 By Ray Rivers
April 20, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Canada has been a strong supporter of Ukraine. After all – there are more diaspora here than anywhere else, except Russia. So we’ve offered economic help, spoken out at the UN and NATO, are helping to train Ukrainian troops, and even supplying some military equipment. In a rare moment of domestic political agreement, both the former Conservatives and Mr. Trudeau’s party have been unanimous in this support
I visited the ‘National Museum of the History of Ukraine’ in World War II, which used to be called the ‘Museum of the Great Patriotic War’ before Mr. Putin’s invasions. These are not the times to be ambiguous about whose patriotism we are talking about – so the name got changed. It’s an impressive museum and there are magnificent sculptures on the grounds – of the proletariat, men and women, doing their bit for the big victory.
Many Ukrainians died in the Second World War and one could ask what they actually were fighting for. The Nazis were nasty people. Yet, looking at Finland fighting Russian aggression, some nationalist Ukrainians had hoped that the Germans would free them from the yoke of the oppressive Soviet regime, and its murderous leader. I didn’t notice much of that discussion among the gunnery and soldiers uniforms spread about the floors of the museum. Not yet anyway.
 On the main floor, near the exit, sits a military truck, riddled with bullet holes, as if it were placed there to tease the attendee. Sure enough around the corner is a room dedicated to the over 2000 soldiers who had recently been killed in the Donbas. And that wasn’t counting the civilians or the number who’d been sacrificed on the other side, including those of the Russian regular army. A war without purpose and seemingly without end.
It was a moving exhibit set in the context of what was going on today. As I turned to leave, my eyes locked with those of the presiding female attendant. It was only a few seconds but I was left with a powerful image that will always haunt me. We didn’t speak, and anyway, what would we have said, and in which language – but the emotion was clear?
Mr. Putin would argue that Ukraine isn’t a nation and so Ukrainian isn’t a national language – just a dialect of Russian. Yet this language still persists and is growing in use, despite numerous efforts by the subsequent Russian and Soviet authorities to destroy it. And while more people speak Russian globally, researchers argue that Russian was derived from Ukrainian and not the other way around, making it the dialect in my book.
Being Canadian I know a little of linguistic divides, because we are a bilingual nation, and a relatively contented one at the present. And English and French are a lot more dissimilar than Slavic tongues, so the divide would be greater if we let it be. Canada is a bilingual country but everybody doesn’t speak both languages and we understand that we never will.
Today Russian speakers still make up a large percentage of the Ukrainian population. One elderly lady, I’d met, living in one of Kyiv’s Soviet-styled suburbs, explained to me how she had migrated from Russia in 1954. With one daughter now living in Ukrainian Kyiv and another in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad she slowly drew an imaginary line across her chest showing me how her heart was torn.
Another woman I met on the train, was returning to Kherson to sell her apartment after having lived in New York for the last 7 years. She complained that she hated the Ukrainian language and marveled that I was venturing to travel in this land given my relatively poor grasp of Ukrainian, though she herself only spoke Russian.
 Does it really matter that Ukrainians speak Russian as well or even primarily instead of Ukrainian. Aren’t they still Ukrainians. Polls indicate that to be the case. The international linguist Michael Moser thinks making Russian an official second language would make social harmony worse rather that better. He would just leave well enough alone.
He may be right. Canada chose official bilingualism for very different reasons and that decision has served us well, making francophone Canadians feel at home anywhere they need to deal with the federal government. But Ukraine is a different country, has a longer history, and that makes it more complex. And it has to consider the neighbourhood bully – who holds that if you speak Russian you are a Russian.
But then we don’t have to worry that Canada’s even more powerful neighbour will invade and annex Alberta if we sign a free trade agreement with the EU, or speak with a Texan accent. Though that might improve Mr. Cruz’s claim on legitimacy in his race to become president.
Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington where he ran as a Liberal against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province. Rivers is no longer active with any political party.
Rivers has been in the Ukraine researching his next book. He returns later this month.
Background links:
War Museum – Finland/Russia – Kaliningrad – Ukraine Crisis –
Ukraine Conflict – Quebec Referendum – Language – More Language – Still More Language –
 By Pepper Parr
April 19, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Andy Griffiths is looking for a way to break out of the market he currently has – he gets gigs in the region – but hasn’t yet found whatever it takes to get recognized and given the bigger stage he deserves.
 Last summer – at the Lowville Festival – Andy showcased his new approach to music – he appears to be aiming at a younger market – the kids with his “Our Cat Flash”
Griffith has a temperament and folksy tone that appeals to the younger set. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and seems to really enjoy yucking it up with the kids – and the kids certainly like his act.
