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October 19th, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON There is just one per person and the price paid to make this available to you was measured in lives – so use it wisely – and be sure to use it. Today is Election Day across the country. The polls open at 9:30 am and close at 9:00 pm
If you don’t know where to vote and need some help you can call any of the political party election offices or the Burlington Returning Office. 
October 15th, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Better late than never – I suppose. The Halton District School Board’s Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) announced that they are hosting the 8th Annual Conference for Parents on Saturday, October 17, 2015 at White Oaks Secondary School in Oakville. The theme of the conference, held from 8 a.m. – 2:15 p.m., will be Building Healthy Relationships.
Parents can also choose to attend an afternoon presentation by Paul Davis, who will address the topic of social networking safety. The Building Healthy Relationships conference theme will provide a variety of new workshops and will also include some that have been well received by parents in years past. Workshops will address numeracy, literacy, teaching kids about money management, promoting positive mental health for teens, community resources availability, helping students craft an academic and career pathway for success, high school course selections, managing behaviour and discipline, violence prevention and cyberbullying, and gifted learning. The Halton District School Board Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) recognizes parents play a vital role in the development and education of their children and in the success of schools and therefore provides a regular opportunity for School Council members to network, share ideas, offer input and enjoy informative presentations on a number of education related topics throughout the school year. For more information, visit www.hdsb.ca and click on the PIC logo on the right side of the homepage.
October, 13, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Councillor Blair Lancaster and grade 6 students from Trinity Christian School along with Retired Sgt. Jim Warford, 35 Composite Company, Royal Canadian Service Corp, members of the Royal Canadian Legion and members of the City of Burlington Mundialization Committee will be planting 700 tulip bulbs from the Canadian Garden Council to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands and to celebrate the culture and heritage of the two nations. The event is to take place on Thursday, October 15, 2015, between 11 to 11:20 a.m. at the Dutch-Canadian Friendship Garden, Apeldoorn Park on Elgin Street  As a token of their gratitude for creating a home for the Dutch Royal Family the government of Holland has given Canada 100,000 tulips every year. 7000f those tulips will be sent to Burlington. The City of Burlington was selected as one of 140 recipients of tulips as part of the 70th Anniversary Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Garden. Overall, 100,000 tulip bulbs were distributed across Canada by the Canadian Gardens Council. The 100,000 bulbs replicate the original gift given to the people of Canada as an act of appreciation for hosting the Royal Family during Princess Margriet’s birth and the role of Canadian Armed Forces in the Liberation of Holland.  Mayor Goldring and Councillor Blair Lancaster being greeted by a member of the Dutch Royal Family. Councillor Lancaster, Mayor Goldring and a number of city hall staff spent several days in Holland during the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of Holland by Canadian troops.
October 13, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON The Halton District School Board has created a program to ease children into the school system.  Mohawk Public school will host an OPEN House for those starting school next year. Bit of a drive for those who live in Alton and Aldershot isn’t it? They will be holding five Kindergarten Open Houses for the three year old set to to learn more about starting school. • Explore a Kindergarten classroom There are apparently no “loot bags” unless a back pack falls into that category. Children born in 2012 can start Kindergarten in September 2016. Registration for Kindergarten begins in January 2016 and takes place at the school your child will attend.
October 13, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Presiding as the newly installed Director of Education, Stuart Miller passed his initial test with flying colours. Although there were not many actionable items on Wednesday’s agenda, it was nevertheless full.
