 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON September 10, 2012 The team was supposedly shut down because they couldn’t field a full squad – but that wasn’t the way the Bateman Wilds saw things so they took to the streets with an early Monday morning sidewalk protest in front of the school.
 Bateman High’s Phys-Ed staff didn’t think the school could field a full squad and took steps to cancel the fall program. Football players took to the streets in protest Chris Bishop – certainly a football player given his size, was the spokesperson for the group and the person who sang the team cheer the loudest.
 There are teachers at Bateman High that would like to see this much effort IN the classroom. The football players take their message to the streets. If a football squad needs 30 people, there were more than 30 enthusiastic students out there this morning. `We`re here for the day” explained Bishop, as he headed back to the fellow football players on the side walk exhorting every car that passed to honk their horns in support.
Bishop added that “if you put enough pressure on something there will be a change” and he fully expects the staff at the high school to rescind the decision.
Bishop thinks the school didn’t give the football players the time they needed to pull their team together and feels they acted a little too early in shutting them down.
 Not everyone at Bateman High focuses on football. This crowd, steps away from the protest, chats away before time to get into a classroom approaches. Different folks – different strokes. Bateman High, located on New street east of Appleby Line is your typical large school where cars stream into the driveway to let students out and buses slip in and out efficiently.
Many of the students knew nothing about the football protest. Like any other suburban high school there are different groups; the “fashion plates” are easy to identify; the geeks not so easy but they are there. The women on the field hockey team with their sticks in hand as well as the “couple” that have something going.
The chatter between the different groups is loud at times, but not unduly so. They carry a lot of books in those bags on their shoulders.
They stream off the bus that stops in in front of the school and all seem to arrive in large bunches.
 Female student casually dropped the donut wrapper on the ground and puffed away on her cigarette while enjoying her coffee. The wrapper, shown on the right, blew away into the street. Not the best or the brightest at Bateman High. There are the “cool” ones; the slightly older crowd who, the morning I was there certainly weren’t anything to be proud of. The smoking was bad enough – don’t they read? – but the blatant littering – one swishy female student just dropped the donut wrapper on the ground, while another cool dude with the crowd kept spitting on the sidewalk. They certainly weren’t representative of the crowd; this lot did little for the schools reputation.
 Bateman High staff look on as student protesters wave their signs and tell their side of the story. Can staff and students work this out? Will the Bateman Wild be on the field this season? Stay tuned The football players planned on being on the street for the day. At some point they will meet with the principal and the Phys-Ed people and work out a solution. Someone in the Phys-Ed department is wishing the students had shown this level of enthusiasm earlier in the football season. First practice is a couple of days away. Will the “Wild” be on the field? In strength?
Could this kind of enthusiasm take them to the finals?
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON September 9, 2012 The Mayor had lunch with Eric the Great, the chief cheese at the hospital; who picked up the tab?
 Mayor Goldring lunched with hospital President Eric Vandewall – who picked up the tab? Many people in the city shuddered when the sod was turned in Hamilton for the new Navistar plant that will open there in 2013. That was our lunch Hamilton was eating.
Navistar has been in Burlington for more than 50 years. It began as International Harvester- the road is named after them. They were one of the biggest farm implement manufacturers in the world.
They felt they needed to move out of Burlington and were looking at Mississauga as a possible new location when smart people in Hamilton – saw the opportunity and moved really fast and scooped the opportunity. They are now going to be in a new building sometime in 2014.
In 1958, Harvester International poured in nearly $12 million to build the 215,000 sq.-ft. building that still stands today. A 38,000 sq.-ft. butler’s building has since been attached to the original edifice to store extra product.
The Burlington location was chosen for its close proximity to the QEW and major highways, Pearson International Airport and the C.N.R. railway tracks for swift shipment across the nation. Nothing about the transportation part of the equation has changed – but as a Navistar official recently told the Hamilton Spectator: wasn’t on Navistar’s site selection radar the “can do” attitude of city officials changed that.
“Navistar was looking for a location and our location was not on the list of preferred sites,” he said. “We met with the mayor on one day’s notice and he said the city would do everything possible to make this happen. We do developments in many places, but Hamilton has shown it is truly the place to invest. Hamilton is clearly a municipality that wants investment and can deliver service.”
Here’s to another 50 years of Navistar in the community, said an official at the time. So much for that statement.
A good one got away on us – and no one has yet given a really good reason for that happening.
No shortage of land in this city for an operation of that size. With the plant go 60 some odd jobs – Burlington gets left with a site that will be vacant for some time. We didn’t do so good on the economic development front on this one.
The city has three senior positions they want to fill. A new fire chief, a new Director of transit, a new third general manager. The plan apparently is to bring in the third general manager first and then have that person oversee the new hires
The city ran three really small pictures of the finalist in the public art selection for the front of the Performing Arts Centre. The pictures, which appeared as part of an advertisement in City Update, a supplement to a local newspaper, were smaller than a business card. Not sure why they bothered – or did they think that was as much as the public could handle?
 One of the two Chef’s that will do a cooking duel at the Farmer’s Market next Friday was announced during the week. Barry Imber got really creative and set up a duel between two of the Chef’s over at Spencer’s Restaurant on the Waterfront that will take place at the Farmer’s Market September 14th.
 A strictly business crowd may not be a place for a children’s party service provider to drum up some business – but Laura Martin keeps saying – they all know people who have children. Laura Martin, operator of a home daycare business as well as the lady who runs a children’s party business, told her Facebook friends: “I’m going to my first Business Networking event tonight, I’m excited! Maybe I’ll see some of you there.” The Business in Burlington group, that meets once a month at the Waterfront Hotel asked men to show up in Bermuda shorts – that request fell a little short but Laura Martin was there networking like crazy.
A city Council committee got the final report from the Heritage Advisory Committee – expect to see some conflict with the way the Planning Department view the heritage file and the recommendations in the report – which is a solid step forward – but probably not the final say on the subject.
There was enough steel on the pier for the construction crews to work a Saturday shift. Progress on the construction side. Nothing that we can report yet on the legal side.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON September 4, 2012 Our Burlington is going to shift gears a bit and spend less time covering city council meetings and some city council committee meetings. The shift will be gradual and the focus will move to finishing items that were started and want to finish. But we will no longer cover council committee meetings on a regular basis.
The web site was designed to be a newspaper on a web site; something that would cover as much of what goes on in the city as possible without the space constrains the print media faces. We had the added advantage of being able to maintain the content and make it available at any time. No one wraps fish bones with our pages.
As an experiment and as a response to the Shaping Burlington recommendations – Our Burlington has succeeded.
Why the change? Energy, financial, legal, but mostly the realization that what we started out to do, was not achievable by one person and at this stage in my life, it is not prudent to use the limited resources of a retiree for a project that might produce enough revenue to cover the cost of operation.
We foolishly thought the job that needed to be done could be done on a part time basis. The truth was that the job required seven days a week with me at the keyboard till well past 1:00 am far too many days.
My wife, the reason I came to Burlington, wondered what she had gotten herself into. We haven’t been able to spend the time together that we expected.