There aren’t any groups or individual singers who market to the kiddie crowd – Sharon, Lois and Braum don’t exists any more.
Griffiths might have found a niche market that isn’t that small – heck if “Walk on the Earth” could get from Burlington to a world stage – why can’t Andy Griffith.
 Griffiths got himself into the CBC Searchlight competition and he would really like you to slip over to the Searchlight web site – listen to his sound and vote for him.
There is just one day left to get in there and vote – “You can catch my entry in the CBC Searchlight contest – CLICK Here and you are in.
Voting closes on Wednesday April 20th – 2:59 pm
Background on Griffiths
 By Pepper Parr
April 19, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It is now a fully functioning construction site – you can tell by the number of people complaining. There must be something in the water in Burlington – or maybe we are too close to the water. We want to be a prosperous community and that means growth – places for people to live, jobs for people to earn a living. That means construction – and a little inconvenience.
 That small patch of green, centre right, is about where the landscaping and the terracing will begin that will lead to the lake’s edge. As we were walking to the Bridgewater construction site a passerby asked when it was going to be finished – she wasn’t ready for the answer – October 2018.
 The construction site – from the south west corner – the entrance to parking will be just south of the two concrete items. The project is to consist of a 22 storey condominium on the east side, an eight storey hotel on the west side and a seven storey condominium south of the hotel.
 This is the layout for the project. The project will have a wide public space with a reflecting pool in the centre between the buildings.
 This massive drill will be moving around the site drilling holes that will have the steel caissons sunk into them. Caissons are being put in place – 115 of them. They drill down 47 feet. The shaping of the land is underway so that construction the next phase of construction can get underway. There will be four level of underground parking on the northern part of the site and three and a half levels in the southern part of the site.
The hydro wires that were strung along Lakeshore Road are gone – they’ve been buried.
 Boris Kresina points to the project New Horizons is also doing on the other side of the lake. Boris Kresina oversees the construction on the site, backed up by Terry Turner. Boris does the oversight for several New Horizons development: the Bridgewater in Burlington, a project in Oakville, to in Stoney Creek. The City Square project in Hamilton is basically completed.
Bridgewater will open a new sales office on John Street in about a month.
By Pepper Parr
April 19, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It took several hours but the Community and Corporate Service Standing Committee did agree to recommend that council authorize the Mayor to write letters of support for loans and grants the LaSalle Park Marina Association wants to apply for.
Councillor Jack Dennison (Ward 4) wants the letter to be strong and forceful – it will need to be – the Marina Association is looking for $12 million.
 The option the LaSalle Park Marina Association hopes is chosen through the Environmental Assessment. The design will add 100 slips plus 20 available for transient use and more significantly provide a solid barrier that will allow fish stocks to return and breed and put an end to the wave agitation John Birch, Executive Director of the LaSalle Park Marina Association , has been toiling for a number of years at getting a permanent breakwater built for Burlington. In his delegation to council last night he pointed out that Bronte has a marina that was paid for by the federal government, Kingston got a large chunk of federal money as did a number of other municipalities in the province. It is Burlington’s turn, said Birch.
It may well be – but it is going to be a tough.
Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward was the only member of Council to vote against the writing of a letter. Her argument was that city council has not yet voted on whether or not they want to approve a expanded marina.
 Trumpeter swan – magnificent creatures that many think need the marina space at LaSalle Park to survive the winters. Meed Ward felt that a letter at this time was premature and inappropriate. One citizen wondered how council would react if Birch was able to raise the funds needed – would the city be able to see beyond all that funding and make the best decision for the city.
Birch points out that Burlington is a waterfront community – he got that part right.
The Trumpeter Swan Coalition, they don’t want the expanded marina built and point out that a waterfront community means making space for not just boats but for the swans as well.
There were some very good delegations made – the Gazette will report on these in more depth at a later date.
By Staff
April 19, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington Chamber of Commerce announced that Domenic Molinaro, Chairman of the Molinaro Group, will receive Burlington’s 2016 Distinguished Entrepreneur Award.
 Domenic Molinaro Domenic Molinaro was chosen as the award recipient to recognize his leadership role in building a successful, high-profile company that positively represents Burlington both locally and regionally.
He reflects entrepreneurship through his company and through his philanthropic endeavours giving back to the community.
Domenic Molinaro’s business has consistently served Burlington and the surrounding communities for over 50 years with passion, leadership, and integrity, and has helped to shape Burlington’s residential downtown core.
He is a well-known philanthropist in Burlington, having donated one million dollars to the hospital redevelopment.
