SPOKEMONDAY, MARCH 31, 2014 CONESTOGA COLLEGE, KITCHENER, ONT. WWW.SPOKEONLINE.COM 45TH YEAR — NO. 12

Flite Craft specializes inR/C models.Page 6

High-flying fun

A L E A R N I N G N E W S R O O M F O R J O U R N A L I S M S T U D E N T S

Reduce your ecological footprint.Page 5

Go green at work

Trip to Costa Rica an eye-openerBY DEVON HAYES

Sometimes we just need a little bit of inspiration to get us through the day.

When Conestoga journal-ism broadcast student Adam Rochon travelled to San Jose, Costa Rica with 20 other stu-dent leaders, he set out on a mission to channel that inspi-ration to his peers.

Rochon is the creator of a campaign called Respecting the Process In Poverty – Costa Rica, which aims to help oth-ers develop an understanding of Costa Ricans daily, weekly and monthly routines. With Respecting the Process, Rochon saw the perfect opportunity to spread the message of poverty in that country through a video he took while there.

“I use it as a platform to tell people’s stories,” he said. “It was interesting to be down there, and to experience that way of life. It was a very unique experience and we were sur-

rounded by tons of people who were involved in a very special process of their own.”

While there, Rochon and his peers spent time at a daycare. They helped run activities for the 70 children and assisted the other teachers.

The daycare is funded by the government, and the owners, Rebecca and Vilma Guido, receive a certain amount per child, depending on their age. Rochon said most of the chil-dren were incredibly impov-erished and, for some, snacks at the daycare were the only meal of the day. Rochon learned just how difficult it can be to run a daycare, espe-cially in a developing country like Costa Rica.

“Even if you have the most fun day ever, you still have a group of rambunctious chil-dren who come in groups and you need to somehow take care of them,” he said. PHOTO COURTESY OF RESPECTING THE PROCESS

Adam Rochon (centre), a Conestoga student leader, poses with locals and volunteers during a trip he took to San Jose, Costa Rica with 19 other students leaders.

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Funding available for your summer startupBY AARON CRECES

Do you have a great business idea that you want to get off the ground, but don’t really know where to begin?

If that’s the case, the Summer Company program may be just what you need.

Operated by the Ontario govern-ment since 2001, Summer Company offers up to $3,000 in grants, as well as advice from prominent local business leaders, so students can get their dream business projects organized and off the ground. Past student companies have ranged from web design, tourism and video pro-duction to food, travel and makeup services.

Francis Tousignant completed the program in 2012, hoping to open a performing arts centre in Sudbury. His business, known as SirKaFran (or “Fran’s Circus), offered technical

management services, set production and circus workshops. The Sudbury resident talked about how exciting it was to get his project started.

“It’s an amazing feeling really,” Tousignant said. “It’s a lot of work … but it’s all worth it. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment. I’m a true believer in doing what you love, and well, I love doing what I do so it rarely feels like work.”

The SirKaFran founder continued to run his business following the comple-tion of the program, utilizing skills that the Summer Company program helped to nurture.

Tousignant said the program helped him with management skills the most.

“Time managing, budgeting, com-munication skills and networking. It even brought my self-confidence up. I’ve also developed organization skills.”

“Since the Summer Company pro-

gram I am still running my business … Not only do I get more work, now I have to hire others to help me because of the high demand.”

The Sudbury resident said the pro-gram is a great start for enterprising students, but they should keep their

eyes open for additional options.“I would definitely recommend

the Summer Company program to Conestoga students, but I would also recommend looking for other possible grants,” he said.

”Specifically, if you know like I did, that you’d keep your business running after the summer.”

You could be eligible to receive up to $3,000 in grants if you are a stu-dent up to age 29 who is returning to school and is a Canadian citizen. You also can’t work more than 12 hours a week at another job while in the program.

The application deadline is May 23, so there’s lots of time to check if you’re eligible to get some financial aid and sound advice to get your business started.

For more information on the Summer Company program and how to apply, visit www.ontario.ca.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

PHOTO BY AARON CRECESThe Summer Company program will help get your dream company up and running.

Page 2 s SPOKE Monday, March 31, 2014NEWs

Now deep thoughts... with Conestoga College

Random questions answered by random studentsWhat’s the best thing to happen

to music in recent years?

“Piano Slayer.”

JC Arndt,second-year

broadcast - television

“That new Drake song.”

Mark Harwood,second-year

electrical engineering technician

“Deadmaus.”

sarah Gray,second-year

broadcast - television

“Rebecca Black, ‘It’s Friday!’”

Jason Cunha-Lautsch,first-year

general arts and science

“The emergence of new Canadian indie bands like Arcade Fire and Dinosaur Bones.”

sarah George,first-year

journalism - print

“JC-Krush.”

Dustin Dolby,second-year

broadcast - television

Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!

bY bRANDON HOMMEL

When it comes to meet-ing new people, online dat-ing has become the social norm. Rejection doesn’t feel as bad, and you can finally be the height you’ve always dreamed. A recent study by whatsyourprice.com found that a lot of Canadians are too embarrassed to admit they’ve used online dating. And it’s not women, it’s men between 18 and 24 years of age who will take that secret to the grave.

The study also found that three of every eight Canadian adults have tried online dat-ing, and a common lie used about how people met their significant other is, “We met at a bar.”

The majority of the 18- to 24-year-old men who lie about using online dating services divulge their secret to their co-workers first, followed by friends and then finally fam-ily, when they are ready to tell the world.

Finding a dating site is the easy part, with all the com-mercials on TV, newspaper advertisements and pop-ups on the Internet. Finding the right one for you is the hard part. Every dating site caters to a different crowd. For example, there are the free

dating sites. Anyone can join, so the results may vary.

One free popular dating site is plentyoffish.com, also known as “plenty of freaks” by past and current users of the site. Another very popular free site is match.com, averaging almost 10 million monthly users. Last but not least, zoosk.com has over seven million users a month.

If the free dating sites aren’t working for you, then you can sign up for paid online dating services. Users who pay are typically more serious about finding a partner than those who use free dating sites.

The world’s most famous paid online dating service is eHarmony.com. They guaran-tee that you will find love in six months, for only $47.95 a month. For that hefty price they give their users all the bells and whistles. For exam-ple, you can see the users who have viewed you, send unlim-ited messages to all users on the site, see when your matches have last logged in, and talk to your matches on the phone via SecureCall.

College students aren’t new to the online dating game either. With long hours of class, followed by homework and actual work, there really isn’t that much

time to meet new people. That’s why a lot of college students use online dating as a way to connect outside of their bubbles, and really see who is out there.

