The 1^st Valley East Scouts were out in full force during the Annual Apple Day fund-raising drive for this popular youth organization. Here they are shown at their station in the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre on Thanksgiving Saturday.
  
   Kneeling in the front is Cub Leader, Enrico Casati. Standing behind him are Karen Luoma (Cub Leader); Justin Vautour (Scout); Bradley Pailing (Beaver); Zach Thorne (Cub); Emily Vautour (Cub) and Deanna Bourdeau (Scout).
  
   There are about 40 young boys and girls in the 1^st Valley East Scout group this year. They meet from September to May at Ecole Secondaire Hanmer every Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. where they take part in numerous skill- and character-building activities.
  
   If you are interested in registering your child, or if you would like to find out more about becoming a leader, you can contact Debbie Christianson at 969-7095.

You can pick up your tickets at M & R Grill (Capreol), Valley Plaza Pharmasave; Paulette's Variety; Val Caron Rexall Drug Store; and Caisse Populaire St-Jacques de Hanmer.

   Indeed, the group has already booked their spot for 2009 and will return the weekend after Easter, April 17 to 19, 2009 .
 
   CERCLE MISSIONNAIRE de la VALLEE is an organization that was created in the early 1990’s to provide assistance to Sister Therese Lamoreux m.c.r. of the order of the Missionary of Christ the King. Sister Therese was originally from Chelmsford . When Sister Therese set up a mission at Sigueneau , Haiti , she discovered a tremendous degree of poverty and hopelessness among the people. Thus, Georgette Bergeron, President, and a number of volunteers from St. Margeurite d'Youville Parish set out to do what they could to help out.
 
   Today, CERCLE MISSIONNAIRE de la VALLEE collects over 60 tons of goods and medical supplies from local donors and ships the lot twice a year to Sister Therese. Besides providing assistance to Haiti , CERCLE MISSIONNAIRE also sends material to Moosonee and has a working relationship with the other two food banks in Valley East , Good Neighbours and St. Vincent de Paul.
 
   When donations come in, the volunteers check them out thoroughly to make sure that any repairs are completed before packing them in boxes, ready for shipping. With the permission of donors, some of the items are put up for sale in the impressive flea market section of the building. This is to raise money which is then used to purchase medical supplies and help pay the expenses of the building operation.
 
   Georgette tries to get into schools as often as she can to create awareness of the poverty in Haiti . She also speaks to CWL, Confirmation Groups and other community minded organizations. Most of the donations come to the group via word of mouth. Georgette will also accept cash donations and indicated that all donations of $20 or more will be given a tax receipt.
 
   CERCLE MISSIONNAIRE de la VALLEE originally ran out of the old Our Lady of Fatima school building on Percy Street in Blezard Valley . In January 2004, the organization moved to their new, much larger location at the former public works building on Desmarais Road in Val Therese. The space is much larger and enables the volunteers to have enough space to display items for their weekly flea market and do their packing for the next shipment to Haiti .
 
   Every Wednesday, from 12 noon to 4 p.m. CERCLE MISSIONNAIRE de la VALLEE opens up their building for one of the largest a flea markets you can find in the entire district to help raise money to purchase supplies for the next shipment to Haiti.
 
   If you have any items to donate or would like to make a financial donation, just drop in to their new home in the old Public Works building on Desmarais road any Wednesday afternoon from 12 noon to 4 p.m. or call 969-2192 for more information.
 
   In the photo below, Georgette Bergeron is shown on the left, with Jacqueline Cormier, selling tickets to the penny table.

   Two other members of the group, Justin Sawicz and Michelle Goneen were present for the photo. The entire group will be appearing on The Learning Clinic, a local education radio talk show on CKLU 96.7 FM on Monday, November 17 at 6:00 p.m. to share their thoughts about the Commerce Program at Laurentian. Any secondary school student who might be interested in enrolling in this program in the future should listen to the show or pick it up on their computer off the web site at www.cklu.ca .

The girls are all part of the 4 year French language nursing program at the school.

Education Week is a time set aside each year to take a few moments to recognize the important place learning has in our life. It is also a chance for us to recognize the accomplishments and achievements of our youth. This year, many schools from Valley East will set up displays of student work at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre.  It is important for our children to see that we are interested in their school work, so we should all spend some time visiting the mall to look at the displays. Even if your own child’s school is not participating, you should comment on how nice it is to see the work of other children. It will be a motivation for your child to try harder in his own situation. We should also, as adults, take a few minutes to reflect upon our own "learning program". Learning is a life long process. You never stop learning. So what are you doing to make sure that your learning is helping you become a better person. Go to the library. Pick up that book you got for Christmas. Spend some time surfing the internet on interesting topics. Do it now!

The third gentleman in the back row is Ken Desjardins’ owner of Desjardins’ Food Basics, who along with Gary Doyle, owner of Doyle's Food Basics, has been a major corporate sponsor of the Sudbury Wolves for three years and is the team's Official Grocer. 

The crowd, partly shown in the photo below, began lining up forty minutes before the autograph session was scheduled to begin and gave the Staal brothers a hearty ovation when they arrived.

"It is an understatement to say that there is a mood of dissatisfaction about how our city functions," he added. "I sense a collective disillusionment by many citizens over unfulfilled promises made at the time of amalgamation. As a result large numbers of citizens, primarily from outside the core city, feel excluded and alienated within the City of Greater Sudbury. This is one of the major concerns that has persuaded me to make today's decision. I have tremendous optimism and hope for our city and I believe that I have positive ideas that will inspire our communities and our neighbourhoods to work together in developing a sense of inclusivity in the City of Greater Sudbury."

As part of his opening address to dozens of onlookers, Rodriguez emphasized the following, "I believe that municipal government must also concern itself with the quality of life for its citizens. Therefore, I will ensure that the recreational needs and cultural aspirations of our citizens receive paramount attention in my term of office. As Mayor, I will support economic development, led by the private sector and supported by the City. As Mayor, I will work with city Council, city staff, provincial and federal parliaments to build and expand our community's strengths in mining, education, tourism and health care. Council will have a role, along with our community groups and the business community to see that money committed to economic development is spent fairly and wisely to benefit all parts of our city and in full view of our citizens."

William, who is a Grade 5 student at Ecole Notre Dame in Hanmer, has been collecting coins all his life, an interest that was started by his grandfather.