 The five tower Paradigm project adjacent to the Burlington GO station is currently under construction. Lakeshore Road as we know it today was to a very large degree built by the Molinaro Group. Domenic Molinaro can tell you what it cost and where the problems were with every condominium he built on the north side of Lakeshore Road.
He can also drive you to the first contract job he got as an immigrant to Canada – it was in Guelph Ontario.
The Molinaro Group is currently developing the Paradigm project on Fairview adjacent to the Burlington GO station.
There is much to be recognized and applauded on November 17th when the Chamber of Commerce will host a special dinner honouring Domenic Molinaro.
 By Staff
April 18, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police released the following additional information on the three fatalities resulting from the motorcycle – vehicle accident on Dundas at Eaglesfield Drive Saturday evening.
A 2002 Ford Escape was westbound on Dundas Street, approaching Eaglesfield Drive in Burlington. The driver, a sixty-one year old Burlington man, began to make a left turn onto Eaglesfield Drive, when an eastbound 2009 Suzuki motorcycle struck the right side of the Ford.
The operator of the motorcycle, Mitchel Crate, was thrown from his vehicle and came to rest within the Ford.
A thirty-five year old female from Waterdown who had been riding on the back of the motorcycle was thrown from the vehicle and came to rest on the grass at the southeast corner of the intersection. All three parties were pronounced dead at the scene.
The specifics of the collision are still under investigation, but police believe that the speed of the motorcycle was a factor.
By Staff
April 18, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It is probably the biggest event that takes place in the city. Its pumps millions into the local economy and it’s been around for years.
It has a culture all of its own – and happens because hundreds of people volunteer to do all the hard work.
 If you want to be part of an organization that makes a difference – the Sound of Music Volunteer Open House takes place on April 23 at the Halton HiVE from 2:00-4:00 p.m.
The HiVE is located at 901 Guelph Line, which is on the south east corner of the Guelph Line Harvester Road intersection – acres of parking.
You should be able to slip up to the volunteer event after chowing down a couple of those Turtle Jack burgers at the Clean Up event that takes place at Centennial Park right in front of the band shell
Get ready for summer: Make your selections for Movies Under the Stars
 By Staff
April 18, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The people who toil on our behalf at city hall appear to be certain of something that many others may have in doubt – that there will be a summer.
The Burlington Festivals and Events people have announced the movie choices available at different parks during the summer.
Residents can vote online for the movies that will be played this summer at Movies Under the Stars. The program has been well-received in past years,” said Chris Glenn, the
city’s director of parks and recreation. “We are looking forward to another summer of fun-filled nights for families and friends to enjoy some of their favourite
movies in the great outdoors.”
 Night out in Burlington Movies Under the Stars is a city movie series that allows families to enjoy movies in neighbourhood parks. Supported by Tim Hortons, the series will feature a
different movie each Thursday between July 7 and Aug. 18. All movies start at dusk and are shown on an outdoor screen.
Residents are encouraged to vote each week to select the movies that will be featured during Movies Under the Stars at www.burlington.ca/movies
A new poll will be posted each week until May 18, giving voters a choice of three movies. Polls will instantly show which movie has the most votes.
Poll dates, Movie date and park
March 30 to April 6 – July 7, – Nelson Park
April 6 to 13 – July 14, – Aldershot Park
April 13 to 20 – July 21, Central Park Bandshell
April 20 to 27 – July 28, – Emerson Park
April 27 to May 4 – Aug. 4, – Kilbride Park
May 4 to 11 – Aug. 11, – Ireland Park
May 11 to 18 – Aug. 18, – Spencer Smith Park
 “Watch the votes climb and join the City of Burlington in thinking ahead to the warm
days of summer,” said Glenn. Bring your own chair and a blanket.
For more information and to cast your vote for the movie you want to see – visit www.burlington.ca/movies – email is at – festivalsandevents@burlington.ca or phone 905-335-7766.
The Burlington Festivals and Events office offers support to community event Organizers. They are presenting Kite Festival, Canada Day, Movies Under the Stars, and Children’s Festival to the community for free. The community relies on sponsors, vendors and volunteers to keep our events free.
 By Staff
April 18, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It is one of the largest and most effective city – community groups Burlington has. They both advocate for the environment – they try hard, but not always successfully to hold city council accountable for the decisions they make that impact the environment.
BurlingtonGreen has initiated a number of projects that make a difference and they have invited world class speakers to the city. It is an organization that has real clout – it could be used more consistently and with more vigor at times.
REGISTRATION link is at the bottom of the page.
 Every age gets involved in the annual BurlingtonGreen Clean Up Every Spring thousands of citizens pull on a pair of gloves pick up a green plastic garbage bag and go picking up litter anywhere they can find it.