Victoria Lichty, a second-year public relations student, has used online dating before, trying it for about two months. She had matches, but not the old couple holding hands in the commercial type of match. When asked why she thought men were more prone to lie about using online dating than women, Lichty said, “I think it is because they think it’s embarrassing, especially if they don’t have any luck.”

Brody Grubb, a second-year graphic design student, has also used online dating. He said he tried it out for a year but didn’t find it worked. Grubb also weighed in on why he thinks men typically lie more than women about using online dating.

“People think men are sup-posed to go and ask a girl out in person or talk to her face to face, instead of behind a screen.”

Like everything in life, there are success stories and fail-ures. The hard part is taking the plunge and trying online dating. You never know what you may find – a great love, or a freak.

PHOTO bY bRANDON HOMMELA Conestoga College student hopes to find love on the website, eHarmony.com.

Plenty of fish, plenty of fibsOnline dating is increasingly common, but people

still lie about where they met their significant other

Monday, March 31, 2014 SPOKE s Page 3NEWs

New app helps you ‘decide’By JODy ANDERsON

A photo comparison app that helps you buy the right shirt, or allows you to vote whether you prefer Mr. Sub over Subway, was released last month.

The app is called D-Side and was made by former Conestoga College student Derek Boyko.

Boyko graduated from the woodworking technician pro-gram and then took classes in small business entrepreneur-ship. He is currently a sales representative for a company based out of Mississauga.

The app idea came along while networking.

“I met a guy who does apps and coding, so then he and I began talking about a couple apps,” Boyko said.

“We had about three ideas … the reason I chose D-Side is because it was the most mar-ketable and the one you could turn an investment on, because nothing is free in this world.”

Making the app was taking too long so they took it to a professional in Toronto.

To make the app more unique they incorporated gender-related information, where a user can see who or what men voted for and who or what women voted for.

“We wanted to do a pic-ture comparison app and as we were doing it we noticed there was a bunch of them out there … we came up with the idea of having gender-related

information,” Boyko said.Boyko explained how the

app would be handy by tell-ing the story of how a friend texted him for advice on what dress to wear to a bar, insist-ing that she wanted a man’s opinion.

The concept for D-Side was conceived in June of last year and it was released on the iTunes app store in February.

“We had projections of get-ting it released in September … if a programmer goes past their deadline it’s not out of the ordinary, there’s so many little things that can go wrong .. you can misplace a comma in 400 characters of code and that will totally screw up your page and you have to go back and search for that comma,” he said.

Boyko saw the experience of diving in and making an app with the help of others as a way of circumventing a conventional education and jumping into the professional sphere immediately.

We thought it’d be cool to put something on the app store … it was something I was inter-ested in getting into … a tech-nology career. But I already spent my money in college, I already own a house, I’m not going back to university for four more years,” Boyko said.

He didn’t want to give an exact figure but did say mak-ing the app cost between $10,000 and $20,000.

He had a scare when the app was initially rejected due

to security reasons.“We got rejected by the

Apple store on New Year’s Eve … the whole reason why was because we needed a few lines of text in our end user licence agreement (saying they are not responsible for uploaded imagery) and a way of flagging and kicking off users,” Boyko said.

“It felt like I was running a marathon and then it’s like you tripped or rolled your ankle four feet from the fin-ish line ... people are doing the countdown for New Year’s and I’m on the Apple iTunes store. I’m like, ‘what is wrong, why are they reject-

ing my app?’”Seeing what people are

wearing to events around the world and getting feedback on what you wear are some of the things Boyko would like the app to do for users.

“If you’re going to a mall, let’s say to try on T-shirts, (and) you don’t want to buy two, you just take a photo of each … have a coffee in the food court and hopefully by then you have some feedback to make your decision on,” Boyko said.

The app could lead to a full-time career but for now it is just a fun experience.

“We’re just having fun

with it for now. I’m not quitting my day job by any means, it’s sort of a passion project.”

The key for the app is to get to 10,000 users.

“Ten thousand is the magic number in social media … it’s called critical mass, when you have a certain amount of fol-lowers where you have clout,” Boyko said.

The aim right now is to get the app to be compatible with social media websites.

“Our next step is to share photos over Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest,” Boyko said.

D-Side is currently available on iTunes.

By RANDI CLARKE

Earlier this month, Conestoga Students Inc. held tryouts for the X Factor, an event based on the popular television show. Of the 15 contestants who tried out over the two-week period, only eight of them made it to the finals held on March 18.

The winners of this compe-tition were first-year journal-ism – print students Justin Ford and Matt Howell, who introduced themselves as The Talent (Ford) and The Face (Howell) during their per-formances. The second place winner was general arts and science health option student John Gillett. Taking third place was advertising and marketing student Vanessa Vokey.

It took three judges over two hours to judge all eight finalists.

“The top three were all very close calls,” said Samantha Schwier, programming co-ordinator at Conestoga

Students Inc. and one of the three judges. “It was hard to decide which ones placed first, second and third.”

All of the acts in the finals were singing acts. Some of them were accompanied by

instrumental tracks while others were accompanied by guitar.

Vokey said she was a little nervous to be performing in front of a large group of people.

“Obviously it’s always going

to be a little nerve-wracking, but it was mostly exciting and fun,” she said. “My cousin and friends came out to support me and I was a lot less ner-vous having them there.”

One of the main things for the

performers in this round was to just keep powering through their performances, no matter how tough it got or how many times they messed up.

“I wasn’t feeling very confi-dent after my first song, only because I messed up a few words from the lyrics at the beginning,” Vokey said. “I think I did a good job of laugh-ing it off and not letting it get to me though, it’s supposed to be fun! I pulled it together well in the end and was just really looking forward to getting into the next round.

“I think I showed that I was having fun. I was charismatic and I think I chose cool songs that showed off my voice,” she added. “I come from a musical theatre background so it was important for me to choose songs that I could really belt and act out. Nothing makes me happier than singing.”

The first place winners received $100, the second place winner got $75 and the third place winner received $50.

Conestoga students have talent

PHOTO By RANDI CLARKEJustin Ford and Matt Howell, first-year journalism - print students, perform at the X Factor finals.

PHOTO By JODy ANDERsONDerek Boyko shows the splash page for his app D-Side.

Page 4 s SPOKE Monday, March 31, 2014COMMENTARY

TV is one of the greatest inventions of our time. It can tell us compelling stories, create likeable and relatable characters we care for and tell us stuff we need to know. But there are shows that just don’t belong on the airwaves – shows that aim for the low-est common denominator and just keep scraping the bottom of the barrel but still rake in tons of viewers each week.

