2020Save this storySaveSave this storySaveRemember the indelible “cool mom” character played by Amy Poehler in Mean Girls She wore Juicy Couture sweat suits and allowed underage drinking at home She’s got belly dancing and poetry on her résumé an Andy Warhol Elvis with an intriguing Factory-era pedigree “Juniper has the best taste of anyone I know I trust her completely,” Herzele says of the soup-to-nuts renovation of her Austin home a formerly nondescript spec house located on a generous corner lot in a vibrant neighborhood of University of Texas students professors (Herzele herself is an assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences) “The layout of the house was really strange I could never figure out where I was supposed to be,” she continues “The house was awful—a weird catalogue home in a neighborhood of charming bungalows and Victorians It reeked of Febreze,” the designer recalls but interior design never really interested her I wanted to create a real place of respite a place where she could be comfortable and entertain easily An unsigned Andy Warhol Elvis from the collection of Joe D’Allesandro commands the living room what began as a simple cosmetic makeover—picking new paint colors some light alterations—quickly snowballed into a full-scale gut renovation “I think there was one original wall left when we were through We basically built a new house on the existing footprint,” Tedhams explains Working with architect John Maier of the Oregon-based firm Maier + Zelter and ultimately the character of the house “to make it feel less hulking and flat,” the designer says She and Maier reorganized the second-story bedrooms for visiting children and grandchildren around a central core following a conceit that the guest quarters had formerly been outdoor porches that were closed off They also added a gracious screened porch to the back of the house as well as a new pool cabana with a guest apartment above Tedhams limited the materials palette—plaster walls and walnut floors and architectural details predominate—while relying on an array of vintage and contemporary textiles and artworks for color and interest the entryway features a suite of Salvador Dalí watercolors from the artist’s illustrations for The Divine Comedy installed above a bespoke walnut bench with a heart motif (herzele is a German diminutive meaning “little heart”) set on a polychromatic 1940s Berber carpet like almost all the custom furnishings and cabinetry throughout the house a longtime friend and collaborator of Tedhams’s In keeping with Tedhams’s reliance on a limited palette, the kitchen cabinets are painted the same color as the exterior of the house. Countertops are Belgian bluestone. Range by Wolf; dishwasher by Fisher & Paykel Moroccan cement tiles line the floor of the screened porch. Steel tables by Blend Interiors. In the living room, sofas upholstered in Schiaparelli pink linen add an electric jolt to an otherwise restrained composition that includes a Jean Royere floor lamp and a graphic 1940s Tuareg rug of woven leather and straw. Commanding the room is an unsigned Warhol Elvis, printed at the Factory and given as a gift to Warhol superstar Joe D’Allesandro. Herzele acquired the piece from D’Allesandro’s wife Kim, a friend from Austin’s bohemian music scene. Cool, indeed. The other rooms of the house follow a similar decorative approach: quiet, restrained architectural backdrops animated by an eclectic assortment of custom and pedigreed furnishings and objets de vertu—a 19th-century Belgian dresser here, a Prouvé daybed there—and occasional flourishes such as colorful Moroccan cement tiles on the floors of the screened porch and a guest bath. “This project took much longer than one of my professional jobs. It felt like something completely different, something special,” Tedhams concludes. “So many of the art pieces, pottery, and vintage furniture came from my personal collection or from friends of mine. A major project like this is almost always accompanied by a lot of stress. But doing this house has been the best thing for my relationship with my mom. It only brought us closer.” Carmen Llanes Pulido may be the youngest candidate in the five-way race for mayor but the lifelong Austinite with activism in her DNA arguably has the most boots-on-the-ground experience in the city’s grassroots arena As the executive director of the nonprofit Go Austin/Vamos Austin Llanes Pulido hopes to extend her future-focused leadership to City Hall Like the other mayoral candidates – Kathie Tovo Doug Greco and Jeffery Bowen – she recognizes the daunting challenge of trying to unseat a well-funded and well-known incumbent who won the seat in a tight runoff in 2022 Watson is a former state senator and also served as Austin’s mayor from 1997 to 2001 While Watson is popular among voters in segments of the community including business interests and once-skeptical density proponents Llanes Pulido said she hears general dissatisfaction from voters impacted by rising costs and a lack of adequate city services in some areas “And for those who pay attention to city policies they are really upset about the lack of transparency and how community and technical experts “there is a desire for new leadership.” “there are a lot of people who don’t even know there’s a mayor’s race – people who are just starting