Called the Clean Up – it takes place on a Saturday morning with everyone, in the past, gathering at city hall for a burger, pop and a chance to chat up their friends.
The Clean Up this year takes place on Saturday the 23rd – people can go to the BurlingtonGreen web site and decide where they want to do their community work and just show up.
 The annual CleanUp campaign Burlington Green organizes ends with a gathering of the environmental clan – this year it will be at the Bandshelll in Central Park – right next to the library. There are perhaps hundreds of places to Clean Up – when the work is done everyone is encouraged to gather at Central Park and wander around the exhibits at the library or listen to music and have their burger and chat with friends on the grounds in front of the band stand. Entertainment is expected to be part of the event.
More than 55,000 participants have joined the collective effort resulting in cleaner parks, streams, school yards and neighbourhoods.
This citywide event invites citizens, schools, churches, businesses, neighbourhoods and community groups to come together to clean up and green up Burlington to help the planet locally. What a great and meaningful way to celebrate Earth Day 2016!
Registered Clean Up participants will receive free supplies (bags and gloves) to do their clean up activities and are invited to attend an Eco-‐fair Celebration at Central Park Bandshell/Library on April 23rd from 11:00am to 4:00pm. Festivities will include a BBQ courtesy of Turtle Jack’s and refreshments courtesy of Tim Hortons, along with fun button making for kids, a variety of local eco-‐display and opportunities to win free raffle prizes.
 Turtle Jacks will be there with their mobile kitchen. The line ups move quickly. There will be displays inside the library and music at the bandshell.
 Amy Schnurr, Burlington Green’s Executive Director explains that this is the 6th year the city and the BG people have worked together. It started in 2011 she said. BG and the City partner on this event with the City contributing $7,000 from the Parks and Road maintenance budget for event planning and execution costs.
Registration gets done – just click here:
By Pepper Parr
April 18th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It was pretty simple to Griffin Gervais, a grade five student at Lakeshore Public school – just ask people how to get the ball diamond behind the school repaired and they would tell him what was needed and it would get done because he was the kind of kid that did things like that.
 Carrie Gervais and her son Griffin at Matching Fund meeting. Griffin had an occasion to meet Burlington’s MP, Karina Gould and asked her if she would help him with his plans for the ball diamond. The grounds needed a serious leveling out – they had little rises and small shallow spots. The bases needed bags that were properly anchored – third base is currently a small hole that collects water.
The back drop is close to being ready to fall down. And the benches are kind of crappy.
The ward 2 member of city council happened to be at the same event – Gould pointed Griffin to Meed Ward who was pretty sure what Griffin and his buddies wanted to do was possible under a program that was being rolled out by the city’s parks and recreation department.
 The city had created a Neighbourhood Community Matching Fund that could put up as much as $5000 into a project that is designed to improve a community.
If the success of the Neighbourhood fund depended on the effort of the Parks and Recreation people overseeing the program – the thing would be a raging success.
The purpose of the program is to get people involved in their communities by pulling together a group with a common cause.
 Home plate is the only base that has a bag – and it doesn’t line up properly with the other bases. As a school play ground it has been allowed to deteriorate badly. The Neighbourhood Community Matching Fund has Griffin Gervais’s name written all over it.
City hall staff were spending time in each ward meeting with people to explain what the program is and how it works.
They were in ward 2 last week explaining the program and taking people through the forms that have to be filled in. There are a lot of forms to be filled in.
 No base bag at third base – just an indentation in the ground where water gathers.  Was he out – Griffin Gervais didn’t think so – but there was no base bag to really know. To use the language of the retail sector – these people want your business and they will go well out of their way to make what you want to do in your community happens.
Julia Rogers, the lead contact person and the one who does the presentations, gets herself pretty wound up when she speaks. Griffin Gervais who as at the meeting with his Mom wants to see that baseball diamond at his school upgraded.
Traditionally, in Burlington at least, the school board and the city don’t cooperate all that well.
That isn’t slowing down the people running the Neighbourhood Matching Fund. They appear prepared to do whatever they have to do to get a spark going within a community that will grow into a nice flame that will ignite people in their communities to come together and do things that make Burlington a better place for everyone.
Carrie Gervais said she now has the quotes she needs from the Board of Education so “we now know what the target is. The parents added $200 to the budget for a party in the park to celebrate their success which is all part of the city’s objective. They want people to come together, work together to make their neighbourhoods better places.
 In no specific order: Sawyer Cobham. Scott Rose, Griffen Gervais, Kayden Maslanyk discuss the problems with their ball diamond The Matching fund is intended for a project people want to see done in their neighbourhood. The forms are not that difficult – everything is on line – and if you have a problem – the staff are there to help you.
