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WATERLOO Cir-ouicuz . Wednesday, November to. no - 0 mi-.. . .. _ ,,......., . W... .‘ j . 7 1 L l.l_l ll.le i\) th(.HR()Nl(.l.l. . 0 says you tions of what is bein pro ed? Waterloo which effective disenâ€" Dismayed at 3 P“ in the recent election she franchised one~fifth ofour city's can t ave . tax increases claimed that taxes had increased by population. 11.49 per cent in the last four years incorrect information on where O stifled tied to MP1 when city records show that it was students could vote was put forth cooperatlng? It?“ with dismay the recent article actÂ¥gllylrlf5fper cent. . ~ t bgthe city 01:1 its svebsrte. dulririg , in the Waterloo Chronicle (Nov. 3. . , e '5 0 errors. inisrepresen a- 3 Vance po 5 an even on e ec ion mid decorated trees and twinkling lights. the holiday sea- ,010) that M , a. tion and promises not kept is rather a) at the WLU campus poll. . . _ ayor Halloran is (0111‘ . ' . son always feels like the perfect time to reflect on the mitted to continuing to tie tax extensne. Few students had been informed 'mportance offamilyt etherness . . . .- , . y I look forward to analyzin and oftheir ri ht to vote where the v . . . 0g ’ ‘ in g 8 3 creases to the Municipal Price ivin m take on this council's attend school and even fewer had From a kids perspective. of course. such togetherness feels lndex._” . ’ gppro§ed £011 to 9014 budget been enumerated and thus even better with the addition ofa few new toys to unwrap. '1 his after campaigning on a ' received their voter cards. As a parent of two young girls. l'm sometimes dismayed by platform of fiscal responsibility and . ,y , the number of toys that encourage solitary play. or even com- clear evidence that this is just a [it/ling .1?" my” students cgntribute petition between siblings. peculiar method of estimating (1 er Kilroy:theourroueyrtsvcfaxghthe . a . That's why I was thrilled this past week. while visiting my budget figures and property tax through theiEregts and milliohsp y favourite neighbourhood toy store. Toy Soup, to see the variety increases and is not an index in any Student vote more to our local businesses of co-operative new games in which everyone works together sense of the word. . . . . ' as a team to discuss ideas and share strategies. Regardless indexes are not to be disenfranchised [0012: SECLZTSGSSEZneynilggf "Those are the kind of games that excite me the most." said used to justify tax increases but as a in this election ‘ , g ‘ . g ‘ Rob Boulianne. owner of Toy Soup in St. lacobs and Cam- benchmark to how you are doing to â€":i‘lmfh as] an 32??an polldavailable bridge. “No one wins. no one loses.“ a comparable group of like organi» Waterloo claims its voter turnout 8W “ECG ggtcohigngucgfiézzt The Secret Door. Rob told me. is one he recommends if zations; in this case municipalities was over 41 per cent in this ' . _ your kids like mystery games. “Valuables have been stolen. and for which there is currently no com- election. which is a great improve- 25):“), refused to do so this elec- you have to find them before midnight,” he explained, holding parison. ment. yet few of its 20.000 students ' . . . up the spooky purple game box. “As a *â€" an [1 will be interesting to see if the were even enumerated, let alone The ClIlZen‘S or our CW deserve family, we search through the man- . new council challenges this con» voted in. our city election. better than this mess. sion for clues and it’s remarkable: one \l “‘51 I \I I cept or just accepts the status quo. While it is eaSy to blame this on Sean Geobcy of my sons always knows where every \ | I I S ‘ Does Mayor Halloran really youth apathy. much of it is a result Waterloo thing is In away, it‘s a lot like Clue." understand the financial implica- ofdecisions made by the City of Since opening Toy Soup in 2006, Rob and his wife Lisa have remained selective in which games they bring . into the store, seeking out award-winâ€" ‘ Better than a air of old shoes m... WWW " ‘ ‘ \ and adults of all ages. “Forbidden ‘ ‘ lsland is another really great. co-oper- ‘ Purge! Purge! Purge! Must get rid of, well. shoe: in my gyanag. and another pair I use (an the ative game where everyone plays mostlycrap, trea mill. An t en there‘s a pair 0 casual s oes I together to reach a common goal â€" . ‘ . We are not by any means boarders (although. wear almost every day. The rest are all golf shoes. and that’s what we really like about it.” l i yes. I have been heard to suggest we could film an (You can never have