to hear the word.” Voters who follow local issues are concerned about the number of times Travis County courts have found the City Council to be in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act a problem the Council has since taken steps to remedy there is apprehension about the tentative contract agreement reached between the city and the Austin Police Association Council is scheduled to deliberate the proposed deal Oct although persistent questions from some Council members and the public could delay approval of a contract if conflicts aren’t resolved before then “I think we need a lot more transparency about how the police budget even works and how it’s been changed over the last several years,” Llanes Pulido said “Anything we add to our police budget cannot be taken away so I’m curious to see what kind of metrics and outcomes are being negotiated around hiring and training and retention And then there’s the question over the G file.” which contains allegations of officer misconduct and disciplinary information is a major point of contention in the tentative agreement  A judge recently ruled the city was in violation of the Austin Police Oversight Act The oversight act was intended to eliminate the G file and make information in the file available to the public There is disagreement over whether the G file would be grandfathered into the proposed contract or subject to public information requests Llanes Pulido said she is pleased that Lisa Davis “It was reassuring to hear someone approaching our city’s problems from a practical level and putting a high premium on accountability and trust and good policing And I think she understands some of the key issues that are required to boost morale and improve police-community relations,” she said Llanes Pulido is centering her campaign on three top priorities The first is infrastructure: “Keeping the power on and the water running and addressing our outdated infrastructure – fixing leaky pipes distributing our grid and planning our development and growth more responsibly in that respect.” she aims to address “the cost of living and real affordability which is rhetorically championed but not reflected in any policy in the last two years,” she said “And we desperately need to preserve the affordable housing we have and produce deeply affordable housing instead of just focusing on redeveloping as much as possible without thinking about affordability or infrastructure We can’t talk about affordability and cost of living without being more responsible in our spending.” the candidate aims to change the city’s approach to homelessness by putting more resources toward prevention “We spend more per capita on homelessness than Los Angeles We could immediately reallocate some of our resources for better outcomes by listening to front-line organizations and advocates who are telling us where money could be better spent,” she said “We’re spending millions of dollars on sweeps which are a temporary fix and extremely wasteful and cruel We could be spending more money on transitional housing and direct services support instead of just adding (money) to the problem There is massive spending with no accountability.” As a former member of the city Planning Commission appointed by then-Council Member Tovo Llanes Pulido is versed in land use policies She doesn’t subscribe to the ideas behind the HOME ordinances which allow for more housing units and different types of housing on single-family lots While the City Council voted nearly unanimously for the HOME ordinances with the intention of making housing more affordable Llanes Pulido is dubious of Council’s stated goals “There is nothing that prescribes or guarantees affordability … and there’s no plan for adequate infrastructure It’s being championed as a progressive reform for affordability but there’s really nothing progressive about it – it’s completely based in Reaganomics-style supply-side theory,” she said leaving the city to obtain a degree from the University of Chicago University of Texas lecturer Charlotte Herzele and community organizer Daniel Llanes They divorced when Llanes Pulido was an early adolescent Her mother now lives in Hyde Park while Daniel Llanes lives in East Austin where he has long been active in neighborhood issues and PODER an environmental and social justice organization Her uncle is developer and landowner Perry Lorenz a pioneer in building some of Downtown’s first residential high-rises Llanes Pulido credits Lorenz for much of what she knows about the development business “He’s a key source of insight and wisdom,” she said Through the lens of her activist parents and business-savvy uncle she was able to observe the disparities in Austin’s public and private investments but also appreciated the richness of the city’s diverse neighborhoods and their cultures “I went to magnet schools so I got to see neighborhoods all over Austin and how different they were but also the commonalities among them and common values and the things that make us uniquely special as a city.” “What I learned is that every area of Austin has wonderful qualities that have been brought about by champions in the community and the city and every community has knowledge that’s really critical to making good decisions and improving the quality of life in those areas You can’t do it