 By Staff
May 15, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
 Staff will have deserted the place on Monday – and don’t expect to see all that many on Friday. A number of city administrative services will not be available on Monday.
Activities at parks and recreation facilities including city pools, arenas and community centres vary over the Victoria Day long weekend. Visit www.burlington.ca/servicehours for program times.
Burlington Transit operates a Holiday service schedule on statutory holidays. The administration offices, including the downtown transit terminal will be closed on Monday, May 19. Call BusLINE at 905-639-0550 or visit www.burlington.ca/transit for more information.
Roads and parks maintenance will provide regular service over the Victoria Day holiday; however, the administrative office will be closed on Monday, May 19. For questions about roads and parks maintenance please call 905-333-6166 during regular hours of operation of 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
 Parking in this location is NOT free. Surface parking lots and the streets – parking is free on Monday. Halton Court Services: Provincial Offences Courts (Burlington and Milton) will be closed on Monday, May 19.
Expect loads of traffic at the garden centers.
 By Staff; Photography by Oliver Hannak
April 25, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON. It was six days of solid competition during which the courts at the Haber Recreational Centre got a solid work out as more than 250 Masters level badminton players went after the Canadian Masters Badminton Championship.
 Dave Kumar, head of the organizing committee that brought the badminton championships to Burlington keeps his eye on the birdie The Canadian Masters Badminton Championships is an international event for Badminton players aged 35 and older. Badminton players were expected from at least 10 countries to compete in 10 age groups (+35, +40, +45 etc.). Previous Masters Championships have had more than 300 entrants representing more than 16 nations.
  Burlington showcased the event in its brand new state of the art Haber Recreational Centre. The event is part of a planned badminton sport awareness leading into the 2015 Pan Am Games to be held July 10–26, 2015 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  Badminton Canada’s mission is to be an innovative and highly respected sports organization that is the leader in contributing to badminton becoming the most successful racquet sport in Canada and the world by enabling Canadian athletes, coaches and officials of all ages, cultural background and skill level the opportunity to excel at badminton and in life.
  Dave Kumar, an unsuccessful candidate for municipal office in 2010, is a member of the Burlington Committee of Adjustment.
 By Pepper Parr
April 18, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Covering city hall means listening to people talk. After a while you get to know pretty well what a council member is going to say. You can`t watch a group of people for three years and not learn something about each of them.
There are four newbies; three council members and a Mayor who have grown in their jobs to various degrees and as we get further into the election campaign we will write about what we have observed.
There are two other groups we get to listen to: staff and the reports they deliver and delegations. Some staff members do fine work, a few are superb – some made the wrong career choice.
It is the delegations that are really interesting. Some are there to represent an interest group; some are there to complain, others to ask for something very specific and some are at the podium to tell a story and hopefully influence council.
Those delegations that are appearing for the first time are the most interesting. We never know what it is they want to say.
 In some communities children like this go hungry on the weekends. Like every advocate for the less fortunate, Lena told stories about individuals and the impact they have had on her and her organization. She wanted Council to hear how difficult it is for some people. The family where the father had to go on disability and the mother who gave up working to take care of the father. It wasn`t long before the savings were gone and the family was relying on food banks and social support.
Truthfully, I tend to tune out for many of these delegations. Council always listens politely realizing there isn’t much they can do – social welfare is a Regional responsibility
Lena Bassford and Food4Kids saw the need and began providing packages of healthy food for kids aged 5-14 years with limited or no access to food each weekend.
Packages are prepared by volunteers and delivered to schools each Friday to ensure children have nourishment over the weekend. There were 1,200 children in Hamilton and 500 children in Halton going without food on the weekends. Food4kids took the position that when kids leave school for the weekend, they should not have to worry about how they will be fed.
Bassford explained how her organization works with other groups; Food for Life; Food for Thought and the school boards which was the capture point for Food4Kids.
Then Lena made a point and my head snapped up – she described a boy that was standing outside a school early in the morning – and in an instant I realized she was talking about me.
The boy, part of a single parent family, three children and a mother with a grade four education who worked as a domestic. Mom was paid $5 a day and car fare. On those days she didn`t get paid – “I don`t have any cash in my purse, I`ll pay you next week “– meant Mom walked home and we had Habitant Pea Soup for dinner.
There were no food banks in those days. When there wasn`t soup in the house we would get sent to the Stop & Shop with a note for Reggie the manager and came home with some food. We always thought Reggie was an uncle, he was around the house quite a bit.
As Lena Bassford talked she mentioned the social cost of not ensuring children had food in their stomachs. A student can`t concentrate on math problem when their stomach is growling. When the household situation is really bad – petty theft begins and sometimes grows to the point where a boy figures it out. I don’t have to go without – I can just take what I want; my hands are fast enough and if they see me I can run very fast.
Or the boy meets other boys who have stealing down to an art form. And the realization that this is a way to gets what you want sets in. The male family figure isn’t in the house, there are no core values being taught, there are no values being handed down.
 As a society we are quite happy to pay for social workers, police officers, correctional people (jail guards), prisons, lawyers, judges, parole officers – the list of people in place to handle people in conflict with the criminal justice system is astounding. If a quarter of that money was spent on prevention – making sure that 10 year old boys got fed on the weekends, we would save society a lot of money, a lot of grief and a lot of pain. Of course all the people in the criminal justice system would be without jobs
Lena Bassford explained the Food4Kids core concept: they provide packages of healthy food for kids aged 5-14 years with limited or no access to food each weekend.
Packages of healthy food are prepared by volunteers and delivered to schools each Friday to ensure children have nourishment over the weekend. There are 1,200 children in Hamilton and 500 children in Halton sustaining each and every weekend without food.
 For many children Bassford explained “hunger isn’t just an occasional missed meal; it is a way of life. Children who live with hunger develop physically and socially at a slower pace than their peers. Chronically hungry children experience higher levels of anxiety, hyperactivity, irritability and aggression. Chronic hunger results in students with lower attendance rates at school and lower academic performance. Even relatively short-term nutritional deficiencies can negatively impact a child’s health, causing cognitive and developmental damage that prevents them from performing at their full potential.”
Councillor Lancaster asked the obvious question: What do you do in the summer? Bassford explained that a program is in the process of being developed that will provide food for these kids during the summer break.
What does it cost to provide the complete program annually? $500,000 – of which every penny is raised by the organization. Note a dime from the municipal, regional, provincial or federal governments. That’s about what we spend for five police officers.
 By Pepper Parr
April 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
Most of the information that comes to Council is through reports staff create and submit to a Standing Committee. Sometimes council members will want specific information and will issue a Staff Direction. And on some occasions a council member will mention something they picked up along the way as they dealt with staff.
Last week Councillor Marianne Meed Ward told Council of a city program run by the Health and Wellness section of the Human Resources department that takes place once a year – usually in the Spring.
