Racer’s father would be proud
Tuesday June 24 2008
By Jim Shaw, Staff Writer
When she was little, Kristi Wolfe’s dad, John, used to take her to car races at Varney and Sunset Raceways. Kristi got the racing bug and decided that she wanted to be a race car driver. Nine years ago John built a race car for her and she began racing in the Women on Wheels category at Varney. Two years later she moved up to racing Street Stocks. She was the only female in the race a lot of times.
Following that she moved to Sunset and began racing in the Thunder class.
In these races there are 24 racers. Usually there are Kristy and one other female in the race.
Last November Kristi’s father passed away suddenly. This racing season Kristi is dedicating to her dad. She has printed on the rear of her race car, “This One’s for You, Dad.” She has continued to race at Sunset, where she races in three events a night. The track is 1/3 of a mile and is five cars wide, she tells me.
When I was talking to her in mid-June she told me that she had won three races and had many top-five finishes. She was leading in points and prefers to keep the “pedal to the metal” when she races. She told me that she got 64 points for winning a race and two less for each finish below that.
On Saturday mornings, before heading up to Sunset for the races, she comes to Grand Valley from Toronto, where she lives and works as an interior designer, to her father’s garage in Grand Valley and gets the car ready for another night of racing.
She checks to make sure everything is tight and there are no safety issues (a lesson her dad taught her well).
Then she polishes it and she’s ready to go. I’m sure John is somewhere up there saying, “You go, girl!”
Nursery school
Grand Valley doesn’t have much industry. Therefore most people have to go out of town to work. This creates a bit of a problem for working people with children. Fortunately, we have a place called Happy Valley Learning Centre in the village. Karen Cuthbertson has been offering her services for nine years.
On June 14 her nursery school held their annual program and graduation. The children put on a program for their parents and friends. This was followed by a luncheon for all who attended, including this scribe.
The nursery school program runs from 9 a.m. to noon. The program includes crafts, themes, play and gross motor activities. It is for children two-and-a-half to five. It is held at the Church of Christ on Amaranth Street. There is also a before- and after-school program, which runs until after 6 p.m. on most days. There will be a summer camp offered in July and August.
For more information you could contact Karen at 519-928-2014.
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