The public school board has given this issue a lot of time and attention and has now moved to the point where the public consultation process can begin. Getting a stronger fix on just what the public wants and then finding the teachers needed to deliver a French program is proving to be a bit of a challenge. The Gazette will pass along more information including times, dates and location of public meetings. There is a review of how the board creates its policies and how they are reviewed on a going forward basis taking place. Background material will be posted on the board’s web site – the Gazette will watch for the document and keep you informed. The governing principles of the Board are thought to be in need of some clarification. The unfortunate part of this review process is that once the background documents are placed on the board web site they will remain there “for a minimum of 25 days”, which in this busy world is not a lot of time. And given the mess that the board calls a web site – finding the document might be a challenge. Now that Miller is the Director of Education he was given unanimous approval by the board to advertise internally and externally for the position of Associate Director. Director Miller reported that the Community Partnership Policy will be getting a closer look – this is the policy that looks at the optimal use of the Board’s space and how they make that space available to the public. When the policy was posted for public feed back there were just two responses. Jeff Blackwell (Interim Executive Officer- Human Resources) presented the latest Halton enrollment numbers with elementary schools up 127 students to 44,134 while the secondary population grew to 17,632 showing an increase of 134 students. Gary Cullen (Superintendent of Facility Services) presented the Annual Testing Report, the Closing the Gap Update Report and the Elementary School Design Guidelines report . The discussion points and comments on each of these reports will be reported shortly. For those parents that have children that will be attending kindergarten next year, be on the lookout for a flyer that will be welcoming new students with special nights beginning in November. Scott Podrebarac (Superintendent of Schools) said the theme of the flyer and nights will be “Calling All Three Year Olds” and will reflect the board’s efforts to reach out to Halton parents before their children attend school by having four special nights where the parents and their children can visit their future school and learn of the benefits being offered. This should make the first day in September much easier for the student.
October 13, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON There is something about former Toronto mayors and the city of Burlington – we keep inviting them out to talk to us. A couple of years ago Toronto’s Tiny Perfect Mayor, David Crombie visited the city to talk to the then Waterfront Advisory Committee. Mayor Goldring, then in his first term, did not make a practice of attending those meetings but with Crombie speaking the Mayor chose to sit beside him at the table.  The last Toronto Mayor who came to Burlington was well received but not really listened to – what will we do with David Miller when he speaks? Crombie got the Waterfront Advisory Committee all excited with what was possible – but before any of the ideas got off the ground the city sunset the committee – they did manage to get two things done – a solid look at the way Windows on the Lake were created and they did get something into the Pump House in the Beachway.  You wouldn’t know it – but this is public property and anyone can walk out to the end and look over the lake. City will now put signage indicating that the land is public. Great views. The disappointing part about the Windows on the Lake was the loss of a significant piece of land between the two Windows the city is going to gain. A piece of the city’s heritage was lost forever. Former Mayor of Toronto David Miller is going to be in town November 3rd to speak at free community event called Take Action Burlington. The event is a joint initiative between Mayor Goldring’s Inspire Burlington Series and the City of Burlington and will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Royal Botanical Gardens. The focus is reported to be on what individuals, businesses and community leaders can do to continue to work towards fostering a healthy, green community. Miller who is now the CEO and president of World Wildlife Fund Canada, will be the keynote speaker. Mayor Goldring will give a presentation on environmentally sustainable projects and initiatives in the City of Burlington. Interactive exhibits from green-minded community groups will be on display before and after the presentations. One of the stronger traits behind what Mayor Goldring does is his consistent commitment to the environment – he did slip up when he let the turbine get taken out of the pier design, but he has been an admirable advocate for the environment. While he was not in Burlington when the micro WORDS was unveiled at Burlington Hydro recently that initiative was very much in the Goldring view of the world. Current Green Party candidate Vince Fiorito points out that Goldring was a federal Green candidate who pulled in 3500 votes when he ran – which in Burlington is a number that has yet to be exceeded – Fiorito doesn’t expect to do that well.  A piece of our heritage lost forever. When David Crombie was in town he pointed out that there was a time when Burlington was the leader in the development of a waterfront trail through the city. Crombie probably lost weight when he learned that Goldring went along with the sale of public land that bordered the lake – even though city staff recommended the property be either kept by the city or leased. We shall all wait to hear what David Miller has to say to us – and then wait a little longer to see if the Mayor heeds any of his advice.  Are there panda bears in our future? With Miller being the CEO of the World Wildlife Fund and the Mayor returning from a trip to China – is there perhaps a pair of pandas in Burlington’s future – with maybe a zoo somewhere in the Escarpment? This city could certainly use some good news – any news would be nice.
October 9, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Beginning October 13, construction will begin in Millcroft Park to install free Cogeco Wi-Fi. The construction and installation of equipment is expected to take four to five weeks. The free Wi-Fi is a pilot test with Cogeco Cable to provide free internet access within certain areas of the park. Most of the city’s arenas, city hall and recreation and community centres already have free Wi-Fi access. The park will remain open during construction.