The object of the program is to create an “attitude of gratitude”. Outgoing city manager Jeff Fielding explained that the initiative grew out of the push to strengthen engagement with staff – there were a bunch of new things for them. But the initiative came from staff.”
Each city hall department has a Wellness representative and once a year any staff member can approach the Wellness representative and ask that a “gratitudeogram” ( a word only a bureaucrat could make up) be sent to a specific person. The sender has to write a note and give the Wellness representative a twoonie.
All the notes are collected and sent to the HR office who then order chocolate bars, hundreds of chocolate bars from Walkers Chocolate. “The milk chocolate caramel bar is 51g, said David Walker. It appears that the two most recent orders placed within the last 2 months were for nine 9 cases (180 bars/case). That is a total of 1620 chocolate bars
The bars get sent to the city and distributed to staff members.
Sounds a little hokey? Perhaps, but as Meed Ward explained the program, she sounded a little like a Girl Guide, all excited over the Cookie program she was running.
For Staff members it must seem kike Valentine’s Day at an elementary school; who got how many Valentine’s and who did they get them from?
This is the second year the program has been running. In the first year 900 chocolate bars were distributed, this year there were 1400 chocolate bars distributed. That means there were 2800 touch points – the sender and the receiver were each touched by the program.
Getting an award for being the Employee of the Year highlights a single person, the “gratitudeogram” is a one to one program and highlights hundreds of people.
The staff member we talked to said we could take part in the program – not sure about that – but we paused and wondered who would we want to send a note of gratitude to – and a surprising number of names came to mind.
Sometimes the Gazette struggles with a staff member to get information for a report we are writing but far more frequently there is a “how can I help you” response that deserves a “gratitudeogram”.
 This program highlights hundreds of people. We asked a staff member in communications: “How many did you get, she paused and said “three. It might have been four”
We asked the Mayor how many he got – Rick Goldring said he had never heard of the program; Councillor Taylor didn’t get any either.
The program isn’t meant to be a popularity contest – just a day in the year when Staff members are given a small way to say thank you to a fellow staff member.
The cost to the employee is $2 – the chocolate bar costs $1 – the difference is goes into a fund and distributed to some worthy organization.
When we called Walkers Chocolate they weren’t able to give us total numbers right away; David Walker later said he didn’t realize there were quite that many bars going to the city. Walker’s has a number of staff appreciation products and admitted that 1400 was quite big.
Big at the city hall staff level too.
By Staff
April 17, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The City of Burlington announced the nominees for the 2014 Burlington’s Best Awards. The winners will be announced at a city gala event May 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Burlington Convention Centre, 1120 Burloak Dr., for the awards.
“Each Burlington’s Best nominee helps make Burlington a better place for all of us,” said Keith Strong, past Citizen of the Year winner and long-time member of the awards committee. “We’re pleased with the buzz building around Burlington’s Best awards. With an impressive group of nominees and an exciting ceremony ahead of us, this year’s awards promise to help raise awareness of the importance of volunteering in the community.”
Tickets to this event are $35 per person, and a table of 10 is $280. The event includes a light buffet and cocktail reception. Tickets are available from the clerks department at City Hall, 426 Brant St., by contacting Roxanne Gosse at 905-335-7600, ext. 7855 or by emailing roxanne.gosse@burlington.ca.
Citizen of the Year
Bev Jacobs, Judy Gerdes, Denise Davy, Jean Longfield and Beth Hudson.
Senior Person of the Year
Michael Hourigan, Maggie Wheeler, Arnold Koopman and Thelma McGillivray.
Junior Citizen of the Year
Chad Buisman, Connor Fraser, Curtis Kelly, Connor Withers, Justin McNerny and Gabriella Paniccia
Arts Person of the Year
Selina Jane Eckersall, Chris Giroux, Tomy Bewick and Jonathon Filipovic.
Heritage Person of the Year
Les Armstrong
Community Service Award
John Ives, Tomy Bewick, Wellington Square Outreach Team, Les Armstrong, Gordon Cameron, Trent Schwartz and Beth Hudson
Environmental Award: Paul Toffoletti and Ken Woodruff.
 By Pepper Parr
April 12, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The sun is moving into Claudette Losier’s world. An active artists since 2007 when she sold four paintings at the Jordan Station show she has three significant events in the next few months –and that for this artist is the start of turning things around.
Losier earns her core income as a still life model but the joy for her is her transfer technique, a form of photo based mono printing or mark making with an “abandonment to chance working your intuition”. “You can never recreate the same mark or image”, explains Losier.
 Red poppies – part of Losier’s early work included in the current BAC show. About a month ago Losier had one of her paintings bought by the Province of Ontario for their permanent collection. Losier exhibited “Around the Bend” at the Women’s Art Association of Hamilton’s 118th Annual Juried Show at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
Her most recent event is her participation in the Burlington Art Centre’s In the Garden exhibition, where she will share space with Wayne Moore, Victoria Pearce and Susan Rankin around Victor Cicansky’s piece Garden Ruins from the BAC permanent collection.
Losier depicts meditative dreamlike flowers, while Moore highlights the structure of the plant. Pearce creates dramatic still life studies, and Rankin incorporates floral elements into her glass blown vases. The exhibition runs April 12 – June 1, 2014.
Losier is truly one of those struggling artists – whose styles seem like they are all over the place. Her recent City Scape series is doing well as is the different locations she is showing and teaching.
 Cityscapes – a new direction for artists Claudette Losier now sowing at the Burlington Art Centre. During that 2012 event we met another artist and were mentioning the Losier work and were told that `the woman is really hard to manage – I once had to get a restraining order against her.” Losier denies that ever happened but added – “if it adds to my character you can tell people that happened – but it didn’t.”
What impresses people when you meet Losier is her energy – she is all over the place; seldom finishes a sentence and will use whatever time you give her to show you every picture she ever painted.
Art is all over the place in the non-descript bungalow she shares with her husband and their cat “Monet” on the mountain in Hamilton. Her husband gets some space in a back room where he does his financial work.
Part of the current event at the Burlington Art Centre required each artists to write a “statement”. She explained that ask this way: “Friday night I tried to tackle my statement but the words would not come. Saturday morning I was lying down staring at my third eye offering my little flowers of devotion to God when all of a sudden I started thinking of my statement and the thoughts were pouring out! I wrote it! Wow I was crying as I was writing thinking those thoughts that God was helping me write it – I believe so because it was effortless – no struggle!”
 Expressive, always in motion and at times totally off the wall; an artist to keep an eye on. There wasn’t a lot of money around the high school period home; alcoholism pervaded the household and for a time Losier lived on student welfare
Applications to the Ontario College of Art and Design, University of Toronto and Brock University ended up with Losier doing a business administration program at Brock.
 Earning a living became the prime focus and for seven years Losier worked as an accounting clerk for a truck leasing company. She did most of he own healing, grew as a feminist and found solace in her mother-in-laws garden – the home she now lives in.