We haven’t been to a play yet this year – haven’t managed a night out to a movie either – thank goodness for DVD’s.
We are at the $20,000 level in terms of real cash we have spent on the newspaper on a web site – could have gotten elected to Council for that amount of money.
I am fortunate to have a small circle of advisers who don’t, for the most part, have a political axe to grind. Their advice has been consistent – make the changes you need to make
I started a theology class at McMaster a year ago, and while I bought the text books, I didn’t get to read most of them and I completed just one of the term papers. I hope that in the months ahead I will have the time to continue my study of Isaiah and perhaps return to the classroom. The choice was the Waterfront Advisory Committee or Isaiah – wisdom prevailed. That committee has four more meetings left in its life – they won’t be ignored.
I migrated from Toronto, where I lived in The Beach and found life rich and fulfilling there. I am an urban animal and loved, fed off and contributed to the community I lived in. It will come as no surprise to you that I was the founder, 45 years ago, of a weekly community newspaper that still publishes 40 pages a week.
The world of suburbia is not one that I have taken to very easily. I used to be able to get into Toronto once every three or four weeks for my “urban “fix” but the demands of the web site curtailed that pleasure.
 Without the Escarpment – we might as well merge with Oakville. Burlington has so many positive things going for it: the geography is such a gift, your children will not be shot to death on the main streets, it is for the most part a crime free city, although that is changing with the number of criminals who see this city as easy pickings.
What constantly surprises me is how Burlington, with all that it has going for it, is so bland. We are known for nothing. A city as wealthy as this one is, doesn’t seem capable of excelling at something. We have a terrible school board; one that doesn’t seem to care about real education and is close to incapable of listening to the parents of the children who attend the schools it runs. Senior people within the Board of Education actually deliberately fail to tell parents the truth. And they get away with it. Thank Mike Harris for that one with his decision to gut the system of school trustees we had.
Burlington accepts gas prices that are usually three to four cents a litre higher here than they are in Hamilton, yet far too many people go bananas when members of Council get a pay raise that is determined by an independent citizens committee. The city has values that are incompatible with each other.
This city fails to appreciate the amount of time our Council members put in. Few fully understand that their council members do double duty as Regional Councillors. And we pay them a portion of what they are worth.
The seven of them oversee a city that has more than 1,000 full time equivalents and they oversee a budget that is one of the largest in the city. And we pay them something around $120,000 a year; little wonder we are not able to attract the kind of talent the city needs to serve as council members.
 The Mayor is out close to every evening each week. His ward is the whole city and every one wants a piece of him. Not a healthy life for a man with daughters that need face time. They are out close to half of the evenings in a week; they take telephone calls at home every night. The amount of time Mayor Goldring spends on civic business isn’t healthy.
There is a lot to look into: What do the sales numbers at the Performing Arts Centre look like? If they were great we would be hearing all about them. We’re not hearing anything – that’s a clue.
Where are we with employment lands? Council and some member of the community got their nickers in a knot when it was announced that a church was going to be built on a piece of land that faced onto the 407 – which meant an opportunity for a corporation to show their name and trade mark to those passing by was lost. I kind of thought that a cross was a pretty good trade mark and one that I certainly want to see out there for everyone to see. But the Economic Development Corporation spokesperson didn’t see it that way, Unfortunate. Was there the sound of relief when we learned that it was going to be an Anglican church and not a mosque?
Speaking of employment lands – what is going to be done with the downtown core? Are we going to build a new city hall and stop paying rent to property owners? Is city hall talking to Paletta International about some kind of a land deal? And is it time to know more about what the Paletta’s have planned with their other property holdings? The tendency is to look at developers as rapacious – but if we knew the full story of the Paletta family, I think there is a great success story to be told. We will see what we can do at that level in the future.
Eagle Heights and the development at Tremaine and Dundas needs more attention. There was some very good citizen involvement on the Tremaine development that we have yet to tell you about.
 For a park of this dimension – this was the best that could be done for the Official Opening. Had they called it Apeldoorn Park – there would have been hundreds of people on the site – still a chance to change the name. The story of the City View Park will unfold once the Pan Am Games are over – it is a little on the messy side. Now that the city has pulled the plug on the re-development of the Roads and Parks Maintenance building on Elgin the embarrassingly little park that was going to have the name of our sister city Apeldoorn attached to it won’t happen. Hopefully the Dutch community in Burlington will push to have City View Park, from which by the way – you can’t actually see the city – or so I am told by my colleague David Auger.
The Pier needs constant watching – we appear to have the construction issues under control – the legal issues and the financial fallout from that has the potential to take the cost of that pier up to as high as $20 million. Ouch!
 Beachway Park – one of the most significant stretches of water open to the public in the province. The Beachway has tremendous potential for the city – but the city is going to have to get a wiggle on and actually take charge of this one – or we will end up with next to nothing.
The Official Plan review is going to need all kinds of help. As a subject is as dry as toast and some very creative initiatives are going to have to come out of city hall if the public is to get an opportunity to have a meaningful part in this process. That will need to be followed.
The development of the east waterfront – with all kinds of possibilities has to be given a new home. The demise of the Waterfront Access Committee means there is no longer a focus on this part of the city – other than what the Planning department chooses to do. It will get developed – there are developers who already have dibs on critical pieces of the puzzle. The when and the how any development down there takes place is something this city can and should determine. Former Toronto Mayor David Crombie talked about the power of a “bully pulpit” but Mayor Goldring hasn’t managed yet to master that skill.
Ensuring that the Escarpment isn’t abused and ravaged by highways that really aren’t needed is an ongoing concern, as is what we are actually going to do with all that property between Dundas and Derry Road –there is very little real farming going on in that part of the city. Instead it has become an enclave of the very well off who have large estates – there is a 20,000 square foot home looking for approval on Cedar Springs Road – and that is just the beginning.
For those with more money than they can count – there are some great offerings along Guelph, Walkers and Appleby Lines.
The quality and calibre of our representatives at the federal and provincial level is disappointing. Is this the best we can do? The Tory’s had to recruit McKenna who brought no experience or predilection for politics. Marvellous Mike Wallace was to be the Mayor that followed Rob MacIsaac into that office but Cam Jackson pulled a fast one and scooped up that prize. Then when Jackson was booted out as Mayor he wasn’t exactly able to go to Wallace for some kind of a federal appointment.
The city has treated Jackson terribly. He wasn’t a disastrous Mayor. He didn’t do anything illegal. And yet there wasn’t a dinner for him to wish him well and send him along to the next phase of his career. Cam Jackson was a career politician. Many claim he was a career politician in high school – a genuine product of the community. His treatment since losing office has been pretty shabby.
This city can produce better than what we have in terms of federal and provincial representation. It’s out there – it just has to be encouraged, nurtured and supported.
So – you can see – there is a lot to be done.
We’ve also found that our readership, which has grown 10% every month for the past six months, and we haven’t spent a dime on advertising or promotion, wants more about their community and what takes place where they live.
Sports has been all but neglected and for a city with some 10,000 kids playing soccer and six Olympians amongst, that is a serious oversight.
And then there is the Board of Education and the Police Services Board and the Region. It just never ends.
We will persevere.