The city has set aside $50,000 for the program this fiscal year.
Applications have to be in no later than April 29th – which doesn’t leave much time. Staff actually apologized for the late start – this is the first year of what they see as a multi-year effort.
There are two completed applications in hand with one coming in from Giffin and his buddies. There are six wards in the city – someone is going to be disappointed.
Every project submitted won’t need a full $5000 explained Rogers. So the $50,000 available for this year is expected to cover all the applications.
If the program works – parks and recreation staff are planning on asking for more funding for future years.
The City has been pumping out media releases to remind residents that applications are due Friday, April 29.
Chris Glenn, the city’s director of parks and recreation believes there are a lot of good ideas out there and says:. “If you have a proposal for something you think would bring your neighbourhood and community together and build strong connections, we want to hear about it. Even if you are not able to complete all of the information requested in the application form, I would encourage you to still submit it to the city by the April 29 deadline.” Glenn added that once a project is approved the sponsoring group has up to one full year to complete the work.
Griffin project is going to come in at about $11,000 – they are hoping they can get a full $5000 from the city and fund raise to pull in the balance.
The community is expected to raise half of the amount needed. That half can be cash, or in kind materials. Any work that people do on the project is counted at the rate of $17.02 for each hour worked. 50% of any professional services that are needed can be included in the budget.
Griffin’s parents set up a crowd funding account at: Gofundme.com/myzjbcwk There are no stones unturned with this group.
 Julia Rogers will guide anyone through the application process. It sounds a little complex – don’t worry about figuring out the details – Julia Rogers is a phone call away and she will take you through the application form line by line.
One of the issues on anything that involves the city or the board of education is insurance. That can be difficult to navigate. Denise Beard, Manager Community Development, said her staff will do everything they can to get you the insurance coverage you need.
Applications need to be in before the end of the month – approved projects will be announced in June.
 By Staff
April 17, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It was that kind of a weekend – the warm weather we have been waiting for blessed us and the citizens took to the streets and Spencer Smith Park and got out for walks.
Many of the sidewalk café locations were full, the Gelato location on Lakeshore Road at Brant had a line up.
Next weekend is the annual Clean up that BurlingtonGreen organizes and supervises – hopefully the weather will cooperate again and we can pick up some of the rubbish that seems to gather in the late fall and winter months.
Buds on the trees weren’t quite ready to sprout – they’ve been fooled before.
The birds seemed pretty sure that this was the real thing – if you stopped for a moment you could hear some full throated warbling.
 Busy but not overcrowded. Rising quietly in the background is the re-developed Joseph Brant hospital. There is a group of people in the Region that are looking at the cost of burying those hydro lines. Would Burlington be Burlington without them?  A lot of relationships in this city got started at this gazebo – these folks are chowing down the way good friends do.  The pier got a good work out.  Doesn’t get much better than this – does it? Here is how some of the people spent Sunday.
By Pepper Parr, Publisher
April 17, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It happens – let a writer out of the country and they get carried away.
The Gazette’s political columnist Ray Rivers asked for some time off to travel to the Ukraine where he wanted to do some research for his next book.
We suggested he try to write his column while he was abroad but didn’t really expect to get anything.
Then the “funny” mushroom column arrived – and we knew that Rivers was at least alive.
 There he is with his picture on the front page and his column inside for everyone to read. What will we read next about this Ukrainian adventure? This morning we find that our ace columnist is on the front page of the Kyiv Post.
Rivers, who know how to promote himself, sent the editor of the Kyiv Post a note saying they could reprint the column if they wished.
nd they wished – so there we are – Burlington’s on-line newspaper finds its political columnist on the front page of a Ukrainian newspaper.
Who owns the paper we wanted to know and how many papers are there in Kyiv?
There are three responded Rivers and I think they are all both paper and on-line: Unian and Ukraine Today are the others. No idea on circulation, nor ownership – an oligarch controls Ukraine Today.
We suggested to Rivers that given the political situation in the Ukraine that he might be “invited” to remain in the country for a while and be given a uniform.
Rivers responded: “There has been no offer of a rifle – but I’d hold out for a tank anyway. And no such luck, you don’t get rid of me that easily.”
“This Kherson ship-building town is really dead and dead poor – more Russian here than Ukrainian – one can tell – the Russkies use Da and Ukes Tak for yes.
We expect Rivers will report again and that he will have a byline of his own in the Ukrainia Kyiv Post.
Do stay tuned.