The early art was focused on flowers and gardens. Losier took part in a Jordan Station art show and sold four pieces at that event – “one was a 30×24 inch piece that I sold for $500” said Losier. Flowers dominated her art from 2007 to 2012 when she began her Cityscape series.
Getting her hands on a digital camera opened creative doors for her. Losier always photographs what she wants to paint first – the digital camera allowed her to distort an image. “My first pictures and as a result some of my early paintings s were blurry because I didn’t know how to focus the camera.”
Another break for Losier was being able to work with the Elaine Fleck Gallery and was invited to take part in a group show. Losier however doesn’t wait for people to buy her art. She is a very “in your face artist and will go wherever she has to go to have her art seen.
Losier has her art up on James Street at Lister Arts at Lister Block; at Humblepie, the Hamilton Store, and Centre3.
We are only seeing the beginning of Claudette Losier; this is an artist exploring, pushing boundaries and excited about every opportunity that sits there before her. Someone to watch and worth buying – now.
By Pepper Parr
April 9, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
The objective was $300,000 – more than $80,000 of that was raised in less than a month.
Don’t ever say that this community is not behind the Friends of Freeman Station (FoFS) and their objective to rehabilitate and refurbish the Burlington Junction train station originally built in 1906. Despite the full support of city council – the FoFS have persevered. Councillors Marianne Meed Ward and Blair Lancaster deserve all the council level credit for their work.
Brian Mello and artist David Harrington hold a painting of the Freeman Station in front of the site where the refurbishment of the build will be done when the foundation is in place and the weather is a little warmer.
It has been a struggle but when Mark Gillies was made chair of the membership and fundraising committee things began to happen.
The FoFS created a list of sponsorship opportunities and within a month most of the indoor locations were sponsored.
 John Mello on the right and David Harrington hold a painting Harrington did of the Freeman Station. Brian Aasgaard, president of FoFS advised us that it will not be very long before we see work crews on the site starting the work.
Right now they are waiting for a permit to begin putting in the foundation. The FoFS station had all their drawings but – this is almost funny, the engineer who provided the drawings made a mistake and put in the year of 2013 instead of 2014 and the city rejected the application – so back they had to go. Aasgaard said he will have the permit by the end of the week and the basement work can begin. As soon as that is done – work crews move in – and we should have some warmer weather as well.
There are a number of organizations that are waiting in the wings to announce their sponsorship which puts “DONE” to the task a group of citizens took on to save a piece of local history.
City council struggled for years to find a place to place the station and then have it refurbished – at one point they even had federal money to pay for the move and the refurbishment but they couldn’t agree on a home for the structure. Meanwhile it sat beside the fire station headquarters and began to slowly rot.
Those days will become part of the lore and history of the station – not one of the city’s best moments – but it is the citizens of a city that make a community what it is. City councils just get elected, make their mistakes and move on.
By Staff
April 4, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
While some think it isn’t yet a safe bet that there will be no more snow – if there is any it won’t stick around very long – which was enough motivation for the Friends of Freeman Station to begin checking their tool boxes and getting out their work books to troop over to the current location of what everyone calls the Freeman Station.
 It was a different Burlington at a much different time when it was not yet a town and the reason for being was to grow produce and ship it out from this station. Now we want to preserve the place. In 1856, the Great Western Railway completed the rail line. The first train station of the Great Western Railway line was built around 1854 near Brant Street close to where Plains Road is now located. The line itself, which ran between Hamilton and Toronto was completed in 1856.
The local area at the time was called Wellington Square.
In 1869, the Great Western Railway started to list the train station as “Wellington Square”, in their railway timetable schedules. A short time later, the station name “Wellington Square” was changed to “Burlington”, when the area became known as Burlington.
In 1877 on February 14th, the Hamilton & Northwestern Railway line opened from Hamilton to Burlington and on up to Georgetown. This created a junction between the GWR and H&NW railways, and it was at “Burlington”. The designation for the train station changed to “Burlington Junction”.
In 1882, the Great Western Railway and the Grand Trunk Railway amalgamated and the train station at “Burlington Junction” was of a Great Western Railway building style, and now it was part of the Grand Trunk Railway who used different styles for their train stations.
 The train station was a focal point for the city – train travel was how most people for to Burlington. In 1883, the “Burlington Junction” station was completely destroyed by a devastating fire. The station was rebuilt in 1888, and the Grand Trunk Railway continued to use the GWR design. There is an old photograph from this period that shows the station with signage that shows the station with the name “Burlington”.
In 1904, this second station also burned to the ground. It was not that uncommon to have fires at train stations. The locomotives were spewing embers as they entered into the station area, and on windy days, those burning embers often landed on the stations somewhere.
In 1906, the Grand Trunk Railway built a new station using their own classic design, which was known as “Type B2a”. This is the historic station design we are fortunate to have in Burlington, and now it will be preserved and renovated. As a side note, all three stations were built at the same location.
During the time that the stations were active, the signage changed three times. The names ‘Burlington Junction”, “Burlington”, & “Burlington West” were all in use. “Burlington West” was used for a very short time in the mid-1980s as Go Train Service was introduced and the new Fairview Street Station opened. For a brief time, both the Go station & the “Burlington West” station were in operation at the same time. The “Burlington West” sign was there only to distinguish between the two stops until the beautiful old train station was finally closed around 1988 by the Canadian National Railway.
 Burlington grew produce; pears, peppers and apples were some of what got shipped from the Burlington station. So why was it ever called “Freeman Station”? Contrary to popular belief, it was not named after the Freeman family who settled the area over 200 years ago. The station was located in the Village of Freeman, which was the area of Brant Street and Plains Road. The Freeman family has lived in and around the Village of Freeman for all of those years. The Village of Freeman was a thriving community with several factories, including a canning company and a basket making company, and a fair number of nearby houses. The Village of Freeman even had its own Post Office and a postal stamp designation up to 1952, when amalgamation finally brought the Village of Freeman together with the Town of Burlington. The name evolved from everyday usage by the local residents who affectionately called their train station, “Freeman Station”.
With this kind of local history one would have thought city council would have been all over themselves to save the place. The city couldn’t find a place to put it and the leadership to save the structure didn’t show up until the place was being offered for sale as kindling. The city just wanted to get rid of it.
 On the move – the station got moved a number of times – is there yet another move in its future? That is when Councillors Marianne Meed Ward and Blair Lancaster got together and pleaded with their colleagues to just give them some time and they would find a way to save the structure.
The Friends of Freeman Station was formed; the found a way to acquire charitable status and then they found a home for the building – that turned out to be yards away from where the station had been resting – standing on blocks beside the Fairview Fire Station.
The move took place before the winter set in. The building is still sitting on blocks and two large yellow steel beams. A foundation will be put in and then the structure lowered onto what will be its home while the restoration work gets done.
