 By Pepper Parr
December 21st, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Jack Dennison believes he got himself over one of the hurdles he faces in getting a new pool at Nelson Park for the residents of his ward.
The 50 metre pool at Nelson was taken out of commission in May when inspectors found that it was unsafe – due, apparently to the damage done by two back to back heavy winters.
The pool was first opened in 1963. The steel structure with a commercial grade liner was scheduled for an upgrade in 2019.
 Built in 1963 – the Nelson pool was due for a rebuild in 2019 – didn’t quite make it. The ward Councillor wants to fast track the replacement pool and have it opened for July of next year. The pool was to reopen June 13, but with two severe winter seasons back-to-back, the steel tank at Nelson Pool had seen an accelerated rate of deterioration.” said Chris Glenn, Director of Parks and Recreation for the city.
Parks and Recreation had hoped to find a solution but by August it became evident that the pool was never going to reopen – it would have to be rebuilt.
In December a staff report was issued with a number of options:
Option 1
Re-build the 50-metre – (comparable to original) – $4.6 – $5.2 million
8 lane, 50-metre pool to meet competitive swimming requirements with an adjacent zero depth entry leisure pool and water play features. Original pool was 7 lanes which is not typical. Approximate swimmer capacity would be 550.
Option 2
Build a 25-metre (smaller version) – $3.7 – $ 4.3 million
6 lane, 25-metre pool with an adjacent zero depth entry leisure pool and water play features.
Approximate swimmer capacity would be 350.
Dennison picked up on the views of the community and decided he would fight for what the community once had – a 50 metre pool. He held a ward information meeting at his recreation facility where the audience was small, made up for the most part of members of the Devilrays competitive swimming club.
 The Nelson pool is the only location suitable for competitive events in the city. The swimmers lobbied every member of council – and handed the council committee Clerk a thick file of petitions. That and a solid delegation from a service club and the Standing Committee went for the first option. That got confirmed at the city council meeting last week.
The next step for Councillor Dennison was – When!
He wants the new pool in place for the summer of 2016 – the city manager didn’t see it quite that same way.
Dennison wanted a Design and Build approach rather than the longer, and more expensive approach – putting the job out to tender where the city has to accept the lowest bid that comes in.
Dennison argues that there are a number of pool builders in the province who built swimming pools for the Pan Am Games. They have the experience and have used the most recent technology and could get a new pool in place quite quickly – by July of next year according to Dennison who has had conversations with a number of pool builders.
With a council decision to build a “like for like” – they had a 50 metre pool – so they get a new 50 metre pool – Dennison now needs to convince his colleagues to direct staff to put out a call for Design and Build proposals.
The city manager was having a bit of a problem with that approach. His view was that city council was straying onto his turf and that the decision as to which approach should be taken was part of his domain.
City manager James Ridge, who brings his ten years of Canadian Army Military Police experience and background to his task, has run up against Jack Dennison who doesn’t have much time for org charts and chains of command. Jack Dennison just wants to get out there and get it all done.
Next step for Dennison is to see if he can find the three votes he needs to get the Staff Direction passed. Will he be able to convince three of his fellow council members to vote for a Staff Direction to at last take a look at what a Design and Build proposal would look like?
It is going to be hard for those members of council from the east end of the city to say no to just looking.
Mayor Goldring once represented ward 5, will he say no? The 200 emails members of council got from the swimming club members will have an impact on any decision that gets made and when the rest of the community hears that it just might be possible to have their pool in place for next summer – well you can get a sense as to how that discussion is going to work out.
Assuming Dennison can get a Staff Direction voted on – he then has to find the money to pay for the work. Joan Ford, city treasurer, did say the money was in place for the work to be done in 2018 – and maybe 2017 if some juggling around of funds were done.
Dennison points to a number of tasks that were going to be done in the ward that he would have no problem with doing some switching of delivery dates on.
 Ward 4 Councillor Jack Dennison has served on city council for more than 20 years – he knows the territory exceptionally well. Will he have his way with the city manager? What just might be shaping up is a bit of a showdown between the city manager, who has yet to be tested, and a city Councillor who wants to deliver a big one for his constituency.
The two issues just might end up on the front page at about the same time as Dennison’s Ontario Municipal Board hearing on his appeal against a Committee of Adjustment decision not to allow him to sever his Lakeshore Road property where he lives in a historically designated home is heard.
This is one to keep an eye on as we move into a new year.
Don’t count on Dennison losing this one.
 By Pepper Parr
December 20, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The parking spots outside city hall are not actually assigned to specific members o council but they each have habits and the Mayor tends to take the one closest to the building – he also tends to back is car in.
Late last week the Mayor was scooting across the parking lot while I was having a conversation with Councillor Taylor. The Mayor didn’t head for the car the city provides him as Mayor for the city – he headed for a small but very smart looking BMW.
 Smart little BMW being loaned out to people that will allow Burlington Hydro to collect usage data. Mayor was one of the earlier experimenters. Councillor Taylor mentioned something about getting to use the car sometime in the future – that was when the Mayor explained that the car was the property of Burlington Hydro – it was an all-electric vehicle that was being loaned out to various people to learn more about their driving habits. Along with the all-electric car there was an EV charging station where the user of the car could “fill-up”.
Burlington Hydro realizes that electric cars are becoming more popular and they need to ensure that the electricity grid that feeds hydro to our homes can manage the additional load that electric cars will place on the system.
Dan Guatto, a vice president and the COO for Burlington Hydro explained that each transformer on the streets of Burlington could probably handle as many as seven electric cars if the owners had EV charging stations in their homes.
And that is where hydro expects people to get the electricity they need into those cars.
 Electric vehicle charging station in city hall parking lot. The EV charging stations however are not just a big battery that put electricity into a car – they are actually “smart” EV chargers that are tied into the North American electricity grid with enough computing power to be programmed and managed the flow of electricity into the electric car and to manage the flow out of the car as well.
Guatto explains that the managing of the electricity is a significant challenge – the grid that we have in place wasn’t built for this added demand. So we have to manage the process of charging all those cars – ideally he added we would like to use nuclear generated electricity that we call upon late at night when it is least expensive.
The task right now is to determine what the demand I going to be – and the start of that process is to have the Mayor and other members of council driving the BMW while all the data is recorded and analyzed.