.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON September 9, 2012 We haven’t done very much on sports in Burlington – it comes down to the manpower we have available. Saturday afternoon, while returning from an interview I noticed a lot of people in Palmer Park standing there holding umbrellas in a pretty consistent rain. I pulled over and parked.
 It was raining, the ground was wet, slippery and the football was hard to hang onto – but the game went on. There were two games going on – and it was wet. The players were slipping and sliding and there was a lot more falling on the ball than passing it – but it was high school level football. I took some pictures, asked a bystander who was playing and what the name of the league was.
 Parents buy the equipment, drive their kids to the practices and the games – and then have the joy of sitting in the rain to take it all in. The joys of being parents. The Argos and the Alouettes of the Burlington Minor Football Association were on the field I was looking at. Came home, downloaded the pictures and wondered how I could work them into a story.
Because community journalism is something that is always fresh and full of surprises – here is the balance of the story.
“My name is Christopher J. Bishop and I am a returning student at Robert Bateman High School (RBHS). Last year I was a part of the senior football team of our school. We did not win many games, but we had one thing, and it was heart. We were a family. Many of my brothers of the team stayed an extra year to play the sport we love, with the most returning students we’ve seen. Last year we played with a roster of around 18 members. Every year we have training camp in the summer before school and our season starts to get trained and a step up on other schools. This year was a bit different; we had new members added to our family, Coach Kevin Holmes and Coach Podlewski. With more than 20 years of coaching experience and time played in the CFL, the team had a new program ahead of them, and was ready to pave a path for the years to come of Bateman football.
“We regularly had 18 players out to practices just like the previous years, training harder and learning the game of football better than we ever had before. With dedication and commitment we were excited for our new season of ball, and being a part of the change. A week before today, our goal was to get 20 players out to have an even more successful year than the last.
“We still made it out to practice and spread the word around the school. Last night though around 5:00PM it changed. The director of physical education at our school, Tim Middlebro, told the coaches to tell the team that we were cancelling the team and folding the season.
“Students and players spoke to coaches, staff, and administration to see if there was any way of participating this season with our team, the Wild. Principal Regan Heffernan spoke to members of the team explaining that the issue was the lack of players coming out.
“Mr. Heffernan suggested that if 30 players were out to practice the decision would be reconsidered by the school. Taking the knowledge, players of the team rallied together using social networking to assemble an increased line-up of players for the team. Then today, with a shocking number of 32 players gathered, the team was told that Tim Middlebro went to a pre-season football conference the night before with the board explaining he wanted the team cancelled.
 The students on the Bateman High School football team would love an opportunity to play in the rain. According to their side of the story they are not being given the chance they feel they deserve. “The team arrived at our change room to find the door locked and nobody was there to open it. We had to search for a phys-ed teacher who reluctantly opened it. We shortly then after were forced out of the room by our ex-coach, Geoff St-Dennis. He had not yet been involved in the senior program this year, yet however today, he made his second appearance. They told us we couldn’t practice without a coach and that we’d have to leave, however, Coach Podlewski was waiting to see his 30+ players in the parking lot near the side of the field. Once the staff heard of this, they told us we couldn’t practice because “there was no longer a senior football program at Robert Bateman High School.” Within a moment our new found ‘family’ had been ripped apart.
“Many of the players took a stand, telling the coaches it was unfair, bringing up points on how we hadn’t even been given a time frame or knowledge that the team would be folded. The coaches, who decided to coach junior this year, informed us that we were folding the team because they were afraid that if our senior team folded, our junior team would receive a penalty or suspension from the league for the next year. They stripped senior students of their chance to play one last time so the program would have a chance in later years. Some of our players returned solely for football. I looked around the room seeing players in tears. Grown, high school, football jocks crying. We tried to fight hard. We did everything we could within our school to keep our program alive, but our coaches stabbed us in the back.
 For a parent watching a BMFA game on a rainy Saturday afternoon – a fashion statement is still possible. “Tomorrow, we will be protesting out front of our school. Signs, People, anything we can get our hands on to bring attention. We hope that you will be able to join us because all we want is for people to know that we want a football team. We are hoping for more than 100 players, students, parents, and community members coming together for the cause.”
We will try and be there – learn what’s going on.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON September 8, 2012 – This is a dodgy subject; what do you say when you learn that someone you know took their own life or that a member of a family you know well committed suicide. You’re stunned and you wonder if there was something you should have done, could have done. And what do you do now?
Society is at least talking about suicide. The Region of Halton is partnering with the Talking about Addictions and Mental Illness (TAMI) program to offer two community forums to help break the stigma associated with suicide, help people to talk openly about suicide, and show how everyone has a role to play in suicide prevention
Personally I’ve never understood the stigma sometimes attached to suicide – these are family tragedies that need the help, compassion, understanding and support of the community to be part of the healing.
 There is a point where utter desolation becomes more than a person can handle. An understanding of what depression is; what it does and how best to cope with it is part of the process. Ignoring it or even worse stigmatizing it socially just drives this very real problem underground where we can’t deal with it .
Monday, September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, and the Halton Suicide Prevention Coalition (HSPC) is partnering with the Talking about Addictions and Mental Illness (TAMI) program to offer two community forums.
Both events will be running from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. on the following dates and locations:
September 10: Holy Trinity High School – Theatre, 2420 Sixth Line, Oakville
September 13: Craig Kielburger Secondary School – Auditorium, 1151 Ferguson Drive, Milton
Suicide can be a difficult subject to talk about and that often stops individuals and families from reaching out for support. Regional chair Gary Carr adds: “That’s why I think it’s wonderful that both the Coalition and the TAMI program are coming together to help reduce the stigma and use World Suicide Prevention Day as an opportunity to open the dialogue.”
 “I am sure the event will be powerful as those who attend will hear from both a professional from the HSPC and a speaker sharing his personal experience with suicide. I’m also looking forward to attending the Coalition’s annual general meeting (AGM) on November 9 where Mr. Bob Rae, Member of Parliament, Toronto-Centre will be the keynote speaker detailing Canada’s National Suicide Prevention Strategy. I hope Halton residents will take the time to attend either the community forums or the coming AGM.”
Halton Region plays a key role in both the Coalition and TAMI. Funding is provided by Halton Regional Council. Professional staff from the Health Department work directly with community partners sharing their expertise and experience. Those partners include: Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Halton Branch, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), The Schizophrenia Society of Ontario (SSO), the Phoenix Program, ADAPT (Halton Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Assessment, Prevention and Treatment Services), the Halton District School Board, the hospital sector and individuals affected by suicide.
Mental health needs the same attention and resources as physical health. One is no less important than the other.
For anyone who is suffering from depression, having suicidal thoughts, or is a survivor of suicide, help is available in Halton. Visit HSPC’s website for more information about suicide prevention and resources.
For information about services available to those struggling with mental health issues, visit Halton Region’s website, or call the Family Health Information Line and speak directly with a public health nurse.
Chairman Carr puts this perfectly when he says: “Together, we can break the silence and reduce the stigma to help save someone’s life.” The key word is ‘together’.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON September 10, 2012 Beds will be on the move up Brant Street on Sunday, Sept. 23 as the annual Amazing Bed Race returns.
