New Nissan dealership almost ready to open

Woodstock's first (business) arrival of 2015 will be Nissan 

By Mark Schadenberg

When a community has most of the major restaurant chains, it’s safe to say that particular city has reached a certain market size or population level. Woodstock has two McDonald’s, four Subways, plus Wendy’s, Burger King, A&W, Harvey’s, Boston Pizza, Pizza Hut, Kelsey’s, Montana’s, East Side Mario’s, Swiss Chalet and Mr. Sub.

Can you say the same thing about a municipality with the arrival of major car dealerships?

Woodstock’s economy is driving forward thanks to a large Toyota factory building the sports utility RAV4. It’s a terrific vehicle – I drive one.

Down the road in Ingersoll, General Motors has a massive production facility called CAMI.

NISSAN

The number of car dealerships in Woodstock will soon grow by one with the opening of Woodstock Nissan (www.woodstock-nissan.ca) at 1201 Dundas (519 537-2277) in early January (My phone call to dealer indicated Monday, Jan. 5).

We call ourselves The Friendly City, and our lineup of car dealers also includes:

Woodstock Ford (www.woodstockford.ca)

Woodstock Toyota

Dubois Honda

Dubois Mazda

Anderson GM
Anderson Kia

Woodstock Chrysler

Woodstock Hyundai

The reason I listed the Ford store at the top of the list is because Woodstock Nissan will be affiliated with Woodstock Ford.

Nissan bills itself in TV commercials and in online ads as: “The Fastest Growing Automotive Brand In Canada.”

The Woodstock store will be located in the former Oxford Tire & Auto Centre (www.oxtac.com) location. That respected car repair shop recently moved to 55 Springbank Ave North in Woodstock.

 

 

I didn’t ask specific details on when the ribbon will be cut at Woodstock Nissan -- when the cake will served and the mayor will be on-site to shake hands, but soon Oxford car hunters will be able to test drive a Micra, Murano, Maxima or Rogue (pictured), or perhaps a Pathfinder or Armada SUV, or Titan truck by buying locally and not travelling to Brantford, London, Kitchener or elsewhere.

Entering this calendar year (2014), the best Nissan sales results in Canada for one year was about 82,000. This year, the auto builder has already surpassed 100,000 says a Nissan press release (or two):

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"This is a wonderful achievement to share with our employees and dealer network during the holiday season and is the direct result of hard work, partnership with our dealers and planning to bring the right cars to Canadians," says Christian Meunier, president of Nissan Canada Inc. "This was a particularly exciting year for the Canadian team with the launch of the Nissan Rogue and Micra, both very successful in Canada.” . . .

The Nissan Rogue continues to be a hot seller in the compact crossover segment and is the top seller in the line-up with 26,729 units sold up to the end of November, up 78 per cent year-over-year. Rogue hits the mark with great design, high utility, an ample interior and the right level of equipment while being easy-to-manoeuver in the city, fuel efficient and affordable. Added to that is the availability of the Nissan intuitive all-wheel drive system, and it is clear why the car is so popular.

(In October), Nissan Group announced total Canadian sales for September of 10,942 units, an increase of 27.8 per cent versus the same month last year. In addition to being its best September ever, this sales achievement marks 14 consecutive months of record sales growth and the seventh straight month of sales exceeding the 10,000 unit mark for the Nissan Group in Canada.

 

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It would appear the Nissan news is good news, and more promising news for the Woodstock economy when its store opens here soon. I guess you could say the first new business to be born in 2015 locally is Woodstock Nissan.

I also think it’s been tremendous for this city to have all its dealerships gradually locate to the east end of Dundas – almost a car mall. It wasn’t too long ago that Chrysler had its store at the corner of Peel and Wilson where Rexall is now, and that an Elliott Brothers lot was in the centre of Downtown where the county’s administration building now sits.

Our city welcomed many new businesses in 2014, Woodstock Nissan will begin the list for 2015.