The Gazette doesn’t recall getting a media release from the city on this really interesting initiative – had we not spotted the Mayor getting out of the BMW we would never have learned about the program.
The city did have an EV charging station installed at the city parking lot on Locust Street and there was one of those infamous photo-ops done.
What has us scratching our heads is – why wouldn’t the Mayor want the citizens of the city to know about the program. It certainly fits into the Community Energy Plan that the Mayor loves to talk about.
One political wag suggested the Mayor didn’t want to have to explain to the public why he was driving a BMW leased by hydro. The Gazette would love to see the Mayor championing this initiative – it a great one.
The Gazette did suggest that its publisher might be able to help with the gathering of useful data if he had access to the BMW for a period of time – there was no response to that idea.
 By Staff
December 19, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Some people call it ACCOB, some people call it the Collective – its real full name is The Arts & Culture Collective of Burlington – it was formed about two years ago and came out of a delegation that Trevor Copp gave to a city council Standing Committee at which he pleaded for more support from the city for the cultural community.
 Trevor Copp, the Burlington actor who mobilized the arts into a Collective, makes a point on leadership while Executive Director of the Burlington Museum’s operation Barb Teatero listens. “I want to be able to do my work where I live” said Copp at the time “and not have to become a GO train commuter. That delegation opened the eyes of many members of council who had no real appreciation for how robust the non-organized part of the cultural community is.
The Art Gallery has its Guilds, and there are a few other organized arts and culture groups but the energy that exists within the younger people wasn’t on the radar screens the politicians look at.
The Collective has had a very significant impact on the development of the Cultural Action Plan the city seems prepared to implement – much of that the cultural community gets will depend on how the budget deliberations go – there isn’t going to be enough money to cover everything on the want list.
The Collective isn’t waiting for the city to give them a handout – they are currently doing a survey on what the cultural community believes they need in the way of professional development. The creators of the survey are encouraging every discipline to take part – they want to hear what anyone and everyone in the cultural community thinks they need in terms of professional development.
 The Arts & Culture Collective of Burlington (ACCOB) will be surveying Burlington artists (all disciplines) and cultural workers on what they believe to be their professional development needs.
The survey is anonymous and only one reply from any one particular computer.
Some possible professional development workshop/panel choices are:
Auditioning Tips
Avoiding Exploitation as an Artist
Copyright & the Internet
Grant Writing Tips
Improving your Portfolio and Proposals
How To Fund Raise
How Artists Successfully Work with Businesses (bars, restaurants, galleries, sponsors etc.)
Marketing yourself as an Artist
Professionalism (Best Practices): cross discipline panel discussion
Writer Tips
The Collective will be supported on this project by the Art Gallery of Burlington, Burlington Performing Arts Centre, KooGle Theatre Company, Open Minds Respect Events (OMRE), No Vacancy, Teresa Seaton Studio & Gallery, Tottering Biped Theatre and others.
The mission of the Arts and Culture Collective of Burlington is to advocate for the arts and culture of Burlington and to increase appreciation, support and involvement with arts and culture in the community.
Prime contact at the Arts & Culture Collective of Burlington is Jim Riley – 905-979-9583 or by email at artscultureburlinton@gmail.com
Click HERE for the survey.
By Staff
December 18th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The students at Brookville Public School will have been told that the Police Service dog (PSD) they named Arrow earlier this year will be on active duty on Monday.
The public first saw Arrow as a cute puppy recruit who needed a name. In June 2015, all elementary schools in the Region of Halton were asked to participate in a name the dog contest. Brookville Public School was the winner in offering the name “Arrow”.
 Police Service Dog Arrow goes on duty next week. PSD Arrow, a pure Belgian Malinois, was born December 30, 2012 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the United States. He immigrated to Canada through a breeder in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario. His father is an active Police Service Dog serving with the Baton Rouge Police Department and his mother is a high ranking sport dog. Constable Kyle Gibson is PSD Arrow’s handler.
Arrow is a “Bark and Hold” trained dog like the rest of the canine team. As a general patrol dog, he is trained to perform the following disciplines; tracking, open area, building, articles, obedience, apprehension, handler protection, and agility. PSD Arrow is also crossed trained in narcotics detection. He has proven himself to be fast, agile and intense.
 Police Service Dog Arrow – in his early training days. Cst. Gibson has been training with PSD Arrow since September 2015 on the basic handler’s course. They have achieved certification and have successfully completed the course. PSD Arrow’s first shift is Monday December 21, 2015. The addition of this team will take the active Canine team compliment of dogs and handlers to six.
The Regional Police are anticipating the retirement of PSD Tracker.
Another new recruit, PSD Jax, is working hard to join the team.
 Jax, a new police service dog will be will be cross trained in narcotics when he matures. PSD Jax was born November 5, 2014 in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario. His father is a Belgian Malinois, and his mother is German Shepherd. Jax is big, strong and only 13 months old.
PSD Jax will be utilized for General Patrol, and will be cross trained in narcotics when he matures. Like father like son; PSD Jax’s father is a General Patrol Dog employed with the Niagara Regional Police.
Please Welcome Our Two New Canine Team Members, Police Service Dog Arrow and Police Service Dog Jax.
When Arrow first became a police service dog.
 By Staff
December 18th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
There are numerous people who continue to evade the police and the court system and continue to live out in our communities while having a warrant for their arrest in place.
This is the 35th time the Gazette has published a “Fugitive Friday” feature based on information provided by the Regional Police which they use to reach out to the public to help locate wanted persons and hold them accountable for their actions.
Every Friday, the Burlington Offender Management Unit has shared information on a wanted person in hopes that the public can assist in locating the individual. The police also share “Fugitive Friday” information on their website and via social media through Twitter @HRPSBurl and @HaltonPolice.
This is the last edition of Fugitive Friday for 2015.
 The Burlington Offender Management Unit is searching for Kerry Lee HENWOOD, 54 years old of Hamilton ON.
In November 2015, the accused attended Joseph Brant Hospital and stole employee’s wallets while they worked. He went to various stores and made a number of purchases with the victim’s credit and debit cards. Investigation revealed the identity of the thief and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
To date this career criminal has managed to amass 87 convictions for various offences including; Thefts, Frauds, Break and Enter, Assault with a Weapon, Fail to Comply
Probation and Fail to Attend Court.
