Caleb Nickerson
SHAWVILLE Nov. 25, 2017
As the local children gathered below in the lobby of the Shawville arena to meet with Santa, dozens of people arrived at the Lions Hall upstairs to rally around a local family in need.
The evening was a benefit party for Shelley Martineau and her family, organized by Shelley’s sister Cheryl.

“She and her daughter Vanessa [Lafleur] had an accident on Oct. 6,” Cheryl explained. “It was a head-on collision and they were both badly injured … This was just to help her out a little bit.”
Lafleur suffered a broken hand, broken foot and a gash above her eye. The crash left Shelley with a broken hand and foot, broken ribs and a crushed sternum, among other injuries. Nearly two months after the crash, she is still confined to a wheelchair and is unable to return to her job at Giant Tiger.
Cheryl said that the community has really gathered around the family and many local businesses and individuals donated a host of prizes to be raffled off.
“The Lions … they donated the hall,” she added. “They’ve helped Shelley out in many ways, [along with] the Lionettes. The community has really helped her out a lot.”
The entertainment for the evening was provided by The Hands of Time, a classic rock and country band based in Ottawa. Cheryl said that when she approached the band, they offered to play the gig free of charge.
“They play often at the Aylmer Legion,” she explained. “We got to know them through there.”
Cheryl was expecting a good turnout and judging by the amount of people filing in as the evening got underway, she was correct in her prediction.