Duck Dynasty, a show that airs on A&E, is about the Robertson family in Louisiana who got rich by creating their own family-operated business called Duck Commander. It is the most-watched non-fiction show in history. People actu-ally tune in week-to-week and are amused watching these bearded men’s wacki-ness? I feel this is an affront to good television because so many people, such as writ-ers, producers, directors and actors, work 14-hour days to provide viewers with good material. Duck Dynasty and everyone involved with the Robertson family is filthy rich and don’t have to work a day in their lives so basi-cally this reality show is laughing in your face for having a job and working for a living. Imagine having

a roommate who doesn’t do anything and likes to fool around and have fun while you go out and work then come back and watch him have fun for an hour. That’s about the equivalent of an episode that these money-hungry homophobes put out. Homophobia shouldn’t be tolerated in this world. But, in a GQ magazine interview Phil Robertson, one of the main stars of the show, was asked, “What in your mind, is sinful?”

Robertson said, “Start with homosexual behaviour and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men.”

You are allowed to say what you want thanks to freedom of speech, but if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.

It’s a sad world that Duck Dynasty is succeeding in the

ratings but shows like NBC’s Hannibal, a far better, emo-tionally charged, character-driven drama, is struggling. Another show that can be classified as disgusting and morally wrong is Toddlers and Tiaras. I really can’t put the show into words without saying something derogatory about the creators so here’s TLC’s description of the show from their website:

“On any given weekend, on stages across the country, little girls and boys parade around wearing makeup, false eyelash-es, spray tans and fake hair to be judged on their beauty, per-sonality and costumes.”

I wonder how many pedo-philes and sex offenders watch this show religiously. It’s disgusting and wrong to treat children like this. The show has been running for six years now and keeps bring-ing in the viewers. I cannot fathom how anyone can pass this off as entertainment and not feel something is morally wrong? It’s not cute, it’s not funny, it’s plain wrong.

If you watch Toddlers and Tiaras or Duck Dynasty you are part of the problem because studios don’t make stuff people don’t watch. Do the right thing raise the IQ a bit and change the channel.

What the duck are we watching?

How much would you pay to save a life?

BY KATRiNA EdlEfsEN

The price of a product that is used to keep people from going into anaphylactic shock is putting many people in Hamilton into a whole different kind of shock.

Last year the City of Hamilton voted to put auto-injec-tors – more commonly known as EpiPens – in restaurants throughout the city.

In Canada alone there are about 2.5 million people liv-ing with a food allergy and that number only accounts for the people who know that they have an allergy.

In a poll on CBC’s website, 78 per cent of voters said that cities should pay for EpiPens to be placed in restaurants.

The 22 per cent who voted no are likely suffering from price shock. According to an article published by the Hamilton Spectator, the cost of putting EpiPens in all major restaurants in the city was estimated to be $126,000 a year.

The Spectator also was quick to point out that because the placement of EpiPens is deemed a “public life-saving service,” it would be taxpayers who would have to shell out the big bucks for this program.

Another issue is liability. Many Hamilton residents were concerned that they could be sued by the other party in the case of a highly unlikely EpiPen-related death.

However, Heather McLeod-Kilmurray, an associate pro-fessor in the faculty of law at the University of Ottawa, said in the Spectator story that the Ontario’s Good Samaritan Act would protect citizens from liability issues.

“The only way the average person could fall outside that is if you shoved the EpiPen in their eye and they went blind,” McLeod-Kilmurray said. “But that would be ridicu-lous.”

Cost and legal issues aside, another concern raised by residents and city council was the fact that if a case of anaphylaxis occurred and the EpiPen was wrongly admin-istered by restaurant staff a new kind of lawsuit could open up, mainly whether the staff was properly trained.

Ultimately, in the case of EpiPens, the big question for residents of Hamilton becomes, how much are you willing to pay to save a life? The views herein represent the position of the newspa-per, not necessarily the author.

Cole Froude Opinion

Spoke welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be signed and include the name and telephone number of the writer. Writers will be contact-ed for verification.No unsigned letters will be published.Letters should be no longer

than 500 words.Spoke reserves the right to edit

any letter for publication.Email letters to: www.spokeonline.com with the subject line

“Letter to the Editor,” or bring them to Room 1C30 at the Doon campus.

Watch out for pranks tomorrow.

spOKEi S P u b L i S h E D a N D P R O D u C E D W E E K L y b y t h E j O u R N a L i S M S t u D E N t S O F C O N E S t O g a C O L L E g E

Editor: Laurie SnellAssignment Editors: Steph Smith, Kelsey DunbarAdvertising Managers: tyler batten, ashley Kowitzspoke Online Editors: brandon hommel, Katrina Edlefsen, Spencer beebe, Devon hayes,

aaron Crecesproduction Managers: Casey Schellenberger, jody anderson, tony McLellan

photo Editors: greg Stamper, Mark Lorentz, Cody Steeves, bruce Chessell, Callie Wrigglesworth, becky Sheasby, Cole Froude, Randi Clarke

social Media Editor: josh bury, tasha Lunny

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Spoke’s address is 299 Doon Valley Dr., Room 1C30, Kitchener, Ontario, N2g 4M4. Phone: 519-748-5220, ext. 3691, 3692, 3693, 3694Fax: 519-748-3534Email: spoke@conestogac.on.caWebsite: www.spokeonline.com

the views and opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect the views of Conestoga College. Spoke shall not be liable for any damages arising out of errors in advertising beyond the amount paid for the space. Letters to the editor are subject to acceptance or rejection and should be clearly written or typed; a MS Word file would be helpful. Letters must not contain any libellous statements.

letters are welcome

Monday, March 31, 2014 SPOKE s Page 5NEWS

by brucE chESSEll

On March 22 Conestoga integrated marketing com-munications students held an event at Fairview Park Mall to spread awareness for Cadillac Fairview’s “Green at Work” initiative. Working in col-laboration with Sustainable Waterloo Region and spon-sors such as THEMUSEUM, the students aimed to display the five pillars of the “Green at Work” initiative which are energy, waste management, environmental protection, sustainable procurement and communication.

On Fairview Park Mall’s website they describe the five pillars as such:

“1. Energy: A key focus is on energy conservation and effi-ciency and the incorporation of renewable energy sources,

with a long-term goal of net-zero emissions from build-ings.

2. Waste Management: Our goal is to generate zero waste by implementing a consis-tent and dedicated approach to waste diversion and waste minimization.

3. Environmental Protection: Our goal is to eliminate adverse impacts at our properties wherever our activities, products and ser-vices interact with the envi-ronment, while ensuring com-pliance with governmental regulations.

4. Sustainable Procurement: Wherever possible, we will utilize environmentally-friendly products, services and best management prac-tices at all properties.