He is wanted by Halton Regional Police for:
Theft under $5000 x 3
Use of Credit Card x 7
HENWOOD is also wanted by Hamilton Police Service for:
Fraud under $5000 x 7
Theft under $5000
Possession under $5000
HENWOOD is described as 5’5”, 140 lbs with grey hair and blue eyes. He has numerous tattoos – Right upper arm – “Tasmanian Devil”, Left forearm – skull, Left upper arm – “Devil”. HENWOOD is known to frequent the areas of Hamilton, Burlington, Brampton, Toronto and surrounding areas.
Anyone who may have witnessed this person or has information that would assist investigators in identifying him are encouraged to contact D/C Bulbrook – Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Offender Management Team at 905-825-4747 Ext. 2346 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
News report on the theft of personal property at the hospital.
 By Ray Rivers
December 18th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
There are only a few days left to buy something to put under the tree for my wife. But what I really need is another car. My beloved decade-old Prius has found a new home with my daughter. I bought the car after reading “The Weather Makers” by Australian paleontologist and climate scientist, Tim Flannery. He was so persuasive I even wrote a song about him.
 A Prius – best car Rivers ever bought – he’s in the market for a new one. According to Flannery the single best thing we can do to reduce our carbon footprint is stop driving gas guzzlers. So, I bought a hybrid. And after 200,000 kms at 4.9 l/100 kms (60 mpg), I figure half of my mileage (100,000 kms) was virtually costless and free from emissions, when compared to a conventional auto.
Last week almost 200 national leaders signed up to the Paris (climate) Agreement. But that was the easy part. We’ve been this road before with the Kyoto Protocol, back in 1997, only to find a change in politics killed the deal. Climate deniers GW Bush and our own Stephen Harper did their best to scuttle any attempts at restraining global warming.
And thanks in some small part to them, 2015 will be the warmest year on record. Greenland’s vast glaciers are now melting twice as fast as predicted by climate scientists. And that means that rising sea levels combined with declining polar ice packs will shift the earth’s mass towards the equator slowing down the planet’s rotation and shifting it on its axis – scary stuff.
 Ice fields in Greenland melting faster than anyone predicted – water flows towards the equator impacting the way the earth rotates – and some still don’t see climate change as a problem. Mr. Trudeau has committed to meet with the premiers and come up with a feasible plan of action early in the New Year. A major component of any plan will be a smorgasbord of carrots and sticks to help Canadians get out of old habits. For example, since almost half of all Canadian homes are heated with natural gas, we should expect some financial help with home insulation and alternate heating. And a carbon tax on heating fuels would make sense to help fund these kinds of incentives.
Transportation accounts for about a third of our greenhouse gas emissions and the private motor car makes up about half of that, so expect more incentives to get us onto the new public transportation they keep promising, and into more efficient automobiles. Ontario already offers rebates of up to $8500 for full battery-electric vehicles (BEV) and $5000 for plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHV). But the uptake hasn’t been huge and good luck trying to find them at the car dealer. And even better luck finding a salesperson who knows anything about electric vehicles (EV), PHVs or even hybrids – or understands why you should buy one.
 Get used to see more signs like this – Mayor has one where he normally parks his car. But that’s pretty much it – the rest is stuff we individuals can’t do. The oil sands will require a massive clean-up one way or the other, given where oil prices are going. Some provinces in the prairies and Maritimes will need help converting their electricity generation, as Ontario did recently. Then there is the need for increased reforestation and the development of green technologies.
Fighting wars requires massive amounts of energy and results in all kinds of emission releases, especially when oil-tank cars are being hit by bombs. Yet there has been no discussion of finding better ways to resolve conflicts among nations – especially as the world enters a new era of global tension.
International trade, well that is all about moving goods great distances and burning lots of fuel. It is pure hypocrisy when governments which support more free trade simultaneously sponsor those buy-local campaigns. And speaking of goods transport, trucks now release almost as much greenhouse gas emissions as cars. There was a time when most goods were transported around the country efficiently by rail. Today the rail cars are all busy carrying oil to refineries so it can be burned by the trucks which have now replaced them.
Some folks are saying we need to change the foods we eat as well. According to one researcher lettuce has a greater GHG footprint than pork production. But I don’t believe it. Still other researchers claim that meat production accounts for 15% of all GHG emissions. To that end New Zealand has implemented a cow ‘fart tax’. And beef is the worst of the meats apparently, being labelled the ‘SUV of food’. Which gets us back to motor vehicles.
 Gas was cheap and the highways were seldom clogged – the drivers felt like Kings – those were the days! I confess that I have always been a car buff. I was just a tadpole when my dad brought home a new Plymouth with those monstrous fins. He wintered his beautiful baby in our barn and I’d occasionally climb in behind the odd-shaped steering wheel and stare at the push button transmission, pretending I was actually driving the big V8 powered behemoth.
My dream car today is the Tesla, named after Nikola Tesla the brilliant Serbian inventor. The car was developed by Elon Musk, a Canadian/American South African guy who invented PayPal and runs Space X as well. A friend of mine has one of these electrically powered beauties and it can go over 300 kms on a charge and move like a cat on catnip. But it costs a bomb and is the only EV with the kind of range I’d be comfortable with, given where I live.
So, unless my publisher pays me a lot more money to write these columns, I’d have to sell my farm and move to the city in order to be able to afford one. But if I did that, one of those more modest EV would do the job – or I could just use environmentally friendly public transportation instead. I hope you’re having better luck with your Christmas shopping than I am.
 Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington where he ran as a Liberal against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province. Rivers is no longer active politically.
Background links
Cool Video Tim Flannery Flannery Song Paris Agreement
Ignorant Car Dealers Tesla What People Can Do The Hard Work Begins
Earth Slowing Down Electric VehiclesRoad Transport
Trade and Climate Household Energy Use Unattainable
Cow Farts Electric Vehicles EV Rebates
Meat is the New SUV
Car and Truck Emissions Greenland Melting Lettuce Causes Climate Change
By Staff
December 17, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau is currently investigating a suspicious fire that occurred at 606 Artreva Court in the City of Burlington on Saturday December 5,2015
 Halton Police received a call to attend the residence as it appeared there had been a fire inside the home that was no longer active. The fire appeared to have originated in the basement crawl space. Flame marks and black soot damaged the living room area on the first floor.
The owners of the residence had moved out by noon on Friday December 4, 2015 and the damage was observed by a neighbour who attended to clean the home at 1:00pm Saturday on December 5, 2015.
