Every politician will talk favourably about shopping locally. “Support local business”, they all say.
Well, for purposes of comparison, here is my Paul Knowles for Mayor election campaign shopping list
Letter to the New Hamburg Independent from C. Bairns, Baden; August 25, 2010 I would like to thank McDonald's for hosting the fund-raiser last Thursday, to raise money for a sound system at the new recreation centre.
I was disappointed, however, in the fact that very few people showed up. In fact, I saw none of our councillors there, and only one candidate (Paul Knowles) supporting the event.
Excerpt from an article by Melinda Dalton, Record staff
The tightest race may prove to be in Wilmot Township, where a vacancy left by Mayor Wayne Roth's retirement has ignited a four-way challenge by three current councillors and the head of the New Hamburg Board of Trade.
Paul Knowles, the former publisher of the New Hamburg Independent who is serving his third term as board of trade president, is currently campaigning for the mayor's job.
Representatives
of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation appeared before Wilmot township
council July 12 to offer an update on the Highway 7&8 corridor study. While
the presentation focused primarily on the area around and through Shakespeare,
consultant Brenda Jamieson and MTO representative Charles Organ noted that this
fall should see a recommended route for the entire corridor, from the Baden
area through Stratford.
Board
of Trade President Paul Knowles pointed out that the businesspeople
and residents of the area stand firm in their position that no change is
needed, and that any change to access points would be detrimental to the health
of the community.
by Paul Knowles; first published in Exchange Magazine, July 2010
You can’t have one, healthy and growing, without the other. Business thrives when it is linked to a vital arts and culture community. The two, frankly, need one another.
The New Hamburg Live! Festival of the Arts has won a KW Arts Award. The not for profit Festival has received the Scotiabank New Festival or Event award, presented at the annual KW Arts Awards gala. Also nominated in the New Festival category were the IMPACT theatre festival, and the Perimeter Institute Quantum to Cosmos Festival.
The Festival is led by producer Nancy Knowles, musical director Vicki St. Pierre, and executive director Paul Knowles.
The 2010 New Hamburg Live! Festival of the Arts hosted a surprise presentation prior to the Elmer Iseler Singers concert on June 4. The concert was preceded by an excellent talk by Walter Pitman, author of the book “Elmer Iseler: Choral Visionary”. After his address, Elmer Iseler’s widow, Jessie Iseler, and New Hamburg Live! Executive Director Paul Knowles presented Pitman with the 2010 National Choral Association’s “Outstanding Choral Publication” award for the book.
The second annual Pie Auction at the New Hamburg Interfaith Silent Auction saw six local politicians make – or in one case, admit to buying – pies that were sold to a hungry crowd of bidders.
Top bid went to an apple pie made by Wilmot Mayoral candidate Paul Knowles, who had boosted his chances by adding a block of Oak Grove old cheddar to his home-made apple pie.
The New Hamburg Interfaith Counselling Centre holds its
annual Interfaith Silent Auction this coming Saturday, April 24. And for the
second year in a row, the event will include a pie auction, live at 2 p.m.
The pies up for sale will be made by local
leaders, including Wilmot Mayoral Candidate Paul Knowles.
Paul Knowles appears on "What's Your Point?", on CTV Southwestern Ontario Saturday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. This half-hour show pits four debaters against one other, discussing key topics of the day. Host is Brent Hanson.
The New Hamburg Board of Trade' executive for 2010-2011. Paul Knowles (President) is second from left in the back row.
by Paul Knowles
New Hamburg Independent, August 19, 2009
Have you driven through Shakespeare lately? If so, you¹ve spotted the yellow tape across buildings and front yards, huge Xs on trees, signs reading, "Gone". These all mark village features that would be destroyed if Highway 7&8 is "improved".
The people of Shakespeare are trying to take a stand against the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. I have a great deal of sympathy for them they are locked in the same kind of battle we are, here in New Hamburg.
by Paul Knowles
New Hamburg Independent, March 4, 2009
Arguing with officials of the Ministry of Transportation feels like punching a vat of jello. You can punch away, but in the end, it's not clear you have made any impression at all.