October 8th, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Each year the Fire Department holds an Open House which Fire Chief Tony Bavota describes as a day for the family that doesn’t cost a dime and “if they buy a hot dog from the service group they get it at cost – a great inexpensive family outing”. But this year there was no Open House because the fire department HQ is undergoing a major renovation – so they had to come up with a new idea. And they certainly came up with what can only be described as a winner. The Fire Department partnered with the Culinary class at Robert Bateman High school for a cook off between four teams. Each team was made up of a fire fighter and two students. Murray Zehr who runs the Culinary program said there are 300 students in the class where the focus is on nutrition and kitchen safety. The cooks had an hour to prepare the meal. There were very good reasons for using a cook off as the focus for the event – 53% of the fires in private homes are the result of unattended cooking.  Acting Captain Sam Wakunick taught the Gazette reporter a couple of things about unattended cooking. It was embarrassing. This reporter has some direct experience with unattended cooking and the Burlington Fire department. Shortly after moving into a new home and getting used to the stove I wandered away from the kitchen and then heard that beep beep sound of the smoke alarm. There was nothing I could do to shut the damn thing off the way you can in most houses. I called security and told them everything was under control but it was too late – the fire department was on the way and before I knew it Sam Wakunick was standing at my door in full fire fighter kit. I sheepishly explained what I had done – she smiled – Sam wasn’t a guy – and asked if she could just look through the unit – which wasn’t exactly tidy. Months later I show up to cover a news event and there is Sam – reminding me not to wander from the kitchen when food is cooking. The Fire department media people working with the Bateman staff came up with a really fun and instructive program that made the point – fires are dangerous and they can be prevented. It was also an opportunity to showcase the cooking talent at Bateman  Fire fighter Peter Temoche explains a point to a member of his team Kristan Dymad – Alicia Ann Husk was also on the team. Each of the cooking teams was given a recipe and the ingredients – there was a table with all kinds of oils, wines, and fresh vegetables that cooks could dip into. To jazz up the event – a fire fighter with the name “That Guy” who wandered from stove to stove and just became a pain in the butt. He would drop something into the food or give one of the cooks a penalty which meant they had to sit in a penalty box – and not be able to take part in the food preparation. There was a party atmosphere that brought out the newly minted Director of Education Stuart Miller and Mayor Goldring who advised the students that he had absolutely no culinary skills but was prepared to serve as a judge for the cook off. The Mayor mentioned that during his recent trip to China he learned to ask what he was being served; “you sometimes didn’t want to know” he said. Burlington’s taxpayers however might want to know what the Mayor was doing in China for close to a week.  Firefighter Dave Reid and Bateman students Vanessa Plouffe and Alisha Hales look into the ingredients they were given to cook up a meal in one hour. Fire fighter Dave Reid and students Vanessa Plouffe and Alisha Hales were on a team called the Dragons.  Fire fighter Chris Grieve takes his cooks Cameron Davies and J.R. Kelertas through the approach he thinks they should take to preparing the meal. Chris Grieve, the fire fighter was on a team with students Cameron Davies and J. R Kelertas – they decided to be known as Five Arm Alarm; one of the students had a cast on his arm Fire fighter Peter Tamoche teamed up with Krista Dymod and Alicia Ann Husk – they wanted to be called the Hot Tamales.  Ty Solomon gets rapt attention from a student during the cook off. Ty Solomon and students Bryce Walker and Nick Shaw titled themselves: Kill it with Fire.  The Bateman high school kitchen with its four gas stoves was a bit of a zoo with cameras all over the place and students scooting around picking up supplies and utensils. The kitchen at Bateman was a bit of a zoo with students photographers wandering all over the place, the Cogeco cable News camera kept popping up while cooks were scooting around getting equipment and ingredients while Dennis Hayes kept calling out trivia questions and announcing penalties and in the last fifteen minutes telling everyone how little time they left. Students and other observers looked on from the back of the kitchen. The judging was pretty tight: winning team got 75 points with two teams getting 71 points. They were judged on presentation and taste.  Dave Reid’s team, on the left took first place while Ty Solomon throws his arms up and congratulates Bryce Walker and Nick Shaw who took second. There were less than four points between each team. Fire fighter Dave Reid and students Plouffe and Hales took first place.  While students were cooking up their storm other students were trying on fire fighter equipment. The fire department had three pieces of equipment parked outside the school and all kinds of fire fighter equipment set out for students to try on. There were 19 fire fighters helping out “on their own time” added Chief Bavota.