LINKS:www.nissan.ca

www.woodstock-nissan.ca

http://nissannews.com/en-CA/nissan/canada/releases/nissan-brand-surpasses-sales-of-100-000-vehicles-for-first-time-in-canada

www.cometothecrossroads.com

 

 

I don’t sell cars, but I certainly enjoy selling Woodstock

Mark Schadenberg, sales representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

(519) 537-1553

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland

 

 

'Home Alone' mansion for sale in Winnetka, Illinois

Kevin McAllister's childhood house could be yours

By Mark Schadenberg

Kevin McAllister’s house is for sale, but if you want to buy it be prepared to bring out your cheque book as the asking price is $2.4 million.

McAllister's residence became famous 24 years ago as the home for fictional precocious boy who was accidently forgotten at home by his Chicago suburban parents before a Christmas getaway. A hilarious movie with Macaulay Culkin playing pranks on a pair of prowlers (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) is a classic Christmas move – Home Alone.

The Winnetka, Illinois mansion (Found on Lincoln Avenue) just north of Chicago is now on the market.

 

If you read old stories about the making of the movie, a good portion of it was not filmed inside the house as director Chris Columbus and writer John Hughes obviously did not want to destroy the Georgian-style mansion. Therefore, the antics were filmed on a sound stage created off-site.

Apparently, the Home Alone house was built in 1921 and surprisingly only has four bedrooms.

The link below depicts most of the rooms today, so you can compare it to the movie, but keep in mind, some of the rooms were not used in the picture.  

The house sold as recently as 2012 for $1.58 million and was noted as being 4200 sq ft, including its finished attic.

Unrelated to Home Alone, if you love lame comedies with non-plausible storylines, check out Pesci’s Eight Heads In A Duffle Bag, which was made in 1997.

 

LINKS:

http://hookedonhouses.net/2011/05/08/the-real-home-alone-house-for-sale-in-winnetka-illinois/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/ct-biz-home-alone-house-may5-photogallery.html

If you destination is Oxford County for real estate, contact:

Mark Schadenberg, sales representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

(519) 537-1553

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland

 

 

2015: Shift to Saturday & 6-hour Relay For Life

New format for Relay For Life in Woodstock
Cancer Society fundraiser will be 6 p.m. - midnight
By Mark Schadenberg
Announced officially earlier this month is a story printed in the Woodstock Sentinel- Review, noting Relay For Life is modifying its format locally -- making changes to all 3 Oxford events.
The Sentinel story by Heather Rivers, stated:

Big, bold changes are coming soon to the Canadian Cancer Society’s signature fundraiser in an effort to broaden its appeal.

Both the Woodstock and Ingersoll events will shift to 6 hours, while the Tillsonburg fundraiser will continue to be 12 hours but move around the clock to a day-time format. 
Read the story in the link below, but Relay in Woodstock for 2015 will be on a Saturday (June 13) and is set for 6 p.m. to midnight at College Avenue Secondary School.
The essential form of the event will remain unchanged with an opening ceremony, survivors' lap and luminary ceremony.

If you would like to join the Relay committee as a volunteer in any capacity, contact the office today at (519) 537-5592.

LINK:
http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2014/12/08/bold-and-big-changes-to-relay
www.relayforlife.ca/Woodstock

 

 

Glad my hip replacement surgery is over

My left hip was replaced on Dec 9, rehab well underway

By Mark Schadenberg 

LONDON -- Titanium, cobalt and plastic.

There may have been a few other metal alloys and bionic products in the recipe list I heard this past Monday from my London surgeon, a lucky 13 days since my left hip was replaced at University Hospital here.

 

I must first thank my wife Nicole for the extra care I have received as I was requested to be part of a research study group which has its main basis in sending patients home on the same day as a full anesthetic hip replacement operation.

On Tuesday, Dec. 9, I arrived at the hospital at 6 a.m. for admitting, was on a gurney before 7 and rolled into the operating room before 8. I do remember someone writing on my left hip with a permanent marker so they knew they had the right side (actually the left side. Who’s On First ?). I also recall talking to the anesthesiologist assigned to my case, and have faint memory of someone putting an oxygen mask over my nose. I do not have a recollection of counting backwards from 99 as I was already out.