without the technical expertise but you definitely can’t do it without the lived experience and that’s especially true for community planning and growth.” Growing up here also taught her why Austin is so often referred to as special music scene and local businesses all combine to make Austin stand out among other U.S “Those are all things that if we take care of them they ensure prosperity and economic investment in Austin But if we only focus on economic investment we actually lose the things that make this place so desirable to everyone.” Llanes Pulido has learned a few things about life Diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia at age 29 she learned to bring humanity into every challenge “Plenty of people face cancer every day and you never want to put a judgment on beating it or not Part of me wants to say I know how to beat the odds I was lucky to have the treatment available to me when I was diagnosed it taught me that we can’t be passersby in our lives,” she said And we’re honored you look to us for serious You know a strong community needs local and dedicated watchdog reporting Now will you take the powerful next step and support our nonprofit news organization Austin City Council: The Austin City Council is the body with legislative purview over the City of Austin while the office of the City Manager implements administrative actions based on those policies City of Austin residents voted to change that system and as of 2015 10 members of the Council are elected based on geographic districts The Mayor continues to be elected at-large Austin Police Association: The organization that represents Austin Police officers Austin Police Department: the law enforcement entity for the City of Austin November 2024 elections The Austin Monitor thanks its sponsors. Become one See which district you live in The Austin Monitor is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization We are fully-local and cover the important issues and key decisions at the intersection between the local government and the community Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Van Aert covered the 41.6km rain-soaked course with a winning time of 51:52 beating runner-up Alec Segaert (Lotto Dstny) by 50 seconds and third-placed Rune Herregodts (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) by 1:06 "I felt like a fish in the water today for the first time in a long time," Van Aert said after his victory.  but it's even better to see it confirmed with good results It's nice to be back on the top step of the podium." While many anticipated a close race for the time trial title between Van Aert and defending champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) that battle did not happen as the Evenepoel crashed into a roadside ditch but got back up and finished fourth Only 17 riders took the start line on Wednesday to race the two laps of the 20.8km flat and technical figure-eight course for the time trial at the Belgian National Championships in Herzele.  Each lap twisted through East Flanders with a relentless procession of small climbs totalling 355 metres of elevation gain the time trial came in as the longest race against the clock in three years Van Aert did not participate in the time trial last year as it did not fit into his schedule which saw De Pestel eventually finishing in ninth on the day Van Aert and then Evenepoel were the two last riders off the starting ramp as the overwhelming favourites.  Evenepoel crashed in the opening kilometres of the 41.6km race through a righthand corner sliding across the rain-soaked roads and landing in a shallow ditch at the side of the road.  though he had lost too much time to challenge Van Aert for the title Van Aert crossed the first time check 58 seconds faster than Evenepoel but although Evenepoel was able to somewhat recover from the accident he could only manage the fourth-fastest time.  Segaert ended his time trial with a strong result and a brief spell in the hot seat until Van Aert finished 50 seconds faster with a blistering time of set the best time of 51:52 Results powered by FirstCycling Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games. She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023. ​CategoriesCategoriesEnglishCULTURE, JUSTICEInvestigation begins into relic from Pompeii found in wall of Limburg house14 December 2023 The Limburg public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into a relic from Pompeii that was bricked into the wall of a house in Herzele in the 1970s It is not yet clear whether the investigation will lead to prosecution as it concerns events from more than 50 years ago the now 85-year-old Raphaël De Temmerman from Herzele bought a marble relic during his trip to Italy The marble slab believed to depict the earthquake of 62 AD was stolen on 14 July 1975 from a house in Pompeii De Temmerman bought the relic and brought it to Herzele he wanted to know the artefact's value and sent photos to the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren Experts went to the scene and determined it was the authentic "stolen" relic The news of the discovery was well received in Italy "Through our current exhibition at the Gallo-Roman Museum we have had more intensive contact with the Pompeii Museum in the last few months," the director of the Gallo-Roman Museum