The funny mushrooms column
By Staff
April 16, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The public school board say they want your opinion and have created a Tell Them From Me survey that is available on line – but they forgot to say just where the survey is on their website. We will check in with these people on Monday and get that information for you.
How effective is the public school board system?
Are you getting what you feel you need for the education of your children?
What does accountability mean?
Is accountability a two way street?
The people who deliver services to the public need to know what you think – if they don’t get public input they are left to do what they think is best – which isn’t always the best. Citizens have a responsibility to advise – this is your opportunity.
 Students from across the Region took part in a Skills competition in Burlington. From April 18 until May 13, 2016, all parents/guardians with children in the Halton District School Board are invited to complete the Tell Them From Me – Our School parent survey. Parents/guardians will be emailed instructions and a link to the survey starting April 18.
Parents will be asked about issues related to learning opportunities, communication, school culture, and climate. The information gathered from the survey is being used to help schools continue to create positive school climates, to inform annual bullying intervention plans, and for parents to have a voice in creating a supportive community at their school.
Students and staff are invited to complete their own Tell Them From Me survey at school. Individual responses are always grouped together for analysis. Parents may complete their survey online from wherever Internet access is available. If you do not have Internet access, please discuss alternatives with your child’s school administrator.
If you have any questions about the surveys please contact Frank Nezavdalf, Department of Research and Accountability, (905) 335-3663 ext. 3381 or by e-mail: nezavdalf@hdsb.ca.
If you have any difficulties accessing the survey or require technical assistance please contact the HDSB Information Centre at 905-333-4372 (HDSB) or 1-888-432-4372 (HDSB), Monday to Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. or by emailing informationcentre@hdsb.ca
They both want and need you opinion – it is your children they are there to educate.
 By Pepper Parr
April 16, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
 Morgan, the axe throwing coach and instructor, points to where the axe was supposed to go. Many of the Brantford group managed to hit the bulls eye. There is a small club set up in an industrial space where people throw axes at a wall.
It’s entertainment and has grown into a business model that has expanded to eight locations in less than two years. Founder Mario Zelaya has plans to be in every major Canadian city. They say they are the #1 in Fun and Games in Toronto on Trip Advisor
The business went from a backyard hobby to a company that transformed a niche activity into one with mass appeal.
 Throwing an axe proved to be a little more difficult than expected.  Two women from Brantford throwing axes in Burlington.  The axe throwing party as held to celebrate the birthday of the gentleman on the left.  Not all the axes thrown were lodged in the targets – but they had fun learning how to throw. Friday evening a group of 13 people from Brampton came to town to celebrate a birthday. There is certainly nothing fancy or upscale about the site – it was a place people could rent and enjoy themselves. They brought their own beverages, a box of cupcakes to celebrate the birthday and the intention of having a good time.
They bring their own music which gets plugged into a speaker system.
Is it safe? Very. The instructor takes everyone through a safety lesson and watches everyone carefully to make sure no one does something stupid.
And then they begin to throw axes.
By Pepper Parr
April 15, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
There are now have 694 Insight Community members!
In a city this size there should be at least 2500 people
Insight is the service the city has to do almost instant polling of a group of people that are fully representative of the community.
 The service was not cheap – $100,000 a year – but it is a very useful and for the most part a very accurate tool to measure public opinion.
The panel is becoming more evenly spread demographically and is sitting at 53% Male, 45% Female (2% of you preferred not to answer).
It is now quite evenly split of over the six wards in the city. The numbers have grown with each and every survey put out to the public, where there has been the option of joining the community.
The Gazette has heard of people who were not accepted into the polling group and they concluded the city knew who they were and didn’t want them within the polling group.
Nothing could be further from the truth – the city knows a lot about the people within the group – except for one thing – who you actually are.
They know your age, what you earn, where you live, what kind of a home you have, if you use transit, your education – all kinds of data – but they don’t know your name.
What polling needs is a balance in the group questions are being put to – which means you might be a 42 year old male with a college education – they may have enough of those – but need women who are single with a post graduate degree.
If you are interested in being part of the panel – apply – the people who run the service will determine if you fit into the balanced panel they maintain.
Being turned down doesn’t mean they didn’t want YOU – it meant that there were already enough people like you on the panel.
If you want to follow up on this CLICK HERE and you will get to the Insight page on the city web site.
By Staff
April 15, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Looks like a lot of people believe Spring is indeed here.
 Getting ready for golf? All those guys with the funny trousers are hauling out their bags of clubs and heading for the open spaces.
Tyandaga Golf Course will officially open for the 2016 golf season on Saturday, April 16. Golfers are invited to take advantage of a spring special on green fees which includes $45 to ride with a golf cart and $30 for golfers that are walking.