5. Communication: Our comprehensive Green

Communication Plan has been designed to inform, engage, educate and share green best practices with our employees and tenants so that we can work together to make a difference.”

The students set up five sta-tions around the mall, each symbolizing a different pillar of the initiative and each one featuring a different activity or information. For example, the energy booth featured an interactive area where kids in the mall could exert energy by riding around on small tri-cycles, while the parents got information on energy conser-vation as well as a free set of energy-efficient light bulbs.

“Fairview Park and Cadillac Fairview has a sustainability program corporately called Green at Work, so we’ve been looking at ways to promote

all the great work that we do in this program,” said Leah Landriault, marketing man-ager for Fairview Park Mall. “What Conestoga College has done is come in and brought that to life. They’ve taken a corporate document and cor-porate strategies and things that we kind of do behind the scenes and they have brought that to the public in a very interactive way.”

Since 2008 Cadillac Fairview has reduced their energy consumption by 76 million equivalent kilowatt hours, as well as reduced greenhouse gas emissions by over 14,000 equivalent tons of carbon. They have also diverted 39,000 tonnes of landfill waste, saved over 600 megalitres of water (enough to fill 243 Olympic-size swimming pools) and

improved their lighting by over 933 kilowatts. Also, 100 per cent of their cleaning products are “green” and their total cost of savings for Canadian properties is more than $31 million.

“Fairview Park Mall essen-tially came to us and said we need a fun and dynamic event for families and this is what we have created,” said Karly Rath, one of the project managers for the event and a student in the post-graduate integrated marketing commu-nications program.

“And what we’re trying to do is promote the initiative. One of the ways we’re doing that is by highlighting the accom-plishments that Fairview Park Mall has achieved because they really have done quite a lot to reduce their eco-logical footprint.”

Students promote Green at Work

PhOTOS by brucE chESSEllConestoga students and Fairview Park Mall held a ‘Green At Work’ event which featured many different activities. Above, chil-dren at an energy booth ride plasma cars, which generate their own energy. Students and their water booth display educated the public about water conservation.

At a waste booth, kids had to put items in the correct recycling containers.

An interactive game had participants trying to get a loonie in a shot glass which was at the bottom of a water-filled container. Those who were successful were entered into a draw for tickets to THEMUSEUM.

Page 6 s SPOKE Monday, March 31, 2014FEATURE

BY COLE FROUDE

Flite Craft Model Co., a family-owned business, start-ed with one man’s passion for a hobby that turned into Kitchener’s No. 1 store for model airplanes and remote- control cars, boats and heli-copters.

Owner Steve Gray, 60, has been enjoying model making his whole life.

“When I was young, it was actually in Scouts. I built a hand launch glider which was nothing more than an airplane you tossed into the air by yourself. My uncle helped me build it and that was how I started,” Gray said.

Through his teenage years he discovered that there was a need for parts locally as friends complained that the nearest store was an hour away. This paved the way for a business opportunity that he jumped at – he turned his basement into Kitchener’s first model airplane part store.

“I had parts delivered to my basement and to the post office sometimes. I would also go out and buy the items needed then sell them out of my basement on weekends and evenings,” Gray said.

After five years of running the business there he moved it to its current location at 1595 Victoria St., Kitchener, in November 1985. The store has been serving the region for over 30 years.

“The first year at our new location was tended to by my sister while I had a real job. I’d work here on weekends until it got busy enough so I could work full time,” Gray said.

Business was booming and interest in the hobby stayed pretty consistent until the mid ’90s when remote control cars came on to the scene. Then the hobby surged in popularity.

During the winter it gets quiet at Flite Craft Model Co. as the hobby is seasonal.

“The main season for model racing and flying is during the summer. Some people do put skis on their planes and play around in the winter months but most people just stay in their basements and upgrade their plane for next year,” Gray said.

The hobby has a very dedi-cated fan base. Although not as big as cycling or any type of car racing, there are still some huge races held across the country and internation-ally.

“There is a racetrack near Hamilton called Hardcore Speedway. They have the big-gest turnout and the biggest races but it’s not considered a national event, in fact, there are no national races held in Canada.

“In the United States there are nationals that are held in different places each year. World championships are held across the world for all models and all different styles of competition like rac-ing and aerobatics,” Gray said.

Gray’s son, Bob, has been very successful in the compet-itive side of model racing. He finished second in the world in aerobatics helicopter flying. He is sponsored and makes money flying model helicop-ters while also travelling the world doing demonstrations. Anyone in the model helicop-ter or competitive helicopter

model racing knows his name. Steve has also travelled the

world for these events, par-ticipating in Japan, Turkey and England. In addition to competing in the events he also has taken his business on the road.

“I have sold at some conven-tions. There was a hobby show at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium that I sold at for five years. I have attended one in Toronto and even in Vancouver, but it was a lot of expense for little reward. We’re more of a local shop so we don’t reach out that far anymore,” he said.

Steve offered advice on how to get into the hobby.

“It’s relative to how far you want to go and how much you want to spend. You should start out with a beginner’s car or beginner’s plane and you should also take into con-sideration if you want to fly or drive indoors or outdoors. There really is something for everyone on where you want to start,” he said.

The planes strung up throughout the store are not just for decorative purposes, they are actually made by customers and Gray is help-ing sell them. Two of the most expensive items ever sold at the store were a plane for $6,200 and a turbine F15 jet for $10,000.

The hot item right now is a small squad helicopter.

“Most people have heard of these small squad helicop-ter. They’re not too expensive and you can fly them in the house or outdoors. Some even have cameras on them. They start at just $50. They are really popular right now and attracting new people to the hobby,” Steve said.

From hobby to business Flite Craft Model Co. has been serving the region for over 30 years

PHOTOS BY COLE FROUDE Steve Gray, who owns the radio control model store, Flite Craft Model Co. in Kitchener, holds up the award-winning helicopter his son built. Photo at bottom shows a small squad helicopter that starts at $50.

A plane for sale hangs from the ceiling with a man in the cockpit.

Monday, March 31, 2014 SPOKE s Page 7NEWs

By scott diEtrich

Conestoga event manage-ment students in their final semester are getting the chance to finally take every-thing they have learned and apply it to the real world. One of their final assignments is to work in groups to hold an event for their classmates or the general public.

One group took their love of athletics and a television show and turned it into a competition. On March 22, Sara Moreira, Jade Sammons, Kailey Esbaugh and Prathamesh Shetty held an event in uptown Waterloo called the Amazing Race Waterloo.

“We were all very athletic people so we wanted to do something active,” Esbaugh said. “We thought about doing something in the gym but then we wanted to do some-thing like a competition so we settled on the Amazing Race.”