From noon to 3 p.m. teams will compete to see who can push a bed the fastest over a straight-line 100-metre course starting from City Hall.
The event raises funds for The Rotary Club of Burlington North and the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital Foundation. In its first two years, the Amazing Bed Race has raised more than $170,000.
 As long as all the wheels are on at the Finish Line – 100 yards away – it’s legit. Thirty-nine teams participated last year with 34 registered so far this year. Teams will fund raise, build or borrow a bed, decorate it and race it.
Each team is guaranteed two races. They will be timed with the fastest 16 squads moving into a single elimination round. Teams will race two at a time with the fastest of the 16 being declared the overall winner.
Last year’s event added a Kids Stroller Race and it will be held again this year. It is open to kids between the ages of 4 and 12. They will race with their own stroller in a straight line for 25 metres wearing a helmet. It runs from 12:45-1:15 p.m.
 Amazing Bed Race. The event is a fund raiser for the hospital foundation. Prizes will be awarded to the grand champion bed-racing winner, to the top fundraising team and for the best-decorated bed/team.
Registration has been extended to Sept. 13. Day-of sign in is at 11 a.m. If you are interested in registering a team, sponsorships, fundraising or need more information, contact Emma Fitzpatrick at the Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital Foundation by e-mailing efitzpatrick@jbmh.com or calling 905-632-3737, ext. 5542.
Donations can be made at https://www.amazingbedrace.ca/.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON September 7, 2102 It was blatant. Three woman walked into a store at the Burlington Mall August 13th, and began taking baseball caps off the shelves and stuffing them into the large shoulder bag one of them was carrying.
The police did what police do and earlier this week one of the three suspects was arrested and is being held for a bail hearing later today.
The crime took place at the ‘Lids’ store located at the Mapleview Mall.
One woman has been arrested; two others are being sought. The suspect threatened to cut the employee if he did not let go of the purse. The victim complied and all three suspects fled the scene. Estimated value of stolen property is $1600.
As the suspects were leaving the store, a store employee confronted them and grabbed the purse containing the stolen property. The suspect responded by brandishing a utility knife that was concealed in her bra. The suspect arrested, is believed to have been the one armed with the knife. The other suspects are still being sought.
Arrested is:
Alicia CALDERON, 32 years, of Brampton. CHARGES: Robbery, Possession of a Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose, Carrying a Concealed Weapon.
The two additional suspects are described as:
#1 – non-white, 5’6″ – 5’7″, 160-170 pounds, long black hair, wearing a short sleeved t-shirt, beige shorts, pink or white baseball cap and yellow flip flops
#2 – non-white, 5’6″ – 5’7″, 160-170 pounds, short black hair, wearing a black and white handkerchief wrapped around her head, grey pants or possibly blue jeans and a black short sleeved t-shirt
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905 825-4747 x2315, Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-TIPS(8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637(crimes).
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON September 6, 2012 Three days into the school year and a school bus mounts a curb, strikes a tree, crashes through an iron fence and comes to a precarious perch atop a retaining wall adjacent to Bronte Harbour. Shortly before 8 a.m. a school bus was southbound on Bronte Road near Marine Drive (in the Bronte Harbour District) when for unknown reasons it left the roadway.
Emergency crews were called to the scene and the unresponsive driver, a 62 yr old Burlington man, was removed from the bus and rushed to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. Two boys, brothers aged 11 and 7, were also removed from the bus. They were uninjured and turned over to the care of their mother. The students were picked up at their stop minutes before the crash.
The driver was transferred to Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga where he remains in serious condition. Due to the condition of the driver, the Collision Reconstruction Unit (C.R.U.) has taken carriage of the investigation. Bronte Road between Lakeshore Road and Marine Drive was closed for three and a half hours while the investigation took place.
No other vehicles were involved in this collision and luckily no pedestrians were hurt. The area is usually busy with a high volume of pedestrians and business operators starting their day. The retaining wall and fence are being inspected by Town of Oakville officials.
The bus has been seized by police and will be undergoing a mechanical inspection; a routine part of the reconstruction investigation. Investigators will also be looking at the possibility of a medical issue on the part of the driver.
Police will not be releasing the names of the driver, students or destination school. The bus is operated by Attridge Transportation Incorporated based out of Burlington.
Several witnesses have already come forward, any further witnesses are asked to contact the Collision Reconstruction Unit.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON September 6, 2012 Next Friday September 14, Centro Market is hosting special guest chefs Chris Haworth and Andrew McLeod with their mobile demonstration kitchen – aka “the pen”.
 The Dueling Chef’s from Spencer’s on the Waterfront will choose produce from a stand like this and whip up a meal on the spot at the Farmer’s Market on John Street – behind Centro Gardens. Stick around and you could get to taste the results. The match-up — these two local chefs will pick from the Centro Farm Market’s fresh ingredients to create an amazing dish — live, in gritty real time. They’ll have 1 hour to select ingredients and then duke it out to prepare their dish ready to serve to the lucky visitors of the market.
Market goers will sample their amazing food and judge who’s the victor of the Chef Street Fight. That simple but oh so fun.
The market will be set up with theatre seating and tables to enjoy the food. So come down to shop the market, support your local farmers and stay for the entertainment and a bite for lunch.
So – are we seeing some raza mataz in the downtown core? Barry Imber the driving force behind the idea of a Farmer’s Market in the downtown core is hoping that the “duel” will attract people that didn’t even know the market existed.
The market runs from noon to 2:00 pm on Friday. A not to be missed event.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON Sept. 5, 2012— Watch for painted signs along the side of more than two dozen roadways in Burlington. The city is installing 285 new sharrows throughout the city on streets identified in the city’s Cycling Master Plan as proposed bicycle priority streets.
 At $95 a pop – tax included – the city is putting in a couple of dozen of these. They are called sharrows and they tell drivers to share the road with cyclists. Sharrows are bicycle use road markings that are painted on the road where a complete bike lane barrier cannot be installed. The markings are meant to attract cyclists who prefer to ride on less busy streets and help increase driver awareness.
“The city’s efforts in improving our cycling infrastructure demonstrate our long-term commitment to promoting and encouraging active transportation in Burlington,” said Scott Stewart, general manager of development and infrastructure.
Burlington received the Bicycle Friendly Community bronze medal award from the Share the Road Cycling Coalition last August. Share the Road is an Ontario-based non-profit organization that promotes bicycling as a mode of transportation, recreation and fitness through provincial advocacy.