By 10:15 a.m., Dr Brent Lanting (Remember that name in case any of your friends and/or relatives requires a new hip) was already talking to my wife about how successful the surgery had went.

By 1 p.m., I was alert (and looking for the apples I brought for this day trip as I had fasted for over 18 hours by this point) and Lanting was also describing to me how the procedure was ‘text book’. This text book of his is about a 6-inch wound, which he had stapled close. Those 30 or so staples were removed this past Monday.

In the meantime, I’m home on the day of my operation in time to watch (one of my daily staples) the 6 p.m. news.

Before departing the hospital, the research study included a video camera showing how I was able to walk with crutches less than 6 hours after the surgery. I was also required to fill out a questionnaire, walk up and down a hallway so I could be timed and for my gait to be monitored, but beyond that, instead of a two or three day stay in hospital, I was home with my meds, extra dressing for my scar, an exercise pamphlet, and lots of encouragement from kids Maeghan and Spencer, and the wonderful Nicole.

 

The only setback I had in those first 13 days was the difficult task of not letting my left leg and foot swell up. As they say it’s ‘elevate, elevate and elevate.’

I’m juggling – not really. It’s also finding the happy / content medium between over-exerting myself and on the opposite end of the scale being too seditary.

The good news / bad news item about the timing of this significant medical hip replacement, is that I am unable to drive a car for about four more weeks – despite the fact the operation was on my left side and not my right. No last minute solo Christmas shopping excursions were on my itinerary, but I did ride on a city bus the other day for the first time in more than a decade.

I say thanks to the Lanting team. Also, a thanks for the genuine concern I have received from everyone because of the horrid limp I have had for almost two years, and also to their words of encouragement, sometimes anecdotes and personal stories I have received from people I don’t really know who asked how I was coping, or wanted to tell me about their similar situation.

I send out gratitude to everyone who has assisted in some way, even though I have yet to receive cabbage rolls. As another example, there is one usher at Budweiser Gardens who would run and get the elevator for me when he saw me saunter down the hallway from the press box.

Hopefully, the agony I went through of pushing a lawnmower on a bad hip are done, and maybe I can go on a bike ride with kids in the spring.

If you read this and you’re a real estate client of mine past, present or future, by all means give me a call. I have four different Realtors assisting me from our office. With Christmas holidays as a factor, along with me wanting to find the best personality match, I have talked to a few co-workers about backing me for showings and listings, etc. Or, you can pick me up at my house and we can travel together for showings as I do need a cane still, but I’m most certainly getting around.

In the meantime, our family wishes all the best of the holiday season to you and your family, and of course a healthy and happy 2015.

Mark Schadenberg, sales representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

(519) 537-1553

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland

Annual sports celebrity dinner in London set for Feb. 2

Browning, Zaun, Simpson and Tucker part of head table lineup

Event proceeds to Thames Valley Children's Centre

 

By Mark Schadenberg

A fun Christmas stocking item could be tickets for that special person in your world – lottery tickets, concert tickets, sports tickets, or perhaps admission to one of the most important sports-related benefit events of the year in London.

The 59^th annual Rogers-presented London Sport Celebrity Dinner and Auction (www.londonsportdinner.ca) is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 2, 2015, 6:30 p.m. at the London Convention Centre (300 York Street).

It’s a terrific fundraiser for an amazing Thames Valley Children's Centre association in London assisting the youth of southwestern Ontario in many health-related aspects.