“Thanks to our maintenance crew, the course is in great condition and ready for a new golf season” so says Chris Glenn, the city’s director of parks and recreation.
Tyandaga Golf Course is located at 1265 Tyandaga Park Dr. and is one of Burlington’s most picturesque and challenging golf courses. Players wishing to book a tee time can do so online at www.tyandagagolf.com.
Tyandaga offers memberships, tournaments, clinics, private lessons, men’s and women’s league play, and in-season and off-season rentals. For more information about golfing at Tyandaga, call 905-336-0005 or visit www.tyandagagolf.com.
By Ray Rivers
April 15, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Peace and quiet – not what I expected to find in a city with three million people, the eighth largest in Europe and with a war going on only a few hundred kms away. There are no military tanks on the streets, no machine-gun toting soldiers protecting major institutions and no bombs falling from the sky. If one were looking for that kind of excitement – it’s just not here.
With an economy less than half the size of fellow slavic neighbour Poland, there are a surprising number of modern Euro sedans clogging the streets of Kyiv (Kiev) almost as badly as in the rest of the continent. But the sidewalks are cleaner than Paris and there are no obvious signs of homelessness or drunkenness, though that seems impossible. And again to my surprise, young plugged-in women and men are seen strolling about the streets in the evenings, apparently free from fear for their personal safety.
Shops, restaurants and museums abound, along with ample open spaces and parks to accommodate families and the few tourists who make it over here. The city has a subway system that could give Toronto a few lessons and the architecture is strikingly old world, except in the suburbs where Soviet styled apartment blocks still dominate the skyline. Even the newly reformed police force has been outfitted with Prius patrol cars, giving them a very mod look.
What makes this so impressive is that the country is under siege. Yes, Russia is back in full imperial dress and determined to keep Ukraine as part of its revisionist empire, even if it has to kill all the Ukrainians. Over two years and 10,000 deaths after first invading its neighbour, Russia is nowhere near willing to return the land it occupies. And to keep it’s neighbour on its toes Mr. Putin periodically threatens to occupy the entire nation.
But there is another danger lurking that should not be ignored. Ukraine is the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident, at Chernobyl, just some 100 kms from Kyiv. Opened in 1977 as Ukraine’s first nuclear power plant, and only the third of its kind and size in the Soviet Union, Chernobyl operated for less than a decade before a relatively simple test of safety procedures led to a massive explosion and melt down, spreading radioactive contamination across the globe though mostly predominantly in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
 The Chernobyl nuclear station after the explosion – the world is still recovering from that disaster. 2600 square kms of northern Ukraine, half the land area of PEI, is off limits because of radiation poisoning. To keep the lid on the still-emitting source, an expensive new sarcophagus is being constructed. And after 30 years there has been some environmental rebound, with reports of growing wildlife populations and the regrowth of forests in the area. These rumours have encouraged poachers to hunt animals and forage timbers for their own use, despite the inherent danger of radiation poisoning and the further spread of radioactive pollutants.
There is a long term plan to rehabilitate the area but that will not happen for another half decade. Hiroshima and Nagasaki, hit by atomic bombs in the Second World War are pretty much back to normal, though researchers are still not satisfied. Nevertheless for nations operating nuclear power plants this does beg the question of whether those facilities are more dangerous than an attack by a nuclear weapon.
And speaking of radiation, the lowly field mushroom has come under attack as well in Ukraine. Apparently fungi are particularly adept at absorbing radioactive contaminants making them unsafe to consume. Yet, there are few activities more traditional that wild mushroom gathering in this part of the world. Mushroom hunting provides a source of recreation as well as nutrition, something that has become even more important for those struggling to survive in the Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.
 Mushroom fields – Of course there are those who brush off all of this talk of danger. A few folks who refused to leave the contaminated area are boasting they have reached a good ripe age notwithstanding – something akin to those folks who smoked all their lives but never succumbed to lung cancer. But, not me, my immune system isn’t that good. I’m avoiding the wild mushrooms that feature in just about every menu here.
I attended a choral performance to lament those victims of Chernobyl who passed some thirty years ago. Once again I was impressed with the lack of fuss over security as I carried my backpack into an assembly which included government officials and other dignitaries. Perhaps that is how it is. Perhaps one just gets numbed by what could wrong when so much has and does.
After all, this is a nation which has always known conflict and domination by other nations, including Greeks, Turks, Polish, Swedes, Russians, and Germans…. My Ukrainian grandparents had Austrian birth certificates. So it is understandable why they would not be spooked by Russia, and why they’d be totally blasé about the dangers of eating those tasty wild mushrooms.
Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington where he ran as a Liberal against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province. Rivers is no longer active with any political party.