Work crews are installing 285 sharrows on the following streets:
• Millcroft Park Drive from Dundas Street to Walkers Line
• William O’Connell Boulevard from Millcroft Park Drive to Upper Middle Road
• Jordan Avenue from Walkers Line to Headon Road
• Headon Road from Palmer Drive to Headon Forest Drive
• Forest Run Avenue from Walker’s Line to Bianca Forest Drive
• Bianca Forest Drive from Forest Run Avenue to Pincay Oaks Lane
• Headon Forest Drive from Headon Road to Northampton Boulevard
• Northampton Boulevard from Headon Forest Drive to Dundas Street
• Duncaster Drive from Upper Middle Road to Cavendish Drive
• Coventry Way from Cavendish Drive to Guelph Line
• Tyandaga Park Drive from Brant Street to Kern’s Road
• Kerns Road from North Service Road to Canterbury Drive
• Mount Forest Drive from Brant to Fisher Avenue
• Fisher Avenue from Mountain Forest Drive to Mountainside Drive
• Mountainside Drive from Fisher Avenue to Guelph Line
• Mountain Grove Avenue from Mountain Forest Drive to Dead End
• Martha Street from Centennial Bikeway to Lakeshore Road
• Pine Street from Brant Street to Martha Street
• Northshore Road from Belhaven Crescent to LaSalle Park Road
• Pearl Street from Pine Street to Lakeshore Road
• Spruce Avenue from Kenwood Avenue to Hampton Heath Road
• Spruce Avenue from Goodram Drive to Appleby Line
Motorists may experience some delay while pavement markings are put in place. The work is underway and will be completed this week.
Each sharrow costs $95 to put in place. The city expects to spend approximately $31,000 this year on sharrows.
$55,000 is budgeted for cycling each year. It is used on minor cycling improvement projects……this includes installation of new bike lanes (grinding of vehicle lane pavement markings and applying new bike lanes)…..curb cuts, sharrows and signage.
Hopefully drivers will see the markings on the roadway and recognize they are expected to share the road they are using with those who choose to cycle.
Once the sharrows are in place we can perhaps see more people using side streets and locations where they can fel safe and be safe. The REAL challenge for Burlington is coming up with ways to make it safe to use a bicycle on Guelph, Walkers and Appleby Lines.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON September 5, 2012 Once they become Olympians the title is with them for life. We applaud them, we laud their achievements and in Burlington we have claimed five as our own – and then we realized we have a sixth – that being Brandon Wager who is participating at the London Paralympic Games.
 Canadian cupcakes for three of our Olympians. From the left – Mark Oldershaw, Colin Russell and Melanie Booth. Burlington held a small reception for the Olympians, it was the second such event. There was a get together in the Atrium for Colin and Sinead Russell, held to accommodate Sinead’s travel plans. She was leaving the next day to begin her sports scholarship at a university in Florida.
The event Tuesday evening was larger and included Melanie Booth and Mark Oldershaw. Melanie was part of the soccer team that dazzled Canadians who felt the pain when the Canadian team lost the opportunity to bring home Gold – but we happily accepted bronze and know that next time out the world is going to watch a superior soccer team.
Oldershaw, who is the fifth member of his family to take part in the Olympics, was on hand. The man has a remarkably laid back approach to people and speaks exceptionally well. We will see more of this man.
Both athletes in the room passed their medal around and let anyone wear it for a while.
 The unpredictable weather resulted in a small crowd. Other activities kept MP Mike Wallace away (on vacation in Italy) while MP Jane McKenna was in the Legislature debating a bill to ensure teachers don’t walk out. The Mayor came close to getting all mushy about that final soccer game when the Canadian team earned bronze medals Mayor Goldring came close to getting a little carried away with himself when he spoke of watching every minute of the soccer game “that brought home” the bronze medals. Didn’t we all do that?
These young men and woman went to personal lengths few of us manage to do in our lives. Mindless hours of putting their bodies through routine after routine. They take on a lifestyle that shuts out many of the pleasures and pleasantries the rest of us enjoy day in and day out.
 This is what an Olympian wears when they want to make a fashion statement. They push their bodies to limits the rest of us don’t even think about doing. They go without. They take a pass on opportunities that don’t fit in with the lifestyle of being an Olympian,
We remember them when they win medals and forget them if they don’t. We want their autographs when they win and don’t even recognize them when they just take part in the Games.
For the record – here is what these remarkable men and woman did:
Melanie Booth; Bronze medal in Woman’s soccer
Scott Dickens, Men’s 100 m breaststroke, Men’s 200 m breaststroke, Men’s 4×100 Medley Relay
Mark Oldershaw; Bronze medal in 1×1000 m canoe sprint.
Colin Russell: Men’s 4×100 Freestyle relay, Men’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay. Colin retired from Olympic competition this year.
Sinead Russell; Woman’s 100 m backstroke, Woman’s 200 m backstroke.
Brandon Wager; currently at the Paralympic Games
 Susan Fraser brought her canoe paddle to the civic reception for the Olympians hoping that Mark Oldershaw would autograph it for her. He willingly signed the paddle which will probably never go into the water again. The beauty of an electronic media is that what we write is on the web site for as long as we choose to keep it there – and we are thinking in terms of decades. Among the memories will be the picture of Susan Fraser having her paddle signed by Mark Oldershaw. “What are you going to do with it now?” someone asked. “I’m taking it to bed with me tonight” replied Fraser. “My husband can sleep on the couch”.
Oldershaw was very generous in letting people handle his Bronze Medal and put it around their necks. The scene in the city hall atrium was a public adoring and honouring their Olympians.
The Paralympic Athletes had 20 medals as of this reporting with five gold in the bag. Brandon Wagner who plays basketball from his wheelchair learned his sport inAldershot. He will be honoured by the city when he returns from the games.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON September 4, 2012 It was more of a love in than a change of command – even though one guy gave the other guy a sword. Steve Tanner had come home and they were lined up to give him hugs or salute him. The Region was swearing in its new Chief of Police at the Burlington Convention Centre where it was a standing room only event.
 It was standing room only for the Change of Command and Swearing in of the new Chief of Police at the Burlington Convention Centre Tuesday. While not a very useful picture, this one shows just how packed the room was. There was a Pipe band, a choir, a colour party and an invocation from the Chaplain, and everyone reminding the audience that the Region was the safest in the country for the past five years.
Steve Tanner, who started his career as a Constable in Burlington, was back 17 years later as the Region’s Chief of Police. Along the way he was a deputy chief in Guelph and Belleville and then a Chief in Belleville and Kingston.
 The swearing in turned into a reception with Chief Tanner accepting congratulations and a few words of advice from all those who chose to shake his hand. The Chief wanted to “shake” while the citizen wants to make a point. There were accolades galore but there wasn’t much about what the new Chief was going to do.
But before the new Chief took command the event took the time to recognize the job Chief Crowell did during his command.
Crowell brought in a focus on women in the police service that was not as evident before he arrived to serve as the fifth chief of police. Crowell introduced new budget and cost controls. He introduced a higher level of transparency and efficiency. He also recognized the changing make up of the community and ensured that the different faiths were recognized and accommodated. Child and female abuse were aspects of policing that he paid particular attention to as well.
Gary Crowell turned the sword of office over to Steve Tanner, saluted the new Chief and became part of the history of the Halton Regional Police Service.
While being sworn in Steve Tanner promised to be loyal to the Queen, loyal to the constitution of Canada and both faithful and impartial in carrying out his duties as police chief.
It was clear from the background on Tanner that he is a good administrator and he is going to get every new toy the police service needs. Much mention was made of the growth of the police service – an additional 369 officers since Tanner left. But not a word about the budget or the crime issues the community faces.