The Ontario Fire Marshall’s Officer attended and determined the cause of the fire was criminal in nature.
Halton Regional Police are appealing to the public for any information that may assist with the investigation as it may lead to identifying the culprit in this crime. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Detective Constable Mallinson of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905 825-4747 ext 2334 or anyone with information on this or any other crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
 By Staff
December 17, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
United Way leaders pushing hard for people in our community saying that 95% is not good enough.
 Chantel Broten, President of Jan Kelly Marketing, heads up the Burlington side of the United Way campaign. Hamilton and Burlington joined forces to raise the funds needed to help the 164,000 people who use the service. Chantel Broten, President of Jan Kelley Marketing and this year’s Burlington Cabinet Co-Chair remains optimistic about the next year. “Given the current economic landscape, we knew this would be tough.
Every fundraiser knows the last 5% is always the hardest, but if we rally together, we can ensure that crucial supports remain strong in our community. We have already had a number of enthusiastic supporters step up to the plate and we are hopeful that we will see more donors offering help to the people of Burlington and Hamilton.” Broten is encouraging everyone this holiday season to give the gift of community by investing in their local United Way. “Every dollar stays local and every dollar counts”.
 A United Way fund raising event. Burlington and Hamilton joined together to raise the funds needed to help the 164,000 people that use the service. “Thanks to the generosity and commitment of hundreds of individuals and organizations, we are projecting to reach 95% of our goal.” said Paul Johnson, Director of Corporate Initiatives at the City of Hamilton and this year’s United Way Cabinet Co-Chair. “Ninety-five percent might be good enough in high school algebra, but it’s not good enough for United Way Burlington & Greater Hamilton.” said Johnson
United Way Cabinet, Board Members and staff met last week to discuss the status of their goal; to change the lives of 164,000 people in our community. The goal is based on the existing and growing needs in both Burlington and Hamilton and represents the approximate number of people helped by United Way last year.
“We have rolled up our sleeves and we are working harder than ever to help maintain the network of social service supports for people in our community. The way we are going to do that is by raising a necessary $6.8 Million” said Johnson. Last year, United Way was able to provide support to thousands of children, seniors, families, and youth-at-risk. Thanks to donors, 53,686 people accessed community mental health services, 35,762 students participated in after-school programs and over 14,900 people obtained increased food security, to name a few.
United Way first announced the goal of 164,000 lives changed at the annual kick-off in September. At that time, the goal was known to be ambitious but striving for less was not an option. The 5% still needed to reach the goal of 164,000 would impact some 9500 people.
 Jeff Valentin leads the United Way operation that is in Hamilton. The annual campaign for United Way brings together over 680 corporate partners and thousands of individuals who work tirelessly to raise funds to help better the lives of their neighbours. United Way CEO Jeff Vallentin is excited to see the energy in everyone involved in the fundraising efforts.
“The determination and enthusiasm of every volunteer and staff person working hard on this campaign is inspirational. I marvel at the efforts being put forth from our donors and I’m confident that our generous community will respond to our appeal.”
Outside of government, United Way is the largest funder of social service programs and initiatives.
By Staff
December 16, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halloween contest worked very very well – so it made sense to use the same approach to getting reader attention to run a Christmas house decoration contest.
Even a quick drive around the community will tell you there is plenty to choose from.
 Leslie Bullock Leslie Bullock, a Realtor who has served the city for several decades – she also served as a city councillor when Walter Mulkewich was Mayor, has always come up with imaginative ways to involve the community.
She asks: “Do your neighbours compare your house to the Griswold’s at Christmas time? Or do you prefer to take tips from Martha Stewart?
“Either way, I would like you to capture your snowmen, reindeer, lights and the rest of your (exterior) holiday decorations in photos and send them to us! Get creative, take your best pictures and upload them to our Facebook page.
 To enter, simply post your photos, no more than three please, to our 2015 Christmas Contest photo album. You must then send us a Message via Facebook that includes your name, address, email and phone number so we can contact you if you’re one of our winners.
All entries must be submitted no later than 11:59pm on Friday Dec. 25th. This contest is open to all residents of Aldershot and the city of Burlington.
The top five entries will be selected by our team and posted to our Aldershot Facebook page by Monday Dec. 28th. Visitors can then vote for their favourite home on our
Facebook page by sending us an Inbox message noting the address of your selection. Voting will run until Friday Jan. 1st at 11:59pm, with the winners being announced by Monday Jan. 4th. The Facebook page is HERE
Prizes: First Prize: A full-year Family Membership to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Aldershot (value = $115), compliments of the RBG
Second Prize: A $50 gift card from Mapleview Mall in Burlington
Enter today and share the most festive images of your home all decked out for the season. Remember, the entry deadline is Christmas Day, December, 25th.
Privacy Policy: We understand that your personal information is very important to you. We at Team Leslie Bullock won’t use, share or sell your personal information to anyone. Nor will your personal information be posted to our Facebook page and photo albums – we will only mention your street name on the page. This information will be used strictly to administer this contest and to inform all winners if and when they are selected.
 By Pepper Parr
December 16th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It is that time of year when the eggnog is there to be ladled into a cup and the conversation is genial. You use the occasion to get caught up on the gossip and who is doing what.
If the get together has even three or four people who work at city hall then there is going to be some mention of how things are going with city council and the changes that are taking place in the senior staff ranks.
 Will the chain of office be part of Rick Goldring’s wardrobe in 2018 “The Mayor’s office is a mess” said one imbiber, – “the Strategic Plan will get completed – no one is prepared to say exactly when” added another.
A really interesting comment came from a rather athletic male who wanted to huddle in the corner and talk about the “slate of candidates” he and some colleagues were trying to put together to clean out the current city council.
The current council has completed a quarter of its term of office – people who follow politics (some of one crowd I spent time with live politics) ask who is likely to run for office next time around?
Are Councillors Dennison and Taylor nearing the end of their political careers?
What has ward six Councillor Blair Lancaster got her eye on?
Will the public look at Councillor Sharman any differently now that the discussion of the Lakeside Village Plaza has actually begun to take place?
Do the plans ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward have to reach for the brass ring still alive?
Will Rick Goldring go for a third term as Mayor? Not with the mess that office is in. If not Goldring and if Meed Ward is beginning to look iffy – who?