October 7, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON The Regional Health office is making it easier for parents to advise the health office that their children have been properly immunized. The online immunization reporting form makes it more convenient way to report required immunizations. The form is available at halton.ca/immunize.  Advising the regional health office that your child has been properly immunized is a requirement. That can now be done on line. “Halton Region’s Health Department is responsible for enforcing the provincial Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA), which outlines the immunizations students need to attend classes, in order to keep our schools and students healthy,” said Halton’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Hamidah Meghani. “Since students without up-to-date immunization records can face school suspension, it’s critical that parents make sure the Halton Region Health Department has their child’s most recent immunization records on file.” Immunizations are available through family doctors or at one of Halton Region’s immunization clinics. If children are unable to get immunized, they must have a notarized exemption on file with the Health Department in order to meet school attendance requirements. To learn more about which immunizations are required to attend school and how to report immunizations, please visit halton.ca/immunize.
October 7, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Some of the most horrific highway accidents take place on holiday weekends – that’s when families are in cars going to see other members of their family. Check the newspapers Monday, listen to the radio – you will see and hear it all.  Can we get through the Thanksgiving weekend without pictures like this? Try Over the Thanksgiving weekend, October 9th through to the 12th, the Halton Regional Police Service will be taking part in a national road safety partnership known as Operation Impact. The goal of the program is to remind drivers that an essential part of traffic education and enforcement is to save lives and reduce injuries on our roadways. Officers assigned to Operation Impact will focus on behaviour that puts drivers, passengers and other road users at risk: impaired driving, seat belt use, and all aspects related to aggressive/distracted driving. Aggressive drivers often engage in a combination of high-risk road use behaviours; non-use of seat belts, drinking and driving and speeding. The results of these behaviours are often catastrophic for all involved road users. This year there have been several motor vehicle fatalities investigated by Halton Police. Each of these deaths represents the tragic loss of a loved one – a senseless tragedy that in most cases could have been prevented. Our annual participation in Operation Impact forms an important part of our overall traffic strategy where partnerships lead to greater road safety. A focus on high risk behaviours provides opportunities for enforcement as well as education. A good program, that will be solidly enforced – what was missing? Not a word about distracted driving – the nut cases that think they can text and drive at the same time. If the behaviour isn’t mentioned and targeted it may not get the attention it deserves. Operation Impact is sponsored by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) and member agencies of the CACP Traffic Committee from across Canada in support of Canada’s Road Safety Strategy 2015, which has a goal of making Canada’s roads the safest in the world by 2015. That is an interesting target – aren’t we already in 2015?
October 5th, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Secondary summer school continues to grow in popularity. At a recent Halton District School Board (HDSB) meeting Superintendents of Education, David Boag and Tricia Dyson, presented a report which showed growth in the summer program with overall summer enrollment growing by 15.5%
The major increase was in online enrollment which grew by 34% and had a completion rate of 85% vs 87% for in-class courses. A quick numbers update. • 1584 full credit in-class enrollment vs 1524 in 2014
October 5, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON At its meeting on Sept. 28, Burlington City Council approved a new bylaw prohibiting the feeding of wild animals, including coyotes, in the city’s public parks. The bylaw will not however become effective for one year.  The bylaw prohibiting the feeding of wildlife in public parks goes into effect in one year. “This new bylaw will help the city address public concerns over coyotes by trying to prevent conflicts before they occur,” said Scott Stewart, the city’s general manager of development and infrastructure. “Research and experience show that one of the most significant things everyone can do to reduce direct public interaction with coyotes is to avoid feeding them.”  Swans can be fed but only by those who are licensed. The no feeding wildlife bylaw prohibits the feeding of any wildlife including waterfowl, such as ducks and geese, in public spaces. City Council approved an amendment to the bylaw to allow the Trumpeter Swan Coalition to continue its work with the trumpeter swans that live in LaSalle Park. “Like all wildlife in Burlington, coyotes are just trying to survive, and they do that by finding food sources,” said Tracey Burrows, manager of bylaw enforcement and licensing. “The new bylaw will not come into effect for one year, during which time the city will be reaching out to residents to help inform them about how we can work together to eliminate and properly manage food sources around homes to ensure coyotes remain wary of humans.” In addition to the no feeding wildlife bylaw, the city also offers an online service where residents can report coyote sightings. These sightings are monitored and tracked by city animal services staff to learn more about which areas of the city coyotes are located. For more information about coyotes or to report a coyote sighting, please visit www.burlington.ca/coyote.
