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4- The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 29, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Happy 100th Neighbours delivered what Santa couldn't Continued from page 1 LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION: Margaret Martin, a resident at Post Inn Village, celebrated her 100th birthday last Friday with her nieces, Margueritte Howden (left) and Pearl Kennedy (right). In the background is Dana Garner singing happy birthday. BOX I N G 20-70 ONCE-A-YEAR CHANCE TO GET NOW IS YOUR SALE % OFF WEEK EVERYTHING IN THE STORE but he feared there would be no snow to use it. "Santa can't control the weather," Lach had told her son. The Kanas family, however, are another story. Michael Kanas, 19, and his brother Mathew, 17, have always thought of Mara and Evan as their little sister and brother. The families have always been very close. Paul Kanas, Michael and Mathew's father, owns a construction business and had plenty of wood and materials at home. The family thought it would be a great idea to build their neighbours a ramp and they covered it with the snow that had been left outside the River Oaks arena. The Kanas family built the ramp a couple of days before Christmas at their home, and on Christmas day around 2 a.m. they were out on the Lach's front lawn covering it with snow. A few minutes later, Lach was awakened by the clatter to find the Kanas Family busy covering the ramp with snow on her front lawn. She called them Santa's elves. While Lach and her husband, Henry, were aware of their neighbour's plans, the kids had no clue until the morning came. Mara had peered out the window Christmas morning and shouted, "There's snow all over the lawn." The Lach's woke Evan so he could see what the Kanas family had done. "He just couldn't believe that he had got snow, and then went downstairs and got his sled from under the tree, and was just outside for the rest of the morning," said Lach. "The thing that really got me was how normal kids for Christmas, they ask for a whole bunch of stuff, and the only two things he asked for Christmas this year was a toboggan and snow," said Michael Kanas, who considers his young neighbour a little brother. "It was just something that we had to do," he said. "We thought that it was something that he deserved, he always such a really good kid." Michael told Evan that he had received a special call from Santa himself asking if he could give him a hand to bring the little boy snow this Christmas. Michael left Evan a letter from Santa as well stating that he knew what a good boy Evan had been this year, and how he called the Kanas family to ask them for their help, since Santa can't control the weather. Michael and his family spent hours with Evan and the Lach's tobogganing Christmas morning. Evan was ecstatic. "Just the look on his face was absolutely priceless," said Michael. "He was just so excited, he had the biggest smile on his face." Lach said that all the kids on the street were over that morning and even the adults took turns going down their toboggan hill. Lach had nothing but praise for the Kanas family. "I couldn't believe they were so sweet to do it, " Lach said. "It was just so neat, and they're such a family, they're the kind of people that would you know, they'd do anything for you," she said. Lach wants to keep the toboggan hill going for as long as she possibly can. "As long as the temperatures stay cold enough, we're going to try and keep it going." NEW BALANCE AT SALE PRICES! 5 European Engineering Combined With Traditional Workmanship New Balance Oakville (905) 337-9393 9 LE IDD ER M EAST UPPROAD 8 403 TH TH E LIN E LIN . .W .E Q 1011 Upper Middle Road East (Upper Middle Rd. E. & 8th Line) www.newbalancetoronto.ca "Building on the Brightest Ideas Around Glass" 905.849.0266