Identity theft is rampant and it is our seniors that take the hardest hits on that one. Armed robbery is consistent – not very high but consistent.
Mention was made of transparency and the need to respect each other. All the words that the spin masters use were trotted out.
Tanner made mention of the people in Burlington who were formative in the development of his career. There were a number of people he chose to remember very fondly.
We don`t yet know what kind of police chief Tanner will be. Is he part of the new breed that understands and can work with the technology that wasn’t even thought of during his days as a Constable? Is the shift in the demographic makeup of the community something he is really tuned into? Does he understand the mentality of the young people that grow up in Burlington? Does he have a solid grip and understanding of how devastating the drug trade is and the role it plays in the crime in the Region?
In the next year we will gain a better understanding of the man who now leads our police service.
 One of the only people in the room carrying a weapon was this officer from the Tactical Rescue Unit. Wasn’t sure about the look he was giving me. For the most part Burlington has an excellent police service; one that is seldom challenged because the community is close to crime free. No mention was made of the number of officers we sent to the G20 conference in Toronto and what part they may have played in that event.
Domestic abuse doesn’t seem to be a problem in Burlington. We don’t hear a word about pedophiles. We do hear quite a bit about drug busts and Burlington got swept up in a banking machine scam that was taking place everywhere but the arrests were done by Burlington – so we got the TV coverage on that.
Every chief officer brings their own style to the job. Steve Tanner has solid roots in the community and understands it well – what we are getting is a man from the community who brings back solid experience gained elsewhere in the province. He also sports a mustache he didn’t appear to have in earlier pictures.
That and a badge (the same one he wore 17 years ago # 1214) should have him settled in his office nicely. Time for us to take a look at the current police budget and business plan.
 By Margaret Lindsay Holton.
BURLINGTON, ON September 4, 2012 I did not know much about this massive concrete pier that juts far out into the lake until very recently. And wow, what a discovery and treat it is. Albeit, ‘as is’, it is sadly neglected and regrettably inhospitable. Where is it? This pier is located on the northern side of the Burlington Canal entrance to the Burlington Lift Bridge, a mere stone’s throw from the downtown core.
There are actually two piers out there – the Burlington Pier and the Hamilton Pier – each one on either side the Burlington canal which is currently part of the boundary between the two cities.
 Looking a little forlorn and very unused, the Burlington Canal pier was once a hub of activity with hundreds of people on the pier waiting to board small ships passing through. Located at the far end of what is known as the Burlington Beach strip, current access is very limited. Parking is forbidden in the nearest cul-de-sac and there is no readily available public-access parking. An overgrown and narrow pathway, (a remnant of the once exulted Waterfront Trail), provides a shabby unwelcoming ‘entrance’. An untended sandy footpath veers off the paved Waterfront Trail, (that continues on under the lift bridge), to the pier.
Once on the pier – aside from truly eye-popping views – dilapidated signage, weeds bursting through surface concrete, no benches, no civilian garbage bins and little care-taking whatsoever, present a grossly overlooked civic and tourism opportunity.
 These are some of the views from the pier that Burlington already has. Well worth the walk to see the city from this vantage point. Compared to the Hamilton side of the canal, Burlington’s forgotten pier is a bit of a civic embarrassment. Hamilton’s side has clean current signage, a wider (and tidier) beach boardwalk that has convenient sturdy bench parkettes accented by historical signposts about the development of the Burlington Canal. Ample public paved parking is available beside the pier pathway. Civilian garbage bins are emptied regularly. Attractive sand grasses and natural indigenous lake vegetation grow in profusion. The area is frequented by walkers, bikers, runners, roller-bladders, birders and driving tourists. All in all, Hamilton’s side of the Burlington Canal is much more alluring then the Burlington side.
 A collage of pictures showing the state of the Hamilton pier on the west side of the Burlington Canal Both sides could upgrade their pier lamps (and maybe incorporate circular wooden benches beneath the posts?). But, as the canal is classified as federal property, perhaps this is just not possible without intense high-low-level political negotiations. Even so, clearly, both these piers are under-developed from a civic and tourism point of view – municipally, provincially and federally.
The Burlington Canal Lift Bridge was originally opened in 1826. It was among a series of Ontario waterway projects, begun over 200 years ago, to provide navigation from Lake Erie to the Atlantic Ocean. The lift bridge is, in and of itself, a mechanical marvel. Pier access, from either the Burlington or Hamilton side, gives an unprecedented opportunity to watch this grand old dame in action.
The bridge structure is a tower driven vertical bridge lift. The lift span is 380 feet long, weighs 2200 tons and has a vertical lift of 110 feet. A pulley system, originating in the two towers on either end, contains the machinery and wire ropes used to move the centre of the bridge up. There is one 150 horsepower drive motor in each tower to supply power to the machinery, and one 150 horsepower motor in each tower to synchronize the drive motors.
 Photo courtesy of Hamilton Public Library Archives There have been five different moveable bridges located on this site since the 1820s. The present bridge was opened in 1962 and carried two lanes of vehicular traffic across the canal as well as tracks for the Hamilton-Northwestern Railway until the rail tracks were removed in 1982 when the roadway over the lift bridge was widened to four lanes.
Since its installation, the lift bridge has been raised more than 166,380 times allowing the passage through the Burlington Canal of over 250,000 water vessels. On a yearly basis, the bridge will lift approximately 4000 times allowing approximately 6500 vessels to pass through before the winter freeze up. Annually, more than 1000 cargo-carrying vessels chug through the 29ft deep canal.
In January of this year, the Canadian government announced a $1.9 million contract to prepare construction drawings and specifications to upgrade the lift bridge’s 50 year old electrical systems. Construction is expected to start in 2014.
Considering that the Feds are re-investing in the bridge soon, it makes sense that the City of Burlington ramp up its own investment in the adjacent civilian area. To wit, currently underway is the ‘Burlington Beach Regional Waterfront Park Master Plan’. I missed the Public Design Consultation in June of this year, but the event was covered by Our Burlington.
Let’s hope this forgotten pier, and adjacent seemingly-abandoned Burlington park approach, get a naturally appealing Made-in-Burlington design make-over using the thriving flora and fauna native to Lake Ontario, unlike, say, a recent City of Burlington ‘out-of-sync’ wholly unsustainable park design that was developed by high-rolling out-of-towners who seem to prefer their ‘local’ parks heavily ‘botoxed’ with perfectly-proportioned fake knolls covered in tons of non-native “scientifically engineered topsoil”. There, the scalped pancake-flat bits have been smothered over with life-defying plastic grass. This plastic (and rubber infill) must, by law, (and at Burlington taxpayer’s eventual expense), go to a toxic dump when they expire in 5-10 years. And where is this dolled-up ‘visitors’ plastic park? City’s largest park, City View Park, a Federal-Provincial (read: PanAmGames) and City joint-venture costing well over $20 million, is in the Greenbelt, on top of the escarpment at Kerns Road and Dundas Street. It officially opened in June of this year, and now has the dubious distinction of being the FIRST public space within the UNESCO World Biospheres to have plastic grass. – Hey! Way to go Burlington!)
But I drift.