said "They were pleased to learn that the missing artefact which had been missing for more than 50 years "As a result of the investigation by the Limburg public prosecutor's office The investigation is still ongoing and will reveal what should be done with it," the public prosecutor's office said Copy linkGet updates in your mailboxYour email addressSubscribeBy clicking "Subscribe" I confirm I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy rapid and high-quality information 24 hours a day from Belgium and abroad to all Belgian media not to mention entertainment and lifestyle our journalists and press photographers produce hundreds of photos and news stories Since the end of March 2022 English has been added as a language businesses and various organisations that need reliable information Belga News Agency also offers a comprehensive range of corporate services to meet all their communication needs www.belganewsagency.eu Images courtesy of the European Commission Artist Jan van Eyck is the subject of a new circulating commemorative €2 coin from Belgium A total of 155,000 coins will be released in the second half of 2020 The inner part of the obverse depicts the portrait of the famous Flemish artist Jan van Eyck together with his signature and a painter’s palette that also contains the initials LL As the Royal Dutch Mint will strike the coins the “staff of mercury” or a caduceus is located on the bottom together with the Belgian Mint director’s Mint mark the coat of arms of the municipality Herzele The country code BE and the year mark 2020 are located on the right The ringed-bimetallic coin has a copper-nickel core and copper-aluminum-nickel ring The €2 coin weighs 8.5 grams and measures 25.75 millimeters in diameter The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag The common reverse shows a map of the European Union Each nation is allowed to issue up to two different circulating commemorative designs annually though not all nations issue the maximum number of designs like the 2015 coins honoring the 30th anniversary of the flag of the European Union World Coins Tyler Van Herzele, the new Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union president and the Students’ Union staff team Van Herzele explained that in the first week the Students’ Union had a chance to participate in an office orientation with both Brantford and Waterloo staff organize administrative tasks and attend meetings The second half of their first week was spent on a staff retreat — giving the staff team the opportunity to get to know one another and partake in team bonding exercises and activities “It’s been a really productive and enjoyable first week we’re just getting comfortable,” said Van Herzele Ensuring that each individual feels comfortable in their jobs is something that Van Herzele puts a large personal emphasis on He believes that the success of the team often coincides with the presence of a strong Van Herzele also explained how the next few months will be spent focusing on a variety of important aspects a big focus for everyone will be on orientation week in September “A big focus of ours is how we can engage the students now that they’re back on campus — not only in first-year he plans to revamp and finalize many of the initiatives he brought forth during the campaign period creating strong campus-partner relationships along with Laurier’s community relationships “One of the biggest parts of my job would be communicating to the university the students’ voice Making sure everyone’s being heard along the decision making process,” he said Van Herzele intends to continue building on the work the Students’ Union accomplished in the previous year “The natural progression of the Students’ Union calls for big changes; that’s sort of what we do.” he plans on reaching out to the membership to ensure that students know why the Students’ Union is doing what they are doing “It’s a lot easier to understand the Students’ Union if you understand why we’re doing things.” Van Herzele hopes to implement more feedback mechanisms explaining his hopes to interact with the Laurier community on a daily basis This will also allow the membership to feel informed about the Students’ Union If a student is interested in reaching out to the Students’ Union Van Herzele wants to ensure they have a clear path to voice their opinions “It’s going to be a number of weeks of prep You must be logged in to post a comment The Cord seeks to provide students with relevant We’re always interested in having more volunteer writers your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt a formerly nondescript spec house located on a generous corner lot in a vibrant neighborhood a group of Salvador Dalí watercolors hangs above a custom walnut bench by Erik Gustafson for Juniper Tedhams The 1940s Tuareg carpet of woven straw and leather is from FJ Hakimian Pierre Jeanneret chairs with cushions made from vintage kilims and small bronze sculptures by Harry Bertoia SD Worx all-rounder beats Jooris in second Lotte Kopecky wins fifth time trial title at Belgium Road Championships(Image credit: Getty Images)Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) secured a fifth consecutive elite women's time trial title at the Belgian Road Championships in Herzele.  