The competition pitted any-one who was willing to race in the cold, and get up early on a Saturday morning, against each other.

In all 34 people (17 teams of two) raced around uptown Waterloo, getting around by any means necessary. They faced such challenges as eat-ing four of the hottest wings in town at Morty’s Pub, devour-ing a litre of frozen yogurt, attempting a session of hot yoga and solving a series of challenging clues.

The event was entirely student-run, from marketing to finances. Esbaugh said it

was a fantastic experience for the students, who are get-ting the chance to apply what they have learned for the first time. “It puts the responsibil-ity on us,” Esbaugh said, add-ing, “We pay for the event. We are in charge of marketing so if the event is a flop then it’s all on us.”

Scott McGuire and Brandon Death took home the top prize, a gift basket that included new iPod shuffles and other prizes. They com-peted under the team name of Victorious Secret, and had the fastest time, finishing the race in three hours and 25 minutes.

McGuire said when all was said and done, it was the wing challenge that ended up being the hardest part of the competition.

“Those wings were awful,” McGuire said. “The hot yoga was hard sure, but there was a lot of pain after eating those wings.”

racing for fun and experience

Photo By scott diEtrichBrandon Death (left) and Scott McGuire hold up their prizes after winning the Amazing Race Waterloo on March 22.

Photo By scott diEtrichSara Moreira (from left to right), Jade Sammons, Kailey Esbaugh and Prathamesh Shetty pose in front of the Amazing Race event sign. They are all event management students at Conestoga’s Waterloo campus.

“We pay for the event. We are in charge of mar-keting so if the event is a flop then it’s all on us.”

— Kailey Esbaugh

NEWsPage 8 s SPOKE Monday, March 31, 2014

International inspirationConestoga student spreads awareness about poverty in Costa Rica“They’d have snacks and

these kids would just run in and sit down like, ‘let’s get that little slice of watermel-on.’ It was the most humbling experience I’ve ever been through to see people appreci-ate the smallest things.”

Rochon also said that while they experienced the tough life because of Costa Rica’s economic turmoil, they were also exposed to just how grate-ful those students were just to be able to have tiny luxuries.

“One of the most inspiring things about the trip was see-ing them have nothing and find the joy and satisfaction in the simplest things,” he said. One of those luxuries

was a homemade basketball net the student leaders made for the children.

“There was a wire – it was just a wire, we don’t really know where it came from – that we attached to a wall and then we hung it up with ropes. These kids were going to town on it!”

While he was there, Rochon said he wasn’t able to really film until their last day in Costa Rica.

“That was more of a com-munication error. We couldn’t really talk to them because of the language barrier. Nobody really pushed the pictures; we tried a couple times to take pictures but they’d be like, ‘no, no, don’t do that,’ so on that last day we got free rein and it was just one full day of walk-ing around with a camera. It was really an amazing thing.”

Working with Maximo Nivel, an intercultural orga-nization that helps students studying abroad and on trips get acquainted with their surrounding cultures, the Conestoga students were able to learn and quickly under-stand just how hard life can be for these young children.

“We got introduced to a real-

ly nice girl, Sharon Hsu, and she ended up helping us out and giving us a little tour of the area. We’d do different things every day to get a feel of what Costa Rica was really like.”

While they were there, the

group did multiple debriefs with the Maximo Nivel staff.

“On the final day they did a review of what we had learned – what we liked and didn’t like – it was really interest-ing from the first meeting that we had to that last day

how eye opened and inspired everybody was,” Rochon said. “A lot of people were really sad but that comes with the territory.”

The video can be found at www.respectingtheprocess.com/film/.

PHOTO BY DEvON HaYEsFor journalism - broadcast student, Adam Rochon, Costa Rica was more than just a journalistic oppor-tunity. Rochon’s experience inspired him to spread the word about poverty in developing nations.

“One of the most inspir-ing things about the trip was seeing them have

nothing and find joy and satisfaction in the simplest

things.” — Adam Rochon

FROM PAgE 1

Monday, March 31, 2014 SPOKE s Page 9

Page 10 s SPOKE Monday, March 31, 2014NEWS

BY TASHA LUNNY

Georgian Bay Islands National Park is looking across Ontario to find up to six participants for their 2014 “Artist in the Park” program. With inspirational views of their 30,000 islands and rug-ged landscapes, which dis-play the best of the Canadian Shield, Georgian Bay Islands National Park is a perfect place for a summer artist-in-residence program.

Park superintendent, Gary McMillan, said it would not be the first time that the park

is portrayed in the arts.“National parks across the

country have been an inspira-tion for artists for over 100 years. Georgian Bay in gener-al … was both the inspiration and actual location for several works by some really famous Canadian artists,” McMillan said.

Some of those artists are the Group of Seven, Ed Bartram and Margarethe Vanderpas. In the past two years the Art in the Park program has host-

ed 12 artists and McMillan believes this summer will be another chance for those with a passion for the arts to find inspiration.

“This is an opportunity for young artists to follow in the footsteps of some of Canada’s most famous artists, and find the inspiration to create works that will inspire future generations of Canadians,” McMillan said.

The selected artists will get to spend four nights in one of

the rustic waterfront cabins located on Beausoleil Island. They will also have boat transportation to the island, use of a bicycle and opportu-nities to meet and share art-work with park visitors.

McMillian said applicants do not need to be established artists, nor specific to any one form of art. In the past they have seen everything from sculptors, metal workers, muralists, traditional paint-ers and even a glass blower.

“We are just looking for highly creative individuals with a sense of adventure who want to share their passion by speaking with general park visitors and help promote the connection of the park to art and artists in Canada,” McMillan said.

Application packages are available on the park’s web-site – parkscanada.ca/gbi. Just look for the Artist in the Park heading in the right-hand column, or look under “What’s New.”

All applications must be received by April 17.

Follow in the footsteps of

PHOTOS BY STEPH SMITHThe third annual Chairity Gala was hosted by the second-year interior decorating students at the Waterloo Region Museum on March 18. Proceeds went to Guelph General Hospital. Above, Jennica Swayze, a second-year interior decorating student, stands with her team’s chair entitled The Luminaire Chair, which focused on gradient and light. For a video on the gala, go to www.spokeonline.com.

This chair, titled Red & White and Hue all Over, was designed by Leslee Squirrell, the co-ordinator of the interior decorating pro-gram at Conestoga College.

This Pocket Full of Miracles chair was designed by Montreal-based fashion designer Simon Chang, one of the VIPs who participated in the up-cycling project.

INTERIOR DECORATING STUDENTS AUCTION CHAIRS FOR CHARITY

Apply to be an Artist in the Park

The Group of Seven

by tony mclellan

This is the first of a two-part series.