You will not get this sense of regional history or the riveting panoramic views or a well-developed ‘global’ education from Burlington’s tarty, puny and rather useless ‘new darling’ downtown pier. Seriously, you just wont. Instead, take the time for a good long walk on the wild and worldly side of the long forgotten Burlington Canal pier. And you just might see something like this: The Robert S. Pierson passing through the Burlington Canal.
Photography by Margaret Lindsay Holton except where otherwise noted.
Margaret Lindsay Holton is both an environmentalist and an acerbic social activist. She is an artist of some renown and the designer of a typeface. She is also a photographer and the holder of opinions she will share with you in an instant. She appears as an Our Burlington columnist every two weeks.
 REVISED.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON September 4, 2012 If you were able to get out onto the pier last week you would have seen the crane, which has computers inside that basically make it almost impossible to topple the thing, – and that’s a relief.
 We’ve been down this road before haven’t we? This time there has been so much Quality Control and Quality Assurance that it can’t fail – can it? The pieces that are horizontal between the girders are called diaphragms. Those bolt like things sticking up are there to hold the concrete in place while it settles and cures. The crane “flys” girders into place while construction workers bolt them together and then set in place steel pieces they call diaphragms – these are the cross piece that keep the long girders apart.
The pier consists of fourteen segments – each segment having three girders. Segments 1 and 2 are now complete and there is enough steel on site to get segments three and four done by this week.
The schedule calls for two and at times three segments to be completed each week. The steel fabrication problems have all been worked out and there is now a steady flow of fabricated steel that has gone through the contractors Quality Control and the city’s Quality Assurance processes on the way to the site.
 These are the guys that are on top of everything on the site. Brad Cassidy of Graham Infrastructure, Tom Eichenbaum, Director of engineering, Craig Stevens, city project manager on this project and an unidentified Graham Infrastructure employee. With four of the 14 segments done – leaves 10 to do. At two a week – that part should be done in five weeks, which gets us to the first week of October. That still leaves the node part to be built but the contractors expect to be able to build that part while the girders are being put into place.
Putting the steel girders into place and getting the diaphragms into place however, is just part of the job.
Then there is the central node – which is the device that will support the beacon tower that was to house the windmill generator. That windmill got thrown overboard, but the beacon is still very much a part of the project. This is the device that will have hundreds of LED lights that come on each evening to illuminate the pier and make it visible for miles around.
We asked Director of Engineering Tom Eichenbaum just how bright the lights will be at night and he “guestimated” they would be twice as bright as the lights inside the Performing Arts Centre are when that building is lit up at night.
While crew are working on segments six, seven and eight, form workers will be setting up the forms that will allow the pouring of concrete.
At full tilt we will see steel workers flying the beams into place, construction workers bolting them together at one location on the pier while forms are put in place at another and concrete poured at yet another – all at the same time.
Concrete needs 28 days to fully cure. Testing is done at days five and six to ensure it was a good pour.
 Brad Cassidy of Graham Infrastructure talks to crew member who will work on bolting parts into place. It is now “theoretically possible” to have the girders in place and the concrete poured before the site is shut down for the winter.
It is also “theoretically possible for the crews to work through much of the winter “if” the winter this year is as mild as it was last winter.
Craig Steven’s, the city’s project manager for the pier worked on the construction of the Performing Arts Centre and was able to work right through the winter of 2010. “We basically didn’t have a winter to deal with” and the structure they were working on was protected to a considerable degree by the parking garage next door.
However, those who work on projects that reach out into Lake Ontario will tell you that the “lake changes in September – it just becomes a different place and you can’t count on it to let you do much construction.”
We are just going to have to wait and see – for those who live or work close to the water, they have some idea as to how the lake behaves.
Brad Cassidy, Graham Infrastructure project manager on the site points out the project has been accident free. “We are very tight when it comes to safety on our project. It doesn’t pay to cut corners and the men on this project know that”, said Cassidy.
Steel was available from the fabricator before the start of the holiday weekend but the contractor, with input from the city, decided not to bring it in while RibFest was taking place; they didn’t want to disrupt that event. When you’re on the site, at least the day I was there, I felt no sense of “let’s get this done”. There wasn’t the sound of jackhammers pounding away or men swarming over parts and bolting them together. It was all kind of easy going and laid back.
 A crane with a computer program that basically prevent the thing from toppling over, wraps slings around each girder and flys them into position where they are bolted into place. Trick work that requires skilled operators. If we are counting – and everyone is counting – we are 40 weeks out from completion based on the city manager Jeff Fielding’s numbers; 41 weeks out if we are using the first number the Mayor had – but he moved back and got himself to the point where he was mentioning Thanksgiving of 2013.
The only answer anyone should be giving is – “wait and see”. But it is coming together.
While the construction part of the pier shows real progress so does the legal side of the project. The lawyers are doing their discovery work, each side is getting a deeper look at what the other side has – it isn’t a pretty picture.
The city talks of the pier coming in at something over $15 million. By the time this is all wrapped up – think in terms of $20 million and you won’t see that figure until well into the next administration – somewhere around 2016 – maybe even longer and when the bills has to be approved – it will be done as quietly as possible.
The pier will look great, we will all be very proud of the thing – but we will also have paid far, far too much for what we got. But hey – it’s only your money.
It’s development and construction will have gone through the MacIsaac administration, the Jackson administration, and the Goldring administration; we will see it settled in the Meed Ward administration and she will tell everyone that it needn’t have been as expensive as it was. And she will be right.
Editorial note: In this piece we mention a Meed Ward administration which in the fullness of time we expect to see. The numerous comments sent to us via Facebook and directly seem to take the impression that we are saying Meed Ward will be the NEXT administration. We wouldn’t go that far. She will wear the Chain of Office but not in 2014 – Goldring has got that, if he wants it.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 29, 2012 In the world of politics – it doesn`t matter if it`s federal, provincial or municipal – a summer picnic is one of the most effective ways to pull a crowd together and just stand around and chat – get caught up and take the pulse of the community.
 This is what a corn roast is all about. Lay on the butter and chomp away. Guests were attending Blair Lancaster’s Ward Corn Roast – good political move. This country is known for some great summer BBQ`s but there doesn`t seem to be a tradition of that sort of thing in this city.
Ward 6 Councillor Blair Lancaster just might have hit upon an idea and a location that will create such an annual event. While it will probably be a Tory Blue event, that’s just a fact of life in this part of the world.
 Blair Lancaster – almost holding court with her constituents at a corn roast. Lancaster chose the Burlington Air Park as her location and having the aircrafts set out for the crowd to look over was certainly a nice touch. There was a double wing bi-plane in the air doing all kinds of stunts; as well as a plane that looked about the size of one of the Mercedes Benz Smart cars up in the air with both the pilot and a passenger aboard. The comment on that was “not in this lifetime for me”.
The hangers and the administrative side of the Air Park operation are accessed off Bell School Line – but over on Appleby Line there is the start of some significant construction. But the city knows nothing about that according to Lancaster. Airports are a federal matter even though this site is clearly within the borders of Burlington. Apparently the Conservation Authority isn’t in on what’s taking place – and there is certainly “something” taking place. More than five pieces of heavy construction equipment are grooming the grounds on the Appleby Line side of the property.