“Pepper”, said my host who seemed to have had his share of the eggnog – “you aren’t looking beyond all the people in the play pen now.”
A quizzical look must have appeared on my face because my host asked if I knew what Mike Wallace was doing these days?
 Wallace conceding to Karina Gould October 19th, 2015 Really I thought – Wallace? Is there any potential there?
Mike Wallace was a council member that many saw as the heir apparent when MacIsaac moved on – however Cam Jackson, who was basically shown the door at Queen’s Park decided he could become a Mayor and the resident’s voted for him.
Mike Wallace had finally beaten Torsney and won a ticket to Ottawa, courtesy of the shellacking the Liberals took over the Sponsorship scandal.
The time line that had former Burlington MP Paddy Torsney beating Wallace in one election then losing to him in another when the Sponship scandal killed the federal Liberals is full of twists and turns. Torsney is now at the United nations
Many thought Wallace was a potential city Mayor – that didn’t work out – he went to Ottawa instead but then got beat by Karina Gould who is now the Burlington MP
 Mike Wallace preparing to deliver a speech. Wallace served the city well while he was the MP. He brought a lot of bacon to the city and put in the hours that were needed.
He may not have done all that much as a legislator and he did soil his copy book with hi shenanigans over that Justice Committee mess – but Wallace did deliver. He knew how to get cheques sent to the city treasurer and numerous organizations in the city.
Mike back at city hall – huh! Possible? Most certainly.
Wallace didn’t personally lose his federal seat. The Burlington New Democrats failed to cast their ballots the way the usually did and Wallace had a Prime Minister who had taken on an odious bent.
Karina Gould ran a solid campaign and while it is way too early to suggest that she couldn’t be beat next time around, she is looking pretty good. Wallace is smart enough to know that she is going to warm the Burlington seat for at least two terms unless Justin Trudeau really blows it.
 Close up – Burlington’s MP Mike Wallace looks closely at a piece of art at the Art Centre. Politics tends to find a balance, an equilibrium. All the seats in and around Burlington are pained a bright Liberal red – the public likes to see at least a bit of a balance.
Mike Wallace never made us famous but he never embarrassed us either. He also has a very smart and capable spouse. Expect to see Mike at a number of events during the next couple of years getting his picture in the paper and keeping the profile fresh.
 Ciné-Starz
Upper Canada Place,
Burlington, ON L7R 4B6
Week of Friday, December 18, 2015 through Thursday, December 24, 2015
Secret in Their Eyes (14A)
Fri – Thu: 5:00 PM
Love the Coopers ()
Fri – Thu: 11:00 AM, 1:00, 3:00, 5:30, 7:10
Miss You Already (PG)
Fri – Thu: 11:00 AM, 1:00, 9:35
The Peanuts Movie (G)
Fri – Thu: 11:10 AM, 1:00, 3:25, 5:10, 7:35, 9:25
Steve Jobs (14A)
Fri – Thu: 9:40 PM
Suffragette ()
Fri – Thu: 3:00, 5:00, 7:35
Bridge of Spies (PG)
Fri – Thu: 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:10
Goosebumps ()
Fri – Thu: 11:05 AM, 1:05
The Martian (PG)
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By Staff
December 15th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The month of December is a time of holiday parties, work get-togethers, and family celebrations. Most events include the consumption of alcohol. The Halton Regional Police are well aware and ready to ensure people make the right decision through education and prevention or pay the price of being arrested for impaired driving.
 Regional police doing RIDE checks – four arrested in Burlington so far this season. The first week of our Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (R.I.D.E.) spot checks ran from Sunday December 6, 2015 to Sunday December 13, 2015. Over 3500 cars were stopped in R.I.D.E. checks. 11 impaired driving arrests were made throughout the Region.
Milton/Halton Hills: 6
Oakville: 1
Burlington: 4
On Thursday December 10, 2015, just before 7:00am, a woman drove herself to the Georgetown District Hospital to get medical attention for an injured finger. After being release four hours later, and ignoring the physician’s advice to not drive as she appeared to be intoxicated, police located her in her vehicle in the parking lot of the hospital. A 50-year-old woman from Halton Hills has been arrested and charged with care or control over 80 mgs.
On Saturday December 12, 2015 at 10:00pm, Milton officers were conducting R.I.D.E. checks on Main Street in the Town of Milton. A vehicle was stopped and police detected a strong odor of fresh marihuana coming from the vehicle. In addition to a small package of marihuana concealed on his person, a further investigation revealed a large duffle bag with 202 grams of marihuana and a significant amount of cash. A 20-year-old man from Milton was arrested and charged with possession for the purpose. A good example that RIDE stops don’t only catch impaired drivers.
On Saturday December 12, 2015 at 4:40 pm, a motorist and his 13-year-old son were driving westbound on Dundas Street near Sixth Line in the Town of Oakville. The motorist observed a white Dodge Ram that was also driving westbound, swerving in and out of the westbound lanes. After narrowly missing the motorist’s car several times, the Ram truck accelerated quickly and attempted to change lanes, ultimately colliding with the vehicle occupied by the father and son.
A 34-year-old man from Burlington was arrested and charged with impaired driving and driving with more than 80 mgs of alcohol in blood. The driver had not been drinking that day; his level of impairment was a residual of drinking the night before.
On Saturday December 12, 2015, just before midnight, a motorist called police to report an erratic driver on Walkers Line in the City of Burlington. Officers located the vehicle and discovered both passenger side tires were flat and the vehicle was being driven on its rims. A 27-year-old woman from Burlington was arrested and charged with impaired driving and driving with more than 80 mgs of alcohol in blood. The woman had a blood alcohol concentration of over three times the legal limit.
Halton officers will be out in full force the remainder of the month working diligently to reduce impaired driving everywhere.
If you see a suspected impaired driver, please call 9-1-1. Officers will respond immediately to ensure the driver is investigated and dealt with accordingly.
The advice and direction is simple: “Don’t drive impaired, you can lose a lot more than your licence.”
 By Pepper Parr
December 15th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The government is delivering on its promise to allow beer sales in grocery stores by announcing the first 58 locations across the province where Ontarians will be able to buy beer.
There won’t be one in Burlington this time around – the closest will be in Oakville and Hamilton – Longos will have the Oakville location. Their Fairview location in Burlington happens to be in a plaza that already has an LCBO and a Beer Store.