As the soft-spoken man in the cherry red shirt talked in his calming, rhythmic voice, no one would guess the tragedies he has faced, the psychological terrors that he has overcome in his life. Throughout his youth he experienced the exact oppo-site treatment that any devel-oping, impressionable young mind should. He suffered many subsequent hardships because of this stress, from a chronic drug abuse habit to spending nearly two decades on the streets of Kitchener-Waterloo. All of this he man-aged to overcome, and he now tells a story that will educate some and give others hope. This is the story of Randy Verdone, a survivor of sexual abuse, substance abuse and 14 years as a young homeless man.

“I learnt very young that I was a possession, that I was small, that I was there to please other people,” Verdone said of his childhood. “I wasn’t there for myself. I never learned how to put myself first in any situation and because of that, I ended up learning very young as well that no one was going to take care of me but me.” The sexual, physical and mental abuse that shaped Verdone’s early life was inflicted by the very people who should have been standing by his side defend-ing him from it. Eventually, the stress that was part of every waking moment of his childhood climaxed in his 14 years of existence, and forced him to pursue a new form of perceived happiness.

“Around the age of 14, I started using cocaine just to hide from everything that was going on, and to erase it from my memory,” Verdone said. “That was my plan, any-way, but it didn’t turn out that way.”

After turning to drugs for relief, they would soon take over his life and become yet another obstacle in his already challenging exis-tence. He eventually started to inject heroin intravenous-ly for relief and escape into bliss. The false happiness would quickly turn his life into one devoid completely of happiness.

Eventually, Vedone was ejected from his home due to his substance abuse prob-

lems, and that was when he began what was to be one of the most eventful and difficult periods of his life as a home-less young man. Even though Verdone was now without a permanent home, he tried his best to not let it affect his education. Managing to first finish high school, Verdone applied to Conestoga College and was accepted into the computer engineering pro-gram. He completed the entire first year without any outside assistance.

“I worked to put myself through school and I lived in a tent in the school’s bush lot” Verdone said of his life as a homeless student. “I would go

into the school, use the gym to shower in the morning, then go to my classes, go to work at night, then go back to my tent. I did this for a year.”

However, the drugs that Verdone took on a regular basis would pose a problem, and then become the eventual reason that he dropped out of post-secondary education.

As Verdone speaks of his time on the streets, he recounts the ways in which he managed to make the best of a situation that breaks the spirits of many, in addition to the multitude of challenges he faced on a daily basis.

“Those 14 years, although they have some good memo-ries, are not days I’d want to

go back to,” he said. The life of a homeless per-

son as recounted by Verdone is surprisingly different than that which is commonly por-trayed by urban myth. He explains that in the winter-time, the core body tempera-ture drops noticeably in peo-ple who don’t have shelter. This drop enables them to sleep outdoors in the dead of winter and not get ill from it, whereas the opposite hap-pens if they go indoors for the night.

“Your skin will start to get a burning feeling and you’ll feel physically in pain,” Verdone said. “That sudden change to warmth doesn’t actually help

you. It messes things up.”Sleeping outdoors, especial-

ly in the winter, still holds many risks for the homeless person, even if they’re accus-tomed to living in the harsh conditions. Sometimes, the risk comes from other people.

“I remember one winter Friday night I fell asleep in my sleeping bag. It had been raining the previous night, so it drenched me,” Verdone said. “I woke up and my sleeping bag was frozen solid. When I came to, I found a group of people, probably from the surrounding bars who were surrounding me. These people were also uri-nating all over me while I was sleeping. This was stuff that

we, as homeless people, lived with,” he said. “I don’t want to say this is typical, but it does happen more often than anyone would want to admit.”

This is just one of many incidents that Verdone expe-rienced first-hand as a home-less man. He also had people try to fight him out of the blue in the name of amuse-ment, or those who would lead him somewhere with the promise of money or free food and leave him stranded. Combined with the issues he already had with drugs and emotional stress, the home-less life forced Verdone into a deeper pit of anxiety and despair.

“With people treating me like this, it just reinforced all that negative thought that I had in the first place, that people would just use and abuse me,” Verdone said. “I didn’t want that so I just withdrew even more.”

Verdone rarely got sick, despite living without profes-sional health care for most of his time spent on the streets. He was able to accomplish such a feat through his intimate knowledge of the urban land-scape, from the wild plants that could be used as food to the proper techniques used in dumpster-diving. Verdone also shared his knowledge of panhandling, and how it involved much more than sim-

ply begging for cash.“For three years I sat at the

7-11 at the corner of King and University,” he said. “I would actually put in an eight-hour shift. It was my job, the only work that I could do. People say that panhandling’s bad, but I’m here to tell you that it’s just as much work as any other job. There’s a lot of mental and emotional work that has to be done.”

Verdone compares panhan-dling to telemarketing, in that “telemarketing focuses on sell-ing something, and receiving something. Panhandling is the exact same,” Verdone said. “When you give a panhandler money, it makes you feel good inside, and you can go to bed with a smile on your face, and the panhandler gets money. It works out for everyone.”

Verdone explained that a smart panhandler, one who wants to stick primarily to one spot to conduct his busi-ness, would often develop a symbiotic relationship with the store or business he would set up outside of.

“I kept people from robbing the store,” Verdone said. “If there were fights, I’d break them up. I would clean up the parking lot after the party crowd left, and other small tasks like that. In exchange, the manager of the 7-11 would let me sit there at night and panhandle. It helped the manager, the employees and me. Everyone was happy.”

Verdone has been drug-free for over five years, and in possession of a home for even longer than that. After being a homeless drug addict for many years, he eventu-ally managed to summon the courage and strength to go into and commit to rehab and therapy. Over a lengthy, intensely focused period of time, Verdone cast off the chains that once restrained his success.

“Once I had got over the feelings I had as a child, as an adult I was able to reclaim that control,” Verdone said. “In claiming that control and power, I was able to adjust my thinking and get some self-confidence and start building on that. Today I’m doing excellent because of this. I don’t have those prob-lems anymore. All I can tell other people who have gone through this is to go out, get help and take that power back.”

Next week: A look at Randy Verdone’s business, Peering Your Peers.

Monday, March 31, 2014 SPOKE s Page 11Feature

14 years Homeless: a survivor’s story

PHoto SubmittedRandy Verdone hosts a workshop for the not-for-profit counselling business he started called Peering Your Peers. He runs the initiative as a way to help those who are currently homeless, coping with drug addiction or suffering from high emotional stress.

Page 12 s SPOKE Monday, March 31, 2014NEWS

BY ASHLEY KOWITZ

A new program from the Kitchener Public Library (KPL) brings the book club to the pub.