figure-eight course with the fastest time of 29:15 beating runner-up Febe Jooris (AG Insurance-NXTG U23) by 1:01 and third-placed Marthe Goossens (AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep) by 1:07 Kopecky has been undefeated in the elite women's time trial since first winning the title in 2019 in Middelkerke moving on to also the title in 2020 in Koksijde 2021 in Ingelmunster and last year in Gavere The time trial took place in Herzele with former pro Sofie De Vuyst designing the flat but technical figure-eight circuit of 20.8 kilometres. The women's field completed one full lap with the halfway checkpoint taken roughly at the centre of the figure-eight loop at 10.7 kilometres Marion Norbert-Riberrolle (Fenix-Deceuninck Continental) set the first fastest time under rain and a slippery road surface who started last as the defending champion set the fastest time by 25 seconds as she crossed through the mid-race checkpoint Kopecky continued to increase her lead in the last half of the circuit finishing more than a minute ahead of her nearest rivals; Jooris and Goossens Sara Van de Vel (Fenix-Deceuninck Continental) finished fourth at 1:13 back Britt Knaven (AG Insurance-Soudal-QuickStep) was fifth at 1:20 Results powered by FirstCycling Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006 Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023 An unusual find has been made at a home in Herzele (East Flanders) A marble stone nearly 2,000 years old has been bricked into the wall of a house for more than 50 years the owner of the house had bought the item as a souvenir Geert Detemmerman travelled with his family to Italy Geert's father is approached by a man who wants to sell him a souvenir The father accepts the proposal and for a considerable amount buys a piece of marble the Detemmerman Family takes the item back to Belgium the family decides to cement the souvenir into a wall in their house There it has been hanging for more than 50 years without anyone paying all that much attention to it until the house was put up for sale earlier this year and out of curiosity Geert decided to check whether the marble iwas worth anything Geert contacts the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren (Limburg) "The museum sent two staff members to have a look and they couldn’t believe their eyes" explains Geert The piece of marble that had been in the wall all these years is in fact an historical artefact from the Pompeii archaeological site and almost 2,000 years old the item disappeared without a trace over 50 years ago and experts from Pompeii have been looking for it ever since "A fair amount is known about how the item was stolen at the time," says Bart Demarsin of the Gallo-Roman Museum He is one of the people who went to see the stone in Herzele and has no doubt that the piece is real: "It closely corresponds to the original piece that we recognise from the photos" The marble stone in question features a scene from the Pompeii earthquake in CE 62 "That piece corresponds to a similar piece which also depicts buildings that collapsed during that earthquake," Demarsin adds The pieces originally came from the home of a wealthy Roman banker in the centre of Pompeii Both pieces were removed from the residence and had been on display at the site for a long time Today the first piece is still on display in Pompeii's museum and has now turned up in the house in Herzele judicial police arrived on Geert's doorstep to investigate how the piece got here The director of the archaeological park in Pompeii was also informed Demarsin expects a delegation from Pompeii will soon travel to Belgium to see the piece with their own eyes and confirm whether it is indeed the original marble stone The Detemmerman Family is hoping for financial compensation because they kept the piece safely for such a long period of time "The judicial police told us we might still be able to get compensation the piece hung here for 50 years without anything happening to it It could so easily have been sold on or broken." you’ve seen the platforms — but have you tasted the food As part of running for president and chief executive officer of the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union candidates created signature meals to serve at Wilf’s Pub for the duration of the campaign period This year: the Vanzerotti and the Murdrock & Roll Burger courtesy of candidates Tyler Van Herzele and Tyler Murdock Both dishes offer unique spins on existing menu items The Vanzerotti is a classic Wilf’s pizza folded in half and then stuffed with Laurier’s official meme food: spin dip The Murdrock & Roll Burger is topped with onion rings bacon and Murdock’s favourite: rock and roll sauce The Murdrock & Roll is served open-face to reveal a healthy stack of onion rings and cheese this dish recalls the hockey hair days of Murdock’s past The Vanzerotti features an elegantly curled seam the Vanzerotti is paired with regular fries reminiscent of Van Herzele’s straight hair you can just make out the candidates’ faces in their respective dishes but the Vanzerotti takes it for presentation with the beautiful seam the Vanzerotti should probably be disqualified for its use of spinach dip As delicious as this cream cheese concoction is it has been combined time and time again with various Wilf’s dishes The Murdrock & Roll threw a curveball with the inclusion