  With the warm weather about to arrive the renovators and refurbishes want to get at it. And that is going to cost – quite a bit – at least $300,000
They can’t sell tickets – yet, but the FoF board has decided they can sell naming rights and they have come up with an ambitious approach to sell naming rights for everything but the toilet that we assume the place is going to have.
Try these on for size:
1. The Station Master’s Office, $15,000
2. The Waiting Room, $12,500
3. The Portico, $10,000
4. The Baggage Room, $7,500
5. The Lower Level, $5,000
6. The Les Armstrong Main Entranceway, $2,500
7. The Lower Level Entranceway, $2,000
8. The Crew Room, $1,000
9. The Windows (14), $2,000 each
10. The Jane Irwin Oval Window, $2,000
11. The Interior/Exterior Main Level Doors (5), $2,000 each
12. Interior Furniture, Lights & Displays (20), $500 each
And that’s just the inside of the structure. Outside you can slap your name on:
1. The Burlington Junction Freeman Station Park, $60,000
2. The Train Platform, $10,000
3. The Parking Area, $5,000
4. The Original Baggage Cart, $2,500
5. The Landscaping, $2,000
6. Exterior Platform Accessories, (20.5) $1,000 each
7. Original 1000 whinstones, $100 each
The fund raisers come up with a total of $305,500
There are two sponsorship opportunities that need comment. The Les Armstrong Main Entranceway, $2,500 and the Jane Irwin Oval Window, $2,000. I’d up the price for those to $5000 each; Irwin and Armstrong were the two strongest advocates for saving the station –Les was the forming president of the Friends of Freeman and Jane the vice president – both are no longer with us.
 The signing of the Joint Venture agreement between the Friends of Freeman Station and the city – with the Friends raising most of the money. The hope is that the FoF board will exercise some discretion and not have the station looking like one of those NASCAR drivers with clothing that is a collection of corporate. Dignified and under-stated please.
Background links:
The station was saved.
Freeman station being prepped for a move.
 By Pepper Parr
March 27, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Someone suggested it might be called drive through charity and while that is an apt description – there is nothing passive about the way the 52 members of a group take out their cheque books to aid others – on the spot. No committee meetings – they just up and do it.
Last night the group, 100 Women Who Care, met at Tansley Woods and in under an hour and a half heard Adrienne Gosse explain what the Burlington Humane Society was doing with the $3800 they were given in January, listened to short, short presentations and passed on $5200.
The general flow of the meeting is: introductions; ask for nominations; randomly pick three names, listen to presentations by each of the nominees and then vote for the charity of choice for this meeting.
 Out came the cheque books – “what’s the date today” and as fast as that $5200 went to the Halton Women’s Place. Ballots are handed out – the chosen charity named and out came the cheque books. The Halton Women’s Place representative went home knowing they had $5200 more to work with.
There was no one talking minutes – they don’t have a secretary, there is no treasurer – they don’t handle the money – they are just the channel the cheques run through to get from the donor to the recipient.
They are called the 100 Women Who Care Burlington and it works.
The women who show up four times a year chit-chat the way women do and pay attention to what the speakers are saying.
 Adrianne Gosse, shelter manager at the Burlington Humane Society telling the 100 Women Who Care what her organization did with he funds they were given. Last night there was a presentation from the Burlington Big Brothers and Sisters, the Junior League and the Halton Women’s Shelter. Each presentation was less than ten minutes. Ballots were handed out, filled in, counted, the winner announced and the cheques written. Not every member manages to get to the group meeting. Those that don’t make it to the meeting get an email telling them who is being given funds and cheques are made out to that organization.
The drive by charity comment came from someone who remarked on how simple and direct it all is. Any member can fill in a nomination form on the spot, and assuming there is a person from the group nominated, they can speak and if the members present vote for that group they go home with the cheques in their purse.
Amazing – its just DONE!
 Meagan and Pat, two of the 100 Women Who Care, tidy up before going home. This is the second meeting the group has held – there are now 52 members. Once they reach their objective of 100 members – they will meet four times a year and raise $40,000 that gets put into the community service sector of the city.
No fuss, not a lot of noise. Just ordinary women meeting once a month, doing what they think is right because they are able to.
Do you want to join? Check out their Facebook page, send a message to Laurel Hubber and you’re in. She will tell you when the group meets – bring your cheque book.
Background links:
Support went to the dogs the first time.
 By Pepper Parr
March 20, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON.
The Burlington Liberals have their candidate chosen and she has been doing regular Saturday door to door canvases the past three weekends.
The Burlington Provincial NDP will be hosting a nomination meeting Tuesday, March 25th at the Burlington Seniors’ Centre (2285 New St.) at 7:15pm.
The sitting provincial MPP, Jane McKenna’s association has not announced a date on which they are going to re-nominate their candidate.
 MPP Jane McKenna with the best job she has ever had will have to seek re-election when the expected provincial election is called in the Spring. When McKenna goes to the polls it will not be with the same organization that did her peek-a-boo campaign in 2011. There have been consistent rumblings of dis-satisfaction at the local riding level with the MPP. However her star has risen with the party at Queen’s Park where she is said to be a favourite of Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak. Other than a small stream of photo ops, Burlington hasn’t seen or heard all that much from McKenna.
The New democrats maintain: “It’s clear that in the next election Ontarians will have a choice between an entitled Liberal party that has betrayed the public trust, a Progressive Conservative party that lacks leadership and vision and a team of dedicated New Democrats who have already delivered tangible results in a minority house.” said Ryan Perera, president of the Burlington NDP.
One candidate, Jan Mowbray, has put forth her name at this time; Jan brings a wealth of experience in public administration and volunteerism in Halton.
 Jan Mowbray, former Liberal has decided to run as a New Democrat in Burlington. Mowbray, an experienced political operative, left the Liberal party “because there was no sign of change for the better. More and more scandals popping up in the news, lack of oversight – think Hydro. The vulnerable sectors of our community continue to be impacted by policies that don’t address real problems. McGuinty in 2008 promised to reduce poverty by 25% in 5 years – it was referred to as 25/5. There was hope in the social sector. Five years later we were at 30% poverty. What could we have done with $2.1 billion?!”
“I know the issues, I know the people with 25 years of experience working as a volunteer in the social sector. I have considerable legislative and electoral experience (2 terms on council; worked federal and provincial election campaigns); as my by-line states, I am committed to the community.” Said Mowbray
Mowbray was elected to the Milton town council in 2003 and then re-elected in 2006. She ran for the Regional seat that Milton has and lost to Colin Best in 2010.
Mowbray would seem to be a candidate for the Halton provincial but running against Ted Chudleigh is tantamount to suicide – Burlington was probably seen as a location where the New Democrats at least had a shot – not because the NDP is all that strong in Burlington but because Progressive Conservative McKenna is so weak.
