on animals for pets, food, clothing, scientific re- search and entertainment. Narrated by actor and ani- mal rights activist Joaquin Phoenix, it is unquestion- ably the most gripping and thought-provoking film I've ever seen. It is also ex- tremely graphic, depicting unsettling scenes of animal cruelty. "Since we all inhabit the Earth, all of us are consid- ered earthlings," says Phoenix in the opening mo- ments of the film. He ex- plains that "all of us" in- cludes all species, not just the humans, who for centu- ries have claimed an unde- served dominion over all other species. Phoenix quotes Nobel Prize-winning novelist Isaac Bashevis Singer: "In their behaviour toward creatures, all men were Na- zis. The smugness with which man could do with other species as he pleased exemplified the most ex- treme racist theories - the principal that might is right." Earthlings is on You- Tube, and a DVD copy is available through the Wa- terloo Public Library. I am hopeful that, if more people witness the scenes show- ing the abominable treat- ment of animals, they will take a more active role in advocating for the humane treatment of our fellow earthlings. I fully understand that watching a documentary or attending a vegan festi- val won't convince every- one to become a vegetari- an. Choosing to not eat ani- mals was a decision we made based on introspec- tion and information, and we know there are people with deeply held convic- tions on every side of the is- sue. So, although I don't ex- pect everyone to adopt my perspectives on humani- ty's responsibilities toward fellow earthlings, I do ap- preciate that there are op- portunities - like KW Veg- Fest - for people to explore the options available to them. I hope that KW VegFest will grow, year after year, and that it will help more of my fellow earthlings con- sider their role in our pre- cious global ecosystem. - Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and artist. Email is welcome at mar- shall_ward@hotmail.com. OPINION VegFest is a step in the right direction Plenty of options presented at festival for vegans and vegetarians, says Marshall Ward MARSHALL WARD Column