of rock and roll sauce Murdock takes this round by default with his wing sauce and burger pairing The Murdrock & Roll burger was pretty good but we can’t discredit Tyler Murdock for that Rock and roll sauce is my choice wing sauce and I’ve always enjoyed the Wilf’s burgers but sadly this dish failed to leave a mark the rock and roll sauce taste faded beneath the beef The world stood still the moment I took my first bite of the Vanzerotti Background noise became muffled by a humming The glazed and gleaming crust cracked with a crunch the Vanzerotti is the better tasting of the two and is arguably the best thing I’ve had at Wilf’s heavy and comforting — the perfect kind of pub grub Van Herzele would take the top prize without a doubt I hope this inkling has no bearing on who you will vote for You must be logged in to post a comment the Wilfrid Laurier University Brantford campus can now extend their Special Constable Services to 24 hours a day After the university’s Board of Governors approved an increase of service hours on June 23 Wilfrid Laurier University’s Students’ Union president released a thank-you note on the Students’ Union Facebook account to those who worked to make this extension possible “Although this major success occurred during my term in office it was those who came before that put the time and effort into this major advocacy push,” read the letter Van Herzele thanked those who pushed for the extension before he stepped into office in May 2016 he thanked former Students’ Union presidents Michael Onabolu Van Herzele also acknowledged former vice-president of university affairs for bringing the issue of safety on the Brantford campus to attention and former vice-president of campus experience Brantford for installing safety buttons and emergency poles on the campus While Van Herzele thanked numerous past student executives so I think it’s a great step for us now and I’m really happy to say that it is done and we can look forward to seeing how it’s implemented in the upcoming term,” he said said it has been a common goal around the Laurier community to make Brantford’s SCS a 24/7 service the service has worked with Residence Life the Students’ Union and the Office of the Dean of Students to find out how to transition from their current staff to the 24/7 services “We’ll have staff on 24/7,” Yuhasz explained “We’ll transition to having two staff on at all times whereas right now we try to cover with two constables on but just given our staffing levels of three full and one part-time and all the hours we want to cover it’s not feasible to be able to do that right now “Transiting 24/7 with the two constables on at all times is great for officer safety and presence on campus and quicker response.” Brantford’s SCS will also be hiring more officers before the service begins their transition to 24 hours the common goal is to extend their hours by January 2017 “We’ll be looking at hiring; I think we’ll go up to nine constables supervisors and then four constables and then one part-time constable to help onset with vacations the services can open up more opportunities for students on both campuses to take services offered in Waterloo and either re-evaluate them or apply them on the Brantford campus Yuhasz believed the extensions exemplifies the great partnerships Brantford’s SCS has with stakeholders as well as the Brantford Police Service and the City of Brantford “It’s just a great example of everyone working for the same goal and we’re looking at providing the best service that we can to ensure students staff and faculty have a safe environment for what we’re here for for learning and growing as students and maturing as we go through the years.” You must be logged in to post a comment plans have been set in motion for renovations to the Wilfrid Laurier University’s Turret Nightclub to accommodate more events outside the university as well as an additional study space area for students While the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union has been planning these renovations executive director and COO of the Students’ Union said there are currently no plans for the Turret “We went to the Student Life Levy to approve a certain amount of money to have architects come in and build a plan,” he said Champagne said he hopes that in mid-to-late January there will be actual plans to begin renovating the Turret With the drawings will be a proposed budget to reflect what the drawings show “We won’t put a shovel in the ground so to speak until we have the finances in place to make sure we’re okay,” said Champagne it is difficult to have an exact payment plan in place as it is up to the Students’ Union to find the source of funding in this project by fundraising.” the Students’ Union has been meeting with the architects student executive and athletics leadership focus groups Resident Life Leadership and faculty associations The Students’ Union hopes to get various opinions on what an effective use of space could and should look like “General feedback so far has been that the Turret should be a multi-purpose space [that] functions as a night club and a concert hall as well as still functioning as a catering event space,” said Champagne explained that the ultimate goal of the renovations is to satisfy student wants and needs “The ultimate goal here is to return the