 Liberal Eleanor McMahon has been out campaigning every weekend for the past three weeks. While the Liberals have a strong candidate in Eleanor McMahon, Mowbray will dump all over her citing the McGuinty sins. Mowbray is a shoe in for the nomination – none of the usual NDP suspects appear to be up to the challenge. Burlington might see itself with three women running for the provincial seat.
Although only members in good standing with the party are welcome to vote, any and all are welcome to come meet the Burlington NDP executive and the next provincial candidate for the NDP in Burlington.
All inquiries are welcome at burlingtonndp@hotmail.com or by contacting the riding association president, Ryan Perera at 647-402-5874.
 By Pepper Parr
March 20, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
It will be part of his legacy, a project he has patiently nurtured and developed for his constituents. As it nears completion attention has to be paid to what there will be in terms of public art.
 Currently undergoing a major redevelopment the Mountainside Recreation Centre is slated to have some public art on the site. John Taylor could not let the revamped Mountainside recreation Centre open without some public art. Burlington has a contract in place with Cobalt Connect, a Hamilton based arts consulting group that oversaw the selection of the Spiral Stella that is in front of the Performing Arts Centre.
Cobalt Connects wants to receive Expressions of Interest from artists. The project has a budget of $20,000 and an April 29, 2014 deadline for the Expression of Interest
Mountainside is located at 2205 Mount Forest Drive, in Burlington. This competition is open to all Canadian artists.
Built in 1969 Mountainside Arena was the City of Burlington’s 4th public arena. Over the past several years, the Mountainside Recreation Centre has been undergoing a major transformation. The grounds have received numerous improvements and the recreation centre, including the arena and pool buildings, is now being redeveloped.
ZAS Architects are leading the site redevelopment and have been heavily influenced by the incredible grounds surrounding the facility. The sense of open space, wooded lots and the embrace of nature on the site have been reflected in the architecture.
The Mountainside Recreation Centre site is multifaceted and allows for many opportunities for public art. It is the intent of the Steering Committee to allow the selected artist time to fully explore the site and its uses prior to developing an artwork concept. As such, the nature of this public art opportunity is open-ended. The commissioned artwork can be in any medium and sited in a number of different locations throughout the property (interior and exterior spaces are available).
 Ward 3 Councillor John Taylor will want to have his mitts all over who is on the committee that selects the artist chosen to do the public art for the Mountainside recreational centre. An artwork proposal is not requested at this time. Applications will be reviewed on the basis of past work, professional qualifications, and experience. Short-listed artists will be required to participate in an interview with the Selection Committee to determine the finalist.
There are additional details at: www.burlingtonpublicart.com where you can download an application form.
Expression of Interest forms are due on or before Tuesday April 29, 2014 at 4:00 PM.
The Cobalt Connects contact is Kim Selman: (905) 548-0111; Mobile: (905) 515-9334; Email: kim@cobaltconnects.ca
Website: www.burlingtonpublicart.com
 By Staff
March 20, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
St. Luke’s Church Annual Spaghetti Dinner!
 In the Parish Hall 1382 Ontario Street, on Saturday April 5 with continuous servings of the best spaghetti & meat balls in town from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.
Tickets Adults $10.00
Children 12 & under $5:00
They want you to reserve – call 905-634-4345.
Cash bar serving Wine, Beer & Soft Drinks – these ARE Anglicans!
 By Pepper Parr
March 17, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
When we first wrote about the Conservation Heritage District we said this was going to get messy. Once people read the document the city released for discussion at a committee not yet known on a date yet to be determined all hell is going to break loose.
 The area covers basically all of the western half of the Escarpment. There are provisions in parts of the draft by-law that will forbid just about everything during the first year of the bylaws existence. At the February meeting in Kilbride city planning director Bruce Krushelnicki told the audience that what was being proposed was a bylaw that the city could pass and revoke any time they wished. The audience wasn’t convinced however, but they did go along with taking a next step which was to do a study. It seemed like a good idea at the Kilbride meeting; nothing overly complicated.
The decision to take that next step was the result of a show of hands which that evening was overwhelmingly positive even though there were a number of people who didn’t like the idea of the city butting into local affairs.
Staff went away to prepare the report that was to set out what the next step study was going to be and what the public could expect to come out of it.
During a city council meeting on the budget when the city was approving the time needed for a planner to oversee much of this work and the expense involved, Jack Dennison, councillor for ward 4 made the point that “this wasn’t something we brought to Council” and indeed the idea of creating a Conservation Heritage District did not originally come from the city planners.
It was the result of an application a group of residents had made to the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) to have as much of the Escarpment as possible protected under a some form of protection. PERL – Protect the Escarpment and Rural Lands made the application and met with the NEC planners and learned that they really weren’t going to be able to get what they wanted.
 A topographical view of the study boundaries. The Niagara Escarpment Plan which comes from the Niagara Escarpment Commission formed in 1937, has three categories of protection: Nature Areas; Protection Areas and Rural Areas. Each of these apparently has a cultural aspect or element to them which is conveyed with wording such as: “encourage the conservation of traditional cultural landscapes” – which is probably what the Aboriginal people were trying to see when the white people moved in.
 PERL fought to prevent an expansion of the existing quarry. The lower orange outline was the area where the expansion was to take place. PERL was the citizens organization that won the fight against an expansion of the Nelson Quarry. While it was the city that put forward the lead lawyer and spent $2 million in legal fees on that battle, PERL was given standing at the Joint Tribunal and had a consistent impact on the direction that Tribunal went.
 One of these was enough for the people in rural Burlington. Is a bylaw creating a Heritage Conservation District the best way to prevent any quarry application – or is there a larger objective being sought? PERL eventually pulled their application to the NEC for some form of protection for the Escarpment, particularly the Mt Nemo plateau and went to Councillor Taylor with what they felt was a better approach – do something via the Official Plan Review which was taking place.
They came up with the idea of asking if creating a Conservation Heritage District (CHD) could be part of the Official Plan review. While that review is ages from being complete and even longer from being approved – the planners seem to be moving along at what is breakneck speed in the planning world to get a bylaw in place that would make a large swath of rural Burlington a Heritage Conservation District and thereby protect the plateau.
PERL hasn’t said a word publicly. The last date of an entry on their website is November 2012. They have worked quietly with Councillor Taylor who clearly intends to make doing something substantial to protect the plateau his legacy issue; should he win the October election for his ward one would expect that to be his last term of office.
Once the public becomes fully aware of the planned bylaw there will be some “not so fast” comments as well as some OMB level mutterings. Paletta International complained in a letter to the city that they knew nothing of this initiative and asked that their lands be removed from the study area. It doesn’t quite work that way – everything gets studied or nothing gets studied.
The staff recommendation that will get to a Standing Committee at some point in the near future but perhaps as late as June, making it an election issue for some, came out of a process that started back in July of 2013. At the July 2, 2013 city council meeting Councillors Craven and Taylor brought an amendment to whatever was discussed in the CLOSED session part of the June 18th meeting.