 Premier Kathleen Wynne and Minister of Finance Charles Sousa announced the 13 independent grocery stores and 45 stores owned by large grocers that are now authorized to sell beer.
This is the first round of Ontario’s commitment to make it more convenient for people to buy beer. Ultimately, beer will be available at up to 450 grocery stores province wide — roughly the same number of locations The Beer Store currently operates in Ontario. Beer in grocery stores is part of the biggest shakeup to beverage alcohol retailing in the province since prohibition was ended in 1927.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which visited all 58 locations as part of the authorization process, will now monitor them to ensure that they adhere to laws on the safe retail of alcohol. These include designated sales areas and hours of sale, limitations to package sizes and alcohol content by volume, and rigorous social responsibility training for staff.
Premier Wynne’s comment that LCBO locations would be ideal for the sale of marijuana is a testament as to just how far Ontario has come. There was a time when the then Premier of the province would not allow news photographers to take his picture if there was a glass of beer in his hand.
 By Staff
December 14th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
This is more of an Oakville story but in the off chance that someone in Burlington happened to have their hair cut in Oakville at a particular barber shop – listen up
 Halton Region is asking clients of Bronte Barber Shop located at 2290 Lakeshore Road W. (Bronte Plaza) in Oakville to contact the Halton Region Health Department as part of an investigation into potential exposure to blood-borne infections through the reuse of single-use/disposable razor blades.
“On December 11, The Halton Region Health Department issued a written Order under Section 13 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) to Bronte Barber Shop, to eliminate the practice of reusing disposable razor blades on clients,” said Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Medical Officer of Health for Halton Region. “At this time, there is no evidence of the transmission of infectious disease, but we need to take the necessary precautions to ensure the safety, health and well-being of our residents.”
“The operator of Bronte Barber Shop is unable to provide the Health Department with a list of clients, so we are asking those who may have received services using razor blades at the Oakville location to contact the Halton Region Health Department as soon as possible, by dialing 311 or 905-825-6000,” said Dr. Meghani. “The Halton Region Health Department will provide information on the recommended tests to rule out any potential blood-borne infection.”
 To reduce the risk of infection and disease outbreaks, Halton’s public health inspectors routinely perform inspections of personal service settings (including barber shops), restaurants, long-term care homes, childcare centres and throughout the community. The Halton Region Health Department works to promote high standards of infection prevention and control to protect the health and well-being of all Halton residents.
For information about infection prevention and control in personal service settings, visit halton.ca/ipac or dial 311.
By Pepper Parr
December 13, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Monte Dennis is an activist – he makes no apology for the way he takes on public issues. He is a responsible citizen who delegates at times at city council.
He produces well researched papers on different subject. He is an engineer by profession and lives in rural Burlington where he was one of the founders of the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition.
 Monte Dennis – wrote a Letter to the Editor of the Hamilton Spectator – he got sued for that. In April of 2014 Dennis read a piece that Vince Rossi had published in the Hamilton Spectator. Rossi is the owner of the Air Park in Burlington that was dumping tonnes of landfill on the property to level the property for further development as an aeronautical operation. Rossi had plans to develop something much bigger than the single runway that was in place when he purchased the property.
Dennis read the Rossi letter, which is reproduced below.
Hamilton Spectator, April 16, 2014
By Vince Rossi
As the owner of the Burlington Executive Airpark, I am proud of our long and accomplished history in Halton Region.
The airpark opened in 1962. Since that time, it has served as a flight training centre, an aircraft maintenance base, a recreational flying facility and a key transportation hub for Halton residents and businesses.
Thousands of pilots have received their training at Burlington Airpark, many of whom are now airline pilots who safely transport thousands of Canadians every day. The training and maintenance facilities, along with the charter services, are independently owned and provide skilled employment opportunities for our community. In addition, there are jobs for those who provide services to the airpark and the businesses located there.
Many leading companies, including Ford Motor Company, Mercedes-Benz Canada, Evertz Microsystems and L-3 Communications, use the airpark for the transportation of people and key materials.
The airpark is also used for patient transfers and organ donation flights, given its proximity to medical institutions that serve Burlington, Milton, Oakville, Mississauga and Hamilton.
Ontario’s air ambulance service uses special facilities installed at the airpark for advanced training.
The airpark is also used for law enforcement, search and rescue, military and ambulance flights.
Finally, the airpark is home to a thriving recreational aviation community. It is the host of community service events such as educational flights for school groups, the semi-annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Airlift and serves as a partner and rest stop in the PwC Epic Tour Halton, a regional biking event.
There is a shortage of smaller general aviation airports in southern Ontario with reasonable proximity to cities. The airpark is a unique and essential asset for Halton Region.
But we want to improve and do more.
I purchased the airpark from the Kovachik family in 2006, having done my own flight training here.
Since then, I have invested more than $4 million in infrastructure improvements. I have not received financial assistance from any level of government. This has included widening and improving both runways, adding taxiways, improving the refuelling facilities and building additional hangars.
We have always been open about our plans and goals to improve the airpark. Over the years, we have posted plans on our website and we have held a yearly reception as well several open houses and barbecues that have been attended by neighbours, airpark users and politicians of every level. At these events, we have shown our improvements and plans for the future.
 This Appleby Line resident wonders if the Court decision will mean this pile of earth will be hauled away. Or does the decision mean she has a claim against someone for the damage done to the value of her property? Our efforts to improve the airpark were halted in July of last year, after complaints were raised by a few of our neighbours, some of whom had only recently purchased their homes. They made unsubstantiated claims that the fill being imported to level the remaining airpark lands was waste, which, of course, it was not.
The situation then became political. City of Burlington councillors repeated the unsubstantiated rumours of contamination. The City of Burlington, citing its site-alteration bylaw, took steps to stop the improvements. Despite the fact the airpark is federally regulated, we met with the councillors, city officials and our neighbours to try to address everyone’s concerns reasonably. Notwithstanding, the mayor of Burlington publicly vowed to take whatever steps the city could to stop the infilling.
To be clear, every test of neighbouring streams and wells has met or surpassed federal and provincial environmental standards. There have been six inspections, studies and/or tests carried out since 2009. None have indicated a problem with the fill or an adverse impact on local water. Further, after discussions with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the airpark is in the process of voluntarily completing the most comprehensive study to date by carrying out a test well program.