student space to the students besides when the Turret just functions as a nightclub,” he said The timeline of the project’s initial plans indicates that renovations should be finished by the end of January The best case scenario for the project to be finished overall is September 2017 Champagne and Van Herzele noted how this is not necessarily realistic students understand and have an idea of what that purpose of the space should be we can take that forward and keep that in the forefront of our minds while we go about the architectual phase.” You must be logged in to post a comment Golden Hawks everywhere have spent all year looking forward to this upcoming weekend’s Homecoming and Wilfrid Laurier University’s Students’ Union is no exception The Students’ Union and university administration have been meeting for months in order to plan out communications leading up to and including Homecoming weekend to ensure that both parties have a say in the messages being broadcasted to students “Homecoming is one heck of a weekend and I know it’s going to be enjoyed by all but of course there’s also safety precautions we want to take,” said Students’ Union president we’ve just been working closely with the university getting ready and aligning those messages [sic] and making sure we’re actually saying the right things and things that are really useful to students.” These messages include emails sent from school administration over the course of the week leading up to Homecoming weekend as well as those displayed on television screens around campus and the information on the SAFEHawk app Laurier’s Special Constable Services were also in the Concourse on Tuesday to promote safety and provide information to students In addition to electronic messages being sent to students there will be groups out on the streets around Ezra knocking on doors and speaking with residents about the planned activities and safety concerns Homecoming activities begin Friday evening with the Lazaridis School Alumni Awards and the Golden Hawks Hall of Fame Dinner Saturday begins with the annual free pancake breakfast in the Quad followed by the tailgate party and then the football game this year played against the University of Waterloo Warriors there will be alumni activities running throughout the weekend including this year a special retirement celebration for Fred Nichols While the emphasis of the messages students will be receiving in the coming days is largely on news the purpose of Homecoming nevertheless remains to be a uniting and exciting celebration for future “It is a weekend of celebration whether you’ve graduated last year or 30 years ago or if you’re in your first year in your undergrad there’s something for you at Homecoming,” said Van Herzele “I just hope everyone enjoys it and spends that time with their Golden Hawk family.” You must be logged in to post a comment The all candidates meetings took place in BA201 on Monday night | Photo by Will Haung The 2016 Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union elections was officially set in motion after Monday’s all-candidates meeting along with those running for the board of directors were present for the meeting to learn the rules and regulations of the elections over the next two weeks candidates were allowed to start campaigning around the university and on social media Campaigning will resume throughout the time frame until 30 minutes before polls open on February 3 an overwhelming 20 candidates are running for board of directions for 12 possible positions an increase from the previous year where nine candidates were acclaimed Four candidates are currently running for board of governors “I’m really glad to see the 20 people for board just because we’ve never seen a ratio for that position for that much in the past,” said Colin Aitchison believes the large candidate turnout was due in part to the need for change “Because there are only three returning candidates for board of directors I think it’s going to be close to an entirely new board it’s going to be a huge change,” said Anderson Students will be able to familiarize themselves with two presidential candidates during the election period — Tyler Murdock a kinesiology student on the Waterloo campus and Tyler Van Herzele a concurrent education student on the Brantford campus with so many candidates for board of directors and all these other positions that haven’t seen this much attention in the past It’s going to be amazing to get the voter turnout,” said Van Herzele “I’ve worked really hard over my university career to kind of get involved in stuff I believe in so now doing something that’s out of my reach in a sense is kind of nervewracking,” said Murdock “My main goal was to make sure no positions were acclaimed; unfortunately that didn’t end up happening Those are the hardest ones to get candidates out for,” Anderson explained “We thought that there was going to be more candidates just based off of who came out to the info sessions but hopefully some more candidates get involved in that way.” “I’m disappointed in the lack of turnout for the Senate but you can’t win them all,” said Aitchison The main events of the election period will include two open forums with Brantford’s taking place on January 28 and Waterloo’s running on February 1 You must be logged in to post a comment