We've been arguing with the MOT for quite some time, now. By 'we', I mean all who oppose the MOT's proposals to change the status of Highway 7&8 around New Hamburg. That includes the New Hamburg Board of Trade, which believes a bypass or alterations that make the highway less accessible in any way would be bad news for all of the 300 or so businesses in New Hamburg.
The performers at the opening Gala of the 2009 New Hamburg Live! Festival of the Arts. Co-founders Nancy and Paul Knowles are shown at far left and far right.
New Hamburg Board of Trade President Paul Knowles has filed his nomination papers for the post of Mayor of Wilmot Township. Municipal elections will be held across Ontario on Oct. 25 of this year.
Knowles, a long-time Wilmot resident, is an active community volunteer. Now in his third term as Board of Trade President, he is also a co-founder of the New Hamburg Live! Festival of the Arts, and an organizer of the New Hamburg Flood Relief Fund, which responded to the disastrous late-2008 Nith River Flood with a one-time community fundraising effort which produced $60,000 to assist people left in crisis by the unprecedented flood waters.
He has been a volunteer for many community organizations, including Wilmot Family Resource Centre and Food Bank, the Wilmot Citizens of the Year program, Castle Kilbride National Historic Site, the New Hamburg Canada Day Committee, Doors Open Waterloo, the New Hamburg 150th Anniversary Celebration, the Ontario-Alsace Association, the Mennonite Relief Sale, and Wilmot District Soccer Club, among others.
Knowles came to Wilmot township almost 25 years ago, as editor and publisher of the New Hamburg Independent. He left the Independent 14 years ago, but continues to live in Wilmot, embarking on a successful career as an author and editor. In that role, he has written three books about Wilmot's heritage "Castle Kilbride, The Jewel of Wilmot Township", "Piecemakers, The Story of the Ontario Mennonite Relief Sale and Quilt Auction", and "A History of New Hamburg."
Knowles says he has entered the election for Mayor because Wilmot faces a number of external challenges and threats, and needs a strong, articulate voice to represent the communities that make up the township. One such example, he says, "is the battle to keep Highway 7&8 in its current route and configuration through New Hamburg." Knowles has spearheaded the fight to retain access to the community. In this capacity, he has met the Minister of Transportation Jim Bradley, lobbeyed the Ministry of Transportation and local government figures, and escorted the MoT experts on a whirlwind tour of local businesses, where they received first-hand accounts of the disastrous impacts of any change.
He points out that the Mayor is Wilmot¹s only representative on Waterloo Regional Council, on the Grand River Conservation Authority, and on the board of Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro. "Wilmot needs a confident voice in those arenas," he says. "I will stand up for our communities, for their independence and their uniqueness."
In recognition of his community service, Paul has received the Governor General¹s Medal for Community Service, a Conseil General Haut Rhin [Alsace, France] Medal, a Township of Wilmot Medallion, and the CARE Stratford Environmental Leader Award.
For more information, or to contact Paul Knowles, visit www.paulknowles.ca.
Excerpts from an article by Melinda Dalton, Record staff
WILMOT TOWNSHIP - Three candidates are now vying for the mayor's job in Wilmot Township after Wayne Roth quietly announced he won't be running again.
All three candidates, two current councillors and a well-recognized community leader, decided to run for the post after Roth told them he wouldn't seek another term as mayor....
... in the running is long-time New Hamburg resident, Paul Knowles, who said, if elected, he'd work to push back against external pressures on the township.
The freelance writer and president of the New Hamburg Board of Trade said Wilmot needs a strong voice on issues like the Highway 7/8 expansion, Nith River flooding and the preservation of community spaces.
Wilmot mayoral candidate Paul Knowles has expressed his hope that the 2010 municipal election will see a significant number of women as candidates for council positions. "It seems that at least three of Wilmot's five council seats will be open to newcomers," said Knowles. "It's a definite opportunity for the community to correct the long-standing situation of "men-only" on council. A seminar specifically for women interested in being candidates is planned for February 6.
