Please stop what you are doing today at 11:00 am for two minutes of silence to honour our veterans and to those who still serve.

On November 11, especially, but also throughout the year, we have the opportunity to remember the efforts of these special Canadians. In remembering, we pay homage to those who respond to their country’s needs. On November 11, we pause for two minutes of silent tribute, and we attend commemorative ceremonies in memory of our war dead.

Following the First World War a French woman, Madame E. Guérin, suggested to British Field-Marshall Earl Haig that women and children in devastated areas of France could produce poppies for sale to support wounded Veterans. The first of these poppies were distributed in Canada in November of 1921, and the tradition has continued ever since, both here and in many parts of the world.

Poppies are worn as the symbol of remembrance, a reminder of the blood-red flower that still grows on the former battlefields of France and Belgium. During the terrible bloodshed of the second Battle of Ypres in the spring of 1915, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, a doctor serving with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, wrote of these flowers which lived on among the graves of dead soldiers:

Set aside the razors. Cancel that barber’s appointment. Male staff at schools across HWDSB are showing a stiff upper lip this month by growing a moustache for the annual prostate cancer fundraiser Movember.

The campaign was born in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia when friends joked about 1980s fashion and decided to revive the moustache. A Mo Bro starts Movember – the month formerly known as November – clean shaven, and grows a moustache all month long, garnering support from friends and family in the form of donations.

For three years, in a month officially known as November, a diehard team of Board staff have been growing for a good cause. It began with 10 teachers, raising $300. 

Last year, 25 staff at Delta, Waterdown and Hill Park raised $4,000, while another group of teachers at Orchard Park and Sherwood raised additional funds for Prostate Cancer Canada. There is even a title on the line: Best in Mo’ which last year went to Delta history teacher Mel LaForme.

“We would not only like to unite the school board, but we would also like to expand this fundraiser to include as many Board office departments as possible,” explains Mike Ongley, a Delta science teacher who has spearheaded the hairy situation at the east-end school. Their team is called HWDS Mo’ard.

So far this year, it sounds like there are Mo Bros at Parkside, Saltfleet, Sherwood, Delta, Waterdown, Westmount, Hill Park, Highland, Glendale, Churchill, Ancaster and the Education Centre at a minimum.

Ongley said Delta is making T-shirts, holding weekly fundraising events, holding a mid-month party and notes that a Mo Gala will draw up to 70 participants.

Waterdown teacher Tim Harvey says that, once again, his school will erect the Movember Tree of Hope, like a Christmas Tree of Hope with student donors writing their names on a moustache card to hang on the tree.

“Nothing looks more inspiring than a large pine tree covered in moustaches,” Harvey said.

Although the event is fun, Ongley notes, this is a serious event to raise money for a serious cause. 

While Movember leaves mo growing to the guys, Mo Sistas help by recruiting Mo Bros, raising funds and more. The campaign across Canada raises millions for prostate cancer, making it the largest charity event for men.

To donate to an individual or a team, search for them here.

Have a great story? Submit it here.

 http://www.hwdsb.on.ca/media/news/details.aspx?id=1380

My “Mo” a week into it!

On the evening of November 9, I will be joining the “Waterfall capitol of the World” group while we illuminate Great Falls in Waterdown. http://www.cityofwaterfalls.ca/great_falls.html

On the evening of the 10th, we will be illuminating Tiffany Falls in Ancaster. http://www.cityofwaterfalls.ca/tiffany_falls.html

On the evening of Remembrance Day, we will be illuminating The Haida on Pier 9. http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/on/haida/visit/visit2.aspx

Thanks to all of you who believed in me, who supported me, who voted for me, and who volunteered for me. Thanks to my children who made some sacrifices for their Daddy’s cause. A second place finish next to Tom Jackson, is a win in my mind. I feel no regret, or thoughts of failure. I feel as if I had won; sure I will not be sitting in council chambers as a councillor in December, but this is definitely a great start for Ward 6, and Hamilton. I will persevere and do my best to address all of the issues in my platform. Thanks for the wonderful support, I loved this experience!

So this it, election day. I just want to thank all of those who have voted for me, volunteered for me, and supported me. Together we can bring change to ward 6. Thank you all!!

If you need a ride to the poll, call 905 537 2811

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On Friday October the 22nd at 7pm, I will be illuminating Albion Falls for “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”. The falls will be pink in colour. I have invited survivors to turn the lamps on.

For those who read Saturdays Spec article under Election Notebook, they made an error on the date of the illumination. My E-mail said Sunday Oct. 10, they put it in as Saturday the 9th. I hope that this did not inconvience anybody.

Sincerely,

Chris Behrens

As your Ward 6 Councillor it is important to me that you, the voter, are engaged in issues affecting your ward. The current “neighbourhood association” format currently in existence in our Ward allow for a fragmented opportunity to meet and discuss these issues with your current Councillor.

One of my platforms is to introduce a Community Council to the entire Ward. Unlike the “neighbourhood association” format, issues and concerns affecting the Ward as a whole are discussed, with recommendations made, to the Councillor directly. As your Councillor, I will work with the Community Council by bringing issues and upcoming City Council agenda items directly to the Community Council to solicit feedback and recommendations.

This ‘grassroots’ initiative allows the entire Ward to be engaged in the Council process from the beginning, versus reactionary discourse after the decision has been made. We have endured this ‘dog-wagging-the-tail’ relationship with our current Councillor for too long. We were unable to respond in time when the re-naming of Henderson Hospital was decided; we were kept in the dark on the stadium debacle; resolving those affected by unnecessary flooding remain unchecked; our Ward remains without a true objective of what we want to be.

Your voices need to be heard, and as your Councillor, the formation of a Community Council allows for a proper process to bring your voice forward. The answers may not always be what you want to hear…but at least you will hear an answer. Our Ward needs to be more involved with changes or proposals which effect the area in which we live, work, and play.

A vote for me, is a vote for your voice to be heard.

Note: Tom Jackson is against a community council; he feels that they bring out strong leaders in the community and threaten his career as a politician. This is wrong in so many ways. Anybody who runs for public office should be welcomed, not opposed!

Yours truly,

Chris Behrens, City Council Candidate, Ward 6