Sadly, we and the city are spending time and money in court to find out whether the city is entitled to control improvements at the airpark. During the past 60 years, courts across this country have held that the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over the location, design and materials used to build and improve airports. There are more than 1,400 airports across Canada. It would be chaos if each one was subjected to different municipal standards, which is what the courts have consistently held. We hope for a resolution in June.
I’ve always respected our neighbours and the City of Burlington and was hopeful that we could have reached a compromise that protected and enhanced the interests of all parties.
In the meantime, the Burlington Executive Airpark will continue to serve the interests of our community, and our region. We’re here for the long term and look forward to moving forward with our neighbours.
Vince Rossi is the owner of Burlington Airpark Inc.
Monte found much that he felt was not quite the true and he wrote a letter to the Editor of the Spectator. The original version of the letter was signed by the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition. The Spectator called Monte Dennis and said they needed the name of a person and he agreed that the Spectator could use his name.
The Monte Dennis letter is reproduce below:
April 24, 2014
Missing Facts from Airpark Article
The recent article, “Airpark Improvements up in the air” in the Hamilton Spectator by Burlington Airpark owner Vince Rossi leaves out very important and relevant facts.
• The Burlington Airpark’s own soil analysis data, provided to the City of Burlington’s soil specialists Terrapex, showed that much of the fill imported onto the Airpark is chemically contaminated, and represented only a portion of the imported fill.
• The tens of thousands of loads of fill dumped onto the Airpark were spread throughout the site and will require a grid-work of soil sampling to find and quantify.
• Depending on imported soil types, conditions, groundwater mobility, precipitation amounts and other factors the negative impacts could take years to find and be detected in area wells.
• Although the dumping has stopped, the concern is that toxic materials in the soil will sooner or later leach into neighbour’s wells.
 John Hutter in the foreground along with Ward 6 Councillor Blair Lancaster, Carey Clarke from the city’s Engineering department and property owner Carl Cousins inspect the landfill at the edge of the Cousin’s farm property that was flooded and not usable for farming.
• The immediate neighbours have experienced excessive water runoff due to the altered drainage. Some of the land is too wet for farming.
• Some of the wells are silted, making the water undrinkable.
• Airpark neighbours’ vistas have been blocked by huge amounts of fill, resulting in the loss of enjoyment of their properties.
While waiting for a court settlement and the Ministry of Environment research results, the surrounding residents are suffering from the stress of the uncertain future.
The clean-up and rectification of this mess could take years and cost millions.
Why won’t the Burlington Airpark share the soil and groundwater test results? The Airpark is claiming that the data is private and confidential!
The Ministry of Transport directive asks the airparks to comply with Provincial and local regulations that do not affect aviation. Federal legislation regulates the safe movement of aircraft. The Airpark lost the court case on the validity of the Burlington fill bylaw and is presently going to appeal in June 2014. In the case of Scugog Airpark, a judgment decreed that fill operations must comply with Scugog’s municipal fill bylaws, which should be the case with all municipalities. This would not result in chaos as suggested but lawful, responsible and environmentally sustainable development.
Sincerely,
Monte Dennis
That letter resulted in Dennis being sued by the Air Park Inc. Pepper Parr and Vanessa Warren were included in the libel suit for material they had written.
What is interesting is that the Spectator wasn’t sued by Rossi – just Dennis, Parr and Warren.
Dennis and Warren found that the cost of defending themselves was proving onerous and they turned to the public for support. A fund raising web site was used to give the public an opportunity to help.
 Landfill being dumped on air park property without the city’s knowledge or permission. The Gazette first brought to the public’s attention the heavy truck traffic on Appleby Line that was taking load after load after load into the air park property.
Those early news reports led to the city beginning to ask questions about just which laws applied to the Air Park and the formation of the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition. As the news reports kept being published the city began to take a closer look at what was going on and eventually sued the Air Park – at the time the city was suing the Air Park and the Air Park was suing the city – a Judge pulled the two law suits together and a trial took place.
The city won the trial – which was over whether or not the air park operation had to comply with municipal by laws. Justice Murphy said they did have to comply; the Air Park appealed but lost the appeal.
Nothing happened – all the city had was a decision saying the air park had to comply with municipal bylaws.
The city then sued the Air Park again, asking a Judge to order to Air Park to comply and remove the landfill and file a site plan.
That court case, heard in November, is awaiting a decision.
Meanwhile Dennis, Warren and Parr wait for their day in court. Dennis and Warren are asking the public for financial support.
 They have reached the 5% level of their drive for the $100,000 they feel they need.
You can support their battle at: fundrazr
 By Pepper Parr
December 12, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Mountain Equipment Coop in Toronto had been doing it for 13 years. They suggested the Burlington store take up the idea. The Burlington Mountain Equipment Coop called Burlington Green and asked if they were interested – they were and the result was a table at which you could get gifts, purchased at the Mountain Equipment Coop wrapped free at a table in the store manned by the people from Burlington Green.
 Amy Schnurr, ties a spring of cedar to a gift package Everything used in the wrapping was environmentally friendly. Each package had sprigs of cedar tied on with string that was – yes you got it – environmentally friendly.
Mountain Equipment Coop was packed with holiday shoppers. There was no snow of course – we have mistreated this planet so badly that it has lost it bearings and is having difficulty figuring out the time of year.
The season is one of hope and on this day some of the leaders of the world at a meeting in France agreed that the nations would cooperate and agree to keep the increase of Co2 emissions to less than 2% and ideally over time reduce them to 0.
 This is probably the greatest gift the people on this planet are going to get this year.
The free wrapping will be available on the 13th, the 19th and the 20th from 11 am to 5 pm.
Mountain Equipment Coop is now known as MEC
By Staff
December 11, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It is week 34 of the Halton Regional Police Service, Burlington station, Fugitive Friday initiative that reaches out to the public for help locating wanted persons and hold them accountable for their actions.
There are numerous people who continue to evade the police and the court system and continue to live out in our communities while having a warrant for their arrest in place.
Every Friday, the Burlington Offender Management Unit will share information on a wanted person in hopes that the public can assist in locating the individual.
We will share “Fugitive Friday” information on our website and via social media through Twitter @HRPSBurl and @HaltonPolice.
The initiative has proven to be effective and is being reviewed to determine if the program should be rolled out to other communities in the Region.
One consistent trait with the people the police want to take into custody is that many were arrested, appeared in court and then failed to return fopr their day with the justice system.