The New Hamburg Dickens Christmas Carol raises about $3,000 annually for Wilmot Family Resource Centre. Organized by Paul and Nancy Knowles, it has been an annual event for six years. Shown are the 2008 participants: front, from left, James Bourne, Lesley Quesnelle, Vicki St. Pierre, Howard Dyck, back, David Sapelak, Rev. Jesse Dymond, Sara Topham, Barry MacGregor, Brian Tree, Nancy Knowles, Paul Knowles.
Goldhawk Fights Back, Zoomer Radio
September 29, 2009
"[New Hamburg] Board [of Trade] chair Paul Knowles, on August 19, 2009, supported the people of Shakespeare in their similar stand against the Ministry of Transportation. He said, "I have a great deal of sympathy for them -they are locked in the same kind of battle we are, here in New Hamburg." Knowles added, "The problem - in Shakespeare, as in New Hamburg - is that the MTO thinkers think only of moving traffic, and as quickly as possible. They have admitted that the economic health of the communities involved is not priority one.
"New Hamburg is in Wilmot Township within Waterloo County and, to its credit, the township agrees with Knowles and says there are better ways to make the highway safer without destroying people's homes and businesses in the process.
"Knowles proposes, simply and logically, that traffic slow down through Shakespeare as drivers do in areas of the U.K. and other countries that preserve historical communities." More »
Tim Murphy, New Hamburg Independent
August 13, 2008
"Kitchener-Conestogo MPP Leanna Pendergast dropped by the office of the Independent last week after meeting with an area farmer. The rookie MPP was in the area trying to get a feel for how the land will be impacted and to talk to as many people who will be affected as possible.
"The first I saw of the documents was from (Board of Trade president) Paul Knowles," she said, referring to the proposals by the MTO to change the structure of the highway." More »
By Paul Knowles, President of the New Hamburg Board of Trade
July 22, 2009
"One thing we all can do is to remember that the health of our community depends on many things, including the health of its retail sector. The next time you are tempted to skip shopping in town because it’s a little more inconvenient to get to a business on Peel or Huron or Waterloo... or anywhere else in town... think again.
"Your five extra minutes to get to that place of business may be the difference between keeping local entrepreneurs strong, or losing some of the very things that make our town what it is." More »
Doug Coxson, New Hamburg Independent
March 4, 2009
"Board of Trade president Paul Knowles concluded the meeting by emphasizing the potential impact on merchants and residents in New Hamburg, urging everyone to voice an opinion and the MTO to consider other options...
"Knowles said limiting access to town by eliminating interchange points at Peel Street and Hamilton Road would have a devastating effect on the number of “accidental tourists” that stumble upon New Hamburg and help promote it as a destination." More »
Paul Knowles, President, New Hamburg Board of Trade
February 22, 2009
"We have been informed that there is a powerful political lobby from Stratford, seeking an unimpeded four-lane link between Stratford and the 401 (and thus, Toronto), although MOT officials reject this claim. We believe that Stratford and Perth officials should concern themselves with their communities, while those of us who live and work in New Hamburg can best reflect what is good for our community." More »
"A fund to help flood victims in New Hamburg has been created by the town’s board of trade and several churches. 'We want to help people who are facing large bills to replace furnaces, water heaters and other necessities,' said Paul Knowles, president of the New Hamburg Board of Trade...
"Knowles said residents living in floodplain areas should consult with Wilmot Township officials on how to flood-proof their homes." More »
The New Hamburg Live! Festival of the Arts has won a KW Arts Award. The not for profit Festival has received the Scotiabank New Festival or Event award, presented at the annual KW Arts Awards gala. Also nominated in the New Festival category were the IMPACT theatre festival, and the Perimeter Institute Quantum to Cosmos Festival. 
The 2010 New Hamburg Live! Festival of the Arts hosted a surprise presentation prior to the Elmer Iseler Singers concert on June 4. The concert was preceded by an excellent talk by Walter Pitman, author of the book “Elmer Iseler: Choral Visionary”. After his address, Elmer Iseler’s widow, Jessie Iseler, and New Hamburg Live! Executive Director Paul Knowles presented Pitman with the 2010 National Choral Association’s “Outstanding Choral Publication” award for the book.
The second annual Pie Auction at the New Hamburg Interfaith Silent Auction saw six local politicians make – or in one case, admit to buying – pies that were sold to a hungry crowd of bidders.