Fast forward to what is going to go to a city Standing Committee at a yet unknown date this. Staff is asking that council:
ENDORSE the Terms of Reference for the Heritage Conservation District Study and Plan for the Mount Nemo Plateau, dated March 7, 2014; PROVIDE the Manager of Procurement Services delegated authority to award the contract(s) and issue a Purchase Order to the highest scoring Proponent(s), subject to budget limitations of $200,000; AUTHORIZE staff to commence a Heritage Conservation District Study process for the Mount Nemo Plateau; DIRECT staff to report back following the completion of the Heritage Conservation District Study process prior to the commencement of a Heritage Conservation District Plan process in accordance with s. 40 of the Ontario Heritage Act;
APPROVE an upset limit of $200,000 for the Heritage Conservation District Study and Plan to be funded from the Tax Stabilization Reserve Fund; APPROVE the Mount Nemo Plateau Study By-law, which is set out in an Appendix to the staff report.
Staff wants the city to RECEIVE the draft Study Area Control By-law which may be passed in the event that a potential threat arises to the integrity or character of the study area.
Added in is a requirement that staff report back to council on the views of the public in Q2 2014 – that’s before the end of June. Given the winter we have had all the frost might not be out of the ground by then. And we will be four months away for an election which will likely turn this issue into an election question. What’s the rush?
Ward 3 councilor John Taylor said on Saturday that he intends to campaign on this issue. To Taylor’s credit he has been very diligent in working for the interests of the people north of 407 and while he lives south of Upper Middle Road much of his heart is in the rural part of Burlington.
There is more to this development which we will follow up on. The terms of reference need a look, the cost – they are talking in terms of $200,000 and the level of public participation in this initiative are all critical.
Background links:
Newsflash on the CHD meeting in Kilbride February 10th
 By James smith
March 16, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
The Paddy wagons stand at the ready, I read Halton Police have RIDE checks out on the evenings up to and including March 17th – Saint Patrick’s day. The Police have their job to do, I appreciate what they do, I want them to catch-all the drunks who get behind the wheel. Why do so many people use the Patron Saint of my forefathers as a ready excuse to drink and drive?
Well now, the Irish and the drink eh? A good old cliché and ethnic slur that persists. Lots of examples reinforce this stereotype, Oscar Wilde’s old chestnut of “work being the curse of the drinking class” comes to mind but Ireland’s most famous imbiber- Brendan Behan went one better when he said he was “a drinker with a writing problem”. The Irish men of letters aside, the multi-national booze biz can’t but help themselves, they crank out yet another excuse to get pie-eyed on March 17. Why sure, everyone loves a happy drunk leprechaun right? Have a black and tan, an Irish coffee, a black beer that starts with the letter G or mass quantities of industrial suds from a Brazilian brewer tinted green to kill the taste of genetically modified high fructose corn syrup! But hey! don’t matter if you’re Sullivan, Silverman, Schultz, Singh, or Sanchez, on March 17th everyone is Irish don’t you know it. We’re all encouraged by these vipers to act like “amadans” and drink up to prove it.
The fact of the matter is the booz-up that’s become “ST PADDYS DAY” is starting to get my Irish temper up. A temper that got me in a little bit of hot water when the chair of a Committee of Burlington City Council had to put me in my place just a few weeks ago. I’m sure most of the four and one half million Canadians like me claim Irish decent feel the same way. Sure we want to celebrate our heritage on the 17th by wearing green, and having Jig’s Supper, and yes, we may raise a jar or two. Bur many who cheered Brian O’Driscoll’s team winning the Six Nations Saturday are frankly tired of and ashamed of our heritage being mixed up with drinking contests and other shenanigans that end in fights and green regurgitation. As a son of the land of saints and scholars I’d rather remember the thousands who died at Grosse Isle Quebec, Ireland Park Toronto or Middle Island New Brunswick. I’d rather we celebrate Irish Canadians like Bishop Michael Power, Father of Confederation Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Prime Ministers John Thompson, Brian Mulroney, and Paul Martin. Those in the arts like authors Morley Callahan, W. P Kinsella, actors like Katherine O’Hara, and Martin Short. Musicians like Stomp’n Tom and Alan Doyle and composer Timothy Sullivan. In Burlington, we have many outstanding Irish, the well-known Torsney family come to readily mind, but there are many many more.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no tea totaler, and booze, has done its share of damage to people in my family over the generations, but As a dogan, I resent the premise that March 17th means get your beer glasses on. So I have a better idea: In the future lets blame the ides of March (March 15th) or Pi Day (3.14 hey & next year it’s even 3.14.15!) for drunk and disorderly conduct in the middle of March. As the Feast of Saint Patrick always falls within the season of lent, let’s take some advise from that good Irishman Pope Francis’s – this Saint Patrick’s day, take some of the money you might otherwise spend on John Barley Corn and donate it to some of those most in need.
Amadan: A band, originally based in Corvallis, Oregon, plays both punk and world music. They are often categorized as a Celtic punk band due to their Irish influences. Amadán is also a Gaelic and Hiberno-English term for a stupid man.
 By Staff
March 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
In a recent letter sent to the Friends of Freeman Board of Directors, David explains his reasons for painting “The Burlington Freeman Station”. David’s letter is reproduced below.
“ Over the past 35 years of my art career I have been striving to accomplish one thing, and that is to preserve Canada’s Heritage through my art. This has led me to create paintings of famous Canadian Heritage scenes, buildings, tall ships, covered bridges, lighthouses and more recently a series of Historic Canadian railway stations.
 David Harrington’s limited edition print of the Freeman Station is available for purchase – but just to Friends of Freeman Station members. The membership is a steal at $10 annually. In 2012, when I read an article in the Burlington Post about a citizen’s group, named the “Friends of Freeman Station”, attempting to rescue and preserve Burlington’s Freeman Station, I decided that the Freeman Station was definitely worthy of creating a painting that I hoped would capture some of the historical flavour of its famous past. For reference purposes I took over 100 photos of the station when it was temporarily located behind the Burlington fire hall on Fairview Street. I also researched to find historical photos and stories related to its past. In addition, I managed to talk to some people who recall using the Freeman Station. From all of this information, I decided to portray the station as it stood in the late 1950’s to early 1960’s.
 To position it to that era, I included a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air (a favourite to this day amongst car enthusiasts), and a 1955 era “White Diesel” Coca Cola truck. The Coke truck was added to capture the story of one of the people who used the station frequently, who told me that he usually bought a Coke from the vending machine inside the station prior to the train arriving to take him to Toronto. If you look real close you can also see just a portion of a 1956 Ford Crown Victoria peeking out of the left side of the image.