October 5th, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Membership has its privileges – The Art Gallery of Burlington launched their fall season with a members only reception that had the xx artists in the fall program on hand to chat up their work and answer questions.  Laurin’s work plays with family and found photographs that he reinterprets In Spirit John Latour’s text-based art, sculpture, and found photography highlight the ways in which we connect with the past, and how this uniquely human activity is mediated through words, objects, and images. Heather Murray is influenced by her rural backdrop and creates diligently and enthusiastically out of her haunted historical studio in Owen Sound Ontario. This exhibition is co-curated by Virginia Eichhorn, Tom Thomson Art Gallery, and Denis Longchamps, Art Gallery of Burlington. The exhibition will run from September 19, 2015 to November 15, 2015. Co-curation with the Tom Thomson Art Gallery is not small potatoes.  Drawn from the AGB’s Permanent Collection of Contemporary Canadian Ceramics, five artists – Bruce Cochrane, Reid Flock, Harlan House, Ruth Gowdy McKinley, and Kayo O’Young demonstrate their mastery over the medium. Not to be missed. Thrown The permanent collection is gem that is all too often hidden – it was what validates the existence of the gallery – the rest of the country just hasn’t discovered it yet. Curated by Jonathan Smith, the exhibition will run from September 19, 2015 to December 31, 2015 in the Perry Gallery.  a snapshot of one of the collages “5 Glasses” featuring a photo of artist Clive Tucker surrounded by five different types of glasses. Click. Clip. Paste. The presence of the artist is suggested through his reflection with his eyeglasses or drinking glasses located in the foreground. Each work follows a set of formal principles: a grid is used for the collage composition following concerns of proportions, dynamic tensions and lines. The photos however were taken without any planned composition in mind. Many are captured at a table sharing a meal, at other times the models pose for the purpose of creating a collage. Smith is the curator of the permanent collection. He has been with the AGB for 25 years and is an artist in his own right. The showing of his personal work in an exhibition was part of the thank you from the gallery board. Well deserved. The exhibition is on until October 18, 2015 in the RBC Community Gallery.  The AGB is going to use the corridor spaces to focus on regional work from different parts of the country. This preserve jar is a prairie contribution. Amber Fields of Grain This is an ongoing 2015-2016 exhibition curated by AGB Permanent Collection Curator, Jonathan Smith. The Gallery is open to the public: Monday: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm Admission is free
October 2, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Have you heard the term “Active Transportation”? Be prepared to hear the phrase bandied about in the next few months. Active transportation is defined as human powered transportation such as walking, cycling, wheeling and other methods using mobility devices. This would apply whether going to the store, to work or to school. It is a buzz phrase at all levels of government. Now how we shop or get to work is for the time being, our decision. However, the Halton District School Board can definitely have some influence as to how children reach school.  During a ride the bike to school week students at Charles Beaudoin school liked the idea and 200 students stuck with their bikes after the event. Over the last number of years, vehicular traffic around schools has increased tremendously. There was a time when most students walked to schools. That certainly is my memory. With changing times, many more students are reaching school either through busing or car transportation. There are many reasons that contribute to increased vehicular traffic, (safety issues, French Immersion) there has been a fundamental change as to how students reach school. Approach any school close to the opening bell and you are in the middle of a traffic jam. This has resulted in schools needing to use the available land for circular drop off points or expanded parking lots. The HDSB did in fact promote the use of Active Transportation back in September of 2014, to date, there has not been too much traction in this area. Well, this is about to change.  