Background links:
Poland and Ukraine Chernobyl
Chernobyl Disaster
European Contamination
Radioactive Deer
Mushroom Hunting –
Mushrooms – More Mushrooms
Even More Mushrooms Chernobyl Survivors More Survivors Nuked Cities More Nukes Cities –
By Staff
April 14, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
An update on the Mount Nemo Plateau Heritage Conservation District Study will be held on Monday, May 2, 2016 at Councillor John Taylor’s Ward 3 spring meeting.
While the City remains committed to protecting the special character of rural Burlington, city staff are recommending that City Council not proceed with the Mount Nemo Study.
At the meeting on May 2, city staff will:
Describe the chronology of events related to the Mount Nemo Study that have brought us to this point
Summarize the community response to the Mount Nemo Study received to date
Outline future opportunities to be involved in rural initiatives, such as the City of Burlington Official Plan Review.
 Where will the arguments to continue with the study come from? Why the shift in thinking? Participants will also have the opportunity to ask questions of staff and offer comments. All questions and comments will be recorded for consideration in current and future City planning initiatives.
Date: Monday, May 2, 2016
Time: 7 – 8 p.m.
Location: Conservation Halton Auditorium, 2596 Britannia Rd, Burlington
Why the change?
Because there is a new planner running the department? Or because cuts have to be made somewhere and this isn’t worth the cost? Will not continuing with the study make any difference?
It was contentious from the beginning.
 By Staff
April 14, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Investigators have linked the April 4th 2016 robbery at the Continental Currency Exchange to a series of bank robberies in Belleville, Cobourg, Toronto and York
Region.
 Gun seized by police. Following a joint investigation with Belleville Police Service, Cobourg Police Service, Toronto Police Service and York Regional Police Service, Zak Bayfield, 40, of Whitby, was arrested on Wednesday, April 13, 2016.
He is charged with numerous criminal offences including robbery while armed with a firearm and disguise with intent in relation to this robbery.
The accused is scheduled to appear in court at 1911 Eglinton Avenue East in Toronto on Thursday, April 14, 2016, in courtroom 412, at 10 a.m.
By Pepper Parr
April 14th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
This probably means that warmer weather is going to arrive and stay for a while.
The Cycling Committee has invited residents to attend a series of free cycling seminars to help prepare for the 2016 spring and summer cycling season.
There are four topics that will be covered during the seminars, which run at Burlington Public Library branches this spring.
 For Rob Narejko a good ride on one of his bikes is better than a night out. A passionate believer in greater use of bicycles, N has served on the city’s cycling committee for some time. He recently led a night ride that had some 20+ people out on the roads at night. Awesome Bike Gear for 2016 – Wednesday, April 27, 7 to 9 p.m. – Central Branch
A variety of local bike shops will share the latest in cool cycling gear for 2016. From stylish cycle-friendly clothing to tech/training gear, to fun and trendy bike accessories and fabulous equipment for family rides. Local bike experts will answer gear questions after the seminar.
 Bikes parked outside a Burlington school – both board of education and city hall would like to see more students biking to school and fewer parents driving their children to school. Bike Maintenance 101
Saturday, April 30, 10 to 11:30 a.m. – Central Branch
Wednesday, May 4, 7 to 8:30 p.m. – Central Branch
Saturday, May 14, 2 to 3:30 p.m. – Alton Branch
Learn about basic bike maintenance that can be done at home. Start the bike season off right with a properly maintained bike for an easier and safer ride. This includes a keynote presentation from Rolling Horse Community Cycle.
Bike Safety
Saturday, May 7, 2 to 3 p.m. – Alton Branch
Monday, May 16, 7 to 8 p.m. – Central Branch
Saturday, June 4, 10 to 11 a.m. – Central Branch
This seminar will cover the rules of the road, must-have bike accessories, the roles and responsibilities of cyclists and motorists, hazards and the proper way to ride on-road bike lanes, bike sharrows and bike paths.
Bike Infrastructure around the World – Wednesday, June 1, 7 to 9 p.m. – Central Branch
Which cities are doing cycling infrastructure right? What creations of pro-cycling design around the world could Burlington learn from? Explore cycling infrastructure projects from around the world.
The seminars are free but sign-up is required.
For more information about the Burlington Cycling Committee and these free seminars, visit www.burlington.ca/cycling. To sign up for any of the seminars, call Burlington Public Library – Central Branch at 905-639-3611, ext. 1321.
All this attention to getting bikes ready just might do something for the city’s transportation modal split – and if you don’t know what a modal split is – ask the people who tell you how to get your bike ready – this is what they are all about.
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