PubLit, a book club that takes place outside of the library’s walls, is now being held at the Firkin at the Tannery. It is a book club unlike the rest.

“I have participated in a book club before but I didn’t last long,” said Ashley Egerdeen, a second-year nursing stu-dent at Conestoga College. “I didn’t like the books that were picked.”

PubLit doesn’t require participants to read spe-cific books. The no-home-work approach is one of the things that sets PubLit apart from the average book club. Participants are encouraged to bring in anything they’ve read over the past month.

Another aspect that makes PubLit different from the rest is the reading isn’t limited to just books or any one genre. Participants discuss books that range from young adult fiction to non-fiction and everything in between.

It also isn’t limited to just novels. People are encour-aged to discuss any reading

material, such as blogs or newspaper articles they’ve read.

“Consequently, we end up having free-flowing discus-sions about our reading lives, making the act of reading a shared, social experience,” said Sandra Taylor, who runs PubLit with fellow KPL librarian, Kristin Johnson-Perlock.

The meetings usual-ly break up into smaller groups to discuss what they’ve been reading and then the groups are rotated partway through.

The laid-back atmosphere gives people the chance to discuss their books in a more intimate way. With a beer and casual conversations, attendees might find a new book to add to their reading list or hear feedback on one of their old favourites.

At the end of the evening, literary- and library-themed door prizes (such as gift cer-tificates and book plates) are given to lucky participants.

Johnson-Perlock said she hopes that the participants will help shape the event as time goes on. The feedback has been enthusiastic and they hope to use this feedback for future plans.

“PubLit is the first pro-gram offered via KPL that falls under a new initiative to develop programming for people in their 20s and 30s,” said Johnson-Perlock. “We hope to build on the success of PubLit and develop new

social programs for commu-nity members.”

PubLit is held on the last Tuesday of the month from now until June at the The Firkin at the Tannery pub. The pub is located at 121 Charles St. W. in downtown

Kitchener. After a short break in the summer, they will resume meeting in the fall.

For more information about PubLit, check out KPL’s Facebook page or #PubLit on Twitter.

A perfect combination of books and booze

PHOTO BY ASHLEY KOWITZA woman stands in front of The Firkin at the Tannery where the PubLit book club meets on the last Tuesday of every month.

PHOTO BY jOSHuA BurYLori De La Cruz, a hearing instrument specialist student, performs a free hearing screening on Ravneet Kaur Mangat in the F-wing of the Doon campus on March 20. Students from the program were offering free, basic screenings and demonstrating equipment for students.

students perform good deeds AT ConeSTogA CoLLege

PHOTO BY SPENcEr BEEBEShashidhar narasimha (from left), Vaidehi Patel, Parth Shah and george Dwamena are Conestoga project management students who have teamed up with Community Support Connections to sell cal-enders and raise funds for the CSC’s Meals on Wheels program to help seniors. The calendars will be available at the Cambridge campus Atrium on April 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and again at the Doon campus at Doors 3 and 6 on April 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Monday, March 31, 2014 SPOKE s Page 13Feature

By tasha Lunny

It is the middle of the day and you’re struck by afternoon hunger. Most people head out to the nearest vending machine to grab their snack but there are better ways to satisfy hunger and maintain healthy eating habits.

According to a Community Wire news release, 85 per cent of people claim they are inter-ested in making good food decisions, but less than half of those surveyed rated their eating habits as very good or excellent.

G e t t i n g proper nutri-tion will not only keep you from gaining u n w a n t e d weight, but also decrease chances

of disease or medical prob-lems. Waterloo-based naturo-pathic doctor Alyson Danby gave easy tips to help people cut down on junk and better their health.

One of the most important things to add to your grocery list is multi-coloured vegeta-bles. Eating five to six serv-ings a day of vegetables will provide you with necessary vitamins, minerals and fibres.

Although Danby encour-ages eating all colours of the “vegetable rainbow,” the most important ones to include are greens such as broccoli.

“Try and have at least one green vegetable with every meal including breakfast,” Danby said. “I know it seems like a hard one but if you stop to think about it, it’s actually really easy.”

Adding vegetables like spin-ach to your morning break-fast smoothies or eggs can

be an easy way to make your breakfast a little greener.

Although foods that are high in fibre, complex carbohydrates

and vita-mins are

essential, it is also important to make sure you are i n c l u d i n g

enough pro-tein in your diet and not just through meat prod-ucts.

“(It is important to) ensure you are getting enough pro-tein and that includes veg-etable sources of protein. Amino acids are essential for so many building blocks in the body … so it is really important,” Danby said.

As a naturopathic doctor, Danby encourages people to cut down on foods high in pre-servatives. Some easy ways to do this is to incorporate organic or locally grown foods into your diet. Another easy way to cut back on unneces-sary additives is to replace sauces with herbs and spices.

“When you’re removing a lot of the chemicals that you’re eating and you’re adding in nutrients and proteins, that is a (type of) cleanse and detox,” she said.

Taking the time to plan out weekly meals is a good way to ensure you stay on track with your eating habits. It also helps save a few dollars at the grocery store and reduce the amount of food being thrown out each week.

“You are much more likely to succeed in healthy eating if you have a meal plan and … if you plan your meals out than

you’re planning your grocery shopping and you only eat what you have at home.”

Danby explained that the reason so many people don’t follow through with their healthy eating habits is due to overwhelming schedules. An easy tip to remember when times get busy is to always keep a healthy snack on hand for that afternoon craving.

“Rule No. 1 is always hav-ing a healthy snack with you. Nuts and seeds, vegetables, fruits or something along those lines, so you’re not caught out on the go hungry.”

tips to clean eating

Photo iLLustration By tasha LunnyEating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits as part of a overall healthy diet may reduce risk of heart disease, cancer and obesity.

toP ten LeaFy Greens

1. Kale2. Collard Greens3. Turnip Greens4. Swiss Chard5. Spinach6. Mustard Greens7. Broccoli8. Rapini (Broccoli Rabe)9. Romaine Lettuce 10. Cabbage

“Rule No. 1 is always having a healthy snack

with you.” — Dr. Alyson Danby

Photo iLLustration By tasha LunnyKeeping healthy snacks available during a busy day reduces your chances of reaching for junk food.

Naturopathic doctor encourages everyone to eat all colours of the ‘vegetable rainbow’

10. Cabbage

Page 14 s SPOKE Monday, March 31, 2014EntErtainmEnt

Monuments Men doesn’t make historyBy KElsEy DunBar

“Hungry?” Lt. Frank Stokes asks.

“You buying?” James Granger replies.

“No. Uncle Sam is,” Stokes says.