Burlington school board trustee Andre Grebenc has brought forward a motion for an Active Transportation program A motion presented by Trustee Andrea Grebenc (Burlington), who is also chair of the Transportation Committee, recommended that the board renew its commitment to Active and Sustainable Transportation and to explore, evaluate and participate in collaboration with other school boards, municipalities, the provincial Government and other potential stakeholders is presenting a workable solution. So why this concern about active transportation? Various studies point to the evidence that those students who use some sort of physical activity prior to the commencement of the school day tend to concentrate better and achieve higher results than those who do not get any physical activity prior to school. Some of the ideas to achieve active transportation?  Actively promoted – children will take to walking to school on a regular basis. • Walking Wednesdays Implementation of some of these ideas would not only create a level of physical activity for students, but could also improve the air quality near the schools. With an interim plan due in December of this year, this initiative is going to get a lot of discussion – the board is expected to initiative some public consultation prior to that date. Background links: City is pushing more walking and cycling as part of its draft Master Transportation Plan If you give students a chance to make more use of their bikes – they will
October 2, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON The Halton District School board advised yesterday afternoon that a tentative agreement has been reached with Halton secondary teachers, however labour sanctions remain in place until deal is ratified The Halton District School Board and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) advised that the deal must be ratified by both the local Halton OSSTF teacher members and the Halton District School Board. Terms of the tentative agreement will be shared once the ratification process is completed. Local administrative sanctions will remain in place until the tentative agreement has been ratified by the Board and the local OSSTF membership.
September 30th, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON As the city moves into October United Way volunteers in Burlington and Greater Hamilton will be hosting events to kick-off their annual fundraising activities for United Way and help raise awareness of the needs in our community. The initiative highlights the importance of pulling together to create lasting change.  Kick-off at Specs on Pearl in Burlington at 9am on Thursday The event will kick-off at Specs on Pearl in Burlington at 9am on Thursday and will include attendees from surrounding businesses, a few words from Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger, Deputy Mayor Rick Craven and United Way Campaign Chair and President of JanKelley Marketing Chantel Broten. United Way GenNext members will host closing festivities beginning at 6pm at Stonewalls Restaurant in Hamilton. Proceeds from the closing event will support LGBTQ and newcomer youth initiatives in Burlington & Greater Hamilton.  At past United Way campaigns the city really put their backs into the program. Here, former city general manager Kim Phillips helped pull a water truck down Brant Street. “United Way Day is really about encouraging individuals and organizations to get involved and help create possibility for residents of Burlington & Greater Hamilton. One in 3 people in our community will access services supported by United Way in their lifetime. This could be a friend, family member, or neighbour. We all know someone who has been helped by United Way” said Broten. United Way kicked-off the annual fundraising campaign earlier with a breakfast event at the Royal Botanical Gardens. The campaign will be championed by Hamilton Chair Paul Johnson, Director of Corporate Initiatives for the City of Hamilton and Burlington Chair Chantel Broten, President JanKelley and long-time Burlington resident. Together, they will highlight the unique needs of Burlington & Greater Hamilton and encourage collective community action. “The need in our community is great and we could not begin to meet that need without the support of volunteers like those participating in United Way Day. This year, the ultimate goal of United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton is to impact over 164,000 lives, because we know our community isn’t great, until it is great for everyone” said CEO Jeff Vallentin.
