Volleyball season is upon us once more here in the Province of Ontario and the eastern towns of Carleton Place and Perth are all set to host the All Ontario Senior Girls’ AA Volleyball Championships, an event that’s expected draw in over 280 students and coaches from the high school departments of schools scattered across Ontario. Recognized by the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations, this annual sporting event will primarily be hosted by Perth’s St. John Catholic High School.

The event will highlight intense volleyball play between 20 of Ontario’s best all girl volleyball teams, which include a number of regional competition winners and two teams from the Eastern Region. The games are set to take place on the 9^th and 10^th of March, and will be divided into four venues in both Perth and Carleton Place.

Shawn Retty, head coach for St. John’s ladies’ volleyball team and one of the event’s organizers commented that the school is proud to be chosen as one of the hosts for this prestigious event. She added that this opportunity not only presents the school’s students a chance to get a close look at the performance of other teams in the region, but will also allow local residents to watch the games and cheer for the home team.

In spite of the New Year’s chill and blowing snow, hundreds of Canadians still gathered around large holes in the ice, to see the brave and the bold jump into the frigid water – all for laughs and a dose of clean fun.

Each year, organizers put together these “uniquely Canadian” events by cutting a square hole through the thick ice, and inviting brave plungers who think they’ve got what it takes to handle the ice cold water. Dozens upon dozens of men and women in their swimsuits and—believe it or not—costumes jump into the water and come right out – laughing, and of course, shivering.

Two of these events were held in the town of Perth, where participants joined in on the fun to cure their hangover from all the holiday celebrations, as well as to raise money for Perth’s own Food Bank. Funds raised from the event were also given to the President’s Choice Children’s Charity.

It goes without saying that these events are dangerous, and organizers have medical personnel on standby as well as scuba divers to supervise the plungers.

Indeed, it’s a very entertaining activity to watch that speaks multitudes of Canada’s unique culture and pride in defending national identity.

With the decade ending, it is probably the best time for Perth Ontario to undergo an economic study to check in the realities of its labour market and its overall economy. These agendas will surely be covered with the coming Economic Diversification Strategic Plan and Labour Market Analysis.

The said economic activities are set to kick off after the New Year and when it does, businesses and residents from Perth County can expect to have their voices heard and accounted for. In fact, businesses can expect a formal invitation to participate in these important studies.

After the studies are completed by May of the next year, it will hopefully give the economic development officials of Perth County a good idea of what’s the best direction to undertake in terms of business and industries with the aim of diversifying the industries and preparing the labour market thereto.

Once this is taken cared of, the county will then have its hands full on setting the budget for projects inclined to such plans of business diversification.

This plan of action is expected to be a welcomed from everyone in Perth Ontario especially since this year has been quite a challenge thanks to a number of economic factors that hit not just the county, but the entire world itself.