 

 

Mission Statement:

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Mission, Vision and Values

Our Mission:    We will provide rehabilitation services which support participation in all areas of life for children, youth and young adults with physical, communication or developmental needs, and their families, living primarily in Southwestern Ontario by: focusing on the strengths of individuals and their families at home, school, workplace and community pursuing research, education and advocacy partnering in a local and regional system of services Our Vision:   Our Clients at Their Best Our Values: We believe people know themselves and their situations best We believe people want the best for themselves and others We believe people are unique and deserving of respect We believe people function best in a supportive environment We believe people working in partnership can reach goals that cannot be reached alone.                                          ()()()()()()()()()() Admission is $150 for adults, $75 for students, and a table of 10 can be booked for $1,500 through the website. The night includes both the silent and live auctions, but also includes awards to high school athletes (SPECTRA winners), the recognition of a local table of honour for their recent sports accomplishments, plus a keynote speech from an area challenged athlete (Madison Wilson-Walker) who has been coached and inspired through services offered by the TVCC. The Wilson-Walker update can be read in a link below – a story about a determined athlete who had both legs amputated due to meningitis. This year’s head table includes Olympic figure skating legend Kurt Browning (a four-time world champion also), Blue Jays broadcaster and retired catcher Gregg Zaun, retired Maple Leafs forward Darcy Tucker, London Lightning basketball coach Carlos Knox, and Rogers Sportsnet TV broadcaster Christine Simpson who is originally from London.     Kurt Browning, who competed in three Winter Olympics, was Canada’s top athlete in 1990 when he was voted the Lou Marsh winner. Browning was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and Canada's Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000, and was also honoured with a star on Canada's Walk Of Fame in 2001. Starting in 2009, he was the co-host of Battle of the Blades on CBC TV. Bill Boland is another figure skating connection to this year’s gala as Boland will be honoured as Sportsperson Of The Year as he was a key figure in bringing the 2013 world championships to London as a Skate Canada board member Zaun won a World series in 1997 with the Florida Marlins, but the outspoken retired catcher is best known for his seasons with the Orioles and Blue Jays (04-08). He played 16 years in the majors with over 1,200 games, and began his broadcasting career as a playoff analyst when he was still an active player.     Personal Note I was chairperson of the last sports celebrity dinner in Woodstock when it took place more than five years ago – ending a 25-year run. These type of events take a gigantic group of volunteers and tons of local corporate support to combine efforts to raise significant dollars for a very worthwhile cause. Consider buying a ticket for this TVCC event now as a stocking stuffer item for the sports fan on your Christmas shopping list.   The St Thomas sports celebrity dinner is Jan. 22. http://www.stthomassportsspectacular.com/

LINKS:

www.tvcc.on.ca

www.londonsportdinner.ca

www.rogerstv.com

http://www.thelondoner.ca/2014/12/17/wilson-walker-dreaming-big

 

Twitter: @ldnsportsdinner or @tvccfamily

Email: Londonsportsdinner@gmail.com

Accumulating aggregates is chunk of local economy

Oxford County is known for concrete and quarries

By Mark Schadenberg

Oxford County is a fruitful area for agriculture and aggregates.

This leads to concrete – Federal White and others.

Concrete is utilized obviously in countless industrialized fashions, but not the fashion industry.

Our farm fields in Oxford are among the most fertile in the province and a precious resource for our food basket. One acre of agricultural property could sell for over $20,000 currently in this jurisdiction, especially north of Woodstock in the Embro and Hickson areas.

However, maybe as equally important to our economy is mining – shallow pit mining for aggregates. Oxford County, but also Middlesex, Norfolk and Brant are known for future stockpiles of raw construction materials such as these aggregates (gravel, crushed stone, etc). In fact, when the Official Plan is written and later analyzed as the guidebook or rulebook there is always a tug and pull over a particular chunk of lands future designation – highest-and-best use.

Read the link below from the London Free Press, as it describes a possible new subdivision surrounding a soon-to-be-idle aggregate pit (quarry) in the Byron area. The plan can be rather simple, fill the hole with water to create a lake and parklands, establish wildlife for that particular habitat, and then build houses around it. It is a re-purposing or a re-focus project.

It is obvious to anyone, the worst idea would be to transform a former mine into a garbage dump, which has been proposed for the Centreville area between Beachville and Ingersoll.