September 30th, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON Standing in rain that would not stop – some sixty people involved in the electrical generation business listened to polite speeches and cut a large red ribbon to open a pilot co-generation station at the south end of the Burlington Hydro offices on Brant Street.  Cutting the ceremonial ribbon is Deputy Mayor and ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven. To his right are : Bob Delaney, MPP, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Energy, MPP Eleanor McMahon, Hydro President Gerry Smallegange. Defined as a Micro Turbine Cogeneration Plant it is part of the City of Burlington’s Community Energy Plan (CEP). Natural gas is fed into the unit which then produces both electricity and heat – enough to heat one third of the Burlington Hydro offices on Brant Street.  Three micro turbines and a heat recover unit in this micro co-generation project produce 90kv of electricity and enough heat to take care of one third of the needs of the the Hydro head office on Brant Street; Bob Delaney, MPP, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Energy explained that “Projects like this one not only offer a sustainable way to generate electricity, they can also provide valuable insights for other organizations considering the benefits of future cogeneration or district heating projects in the Burlington area.” As a central partner in the development of the CEP, Burlington Hydro has committed to demonstrating technologies and evaluating their effectiveness in commercial and larger residential buildings by undertaking certain pilot projects through its affiliate, Burlington Electricity Services Inc. “Increasing sustainable local energy generation in ways that support the City’s economic competitiveness is an important objective identified in the Community Energy Plan,” says Deputy Mayor Rick Craven, and Ward 1 Councillor. “Not only does this project represent a positive step forward in the implementation of that plan, but because the plant is self-contained and portable, it is well-suited for permanent relocation at sometime in the future.”  The dignitaries had to stand in the rain to speak to the guests who were tightly packed inside the tent. An interconnection into the building’s electrical supply and heating system produces 90 kW of electricity, enough to offset one third of the building’s peak load and provide sufficient heat for much of the building. District heating can provide heat for multiple buildings from a single heating plant. Hot water or steam is distributed to these buildings through underground piping. This is an efficient source of energy as district heating systems operate at higher efficiencies than individual building heating systems. “Cogeneration involves the production of electricity and heat simultaneously from a single fuel source,” explains Gerry Smallegange, Hydro President and CEO. “This is more efficient as the heat normally generated through conventional thermal electricity generation is not wasted.”  One of three micro turbines that Burlington Hydro bought for the micro co-generation project that is now operational. Smallegange explained that Burlington Hydro became aware of a surplus unit in Kelowna BC, “and we bought it for $37,500 – put it on a flatbed truck and built the shed that encloses it all with lumber donated to us by Habitat for Humanity”.
September 30, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON We used to refer to the group that have organized themselves as an Art Collective – ACCOB – which stands for the Arts and Culture Collective of Burlington as an “emerging” group. That day has passed – they are now trying very hard to gain a foothold and to have an impact on the way arts and culture policy and spending are done in Burlington. So far they aren’t getting the traction they need and feel they deserve.  Art Gallery of Burlington – costs the city close to a million to run – is there value for money? Of course there is – but without artists would we need it?  The Performing Arts Centre has had an immense impact on the artistic growth of the city – and the arts community is now able to make great use of the space. They are dealing with a city hall that is close to patronizing to the individual artists and at the same time spends million on buildings and the subsidizing of an Art Gallery, a Performing Arts Centre and a Museum Board. The artists feel they should form an Arts Council and be at the table with the same clout, financial benefit and influences the other organizations.  Jeremy Frieburger, author of a report that provided direction for the city’s cultural plan based on reams of data he had gathered. Now the city has to determine how it wants ti implement its Cultural Action Plan. The city has a Cultural Action Plan and a committee that is involved in overseeing the roll out of that plan. One would like to think that having artists sitting on that implementation committee would be a positive sign – and indication that the artists are finally getting the influence they feel they deserve. Afraid not – there is trouble in paradise.  The Art in Action Studio Tour is a ten year success. The event is free to the public and there isn’t a dime of public money in the project. Teresa Seaton, who is a significant part of the driving force behind the Art in Action group that holds an annual art tour that is very successful – they have been putting on the event for more than ten years and are financially successful enough to be able to award a scholarship each year, thinks an Arts Council is needed. Seaton is also a commercially successful Stained Glass artist with a studio in the west end of the city. On the Collective Facebook page she made some comments … well let’s let Seaton speak for herself: “Interesting meeting today as a delegate from the External Body Committee to CAPIC -The Cultural Action Plan Implementation Committee. Seems we are still defending the need for an Arts and Culture Council to the city. One of the questions that came up was: What would an Arts and Culture Council do for us, the arts and culture community, in Burlington. As far as I can tell one of the first things an Arts Council would do with funding it hopefully gets is to ask the community what can an Arts Council do for you? And because it seems we are a long way from getting any funding for an Arts Council I thought I might throw up the question here on face book. My personal suggestions…” An Arts and Culture Council could; 1. Lobby the city to implement, or increase, the already existing public art fee on new developments. I believe the existing recommendation is 1%. I have trouble finding this information.  