At that time, for many companies, the train was the main method used for shipping their products. For this reason I thought that I should include, on the railway platform, wooden shipping containers originating from famous Canadian companies of that era. You will note wooden crates from The T. Eaton Company, Barber Glass of Guelph, Seagram’s of Montreal, G & W of Toronto and Corby’s of Corbyville, Ontario.
I also added the luggage cart from the same era, as well as a mother and child with her 1950’s style luggage, also a business man heading into the station and of course the Coke delivery man. All of which I hoped would add to the sense of history and the hustle/bustle nature of the station in its prime.
I hope that this painting and the limited edition prints produced from this image help in keeping the memories and history of Burlington’s Freeman Station alive and that it may also bring back memories to those who had the good fortune of using this station in the past.
There are not many of these great stations left – so let’s all work together to help preserve Burlington’s Freeman Station!!”
David Harrington
The Harrington painting is an original done as an acrylic from which a limited edition of 500 prints were made.
While the station is fondly known as the Freeman Station and the organization that was incorporated to save it is known as the Friends of the Freeman Station there appears to be a move to revert to the proper name of the station which is Burlington Junction. We are told that the Freeman family isn’t all that keen on the idea of their name being attached to the station.
The T-shirts that were used for fund raising purposes are going to soon become collectors items – the couple of dozen left are the end of that production line. The FoF are in the process of developing ideas for a new logo, a new design and it appears a re-branding of one of the most impressive community initiatives Burlington has seen for some time.
The FoF might want to re-think what they are deciding to do and ask their constituency how they feel. Either way – it’s a pretty good story.
Background links:
New president at Friends of Freeman.
Fight to save Freeman station is won – city signs joint venture agreement.
 By Pepper Parr
March 15, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
John Willard has certainly put a much different twist on what we thought quilts were all about. Canadians used to see quilts as things that people on farms used – often made out of bits and pieces of discarded clothing and flour sacks.
We then saw quilts done by the Mennonite community that were pieces of art – with traditional patterns that sold into the tens of thousands at the annual quilt sale in New Hamburg each fall.
 A lot of tradition in this quilt but the use of pastel colours move it out of what many see as the “traditional” rural quilt made from remnants and flour sacks. Then along came John Willard who introduced designs that had not been seen before and quilt making was now going in a different direction. Willard has a 40 year retrospective on at the Burlington Art Centre where there is a feast for the eye and, if you look very closely, some very, very powerful statements hand stitched into a quilt.
There are a number of quilts that would meet the demanding standards of the Mennonite community and there is one that would fill the wall of one of those Lakeshore mansions.
Willard will tell you the very moment he became an artist. The family came across an old trunk stuck in a chicken coop on a family farm in Shediac, New Brunswick. It was filled with brightly coloured crepe paper – that moment James Willard could almost feel the colour entering his blood stream – we see that colour today on the walls at the Burlington Art Centre.
Willard was a set designer, a photographer He bought his first quilt in 1972; in the next five years he could display a collection of 30 quilts.
His work has meandered all over the place. He worked as a custodian at the Oakville Library and later accepted the position of Publicity and Programming Assistant which he held for 23 years.
Willard’s introduction to the finer art of actually quilting was received at the hand of Michael James who was giving workshops. Willard didn’t subscribe to the diehard traditionalists who insist quilts must be completely hand stitched from geometric blocks, have four square corners and be used as bed covering upon completion. Willard went with those who believed a quilt could be of any size, shape, texture or subject matter and could be hung on a wall to be admired as a work of art.
 It all began on an evening in 1907 needs very close inspection. What appears to be white caps on the waves is much more than the eyes sees at first glance.
There is a quilt that didn’t do much for me when I glanced at it. It saw it as a postcard, mildly interesting, until a woman asked if I’d looked at the Titanic – I said I had but it wasn’t my kind of quilt – but that I did like the ribbon quilts. “Take a closer look” the woman said to me. I did and said – “so it’s a quilt of the Titanic sinking – there are two of them.”
 The names of those lost when the Titanic sank in 1907 With that tone of voice only a teacher or a Mother can use, the woman said: “get closer” so I walked up and took a really close look – and then it hit me. The names of the more than 1500 people whose lives were lost when the Titanic sank at sea were hand stitched into the waves the ship was sliding beneath. The quilt is called: It all began on an evening in 1907.
 This massive piece needs a very large wall – it takes over any room it is installed in – but then what a room. The colour, the energy – it is almost a tapestry. The Ribbon Series, of which here are seven at the exhibit, celebrate a turning point in Willard’s life when he came out of the closet and embraced his life as a gay man with a joy and celebration that is evident in the flows of the ribbons in some of the quilts and the tight design and discipline in others.
 The colour, the flourish and the tight discipline take the art of quilt making some distance from the remnant quilts traditionally seen as folk art. Willard is very much a quilter, evident when you watch the way he holds the needle and draws a thread tightly but he has always relied on fellow quilters who have worked with him following his designs and instructions. The late Alvina Martin and Linda Robertson have done much of the finishing work from designs Willard spent months perfecting.
This is an exhibit well worth the time. It is the work of a master who broke old moulds and advanced the art of quilt making to a new level.
The quilts are on display until the end of the month – well worth some of your time.
 By Pepper Parr
March 15, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Much like the way rolling stock went through town at the Burlington Junction, what we fondly call Freeman Station, people come and go at the organization that is getting ready to begin real work on the structure that now sits on the north side of Fairview just before you get to the fire station.
 It was a proud day for James Smith – the signing of the Joint Venture Agreement between the city and the Friends of Freeman Station. Smith, standing behind the red light, signed on behalf of the organization. The Board of Directors announced that James Smith, President of Friends of Freeman Station (FoF) has resigned for personal reasons – good personal reasons. Smith will remain on the Board of Directors. He was a lead player in the significant effort that saved the station from the wrecking ball – the city did everything it could to get rid of the building – weren’t even able to sell it for scrap wood.
Brian Aasgaard, will assume the position of President; he served as a Vice-President of Friends of Freeman Station for a number of years. Brian has done an outstanding job as Vice-President, and will devote the same level of high energy and enthusiasm he has always shown. Brian has this uncanny knack for getting people to give the FoF stuff that relates to railway operations.
The FoF is always looking for new members, especially people who are good with tools and want a reason to get out of the house and be with the guys.
John Mellow stands in the cold with artist David Harrington proudly displaying a print of the building the FoF are refurbishing to its 1906 condition. The renowned, internationally acclaimed heritage artist, David Harrington has taken out a membership and generously donated one of his limited edition prints to Friends of Freeman Station to assist in their fundraising efforts to restore the station back to its 1906 when it was first constructed. This limited edition “ The Burlington Freeman Station” print is numbered 19/500, signed by the artist.
Getting the public to take a sense of ownership in a project is a fine art – coming up with a name that tells the story in a few words is part art and part science. The good people over at the Friends of Freeman Station appear to be breaking one of the cardinal rules in keeping a story alive and growing: never mix up the message.