enough golf shoes don't said Rob. showing me the elegant tin l MAWRASRIBLL episode sometimes}. even bring it up.) game box. Slowly. room by room. we are going through a Outside ofthe golfshoes. l imagine my collection The premise reads: “Dare to dis- ’ pre-winter purge. . . .. . is much the same as most men. lust as cover Forbidden lsland! Join a team of fearless adventurers on It began in the kitchen. with the real- Pl l ( l ( )l the pile from my little Imelda Marcos is a do<or~die mission to capture four sacred treasures from the ization we probably didn't need a six- . . . I t e same as most women. ruins of this perilous paradise. Your team will have to work year-old box of Total cereal. even if it ‘ BOURKI ‘ I don‘t even know when she buys together and make some pulse<pounding manoeuvres as the ‘ was only three or four years past the ‘ ‘ them. because they are the one thing island will sink beneath every step. Race to collect the treas- expiry date. Those don't count if they're ‘ she never shows me when she returns ures and make a triumphant escape before you are swallowed ‘ not open. right? ‘ 7 home from shopping trips. They just into the watery abyss!" All the cupboards were straightened i . . seem to magically appear. Rob added: ~lt's a little more advanced. 10 and up. But I play . up and rearranged so we can find things 3 .1 ‘ last time l checked. there were 42 with my six and eight<year~old because it's a cooperative quickly. Unfortunately. we didn't purge ‘1 ; pairs of her shoes in the closet and a game. and they think it's the coolest thing since sliced bread." much, There's still a waffle maker under- ‘ 3 {g few other pairs spirited away in other “Sliced bread" could. in fact. be one of the clues you'll have neath the counter. just in case. I sup~ ‘ - 2% rooms ofthe house. . . to find in the game Sherlock. which Rob and his family also pose. we get a sudden urge for waffles. . - J . Like most men. I dont understand recommend. ”it's a cooperative game. ages five and up. where And there's a George Foreman rotisserie, ‘ . ‘ why any woman needs that many players test their memories by taking turns being Sherlock which 1 believe has cooked one entire shoes You only have two feet and there Holmes. searching for and trying to remember clues that are chicken at some point over the last four i are only so many colours. And l won- pictures on cards. Our kids love it, and it shows that it's not years. i BRIAN der. is my wife's obsession with shoes always about who wins and who loses. but that you can all But from there we moved on to the ‘ BOURKE i an indication there is something I am have fun accomplishing something together â€" whether it's much more daunting task. the horrifying . not providinggier? be Sherlock. Forbidden lsland or Secret Door. Cooperative closet by the front door. 7 ' " S e never escri 5 me as “cute" or games, maybe that's what we need more ofin the world?" There are only two of us. but there are a lot more “fun." But those are the things she says about her And that's why locally owned shops like Toy Soup â€" where than two coats. and more than four shoes. Some of shoes. owners know their products. beam with pride. and encourage this is my fault. l collect an awful lot of free clothing, i don't think she loves me as much as she loves family togetherness â€" have become one of the many magical jackets. coats, etc Most ofthese things come from her shoes. And this worries me. because We never components of my family's Christmas traditions. golf tournaments and all of them have logos on seen her throw away a pair of them. and I'm not Toy Soup will be pan of St. lacobs Sparkles. a four-day vil- » them. Some of them I wear quite regularly but only sure I provide its much entenainment. lage-wide kick off to the holiday shopping season amid thou- because I'm too lazy to go find something else. and sands of twinkling lights. with extended evening hours. Nov. too cheap. sometimes. togo buy myselfa coat. . ll-l4. Enjoy in-store promotions'and sales. draw prises and _ However. coats and jacketsstore fairly easily. ... festive food samplingvisn wwwstjacobscom for more info. Shoes. on the other hand. are albigger issue. Brian Bourke. a member ofthe 1053 KOOL FM . . . . ‘ . . bl litajve a grrjind "(ital of lipairs (5f shoe: Threggare morning emu. can be reached Winning“, Marshall War]: is a visual azanlt1and$gigmg riparian b-marl is ac ress s oes. wo are rown ress s oes. . me bboumkw] .com. we ome at mars Jun (mar .mm. of them are 10 years old. There's a pair of running fm ‘