Teresa Seaton – stained Glass artist “Don’t get me wrong; the City of Burlington has come a long way in the last few years. I see the institutions working together more. There seems to be more community involvement in these institutions. But let’s not let this momentum stop.” CAPIC: the Cultural Action Plan Implementation Committee consists of: Scott Stewart, General Manager for the city Andrea Battista, involved with Symphony on the Bay Six of the eight people on the committee are bureaucrats – there is no balance here. The meeting Seaton attended and delegated at also had two other city hall staff and a ward Councillor. Seaton is quite right when she talks about how far the artists have come – they have risen, literally, and said “we are here and we want to be heard”. And city council, a bit surprised at the artistic energy they didn’t know existed, put money into hiring a consultant who put together a cultural action plan that the city adopted – sort of, and the created a committee to implement that plan. And that is sort of where things are stuck. The artists don’t fully comprehend that politicians and bureaucrats do not give away power – they accumulate power and they are for the most part loathe to share that power. The only way the people (in this case the artists) wrestle power from the bureaucrats is to threaten the power base they have.  Joe Lamb, on the left, negotiated a deal for the seniors – he didn’t get the kitchen sink because he didn’t ask for it – but he got everything else he wanted. Then city manager Jeff Fielding was told to keep the seniors happy and he did. There is a lesson for the arts community here. A classic example of this was when the seniors began to complain about what they were not getting from the city. They, the seniors, were not happy with the people city hall had sent over to administrate their Centre and they were quick to get on the phone and let the Council members know they were not happy. The new city manager at the time was sent over to meet and negotiate with the seniors who got everything they had asked for and more. Jeff Fielding, the city manager at the time, was told to meet with the seniors and keep them happy. Canadians learned yesterday that Canada now has more people over 65 than we have under 14 – the power has shifted to the seniors and they are going to get what they want o they will vote the politicians out of office. What kind of clout do the artists have? They are creative people with the ability to give the city character, colour, reputation and a reason to visit the place. Imagine what would happen if the Sound of Music decided they would not put on their event for a year. You can only imagine the hair pulling that would take place at city hall. Seaton is right on another level as well; the artists have to begin working like an orchestra and all play from the same sheet music. The squabbling that goes on between the different artists and the different groups is not pretty. They are admittedly high strung people – they go without to be artists but at some point they have to create a united front and use the strength that comes from unity to make their case. City council has consistently said the arts are important – and they do pump a lot into the institutions we have. The artists want a real seat at the table – they are going to have to require the politicians to walk their talk. It will not be easy – but it can be done – look at what the seniors achieved.
September 29, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON If you are a tweeter – I mean a full time addicted tweeter – then this is for you. You are invited by the Regional police to join the conversation about what is going on in police services on Twitter during the 5th Global Police Tweet-a-thon.
Between 00:00am and 11:59pm, follow the hashtag #Poltwt on Twitter and see what is going on around the globe. @HaltonPolice will be participating and will be tweeting about operational calls for service across the region, traffic, impaired driving, cold case homicides, drugs, frauds, canine and educational topics and safety tips from our website.
September 27, 2015 BURLINGTON, ON For just one week (October 18th to 24th) during Ontario Public Library Week, you can pay outstanding fines with food. We accept *unexpired* canned and dry food items. All food collected goes to Burlington Food Share to help local community members in need. So, clear up your fines and help others at the same time. One food item = $1 in fines, 2 items = $2 in fines, up to $10/card.  Use food to pay your library fine. Nice policy – but if you don’t play the game the way they want you to – they get nasty and send your fine odd to a collection agency. The Library will send your account to a collection agency and adds a $15 administration fee when: • you have items overdue 60 days with an outstanding balance of $35 (formerly $50) or more, or, I have an overdue fine – but the notice from the library doesn’t tell anyone how to find out what you owe them. Do I take in several jars of peanut butter and a couple of bags of rice? Don’t even know what I owe them
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