 Most people know it as the Freeman Station – even though officially it was the Burlington Junction station and that is what the sign on the structure will say the day it is opened as a tourist destination. We are seeing the words Burlington Junction being used – and that is in fact the real name of the station. It was one of two train stops in Burlington. The Burlington West station was the one used by the farmers to ship their produce into Toronto. It was located near a farm owned by the Freeman family and came to be known as the Freeman station when in fact the Freeman’s and had nothing to do with the station. Farmers tend to talk in terms of property by the name of the people who own the land – even though the ownership of that land changed hands years ago.
However, the public knows it as the Freeman Station – introducing the real name in media releases just confuses people. Do what the politicians do – stick to the message. If you don’t – you lose your audience.
Background links:
Freeman station saved – city signs the agreement.
 By Staff
March 14, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
I didn’t know we had that many Irish people in the city. This year’s well-celebrated St. Patrick’s Day falls on Monday, March 17th and the Halton Regional Police Service officers will be out on Monday ensuring those that clink glasses won’t clink cars.
Blatantly discrimination if you ask me. Were the police out in force on the feast of St. George? Certainly not – but then the British were never known for their boisterousness. A polite hear, hear is the best you can expect from them.
The police have recognized that many Halton residents will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this Friday or Saturday night instead and want to advise motorists to expect to see several RIDE programs in effect and also note a higher uniform presence patrolling in licensed establishments over this weekend, educating the public about impaired driving and enforcing the laws to ensure everyone on our roads are safe.
On Saturday March 15th, the Halton Regional Police Service in joint partnership with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) , the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD) will also be on location, conducting proactive checks at local LCBO and Beer stores throughout the Region.
 You will need the “luck of the Irish” to avoid the police dragnet this weekend. This team will be also be focusing their efforts on conducting bar checks at licensed establishments and reminding the staff of their responsibilities under the Liquor License Act, and encouraging staff to call police should they suspect a patron is about to drive a motor vehicle while impaired.
Informative St. Patrick’s Day fliers will be handed out at RIDE checks across the Region in efforts to educate the public and spread the word about the consequences of impaired driving.
The Halton Regional Police Service wishes everyone a Happy St. Patrick’s Day and encourages party-goers to celebrate responsibly. Don’t Press Your Luck!….Use a Designated Driver!
Would getting Leprephaun to take the wheel be acceptable?
 By Staff
March 13, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
If the inaugural meeting is any indication of what’s to come from this grassroots group, several local charities and organizations will be benefiting from additional funding, simply because passionate and caring women are coming together as 100 Women Who Care Burlington.
The concept is simple enough – 100 women (or more), $100 each (or more if you choose), 1 hour meetings 4 times per year. The goal is for 100 Women Who Care Burlington to collectively generate a minimum of $40,000 annually for local charitable initiatives. The impact is very powerful!
 Laurel Hubber, the energy behind this project said: “Just thinking about the impact we’ll have on much-needed charitable programs and services in our community is incredibly inspiring.”
She put the word out to her friends and networking circle and asked if they would give an hour of their time to talk about people and organizations in Burlington that needed some help. Once they had decided who – the cheques got written and the funds distributed – all within an hour.
 Having decided who they want to donate their funds to this first meeting of the 100 who care sat to have their picture taken. As a concept – this is very powerful. At their first meeting they chose the Burlington Humane Society as the recipient. Here is how Adrienne Gosse, Shelter Manager commented “the Burlington Humane Society was incredibly surprised to learn we were the recipients of this wonderful donation! You could hear the shouts of excitement and joy from the shelter staff and volunteers when we got the call from the 100 Women who Care foundation. This money will be used to provide our cats and dogs with all the medical care they need, such as medical exams by a veterinarian, vaccines, medications, spays and neuters, along with any additional care such as dentals and broken bone repairs.”
The group meets again on March 26, at Tansley Woods – for an hour, to donate and decide where the funds are to go this time. Meeting begins at 7:30 – ends at 8:30; registration takes place at 7:00 pm
Background links:
They get it done in an hour.
 By Pepper Parr
March 12, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON.
Last year it was one of those quiet hits – those who knew about it were amazed and those who didn’t get to the event said they wished they’d known.
It was called No Vacancy and took place at the Waterfront Hotel – the event lasted less than four hours and had hotel management skittish – it wasn’t quite the kind of thing Burlington had seen before.
It took place at a time when the city was getting a sense as to just what it was in terms of its cultural depth. It was edgy.
 Selina Jane Eckersall points to one of the locations for some of the “installation art” that will be on display for seven hours September 19 – a not to be missed event. The best way to describe what Selina McCall Eckersall called No Vacancy is to say “installation art” and if that doesn’t mean all that much to you – think in terms of giving an artist a room or a space and telling them they can do whatever they want, make whatever artistic statement they want – just don’t put any holes in the walls.
With a small but very successful first step behind her Eckersall decided to up her game and go for a bigger venue. Date will be the same – September 19th – the location will be different and perhaps a surprise to many. Oh – and there is a name change as well.
 Newly named and branded as the Cirque, Eckersall wants the event to be Burlington’s Nuit Blanche. A Call for Entries that will go out this week. There will be 30 installations in various spaces at the Village Square which Eckersall hopes will bring new life to a location that was once the artistic hub of the city.
 Eckersall peeks into one of the locations she expects to use for the Cirque “installation art” event next September The Square has languished for a number of years; it was put up for sale and then taken off the market. Eckersall will be working closely with Jack Friedman’s daughter Debra who recently closed the Artists Walk operation she ran for years.
Eckersall sees the Village Square as the local for the Cirque for at least five years – “After that” she said, “I’ve no idea where this project will go.” Eckersall added that the Art Centre has decided they want to use one of the 30 spaces for an “illustration” they want to create.
Eckersall is now in the process of raising the $50,000 it is going to take to get the event off the ground.
“We expect to have all the submissions in by around the middle of April and then we will see what we have in the way of concepts and begin developing sponsorships around them.” The Son of the Peach, an upscale pizzeria that will open soon, is sponsoring one of the instalations. This new restaurant will be right beside Pine, next to the Paradiso at the south end of the Village Square.
A Facebook page has been set – the Call for Entries will be at that location.
 Home for a new upscale pizzeria – The Son of a Peach, the location will also host one of the installation art events next September. Some of the sponsorships will come from the existing Village Square tenants said Eckersall who needs to determine just what they are comfortable with. Several of the “installations” at the waterfront were very avant-garde, almost aggressively so, which is what gave the event last year that wonderful edge it had.
The event will begin at 7 pm and run right through to 2 am. Should be enough time left to catch the last call at Honey West.
Working with Eckersall is Leila Hurley of the Downtown Business Development Association and Shannon Kitchings who sits on the Steering Committee of the Arts and Cultural Collective.
Background links:
Short show, stunning presentation – No Vacancy
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