At one point in 2007 Rogers had an application to install a cell tower in the southwest portion of the air-park property. The application was withdrawn, a pity because cell phone reception is really spotty in that part of the city.
The Burlington Airpark was founded by Victor and Gwen Kovachik in 1962. It is still a family owned operation with a number of services available on the site including flight training, engine maintenance and overhaul as well as charter services and a place to rent a hanger to store planes.
 Aerial view of the Air Park in North Burlington. This isn’t a rinky dinky little airport out in the country. Count the number of hangers. Privately own, within the city, federally regulated. Located in North Burlington where there are a number of people who can fly from their escarpment country residences into Toronto or points east and west.
The location is a short drive from Milton, Oakville and western Mississauga.
Burlington’s Economic development people just love the idea of the city having its own airport. At the moment the facility is not a port of entry but a small regional airport that serves a specific clientele.
 This field isn’t being graded to grow cabbage. Does it look like a construction site? All the grading work being done along Appleby Line suggests there is something much bigger both in the minds of the people who own the facility and the people who use the airport. Wonder who at city hall knows anything about this? Is someone trying to develop an opportunity here? Would that mean light jet aircraft flying in and out of the escarpment at night?
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON August 31st, 2012 The beach water monitoring results done by the Regional Health Department revealed the following beaches are safe for swimming:
Halton Hills – Prospect Park Old Beach
Oakville – Bronte Park Beach, Coronation Park East
The following beaches are unsafe for swimming:
Oakville –Coronation Park West
Burlington – Beachway Park
Milton – Kelso Conservation Area
The Beachway Park has been safe for swimming for the past six weeks – this report is a change in the condition of the water.
Unfortunately, other than media posting, the public that uses the Beachway Park in Burlington has no way of knowing if the water is safe or unsafe. There are no signs to indicate the condition of the water. Unfortunate indeed.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON August 31, 2012 Halton Regional Police are investigating a robbery that occurred at a Rogers Wireless store in Burlington. On August 30th at approximately 1:10 pm three masked suspects entered the Rogers Store located at 3455 Fairview Street Burlington.
One suspect produced a handgun and ordered staff and customers to lie on the floor. The suspects demanded cash and access to the store safe where they stole a quantity of cell phones. They then left the store and fled the area in a waiting vehicle. No staff members or customers were physically injured during the incident.
The suspects are described as follows:
3 black males aged 18 to 25 years old. They were of average height and slim to medium in build. Suspects were wearing dark clothing that included hoodies and balaclavas. They fled in a Silver 4 door Sedan, last observed headed westbound on Fairview Street.
Anyone with information pertaining to this incident is asked to contact the Burlington Criminal Investigation Bureau at 905-825 4747 ext 2315, Crime Stoppers at 1-800 222 TIPS (8477), online at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON Burlington, ON—Aug. 30, 2012 – Burlington resident Michele Benoit who was scheduled to attempt a 45KM Lake Ontario crossing this summer has had to postpone until 2013. In an effort to raise awareness and funds for clean water in Africa, Benoit was scheduled to swim 45KM from Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines to Spencer Smith Park in Burlington on August 17, 2012. Severe, unfavorable weather and water conditions forced the swimmer to reschedule and re-plan for a new date.
“Open water swimming is one of the most unpredictable sports around due to the reliance on the conditions” says Benoit. “You can plan and be completely prepared to attempt a crossing, but if the weather and water do not cooperate, it’s completely out of your control”.
 Lots of pool time this winter for Michele Benoit as she turns her energy and determination to being ready for a 2013 attempt to swim from Port Dalhousie to Burlington as a fund raising event for Waves for Water, a charity that wants to build systems in Africa that will provide fresh water. And this is what Ms. Benoit has had to accept. “I have done everything possible to make my attempt for 2012 but between unfavorable conditions and unavailability of boats and crew at the end of the season, I have to set my sights on next year.”
With the water and the air getting a lot colder now, the focus will be on a new year of training, planning and continuing to raise awareness and funds for clean water in undeveloped countries. “I will be back in 2013 strong, ready and determined to raise as much money as I can for clean water in Africa. “
Ms. Benoit started Waves for Water to help those in need. Her choice to do a swim of this magnitude was to raise awareness and funds and spread the message of ‘Making Waves for Water’ big or small. “This swim has never been about Benoit – it was about how an event can champion a cause”. A new date will be announced in the Spring of 2013.
Maybe Burlington will be able to stand on the pier and watch Benoit arrive at the small beach to the west of the pier currently under construction. The city still talks of it being “open” in the spring of 2013 and if the weather holds that just might be possible.
“I would like to thank my family, my team and everyone who was so incredibly supportive,” Benoit said. “Be ready! I plan to return next year for a successful crossing!”
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 30, 2012 The West Nile virus is still very much with us. The Halton Region Health Department reminds residents to continue to cover up, use insect repellent with DEET, and keep mosquitoes out of homes.
 Standing Water Sites Larvicided
August 19 – 25, 2012 The mosquito trapping done by the Regional health staff has found mosquitoes positive for West Nile virus (WNV) for five consecutive weeks. Laboratory test results over the last three weeks bring the total of human infections with WNV in Halton to nine: seven in Burlington and two in Milton.
Two of the Burlington cases were persons who did not have symptoms but were identified during routine testing as part of the blood donation process.
“The risk of infection will be present until temperatures cool significantly, so it is important to protect yourself from mosquito bites and remove areas of standing water where mosquitoes breed,” said Dr. Monir Taha, Associate Medical Officer of Health for Halton Region.
 This is how the virus gets to human beings. Take the common sense precautions. Mosquitoes can transmit WNV to humans after becoming infected by feeding on the blood of birds carrying the virus. About 80% of people who become infected with WNV do not experience any illness, while about 20% will develop West Nile fever.
Less than 1% will develop inflammation of the brain or its lining, or a type of paralysis. That’s a nice number – until you realize that you’re one of the one percent.
Older adults and people with underlying illnesses should be particularly cautious as they are more likely to develop the illness. The following are steps that residents can take to protect themselves and their families from mosquitoes:
Cover up. Wear light-coloured, long-sleeved shirts and pants with tightly-woven fabric.
Avoid being outdoors from early evening to morning when mosquitoes are most active and likely to bite, as well as at any time in shady, wooded areas.
Reduce mosquito breeding sites around your home by getting rid of all water-filled containers and objects. Change the water in bird baths at least once per week.
Use an approved insect repellent, such as one containing DEET.
Make sure your window and door screens are tight and without holes, cuts or other openings where mosquitoes could enter your home.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON August 29.2012 If you missed getting your kids to the Royal Botanical Gardens for the Fairy Queen visit – you can make amends and make sure they get a chance to attend the Teddy Bear Picnic that will take place on two days:
 Every little girl has a very favorite Teddy Bear that can be taken to the Royal Botanical Garden Teddy Bear Picnic. Saturday, September 2, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, September 3, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Picnics are being held at the RBG’s Rock Garden, 680 Plains Rd. W
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