The Monuments Men, based on a novel by Robert Edsel, revolves around what is called the greatest treasure hunt in history. The movie takes place at the tail end of the Second World War when an unlikely group of men are selected to go overseas into Germany, the centre of the war zone. Their mission is to track down culturally signifi-cant monuments, fine arts and archives that the Nazi army had stolen for Hitler’s Fuhrer Museum.

“If you destroy an entire generation of people’s culture, it’s as if they never existed. That’s what Hitler wants, and it’s the one thing we can’t allow,” says Stokes, who is played by George Clooney.

The story is an amazing tale and quite serious, however,

comedy is brought into it by the great lineup of cast mem-bers, notably Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Jean Duhardin.

Because of the heart-wrenching issues of the con-centration camps and the cul-ture of Jewish people going up in flames, the movie should not have been portrayed in a light-hearted manner. Although the one-liners keep the audience entertained, the historical story itself is much more interesting than what the script was.

“We have been tasked to find and protect buildings, monuments and art … This is our history and it’s not to be stolen or destroyed,” Stokes says.

An honourable mention goes to Cate Blanchett, who plays a French curator with the Nazi army. Her passion and convincing acting made me feel as if more than just paint-ed canvas and chunks of stone were at risk.

I give this film three out of five stars.

Muppets’ sequel doesn’t live up to originalBy marK lorEntz

Taxes and death are the two guarantees in life, but per-haps it’s time to throw anoth-er one into the mix – taxes, death and movie sequels.

Coming off the $88 million made at the box office by The Muppets back in 2011, Walt Disney Studios has given us the latest adventure from the Muppets gang, in Muppets Most Wanted.

With the comedic pedigree of Ricky Gervais (The Office U.K.), Tina Fey (30 Rock), and Ty Burrell (Modern Family) the real-life actors almost match the star power of Kermit the frog, Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear. This time around the Muppets are in Europe, on the last leg of their world tour. They man-age to find themselves stuck in the middle of a jewel heist by the world’s No. 1 crimi-nal Constantine, who looks striking similar to Kermit aside from the cliché mole on his face (apparently that’s a prerequisite for criminal masterminds now.) This triggers a series of unfortu-nate but amusing events that carry the story throughout the movie.

Gervais plays the role of the world’s No. 2 crimi-nal, Constantine’s sidekick, Dominic Badguy, pronounced Badge-ee, who deceives the Muppets as their tour man-ager in order for Constantine

to do the old switcheroo with Kermit. This is where the movie misses the mark. Kermit is separated from the group most of the movie, shar-ing little screen time with his traditional co-stars. Part of the charm, or a lot of it with the Muppets, is the interac-tion and ongoing gags they have amongst each other, but with Kermit now locked in a gulag with iron-fisted Nadya (Fey), the head prison guard, as his main adversary, it’s up to the other Muppets to carry the film and none really step up and take over.

As with any Muppets movie, the song numbers always leave a lasting impression. Man or Muppet from The Muppets won best original song at the Academy Awards back in 2011, but the songs used in this movie feel like they were the leftovers from 2011. There’s no real memo-rable song, although I’m sure a few kids in the audience will be singing a line or two over and over again as they walk out of the theatre much to the chagrin of their par-ents.

One of the benefits of get-ting older is that you realize that movies made for chil-dren are actually packed full of jokes intended for adults. The movie will cater not only to little ones, but kids at heart too with clever lines and subtle jokes that will have children asking you to

explain, and you giving the inevitable answer “you won’t understand.”

With cameos from count-less celebrities, the movie keeps you entertained enough throughout the 112-minute run time that you never get bored, but you never feel as satisfied as

you did when you watched The Muppets. Sure, there may be a handful of likeable scenes, but as a whole the movie feels flat. The real-life actors feel more like caricatures, missing the human element that worked so well for Amy Adams and Jason Segel three years ago.

Let’s throw in another life guarantee – taxes, death, movie sequels and movie sequels never being as good as their predecessor. The Muppets Most Wanted deliv-ers what you would expect, nothing more, nothing less.

I give this movie three out of five stars.

intErnEt PhotoThe Monuments Men proved to be entertaining, yet, didn’t reach its true potential.

intErnEt PhotoThe sequel to 2011’s The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted didn’t live up to its predecessor.

Monday, March 31, 2014 SPOKE s Page 15fun & games

AriesMarch 21 -

April 19

AquariusJanuary 20 - February 18

TaurusApril 20 - May 20

LibraSeptember 23 -

October 22

GeminiMay 21 - June 21

ScorpioOctober 23 - November 21

CapricornDecember 22 -

January 19

SagittariusNovember 22 - December 21

CancerJune 22 - July 22

LeoJuly 23 -

August 22

VirgoAugust 23 -

September 22

PiscesFebruary 19 -

March 20

Stress is weighting you down. Don’t let the pressure cause you to ignore what needs to be done. This weekend: Procrastination.

Things have been rough, but a light is waiting at the end of the tunnel. You are almost there – just keep swimming. This weekend: Tough it out.

Good things have been coming your way and it isn’t going to stop now. Be prepared for more success. This weekend: Shake it out.

Your schedule is busy and it is causing you anxiety. Take the time to schedule accordingly or things might slip through your fingers.This weekend: Red pen.

Your light is shining! You are brightening the week of someone who is down on their luck.This weekend: Light the way.

You have a knack for creativity. Time to get back into the passion you gave up years ago. This weekend: Flow.

Don’t let the small stuff ruf-fle your feathers. Look past it to the bigger picture.This weekend: Calm.

Lady Celeste is the flow in flowers, the sun in sunshine and the ray in

Ray-Ban.

Horoscope Week of March 31, 2014

You are off on a new adventure! Let your heart be your guide. This weekend: Compass.

It is time for change. This is hard for you to embrace but the outcomes will be positive if you stay optimistic. This weekend: Persevere.

Someone has taken something of yours. Don’t let this situa-tion get the best of you. This weekend: Frustrated.

You feel torn between two people. Don’t let their problems pull you into pieces.This weekend: Focus.

The love revolution has arrived. You will be overwhelmed with infatuation and romance. This weekend: Scorch.

Useless FactsOh Cliff!

Sudoku Puzzle

Word Search

Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3x3 box accommo-dates the digits 1-9, with-out repeating any.

Dr. Seuss coined the word nerd in his 1950 book If I Ran The Zoo.

Abraham Lincoln’s ghost is said to haunt the White House.

The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from libraries.

An average human scalp has 100,000 hairs.

Cats have over 100 vocal sounds; dogs only have about 10.Cliff Condor doesn’t like this April Fool’s Day joke.

Page 16 s SPOKE Monday, March 31, 2014