The Court’s tend to release people on bail because the cost of keeping them in jail is just too expensive. The flouting of the bail conditions and the requirement to return puts the integrity of the judicial system at risk.
Someone somewhere should be thinking this through.
 Benjamin BRZEZINSKI 41 years old of Etobicoke wanted for theft and failing to comply with a probation order. In this edition of Fugitive Fridays with the Holidays fast approaching the 3 District, Burlington Offender Management Unit is searching for Benjamin BRZEZINSKI 41 years old of Etobicoke ON.
In June and November of 2015 the accused attended a store in Burlington and stole a laptop during each incident, with a combined value of over $5000.00 for the thefts.
The accused was identified and found to be on probation for similar crimes in Milton, Toronto and Brampton.
The accused has been convicted of multiple thefts from Bradford to Toronto that go back to 2007.
A warrant has been issued for his arrest and he remains at large.
He is wanted by Halton Regional Police for:
Theft under $5000 x 2
Fail to Comply Probation x 4
BRZEZINSKI is described as 5”11”, 160 lbs with black hair and brown eyes. BRZEZINSKI is known to frequent the areas of Burlington, Mississauga, Toronto and the surrounding areas.
Anyone who may have witnessed this person or has information that would assist investigators in locating him are encouraged to contact D/C Bulbrook – Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Offender Management Team at 905-825-4747 Ext. 2346 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
December 10th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Halton Regional Police investigators in both Oakville and Burlington are working on a string of break and enters that have the possibility of being connected.
On December 10, 2015 at 12:39am an alarm went off at Pioneer Pools on South Service Road in the Town of Oakville. Upon police arrival, the front glass door was smashed by an unknown object. Suspect(s) targeted the cash registers and took two tills containing up to $200.00 cash.
On December 10, 2015 at 1:45am an alarm went off at GNC on Wyecroft Road in the Town of Oakville. Front door was smashed by an unknown object. Suspects took an unknown amount of store product and cash.
As police attended the break and enter at GNC, officers observed the neighbouring business; Focus Eyeware, had also been entered. The front glass door was smashed by an unknown object. An unknown amount of product from the store display cases was taken.
On December 10, 2015 at 1:56am while conducting patrols in the area, an officer came upon a break and enter in progress at Supplement King on Brant Street in the City of Burlington. Suspects smashed the glass front door with a sledgehammer and proceeded to the cash registers. One cash till was removed and as the suspects attempted to exit the store, an officer was at the door. Suspects dropped the cash till and fled out the back door into a stolen vehicle and fled south on Brant Street. There were no handguns used or observed.
A vehicle pursuit took officers into the City of Hamilton where the suspects exited at Main Street East. Halton officers discontinued the pursuit at this time. The vehicle, stolen from Peel has not been recovered at this time. Below is suspect and vehicle description from the Burlington incident.
Suspect vehicle: 2000 Honda Civic 4 door Silver
Suspect description:
Suspect #1: approx. 5’7″ 140lbs grey hoodie and grey pants
Suspect #2: approx. 5’6″ 140lbs black hoodie and black pants
Investigators are gathering evidence and believe the four incidents may be connected. Anyone with information on any of these break and enters is asked to contact Det. Craig of the Oakville Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905 825-4747 ext 2255 or Det. Bale (ext 2312) or Det. Couce (ext 2307) of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905 825-4747 or anyone with information on this or any other crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
December 10th, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Halton Regional Police are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying two males, who are responsible for breaking into a storage unit in the City of Burlington in October 2014.
 Recognize the man or the dog? Call Crime Stoppers – possible reward.  Can these suspects be identified from this picture? It is believed the two males stole a quantity of cocaine from the storage unit and may be responsible for other similar thefts from storage units.
The suspects are believed to be professional, as one of the males was equipped with a lock pic set, a digital camera with an expandable lens to fit under the storage unit door and was accompanied by a drug sniffing springer spaniel dog.
During the incident, the males communicated using portable radios.
Anyone with information that would assist in this investigation is asked to contact Detective Constable Ron Wright at 905-825-4747 ext 8718 or Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-TIPS (8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
December 8, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Gazette erred – big time – on the original version of this article, we put a price tag on the public art that was just plain wrong – and we apologize for the error. The correct numbers are now in place.
The public art that came in at between $5,000 to $10,000 each for the six wards was officially unveiled last week.
It is worth looking at – some of it is drive by and not that easy to actually see – others you might not get to.
The Gazette is pleased to show you both the art and the artist.
The local artist mural initiative is a new public art program designed to tell local stories using local artists. This year’s program commissioned six small to medium-scale murals throughout the city. These commissions were open exclusively to Burlington, Ont., artists. Free professional development opportunities were offered to assist artists with the application process and project development.
The city’s public art adviser ran a juried competition and the following six people were selected:
• Judy Mayer-Grieve: King Road Underpass, Ward 1
• Claire Hall: Freeman Station, Ward 2
• Teresa Seaton: Amherst Park, Ward 3
• Hannah Sell and Liam Racine: Port Nelson Park, Ward 4
• Tamara Kwapich: Orchard Community Park, Ward 5
• Donna Grandin: Ireland Park, Ward 6
 Judy Mayer-Grieve did the mural at the King Road Underpass. There was a time when the King Road was often just a line up of vehicles waiting to cross the rail line. The underpass was a huge improvement – which the mural celebrates.  Clair Hall did the mural on the side of the Freeman Station. While the station is some distance from where it once served Burlington which was then an agricultural community, the restoration of the station is one of the best examples of citizens moving in and taking on a project the city could never manage to make happen.  Teresa Seaton did the art work that is in Amherst Park park next to a community garden. The art has been tempered and will easily withstand the winter weather.  Hannah Sell and Liam Racine did the art work that is located in the small Port Nelson Park where it will be seen by thousands. There was a time when tonnes of timber was shipped from a wharf at the foot of the park.  Tamara Kwapich did the mural in Orchard Community Park; once the location for some of the best apple orchards in the province.  Donna Grandin did the four pieces that are at Ireland Park. Each reflects a different part of the city. The Gazette was fortunate to be able to watch Teresa Seaton do her art work – she provided a number of pictures that she grouped as “the process”.
 One of the stained glass pieces being assembled.  Teresa Seaton at her work bench. Seaton advises that the “better photo-graphs” were taken by David Galway
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