We not only require clean water, but it’s certainly a human essential. An easy choice -- fresh ground water in our midst versus having to pump it through pipelines from Lake Erie or Huron.

Oxford County website:

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The Clean Water Act requires the development of Source Protection Plans (SPPs) to protect municipal drinking water sources within the various Source Protection Regions in the Province.  Oxford County is contained with the Lake Erie and Thames Sydenham and Region Source Protection Regions and part of four different source protection areas (Grand River, Long Point, Catfish Creek and Thames River), each of which has a separate SPP

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In the world of mathematics, the equation can be defined as quite simply: subtract the aggregates from the ground that are needed for industry, especially construction (concrete and roads), rehab the area (adding) to re-introduce animals and plants, and then let nature run its course by establishing a proper depth to welcome the aquifer and rain water to create a park.

I know, it doesn't really happen this way, even though aggregate companies are required to budget for restoration projects. 

In the meantime, Woodstock companies like Pre Con (www.armtec.com; 1100 Dundas at Beard’s Lane) rely on these quarry locations, including Thornton Sand & Gravel on Clarke Road just west of the 230 Truck Stop, along with five additional locals in Oxford.

Oxford Sand & Gravel is another large firm and they have an arm building roads called Permanent Paving.

 

 

Armtec is:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Armtec offers an exceptional range of engineered products and solutions and has set high standards for quality, versatility and ease of installation.

We serve national and regional public infrastructure and private sector markets in agricultural drainage, commercial building, residential construction and natural resources, with:

·         Products for drainage, bridge applications, soil retention, piping/tubesand bridge repair, and water management systems including corrugatedhigh-density polyethylene, concrete and corrugated steel pipe

·         An array of architectural and structural precast concrete products from steps, paving stones, slabs and wall panels to highly engineered structural components designed and installed for projects such as bridges, sports venues and parking garages

·         A full suite of noise barriers and acoustic enclosures along with associated retaining and traffic barrier systems

·         Services to support your project from conception through to completion

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Armtec builds bridges, pipelines, pre-engineered concrete products and much more. Sound proof walls for railway lines amounted to a $70 million contract in Ontario in 2014.

Water is an absolute essential resource, and that’s why I grumble when I see folks wasting water to have the greenest lawn on the street and the cleanest vehicles.

Woodstock has a few former aggregate mines that require rehab, but the one I quickly think of is at the corner of Juliana and Athlone. Since, the remaining land there is essentially a cliff, and because the area is not attractive for commercial as it’s not on a main artery or large enough parcel for a truck expediting depot, I’m not sure what the future holds there.

In Woodstock, Brick Pond Wetlands is essentially a revived ecosystem. In the mid 1800’s that area was a prominent site to make clay bricks. When the pit became idle, it returned to nature. It only became an issue when Woodstock needed to extend Springbank Avenue through it (over it) with a large bridge to Parkinson Road.

A former quarry in nearby St Marys and at the Thames River Wildwood watershed, was recently hailed for its environmental improvements, receiving a bronze plaque from the Ontario Stone Sand and Gravel Association (Link below)

 

Much of Oxford’s original wetlands have been drained for farmland.

Nature needs its turtles and trees, warblers and wetlands, fish and firs, and we shouldn’t have to travel to Algonquin Park to see it. 

LINKS:

http://www.lfpress.com/2014/12/12/byron-gravel-pit-eyed-for-pond-park-homes

www.opalalliance.ca

http://www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/aggregate-resources

http://www.toarc.com/maap-1/about-maap.html

http://www.oxfordcounty.ca/Portals/15/Documents/CASPO/OfficialPlan/OP/3-4_Resource.pdf

www.armtec.com

www.osgltd.com

www.federalwhitecement.com

www.grtexcavating.com

www.ossga.com

www.thamesriver.on.ca

http://www.ontarionature.org/media/media_template.php?n_code=695

Mark Schadenberg, sales representative

Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

(519) 537-1553

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com

Twitter: markroyallepage

Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland